Archive | July/August
Australia is at forefront of biofouling issue, but this environmental challenge may soon go global
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, July/August, The Offshore Frontier
By Linda Hsieh, assistant managing editor A critical issue is emerging on the environmental front that could result in serious consequences for drilling contractors and their operations: biofouling. Sometimes called “invisible pollution,” biofouling occurs when organisms attach to a surface – such as the hull of a ship – and get introduced into foreign ecosystems [...]
New method developed to treat individual layers in cemented cased-hole completions
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Completing the Well, July/August
By Gary Rytlewski, Schlumberger A new method of completing multiple-layer formations has been successfully tested in the United States and Canada. This new method places sliding sleeve valves in the casing string and completes the well with normal cementing operations. The sliding sleeve valves are opened one at a time to fracture layers independently without [...]
New NELP licensing round to push India’s deepwater ambiitions, need for deepwater rigs
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Global and Regional Markets, July/August
After three extensions, the bid deadline for the seventh round of India’s New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) is now set for 30 June 2008. A total of 57 blocks have been offered for bidding, including 29 onshore blocks, nine shallow-water blocks and 19 deepwater blocks. Announced in December 2007, NELP VII has been heavily promoted [...]
PV Drilling building new rigs as it eyes Vietnams expanding E&P market, exploration successes
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Global and Regional Markets, July/August, The Efficient Rig, The Offshore Frontier
By Linda Hsieh, assistant managing editor Vietnam-based PV Drilling is gearing up to be a serious offshore player – just in time, since Vietnam is gearing up for some serious offshore drilling. Just six years ago, PV Drilling – or Petrovietnam Drilling and Well Services Corp – was a company providing small-scale services such as [...]
Gulf of Thailand drilling/completion both high tech and high volume, with HSE as core value
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Drilling It Safely, July/August, The Offshore Frontier
By Mike Killalea, Editor & Publisher Drilling in the Gulf of Thailand (GOT) is not only high-volume work, but presents considerable technical drilling-and-completion challenges. Chevron, the major operator in the GOT, drills some 40% of its global footage there – that’s right, 40%. In 2007, that constituted 3.7 million ft and 310 wells, and the [...]
Permanent magnet motors lead way to better power efficiency, safety on cranes, winches
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Drilling It Safely, July/August, The Efficient Rig
By Hege Kverneland, National Oilwell Varco Recognized around the world as a leader in technology-driven drilling solutions, National Oilwell Varco (NOV) has kept its focus on commercializing permanent magnet motor technology and developing innovative applications for its use. The Lifting and Handling Group’s latest technological development is the new all-electric King Post Crane using permanent [...]
Lifting Safety: Inexperienced employees, deepwater/subsea projects push lifting challenges to new
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Drilling It Safely, July/August, The Offshore Frontier
“The challenges have shifted,” said Mike Brasic, who retired from BP in May 2008 as lifting adviser and as HSE manager for BP Sakhalin. First, there’s the people problem. “The level of experience among employees has gone down as the level of activity has gone up. That’s presenting challenges with competency that the industry must [...]
Ultra-stable PDC drill bit technology improves performance in Southern Mexico applications
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Innovating While Drilling, July/August
By Dalmo Amorim, ReedHycalog/University of São Paulo; Andrew D Murdock, Carlos Huerta, ReedHycalog; Diogo S Oliveira, Fabiola Diaz, Gustavo A Padron G, Willie Columbine, Schlumberger IPM; Wilson S Iramina, University of São Paulo As worldwide demand for hydrocarbons continues to grow and with shallow reservoirs rapidly depleting, most new discoveries are being made at greater [...]
Tough directional TCIs deliver longer runs with higher ROP in Canadian build sections
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Innovating While Drilling, July/August
By Chad Mason, Caleb Rickabaugh, Eric Olson, Hughes Christensen Certain formations create unique challenges for operators drilling directional applications with roller cone bits. In western Canada, for example, interbedded formations of hard sandstone, siltstone, shale and chert have frustrated operators using conventional tungsten carbide insert (TCI) bits to drill a directional wellbore. In addition to [...]
Improved design processes allow bits to fit specific applications, set new drilling records
Posted on 30 October 2009 in 2008, Innovating While Drilling, July/August
By Jerry Greenberg, contributing editor Designing a drill bit with the correct configuration and hydraulic performance for a specific application has everything to do with a well’s success. A wrong bit for the application can result in low rate of penetration (ROP), inefficient hole cleaning and expensive wells that sometimes won’t reach the operator’s geological [...]
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...