E&P Magazine - October 2007
As I See It
Go beyond reservoir visualization
Seismic has emerged as the "baseline" dataset for reservoir characterization and the gateway to synergy.
Cover Story
Features
Chukchi warms up for exploration
After collecting yawns for 17 years, offshore Alaska potential blooms.
Tech Trends
Petascale computing opens doors
Computationally intensive scientific applications will change because of new computing capabilities and the challenge to efficiently exploit them.
Last Word
Drill it and they will come
Boomtowns reigned supreme in the early years of Texas oil production. One town would require the National Guard, the Texas Rangers and 7 weeks of martial law to quell the unruly side-effects of overpopulation.
Activity Spotlight
Conocophillips General Counsel Gates receives CPR's 2007 Corporate Leadership Award
Honorees recognized for leadership and commitment to the principles of conflict management and resolution.
Deloitte expands Middle East partner group serving Gulf region oil sector
Increased demand for professional services by the region's oil and gas industry prompts further investment by Deloitte in Middle East region.
Nexans wins Brazil contract
Nexans wins 30 million Euro umbilicals order for Mexilhão gas field in Brazil.
Roxar Launches Tempest 6.4
Benefits to include extended parallel processing capabilities, larger and more detailed reservoir models, faster simulation, and greater returns on existing investments,
Schlumberger Acquires Exclusive Development and Distribution Rights to ThinAnywhere for Oil & Gas Sector
Agreement expands development of 3-D remote collaboration capabilities for the oil field.
Weatherford Acquires Rotary Laboratories, Inc.
Rotary Lab and other acquisitions bolster company's growing core evaluation business
WesternGeco completes multi-client acquisition survey in the Barents Sea
Fruholmen survey offers exploration prospects for operators.
WesternGeco completes multi-client acquisition survey in the Barents Sea
Fruholmen survey offers exploration prospects for operators.
Another Perspective
An unconventional gas research program
The Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) is providing funding to companies engaging in unconventional gas research.
Bringing new ideas to old fields
Integrated technology, collaboration and research are the keys to unlocking still more heavy oil reserves.
Deepwater dry tree semis are here
New deepwater floaters present operators with improved motions and space and construction savings.
Developing HP/HT subsea tiebacks
It is important that full field-life costs are considered in detail during the concept selection phase of any potential HP/HT development.
Evergreen program adds efficiency
Proper care of facilities and equipment creates cost savings for operations.
Fiber-optic reservoir imaging
Technology exists to make a step change in reservoir characterization, but who will be first to sort through the variety of systems, applications and challenges to resolve the complex value chain?
Improved water-frac increases production
New, hybrid water-frac techniques show promise in generating longer effective fracture half-lengths and greater effective fracture conductivities than conventional water fracs in tight gas sands.
Intelligent completion wins at Abqaiq
An intelligent well sustains production using natural gas lift in Saudi Arabia.
Life-of-well isolation takes intelligence
Intelligent techniques control sustained casing pressure.
Listen to your mother
Tight gas reservoirs aren't easy to produce, but an integrated approach and an appreciation for what Mother Nature has provided (natural fractures) can be a tremendous help.
Microseismic monitoring - coming of age
Uses for this technology are expanding as operators push the application envelope.
Nanotechnology insulates better
Customized applications protect oilfield operations.
Overcome extreme conditions in HP/HT wells
PVT behavior of base fluid, rheological properties at extreme conditions, specialty products, temperature and pressure effects on hydraulic calculations and alternate weighting materials are important considerations for effective HP/HT fluid design.
Riding the wave
Sustained high commodity prices have expanded the playing field for seismic contractors, and several new companies have joined the fray.
Select safe, economic tubing/fluid combinations
New software program and database of material compatibility tests allow quick and accurate assessment of the viability of clear brine fluids for given well conditions.
Separate oil from water on the seafloor
With the Tordis IOR (increased oil recovery project) in the North Sea, the engineers' dream of separating oil from water on the seafloor is becoming a reality.
Shell Brunei Smart field succeed
Brunei Shell Petroleum's most recent development phase at Champion West proves promising as a forerunner of more than a dozen such projects expected to be in operation by 2009.
Stay strong
A healthy, robust geophysical industry is important to all of us.
Tailor production casing for HP/HT wells
Successful installation of a critical production casing string takes upfront diligence and planning to have sufficient time for specialized materials to be manufactured, evaluated, tested and qualified.
Tight sands yield to coiled tubing fracs
Fast, efficient multizone technique provides high-rate fracture stimulation for laminated formations.
Umbilical modeling aids fatigue prediction
As water depths increase, modeling techniques must keep pace.