The worldwide oil and natural gas industry is challenged by a number of fundamentals that few predict will change in the foreseeable future. They include: Demand for hydrocarbons is approaching... more

Any discussion of drill stem requirements for world-class extended reach drilling (ERD) would be incomplete without consideration of advanced material technologies and their potential future use for enabling longer ERD... more

This April, Enventure Global Technology for the first time ran and expanded three successive liners with a uniform internal diameter (ID). A field appraisal well proved the technology for field... more

Many of us can cite epochs in the petroleum industry’s history. But often not so memorable is the evolution of technologies that seem new and “cutting edge” but actually have... more

In laminated formations, limited-entry multizone fracturing completion practice has issues in yielding maximum well performance. Causes include reduced control of slurry/proppant placement; bypassing marginal zones; potentially breaching into water zones;... more

In the oil industry, any progress in technologies designed to enhance production is most commonly based on empirical discoveries and only later followed by attempts to develop a consistent physical... more

The historical account says that Jonah was in the belly of a whale for 3 days before he was freed. Pinnacle Technologies assisted BP in trying to free natural gas... more

Passive microseismic monitoring is a technology that exploits naturally occurring microearthquakes, or microseismic events, to evaluate hydraulic fracture propagation. The importance of this technology is that it can provide real-time... more

In the last 25 years, the exploration and production (E&P) industry has taken giant steps to embrace computer applications for geological analysis, evaluation and interpretation. This Figure 1. Production forecast... more

Formation properties such as porosity and fluid saturations control the volume of hydrocarbons that may be stored in a reservoir. Both formation properties such as permeability and fluid saturations and... more

A better understanding of complex formations is being achieved using resistivity imaging to visualize the borehole wall. From unconventional tight gas to tar sands and coal exploration, Figure 1. Figure... more

With 70% of global oil production coming from fields past their prime, Shell takes a long-term, “life-of-field” approach to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to squeeze the most hydrocarbons it can... more

A close look at possibilities for production gains in Yukos’ neglected fields led to quadrupled output from almost half as many working wells and more potential remains, according to Dr.... more

A project funded by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to increase heavy oil reserves in slope and basin clastic (SBC) reservoirs through the application of advanced reservoir characterization and... more

Disasters in the oil and gas industry that impact business operations, such as drilling platforms and gas pipelines, are often nature-related. Recent hurricanes, floods and forest fire bring to mind... more

Electromagnetics (EM) continues to be the new darling of the exploration industry. By taking resistivity measurements of deep-lying sediments, EM technology can often provide an indication of the presence of... more

Offshore Drilling Market Remains Robust With Asset Values Rising,” says Jefferies & Company, Inc. in a recent report. And how. The report authors highlight the “considerable recent increase in net asset... more

Oil and gas enthusiasts, from exploration through production, look toward the future in a quest to find more efficiency, less cost, additional reserves, faster production and a broader margin between... more

Schlumberger has developed an improved downhole fluid analyzer (DFA) module to work in conjunction with the focused extraction of pure reservoir fluids. In addition to comprehensive The InSitu Density sensor... more

SensorTran Inc. announced the general availability of its DTS 5100-M15 and the DTS 5100-M18 long-range products. According to the developer, oil and gas companies can now obtain long-range, high-resolution temperature... more

Twister BV announced a joint technology development agreement with Petrobras for the development of a subsea gas processing unit. The project is built on results of a feasibility study completed... more

Laser Cladding Services (LCS) has partnered with NASA to develop a laser coating technology breakthrough proven to increase component reliability in harsh environments for offshore applications. For more than a... more

Schlumberger released three new technologies to work in conjunction with WesternGeco’s Q-Technology services. The Dynamic Spread Control, a new, automated vessel-control system developed for offshore surveys, provides source and streamer... more

Traditional perforation jobs open the well bore to the flow of oil and gas, but they often leave behind debris that inhibits that flow. A new system developed by experts... more

Compressed natural gas (CNG) may open stranded natural gas reserves around the world, introduce new energy solutions to remote markets, and address unnecessary flaring, all while enhancing balance sheets of... more

How’s that for provocative? Peter W. Huber and Mark P. Mills are pleased to tell you why they think so in “The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, The Virtue... more

SCAN Geophysical ASA (SCAN) today announced that it has been awarded an additional contract from Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) for marine 3-D seismic work offshore Venezuela. This is the... more

CGGVeritas has won a multi-year survey deal in the Middle East. The company has also landed a pre-financing commitments for future wide-azimuth multi-client programs in the Gulf of Mexico. Both... more

