The purpose of the Halliburton Rock Mechanics Laboratory is to develop a fundamental understanding of the mechanical behavior of rocks and their responses to simulated downhole conditions of pressure and temperature. This is done through a combination of experimental, numerical, and theoretical research. Emphases are placed on conducting fundamental and applied research on: measurement technology, static and dynamic rock properties determination under in situ loading conditions, mechanical behavior of fluid-saturated porous media, characterization of geological discontinuities, and other engineering or geosciences studies that lead to better understanding of the rock mass. Integral to the research is the goal of contributing to the pool of professional personnel by developing the skills of students in applying rock mechanics concepts to solve field problems in mining, geotechnical, and petroleum engineering.

The Petroleum Production Research Laboratory has two main purposes. The first is to conduct theoretical and experimental research that leads to the development of new and improved completion and production technology, and to the dissemination of information which evolves from such research. Emphasis is placed on fundamental and applied research in the general areas of transport phenomena, multiphase fluid dynamics, fluid rheology, rock mechanics, and optimization techniques as they affect completions and production performance. The second purpose is to contribute to the pool of professional associates in applying engineering techniques and science to the study of important practical problems. Specific projects include the areas of artificial lift technology, productions systems optimization, and integrated production systems design.

The metabolism of microorganisms in petroleum reservoirs can produce products that improve oil-producing operations and increase the recovery of oil as a tertiary process. Microbial processes require little capital investment and are cost effective in many of the reservoirs in Oklahoma and surrounding regions. The main focus of Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) research at OU has been directed toward stimulating the growth of indigenous microorganisms and the in situ generation of microbial products that can result in improved sweep efficiency in waterflooding projects. A field pilot using this process has been completed. The scope of OU's MEOR research has been expanded to include several new projects. Among them are the investigation of the potetials of various processes for microbially enhancing oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs, identification and quantitation of microbial products and their effectiveness in enhanced oil recovery, mathematical simulation of MEOR processes, and control of souring.

Three faculty members in petroleum and geological engineering and two in botany and microbiology directly participate in this cross-discipline research. More than 20 graduate students in petroleum engineering and microbiology have been or are currently supported by MEOR research. Most of these use their MEOR research work as the subjects of their theses.

A special laboratory for Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery research was designed and constructed as part of the University of Oklahoma's Sarkeys Energy Center. The laboratory consists of three connecting rooms to separate important functional research activities. The media make-up room is equipped with incubators, a centrifuge, an autoclave, and an anaerobic chamber with gassing station. Major equipment in the analytic room includes gas and high-pressure liquid chromatographs with an integrator, a microscope with incident-light fluorescence, and an UV-VIS scanning spectrophotometer. The core flooding room is equipped with core holders, pumps, measurement, and other equipment required for core flow experiments. The laboratory is equipped with a microcomputer connected to the University network for communication with other laboratories.

The MEOR Lab offers workshops and training sessions in petroleum microbiology for scientists and engineers in industry, government, and academia. It has developed working relationships with several industries to move this technology into field applications.

The Mobil Thermodynamics Laboratory was developed to serve the disciplines of the Sarkeys Energy Center with primary applications in the areas of petroleum, geological, and chemical engineering, as well as materials science, geology, geophysics, and chemistry.

The Mobil Thermodynamics Laboratory includes instructional and research capabilities for both students and faculty. This interdisciplinary laboratory provides facilities for engineers and scientists in the study of phase behavior plus thermal and physical property measurements, including pressure, volume, temperature, density, composition, viscosity, and surface tension.

The first purpose of this laboratory is to conduct fundamental theoretical and experimental research that leads to the development of improved EOR processes, and enhanced understanding of the thermodynamic properties of oil, gas, and reservoir rocks. Emphasis is placed on fundamental and applied research in the general areas of phase behavior, interfacial properties, fluid properties, composition of oil and gas, and fluid-rock interactions. The second purpose of the Mobil Thermodynamics Laboratory is to contribute to the pool of professionals in applying the knowledge of thermodynamics to the study of practical oil/gas recovery problems.