Archive | November/December
For Exxon retiree Leon Robinson, drilling continues to be an addictive fascination he just can’t quit
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
By Linda Hsieh, associate editor If there’s one thing Leon Robinson learned during his 39-year career with Exxon, it’s that drilling isn’t a science. For all the textbook learning he did to earn three degrees in physics, it still wasn’t enough to truly understand drilling. “Drilling is equal part science and art,” he said. The [...]
People, Companies & Products
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
Organizational changes at National Oilwell Varco Becky Byrd has been named vice president corporate marketing for National Oilwell Varco. She has served as corporate marketing manager and most recently as director of corporate marketing following the Varco merger in 2005. Mark Reese has been named president of NOV’s Rig Solutions Group. He served as president [...]
WellCAP Plus is ‘top of crown’ for IADC’s WellCAP
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
By Steve Kropla, IADC At the Well Control Conference of the Americas in late August, keynote speaker David Payne, Chevron vice president of drilling & completion, drew attention to IADC’s WellCAP Plus program as a key tool for dealing with some of the industry’s complex training needs. WellCAP Plus provides a high-level skill set for [...]
D&C Tech Digest
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
Hughes Christensen PDC bits set field record in Mexico’s challenging southeast marine region Hughes Christensen has set a field record using its Genesis XT PDC bits in Mexico’s southeast marine region. Historically, the Ixtal field’s Cretaceous formation, consisting of fractured mudstone and wackstone and 5% to 10% interlays of bentonite and chert, had been drilled [...]
D&C News
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
Noble takes delivery of new jackup from Chinese shipyard Noble Corp has taken delivery of a new high-specification jackup drilling rig constructed by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry in Dalian, China. The Noble Roger Lewis, the first of three such rigs being built for the company, is in transit to its inaugural drilling assignment in Qatar, where [...]
Industry getting in deeper in GOM
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
Mike Killalea, Editor & Publisher Go deep, young man, might be the advice of a 21st-century Horace Greeley. In the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico, BP estimates that some 22 billion bbl remain to be discovered – this beyond the 18 billion bbl already found, of which that major participates in about a fourth. “We’re [...]
News Cuttings
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
IADC Technology Meet held in Vizag on India’s east coast For the first time, the IADC South Central Asia Chapter has held its Technology Meet outside of Mumbai — this time in Vizag (Visakhapatnam) on India’s east coast in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Recent oil/gas discoveries by ONGC, RIL, GSPC and Cairn Energy have [...]
‘Safety is the most important decision we make. Everything comes after safety.’
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
For H&P’s John Lindsay, safety must remain top priority as drilling industry balances focus on people, security, environment By Linda Hsieh, associate editor In 1986, average crude oil prices fell to $14.64 per barrel and the average US rig count dipped below 1,000 for the first time since 1972. It was a tough year for [...]
Wirelines
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
Supreme court to hear Exxon appeal The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up ExxonMobil’s appeal of a Ninth Circuit Court decision made after the 1989 Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska. The circuit court had said that the company, as shipowner, could be held liable vicariously for punitive damages for the actions of the [...]
From the President: IADC Ethics and Corporate Compliance Committee leads way to higher standards
Posted on 29 October 2009 in 2007, November/December
There’s no doubt that the drilling industry is global. Drilling contractors who used to operate in just one region or one country might now operate in five or six countries, or even 10 to 20. Each country comes with its own unique set of laws and customs that the drilling contractor must comply with. It [...]
Recent Drilling News
15 May 2013
BP commits to renewed focus on upstream oil and gas over next decade
Over the next decade, as much as 75% to 80% of BP's majority group capital expenditure will be spent in upstream...
15 May 2013
Statoil sanctions Julia development in GOM with ExxonMobil, pushes ahead with Logan
Pursuing further growth in its US offshore portfolio, Statoil has sanctioned its fourth field development in the Gulf of Mexico...
15 May 2013
Exclusive video: New composite wireline cable contains seven-conductor electrical core
Serko Sarian, telemetry and conveyance portfolio manager for Schlumberger, talks with Drilling Contractor...
15 May 2013
PETRONAS: NOCs expand globally with increasing autonomy, financial strength
National oil companies (NOCs) continue to assume an increasingly meaningful role in the oil and gas industry...
15 May 2013
Different dual-gradient methods enable drilling in deepwater, depleted reservoirs
Dual-gradient technology continues to gain attention as an important solution to deepwater drilling and...