R&D/innovation
As US shale potentially stares at a production plateau, operators and service providers are turning to smarter tools to extend the life of aging plays.
This article is the third in a Q&A series from the SPE Research and Development Technical Section focusing on emerging energy technologies. In this piece, Zikri Bayraktar, a senior machine learning engineer with SLB’s Software Technology and Innovation Center, discusses the expanding use of artificial intelligence in the upstream sector.
Successful in other applications, self-healing coatings could be the oil industry’s ticket to fighting corrosion and extending the life of steel.
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A destructive run of three hurricanes has been a catalyst for a flurry of innovations in decommissioning shallow-water wells in the US Gulf of Mexico. -
Diamond-tipped cutters are the leading edge for technology development as companies seek an advantage that will allow customers to drill faster and longer before changing bits.
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The variables defining drill-bit performance cover a lot of ground. There is a lot of attention given to cutters studding diamond drill bits, but just as important are what is in the rest of the drillstring and the decisions made by the driller.
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For decades, the industry has worked to realize the potential of gathering seismic data in wells. But it is a hostile environment for standard equipment. An inventor has developed a fiber optic system that can handle the heat, but he needs backers to see if it can deliver in the ground.
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The lifespan of a huge, old oil field in Oklahoma is now linked to a fertilizer plant 68 miles away. Chaparral Energy is capturing 45 million ft3/D of carbon dioxide (CO2) that had previously been vented into the atmosphere in Coffeyville, Kansas, compressing it, and sending it via a pipeline.
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Tests showing increased recoveries in the Bakken formation using CO2 could have significant implications for the upstream oil and gas industry.
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Oxane Materials' advanced cerammic proppant travels farther during fracturing in larger quantities, thereby leading to smoother, higher flows of oil and gas.
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The rapid growth of progressing cavity pumps is an example of how new uses continue to emerge for older technology.
