GEOLOGY & GEOPHYSICS COILED TUBING TECHNOLOGYFirst
fiber-optic CT logging improveswater shut-off in Saudi
ArabiaMANAGED PRESSURE DRILLINGRecord HTHP well in Norway reaches
TDwith MPD flow detection and control REGIONAL OUTLOOK: INDIAFocus
shifts to early productionand enhanced recoverySHALE ENERGY:
FAYETTEVILLEExploiting remaining potentialwill have to await higher
gas pricesMARCH 2012 / DEFINING TECHNOLOGY FOR EXPLORATION,
DRILLING AND PRODUCTION / WorldOil.comWorld Oil/MARCH 20123 SPECIAL
FOCUS: COILED TUBING TECHNOLOGY35Fiber-optic coiled tubing logging
improves reliability of water shut-off in Saudi oil wellJ. Duarte /
S.Haldar / R. Said / A. Burov / W. Kharrat / J. StukerSPECIAL
SECTION: GEOLOGY & GEOPHYSICS44AAPG AT A GLANCE 47How local
variations in thermal maturity affect shale oil economics and
producibility J. Edman55Oil fingerprinting dramatically reduces
production allocation costs M. A. Mccaffrey / D. K. Baskin / B. A.
Patterson / D. H. Ohms / C. Stone / D. ReisdorfSHALE
ENERGY62Fayetteville remaining potential awaits higher prices K.
AbrahamABOUT THE COVERPGS seismic vessel Ramform Expedition leaves
northern Greenland after completing the industrys most northerly 3D
survey.70 35CONTENTSMARCH 2012 / VOL. 233 NO. 3COLUMNS7Editorial
comment (Incentive + Faith) Momentum = Growth 15Energy issues Into
the fracas17Whats new in exploration The great Alaska shale
rush19Drilling advances Shrimp boats and icebreakers: No place but
Louisiana21Whats new in production Shale gas development and the
public mindEducating trogs and smart idiots23Oil & Gas in the
Capitals Oil or eminent domain? China and the Spratlys25Executive
Viewpoint Too many variables, too little time crafting strategy
under ambiguity27Innovative thinkers Harry Smith: The journey to 83
well logging patentsNEWS AND RESOURCES9World of oil and
gas29Industry at a glance32 Offshore rig activity93People in the
industry94Companies in the news95New products and
services96Advertisers index97Marketplace / Advertising sales
offices98Meetings and events62REGIONAL REPORT: INDIA70After a
flurry of discoveries in 2002-04, oil and gas operators in India
now have twin aims: bring to early production new fields and
enhance production from mature fieldsP. KulkarniMANAGED PRESSURE
DRILLING77Record HPHT Norwegian well drilled with MPD flow
detection and controlS.K. Naesheim / F. Lefdal / T. . Oftedal /
B.G. Norge / H. SveinallREAL-TIME OPERATIONS83Smart upstream
collaboration centers: Design, technology support and lessons
learnedA. A. Al-Qahtani / M. F. Hogg / K. K. Lau / N. A.
Al-NaserINDUSTRY REPORT: NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY
LABORATORY89Mobility and conformance control for carbon dioxide EOR
Part 1Dr. R. Enick / J. Ammer / W. Schuller4MARCH
2012/WorldOil.comMailing Address: PO Box 2608Houston, TX
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[email protected] 2012 by Gulf Publishing
Company. All rights reserved.Industrial RubberCirculating
EquipmentIndustrial Rubber, Inc.'s Swages are light and easy to
handle, yet robust enough to withstand high pressure cir-culating.
e 1502 union sub is easy to replace should the need arise. Swages
are available in any size or style of casing thread - just let us
know what you need!Features of the IRI Swage Include: Dished Top
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allows for High-Pressure Use Available for any size casing, with
any style threadsIndustrial Rubber, Inc.'s Circulating Heads
comple-ment the Industrial Rubber line of Cementing Heads. IRI
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standalone unit.Features of the IRI Circulating Head Include: Quick
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removal of theCirculating Head Cap. Available for any size casing,
withany style threadsOklahoma City, OKToll-Free: 1-800-457-4851
Fax: (405) 634-9637www.iri-oiltool.comEDITORIAL COMMENTPRAMOD
KULKARNI, EDITORWorld Oil/MARCH 20127 (Incentive + Faith) Momentum
= GrowthLook, ma! Ive come up with an
equa-tionthatgovernseconomicgrowth.I
dreamupsuchoff-the-wallconcepts between4and5a.m.U.S.Republican
presidentialcandidateRickSantorum wouldperhapsattributethistodivine
inspiration.SigmundFreudwouldprob-ablypointtoapsychologicaldisorderor
blame my mother.Whatmyequationlacksisacademic flourish. Ill have to
outsource this task to
atop-flight,low-costthinktanktosprin-klesomeexponentsandintegralfunc-tions,toaddjustenoughobfuscationto
confuse even Nobel Laureate and Energy Secretary Paul Chu. Here is
an explanation of the variables involvedinthisequationwithexamples
from our oil and gas industry. Incentive.Iamnotlikelytogetan
argumentaboutthisvariableeco-nomic incentive.It is this factor that
has fueledtheshalegasrevolution.When
naturalgaspriceswereat$10/Mcfand the U.S. was expected to be a
major mar-ketforLNGimports,therewasplenty of economic incentive for
intrepid inde-pendentoperatorstoincreaserevenues through
technological innovations, such ashorizontaldrillingandmulti-stage
fracturing.Nowthatgaspriceshave
droppedto$2.50/Mcf,thereisasub-stantial downturn in drilling
activity. On the other hand, the uptick in oil-directed drilling is
a consequence of the econom-ic incentive provided by oil prices
climb-ing above $100/bbl.Faith.WhatIcallfaith-basedE&P
isactivitythatisconducted,evenwhen
thereisinsufficienteconomicincentive.
Forexample,whilecompaniessuchas Chesapeake,aredownsizingtheirdry
gasactivity,ExxonMobilhasvowedto
continueallofitsgasoperations,based
onthecompanysfaiththatthecur-rentdropingaspricesisashort-term
phenomenon.Themajoroilcompany believes the long-term fundamentals
will leadtohighernaturalgaspricesinthe near
future.AnotherexampleistheObamaad-ministrationsfaithinthefutureofre-newableresourcesintheabsenceofan
economicincentive.Billionshavebeen spent on new solar and wind
projects be-foreanincentivizedmarkethasemerged
forthesehigh-pricedandstill-evolving energy sources.Still another
example would be that of a state-directed NOC that will have as its
operating tenetfull employment for its workers in spite of negative
economic conditions.Momentum.This is the variable that
hasasignificantimpactongrowth.The best example of momentum is the
mush-rooming of shale plays in North America.
TheBarnettisthegranddaddyofU.S. shaleplaysandhowquicklytheshale
familyhasgrownMarcellus,Haynes-ville,BakkenandEagleFord.Twoyears
ago, World Oil decided to cover the shale plays in alternating
months. This year, we doubled the coverage to 12 plays, one per
month.Withthecontinuingemergence of new plays, such as the
Mississippi Lime and the recent USGS assessment of both shale oil
and shale gas in Alaska, we are at apointofaskingtheEarthtoslowdown
its rotation around the Sun so that we can have at least 15 months
in a year. Anexampleofadownwardshiftin
momentumistheactivityintheGulf ofMexico.PriortotheMacondospill,
drillingandproductionoperationshad
reachedarecenthigh.ThePerdidospar
hadjuststartedproduction,theindus-trywasmovingaheadonexploringthe
Lower Tertiary plays, and there was even excitement about
shallow-water potential with the discovery of the Davy Jones
pros-pectbyMcMoran.TheObamaadminis-trationdisruptedthismomentumwith
asix-monthmoratoriumandthesub-sequentpermitorium.Itwilltakesome
timebeforeweareabletoreturntothe pre-Macondo optimism and
enthusiasm.Suchisthestuffmydreamsaremade
of.Arethereanyoilandgaspsychoana-lysts around?IN THIS
ISSUE44Geology&Geophysics special section. World Oilis pleased
to introduce a special section onthisleadingedgeoftheE&Pcycle.
WeplantopublishthreeoftheseG&G sections each year in March, May
and Oc-tobertocoincidewiththeAAPG,EAGE and SEG conferences. Each
G&G special section will include a preview of each of the
conferences and several technical
ar-ticlescoveringdifferentaspectsofthe
latestgeologicalandgeophysicaltech-nologies. In this issue, we are
focusing on geochemical technologies with an article
fromJanellEdmanonhowlocalvaria-tions in thermal maturity affect
shale oil economicsandproducibilitywithspe-cific examples from the
Eagle Ford play, and an article from Weatherford, BP and Alta Mesa
authors on how oil fingerprint-ingcanachieveaccurategeochemical
allocation at 1% to 5% of the cost of pro-duction
logging.35Fiber-optic coiled tubing
logginginSaudiArabia.SaudiAramcoandSchlumbergerau-thorsdescribetheworldsfirstapplica-tion
of fiber-optic CT logging in an
open-holecompletion.Theaccuratelogdata enabled the completion team
to perform optimumevaluationofwellconditions for the proper
placement of water shut-offfluidsinthetargetzoneandisolate water
producing intervals.62ShaleEnergy:Fayette-ville.ExecutiveEditorKurt
Abrahams report onthe Fayetteville shale play in Arkansas reveals a
rollercoaster ex-istence for the dry gas producing region.
