E&P Magazine - October 2008
As I See It
Was Chicken Little right?
The US economy is in shambles. Recent government bail-outs of shaky investment banking, brokerage, and insurance companies, most with dramatic exposure to huge volumes of bad mortgage debt, have raised the national debt exponentially, to a bit more than $10 trillion.
Exploration Technologies
Imaging at a finer scale
A new company is showing its clients reservoir rock information at the pore scale.
Drilling Technologies
Supply matters
Offshore drilling in the US has been drastically restricted since 1982. There is more reason than ever before to open access to the estimated 18 billion bbl of oil locked behind the dusty traps of legislation.
Completions and Production
Capitalizing on spare capacity
Subsea tiebacks will improve production efficiency in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Yards push limits to make deliveries
Shipyards are busier than ever, and record order books list deliveries to 2012 and beyond. With yards at capacity, the time is ripe for new ideas and innovative approaches to construction.
Digital Solutions
Using gaming technology for collaboration
Although E&P of petroleum resources is far from child’s play, a new business application of gaming technology can reduce the costs, delays, and risks associated with finding hydrocarbons and bringing them into commercial development.
Features
Atlantic Canada seeks sustainability
Newfoundland and Labrador has had its ups and downs with offshore exploration, but the approval of the Hebron development, combined with forward-looking plans initiated by the Provincial government, has changed the local mood from cautiously optimistic to buoyant.
Conventional mooring reaches deeper
There is a huge demand for high-spec drilling rigs, and in remote areas of the world where comparatively little deepwater drilling is taking place, extending a rig’s mooring capability is one avenue operators have taken to contend with asset constraint.
Engineering with integrity
Developing offshore reserves presents many challenges and risks that must be managed during the design and operational phases. Risers are a particular focus due to their complex structural response and are one element of equally critical integrated subsea architecture.
From gold medals to golden opportunities
The closing ceremony in Beijing, with the Olympic torch being passed from China to Great Britain, was ironic. In truth, Asia forcefully grabbed the economic initiative some time ago. If global business were a decathlon, it would be the Asian countries that would be tipped to run fastest, jump highest, and throw farthest in the years ahead.
Holistic approach improves sand management
A look at the big picture is driving some operators to improve their predictive ability to enhance sand management as a whole.
Interstitially insulated coaxial pipe
An all-metal insulated pipeline can guard against flow assurance problems in harsh subsea environments.
Making time for time-lapse
Asset planning that considers 4-D monitoring from the very beginning pays dividends for one company’s deepwater fields.
MPD enables onshore efficiency and well control
Many of today’s drilling prospects are challenging, expensive, and in some cases undrillable. Managed-pressure drilling techniques are increasingly being applied as a solution to overcome barriers and increase drilling performance.
New tools reduce spiraling
The implementation of new technologies in Asia-Pacific increases drilling efficiency and improves the overall value of assets.
Proper core analysis yields value
Unconsolidated sands are among the most difficult type of reservoirs in which to obtain core and to analyze in the laboratory. With the value of a proper core analysis typically exceeding 10 times the cost, it pays to get it right.
Providing integrity in EOR thermal recovery wells
Heavy oil is difficult to mobilize and produce. Improved methodology, however, is making heavy oil production less costly.
Real-time seismic-while-drilling
Seismic-while-drilling has finally come of age.
Reservoir modeling drives IT requirements
Collocated data centers afford the ability to dedicate an E&P company’s IT resources and staff to other projects and initiatives.
Supporting development in Indonesia
Developing resources in a decentralizing country requires sustainable community development to promote synergies between corporate initiatives and local government goals.
Two sensors are clearly better than one
New streamer technology restores full data bandwidth.
Understanding MPD complexity levels
Determining the complexity of a managed-pressure drilling project can identify which tools to use to get it right the first time.
Tech Trends
Pre-job modeling overcomes challenges
A new approach to reservoir characterization uses a near-wellbore simulator with pre-job modeling and planning for selecting sampling depth, pumping rate, and the minimum required time and volume necessary to reach the target contamination level of a sample.
Tech Trends
Tech trends for October.
On The Move
On the move
Who's going where in the upstream sector.
Last Word
Retaining female employees in the 21st century
Very little hiring was done in the 1990s when oil prices were low, so people in their 30s are scarce in the industry. Companies need to protect their investment.
Activity Spotlight
Iceland tenders Dreki acreage
The National Energy Authority of Iceland hopes to open new field exploration in the Dreki area to the northeast between Iceland and Jan Mayen Island.
Another Perspective
Designing innovative engineers
As Texas A&M’s Institute for Innovation and Design in Engineering (IIDE) turns 20 years old, it is important to reflect on the value of providing ready-made engineers to an industry that survives by its ability to innovate.
Management Report
Make the most of what you’ve got
Ensuring that employees are working as efficiently and effectively as possible on the right things is a need in every industry. The need is most acute, however, in the energy industry, where there is a shortage of skilled and trained professionals.
News & Analysis
News and Analysis
October news and analysis.
Oilfield History
A creative mind at work
With nearly 51?2 decades of R&D experience behind him, Ed Horton is not done pushing the limits of deepwater operations.