MEDIA ADVISORY: Researchers to begin new test to rejuvenate oil industry in Kansas

LAWRENCE -- University of Kansas researchers and industry partners could begin a new chapter in Kansas oil production by injecting carbon dioxide into an oil field near Russell to test an oil recovery technique. If the test is successful, the process could revive oil production in Kansas by producing millions of barrels of oil over several years, potentially worth $1 billion or more.

WHEN: Noon-3:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4. The event begins at noon with a luncheon and program, followed by a 2 p.m. ceremony at an oil field near Russell. The event concludes with a 3 p.m. tour of the nearby U.S. Energy Partners ethanol plant.

WHERE: Dole-Specter Conference Center, The AmericInn, 1430 South Fossil, Russell. The event includes a bus trip to the carbon dioxide injection site at the Hall-Gurney Field, a few miles southeast of Russell, where the carbon dioxide injection pump will be turned on in a ceremony, followed by a drive-through tour of U.S. Energy Partners ethanol plant. The plant is providing some of the carbon dioxide used in the test.

WHO: KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway will attend. Other dignitaries invited are U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, Kansas Lt. Gov. John Moore and U.S. Department of Energy officials. Industry partners include Murfin Drilling Co. Inc., Wichita; Kinder Morgan CO2 Co., Houston; John O. Farmer Inc., Russell; White Eagle Resources Corp., Louisville, Colo.; EPCO Carbon Dioxide Partners Inc., Monroe, La.; and U.S. Energy Partners LP, Russell. Other participants in the project are KU's Kansas Geological Survey, the KU School of Engineering's Tertiary Oil Recovery Project, the KU Energy Research Center, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing, and the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp.

DIRECTIONS: From Interstate 70, take Exit 184. Turn north from exit onto U.S. Highway 281 toward Russell. AmericInn is located on the left before entering Russell.