Issue: April 2004

Special Focus

New technology creates a step change in drilling efficiency

Horizontal well drilling in Alaska's Alpine field has increased efficiency through new steerable systems and bit designs

Teamwork and technology shift drilling performance paradigm

Total drilling time in a Wyoming field was decreased significantly by applying slower motor speeds and new bit cutter technology

Will new BOP designs catch on with operators

Technology/ equipment advances in the world of BOPs are summarized for three key suppliers: Varco, Hydril and Cameron
Features

A team approach to mitigating shallow water flow risk

After two abandoned wells, geohazards specialists identified problem sources and solutions, then successfully drilled an exploration well

France/Belgium: Capabilities extended for integrated reservoir characterization

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: France/Belgium Capabilities extended for integrated reservoir characterization Stéphanie Gottlib-Zeh and Brian Moss, Techsia S.A., Montpellier, France Over the past year, proprietar

France/Belgium: French influence extends far beyond home, says upstream chief

Interview, Didier Houssin, director of Energy and Mineral Resources within the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry

France/Belgium: LNG tanker employs hybrid, membrane cargo containment system

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: France/Belgium LNG tanker employs hybrid, membrane cargo containment system Armelle Danmanville, Gaztransport & Technigaz, Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, France Due for completion in 2004,

France/Belgium: New gas liquefaction process provides increased capacity at reduced cost

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: France/Belgium New gas liquefaction process provides increased capacity at reduced cost Pierre Boutelant, Senior Advisor, LNG, Axens, Rueil Malmaison, France French firm Axens and its paren

France/Belgium: Recovery system simplifies removal of oil from wrecked, sunken vessels

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: France/Belgium Recovery system simplifies removal of oil from wrecked, sunken vessels Marina Pere, JLMD Ecologic Group, Sophia Antipolis, France The latest version of a new, pre-insta

France/Belgium: Rubber material developed for SCR flexible joints

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: France/Belgium Rubber material developed for SCR flexible joints Jean-Pierre Chaumieau, Techlam S.A., and Jacques Rey, SNECMA Propulsion Solide, Cernay, France TECHLAM is developing and q

France/Belgium: Software converts multiple CAD formats, produces 3D visualizations for Bonga

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: France/Belgium Software converts multiple CAD formats, produces 3D visualizations for Bonga Upstream projects are significant users of multi-million-dollar CAD models to define surface production sche

France/Belgium: System facilitates first compliant LNG transfer at sea

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: France/Belgium System facilitates first compliant LNG transfer at sea Loading and unloading cryogenic fluids at sea from one ship to another, using a flexible hose, is now reality. KSB, Techn

Italy: Compression modules for Campos basin

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Italy Compression modules for Campos basin GE Energy will supply two compression modules to Petrobras Netherlands BV for a new floating production unit (FPU) to be located in the Campos basin,

Italy: Hydraulic drilling rigs combine safety and performance

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Italy Hydraulic rigs show improved performance As of 2004, the Drilling Division of Soilmec has a new name, Drillmec, with its state-of-the-art technology and cost structure. The company will f

Italy: Prediction and 3D imaging while drilling by drill-bit 3D RVSP

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Italy Prediction and 3D imaging while drilling by drill-bit 3D RVSP F. Poletto, L. Petronio, M. Malusa, A. Schleifer, P. Corubolo, C. Bellezza, OGS, Dept. of Geophysics of the Lithosphere; F. Mira

Netherlands: A new paradigm for cross-disciplinary software development

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: the Netherlands A new paradigm for cross-disciplinary software development Fred Aminzadeh and Paul de Groot , dGB-Group OpendTect is an open-source software system, originally designed fo

Netherlands: Botts describes Europe as entering vibrant middle age of E&P

Interview, Tom Botts, CEO of Shell EP Europe

Netherlands: Gas conditioning technology application

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: the Netherlands Gas conditioning technology application The first commercial offshore Twister application successfully started up in December 2003. The supersonic technology has been selected by

Netherlands: Industry leading quantitative reservoir characterization

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: the Netherlands Industry leading quantitative reservoir characterization Fugro-Jason is a leading/fast growing company in quantitative reservoir characterization. It offers software that combines eng

Netherlands: Installed power deliveries for two FPSOs

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: the Netherlands Installed power deliveries for two FPSOs Diesel hydraulic driven fire fighting pumps and marine generator sets are the recent deliveries to two FPSO projects from the Netherlands-base

Netherlands: North Sea projects for Dutch company

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: the Netherlands North Sea projects for Dutch company Rotterdam-based BAM Steel Structures successfully completed North Sea projects for ConocoPhillips, Wintershall, Shell, Maersk, Statoil and NAM &#15

Netherlands: Updated jackup drilling unit for Gulf of Mexico

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: the Netherlands Updated jackup drilling unit for Gulf of Mexico The MSC CJ series of jackup drilling units are well known in the industry as high-standard units, which can operate worldwide. So far, n

