Stephen Rassenfoss

JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor (Retired) Society of Petroleum Engineers

Now retired from SPE, Stephen Rassenfoss was 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 covered other stories including crashes to the outlook for engineers.

Business/economics

Weatherford Plans Chapter 11 Restructuring

Weatherford said it will file for bankruptcy after reaching a deal with its biggest lenders to halve its debt load and provide financing during and after the process.

May 12, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Data & Analytics

Data Is Not Scarce, but Oil Companies Hoard It as if It Were

A growing number of oil industry leaders are saying that data sharing across the industry is needed, but change is coming slowly.

April 30, 2019 • Judy Feder • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Fracturing/pressure pumping

Looking for Fracturing Sand That Is Cheap and Local

The very first fracturing job used sand scooped from a nearby river. After decades of buying sand based on tight size standards, unconventional operators are increasingly going back to a broad range of sizes, similar to that river sand.

April 30, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Business/economics

Shale Oil Focus Shifts to Cash Flow, Squeezing Growth and Small Players

In the shale oil business, cash flow is a life or death issue. For smaller players, money from investors and lenders is getting harder to find.

April 25, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Decommissioning

UK Offshore’s Big Challenge: Growing While Plugging More Wells Than They Drill

The outlook in the UK is a case study of the squeeze facing E&P in other basins where operators are trying to pay to sustain production with discoveries, while plugging and abandoning old wells, all paid for by the lean cash flow due to low oil prices.

March 26, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Oil and Gas Facilities
Data & Analytics

Oil Companies Must Learn To Share

Like a fast-declining oil well, the value of propriety software is short-lived. Technological advances drive down the value of programs, many of which were never unique.

March 21, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Data Science and Digital Engineering
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Completions

Imaging Fracturing’s Unexpected Changes

Pictures shot in fractured wells show how a high-pressure slurry of water and sand carves up the perforations.

March 10, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Data management

Change in Energy Sector is So Extreme Oil Companies May Need to Share Data

Oil companies generate an enormous amount of data but are reluctant to share it. But more sharing of information may be required in the future to keep up with a rapidly changing energy landscape.

March 5, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Sustainability

The Challenge of Public Perception

Are you annoyed by all the wrong things passing for facts about oil and gas? A lot of petroleum engineers are. As for what to do to solve the problem, that gets complicated, and likely will require studying psychology.

February 28, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Fracturing/pressure pumping

Keeping Up with the Older Generation Proves Costly and Futile in the Permian

Another reminder that it costs more to coax the same amount of oil from new wells as for older wells nearby, with a closer look at the big plays and how the wells are completed.

February 21, 2019 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology

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