Finite element analysis (FEA) has been used in the offshore industry for many years to design and analyze structures and mechanical components, and is generally viewed as standard practice by... more

Deepwater drilling has brought the problems and associated costs of lost circulation (LC) to new levels, but an innovative software program lets users explore and assess operator and well-specific LC... more

At the recently held SPE/IADC Drilling Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Schlumberger unveiled its new family of measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and logging-while-drilling (LWD) tools called Scope. Although not specifically designed for deepwater,... more

Subsea well artificial lift methods and seabed multiphase boosters are increasingly being used together to maintain production levels of mature offshore reservoirs and to allow economic development of marginal fields... more

During the shutdown of subsea systems, there is a high risk of hydrate formation in the flow line due to the low ambient (seabed) temperature. Hydrates are ice-like crystals that... more

If offshore hydrocarbon deposits are to be tapped without surface facilities, then operators need a subsea production system that sometimes includes a long-distance subsea tieback. This article outlines some of... more

A new high-efficiency logging system from Baker Atlas, FOCUS, made its public debut at the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG) convention in June 2003. Since then, the six units... more

Wireline formation testing in high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) wells has long been a challenge due to both the hostile operating environment and the general nature of formation testing. Acquiring multiple pressure measurements... more

Instead of bringing two redundant platforms to shore, a Gulf of Mexico operator chose to redeploy them on new discoveries in greater water depth by adapting the jacket legs with... more

The search for oil and gas reserves is going into deeper and deeper waters, due largely to improvements in knowledge, equipment and techniques. Dolphin Drilling has become involved in a... more

NORTH AMERICA Baker Hughes announced several organizational changes. David Barr, currently president of Baker Atlas, will be promoted to group president and will head the drilling and evaluation group; Doug Wall,... more

North America 1. Rutter and Wilbanks Corp., Midland, Texas, plans a rank wildcat about 12 miles (19 km) west of Glenallen in southeastern Alaska. 2. Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada, brought... more

Creating the digital oil field involves adding the 21st century technologies of automation and information to the fluids-processing systems of classic petroleum production operations. Increased recovery from existing fields is... more

I recently attended the 2005 International Forum, a conference that is held every year in Houston on the eve of the North American Prospect Expo (NAPE). This year's discussions focused... more

Drillers and explorationists have co-existed for over a century in one of the longest running odd-couple relationships in industry. Finding oil through the drill bit is the central competency upon which... more

Where you've been is, of course, your history. Where you are currently is colored by your history and experience, and includes your cumulative knowledge. Where are you going? Well that... more

San Jose, Calif.-based Geometrics Inc. has introduced the GeoEel, a 24-bit digital seismic streamer. Its wide bandwidth (up to 8KHz) makes it applicable to all seismic surveys. Only 1.5 in.... more

Closing the gap between users, their applications and the data they rely on is the objective of any data management system. TGS-NOPEC has been providing customers an easy way to... more

To the operators who wish to quantify and characterize all the fluids in their reservoirs, Inteq offers MagTrak, a new service based on magnetic resonance excitation of hydrogen. By adapting... more

A new through-tubing sand control service from Halliburton solves the problem of controlling poorly consolidated formations in brownfield developments. Called SandTrap, the service consists of a pumpable resin that can... more

In the last few years, iron sulfide scale has reduced overall production from the Barnóko-Mostno-Buszewo (BMB) field in northwest Poland. Despite challenging well environments, the Polish Oil & Gas Company... more

When you want performance from your perforating charges, go to the people who wrote the book on making holes in tough targets. Knocking out enemy tanks in combat is a... more

We have made some strides toward cleaning up the image of our industry of late - not nearly enough, but some. Unfortunately, the efforts seem to have fallen on deaf... more

Individual contractors have their own rules that tell them when to give up on deteriorating rigs regardless of age, but until now, no consistent rules have been available for the... more

Once upon a time I was serving as deputy assistant secretary of oil and gas in the US Department of Energy, under Secretary Bill Richardson. He sent me to far... more

Terrorism has become the four-letter word of the insurance industry today. In the past, most companies working overseas didn't lend much credence to threats of terrorism. Risk managers weighed the... more

Once upon a time I was serving as deputy assistant secretary of oil and gas in the US Department of Energy, under Secretary Bill Richardson. He sent me to far... more

A group of explorers hit the Dalia-1 well on their Adam Concession for approximately 3,600 b/d of oil and 65 MMcf/d of gas. It went onstream at an average flow... more

In the good old days life in the upstream oilpatch must have been a lot simpler. There were those that explored and produced and those that provided the parts and... more