Research Indicates Diffusion May be Main Oil Recovery Option in Shale Reservoirs

Penn State researchers propose that companies are applying tried-and-true transport mechanisms for conventional oil extraction but are hitting recovery stumbling blocks because they are not accounting for the difference in physics found at unconventional reservoirs. A recent paper, "Diffusion-Dominated Proxy Model for Solvent Injection in Ultratight Oil Reservoirs" was published in the Society of Petroleum Engineers' Journal in December.

Read more about this research at "Understanding physics could lead to big gains in shale oil recovery."