E&P Magazine - March 2013
As I See It
Experiments in shales
The ‘larger hammer’ approach only goes so far when developing unconventional reserves.
Living in a post-Chavez world
With lingering concerns, the industry readies itself for potentially huge changes.
Cover Story
Keeping tools on bottom, need for downhole data drive innovation
From new tools for multistage well completions to cleaning the hole to unsticking pipe, the emphasis is on efficiency in all aspects of downhole operations.
Exploration Technologies
Getting to the core of the problem
A new coring system captures reservoir fluids and delivers them to the surface in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
More questions than answers?
Operators ask if geophysical R&D is moving in the right direction.
Drilling Technologies
Australia: One continent, two frac crews create massive bottleneck
Imagine having to move a frac crew from Pennsylvania to California. That is equivalent to what operators in Western Australia have to do to frac shales.
‘Keep the pointy end up’
Diamond Offshore has three simple rules for maintaining safe operations. Keeping the derrick upright is the first.
Completions and Production
Hydrate success in the Nankai trough
Japan takes another step closer to adding a new domestic resource to its energy mix.
Val d’Agri field gets lifted
Advanced technology brings rigless replacement of ESP systems to Italy.
Offshore Advances
Ensuring the resources to ride the subsea surf
The subsea market is booming, and indications are that this segment will remain the offshore sector’s star.
The cold front is warming up
No one underestimates the challenge of tackling upstream arctic activity. But growing interest levels, driven by high energy demand, mean commercial exploitation of the region’s rich resources will happen.
Special Report
Myanmar: dawning of a new era?
The country is ripe for a deepwater gas boom.
Digital Solutions
Getting to market faster with high-performance cloud
Collaboration enables first-ever cloud-based processing of geological data for the oil and gas industry.
Optoelectronic technologies aid subsea data flow
The use of light as an information asset creates enormous opportunities for the oil and gas industry.
The USB port: the universal SCADA breach
A new USB port security solution enhances the security and usability for IC/SCADA system owners.
Visualizing solutions provides real performance results
The ability to visualize a potential problem ahead of time and work out ways to solve it before it occurs is a talent that often distinguishes a winner from the ‘also-rans’ in sport. The same ability is applicable to the oil and gas business.
Features
A buoyant market for floaters
The floating production market is on a strong upward surge, but there are still plenty of pitfalls looming for companies with their eyes on the prize.
A story of transformation
Repsol has transformed itself into an international upstream player with interests in many of the world’s high-potential emerging oil and gas sectors. Marcos Mozetic, Repsol’s executive director of exploration, explains the company’s metamorphosis into a world-class explorer.
Addressing the global anti-fracing movement
What it wants, how it operates, and what is next will affect operators’ license to do business.
All that jazz?
What do jazz and fracing have in common? Without leadership, both evolved through the efforts of a small group of dedicated participants.
Artificial lift management simplified
The novel use of pump motor speed enables robust remote monitoring and management of artificially lifted wells.
Australia looks ahead
With more than US $182 billion in investment in LNG facilities, Australia is on track to become the world’s largest producer of LNG by 2017. The Hon. Martin Ferguson, minister for Resources and Energy, describes the Australian government’s efforts to develop the country’s oil and gas resources.
Australian unconventional plays remain in proof-of-concept stage
With only four hydraulic fracturing crews in the country and few drilling rigs capable of performing horizontal drilling, Australia’s oil and gas shale and tight sand development is in its infancy.
Big data payoff: accelerating speed to answer
Deploying a high-performance data management environment gives oil and gas companies the information to optimize performance and reduce risk.
Cemented sliding sleeves: the future of horizontal completions
A new completion system delivers significant time savings over PNP systems.
Debris-tolerant barrier solves challenging problem
The new combo plug was designed for use in Germany’s first TAML L 5 multilateral well.
Electrical waveform analysis empowers intelligence
System helps prevent expensive shutdowns.
Evolution in the North Dakota Bakken leads to its elevation
In less than a decade, increased production, takeaway capacities, and operator effort in the Bakken have bumped North Dakota up in the rankings to become the second leading state in crude oil production.
Extending the life of rod-pumped wells
An intelligent rod rotator incorporates new sensing technologies to take the guesswork out of rotator failures.
Finding treasure in the sand
Canada’s heavy oil development is benefiting from new technology and keen attention to the environment.
