Improved Recovery Week articles from April 1993

Improved Recovery Week archives from April 1993

Texas reserve growth potential said vast. (oil reserves are possible candidates for gas displacement recovery methods)
April 5, 1993... Reserve growth additions in already discovered reservoirs in Texas show substantial possibilities, a group of researchers said recently. In fact, the group estimates that as many as 1,730 Texas reservoirs are candidates for the use of...

Iraqi wells need water, gas injection. (oil wells)
April 5, 1993... Iraq's oil wells could lose capacity unless maintained by continual drilling as well as water and gas injection, says the executive director of the London-based Center for Global Energy Studies. Speaking at a recent conference in Canberra,...

Amoco Canada plans heavy oil boost. (Amoco Canada Petroleum Company Ltd. to increase oil production in Alberta)
April 5, 1993... Amoco Canada Petroleum Co. Ltd. plans to increase its Alberta oil production by more than half, starting in 1994 with a 50,000 b/d project in the Cold Lake heavy oil area. Most of the increase in total Canadian production will be in the...

Santa Fe, Arco combine. (Santa Fe Resources Inc. and Atlantic Richfield Co. join to develop light oil reserves in California)
April 5, 1993... In an effort to develop potentially large light oil reserves beneath shallower heavy oil reservoirs in California's Midway-Sunset field, Santa Fe Resources Inc., Houston, and Atlantic Richfield Co., Los Angeles, are joining forces. Santa...

Baker Hughes merges five divisions. (oil divisions combine to form Baker Hughes Inteq)
April 5, 1993... Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. said the company has combined five oilfield divisions into one unit -- Baker Hughes Inteq -- and the unit was scheduled to begin operations April 1. The five divisions include Eastman Teleco, Milpark Drilling...

DOE plans deep horizontal well. (contract with Bechtel Petroleum Operations Inc. to re-drill Elk Hills, California oil well)
April 5, 1993... The Energy Dept., with Bechtel Petroleum Operations as contract operator, will try to give California its deepest production with a directional re-drill at the state's deepest well. The well has been suspended for nearly four years in the...

Australian shale now deemed economic. (oil shale project)
April 5, 1993... The Stuart oil shale project in Australia has had its greatest threat removed with the unexpected return of the Labor Party government in the recent federal election. A coalition of the Liberal and National parties, which had been expected...

Alberta royalty holiday extended. (crude oil development wells given 3-month extension from taxes)
April 5, 1993... Alberta's crude oil development royalty holiday program will be extended for three months, says Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. The Alberta government said the extension is intended to "encourage the momentum of new well development." It said...

Halliburton completes Smith buy. (acquisition of Smith International Inc.'s directional drilling and services business)
April 5, 1993... Dallas-based Halliburton Co. last week closed its acquisition of the directional drilling and services business of Smith International Inc., Houston. The purchase involved about 6.9 million shares of Halliburton common stock and is worth...

Aussie coal gas rated at 20-30 TCF. (Tipperary Corp. coalbed methane reserves in Queensland, Australia measured at 20 to 30 trillion cubic feet)
April 5, 1993... The reserve potential of Tipperary Corp.'s undeveloped coalbed methane concession in Queensland, Australia, is in the range of 20-30 tcf, the Denver-based company said last week. The estimate of potential reserves on the concession --...

BDM gets nod for Bartlesville lab. (BDM-Oklahoma Inc. wins contract from Dept. of Energy to run principal petroleum research facility in Bartlesville, Oklahoma)
April 5, 1993... DOE last week awarded a five-year contract worth $221 million to run the department's principal petroleum research facility, in Bartlesville, Okla., BDM - Oklahoma Inc. The winning contractor, a subsidiary of BDM Federal Inc., McLean, Va.,...

IOR seminars reach 600-plus producers. (improved oil recovery seminars conducted by Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association)
April 5, 1993... A Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Assn. series of improved-recovery seminars in Texas late last year and early this year reached more than 600 producers, the group says. The seminar series, cosponsored by TIPRO with the...

T.A. Deines and D.E. Ellwood of Marathon Oil Co. (patent fluid injection equipment using tubular assembly; U.S. Patent No. 5,133,407)
April 5, 1993... T.A. Deines and D.E. Ellwood of Marathon Oil Co. have patented an apparatus for fluid injection. It comprises: a first generally tubular assembly having a first end and a second end, the first assembly having at least one aperture therethrough;...

P.N. Gibson and L.J. Barbera of Lag Steering Systems. (patent directional drilling system; U.S. Patent No. 5,133,418)
April 5, 1993... P.N. Gibson and L.J. Barbera of Lag Steering System (Rock Mountain, N.C.) have patented a directional drilling system of the type which includes a drillstring having a plurality of drill stems joined together for drilling a well in a prescribed...

