Archive | Features
Re-inventing subsea intervention to keep economics above water
Posted on 21 September 2011 in 2011, Completing the Well, Features, September/October
Ten thousand feet below the platform, a well production tree, with all its pipes, manifolds and production lines, is signaling yet another new frontier in hydrocarbon …
Australia embarks on coal seam gas, the next E&P frontier Down Under
Posted on 21 September 2011 in 2011, Features, Global and Regional Markets, September/October
A steady producer of oil and gas in conventional onshore and offshore fields, Australia is looking to new and unconventional resources to chart its future …
Dual BOPs: When one just isn’t enough
Posted on 21 September 2011 in 2011, Features, September/October, The Efficient Rig
On 1 June Rowan Companies announced it had ordered the first two ultra-deepwater drillships in the company’s history, to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. These 12,000-ft capable vessels will each be equipped…
Rig mobility on the fast track
Posted on 21 September 2011 in 2011, Features, September/October, The Efficient Rig
Rig manufacturers are expanding the operating and mobility features of the industry’s rigs to a new level of sophistication – the highly or ultra-mobile rig …
Steel-body PDC bit targets shale drilling
Posted on 06 July 2011 in 2011, Features, Innovating While Drilling, July/August
Many Marcellus operators drill the vertical sections of their horizontal wells using an air rig. Contractors are experienced in this technique, which has proven cost-effective in the northeastern US. When the kickoff point is reached…
Drilling mud solutions: Cracking the shale code
Posted on 06 July 2011 in 2011, Features, Innovating While Drilling, July/August
A trend afoot in the world of drilling fluids is further evidence of the importance of shale plays in North America today. Every shale play is not created equal; so it stands to reason that the ideal drilling mud solution needs to match the unique requirements of each play…
Multilateral completions on rise but still a niche
Posted on 06 July 2011 in 2011, Completing the Well, Features, July/August
Have multilateral completions finally come of age? Proven to maximize reservoir production, horizontal multilateral completions have witnessed growth in numbers and in complexity. However, while these completions have become more prevalent over the past decade, hurdles remain to widespread…
No longer niche: Expandables finally going mainstream
Posted on 06 July 2011 in 2011, Features, Innovating While Drilling, July/August
Since they came onto the scene nearly 15 years ago as the game changers that were going to revolutionize drilling and completions, expandables are finally coming of age…
Drilling automation: Is resistance futile?
Posted on 06 July 2011 in 2011, Features, Innovating While Drilling, July/August, The Efficient Rig, Videos
“Automation”: Say the word the right way with the right group of people in drilling circles, and it can almost come off as an obscenity. Drilling is an art, they say, with too many unpredictabilities. How can it be entrusted in the hands of a bunch of machines, computers and algorithms?
Technology advances push greener side of fracing
Posted on 04 May 2011 in 2011, Features, May/June
Hydraulic fracturing has been an area of aggressive research and development over the past several years, with operators and service companies introducing a number…
Recent Drilling News
19 June 2013
Dolphin Drilling unveils new deepwater drillship
Aberdeen-based Dolphin Drilling, one of the oldest and largest independent drilling contracting companies in the North Sea, unveiled its new 751-ft ultra deepwater rig...
14 June 2013
UK HSE report: Reportable hydrocarbon releases nearly halved over three years
The UK oil and gas industry has achieved a 48% reduction in the number of reportable hydrocarbon releases over three years, the...
12 June 2013
Atwood Oceanics secures contract for Atwood Achiever ultra-deepwater drillship
Atwood Oceanics has been awarded a drilling services contract for the ultra-deepwater drillship Atwood Achiever by a subsidiary...
10 June 2013
Ensco orders its eighth Samsung DP3 ultra-deepwater drillship
Ensco has ordered an additional advanced-capability DP3 ultra-deepwater drillship based on the Samsung GF12000 hull design. The vessel, ENSCO DS-10, will be the eighth...
07 June 2013
Unconventionals lead the way for drilling automation, but business model defines uptake
Industry’s ongoing efforts to bring automation to the drilling sector will progress over time as a “natural alignment”...