E&P Magazine - March 2009
As I See It
Save us from politicians
There simply is no realistic plan afoot in the political community to address the faltering global economy.
Who turned up the volume on depression talk?
These days, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting someone babbling on about the recession (come on folks, it is a depression), its likely severity, and the chances of an early recovery in oil and gas prices.
Exploration Technologies
Giving back when it’s needed
Helping the needy is not a fair-weather activity. One small independent is attempting to aid the communities in which it operates despite current hard times.
Myth busters
Sound bites need to give way to reasoned discussion.
Drilling Technologies
Drilling down for North America
Two recent reports provide a somewhat diminished picture of drilling activity in North America through 2009.
New perf gun stands up to the pressure
Successful production begins with the perfect perforation. A new 7-in. gun — the first perf gun rated to 30,000 psi — promises to lower the risks associated with perforating the world’s deepest wells in the burgeoning ultra-deepwater arena.
Completions and Production
Good chemistry gets good results
As operators limit drilling due to budget constraints they are seeking ways to increase production from existing wells. One good question, then, might be what new methods for increasing production have come online since the last petroleum industry downturn?
Technology pushes offshore limits
Investment in technology during the downturn is laying the foundation that will be necessary for the industry to move into challenging frontiers when the investment climate improves.
Ultrasound applied to crude oil desulfurization
An innovative method for upgrading crude oils will find application across multiple industry sectors.
Digital Solutions
A remote terminal unit — of whatever color — is more than a black box
The RTU has been a workhorse of the petroleum industry for more than 20 years — a thoroughly domesticated animal often seen as just one more element, more or less, of the post-industrial landscape. The last several years, however, while hardly qualifying as a disruptive technology, RTUs have evolved to become a base node for the intelligent oil and gas field.
Recent advances in machinery analysis
Machinery-analysis capabilities have improved in step with increased computing power, but have been focused inward, toward detection of machinery failures. Advanced analytical algorithms can today place equipment condition within the context of overall operations, expanding the equipment health field-of-view to include event detection.
Features
Applied fluid jetting improves production
The theory behind applied fluid jetting is simple: to increase production rates and improve reservoir recovery rates by maximizing the reservoir area contacted by the well bore, both vertically and horizontally.
Crushable foam wrap mitigates subsea casing failures
A dual pressure/temperature trigger APB solution tackles extreme conditions in wells drilled in water depths greater than 1,600 ft.
Faster slide drilling, improved bottomhole control
New directional drilling control software alleviates problems commonly associated with slide drilling.
Improved production using subsea separation boosting
Subsea gas-liquid separation coupled with liquid boosting can be an effective means of oil reservoir exploitation. Examples from several recent projects — including Pazflor, BC-10, and Perdido — demonstrate that recovery can be improved considerably more than with just boosting alone, while adding only limited incremental costs.
Landing string technology moves safety
Deepwater E&P is the focal point for many operators in the global oil and gas industry today, and increased development of deepwater prospects is presenting fresh technology challenges.
Lifeboats take on the Arctic
Lifeboats that work in harsh environments need different capabilities from those that operate in benign climates, but functionality of the craft is not the only concern. The other major component of lifeboat operation is the human factor. The way the lifeboat is designed ultimately affects the people whose lives the craft is intended to save.
Massive pumps feed the world’s most powerful subsea injection system
The world’s most powerful subsea raw water injection system requires subsea pumps capable of daily injecting nearly 90,000 bbl of untreated seawater back into the Tyrihans reservoir.
Multilateral junction has selective, high-pressure fracturing capability
System allows building of multilateral junctions while permitting back-to-back stimulation of the well.
New capsule targets safer crew transfers
A new crew transfer option is on the table as a result of a challenge put forward by the industry for a safe, efficient, low-cost device suitable for broad implementation.
New system acquires EM, seismic
A seabed system is working to take both measurements at the same time.
New tools extend drilling automation
A new automated downlinking tool allows drillers to implement commands and controls through a single intelligent interface.
Node technology scores home run — again
OBS technology provides crucial subsalt information at the Deimos field.
