E&P Magazine - March 2014

A costly recurring theme

While attending several events and briefings in recent weeks it was impossible for me to ignore a recurring theme – an industry drive to delay or cut spending to stem spiraling field costs.

Industry targets fit-for-purpose drilling technology

Factory or manufacturing drilling will continue to be refined to increase drilling efficiency and improve production effectiveness.

Egypt ready to turn the corner

Despite two years of civil unrest, Egyptian oil companies hope the country’s untapped riches will lure foreign investment.

California drought could leave Monterey shale high and dry

Shale development will have a tough fight for water rights given California’s huge residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural demand.

Well ‘vaccination’ preventing scale and hydrocarbon buildup in GoM

New dual-purpose substrate and proppant said to offer operators ‘pure flow assurance protection’

Mexico: Dawn of a new era

Expectations soar as Mexico allows energy reform.

Location and mapping path to mobile automation

Mobile automation has long been used in other industries to drive efficiencies, and linking to established GIS data could be the starting point for E&P.

A renaissance on the Shelf

EPL is looking at deep targets in shallow waters to bring new life to a very mature basin.

Assuring pipeline flow with the total system in mind

Application of a holistic approach helps facilitate flow throughout the production process.

Australia holds opportunity

Australia’s energy offerings are plentiful – conventional, unconventional, offshore, and onshore – but cost concerns remain a challenge in meeting future energy needs.

China could rapidly develop its unconventional resources

While overall well counts in China have remained relatively steady, the share of hydraulically fractured wells has nearly doubled.

CWD derisks Australian offshore drilling operations

Originally promoted as a cost-saving technology, CWD has emerged as the go-to technique to improve infill drilling in this mature offshore field.

Deepwater development continues to climb

New projects and big spending help push deepwater development ever higher.

Hard abrasive drilling benefits from customized bit design

Designs using optimized impregnated segment block geometry can help maximize bit durability without impacting efficiency.

Hybrid drillbits improve harsh drilling

New technology handles chert challenges.

Increasing capacity and improving safety

Building effective CI teams generates sustainable results.

Managing the MRO supply chain for competitive advantage

MRO has never been more complex or more worthy of review as new challenges reveal the limitations of decades-old approaches.

No time to lose: HP rotary jetting tool aids in deepwater operation

Hydrates forming in subsurface tree offshore Brazil put scale-removal service to test.

Olympics provide spark for China’s unconventional gas drive

Thanks in part to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China is pushing hard to encourage companies to find and exploit its hard-to-reach unconventional gas reserves.

PRM provides insights at Ekofisk

A permanently installed fiber-optic seismic system enables repeat surveys that monitor compaction.

Production-focused seismic: insights from the Eagle Ford

A new approach integrates engineering data and 3-D seismic attributes to identify key performance indicators and create predictive models for well and completion planning.

The power struggle over the regulation of hydraulic fracturing

As interest grows in regulating fracturing operations, many states are seeking to preempt local government restrictions.

Walking tall: Pad drilling prompts rig design evolution

Self-moving rigs are becoming the standard as the domestic fleet undergoes a multiyear replacement cycle.

Waste not, want not: revitalizing marginal offshore wells

Rigless technology facilitates safe, efficient late-stage intervention.

Reliability is key to developing deepwater RCPC

A government-sponsored study is investigating if this technique can be transferred from onshore applications to a deepwater environment.

Tech Trends

International Highlights

On the Move

Advocating the industry

Despite the negative publicity, the oil and gas industry has much to offer.

Integrated system helps manage pressure-related problems

Geomechanics solution allows modeling of complex environments and well analysis.

Skills to pay the bills

Bridging the geoscientist generation gap will require knowledge sharing and information access.