Improved Recovery Week articles from April 1992

Improved Recovery Week archives from April 1992

Water fracs giving UPRC 'big breaks' in Austin Chalk. (water fracturing technology proves successful in increasing reserves in chalk is used by Union Pacific Resources Co. in Austin Chalk horizontal drilling boom in Texas)
April 6, 1992... Look for water fracturing technology to change soon the outlook for more horizontally drilled wells, at least in the Austin Chalk trend of Texas. Why? Because one company is convinced it helps increase reserves in the chalk. And Nathan...

Unocal plans offshore horizontals. (Union Oil Company of California plans five horizontal wells in 1992 in offshore field in Santa Barbara Channel, Santa Barbara, California)
April 6, 1992... Union Oil Co. of California plans to drill five horizontal wells this year in the offshore Dos Cuadras field in the Santa Barbara Channel. The wells will further develop the Brown zone, which produces oil in the 20 [degrees] API gravity...

GRI funding reflects industry infighting. (funding of Gas Research Institute characterized by argument between natural gas producers, pipelines and distribution companies)
April 6, 1992... A solution to funding the Gas Research Institute (GRI) seems to have been found, and if approved, at least one of the two companies who dropped out of the joint venture will re-join the association eventually. At the bottom of a near panic...

Alaska reverses production decline. (Alaska's oil production on steady increase with use of improved oil recovery techniques including waterflooding and gas re-injection)
April 6, 1992... Thanks in part to secondary IOR practices, 1991 Alaska oil production was nearly 15 million barrels more than in 1990. And because of waterflooding and gas re-injection techniques in the Prudhoe Bay and other fields, the 49th State reversed the...

Video system now in field. (Hitwell Video Inc. develops Time Delay Video System, which records images from 25,00 foot depths with temperatures to 300 degrees and working pressures to 10,000 psi, and is used with conventional oilfield wireline cable)
April 6, 1992... What appears to be a solid example of technology transfer from the video industry is now at work in the oilfield environment, and it's helping keep engineers "cued"-in on deep wells being drilled anywhere in the world. A number of...

Coalbed methane booms in N.M. (New Mexico Oil and Gas Association reports yield increase of 50% in 1992 over previous year in coalbed methane wells in New Mexico)
April 6, 1992... Coalbed methane wells in parts of New Mexico are yielding nearly 50% more gas than they were last year, reports the New Mexico Oil & Gas Assn. Production for the first 10 months of 1991 totaled about 43% of all gas production in the San...

Penwell drills record horizontal. (Penwell Energy Inc. of Midland, Texas completes world's deepest short-radius horizontal well)
April 6, 1992... Midland, Texas-based Penwell Energy, Inc. has completed an Ector County, Texas oil and gas producer which the company believes to be the world's deepest short-radius horizontal well. The No. 2 Edwards, located in the W.T. Ford field about 9...

C.A. Glandt, J.J. Vinegar and J.W Gardener of Shell Oil Co. (patent apparatus and method for producting thick tar sand deposits, U.S. Patent No. 5,060,726)
April 6, 1992... C.A. Glandt, J.J. Vinegar and J.W. Gardener of Shell Oil Co. have patented an apparatus and method for producing thick tar sand deposits by preheating the thin, relatively highly conductive layers which are a small fraction of the total...

L.M. Hsueh and M.G. Reed of Chevron Research Co. (patent method for controlling permeability damage to oil formations during steam injection, Canadian Patent No. 1,278,747)
April 6, 1992... L.M. Hsueh and M.G. Reed of Chevron Research Co. have invented a method for controlling permeability damage to oil formations during stream injection. The method calls for injection of a wet steam that has at least 0.01 N concentration of...

R.E. Babcock, W.H. Beaver and F.W. Wood of Diversified Petroleum Recovery Inc. (hold patent on amphophilic phase behavior separation of carboxylic acids/hydrocarbon mixtures in recovery of oil from tar sands, Canadian Patent No. 1,288,372)
April 6, 1992... R.E. Babcock, W.H. Beaver and F.W. Wood of Diversified Petroleum Recovery, Inc. hold a patent on the amphophilic phase behavior separation of carboxylic acids/hydrocarbon mixtures in recovery of oil from tar sands. The invention relates...

