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<p> Located in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, the area of interest for this study encompasses portions of the Tullos-Urania and Olla oil fields, with their hydrocarbon accumulation stemming from the Wilcox Group. The overall objective of this study is threefold; first, generate structure maps of the strata within this area of investigation and identify the productive formations. Second, utilize seismic modeling from local wells defining the most accurate resistivity-to-sonic transform. The last goal is to generate an accurate seismic-to-well tie employing the most accurate sonic log generated at the wells bounding the high-resolution shallow imaging seismic data. This study must use resistivity data to model sonic logs for the bounding wells which have no sonic logs available. The modeled sonic logs are then used to create time- depth relationships between the acquired seismic data and the wells bounding the seismic line. To use resistivity logs to model a sonic log, this study will compare three equations (Faust, 1953; Kim, 1964; Smiths, 1968) to determine their relative accuracies for a one-step resistivity-to-sonic transform. Accuracy is measured by the absolute average deviation of the modelled sonic data from the measured sonic data from wells within the study area, but distant from the seismic line, which have recorded sonic logs. The results of this study indicate that the one-step resistivity-to- sonic equation proposed by Faust (1953) generates the least amount of error when applied to the short resistivity curve. Throughout the modeled logs, the Faust (1953) equation generates an absolute average deviation of 6.0% for the short resistivity curves while Kim&rsquo;s (1964) and Smiths (1968) equations produce 9.7% and 12.8% absolute average deviation. By understanding the variability of these models, future studies can ascertain the best fit model for further investigation of shallow hydrocarbon bearing formations within, or similar to, the Paleocene-Eocene aged strata in Central Louisiana.</p><p>

<p>A high-pressure CO2 foam was generated with silica nanoparticle dispersion and CO2 for fracturing applications. The effects of different ions and temperature on nanoparticle aggregation were studied. Nanoparticle dispersions were mixed with individual monovalent, divalent ions with varying concentrations, and two synthesized Permian connate water solutions. Samples of nanoparticle dispersions with the presence of NaCl were put into chambers with constant temperature for 14 hours. The peak size of aggregated nanoparticles in each sample was measured. It was found this silica nanoparticle dispersion had a high thermal stability up to 85?. The silica nanoparticle dispersion used in this study maintained a desired stability under an 18% reservoir salinity condition, yet it could be sensitive to high concentrations of Na2SO4 solutions. To investigate foam rheology and stability, high-pressure CO2 foams were generated in a beadpack with different CO2/NP ratios in NaCl solutions. The resulting foam was observed in a sapphire tube. The differential pressure across a capillary tube was recorded to calculate the apparent viscosity of foams. Nanoparticle-stabilized foams could remain stable for days and foam stability decreased with the increasing foam quality. Foam apparent viscosity was found to increase with foam quality and could be 3 times as high as that of the ambient phase. The high stability and fine texture of high-pressure CO2-in-water foams stabilized by silica nanoparticles have broadened the development of foam fracturing, offering a new opportunity for the effective development and stimulation of unconventional reservoirs.

<p>Prolific amounts of oil and gas have been produced from the San Joaquin Basin in many different oil and gas fields. In many cases, the petroleum system is easily identifiable, and the path hydrocarbons take from source area to trap are known. This study aims to identify secondary migration pathways of hydrocarbons from the source to the trap in an oil field near Fresno, California, where the source is about 35 miles from the trap. To create an accurate subsurface interpretation of the study area, 3D seismic data and more than 300 well logs were used. From subsurface structure maps, net sand maps, an Allan profile, and regional research, it was found that there are two possible migration scenarios that reasonably describe the secondary migration of hydrocarbons into the study area. Six normal faults within the field play large roles as seals and/or migration pathways, and to better understand hydrocarbon migration in the study area, further work must be done on the sealing/leaking behavior of the faults within the field.

