Issue: February 2010
On the heels of the toughest year for the Canadian oilpatch this decade, producers are hoping for better times ahead.
Industry lobbyists blocked provisions that would have hampered commercial hedging, and cap-and-trade may be DOA. But recent decisions by the EPA and the Interior Department could still make 2010 a rough year for E&P.
Vol. 231 No. 2 OUTLOOK 2010 PRODUCING OIL WELLS Few US oil wells gained in 2009 The total number of producing oil wells in the US stayed relatively flat over 2009 in the low-price environment of the first half of the year and the partial recovery of the second
E&P expenditures in the US are indicated to rise by 12%, a somewhat surprising magnitude given weak natural gas fundamentals.
Outside the US, Canadian drilling fell by half in 2009, but other countries saw a decrease of less than 500 wells. For 2010, expect an increase of 6.7% in wells drilled.
Fuel switching to gas for electrical generation will try to keep the market afloat as more shale gas and LNG come onstream.
And what the fundamentals say about 2009.
Rig count to see a slow, steady recovery
U.S. Drilling
Producing Gas Wells
The first application of the fluid, which has the ability to be mixed at different densities using freshwater or field water, proved successful.
Among other findings, the results suggest that deposition occurs mostly at initial contact with equipment surfaces.
A project in northern Italy demonstrates how the benefits of LWD can be extended to deep, hot wells.
Vol. 231 No. 2 SPOTLIGHT ON NATIONAL OIL COMPANIES Managing through the cycle Partnerships between NOCs, and among NOCs and IOCs, present great opportunities for the industry to work toward addressing the world’s longer-term energy issues. Andy Brogan, E
NOCs command about 90% of known oil reserves and about 75% of natural gas resources, but many are still striving to expand their presence globally.
Working with National Oil Companies
A good deal of the regasification capacity commissioned in 2009 is destined to sit underutilized until gas demand recovers from the economic downturn.
Separation technologies are unable to remove dissolved hydrocarbon compounds that may represent a large portion of volatile organics.
Time for US politicos to take a road trip
US operators unfazed by political rhetoric
What the experts have to say about the Philippine upstream sector
The meaning of seismic amplitude
Inject electricity and pump more oil?
Companies in the news
Crude oil prices rose to a 15-month high in early January as a result of very cold winter temperatures in much of the Northern Hemisphere and escalating geopolitical tensions in key oil producing countries.
Meetings and Events
New Products
People in the Industry