石油和天然气行业提高效率的主要机制是减少支出。资本支出和运营支出的削减以及钻井、完井和生产方法的优化使得运营商在这种较低、长期的价格环境中发现了价值。

但是，尽管公司正在寻找以更便宜的方式做得更好的方法，但他们可能会因为减少对生产技术研究的关注而面临错失长期回报的风险。美国安全能源研究伙伴关系、北达科他大学能源与环境研究中心 (EERC) 和怀俄明大学提高石油采收率研究所等组织的研究人员表示，在当前经济低迷时期，企业更不愿意花钱研究可能不会立即获得回报的技术，特别是在 EOR 领域。CO ₂ EOR 可能会增加生产成本高达 20 美元/桶，并带来较长时间的石油生产，而不是水力压裂的近乎直接的结果。

但对于愿意进行此类投资的公司来说，长期回报可能是可观的，特别是在巴肯，美国能源部估计该地区可通过 CO 2 _EOR采收多达 137 桶石油。事实上，巴肯是致密油中CO ₂ EOR 研究取得成果的地点之一。

EERC 最近在巴肯启动了潜在 CO ₂ EOR 方法研究的第二阶段，在页岩油藏中未增产的直井中进行了 CO _{2注入现场测试。}EERC 表示，测试结果可能会在今年晚些时候公布。这些发现可能被证明是释放巴肯致密岩石中大量储量的重要一步。

_{CO 2} EOR新兴技术的另一个例子是 Battelle，该公司与 Core Energy 合作，使用光纤来监测密歇根州CO _{2注入点的注入效率和地震活动。}该项目是中西部地区碳封存合作伙伴正在进行的研究的一部分。

“正在发生的创新非常惊人，”CO ₂ EOR 咨询公司 Melzer Consulting 的创始人 Steve Melzer 说道。“每个月我们都会在一个新世界中醒来。当你醒来时，你会发现一些你认为自己无法做到的新事物。”

企业以创新为荣，而创新之母是研究。继续资助研究，即使是在 EOR 方面，也可能会带来意外的生产收益，特别是当价格回升时。但为 EOR 等项目的研究提供资金是一场重大赌博：技术可能不会带来回报，而那些能够带来回报的技术可能在几年内都不会带来回报。正如堪萨斯大学三次石油采收项目 (TORP) 的研究人员所解释的那样，这就是入场费。

“不幸的是，我们商品的价格受到限制，有些东西由于价格不合适而长期没有被采用，”TORP 现场联络工程师马克·巴拉德 (Mark Ba​​llard) 说。“这可能需要一段时间。对于要[被采用]的东西来说，十年可能还为时过早。研究的本质是，如果我们知道自己在做什么，我们就不会称之为研究。”

请通过bwalzel@hartenergy.com联系作者。

The primary mechanism behind increased efficiencies in the oil and gas industry has been a reduction in spending. Cuts to capex and opex along with optimized drilling, completion and production methods have resulted in operators finding value in this lowerfor- longer price environment.

But while companies look for ways to do things better more cheaply, they could run the risk of missing out on longer term prizes by lessening their focus on research of production technologies. Researchers at organizations like the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) and the Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute at the University of Wyoming have said that during the current economic downturn companies are more reluctant to spend money on research into technologies that may not pay off immediately, particularly in the area of EOR. CO₂ EOR could add as much as $20/bbl to production costs and brings with it oil production carried out over a longer period of time rather than the near-immediate results of hydraulic fracturing.

But for companies willing to make such an investment, the long-term payout could be substantial, particularly in the Bakken, where the U.S. Department of Energy estimates there may be as much as 137 Bbbl of oil recoverable by CO₂ EOR. In fact, the Bakken is one of the sites of research into CO₂ EOR in tight oil that is bearing fruit.

The EERC recently initiated Phase 2 of a study of potential CO₂ EOR methods in the Bakken with a CO₂ injection field test into an unstimulated vertical well in a shale reservoir. The EERC said results of the tests are likely to be made public later this year. Those findings could prove to be a significant step to unlocking the sizeable reserves tucked into tight rocks in the Bakken.

Another example of emerging technologies in CO₂ EOR is occurring at Battelle, which, in a partnership with Core Energy, is using fiber optics to monitor injection efficiency and seismic activity at CO₂ injection sites in Michigan. The project is part of the ongoing research at the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership.

“Innovations that are going on are pretty phenomenal,” said Steve Melzer, founder of Melzer Consulting, a CO₂ EOR consulting firm. “Every month we wake up in a new world. You wake up to new things you didn’t think you could do.”

Companies pride themselves on innovation, and the mother of innovation is research. Continuing to fund research, even in EOR, could result in a production windfall, particularly when prices recover. But funding research into something such as EOR is a significant gamble: Technologies may not pay off, and ones that do may not pay off for several years. As researchers at Kansas University’s Tertiary Oil Recovery Project (TORP) explained, that’s the cost of admission.

“Unfortunately, the price of our commodity is constrained, and some of the things don’t get adopted for a long time because the price isn’t right,” said Mark Ballard, TORP field liaison engineer. “It can take a while. Ten years is probably too soon for something that’s going to [be adopted]. The nature of research is, if we knew what we were doing, we wouldn’t call it research.”

Contact the author at bwalzel@hartenergy.com.