DOE Selects Developers for New Generation of Oil, Gas Drilling Systems

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced its selection of the four companies and a university that it hopes will help pioneer the next generation of petroleum and natural gas drilling technologies.

Drilling new oil and gas wells in the United States accounts for nearly $10 billion in annual costs to the domestic petroleum industry, an amount that is likely to grow as U.S. drillers encounter more complex geologic formations and confront more stringent environmental requirements. With this new R&D effort, the Energy Department is looking to boost production from U.S. oil and gas resources by improving the effectiveness of future drilling systems, increasing the rate at which they can bore into more difficult formations while reducing costs.

The five award winners are:

• Maurer Engineering, Inc., Houston, TX

• Technology International, Inc., Kingwood, TX

• Tempress Technologies, Inc., Kent, WA

• Novatek, Provo, UT, and

• Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

The five, selected from 12 original proposers, will conduct initial one-year studies to define the feasibility of the proposed new drilling technologies with the Energy Department providing funding to each winner ranging from just over $100,000 to more than $542,000.

If the concepts continue to show promise, developers will move to a second, two-year phase in which prototype systems will be designed and fabricated. The Energy Department then intends to select one or more of the concepts, depending on results and available funding, for two years of field testing.

While no cost-sharing was required in the initial study phase, two companies -- Maurer Engineering Inc., and Technology International Inc. -- will fund a portion of their projects. In Phase 2, the developers will be required to provide at least 25 percent of the costs, and in Phase 3, at least 50 percent of the costs must come from the developer.

The Energy Department's Office of Fossil Energy will oversee the research effort in cooperation with the department's Office of Geothermal Technologies.

The advanced drilling initiative is an outgrowth of a joint Energy Department-Gas Research Institute study that analyzed the needs and priorities for advanced drilling technology in the United States. Completed in 1994 by the National Research Council, the study found that "smart drilling systems" -- which integrate advances in new drilling hardware with improvements in real-time subsurface sensors -- could lead to significant advances in well penetration rates and reduce overall costs of U.S. oil and gas exploration and production. The study recommended that the federal government serve as a catalyst to assist industry in developing the next generation of drilling systems.

A description of the proposed technologies and the initial award amounts follows:

Maurer Engineering, Inc. of Houston, TX -- Advanced High-Pressure Coiled-Tubing Drilling System; Phase 1 award: $301,597, including $23,244 cost sharing by Maurer.

In this project, Maurer Engineering will demonstrate the feasibility of the high-pressure Coiled Tubing drilling system. The company will identify potential problems, perform computer analyses to calculate the life and performance of the system, and select the best candidate downhole drilling motor for development of the project.

Technology International, Inc. of Kingwood, TX -- New High Strength and Faster Drilling Thermally Stable Polycrystalline Diamond Cutters; Phase 1 award: $113,747, including $6,443 cost sharing by Technology International (the company will also provide $50,000 of in-kind contributions).

Technology International will design and test potentially high strength and faster drilling thermally stable polycrystalline (TSP) diamond cutters (a higher performance cutter that won't shatter in higher temperature drilling), design TSP "drag bits" (a scooped-spoon shape that shears the rock off the bottom of the well), and test the bits in laboratory, test well, and field applications.

Tempress Technology, Inc. of Kent, WA -- Hydraulic Pulse Drilling; Phase 1 award: $199,115.

In Phase 1, Tempress Technology will conduct a theoretical and laboratory scale investigation of the mechanics of drilling with hydraulic pressure pulses to show that water-hammer pressures can be used to drill sedimentary rock efficiently. Phase 2 work will involve building and testing a prototype water-hammer subassembly. The Phase 3 effort includes field testing and demonstration of the water hammer pulse generator to carry out drilling tests in wells deeper than 5000 feet.

Novatek of Provo, UT -- Integrated Drilling System Using Mud Actuated Down-Hole Hammer as Primary Engine; Phase 1 award: $542,261.

Novatek will investigate four advanced drilling functions, one of which will be chosen to move forward the development of an integrated, steerable drilling system that offers significant cost reduction over current drilling practice, particularly in deep, medium-to-hard rock formations. Research will then be conducted in testing prototype models at laboratory and appropriate fieldsites. Test results will then be evaluated to determine the probable economic impact of the integrated tool.

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA --Development of Advanced Drill Components for BHA Incorporating Carbide and/or Diamond Composites Utilizing Microwave Processing; Phase 1 award: $185,465.

In Phase 1 Pennsylvania State University will develop microwave processing technology for fabricating tungsten carbide-based drilling cutters and/or high-wear parts of various shapes and sizes. The Phase 2 program involves the development of a prototype of the successful microwave technology and component design developed in Phase I. The goal is to take the component design to a pilot scale and to process a number of commercial size prototype drilling products in reproducible single runs with consistent properties. Phase 3 involves further scale-up of the technology to commercial level and conducting field tests using microwave processed cutters and wear parts.

-End of TechLine-

For More Information:
Hattie Wolfe, DOE Office of Fossil Energy, 202/586-6503 e-mail: hattie.wolfe@hq.doe.gov

Patrice Leister, DOE Federal Energy Technology Center, 412/892-6126 e-mail: patrice.leister@fetc.doe.gov

Technical Contact: William J. Gwilliam, DOE Federal Energy Technology Center, 304/285-4401, e-mail: william.gwilliam@fetc.doe.gov