Speaking recently in Kolkata, India, Ian Jack, lately retired from BP and still a leading figure in the development of 4-D seismic, told an enthusiastic audience that the "time has... more

Building on the tools of 3-D seismic imaging, Shell geoscientists are working on a fourth dimension, production time, to study how reservoirs change as they produce oil and gas. With... more

Historically, subsurface exploration specialists have strived to predict lithology and fluid content from seismic data prior to drilling, but many times Mother Nature has fooled them with a dry hole... more

The trend toward mechanized drilling systems began almost 2 decades ago, and new technologies are continuously being developed. The goal is an increase in safety for rig floor personnel and... more

Rotary steerable technology has produced impressive results since its introduction. Drilling records - both geometrical reach and drilling time - are broken regularly, and tremendous value has been realized, especially... more

Business drivers continue to provide reasons to find better ways to drill wells. These drivers include a shortage of skilled drilling professionals and the persistent goals of reduced risks, improved... more

A system under development from Validus International to record near-bit directional surveys and transmit them to surface uses two new technologies that promise a substantial improvement in directional drilling operations. The... more

Even the most mature technologies are benefiting from the increased emphasis on production optimization. Companies that were satisfied to maintain the status quo at US $17/bbl to $20/bbl, or at... more

The DynaPump is a proprietary, computerized crude oil pumping system. The surface-mounted hydraulic system uses electronic sensors, hydraulic equipment and computer monitoring for the purpose of extracting oil in an... more

Oil prices have climbed rapidly, but along with them, the cost of power to run sucker rod pumps has climbed, unless an operator can use field fuel. A new pumping... more

Approximately 60% of the world's oil production is delivered from brown fields - mature fields in a state of decline. Unlike greenfield projects that can be executed in almost a... more

Kerr-McGee pioneered Gulf of Mexico spar technology with the installation of its Neptune facility in 1996. The structure, located in 1,930 ft (589 m) of water in Viosca Knoll Block... more

The need for energy as a prime vehicle for growth in the global economy is stimulating large investments by transnational corporations. India is a fast-growing oil consumer in the Asia-Pacific... more

It comes as no surprise that polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit use continues to expand at a rapid pace. Formations considered undrillable by PDC bits a few years ago are... more

The Colt (RST) is a rotary steerable bottomhole assembly (BHA) that uses AnTech's Electric Orienter to ensure the drill bit is pointing in the correct direction even while rotary drilling.... more

Warp drilling and completion fluid technology employs colloidal weighting agents ground to less than 10 microns in diameter. A patented polymer is added during the grinding process to ensure that... more

Carnarvon Petroleum appointed Ted Jacobson as chief executive officer of the company. Richard C. "Dick" Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Xcel Energy, has been elected chairman of the company's... more

North America 1. Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved drilling permits on three ventures put together by the FEX LP subsidiary of Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 2. CanWest... more

of having immediate access to the high-performance computing resources of a vendor?... more

of having immediate access to the high-performance computing resources of a vendor?... more

Over the years technology has evolved and today utility computing has become a strategic part of oil and gas companies' information technology solutions. Although there has been talk of utility... more

The main opportunity for the exploration and production industry to radically improve oilfield performance is in the adoption of digital-age technologies. The challenge will be to achieve effective integration of... more

This is the story of how the stubborn goop that accumulates around a sucker-rod first made its way to the eyelashes of millions of American women and then to the... more

A little more than 5 years after the Spindletop gusher blew out near Beaumont, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1901, and turned oil into big business, a predecessor of present-day Vetco... more

What are you doing sitting around reading magazines? You should be out exploring for hydrocarbons! That seems to be the message of the pundits who provide yearly predictions to their clients... more

Edward Tufte knows some things about the visual display of quantitative information. And, as the author of a widely admired book on the subject, he wants to tell you about... more

It's been said that all producers have one thing in common, their top three priorities are cost control, cost control and, finally, cost control. All this focus on cost is... more

CEI has released EnSight DR, the first commercial visualization application that brings the power of parallel graphics to the user's desktop, according to the company. EnSight DR combines EnSight, CEI's... more

WesternGeco recently launched its Omega (Omega) Suite of seismic processing and reservoir definition technologies, spanning the seismic continuum from survey evaluation and design to sophisticated signal enhancement techniques, advanced imaging,... more

Fugro-Robertson Inc. has recently unveiled a potential fields modeling software that offers new features, enabling a model to be built using voxels for which a variety of attributes can be... more

Grant Prideco has placed into commercial service the IntelliServ Network, which the company claims is the industry's first reliable, high-speed, real-time drillstring telemetry system. The basis of the IntelliServ Network... more

A rig that combines the capabilities of a lift boat and workover rig has been patented by Blake Offshore LLC. The rig, Blake 101, is a completion and workover jackup... more

In the first part of this series we discussed the Intelligent Iterative Integration (i3) analysis, which integrates the three production data analysis techniques - decline curve analysis, type curve matching... more

I have refrained from addressing the debate on Peak Oil, primarily because the idea is self evident. Oil and gas are finite resources. Their production will peak and decline. The... more

I have refrained from addressing the debate on Peak Oil, primarily because the idea is self evident. Oil and gas are finite resources. Their production will peak and decline. The... more

I have refrained from addressing the debate on Peak Oil, primarily because the idea is self evident. Oil and gas are finite resources. Their production will peak and decline. The... more

Exploration Veritas plans Caspian shoot Veritas DGC Ltd., via its joint venture company Veritas Caspian LLP, has concluded an exclusive agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan for... more

Exploration Veritas plans Caspian shoot Veritas DGC Ltd., via its joint venture company Veritas Caspian LLP, has concluded an exclusive agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan for... more

Exploration Veritas plans Caspian shoot Veritas DGC Ltd., via its joint venture company Veritas Caspian LLP, has concluded an exclusive agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of Kazakhstan for... more

Imagine the oil and gas industry with no confrontations, disagreements or outright shouting matches - just everyone harmoniously engaged in exploration and production to the mutual benefit of all. While that's... more

High oil and gas prices induce change. National oil companies increase their activities. Governments increase their stake in production, and service and supply costs climb. The cycle stays true to... more

Imagine the oil and gas industry with no confrontations, disagreements or outright shouting matches - just everyone harmoniously engaged in exploration and production to the mutual benefit of all. While that's... more

High oil and gas prices induce change. National oil companies increase their activities. Governments increase their stake in production, and service and supply costs climb. The cycle stays true to... more

Imagine the oil and gas industry with no confrontations, disagreements or outright shouting matches - just everyone harmoniously engaged in exploration and production to the mutual benefit of all. While that's... more

High oil and gas prices induce change. National oil companies increase their activities. Governments increase their stake in production, and service and supply costs climb. The cycle stays true to... more

The nation of Suriname, armed with more information than ever before and more operators doing active work, is looking for bidders to help find some of the estimated 15 billion... more

One of the greatest challenges management faces is selecting and grooming the next generation of management. Select the wrong people and you can have a lasting negative impact on your... more