Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “DRILLING”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,747 records · Page 97
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

The Geology of The Mt. Simon Sandstone Storage Complex at the Wabash #1 Well, Vigo Co., Indiana (Subtask 7.2, Technical Report)

The Wabash CarbonSAFE project drilled the Wabash #1 stratigraphic test well (ID# 168045) at the Wabash Valley Resources (WVR) IGCC facility in Vigo County, Indiana, to characterize and evaluate the basal Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone for commercial-scale CO 2 storage near the site. This report presents an extensive geologic characterization of the Mt. Simon storage complex and relevant data collected from the Wabash #1 well, such as lithologic data collected from cuttings and core, geophysical logging, geomechanical analysis of core samples, and well testing and fluid sampling within the Mt. Simon Sandstone. The Mt. Simon storage complex comprises two major sections: the Mt. Simon Sandstone as the potential reservoir and the overlying Eau Claire Formation as its primary seal. Within the report, an extensive depositional, sedimentological, and geochronologic characterization of the Mt. Simon is included with supportive chapters on the regional geology and the geophysical, petrophysical, and petrologic data collected during the project. An overview of 2D seismic reflection data collected from and around the test well is presented. Also presented are chapters on the characterization of the sealing Eau Claire Formation, including a chapter on the capacity of the primary and secondary seals to the Mt. Simon as well as a chapter on geomechanical testing results of the Eau Claire Formation and Mt. Simon Sandstone. Some of the information discussed in this report was used in the development of static and dynamic geologic models of the Mt. Simon Sandstone storage complex. The static and dynamic modeling of CO 2 injection in the Mt. Simon Sandstone are discussed in a separate report (Dessenberger et al., 2022) under the Wabash CarbonSAFE project.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Regulators’ Energy Transition Primer: Economic Impacts of the Energy Transition on Energy Communities, Environmental Justice Considerations, and Implications on Clean Energy Jobs

Applications of new technology, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, enabled the United States to significantly increase its production of oil and natural gas during the last decade—the “Shale Gas Revolution.” As natural gas began to dominate the market with abundant supply and low prices, coal production and consumption have declined. Concurrently, the competitiveness of renewable energy and energy storage has climbed sharply, and analysts expect to see continued reductions in fossil fuel use in the coming decades. Many of these changes have been driven by market forces (i.e., low-cost natural gas and renewables), but current and future policy decisions aimed at tackling climate change concerns and reducing greenhouse gas emissions will also shape the future of the energy sector. This transition to low-carbon fuels has created both opportunities for clean energy technologies and challenges for communities traditionally dependent on fossil fuel-related industries. The power sector’s ongoing shift away from coal has left many coal miners and coal-fired power plant employees unemployed and often unprepared for jobs in other industries, including growing clean energy fields. This primer focuses on the declining coal industry, impacts on communities and workers, opportunities to transition workers who have lost their jobs to clean energy and other related sectors (including hydrogen-oriented jobs), recruitment and training strategies, and available programs and actions to make the shift to a low-carbon economy in a fair, just, and equitable manner by engaging the resources of federal and state governments, as well as the private sector.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2021

Project Risk Assessment and Monitoring for CarbonSAFE Illinois - Macon County (Task 2)

A risk evaluation performed for CarbonSAFE Macon County included performing a risk assessment for the overall project and the identification of technical project risks. These tasks were accomplished through a combination of risk assessment meetings, workshops, expert solicitation, and identifying and implementing risk mitigation or prevention activities. Information from previous carbon storage projects and from the execution of the project (including drilling a test well and conducting 2D seismic survey) were assessed to identify future risks towards the development of a storage complex.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Controlling Sustainability of Hydraulic Fracture Permeability in Ductile Shales

