On the Cover

Tommy Williams, a safety representative from Frac Tech Services’ Longview, Texas District, works on a Haynesville Frac job in Panola County, Texas.

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Cover and Table of Contents

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SPECIAL FEATURES

Guest Editorial • Are We Really Listening? • Carel Hoyer, Group Vice President, Well Construction
Services, Weatherford International

Habits developed while drilling conventional wells are often not sufficient in unconventional assets, nor are they the most effective drilling practices to address the more challenging hydraulics found in some of the world’s remaining resources of hydrocarbons, says Carel Hoyer, Group Vice President, Well Construction Services, Weatherford International.

Talent & Technology • Whatever Happened to the Skills Crisis in the Oil and Gas Industry? • Peter Peek, and Patrick Gantès, CRES

The authors examine whether, once the current recession is over and the industry gears up to meet growing energy demand, it will again be faced with skills shortages restricting production.

Special Feature • Ghana Celebrates Arrival of Jubilee

After more than 100 years of oil exploration and the drilling of 90 wells, the Republic of Ghana is now on the verge of truly benefiting from its offshore oil and gas riches.

Offshore Technology Conference Review

The 40th Offshore Technology Conference focused on new technologies, innovative approaches, and contemporary energy topics.

Management • Taking Advantage of Turbulent Times • Albrecht “Ali” Ferling and Michael Sternesky, Microsoft Oil & Gas

Supply and demand balances have been difficult to determine, and oil prices have been volatile over the past year. However, extraordinary times can also create opportunity.

Offshore Europe Preview

A first glance at the program for Offshore Europe, the largest E&P event outside of North America.

Society Spotlight

The first of a multipart series on important regional oil and gas associations around the globe. This first installment focuses on Instituto Brasileiro de Petróleo, Gás e Biocombustíveis, commonly known as IBP, which has been operating in Brazil for more than 50 years.

Reservoir Simulation and Visualization

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Overview

Martin Crick, SPE, Senior Reservoir Engineer, Schlumberger

Experimental Design Reduces Risks of a Siberian Development Having Subsurface and Financial Uncertainties

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 115575, “Experimental Design Reduces Risks of a Siberian Development With Subsurface and Financial Uncertainties,” by David E. Tipping, SPE, TNK-BP; Franz X. Deimbacher, SPE, and Dmitry Kovyazin, Schlumberger; Alexey Medvedev, SPE, Landmark; and Randy Valencia, TNK-BP, prepared for the 2006 SPE Russian Oil & Gas Technical Conference and Exhibition, Moscow, 28–30 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Structured Approach for Probabilistic Assisted History Matching Using Evolutionary Algorithms: Tengiz Field

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 116212, “A Structured Approach for Probabilistic Assisted History Matching Using Evolutionary Algorithms: Tengiz Field Applications,” by H. Cheng, SPE, and K. Dehghani, SPE, Chevron Energy Technology Company, and T. Billiter, Tengizchevroil Kazakhstan, prepared for the 2008 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, Colorado, 21–24 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Results of the Brugge Benchmark Study for Flooding Optimization and History Matching

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 119094, “Results of the Brugge Benchmark Study for Flooding Optimization and History Matching,” by E. Peters, TNO; R.J. Arts, TNO and Delft University of Technology; and G.K. Brouwer and C.R. Geel, SPE, TNO, prepared for the 2009 SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium, The Woodlands, Texas, 2–4 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Artificial Lift

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Overview

Shauna Noonan, SPE, Staff Production Engineer, ConocoPhillips

Experience With Metal PCPs in a Cuban Heavy-Oil Field

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 120645, “Field-Implementation Experience With Metal-PCP Technology in Cuban Heavy-Oil Fields,” by E. Guerra, SPE, and A. Sanchez, SPE, Sherritt International Oil and Gas, and C. Matthews, SPE, C-FER Technologies, originally prepared for the 2009 SPE Production and Operations Symposium, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 4–8 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Through-Tubing-Conveyed ESP Replacement—Live Well Intervention