Norway/Finland: Connector for risers proves itself in field tests

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Norway/Finland Connector for risers proves itself in field tests Norwegian firm Gram has been developing a 7-1/16 -in. connector for use in offshore risers, touting such improvements as reduced rig-u

Norway/Finland: Dynamic cyclone improves solids separation

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Norway/Finland Dynamic cyclone improves solids separation In cooperation with Clean-Up AS, Prosafe offers a new-generation cyclone for particle separation in liquid flows. This is a dynamic cyclone

Norway/Finland: First offshore LNG deepwater port buoy to be classified

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Norway/Finland First offshore LNG deepwater port buoy to be classified ABS' classification services are helping to make the industry's first step toward offshore LNG development safe and efficient. O

Norway/Finland: Multiphase booster to help prolong Balmoral output

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Norway/Finland Multiphase booster to help prolong Balmoral output Fig. 1. In production since 1986, Balmoral field is situated in UKCS Blocks

Norway/Finland: OLF leads industry effort to improve NCS activity

Interview, Per Terje Vold, director general of the Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF)

Norway/Finland: Semisubmersible heavy transport ship expanded to carry larger rigs

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Norway/Finland Semisubmersible heavy transport ship expanded to carry larger rigs Originally built at CSBC in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the Blue Marlin semisubmersible heavy transport ship (newbuilding 72

Norway/Finland: Soil investigation tool passes commercial hurdle

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: Norway/Finland Soil investigation tool passes commercial hurdle Bjarte Langeland, Stinger Technology AS, Stavanger Soil Stinger, a lightweight, cost-efficient tool for shallow soil investig

OTC 2004 builds on recent years' successes

Not content to rest on the laurels of last year's show, the OTC Board has

Petroleum Technology Digest: Well-failure reduction program realizes benefits

A focused program significantly reduced well failures, yielded cost savings and created a system that encourages a team approach to problem solving

Special Report: Technology from Europe

World Oil report describes selected technology developments and applications from more than 25 companies, JIPs and consortia, representing seven countries. Also included are interviews with government or industry officials from four countries.

United Kingdom: Accommodation and driller's control modules gain acceptance

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: United Kingdom Accommodation and driller's control modules gain acceptance Aberdeen-based engineering specialist to the oil and gas industry, Labtech Modular Engineering, designs, manufactures, repair

United Kingdom: Assessing the real risk in well construction

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: United Kingdom Assessing the real risk in well construction Engineers want certainty in their jobs, and that certainly applies to drilling engineers. They create graphs of costs and times based on

United Kingdom: DTI's Timms sees reasons to be optimistic

Interview, Stephen Timms, Minister for Energy, E-Commerce and Postal Services within the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

United Kingdom: New digital level gauge used for subsea work

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: United Kingdom New digital level gauge used for subsea work It's crucial to control position during pile driving operations. This is especially true with subsea installations. Normally a “bulls e

United Kingdom: New lifeboat release improves maritime safety

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: United Kingdom New lifeboat release improves maritime safety A new lifeboat release hook mechanism has been introduced by Aberdeen-based Survival Craft Inspectorate Ltd. This new mechanism resulted fr

United Kingdom: The motor/VGS combination comes of age

Vol. 225 No. 4 Technology from Europe: United Kingdom The motor/VGS combination comes of age The introduction of rotary steerable systems (RSSs) has been heralded – especially by the major directional companies – as the be

What's new in artificial lift

Part 1: Fifteen reviews cover advances in four operation categories: Beam and progressing cavity pumping, plunger lift and gas lift
Columns

Drilling advances

Deepwater exploration expands; Ocean policy report

Editorial Comment

A bright idea? Maybe not

International Politics

Norway and the UK face significant problems

What's new in production

Energy bill progress; Positive LNG moves

What's new in exploration

Methane hydrate update: GOM Lease Sale 190
News & Resources

Companies in the news

Vol. 225 No. 4  Schlumberger Oilfield Services has received top recognition by BG Group for a well placement solution in Minerva-Hub development wells in the southern sector of the North Sea. The project was initially selected as one of nine f

Industry at a glance

Vol. 225 No. 4   Whether or not OPEC will follow through with its April output cut remained to be seen at press time. Nevertheless, latest monthly figures (February) show that total world oil supply has been at an 82-mill

New products

Vol. 225 No. 4  Compact logging head AnTech Ltd introduced the latest addition to its range of logging tools with the launch of its new 7/8-in. Logging Head, along with the company's new Casing Collar Locator (CCL). The Logging Head

People in industry

Vol. 225 No. 4  The ExxonMobil board of directors elected senior VP Rex Tillerson president of the corporation and a member of its board of directors. Lee Raymond continues his position as chairman and CEO. Tillerson was elected to his previous p

World of Oil

Vol. 225 No. 4  KURT S. ABRAHAM, MANAGING/INTERNATIONAL EDITOR   Click Here for Kurt's Opinion Oil prices soar as OPEC hints at keeping ou

Industry At A Glance

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