Getting the most from the nation's natural gas and oil resources is an important part of the NETL Natural Gas and Oil's Exploration and Production (E&P) program. As the demand for oil and gas continues to grow, improved recovery technologies must be developed to meet that demand. The United States leads the world in the advancement of oil and gas technologies. A key contributing factor in the success of the E&P program is the customer-driven approach to public-private partnerships that contribute to the development of technologies that support increased supplies. NETL supports the development of new technologies which will improve recovery through many programs. To address near-term concerns, NETL supports technologies that will enable the nation's small and independent operators to maximize recovery from tens of thousands of mature, producing reservoirs through its Stripper Well Program. Programs that focus on bypassed reserves include the Secondary Gas Recovery Program and the Infill Drilling Optimization Program. The Enhanced Oil Recovery Program investigates new ways to improve recovery from oil reservoirs where nearly 70% of the original oil remains in place. And finally, new technologies are being developed for Advanced Completion Systems and Advanced Stimulations Systems. In turn, these efforts support the reliability and affordability of energy supplies and the stability of energy markets, providing an essential foundation for U.S. economic strength and the global economy.

IMPROVED RECOVERY

Click on project number for a more detailed description of the project.

Active Projects

Project Number

Project Name

Primary Performer
DE-FE0001243 Clean and Secure Energy from Domestic Oil Shale and Oil Sands Resources University of Utah
DE-NT0006556 Chemical Methods for Ugnu Viscous Oils University of Texas
DE-NT0006555 Use of Polymers to Recover Viscous Oil from Unconventional Reservoirs New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology
DE-NT0005679 Bridging the Gap between Chemical Flooding and Independent Oil Producers University of Kansas Center for Research
DE-FC26-09NT0005670 Fabry-Perot MEMS Accelerometers for Advanced Seismic Imaging Lumedyne Technologies Incorporated
DE-FC26-08NT0005643 Geomechanical Study of Bakken Formation for Improved Oil Recovery University of North Dakota
DE-FC26-08NT43291 – 01.2 Evaluation of Key Factors Affecting Successful Oil Production in the Bakken Formation, North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center
DE-FC26-06NT43029 Carbon Dioxide-Enhanced Oil Production from the Citronelle Oil Field in the Rodessa Formation, South Alabama University of Alabama at Birmingham
DE-FC26-05NT15479 Thermochemically Driven Gas Dynamic Fracturing(TDGF) Technology More Oil Inc.
DE-FC26-05NT15458 Improvement of Carbon Dioxide Sweep Efficiency by Utilization of Microbial Permeability Modification to Reduce the Amount of Oil Bypassed during Carbon Dioxide Flood Mississippi State University (MSU)
DE-FC26-04NT42098 Stripper Well Consortium Pennsylvania State University
DE-FC26-04NT15533 The Synthesis and Evaluation of Inexpensive CO 2 Thickeners Designed by Molecular Modeling University of Pittsburgh
DE-FC26-04NT15536 Evaluation and Enhancement of Carbon Dioxide Flooding Through Sweep Improvement Louisiana State University
DE-FC26-00BC15124 Field Demonstration of Carbon Dioxide Miscible Flooding in the Lansing-Kansas City Formation, Central Kansas University of Kansas
 

