Issue: November 2013
A production optimization experiment, conducted in the Marcellus shale, suggests that of all varied completion parameters examined, increasing the stage length poses the highest potential for cost-savings. Further studies should be conducted, using a more sophisticated model, in which the attributes are fully dependent on each other.
A new ultra-deepwater intelligent production system, with wireless data and power transfer capabilities, has been shown to optimize production in multilateral wells and increase well life. Developed under a project run by RPSEA, the system also reduces environmental impact and improves safety.
In the U.S. and Canada, additions to fleets increased availability, while activity decreased. The global offshore mobile fleet posted another modest gain, with 42 newbuilds entering service in the last year.
The northernmost region holds great promise, but increasingly, the risk is that it remains just so. Doubts are gathering about whether governmental policy, combined with changing industry economics, will permit the development of the last frontier.
In the Russian part of the Barents and Kara Seas, sedimentary basins of different ages are singled out. All of these basins have different hydrocarbon systems. The new seismic data show possible prospects and add significantly to the investigation of the hydrocarbon potential of the sedimentary basins of the Barents and Kara Seas.
The headline in the Sept. 23 issue of The Wall Street Journal says it all: “So much shale oil—but, so hard to get.”
Since 2000, oil companies have moved into deeper waters and lower-permeability reservoirs, and toward higher well shut-in pressures, thus creating an accelerated demand for increased boosting technology. The greatest “leap” in technology has been the increase in pressure rating from 3,000 to 15,000 psi, and the increase of pump differential pressure from 500 to 3,000 psi.
Symbolism with substance
Ideas and their time
Fixing the roads much traveled
Fracturing in the cold, cold ground
Ultra-deepwater drillships: Coming to a basin near you
Will Norway's new government change petroleum policy?
Innovation takes the oil and gas industry further
Mark A. Childers: Innovating for a living
The last barrel
World of oil and gas
Industry at a glance
People in the industry
New products and services
Meeting and events
