September 2006
Volume 58 Number 9
Features
SPE Presidential Interview
2007 SPE President Abdul-Jaleel Al-Khalifa discusses his outlook and his goals for the Society and the oil and gas industry.
Q&A
An interview with Clarence P. Cazalot Jr., President and CEO, Marathon Oil Corp.
Guest Editorial • The Challenge of Locating Maximum Bypassed Pay
Allen Howard, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NuTech Energy Alliance, examines how advancements outside the industry have improved the oil industry’s ability to get more oil out of the ground.
ATCE Technology Preview
Six papers to be presented at the 2006 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) reveal the industry outlook in key technology areas, including well-integrity operations at Prudhoe Bay, CO2 storage as it relates to inventory verification/carbon-credit trading, lessons in megaproject execution, type curves for estimating hydrocarbon saturation, measurement of dynamic solids-settling rates, and the case for steerable motors.
Special Feature—Moving From Fringe to Mainstream
The aurora borealis and boreal forests are not the only unusual aspects of northwestern Canada. This land so rich in natural beauty is also graced with a not particularly beautiful treasure—heavy oil. This tarlike substance is being marketed as 19 new types of crude streams and represents huge potential for the worldwide oil industry.
Management • Building the High-Performance E&P Company
Companies in other industries have delivered consistent competitive advantage by examining their business processes and then using technology to “invent new ways of doing work,” writes Deborah Close, Executive Vice President with Digital Oilfield. Can upstream companies do the same?
Distinguished Author Series • Rock/Fluid Characterization and Their Integration—Implications on Reservoir Management
This paper highlights the rock- and fluid-data needs for various production processes with an emphasis on quality control and efficient data management.
China Conference Preview
Technology transfer, offshore developments in China and around the world, and critical upstream issues will highlight the International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in China that will be held 5–7 December in Beijing.
Completions Today
Damir Horvat, SPE, Principal Drilling and Completions Engineer, Arrow Energy N.L.
Well Completion Effects on the Performance of Horizontal and Multilateral Wells
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 96530, “An Evaluation of Well-Completion Impacts on the Performance of Horizontal and Multilateral Wells,” by L.-B. Ouyang, SPE, and B. Huang, SPE, Chevron Energy Technology Co., prepared for the 2005 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, 9–12 October.
Next-Generation Expandable-Completion Systems
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 97281, “Next-Generation Expandable-Completion Systems,” by Gareth Innes, SPE, Quentin Morgan, SPE, Ally Macarthur, SPE, and Annabel Green, SPE, Weatherford, prepared for the 2005 SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition, Dubai, UAE, 12–14 September.
Dynamic Modeling of Invasion Damage and Its Effect on Production in Horizontal Wells
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 95861, “Dynamic Modeling of Invasion Damage and Impact on Production in Horizontal Wells,” by P.V. Suryanarayana, SPE, and Z. Wu, SPE, Blade Energy Partners; J. Ramalho, SPE, Shell Intl. E&P; and R. Himes, SPE, Stim Lab, prepared for the 2005 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, 9–12 October.
Physics-Based Well Design—Engineering the Well for Production
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper IPTC 10705, “Physics-Based Well Design—Engineering the Well for Production,” by B. Kline, SPE, B. Dale, SPE, R. Pakal, SPE, S. Clingman, M. Asmann, and D. Rosenbaum, SPE, ExxonMobil, prepared for the 2005 International Petroleum Technology Conference, Doha, Qatar, 21–23 November.
Reservoir Performance and Monitoring
Torsten Clemens, SPE, Senior Reservoir Engineer, OMV
Quantifying Uncertainty in Production Forecast for Fields With Significant History
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper IPTC 10987, “Quantifying Uncertainty in Production Forecast for Fields With Significant History: A West African Case Study,” by A. Castellini, SPE, I. Gullapalli, SPE, V. Hoang, and P. Condon, SPE, Chevron, prepared for the 2005 International Petroleum Technology Conference, Doha, Qatar, 21–23 November.
Monitoring Primary-Depletion Reservoirs With Seismic Amplitudes and Time Shifts
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains high lights of paper OTC 18219, “Monitoring Primary-Depletion Reservoirs With Seismic Amplitudes and Time Shifts,” by A. Tura, T. Barker, P. Cattermole, C. Collins, J. Davis, P. Hatchell, K. Koster, P. Schutjens, SPE, and P. Wills, Shell Intl. E&P, prepared for the 2006 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 1–4 May.
Iterative Coupling Between Geomechanical Deformation and Reservoir Flow
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 97879, “An Overview of Iterative Coupling Between Geomechanical Deformation and Reservoir Flow,” by D. Tran, SPE, L. Nghiem, SPE, and L. Buchanan, SPE, Computer Modelling Group Ltd., prepared for the 2005 SPE International Thermal Operations and Heavy Oil Symposium, Calgary, 1–3 November.
Wellbore Integrity, Sand Management, and Frac Pack
Harvey E. Goodman, SPE, Staff Research Consultant, Chevron Energy Technology Co.
Sand Production in the Statfjord Field
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 97794, “The Relative Importance of Drawdown and Depletion in Sanding Wells: Predictive Models Compared With Data From the Statfjord Field MM,” by M.H. Hettema, SPE, J.S. Andrews, SPE, and M. Blaasmo, SPE, Statoil ASA, and E. Papamichos, SPE, SINTEF Petroleum Research, prepared for the 2006 SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana, 15–17 February.
High-Accuracy Oriented Perforating Extends Sand-Free Production Life of Andrew Field
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 93639, “High-Accuracy Oriented Perforating Extends the Sand-Free Production Life of Andrew Field,” by A.J. Martin, SPE, Schlumberger; D. Robertson, BP; J. Wreford, SPE, Reservoir Management Ltd., and A. Lindsay, KCA Deutag, prepared for 2005 Offshore Europe, Aberdeen, 6–9 September.
Gravel Packing Long Horizontal Wells With Low Fracture Gradients
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 96396, “The Dynamic Bottomhole Pressure Management: A Necessity to Gravel Packing Long Horizontal Wells With Low Fracture Gradients,” by Z. Chen, SPE, and R.J. Novotny, SPE, BJ Services Co., prepared for the 2005 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, 9–12 October.
