In the United States, where individuals may own mineral rights, thousands of wells are privately owned and operated. In addition to the super majors and large independents, the petroleum industry... more

Latin America is one of the most beautiful and diverse continents imaginable. The landscapes range from the world's mightiest river to some of the highest mountain ranges and vast areas... more

The future of expandable metal technology looks small - in scale, not scope. The past 10 years have seen expandable metals used in a variety of solid- and perforated-pipe-based wellbore... more

The industry first used expandable technology as a contingency in unexpected drilling problems. As successful use of expandable pipe grew, its reputation as "enabling technology" also grew. Operators soon realized... more

It's not hard to imagine the benefits that a high-speed, bi-directional intelligent drillstring telemetry system would provide. The challenge has been to engineer and build a robust, cost-effective system. The recently... more

Expandable liner hangers have been shown to provide multiple advantages over conventional liner hangers, but work at Shell's Brutus platform demonstrated a new benefit - the ability to drill in... more

Under production since 1966, the Vizcacheras field is located in Western Argentina. It is the southeastern-most field in the prolific Cuyo Basin and has produced under a mature waterflood scheme... more

The long-term economic potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is large, with more than 300 billion bbl of oil remaining in domestic reservoirs after conventional technologies reach their economic limit.... more

Most of the world's oil will remain in existing reservoirs under current state-of-the-art recovery technology. It doesn't have to be that way. A recent study examines typical US field potential... more

Brazil will pass the 1.85 million b/d self-sufficiency mark for oil this year and begin exporting oil by the end of the year as the Petrobras Albacora Leste field ramps... more

An open-arms attitude, transparent bidding, competitive taxation and a real shot at finding big fields in a high-price environment in Brazil sent operators to seismic data providers last year, and... more

Savvy operators in search of international prospects evaluate all of the options with potential, refine their searches and pick the target that offers them the best chances for high returns... more

InForce HCM-Plus Valve for High Flow Rate Injection Baker Hughes The HCM-Plus valve is a high-flow injection version of Baker Oil Tools' field-proven InForce HCM-Plus valve used for intelligent well systems.... more

FMC Technologies, Inc. has appointed Peter D. Kinnear (left) as president and chief operating officer. In addition to his current responsibilities of managing the company's energy systems businesses, Kinnear will... more

North America 1. After importing the first jackup drilling rig in Alaska's Cook Inlet in 14 years, Houston, Texas-based Escopta Oil and South African partner Centurion Gold Holdings Inc. will drill... more

In the hyper-competitive climate of mergers, acquisitions and a never-ending drive to accelerate exploration and development, exploration and production (E&P) groups face daunting challenges. To grow and remain competitive they... more

An organization in the United Kingdom is helping get the word out about little companies with big ideas. Even in an industry that plays as close to the vest as the... more

Reducing controllable variance in the wells development process presents a significant opportunity for upstream companies to capture additional value for their shareholders. Controllable variance in the drilling function in an operating... more

Something is amiss in Foggy Bottom. Reflecting on some of the rhetoric being spouted in the media of late, one has to wonder, when does pandering become a criminal act? One... more

IXSEA launches SAS IXSEA has launched SHADOWS, its new Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) at Oi06. SHADOWS is a quick and efficient high-performance sonar system with synthetic aperture processing, which offers unparalleled... more

Diagenesis-type reactions that can occur between proppant and freshly fractured rock surfaces can lead to rapid loss of proppant-pack porosity and consequent loss of hydrocarbon production. Diagenesis is defined as... more

Spend 4 days at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) and you'll hear a litany of event-related gripes from attendees of all stripes. Exhibitors in particular seem to view the conference... more

Exploration is growing in New Zealand as explorers hit 12 successes in 74 wildcats during the past 6 years. The wildcat success rate since 2000 is about 16%, according to... more

Hardman Resources will drill at least six wells in an accelerated exploration program after success on the M'puta and Waraga discoveries. The government has been encouraging the company to move... more

The Barents Sea could become the leading offshore oil and gas producing area by 2020, said Helge Lund, chief executive of Norway's Statoil. Indicating Norway's oil and gas industry is... more

Newfoundland and Labrador will put parcels from three offshore basins on the block for bidders this year. Three of the parcels are in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin off the east... more

The world's largest hover barge will provide a no-footprint drilling platform over the swamps of northern Suriname. The 170 ft by 90 ft (52 m by 27 m), 900-ton craft... more

It's no secret rigs are in short supply in the North Sea. The supply is so tight that Petrojack of Norway got an offer to buy all three of the... more

Aker Arctic of Finland will design and modify the turret-moored Frontier Discovery drillship for Arctic work, according to Ogilvie's E&P Daily. Under the contract with Frontier Drilling, Aker Arctic, the... more

The Peak Group of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, will conduct an eight-well drilling campaign for four independent operators offshore Australia in a program that will cost more than US $73.75 million.... more

Worldwide stakeholders in subsea oil and gas operations have agreed on standards for the interaction of subsea sensors and subsea control modules after 2 years of discussion. OTM set up... more

Sevan Marine's Sevan Stabilized Platform (SSP) Piranema has finished dockwork at Yantai Raffles Shipyard in China and moved to the Keppel Verolme Shipyard in Rotterdam, where the topsides will be... more

Statoil beat the Norwegian government's goal of 60% recovery from the nation's fields as the Norwegian oil and gas company poured technology expertise into its established Statfjord field offshore Norway.... more

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. employees in the United States, United Kingdom and The Netherlands earned Volvos as they met or exceeded corporate growth targets in every area in the... more

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) named the M-I Swaco CleanCut automatic cuttings collection and transport system the winner of the organization's prestigious "Safety in Seas Award." The CleanCut dense... more

The oil and gas ministry of Venezuela has proposed an increase in royalty rates to 20% to 30%. Under the proposal, royalties on the heavy Orinoco Belt oil would climb... more

Two Knowledge Systems software systems have been released in enhanced versions. The upgrades will help operators plan, drill and complete wells with greater safety and efficiency. Drillworks, an integrated software... more

While everyone is currently busy forecasting the end of life as we know it because of a temporary overhang of natural gas in storage, we have a somewhat contrarian view.... more

Are you retired and your old buddies and your spouse have already heard all your tales? Guess what - the petroleum industry needs you! Our kids grow up watching shows that... more

From the halcyon days ushered in by the 1901 Spindletop gusher in east Texas, through playing a key role in winning World War II with an "ocean of oil," Houston... more

The northern Campos Basin has become an active area for big operators as it flashes big offshore reserves near proven plays. The action is underway, and activity is getting busier. Petrobras... more

Plenty of interesting stuff has been going on around here lately, and I thought this would be a good time to catch up. You may have noticed another face staring... more