Geological Engineering Commons^™

Ior Methods In Unconventional Reservoirs Of North America: Comprehensive Review, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unconventional resources have played a significant role in changing oil industry plans recently. Shale formations in North America have huge oil in place, 900 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Bakken only. However, the predicted primary recovery is still low as less than 10%. Therefore, seeking for improved oil techniques to increase oil recovery in these complex plays is inevitable. In this paper, three stages of review have been combined to find out the applicability of the most feasible IOR methods in these unconventional reservoirs. Firstly, the most common fluid and rock properties of these reservoirs have been investigated and …

Selection Criteria For Miscible-Gases To Enhance Oil Recovery In Unconventional Reservoirs Of North America, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Mortadha Alsaba

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unconventional resources have played a significant role in changing oil industry plans recently. Shale formations in North America such as Bakken, Niobrara, and Eagle Ford have huge oil in place, 100-900 billion barrels of oil in Bakken only. However, the predicted primary recovery is still low as 5-10%. Therefore, seeking for techniques to enhance oil recovery in these complex plays is inevitable. In this paper, two different approaches have been integrated to investigate the feasibility of three different miscible gases which are CO₂, lean gases, and rich gases. Firstly, numerical simulation methods of compositional models have been incorporated …

Wellbore Stability Evaluation For Mishrif Formation, Ethar H.K. Alkamil, Husam R. Abbood, Ralph E. Flori, Andreas Eckert

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

During drilling operations for the E oilfield in the Mishrif formation in southern Iraq, stuck pipe has been identified as a significant geomechanical problem for several wells. In this study, a 1-D mechanical earth model (MEM) of the Mishrif formation is compiled based on its state of stress and rock strength parameters and is utilized to assess the contribution of borehole collapse leading to the stuck pipe problems. The MEM model is based on the principal in situ stresses and their orientation obtained from wireline logs measurements, measuring while drilling (MWD), and leak off test (LOT). Rock strength properties are …

Integrating Microgels And Low Salinity Waterflooding To Improve Conformance Control In Fractured Reservoirs, Ali Alhuraishawy, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Abdullah Almansour

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The recovery from fractured reservoirs is usually low. The areal heterogeneity is one result of the fractured reservoir. Low salinity waterflooding (LSWF) and preformed particle gel (PPG) have recently investigated by some researchers. The main objective of this study was to determine whether the combining technologies can improve conformance control in fractured sandstone reservoirs. Semi-transparent five-spot models made of sandstone cores and acrylic plates were built. The effect of low salinity waterflooding on oil recovery was studied. Models were designed with three parallel open fractures. Sodium chloride (1.0, 0.1, 0.01, and 0.001 wt. % NaCl) were used for brine flooding …

Effect Of Molecular-Diffusion Mechanisim On Co2 Huff-N-Puff Process In Shale-Oil Reservoirs, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Abdullah Almansour

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unconventional resources have played a significant role in changing oil industry plans recently. Shale formations in North America such as Bakken, Niobrara, and Eagle Ford have huge oil in place, 100-900 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Bakken only. However, the predicted primary recovery is still low as less than 10%. Therefore, seeking for techniques to increase oil recovery in these complex plays is inevitable. In this paper, three different approaches have been combined to investigate the effect of molecular-diffusion mechanism on CO₂ huff-n-puff process in Bakken formation. Firstly, comprehensive review has been conducted on the reported experimental studies …

Updated Criterion To Select Particle Size Distribution Of Lost Circulation Materials For An Effective Fracture Sealing, Mortadha Alsaba, Mohammed F. Al Dushaishi, Runar Nygaard, Olav Magnar Nes, Arild Saasen

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a new criterion to select particle size distribution (PSD) for an effective fracture sealing. The method was developed based on a comprehensive laboratory investigation that was conducted to determine the relationship between effectiveness of different lost circulation material (LCM) treatments in terms of the sealing efficiency and PSD. The results were compared with the current selection methods, which were developed to enhance the bridging capabilities for drill-in fluid, to investigate their applicability in designing effective treatments for fracture sealing. A statistical investigation was carried out to develop new criteria that suggest PSD based on the expected fracture …

