Drilling developments

July 2002 Vol. 223 No. 7  Drilling Developments

Robert E. Snyder,  Executive Engineering Editor

DOI takes back Florida leases. The U.S. Department of the Interior has taken back leases awarded to private operators in two areas: 1) the Destin Dome Unit in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, 30 miles south of Pensacola; and 2) three preserves / refuges in the onshore Florida Everglades. The Destin Dome leases were awarded in sales held in 1984, 1985 and 1989, to Chevron, Conoco, Murphy Oil, ExxonMobil and Samedan. In July 2000, the first three operators sued DOI, alleging that the government had breached lease contracts without just compensation through improper delays and regulatory actions. While not fully explored, the Unit is estimated to contain at least 700 Bcf recoverable gas – the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) quotes figures for Destin Dome as high as 2.6 Tcf gas in place.

Under DOI’s settlement agreement for the Destin Dome Unit, Chevron, Conoco and Murphy will relinquish seven of the nine leases subject to the litigation, for $115 million. The remaining two leases, to be held by Murphy, will be "suspended" until 2012. Two additional leases in the Unit held by ExxonMobil and Samedan were not in the litigation. However, under the settlement agreement, Chevron / Conoco / Murphy have agreed to seek to compensate these two operators in exchange for relinquishing their two leases.

In the Everglades area action, DOI has agreed in principle to acquire mineral rights under Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge from Collier Resources Co. Under the agreement, DOI intends to exchange $120 million in monetary considerations – either cash or bidding credits that could be used in future OCS sales – for the mineral rights held by Collier under 765,000 acres of the Everglades. Congress must pass legislation to finalize this deal. Collier had already filed plans for exploration / production of the reserves, estimated at 40 million bbl oil equivalent.

The Houston Chronicle takes the tack that these moves are a political plus for Governor Jeb and President George W. Bush, to move them up a notch in the eyes of Florida environmentalists. The NGSA, conversely, points out that taking Destin Dome out of the picture removes "one of the largest gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico and takes off the table enough natural gas to supply a million U.S. families for over 30 years."

Optimized drilling services. Halliburton Energy Services has commercialized its ADT (applied drilling technology) optimization service, a suite of tools, software and services designed to reduce drilling trouble time and optimize drilling practices using critical data interpretation from a variety of downhole / surface sensors and specialized applications. The service reportedly achieves this goal with a proven philosophy of modeling, measuring and optimizing, by personnel whose expertise enables operators to make decisions that lead to improved drilling practices.

Created by Halliburton’s Sperry-Sun, Baroid, Security DBS product service lines, and through a strategic partnership with GeoMechanics International, Inc., the service targets three areas of expertise: wellbore integrity, hydraulics management and drillstring integrity. The first area provides pore pressure / frac gradient planning, followed by real-time services that incorporate LWD measurements such as sonic, density and resistivity. Wellbore stability solutions are provided by a variety of services including WellCheck software, a real-time, 3-D effective stress model.

Hydraulics management is particularly beneficial in deepwater drilling and other situations where there are tight pressure margins, focusing on the need for hole cleaning optimization and equivalent circulating densities maintenance within known margins. ADT combines downhole annular / bore pressure measurements with surface monitoring, as well as real-time and Baroid’s DrillAhead hydraulics modeling. Sperry-Sun’s PWD tool is one basic element of this service. The drillstring integrity service focuses on prevention or reduction of destructive downhole mechanical forces, utilizing downhole measurements such as Sperry’s DDS (drillstring dynamics sensor) and surface measurements, as well as torsional vibration detection and analysis of vibration modes.

Fault-block consortium. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is seeking members to join a two-year research consortium to develop efficient methods for predicting the occurrence of small-scale faults and fractures within oil/gas fields and reservoirs. "We will use data readily available from mapping of 3-D seismic surveys to make predictions that will aid in the exploration, evaluation and recovery of oil from fractured reservoirs," said David Ferrill, a structural geologist and principal scientist on the project.

Scientists will refine SwRI’s current methodology for predicting fault-block deformation by comparing predictions with field observations of actual deformations. Investigators will then apply the technique to subsurface examples supplied by consortium members to illustrate the new approach. Seismic interpreters will be able to rapidly estimate fault block deformation, including sub-seismic deformation, during the mapping process. Better interpretations will result from identifying problem areas early.

Dr. Peter H. Hennings, structural geology technology leader for Phillips Petroleum Corp. said, "This research project would provide valuable tools for predicting the subseismic character of hydrocarbon reservoirs." The proposed consortium is planned for two years beginning January 1, 2003. Cost to join is $25,000 per year. For more information, contact Ferrill at: Tel. 210 522 6082; or dferrill@swri.org.

Non-technical drilling. IADC says it now has available a non-technical publication for non-engineer industry professionals and engineering students. The Drilling Technology in Nontechnical Language publication introduces the reader to onshore and offshore drilling operations and technology, covering the entire drilling process. Key management issues such as safety, the environment, costs and regulations are also explained.

A comprehensive list of acronyms is included along with a detailed index, line diagrams and black and white photographs to illustrate the text. For more information, contact Jason McFarland at Tel. 281 578 7171, ext. 214; Fax. 281 578 0589; or jason.mcfarland@iadc.org.