Improved Recovery Week articles from August 1993

Improved Recovery Week archives from August 1993

Mobil to apply for 'Clearview' extended-reach project. (development of South Ellwood offshore oil field adjacent to Santa Barbara County, California, by Mobil Exploration and Producing U.S. Inc.)
August 2, 1993... An application to pursue the $1.8 billion "Clearview" project to develop the South Ellwood field in state waters off Santa Barbara County, Calif., will be filed by the end of the year, says Mobil Exploration & Producing U.S. Inc. Under the...

BJ, Baroid form partnership. (BJ Services Co. and Baroid Corp. contract for provision of combined oilfield services)
August 2, 1993... Another partnership for providing combined oilfield services has been announced, this time by BJ Services Corp. and Baroid Corp. In recent months, several oilfield service companies, including Halliburton Cos., Schlumberger Well Services,...

Transco sells coalgas wells to TECO. (Transco Energy Co. subsidiary Magnolia Methane Corp. sells interest in coalbed methane wells in Black Warrior Basin, Alabama, to TECO Coalbed Methane Inc.)
August 2, 1993... A subsidiary of Houston-based Transco Energy Co. is yielding its spot in the coalbed methane arena to a Florida company that expects to gain high yields from them. TECO Coalbed Methane Inc. has tentatively agreed to buy Magnolia Methane Corp.'s...

Suncor unit posts increase. (Oil Sands Group reports revenues for second quarter, first half, 1993)
August 2, 1993... Overall improved results for the second quarter and first half of the year for Suncor Inc. were led by improved sales for its Oil Sands Group, despite a maintenance shutdown at the group's Canadian oil sands processing plant. The company...

Upgrader owner sues. (Federated Co-operatives Ltd. files suit against government of Saskatchewan)
August 2, 1993... A Canadian heavy oil upgrading cooperative has filed suit against Saskatchewan, challenging the government's claim it can seize the 50,000 b/d Newgrade upgrader to stave off burdensome debt service. Federated Co-operatives Ltd., Regina,...

Seismic blast detectors to debut. (Department of Energy offers advanced three-dimensional seismic monitoring equipment to petroleum industry)
August 2, 1993... In its latest move to transfer defense project technology to the private sector, the Energy Dept. plans to make products developed for Cold War monitoring of underground nuclear explosions available for use by the petroleum industry. Among...

O'Brien sells coalbed project. (O'Brien Environmental Energy Inc. sells project in Indiana County, Pennsylvania)
August 2, 1993... An Ohio company is buying a coalbed methane project from O'Brien Environmental Energy Inc. Buying the project on a joint-venture basis with Philadelphia-based Deven Resources Inc. is Belden & Blake Corp. O'Brien will get $2 million in...

CIS reps visit Alaska oil fields. (oil and gas representatives from Commonwealth of Independent States republics of Kazakhstan and Siberia observe American oil operations)
August 2, 1993... Thirteen oil and gas representatives from Kazakhstan and Siberia visited Alaska recently to learn more about American oil operations. At the request of the state Natural Resources Dept., Blair Wondzell, senior petroleum engineer, spoke to...

Martin Marietta to manage Sandia. (selected by Department of Energy to manage Sandia National Laboratories)
August 2, 1993... Martin Marietta Corp. has been selected by the Energy Dept. to manage the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., beginning Oct.1.. The company said it hopes to transfer relevant technologies to the private sector from the...

Pa. coalbed methane plan mulled. (Pennsylvania Environmental Resources Department develops state coalbed methane program)
August 2, 1993... Pennsylvania's Environmental Resources Dept. is working closely with state and industry organizations to develop a state coalbed methane program. Barry Cosey, executive director of the Independent Oil & Gas Assn. of Pennsylvania, said he...

First-half Calif. drilling permits up. (first half of 1993)
August 2, 1993... One vital sign in California's ailing oil and gas industry showed improvement during the first half of the year. The number of notices to drill new wells filed with the state Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources Div. climbed 12.4%, up to 670...

Ohio drillers seek deeper targets. (oil producers drilling more deep oil wells, many are re-entries)
August 2, 1993... Ohio producers are permitting and drilling more deep wells, many of them re-entries with horizontal legs. Through June, permits for new Ordovician and Cambrian wells represented 52% of the total permit applications received by the Ohio Oil...

Y.L. Cheung and A. Brown of Texaco Development Corp. (apparatus and method patented for determining mass flow rate, steam quality in steam line; Canadian Patent No. 1,301,482)
August 2, 1993... Y.L. Cheung and A. Brown of Texaco Development Corp. have patented an apparatus and method for determining steam quality and mass flow rate in a steam line. The method comprises the steps of diverting the total steam flow from said line into a...

