October 2010
Volume 62 Number 10
Features
Guest Editorial • Sand-Control Reliability: Finding the Sweet Spot • Annabel Green, Product Line Director, Sand Control, Weatherford
Sand control represents a diverse range of technologies designed to meet the demands of hydrocarbon recovery from weak sandstone formations. Although the technology is developing and improving, industry adoption of new sand-control techniques is typically much slower than for oilfield technologies in general.
Management • R&D investment trends and the rise of NOCs • Ben Thuriaux-Alemán, Sam Salisbury, Paolo Dutto, Arthur D. Little
The global energy industry has been facing a variety of challenges in recent years: high price volatility, the decline of “easy oil” and a shift of production to emerging markets, shortage of talent, pressure to reduce the carbon footprint, and a surge in petronationalism. These challenges have shifted power toward national oil companies and have raised questions about the current business model of the international oil companies.
Special Feature—Subsea Developments Key to Future Production
Ongoing advances in subsea technologies and their proven application in offshore regions around the world mean that there can be few, if any, other areas of the upstream industry that can claim such strong prospects for the future.
Technology Today Series • Understanding Wormholes in Carbonates: Unprecedented Experimental Scale and 3D Visualization • Darren McDuff, Shalawn Jackson, Chris Shuchart, Dieter Postl
To understand wormhole growth in carbonate rock, researchers developed a new method of integrating matrix acidizing experiments on large rock samples, high-resolution nondestructive imaging and analysis, and computational modeling.
SPE’s Online Communities: The Future Is Under Way
A new committee is helping drive SPE’s online future, looking for ways to help members quickly find the exact information or expert they need.
Regional Awards
2010 SPE Regional Award winners named.
Sustainable Energy Discussion Highlights Latin America Conference
A preview of the SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference in Lima, Peru.
Technology Focus
Field Development Projects
Mauricio P. Rebelo, SPE, Technical Services Manager, Petrobras America Inc.
Akpo: A Giant Nigerian Deep Offshore Development
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper OTC 20989, “AKPO: Early Completion of a Giant Nigerian Deep Offshore Development,” by Francois Rafin, SPE, and Allain Laîné, Total S.A., originally prepared for the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 3–6 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
An Ultradeepwater Heavy-Oil Development Offshore Brazil
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper OTC 20537, “Parque das Conchas BC-10—An Ultra-Deepwater Heavy Oil Development Offshore Brazil,” by K.H. Stingl, Shell International E&P, and A. Paardekam, SPE Shell Brazil E&P, originally prepared for the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 3–6 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
FDPSOs: The New Reality and a Game-Changing Approach to Field Development
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper OTC 20482, “FDPSOs: The New Reality, and a Game-Changing Approach to Field Development and Early Production Systems,” by W.D. Harris, SPE, H.J. Howard, SPE, and K.C. Hampshire, SPE, Murphy West Africa; J.A. Moore and K.J. Bayne, SPE, Doris Inc.; and Jean Pepin-Lehalleur, Doris Engineering, originally prepared for the 2010 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 3–6 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Tight Reservoirs
Gregory Kubala, SPE, Global Chemistry Métier Manager, Schlumberger
Integration of Microseismic and Other Post-Fracture Surveillance With Production Analysis: A Tight Gas Study
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 131786, “Integration of Microseismic and Other Post-Fracture Surveillance With Production Analysis: A Tight Gas Study,” by C.R. Clarkson, SPE, University of Calgary, and J.J. Beierle, SPE, Talisman Energy, prepared for the 2010 SPE Unconventional Gas Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 23–25 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Overview of Tight-Gasfield Development in the Middle East and North Africa Region
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 126181, “Overview of Tight-Gasfield Development in the Middle East and North Africa Region,” by Ahmed Shehata, SPE, and Ahmed Aly, American University Cairo, and Lee Ramsey, SPE, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2010 SPE North Africa Technical Conference and Exhibition, Cairo, 14–17 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Proppant Transport in Slickwater Fracturing of Shale-Gas Formations
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 125068, “Proppant Transport in Slickwater Fracturing of Shale-Gas Formations,” by Adam Dayan, Shaun M. Stracener, and Peter E. Clark, SPE, University of Alabama, prepared for the 2009 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, 4–7 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Knowledge Management and Training
Ivor Ellul, SPE, principal founder and Chief Executive Officer, Knowledge Reservoir
Front-End Loading for Change Management and Capability Delivery
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 128227, “Front-End Loading for Change Management and Capability Delivery,” by Michael Popham, SPE, BAE Systems, prepared for the 2010 SPE Intelligent Energy Conference and Exhibition, Utrecht, Netherlands, 23–25 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Probabilistic Modeling for Decision Support in Integrated Operations
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 127761, “Probabilistic Modeling for Decision Support in Integrated Operations,” by Martin Giese, University of Oslo, and Reidar B. Bratvold, SPE, University of Stavanger, prepared for the 2010 SPE Intelligent Energy Conference and Exhibition, Utrecht, Netherlands, 23–25 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Exception-Based Surveillance
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 127860, “Exception-Based Surveillance,” by Jorge Yero and Thomas A. Moroney, SPE, Shell Exploration and Production Company, prepared for the 2010 SPE Intelligent Energy Conference and Exhibition, Utrecht, Netherlands, 23–25 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Sand Management and Frac Pack
Harvey E. Goodman, SPE, Chevron Fellow, Chevron’s Energy Technology Company
A Risk-Based Approach for Well-Integrity Management for a CO2 Geological Storage Project
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 122510, “A Risk-Based Approach for Well Integrity Management Over Long Term in a CO2 Geological Storage Project,” by Y. Le Guen, SPE, V. Meyer, O. Poupard, E. Houdu, and R. Chammas, SPE, Oxand S.A., originally prepared for the 2009 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Jakarta, 4–6 August. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Performance of Gravel Packs and Slotted Liners in Heavy-Oil Operations
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 132012, “An Analysis of the Performance of Gravel Packs and Slotted Liners in Heavy Oil Operations,” by Nosa Akhimiona, SPE, Timothy Gorham, SPE, and Ariel Auffant, Chevron, and Jonathan Harrelson, SPE, Colorado School of Mines, originally prepared for the 2010 SPE Western Regional Meeting, Anaheim, California, 27–29 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
An Experimental Investigation on the Stability and Reservoir Hydrocarbon Capacity of Shales
This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 121451, “An Experimental Investigation on the Impact of Capillary Pressure, Diffusion Osmosis, and Chemical Osmosis on the Stability and Reservoir Hydrocarbon Capacity of Shales,” by Talal M. AL-Bazali, U. of Kuwait; Jianguo Zhang, SPE, BP plc; and Martin E. Chenevert, SPE, and Mukul M. Sharma, SPE, U. of Texas at Austin, originally prepared for the 2009 SPE Offshore Europe Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen, 8–11 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
