Understanding the possible tools and techniques available to control water production during the life of the well is the first step in planning the drilling program and completion. Wells that... more

Over the past 15 years, thousands of producing wells in the Permian Basin, north-central Texas, Midcontinent and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States have been treated with polymer gel... more

Constructing a critical well is an exercise fraught with myriad details. The question that keeps responsible managers up at night is, “Did we forget anything?” Working the organization by tapping... more

The exploration and production (E&P) industry has never been short of innovation, be it in lean times or in periods of intense activity such as we have been experiencing for... more

Advanced Secondary Recovery Project for the Sooner ‘D’ Sand Unit, Weld County Colorado Final Report by diversified Operating Corporation, November 1996” stated that the Sooner Unit has been interpreted to... more

Horizontal wells provide maximum reservoir contact to optimize production rates and recovery. This also holds true for coalbed methane (CBM) drilling. Traditionally, CBM wells have been drilled vertically on a... more

Conventional LWD propagation resistivity tools have proved useful in helping to land and maintain well bores within hydrocarbon reservoirs by providing resistivity measurement of Figure 1. The ADR is a... more

Measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and logging-while-drilling (LWD) systems have proven themselves in successful, record-setting high-angle, high-pressure (HP) and Figure 1. Electromagnetic (EM) data transmission gives the option of using positive-pulse transmission, allowing... more

Formation evaluation data used for geosteering is often limited by equipment availability to gamma ray measurements only. Gamma ray logging is effective but in many cases has Figure 1. Sondex... more

Today, with increasing wellpath complexity and the need to make the best economic decision as quickly as possible, real-time logging-while-drilling (LWD) images can play a significant role whenever operators face... more

The emergence and evolution of subsea processing has been inevitable. Operators have acknowledged its driving forces for some time. Whether or not subsea processing would become standard practice has never... more

A massive effort of men, machines, technology and dollars will bring gas from one of the largest fields ever discovered offshore Norway first to shore for processing and then 745... more

For all the technological developments in reservoir monitoring and subsea information gathering over the last few years, the fact remains that, according to a 2004 report by Statoil, Norsk Hydro... more

SCAN Geophysical ASA (SCAN) today announced that it has been awarded a contract from Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) for 2,680 miles (4,400 km) of 2-D marine seismic data acquisition... more

Geoscientists visualize in 3-D, but spatial analysis has not been as widely used in production operations. Existing exploration and production (E&P) applications have been limited to proprietary platforms and complex... more

On p. 87 of this issue you will find a feature on exploration software, everything from seismic spectrum analysis to well planning. This field has truly seen some astonishing advancements... more

A new take on an old idea — conducting drilling operations on the seafloor in order to avoid the problems inherent in floating drilling operations — has recently bubbled to... more

The whole developed world seems worried about fossil fuels, their impact on the environment and the availability of oil to move the world’s cars, trucks, buses, tractors and aircraft. Most... more

Zeroth Technology Ltd., an affiliate of Baker Hughes, introduced a new high-expansion, metal-to-metal sealing technology. According to several recent case studies, the Z-Seal’s expanding metal concept withstands pressure that commonly... more

NVIDIA recently announced Model IV of its Quadro Plex visual computing system. The system incorporates a unified architecture and graphics processing unit (GPU) capability to boost The Quadro Plex VCS... more

There has never been a greater need for the explorer to have an accurate picture of subsurface geology. One relatively new technique that is delivering real answers for the oil... more

Say what you will about whatever component of the US Government is currently annoying you, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) continues to beaver away on worthwhile projects, to good... more

SCAN Geophysical ASA (SCAN) today announced that the company successfully completed its 2-D seismic acquisition program for ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) in the Caribbean region on time and as scheduled. The... more

Russia staked a claim to untapped oil and gas reserves in the North Pole Thursday as polar researchers in submersibles planted a rust-resistant titanium Russian tricolor on the sea floor.... more

PetroChina is evaluating bids from foreign oil firms to help produce natural gas from a field where nearly 4 years ago a gas blow-out killed hundreds. Companies including U.S. firm... more

U.S. oil major, Chevron Corp , has put forward a development plan for its natural gas fields offshore East Kalimantan, part of Borneo island, Indonesia's oil watchdog said. Chevron... more

U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. (CVX) has successfully bid for the right to help develop PetroChina Co's (PTR) Luojiazhai sour gas field in southwestern China's Sichuan province, people familiar with... more

Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish government approved a regional oil law paving the way for foreign investment in its northern oil and gas fields even as similar U.S.-backed legislation for the entire... more

CGGVeritas has announced the V1 single-vibrator technique, offering a step change in subsurface imaging illumination and resolution by providing high-performance, high-density and wide-azimuth land seismic acquisition. V1 builds on the... more

The Moscow Arbitration Court has extended oil company YUKOS’ bankruptcy manager Eduard Rebgun's powers for another three months, although he had asked for six. Some of the creditors supported him,... more

geoLOGIC systems ltd. has released geoSCOUT 7.0, a comprehensive update to its oil and gas decision support system. geoLOGIC drew on extensive industry and user input to ensure the revamped... more

The board of Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping plc (OHM) is pleased to announce the conditional acquisition of RDSP Acquisition Inc, the holding company of Rock Solid Images, for a total consideration... more

WesternGeco announced an expansion of its multiclient wide-azimuth (WAZ) survey in the US Gulf of Mexico as a result of underwriter demand for high-quality subsalt imaging and optimized data resolution. The... more

Chroma Energy Co. has entered into a Direct Service Award Contract with Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) for an initial term of 5 years. This contract includes prospect generation, reservoir characterization and... more

IHS Inc. has announced the acquisition of Norwalk, CT-based John S. Herold, Inc., an independent research firm that provides in-depth analyses and key financial and operational data on more than... more

SCAN Geophysical ASA (SCAN) today announced that the seismic vessel M/V SCAN Stigandi will be upgraded to Ice Class standard and prepared for four-streamer capacity instead of the previously planned... more

IHS Inc.announced today it has launched a comprehensive energy data portfolio on New Zealand, which includes open-file digital seismic and well log data. The portfolio is a result of close... more

The Department of Energy and Pinnacle Technologies have successfully demonstrated a new technology that will help optimize the output of natural gas from the often-grudging non-conventional reserves on which the... more

The value of any performance measure depends on how well it is defined, understood, and applied to real situations. This is equally true for measures of “reliability,” where there is... more

A quiet revolution has been taking place in the geophysical community. Assisted by better measurements and faster processing, seismic data has become an essential tool for reservoir management. Using seismic... more

Once in awhile a well is drilled that changes history. This was true of Spindletop, drilled in 1901 in Texas. It was true of the Damman-7 well, drilled in 1938... more

With the conflict in the Middle East highlighting oil shortages in other parts of the world, with the price of oil constantly changing, and with no viable substitute for gasoline... more

Chile’s Magallanes Basin offers proven petroleum systems, active fields, installed infrastructure, active exploration efforts and, as of June 10, a government that wants domestic and foreign investors to take a... more

I have been urged lately by some E&P staffers to write my column in the Ph.D. Bill voice and not in the Good Ole Bill voice. I do use the... more

Computer operations and top-technology communication link electronic building blocks that transform wells to smart wells, fields to intelligent fields and regional operations into efficient, comprehensive drilling and production factories. That’s the... more

The term “intellectual property” can be thought of as an umbrella under which there are at least five important legal rights. A patent is a grant from the government covering a... more

Ernst & Young first issued a report on the staffing challenges faced by the oil and gas industry in the fall of 2004. At that time, we reported on the... more