Fullexploitationoftheremainingpoten-tial from what is the second
oldest shale playintheU.S.willhavetoawaitanim-provement in natural
gas prices. [email protected] Solving
challenges. 2012 Halliburton. All rights reserved.CEMENTING
SERVICES What if, for cementing long horizontals, there were a
predictive analysis service that let you simultaneously simulate
uid interface and slurry viscosity?iCem service answers questions
before the job.Find out how at www.halliburton.com/icemWorld
Oil/MARCH 20129 WORLD OF OIL AND GASNELL LUKOSAVICH, SENIOR
EDITOREXPLORATION ////////////////////////////////////////////////
PRODUCTION
/////UNCONVENTIONALS/////////////////////////////////////////Cyprus
ofers seismic data for licensing roundAs the Republic of Cyprus
opened its 13-block second licensing round, further steps were
taken to provide compre-hensive data, including seismic, to
potential bidders. Accordingly, Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) is the
official data provider and has furnished Cypriot officials with a
dense multi-client (MC) seismic data grid. One component, the
MC2D-CYP2006 survey, was acquired for the first licensing round and
has 10-by-20-km coverage. In addi-tion, another survey,
MC2D-CYP2008, infills the previous work, thus providing 5-by-5-km
coverage, on average. The most recent survey offers the best
possible data quality. Following reprocessing in 2011, the original
conventional data grid also has high data quality. Block 3 has the
greatest MC data coverage, with 3D-quality data in part of the
block. Geological interpretation reports based on these data, as
well as hydrocarbon assessments, are available through the Ministry
of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. Chevron to explore for shale gas
in ChinaChevron confirmed that it has signed a joint agreement to
explore for shale gas in Chinas Qiannan basin. The company began
seismic operations in July 2011. Chevron didnt disclose its
partner, but local press outlets have reported that the agreement
is with a unit of China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec
Group. Qiannan basin is in the southwestern province of
Guizhou.Rosneft obtains licenses for three Barents Sea
blocksRosneft has obtained licenses for geological survey,
explora-tion and production of oil and gas at three blocks on
Russias Barents Sea shelf. The blocks are named
Tsentralno-Barentsevsky, Fedynsky and Perseevsky. The blocks hold
an estimated total resource potential of 3.3 billion tonnes of
crude oil and gas condensate and up to 98.89 Tcf of gas.
Exploration of the blocks envisages the acquisition of 6,830 linear
mi of 2D seismic data and 1.35 sq mi of 3D seismic data, as well as
the drilling of five wildcat wells.Buccaneer granted permits
ofshore AlaskaBuccaneer Energy has been granted two key permits for
oil and gas exploration opera-tions at the Southern Cross and
Northwest Cook Inlet units offshore Alaska in the Cook Inlet. The
companys permitting plan was implemented approximately 18 months
ago and is on schedule for completion prior to the arrival of
jackup rig Endeavour-Spirit of Independence in the inlet.Australian
land exploration doubles over last yearProfessional services firm
Deloitte released its fourth-quarter, 2011, Drilling and Licensing
Report, covering exploration and appraisal drilling, plus licensing
and deal activity in Australia for the December quarter. The report
states that onshore activity strengthened during 2011 as the year
progressed, recovering from a spate of natural disasters that
hampered drilling levels in the first quarter, to finish the year
at close to pre-GFC (Global Financial Crisis) levels. Onshore
activity continues to be dominated by smaller independents, with a
131% increase in wells spudded since 2010. Offshore activity has
risen significantly, too, due largely to majors like Chevron and
Woodside searching for further gas to feed their planned, floating
and conven-tional LNG plants.Jubilee production misses output
targetOil and gas production activities in Tullows Jubilee field,
situated off Ghanas soutwestern coast, have been hit by problems,
and, as a result, the projected output target for this year cannot
be met. Last year, Tullow revealed that Ghana lifted 3.9 million
bbl of crude, mak-ing over $444 million from its sale. The company
said in January that it would not be able to meet its projected
120,000-bopd produc-tion target this year, but gave no reason why.
Currently, the field is producing about 90,000 bopd.CNPC to begin
eld development in western UzbekistanChina National Petroleum Corp.
(CNPC) plans to begin develop-ment of Eastern Alat gas-conden-sate
field in the Bukhara-Khiva region of western Uzbekistan. CNPC
opened the Eastern Alat gas-condensate field in the Karakul
investment block in 2011. In the first half of this year, the
company must submit a report to the Uzbek government about Eastern
Alat and natural gas reserves to ensure continued protection in the
State Reserves Committee. According to preliminary estimates, the
first three years of development could require an investment of
about $150 million.Cascade, Chinook start producingBrazils
Petrobras started pump-ing crude oil from two fields in the U.S.
Gulf of Mexico on February 25. FPSO BW Pioneer is now connected the
the Cascade 4 well about 155 mi offshore Louisiana. Petrobras had
origi-nally expected to start output at Cascade and Chinook fields
in 2010, but the project was delayed after the U.S. govern-ment
banned deepwater drilling in the wake of the Macondo
disaster.Polands PKN Orlen to intensify drilling for shale gas in
2012Polish state-controlled oil firm PKN Orlen plans to
significantly intensify work on its shale gas concessions in Poland
this year and has enough resources to continue exploration without
partners, company executives said. PKN Orlen holds eight
exploration licenses for shale gas in Poland, mostly in the
countrys eastern area. The company finished vertical drilling on
one of the licenses, Wierzbica, last year.KBR, JV partners sign EPC
contract for Ichthys LNGKBR, along with its joint venture partners
JGC and Chiyoda, signed a contract for engineering, procurement and
construction activities on the Ichthys LNG project in northern
Australia. The partners signed the $15-billion contract with
Ichthys LNG project owners INPEX and Total. Gas from the Ichthys
field, which is in the Browse basin about 124 mi off Western
Australia, will be exported to onshore processing facilities in
Darwin via a 552-mi subsea pipeline. The Ichthys project is
expected to produce 389.5 Bcf of LNG and 18.9 million bbl of LPG
per year, along with approximately 100,000 bcpd at its peak.India
delays shale gas auction to 2013Indias Petroleum Ministry has again
delayed its first-ever shale gas exploration round, and now plans
to launch it in December 2013. The delays are attributed to
regulatory regimes currently being put in place, including a
resource assessment and policy framework for the upcoming rounds as
well as the official identification of potential acre-age to be
auctioned. Indias shale gas rounds, which will include the Cambay,
Assam-Arakan, Gondawana, KG, Cauvery and Indo Gangetic basins, have
been delayed since 2011. GE EnergyPower
Conversionge-energy.com/electrifyingchangeelectrifying
efciencyConverteam is now GE Energys Power Conversion business.And
were at work. In the farthest reaches. On the roughest waters.
Applying our power conversion expertise to help improve process
efciency, infrastructure reliability, and environmental
friendliness. Working with our oil & gas customers to meet the
demands and opportunities of the new electric age. Were making
change happenelectrifying change.WORLD OF OIL AND GASNELL
LUKOSAVICH, SENIOR
EDITORBUSINESS//////////////////////////////////////////////REGULATORY
AFFAIRS/////////////////////////////////Mitsubishi to invest $2.9
billion in B.C. gas assetsEncana said that Japans Mitsubishi will
invest about $2.9 billion to acquire a 40% stake in its undeveloped
Cutbank Ridge natural gas assets in northeastern British Columbia.
Calgary-based Encana had previously entered into a larger agreement
to sell a 50% stake in shale gas assets in northeastern B.C. and
northwestern Alberta to PetroChina Co. for $5.4 billion, but that
deal fell through last year. Under the agreement, Mitsubishi will
own 40% of the Cutbank Ridge partnership, which holds about 409,000
net acres of undeveloped Montney shale lands in B.C., plus
additional develop-ment potential in the Cadomin and Doig
geological formations.The Losseal* family of reinforcedcomposite
mat pills cures staticand dynamic mud losses in naturallyfractured
formations during drillingor prior to cementing once totaldepth is
reached.In a South American carbonate formation, the use of Losseal
mat pills reduced mud losses of 2,000 bbl during drilling without
requiring an additional trip, and the cement job was successfully
completed without losses.For more of the story, go
towww.slb.com/losseal.Stop lost circulation in naturally
fracturedformations*Mark of Schlumberger. 2012 Schlumberger.
