Case Study 5 



Energy Resource Recovery 



A numerically intense geological database that descnbes the physical and chemical conditions of the Gulf 

 Coast Basin is assisting the scientists of the Global Basins Research Network to understand the processes 

 that control the movement of oil and gas in sedimentary basins. By visualizing the data scientists are able 

 to observe sedimentary conditions that would otherwise take much longer to investigate. This image 

 depicts the various structures beneath the ocean flow in an area off the shore of Louisiana. Two faults are 

 shown, in addition to three geographic layers: (from bottom) top-of-salt. shale, and sand and shale. 



High performance computing plays an important 

 role in the recovery of non-renewable energy 

 resources. About two-thirds of the U.S. energy 

 supply comes from oil and gas, and although 

 much oil continues to be imported, there are pro- 

 found advantages to domestic production: for 

 example, ensuring a stable supply and price to 

 the consumer. While most large U.S. oil reser- 

 voirs have already been discovered, two-thirds 

 of the oil still remains in old fields after conven- 

 tional recovery technology has been applied. 

 Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using advanced 

 technologies has the potential to recover another 

 100 billion barrels worth about two trillion dol- 

 lars at today's prices. 



Domestic oil and gas producers are working with 

 scientists from other sectors to optimize recov- 

 ery methods for existing petroleum reservoirs. 

 Petroleum industry scientists use reservoir simu- 

 lations run on high performance computers to 

 determine the production potential of reservoirs 

 and the most efficient methods to extract 



petroleum resources before investment in field 

 operations is made. The simulations model large 

 complex field problems quickly, accurately, and 

 efficiently, leading ultimately to reduced recov- 

 ery costs. Research projects combining the 

 expertise of researchers from universities, indus- 

 try, and government focus on ways to improve 

 reservoir simulation methods for flow through 

 porous media, pore-scale multiphase tlow, and 

 hydrocarbon migration. As a technological spin- 

 off, EOR simulation can be applied to remedia- 

 tion strategies for underground, contaminated 

 sites. 



Parallel Algorithms for Modeling Flow in 

 Porous Media 



New parallel algorithms for computational mod- 

 els describing the How of oil and other organic 

 chemicals in porous media are an important 

 technical development. Models employ stochas- 

 tic and conditional simulation and lake into 



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