E&P Magazine - November 2010
As I See It
Exploration Technologies
OHM, RSI seek a bit of distance
After three years, the two companies decide to realign their businesses.
Drilling Technologies
Machinery, automation, personnel
Roughnecks of the future will be highly skilled technicians with a much greater understanding of highly complex automated systems.
Completions and Production
Do you want pasta with that?
For the first time, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) staged its Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) at an international venue.
Digital Solutions
Digital networks offer lifecycle approach for reservoir communication systems
From the moment the first drilling data are generated to the time the well is eventually shut in, terabytes of data will have flowed in from the field, and hopefully millions of dollars worth of production.
Parallel applications allow scaling beyond the desktop
Scalability and portability are key requirements for a parallel computing environment.
Features
Collaborative thinking leads to innovative intervention system
A new technology provides a cost-effective solution that will close the value/recovery gap between subsea and dry-tree fields.
Concho leaves an oily footprint
Tim Leach and Concho Resources will apply 20 years' experience in the Permian Basin to thousands of locations from the Marbob acquisition.
CSEM performance-tracking improvements provide clearer results
An internal Statoil review of the CSEM performance in exploration shows clear progress with time from early to more recent surveys. The evaluation shows that the results of many of the early surveys are vague or inconclusive, while newer data have a risk impact.
E&P looks at recent advances in drilling automation, control
On land and at sea, automation is changing the way we drill.
EM telemetry transmission technology increases productivity in Western Siberia
Electromagnetic telemetry allows surveys during trips, saving time and cost.
Knowledge management drives performance improvement
Companies can leverage their data-collection activities to improve operating efficiencies.
LWD, wired drillpipe combo raises economic bar in Southern North Sea
Wired pipe enables new insight downhole using harsh-environment LWD tools. Clear images ensure accurate geosteering.
Managing waxy crude production in deep water increases production
The ability to predict with accuracy whether a well will experience flow assurance issues is a valuable asset. Operators that can do it save in two ways.
MPD technology enables drilling in Pakistan’s Badhra field
A new control system enables influxes and losses to be managed while navigating narrow pressure margins and ultimately allows access to a deep, previously unreachable drilling target.
Online Only: Increasing emphasis on transportation safety, regulatory compliance improves profitability
Managing compliance processes, regulating workflow, and making data-based decisions offer competitive advantages to improve control of insurance and operating costs.
Online Only: Leveraging process models provides seamless workflow
E&P organizations constantly are planning and developing new assets by leveraging existing infrastructure or at greenfield sites. In those development decisions, process design and operating costs have trade-offs and are not always easy to identify. Optimizing the business end-to-end from the design phase to operations by leveraging process models is a best practice that is achievable.
Online Only: Technology reinvents global asset management
Tying up a company’s capital unnecessarily has never been especially prudent, but at today’s equipment prices, particularly for offshore operations, it is a practice that must be eliminated.
Production swells with tubular technology
New workover strategies use expandable technology to increase recovery in the Austin Chalk formation.
Software safety enters spotlight
Today’s high-specification assets rely heavily on software to automate mission-critical drilling control, power management, vessel management, and subsea systems.
Special Report: Iran leaps into South Pars
As Iran undertakes the unilateral development of the largest gas field in the world, observers wait to see if the project will be a success against tremendous odds or mission impossible.
Strategies improve deepwater recovery
Improving production begins with correctly identifying the issue causing decreased performance and designing appropriate treatments to increases production and extend the life of the well.
Technology reveals ‘inevitable surprises’ in shale plays
Growing knowledge about US shale plays and other unconventional resources suggests heterogeneity might be a more important factor than previously thought.
Tests provide further development toward an EM streamer
Towed streamers collect EM and seismic data simultaneously.
Tracer technology enhances production
Oilfield tracers have been used for many years. But there is a renaissance in the tracer business that should provide valuable insight to guide today’s completion and production decision-making.
Tech Trends
Tech Watch: Covalently bound selenium has potential for hydraulically fractured wells
New coating could provide environmentally friendly alternative to biocides.
Last Word
Luck, planning lead to exploration success
Oil exploration is a chance business; wildcat exploration drilling is an uncertain game, particularly in new plays. So what role does luck play in exploration success? Are successful oil companies luckier than others, or just better?
Activity Spotlight
Ghana sparks E&D interest
Building on the continued success of Jubilee, new fields are being developed in the region.
Management Report
Risk-based approach helps companies survive, thrive in a changed climate
A new approach could help oil and gas companies forge a path forward to deal with climate change.