Hydraulic fracturing technology, along with horizontal drilling and associated completion technologies, dramatically increased US oil and gas production, by increasing the permeability of tight shales and allowing for cost-effective extraction of trapped hydrocarbons. For efficient and economical production, the targeted shale has to be fractured easily (i.e., good ‘frackability’), but also the permeability of induced fractures have to be sustained during production (good ‘sustainability’). For these reasons, currently, ductile shale with high clay content (>~40%) is difficult to exploit as a hydrocarbon resource, although hydrocarbons can still be found in it. Good frackability, high-TOC, low-clay-content resource shales—the ‘low-hanging fruit’—will be depleted, and we need to develop tools that allow tapping into currently underutilized, clay-rich ductile shales. This research project aims (1) to understand the behavior of fractures in clay-rich, ductile (and sometimes swelling) shales and (2) to begin to develop technologies for efficient and economical production from such shales. With these objectives, we examine time-dependent, coupled mechanical-hydrological behavior of open and proppant-filled fractures within different types of shales. In the preceding project, the focus of the research was to understand the behavior of the fractures and to predict their permeability changes due to fracture closure from shale matrix deformation and proppant embedment. In the current project, we investigate the possibility of chemically manipulating the sustainability of hydraulic fractures in ductile shales—specifically by altering the proppant-embedding behavior—via chemical means, at different stages of oil and gas production.

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Geologic Modeling and Simulation Report for the Aquistore Project

The Plains CO 2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, through the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), is collaborating with the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) on site characterization; modeling and simulation; risk assessment; public outreach; and monitoring, verification, and accounting (MVA) activities for the Aquistore project. The Aquistore project is a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project situated near the town of Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada, and the U.S.–Canada border. This project is managed by PTRC and will serve as buffer storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the SaskPower Boundary Dam CCUS project, the world’s first commercial-scale postcombustion CCUS project from a coal-fired electric generating facility. To date, an injection well and an observation research well (~500 ft apart) have been drilled and completed at the Aquistore site, with injection anticipated to begin in 2014. Using a combination of site characterization data provided by PTRC and independently acquired information, the PCOR Partnership has constructed a static geologic model to assess the potential storage capacity of the Aquistore site and provide the foundation for dynamic simulation. The geologic model and the results of the predictive simulations will be used in the risk assessment process to help define an overall monitoring plan for the project and to assure stakeholders that the injected CO 2 will remain safely stored at the Aquistore site.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

CarbonSAFE Illinois (Macon County Final Report)

This report summarizes an extensive work package to present key activities and findings towards evaluating sites for geologic storage of CO 2 . The project was undertaken as a series of tasks that addressed risk, stakeholder engagement, business and economic issues, permitting, drilling and well testing, geologic characterization, seismic surveys, modeling, CO 2 source suitability and infrastructure development. Detailed reports associated with these tasks are included as appendices to this report.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Geologic Modeling and Simulation Report for the Aquistore Project

The Plains CO 2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, through the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), has been supporting, and continues to support, the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) Aquistore project. This support has been in the form of geologic characterization, involvement in the Science and Engineering Research Committee (SERC), involvement in public outreach, developing geologic models and running predictive simulations on the expected injection program at the site. The Aquistore project is part of the world’s first commercial postcombustion carbon capture, utilization, and storage project from a coal-fired power-generating facility, the SaskPower Boundary Dam, located in Saskatchewan, Canada, and will be acting as a storage site for a portion of the captured CO 2 from the Boundary Dam power plant. The Aquistore site includes one injection well and a 152-meter offset observation well. Both wells were drilled and completed in the Deadwood and Black Island Formations. At the time of this report, injection at the Aquistore site is anticipated to begin in late 2014. To better understand the storage implications of injecting carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) at the Aquistore site, the EERC has constructed P10, P50, and P90 geologic model realizations and run three new predictive simulation scenarios on each realization. These models and simulations were constructed to better understand both operational and geologic uncertainties that may exist at the Aquistore site. The geologic model realizations and simulations are an update to those completed in the original report entitled “Geologic Modeling and Simulation Report for the Aquistore Project,” Deliverable D93, approved in March 2014. In this update, the same fine-scale model extent of the 34-square-kilometer PTRC 3-D seismic survey area, with higher structural resolution, was continually used for the uncertainty analysis. A low (P10), mid (P50), and high volumetric (P90) case for the amount of pore volume accessible to store the potential injected CO 2 was ranked based on certain deviation variations of model-building parameters, including effective porosity and net-to-gross reservoir, in six sand units of the study area. Three cases with various injection rate and period schemes were simulated based on uncertainty models P10, P50, and P90.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nontechnical Barriers to Geothermal Development

