Number of Projects	Total Value* (Million $)	DOE Share (Million $)	Job Benefits**
Coal & Power Projects	2	$10.26	$6.09	292
Oil & Gas Projects	8	$15.40	$9.22	439

*Includes DOE and private sector cost-sharing

**An average of 28.5 direct and indirect jobs per $1 million in R&D funding is used based on the Department of Commerce's Regional Input-Output Modeling System II formula.

University, Company Investigating CO2 Sequestration, NOx Control Techniques

• Geological Sequestration in Midwestern States - The University of Kansas Center for Research, Lawrence, KS, has received $3.29 million from DOE for a $4.38 million project to investigate geological CO2 sequestration. The potential for geological sequestration of CO2 is substantial, but technical, economic, and environmental issues still need to be addressed. This project will focus on the geological CO2 storage potential of five Midwestern states, identify the CO2 sources and emissions rates and the geographical distribution of these sources for the five states, and develop a database to document and describe this potential.

• Demonstration of New Pollution Controls - Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, Hays, KS, was awarded a $5.88 million project (DOE share: $2.80 million) to demonstrate a pollution control technology that has never been tried in power plants that burn sub-bituminous coals such as those from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. Sunflower will install ultra-low NOx burners with other combustion controls at its Garden City, KS, power station. Successful development of the technology will help meet increasingly more stringent emissions standards.

Kansas Projects to Help Improve Oil Production, Site Remediation

• The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, is involved in five projects that are investigating technologies to improve oil recovery. The five projects have a total value of $12.01 million with DOE providing $6.84 million.

  • 4-D Seismic Monitoring of Carbon Dioxide Miscible Flooding - The University of Kansas will field level research to better understand the movement of carbon dioxide through oil reservoirs. The project will acquire, process and interpret 4-D (length, width, height and time) seismic data to accomplish this objective. Reservoir fluid characteristics change as it comes in contact with CO2.  Time lapse 3D seismic (4D) maps the flow of CO2 through the reservoir by interpreting the fluid characteristic changes.  A basic understanding of CO2 movement through reservoirs will aid in maximizing oil production. DOE is contributing $2.90 million to this $3.58 million project.

  • Carbon Dioxide Miscible Flooding - The University of Kansas will demonstrate the viability of carbon dioxide miscible flooding in the Lansing-Kansas City Formation on the Central Kansas Uplift, and compile data on reservoir properties, flood performance, and operating costs and methods to aid operators in future floods. The project addresses the recovery problem in Class II shallow-shelf carbonate reservoirs depleted by effective waterflooding that leaves significant trapped oil reserves. DOE is providing $1.89 million toward the $5.39 million project.

  • Development of Polymer Gel Systems - The purpose of this project is to improve the effectiveness of polymer gels to increase volumetric sweep efficiency of fluid displacement processes and reduce water production in production wells. The total cost is $1.19 million with DOE contributing $691,000.

  • Improved Geologic and Engineering Models - The University of Kansas Center for Research will develop seismic tools, methodologies and workflows to recognize, identify and quantify karst-modified reservoirs. The total cost is $1.09 million with DOE contributing $800,000.

  • Using Biosurfactants to Improve Oil Recovery - The University of Kansas is evaluating the use of low-cost biosurfactants produced from agriculture process waste streams to improve oil recovery in fractured carbonate reservoirs. DOE is contributing $560,000 to this $759,000 project.

Other Oil and Gas Projects in Kansas

• Woolsey Petroleum Corporation - Wichita, KS, will use low-cost tools and techniques to characterize a mature Mississippian "chat" reservoir in south-central Kansas, and design an effective infill and hydraulic fracture treatment. Total cost of this project is $413,000 with DOE cost-sharing $75,000.

Kansas State to Develop Virtual Pipeline

• Virtual Pipeline System - Kansas St. University, Manhattan, KS - The goal of this proposal is to develop a Virtual Pipeline System Testbed (VPST) for natural gas transmission. This testbed will simulate compressor stations, the pipe that connects these compressor stations, the supply sources, and the end-user demand markets. The compressor station will be described by identifying the make, model, and number of its engines, gas turbines and compressors. System operators and engineers will be able to analyze the impact of system changes on the dynamic deliverability of gas and on the environment. For example, the user of the virtual pipeline system will be able to drill down into a compressor station to describe that compressor station with a high degree of detail. The total cost of this project is $1.1 million with DOE contributing $808,000.

• Engine Emissions Control and Monitoring for E&P Field and Gathering Engines - Kansas St. University, Manhattan, KS - The overall objective of the proposed work is to identify, develop, test, and commercialize emissions control and monitoring technologies that can be implemented by E&P operators to significantly lower their cost of environmental compliance and expedite project permitting. The project team will take considerable advantage of the research and development efforts and practices that have been underway in the gas pipeline industry for the last 12 years, and will closely interface with the E&P industry to develop cost-effective options that apply to widely used field and gathering engines, and which can be readily commercialized. The total cost of this project is $1.88 million, with DOE contributing $1.5 million.