Issue: September 2016
Special Focus
The search for hydrocarbons has spanned vast areas of the globe. Despite many successes, entire basins and plays have been deemed unprospective, perhaps prematurely, based on single well results, or poor-quality seismic data.
Features
Now 23 months long, the worldwide downturn in oil prices has depressed upstream activity in many regions, with one or two exceptions, yet global production has registered a healthy increase. Reserves have held steady.
Traditional, calendar-based equipment maintenance can be costly and hinder productivity; however, servicing equipment, based on its actual usage and real-time data, can cut costs and help avoid lost productivity.
Adding an integrated, automated software platform to existing control systems enables more realistic training, which improves decision-making preparedness for actual well-control events.
As the industry targets deeper formations in developing unconventional plays, completion system capabilities continue to reach new heights. The goal is to design HPHT technologies optimized for horizontal wells that increase initial production rates and cumulative production to maximize return on investment.
Part 3—This latest installment in the East Canada series details the ongoing efforts to expand Arctic-related R&D for oil and gas, and related industries, but also to establish the province as a center for technical excellence.
Over the past 50 years, technology across every sector has evolved exponentially.
A study in the Eagle Ford shale assessed the challenges associated with cluster efficiency in horizontal plug-and-perf treatments, as well as the application and methodology of using a diverter. Production was analyzed to validate the diverter’s performance, and fiber-optic data provided subsurface insight to validate diversion effectiveness.
A new system, pioneered offshore Norway, offers a way for onshore operators to maintain drilling fluids. The new vacuum-based system aims to boost rig site efficiency and versatility by replacing shale shakers and associated secondary systems.
While still providing all of the benefits of traditional, curable, resin-coated sand, kRT 100 proppant allows operators to continue stimulating microfractures, while at the same time reducing proppant flowback, as well as dust generation, for a safer work environment.
Columns
2016’s Olympics still needed hydrocarbons to take place
Don’t bank on banks
Exploration issues today?
A new kind of dog
Go with the flow
Subsea processing technology continues to advance, despite low oil prices
Is the Russian ruble more weakly linked to oil than before?
How to thrive during a downturn
Gordon Sterling: An agent of true leadership
Crying wolf and a pricing civil war
News & Resources
World of oil and gas
Industry at a glance
People in the industry
Companies in the news
New products and services