Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2014TX469B

Increasing Water Security through Horizontal Wells

Institute: Texas
Year Established: 2014 Start Date: 2014-03-01 End Date: 2015-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $9,369 Total Non-Federal Funds: $54,643

Principal Investigators: Hongbin Zhan, Ben Blumenthal

Project Summary: Access to reliable water supplies is of high priority given the likelihood of drought and growing population in regions such as Texas. Emerging technologies in water resources will provide means for improving water security, especially horizontal wells. During year one, horizontal well costs have been quantified and are modeled deterministically. The first year of study has also been devoted to understanding flow to a horizontal well and associated wellbore energy loss (friction). Our novel treatment of horizontal well flow equations has facilitated a better understanding of flux along the wellbore which is pivotal to horizontal well aquifer storage and recovery (ASR). During year two we will use results from our innovative model to drive specific research goals. Generally, we will be investigating the use of horizontal wells for ASR.