11-CE-0054FAMILY OF REINFORCED COMPOSITE MAT PILLSLossealEl Paso to
sell E&P company to Apollo, partnersEl Paso has entered into an
agreement to sell its exploration and production business, EP
Energy Corp., for $7.15 billion to affiliates of Apollo Global
Management and Riverstone Holdings, which are joined by Access
Industries and other parties. The sale of EP Energy is dependent
upon comple-tion of the Kinder Morgan-El Paso transaction, which is
expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. The sale of EP
Energy is also expected to close around the same time.BG Group to
invest $20 billion in Tanzania gas explorationBG Group plans to
invest up to $20 billion to extract gas in Tanzania, Chairman
Robert Wilson announced. BG has discovered huge reserves of natural
gas in three wells in the Indian Ocean, including one in deep
water. The firm invested $500 million in gas exploration in the
country last year and plans to invest a similar amount this year.
Wilson called on the government to join efforts to remove obstacles
that challenge exploration and production activi-ties in the Indian
Ocean, especially in dealing with Somali pirates. BG entered
Tanzania last year with the purchase of 60% of Ophir Tanzania,
which had an explora-tion contract with the government and the
Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp.Petrobras signs deals for 26
deepwater rigsBrazils Petrobras has approved contracts for 21
offline deepwater rigs with Sete Brasil, at an average day rate of
$530,000, and for five dual-activity rigs with Ocean Rig, at an
average daily rate of $548,000, all with 15-year terms. These rates
could be cut, if tax exemptions are granted, as well as if
operating costs can be reduced. All of the rigs will be built in
Brazil, with the first units scheduled for delivery in four years.
The final rig will be delivered in 7.5 years. These contracts mean
that Petrobras has fully implemented its plan to contract 28 rigs
to be built in Brazil, to meet the long-term demands of its
drilling program, primarily for pre-salt oil wells, as well as a
further five rigs not originally plannedRepsol gets okay to develop
gas elds in AlgeriaThe government of Algeria authorized Repsol YPF
and its partners to develop gas fields in the North Reggane
project. A Repsol-led consortium will invest more than $2.6 billion
to develop 104 wells in six areas. The Spanish company has a 29.25%
stake in the consortium, which also includes Algerian state energy
company Sonatrach, and Italian and German firms. Repsol said that
it plans to start producing in the middle of 2016 and carry on
production for 25 years, with the first 12 years yielding stable
production of 284 MMcfgd. Weatherford dismissed from all Macondo
claimsAll claims against Weatherford International in the
multi-district litigation over the cause of the Macondo blowout and
oil spill have been dismissed.In June 2011, Weatherford announced
that its U.S. subsidiaries had reached agreements with BP to settle
any claims that may arise between the com-panies relating to the
Macondo blowout and oil spill. Under the agreement, BP agreed to
indemnify Weatherford for current and future compensatory claims
resulting from the incident. The entire cost of the $75 million
agreement with BP was funded by insurance policies that Weatherford
had in place at the time of the incident. The change will do you
goodSMweatherford.comControl
Change5BLFDPOUSPMPGDIBOHJOHXFMMCPSFPXTBOEQSFTTVSFTXJUI8FBUIFSGPSEnTFYDMVTJWF.JDSPVYDPOUSPMTZTUFNOur
automated system measures, analyzes and controls changing wellbore
conditions in real time. Now you can drill wells that were once
considered undrillable.Weatherfords .JDSPVY control system is more
than managed pressure drilling. Its secure drilling.We call it
Tactical Technology. Youll call it money in the bank.
VisitXFBUIFSGPSEDPNNJDSPVY or talk to a Weatherford representative.
We might change the way you look at all of your service needs. 2012
Weatherford. All rights reserved. Incorporates proprietary and
patented Weatherford
technology.DrillingEvaluationCompletionProductionInterventionClosed-loop
drillingA|r dr||||ng6ompress|on serv|ces0ownho|e |so|at|on
systemsF|u|d systemsK|ck dectect|on & contro|Hanaged pressure
dr||||ngPressure-contro| equ|pmentRotat|ng contro|
dev|cesUnderba|anced
dr||||ng123453,2811,00006,5622,0009,8423,00013,1234,00016,4045,00019,6856,0000
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 22013-3/8 in.20 in.9-5/8 in.7
in.Depth (ft/m)Weatherfords Microflux control system enabled total
depth to be reached ahead of schedule.DaysMicroflux system
Conventional2 Lossesslow rate of penetration 3 Stuck bottomhole
assemblyfishing4 Lossesstuck pipe5 Plugged and abandoned,
sidetrack, lose well1 Wellbore ballooningWORLD OF OIL AND GASNELL
LUKOSAVICH, SENIOR EDITORDISCOVERIES
//////////////////////////////////////////Eni makes 7.5-Tcf gas nd
ofshore MozambiqueEni made a new giant natural gas discovery at the
Mamba North 1 prospect, in Area 4 offshore Mozambique, encountering
a potential of 7.5 Tcf of gas-in-place. This new find, in addition
to the Mamba South discovery from October 2011, further increases
the potential of the Mamba complex to 30 Tcf. During 2012, Eni
plans to drill at least five other wells in nearby structures to
assess the upside potential of the Mamba complex.OGX makes
shallow-water, presalt oil discoveryBrazilian independent OGX has
confirmed a shallow-water oil find in Brazils presalt region,
following an initial discovery in January, when drilling tapped a
3,280-ft column of oil that had net pay of 360 ft. Drilling was
halted after a high-pressure zone was encountered.While the OGX
discovery is in the same Santos basin where a cluster of presalt
finds was made in the mid-2000s, it lies much closer to shore and
in waters that arent nearly as deep. The prospect, dubbed
Fortaleza, was made in roughly 500 ft of water with a well drilled
to a TD of 20,125 ft. OGX owns 100% of the BM-S-57 block where the
Fortaleza find was made, about 63 mi off the coast of Rio de
Janeiro state. OGX estimates that its Santos basin blocks,
including BM-S-57, hold 1.8 Bboe. Potential unconventional gas play
discovered in PolandEuropean shale gas firm San Leon Energy has
uncovered a new potential unconventional gas play in Poland,
following completion of drilling at its Siciny-2 well in the SW
Carboniferous basin of Poland. The stratigraphic test well reached
a TD of 11,545 ft after penetrating more than 3,280 ft of
Carboniferous section. A previously unseen, fourth potential
Carboniferous shale section, and a fractured tight gas sandstone,
were also encountered below 10,500 ft. Tight rock analysis will be
performed on the core to evaluate the potential for commercial
shale gas and tight gas sand production.ONGC hits two shallow-water
gas discoveriesIndias Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has made two
shallow-water gas discoveries offshore India. Exploratory well
Alankari No. 1, in the KG basin, was drilled to a depth of 6,273 ft
and is pro-ducing gas at a rate of 5.1 MMcfd. The second
exploratory well, in the Saurastra basin, reached a depth of 16,033
ft and produced gas at a rate of 1.4 MMcfd. ONGC claims this
discovery provides a significant lead to explore other sub-basalt
Mesozoics in the area.Statoil, Exxon nd natural gas in Tanzanian
reservoirStatoil, along with its partner ExxonMobil, con-firmed
that the Zafarai-1 well in Block 2 offshore Tanzania has
encountered indications of natural gas in a good-quality reservoir.
Statoil said that drilling operations are ongoing and that it is
too early to give any indication of size and commerciality. The
well was spudded in early January 2012, and drilling operations are
expected to take up to three months to complete. The well is being
drilled by the drillship Ocean Rig Poseidon, about 50 mi off
main-land Tanzania. It is the first exploration well that has been
drilled in the 2,120-sq-mi license.Petrobras makes onshore Amazon,
ofshore Franco discoveries Brazils Petrobras has discovered a new
accumulation of oil and natural gas in a remote region of the
Amazon rainforest. The discovery was made in the Solimoes basin,
about 25 km from Urucu field that has been producing for 25 years.
