E&P Magazine - March 2014
Digital
Industry targets fit-for-purpose drilling technology
Factory or manufacturing drilling will continue to be refined to increase drilling efficiency and improve production effectiveness.
As I See It
A costly recurring theme
While attending several events and briefings in recent weeks it was impossible for me to ignore a recurring theme – an industry drive to delay or cut spending to stem spiraling field costs.
Rebooting the GoM
Recent moves by specialist operators in the GoM highlight how much life is left in this basin. It’s not so much a mini-revival but rather – potentially – a whole fresh start.
Cover Story
FLNG market riding investment wave
With forecast total expenditure of nearly US $65 billion between now and the year 2020, the global FLNG market is set for a period of significant expansion.
Industry targets fit-for-purpose drilling technology
Factory or manufacturing drilling will continue to be refined to increase drilling efficiency and improve production effectiveness.
Shell’s Prelude development opens FLNG floodgate
With an eye on moving liquefaction plants offshore to reduce costs, operators in Australia, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Equatorial Guinea, Israel, and the US Gulf Coast are studying FLNG projects.
Exploration Technologies
Arctic surveys take careful planning
Chevron’s success in the Beaufort Sea provides a blueprint for successful harsh-environment operations.
Egypt ready to turn the corner
Despite two years of civil unrest, Egyptian oil companies hope the country’s untapped riches will lure foreign investment.
Drilling Technologies
California drought could leave Monterey shale high and dry
Shale development will have a tough fight for water rights given California’s huge residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural demand.
Oil and water do mix in design of semisubmersible fish farm
New design combines technology from the Norwegian fish farming industry and the offshore oil and gas sector.
Completions and Production
Well ‘vaccination’ preventing scale and hydrocarbon buildup in GoM
New dual-purpose substrate and proppant said to offer operators ‘pure flow assurance protection’
‘Baby, it’s cold outside’
Production takes a dip in one of the coldest Bakken winters, but ‘spring will come again.’
Offshore Advances
Mexico: Dawn of a new era
Expectations soar as Mexico allows energy reform.
Subsea splashes down at Sakhalin
Selection of proven subsea production technology by Russian gas giant delivers an offshore first for Sakhalin III.
Digital Solutions
EBS allows company to dive deep
Predictive analytics in real time offer opportunity to change course before incidents occur.
Location and mapping path to mobile automation
Mobile automation has long been used in other industries to drive efficiencies, and linking to established GIS data could be the starting point for E&P.
Features
A renaissance on the Shelf
EPL is looking at deep targets in shallow waters to bring new life to a very mature basin.
Arctic offshore pipeline design challenges
Ice creates unique challenges in design and installation considerations in the Arctic offshore.
Assuring pipeline flow with the total system in mind
Application of a holistic approach helps facilitate flow throughout the production process.
Australia holds opportunity
Australia’s energy offerings are plentiful – conventional, unconventional, offshore, and onshore – but cost concerns remain a challenge in meeting future energy needs.
China could rapidly develop its unconventional resources
While overall well counts in China have remained relatively steady, the share of hydraulically fractured wells has nearly doubled.
Company’s solar EOR success no mirage
Pilot project in Oman reduces need for natural gas in thermal EOR.
Custom EOR reduces natural, synthetic damage to wellbore
Operator chooses customized solution after it is tested and meets with success.
CWD derisks Australian offshore drilling operations
Originally promoted as a cost-saving technology, CWD has emerged as the go-to technique to improve infill drilling in this mature offshore field.
Deepwater development continues to climb
New projects and big spending help push deepwater development ever higher.
Flare gas regulation: challenges, opportunities for energy companies
With growth comes growing pains and increased scrutiny for fracing, but some companies are adjusting and profiting as a result.
FTG survey helps derisk Barents Sea exploration
The growth of multiclient FTG surveys aids explorers in frontier areas.
Great expectations prevail in Mexico
While productivity is expected to remain flat in 2014, the future looks bright for the big four service companies.
Hard abrasive drilling benefits from customized bit design
Designs using optimized impregnated segment block geometry can help maximize bit durability without impacting efficiency.
Hybrid drillbits improve harsh drilling
New technology handles chert challenges.
ICDs with feedback control for steam conformance
Simulation shows benefits of hybrid completion system for SAGD wells.
Improving R&D through collaboration
Companies team up to develop enhanced reservoir intelligence.
