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The Troll field is one of the largest gas producers discovered off Norway, but ensuring its long-term future required finding ways to drill wells in an increasingly fragile formation to develop its rich oil reserves.

Two years ago, as drillers approached the bottom of a deepwater well in the Lula field, they were stopped again and again by total drilling fluid losses.

Dual-gradient drilling has long been described as the drilling method of the future for challenging offshore wells. Now, indications show it could start being used with some regularity.

SPE is developing a new program called the “SPE Leadership Academy” to instruct young professionals in soft—or nontechnical—skills critical for career advancement. Engineering graduates enter the workforce with strong technical skills, but often lack nontechnical skills vital to success in the oil and gas industry. For many early career professionals, finding the skil…

“Technical Writing and Publishing: Tools, Philosophies, Strategies, Methods, Pitfalls, and Tricks”—a new SPE course for industry professionals who want better writing and publishing skills, especially for technical papers—will be held 19–20 August at SPE’s Houston training center. Kevin Mahrer, chief scientist at geophysical firm Sigma3, will teach. The course covers …

In April, the University of North Texas SPE Student Chapter (UNT SPE) toured four well sites located in the Justin, Texas, area of the Barnett shale. Tour host was J-W Operating. Three of the sites each operated with a different type of artificial lift system. At the final pad on the tour, students saw a workover rig in action. Michael Warren, SPE, senior operations e…

Robert A. Wattenbarger, SPE, died on 9 May 2014. He was 78. An active SPE member for 53 years, he was the recipient of the SPE Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award in 2012 and was inducted into the SPE Legion of Honor in 2000. Wattenbarger started his career in 1959, working with Mobil Oil in Colombia. He went on to work for Oil Recovery Corporation and Sinclair O…

When discussing dual-gradient drilling, there is an important distinction between controlling wells and well control.

Dual-gradient drilling covers a variety of methods for managing pressure within an offshore well while drilling. Dual refers to systems built to reduce or eliminate the pressure added by drilling fluid in the riser. The goal is to create distinct pressure gradients above and below the mudline.

Used extensively by the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, the mechanical-vapor-recompression (MVR) process is viewed as a reliable method for recovering demineralized water from concentrated brines. This paper reports on performance of an advanced MVR system in north-central Texas.