Partnership to Take Rock-Fluid Research to the Atomic Level

Partnership to Take Rock-Fluid Research to the Atomic Level
A 3D reconstruction of a tall carbonate plug sample using HeliScan – area in orange indicators coverage area of a conventional circular microCT without needing to move the sample and manually stich datasets together. Source: FEI

The university in general has been involved in oil and gas research for many years – with the level of activity rising and falling with the big trends in the economics of energy over time – but research has ramped up significantly in the past 8 years, Northam said. Since 2006, the university has invested literally hundreds of millions of dollars for research, including $70 million directly from the private sector, for oil, gas and coal research. This research has grown to be one of the biggest areas of research on the UW campus.

The FEI collaboration is part of UW’s Tier One Initiative to transform its engineering and science programs to rank among top tier universities. The initiative was launched in May 2012 by Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, the State Legislature and the Wyoming Governor’s Energy, Engineering, STEM Integration Task Force, with funding approved last year of $8 million for Phase One of the Engineering Initiative, in addition to $18.4 million for facilities development. As part of this initiative, the university has been improving its facilities, hiring faculty members to fill gaps in its programs, and recruiting high-achieving students, Northam said.

The university has worked with a number of oil and gas companies. Hess Corp. ranks among its biggest partners, with $25 million of sponsored research and donations. The school also has worked with regionally significant producers such as Ultra Petroleum, oil service companies Baker Hughes and Halliburton, oil and gas majors Marathon Oil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell plc and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., and national oil company Saudi Aramco.

Oil and gas companies have been exploring for oil and gas in Wyoming for more than a century, according to Petroleum Association of Wyoming. In 2014, Wyoming ranked seven in terms of crude oil production; in 2013, the state ranked fourth in the United States in natural gas production. In 2013, oil and gas production by itself accounted for more than 40.4 percent of total property taxes levied in Wyoming and over 69.4 percent of the property taxes levied on all minerals.


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