Bureau Senior Research Scientist Julia Gale addresses a recent Sutur II research meeting
Shell Oil Company and the Bureau of Economic Geology have been partners in many endeavors over the years, but none may have had more impact than the Shell – UT Unconventional Research project, or SUTUR, launched in 2011 with a $7.5 million grant from Shell. SUTUR brought together resources and expertise from both organizations to study hydrocarbon production from shale during the five-year life of the project.
Recently, a fully integrated team of researchers from the Bureau and Shell met in Houston to set the groundwork for SUTUR II, the next phase of the partnership. SUTUR II brings together researchers from a large number of geological and hydrological disciplines to study water issues related to tight oil production in the Permian Basin. The study is a three-year project funded by Shell.
“We’re very excited to be working together with our friends from Shell to look more closely at how water is used and produced in the Permian Basin,” said David Chapman, Bureau project manager for SUTUR II. “It’s not often that you see this level of cooperation and the full integration of academic and industry scientists, and we are really looking forward to seeing the results of this vital research effort in the very near future.”
