Oil and Gas
Increasing Domestic Oil and Gas Recovery through New Information and Technologies
At Western Michigan University’s Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education, ground-breaking research by faculty and students has had a significant positive impact on increasing domestic oil and gas supplies.
The Michigan Basin is one of America’s 25 “priority” basins, as defined by the United States Geological Survey. These basins collectively contain 90 to 95 percent of the nation’s known and undiscovered hydrocarbon resources. Michigan has produced about 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 5.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over the past 75 years. Petroleum production in the state has been declining steadily in recent years as known oil fields are depleted. As with many other basins in the United States, primary recovery efforts develop only a relatively small fraction of the hydrocarbons in place, typically leaving 50 to 75 percent of the total hydrocarbons in the ground.
We archive analytical, pressure and production data from oil and gas wells. Most of this data was donated in paper from which we have converted to digital format.
Combined with our extensive collection of cores, cuttings and well records, our 3-D modeling software at MGRRE will help us to better understand the distribution of these reservoirs underground, leading to more production from known domestic reservoirs, rather than having to search for new deposits of hydrocarbons, or increase imports to satisfy the nation’s hydrocarbon needs.
We present our results and techniques through a series of workshops for professionals and at regional and national geoscience conferences. By applying these technologies, companies from Michigan and around the country will be able to increase hydrocarbon recovery from newly discovered reservoirs as well as maximize recovery of bypassed or stranded hydrocarbons in existing fields. The impact of this research includes:
- Economic benefits of more cost-efficient oil and gas exploration and recovery.
- Smaller companies can operate more productively.
- Increased employment.
- Increased revenue to property owners.
- Increased royalties to the state, which are channeled into new recreation areas through the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.
- Reduced negative impact on environmentally sensitive areas through less drilling.
- Reduced dependency on foreign oil.
- Hands-on training for future geoscientists.
- Acquisition of new geological data, leading to better understanding and use of natural resources.
Research Projects and Partnerships
Research Partnership to Supply Energy for America: This project was focused on evaluating the relationship between fracture-related dolomite and dolomite constrained by primary rock fabric in the three most prolific reservoir intervals in the Michigan Basin: the Dundee (Devonian), the Trenton/Black River (Ordovician) and the Niagaran (Silurian).
Midwest Region Carbon Sequestration Partnership: We are research partners in the MRCSP, working to store CO2 underground while producing more domestic energy. After completing geological mapping and reservoir analyses for formations throughout Michigan, an excellent site was delineated in northern Michigan where field tests, well drilling, core analysis and reservoir tests have been conducted. Continued work includes establishing a monitoring and verification system to assess the effectiveness of CO2 sequestration and long-term storage, working with regulators and property owners, and public awareness through outreach and education.
Formation-Specific Research
- Facies, Fabrics and Organic Geochemistry of the A-1 Carbonate in Michigan, PowerPoint by Dr. William B. Harrison.
- The Collingwood/Utica Shale in Michigan, PowerPoint by Dr. William B. Harrison.
Devonian Carbonate Reservoir Research
- Lithologic Properties and Facies Characteristics of Devonian Producing Formations in the Michigan Basin, PowerPoint by Dr. William B. Harrison.
- Reservoir Characterization and Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential in Middle Devonian Dundee Limestone, PowerPoint by Abrahim Abduslam, Dr. William B. Harrison, III and Dr. David Barnes.
Some of the most productive hydrocarbon formations in the Michigan Basin are characterized as hydrothermal dolomite.
At the Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education at Western Michigan University, we conducted research for two years through the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America program to find out more about the differences between the productive and non-productive formations.
In the Niagaran (Silurian), we saw a general trend of increasing dolomitization shelfward, with limestone predominant in more basinward positions. One of our major findings was that these facies types are directly related to reservoir porosity and permeability in these dolomites, which increases the predictability of reservoir quality in these units. This pattern is consistent with our original hypothesis of primary facies control on dolomitization and resulting reservoir quality at some level. The identification of distinct and predictable vertical stacking patterns within a hierarchical sequence and cycle framework provides a high degree of confidence at this point that the results should be exportable throughout the basin. Data was derived from detailed analysis of cores archived at MGRRE.
Western Michigan University is one of 40 partners in an eight state research partnership led by Battelle Memorial Institute. This consortium, the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership, is part of a larger scale strategy to reduce CO2 emissions. The MRCSP is one of seven regional partnerships nationwide. The Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education’s industry partner in this research is Core Energy, LLC.
MGRRE’s role in the partnership involved examining sampling cores archived here to determine their reservoir characteristics, such as porosity and permeability. This role also involved using said data in modeling to better understand the geology and fluid-flow characteristics of the rocks. By injecting CO2 deep underground and recovering previously stranded oil, this project not only helps by reducing the amount of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere, but it also results in the production of more domestic energy.
The Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education at Western Michigan University, as part of the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America’s Small Producer Program, has been conducting research to extend the life of mature fields in an environmentally sustainable way. The term “small producer” is defined in the 2005 Energy Policy Act as “an entity organized under the laws of the United States with production levels of less than 1,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent.”
The Small Producer Program was established to benefit small producing companies in technology development for mature oil and gas fields, with the objective of extending the life and ultimate recovery of these fields. This is an important group to overall United States production. MGRRE’s research in the Michigan Basin deals with facies analyses and modeling which can also be used in other mature basins.