J.J. Meister. (patents method to produce oil recovery injection foam; U.S. Patent No. 5,121,801)
April 5, 1993... J.J. Meister has patented a method for an oil recovery injection foam. It comprises dispersing a soluble graftcopolymer of lignin-(2-propenamide)-(2-methyl-3-oxo-4-oxyhex-1-ene-6-o1) in injection water to form a mixture; injecting the mixture...

B.S. Wilton, J.B. Blows, R. Bradshaw, and K.R. Riggs of Atlantic Richfield Co. (patent sealant composition used in sealing leaks in oil well casings or conduits under gas injection; U.S. Patent No. 5,117,909)
April 5, 1993... B.S. Wilton, J.B. Blows, R. Bradshaw, and K.R. Riggs of Atlantic Richfield Co. have patented a sealant composition for sealing leaks in threaded connections in an oil well casing or conduit under gas injection. It comprises a carrier liquid, a...

Chevron's Kazakh development plan set. (plans development of Tengiz and Korolev oil fields near Caspian Sea in agreement with Kazakhstan)
April 12, 1993... It took a long time, but Chevron Corp. last week finally signed a formal agreement with Kazakhstan to develop the giant Tengiz and Korolev oil fields near the Caspian Sea. The contract, which still has to be approved by the Kazakh...

Btu tax breaks please steamers. (U.S. Treasury Department proposes exemption from energy tax for natural gas used in improved oil recovery projects)
April 12, 1993... Having heard that the U.S. Treasury Dept. has recommended exemption of natural gas used in IOR projects from the Clinton administration's proposed Btu tax, California's heavy oil producers are delighted. Treasury recently announced the...

New oil sands processing system tested. (Solv-Ex Corp. reports results of research)
April 12, 1993... Solv-Ex Corp., Albuquerque, N.M., says research on an oil sands processing system has proven successful, and the company is working to effect improvements on the process at its laboratory. Tests encompassed initial processing of oil sands...

Stockdale to steam Ant Hill field. (Stockdale Oil and Gas Inc. executes improved oil recovery project in Ant Hill oil field near Bakersfield, California)
April 12, 1993... Bakersfield, Calif., independent Stockdale Oil & Gas In. is moving ahead with plans to start steaming in the 48-year-old Ant Hill field five miles east of the city. The field, in the San Joaquin Valley, has produced 7.5 million barrels of...

Ohio P&As outpace completions. (number of oil wells plugged and abandoned in Ohio outnumber oil wells drilled in 1992)
April 12, 1993... For the first time in Ohio's 100-year-plus production history, more wells were plugged in 1992 than were drilled. The Ohio Oil & Gas Div. reported that 857 wells were drilled in the state last year, down 297 (25.7%) from 1991. The total...

DOE budget would double IOR spending. (fiscal year 1994 planned to decrease abandonment of oil and gas fields by funding improved oil recovery projects)
April 12, 1993... DOE's fiscal year 1994 spending plan would nearly double federal spending on efforts to slow the abandonment of U.S. producing oil and gas fields. The figures for oil research aren't large when compared with the total proposed DOE budget...

UPRC drills 500th Texas horizontal. (Union Pacific Resources Co. drills horizontal oil well in Austin Chalk trend of Texas and Louisiana)
April 12, 1993... Union Pacific Resources Co. completed its 500th horizontal well in the Austin Chalk trend of Texas and Louisiana. The well underscored the company's claim that development in the Chalk combined with tight gas sands drilling in Texas and...

Nuevo estimates Alabama field. (Nuevo Energy Co. predicts recoverable reserves in North Frisco City field in Monroe County, Alabama)
April 12, 1993... Houston-based Nuevo Energy Co. said a new reservoir study in the North Frisco City field in Monroe County, Ala., indicates recoverable reserves may be more than double previous estimates: The company said the new estimate pegs reserves in...

Canadian sands task force set. (task force designed to address oil sands strategies in Alberta)
April 12, 1993... Canada's federal government and Alberta have created a task force on oil sands strategies. The panel, said federal Finance Minister Donald Mazankowski, will develop technologies for processing oil from the vast oil sands reserves in...

EIA admits gas well yield drops sharply. (Energy Information Administration study cites decrease)
April 12, 1993... Government analysts recently acknowledged what producers have been saying for some time: old gas wells just can't produce as much gas as before. An Energy Information Admin. study forecasts monthly productive capacity from gas wells will drop...

