Advanced Energy Consortium 

Bureau of Economic Geology

Jackson School of Geosciences

The University of Texas at Austin

John Ullo Consultant (Schlumberger)/AEC
Membership

• BakerHughes

• Shell

• ConocoPhillips 

• Halliburton 

• Marathon

• Occidental

• BP

• Petrobras

• Schlumberger

• Total
Mission

The AEC will drive pre-competitive

research in Micro and Nano Scale Sensors to 

create through collaboration 

a positive disruptive change

in the upstream oil & gas industry.
Micro – Nano Sensing – Where does it fit in?

“Illumination” beyond the wellbore. Drilling is not the answer.

Micro and Nano 

Sensors

1000 m

Range of Investigation

Resolution

1 m 1 km

1m
Energy Landscape 

I - Even though renewable sources of energy will assume a greater 

proportion of energy supply, energy transitions take time

• ~7 % of 2030 Global Energy Demand

• ~20% of 2030 Electricity Demand

II - Fossil fuels will remain a bridge for some time
Improved Reservoir Recovery 

•The best place to find oil and gas is where you already have found it. 

The catch: The easy oil and gas has already come out

• Reservoir recovery factors are typically 35% or less and the average 

size of new discoveries is only 25% of mid-1960s

• Goal is 60-70% eventual recovery using new technology and practices

• What’s the prize? Another trillion BOE
Key Application - Water Flood Recovery

Well # 1 Well # 2
Key Application – Shale Gas Hydraulic Fracturing 

Challenges:

Where did the frac go? (Length, height, asymmetry, width, azimuth)

What portion of the frac network actually produces? (actual drainage pattern)

Microseismic mapping is the dominant monitoring capability today

What if we could image the fracturing fluid/proppant in real time?
Shale Gas Resources

Unconventional Gas

North America ~ 8,228 TCF

Proved reserves ~ 2,074 TCF 

US consumption ~ 23 TCF (EIA)
AEC Highlights

Research

• 35 Projects

AEC Publications

• 4 Internal

AEC –Funded Articles

• 40+ Publications, 

including conferences 

• 23 Papers for journals

• 2 held for patent

• After 22 months

Patents

• Multiple provisionals

– With more under discussion
Research Collaborations
UFMG

UFABC

Univ Oklahoma

CalTech

LSU

Univ. New Mexico

Rice Univ

TAMU

Univ. Houston

UT Austin

Univ. Calgary

Alberta Research Council

Univ. Alberta

CNRS 

(FR)

Worldwide Bergen

26 Universities 

& Research 

Institutions 

Univ. Michigan

Penn State

Northeastern

Boston College

Harvard

Tufts

Boston University

RPI

UNC

Univ. Pittsburgh

Northwestern

Large Pins = Primaries, Small Pins = Collaborators

TNO 

(NL)
AEC Research Portfolio Taxonomy:

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

MODELING & SIMULATION

MOBILITY

SENSORS

MICRO-FABRICATED

NANOMATERIAL

CONTRAST AGENTS
Emerging Devices and Materials

Microfabricated devices - NWs, NTs, QDots

molecular devices spin devices (no power) 

MEMS Pressure

Contrast agents Nanomaterial - hc 

reporter

Nanomaterial tracers Nanomaterial - graphene 

pressure
Grand Challenges

 Mobility: Enable nanoparticle transport at the km scale in a 

heterogenous, multi-component, multi-phase subsurface reservoir with 

harsh temperature and pressure.

 Remote Communications: RF strongly attenuated in brine. Antennas 

must be nanoscale. Desire km range – no known technique yet

 Geolocation: Value of information greatly increases when geolocated. 

Subsurface GPS system not foreseen

 System Miniaturization: 10 to 1 cubic microns, integrated sensor 

package

 Synthesis & Manufacturing: Scalability to needed production quantities
Leverage research investments a factor of ten and more

Acceleration of progress up a steep learning curve through 

mentors and collaborators

Avoid capital investment of expensive equipment

Direct engagement with selection, content and direction of 

research

Training future researchers

AEC Value Proposition