President vetos tax bill. (House votes to override President Bush's veto of tax legislation which would allow independent oil producers to claim 80% intangible drilling costs as tax deductions under alternative minimum tax)
April 6, 1992... Though tax legislation containing some help for the oil and gas industry recently failed to survive a veto by President Bush, petroleum industry observers are keeping their eye on what happens at the end of fiscal 1992. The House voted...

IOGCC state reviews advance. (Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission examines Oklahoma's oil and gas production as part of State Review Program)
April 6, 1992... A detailed examination of oil and gas production in Oklahoma began recently as part of the State Review Program being conducted by the Oklahoma City-based Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC). Oklahoma is the largest state so...

Canadian research set. (joint 5-year government-industry research into Canadian bitumen and heavy oil recovery begins)
April 13, 1992... A new, five-year program of industry-government research into Canadian bitumen and heavy oil recovery has been officially launched, says the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority. Joining AOSTRA and 12 industry participants in...

DOE horizontal wells get high DOE marks. (Department of Energy successfully uses horizontal drilling in Elk Hills, California petroleum reserve)
April 13, 1992... Horizontal drilling technology is playing an important role in development of California's oil, and look for more of it in the near future. Since completing the first horizontal well at Elk Hills - in Naval Petroleum Reserve No.1 - some...

Louisiana panel recommends drilling, IOR perks. (state committee on energy proposes offering incentives, tax credits to petroleum industry in effort to reverse decline in improved oil recovery projects)
April 13, 1992... The new Governor's Committee on Energy is recommending incentives to encourage petroleum exploration and production in Louisiana. And a very real downturn in the industry finds the committee determined that such incentives - outlined in a...

Amoco to sell Welchem unit. (Amoco Chemical Co. to divest business unit)
April 13, 1992... Chicago-based Amoco Chemical Co. has its Welchem Inc. business unit on the block. Based in Houston, Welchem produces and markets production treating, stimulation and drilling chemicals for oil and gas production, among other products. ...

NPR-1 yields billionth barrel. (California's Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 ranks among top 10 nationally in oil production)
April 13, 1992... The Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 (NPR-1) produced its 1 billion barrel of oil last month. About 35 miles west of Bakersfield, Calif., NPR-1 ranks among the 10 largest producing fields in the U.S., and is one of three oil fields...

IRS files reference prices. (tax credits for enhanced recovery, production of fuel from non-conventional sources published by Internal Revenue Service)
April 13, 1992... The Internal Revenue Service has published the inflation adjustment factor and reference price for both the Enhanced [Improved] Recovery and non-conventional source fuel tax credits for calendar year 1991. The notices appeared in the April...

New IOR patents. (F.N. Pebdani receives Canadian patent - no. 2,028,531 - for method of extracting oil from reservoir with water zone underneath)
April 13, 1992... F.N. Pebdani has patented a method for recovering viscous oil from a reservoir underlain by a water zone. Steam is injected into the formation at the oil/water contact and oil is recovered until steam breakthrough occurs, thereby forming a hot...

Major steamflood mulled for CIS Arctic field. (Commonwealth of Independent States' Usinsk oil field targeted for possible thermal recovery project)
April 13, 1992... A major steamflood is being weighed for the Usinsk oil field east of Archangel on the Arctic Circle about 1,000 miles northeast of Moscow in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The target would be limestone, which produces 15 [degrees]...

Pakistan seeks horizontal aid. (enhanced oil recovery technology sought by Gulfaraz Ahmed, chairman of government's Oil and Gas Development Corp., in effort to double Pakistan's petroleum exploration)
April 13, 1992... Pakistan wants to acquire horizontal drilling technology and will be encouraging foreign exploration companies to invest in its exploration and production activity. The chairman of the government's Oil and Gas Development Corp., Gulfaraz...

