I/O introduces FireFly

FireFly is Input/Output's newest addition to its land acquisition line-up. FireFly combines proven wireless communication, data storage and power technologies in a seismic acquisition system architecture capable of supporting cost-effective, high station-count surveys.
FireFly was designed as a scalable system to enable fully sampled, full-wave data acquisition with I/O's VectorSeis three-component sensors while simultaneously increasing operational productivity and reducing health, safety and environmental risks irrespective of the number of stations deployed.
FireFly will join I/O's System Four (cable-based land recording) and VectorSeis Ocean (seabed recording) in the company's portfolio of full-wave platforms. The product contains several features that distinguish it from other radio-based systems:
• VectorSeis compatibility;
• Storage mode architecture;
• Wireless telemetry;
• Intelligent quality control;
• Embedded GPS; and
• Self-contained power supply.
The system is built around a new software package being developed by I/O subsidiary Concept Systems.
For more information, visit www.i-o.com.

Old exploration challenges get new look
WesternGeco has recently applied its Q-Marine system to the old challenge of over/under acquisition. The technique involves towing two streamers at different depths with one directly under the other. The combination of the two measurements allows for decom-position of the recorded seismic wavefield into up- and down-going components. Processing techniques can remove the ghost notches that always modulate the seismic frequency spectrum.
Without active horizontal control, however, the streamers float freely with the sea currents. Q-Marine active streamer steering solves this problem. The technology has been deployed to improve deep imaging in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and West of Shetlands. All of these areas require penetration through layers of salt and basalt, and the illumination of deep targets is a key challenge.

Cut drilling time up to 35%

Exxon Mobil Corp. claims that its newly developed Fast Drill Process (FDP) consistently reduces the time required to drill oil and gas wells by up to 35%. The company says it achieves this performance by using real-time computer analysis of the drilling system's energy consumption. This analysis helps improve management of the factors that determine drilling rate, such as weight on the drill bit, rotary speed and torque.
A key benefit of the FDP is that it quantifies the hidden cost of slow drilling.
The company has used FDP in many of its operating areas, and the process improves performance in a broad range of conditions:
• hard and soft rock;
• deep and shallow wells; and
• high- and low-angle wells in a variety of mud weights.
It has shown comparable success in exploration, delineation and production wells. Following FDP's successful field testing, ExxonMobil is implementing the process worldwide.
For more information, visit www.exxonmobil.com.

Environmentally friendly dust reduction

Cement dust emissions are an increasing concern during the cement mixing operation. Halliburton's Mixing Tub Dust Extractor (MTDE) system is designed to reduce dust emissions from the cement mixing tub and filter the air being exhausted to the environment.
The MTDE system generates a constant clean air flow into the mixing tub by connecting the tub to the suction of a pressure blower. The system design uses industrial ventilation design techniques and automotive air intake cleaning technology to filter the cement dust from the air before entering the blower. The blower then exhausts filtered air to the surrounding area. The MTDE system provides a solution for cement dust emissions that is both employee and environmentally friendly.
For more information, visit www.halliburton.com.

Geopressure data management software

Knowledge Systems has introduced software for managing geopressure information. The Pressworks system is a relational database developed to help operators protect, share and store pressure-related data from diverse sets of well and reservoir information and well log data.
The software can also connect to industry-standard databases, proprietary data stores and commercial data vendors over the Internet. This geopressure information is applied to specific projects through projects created using the company's Drillworks software. Job-specific Drillworks information is uploaded back to the Pressworks database to help streamline the project and provide quality control for information accessed by other users. Non-Drillworks users can browse and select pressure data and conduct queries through Pressworks Scout, a browser-type interface that integrates with Pressworks.
The company is implementing the Pressworks system through a pilot program with one operator. Site assessments are underway with multiple operators as a precursor for future Pressworks installations.
For more information, visit www.knowsys.com.

Viscosity reducer passes test

Oilflow Solutions Ltd. has successfully completed a major field trial of the company's Proflux viscosity reducer in the Patos-Marinza heavy oil field in Albania.
In the two-phase field trial, Proflux 200 was injected into a surface flow line from the wellhead to a collecting station. In the second phase, Proflux 200 was injected downhole through the well annulus to allow mixing of Proflux 200 and produced fluids at the progressive cavity pump. In both cases, measurements showed a reduction in viscosity by approximately two orders of magnitude, from 40,000 cP to 200 cP. Both trials also produced a 40% drop in wellhead pressure. In the downhole test, a 40% reduction in pump torque was also demonstrated.
For more information, visit www.oilflowsolutions.com.