Novel Environmentally Benign Hydrogel: Nano-Silica Hybrid Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide/ Polyethyleneimine Gel System For Conformance Improvement In High Temperature High Salinity Reservoir, Liping Ma, Shitou Wang, Yifu Long, Changqian Zhu, Hongbin Yang, Tangying Yang, Xiaochun Liu, Xiaorong Li, Baojun Bai, Wanli Kang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In order to address the conformance problem in high temperature and high salinity/hardness reservoir, an environmentally benign in-situ gel was developed based on hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and polyethyleneimine (PEI). Moreover, silica nanoparticle (SNP) was embedded to improve the performance of HPAM/PEI gel. To achieve the optimum formulation of HPAM/PEI-SNP gel, a comprehensive investigation was first conducted with the respect of gelation time, gel strength, and thermal stability. In addition, the particle size of SNP was determined by Dynamic Light Scatter (DLS) and the microstructure of HPAM/ PEI-SNP gel was characterized via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The optimum formulation, containing the …

Imaging A Fly Ash Landfill Using Non-Invasive Technologies (Ert And Masw), Atiat Shaban Qasim Alsaaideh

Doctoral Dissertations

"Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data were acquired across a segment of an existing fly ash landfill in southwestern Missouri. The objective was to map potential karst features and identify probable groundwater seepage through and beneath the landfill.

Variations in the moisture content were mapped below and above the two liners (clay and synthetic) systems, the soil and bedrock. Seepage pathways were mapped through the fly ash and the underlying soil and rock. No visual evidence was found on any of the 3D ERT profiles of the presence of either pre-existing air-filled voids or pre-existing or newly infilled clay-filled voids. There …

Evaluation Of Combined Low-Salinity Water And Microgel Treatments To Improve Oil Recovery Using Partial Fractured Carbonate Models, Ali K. Alhuraishawy, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Combining two methods in one process to enhance oil recovery represents a needed cost savings in the oil industry. Microgels are used as conformance control agents to improve oil sweep efficiency and control excess water production. Low-salinity waterflooding (LSWF) is used as a wettability alteration agent in carbonate reservoirs and improves displacement efficiency. This paper offers a comprehensive understanding of the combined technology through laboratory experiments. The focus of this study is to see how microgels and low water salinity perform in porous media by creating flow resistance to injected fluid thereby changing the wettability and enhancing the sweep and …

Analysis Of Ior Pilots In Bakken Formation By Using Numerical Simulation, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Mortadha Alsaba

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Bakken is the most productive formation among unconventional plays in North America. This formation has 7.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil. However, the primary oil recovery is still low as 5-10%. Miscible natural gas and carbon dioxide (CO₂) might be the most two potential strategies to improve oil recovery in such complex play. In this study, some of the IOR pilots which have been conducted in Montana, North Dakota, and South Saskatchewan have been presented. The performance results of these pilots in US-Bakken versus Canadian-Bakken have been compared. Moreover, the reasons beyond the successful IOR pilots in Canadian-Bakken …

Optimizing Injector-Producer Spacing For Co2 Injection In Unconventional Reservoirs Of North America, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Abdullah Almansour

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Shale oil reservoirs such as Bakken, Niobrara, and Eagle Ford have become the main target for oil and gas investors as conventional formations started to deplete and diminish in number. These reservoirs have a huge oil potential; however, the predicted primary oil recovery is still low as average of 7.5 %. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) flooding has been a controversial approach to increase oil recovery in these poor-quality formations. This study investigated the effect of injector-producer spacing, in range of 925-1664 ft, on CO₂ performance in these plays by using numerical simulation methods. CO₂ utilization value under …

Time Series Pattern Discovery Techniques For Well-To-Well Log Correlation, Chanchai Apiwatsakulchai

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Well log data is one of the most abundant data sources for subsurface characterization since almost all drilled wells are logged. Subsurface characterization requires correlated well log information. Processes to help perform well-to-well log correlation have been developed in this study based on the two approaches: pattern matching and pattern discovery. Pattern matching focuses on finding a known pattern of interest in uncorrelated wells. The use of Euclidean, Hamming, and Levenshtein distances in similarity measurement, Piecewise Aggregate Approximation (PAA), and Symbolic Aggregate approXimation (SAX) data representation helps create reduced-resolution while maintains the main characteristics of the signals. Multi-resolution analysis provides …