Testing showed the well, dubbed Igarape Chibata East, was capable
of producing 1,400 bpd of light oil and 1.59 MMcfgd. Petrobras
holds a 100% stake in the block. Petrobras also reported that it
had completed drilling its first well at the Franco area in the
pre-salt area of the Santos basin. Results confirm the extension of
oil reservoirs northwest of the discovery well, informally known as
Franco NW, which is situated in a water depth of 6,100 ft, 117 mi
offshore Rio de Janeiro.Personnel and asset protection with the
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goodSMweatherford.comVisit XFBUIFSGPSEDPNNJDSPVY or contact your
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expect. Visit swagelok.com/pressure.Make the unpredictable totally
predictable. 2012 Swagelok CompanyENERGY ISSUESDR. WILLIAM J. PIKE,
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD CHAIRMANWorld Oil/MARCH 201215 After
several weeks of intense research inprint,broadcastandonlinemedia,I
havediscoveredthathydraulicfracturing is not a new technology. In
fact, it dates to thebeginningoftime.InventedbyBeel-zebub himself,
it was initially intended to blow up, poison or otherwise do-in
God-fearingfolksworldwide.Itsapplication
toincreaseoilandgasproductionwas
discoveredaccidently,eonslater,inthe late 1940s. That, of course,
only increased
thehideous,deadlypotentialoffractur-ingbyspreadingitsuse.Now,itappears,
the entire fabric of the planet is at risk. Or,
soonemayconclude,afterstudyingthe popular news media.This view has
been refuted by a recent studyofhydraulicfracturingreleasedby
theEnergyInstituteatTheUniversityof
TexasatAustin(http://energy.utexas.edu).AccordingtotheEnergyInstitute,
The goal of the research is to provide
pol-icymakerswithafact-basedfoundation
uponwhichtheycanformulaterational regulatory policies that ensure
responsible shale gas development. The report
exam-inesanumberofissuesrelatedtoshale
gasdevelopment,includinggroundwater
contamination,toxicityoffracturingflu-ids,surfacespills,atmosphericemissions,
wateruse,drillingwastedisposal,blow-outs, and road traffic and
noise. A bit more about these issues
later.Perhapsthemostrevealinginforma-tionforthoseofusintheindustrycontainedwithinthereportdealsnot
with HSE issues, but with public percep-tion. The report analyzes
media coverage
ofshalegasdevelopmentintheMarcel-lus,HaynesvilleandBarnettshales.The
analysis,whilenotreallynewstomost ofus,iseye-opening.Thereportfinds
that the tone of media coverage has been
overwhelminglynegativeinallformsof media,byafactoroftwo-to-one.Much
morerevealingarethesourcesusedby themedia.Researchersfoundthatless
than20%ofnewspaperarticlesonhy-draulicfracturingmentionscientific
researchrelatedtotheissue.Similarly,
only25%ofbroadcastnewsstoriesex-amined made reference to scientific
stud-ies,andonlyabout33%ofonlinenews
coveragementionedscientificresearch ontheissue.Pickthewordyouwant
tousehereabsurd,astounding,unac-ceptable,unprofessional,biased,s$&&y
b#^@*^ds. The one phrase you may not use, however, is sound
journalism.Now,offthesoapboxandontothe
meatofthestudy.First,thisisnowhite-wash of hydraulic fracturing or
oil and gas operations.Wherewartsexist,theyare
identified.Forinstance,thestudynotes
thatsurfacespillsoffracturingfluidap-pear to pose greater risks to
groundwater sources than does fracturing, itself. There
isnosuggestionthattheriskofground-watercontaminationdoesnotexist.In
fact,thestudynotesmanyreportsof groundwatercontamination,mostof
themoriginatingfromfailedcasingand/or cement rather than
fracturing.Thestudyincludeskeyfindings
inthreeareas,groundwatercontamina-tionandotherenvironmentalimpacts,
regulationofshalegasdevelopmentand
enforcementofstateregulations.With regard to environmental impacts,
in addi-tion to the two discussed above, research-ers
found:Noevidenceofaquifercontamina-tionfromhydraulicfracturingchemi-calsinthesubsurfacebyfracturing
operations,andobservednoleakage from fracturing at
depth.Methanefoundinwaterwells,within
someshalegasareas,can,mostlikely, betracedtonaturalsources,andwas
likely present before the onset of shale gas
operations.Blowoutsarearareoccurrence,but
subsurfaceblowoutsappeartobeun-der-reported.Concerning regulation
of shale gas de-velopment, the study finds that:Primary regulatory
authority for shale
gasisatthestatelevel,andmanyfed-eralrequirementshavebeenrelegated
to the states.Most state oil and gas regulations were
writtenwellbeforeshalegasdevelop-ment became
widespread.Somestateshaverevisedregulations specifically for shale
gas development, with particular focus on three areas of concern:
Disclosureofhydraulicfracturing chemicals
Propercasingofwellstoprevent aquifer contamination
Managementofwastewaterfrom flowback and produced
waterGapsremainintheregulationofwell
casingandcementing,waterwith-drawalandusage,andwastestorage and
disposal.Regulationshouldfocusonthemost urgent issues, such as
spill prevention, whichmayposegreaterrisksthathy-draulic
fracturing, itself.Finally,researchers,whoreviewed
stateagenciesenforcementcapabilities,
concluded:Enforcementcapacityishighlyvari-ableamongthestates,particularly
when measured by the ratio of staff to the number of inspections
conducted.Mostviolationsrecordedareofthe
typeassociatedwithconventional drilling,ratherthanbeingspecificto
hydraulic fracturing and shale gas
pro-duction.Enforcementactionstendtoempha-sizesurfaceincidentsmorethansub-surfacecontaminantreleases,perhaps
because they are easier to observe.TheEnergyInstitutestrovetocreate
a non-biased study, actively involving the
EnvironmentalDefenseFund(EDF)in developing the scope of the work
and the methodologyforthestudy.EDFalsore-viewed the final work
products. [email protected]/Bill Pike has 43 years
experience in the upstream oil and gas industry and serves as
Chairman of the World Oil Editorial Advisory Board. He is currently
a consultant with Leonardo Technologies and works under contract in
the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), a division of the
US Department of Energy. His role includes analyzing and supporting
NETLs numerous R&D projects in upstream and carbon
sequestration technologies. Into the fracasDeliver confident
prospect selections*Mark of Schlumberger. Measurable Impact is a
mark of Schlumberger. 2012 Schlumberger. 11-IS-0583Capture prospect
uncertainty from the start; assess seal capacity and charge timing
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EXPLORATIONNINA M. RACH, CONTRIBUTING EDITORWorld Oil/MARCH 201217
The great Alaska shale
rushInlateFebruary2012,theU.S.Geo-logicalSurvey(USGS)issuedthefirst
estimatesoftechnicallyrecoverableon-shoreoilandgasfromshalesonAlaskas
NorthSlope,aspartoftheNationalOil and Gas Assessment Project. USGS
finds there is a maximum potential of 2 Bbbl of oil and 80 Tcf of
gas recoverable from ker-ogen-richshalesspanningtheNational
Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. This makes
Alaskanshaleoilthesecond-largestun-conventionalcruderesourceintheU.S.,
aftertheBakkenformationinNorthDa-kota. Alaskas conventional oil
production inNov.2011was19.54MMbbl;natural gas production was
32.306 Bcf, almost all of which came from the North Slope.
Methodology.Oilandgasgenerated in kerogen-rich rocks that remain
trapped withintheoriginalsourcerockanddo
notmigrate,areconsideredcontinuous resources.Thesearelargevolumesof
rock,pervasivelychargedwithoilorgas, that do not depend on the
buoyancy of oil or gas in water, and cannot be defined by
down-dipwatercontacts.In2005,James W. Schmoker published a 10-page
report, U.S. Geological Survey Assessment Concepts
forContinuousPetroleumAccumulations,
whichdescribesthefundamentalcon-ceptssupportingUSGSresourceassess-ments
of continuous accumulations. The assessment is limited to the
quantity of oil andgasthatcanbeaddedtoreservesin approximately one
generation, defined as a forecast span of 30
years.Stackedsourcerocks.Therecent USGSstudyassessedthreemainsource
rocks on the North Slope: Triassic
Shub-likformation,thelowerpartofJurassic-LowerCretaceousKingakshale,and
Cretaceouspebbleshaleunit-Hueshale, together called the Brookian
shale.The Shublik formation contains mostly Type I kerogen
(sapropelic, predominantly algal and highly likely to generate oil)
and TypeIISkerogen(mixedterrestrialand
marineplanktonicthatcangenerate waxyoil,withsulfur).Oilthatmigrates
fromtheShublikintoconventionalac-cumulationsislowgravity(2339API)
andcontainshigh(>1.5%)sulfur.Exam-plesincludetheKuparukRiver(21-27
API) and Northstar fields (43-45
API).TheKingakandBrookianshalescon-tain a mixture of Type II and
Type III
kero-gen(derivedfromwoody,terrestrialma-terialthatusuallygeneratesgas).Oilthat
migratesfromthesesourcerocksishigh gravity(3542API)withlow( Contact
Us:Lee NicholsPhone: +1 (713) 525-4626Fax: +1 (713)
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NGCOMPANYNEW RELEASEDiscover how sound analysis can make a world of
difference...Find out 2012 industry trends and access 2011
statistics and historical data in World Oil Forecast & Data
2012. Utilizing data collected from proprietary surveys of
governments and operators in the U.S. and worldwide, the World Oil
Forecast is renowned throughout the upstream industry for its
thorough and reliable projections of spending and activity relating
to the global E&P industry. Also included in this one-of-a-kind
report are historical data for drilling, production and reserves
taken from the World Oil library, dating back before 1900.Included
in the 2012 edition: World Oils annual review of the past year and
whatlies ahead in 2012 Estimates for U.S., Canadian and worldwide
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gures for 2011 versus 2010 U.S. drilling forecast for 2012 versus
2011 well totals,including an analysis of the U.S. rig count A
global drilling forecast for the year ahead, featuring abreakout of
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Oil/MARCH 201289 Mobility and conformance control for carbon
dioxide EOR Part 1National Energy Technology Laboratory+1 (281)
494-2516netl.doe.govThe U.S. Department of Energys Of ce of Fossil
Energy recently released an in-depth study reviewing over 40 years
of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) research related
to mobility and conformance control. This is the rst of four
articles based on that report.DR. ROBERT ENICK, University of
Pittsburgh; JAMES AMMER, National Energy Technology Laboratory;
WILLIAM SCHULLER, URS CorporationOver the past decades, the
De-partmentofEnergyandits predecessororganizations
supportedalargenumberof
laboratoryandfieldresearchprojectsincludingadvancedreservoircharacter-ization,mobilitycontrolandCO2-EOR
floodingconformanceinaneffortto improvetheoilrecoveryprocess.DOE
recentlycommissionedaCO2mobility
controlandconformancecontrollitera-ture review to stimulate
interest in devel-opingadvancetechnologiestoovercome
thegeologicandprocesslimitationsof CO2-EOR.Theselimitationsinclude
poorsweepefficiency,unfavorablein-jectivityprofiles,gravityoverride,high
ratios of CO2 to oil produced, early break-through and viscous
fingering. Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery
hasbeenusedcommerciallytorecover oilfromgeologicformationsforover
40years.Currently,CO2-EORprovides
about280,000bopd,justover5%ofto-tal U.S. crude oil production, Fig.