Fusion Petroleum Technologies Inc. announced today that it has acquired Renegade Geophysics LLC and its subsidiary Renegade Geoservices LLC. The merger of Fusion and Renegade brings together two of the... more

Paradigm has announced the completion of a project to upgrade and modernize Saratovneftegeofizika JSC data processing and interpretation center located in Saratov, Russia. The new Paradigm equipment and software enables Russia’s... more

SCAN Geophysical ASA announced that the company has been awarded a contract from GEMS International N.V. (GEMS) for a 2-D survey offshore Sri Lanka. GEMS, a Belgian and UK-based company specializing... more

Schlumberger has announced the acquisition of InnerLogix, the market leader in data quality management for the exploration and production (E&P) industry. InnerLogix, with 20 employees, has offices in Houston and... more

Wavefield Inseis ASA has been contracted by BP to carry out a seismic survey to the west of the Shetland Islands. The project, due to commence in May 2008, is... more

Panasas Inc. has added MicroSeismic Inc. to its roster of customers providing seismic imaging services for the oil and gas industry. MicroSeismic has boosted its passive seismic application performance by... more

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) announced at its International Exposition and 77th Annual Meeting in San Antonio the Advancing Geophysics Today, Inspiring Geoscientists for Tomorrow campaign. This effort will... more

Maersk Oil Qatar has, in cooperation with Qatar Petroleum, recently completed the world's largest ultra-high resolution 3-D seismic survey over the Al Shaheen field offshore Qatar. Acquisition started in October... more

Input/Output, Inc. announced today that it has changed its company name to ION Geophysical Corp. The name change, which is effective immediately, will be accompanied by a rebranding initiative that... more

ARKeX has announced the acquisition of ARK Geophysics, creating the world’s only independent service company specializing in both Gravity Gradient Imaging and conventional gravity and magnetics. The combined company employs... more

Schlumberger has announced the opening of its Breakthrough Performance Center, a state-of-the-art Innovation Lab and executive briefing center in Houston to showcase, create and test the latest digital technology innovations... more

With its origins in a leading national research institute, high-performance visualization specialist Scalable Graphics is a company with impeccable technical credentials. Thanks to its close partnership with NVIDIA, Scalable Graphics... more

As part of its commitment to providing industry-leading business intelligence solutions, Microsoft Corp. has launched Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, an application that enables companies to drive performance through monitoring,... more

TerraSpark announced today that it has formed a strategic research and development relationship with JOA Oil and Gas B.V. of The Netherlands to enable the company to broaden its offering... more

Roxar has announced the launch of its next-generation structural modeling solution. The solution, which includes an intuitive user interface, new fault and horizon modeling tools, and improved 3-D and integrated... more

An order worth some NOK 160 million for automated handling solutions on vessels conducting 3-D seismic surveys has been awarded to ODIM by Eastern Echo. This contract covers complete aft deck... more

Paradigm announced at the Society of Exploration Geophysicists annual meeting that its new suite of subsurface applications will be known as “SKUA,” an acronym for Subsurface Knowledge Unified Approach. The... more

WesternGeco has announced the completion of Fruholmem, a 3-D multi-client survey in the Barents Sea, Arctic Ocean. The survey acquired data over an area of 158 sq miles (408 sq... more

As has been widely reported, the last few years in the offshore industry have been characterized by huge rises in the price of crude oil coupled with a serious “capacity... more

The oilpatch is notorious for being “careful” about its approach to new technology. But sometimes you’ve just got to take a chance. That was what Warren E&P decided to do in... more

In the early 1930s, the demand for oil was rising, but oil prices were low. Costs for new exploration and production were very high, and oil companies needed a way... more

The 1980s witnessed a major downturn in oil prices followed by the ’90s with sustained rock bottom prices. As a result new investments in exploration & production were curtailed across... more

A proven petroleum system main course garnished with an enthusiastic government and topped off with a reasonable government take should draw hungry oil and gas companies to the first offshore... more

Now, more than any time I can remember, this industry seems to be riven by serious fractures. Among these are short termism, a growing cult of youth, an overly optimistic... more

Drilling into unknown strata can be risky, as Total engineers realized when challenged to tap a new panel of the Dunbar field east of Shetlands in the UK North Sea.... more

The oil and gas exploration and production industry on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) began when Ekofisk, the first Norwegian offshore field, came on stream in 1971. Since that time,... more

Integrated production system modeling (IPSM) can help in a number of processes within exploration and production, including field development planning, forecasting and surveillance, but one of its most important uses... more

Now in its mid 30s, and certainly more advanced in years than many of its international counterparts, the North Sea is refusing to grow old gracefully. In fact, the region... more