Drilling Report

The dream of high-speed transmission of downhole drilling data. This report details the progress of one of the most important drilling developments in decades: Intellipipe. Grant Prideco and Novatek have formed a joint venture called Intelliserv. Together with the U.S. Department of Energy, they have a working prototype of this technology that allows two-way telemetry – at up to a million bits per second – through the drill pipe using innovative cable and pipe connection systems. LWD, MWD and other downhole sensor systems, including downhole seismic, will benefit enormously through much higher resolution and true real-time, web-enabled drilling data.

Advances in drill string fatigue design. Presented by T H Hill Associates, Inc., this article describes how optimum drill string and trajectory designs will significantly reduce fatigue, the leading cause of failures during rotary drilling operations.

A new fluid for drilling depleted formations. Authors from M-I and NAM detail the use of a specialized, aphron-based invasion-control fluid that has been developed to drill reservoirs prone to lost circulation using. The new fluid system uses "micro-bubbles" called aphrons.

Tailoring lightweight cement designs to well conditions and production plans. More than ever before, operators are using lightweight cement in wells. But they are giving equal attention to preserving casing/cement sheath integrity for the life of the well. In some fields, the risk of breakthrough is much higher than in others. This article from Halliburton describes what is involved in the proper design and application of lightweight cement slurries.

 Reservoir Characterization

Progressive seismic data mining for reservoir characterization in Ibhubesi field, Orange River basin, South Africa. Exponential increases in the amount of seismic data represent huge data management and data interpretation challenges. Rapid advances in seismic attribute methods further increase our data-set sizes by providing many coincident seismic attribute volumes for each data set. Therefore, it makes sense to deploy data mining tools and methodologies. Forest Oil and Rock Solid Images employ aspects of data mining workflow in a case study from South Africa to enrich and discover knowledge about productive regions within 3D seismic data volumes. Anomalies such as those from AVO analysis are discussed along with field results.

Determining fracture orientation and density from seismic data to improve drilling success in tight formations. A team of research geophysicists present the methods and results of analyzing seismic data to locate fracture zones and to optimize well targets. The method involves a modification of Amplitude vs. Angle and Azimuth (AVAZ). The study took place on the Pinedale Anticline in Wyoming.

 Petroleum Technology Digest

World Oil's useful feature is published in association with the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council. October's article shows how Phoenix Hydrocarbons Operating Co. increased production while lowering operating costs by using a novel, integrated rod-pump controller from ep Solutions.

 Reed-Hycalog Annual Rig Census returns.

This exclusive report is chock full of tables and figures. It summarizes the annual survey of the US drilling contractors' fleet status and key activity indicators. This is especially valuable if you're looking to forecast day rates or future availability.

 Coming in October's Deepwater Technology

Now in its seventh year, Deepwater Technology – a special supplement to World Oil.

Panel in Print: Our panel of experts offers their insight and expertise in their respective fields.

Chris Oynes, US Minerals Management Service: Mr. Oynes discusses US Gulf of Mexico deepwater development status and comments on key technical development issues.

Offshore Operator's Committee: Review of the OOC's role in Gulf of Mexico regulatory formulation and industry's cooperative deepwater development.

Rich Haut, Houston Advanced Research Council: Mr. Haut overviews the Blue Water Program that is researching important US Navy technical developments for possible use by the offshore industry.

Jep Bracey, Marathon Oil Co.: Mr. Bracey shares his knowledge of deepwater flow assurance concerns, with examples from the Canyon Express joint venture development.

Campos Basin

Petrobras: Campos basin status and technical progress. Brazil's Campos basin has 25 years of continuous development and is facing new challenges with mature fields as industry moves into ultra-deep water. New R&D programs to meet these challenges are overviewed.

Heave Compensated Landing System

Shell/Delmar: New technologies for installing subsea equipment to avoid heave problems. Shell has implemented the patented Heave Compensated Landing System for installing subsea systems in 7,000-ft water depths. Applications and advantages of the system, which saved $10 million in one project, are discussed.

What's New for Deepwater Subsea Systems

FMC, Peter Kinnear: A background on, and what's new for, deepwater subsea systems. These systems have undergone a major evolution over 42 years in the Gulf of Mexico. A review of major developments and what challenges we face with HPHT, heavy crude, ultra-deep water and enhanced recovery gives enlightening insight into this key technology.

New Methods/New Chemicals for Flow Assurance

Shell: Overview of flow assurance problems, key concerns and what's next. Shell E&P Co. focuses on challenges associated with managing hydrates, wax and asphaltene deposition in deepwater flowlines and pipelines. The discussion is an excellent reference for industry on where we are and what challenges lie ahead.

Ondeo Nalco: New chemical treatment for flow assurance, with case history applications. A promising new chemical treatment highlights progress on this critical topic.