1. This percentageislikelytogrowinupcoming
years,duetohighcrudeoilprices,avail-ability of natural CO2, more
in-field drill-ing, advances in drilling technologies, and
thepotentialavailabilityoflarge,anthro-pogenic CO2 sources, Fig. 2.
A revised national resource screening
assessmentforCO2-EOR(July2011) prepared for DOE by Advanced
Resourc-es International concluded:
NextgenerationCO2-EORcanpro-vide 137 billion bbl of additional,
tech-nicallyrecoverabledomesticoil,with
abouthalf(67billionbbl)economi-cally recoverable at $85/bbl, Table
1. This volume of economically recover-able oil is sufficient to
support nearly 4 million bpd of domestic oil production (1.35
billion bbl per year for 50 years), reducing oil imports by
one-third.Federalandstatetreasuries,aswellas
thegeneralU.S.economy,wouldbe largebeneficiaries.Totalrevenuesto
federal/statetreasurieswouldequal
$1.42trillion,whereastotalrevenues in the form of wages and
material pur-chases would equal $1.72 trillion.
Nearly20billionmetrictonsofCO2wouldneedtobepurchasedbyCO2-EOR
operators to recover the 67 billion
bblofeconomicallyrecoverableoil. Ofthis,atleast18billionmetrictons
wouldneedtobeanthropogenicCO2 captured from industrial
sources.Next-generationtechnologiesinclude increasing CO2 injection
volumes by 50% or more, drilling horizontal wells for
injec-tionorproduction,improvingmobility
ratioandfloodconformance,extending
theconditionsunderwhichmiscibility between the oil and CO2 can be
achieved, and applying advanced methods for mon-itoring flood
performance.Despitethewell-establishedabilityof CO2-EOR to recover
oil, the process could
beimproved,ifthehighmobilityofCO2relativetoreservoiroilandwatercanbe
effectivelyandeconomicallyreduced. TheCO2-EORindustrycontinuestouse
water-alternating-with-gas(WAG)asthe
technologyofchoicetocontrolCO2mo-bilityand/ormechanicaltechniques(e.g.,
cement, packers, well control, infield
drill-ingandhorizontalwells)tohelpcontrol
theCO2floodconformance,Fig.3.Ifthe next generation CO2-EOR target
of 67 bil-lion bbl is to be realized, new solutions will be needed
to recover significantly more oil than the 1020% of the original
oil-in-place associated with current flooding practices.
Thepremiseoftheliteraturereview
wastohighlightpriorresults,thuspro-vidingabaselineunderstandingofthe
remainingchallengestoandresearchef-fortsrequiredforCO2-EORtechnology
advancement.Thereviewhighlighteda number of successes. For
example:INDUSTRY REPORT / NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY
90MARCH
2012/WorldOil.comInthelab,therehasbeenconsider-ableprogressin(direct)thickening
ofCO2toalevelcomparabletothat ofoilandbrineforimprovedmobil-ity
control, but no field tests have yet been conducted.
Manylab-scaletestsandoveradozen
fieldtestsinvolvingwater-solublesur-factantscapableofstabilizingCO2-in-brinefoamshavebeenconducted,
mostaimedatattainingconformance controlviathein-situgenerationof
stronger foams in thief zones. The emergence of robust gel-based
con-formance techniques (near wellbore) may have led to a decline
in the use of foams as a conformance control technique, es-pecially
in extremely high permeability flow paths such as vugs and
fractures.Alargenumberoflab-scalestudies,
butonlyafewfield-scaletests,were directed specifically at the
design of in-depth(interwell)mobilitycontrolfoams
wherein-situgenerationofweaker foams was intended to suppress
finger-ingandenhancetherateandcumula-tive amount of oil recovery.
Recently,CO2foamsgeneratedwith CO2-solublenonionicsurfactantswere
successfullytestedinthelaband through an ongoing pilot test.
Lab-scaletestingoffoamstabilization
withwater-dispersiblenanoparticleshas
beeninitiatedinanattempttocircum-ventissues,suchasadsorptionlosses
andchemicalinstabilityofthesurfac-tant,associatedwithsurfactantsolu-tions
flowing through a porous medium. The results of 40 years of
research and field testing clearly indicate that mobility
andconformancecontrolforCO2-EOR withthickeners,foamsandgelscanbe
technicallyandeconomicallyattainable
forsomefields.However,significantly moreresearchneedstobeconducted.
Thefollowingtechnologieswererecom-mended as primary candidates for
further research:CO2viscosifiers(directthickeners). An affordable
CO2 thickener has been rec-ognizedasagame-changingtechnology for
over 25 years, but has not yet been
de-veloped.Thickenerdesignisachallenge, due to the very low CO2
solubility of high-molecular-weightpolymersandsmaller
compoundsthatcontainthechemical groups responsible for
viscosity-enhancing intermolecularassociations.Anexpensive
(fluoroacrylate-styrene)copolymerhas
beenshowntoeffectivelythickenCO2, butthecontinueddevelopmentofmore
economicallyviableCO2thickenersisre-quired before field tests will
be conducted.Near-wellboreconformancecontrol with CO2 foams and
gels. The improved performanceofthegeltechnologiesin
blockingflowpaths,enhancedgelrobust-ness, and the ability to apply
gel treatments
infracturedorhighlypermeableopen-flow-pathformationshasmadegelsthe
popular choice of many operators for
CO2floodingconformancecontrol.However,
aconsensusexiststhatCO2conformance control foams are less expensive
and more readilyreversible(viawaterinjection,if
desired)thananyofthegeltreatments.
Giventheabilityoffoamstobedesigned for conformance and/or mobility
control, itmaybeprudenttocombinethetwo technologies, where gels are
employed, for conformancecontrol,andCO2-in-brine foam (rather than
WAG) is used for mobil-ity control. In-depthmobilitycontrolCO2
foams.Researchresultshavedemonstrat-edthatsurfactant-inducedCO2foamsare
aneffectivemethodformobilitycontrol
inCO2foamflooding,buthavepotential weaknesses. Because the foam is
by nature ultimatelyunstable,itslong-termstabil-ity during a field
application in oil-bearing zones is difficult to maintain. But CO2
mo-bilitycontrolviathealternatinginjection
ofaqueoussurfactantsolutionsandbrine has not been fully explored in
pilot tests.