Geothermal energy presents a significant opportunity for the United States (US). The US has the largest known geothermal resource in the world, with over 31 GW of conventional geothermal (i.e., hydrothermal) potential. Despite this, the development of geothermal power plants has lagged other renewable resources. Though some of the gaps stem from technical barriers numerous non-technical barriers are preventing geothermal energy from reaching its full potential. The gaps include a need to reduce the cost impacts of seismic risk, environmental risk, exploration, drilling and permitting cost risk, and reduced summer capacity on plant profitability. This report identifies pathways to overcome these barriers. We find that geothermal energy could increase its market presence by acting as a complement to lower cost renewables, providing flexible or baseload power in low carbon scenarios. We also outline several contractual and operational strategies (including the use of hybrid systems) that plant operators can pursue to improve the value of their resource, such as multi part remuneration mechanisms that guarantee revenue (e.g., availability payments or a Contract for Differences approach) or resource risk hedging approaches (e.g., shaped market products and portfolio resource approaches).

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Historic Context, Character-Defining Elements, And Photographic Record For A 26.45-Mile Segment Of The 138-Kilovolt Power Transmission System, Areas 3, 5, 6, And 23, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

The subject of this report is the 138-kilovolt (kV) power transmission line on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) (see Figure 1). The NNSS, formerly the Nevada Test Site (NTS), was the main continental nuclear test site for the United States between 1951 and 1992. Known as the battleground of the Cold War, the NNSS hosted a total of 928 nuclear tests during that period. It also served as the location of numerous scientific advancements in the fields of rocketry, big-hole drilling, nuclear waste management, and defense. From its construction in the 1960s through the present day, the 138 kV line has provided electrical power to the numerous buildings, facilities, experiments, and tests on the NNSS. The Department of Energy (DOE), in consultation with the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), has determined that it may contribute to the character and significance of the Mercury Historic District (MHD) on the NNSS, as well as other historic districts that have not been recorded or evaluated yet. The purpose of this report is to fulfill two of the stipulations in the Memorandum of Agreement DEGM58-22NA25553 between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer Regarding Installation of a 138-kilovolt Transmission Line from the Mercury Switching Station to the U1a Facility and the Removal of the Historic 138-kilovolt Transmission Line from the Mercury Switching Station to the U1a Facility in Areas 1, 3, 5, 6, and 23 of the Nevada National Security Site (MOA). The MOA was executed as part of the DOE’s obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) to mitigate the adverse effects of two undertakings on historic properties. In particular, this report fulfills MOA Stipulations III.C.1-3, which state that the Department of Energy (DOE) will prepare the following: A historic context for the 138 kV transmission line and identification of the line’s characterdefining elements; High-quality digital images of the 26.45-mile segment of the 138 kV transmission line that is subject to the two undertakings for which the MOA was executed; and Photograph catalogs and map keys showing photograph viewpoints and directions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Smackover Formation from the Roberson 18-19 Core

The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) site in Morgantown, West Virginia, were used to characterize the Upper Jurassic (Oxfordian) Smackover limestone in the Roberson 18-19 1-15H core retrieved from the Atlanta Field, Columbia County, Arkansas. The 365.68-ft long Roberson core came from a vertical well at depths 8,802 ft to 9,169.60 ft, drilled by Southwestern Energy targeting the Smackover Formation as a potential unconventional oil reservoir. The primary impetus of this work was to non-destructively characterize core from the Smackover Formation that was acquired through a core exchange with Southwestern Energy. The Smackover Formation is an unconventional limestone play in southern Arkansas. This report and the associated scans provide detailed datasets not typically made publicly available from unconventional limestone for analysis. The resultant datasets are presented in this report and can be accessed from NETL’s Energy Data eXchange (EDX) online system using the following link: https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/roberson-smackover.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Machine Learning Application for Frac-Hit Identification: Field Data Use Case

This study focusses on the development of an ML-based workflow that can be used for frac-hit identification and monitoring based on the readily available field data, such as drilling surveys, pressure records, production history (oil and water production measurements), and fracking time and duration information, etc.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Wellington 1-32 Core

The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE), National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia were used to characterize core from the Wellington 1-32 well (API 15-191-22591), a small-scale field test site in the Wellington Field, in Sumner County, Kansas. Wellington 1-32 was drilled in association with the Kansas Geologic Survey’s (KGS) Phase I pre-feasibility study under the DOE-NETL Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) program, with the goal of utilizing the Arbuckle Group as a reservoir for CO 2 storage and the potential for stacked reservoir enhanced oil recovery from Mississippian reservoirs.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Preliminary Design Review Report 1343 28Sep2020