Selected Completed Improved Recovery Projects

Project Number

Project Name

Primary Performer
DE-FG26-06NT42745 Solvent Based Enhanced Oil Recovery for In-Situ Upgrading of Heavy Oil Sands Florida International University
DEAP26-06NT03837 National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Studies on Novel Surfactants Columbia University
DE-FC26-06NT15569 Utah Center for Heavy Oil Research University of Utah
DE-FC26-04NT15514 Demonstration of a Novel, Integrated Multi-Scale Procedure for High-Resolution 3D Reservoir Characterization and Improved CO2 -EOR/Sequestration Management, SACROC Unit Advanced Resources International
DE-FC26-04NT15519 Aperture-Tolerant, Chemical-Based Methods to Reduce Channeling New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
DE-FC26-04NT15520 pH Sensitive Polymers for Improving Reservoir Sweep and Conformance Control in Chemical Flooding University of Texas at Austin
DE-FC26-04NT15521 Cost Effective Surfactant Formulations for Improved Oil Recovery in Carbonate Reservoirs California Institute of Technology
DE-FC26-04NT15522 Development of an In Situ Biosurfactant Production Technology for Enhanced Oil Recovery University of Oklahoma
DE-FC26-04NT15523/
FEW4715-02		 Using Biosurfactants Produced from Agriculture Process Waste Streams to Improve Oil Recovery in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs University of Kansas
DE-FC26-04NT15524 Mechanistic Understanding of Microbial Plugging for Improved Sweep Efficiency University of Texas at Austin
DE-FC26-04NT15525 Bio-Engineering High Performance Microbial Strains for MEOR by Directed Protein Evolution Technology California Institute of Technology
DE-FC26-04NT15527 Altering Reservoir Wettability to Improve Production from Single Wells Correlations Company
DE-FC26-04NT15529 Modeling Wettability Alteration Using Chemical EOR Processes in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs The University of Texas at Austin
DE-FC26-04NT15534 Origin of Scale-Dependent Dispersivity and it's Implications for Miscible Gas Flooding University of Texas at Austin
DE-FC26-04NT15535 Improvement of Sweep Efficiency in Gas Flooding University of Houston
DE-FC26-04NT42108 Development of an Advanced Hydraulic Fracture Mapping System Pinnacle Technologies, Inc.
DE-FC26-03NT41876 Resource Assessment and Production Testing for CBM Development in the Illinois Basin University of Kentucky Research Foundation
DE-FC26-03NT15403 Development of Next Generation Multiphase Pipe Flow Prediction Tools University of Tulsa
DE-FC26-03NT15406 Surfactant-Based Enhance Recovery Processes and Foam Mobility Control Rice University
DE-FC26-03NT15407 Smart Multifunctional Polymers University of Southern Mississippi
DE-FC26-03NT15408 Fundamentals of Reservoir Surface Energy as Related to Surface Properties, Wettability, Capillary Action, and Oil Recovery from Fractured Reservoirs University of Wyoming
DE-FC26-03NT15411 Coupling the Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Technology and Gelation Technology to Maximize Incremental Oil Production Surtek, Inc
DE-FC26-03NT15412 A Framework to Design and Optimize Chemical Flooding Processes University of Texas at Austin
DE-FC26-03NT15413 Mineral-Surfactant Interactions for Minimum Reagents Precipitation and Adsorption for Improved Oil Recovery   Columbia University
DE-FC26-03NT15416 Design and Develop Integrated Compact Multi-Phase Separator System University of Tulsa
DE-FG26-03NT15436 Enhanced Recovery Utilizing Variable Frequency Drives and a Distributed Power System Peden Energy
DE-FG26-03NT15438 Improved Approaches to Design of Polymer Gel Treatments in Mature Oil Fields: Field Demonstration in Dickman Field, Ness County, KS Grand Mesa Operating Company
DE-FG26-03NT15439 A Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery Project Developed for the Poison Spider Field Natrona County WY Arnell Oil Company
DE-FG26-03NT15440 Production Improvement from Increased Permeability Using Engineered Biochemical Secondary Recovery Methodology in Marginal Wells of the East Texas Field TENECO Energy, LLC
DE-FC26-03NT15402 A Comprehensive Statistically-Based Method to Interpret Real-Time Flowing Well Measurements University of Texas at Austin
DE-FC26-02NT15323 Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery Louisiana State University
DE-FC26-02NT15442 Reviving Abandoned Reservoirs with High Pressure Air Injection:   Application in a Fractured and Karsted Dolomite Reservoir University of Texas at Austin
DE-FC26-02NT15443 Developmental Practices for Optimized MEOR in Shallow Heavy Oil Reservoirs University of Missouri
DE-FC26-02NT15321 Development of Microorganisms with Improved Transport and Biosurfactant Activities for Enhanced Oil Recovery University of Oklahoma
DE-FC26-02NT15322 Dilute Surfactant Methods for Carbonate Formations University of Houston
DE-FC26-02NT15441 Implementing a Novel CO 2 Flood in Paleozoic Reefs Michigan Technological University
DE-FG26-02NT15452 Enhanced Oil Recovery by Horizontal Waterflooding, Osage   Grand Resources, Inc.
DE-FC26-01NT41248 3.05.02 Phase Behavior, Solid Organic Precipitation, and Mobility Characterization Studies in Support of Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery on the Alaska North Slope U Alaska Fairbanks
DE-FC26-01NT41248-3.04.3 Novel Chemically Bonded Phosphate Ceramic Borehole Sealants for Arctic Environment U Alaska Fairbanks
DE-FC26-01NT41248-3.03.1 Characterization and Alteration of Wettability States of Alaskan Reservoirs to Improve Oil Recovery Efficiency U Alaska Fairbanks
DE-FC26-01NT41248-3.05.3 Chemical and Microbial Characterization of North Slope Viscous Oil to Assess Viscosity Reduction and Enhanced Recovery U Alaska Fairbanks
DE-FG26-01NT41357 Combined Microbial Surfactant-Polymer System for Improved Oil Mobility and Conformance Control Prairie View A&M University
DE-FC26-01BC15150 Paraffin Deposition Research and Model Validation University of Tulsa