Major energy companies, Total and GDF Suez and their common solar cells manufacturing subsidiary Photovoltech, have partnered with the IMEC industrial affiliation program (IIAP) on the next generation of crystalline silicon solar cells.
The multi-partner R&D program concentrates on reducing the silicon use, while at the same time increasing the efficiency of solar cells that will substantially lower the cost for solar energy.
The companies will set up a research ecosystem to develop advanced processes for the next generation solar cells and test them on a semi-industrial pilot line.
Johan Nijs, General Manager of Photovoltech said, “In order to cope with market requirements in terms of price and quality we need to deliver solar cells with ever improving electrical, optical and mechanical characteristics at lower cost. Collaborating with an outstanding R&D-center like IMEC offers unique opportunities to meet these challenges.”
Said Ordin Husa, Managing Director of Roxar Software Solutions:
“EnABLE™2.3 is a new milestone in uncertainty quantification and history matching for operators.By performing assisted history matching and production forecasting using EnABLE™2.3, optimum bid valuations, new field development and operational plans can all be identified within the context of reservoir uncertainty.”
“For operators wishing to accelerate the history matching process, optimize their plans, and gain a more accurate understanding of production ranges, there is no more valuable reservoir engineering tool on the market today than EnABLE™2.3 – a solution which opens up a host of new options for the simulation process.”
EnABLE™ speeds up existing simulation projects considerably (up to a factor of four) through assisted history matching by intelligently updating the parameters that you would like to modify, submitting simulation runs to your reservoir simulator, and reading the results of the simulation. Each simulation run is used to build a statistical proxy model that is used to get quicker multiple history matches and production forecasts.
The key highlights of EnABLE™ 2.3, which applies directly into operators’ current workflows and functions at every stage of the field life, include:
· EnABLE™ 2.3 has Improved Ease of Use through simplified workflows, workflow diagrams, and navigation tools. This allows users, at all levels of expertise, to rapidly introduceEnABLE™ into their existing workflows.
· EnABLE™ 2.3 comes with Additional Diagnostics Capabilities, which makes the history matching process more efficient.
· EnABLE™ 2.3 comes with an Estimator Analyzer, which is very useful to perform quick ‘What-If’ analysis or to choose a representative uncertainty model. This provides a better understanding of the reservoir, all within a consistent interactive module, and allows for immediate answers, without having to run a time consuming simulation model.
· EnABLE™ 2.3 includes Statistical Engine Enhancements with changes to the estimator (the underlying heart of EnABLE™) to improve the way it approximates the reservoir simulation model and to improve the handling of discrete geological models.
· EnABLE™ 2.3 has New and Improved Reservoir Simulator Interfaces for submitting and importing results of a reservoir simulation. New simulator interfaces include FrontSim, Nexus, PBRS and Acres, providing maximum flexibility to the user. In addition, EnABLE™ 2.3 works even more seamlessly with Roxar’s Tempest™ simulation solution and other mainstream simulators, such as Eclipse. EnABLE™ 2.3 can read Tempest ™ and Eclipse binary files, making the process faster and avoiding memory storage issues. It also works with an Eclipse Multiple Realization license. Furthermore, restart function integration for both Tempest™ and Eclipse saves time, while performing predictions.
· EnABLE™’ 2.3 also has an Improved Infrastructure with an easy to use installation tool that works in both Windows and LINUX environments. In addition, the licensing of EnABLE™ has now migrated to the same licensing system as Roxar’s other products.
Roxar creates value for its customers through its Reservoir Interpretation, Reservoir Modelling, Reservoir Simulation, Well and Completion, Production and Process Solutions and Consultancy Services.
About Roxar
Roxar is a leading international technology solutions provider to the upstream oil and gas industry. The company creates value for its customers through innovative products and services that help achieve maximum performance from oil and gas reservoirs.
With its head offices in Stavanger, Norway, Roxar employs over 850 staff and has 28 offices in 19 countries with a network of wholly owned offices in Europe, the Americas, Africa, CIS, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
Roxar’s International customer base includes all of the multinationals, major independents and the majority of national oil companies.
On May 5 2009, Roxar was acquired by Emerson (NYSE: EMR), a diversified global manufacturing and technology company with more than 140,000 employees and approximately 265 manufacturing locations worldwide. Roxar will be part of Emerson Process Management.
For Further Information
Hege Forus, Roxar
Tel:
Email: hege.forus@roxar.com