The University of Wyoming (UW) and scientific and technical instrument manufacturer FEI will advance digital rock technology for the oil and gas industry through a partnership, the university said Aug. 28. FEI will provide state-of-the-art imaging equipment, software and support for cutting-edge digital rock research for conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas reservoirs.

Precision 2-D and 3-D pore-scale images created through FEI’s digital rock technology will inform decisions on how to optimize drilling and production. Additionally, UW will install an environmental transmission electron microscope from FEI, which will be the first atomic-resolution microscope to be used for nano-scale characterization of pore spaces in oil and gas.

Because multiphase and multicomponent flow and transport phenomena are still poorly understood, there are limited strategies for both hydrocarbon extraction and geological storage of carbon dioxide, the university said.

The Wyoming Legislature’s state matching program will contribute $24 million, which is equal to the cost of equipment and support provided by FEI.

The investment will create the new Center of Innovation for Flow in Porous Media, which will fund research into maximizing recovery from reservoirs, particularly subsurface flows. The program is part of UW’s Tier-1 engineering initiative and the School of Energy Resources’ strategic areas of concentration.

The center will be in the High Bay research facility. The equipment will be installed in third-quarter 2015 through the end of 2016. The center is scheduled to open by summer 2016. Wyoming Excellence Chair in Petroleum Engineering Mohammad Piri will lead the center. His research focuses on the micro- and core-scale physics of flow and transport in man-made and naturally occurring porous media.

“The University of Wyoming is well known for enhanced recovery and other oil and gas research,” said Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead. “We would not be in this enviable position without industry partners like FEI. The generous FEI gift will go a long way to advancing research and pushing the bounds of knowledge about reservoirs for the benefit of all -- our state, UW and the industry.”