C.R. Summer. (patents fluid-sensitive, polarity sensitive safety detonator system; U.S. Patent No. 5,105,742)
April 12, 1993... Following are summaries of technical papers delivered at recent petroleum industry meetings. They are available from Petroleum Abstracts, a service of the University of Tulsa. Write to McFarlin Library, University of Tulsa, 600 S. College,...

J. Chaix. (patents safety device related to tubes disposed in boreholes for exploration of underground reserves of fluid under pressure; Canadian Patent No. 2,042,256)
April 12, 1993... C.R. Summer has patented a fluid-sensitive, polarity sensitive safety detonator system for use in a perforating gun assembly is described. The detonator system is housed within the perforating gun housing and is operatively connected to...

$2 billion Ex-Im Bank Russian deal pending. (financing agreement between Export-Import Bank of United States and Russia)
April 12, 1993... That on again-off-again, $2 billion financing deal between the U.S. Export-Import Bank and Russia could finally win approval this week. If approved, the money would be used to modernize Russian oil fields and to increase production from...

Platforms out, extended-reach drilling in at S. Elwood. (South Elwood Offshore oil field in Santa Barbara, California utilizes improved recovery techniques)
April 19, 1993... Offshore platforms will be history and onshore extended-reach drilling the future if the state of California has its way in waters off the city of Santa Barbara. The return to drilling horizontally from shore is the state's latest attempt...

Suncor debt hike expected. (long-term debt will increase with increase in capital spending)
April 19, 1993... Toronto, Ontario-based Suncor Inc. says it expects its long-term debt to rise to C$250 million at year-end due to increased capital spending, much of which will be devoted to its oil sands plant in Alberta. The company said estimated...

Logs provide key to shallow NZ production. (directional oil well drilling using electric logs enhances shallow oil sands production in New Zealand)
April 19, 1993... Pushing electric logs to their absolute limits has become the key to successful precise directional drilling in New Zealand's shallow oil sands. In fact, such precision drilling is proving to be more effective in the island nation's...

President taps Texan for DOE. (William White selected by Clinton administration as chief operating officer for Department of Energy)
April 19, 1993... Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary won't be alone for long: The White House recently tapped Houston attorney William White to be her deputy. If confirmed by the Senate, White would hold the No. 2 position at DOE and become its chief operating...

Foam diverts steam in Venezuelan well. (foaming surfactants used by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. for improved oil recovery)
April 19, 1993... Foam diverts steam in Venezuelan well Foaming surfactants are bcing used by Petrolcos de Venezuela SA affiliates to improve recovery in that nation's heavy oil fields. Normalty, Vcnezuela's heavy oil is produced from wells that arc...

Houston firm buys BHP properties. (General Atlantic Resources Inc. of Houston, Texas acquires assets of BHP Petroleum Inc.)
April 19, 1993... Houston-based General Atlantic Resources, Inc. agreed recently to purchase oil and gas reserves and related assets from BHP Petroleum, Inc., also of Houston, for $69.2 million. The acquired assets include substantially all of BHP's...

Western Co. buys assets. (Western Co. of North America acquires assets of Allied Products Corp. Smith Energy Services division)
April 19, 1993... The Western Co. of North America, Houston, has completed its acquisition of pressure pumping equipment assets from Allied Products Corp.'s Smith Energy Services division. Terms weren't disclosed; however, Smith Energy Services --also based...

Pennsylvania rigs drop 89%. (active oil well rigs decrease between December 1992 and March 1993)
April 19, 1993... In Pennsylvania, the rig count that characterizes active drilling of Sect. 29 tight sands gas and coalbed methane wells went from 27 active rigs in December to only three as of the middle of March, says the state's Independent Oil & Gas Assn....

Producers shop 'deals' at Prospect Expo. (petroleum producers attend 1993 North American Prospect Expo in Houston, Texas seeking business contacts)
April 19, 1993... More than 1,000 exploration and development professionals participated in the recent 1993 North American Prospect Expo in Houston, a two-day exposition for marketing oil and gas properties and forming partnerships. The Expo was judged a...

Coalbed methane part of minerals, says court. (Alabama Supreme Court rules in favor of McKenzie Methane Corp. in mineral rights case)
April 19, 1993... The Alabama Supreme Court ruled recently that mineral rights also include the right to drill for coalbed methane, rejecting claims by landowners who didn't think they sold the rights to drill for gas under Turn-of-the-Century coal and mineral...

T.N. Nasr and A.S. MacKay of Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority. (patent bitumen/heavy oil recovery process; Canadian Patent No. 1,313,351)
April 19, 1993... T.N. Nasr and A.S. MacKay of Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority have patented a bitumen/heavy oil recovery process consisting of first establishing in the oil-bearing formation a communication path between the injection and...

