Engineering news
BP is partnering with academics at the University of Texas in Austin to improve fracking processes and technologies.
The £2.5 million of industrial research funding will see BP engineers collaborate with academics from the University of Texas’ Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Geosystems Engineering Departments. The largest study will examine the impact of human factors on the drilling process and the potential for new systems to enhance safety and efficiency.
Other research projects include one that seeks to improve recoveries from shale gas and oil formations through a deep investigation of fracturing fluids’ impact on well productivity. Another focuses on enhancing early detection of “kicks” – the sudden influx of hydrocarbons into a well – by using real-time well data and predictive models to better inform operational decisions.
James Dupree, chief operating officer of BP’s Reservoir Development & Technology, said: “This is not just theoretical research, under this partnership we are tackling real-world challenges that if better understood, could have far-reaching impacts not only on BP but on the future of global energy development.”
Evidence given to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Select Committee by shale gas experts this week said that shale gas wells built in the UK will benefit from the engineering advances made by fracking operations and research in the US, with production rates up to four times better than American wells.
BP has no UK or European shale gas operations currently, but has not ruled out involvement in the future. However, BP does has several decades of experience with shale gas operations inherited from US firm Amoco, which it acquired in 1998. The firm operates the Woodford shale gas play in Oklahoma and has “substantial” positions in other shale fields throughout the country.