Ali

This November 2006 issue of this journal brings my tenure as Executive Editor to an end. The 2-year term has passed very quickly and, while the role has been demanding, it has also been a lot of fun. Norm Warpinski will be taking over as Executive Editor; I am sure you will give him your full support.

Along with the announcement of my successor, we also recognized the outstanding Technical Editors for SPEPO at our annual committee meeting held in San Antonio. This year our Outstanding Technical Editors are Mahmoud Asadi, Peter Clark,Yong Fan, Phillip Harris,Charles Hinrichsen, Robert Holtslag,Myles Jordan,Mark Looney,Jennifer Miskimins,Jorge Pinedo,Jose Solares, andDiederik van Batenburg. Congratulations to each of you for achieving this special recognition. I appreciate the time and effort each Technical Editor volunteers to SPE in the peer-review process. Without their help, SPE would be unable to publish its technical journals.

After this issue of SPEPO, there will be a number of changes in the Editorial Review Committee. Bill Bailey and Elise Striz will retire after completing their term as Review Chairpersons. I want to personally thank both of them for their outstanding service to SPEPO as Review Chairs and the assistance they provided me during this period as well. Thanks, Bill and Elise.

As Bill and Elise step down, we have two new Review Chairs coming aboard.  Jennifer Miskimins and Joe Smith will join Harold Brannon, Ian Collins, Ali Ghalambor, and Dean Wehunt as Review Chairs during the coming year. I want to thank each of you for your willingness to serve SPE in the important function of Review Chair.

I also want to recognize two individuals—Stacie Hughes and Shashana Pearson-Hormillosa—who have played a very important role in producing SPEPO during the past 2 years. Without their assistance, this journal could never be published. I want to thank both of you for your outstanding support. Without your help, I would have never accomplished the things I did during my tenure as Executive Editor. I will miss working with you. Thank you.

Last, but not least, I want to thank you, the readers of SPEPO. You are the reason we publish, and I trust we have met your expectation over the past 2 years.

Leading off this issue, a scale paper. The Comparison of Nonaqueous and Aqueous Scale-Inhibitor Treatments: Experimental and Modeling Studies describes results from a series of comparative corefloods and static compatibility tests examining the differences in laboratory-test procedure, scale-inhibitor returns, and modeling approaches for nonaqueous and aqueous scale-inhibitor treatments.

The next paper, Sanding: A Rigorous Examination of the Interplay Between Drawdown, Depletion, Startup Frequency, and Water Cut, describes factors and mechanisms leading to sanding within an integrated-rock and soil-mechanics framework. The proposed approach is used in discussing sanding at several wells in two different fields.

Perforating multiple pay intervals to achieve optimum treatment coverage has long been a topic of considerable debate. The paper, Unique Multistage Process Allows Pinpoint Treatment of Hard-To-Reach Pay, describes a new multistage perforating technique known as “external casing perforating.” This technique allows the operator to perforate and isolate zones in as little as 30 minutes between treatment stages. As many as 17 discrete intervals have successfully been treated within a 24-hour period.

Use of Viscoelastic-Surfactant-Based Diverting Agents for Acid Stimulation: Case Histories in GOM presents several case histories of viscoelastic-surfactant-diverting applications in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), including acidizing before frac packing and remedial treatment of frac-packed completions.

Real-Time Optimization: Classification and Assessment focuses on the classification of real-time optimization (RTO) technology categories, lessons learned from industry experience, the perceived value of RTO initiatives, and a screening guide based on case histories.

Use of Nitrate To Mitigate Reservoir Souring in Bonga Deepwater, Development Offshore Nigeria presents a detailed evaluation of the potential for biogenic reservoir souring and work done to predict H₂S levels. The selection of nitrate as a mitigation method is also discussed.

Liquid loading is a serious problem in mature gas fields. The paper Numerical and Analytical Modeling of the Gas-Well Liquid-Loading Process provides the analysis of production behavior of liquid-loaded wells over time. The data show that these wells can operate at two different rates: a stable rate at which full production is taking place, and a lower, metastable rate at which liquid-loading effects play a role.

From Precommissioning to Startup: Getting Chemical Injection Right details the lessons learned from practical field experiences concerning the design, construction, and commissioning of a production-chemical program for a new field development.

The final paper in this issue, Survival Analysis: The Statistically Rigorous Method for Analyzing Electrical-Submersible-Pump System Performance, presents a rigorous statistical methodology to analyze electrical-submersible-pump (ESP) system-performance data. The approach extracts unbiased information from performance data and permits lifetime modeling by use of parameter combinations employing all available data. The methodology was applied to a data set pertaining to an ESP system in Ecuador and to a much larger worldwide data set. Many questions related to ESP system performance can now be answered.

            If you have any comments, positive or negative, about the content of this issue, please send them to me at syed@chevron.com. Goodbye and happy reading!