Blacksburg researchers enhance oil production

Oil well-monitoring devices being developed and produced in Blacksburg might eventually help ease prices at the pump for automobile users.



A down-hole fiber-optic imager can warn of compaction, which happens after oil is removed and the ground subsides where the oil was. This can bend or destroy oil lines, and cost the oil industry some $4.5 billion a year, Poland said. “As consumers, we’re all paying for that.”

If the problem is foreseen, water can be pumped into the ground to keep it from collapsing. Tools can be brought to bear. “So our system is an early warning system for this compaction.” It can also be used to limit harmful effects on the environment, he said.

Brownfields are another place where the sensing technology is useful. These are fields that have been producing oil for decades but in declining amounts. New monitoring techniques can find more and keep the existing infrastructure working.

Currently, 50 to 70 percent of the oil would remain in the ground in brownfields. With the monitoring devices, another 15 to 20 percent can be recovered with existing wells.

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