About

In 1991, the Gas Research Institute (GRI) in Chicago, Illinois and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in Morgantown, West Virginia funded a cooperative project to design and construct a one-of-a-kind, above-ground fracture simulator to measure fluid properties under conditions representative of the downhole environment.

It was developed in partnership with MTS Systems Corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Halliburton Energy Services in Duncan, Oklahoma, and RE/SPEC, Inc. in Rapid City, South Dakota, who worked with the University of Oklahoma's Schools of Petroleum Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering to design and build the facility.

WCTC is an advanced technology research center that incorporates high pressure, high temperature fluid flow applications using both field scale and lab scale equipment for the oil industry. It integrates studies into fluid flow applications with respect to coiled tubing, fracturing and drilling operations. The facility is an extension of the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering (MPGE) and functions in conjunction with Sarkeys Energy Center.

Started initially under the name of Fracturing Fluid Characterization Facility (FFCF), the facility changed its name to Well Construction Technology Center (WCTC) in 1999 to reflect the OU's new strategies for commercialization, as well as the expanding capabilities of this North Campus research facility such as drilling, completions and production. The new name encompassed the broad spectrum of the petroleum industry and more clearly defined WCTC's role within it. 

WCTC has been carrying out extensive research in the coiled tubing fluid flow aspect under the Coiled Tubing Consortium which was started in 1996. These projects are funded primarily by the oil and gas companies involved with the consortium.

Various other studies that are in the scope of WCTC include but are not limited to Fracturing and Drilling Fluid Characterization, Evaluation and Assessment of Various Fluid Systems (foam fluid, brines, crosslinked gels, etc.) in coiled tubing as well as straight tubing and Proppant Transport Behaviour.

The facility is operated as an independent and self-supporting entity within the organizational structure of the University of Oklahoma. It is an extension of the educational research activities of the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering and the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy which operates in conjunction with Sarkeys Energy Center. This arrangement has proven beneficial for WCTC due to availability in a wide variety of specialized services and expertise within the university, MPGE and Sarkeys Energy Center.

WCTC's Director is responsible for all phases of the facility operation with special emphasis on coordination of technical efforts and marketing activities. The facility also has a technical research team whose primary function is to develop and carry out research projects, assist in the design of specific test plans and analyze test data. The team consists of faculty, research associates, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and visiting scholars from industry, and is responsible for conducting research to improve the theoretical prediction of fluid behavior and fracture propagation in complex reservoir systems.