Newswise — While gas prices remain above $2 a gallon in many areas of the nation as the summer travel season approaches, researchers at the University of Missouri-Rolla are working in Missouri to develop a technique that may lessen the nation's reliance on foreign oil.
UMR researchers are studying the heavy oil deposits in Vernon County, Mo., in the western part of the state near Joplin, Mo. Throughout this area oil can be found just 160 feet below the Earth's surface. This is considered extremely shallow, especially when one considers that oil is usually found thousands of feet beneath the surface, says Dr. Shari Dunn-Norman, associate professor of petroleum engineering, who is leading UMR's research effort.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, heavy oil, like that found in Missouri, makes up 9 percent of oil in the United States. Other states, including Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, have similar oil deposits and could benefit from using this recovery technique as well. While Missouri is not known as a major oil-producing state, experts have estimated that it has the equivalent of more than two billion barrels lying beneath its surface. "The implication to the economy in the state of Missouri is enormous," says Dunn-Norman. "UMR, having the only petroleum engineering program in the state, is leading the way in technology in demonstrating how to develop this natural resource.
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