Stephen Rassenfoss

JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor Society of Petroleum Engineers

Stephen Rassenfoss is the Emerging Technology Senior Editor for JPT, whose stories cover a range of novel ideas, including those that engineers may find promising but are not sure will work. He also covers other stories including crashes to the outlook for engineers. He can be reached at srassenfoss@spe.org.

Water management

Is Produced Water Really Water?

Produced water is a brew of salt, chemicals, and minerals that oil companies have always had to deal with. Landowners had no problem with that arrangement until they could see ways to make some money from it.

Locked
October 1, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Water management

Diamondback Deal Could Signal Wave of Big Water Deals in Permian

Diamondback Energy has agreed to spin off its water operations. Now, who’s next?

September 13, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
R&D/innovation

Test Shows Fracturing Can Also Create Underground Water Heating Systems

Fervo Energy’s bet that fracturing methods can be used for geothermal power is looking like a winner.

Locked
September 1, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
R&D/innovation

Subsea Power From Waves Works in North Sea Test

Wave power plus a subsea battery can be a reliable source for subsea operations, to a point.

August 31, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Mature fields

Shale Wells Producing More Early On, Then Declining Faster Than Ever

The challenge of sustaining shale production is growing larger.

August 16, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
$A fracturing site where two large white units from Downing house an automated system that controls the flow of slurry from the pumps into a well during fracturing.$

Unconventional/complex reservoirs

After Years of Ever-Longer Fracturing Stages, Some Engineers Say Shorter Can Be Better

The trend in fracturing designs has been longer stages with more perforation clusters, which save time and money. But there are a couple of companies testing whether shorter is better for production.

August 1, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Business/economics

US E&P Stuck on the ‘Blah’ Cycle

The US onshore business is looking flat at the moment, though these sorts of predictions are prone to sudden shifts.

July 19, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Midstream

ExxonMobil Buys a Key Piece in the Carbon Storage Game

ExxonMobil will soon own the only company with an interstate pipeline carrying captured carbon dioxide to storage sites.

July 13, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Exploration/discoveries

Discovery With a Surprising Upside Is Norway’s Largest Since 2013

The Carmen gas discovery offshore Norway was far bigger than expected and a short tieback away from production.

July 12, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Reservoir simulation

It’s Possible That Salt Clogging Is Lowering Your Gas Production

A new program offers an affordable way to figure out if salt precipitation could be behind underperforming gas wells and suggests a path to higher production.

Locked
July 1, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology

Page 2 of 53