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 116822, “Thru-Tubing Conveyed ESP Pump Replacement—Live-Well Intervention,” by Walter Dinkins, SPE, and Steve Tetzlaff, Baker Hughes; John C. Patterson, SPE, Hai Hunt, SPE, Peter Nezaticky, SPE, and James Rogers, SPE, ConocoPhillips; and Bret Chambers, BP plc, originally prepared for the 2008 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, 21–24 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Application of Permanent-Magnet Motors in Oil Production

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains high lights of paper SPE 117386, “Application of Permanent-Magnet Motors in Oil Production,” by Igor Azanov and Arthur Shamigulov, TNK-BP, originally prepared for the 2008 SPE Russian Oil and Gas Technical Conference and Exhibition, Moscow, 28–30 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Unconventional Resources

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Overview

Marcel Polikar, SPE, Senior Reservoir Engineer, Shell International E&P

Proper Evaluation of Shale-Gas Reservoirs Leads to More-Effective Hydraulic-Fracture Stimulation

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 123586, “Proper Evaluation of Shale-Gas Reservoirs Leads to a More Effective Hydraulic-Fracture Stimulation,” by Donald Kundert, SPE, and Mike Mullen, SPE, Halliburton, originally prepared for the 2009 SPE Rocky Mountain Petroleum Technology Conference, Denver, 14–16 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Development of Natural-Gas Supply Chain by Means of Natural-Gas Hydrates

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper IPTC 12880, “Development of Natural Gas Supply Chain by Means of Natural-Gas Hydrate (NGH),” by Tomonori Nogami and Shigeru Watanabe, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, originally prepared for the 2008 International Petroleum Technology Conference, Kuala Lumpur, 3–5 December. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Ocean-Thermal-Energy Conversion

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper OTC 19979, “Ocean-Thermal-Energy Conversion (OTEC): Technical Viability, Cost Projections, and Development Strategies,” by T.J. Plocek and M. Laboy, Offshore Infrastructure Associates, and J.A. Marti, Technical Consulting Group, originally prepared for the 2009 Offshore Technology Conference,
Houston, 4–7 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

CO2 Applications

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Overview

Sam Gomersall, SPE, Director of CO2DeepStore

Numerical Modeling of Pressure and Temperature Profiles Including Phase Transitions in Carbon Dioxide Wells

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 115946, “Numerical Modeling of Pressure and Temperature Profiles Including Phase Transitions in Carbon Dioxide Wells,” by Lincoln Paterson, SPE, CO2CRC, CSIRO; Meng Lu, SPE, and Luke D. Connell, SPE, CSIRO; and Jonathan Ennis-King, SPE, CO2CRC, CSIRO, prepared for the 2008
SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, 21–24 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Gorgon Project: Subsurface Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide Disposal Under Barrow Island

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 116372, “Gorgon Project: Subsurface Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide Disposal Under Barrow Island,” by Matthew Flett, SPE, Graeme Beacher, Jeroen Brantjes, SPE, Aaron Burt, Chris Dauth, SPE, Fiona Koelmeyer, SPE, Robert Lawrence, Seb Leigh, and Jason McKenna, Chevron Australia; Randal Gurton, and William F. Robinson IV, SPE, Chevron Energy Technology Company; and Terrell Tankersley, SPE, Tengiz Chevroil, prepared for the 2008 SPE Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Australia, 20–22 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Regulatory Framework to Accommodate Geological Storage of CO2 in Alberta

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 121000, “Guidelines for a Regulatory Framework To Accommodate Geological Storage of CO2 in Alberta,” by M. Zeidouni, SPE, M. Moore, and D. Keith, University of Calgary, prepared for the 2009 SPE Americas E&P Environmental & Safety Conference, San Antonio, Texas, 23–25 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.