Better information from downhole meters improves optimization and response times. The rise in multilateral and multizone completions has increased the need for a better monitoring of the contribution from each producing... more

Reliable, available and maintainable subsea systems are best achieved by using powerful analytical tools and an integrated systems approach at every stage of development. There is a significant difference between proactive... more

With clear advantages and solid reliability, optical monitoring systems are gaining traction as the preferred way to manage reservoirs downhole. In slightly more than a decade, the utilization of optical fibers... more

A new reservoir characterization methodology promises to be more than "yet another channel simulator." The modeling of geologically realistic channel reservoirs has always been a concern. Channels have usually been created... more

A formation testing portfolio provides complete reservoir characterization. A recently launched portfolio of reservoir fluid characterization services provides operators with a complete package of fluid characterization modules and services to fully... more

Reprocessing seismic data with new techniques helps identify bypassed pay. In many mature fields, companies recognize the difficulty in determining potential for recovering additional hydrocarbons. As a result, these fields may... more

An automated and iterative technique integrates decline curve analysis, type curve matching and reservoir simulation to converge to a set of reservoir characteristics. (Part one of a two-part series.) State-of-the-art in... more

Production optimization has become a buzz word within the industry as operators ask, "How can I get more from what I have already got?" After many years in the doldrums, interest... more

Low-cost drilling systems using microhole technologies can give operators reservoir access in marginal fields for half the cost of conventional rigs. Microhole technologies are the array of technologies necessary to enable... more

Microhole coiled tubing drilling re-energizes a mature gas play in Kansas and Colorado. Natural gas was first discovered in the Niobrara formation in 1912. Since then, the Niobrara gas play has... more

Fields and technology add production efficiency for world's premier oil exporter. The key to maintaining or improving standards of living is sustainable economic growth. The key to sustainable economic growth can... more

Technology boosts production capacity and earnings for large and small operators. Middle East countries place big opportunities in front of the operators willing to overcome geophysical obstacles and use modern technology... more

Monitoring and control offer new benchmarks in well optimization. Most wells in the oilpatch will produce more for the operator that takes the time and makes the effort to gather the... more

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. announced that Robert J. Allison Jr. will resign as chairman of the board. Jim Hackett, the company's president and chief executive officer, will take on the additional... more

Weatherford's PowerStroke Milling System was designed for remediation of subsidence-shifted casing in a single run. It reduces stresses that cause tool joint fatigue during conventional milling procedures in shifted casing... more

Halliburton's OptoLog Distributed Temperature Sensor (DTS) is a fiber-optic distributed temperature monitoring system that allows continuous temperature profiles along an entire length of the well bore at user-selected time intervals.... more

NORTH AMERICA 1. Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska Inc., Dallas, Texas, plans a Alaska North Slope wildcat on its Cronus Exploratory Unit some 14 miles (22.5 km) southeast of Nuiqsut in Section... more

Move beyond information technology for field management. Many confuse the digital oil field as simply the use of information technology (IT) to manage field operations remotely. While IT is critical to... more

You're only as old as you feel - not all data has a short shelf life. Technology advances so quickly these days that oftentimes data such as seismic surveys are obsolete... more

As prospects get harder to find, technology developers try new techniques. A lot of press releases find their way into my inbox on a regular basis. Most of these end up... more

Drill bits, the sharp end of the spear in oilfield operations, relentlessly raise the performance bar. Someone once said that competition inspires innovation. Or something like that. Anyway, you get the... more

New technology and techniques are enabling extended life for oil and gas wells around the world. Not surprisingly, it all starts with a rig and a bit. You may be... more

Mapping projects add assurance With the current upturn in the energy business, many companies are finding they lack the time and manpower to generate an appropriate number of exploration and exploitation... more

A new concept that uses piezoelectric material in progressing cavity motors promises a reliable downhole power source. The continuing increase in the number of deepwater and ultradeep wells has created the... more

We have kept our heads down as the debate about peak oil has raged around us. That is because there are a lot of questions that are unanswered and that... more

Exploration PGS considers a split Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS) has decided to refinance most of its debt by raising a US $1 billion facility, comprised of an $850 million loan and a... more

Exploration success isn't just luck. Performance leaders use techniques that make them winners. In our recent study, "Exploration Strategy and Performance," we examined the different spending patterns amongst the 28 leading... more

Sometimes a handshake works. When it doesn't, the results can be painful. Imagine the oil and gas industry with no confrontations, disagreements or outright shouting matches - just everyone harmoniously engaged... more

Friendly fiscal and regulatory regimes are bonuses for operators. Operators seeking a welcoming work environment with opportunity for growth might put New Zealand among their choices for expansion into the international... more

For nearly a decade now the upstream industry has been striving to realize an ideal future state in which oil and gas field evaluation, planning, drilling and producing operations may... more

Raptor Thermostable PDC cutters have significantly improved fixed cutter bit applications. Raptor-equipped bits are drilling formations that were previously not considered polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC)-drillable. Rate of penetration and footage drilled... more

SHARC PDC bits SHARC (Smith High Abrasion Resistance Configuration) bits consistently achieve superior performance in the highly abrasive, interbedded Travis Peak, Cotton Valley and Hosston formations. Smith's proprietary bit-design software combines laboratory-derived... more

When focusing on the long-term goals and objectives, some important questions need to be asked. Do you actually have the infrastructure to support my needs? Are your products and services... more

Polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutter technology has evolved to the point where a step change in materials technology may be required to significantly advance hard-rock drilling performance. It is possible,... more

The Travis Peak and Cotton Valley formations in East Texas, notorious in the past for destroying polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits, can now be drilled faster and more economically with... more

As polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit use is extended into harder and more difficult formations, bit companies are finding more inventive ways to increase diamond volume without sacrificing rate of... more

Drilling with Casing (DwC) systems are one example of the mitigation methods used to address drilling hazards. The operator has two primary options when drilling with casing - to use retrievable... more