The GSTC Insider
News, announcements and ideas from the GSTC
Archive
June 4, 2009 issue
Welcome to the GSTC on-line newsletter, the GSTC Insider. If you have comments, information or suggestions you would like to share, please feel free to contact us at gstc@ems.psu.edu
- New NETL Project Manager Named
- 2009 GSTC Spring Meeting
- Proposal Submitted to Carbon Sequestration Program
- Predicting and Mitigating Salt Precipitation-Phase II
- Smart Gas: Using Chemicals to Improve Gas Deliverability-Phase II
New NETL Program Manager Named
Mr. John Terneus was named the new NETL Program Manager for the GSTC in April 2009. John is a General Engineer on the Methane Hydrates Team at NETL. He replaces Mr. Keith Dodrill.
2009 GSTC Spring Meeting
2009 GSTC Spring Meeting was held in Morgantown, WV on April 29, 2009. Forty people attended the meeting to hear technology updates from six projects, as well as special speakers. Mr. James Ammer, Director, Natural Gas and Oil Project Management Division gave an overview of NETL and the Natural Gas/Oil R&D Program. Ms. Traci Rodosta, Sequestration Division, offered the Sequestration Program Overview. Dr. Jay Parrish, Director/State Geologist, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources-Bureau of Topographic
and Geologic Survey gave a special update on the PA Carbon Sequestration Program. The Executive Council met following the general meeting and strongly encouraged the GSTC to submit a proposal in response to the DOE's Carbon Sequestration RFP.
Proposal Submitted to the Carbon Sequestration Program
The GSTC submitted a proposal to the Innovative and Advanced Technologies and Protocols for Monitoring/Verification/Accounting (MVA), Simulation, and Risk Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Sequestration in Geologic Formation request by the National Energy Technology Laboratories. This funding opportunity is focused on the development and successful application of innovative, advanced technology and protocols for monitoring, verification, and accounting of CO2 sequestration in geologic formations. The GSTC felt this would be a mutually benificial effort as there is a substantial amount of existing infrastructure that has application to both current practice and the emerging carbon sequestration applications, and technology investments on dual purpose items would benefit both the implementation of carbon
sequestration and the ongoing operations of oil & gas production and storage assets. The GSTC member, the Pipeline Research Council International assisted in the preparation and has provided co-funding for this proposal.
Predicting and Mitigating Salt Precipitation-Phase II
The final report for the 2007 project, Predicting and Mitigating Salt Precipitation-Phase II by Correlations Company is available in the member's only section of the GSTC website. The results concluded that specialized commercial products based on nitrilotriacetamide or ferrocyanide chemistry along with the commodity chemical sodium ferrocyanide are effective salt inhibitors. Currently fresh water with no addition of salt inhibitors is the preferred method of removing or preventing salt depots. However, as fresh water becomes more costly, environmentally and economical salt inhibitors have been shown to be an effective alternate.
Smart Gas: Using Chemicals to Improve Gas Deliverability-Phase II
The final report for the 2007 projects, Smart Gas: Using Chemicals to Improve Gas Deliverability-Phase II by Correlations Company is available in the member's only section of the GSTC website. The objective was to demonstrate in the field the new wettability-altering technology developed in the laboratory during Phase I. Three wells in the Waverly gas storage field were treated during the last week of October 2007. While initial withdrawal results following treatment were disappointing; as the 2008-09 withdrawal data became available, the results look more promising. The gas withdrawal rate from two of the three treated wells was about 33% greater than prior to treatments.
To learn more about the GSTC, please contact:
Mr. Joel Morrison (814) 865-4802 or Ms. Sharon Elder (814) 865-9802 or e-mail us at gstc@ems.psu.edu.