Goal if this review is to approve and improve Philipp’s design approach chosen for IH type accelerating cavity of ion linac. The cavity is proposed to be milled out of copper blocks, with irises individually brazed and cooling pipes drilled into the blocks. Then the parts of the cavity will be brazed together and loop-coupler and flanges will be welded.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Designing a Particle Flow Control Apparatus

Flow control within a particle-based Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) system is essential in determining the heat transfer coefficient, and therefore, the power generation capability of these systems. There are three areas where particle flow control is significant: the receivers, storage tanks, and particle-sCO2 heat exchangers. The focus of this work is on designing a new mechanism to control the flow in the particle-sCO2 heat exchangers due to the simplicity and potential cost savings when compared to the other areas of interest. The goal is for this new design to have quicker response times in terms of particle flowrate than a slide gate or flow control valve, which are designs currently used. The design resembles that of a chuck mechanism within a drill where a rotation of the sleeve elicits movement of the jaws both vertically and horizontally to close the outlet area of the nozzle. Additionally, this design will utilize the current actuator that is already used within these heat exchangers to reduce the complexity of implementation. The jaws are designed to be closed at an angle of 76˚ which is just slightly steeper than the hopper leading to the mechanism. Furthermore, this design can be tuned to limit particle bridging and other particle flow phenomena that result in blockages. The prototypes were 3D printed out of polylactic acid (PLA) and scaled up to 100%, 200%, and 400% to be able to observe the velocity profiles of the mechanism more clearly. Experiments are performed with this prototype to compare the inlet and outlet mass flow rates at different configurations of the jaws. The particles used in these experiments are 0.3mm HSP 40/70 that are commonly used in particle-based CSP systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

CO2 Electrolyzer to Produce Formic Acid Using Flue Gas at Industry Relevant Current Density

The electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable fuels and feedstocks has gained great attention recently due to the global urgency to mitigate the rapid climate change. A wide variety of chemicals can be obtained through the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Among all the chemicals generated through CO2RR, formic acid has attracted great interest because of its wide applications in silage preservation in agriculture, as an antibacterial agent in animal food additives, as a chemical additive in leather and tanning processing, as a chemical component in textile dyeing and finishing, as a reagent in pharmaceutical and chemical synthesis, and as deicing agents and a component in drilling fluids. Recently, the use of formic acid as a feedstock for biorefineries has also attracted increasing interest.

Yang, Hongzhou↗
DOE OSTI2022

Using Natural Gas Liquids to Recover Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources (Final Report)