Foamgeneratedbythealternatingin-jectionofCO2-surfactantsolutionsand
brineensuresthatthesurfactantwillbe Fig. 1. U.S. enhanced oil
recovery with gases over past decades Flue gasNitrogenHydrocarbon
miscible/immiscibleCO2 immiscibleCO2 miscible 1984Source:
Koottungal,
2010050,000100,000150,000200,000250,000300,000350,000400,0001986
1988 1990 1992 1994 1996YearIncremental oil production, bpd1998
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010Fig. 2. Schematic of CO2 from a
thermoelectric power plant and renery being sequestered in various
geologic formations, including CO2-EOR in oil reservoirs INDUSTRY
REPORT / NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORATORYWorld Oil/MARCH
201291 present(andthefoamforms)wherethe CO2 flows. An ongoing field
test indicates that the foam may provide some degree of
conformanceandmobilitycontrol.The
useofliquid,non-ionic,CO2-solublesur-factantsmaybeespeciallyadvantageous
for operators who only employ continuous CO2 injection, and may
reduce the size of the brine slugs for operators who choose a
CO2andbrineinjectionscheme.Because the CO2-soluble surfactants are
also water-soluble,thesurfactantcouldconceivably be added to both
the CO2 and brine slugs. Newnanosciencetechnologiesmay
alsoprovideanalternativetogeneration
ofstableCO2foam.Nanoparticlesread-ilydisperseinwater,andthisdispersion
readilyflowsthroughunconsolidatedpo-rousmedia.Usingnanoparticlesinstead
ofsurfactanttostabilizeCO2foammay
overcomethelong-terminstabilityand surfactant adsorption loss
issues that affect surfactant-based CO2-EOR processes.DOEs Office
of Fossil Energy, through the National Energy Technology
Labora-tory(NETL),awardedanumberofnew
researchprojectsin2010,seekingtofur-thernext-generationCO2EORtothe
point of pilot (small) scale testing. Three
oftheseactivitiesarerelatedtomobility control in CO2 flooding; two
are focused onnanoparticletechnologies,andone
onCO2-solublesurfactants.Afourthre-search activity is field-testing
gels for con-formance control.Parts2,3and4ofthisserieswillcover
CO2foamsformobilityandconformance control, field tests of CO2 foams
and confor-mance control gels, and CO2 additives
di-rectthickeners,foam-stabilizingsurfactant agents and
nanoparticles. DR. ROBERT ENICK is the Bayer Research Professor of
Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh,
and has worked in various capacities with NETL scientists since
1987. He has developed numerous compounds designed to dissolve in
CO2, including direct CO2 thickeners, for over 20 years. Enick led
the team that designed the uoroacrylate-styrene copolymer
(polyFAST) direct thickenerthe only compound identied to date
capable of increasing CO2 viscosity by a factor of ~10 at a
concentration of ~1wt% at minimum miscible pressure (MMP)
conditions without the need for a co-solvent. In recent years he
has identied numerous commercially available, non-ionic,
CO2-soluble surfactants with the potential to form CO2-in-brine
mobility control foams in-situ as CO2-surfactant solution is
injected into the formation.JAMES AMMER is the Director of the
Natural Gas & Oil Project Management Division at the National
Energy Technology Laboratory, which manages external R&D
projects funded through the Department of Energys Of ce of Fossil
Energy Natural Gas and Oil Program. Previously he served as a
project manager for 10 years, managing projects in drilling,
stimulation, production optimization, natural fracture detection
and prediction, and gas storage. Ammer also conducted reservoir
engineering and simulation studies for over 10 years, including
studies on CO2 ooding, gas migration analysis, horizontal drilling
evaluation and gas storage ef ciency. He received his BSc degree in
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering from Pennsylvania State
University in 1983. Ammer has been employed at NETL for over 27
years.WILLIAM SCHULLER is a Senior Scientist with URS Corporation
(Energy and Construction Services Division, Global Management and
Operations Services Business Unit) providing technical support to
DOEs National Energy Technology Laboratorys (NETL) Of ce of
Research and Development. Additionally, he is the Oil and Gas
Program Lead for Team KeyLogic (KeyLogic, Inc. and URS joint
venture) providing project execution and integration services
support to the Natural Gas and Oil Project Management Division at
NETL. Schuller has a BS in Geology from West Virginia University
and has over 35 years of oil and gas experience in reservoir
characterization and production enhancement.REFERENCESKootungal, L,
2010 worldwide EOR survey, Oil and Gas Journal, April 19, 2010,
Vol. 108, No. 14, pp. 4560.Kuuskraa, V. A., T. Van Leeuwen, and M.
Wallace, Improving domestic energy security and lowering CO2
emissions with next generation CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR),
DOE/NETL 2011/1504, June 20, 2011, pp. 1113. Available at:
www.netl.doe.gov/energy-analyses/refshelf/PubDetails.aspx?Action=View&Source=Main&PubId=391Lindley,
J., Series of enhanced oil recovery, drilling and waterfood
illustrations, U.S. Bureau of Mines and succeeding organizations
Energy Research Develop-ment Administration and U.S. Department of
Energy, Bartlesville, OK, ca. 1960.Fig. 3. Simplied illustration of
a CO2 oodTable 1. Oil recovery and CO2 storage from next generation
CO2-EOR technologyOil recovery*CO2 demand/storage(Billion
bbl)(Million mt)Reservoir
settingTechnicalEconomic**TechnicalEconomic**1. Miscible
CO2-EORLower-48
onshore104.460.332,25017,230Alaska8.85.74,1102,330Ofshore6.00.91,770260Sub-total119.266.938,13019,8202.
Near Miscible CO2-EOR1.20.28001103. Residual oil
zone***16.3n/a6,500n/aTOTAL136.767.145,43019,930* Includes 2.6
billion bbl already produced or being developed with miscible
CO2-EOR and 2.3 billion mt of CO2 from natural sources and
gas-processing plants.** At $85/bbl oil price and $40/mt of CO2
market price, with rate of return (ROR) of 20% (before taxes).***
Residual oil zone (ROZ) resources below existing oil elds in three
basins; economics of ROZ resources were beyond study scope.Its the
ONLY WAY to take full advantage of World Oil.Discover the benets of
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RONMENTALANDREGULATORYI SSUES GULFPUBLI SHI NGCOMPENVIRONMENT
REGULATION2012 OUTLOOK What industry leaders expectduring the
upcoming yearRIG ADVANCES Innovations focus on improvedsafety and
reliabilityPREVENTING GAS MIGRATION How to use annual packers
toensure hydraulic integrityREGIONAL REPORT: CHINA Worlds largest
shale potential, but new environmental issuesENVRDECEMBER 2011 /
DEFINING TECHNOLOGY FOR EXPLORATION, DRILLING AND PRODUCTION /
WorldOil.comADVANCES IN EXPLORATIONLATIN AMERICA REPORTNew
opportunities draw investmentsINTERNATIONAL FORECAST D&P data
indicates solid global E&P growthSUBSEA PRODUCTIONSeafloor
systems push offshore envelope SEPTEMBER 2011 / DEFINING TECHNOLOGY
FOR EXPLORATION, DRILLING AND PRODUCTION / WorldOil.comRIG ADVANCES
NCES Innov Innov Innov ovation ation ation ation on f s foc s foc s
foc s foc focus us on us on us on us on us on iim impr impr impr
impr impr p o d oved oved oved oved oveds f t safet safet ety a d y
and y and li reli reliabili ability tyPPPR REVENTING GAS MIGRATION
How to use annual packers toensure hydraulic integrityREGIONAL
REPORT: CHINAREGIONAL REPORT: CHINA WWWorlds largest shale
potential, bbut new environmental issuesSUBSCRIBE TODAY!Log on to
WorldOil.com/subscribe.aspx or call +1 (713) 520-4440. World
Oil/MARCH 201293 PEOPLE IN THE
[email protected] Corporation promoted
Bernie G. Wolford to senior VP-operations. Wolford previously
served as the companys VP-operational excellence. He initially
joined Noble through the Transworld acquisition in 1991 and has
held division manager positions in both the Middle East and Brazil
divisions. PetroFrontier Corp. has appointed Earl Scott as COO of
PetroFrontier and president of its two wholly-owned Australian
subsidiaries, PetroFrontier Ltd. and Texalta Ltd. Based in
Adelaide, South Australia, Scott will be responsible for all
opera-tions of the two Australian subsidiaries.Emerson Process
Management announced that Curt Terje Espedal has become the new
European regional manager for Roxar Software Solutions. Espedal
joins Emerson from E&P software com-pany Landmark Graphics,
where he has worked for the past 13 years, and his last role was
managing director of the companys Norwegian operations.Seanic
announced the addition of three key personnel to its team. Godik
Gyldenege joins the company as a manager of special projects and
brings more than 40 years of experience in the subsea industry.
Derek Chaplin joins the company as a mechanical design engineer
with more than seven years of subsea project management and
mechanical engineering experience. Lastly, Adam Padilla has been
appointed tool pool manager.Shell announced that Malcolm Brinded
has agreed to step down as its executive director of Upstream
International. The company has appointed Andrew Brown as Upstream
International director. He will be a member of the Executive
Committee and will be based in the Netherlands. Brown is currently
execu-tive VP Qatar. Kuwait has appointed Hani Hussein, a former
CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPC), as oil minister. Hussein, who
was appointed KPC chief in 2004, originally had decided in early
January 2007 to step down and take early retirement. Kuwait, a
member of OPEC, frequently reshuffles its cabinet, but replacing
oil ministers usually doesnt affect the countrys energy policy,
which is set by the Supreme Petroleum Council.AquaTerra Training
Ltd. has appointed Charlie Cameron as operations manager.
Previously, Cameron was cur-riculum manager at Angus College, as
well as a fire and rescue crew manager. Adira Energy Ltd. has named
Jeffrey Walter as CEO, and the transition of Hezi Kugler from CEO
to strategic consultant to the company. Walter previously held
positions with Noble Energy for 27 years, where he led the team
respon-sible for the largest gas dis-covery at the time in Israel.
He directed programs increasing international oil reserves from 29%
to 69% and gas reserves from 6% to 61% of overall corporate reserve
base.Reservoir Group has appointed Wade McCutcheon as COO.
McCutcheon steps up to the role from his previous position as VP,
responsible for the companys forma-tion evaluation activity.
