Miskimins

If you have been on the SPE website in the "Papers/Publications/Authors" section recently, you might have noticed a couple of fairly significant changes to the SPE paper system. The first is the substitution of the OnePetro search engine for the old SPE eLibrary system. This is an exciting addition because it allows searches and downloads from not only the SPE library, but also from eight other industry organizations, including the American Petroleum Institute, the American Rock Mechanics Association, the American Society of Safety Engineers, NACE International, the Offshore Technology Conference, the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts, the Society of Underwater Technology, and the World Petroleum Congress. Such easy access to additional peer-reviewed papers will undoubtedly serve SPE members well when searching for information and knowledge on a certain topic.

The second major modification would have been noticed by anybody who has recently submitted a paper for SPE peer review. All editorial functions for SPE papers have recently been switched over to a system called ScholarOne Manuscript Central. The changes this new system brings might not be obvious immediately to most members, but over time I think the membership will appreciate the improvements the ScholarOne Manuscript Central system will bring. I believe the primary benefit will be the increased speed with which papers are published. The ScholarOne system allows me and the rest of the editorial staff to track papers more closely as they move through the system, and to determine if and where any bottlenecks are occurring. As we all know, our industry moves quickly and we must be able to respond in kind. I believe the ScholarOne system will, over time, help to shorten the window it takes to bring new technology to SPE Production & Operations and the other SPE journals. Only time will tell on this, of course, but optimism is warranted.

For now, onto the immediate business at hand--the new papers in this SPE Prod & Oper edition. You will notice two themes to the papers included in this edition; they either deal with hydraulic fracturing or scale management.

The first paper, entitled New Results Improve Fracture-Cleanup Characterization and Damage Mitigation, discusses strategies to minimize filter-cake damage during hydraulic fracturing processes, including the amount and application of breakers. The paper entitled Correlations To Predict Frictional Pressure Loss of Hydraulic-Fracturing Slurry in Coiled Tubing discusses frictional correlations for straight and coiled tubing developed from the results of full-scale experiments.

The authors of Holistic Fracture Diagnostics: Consistent Interpretation of Prefrac Injection Tests Using Multiple Analysis Methods provide a standard, consistent method for the analysis of pre-frac diagnostic injection tests using G-function, square root of time, and log-log plots. Pre-frac diagnostic injection tests are also the subject of Effects of High Pressure-Dependent Leakoff and High Process-Zone Stress in Coal-Stimulation Treatments, where the authors discuss the use of such tests to improve the diagnosis of pressure-dependent leakoff and process zone stresses in coal stimulation treatments.

As the title implies, the last hydraulic fracturing paper of this issue, Successful Hybrid Slickwater-Fracture Design Evolution: An East Texas Cotton Valley Taylor Case History, discusses a case history study focusing on hybrid hydraulic fracturing designs and the associated conductivity design parameters.

The use of viscosified gel division for scale inhibitor placement in horizontal wells is discussed in Gelled Scale Inhibitor Treatment for Improved Placement in Long Horizontal Wells at Norne and Heidrun Fields. Two successful application case studies are also presented.

A unique technique where kaolinite is injected and subsequently increases inhibitor adsorption and squeeze life is described in Innovative Use of Kaolinite in Downhole Scale Management: Squeeze-Life Enhancement and Water Shutoff. Long-term corefloods to evaluate squeeze success in kaolinite-rich core samples and associated field applications are discussed in Impact of Successive Squeezes on Treatment Lifetime and Well Productivity: Laboratory and Field Evidence. The development of a new biodegradable co-polymer inhibitor and the associated laboratory and field results are outlined in Development of a New Polymer Inhibitor Chemistry for Downhole Squeeze Applications.

The formation of naphthenate deposits under varying pH ranges is modeled in Thermodynamic Modeling of Naphthenate Formation and Related pH Change Experiments. Modeling the Impact of Diesel vs. Water Overflush Fluids on Scale-Squeeze Treatment Lives Using a Two-Phase Near-Wellbore Simulator also discusses modeling where two-phase simulations of squeeze treatments and the effects of overflush type and volume are evaluated. The final paper of this issue, Coupled Adsorption/Precipitation of Scale Inhibitors: Experimental Results and Modeling, also addresses modeling where the separate mechanisms of adsorption and precipitation of scale inhibitors and their relative contributions to the process are examined.

Once again, I hope you find some benefits for your work from the 12 excellent papers presented in this edition of SPE Prod & Oper.