Issue: July 2012
Although recent innovations in offshore rig designs tend to favor drillships and semisubmersibles, there has been some progress in developing new jackups
Firmly etched in Richard Stoneburner’s psyche is Oct. 11, 2008. On that doubly memorable Saturday, while the University of Texas aficionado was watching his football team dismantle then number-one-ranked Oklahoma University in their annual grudge match, word came down that the textbook geological evaluation of a young South Texas shale that he helped orchestrate had, likewise, delivered a winner.
Part 3. Pilot tests of CO2 foams have been conducted for conformance control and mobility control purposes, and aqueous gel treatments have also been employed for conformance control during CO2 floods.
Some of today’s more challenging wells subject downhole equipment to conditions close to their physical limits. While API specifications and recommended practices serve as a basis for product testing, it is sometimes necessary to test for conditions not covered by those documents. Close collaboration between manufacturers and operators is essential.
As advancements continue to be made in offshore technology, and resources are discovered in new, ever-deeper waters around the world, Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) 2012, one of Europe’s premier oil and gas shows, will explore some of the varying challenges—economical, geopolitical and regulatory—in today’s offshore operations.
Part 1. Openhole packers have transformed from novel technology to a critical key for success, effective in different applications, including curing losses, controlling high-permeability zones and fractures, improving flow equalization, and controlling water and gas production.
Background. Provocation is an essential part of the creativity process. Faced with a mental or practical observation that contradicts and challenges the accepted norm, our mind is provoked to seek alternative explanations. Provocation can be deliberate, or compulsory, and forced by necessity. In either case, the process opens new avenues for learning and innovation
Part 2. Wellsite evaluation is experiencing a revolution with the development of ruggedized hand-held analyzers and automated mineralogical analysis in real time. New techniques are also available for core handling and laboratory analysis. In the new digital rock physics discipline, CT imaging systems are now available with nanometer resolution for exceptional insight into core microstructure.
The near-term outlook is bright in Norway and Ireland, while a mixed bag remains for the UK, Denmark and The Netherlands
As the development of shale plays continues to evolve, both in the U.S. and other parts of the world, innovations are being made in shale exploration, drilling, completions and production.
The integration of surface microbial surveys and gas chimney probability volumes is useful for detecting overlooked pay and unconventional resources in mature basins, such as the Neuquén basin.
Frac companies now pitted against tortillas
Looking North by East
Introducing the next generation to oilfield careers
EPA: Go after Mother Nature
Genscape: The new ‘real time’: Helicopters, infrared and visual spectrum technology
Here, there, everywhere–Seven strategic Chinese E&P trends
Oklahoma fills gaps left by feds
Is it really all about the oil?
Gas prices and shale economics–dealing with rapid descent
Companies in the news
Industry at a glance
Meetings and Events
New products and services
People in industry
World of Oil and Gas
