SBIR Phase I: Directional Permeability Enhancement Using Electric Well Treatment

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.