Funding the Energy Security Trust fund: Think more offshore access
President Obama could fund his Energy Security Trust by opening more offshore acreage to oil and gas exploration.
High-specification jackup designs lead revival
Jackup rigs are the everyday workhorse of the oil and gas world when it comes to drilling and completing offshore wells. But the new breed of harsh-environment units entering the market is an increasingly specialized animal.
History repeating itself in the Caspian
Azerbaijan has an unmatched oil-producing history that goes back many centuries, but this pioneering country in Central Asia and its neighbors around the land-locked Caspian Sea have the natural resources and the will to keep making history for a good deal longer.
Hunting for black gold on the high seas
Once a business model that had lost its luster, the marine multiclient market is now steaming ahead.
Improving evaluation efficiency in CBM formations
An advanced formation-testing tool enabled an operator in Australia to assess the production potential of a CBM reservoir, resulting in time and cost savings and improved rig utilization.
LNG is a game-changing fuel
By powering drilling rigs and fracturing pumps with LNG, operators see lower costs and emissions.
Making shutdowns a thing of the past
An online vessel sand-removal system eliminates shutdowns and enhances worker safety.
Microseismic monitoring explains complex fracture networks
This Marcellus case study demonstrates the value of microseismic monitoring beyond traditional fracture length, height, and azimuth.
New jackup design improves drilling efficiency
As the offshore industry searches for more ways to tap into energy resources across the globe, E&P companies are depending on engineers to design new fixed-leg rigs that are capable of operating in deeper waters.
Placement of extended-reach wells requires precision, real-time data
Reducing uncertainty while drilling is critical in ERD wells. By placing the well in the optimum stratigraphic position within the reservoir, an operator can maximize both initial production and ultimate recovery.
Providing new insights into the Browse basin
Broadband acquisition reveals valid structural and stratigraphic traps able to charge offshore Australia.
Real-time analysis shows particle size distribution in drilling mud
Additional visual information saves time and money when determining drilling fluid composition.
Right-time delivery of time-lapse seismic data
Continuously improving acquisition technology and carefully designed processing workflows enable consistent right-time delivery of time-lapse seismic measurements from marine towed-streamer systems.
Rising expenditure opens door to improved productivity
As growing oil and gas demand continues to drive higher levels of upstream spending on new projects, the challenge for major contractors is not only ensuring they have the right tools for increasingly complex jobs but also that they can quickly access technology expertise.
Shear-wave splitting analysis aids in time-lapse study
The interpretation of reservoir complexities can improve completion success.
Superior illumination needs broader bandwidths
The combination of broadband seismic and full-azimuth imaging leads to a step-change in imaging difficult geologies.
Systematic solution overcomes artificial lift challenges
System optimizes recovery in the liquids-rich Eagle Ford shale.
TBS steering improves economics in Bakken wells
New technology overcomes lateral drilling problems and reduces drilling time while improving wellbore geometry.
Technological advances in progressing cavity pumps
New innovations promise to deliver better results in production efficiencies and reliability.
The pitfalls of transloading frac sand
Which option actually saves money?
To drill or not to drill?
A new forecasting method for unconventional reserves and resources helps operators answer this vital question correctly.
What goes around comes around
A second-generation circular floater is offering tangible economic performance and safety advantages to operators worldwide.
Where the elite meet the heat
Thermal recovery schemes can place extreme stress on downhole components. Designing a solution to long-term extreme heat in electrical submersible pumps required imagination and considerable ingenuity.
Tech Watch
Camera clarifies underwater inspections
New systems overcome traditional hurdles.
RCS coating performs without activators
A bondable coating exhibits lower onset temperatures, performing under low temperatures and closure stresses without the negative effects of the use of activators.
Tech Trends
Activity Highlights
On The Move
Industry Impact
Casing bit system enables longer, deeper intervals
Drilling technology decreases NPT and is effective in more challenging formations.
Spoolable connector reliably joins CT strings
Tool decreases installation time and leads to improved CT fatigue life in offshore operations.
Management Report
Getting past 'go'
Employing alternative dispute resolution tools early, like CPS and SVP, can make for smoother project execution.
Managing industry-specific HR needs with ERP systems
Managing HR functions within a single database allows companies to more accurately track rigs and employees while improving the efficiency of payroll, work rotations, and logistics.