J.P. Feraud, H. Perthuis, and P. Dejeux of Societe de Prospection Electrique Schlumberger. (patent for iron control in acid media for avoiding formation of precipitates when in contact with crude oil; French Patent No. 2,677,074)
August 2, 1993... J.P. Feraud, H. Perthuis, and P. Dejeux of Societe de Prospection Electrique Schlumberger have received a French patent for iron control in acid media to avoid precipitates formation, named sludges (asphaltic products), in contact with some...

Publication touts pay-offs from low resistivity zones. (new atlas entitled 'Productive Low-Resistivity Well Logs of the Offshore Gulf of Mexico')
August 9, 1993... Production from low-resistivity or low-contrast zones (LRLCs) is nothing new, and it has never been a hot item in the oil patch. That may be about to change, mainly due to a newly published atlas, Productive Low-Resistivity Well Logs of the...

Extended-reach well set near L.A. (Macpherson Oil Co. plans directional oil well drilling projects in Torrance oil field near Los Angeles, California)
August 9, 1993... Major oil companies may be distancing themselves from California's Los Angeles Basin, but a Santa Monica independent will try to develop production in that highly urbanized setting. The smaller company joins Mobil E&P U.S. Inc. in drilling...

Reach angle wicked at Wytch Farm well. (extended-reach oil well drilling project in Wytch Farm oil field in Dorset, England produces 15,000 barrels per day)
August 9, 1993... Production has begun from the offshore portion of the Wytch Farm field in Dorset, England, giving the United Kingdom startup production of 15,000 b/d from an extended-reach well drilled from onshore to an offshore objective. BP Exploration...

W. Va. permitting drops 17%. (West Virginia oil well drilling permits for first half of 1993)
August 9, 1993... At the beginning of the year, some forecast that without the incentive provided by the Sect. 29 federal tax credit, West Virginia drilling activity would drop like a rock. But through the first six months of the year, that just isn't...

Sun power mulled for coalgas. (Australian researchers consider solar power to increase value of methane in coal seams and landfills)
August 9, 1993... Some Australian researchers think they can use solar power to increase the value of methane in both coal seams and landfills. The federally funded Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and Pacific Power, the New South...

Producers advise DOE on how to help. (oil producers respond to request by Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary with suggestions for economic stimulation of domestic oil industry)
August 9, 1993... Producers have been presenting their "wish list" to the Energy Dept. of ways the government could boost the domestic oil industry. The list is in answer to a call by Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary for their help. Producers with both...

BLM wants Calif. lease interest. (U.S. Bureau of Land Management offers oil and gas lease sales in five California counties)
August 9, 1993... The U.S. Bureau of Land Management wants nominations for oil and gas lease sales in five California counties, two of which are the scene of active IOR programs. The next sale, a BLM official said, will focus on federal lands within...

BJ Services buys coiled tubing firm. (acquires Italog S.P.A.)
August 9, 1993... Houston-based BJ Services Co. has completed acquisition of the coiled tubing operations of ltalog S.p.A., which provides coiled tubing and nitrogen pumping services in Italy and Nigeria under the name of SIAT. The acquisition includes the...

Wyoming research center lays off 19. (Western Research Institute in Laramie, Wyoming)
August 9, 1993... Reduced funding from government and private sources has prompted the Western Research Institute in Laramie, Wyo., to cut 21 high-paying positions. Some of the biggest current projects there involve work on technologies for IOR, including...

Alberta royalty extension deadline falls. (Canadian oil operators eligible for 12-month extension on license applications for development oil wells)
August 9, 1993... Canadian oil operators who filed completed license applications before July 30 and start development wells before Aug. 31 are eligible for the 12-month extension of Alberta's oil royalty holiday. And Canadian oil company officials are...

S. Nicoletis of Societe Francaise de Stockage. (patents sonic probe for determining microseismic events induced by fluids injection tests; French Patent No. 2,674,284)
August 9, 1993... S. Nicoletis of Societe Francaise de Stockage Geologique has received a French patent on a sonic probe to determine microseismic events induced by fluids injection tests in an oil well and measuring methods bringing it into operational use....

M.G. Reed of Chevron Research Co. (patents method for improving effectiveness of fluid transport in fines-containing formation; U.S. Patent No. 5,052,490)
August 9, 1993... M.G. Reed of Chevron Research Co. has patented a method for improving the effectiveness of fluid transport in a fines-containing formation. It comprises creasing the permeability of a portion of the formation by removing water from the portion...