Increasing capacity and improving safety
Building effective CI teams generates sustainable results.
Logging depends on conveyance, versatility
Complex wellbores are driving advances in wireline tools and techniques.
Managing the MRO supply chain for competitive advantage
MRO has never been more complex or more worthy of review as new challenges reveal the limitations of decades-old approaches.
Managing the risk calculus in the Arab Spring
Operators need to strike a balance between protecting their people and assets, managing operational imperatives, and dealing with multifarious threats on the ground.
Marcellus activity continues apace
Conference presentations reflect rosy outlook.
Mexico says ‘bienvenido’
After 75 years of Pemex monopoly, Mexico will welcome foreign investors.
Mexico’s post-reform business opportunity
Oil services to see opportunities in the second half of 2015 while opportunities for operators follow later this decade.
MPD techniques overcome formation damage
Total circulation losses are prevented in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Newbuild rig cycle underway
Move to pad drilling generates demand for new high-spec rigs.
No time to lose: HP rotary jetting tool aids in deepwater operation
Hydrates forming in subsurface tree offshore Brazil put scale-removal service to test.
Old tech used in new ways boosts production, cuts costs
Air foam is ideal for sand cleanout, bridge plug drilling, fluid recovery, fishing, and deepening projects in lost circulation zones or pressure-depleted reservoirs.
Olympics provide spark for China’s unconventional gas drive
Thanks in part to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China is pushing hard to encourage companies to find and exploit its hard-to-reach unconventional gas reserves.
Operator finds optimal solution for steamflooding operation
Choosing the right HP/HT steam-resistant elastomer seal was critical in EOR job.
Powering up the seabed
With subsea processing technologies firmly established as a viable development solution, the industry’s attention is focused on how to supply the power required to drive the large and complex systems destined for the seabed.
PRM provides insights at Ekofisk
A permanently installed fiber-optic seismic system enables repeat surveys that monitor compaction.
Production-focused seismic: insights from the Eagle Ford
A new approach integrates engineering data and 3-D seismic attributes to identify key performance indicators and create predictive models for well and completion planning.
Protecting offshore operations from ice hazards
New ice management system helps operators keep Arctic offshore drilling and production facilities safe.
Ready, set, go: Croatia to launch first offshore licensing round
About a year following the unveiling of a new hydrocarbons law, Croatia will offer onshore and offshore blocks.
The power struggle over the regulation of hydraulic fracturing
As interest grows in regulating fracturing operations, many states are seeking to preempt local government restrictions.
Using fluorescence for oil spill detection and mapping
Airborne or AUV-deployed optical sensor systems enable oil spill detection in the Arctic.
Walking tall: Pad drilling prompts rig design evolution
Self-moving rigs are becoming the standard as the domestic fleet undergoes a multiyear replacement cycle.
Waste not, want not: revitalizing marginal offshore wells
Rigless technology facilitates safe, efficient late-stage intervention.
Well stimulation firms see rising demand in the Rockies
Oil plays driving increased development.
What will reform mean for Pemex?
The number of Mexican monopolies is set to decline with the country’s passage of energy reform.
Wireless-enabled downhole tools aid deepwater well test
Measurements allow engineers to make decisions in real time.
Would you like some towed-streamer EM with your seismic?
Simultaneous acquisition of seismic and EM provides more subsurface information.
Tech Watch
Multiple attenuation: strategy that addresses current challenges
A proposed plan recognizes real and prioritized open issues and defines and addresses challenges. (Part 1 of a two-part series)
Reliability is key to developing deepwater RCPC
A government-sponsored study is investigating if this technique can be transferred from onshore applications to a deepwater environment.
Tech Trends
Activity Highlights
On The Move
Last Word
Advocating the industry
Despite the negative publicity, the oil and gas industry has much to offer.
Selecting the best EOR technique
Operators should consider EOR in the early stages of field development planning to maximize asset returns.
Industry Impact
Creating a more accurate drilling modeling tool
Design platform decreases length of drillbit development cycle and can be used on multiple drive systems.
Integrated system helps manage pressure-related problems
Geomechanics solution allows modeling of complex environments and well analysis.
Management Report
Skills to pay the bills
Bridging the geoscientist generation gap will require knowledge sharing and information access.
Slow HR processes result in lost talent for majors
Recruits have too many offers pending to wait weeks for the second interview.