SBIR Phase I: Directional Permeability Enhancement Using Electric Well Treatment

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目具有更广泛的影响和商业潜力，该系统通过一种新颖、廉价、环保的方法提高了油藏的产能。这种方法将使用电脉冲来增加储层渗透率，减少工业对水力压裂等替代方法的依赖，因为水力压裂需要将有害化学物质泵入地下。使用水力压裂技术的地区的居民通常受到诱发地震活动和山体滑坡的影响，这是由于泵入的化学品润滑断层，使地球破裂的可能性更大。此外，储层增产技术的材料和作业时间使得目前的工艺成本很高。通过电脉冲提高渗透率的能力将避免与现有方法相关的环境问题，并且由于操作时间短，将被证明是一种具有成本竞争力的油藏增产解决方案。SBIR一期项目提出开发一种新的低频脉冲方法（LFIM），以提高石油和地热应用的储层渗透率，而不需要将材料泵入地下。由于粘度降低，流体流动性增加，并且通过振动去除沉积物孔隙中的颗粒，在感兴趣的方向上增加了储层渗透率。该程序将1)使用计算机模拟模型模拟储层中发生的过程，2)对不同岩心样品的电处理效果进行实验分析，3)确定该方法对位于美国的不同类型储层的适用性。因此，该项目将确定最佳地点，在那里LFIM可以提高地热性能和油气产量。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is a system that provides improved reservoir productivity through a novel, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly method. This method will use an electric impulse to increase reservoir permeability, and decrease industry reliance on alternative methods like hydraulic fracturing, which requires hazardous chemicals to be pumped into the subsurface. Residents in regions where fracking techniques are utilized have commonly been impacted by induced seismicity and landslides as a consequence of pumped in chemicals lubricating faults, making earth ruptures more likely to occur. Additionally, the material and operation time for reservoir stimulation techniques makes the current process expensive. The ability to increase permeability with an electric impulse will avoid the environmental concerns associated with current methods, and will proved a cost competitive reservoir stimulation solution due to a short operational time.This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop a novel low-frequency impulse method (LFIM) that increases reservoir permeability for petroleum and geothermal applications, without requiring pumping of material into the subsurface. Fluid mobility is increased due to viscosity reduction and reservoir permeability is increased in the direction of interest from the vibrational removal of particles within sediment pores. This program will 1) simulate the processes taking place in the reservoir using computer simulation model, 2) perform experimental analysis of the effects of the electric treatment on different core samples, and 3) determine applicability of the method to different types of the reservoirs located in the United States. Therefore, this project will identify the optimum sites, where LFIM can boost geothermal performance and oil & gas production.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.