Archive | 2008
Black Sea, Caspian, Mediterranean bustling with exploration but still has much to prove
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, Global and Regional Markets, November/December
Among the tantalizing offshore provinces are surely the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian. What is the real petroleum potential? Has it been talked up too much or will patience and persistence eventually pay off for this sprawling region linking Europe with Africa, the Near East and Asia?
Oil/gas industry needs more organized anti-corruption effort, expert says
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, Global and Regional Markets, November/December
Rig markets are no longer local. As the global economy and operators’ drilling programs dictate, more and more drilling contractors are finding themselves going into unfamiliar countries with unfamiliar cultures and business practices…
Ensign: Bureaucratic obstacles complicate moving of highly automated rigs into Australia
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, Global and Regional Markets, November/December
In 2007, in order to meet client demands for high-specification, fast-moving rigs with improved safety and minimal environmental impact, Ensign Energy Services decided to deploy two Automated Drilling Rigs (ADR) from Canada to Australia…
Oil/gas industry knows it has a crisis of image. At last, we’re really doing something about it
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, November/December
In a world where perception is often reality, an industry that is perceived, albeit unfairly, as dirty, dangerous and greedy can suffer a crisis of image that threatens its foundation and future. But getting the truth out can be a challenge…
Next-generation perforating system enhances testing, treatment of fracture stimulated wells
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, Completing the Well, November/December
Ineffective perforation can adversely affect the completion of fracture stimulated wells in several ways. If the interval is to be tested prior to fracturing, a clean connection to the formation is required to facilitate meaningful data acquisition…
New fracture model takes into consideration load history, temperature, Poisson’s effect
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, Completing the Well, November/December
The fracture equation used in the oil and gas industry is derived from the Kirsch equation for the hoop stress. Due to its simplicity, it is almost exclusively used for prediction of fracture initiation pressures. However, it is not useful for analysis of load history…
NOPSA: Operators must rigorously apply existing asset integrity management techniques
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, November/December
Preliminary findings generated from an ongoing national programme of inspection of offshore topsides petroleum process equipment being conducted by the Australian offshore safety regulator suggest there are lessons yet to be learned by the industry in managing asset integrity, but they are not new lessons…
New generation of solid expandable liners help give operators a jump on trouble zones
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, November/December
Since solid expandable technology has gained credibility as an effective contingency option, end users now realize that by including them as an enabling tool in the basis of design (BOD), significant well construction dollars can be saved in mitigating drilling hazards…
Many factors are involved to properly size mud gas separator, or gas buster, systems
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, Drilling It Safely, November/December
A Mud Gas Separator (MGS), or gas buster, is common on most drilling rigs throughout the world. The MGS is used to separate wellbore gas from the drilling fluid while circulating out a kick or circulating any gas present in drilling fluids during drilling or workover operations…
To avoid well control events, 21st-century drilling teams must recognize, repair system instability
Posted on 18 November 2008 in 2008, Drilling It Safely, November/December
Well control deals with the detection of hydrostatic instability within the wellbore. The success of well control rests on three actions…
Recent Drilling News
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BP commits to renewed focus on upstream oil and gas over next decade
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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...