Improved Recovery Week articles from August 1995

Improved Recovery Week archives from August 1995

GRI shale study draws to a close; ups reserves; cuts costs.
August 7, 1995... It will have taken nearly six years, but research studies by the Gas Research Institute to improve natural gas production from the Michigan Basin's Antrim shale has resulted in a number of technology advancements. What's more, these GRI...

Dogged Molino E-R gas plan remains alive. (Molino Energy Co.'s extended-reach drilling plan in California)
August 7, 1995... Even though powerful environmental groups have mounted relentless pressure to kill the idea, the extended-reach drilling plan proposed by Molino Energy Co. to tap gas from beneath California state waters near Santa Barbara remains doggedly alive....

The data-gatherers find a need and fill it. (seismic contractors in Louisiana)
August 7, 1995... Seismic contractors are clamoring to locate companies to help in bankrolling 3-D seismic shoots in Louisiana's transition zone. The transition zone is an expensive and tedious area to work in, but lots of E&P players think it's worth it....

Oil-rich Petrobas developing five-year IOR pilot program. (Petroleos Brasilieros S.A.)
August 14, 1995... With some of its producing basins reaching maturity, Brazil's national oil company, Petroleos Brasilieros S.A., has begun to focus its attention on IOR technology. In fact, Petrobras has been investigating for more than two years various IOR...

Transition zone 3-D activity on upswing.
August 14, 1995... Oil patch players are clamoring for 3-D seismic data in the transition zone, where problems intrinsic to these areas diminished the quality of the sparse earlier 2-D data. Data-gathering in these zones, which occur in coastal regions spanning...

Class IV demo program nixed; part of cloudy NIPER future. (Department of Energy's Class IV reservoir demonstration program; National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research)
August 21, 1995... The Energy Dept.'s Class IV reservoir demonstration program, which got underway with requests for proposals sent to 450 producing companies this past spring, was canceled last week. And it's no wonder, given the muddied future not only of...

Chinese horiz re-entries planned. (Lateral Vector Resources Inc.-Sunwing Energy Ltd. joint venture plans to use horizontal technology to drill wells in China oil fields)
August 21, 1995... A Canadian joint venture is set to begin rehabilitation of some 94 oil wells in two oil fields in the Peoples Republic of China, with drilling operations set to begin at year end. The joint venture, between Lateral Vector Resources Inc. of...

Calif. steaming up 49% in first half of year. (drilling activity in California climbs 49.3% during first half of 1995)
August 21, 1995... Steam drove a solid comeback for drilling activity in California during the first half of 1995. The number of notices to drill new wells filed with the state's Div. of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources climbed 49.3%, totaling 921 compared with...

Steaming ups firms cash flow. (cycling steaming in California oil wells increases crude oil production)
August 21, 1995... McFarland Energy Inc. says successful development drilling and associated cyclic steaming in several of its California heavy oil properties contributed substantially to increased production and cash flow. The company, based in Santa Fe...

Kuwait IOR project mulled. (Japan National Oil Corp.-Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research improved oil recovery program)
August 21, 1995... Kuwait and Japan are trying to see if they can join to co-develop improved oil recovery strategies for Kuwaiti oil fields. Japan National Oil Corp. (JNOC) said last week it is negotiating with the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR)...

Conoco eighty-sixes French coalbed methane. (Conoco Inc. cancels French drilling contract)
August 21, 1995... Conoco, Inc. has written off France as a source of coalbed methane after exploration failed to show significant production potential. Despite the company's enthusiasm for CBM, which represents 20% of its booked gas reserves in the US, the...

Benton touts successes based on 3-D. (Benton Oil and Gas Co.-Tenneco Ventures for Texaco E and P Inc. joint venture applies 3-D seismic design to develop South Louisiana oil fields)
August 21, 1995... Benton Oil and Gas Co., in its joint venture with Tenneco Ventures for Texaco E&P Inc., has finaled two prolific gas/condensate producers in existing South Louisiana fields. The joint venture has been engaged for several years in applying 3-D...

Fountain pens new Russian deal. (Fountain Oil Inc. enters into a definitive agreement to develop an oil field in the Soviet Union)
August 21, 1995... In its second announcement in as many weeks, Houston-based Fountain Oil Inc. said it has entered into a definitive agreement to develop an existing oil field in the former Soviet Union. The field in the spotlight is the Maykop field in the...

Idle well grant sought. (Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission requests financing for the study of idle wells)
August 21, 1995... The Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission is seeking a $50,000 grant from the Energy Dept. to expand its well-received study of idle wells. The new study would build on the efforts of IOGCC's 1992 report, which was the first to document idle...

Duri gas supply project gets financing.
August 21, 1995... Two Canadian companies have joined forces to obtain a conditional agreement with two Japanese companies to finance a gas pipeline/delivery contract to supply 300 mmcf/d to fuel the Duri steamflood, the world's largest. Talisman Energy Inc. and...

Transition zone survey makes news.
August 21, 1995... Argentina's first transition zone seismic survey will kick off in November, with Geco-Prakla at the helm via a contract with Argentina's Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales, S/A (YPF). Mobilization operations will begin in November, as well, and...

Waterflood 'quakes' not dangerous, but could cut flow. (flooding of North Sea offshore oil wells)
August 28, 1995... Companies operating in the North Sea aren't getting all shook up by reports that their waterflooding might be causing earthquakes. Because, say the experts, any tremors are likely tO be so slight they won't even be noticed by the crews on...

EIA notes first gas reserve increase since '90. (Energy Information Administration)(Industry Overview)
August 28, 1995... Proved gas reserves in the U.S. increased a modest 1% in 1994, the first such gain in four years, says the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its annual advance study of U.S. crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The...

Depth imaging available to the "masses."
August 28, 1995... The following observations by IRW geophysics correspondent Louise Durham focus on depth imaging, one of the most important facets of 3-D seismology. Durham is a practicing geoscientist who believes 3-D seismic technology, coupled with new...