November 2009
Volume 61 Number 11
Features
Guest Editorial - Bringing the Digital Oil Field to Production Operations
Mehrzad Mahdavi, Dexa Systems; P.P. (Daru) Darukhanavala, BP; and Donald Paul, USC Energy Institute The industry has made great strides in exploration by exploiting digital innovation but attention now needs to be turned to production operations.
Salary Survey
Results of SPE's annual global salary survey of members working in the industry.
Betting Big on Africa
African fields now account for 15% of Chevron's total production. That figure will certainly rise as several new projects are expected to come on line by 2011.
Strong Offshore Europe Conference Attracts Record
Leading industry and political figures came together to debate, share ideas, and discuss new technologies and the future of energy at the biennial Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition held in Aberdeen.
Management - Reality Checks for Well Time and Cost Forecasts - John McIntosh, Eikos Project Systems
Risk is a feature of drilling wells that no amount of engineering will completely remove. Many cost models used for well planning can be easily disproven because they go beyond the tools available to the human bias toward optimism.
Talent & Technology - New Training Alliance Focuses on Industry's Skills Shortage Henry Edmundson, Founder, Plato Alliance
A new alliance aims to address the industry's petrochemical skills-and-competency shortage by developing customized programs based on a competency model using a mix of classroom training, field seminars, blended learning programs, learning by doing, and technical coaching/mentoring.
Distinguished Author Series - Microseismic Monitoring: Inside and Out - Norm Warpinski, Director of Technology Development, Pinnacle
Since its inception in the 1970s and its commercialization circa 2000, microseismic monitoring has proved to be an invaluable tool for understanding underground processes.
Society Spotlight
A profile of the Japanese Association for Petroleum Technology.
Technology Focus
Horizontal and
Complex -Trajectory Wells
Greg Conran, SPE, Drilling Advisor of Drilling and Measurements, Schlumberger
Horizontal-Well Completions for Developing Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs in a Complex Fluvial Deltaic Environment - A Case Study
This article, written by Senior Tech nology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 116542, "Successful Application of Horizontal-Well Com pletions for Development of Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs in a Complex Fluvial Deltaic Environment-A Case Study," by Chatib Hazman, Harry Alam, Shinta Damayanti, Andre Wijanarko, Zainal Arifin, R. Rahardjo, Heriadi Buhron, and Robert Nikijuluw, Virginia Indonesia Company; Gary J. Sable, ENI; and Ram K. Narayanan, Donn Schmohr, and Martin Rylance, BP plc, prepared for the 2008 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Australia, 20-22 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Continuous Improvement Led to the Longest Horizontal Well
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 119506,"How Continuous Improvement Led to the Longest Horizontal Well in the World," by Kumud Sonowal and Bjarne Bennetzen, Maersk Oil Qatar A/S; Patrick Wong, K&M Technology Group; and Erhan Isevcan, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2009 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, 17-19 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Confidence Limits Associated With Values of the Earth’s Magnetic Field Used for Directional Drilling
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 119851, "Confidence Limits Associated With Values of the Earth's Magnetic Field Used for Directional Drilling," by Susan Macmillan, British Geological Survey; Allan McKay, Petroleum GeoServices; and Steve Grindrod, SPE, Copsegrove Developments, prepared for the 2009 SPE/IADC Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, 17-19 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Logistics and Design Considerations For Cementing Large Casing Strings in Extended Deviated Wells: A Case History
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 122405, "Logistics and Design Considerations When Cementing Large Casing Strings in Extended Deviated Wells: A Case History," by Borja Latorre, YPF, and Carlos Borquez, Juan Delgado, and Ariel Lueje, SPE, BJ Services, prepared for the 2009 SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, Cartagena, Colombia, 31 May-3 June. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Drilling and Completion Fluids
Brent Estes, SPE, Drilling Fluids Specialist, ExxonMobil Development Company
Entrance Pressure of Oil-Based Mud Into Shale
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 116364, "Entrance Pressure of Oil-Based Mud Into Shale: Effect of Shale, Water Activity, and Mud Properties," by Andres Oleas, SPE, Collins E. Osuji, SPE, Martin E. Chenevert, SPE, and Mukul M. Sharma, SPE, University of Texas at Austin, originally prepared for the 2008 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, 21-24 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Application of Invert-Emulsion Drilling Fluid and Aqueous Completion Fluids for Long Multilateral Wells
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 121905, "Design and Application of Invert-Emulsion Drilling and Aqueous Completion Fluids for Long Horizontal Multilateral Wells," by Alistair Hutton, SPE, Stephen Vickers, SPE, Marcus Davidson, SPE, and Jon Wharton, SPE, Baker Hughes; Andy Hatch, SPE, and Roger Simmonds, SPE, E.ON Ruhrgas UK North Sea Ltd.; and David Brankling, SPE, OCTL, originally prepared for the 2009 SPE European Formation Damage Conference, Scheveningen, The Netherlands, 27-29 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
First Deepwater Well Successfully Drilled in Colombia With a High-Performance Water-Based Fluid
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 120768, "First Deepwater Well Successfully Drilled in Colombia With a High-Performance Water-Based Fluid," by J. Marin, SPE, F. Shah, SPE, M. Serrano, SPE, A. Jaramillo, and C. Marin, Halliburton, and W. Arevalo and G. Priandi, Petrobras, originally prepared for the 2009 SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, Cartagena, Colombia, 31 May-3 June. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Gas Production Technology
Scott J. Wilson, SPE, Senior Vice President, Ryder Scott Company
Guidelines for Proper Application of Critical- Velocity Calculations
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 120625, "Guidelines for the Proper Application of Critical-Velocity Calculations," by Robert P. Sutton, SPE, and Stuart A. Cox, SPE, Marathon Oil Company; James F. Lea, SPE, PLTech; and O. Lynn Rowlan, SPE, Echometer Company, prepared for the 2009 SPE Production and Operations Symposium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 4-8 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Downhole Gas Compression: A New Artificial-Lifting System for Gas Wells
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 121815, "Downhole Gas Compression: World's First Installation of a New Artificial-Lifting System for Gas Wells," by M.T. Di Tullio, SPE, S. Fornasari, and D. Ravaglia, Eni SpA E&P Division, and N. Bernatt, SPE, and J.E.N. Liley, SPE, Corac Group plc, originally prepared for the 2009 SPE EUROPEC/EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, 8-11 June. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Salt Precipitation in Gas Reservoirs
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 122140, "Salt Precipitation in Gas Reservoirs," by Q.T. van Dorp, SPE, Delft University of Technology (now with OMV Austria Exploration & Production GmbH); M. Slijkhuis, SPE, Wintershall; and P.L.J. Zitha, SPE, Delft University of Technology, originally prepared for the 2009 SPE Formation Damage Conference, Schevenin gen, The Netherlands, 27-29 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
