June 2013

• Companies focus R&D on improving downhole completion efficiency

  Operators and producers are looking for ways to make sure that all of the clusters in a given well are producing in a way that maximizes both production and the life of the well.

• New options in scale, bacteria management

  New control chemistries help operators keep wells producing and prevent degradation of production value.

• Making the case for advanced ceramic proppants

  New proppant shows increase in oil, gas production volume and speed during field-testing.

• Improving performance while reducing footprint using NADF

  Advances in at-site treatment of NADF cuttings waste now enable the use of these fluids for best operational performance with the smallest drilling waste footprint possible.

• Proppant management can improve return on investment

  Proper selection of proppants impacts the cost of well completion as well as production over the life of the well. Proper education and communication will ensure the right proppant is selected.

• Winch system lightens load on Perdido

  Having a facility more than 300 km (186 miles) offshore connected to ultra-deepwater subsea equipment that needs regular servicing means operators are looking for topsides solutions that can reduce cost.

• Reducing risk, delivering benefits for topsides inspection

  An aerial ROV solution has given Centrica a vital ‘eye in the sky’ to help it carry out improved offshore inspection operations with lower risks.

• Resurgence in the Permian basin

  Technology opens new areas while unlocking additional potential in established Permian basin plays.

• Deepwater advances depend on transition to closed-loop rigs

  With the growth of a fleet of CLD-ready rigs, deepwater drilling operations are poised to benefit from advantages based on closed-loop systems.

• Making deep water pay by first drilling wells digitally

  Today’s software platforms can be employed to optimize deepwater operations every step of the way – long before the rig arrives on location.

• Integration leads to optimization

  Collaboration between the disciplines of geoscience, engineering, and real-time microseismic monitoring improves exploration success.

• DAS aids in permanent field monitoring

  New DAS system provides complete wellbore evaluation.

• Integrated high-density point-source, point-receiver land seismic

  A case study from the UAE includes complex depth imaging. 

• The promise of full waveform inversion

  Though hugely compute-intensive, the FWI method holds promise in capturing waveform information in seismic data.

• Renewed challenges of 3-D seismic acquisition programs

  Leaseholder issues can sidetrack the best land acquisition schemes.

• Growing to go the distance

  Seven years ago BHP Billiton Petroleum’s board of directors had an epiphany. Now their dreams are becoming reality.

• Global warming: tilting at windmills

  Data abound indicating that more CO2 in the atmosphere might actually be a desirable outcome.

• Seismic for unconventionals

  Can seismic technology improve success rates in the E&P of oil and gas from shale and tight sand?

• China’s energy appetite still growing

  China is hungry for energy, looking to sustain and grow its conventional oil and gas production, invigorate its unconventional sector, and kick-start the exploitation of its potentially huge shale gas reserves.

• Hart Energy dives deep with new acquisition

  The addition of Subsea Engineering News broadens the company’s offshore offerings.

• Stock optimization: An efficient service partner for industry

  Ensuring that warehousing acts as an effective service within a business is a key consideration for oil and gas operators, helping secure business continuity and safe operations.

• Technology aids buying, selling properties

  Virtual data rooms can speed transactions while providing security and easy access.

• Trouble on the horizons?

  Induced seismicity is starting to get the attention of the general public. Oil and gas companies cannot ignore the implications.

• Unconventional gas, FLNG highlight LNG 17

  With about 5,000 delegates, the triennial LNG conference in Houston focused on the rapidly changing LNG business.

• Managing oil and gas portfolios in uncertain markets

  The need to rationalize and optimize portfolios has never been greater as emerging markets open up to foreign investment against a backdrop of uncertainty and constrained capital markets.

• International Highlights

• On the Move

• Two-stepping horizontal well production

  A new dual gas-lift system energizes well flow vertically and laterally.

• Collaboration is key to the ultra-deep

  Teamwork has always been the key to overcoming offshore challenges, and the latest insight from DeepStar shows an encouraging commitment to the cause.

• Azimuthal deep resistivity sensor maps formation layers

  Geosteering tool guides horizontal wells through the reservoir.

• Tech Trends

• Technology gap widens between high-specification, legacy drilling rigs

  Safety and inspection requirements in the US GoM post-Macondo have shifted the preference by operators to high-specification floaters.