As the industry continues to push the envelope of existing technologies, a number of technological synergies are beginning to emerge. The integration of extended-reach drilling with single-diameter, solid expandables is... more

Multilateral and extended-reach drilling is now being widely applied in the world's oil fields. Although dating back to the 1950s, multilateral technology has only in recent years reached mainstream status,... more

While it is the new oil and gas developments in the early production phase which tend to get most of the attention, today more than 70% of the world's oil... more

The amateur of classics certainly remembers Laurence Olivier screaming "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" in the movie "Richard III." Without any additional information, the viewer systematically... more

According to the US Geological Survey Fact Sheet 70-03, "The estimated volume of technically recoverable heavy oil (434 billion bbl) and natural bitumen (651 billion bbl) in known accumulations is... more

Advances in logging and formation evaluation technology have resulted in customers who are satisfied with the results, partly because they have been developed with customer input to directly solve their... more

A new generation of well logging tools and interpretation techniques has been developed and applied successfully in a laminated gas hydrate reservoir in the Nankai Trough, offshore Japan. Nuclear magnetic... more

Colorado's Wattenberg field produced more than 1 Tcf of gas in the past 30 years, and operators are out to prove there's plenty more where that came from as they... more

A new technology called MARS (Multiple Application Re-injection System) is being characterized as the "USB port" of the wellhead, allowing production optimization systems to be mounted directly onto subsea Christmas... more

The North Sea drilling market throughout 2006 and 2007 will be characterized by very tight supply and high procurement rates. The situation is being exacerbated by an upsurge in drilling... more

Near-term capital expenditure in the United Kingdom has increased by US $11 billion over and above 2005 estimates. New investments on existing facilities, incremental projects and new fields account for... more

The Statoil-operated Visund platform on the Norwegian shelf in the North Sea shut down for almost 5 months after an incident in January. In the meantime, Statoil and DNV have... more

Aggressive recovery techniques will harvest most of Statfjord's oil and gas. Statfjord field on the border between the United Kingdom and Norway played the role of cash cow, first for original... more

While it is the new oil and gas developments in the early production phase which tend to get most of the attention, today more than 70% of the world's oil... more

The connection between musical talent and geophysical ability seems, at least anecdotally, more than coincidental. Every summer I travel to the annual meeting of the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers... more

Wellbore stability analysis has some instability problems. The methodologies are legion, data requirements are murky and the answers are often questionable. A new joint industry project (JIP) focused on global... more

National tax pirates arm the ships of state around the world and clean up their regulatory cannons as high oil and gas prices invite another raid on corporate treasure chests. The... more

Flagship vessel boasts solid streamers CGG has launched the Geo Challenger, the new flagship of its 13-vessel seismic fleet. The new high-resolution 3-D/4-D acquisition vessel was recently converted at a Norwegian... more

For wide acceptance of expandables to occur, they must be reliable, strong, cost-effective and integrate into drilling operations. A new approach overcomes existing limitations and promises to satisfy these requirements. Conventional... more

It probably comes as no surprise to learn that we think producing a world-class magazine for the upstream petroleum industry is the most important thing we do. Having accepted that... more

Exploration GT gets Cairn nod Geofizyka Torun (GT), a Poland-based geophysical contractor, has been awarded the second phase of Cairn Energy's seismic exploration program in the Rafasthan desert in India. Phase 1... more

When companies are caught paying bribes, headlines flash with sensational details: millions missing from numbered bank accounts, first class travel to exotic destinations and all-expenses-paid shopping trips. Everyone remembers the... more