North Sea finds multiple uses for hydraulically expandable tubular systems
Hydraulically expandable tubular systems are delivering real improvements in well design and integrity, providing more flexibility for North Sea operators. The range of possibilities for new expandable solutions applies to deep, slimhole wells and extended reach horizontal wells in workover or repair stages.
Offshore Guinea gets new look
Encouraging seismic data may open the door to an underexplored area.
Starting from both ends: expandable casing design
From the top down and the bottom up: there are always two ways to find a solution when designing challenging wells.
Stepping up land seismic
A new system extends the boundaries of land acquisition.
Streamers on autopilot
From steerable streamers to streamers that steer themselves, a new system targets the issues of trousering and feathering.
The benefits of recycle-produced water for fracs
A robust, crosslinked frac fluid can help optimize well stimulation while conserving fresh water.
Turbulence hits deepwater
With the global economy in the grip of a potentially lengthy downturn, it is a good time to consider some of the challenges facing deepwater players in the months and years ahead.
UOE technology takes pipelines to new depths
Deepwater E&P activity has long been a focal point for the global oil and gas industry. With fewer onshore and shallow-water reserves available, companies have to consider opportunities in ever increasing water depths.
VetcoGray gains from its acquisition by GE
Being bought brings with it access to innovation, expertise in market-centric product management, and capabilities for supply chain discipline.
Tech Trends
ICDs contend with early water, gas breakthrough
Improving openhole completions with inflow control devices and swellable zonal isolation can be the means to avoiding problems associated with early water and gas breakthrough and resulting reduced oil production.
Measure vanadium, asphaltene concentration from the field
Changes in asphaltene concentration over time can lead to increased fouling of machinery and pipelines and decreased production. A new sensor technology called Micro-ESR can rapidly and unambiguously detect the presence and concentration of asphaltenes in crude oil, online and onsite, where it counts.
Tech Trend shorts
March tech trends.
Tech Trends
Tech trends for April.
On The Move
On the move
Who's going where in the upstream sector.
On the move
Who's going where in the upstream sector.
Last Word
An eye on the upside
A close look at past economic and commodity pricing cycles reveals light at the end of the tunnel. We may be more than halfway through the current downturn.
Learn survival skills
Welcome to the real world, new recruits! Jobs may be tougher to find and keep, but a few survival tips will help you succeed.
Activity Spotlight
Somaliland open for business
The Somali autonomous area of Somaliland launched its first licensing round in February 2009, offering nearly 36,000 sq miles (90,000 sq km) of onshore and offshore blocks.
The next Tupi?
Gabon prepares to launch its first deepwater license round in an area analogous to the Santos and Campos basins.
Another Perspective
Managing engineering in a time of change
Global conditions compound the issues of generational change in engineering companies in the oil and gas industry. Those conditions are compounded by the “engineering company conundrum,” a situation that leads to cultures that, by their very nature, make it impossible to train, retain, and motivate the staff who must be in place to provide a quality product when the eventual upturn in demand occurs. This article is the first in a two-part series that examines the status of engineering companies in the oil and gas industry, where they have been, and where they are going in a time of tremendous change.
The engineering company conundrum
This article is the second in a two-part series that examines the status of engineering companies in the oil and gas industry, where they have been, and where they are going in a time of tremendous change. The first article was published as “Another Perspective” in the March issue of E&P.
Management Report
Protecting yourself from the FCPA in major international projects
While encouraged to develop alternate sources of petroleum outside of the Middle East, US companies and even individuals are judged by the first-world standards of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and may become subject to its civil and criminal penalties.
Safeguarding corporate reputation through crises
Since the North Sea Piper disaster in 1988, upstream companies have worked hard to improve the safety of their operations. Apart from the prime objective of minimizing risk to personnel and the environment, organizations know that having an accident is significantly more expensive than fostering safety.
Oilfield History
I married a doodlebugger
Think transfers are tough now? Here’s one woman’s account of following her husband around the oilpatch in the mid-20th century.
The Oil Queen of California
“A woman with a genius for affairs — it may sound paradoxical, but the fact exists. If Mrs. Emma A. Summers were less than a genius she could not, as she does today, control the Los Angeles oil markets.” – The San Francisco Call, July 21, 1901