$17 billion R&D proposal told. (House Science Committee plans 5-year improved oil recovery research and development program)
April 13, 1992... The House Science Committee is preparing a five-year, $17 billion research and development program for incorporation into the omnibus House energy bill. One provision of the program calls for $350 million during the next five years for...

Sale of Gulf Canada Resources said dicey. (sale of interest in petroleum concern by majority holder Olympia and York Developments Ltd. questioned)
April 13, 1992... The majority interest sale of Gulf Canada Resources Ltd., held by Olympia & York Developments Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, may prove difficult. Only those with "deep pockets" would be able to pick up the stake. Furthermore, since the future of...

Japanese firm tests S. Aussie shale. (drill core samples from South Australian coal mine being tested for oil shale content by Japan National Oil Co.)
April 13, 1992... Japan national Oil Co. is evaluating the oil shale potential of samples of overburden from a South Australian coal mine. Drill core samples have indicated an oil yield of between 10 and 63 liters (2.2 to 13.9 gallons) per ton in the...

Alberta co-funds new vapor IOR concept. (field testing of VAPEX vapor extraction concept developed by University of Calgary scientists to take place in Alberta, Canada during 1992-93; could lead to improved recovery of heavy crude from oil sands deposits)
April 20, 1992... Believe it or not, someone's come up with a new spin on improved heavy oil recovery techniques to use on Western Canada's vast tar sands deposits. And government and industry in Alberta like the idea so much they've funded a C$400,000 test...

Perot offers energy policy hint. (possible presidential candidate H. Ross Perot declares plan for energy policy would include industry professionals as advisors)
April 20, 1992... Though an undeclared presidential hopeful, H. Ross Perot rallied natural gas producers around his flag last week at an industry meeting in Nashville, Tenn. Speaking like the presidential candidate he is, at least in Tennessee, Perot...

Coal mine infill drilling proposed. (M.F. Ayler of Hydrocarbon Mining Co. presents technical paper suggesting profitable applications for infill drilling)
April 20, 1992... While close infill drilling is a time-tested method for improved oil recovery, high costs have limited its use for deeper reservoirs, and the environment is an added major consideration. The potential for applying close infill drilling from...

Wyoming well re-lights boom. (Wyoming's Niobara Trend deemed second-largest area of horizontal oil well drilling in U.S. as Union Pacific Resources Co. announces test results of sixth horizontal well)
April 20, 1992... With a "go slow" attitude being taken by most operators, results of a new horizontal well in Wyoming's Niobrara Trend have shifted the spotlight back to that area. The Niobrara is the scene of what's been deemed the second-largest...

Arco chief pushes Alaska gas re-injection. (Arco Oil and Gas Co. chairman Lodwrick M. Cook suggests natural gas re-injection to boost oil production)
April 20, 1992... The chief executive of one of the biggest players in Alaska would rather see natural gas re-injected to boost oil production instead of it being sold abroad. Lodwrick Cook, chairman of Arco Oil & Gas, Inc., said that if major natural gas...

Texaco touts domestic, foreign IOR. (Texaco Inc. uses improved oil recovery techniques to enhance petroleum reserves and prolong productive life of oil fields in the U.S. and abroad)
April 20, 1992... On their commercials in television's early days, the "Men of Texaco" said they worked "from Maine to Mexico" to find the oil needed to provide Americans with motor fuel. They still might, even today; however, a good bit of Texaco Inc.'s...

Arco sets massive California waterflood. (Arco Long Beach Inc., a new subsidiary of Arco Oil and Gas Co., has been created solely for the purpose of designing and overseeing a 20-year project of optimized waterflood redevelopment of Wilmington field in Long Beach, California)
April 20, 1992... A company created specifically to design and oversee a 20-year optimized waterflood redevelopment of the Long Beach Unit in California's Wilmington field is setting up shop to begin work. The company, Arco Long Beach Inc. (ALBI), a new Arco...

Exxon water fracs coax oil for $1.16/barrel. (Exxon Company U.S.A. uses water fracturing technology at Giddings field to increase oil production by 700,00 barrels at Austin Chalk trend in Texas)
April 20, 1992... Union Pacific Resources Co. isn't the only organization that's benefitting from water fracturing technology in Texas' Austin Chalk trend. A team of Exxon Co. U.S.A. technicians has added more than 700,000 barrels of oil from wells in the...

