Since the turn of the century, Louisiana has led the way for the energy industry. Now, LSU has created Power Players, which combines the research on clean energy, energy law, energy processes, and alternative energy to create a team with a common goal of taking the energy industry to the next level.
Among these areas of research, one group here at LSU found a new way to approach the challenge of retrieving trapped oil from reservoirs. 
“We have come up with a process called gas-assisted gravity drainage a few years back,” said Dandina N. Rao, Ph.D., Professor of Petroleum Engineering. “LSU was able to get a patent on this in the United States…We hope to see a fair amount of field applications.”
The traditional means of obtaining oil only give us 5 to 10 percent of the oil within the reservoir. This research will give 65 to 90 percent of the oil, increasing our productivity in the oil industry.
“It’s really a very gas-effective, cost-effective, and environmentally beneficial process that gives you much better recoveries than what we are doing today,” explained Rao. 
The main difference between this process and the traditional way of obtaining oil is that the gas is injected vertically, rather than horizontally. The majority of the gas remains under the ground and can be reused rather than releasing into the atmosphere. 
“We are actually fighting with nature in this process called water alternating gas, and that is the default process,” said Rao. “The GAGD process works with nature.”
Although the research LSU is conducting is exciting for some, others in the LSU community think it could be done differently. 
“LSU should be a leader in that department and go towards sustainable energy rather than fossil fuels,” said Carrie Martinez, International Studies: Environment and Development Major. “All of that dirty energy, that is not going to help our planet in the whole.”
If you are interested in the current activities of the Power Players, visit the Power Players website or contact them at [email protected].