E&P Magazine - December 2011
As I See It
Cover Story
Gearing Up For 2012
Five industry experts predict the advances and innovations expected in the coming year.
Exploration Technologies
‘Flying’ Nodes Shift Marine Seismic Paradigm
Low-power autonomous nodes could revolutionize ocean-bottom seismic.
Drilling Technologies
Well Construction: Pollution Is Lost Profit
Technology toes the line between environmental stewardship and profitability in today’s shale gas industry.
Completions and Production
It’s Time To Boldly Go…
E&P industry needs to move from the space shuttle into the Star Trek era.
Digital Solutions
Innovative Software Takes On Riser Design, Analysis
Improved modeling leads to better riser design.
Features
Asset Performance Management Creates Long-Term Value
Improvements in equipment reliability and longevity and workforce productivity allow more revenue to trickle down to the bottom line.
Automation Is The Name Of The Game
No longer constrained to drillpipe-handling, automation is poised to pervade every facet of well construction and production.
Challenging Environments Will Demand Better Contract Management
Contracts refine focus on risk, particularly for high-cost deepwater projects.
Combine Operations, Engineering To Achieve Asset Integrity
The ability to combine operations experience and engineering solutions in a way that brings technology, proven processes, and the management skills that deliver the right people behavior can provide operators with solutions that span the design phase of a project through asset decommissioning.
Drilling Environments Benefit From Improved Technology
The advent of new technology in 2011 brings about a positive outlook for 2012.
Explorers Innovate
In their quest to find hydrocarbons, explorers pulled out all the stops in 2011.
Fayetteville Shale Gas Still A Hot Commodity
All may be quiet on the dry gas front, but recent results from the Fayetteville’s first mover show that this shale gas play is still paying dividends and has growth potential to boot.
Independent Looks East For The Eagle Ford
A small company has big ideas when it comes to chasing the Eagle Ford shale into Louisiana.
India Hits Gas On Road To Becoming Global Powerhouse
As India, an emerging market economy and newly industrialized country, comes of age in the next few decades, more “elephants” will be required to support its rapid development.
Industry Pulse: New Technologies Stave Off ‘Peak Oil’
False pessimistic predictions regarding the future of oil production have been around since the mid-1850s. Though reserves numbers continue to grow, the hue and cry of ‘Peak Oil’ continues to entangle government agencies, geologists, and moneymen.
Minimize Process Software Risk By Managing Hidden Assets
Effective software backup prevents downtime.
Offshore Tide On The Rise
Deepwater spend trends grow stronger, but the shallows still rule the waves for now.
Production Milestones Reveal An Expanding Universe
Oil and gas production is pushing the envelope both technically and geographically.
Real-time Decision-Making Tools Proliferate In Land Drilling Environment
The use of real-time information is growing and evolving at a rapid pace, and there is a growing industry shift toward using this data as an active part of the drilling process to improve performance.
Root Cause Identification Mitigates Equipment Failures
Preventing control systems software-related root causes from being overlooked or misdiagnosed streamlines operations.
South Texas Holds ‘Hidden Reserves’
Operators below the rich-gas line are not crying over dry Eagle Ford shale gas. Instead, they are counting silver linings behind other opportunistic pay zones.
Three-D Seismic Will Have Long-Term Economic Value In Shale Plays
Once the land grab is over, operators should turn to seismic data to understand their valuable acreage.
Unconventional Resources Move To Center Stage
Unconventional resource development could revitalize the US economy.
Tech Watch
Closed-Loop Drilling Scalability Provides Options
The versatility of closed-loop drilling methodologies is providing a wide scope for successfully meeting a varying range of operational and economic objectives.
Tech Trends
Activity Highlights
Last Word
UK Government ‘Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement’ – First Response To Bad Policy?
Taxation could restrict development in the UK oil and gas sector.
Activity Spotlight
Management Report
Water Management Trends Toward Reuse
Current technology gives operators the capacity to reuse water rather than release it.