Securing Australia's energy future with petroleum engineering

CSIRO is a major research and development provider to the resources sector, providing technologies to help improve Australia's oil and gas self-sufficiency as well as develop sustainable energy resources for the future.

• 30 November 2009 | Updated 14 October 2011

• Background
• Expertise
• Facilities
• Accessing the capability

Background

CSIRO's capabilities in petroleum engineering underpin our work in oil and gas exploration and production to maximise our petroleum resources and ensure our energy security for the future.

These capabilities are also applied in research and development of geothermal energy and the geological storage of carbon dioxide to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. We play an integral role in preparing Australia for the transition to sustainable energy sources and a low emissions energy future.

CSIRO's petroleum engineering capabilities integrate the disciplines of geophysics, petroleum geology and formation evaluation with capabilities directed at reservoir engineering, numerical modelling, drilling and wellbore engineering, production engineering, reservoir stimulation and production, to create long term and sustainable solutions in the resources sector. 

Expertise

CSIRO's specific skills and expertise in petroleum engineering include:

• Conventional reservoir engineering: understanding gas storage and migration processes in reservoirs with expertise in reservoir engineering, site characterisation, reservoir simulation, coupled flow and geomechanical simulation, as well as mathematical and numerical modelling.
  
  These capabilities are being applied in petroleum exploration and recovery as well as in the geological storage of carbon dioxide.

• Unconventional reservoir engineering: integrating laboratory experimentation and novel numerical modelling to meet the challenges and improve the management of gas production from coal seam reservoirs.
  
  Coal seam reservoirs are more complex than conventional gas reservoirs; the gas in coal seams is stored by adsorption within the coal matrix and must desorb and migrate into the coal cleat or fracture system to be produced. Coal swells with gas adsorption and shrinks with desorption affecting coal permeability.
  
  Coal permeability is also sensitive to effective stress within coal, thus there is coupling between gas migration and the geomechanical processes within the coal seam.

• CSIRO is providing technologies to help improve Australia's oil and gas self-sufficiency and for a low emissions future.
  Hydraulic fracturing: developing a comprehensive understanding of hydraulic fracture mechanics through theoretical development and laboratory and field experimentation. The outcomes of this research and development are applied in mining, geothermal, carbon dioxide storage, conventional petroleum and unconventional gas applications to ensure a direct path to impact.

• Wells and subsea technologies: developing and implementing high impact technology in the form of processes, tools and services for drilling, completions, production, subsea systems and flow assurance to maximise oil and gas recovery.

• Drilling geomechanics: applying theoretical and practical approaches to improve drilling performance. 
  
  Sophisticated mathematical models are being developed to interpret drilling measurements with the aim of enhancing penetration rate, reducing detrimental vibrations and optimising control of rotary steerable systems for directional drilling.
  
  The drilling mechanics laboratory has specialised equipment to characterise the bit-rock interface for roller-cone, polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) and diamond impregnated bits.
  
  The laboratory is also equipped with novel devices to analyse the self-excited vibrations of drilling systems and the steerability of drill bits.

• Gas processing and conversion: conducting chemical and process engineering directed at gas engineering, including catalyst testing and analysis, gas-to-liquid (GTL) equipment design, chemical analysis and characterisation of synthetic fuel products and chemistry and materials science.

Facilities

CSIRO has access to state-of-the-art research facilities and laboratories, equipped with specialised instrumentation and facilities to deliver benefits to both industry and community.

Our laboratories include:

• gas hydrates flow loop facility, the only one of its kind in Australia to help improve the design and operation of offshore oil and gas production pipelines 
• drilling mechanics laboratory
• gas-to-liquids laboratory
• hydraulic fracturing field laboratory
• hydraulic fracturing polyaxial laboratory
• an integrated laboratory facility for characterisation of coal seam permeability
• core flooding laboratory. 

Accessing the capability

CSIRO's ability to integrate our diverse skills with other expertise across CSIRO and with a range of industry and academic collaborators makes us one of the most unique petroleum R&D providers in the world.

We have strategic partnerships and commercial relationships with numerous major oil and gas companies operating within Australia and internationally to ensure our research is targeted directly towards industry needs.

We work with stakeholders to apply our skills and expertise to real industry challenges.

Clients can enter into a number of different business arrangements with CSIRO Petroleum Resources including:

• commercial services
• research partnerships
• industry funded consortiums
• major strategic research alliances
• secondments and staff/student exchange programs.

Read more about CSIRO Petroleum Resources.