Background

Technological advances are critical to ensuring that America's and Kansas' resources are adequately developed. Technological innovation drives down costs and brings new efficiencies to the entire spectrum of energy supply. As a result of past innovation, the U.S. is the most efficient conservator of oil and gas production in the world. The U.S. is the only country that captures significant quantities of oil and gas from marginally economic wells and continues to explore for new resources in mature basins. Through efficient operating practices, and application of advanced technologies, marginal wells account for nearly one out of ten barrels of domestic oil production (330 million barrels of oil) and 9.38 billion cubic feet of gas. In Kansas over 98% of the oil wells average less than 15 BOPD and produce 73.2% of the state's oil.

Current Activities

The KU Energy Research Center (ERC), the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project (TORP) and the Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) have programs underway in the application of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). EOR technologies include demonstration of CO2 miscible flooding at a Lansing-Kansas City reservoir in Russell County (USDOE $5.4 million), and application of a reservoir simulation and horizontal drilling in a Mississippian reservoir in Ness County (USDOE $3.2 million). Both studies have the potential to maintain and significantly increase Kansas oil production.

Future Activities

We will continue to work with operators and funding agencies to develop, modify and import the latest advances in EOR technology to Kansas. Enhanced oil recovery technologies are capital and technology intensive. As a result, a successful demonstration is a prerequisite to wide scale adoption.

KU Contact: Alan Byrnes, 785-864-3965, abyrnes@kgs.ukans.edu