An increasing number of oil companies are recognizing the strength of controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) data for mapping fluid content. CSEM acquisition produces data which are sensitive to resistive regions in... more

When it comes to placing, drilling, completing and stimulating new wells, the ability to discern anisotropy as small as 1% could be crucial to pinpoint the stress direction. But measuring... more

Located in approximately 4,000 ft (1,219 m) of water in the Green Canyon block of the Gulf of Mexico, Chevron’s Tahiti prospect has well depths exceeding 28,000 ft (8,534 m).... more

Since hydraulic fracturing became a standard oilfield stimulation technique in the late 1940s, the industry has been working to improve the technique with new methods, technologies and materials. By the... more

Not long ago, “high temperature” downhole meant anything over 350°F (176.6°C). But the term high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) has a broader meaning. Temperature and pressure differentials present the true challenge... more

A study commissioned by the UK Health and Safety Executive in 2005 showed that well control incidents are by far the most frequently occurring of all high-pressure/ high-temperature (HP/HT) well... more

Recently someone asked the question, “Why is fluid characterization (FC) important, and how will this change the design of a field?” Almost all industry professionals will agree that the answer... more

Subsea automation and control systems have been around for a long time. The traditional driver for development of this equipment has been safety. With a subsea safety valve in place,... more

The oil industry is changing at a rapid pace and, “traditional,” methods of stimulation of production and/or injection wells are not always cost-effective. The new paradigm in the industry now... more

Use of the first ever ISO V0 certified gravel-pack packer enabled quick, reliable completion of three critical, high-volume gas wells — the highest producing gas wells for a BP-operated field... more

Deepwater is already an important component of global energy supply security. For example, since 2000 more oil has been produced in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico than in... more

Technology improvements without complementary changes in work process and human factors have a long history of failure. Two examples can be found in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and the... more

At the recent Society of Exploration Geophysicists’ (SEG) annual meeting, it was obvious that students of geophysics were the focus of many attending the show. Anadarko and Chevron both announced... more

Temperature and pressure challenges still frustrate operators and service companies working on deep and ultradeep wells. “Equipment needs haven’t changed for onshore deep wells,” said Hermann Sporker, head of well engineering... more

The industry just completed three of its most significant annual events, gatherings that helped show off how far we have come along the technological road and offered clues about the... more

An intensive research and development collaboration between Hydro and ffA has achieved a step change in the quality of subsurface images available to geoscientists, well planners and reservoir engineers.... more

Input/Output (I/O) has introduced Scorpion, the most recent addition to the portfolio of I/O recording systems. Scorpion builds off the System Four platform that has been in the market since... more

Inteq and Knowledge Systems have introduced the BEACON Remote Pressure Management (RPM) service. Based on while-drilling analysis of wellbore pressure and stability factors, the BEACON RPM service is designed to... more

The primary purpose of particle impact drilling (PID) is to dramatically increase the rate of penetration (ROP) through intervals where progress is typically very slow and expensive because of... more

Dr. Robert Woolsey of the University of Mississippi and a small group of like-minded scientist and engineers from research institutions around the country have long wanted to study gas hydrates.... more

“Hi, my name is [your name goes here], and I’m an oil addict.” “Hmm. What makes you say so?” “I was diagnosed by TV and newspaper pundits.” “Are you... more

Electromagnetic Geoservices AS (emgs) has launched proceedings in the High Court in Londonagainst Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping plc (OHM) for the infringement of one of emgs’ patents related to Seabed Logging,... more

Fugro has struck a US $65.7 million deal to buy remotely operated vehicle services supplier Rovtech Ltd., headquartered in Aberdeen. Rovtech specializes in the nspection, repair and maintenance and rig... more

Scan Geophysical ASA and PT Fairfield Indonesia, a subsidiary of Fairfield Industries Inc., announced the signing of a Consortium Agreement that will allow the two companies to conduct joint 2-D... more