IOR demonstration projects pass wetlands test. (improved oil recovery projects at Port Neches oil field in Orange County, Texas and West Hackberry oil field in Lake Charles, Louisiana)
August 16, 1993... Two Gulf Coast improved oil recovery projects, co-funded by private companies and the Energy Dept., have survived DOE floodplain-wetlands assessments and should be under way in the next few months. Texaco Exploration & Production Inc., New...

MichCon relates Antrim drilling.(Michigan Consolidated Gas Co.'s parent company MCN Corp. plans oil exploration and production projects in northern Michigan's Antrim Shale)
August 16, 1993... The parent of Michigan Consolidated Gas Co. says it will spend up to $40 million in additional E&P projects this year, most of it centered in northern Michigan's Antrim Shale. MCN Corp., Detroit, says it plans to drill more than 100 Antrim...

O'Leary outlines technology transfer plan. (Energy Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary)
August 16, 1993... Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary is pledging to cut by half the time it takes to clear contracts under the laboratory technology transfer program and to open up the process to small businesses. O'Leary made that pledge recently before the...

Calif. O&G alliance gets funds. (California oil and gas industry plans joint venture with Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, receives federal funding to enhance oil and gas production in state)
August 16, 1993... A planned collaboration between California's oil and gas industry and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, to enhance both oil and gas production and economic recovery in the state, moved a step forward recently. Some $1.5 million in federal...

States, feds share royalty cost. (Congress requires states to accept part of expense of collecting oil and gas royalties on federal lands)
August 16, 1993... Congressional budget wizards who were looking for any way to collect more revenue found a little more by making permanent the responsibility of states in bearing part of the cost of collecting oil and gas royalties on federal lands. Under...

Splitter allows two wells in one wellbore. (Downhole Splitter System developed by Marathon Oil Co., Baker Oil Tools and National Oilwell allows drilling of two cased and completed oil wells from one wellbore) (Product Announcement)
August 16, 1993... A downhole splitter system, developed jointly by Marathon Oil Co., Baker Oil Tools and National Oilwell, reportedly allows the drilling of two cased and completed wells from one wellbore. Once completed, each of the two wells can be...

Recompletion pays off. (Partners Oil Co. recompletes offshore gas well in North Padre Island Block 956 in Gulf of Mexico)
August 16, 1993... Recompletion of an offshore gas well has paid off handsomely for a small independent. Partners Oil Co., Oklahoma City, said last week it recompleted a zone in an existing well in North Padre Island Block 956 in the Gulf of Mexico. The...

Halliburton merges business units. (Halliburton Co. merges Energy Services Group units into Halliburton Energy Services)
August 16, 1993... Halliburton Co.'s Energy Services Group said its 10 business units have been merged into a single organization, Halliburton Energy Services, headquartered in Houston. The company says the former Halliburton business units now integrated...

Swift bids on marginal oil fields. (Swift Energy Co. subsidiary, Swift Energy de Venezuela C.A. bids under Venezuelan Marginal Oil Field Reactivation Program)
August 16, 1993... Houston-based Swift Energy Co. said its Swift Energy de Venezuela C.A. subsidiary has submitted a bid under the Venezuelan Marginal Oil Field Reactivation Program. The bid, submitted to Lagoven, a unit of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. -- the...

Russia sidelines World Bank loan. (delays acceptance of loan for increase of oil production from fields in Western Siberia)
August 16, 1993... In what is being described as a "baffling" move, Russia last week postponed acceptance of a $610 million loan from the World Bank to increase oil production from fields in Western Siberia. The formal signing ceremony, scheduled for Aug. 9...

Texas production hits 50-year low. (Texas Railroad Commission reports on crude oil production for 1993)
August 16, 1993... Echoing a national trend, falloff of oil production in Texas has reached an "alarming" record low, says the Texas Railroad Commission. Adjusted figures from the RRC's April tally show Texas oil production was at 1.596 million b/d, a 5.6%...

J.V. Carisella and R.B. Cook. (patent wellbore apparatus; U.S. Patent No. 5,052,489)
August 16, 1993... J.V. Carisella and R.B. Cook have patented a wellbore apparatus cooperatively arranged for suspension in a wellbore. It comprises a tool body; an impact-actuated explosive on the body; a detonating member arranged on the body for striking the...