This document presents final technical findings for the project Using Natural Gas Liquids to Recover Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources (FE0031782). The project is part of the U.S. Department of Energy Oil and Gas Program to develop and advance technologies that can significantly improve the recovery efficiencies of unconventional oil and gas resources. The overall objective of this project is to improve the ultimate recovery from unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resources in the United States by developing a method for using unrefined natural gas liquids (NGLs) as treatment fluids to improve hydrocarbon production. Horizontal extended-lateral drilling coupled with high volume hydraulic fracturing has significantly increased production from UOG resources in the U.S. However, the recovery efficiency is low compared to the estimated oil and gas in place. Recent data indicate that less than 10% of the oil in the liquid-rich UOG reservoirs is produced. Alternative completion methods using NGLs could increase production (Battelle, 2016; Wan et al., 2013; Wan, 2013; Downey et al, 2021); however, field validation tests are needed to develop an approach that is economical, efficient, and compatible in the UOG setting to advance towards commercial deployment. This project aims to develop and field test a method to improve recovery of oil resources in UOG shale plays by using Y-Grade NGLs, or a similar combination of NGLs, as treatment fluids. Refined NGLs have been used as a hydraulic treatment fluid in UOG plays for decades and are shown to be particularly effective because their miscibility with oil allows oil to flow more freely; however, the use of Y-Grade (unrefined) NGLs has not been studied. The use of Y-Grade NGLs would be advantageous over refined NGLs because Y-Grade NGLs do not require infrastructure or investment in refining and are already being produced from many UOG reservoirs. The concept was tested and monitored in the field at a commercial well site owned by project partner Hopco, Ltd. The project team, which consists of multiple oil and gas operators, Linde Gas North America LLC (Linde) and the Ohio Division of Geological Survey (ODGS), has extensive experience with oil and gas production in the Appalachian basin and the ability to work together quickly to solve technical issues and research needs. A key part of the proposed work was the use of existing wells for field testing and monitoring. A total of four wells (three vertical and one horizontal) were available for this project. One of the vertical wells was utilized as the test well for the NGL treatment test. A nearby vertical well was used for microseismic monitoring. The remaining vertical well and the horizontal well provided a baseline for typical UOG production in the oil window of the Utica/Point Pleasant (UPP). Major technical tasks of the project include characterization of the geotechnical properties of the UPP with an emphasis on the field site; design and planning for the NGLs testing; field testing and monitoring; analysis and integration of field data; and economic and resource/reserve assessment. The Shoman monitoring well and Doughty NGL treatment well were successfully plugged back during September-October 2020 in preparation for treatment and monitoring. A nitrogen diagnostic fracture injection test (DFIT) was completed on the Doughty well on July 22, 2021, consisting of 133,000 scf (91 Bbl.) of nitrogen. A nitrogen foam frac was completed in the Utica-Point Pleasant interval on August 17, 2021 with funding from outside sources. A microseismic monitoring array was installed in the Shoman well and monitored microseismic activity during the Doughty well frac job. Y-Grade NGL injection commenced on August 26, 2021. A total of 215 Bbl. was injected but the job was shut down due to a small leak on the suction hose on the pump truck. The Y-Grade treatment resumed on August 27, 2021 and an additional 726 Bbl. of Y-Grade NGL was injected at a well head pressure of 3850 psi. Total volume of injected Y-Grade over the two days of injection was 941 Bbl. The well was shut-in for 17 days following injection to allow the Y-Grade NGLs to soak on the formation. Y-Grade treatment flow back commenced on 9/13/2021 on a weekly basis. Production data, including surface pressures, oil, nitrogen, natural gas, and flow times was measured and recorded. Periodic gas samples were collected and analyzed to determine composition of flowback gas. As of July 2022, the treatment well had produced 726 Bbl of oil and 2,888 mcf gas. In August 2022, tubing and packer in the well were removed and a pump was installed to enhance oil recovery. Currently, the operator is producing the well about 2 days a week for a few hours. The performance of the NGL treatment test was evaluated based on reservoir simulations of the treatment process, processing of well testing data, analysis of micro seismic monitoring data, and production data analysis. This analysis suggested that oil production in the small test would continue through 2025. Upscaling the treatment to a horizontal Utica Point-Pleasant well would allow more oil recovery, but the process would involve more investment, services, and operational support. An economic analysis was conducted for scenarios aimed at upscaling the NGL treatment process for more typical horizontal UPP wells in the Appalachian Basin.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2023

(Project 18-15502) Reducing Uncertainty in Radionuclide Transport Prediction Using Multiple Environmental Tracers (Final Report)

In order to successfully site and design a nuclear waste disposal facility, DOE scientists are required to show safe containment of the radioactive waste for up to 1 million years. A significant hurdle to accurately and convincingly demonstrating disposal safety is predicting the fate of radioactive elements once they enter the groundwater system surrounding the repository. These predictions are often made with computer models, which contain accurate physics of groundwater movement and chemical reactions that occur during groundwater flow. As computer power increases, the physics and chemistry of these computer simulators can become more and more realistic and the physically based error decreases. However, the ability of these computer models to provide accurate predictions in a specific place, over long time periods, requires the scientists and engineers to know the subsurface properties of the Earth that control groundwater movement. In particular, groundwater scientists and engineers need to know the groundwater fluid velocity, which can change over time and strongly vary with location within the groundwater system. Because the Earth’s subsurface cannot be directly seen, and can only be sampled at drilling locations, the properties of the groundwater system are never known completely, and computer models of groundwater transport will always have some amount of uncertainty. This project’s principal goal was to use chemicals and isotope “tracers”, which have been introduced to the groundwater system by natural processes over long time periods, to help inform computer models of the groundwater velocity and subsurface properties. The goal was to calculate how much better predictions of groundwater transport were when these “tracers” were used to inform the computer models.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