Monthly Features
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Oil prices are high, but spending has not caught up—yet. Meanwhile, exploration strategies are changing around the world toward a lower-risk model, and the frenzied pace of US M&A has very much cooled off. -
This case study outlines a full-scale testing program focused on the behavior of thermal casing connections subjected to severe bending and low-cycle fatigue loading. -
With millions of wells having been drilled in the US since the beginning of the oil age, the land is pocked with old, unused wellbores. For most, repurposing is a pipe dream. Plugging is the best option. -
Disposal wells remain the lowest-cost solution for produced water, but concerns over seismicity and long-term sustainability are accelerating interest in alternatives. -
This case study from Malaysia’s Petronas outlines a comprehensive review of perforation-charge testing across various tubular and reservoir conditions to help improve production from complex downhole scenarios. -
As managed pressure drilling gains traction, its principles are influencing a wider range of well-construction activities.
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After 4½ years out of service, the massive Wafra oil field is set to resume production soon, and ensuring a smooth restart is no small order. -
Produced water is an inevitable byproduct of oil and gas production. The use of online oil-in-water monitors plays an important role in the management of produced water.
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Hess is testing whether it can drive drilling improvement by combining drilling rigs equipped with automated functions and humans determined to find a way to beat the programmed drilling.
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Production data from the oldest horizontal wells in the three largest oil plays in the US show that annual decline rates remain relatively high for a long period of time. This challenges assumptions held about production after 5 years and directly affects reserve and ultimate recovery estimates.
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Rigs drilling faster earn less money per foot because they are contracted by the day. But at least they are still working. Now service companies are developing new rigs with more automated functions, and want increased rates based on the productivity gains achieved.
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Oil companies are considering whether shutting in a well for a month or so may mean stronger production later by allowing more time for water to soak into the rock, which gets it out of the way of the oil and gas. But this is not always effective, and additional work is needed.
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The shale sector is seeking answers to a complex issue involving casing deformations that block access to long sections of a lateral. As opposed to frac hits, this rising problem is considered to be an intrawell phenomena.
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Merging new knowledge and technological capabilities among the disciplines—and beyond—will be crucial to sustaining the industry for the long term.
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Heavy production spiked in two Canadian wells heated by an electric cable, but it is hard to find customers there at a time when Canadian oil prices and customers remember cables in the past that died young.
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The formula for value in a shale play used to be simple, lease acreage in the best quality rock based on Tiers cover large areas. That standard is fading as it has become obvious that the rock is highly variable and the drilling and completion designs are just as important.
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