The University of Wyoming has announced a public-private partnership with technical instrument manufacturer FEI.

The $12 million investment by the company, which will be matched by the state, will create a Center of Innovation for Flow in Porous Media and fund research aimed at improving the output of unconventional and conventional oil and gas reservoirs. Among other things, the center will work to advance the science of subsurface flows and develop the tools and knowledge needed to predict the behavior of such flows — an essential component of both carbon recovery and storage.

FEI's digital rock technology will be used to create images and models that deliver valuable information to support critical drilling and production decisions. In addition, UW will install an environmental transmission electron microscope donated by FEI that will be the first atomic-resolution microscope used for nanoscale characterization of pore spaces in oil and gas.

"The collaboration with FEI will elevate the experimental capabilities and capacity in the Center of Innovation for Flow through Porous Media to an unprecedented level," said Wyoming Excellence Chair in Petroleum Mohammad Piri, who will lead the center. "The capabilities in the center will provide our students, faculty, research associates, and partners an array of research opportunities and scientific advantages that has never been possible before here and elsewhere."