Coal Combustion Products Utilization For Soil Amendment, Tran Thi Anh Tuyet

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Nowadays, coal has a crucial role in generating energy all over the world. As a result, the consumption of coal creates a huge amount of coal combustion products, including bottom ash and fly ash. The coal ash has the potential characteristics to become a resource material in agriculture such as its texture, water holding capacity, bulk density, pH etc., and contains almost all the essential plant nutrients. However, most of the coal ash created is dumped into the landfill, which is a contributing factor in the environmental degradation. This study wants to use coal ash in agriculture as a way …

Assessment Of Rockfall Rollout Risk Along Varying Slope Geometries Using The Rocfall And Crsp Software, Mariam S. Al E'Bayat

Masters Theses

"Most routes in mountainous areas suffer from rock falling, rolling and bouncing risk. There are many computer programs concerned with simulating the rockfall problem, and whereas they have the same purpose, they however differ in the input data that's needed to simulate the problem, and they also differ in the way of processing and kind of output.

This study used Rocfall® and the Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program (CRSP®) to simulate sixty-three models of varying slope geometry, where only the slope geometry is changed with the same material properties for both the slope and the rocks.

Both programs were fast and …

Mining Asteroids For Volatile Resources: An Experimental Demonstration Of Extraction And Recovery, Egboche Christopher Unobe

Masters Theses

"Gaseous compounds trapped within carbonaceous asteroids may prove to be important targets for prospective space miners in the near-term. Volatile release is from hydrated, hydroxylated and carbonated phases present, making such bodies attractive as feedstock for the production of H₂O, CO₂ and simple organic compounds. A source of these species in orbit provides an opportunity to locally produce space-craft propellant and other life-support gases through the application of In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).

For this study, an experimental vacuum system was modified and used to test the technical validity of radiatively heating asteroid simulants to extract contained gaseous …

Detection Of Mine Roof Failure Using Inexpensive Lidar Technology, Ali Abdullah M. Alzahrani

Masters Theses

"Slope, Roof, and mine wall stability problems are some of the main reasons for deaths at U.S. surface or underground mining. The safety instruments were not enough to prevent that failure or even predict it before it occurs. However, the cost of such a tool that can be helpful in detecting roof failures is very high and not reachable in most instances.

The present study investigates the feasibility of using the M16 Leddar Evaluation Kit to detect the roof failure in mines. The M16 Leddar Evaluation kit cost is between 300$-800$, so it is the reachable price if it provides …

Quantitating Active Photosystem Ii Reaction Center Content From Fluorescence Induction Transients, Cole D. Murphy, Guangyan Ni, Gang Li, Audrey Barnett, Kui Xu, Jessica Grant-Burt, Justin D. Liefer, David J. Suggett, Douglas A. Campbell

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Photosystem II (PSII) is a pigment-protein complex that photochemically extracts electrons from water, generating the reductant that supports biological productivity in all biomes. Estimating the content of active PSII reaction centers in a liquid sample is a key input for estimating aquatic photosynthesis rates, as well as for analyzing phytoplankton stress responses. Established procedures for PSII content quantification based on oxygen evolution are slow, imprecise and require dense cell suspensions, and are thus inapplicable to many laboratory or field studies. A new approach uses baseline chlorophyll fluorescence emission divided by the effective absorbance cross section for PSII photochemistry, with both …

The Use Of Ceramic Water Filters Under Pressure In An In-Line Water Pumping System, Travis Dean Gardner

Masters Theses

"Ceramic pot filters (CPFs) have proven an effective point of use (POU) filter due to their relative low cost, ease to manufacture, and effectiveness at treating contaminated water. These filters are used by individual homes, and sometimes multiple filters are needed for each home in order to produce enough water for the family's household. If these filters could be used in-line with a pumping system or elevated storage tank, water could be filtered and used on demand for a community in an economically feasible way. However, CPFs are too fragile to use under pressure due to the weak points where …

