Somewhere around the time that the industry stopped using cable-drop tools and started using rotary drilling tools, the habit formed to turn the drillstring to the right. And “turning to the right” has become a mantra for successful drilling ever since.
But so much has changed, and in the following pages we reveal some of the amazing strides that the drilling industry has made. This isn’t your father’s rope, soap and dope industry anymore. Rigs have been automated, and downhole sensors have become so sophisticated that the industry is playing catch-up trying to make sense of the ocean of data they provide. And operators are pushing the limits of temperature and pressure with the aid of new downhole tools that can withstand the harshest conditions.
The “easy oil” has been gone for a long time. But the industry still fi nds ways to push the boundaries.
Read each of the March E&P cover stories:
Automating complex tasks in unforgiving environments
Recommended Reading
Exclusive: Carbo Sees Strong Future Amid Changing Energy Landscape
2024-03-15 - As Carbo Ceramics celebrates its 45th anniversary as a solutions provider, Senior Vice President Max Nikolaev details the company's five year plan and how it is handling the changing energy landscape in this Hart Energy Exclusive.
The Need for Speed in Oil, Gas Operations
2024-03-22 - NobleAI uses “science-based AI” to improve operator decision making and speed up oil and gas developments.
TPH: Lower 48 to Shed Rigs Through 3Q Before Gas Plays Rebound
2024-03-13 - TPH&Co. analysis shows the Permian Basin will lose rigs near term, but as activity in gassy plays ticks up later this year, the Permian may be headed towards muted activity into 2025.
SilverBow Makes Horseshoe Lateral in Austin Chalk
2024-05-01 - SilverBow Resources’ 8,900-foot lateral was drilled in Live Oak County at the intersection of South Texas’ oil and condensate phases. It's a first in the Chalk.
TotalEnergies Acquires Eagle Ford Interest, Ups Texas NatGas Production
2024-04-08 - TotalEnergies’ 20% interest in the Eagle Ford’s Dorado Field will increase its natural gas production in Texas by 50 MMcf/d in 2024.