James Sorensen

Biography

James A. Sorensen is the Director of Subsurface R&D at the EERC, where he is responsible for developing and managing programs and projects focused on conventional, unconventional, and enhanced oil and gas production; the geological storage of CO2; geothermal; and other energy and environmental research. His primary areas of interest and expertise are enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in unconventional tight oil formations, CO2 utilization and storage in geologic formations, and tight oil resource assessment and development. Since 2003, Mr. Sorensen has focused on the value-added use of CO2 for EOR. From 2003 to 2015, as a Task Leader for the Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership Program, he was a manager and principal investigator for regional characterization and field demonstration activities focused on CO2 storage, including field-based projects in North Dakota, Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia. Since 2009, he has conducted a variety of research projects to develop an improved understanding of the Bakken petroleum system, including efforts to examine the potential to use CO2 and hydrocarbon-rich gas for EOR in the Bakken. In 2011, Mr. Sorensen conducted an assessment of North American tight oil resources that was included as a section in the National Petroleum Council’s report to the U.S. Secretary of Energy on the potential of North America’s abundant natural gas and oil resources. He has led the design and execution of several pilot-scale EOR injection tests using CO2 and hydrocarbon-rich gas into conventional and unconventional tight reservoirs. Mr. Sorensen holds a bachelor of science degree in Geology and a master of engineering degree in Petroleum Engineering from UND. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, serves on the Alumni Advisory Committee of the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering at UND, and is an author or coauthor of over 30 published papers.