DOE names 11 shared-funding IOR projects. (improved oil recovery projects qualify for shared government-industry funding)
April 26, 1993... DOE last week selected 11 IOR projects for shared government-industry finding under Class 2 of its ongoing oil recovery demonstration program. The department will contribute nearly $ 40 million in multi-year funds to projects in sight...

SPE gets $20,000 education grant. (Department of Energy funds workshop for advance of engineering education, allocated to Society of Petroleum Engineers)
April 26, 1993... DOE'S Bartlesville (Okla.) Project Office has made a one-year, $20,000 grant to pay for a workshop designed to consider ways to improve petroleum engineering education. The money was allocated through DOE'S Pittsburgh Energy Technology...

Steam leads 1-quarter California drilling. (steam injection process used for oil well drilling)
April 26, 1993... Steam drove the largest share of drilling in California during the first quarter, says the state Oil, Gas and Geothermal Div. Five Kern County fields accounted for 208 of the 318 new well notices filed, says the state, and steam injection...

DOE-Bechtel finish 7th horizontal. (Bechtel Petroleum Operations Inc. completes horizontal oil well in Elk Hills, California oil field)
April 26, 1993... DOE, with Bechtel Petroleum Operations as contract operator, completed another fast-flowing horizontal well in their development of untapped sands in the Elk Hills, Calif., field. The well, No. 322X-35R, drilled in the central portion of...

Shell Canada to fund '93 push. (plans expenditure on horizontal oil well drilling for 1993)
April 26, 1993... Shell Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, says it plans to spend some C$40 million in 1993 on horizontal drilling and improved recovery techniques at its conventional oil fields in Western Canada. The company said the funds also will be used for...

Canada hikes oil sands funding. (National Center for Upgrading Technology, oil sands and heavy oil research center at Devon, Alberta, to receive funds)
April 26, 1993... The Canadian government says it will spend C$15 million to double its funding of an oil sands and heavy oil research center at Devon, Alberta. The facility, formerly called the Western Research Center, will be renamed the National Center...

Mobil plans 429 Calif. wells this year. (oil well drilling program planned for 1993 in California)
April 26, 1993... Earlier this month, Mobil announced it was engaged in a 429-well drilling program this year, all of which will be drilled in four fields. The company has seven drilling rigs under contract to carry out the heavy oil steamflood expansion...

Utah ups coalbed methane estimates. (reports increase in latest estimate of reserves)
April 26, 1993... Utah thinks its latest estimates of coalbed methane reserves will make exploration companies sit up and take notice. The state, though a sizeable producer of coal, was overlooked until a few years ago when at least four independent...

Texas brags on spending. (Texas Railroad Commission increases spending on environmental programs)
April 26, 1993... As part of a review celebrating Earth Day '93 last week, the Texas Railroad Commission said it has increased spending on environmentally related programs steadily -- from $ 2.6 million to more than $15.2 million in a bit more than a decade. ...

UPRC completes Silo bender. (Union Pacific Resources Co. completes directional oil well at Silo oil field in Laramie County, Wyoming)
April 26, 1993... Union Pacific Resources Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, has completed the Bronto State No. 14th horizontal well in the Silo field in Laramie County, Wyo. The well produced more than 300 b/d of oil and 100 mcf/d of gas on initial tests, the...

Bills call for exploration, stripper tax credits. (Congress reviews energy tax credit legislation)
April 26, 1993... Two bills introduced in Congress recently would institute a tax credit for some exploration costs and allow stripper well producers to fully recover their proved reserves. The bills -- S. 374, co-sponsored by Sens. Don Nickles, R- Okla.,...

R.R. Klimpel and B.S. Fee of Dow Chemical Co. (patent flotation process for bitumen recovery from tar sands; U.S. Patent No. 5,169,518)
April 26, 1993... R.R. Klimpel and B.S. Fee of Dow Chemical Co. have patented a flotation process for the recovery of bitumen from tar sands wherein the tar sands are removed from the ground, mixed with water to form an aqueous slurry having from 10 to 50 weight...

S.S. Mohammadi and S.R. Frieman of Union Oil Co. of California. (patent method of reducing time delay between steam-foam drive and increase in oil production rates; U.S. Patent No. 5,172,763)
April 26, 1993... S.S. Mohammadi and S.R. Frieman of Union Oil Co. of California have patented a way to reduce the time delay experienced between commencement of a steam-foam drive and the subsequent incremental increase in oil production rates. This is...