The drilling industry places significant emphasis on figuring out how to handle well control events once they have been identified, but far less attention is given to avoiding well control situations before they occur. “We’re treating symptoms of well control after something has already...

By the end of 2017, drilling contractors will need to have transitioned to engines compliant with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier 4 standards for non-road diesel engines. The EPA’s flexibility provisions had allowed onshore drillers and OEMs in North America to continue using Tier 2 engines, but the flexibility period will end next year.

By Alex Endress, Editorial Coordinator Today’s offshore drilling rigs are highly complex and equipped with numerous digitized and interconnected systems. To monitor the functionality of these systems, rigs have also been equipped with numerous alarms – some that are safety- and mission-critical, and some that aren’t. Deciphering which alarms are critical and reacting accordingly is a matter of proper engineering and training, both of which were discussed at an Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI) forum, “Focusing on Alarm Management for Safer Offshore Operations,” held on 24 August in Houston. “Alarm fatigue or alert fatigue occurs when one is exposed to a large number of frequent alarms and consequently becomes desensitized to them,” Bob Blank, Vice President Operational Excellence at Noble ...

A mid-year survey of more than 200 companies shows that global upstream spending is poised to grow in 2017 after consecutive years of declines. The Barclays Upstream Spending Survey estimated that spending will increase by approximately 3% to 8% at current oil prices. Large-cap E&P companies are expected to increase North American CAPEX by as much as 50% next year, although international oil companies (IOCs) – particularly those in the offshore sector – will still be very cautious in their spending.

Headlines proclaiming that oil and gas drilling are directly linked to earthquakes in North Texas have been dominating energy news in recent weeks:

It’s been approximately 20 months since the downturn began, and uncertainty persists over how much longer the market will remain depressed. Dayrates are down by approximately 40% on average, and many contractors are operating on negative margins. Some have even been pushed out of the market altogether, Mike Garvin, Senior Vice President, Operation Support at Patterson-UTI, said at the 2016 IADC Asset Integrity and Reliability Conference on 31 August in Houston. “Back at the peak, there were 171 drilling contractors operating at least one rig in the United States. Today, we're at 87, so half of the drilling contractors have quit working over the last two years,” he said.

Shell announced that production has started from the Stones development in the Gulf of Mexico. Stones is expected to produce around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) when fully ramped up at the end of 2017.

In the midst of the industry’s worst downturn since the 1980s, many oil and gas companies may be focused on today, not thinking much about the future. However, companies must balance managing the present with planning for the future if they want to become and remain an industry leader, said Dr Vijay Govindarajan, Coxe Distinguished Professor at Dartmouth University’s Tuck School of Business. “Because an organization is a leader today, you cannot assume you will be a leader tomorrow. Earning that leadership is what strategy is all about,” Dr Govindarajan said on 23 August at the Landmark Innovation Forum and Expo, hosted by Halliburton in Houston. “Strategy is always about creating your future while managing your present.”

BP announced that it has signed a second production-sharing contract (PSC) for shale gas exploration, development and production with China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The PSC, signed on 27 July, covers an area of approximately 1,000 sq km at Rong Chang Bei in the Sichuan Basin. In March 2016, BP and CNPC signed their first shale gas PSC on the adjoining Neijiang-Dazu block. As with the earlier contract, CNPC will operate the Rong Chang Bei PSC. “We are pleased to be making further progress in our strategic partnership with CNPC and deepening our business in China. This second shale gas PSC in China builds on the successful cooperation we are already seeing with the Neijiang-Dazu PSC signed in March,” Bob ...

A joint industry project (JIP), launched earlier this year to establish an industry-wide BOP reliability database, is now concluding Phase One, preparing for phase two and expanding its reach.