McCutcheon will oversee all operational matters, accelerating the
groups growth and maximizing synergies between exist-ing member
companies.ABCO Subsea announced that Jeffrey T. Glattly has joined
the company as director of sales and marketing. Glattly brings over
30 years of experi-ence in strategic marketing and planning, sales,
and business and market devel-opment to the company. Glattly
previously worked in a consultative capacity at ABCO Subsea. In his
new role, he will oversee the growing companys marketing, customer
service, advertising and sales. Glattly previously worked as
director of sales at Noble Biomaterials and oversaw a sales and
marketing team at Bayer Pharmaceuticals.Murphy Oil Corporation
promoted Bill Stobaugh to executive VP, corporate planning &
business development, and Tom Mireles to VP of the same unit.
Stobaugh joined Murphy Oil in May 1995 as VP, corporate planning,
in El Dorado, Arkansas. In his new position Stobaugh will report to
Murphy Oil president and CEO David Wood. Mireles joined Murphy
Exploration & Production Company in August 2005 as senior staff
analyst in the Frontier E&P department in Houston. In his new
posi-tion, Mireles will continue to report to Stobaugh.Anadarko
Petroleum Corp. CEO Jim Hackett plans to step down in May and will
be suc-ceeded by COO Al Walker. Hackett, who has been CEO for more
than eight years, will become executive chairman a new
positionthrough the companys annual shareholder meeting next year.
He plans to retire in June 2013. Walker, a 30-year industry
veteran, has been with Anadarko for more than six years, currently
serving as a director of Centerpoint Energy, Inc. and Western Gas
Holdings, a subsidiary of Anadarko, and general partner to Western
Gas Partners LP. Clariant Oil & Mining Services has named
Graham Gammack head of marketing for the Oil Services business
line. Gammack previously serving as director of business
development. Prior to joining Clariant, Gammack served as the
manager of process and capability improvement at Baker Hughes. He
has 25 years of experience in oil and gas. During his career, he
has held a number of positions in technical sales, opera-tions
support and P&L management.Imtech Marine has appointed Sytze
Voulon to the position of regional director, North West Europe
(Rotterdam). Voulon has held several senior management posi-tions
in the international maritime industry. Most recently he was
regional directormarine Europe until 2008 and regional
directormarine Europe & Africa/VP services Europe &
Africa.Guy M. Oliver has been named president of Fugro Robertson
Inc. Based in Houston, Olivers respon-sibilities include overall
management of company performance, technical marketing support of
sales and business develop-ment, and the implemen-tation of
quality, health, safety and environment (QHSE) policies. Oliver
began his career with Fugro Robertson (formerly Robertson Research
International Ltd.) in 1997 as a sedimentologist, and has served as
a director of the company since 2004.ITS Energy Services appointed
Joe Chandler as COO. He was also named a member of the board of
directors. Chandler joined ITS in January 2003, previously serving
as VP for North and South America.KBR appointed Darrell Hargrave to
president of KBRs Industrial Services business unit. A 30-year
veteran of KBR, Hargrave previously served as senior VP of KBR
Industrial Services.Xodus Group has created a new chief technology
officer position to lead its integration of surface and subsurface
services. Stephane Constant, who became a non-executive director
last year, has taken up the full-time post. Constant was co-founder
and technical director of subsurface consultancy, Horizon Energy
Partners, which he built to 100 people and sold to SGS in 2008. He
started his career with ELF (now TOTAL) in 1991 as a reservoir
engineer responsible for various UK-operated assets.94MARCH
2012/WorldOil.comCOMPANIES IN THE
[email protected] has opened its new operations
base in Paradise, Newfoundland, Canada.It will support the
provision of well testing, subsea and downhole video services for
offshore Newfoundland.The new base accommodates a team of 30
people, the majority of whom are local employees. There is alsoa
four-bay workshop with 8,400 sq ft of warehouse area, including an
office annex with 6,000 ft of office space.Shell Brasil was named
the winner of the Excellence in Project Integration Award at the
2012 International Petroleum Technology Conference.The award was in
recognition of the significant and unique achieve-ments made by
Shell Brasils BC-10 Parque das Conchas Team, in successfully
managing and directing an integrated oil and gas project from
discovery to production, using breakthrough technology
solutions.Artificial Lift Company (ALC) successfully installed the
first rigless electrical submersible pump (ESP) string in the
Middle East. The installation was performed in one of Saudi Aramcos
fields and comprises of a 134-hp Rigless ESP system with a
6,000-bpd pump. The system includes the ALCs proprietary Permanent
Magnet Motors and Wet Connect system. The unit was installed at a
depth of 6,119 ft and includes a downhole ESP gauge, packer and
subsurface safety valve assemblies.HB Rentals, a Superior Energy
Services company, has completed a three-month project to install
seven ABS/USCG building pack-ages on a compliant tower in the Green
Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico. The package consisted of three
12-man sleepers, two eight-man sleepers with office capabilities,
and an eight-man sleeper and recreation room. In addition to
accommodations, HB Rentals provided stairs, platforms, slings,
cords, power distribution/transformer, gas detection, VSAT
communications, sewage treat-ment, lift pumps, pressure sets and a
water manifold.IBM has been selected for a global research project
to develop the worlds first inte-grated environmental monitoring
system aimed at helping oil and gas companies minimize the
environmental impact of their operations. IBM researchers,
developers and a team from IBMs Centre of Excellence for Oil and
Gas in Stavanger, Norway, are collaborating with experts from
Statoil, Kongsberg Group and Det Norske Veritas (DNV) on developing
a solution that will use industry frameworks, combined with
advanced streaming analytics technology to enable real-time
monitoring of environmental data, and early detection of, and
response to, operational events surrounding offshore installations.
Sonardyne International has taken its first order for a Dynamic
Positioning Inertial Navigation System.Vantage Drillings new
12,000-ft, water-depth-rated drillship, Dragonquest, is set to
become the first deepwater drilling unit in the world to be
equipped with the new system when it begins operations in the Gulf
of Mexico for Petrobras later this year. Ulterra set a new bit
record in the Granite Wash with its 12.25-in., U616M, six-blade
matrix PDC bit with 16-mm cutters.The Ulterra bit drilled 7,065 ft
from surface casing, down to a depth of 8,115 ft in Roger Mills
County, in western Oklahoma. The operation saved the operator an
estimated $44,500 versus the closest offset, and $88,500 versus the
average of five offset wells.North Star Shipping, a division of
global shipping and energy services firm, The Craig Group, has been
awarded a major new contract with Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd. Under
the contract, the company, which provides offshore support vessels
to the industry, will build two new platform supply vessels to
support Talismans North Sea operations. The contract, which is for
five years with multiple options thereafter, will create 50 new
jobs.WorleyParsons has begun work after being awarded a front-end
engineering and design (FEED) phase contract in November for the
Hess Equus gas fields development project offshore Western
Australia. The Equus project involves developing natural gas fields
in permit area WA-390-P, about 300 km west of Karratha in the
northern Carnarvon basin. Under the contract, WorleyParsons and
INTECSEA will provide the design of a semisubmersible produc-tion
facility, including risers and moorings.Global NuTech has acquired
100% of the stock of Houston-based Texas Gulf Oil & Gas. The
acquisition from private equity firm Corporate Strategies Merchant
Bankers includes indi-vidual oilfield producing assets and options
throughout the Austin Chalk and near the Eagle Ford shale play in
Texas. These assetsinclude leases, options andand workinginterests
in 19 oil wells throughout the area and additionaloptions to invest
in wells to be drilled or re-entered in three leases identified as
Tilmon, Lay and Rodenberg.TAM International Inc. announced that it
will build a new manufac-turing facility in the Houston area. Plans
call for 126,000 sq ft of manufacturing space and 17,000 sq ft of
office space. The facility will house up to 300 employees directly
involved in the manufac-turing process, which will increase
capacity for the production of packers more than 40 ft long and 26
in. in diameter.Seadrill has secured new contracts for the three
jackup rigs Offshore Mischief, Offshore Defender and West Leda. The
aggregated revenue potential is estimated at $311 million. Offshore
Mischief has been awarded a contract by Equion Energia Limited in
Colombia. West Leda has been, in association with local partner
IPS, awarded a contract by ExxonMobil E&P Malaysia, Inc., for
development drilling offshore Malaysia. Offshore Defender has been
awarded a contract by Brunei Shell Petroleum Company for drilling
offshore Brunei.Technip was awarded a 5-year contract from
Petrobras for the supply of around 870 mi of flexible pipe. The
contract is effective immediately and orders are estimated to be
worth around$2.1 billion. The scope of the contract includes the
manufacture of over 150 types and diameters of risers, flowlines
and associated equipment and accessories.World Oil/MARCH 201295 NEW
PRODUCTS AND [email protected] rotary
steerable system drills multiple sections in one run Baker Hughes
introduced its AutoTrak Curve Rotary Steerable System, a tool that
can drill vertical, curve and horizontal sections in one fast run
to maximize available pay zones and reduce the number of trips. The
system has resulted in new drilling records across most of the
important uncon-ventional basins in the U.S. The tool is a
closed-loop drilling system that takes commands from the surface to
place the wellbore in the desired direction and inclination. The
programmable system has been through more than 10,000 hours of
rigorous field testing in some of the toughest unconventional
environments in North America. Combining an optimized bottomhole
assembly (BHA) and drill bit to maximize drilling efficiency and
reservoir exposure, the system achieves high build rates of more
than 15/100 ft. Tolerant to the presence of lost-circulation
material in the mud system, the technology does not require special
pressure drop between the pipe inside diameter and the annulus to
operate. The advanced technology saves time, given there is no need
to change the bend angle of a motor, resulting in faster well
construction. Given the improved hole quality, completion time also
is enhanced and casing can be run to total depth faster and
easier.www.bakerhughes.comClamp spectrometer validates life of UV
quartz sleevesThe new Jaz clamp spec-trometer from Aquion-ics
enables customers to conduct on-location testing of their UV
disinfection systems quartz sleeves. The Jaz accurately validates
the life of quartz sleeves, potentially extending their usable
life, and ensures UV disinfection systems are op-erating
effectively. The spectrometers special adapter clamps onto a quartz
sleeve, utilizing fiber optics to transmit UV light between 200 and
400 nm. By measuring the transmittance of light through the quartz
sleeve, customers can verify the proper construction of new quartz
sleeves and assess the level of fouling and/or solarization of used
sleeves. The device is lightweight and compact, with 1,500 hr of
lamp life powered by a convenient battery or A/C plug adapter. A
USB port al-lows data transfer to a PC for data storage and
analysis.www.aquionics.comPortable system manages training
activities, infoThe International Association of Drilling
Contractors has introduced its IADC SkillSTICK, a manpower
development tool for the oil and natural gas drilling and
completion industry. IADC SkillSTICK is a standardized, por-table
training management utility. Developed by Houston-based Indaptive
Technologies, Inc., the device is a specially designed USB drive
that allows workers to manage information and activities related to
training performance anywhere in the world, regardless of Internet
quality. The device can be used off-line for training from
pre-loaded e-Learning courses. It can store student progress and
assessments associated with those courses. When an Internet
connection becomes available, the IADC SkillSTICK syncs back to an
online data repository, upload-ing information recorded on the
device while working off-line; for example, on a remote rig.
