
August 2008
Volume 60 Number 8
Features
Guest Editorial • How Processes Will Contribute to the Next Trillion Barrels
The oil and gas industry will continue to rely on game-changing technology, writes Jeffrey A. Miller, Vice President of Baroid Fluid Services, but that ultimate application of technology will require a shift from problem resolution to problem recognition, which will then enable a rapid and reliable mass customization of solutions.
Management • Pioneering Oilfield Technology
Management should understand how any new technology will affect the company’s business, says David Reid, Vice President, E&P Business & Technology Global Account, National Oilwell Varco. Otherwise, taking new ideas to market is only an exercise with no real business impact.
Management • Facilitating Collaboration in a High-Tech, High-Risk Environment
Today’s deepwater drilling programs are incredibly complex and require the collaboration of multiple companies, employing unique technologies, to design and deliver integrated solutions in remote and extreme environments, writes Tom Benwell, Principal for Critical Path Strategies. Facilitated collaboration is not a luxury, it is a necessity.
ATCE Preview
A preview of the 2008 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, to be held in Denver in September.
Discussion and Reply
Commentary and authors’ response about April’s Guest Editorial on “The Selfish Technology Gene.”
Formation Evaluation
Martin Kennedy, SPE, Chief Petrophysicist, Woodside Energy Ltd.
Measuring Porosity and Permeability From Drill Cuttings
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 111286, “Advances in Measuring Porosity and Permeability From Drill Cuttings,” by R. Lenormand, SPE, IFP, and O. Fonta, Geopetrol, prepared for the 2007 SPE/EAGE Reservoir Characterization and Simulation Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 28–31 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Very Low Water Saturations Confirmed in Sandstones
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 113162, “Very Low Water Saturations Within the Sandstones of the Northern Barmer Basin, India,” by T. O’Sullivan, SPE, Cairn India; R.J. Zittel, SPE, Cairn Energy; D. Beliveau, SPE, Cairn India; S. Wheaton, SPE, Tullow Oil; H.R. Warner Jr., SPE, and R. Woodhouse, SPE, Independent Consultants; and B. Ananthkrishnan, Cairn India, prepared for the 2008 Indian Oil and Gas Technical Conference and Exhibition, Mumbai, 4–6 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed..
Estimation of Variable Fluid-Mixture Density With 4D-NMR Logging
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 109051, “Estimation of Variable Fluid-Mixture Density With 4D-NMR Logging,” by Chanh Cao Minh, SPE, Schlumberger; Emmanuel Caroli, Total; and Padmanabhan Sundararaman, SPE, Chevron, prepared for the 2007 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Anaheim, California, 11–14 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Capillary Pressure Measurement on Cores by MRI
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper OTC 19234, “Capillary Pressure Measurement in Petroleum-Reservoir Cores With MRI,” by Prisciliano F. de J. Cano Barrita, Bruce J. Balcom, and Michael J. McAloon, University of New Brunswick, and Derrick P. Green, SPE, and Josh Dick, Green Imaging Technologies, prepared for the 2008 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 5–8 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Subsea Technology
Jacques B. Saliés, SPE, Drilling and Completion Manager, Petrobras America
Kikeh Development: Malaysia’s First Deepwater Development
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper OTC 19637, “Kikeh Development: Subsea-Equipment-Installation Challenges for Malaysia’s First Deepwater Development,” by G. Murray and D. Lowther, Technip Subsea 7 Asia Pacific, and A. Ledingham and T.J. Stensgaard, Murphy Sabah Oil Co. Ltd., originally prepared for the 2008 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 5–8 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Developing Subsea Facilities for the Roncador Field
This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper OTC 19274, “Development of Subsea Facilities in the Roncador Field (P-52),” by José Maurício T.G. Lima, Mariele Lima Kuppens, Paulo Ferreira da Silveira, and Pedro Felipe K. Stock, Petrobras, prepared for the 2008 Offshore Technology Conference,Houston, 5–8 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
BP’s Subsea Developments
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 113652, “BP’s Subsea Developments: Past Successes and Future Challenges,” by Fikry Botros, Cornelia Noel, SPE, David Brookes, SPE, and Robert Perry, BP plc, originally prepared for the 2008 SPE Indian Oil and Gas Technical Conference and Exhibition, Mumbai, India, 4–6 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Health, Safety, and Environment
John Veil, SPE, Manager, Argonne National Laboratory
REACH and the HSE Case for Formate Brines
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper IPTC 11222, “REACH and the HSE case for Formate Brines,” by Ylva Gilbert, SPE, Gaia Consulting; Adrian Nordone, Cabot Corporation; John Downs, Cabot Speciality Fluids; and Anu Vaahtera, Piia Pessala, and Tuomas Raivio, Gaia Consulting, originally prepared for the 2007 International Petroleum Technology Conference, Dubai, UAE, 4–6 December. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Development of a Security Process
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 108621, “Development of a Security Process To Meet the Requirements of Oil and Gas Companies in the Asia Pacific Region,” by Matthew Quin, Chevron, originally prepared for the 2007 SPE Asia Pacific Health, Safety, Security, and Environment Conference and Exhibition, Bangkok, Thailand, 10–12 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Tar-Sands Drilling-Waste Management: A Clean Solution
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 112368, “Tar Sands Drilling Waste Management: A Clean Solution,” by C. Nilsen, SPE, K. McCosh, SPE, and M. Kapila, SPE, M-I SWACO, originally prepared for the 2008 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, Orlando, Florida, 4–6 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

