Research Scientist and State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery (STARR) program Principal Investigator Dr. Lorena Moscardelli and Program Director Dr. Ian Duncan recently delivered keynote presentations during the 2022 East Texas Geological Society Prospect and Tech Expo in Tyler, Texas. Moscardelli provided attendees with an overview of STARR’s ongoing oil and gas projects in partnership with several Texas operators. The overview included snapshots of technical work by the STARR team on the Frio Formation, the Barnett unconventional play, and the Tannehill sandstone. In addition, STARR’s approach to regional studies was demonstrated using examples from the Lower Cretaceous Pettet Formation in East Texas and the Cisco Group in the Eastern Shelf. Dr. Moscardelli also discussed new STARR initiatives, including ongoing work on salt formations for the purpose of energy storage, including hydrogen storage, as well as new initiatives in geothermal energy and critical minerals.
Dr. Ian Duncan then delivered a talk online on the topic of “Fracking and Refracking,” discussing how refracking wells not optimally fracked is rarely profitable. As a result, refracking in most unconventional plays occurs in only a very small percentage of wells, generally less than one percent. STARR Research Associate Dr. Bo Ren was also in attendance, and both he and Lorena Moscardelli had great interactions with a wide range of operators from the Tyler area. The event was hosted in the beautiful Tyler Rose Garden, and STARR researchers were very grateful for the hospitality of Ernest LaFlue of the East Texas Geological Society and Rich Adams of Carr Resources who had recently visited the STARR team in Austin to discuss an ongoing project on the Strawn Group in Scurry County.
