American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2017 - 22

Today's PTTC
Is Following The Lead
Of Predecessors
At this year's Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition, I presented some new ideas
that have their roots in the work of my predecessors.
In fact, I had the opportunity to partner with Lanny Schoeling
from NeoTek Energy and Tom Williams from the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America to develop a methodology
for transferring technology beyond 2020. The paper, Development
of a Technology Transfer Model in the 2020 Era for the Oil and
Gas Industry (SPE-187239-MS), takes the work my co-authors
developed in the 1990s, modernizes it, and builds on it using
data from the last 20 years to support the model into the future.
The premise of the paper is straightforward: Technology
transfer is difficult in every industry, however, the oil and gas industry has had it especially hard with volatile commodity prices,
variability of technology sources and regulatory uncertainty.
In 1994, Schoeling and others presented a paper titled, Development of a Model Technology Transfer Program to Assist
Independent Operators, which outlined a model for independent
operators to utilize new technology to reduce the well abandonments
common at the time and to increase overall production for the
long term. We expanded and updated the idea behind this work
specifically for today's more challenging operating environments.
Our intent is for companies to continue to take advantage of
technology and best practices in ways that optimize operations,
improve economics and secure production far into the future.
In the 2017 paper, we describe a program that operators can
use for quick access to technology without significant costs,
while increasing oil production and lowering operating expenses.
We outline five fundamental components of the methodology:
* Technology leadership guided by industry to initiate and
manage the technology transfer process;
* Problem identification activities that help create a twoway dialogue between industry and a leadership organization;
* Documented demonstration projects rooted in problem
identification activities;
* Focused technology workshops that disseminate demonstration project findings; and
* Regional resource centers with outreach resources serving
as local and online repositories for easy access by industry.
If these five components are developed and disseminated by
a leadership organization, our data show that the industry, innovation and investment begin to come together to promote widespread acceptance of the technology in question.
This paper also specifically addresses the needs of the
modern oil and gas operator who does not have-or has only
limited access to-industry research laboratories, government
funding and university programs. This was the original approach
for the Kansas Technology Transfer Model (KTTM), which
had problem identification as a major component of its success.
The model was designed to match oil operators' needs with
the proper technology, expertise and services to solve the
problem. This multidisciplinary approach considered engineering
as well as all the geological and geophysical scientific disciplines.
22 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

"Our goal is to stand on the work of programs
such as the KTTM, PTTC and RPSEA."
For the model to succeed, it was essential that the program have
a very active industry advisory board composed of a multidisciplinary mix of board members.
The original model contained four key components:
* Problem identification workshops;
* Technology workshops and seminars;
* Documented demonstration projects; and
* Resource centers.
After developing the KTTM, in 1994 the Department of
Energy worked with the Independent Petroleum Association of
America, universities and state geological surveys to develop
the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council. PTTC was established
to help U.S. independent oil and gas producers make timely
and informed technology decisions, and still functions today.
Like the KTTM, the idea behind PTTC was to help independent
producers access and utilize emerging technology and best
practices. PTTC programs and activities have included technology
workshops, resource centers, websites, newsletters and other
outreach efforts, all guided by regional producer advisory groups.
Then in 2002, RPSEA was established as a nonprofit, national
consortium that provided focused research and development to
deploy safe and environmentally sensitive technology that could
deliver hydrocarbons from domestic resources to the American
people. Its membership consists of the nation's premier research
universities, national labs, other major research institutions,
large and small energy producers, and energy consumers. Technology transfer has been a cornerstone of the RPSEA program,
and RPSEA and PTTC continue to work together in developing
strategies for meetings, trade shows, technical conferences, and
regional and national workshops throughout the United States.
Our goal is to stand on the work of programs such as the
KTTM, PTTC and RPSEA, utilize their successes, and expand
them into a methodology that embraces emerging communication
technology and takes technology beyond 2020. The strategies
and techniques are not limited only to independent producers.
Market conditions urge all producers to explore emerging
technology to improve production and optimize each well.
r

JEREMY VISCOMI is the Mid-

Continent regional lead for
the Petroleum Technology
Transfer Council. He has more
than a decade of experience
in developing and organizing
technical conferences and special events, primarily in the
oil and gas industry.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2017

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