Canada’s EnCana Oil & Gas became the first company to cut back on a drilling program because of increasing service and supply costs, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The... more

The United Kingdom is back in the offshore rig building business as SeaDragon Offshore will spend US $1.5 billion on three new deepwater semisubmersible rigs at the Tees Alliance Yard... more

The purchase of drilling rig electrical service company Supreme Electrical Service and Supply Co. brought C. Jim Stewart III out the retirement. The great grandson of the founder of Stewart... more

ANP, the Brazilian oil and gas industry regulator, would like Petrolbras to return approximately 100 mature and inactive oil fields so the regulator can put them back on the auction... more

Wellbore Energy Solutions, LLC has launched a wellbore cleanout tool rental/services business. The company specializes in the rental of wellbore cleaning equipment including casing scrapers, brushes, magnets and other tools... more

Current energy trends will lead to a crisis warned the Club of Madrid at its annual conference in Madrid, Spain. More than 30 former government heads and 100 policy makers... more

The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen’s Univation Ltd. commercial branch has started a program to bring more engineers into the subsea oil and gas industry. “The subsea sector urgently needs... more

Geomodeling Technology Corp., a leading innovator in geoscience software for the oil and gas industry, today announced that it has released SBED 2006 Version 3, highlighting enhanced bioturbation modeling and... more

US-based companies have spent US $5 billion on Chinese oil and gas exploration and production projects, according to Zhang Guobao, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission. He... more

ANP, the Brazilian energy regulator, plans to limit the number of blocks in any given area in its eighth licensing round in an attempt to encourage competition and to make... more

Operating companies plan to spend US $2.4 billion in exploration and development work in the UK North Sea over the next 2 years, according to The Business, quoting a Hannon... more

In its campaign to reduce energy imports, China will spend US $100 million in the next 10 years on hydrate research. The nation’s goal is to find and evaluate hydrates... more

New assessments convinced Brazil’s Petrobras to conclude the nation’s gas reserves could reach 35 Tcf, or more than three times to 11 Tcf listed under official estimates. According to Ogilvie’s... more

Shell has agreed to purchase there Multiple Application Re-injection Systems (Mars) from Des Operations of Aberdeen. The units mount on subsea trees and allow an operator to intervene without the... more

The Subsea UK industry group has started a Web site called Subseatest.com as a central directory for worldwide subsea test facilities with the goal of getting test facilities together with... more

Saudi Aramco signed a front-end engineering and design deal hiring Foster Wheeler to plan development for the Moneefa oil field with expectations that the field will produce 900,000 b/d of... more

Oil and gas companies have an increasing requirement for improved data quality for both exploration and improved oil recovery from existing fields. This has led to an increasing need for... more

The Subsea UK industry group has started a Web site called Subseatest.com as a central directory for worldwide subsea test facilities with the goal of getting test facilities together with... more

High oil and gas prices have brought increases in most rig fleet categories and regions, spurring rig owners to mobilize additional units, according to the 53rd ReedHycalog Rig Census. Because... more

The Sept. 8 event marked the opening of a near 50% expansion of the facility, which manufactures electric submersible pumping (ESP) systems, both fully assembled units as well as parts... more

SIGEOL (Geological Information System) is a new advanced geological mapping program made up of a coherent set of tools and profession-specific databases developed by geologists for geologists. Remote-sensing data and... more

Mechdyne Corp. announced that its VRCO software division released a powerful immersive visualization solution for use with Petrel Software from Schlumberger. With availability of the ConduitT graphics middleware for Petrel,... more

Baker Oil Tools recently installed the first two Intelligent Well Systems (IWS) in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. The installations set two new milestones for IWS: deepest water installation over... more

Russian natural gas giant OAO Gazprom said will develop the huge Shtokman gas field on its own without foreign partners, in another setback for western energy companies looking to gain... more

