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.

$A fracturing site where two large white units from Downing house an automated system that controls the flow of slurry from the pumps into a well during fracturing.$

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
Reservoir simulation

When It Comes To Plugging Leaks, Some Scaling Could Be Good

In an industry where methane leaks and carbon dioxide storage are increasingly important concerns, finding new ways to seal leaks is a valuable skill.

June 9, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Fracturing/pressure pumping

Who’s Right? Imaging of Fractures Often Delivers Conflicting Measures

When there are two ways to measure something, and they offer significantly different numbers, which do you use?

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

Mountains in Oman Can Store Huge Amounts of CO2 if a Way Can Be Found Into the Tight Rock

Geologists have identified a formation with a world-changing potential for carbon dioxide storage, but some engineering is required.

May 1, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
$Surface fractures offer hints of fractured rock deep in the ground researchers are working to tap for water heating.$

Geothermal energy

Time To See if Fracturing for Steam Pays Off

Two US test sites have fractured hot, dry rock with plans to create a network of fractures for water heating. They will soon find out if the fractures worked as expected.

Locked
April 1, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology
Geothermal energy

When Fracturing for Geothermal, Is Proppant Really Necessary?

Fracturing hot rock to create a geological water-heating system is like fracturing an oil well, but for a different purpose, so is proppant really necessary?

March 16, 2023 • Stephen Rassenfoss • Journal of Petroleum Technology

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