Issue: August 2005

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Special Focus

A good year for offshore rig owners is getting better

With offshore rig demand forecast to exceed supply, and several dozen new rigs on order, the long-awaited turnaround may finally be here

It's time to use the “B" word

Demand is remarkably resilient to high prices that are here to stay. This combination will spur a “boom” in North American E&P activity

Rig efficiency improves in the US land market

Great strides have been made in land drilling efficiencies, but there are signs that the technical progress is slowing down

Features

Buried hydrocarbons: A resource for biogenic methane generation

By treating just 3% of the world's buried coal, carbonaceous shale and residual oil with biogenesis, the industry could produce 1,000 Tcf of methane

New life emerges in North Sea activity

Licensing changes, other governmental initiatives and high commodity prices are all helping to boost the number of operators and wells in Northwest Europe

North American coalbed methane development moves forward

In the US, development centers on the Powder River and San Juan basins, while Canadian firms focus their efforts on exploring new areas in Western Canada

Petroleum Technology Digest: Using the online world to become informed on hydraulic fracturing

A quick search online can find many resources available on hydraulic fracturing

Sand control in horizontal wells

Despite industry's proven methods for preventing inflow of unconsolidated sands, drilling horizontal boreholes over 15,000 ft presents new challenges

Wicks sees better North Sea market, vows further offshore improvements

Just in office a few months, the new British energy minister explains how UK activity is recovering and details his plans for Britain's upstream future

Columns

Drilling advances

Situation awareness can breed better well control

Editorial Comment

A very bad move

International Politics

The Senate energy bill is dripping with special interest pork

What's new in production

US spending jumps higher; CBM work expands; Welding is bad for the brain

What's new in exploration

Weird earth science

News & Resources

Companies in the news

Vol. 226 No. 8 Composite Mat Solutions (CMS), a subsidiary of SOLOCO, a Newpark company, has opened new headquarters in Louisiana. The plastics-molding facility wil

Industry at a glance

Vol. 226 No. 8 After five months of continuous increase, world oil production declined 160,000 bpd. However, internatio

New products

Vol. 226 No. 8 Fiber-based frac technology FiberFRAC fluid technology from Schlumberger creates a fiber-based network within fracturing fluid, prov

People in industry

Vol. 226 No. 8 Didier Hornet has been named deputy managing director of V&M Tubes new North America OCTG division. He will also serve as chairman of the board