E&P Magazine - August 2007
As I See It
Contracts protect offshore fabricators
Tight offshore construction markets give service companies leverage in setting protective terms.
Taking the technology plunge
Trying something different is always a hard sell, but it can sometimes pay enormous dividends.
Cover Story
Induced fractures
Now, more than any time I can remember, this industry seems to be riven by serious fractures.
Drilling Technologies
Stop the presses - offshore drillers doing well
This and some other, not-so-obvious developments are spotted on a recent tour of the drilling landscape.
Completions and Production
CNG reaches for market potential
Energy transportation system offers innovative approach to the future development of offshore reserves.
Perforation cleanup promotes flow
Technology sweeps debris during perforation operations.
Special Report
Features
Make a difference in Barbados
First licensing round offers frontier opportunity.
Tech Watch
Human creativity finds a way
It's fun to look back and marvel at man's capacity for innovation.
Tech Trends
Manage disaster recovery
With increased spending on disaster recovery planning, the demand for additional data center space has increased. Third-party facilities, or "managed data centers" can help meet DRP demands.
Activity Highlights
We'll never run out of energy
How's that for provocative? Peter W. Huber and Mark P. Mills are pleased to tell you why they think so in "The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, The Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy."
Last Word
Shoot through steel and rock
The story of the early casing perforation tools is one involving a failed design, two newcomers, a risky test and a landslide of work.
Activity Spotlight
Chevron approved for China gas field
China gas
Chevron plans Makassar work
Pacific Rim gas
DOE-Led Partnership Creates Tool to Raise Output of Non-Conventional Natural Gas
Improves Ability to Optimize Development of Reserves Critical to Domestic Production
IHS acquires John S. Herold Inc.
Independent research firm adds global energy company analysis to IHS data & insight strength.
IHS Launches Comprehensive Energy Data Portfolio on New Zealand
Package Saves Energy Explorationists and New Venture Teams Time, Effort, Money
Iraqi Kurds pass oil regulations
Iraq oil
Paradigm completes modernization of Russian Geophysical Data Center
Paradigm equips Saratovneftegeofizika data center with the latest data processing and interpretation software and equipment.
PetroChina seeks onshore gas partner
China gas
Russians claim North Pole
North Pole
WesternGeco Expands Wide-Azimuth Surveys in the Gulf of Mexico
E-Octopus multiclient surveys lead technological step-change with new magnetotelluric measurements and onboard depth migration
YUKOS seeks missing $10 billion
Russia Yukos
Another Perspective
Crack the reservoir code
Fracture monitoring technology allows operators to optimize treatments in the field in real time.
Extend horizontal openhole gravel packing
New tools and ultralightweight proppants enable routine horizontal gravel packing of openhole wells in ultradeep waters in very low-fracture-gradient environments once considered impossible to pack.
Find a new production wave
Surges increase dispersion and penetration of injected fluids.
Get timely access to trusted data
Legacy data management improves the efficiency of the geological data workflow.
Global challenges drive multilateral drilling
Today's market conditions and industry fundamentals are the new driving force behind an upsurge in multilateral drilling to address challenges faced by production companies.
Imaging brings new insights to reservoirs
Borehole visualization identifies geologic details in complex formation characterizations.
Integration aids for reservoir characterization
The integration of formation testing and magnetic resonance provides a useful assessment of reservoir fluid type, hydrocarbon properties and permeability.
Jonah liberated by technology
Microseismic mapping optimizes effectiveness of frac jobs.
Multilateral technology then and now
Multilateral wells have been around more than half a century, but how much do you know about their history?
New materials extend drilling reach
Advanced drillstring technologies offer potential for pushing the ERD envelope.
New technology gives Wilmington field new life
Advanced reservoir characterization and thermal production technologies are increasing heavy oil reserves in the 73-year-old Wilmington oil field.
Optimize multizone fracturing
Carefully coordinated pumping-and-perforating operation safely and effectively stimulates 253 zones in five wells - in just 17 days.
Raise production with fewer wells
Hard-core analysis revealed potential in Russian wells.
Reach further with a single-diameter well bore
Coupling single-diameter technology with extended reach drilling mitigates many critical factors that limit reach.
Shell enhances enhanced recovery
Technology moves recovery toward 70% through improvements in EOR.
International Spotlight
Transcend disciplinary borders
The 1980s witnessed a major downturn in oil prices followed by the '90s with sustained rock bottom prices. As a result new investments in exploration & production were curtailed across the industry.
World Map
EM comes of age
Apparently companies that provide electromagnetic surveys are proving their worth - geophysical contractors are gobbling them up at a frenzied rate.