By Pratap John/Chief Business Reporter

Global energy major Total is optimistic about the prospects of potentially game-changing research activities being undertaken by its research facility in Doha with focus on petroleum geochemistry and acid stimulation.
“At our QSTP facility, the team of researchers has already developed some valuable ideas on petroleum geochemistry, which may lead to some patents later,” said Total E&P Qatar Managing Director, Stephane Michel.
Petroleum geochemistry is the application of chemical principles to the study of the origin, migration, accumulation, and alteration of petroleum that includes oil and natural gas.
Michel said the carbonates-focused research activities at the Total Research Centre, Qatar (TRC-Q) were due to the nature of the country’s offshore reservoirs.
“Most of our reservoirs offshore are carbonates-based. Such reservoirs are very complex…very difficult to understand how they produce. Our research helps us better understand these reservoirs and develop valuable ideas that can lead to better management of these valuable resources,” Michel said.
Already, Total and Qatar Petroleum have signed a research and technology project agreement on carbonates acid stimulation.
This project aims at increasing hydrocarbons production in Qatar by addressing a major concern in carbonates oil and gas fields —significantly improving the efficiency of acid stimulation.
Carbonates’ nature is that they dissolve in acid. Thus, the main idea of the QP – Total project is “simple and straightforward” - injecting acid in wells dissolves a part of the rocks, thus improving the permeability of the reservoirs and, hence, the productivity of the producing wells.
The joint research between QP and Total will especially focus on highly permeability contrasted formations and, at the same time, mitigate unwanted water production.
Michel said Total considered research programmes vital and spent more than $1bn globally on such activities every year.  
“At QSTP we get the support of researchers from Qatar Petroleum, and together, we aim to develop our expertise in some of the areas including geochemistry and acid stimulation,” he said.
Total Research Centre in Qatar was inaugurated at the Qatar Science and Technology Park in 2009, with some three fully operational labs in geochemistry, acid stimulation and petrochemicals.
TRC-Q has defined a research programme with various challenging issues, including Qatar air quality modelling, carbonate reservoirs, multiphase flow modeling and petrochemicals.
It has more than 20 staff and two “secondees” from Qatar Petroleum.
Moreover, TRC-Q receives internship candidates from different educational institutions in Qatar and abroad.
Besides QP, Total has research collaboration with Qatargas on an air quality research project, Qatar Foundation and Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) for an air quality monitoring system, Texas A&M University at Qatar, and Qatar University for high quality research and development projects.
In addition, TRC-Q aims at bringing forward its expertise in the academic medium through its participation in various advisory boards, such as the Gas Processing Centre at Qatar University.
The global energy major’s research centre supports Qatar’s 2030 vision for human development through its high-level trainings, which are regularly offered to its partner institutions.
The first results of research and development conducted at Total Research Centre in Qatar have gained official recognition by winning the 2011 Award for the “Best R&D energy research programme” in petrochemicals, in the QF Annual Research Forum.