A combination of two methods holds promise for faster land seismic acquisition. An experiment was conducted near the city of Alpine in West Texas to investigate a unique seismic acquisition technique.... more

A novel method of technology development might fill in some of the research and development (R&D) gaps. When Apache Corp. wanted a new way to create a source for land-based... more

Modern drilling decision-makers are drowning in data; now, technology providers are pushing the logging-while-drilling (LWD) envelope to deliver, not more data, but answers. Today's LWD services face a variety of challenges.... more

Many rotary steerable systems are married to their measurement-while-drilling/logging-while-drilling (MWD/LWD) strings. A new system developed for one of the world's deepest wells is designed to work with anyone's LWD string. The... more

Water shut off isn't the most glamorous of activities in the oil patch, but it is one that can quickly turn water flow into cash flow. There are several different methods... more

Many strategies exist for controlling or mitigating water production. Each has its advantages. The trick is figuring out which solution is best for your well. John Warren, Commercialization Manager, Near Wellbore... more

Flow assurance is an important part of any development. However, for long distance subsea tiebacks, such as West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM), it is a core discipline which has the... more

Operators are beginning to consider new methods of maintaining flow assurance within offshore facilities without heating or chemical dosing. Various enhancements to existing techniques for flow assurance in pipelines are being... more

The bigger projects become, the bigger the management necessary to control them. Making sure all project elements fit together in the right way at the right time is a colossal job.... more

According to Cameron, there are plenty of offshore rigs capable of drilling in waters up to 4,000 ft (1,220 m) deep, and plenty of ultradeepwater rigs that can drill in... more

UltraDril is the answer to the industry's long search for a drilling fluid system that delivers the performance characteristics of an invert emulsion drilling fluid without the inherent environmental limitations.... more

Seven Heads, the offshore gas development in the Celtic Sea, has gone badly for Ramco Energy and its partners. A technical re-appraisal of the field suggests a substantial write down... more

NORTH AMERICA James B. Jennings will become chairman and Stephen C. Hurley will become president of Hunt Oil Co. Gert-Jan Kramer will step down as president and chief executive officer of... more

1. Unocal made another discovery at its Tobago prospect in Alaminos Canyon 859, immediately north of its Trident discovery in Alaminos Canyon 903. Tobago reached about 50 ft (15 m)... more

1. Emerald Trail LLC, Artesia, N.M., plans a new field wildcat reaching for gas in an undisclosed formation in Merced County, central California. The company's 1 Merced, in Section 11-9s-11e,... more

1. BG Group contracted Ocean Rig's Eirik Raude semisubmersible to drill a well West of Shetland exploration well on Block 201/21, just north of the northern Scottish coast on the... more

1. First Calgary Petroleum is moving to the development stage after its latest successful well on the giant MLE field in Algeria. A feasibility study, which includes extensive reservoir modeling,... more

1. ExxonMobil Corp. affiliate ExxonMobil de Colombia S.A., with Brazil's Petrobras and Colombia's state oil company Ecopetrol, have agreed to explore some 11 million acres (45,000 sq km) of properties... more

1. Russia's Lukoil discovered a new field in the Russian sector of the northern Caspian Sea. Company President Vagit Alekperov said Korchaginskoye field will begin producing in 2008 at a... more

1. Tanganyika Oil has started drilling on the first horizontal well in the Shiranish reservoir on the Oudeh field onshore Syria. It will be drilled vertically to a depth of... more

1. Murphy Oil's Kikeh-7 appraisal well offshore Sabah, Malaysia, has confirmed the down dip limits of this field and discovered deeper oil plays. This means potentially more crude supply for... more

With data management continuing to be a major source of stress for the industry, several companies are coming to the rescue with user-friendly solutions. Recently I wrote about Landmark and Spotfire... more

Commercial expandable screen completions continue to grow. Terra Tek and a group of oil companies have pooled resources to accelerate the adoption of expandables and overcome the twin challenges of... more

The Monday crowds at this year's OTC were unusually strong. In past years, Tuesday attendance has predominated, largely due to the influx of visitors from Louisiana. But this year, OTC... more

An innovative new water treatment module features a greatly simplified, computer-aided design particularly advantageous for use on offshore floating production units. Computer simulation has helped NATCO engineers make dramatic improvements in... more

I am an admirer of 62-year old Mike Melvill, a corporate test pilot. He is due to be launched later this week (mid-June) into space - 62.5 miles (100 km)... more

Every executive must decide when new technology adds top value to a company. Over the span of the last 30 years there has been a continuous stream of technological innovations in... more

Indicators point to a Chinese economic fall that could send a shock wave that will cut oil prices. China's economy is racing upward like a skyrocket as the gross domestic product... more

Oil and natural gas reserves are the most important asset of an exploration and production company, and long overdue discussions on this topic are finally occurring. There is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all... more