The GSTC Insider
News, announcements and ideas from the GSTC
Archive
July 11 issue
Welcome to the GSTC on-line newsletter, the GSTC Insider. If you have comments, information or suggestions you would like to share, please feel free to contact us at gstc@ems.psu.edu
- Request for Proposals
- 2008 Fall Meeting, Washington DC (October 21-22, 2008)
- 2008 Transition Plan
- 2008 Spring Meeting Recap
- Testing for the Dilation Strength of Salt
- Storage Field Wellbore Flow Data Containing Water and Hydrates Final Report
Request for Proposals
A Request for Proposals for the GSTC has been released, with proposals due on October 8, 2008 at 4:00PM EST. Proposals are solicited from GSTC Full and University Members in the following focus areas:
- Mechanical
- Well-bore and Reservoir
- Operations
- Salt Cavern
The Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) is providing cost share to GSTC. The current priorities for PRCI are listed below in general rank order:
- Integrity of downhole casings and improved repair methods
- Cement technology – characterizing the performance of available technology, and improving the ability to make cement repairs. Included here are better means to have the cement return to the surface while cementing casings (as is required by code for storage wells).
- Well stimulation (restoration of well performance) methods.
- Monitoring cavern integrity
In addition, the GSTC is seeking to co-fund a technology review that compares and contrasts the technical issues and solutions for underground gas storage. The study is to identify crosscutting technologies that are applicable to both natural gas and carbon dioxide. For this study, the GSTC will limit funding to one award with a $35,000 cap in funding. All proposals received will be heard at the GSTC Fall Meeting, Washington DC on October 21-22, 2008. The RFP is available as a fillable PDF file on the website at http://www.energy.psu.edu/gstc/fundedopp.html.
2008 GSTC Fall Meeting, Washington DC (October 21-22, 2008)
The GSTC 2008 Spring Meeting will be held at the Embassy Suites Washington, Washington DC on October 21-22, 2008. The meeting will include new funding requests, unveiling of the transitional plan, special speakers, as well as technology updates from co-funded projects. The Executive Council will meet immediately following the general meeting to select projects to go forward. The hotel reservation information, to register for the meeting, and the latest information on the meeting will be available on the GSTC website on August 1, 2008 at: http://www.energy.psu.edu/gstc/meetings.html
2008 Transition Plan
The GSTC is in the last year of the DOE contract, therefore the Strategic Planning session at the 2008 Spring Meeting was the opportunity to focus on next steps. Over the next several months, a subset of GSTC members will be putting together a Transition Plan. The group will report the status at the fall meeting. Some of the areas of focus will be:
- Mechanics – identify projects and proposal (pre-proposals)
- Strategic funding – what agreements where and in what time frame, source, level
- What other people to bring in
- What will be the focus and additional possible areas of focus
- What are the industrial needs/opportunities
- Research vs. information vs. hybrid
2008 GSTC Spring Meeting Recap
The 2008 GSTC Spring Meeting was held on April 17-19, 2008 at the Embassy Suites Lakefront, Chicago, IL. Forty-five people attended this two-day meeting. The GSTC received two proposals in response to the proposal request. The meeting was primarily a technology transfer meeting dedicated to eight projects offering technology results. A strategic planning session was held to gather suggestions and comments on how the GSTC can better serve the industry. It was decided to identify small core group to create a transitional plan. The transitional plan will be presented at the Fall Meeting. At the close of the general meeting, the Executive Council met and recommended one proposal to go forward.
Testing for the Dilation Strength of Salt
The GSTC Executive Council recommended the Testing for the Dilation Strength of Salt by RESPEC, Rapid City, SD for co-funding at the spring meeting. Under the direction of Mr. Kerry DeVries, the project will begin July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. The proposed work will focus on improving the methodology for defining the onset of dilation for rock salt. A laboratory testing program on rock salt specimens is proposed using test conditions that are consistent with the stresses that are experienced near the cavern surface during storage operation. The objective is to determine if substantially more information can be derived for a single specimen by subjecting the specimen to multiple load paths. The results are expected to lead to an improved methodology for determining acceptable minimum operating pressures and increased confidence in geomechanical assessments of salt caverns used for natural gas storage.
Storage Field Wellbore Flow Data Containing Water and Hydrates Final Report
The final report for the 2006 project, Storage Field Wellbore Flow Data Containing Water and Hydrates Final Report, Colorado Engineering Experiment Station is available in the members only section of the GSTC website. The objective of this project was to obtain full-scale experimental flow data on the development of hydrate blockages in natural gas storage field wellbores and subsurface flow control valves. CEESE completed the construction of the hydrate wellbore flow test facility, Phase I work. The new test section permits identifying the means to minimize hydrate constrictions and blockages in the wellbore. It further allows identifying mitigation methods for wellbore flow blockages.
To learn more about the GSTC, please contact:
Mr. Joel Morrison (814) 865-4802 or Ms. Sharon Elder (814) 865-9802 or e-mail us at gstc@ems.psu.edu.