Underground Structures, Rock Structures And Rock Mechanics From Ancient Era To The Modern Age, Ebru Akiş, Özgür Satici

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Usage of underground space is an old habit for human beings since ancient era. Our ancestors have used caves as a shelter for protection from the wildlife and nature, and they excavated caves to extract valuable minerals. They also used them as sanctuaries, tombs or for storage of goods. In addition, they built tunnels to be used as assault systems or to underpass fortifications during ancient warfare. Later on, tunnels were driven to supply water to the towns or to protect the towns from floods. They also built them for communication purposes. Though not knowing the exact time when they …

Well Integrity Assessment Of Monitoring Wells At An Active Co2-Eor Flood, Andrew Duguid, Boyun Guo, Runar Nygaard

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Assessment of well integrity has become more important for CCS and CO₂-EOR as it has become apparent that wells represent the most likely migration pathway for CO₂ to leave a CCS storage unit or a CO₂-EOR reservoir. Although wells represent a migration pathway, they are also the best vehicle for employing technology monitoring CO₂ injection and storage. This contradiction of being a potential migration path and key monitoring technology leads to a need to understand how monitoring wells may be similar or different in comparison to other types of wells with respect to migration …

Dissolution-Enlarged Fractures Imaging Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (Ert), Elnaz Siami-Irdemoosa

Doctoral Dissertations

"In recent years the electrical imaging techniques have been largely applied to geotechnical and environmental investigations. These techniques have proven to be the best geophysical methods for site investigations in karst terrain, particularly when the overburden soil is clay-dominated. Karst is terrain with a special landscape and distinctive hydrological system developed by dissolution of rocks, particularly carbonate rocks such as limestone and dolomite, made by enlarging fractures into underground conduits that can enlarge into caverns, and in some cases collapse to form sinkholes.

Bedding planes, joints, and faults are the principal structural guides for underground flow and dissolution in almost …

Effects Of Post Eviction Resettlement On Land-Use And Cover Change In Uganda’S Oil Exploration Areas, Joseph Ssekandi, John Mburu, Oliver Wasonga, Laban Macopiyo, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Evaluation of the changes in land use and land cover change (LULCC) in respect to oil exploration across the Albertine region in Uganda has been focused around the exploration areas and protected areas, with no attention to the potential impacts of evictees’ activities on resettled areas. This study used LANDSAT images to analyze the land use and land cover changes (LULCC) among the period before eviction (2002 and 2005) at the climax of eviction and resettlements (2005-2011), and during the post-resettlement period (2011-2015) to quantify the impacts of resettlements on the environment. LANDSAT images were processed using ERDAS IMAGINE software …

Hydraulic Conductivity Testing Of Cement-Bentonite Mixes For Use In Annular Well Seals, Amy Lynn Norval

Masters Theses

"Grout is the material used in the annulus of water supply and monitoring wells to prevent movement of water from adjacent formations or from the land surface into the well. Grout is critical for preventing cross-contamination of aquifers through a borehole when a single well penetrates multiple aquifers and for protecting aquifers from surface contamination. The composition and emplacement of grout is regulated in most states, with standard mixes of bentonite and cement being the most widely used types of grout. Despite widespread adoption of grout regulations, surprisingly little literature is available to describe the effectiveness of different grout mixtures. …

Hydrogeochemical Controls On Reactive And Nonreactive Solute Transport In Heterogenous Porous Media, Mahta Gholizadeh Ansari

Masters Theses

"This work examines how physical and chemical heterogeneity can affect reactive and non-reactive transport in porous media. The effect of heterogeneity of the porous media is investigated both on dissolution rate of magnesite and attenuation time of nonreactive contaminants in non-reactive media. Various spatial distribution were created using statistical parameters in PETREL.A total of 6793 transport modeling simulations were run using CrunchFlow. Lasso regression was used to select most significant features and those features are then used in linear regression and deep learning models.