F.E. Debons of Texaco Development Corp. (patents method of recovering hydrocarbons from underground formation penetrated by at least one injection well and at least one production well, Canadian Patent No. 1,286,981)
April 20, 1992... F.E. Debons of Texaco Development Corp. has patented a method of recovering hydrocarbons from an underground formation penetrated by at least one injection well and at least one production well, in which a saline polymer slug containing about...

DOE commits $48 million to IOR winners. (Department of Energy chooses 14 competitors for projects geared toward demonstration of enhanced production from declining oil fields, including corporations, universities and Utah Geological Survey; see included listing)
April 27, 1992... DOE picked 14 winners last week in its competition for projects aimed at demonstrating enhanced production from declining oil fields. The department said it expects to commit $48 l million to the projects, to be matched by $65 million from...

Albania seeks IOR help. (seeks participation from foreign countries to engage in production-sharing contracts for improved oil recovery and field development projects)
April 27, 1992... Albania, where oil production began in 1929, is seeking foreign participants to strike production-sharing contracts for IOR and field development projects. The Technical Institute for Oil & Gas, a branch of Albania's Central Directorate of...

Sect. 29 credits extension still possible. (independent gas producers hope for extension of Section 29 tax credits; those in opposition include producer groups in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana and Independent Petroleum Association of America)
April 27, 1992... Many independent gas producers, including some of the larger companies, are holding out hope for extension of the Sect. 29 tax credits for hard-to-produce gas. But the betting is that an extension will be for just one year. President...

Suncor suffers big fire. (may sustain up to C$30 million in damage and lost revenue as result of fire at oil sands operations in Northern Alberta, Canada)
April 27, 1992... A fire earlier this month at Suncor Inc.'s Canadian oil sands operations in Northern Alberta could cost the company as much as C$30 million (about US$25.3 million) in damage and lost revenue. Bitumen production continued without...

Firm gets Sandia computer system. (Convex Computer Corp. given $3.6 million contract to devise mass storage system for Sandia Laboratories)
April 27, 1992... Convex Computer Corp. of Richardson, Texas, was awarded a $3.6 million contract to set up a mass storage system for Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M. The installations provide 100 gigabytes of disk space and 1 terabyte of...

Horizontal drilling primer out. (American Association of Petroleum Geologists publishes book entitled 'The Geological Aspects of Horizontal Drilling', examining geological, engineering and geophysical conditions needed for horizontal well drilling)
April 27, 1992... A new book entitled, The Geological Aspects of Horizontal Drilling, has been published by the American Assn. of Petroleum Geologists. Authors R.D. fritz, M.K. Horn and S.D. Joshi examine the geological, engineering and geophysical...

Calif. producers question royalty plan. (California Independent Petroleum Association addresses complaints to U.S. Bureau of Land Management in regard to President George Bush's proposal to lower royalties due federal government from stripper well production on federal lands)
April 27, 1992... California independents apparently hold that in order to make incentives work, you need to give them time. In the wake of President Bush's recently announced proposal to lower royalties due the federal government from stripper well...

OTC debate to get PBS coverage. (debate scheduled for May 1992 addressing producer access to public lands and waters at Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas to be aired live by Adult Learning Satellite Services of the Public Broadcasting Service; see included listing of panelists)
April 27, 1992... The controversy over development of oil and gas on public lands will get a thorough airing across the nation next week. A debate over producer access to public lands and waters -- and for exploration and development of oil and gas reserves...

A.R. Jennings Jr. of Mobil Oil Corp. (patents method to enhance steamflooding at site of at least two horizontal wellbores; U.S. Patent No. 4,982,786)
April 27, 1992... A.R. Jennings Jr. of Mobil Oil Corp. has patented a method to enhance steamflooding where at least two horizontal wellbores are used. Carbon dioxide is injected into a lower perforated horizontal wellbore. Once sufficient [CO.sub.2] has been...