An international arbitration court in Brussels has rejected French oil major Total's claim on a vast hydrocarbon deposit in East Siberia to which Rosneft holds a license, the Russian state-owned... more

has terminated a contract with U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil Corp. to develop a natural gas field in the East Natuna Sea and is negotiating a new deal with company,... more

A top Russian government official said oil and gas projects being implemented in Russia's Arctic and Far East with the participation of western firms under production-sharing agreements (PSAs) will yield... more

Dominion will pursue the sale of most of its oil and natural gas exploration and production assets to put additional focus on growing its electric generation and energy distribution, transmission,... more

The US can no longer consider the Arctic as a long-term strategic energy supply source, according to a new joint study by Wood Mackenzie and Fugro Robertson, “Future of the... more

TAM International’s new SlikPak Plus inflatable retrievable packer/bridge plug system runs on slickline or electric line for fast deployment and accurate depth control. The battery-powered and computer controlled 2 1/8-in.... more

Lafayette-based Frank’s Casing Crews and Rental Tools, Inc. recently delivered the Genesis 7000H power tong to Murphy Oil for use on the Kikeh Project offshore Malaysia. The new tong was... more

Anadarko Reaches Agreement with Statoil on Gulf of Mexico Assets HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anadarko Petroleum Corp. signed an agreement whereby Statoil will pay Anadarko $901 million and acquire Anadarko’s interests in and... more

Statoil is working with UK company Reservoir Imaging Ltd (RIL) on the development of a programme to improve the quality and consistency of its 4-D seismic acquisition projects. The aim... more

A new, high-expansion sealing device uses expanding metal in place of elastomers to form a high-integrity pressure seal on the tubular wall. Baker Oil Tools developed the metal-to-metal, high-expansion Z-Seal... more

Total announces a new gas discovery between the Tunu and Peciko fields in the offshore Mahakam block in Indonesia. Drilled in very shallow water 5 miles (8 km) southwest of... more

The proposed 2007 Petroleum Reserves and Resources Classification, Definitions and Guidelines are now ready for industry review. This document is sponsored jointly with the World Petroleum Council (WPC), American Association... more

FMC Technologies, Inc. has been chosen to supply the subsea gas production system for Petrobras’ Mexilhão field offshore Brazil. The project has a value of approximately US $122 million in... more

To tackle the skills shortage in the subsea sector of the oil and gas industry, Univation Ltd, the commercial arm of The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland, is launching... more

A new, hydraulic motor-driven 85-ton power swivel from Logan Oil Tools provides smooth, shock-free torque and reduces drill string damage. It is rated to support tensile pipe loads of 85... more

Talisman Energy Inc. has introduced an emerging exploration play in west central Alberta. The Ram area is located southwest of Talisman's successful Central Alberta Foothills structural play. The company has... more

The Petrotechnical Open Standards Consortium (POSC) has re-branded itself as Energistics. The organization says rebranding supports its new goal of executing a market-focused business strategy. Energistics provides to the upstream... more

Chevron Corp. brough in a significant natural gas discovery at its Clio-1 exploration well located 90 miles (150 km) offshore northwestern Australia in permit WA-205-P. The Clio-1 well was completed... more

Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niazov has announced a development plan for the Turkmen oil and gas industry which envisages the construction of four new gas export pipelines and anticipated earnings of... more

Electromagnetic Geoservices (emgs) has been awarded a contract by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) to deploy its proprietary Seabed Logging survey technology as a first step in determining the oil... more

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. has acquired all of the operating assets of Rolligon Ltd. (“Rolligon”). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Based in College Station, Texas, Rolligon fabricates equipment... more

The Board of Directors of Hydril (elected Christopher T. Seaver chairman of the board, in addition to his continuing leadership as president and chief executive officer of the company. Seaver... more

CNOOC Ltd.'s Jinzhou (JZ) 31-6-1 wildcat drilled in Bohai Bay has successfully completed, indicating the company has made a breakthrough in the exploration in lithologic traps as planned and implemented... more

