The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans two cost-shared research projects that may eventually improve tight-gas recovery techniques in the U.S. The University of Texas at Austin is designing a process for "energized" frac jobs in tight-gas sands. As tight-gas sand basins mature, additional wells are often drilled into the depleted sections to recover more gas. This can cause reservoir pressure to decline and reduced well productivity due to water blockage and frac-fluid residues. If the frac fluids are "energized" with carbon dioxide or nitrogen, these problems could be avoided, the DOE reports. The project will add thermal and compositional capabilities to 3-D hydraulic fracture models, allowing E&P operators to implement energized frac jobs. A model of the project will be tested with Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in Carthage Field in East Texas and/or Ozona Field in West Texas. The DOE expects to pay some $694,000 of the project's $1.5-million cost. Also, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is working on a technique to help find and characterize fractures in tight-gas formations, the DOE has reported. By sending seismic data-gathering devices downhole-instead of just using surface 3-D seismic-operators may have a clearer picture of the subsurface, the DOE reports. The project will develop a method of scattered-wave analysis of 4-D vertical seismic profiling to find fractures and optimize well placement. MIT researchers will work with Denver-based EnCana Oil & Gas Inc. to test these methods in Jonah Field in Wyoming. The project will cost $1 million, and the DOE will pay more than half of the total cost. The Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory is managing both projects. Unconventional gas production in the U.S. accounted for almost 40% of the nation's total gas output in 2004, according to the DOE, which expects this proportion may grow to 50% by 2030 if these advanced technologies are successful.

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