tuesday, december 2, 2003
news
the university daily kansan 3A
Grant gives old Kansas oil fields chance at revival
By Amber Bylaray
abyarlay@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The University of Kansas will try to revive the state's old oil fields with a $2.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The University's engineering school is involved in the project through the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project.
Members of the project have developed processes that will allow engineers to get hard-toreach oil from reservoirs. Now, field tests will be done to determine how well the processes work.
The work will begin Thursday at the Hall-Gurney field southeast of Russell. The field was discovered in 1931 and has produced oil since then. The field's oil output has decreased by half in
the last decade, with only 500,000 barrels of oil produced in 2001.
Field tests will involve pumping carbon dioxide into the reservoirs. The carbon dioxide will loosen oil that is stuck in the reservoir. The rock in the reservoir is porous and oil is inside the pores in the rock, said Paul Willhite, co-director and co-manager of the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project.
To get the oil out of those pores, the scientists will put about 22 tons of liquid carbon dioxide into the reservoir daily. After six months, scientists will alternate putting in water and carbon dioxide for four years.
The water will be used to keep the carbon dioxide in the reservoir so it can displace the oil. Once the oil is loosened, it will be pumped out of the reservoir and stored in tanks. Inside the storage tanks, the carbon dioxide will be
"It's sort of serendipitous there is a power plant that produces CO2 that's near this field."
Paul Willhite
Location of Hall-Gurney oil field
Co-director and co-manager of the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project
released into the air, Willhite said.
"It comes out in a solution, like opening a warm bottle of soda," Willhite said.
The University of Kansas received $2.3 million to use carbon dioxide to displace oil trapped in rock. Field work for this research will take place at the Hall-Gurney field Thursday.
About 50 percent of the carbon dioxide will come out with the oil. The other 50 percent will remain underground. Willhite said.
The carbon dioxide will come from a power plant near the oil field. The plant produces ethanol, which is used in fuels. Carbon
dioxide is created as a waste product when the ethanol is made.
"It's sort of serendipitous there is a power plant that produces CO2 that's near this field." Willhite said. "We were originally going to truck it from the panhandle of Oklahoma."
Sean Smith/Kansan
If field tests go well, the process can be used in oil fields through
out Kansas and could boost the state's economy.
Researchers for the project include University faculty and professional staff of the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project and the Kansas Geological Survey, said Martin Dubois, research geologist at the Kansas Geological Survey.
Dubois said students helped
create the process. Students are not expected to participate in the field experiments.
The project's overall cost is about $4.7 million. Matching funds from the Kansas Geological Survey and operating partners are financing the field work.
Edited by Joey Berlin
Beef prices increase, make meals costly
By Steve Schmidt
sschmidt@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Businesses and consumers alike have a beef with increased beef prices.
In the U.S. Labor Department's latest Consumer Price Index, the price of beef and veal rose 3.8 percent in October. It was the biggest jump in 24 years.
As in similar situations with price increases, there's no one reason for the price increase. Instead, those who work in the industry point to several causes.
jim Lewis is the owner of Checkers Foods, 2300 Louisiana St. He said prices started going up when a mad cow disease scare in Canada in late spring this year caused an American ban on all Canadian beef.
He said that prices had gone down a little in the last couple of
weeks compared to a month ago, but that prices were still relatively high. For example, before the hike he could buy briskets for $1 a pound. That's now up to $1.59 per pound. In general, the beef prices have gone up about 25 percent at his store.
"It's a supply-and-demand thing," Lewis said. "We just evaluate it a week at a time."
That supply and demand has been complicated by many other factors, including nature.
Prologo said that beef prices at his store had actually gone down in the last two weeks. A month ago, his store was forced to
increase prices by about 50 percent.
A recent national drought meant farmers didn't have the luxury to fatten up their cattle as much because of higher feed prices, said Frank Prolago, meat market manager at Hy-Vee Food Stores, 3504 Clinton Parkway.
Prices on meats such as boneless rib eye and tenderloins remain high at his store but are always high this time of year, Prologo said.
It appears restaurants have taken the hardest hit, especially the main cattle consumers: steak houses.
Some of the prices on meat cuts at Hereford House have risen 80 percent during the last four months, said Doug Holiday, the manager of the restaurant located at 4931 W. 6th St.
"The prices aren't going to come down anytime soon," Holiday said.
In fact his restaurant's meat supplier projects meat prices won't be back down until 2005.
The beef increase led to Herford House raising prices $1 on most cuts. Holiday said that
because his restaurant only used choice and prime meat that the increase had been exceptionally tough to swallow.
Gary Bartz can sympathize with Holiday.
Bartz is the owner and operator of Don's Steak House, 2176 E. 23rd St. He said that even though beef prices had gone up by about 30 percent, his menu prices hadn't changed, but they might if prices didn't decline soon.
He credits the price increase mostly to an overall shortage of cattle.
The increase has had the biggest effect on the restaurant's premier cuts of tenderloin, rib loin and strip loin. Bartz said.
"Those are the things we use," Bartz said, "and those are the ones taking a beating."
— Edited by Abby Sidesinger
Campus
Tickets remain for show of Mo Rocca at Union
He is a chief senior political analyst on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a commentator for VH1's I Love the '80s and a media gadfly.
At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Mo Rocca will be in the Kansas Union Ballroom presenting "Making It Up As I Go Along: Satire in an Absurd World."
Sean Pauzauskie, Student Union Activities forums coordinator, said Rocca's comedy appealed to students.
"The show will be an extended bit of Mo's comedy à la The Daily Show," he said.
Pauzauskie said SUA chose Rocca from a list of 15 candidates, including author Sylvia Nasser, actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, actor B.D. Wong and Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
Yesterday Pauzauskie said there were 450 tickets left for the event. Tickets are available at the Student Union Activities box office.
Tickets cost $7 with a KUID and $10 without. For more information call 864-SHOW.
Amanda Kim Stairret
Watkins HIV screenings canceled for tomorrow
Because of "unforeseen circumstances," Watkins Memorial Health Center will not offer free HIV testing tomorrow.
The testing was to be funded by a grant from Abbott Laboratories, a company from Abbott Park, Ill.
Melissa Smith, health education director at Watkins, said a mix-up between Watkins and Abbott caused the cancellation.
Watkins wants to offer the free testing sometime early next semester, Smith said.
Danielle Hillix
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