www.SkillSTICK.com/IADC Two items added to HT reservoir
characterization servicesSchlumberger announced the availability of
its new PressureXpress-HT reservoir pressure service and MDT
Forte-HT qualified, rugged, high-temperature formation sampling and
pressure system. These two services are the latest HT additions to
the firms reservoir characteriza-tion portfolio of services. Rated
to 450F, the PressureXpress-HT tool provides accurate pressure
gradients and overall data quality not achievable by conventional
HT formation tester tools. The tools dynami-cally controlled,
pressure pretest system in the PressureXpress-HT tool enables
precise control of volume and drawdown rates. This makes pressure
testing possible in tight formations that are common in HPHT
reservoirs. The tool design also eliminates the need for gauge
tempera-ture stabilization, thus significantly improving
operational efficiency.The new MDT Forte-HT system provides greater
all-around robustness in formation sampling and testing operations
up to 400F (204C).www.slb.comPDC reamer eliminates shale drilling
wiper tripsStabil Drill, a Superior Energy Services company, has
developed the Stabil Drill Ghost Reamer for horizontal shale
drilling. The Ghost Reamer, an eight-bladed polycrystalline diamond
compact (PDC) reamer, allows the wellbore to be cleaned and
cleared, either by back-reaming on rigs that have a top driver or
on rigs without top-drive, by pulling out to the top of the curve
and then rotating forward until reaching TD. This flexible solution
elimi-nates wiper trips, thus saving time and
money.www.stabildrill.comUltrasonic device detects sources of
pressurized gas leaks The Gassonic Observer-H Ultrasonic Gas Leak
Detector from General Monitors is ideal for gas leak detection in
pressurized systems. The new device features HART communications,
Modbus with single and block transfer modes, Emerson AMS
Intelligent Device Manager support, and event logging. The detector
is ATEX, IECEx, FM and CSA hazardous-area certified and SIL
3-suitable. The unit detects gas leaks by sensing the airborne
ultrasound emitted from leaking gas at high pressure. It is
suitable for gas detection in open, well-ventilated areas, where
traditional methods may be unsuitable or dependent on ventilation.
Since this gas leak detector responds to the source of a gas
release rather than the dispersed gas, it is unaffected by changing
wind directions, gas dilution, and the direction of the
leak.www.generalmonitors.comDeepwater LED doubles as spot or
oodlight Remote Ocean Systems has introduced the ROS Lightning
deepwater LED Light. Using the latest technology electronics
software, this new LED offers 10,000 lumens output and can have
input powers of 18-30 VDC and 108-132 VAC to match user needs. In
addition, the light offers a complete dimming range and can be
configured as a spot or floodlight. The light is depth-rated to
6,000 m (19,685 ft) and offers a variety of connectors for fast,
and easy change-out or service.www.rosys.comADVERTISERS IN THIS
ISSUEBaker Hughes
...........................................................
26www.bakerhughes.com/rogerBoots & Coots
...................................................
64-65www.halliburton.com/boots-cootsCameron
....................................................................99www.CameronAcquiresLeTourneauDrilling.comCameron
......................................................................
5www.c-a-m.comCansco Dubai LLC
....................................................
81www.canscodubai.comCNPC GWDC
.............................................................
18www.cnlc.cnCougar Drilling
Solutions......................................
38www.cougarDS.comCudd Energy Services
...........................................34www.cudd.comDaneshy
Consultants Intl ......................................
56www.daneshy.comDevin International
..................................................41www.DevinDevin.comDragon
Products, Ltd ............................................
67www.dragonproductsltd.comFMC
Technologies...................................................
24www.fmctechnologies.comForum Energy Technologies, Inc.
....................... 39www.f-e-t.comFraser Suites River Valley,
Singapore ...............46www.frasershospitality.comGardner Denver
.........................................................
6www.pumpingperfected.comGastech
.......................................................................
61www.gastech.co.uk/WorldOilGE Energy Power Conversion
..............................10www.ge-energy.com/electrifyingchangeGEA
Westfalia Separator Group .........................
59www.westfalia-separator.comGulf Publishing CompanyBooks -
Underbalanced Drilling ......................
87www.GulfPub.comEvents - ShaleEnergy TechnologyConference
............................................................49www.GulfPub.com/ShaleEnergyConferenceGulf
Research Workforce Survey
....................96www.GulfPub.com/WorkforceSurveyWorld Oil -
Forecast DataBook .......................
88www.GulfPub.com/WOForecast2012World Oil - RigStar
..............................................86www.WorldOil.com/RigStarWorld
Oil - Subscriptions ..................................
92www.WorldOil.com/subscribe.aspxWorld Oil -
Webcast..........................................
85www.WorldOil.com/webcastsWorld Oil Marketplace
....................................... 97Halliburton
.............................................................
66aHalliburton
..................................................................
8www.halliburton.com/icemHalliburton
................................................................43www.halliburton.com/hydraulicfracturingIndustrial
Rubber ......................................................
4www.iri-oiltool.comManaged Pressure Operations
............................ 79www.managed-pressure.comMax
Streicher GmbH ...............................................
51www.streicher.deNational Oilwell Varco
...........................................
33www.nov.com/CTES/CerberusNational Oilwell Varco
.............................................
2www.nov.com/qualitytubingNewpark Drilling Fluids LP
....................................
31www.newparkdf.com/evolutionOil India Limited
...................................................... 73ONS
.............................................................................54www.ons.noOTC
.............................................................................
82www.otcnet.org/2012Packers Plus
.............................................................20www.packersplus.comPCC
Energy Group.................................................18aPGS
.............................................................................
22www.pgs.comSchlumberger
............................................................
11www.slb.com/lossealSchlumberger
...........................................................16www.slb.com/petrelSchlumberger
........................................................100www.slb.com/ArcherSPE
..............................................................................
76www.spe.org/trainingSupreme Services
..................................................
40www.supremeservices.comSwagelok
....................................................................14www.swagelok.com/pressureTarget
Logistics
.......................................................69www.targetlogistics.netTenaris
........................................................................
28www.tenaris.com/tenarishydrilTesco Corporation
..................................................
37www.tescocorp.comThuraya Telecomm CO
..........................................
36www.thuraya.com/XTVarel International
..................................................42www.varelintl.comVolant
Products Inc.
...............................................68www.volantproducts.caWeatherford
.........................................................12-13www.weatherford.comWell
Control School ...............................................
78www.wellcontrol.comThis index and procedure for securing
additional information are provided as a service to World Oil
advertisers and a convenience to our readers. Gulf Publishing
Company is not responsible for omissions or errors. PEOPLE
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(local orimported), contractor status, gender, age and ethnicity An
employment forecast by various survey and analyst indicators:
budget, construction,drilling and development, and workforce age
Current attitudes on job satisfaction and security, morale and
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Existing workforce compensation current global and US compensation
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