Pakistani Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Amanullah Khan Jadoon said that new petroleum policies envisage more incentives for the investors in the exploration and production activities for attract... more

Weatherford International Ltd. successfully ran the first ever Electromagnetic Logging While Drilling (EM-LWD) triple combo operation with extended range set-up for Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, which manages... more

Exxon Mobil Corp. announced today that its subsidiary, Esso Exploration International Limited, and Mitra Energy Limited (MEL) have entered into an agreement to explore for hydrocarbons in the deepwater Sandakan... more

Neuralog Inc. has built in application access to A2D Technologies’ online well log database into the most recent release of two of their industry-favored geologic applications, significantly improving the user’s... more

Washington Group International announced today that it has established a full-service engineering office in Doha, Qatar, to expand its service to clients in the growing Middle East oil, gas, and... more

Plectrum Petroleum is pleased to announce that it has received approval from Peru’s government-owned oil company Perúpetro SA (Perúpetro) for an Exploration and Exploitation Contract covering Block Z-34, Offshore Peru,... more

Chevron Corp. announced a US $19.6 billion capital and exploratory spending program for 2007, a 20% increase from expected outlays of approximately $16 billion in 2006. "Our 2007 capital and exploratory... more

Veritas DGC Inc. announced that it has received the requested United States Internal Revenue Service private letter ruling in connection with the previously announced merger agreement whereby Compagnie Générale de... more

Challenge: The world is estimated to hold about 940 billion bbl of undiscovered oil and natural gas resources, much of it in remote and difficult to reach places, such as deep... more

Halliburton announced today that it has pledged to give US $350,000 to Montana Tech, of the University of Montana System, to assist with the construction of a new Natural Resources... more

Varel International announced the opening of their new office in Lafayette, La. The office will provide all sales and service functions for customers operating in Louisiana and the state’s intercoastal... more

A U.S. Department of Energy–funded technology that could change the way America’s oil and natural gas wells are drilled has been successfully demonstrated in the nation’s midcontinent region. A specially designed... more

ConocoPhillips has announced the successful testing of the Barossa-1 exploration well in the NT/P69 license located offshore Northern Territory, Australia. Drilling of the Barossa-1 well commenced in July this year and... more

In its latest report, Hannon Westwood, the UKCS upstream consultancy has revealed that the North Sea is experiencing record levels of farm-in opportunities – with many companies chasing insufficient investment... more

Four options are under consideration for a new development hub to the West of Shetland. A task force set up by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has spotlighted... more

On December 21, 2006 OAO Gazprom (Gazprom), Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), Mitsui &Co., Ltd (Mitsui) and Mitsubishi Corporation (Mitsubishi) have signed a protocol to bring Gazprom into the US... more

Maurel & Prom received exclusive authorization from the Republic of Gabon's Minister of Mines to operate the ONAL onshore field 17 sq miles (45.8 sq km) on the Omoueyi permit... more

ConocoPhillips plans to drill up to three North Slope exploratory tests on its Cassin prospect in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska some 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Teshekpuk Lake and... more

BP PLC temporarily halted output at a massive Caspian Sea gas field off the coast of Azerbaijan because of technical problems. Production at the Shah Deniz field began just over... more

No one knows better than oil and gas companies, operating as they do in some of the most challenging markets, that bribery is bad for business. A willingness to pay... more

Drilling or “making hole” began long before oil or natural gas were anything more than flammable curiosities found seeping from the ground. For centuries, digging by hand or shovel was... more

When business conditions are relatively stable, predicting the near future is easier. Now in the oil industry, the large step-change in oil prices has thrust us into turbulent times with... more

New Zealand wants operators to look past the North Sea weather conditions in its Great South Basin and look at the North Sea promise in the basin structures as it... more

A game at Louisiana State University’s (LSU) Tiger Stadium is never a tame thing. It is a close stadium with the seats rising at a sharp angle. The design creates... more