<p>The essence of many issues in different fields is the transport and piling of particles in fluid within a limited space. A semi-analytical model is developed in this study to describe the motions of a particle in fluid and simulate the piling process of particles in a fracture. As a result, the configuration of a particle pile and the time at which the pile totally seal the fracture face are predicted. This model possesses a wide range of applications. Two types of applications of this model are introduced, including the prediction of proppant screen-out in hydraulic fracturing vertical and horizontal wells and the simulation of curing the lost circulation. Results of case studies are consistent with the field data with minor errors. Sensitivity analyses with the proposed model were conducted for each type of application. Major factors affecting the model calculation results are identified for the purpose of optimizing the performance of hydraulic fracturing and curing the lost circulation. Sensitivity analyses conducted for the proppant screen-out prediction during fracturing vertical and horizontal wells indicate following conclusions: 1) The use of high fluid viscosity can avoid the premature settlement of proppant and significantly delay the screen-out time. 2) The sse of proppant with low density in the practical range could delay the screen-out time, but the effect is not as significant as other factors analyzed in this study. 3) A high injection rate allows the proppant pile to build farther from the wellbore, while it will lead to a quick screen-out. 4) Larger proppant size can easily cause screen-out sooner. 5) Wide distributionof proppant size can delay screen-out. 6) The use of low ratio of proppant volume to fluid volume can minimize the probability of the occurrence of screen-out. Sensitivity analyses for the cure of lost circulation demonstrate following conclusions: 1) Lost circulation can be cured faster when low fluid viscosity is used. 2) High density LCM can facilitate the cure of lost circulation. 3) Low mud density can mitigate lost circulation, but its effect is not as significant as other factors. 4) The concentration of LCM should be determined based on the severity of lost circulation. This semi-analytical model provides engineers a general tool to solve different issues involved in different fields. It can also be utilized to identify main factors responsible for different issues to minimize their detrimental effects.

<p>The Denver-Julesburg Basin (DJ Basin) has been a productive oil and gas field since 1970 where operators began targeting the J sandstone (Sonnenberg 2013). Within the DJ Basin, the Wattenberg field has been the ?hot spot? for the past several years due to its high gas to oil ratio. The Niobrara Formation has added new value to this area as the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has become common practice for operators in the Wattenberg since 2009 (Sonnenberg 2013). This formation is a ?tight? rock that has very little connectivity making the hydraulic fracturing technique a necessity for economical wells. There are a large number of faults seen in the Wattenberg field that can have just a few feet of displacement to very large faults with 100+ feet of displacement. These faults are likely part of a polygonal fault system that has been linked to dewatering events that occurred prelithification in the Wattenberg Field (Underwood 2013). Along some of these major faults we see sections of Niobrara Formation that are missing, and these fault planes provide a pathway for the expulsion of this sediment. Understanding the pre-lithification faulting and missing section in the Niobrara Formation could result in added economic value as this could lead to finding optimal well placement for maximizing oil recovery. This study was driven by the hypothesis that the missing section of Niobrara Formation could be linked to the Pierre Shale?s Tepee Buttes. To determine the origin of the Tepee Buttes seismic data, well logs, thin sections, and XRF data was used to further investigate the Tepee Buttes, Niobrara Formation Chalks and Marls, Fort Hays Limestone, and Pierre Shale.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University / The elemental object of business is to provide a commodity or service to tbe consumer at a profit.* Business in the United States is perpetuated through competition, and in order for any one company to succeed in the fundamental objective, it must meet such competition successfully.

<p> Ceramic proppants are commonly used in hydraulic fractures. However, people typically focus on controlling properties of proppants such as the material, specific gravity, and particle size, and less attention is paid to the effect of proppant wettability. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of proppant wettability on two-phase flow efficiency in fractured water-wet sandstones. The results show that oil-wet proppants are more effective in improving oil flow efficiency than water-wet proppants in both low-water saturation cores and high-water saturation cores. Therefore, small sized oil-wet proppants have better performance than large sized oil-wet proppants. </p><p>