The magnesite dissolution simulations were performed under different permeability ratios (magnesite /sand permeability) and inlet pH. …

Imaging In Karst Terrain Using The Electrical Resistivity And Multichannel Analyses Of Surface Wave Methods, Ragab W. Jaafar

Masters Theses

"Electrical resistivity tomography and multi-channel analyses of surface waves data were acquired at a study area in Phelps County in the south-central part of Missouri. The objectives of the investigation were fourfold: 1) to image the subsurface in the study area to a depth of 70 feet; 2) to compare the ERT images generated using both the dipole-dipole and Wenner-Schlumberger arrays; and 3) to assess how variations in the MASW array configuration affected MASW data quality; and 4) to compare the ERT-estimated depth to top-of-rock and the MASW-generated depth to top-of-rock.

The subsurface in the study area was imaged to …

Ignimbrites To Batholiths, Chad Deering

TechTalks

Ignimbrites sample large magma reservoirs in the Earth’s upper crust, sometimes digging deep enough to link the volcanic realm with the plutonic world. Integrating textural, petrological, geochemical, and geochronological information on such deposits with geophysical signals suggest incremental growth and evolution of subvolcanic magma bodies that are dominated by high crystallinity mush zones, but sometimes remain sufficiently liquid to erupt. The eruptible upper portions are either extracted melt from the mush and constitute only a small volumetric fraction of the vertically extensive mushy batholithic magma body. The high-flux, ignimbrite flare-up phases are typically preceded by waxing magmatism that prime the …

Improving Global Detection Of Volcanic Eruptions Using The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (Omi), Verity Flower, Thomas Oommen, Simon Carn

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Volcanic eruptions pose an ever-present threat to human populations around the globe, but many active volcanoes remain poorly monitored. In regions where ground-based monitoring is present the effects of volcanic eruptions can be moderated through observational alerts to both local populations and service providers, such as air traffic control. However, in regions where volcano monitoring is limited satellite-based remote sensing provides a global data source that can be utilised to provide near-real-time identification of volcanic activity. This paper details a volcanic plume detection method capable of identifying smaller eruptions than is currently feasible, which could potentially be incorporated into automated …

Utilizing Vegetation Indices As A Proxy To Characterize The Stability Of A Railway Embankment In A Permafrost Region, Priscilla Addison, Pasi T. Lautala, Thomas Oommen

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Degrading permafrost conditions around the world are posing stability issues for infrastructure constructed on them. Railway lines have exceptionally low tolerances for differential settlements associated with permafrost degradation due to the potential for train derailments. Railway owners with tracks in permafrost regions therefore make it a priority to identify potential settlement locations so that proper maintenance or embankment stabilization measures can be applied to ensure smooth and safe operations. The extensive discontinuous permafrost zone along the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) in Northern Manitoba, Canada, has been experiencing accelerated deterioration, resulting in differential settlements that necessitate continuous annual maintenance to avoid …

Global Ocean Particulate Organic Carbon Flux Merged With Satellite Parameters, Colleen B. Mouw, Audrey Barnett, Galen A. Mckinley, Lucas Gloege, Darren Pilcher

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Particulate organic carbon (POC) flux estimated from POC concentration observations from sediment traps and 234 Th are compiled across the global ocean. The compilation includes six time series locations: CARIACO, K2, OSP, BATS, OFP, and HOT. Efficiency of the biological pump of carbon to the deep ocean depends largely on biologically mediated export of carbon from the surface ocean and its remineralization with depth; thus biologically related parameters able to be estimated from satellite observations were merged at the POC observation sites. Satellite parameters include net primary production, percent microplankton, sea surface temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, diffuse attenuation coefficient at …

Evaluation Of Slope Stability Quantifying The Effect Of Vegetation, Roberto José Marín, Juan Pablo Osorio

Conference papers

The present study evaluates the shallow landslides susceptibility triggered by rainfall by means of multiple numerical simulations. The simulations integrate a transient rainfall infiltration model with an infinite slope stability model, both of them developed for unsaturated soils in a basin scale. TRIGRS’ infiltration model is used to calculate pore water pressure. The geotechnical model includes the evaluation of two parameters related to vegetation: root reinforcement and tree surcharge due to the weight of the vegetation. These simulations were carried out using multiple values of these parameters so that their behavior is analyzed for the topographic conditions of the watershed …