Technology making the grade

January 9, 2012

ITF regularly reports on joint industry projects (JIPs) launched through our members, but what happens to those technologies once the initial project is completed? We revisit a handful of the 180 projects ITF has kicked-off to find out.

Speaking recently to Energy, ITF's technology manager Keith Mackie considered the facilitator's role: "ITF gets involved with technology development from feasibility studies to field trials, and once a project has been completed, we may be involved in securing funds for further phases or finding interested parties to ensure deployment; sometimes ITF involvement can open the door to other funds or commercial partnerships. There are many possible routes, so it is important, and interesting, to monitor progress after the initial phase of funding".

One of the first companies that ITF dealt with was the geophysical service company  ARKeX, who have been at the forefront of developing the next generation of gravity gradiometry for commercial exploration.  ITF facilitated a JIP relating to development of their Exploration Gravity Gradiometer (EGG), which uses minute variations in the earth's gravitational field to locate subsurface oil, gas and mineral bearing structures from a plane flying overhead.   Following this JIP, venture capital funds were secured, the development of EGG continued, and ARKeX say it is now accelerating towards deployment: some flight trials have taken place and it is anticipated that a more intensive series of airborne tests will be commencing soon.

Prof Steve Taylor from the University of Liverpool first approached ITF with a proposal for a study to assess oil and gas industry applications for his miniature mass spectrometer. This led to a project that investigated the potential for an oil-in-water monitoring system using membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS). When Energy last reported on the project three years ago, field trials were about to commence at the Flotta Oil Terminal in Orkney. Commenting on the trials Keith said: "Two types of north sea crude were tested in the trial, which confirmed the quadrupole mass spectrometer-based system has the potential to complement existing oil-in-water monitors by detecting different oil types and specific hydrocarbon concentrations (e.g. aromatics) with high accuracy".    Advanced Sensors Ltd has now built a prototype combined oil-in-water monitor with on board mass spectrometer (ATOM).

Cost and risk generally increase as R&D progresses, so technology development in the oil and gas industry can be a lengthy and expensive process; however, an increasing number of technologies with which ITF has been involved are now seeing commercial application.

Mackie: "ITF funding allowed CTES, now part of National Oilwell Varco, to begin the development of their Slickline Fatigue software and hardware product.  The ITF facilitated phase was followed by several years of CTES-funded development which included adaption and expansion of the software model's scope and development of a field data acquisition system. An element for corrosion was also added to form a rounded picture of how slickline degrades over time".

Another available technology that secured support via ITF is the Mud Watcher. Mud Automatics approached ITF seeking field trial support for the device, which they were confident offered a vastly improved alternative to the batch testing process used to monitor mud weight and viscosity since the 1950s. The company have since secured sales and rentals in the North Sea, USA, Mexico, Greenland and Australia, and plan to trial their complementary Rheo Watcher, which monitors the mud's rheological characteristics (PV & YP) continuously and in real time, during 2012.

Seabox (formerly Well Processing) developed their SWIT system to provide subsea seawater treatment for waterflooding. Improving recovery is important in our maturing industry and Seabox say SWIT increases IOR potential by achieving total flexibility in reservoir drainage strategies, enabling injection of as much treated seawater as required, where and when required, without host platform restrictions. Mackie: "Since Energy reported on SWIT in 2009 it has undergone 15 months of full-scale subsea trials with excellent plant reliability and water quality results. Recent work on detailed design and interfaces means SWIT is "ready to go" and being considered by several operators for field applications". Seabox will kick-off a new project in January to test whether SWIT quality water can increase the lifetime of membranes used for production of low sulphate and salinity water, beneficial for IOR/EOR. If successful, this could be a significant step towards membrane treatment on the seabed.

Summing up, Keith said "Taking technology from concept through to commercial deployment is a costly, time consuming and complex process, but I believe that by facilitating dialogue and collaboration amongst technology developers and end users, ITF can play a significant role in ensuring that innovative new technologies get the support they require to meet the industry's needs".

ITF will be holding a series of Technology Challenge Workshops and issuing new calls for proposals during 2012. Topics include: unconventional reservoir characterisation; heavy oil; subsea; downhole pressure and temperature monitoring; unconventional tight gas productivity stimulation and a number of other priority areas.

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