T.A. Deines and D.E. Ellwood of Marathon Oil Co. (patent apparatus and method for injecting fluid into and producing fluid from formation using well in fluid communication with formation; U.S. Patent No. 5,133,407)
August 16, 1993... T.A. Deines and D.E. Ellwood of Marathon Oil Co. have patented an apparatus and method for injecting fluid into and producing fluid, including gas, from a formation using a well in fluid communication with the formation. Fluid is injected into...

Clouds form over U.S.-Russian, Kazakh joint ventures. (joint ventures formed to develop oil reserves in Commonwealth of Independent States subject to changes caused by political instability)
August 23, 1993... No sooner had two sizeable joint ventures been reported for development of oil reserves in CIS republics than there arose a new situation that could foul the whole works. And its consequences are indeed substantial, particularly for these...

Reservoir project seeks members. (Oklahoma University Energy Center seeks research partners in Gypsy Reservoir Characterization Project petroleum testing site)
August 23, 1993... Oklahoma University Energy Center is looking for petroleum engineers, geophysicists, physicists and geologists interested in becoming research partners in the Gypsy Reservoir Characterization Project. The Gypsy project is a major petroleum...

Tax credit extended to royalty owners. (IRS allocates Section 29 tax credit to royalty owners of qualifying gas-producing properties)
August 23, 1993... The Internal Revenue Service says the Sect. 29 tax credit should be allocated to all parties owning an economic interest in a qualifying gas-producing property, including royalty owners. The IRS, which issued the revenue ruling only...

Canadian drilling keeps booming. (6,298 new oil wells approved through July 1993)
August 23, 1993... For the first seven months of the year, Canadian regulatory agencies have approved 6,298 new wells in mostly Western provinces and offshore eastern Canada. The figures through July exceed those for the same period during the past two years...

Big service firm merger axed. (merger between Weatherford International Inc. and Turboscope Vetco International Inc. terminated)
August 23, 1993... A $370 million merger of two oilfield service companies that could have resulted in creation of still another giant company was terminated last week almost as quickly as it was announced. The merger between Weatherford International Inc....

1st Aussie shale plant due within year. (Australia plans first pilot shale oil plant by 1994)
August 23, 1993... Australia's race to get the first pilot shale oil plant in operation has tightened, with one player looking to get under way within a year. The project is targeting a large section of oil shale contained in the overburden at the Leigh...

Litton spins off Western Atlas. (Litton Industries Inc. oilfield services and industrial automation business; Western Atlas International Inc.)
August 23, 1993... The oilfield services and industrial automation businesses of Litton Industries Inc. will be spun off as a new company. The new company, yet unnamed, is expected to generate about, $2 billion in initial annual revenues, more than 60% of...

TIPRO forms tech transfer groups. (Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association in process of forming committees to facilitate efficient transfer of technology information)
August 23, 1993... The Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Assn. is creating regional technology committees based on geological and resource considerations. The committees will be formed to assess the technology needs of TIPRO members and to...

SWEPI cancels Huntington Beach sale. (Shell Western E and P Inc. takes Huntington Beach, California oil field off market)
August 23, 1993... After looking at offers, Shell Western E&P Inc. has taken down the "for sale" sign from holdings in California's Huntington Beach field it put on the market last year. With production of about 7.000 b/d, SWEPI is the largest producer in...

San Juan Basin coalgas system to expand. (Williams Field Services Group to increase capacity of Manzanares coalbed methane system in San Juan Basin, New Mexico)
August 23, 1993... Responding to customer needs, Williams Field Services Group, Tulsa, Okla., is expanding the capacity of the Manzanares coalbed methane gathering and treating system in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico. The company says it will expand...

Ecuador seventh E&D round set Nov. 15. (state oil company of Ecuador, Petroleos de Ecuador, to begin international exploration and production tenders 1993)
August 23, 1993... Because it needs US$5 billion in investment to move forward with exploration and development, PetroEcuador, Ecuador's state oil company, will call the seventh round of international exploration and production tenders Nov. 15. Ecuador is in...

S.F. Chien and E.F. Traverse of Texaco, Inc. (patent method of determining average downhole steam quality; U.S. Patent No. 5,182,939)
August 23, 1993... S.F. Chien and E.F. Traverse of Texaco, Inc. have patented a method of determining average downhole steam quality by injecting into the steam first and second tracers, each tracer having an affinity to a single of the two phases, and then...

P. Shu, C.H. Phelps, and R.C. Ng of Mobil Oil Corp. (patent method of in situ silica cementation for profile control during steam injection; U.S. Patent No. 5,211,232)
August 23, 1993... P. Shu, C.H. Phelps, and R.C. Ng of Mobil Oil Corp. have patented a method of in situ silica cementation for profile control during steam injection. The invention relates to the plugging of a more permeable zone of a subterranean formation....

