E&P Magazine - March 2010
As I See It
New rules emerge for securing supply
The cost of services and supplies skyrocketed through 2008, but has not dropped significantly since the onset of the global recession. Major suppliers gathered at CERA Week to talk about where the industry has been, where it is today, and where they think it is going.
To infinity and beyond!
Advances in technology continue to boggle the mind.
Exploration Technologies
Seismic in the US Atlantic? Not just yet
Despite some hopeful signals from Washington, the oil and gas industry has a long way to go before it can begin to explore the Atlantic OCS.
Drilling Technologies
New Bits Shine In The Shales
New drill bits are optimized for unconventional reservoirs.
Completions and Production
Production. It’s a beach!
Sand, water and lots of sunshine make for an idyllic seaside setting. However, in the oilpatch, we can do without the first two.
Special Report
Steve Ballmer shares his vision
The chief executive of Microsoft Corp. was in Houston to talk with oil and gas executives about the future of collaboration and cloud computing.
Digital Solutions
Connectivity drives productivity
Intelligent Operations is changing how companies do business, and advances that have taken place in the last 10 years are changing the playing field for international operating companies.
High-resolution displays effective for regional interpretation
‘Detail in context’ offers the interpreter a different perspective.
Features
BNE embodies ‘the purpose-driven business’
Going from nothing to more than 4,500 b/d of oil in four years is having a positive impact on this transformational company. It’s also having a positive impact on the people of Belize.
Collaboration key to enabling water management solutions
Operators, technology companies, and service providers need to work together to meet shale gas production water management challenges.
Cost-effective, high-resolution hydraulic fracture microseismic monitoring – anywhere, anytime
Buried arrays provide increased reservoir understanding at a fraction of the cost of surface monitoring.
Effective perforating and gravel placement
Dynamic surging, followed immediately by prepacking, enables more effective gravel packing for sand control and, in an example from Malaysia, improved well performance.
Gary Schein, Dale Resources, LLC
Schein was part of a pioneering group that was willing to try, fail, and try again to get the right recipe for success in this challenging environment.
Industry responds to public take on hydraulic fracturing
With the introduction of shale gas drilling in the northeastern US, newspapers have a new front-page headline, and politicians have a new subject to debate (mostly with a negative view) — hydraulic fracturing.
Innovation continues to transform subsea systems
Technologies applied on the Norwegian Continental Shelf will soon enter the Gulf of Mexico.
Nature’s way is the best way
Elegant in its simplicity, a new water reclamation service has been introduced, and it begs the question, “Why didn’t we think of this before?”
North America gas markets positioned for growth
The world’s major economies appear to have turned the corner after the ‘Great Recession,’ but short-term challenges remain.
Operators develop two of a kind in Angola
FMC plans and provides subsea equipment for BP’s Greater Plutonio and Total’s Pazflor projects.
The shale frenzy comes to Europe
The country is host to several plays that could yield trillions of cubic feet of gas.
Time-lapse breaks North Sea bounds
For years the purview of North Sea operators, 4-D seismic is now being applied around the world in both land and offshore environments.
World’s coiled tubing unit fleet grows
Annual CT rig count indicates another 5% increase in 2009.
Tech Trends
New subsea electronic module offers enhanced communications
An innovative concept for improved subsea communications soon will be put to the test in the Norwegian North Sea.
Activity Spotlight
Drilling begins anew in Falkland Islands
Desire Petroleum drilling again after a decade.
Management Report
Upload experience, download knowledge
With technology development changing the face of training, one company takes a look at what lies ahead for learning in the oil and gas industry.