E&P Magazine - May 2011
As I See It
There’s An App For That
There are many in the oil and gas industry who do not have an iPhone or an iPad, but that number is dwindling rapidly.
Cover Story
Deepwater Raises The Bar For Technology
As the industry looks at the challenges presented by deepwater operations, it is apparent that in many cases today’s challenges are very much like those of the past few decades.
New Technology Enhances Downhole Performance
Downhole innovation brings new twists to standard technology.
Exploration Technologies
New EM Tool Ready For Commercialization
The EM Locator holds great promise for oil and gas exploration. It just needs a good home.
Drilling Technologies
Automation: A Driller’s Best Friend?
A recent symposium says, “yes.”
Completions and Production
A New Solution For Old Wells
A rigless intervention unit takes the guesswork out of P&A.
Special Report
Brazil Primed For Offshore Investment
With Petrobras leading the way, several companies plan significant projects in the coming years.
Digital Solutions
I’ll Take ‘Oilfield Analytics’ For $100, Alex
After taking on Jeopardy’s top winners, Watson sets its sights on the digital oilfield.
Tear Down The Silos
True data integration has everyone talking the same language.
Features
Brasoil Seeks Growth In Brazil
The fledgling company has found success through farm-ins, farm-outs, and technical savvy.
Brazil To Headline BRICs Act In Offshore Production
Brazil turned the corner with its flagging oil and gas sector in the late 1990s with a shake-up of Petrobras and the development of deepwater fields. One decade later, Brazil’s prolific presalt reserves put the country on the cusp of even faster production growth.
Expro's Well Technology Tests New Waters
The industry’s focus on well performance is increasing every year, driven by the need to maximize hydrocarbon recovery rates while striving to minimize the number of wells drilled on each field.
Fast-Track Frontiers
East Africa emerges as a world-class play
Hybrid Systems To Change The Shape Of Deepwater Mooring Lines
Riser friendly HMPE mooring lines – lighter, smaller and with a higher MBL than traditional polyester rope – are ready to move into deep water.
International Highlights
Bowleven Energy’s Sapele-1ST well in the Douala basin offshore Cameroon in West Africa has encountered 75 ft (23 m) of net hydrocarbon pay in the Omicron objectives.
LWD Tool Provides Reliable Shear Slowness Measurements
A robust inversion methodology applied to high-quality wideband quadrupole LWD waveforms from a GoM well provided useful information for reservoir evaluation.
Monterey Shale - California's Sleeping Giant?
It’s young, thick, and structurally and lithologically complex. But the Monterey shale is quickly moving past the science project stage.
New Monitoring Tool Provides Subsea Reassurance
A downhole sensor system that monitors temperature and pressure in the B annulus will help detect gas leaks.
New Software Brings GoM Infrastructure To Light
A tool developed to access well, pipeline, and platform data in the GoM could facilitate and improve the BOEMRE risk assessment and MODU mooring approval process.
Operators, Analysts Weigh In On Unconventional Resources
Industry players get one-on-one insights from the experts.
Poland Poised For Productive Shale Development
International shale development moves from abstract to concrete.
PSDM Yields Accurate Pore Pressure Prediction
In a case study from the Caspian Sea, accurate and detailed velocity analysis from a prestack depth migration was adapted to calculate accurate pressure prediction in an undrilled area.
Real-Time Azimuthal Gamma Ray LWD Logs Optimize Sweet Spot Detection
LWD improves recovery and economics at each phase of shale development.
Supply Disruptions Push US Toward A Greener Future
Natural gas is a natural bridge from hydrocarbons to alternative energy.
Unconventional Gas 2.0: Unlocking A Global Potential
Unconventional gas has changed the landscape in North America and could do the same internationally. However, this new phase brings challenges that require a different mindset and operating model focused around efficiency, environmental sustainability, and integrated business planning.
‘True Volume’ Interpretation Improves Subsurface Understanding
New technology allows interpretation in three dimensions.
Tech Trends
Tech Trends
Conventional electric submersible pumps (ESPs) up to 562 series can be retrieved and redeployed without a rig using the Zeitecs Shuttle through tubing by means of standard oilfield wireline, rod, or coiled tubing technology.
Last Word
Last Word
Are companies overburdening themselves with in-house specs?
Activity Spotlight
Halliburton’s Probert: “Green” Fracturing Technology Will Help Energy Industry Meet Demand
To do its part to satisfy the global hunger for energy, the oil and gas industry must gain public confidence through the use of new and improved technologies.
Management Report
The War For Engineering Talent rages On
A new approach to addressing the problem of the engineer shortage applies supply chain management principles.