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For US operators, new regulations from the federal government regarding hydraulic fracturing practices could not have come at a worse time.

For the past quarter of a century, underbalanced drilling (UBD) has been a niche technology known to many and practiced by few. It has seen acceptance in the North Sea, where UBD is used to drill through depleted reservoirs.

When it comes to fracturing, experts argue about many things, but they agree that fractures do not look like lightning bolts, tree roots, or shattered glass.

SPE has served members through the ebbs and flows of the oil and gas industry since 1957. The exploration and production business is inherently cyclical.

There are headlines every day that discuss the ethics and safety behind oil and gas operations, particularly hydraulic fracturing.

Nearly 350 people gathered at the Omni Interlocken Resort outside of Denver for the 2015 SPE E&P Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental Conference—Americas. The conference carried the theme “Striving for HSE Excellence—It Takes All of Us.”

In recent years, projects in upstream oil and gas have become more complex, remotely located, and, therefore, costly and difficult to deliver.

After acquiring Berry Petroleum in 2013, Linn Energy became the operator of heavy oil fields in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

Managing the business amid the downturn in the price of oil and overcoming the challenges facing the industry topped discussions during the 19th annual Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference (MEOS), held in Manama, Bahrain, in March.

There is talk about digital oil fields and big data and some striking examples of their power. But in real oil fields, a lot of operators are still running fields with systems relying on big paper.