MRI applications to IOR win serious attention. (magnetic resonance imaging for use in improved oil recovery considered by researchers)
August 30, 1993... Magnetic resonance imaging, a technology developed by chemical engineers to study the flow of liquids and particles in confined spaces, is getting serious attention by researchers these days for its potential petroleum industry applications....

Sonat finals second La. horizontal. (Sonat Exploration Co. completes horizontal oil well drilling project in Vernon Parish, Louisiana)
August 30, 1993... Sonat Exploration Co.'s second horizontal well in Vernon Parish, La., has been completed as an oil and gas producer from the Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk. The well, McAlpin No. 1, a dual lateral horizontal test drilled about two miles...

Arco plans Midway-Sunset expansion. (Arco Oil and Gas Co. plans expansion of steam flood project in California oil field)
August 30, 1993... Arco Oil & Gas Co., the largest producer and most active steamer in California's Midway-Sunset field, plans to expand a Potter sand steamflood on properties acquired in 1990 from Oryx Energy Co. in the north portion of the field. The...

Penn State drilling research told. (Drilling Hydraulics Research Center at Pennsylvania State University begins research project investigating field design variables common to air drilling)
August 30, 1993... The Drilling Hydraulics Research Center at Pennsylvania State University recently announced it has begun a project to investigate field design variables common to air drilling, such as pressure drop, air flow rate and solids flow rate. ...

Canada to review sands oil export rules. (rules for licensing long-term export of oil sand bitumen production)
August 30, 1993... Canada's energy minister has asked the National Energy Board to make a written review of rules for licensing of long-term export of oil sand bitumen production. Energy Minister Barbara Sparrow told the board that her department is helping...

Los Alamos to stress startup companies. (Los Alamos National Laboratory hires private research firm to assist in startup of new companies based on formerly classified technology)
August 30, 1993... In its efforts to transfer formerly classified technology to the private sector in the post-Cold War environment -- much of it potentially useful to the oil and gas industry -- Los Alamos National Laboratory has hired a private research firm to...

N. Sea horizontal field on stream. (Unocal Netherlands B.V. begins crude oil production in North Sea)
August 30, 1993... Crude oil production has begun at Unocal Netherlands B.V.'s Horizon field, located in Block P/9 in the Netherlands sector of the North Sea. The field, located 30 miles offshore in about 100' of water, began producing recently from the...

Firm to earn stake with horizontals. (Buccaneer Resources Ltd. to earn 25% working interest in Twining oil field in Alberta in exchange for directional drilling services rendered to Battle Creek Resources Ltd.)
August 30, 1993... Canadian producer Buccaneer Resources Ltd., a subsidiary of Calgary, Alberta-based Beta Well Service Inc., has agreed to eam a stake in a multiwell drilling program by using Beta's horizontal drilling expertise to do it. The company will...

UPRC to drill Wyo. horiz. re-entry. (Union Pacific Resources Co. plans horizontal gas well project in Sweetwater County, Wyoming)
August 30, 1993... Fort Worth, Texas-based Union Pacific Resources Co. will re-enter an abandoned well in Sweetwater County, Wyo., in an attempt to complete it as a horizontal gas producer. If successful, the well would be Wyoming's first producing...

Ottawa throws wrench into upgrader pact. (Federal Co-operatives Ltd. and Saskatchewan government to make financial contributions to NewGrade Energy Ltd. as part of joint debt restructuring)
August 30, 1993... The bitter disagreement over the 50,000-b/d NewGrade Canadian heavy oil upgrader in Regina, Saskatchewan, may be settled, at least for the time being. Several days earlier, the Saskatchewan government and Federated Co-operatives Ltd....

Texas grants 52 July horizontal permits. (horizontal oil well drilling projects; 1993)
August 30, 1993... Reflecting a slight decline in activity from the previous month, the Texas Railroad Commission granted 52 permits for horizontal wells in the state during July. By comparison, 62 horizontal permits were given RRC OKs in June, 44 in May and...

R.E. Campos and J.A. Hernandez of Instituto Technologico Venezolano del Petroleo, Venezuela have patented a method for improving well production wherein steam and urea are simultaneously injected into a well formation. (U.S. Patent No. 5,209,295)
August 30, 1993... Technologico Venezolano del Petroleo, Venezuela have patented a method for improving well production wherein steam and urea are simultaneously injected into a well formation. In accordance with the method of the present invention, the steam...