Until marine seismic capacity is reduced, contractors will continue to struggle. The ongoing overcapacity problem in the marine seismic industry is causing a continued recession in the business, leaving many to... more

With better imaging than traditional 3D and declining costs, multicomponent technology promises to have positive impacts throughout the E&P cycle. In recent years the development of marine four-component (4C) acquisition and... more

Originally an exploration tool, reflection seismic has evolved into a valuable reservoir imaging technique. The introduction of 3D, and now 4D, has opened new, important applications involving more accurate reservoir... more

Reprocessing brings new ideas to light in older data. The reworking of previously analyzed seismic datasets or reprocessing has always played a significant part in the makeup of a seismic contractor's... more

If the present shortage of offshore drilling installations in the Caspian is to be solved, it appears to be through the "rig club" scheme operating in the region. Of course... more

Lukoil has made a significant oil discovery in its sector of the Caspian Sea that could promote it to Russia's No. 1 oil company in terms of reserves. Late last year... more

Following on from the unveiling of Turkmenistan's new offshore licensing acreage offer in the Caspian Sea, the government has released details on its targeted production levels. International operators can now knock... more

Exploration activity in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea is set to go deeper, with the news that the first well to be drilled in a Chevron project will... more

Although the Caspian Sea region is one of the oldest oil-producing provinces on earth, it still has striking promise for future discoveries. The Caspian Sea region contains a wealth of oil... more

Oil company research and development (R&D) can add tremendous value. Conoco has studied 318 projects spanning a 20-year period (1979-1999), with a total cost outlay of about US $180 million.... more

A new method of formation evaluation computes permeability using standard well test and log data. According to a recent US National Petroleum Council survey, development of a permeability logging technique... more

A new logging-while-drilling (LWD) sonic tool provides compressional and shear logs in fast and slow formations. LWD triple-combo services have developed in recent years to the point of replacing equivalent wireline... more

Cooperation in shared resource management may be the best way to stay competitive. Years ago there was a television commercial in the United States in which an adult, who was eating... more

Floating production systems have been accepted by the offshore industry as reliable and economic solutions for oil production. In deeper waters their role seems to have become even more important.... more

NORTH AMERICA Larry Lenig Jr. has been named president of Paradigm Geophysical Ltd.'s US operations in Houston, Texas, and John Dinning takes the post of vice president of client solutions for... more

Offshore expenditure worldwide is set to hit nearly US $86 billion this year and peak at $88 billion by 2002, according to a new global spending report. The total is then... more

The seismic industry arguably attracts the E&P sector's most visionary and revolutionary characters. Some would say they have to be exactly that type of character, such is the speed with... more

Thrust into capitalism via former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of perestroika in 1987, Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky has risen to the high-ranking title of oligarch. He is a product of... more

As chairman and chief executive officer of a leading worldwide integrated service organization, Schlumberger Ltd.'s D. Euan Baird found it paradoxical that despite the obvious value seismic delivers to the... more

A couple of hot contests helped to liven up the recent Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 175. But for the most part, the sale was pretty unexciting. Operators shelled out... more

A substantial new gas play has quietly developed in the plains country of the Oklahoma Panhandle. Operators have punched hundreds of holes in Texas County, Okla., sandwiched between the Texas Panhandle... more

North American gas suppliers will struggle to meet higher anticipated gas demand. US natural gas demand will climb to 40.1 Tcf by 2015 if the electricity demand curve follows historical patterns.... more

The apparent race by Norwegian operators to start issuing major contracts for substantial field development projects appears to be picking up speed. Invitations to bid for the front end engineering and... more

Operator Kerr-McGee is checking market options for the cost of a floating production system for its Leadon oil discovery on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf. With the operator's Gryphon field producing... more

A large floating production system could be back on the table once again for the Haltenbanken South gas complex development off mid-Norway. While a floater and subsea combination was the preferred... more

Production from Libya's Elephant field could be postponed up to a year because of the government's delays over the selection of state representatives for the management committee. The field, in Block... more

South America remains one of the new meccas for the global upstream activity. Lately, it has had a very active period, even by its own high standards, with news of... more

Pakistan and Iran are eager to construct a major pipeline from the giant South Pars gas field in southern Iran to Multan in eastern Pakistan. The 1,659-mile (2,670km) long pipeline, which... more

The Middle East kingdom of Jordan is to invite oil companies to help it develop its gas resources, prompted by a setback in the country's short-term plans to increase its... more

China's upstream sector remains one of the most prospective and most daunting hydrocarbon sectors in the world. Recent finds in the country's Bohai Bay off its northeast coast have, however,... more

With a couple of potentially significant finds within its grasp, New Zealand is suddenly being promoted as a potential exploration hot spot in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite being relatively underexploited... more

1. Arco Alaska Inc. is drilling two North Slope wildcats. The No. A NPRA-Clover in Section 12-10n-3e, Umiat Meridian, is projected to 9,000ft (2,745m) in Jurassic sediments. It's the first... more

1. Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas Corp., Oklahoma City, Okla., re-established production in the abandoned Mustang Island Block 774-L field in Texas state waters with the completion of an Oligocene well... more

1. Ramco Energy, the UK independent, has been granted a licensing option over acreage in the Irish Atlantic margin, raising hopes of further appraisal and development activity in the Donegal... more

1. ARC Energy is preparing to drill an exploration well in the third quarter of this year after completing its evaluation of the AC/P27 permit in the Timor Sea. Prior... more

1. Australia's Anzoil will drill 10 additional exploration wells on its production sharing contract (PSC) in North Vietnam this year. Seven of the planned wells will be drilled on the... more

1. Seismic work and exploration drilling will start on Morocco's Atlantic coast under an agreement between the country's state-run ONAREP office and Shell Maroc. The Moroccan Energy Ministry said the... more

1. Iran claims to have discovered the world's largest nonassociated onshore sweet gas field, and will invite foreign companies to bid for its development within the next 12 months. Oil... more

1. Harken Energy Corp., Houston, has completed a seismic survey in the Caribbean off the east coast of Costa Rica and will spend the next several months evaluating the information... more

With 3D seismic enjoying the reputation of being a necessity for almost all exploration activity, maybe it's time to say "thanks" to all our geophysical contractor friends. Sometimes there's a lag... more

"Technology and best practices will drive growth and improve the performance of existing assets. We as an industry must drill better within the reservoir. Improving recovery within the reservoir is... more

Completions and workovers are always undertaken with the hope that minimal formation damage will result and fluids will flow freely into the well. Too often that doesn't happen. Now a... more

In most walks of working life, there's nothing worse than not having your work appreciated by your boss. Everybody needs that little bit of recognition and acknowledgement that they are... more

When a country announces its first oil strike in more than 20 years, it will usually draw only a flicker of initial interest from explorationists, who will immediately draw the... more

The industry's greatest achievements in recent years are probably in drilling and subsea technologies. Drilling techniques have been refined to levels that make this technology the instrument required for the... more