Papers in the following areas are featured:
- Drilling Engineering Training with Directional Drilling Examples
- Well Control and Managed Pressure Drilling
- Drillstring Dynamics
- Casing Drilling
- Completions
- Formation Damage
- Well Integrity
- Wellbore Strengthening
- Classic SPE Drilling Paper
Read the latest content at www.spe.org/go/spedc
Casey McDonough, SPE, Drilling Engineer, Chesapeake Operating
We wear small bands on our fingers for many reasons. The rings have many meanings; the wedding ring may be the most common. This band, signifying no beginning or end, represents a union or reminds the wearer that he or she is married. It is traditionally worn on the left hand, on the vena amoris, the digit that the Romans believed was connected directly to the heart. Puzzle rings, or gimmel bands, are another type of ring used as wedding bands that has dual meanings. The word “gimmel” comes from the Latin gemellus and means “twin” or “paired.” Engaged couples would each wear one piece of the puzzle ring and, upon marriage, join the two bands with another provided by the priest. Once joined, the bands formed a puzzle that, if removed, was difficult to piece back together. Deceit that led to infidelity was made more difficult because the wearer might not be able to put the puzzle back together. Wedding rings have different traditions in eastern and western cultures, but they always hold a strong mental connection for the wearers.
Gerald R. Coulter, SPE, Consulting Petroleum Engineer and President of Coulter Energy International
Well stimulation continues to be a hot topic in our industry, particularly with hydraulic fracturing of shales. Having been in the industry since the Dark Ages, (at least, it seems like it at times), it is interesting to see the technology changes over time and what areas are currently in the spotlight. Certainly, hydraulic fracturing continues to lead the industry interest; however, we do pump a lot of acid, and we have not forgotten its importance. Our acid blends have not changed much since the very early days— the late 1800s—of acidizing. Hydrochloric acid has been the mainstay, with primarily hydrofluoric acid and formic and acetic acids being the complimenting acids. Specialty acids, such as phosphonic, sulfamic, and others, have also been playing a role.
John Misselbrook, SPE, Senior Advisor Global Coiled Tubing, Baker Hughes
The coiled-tubing (CT) industry has experience unparalleled growth in the past year, driven directly by the massive expansion in multistage-fracturing operations in North America. Various sources estimate that the US consumed 50% of the world’s CT in the past 12 months, helping to contribute to a massive 80% growth in product coming off the CT production lines.
Bob Carpenter, SPE, Research Consultant, Chevron Exploration and Technology Company’s Cement Team
The number and economic contribution of unconventional (tight gas/shale and steamflood) wells continued to increase rapidly in 2011, as did the participation of major operators. That increased industry focus was evident again in the distribution of papers. Also, there were more papers relating advances in plug-and-abandonment, Arctic, high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT), and carbon-capture technologies.
Alvaro Felippe Negrão, SPE, Senior Advisor, Woodside Energy USA
The “what’s worked well in the past” conservative approach is not possible anymore, in face of the damaged trust of the public about upstream activity. Though the criticism soars against exploration and production activities, the industry has allocated substantial investments in research for new technologies aimed to preclude risk events of recent years. New procedures and technologies, in addition to existing ones, will be deployed in the near future to eliminate blowouts or underground contamination from upstream operations.
Jacques Braile Saliés, SPE, Drilling Manager, Queiroz
Galvão E&P
No word defines deepwater projects better than “innovation,” and on 25 February 2012, one of the most innovative field-development projects came on stream: Cas- cade and Chinook (C&C) in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM). One well is producing from Cascade to the first floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel in the US GOM. The project brings several firsts and innovations that will be available to the entire oil industry in the near future. I would like to call attention to some of those innovations. First, the FPSO uses a detachable buoy that allows early installation of the buoy and all umbilicals before arrival of the FPSO. This feature will allow the FPSO to disconnect and sail away from hurricanes, avoiding damages to the facilities. C&C also presents the first freestanding riser in the US GOM. Subsea boosting will increase production and reduce workover costs. These examples are just a few that show inno- vation applied to a deepwater development. I believe strongly that C&C will lead the way for future development of Lower Tertiary plays in the GOM.
Mike Payne, SPE, Senior Advisor, BP
Exciting operations are ongoing on the shallow-water US offshore continen- tal shelf (OCS) that will influence the entire high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) community going forward. McMoran and their operating partners are actively drill- ing, evaluating, testing, and bringing to production several deep HP/HT plays. These prospects are named in the Treasure Island theme with identities such as Davy Jones, Blackbeard, and Lafitte. The Davy Jones 1 is in the completion phase, incorporating multiple Eocene Wilcox sands, and it represents the first 25,000-psi completion of its kind in the world. The Davy Jones 2 encountered confirmed pay and is progressing well. The original Blackbeard well was taken to 32,997-ft total depth, and operations on Blackbeard East have been permitted to 34,000 ft. As with Davy Jones, these wells represent substantial extensions to or step changes in current HP/HT technologies.
Helio Santos, SPE, President, Safekick Limited
In the 2 years since the Macondo incident, we have seen a lot of action toward new regulations, procedures, and norms to be implemented in an attempt to reduce the risks of those tragic events happening again. But the industry did not stop working; wells were drilled and completed, even in the Gulf of Mexico after the long period of inactivity. As expected, we saw a big focus on subsea-equipment testing and procedures and on needed equipment improvements. But we also saw many reports highlighting improved operational performance, confirming that the industry continues with significant activity.
Reservoir Navigation and Characterization During Drilling
159247 – Reservoir Characterization Begins at First Contact With the Drill Bit
S. Shayegi, C.S. Kabir, F. If, S. Christensen, K. Kosco, J. Casasus-Bribian, ABM K. Hasan, and H. Moos
140073 – Reservoir-Navigation System and Drilling Technology Maximize Productivity and Drilling Performance in the Granite Wash, US Midcontinent
S. Janwadkar, M. Thomas, S. Privott, R. Tehan, L. Carlson, W. Spear, and A. Setiadarma
Completion Design and Execution
140561 – First Downhole Application of Distributed Acoustic Sensing for Hydraulic-Fracturing Monitoring and Diagnostics
M.M. Molenaar, D.J. Hill, P. Webster, E. Fidan, and B. Birch
135396 – A Technical and Economic Study of Completion Techniques in Five Emerging US Gas Shales: A Woodford Shale Example
A. Agrawal, Y. Wei, and S.A. Holditch
140498 – Designing Multistage Frac Packs in the Lower Tertiary Formation–Cascade and Chinook Project
Z. Haddad, M. Smith, and F. Dias De Moraes
143816 – Reduction of Perforating Gunshock Loads
C.E. Baumann, E.P. Bustillos, J.P. Guerra, A. William, and H.A. Williams
132846 – The Evolution of the Role of Openhole Packers in Advanced Horizontal Completions: From Novel Technology to a Critical Key to Success
P. Gavioli and R. Vicario
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