Improved Recovery Week articles from December 1993

Improved Recovery Week archives from December 1993

CO2 potential moves closer to Permian Basin eastern shelf. (Mobil Oil Corp. finishes Este Pipeline to Salt Creek carbon dioxide project in West Central Texas)
December 27, 1993... Completion of Mobil's Este Pipeline from Denver City, Texas, to the company's Salt Creek [CO.sub.2] project is giving new hope for tertiary projects to operators on the eastern shelf of the Permian Basin. Previously, operators in West...

Nahama/Alexander to merge. (Nahama and Weagant Energy Co., Alexander Energy Corp.)
December 27, 1993... Bakersfield-based Nahama & Weagant Energy Co. and Alexander Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, have agreed to become wholly owned subsidiaries of a newly formed holding company. Based on reserve studies, the two companies would combine to have...

Fergana Basin holds oil reserves, says EIA. (South-Central Asian basin area passes through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan; Energy Information Administration to release report entitled 'Oil and Gas Resources of the Fergana Basis)
December 27, 1993... The Fergana Basin of South-Central Asia, which runs through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, holds about 700 million barrels of proved and probable oil reserves, says the Energy Information Admin. However, says a recently released...

NSF sets Russian center. (National Science Foundation seeks development of Co-operative Research Center for Russian Environmental and Natural Resources)
December 27, 1993... Texas A&M University and the National Science Foundation are proposing a Co-operative Research Center for Russian Environmental and Natural Resources to assist Western oil companies that plan joint-ventures in Russia. Such a center would...

Tech transfer board available. (National Technology Transfer Center offers Business Gold-NTTC Online electronic bulletin board system)
December 27, 1993... To help U.S. technology transfer activity, a Wheeling, W.Va. entity has rounded an online bulletin board system. The National Technology Transfer Center has established the system, Business Gold-NTTC Online, which offers information on...

Snyder, UPRC join forces in Colorado. (Snyder Oil Corp. joint venture with Union Pacific Resources Co.)
December 27, 1993... With nary a greenback to be flashed, Houston-based Snyder Oil Corp. Will develop a significant portion of undeveloped acreage in Colorado owned by Union Pacific Resources Co., Fort Worth, Texas. The two companies signed a letter of...

National energy conference called. (People for an Energy Policy plans national conference on jobs, economy and energy)
December 27, 1993... People for an Energy Policy (PEP), a Houston-based group of petroleum industry supporters, is planning a major grassroots national conference on jobs, the economy and energy to be held Jan. 28-29, 1994, in Houston. In cooperation with...

Maraven begins third round. (third round of oil field reactivations in Venezuela)
December 27, 1993... The third round of oil field reactivations in Venezuela has begun, according to Maraven, one of the three units of Petrolcos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), that country's national oil company. Maraven said this third round would be open only to...

Western Atlas to buy Dresser's interest. (shares of Western Atlas International Inc. owned by Dresser Industries Inc. to be sold to Litton Industries Inc.)
December 27, 1993... The times, at least in the oilfield service industry, they are a' changing. So are the players. In a series of transactions during the past couple of years, a number of service-based companies have announced major restructuring or...

Incentives temper Sask. royalty hikes. (Saskatchewan Energy Minister Doug Anguish announces reduction of royalties on oil and gas production as incentive for exploration)
December 27, 1993... Although Canada's Saskatchewan province may this week eliminate a number of royalty holidays for operators, its newly elected government is offsetting those cuts with new incentives, particularly for gas exploration. Saskatchewan...

November Texas horizontal permits total 56. (Texas Railroad Commission grants horizontal oil well drilling permits November 1993)
December 27, 1993... The Texas Railroad Commission granted 56 permits for horizontal wells in the state during November, reflecting a slight dip in activity from the previous month. By comparison, 62 such permits were issued in October, 56 in September, and...

As expected, 'initiative' big on gas, much less on oil. (Clinton administration releases Domestic Natural Gas and Oil Initiative)
December 20, 1993... If President Clinton hasn't been clear that natural gas is the fuel of choice - at least until 1996 - the recently released "Domestic Natural Gas and Oil Initiative" removes any doubt. After several delays, the initiative was released to...

Horizontal gas storage set. (Gas Research Institute funds horizontal gas drilling project executed by Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co.)
December 20, 1993... A second project will be started in Michigan to test the use of horizontal drilling technology in underground gas storage. The Gas Research Institute, Chicago, plans to fund half of a $1 million project in which Houston-based Panhandle...

Interior drops Sect. 29 royalty collections. (Department of the Interior declines collection of royalties on gas production from federal and Indian lands under jurisdiction of Section 29 tax credits)
December 20, 1993... The Interior Dept.'s lawyers have rejected a proposal to collect some $70 million in royalties on gas production from federal and Indian lands covered by Sect. 29 tax credits for nonconventional fuels. In contrast to an earlier report...

Dutch mull E-R drilling for mud flats. (Dutch government urges use of extended-reach drilling technology for Waddenzee mud flats)
December 20, 1993... With a 10-year drilling moratorium expiring in January, the Dutch government is advising producers to use extended-reach drilling technology to develop that country's Waddenzee mud flats. The moratorium on drilling in the enviromnentally...

Phillips to submit Ekofisk IOR plan. (Phillips Petroleum Co. awaits approval from Norwegian officials for improved oil recovery in Ekofisk oil and gas field, North Sea)
December 20, 1993... A plan prepared by Phillips Petroleum Co. could, if approved by Norwegian officials, extend the life of the Ekofisk oil and gas field in the North Sea by 30 to 50 years, the company says. Wayne Allen, Phillips president and CEO, said the...

Alberta to reform energy bodies. (plan in progress to reorganize Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority, merge provincial regulatory bodies)
December 20, 1993... Privatization of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority and merging of several provincial regulatory bodies may be in the cards for Canada's Alberta province. Energy Minister Patricia Black said recently she is preparing...

Halliburton forms Chinese unit. (contract for development of service company with China National Petroleum Corp. for Shengli oilfield production)
December 20, 1993... Dallas-based Halliburton Co. announced recently it has signed an agreement to form a "sister" service company relationship with China National Petroleum Corp.'s Shengli Oilfield Administration Bureau (SOAB), which operates the Shengli field....

Thailand may get in situ coal gasification. (Underground Coal Gasification)
December 20, 1993... Gasification of coal in situ could be a thorough and environmentally sound way to exploit the coal reserves of Thailand, say U.S. and Dutch researchers. In the process, called Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), steam and oxygen are...

E.S. Sprunt and N.F. Djabbarah. (patent time-lapse method for electric logging; U.S. Patent No. 5,214,384)
December 20, 1993... E.S. Sprunt and N.F. Djabbarah have patented a time-lapse electric logging method where self potential measurements are used to determine steam quality. It comprises measuring electric self potential via a wellbore at various levels in a...

CIS energy ventures to be financed by OPIC. (Commonwealth of Independent States/Overseas Private Investment Corp.)
December 20, 1993... The Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) in Washington last week announced it will finance and insure three joint ventures in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Two of the ventures involve development of oil and gas resources in those member...

Winners mount for Venezuelan marginal field work. (Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. and its operating units award contracts for oil and gas production)
December 13, 1993... Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) is slowly but surely filling its second round of operating contracts for oil and gas production from marginal fields. So far, nine groups have been awarded operating contracts to rework existing fields...

3-D demand spurs equipment buy. (Seitel Geophysical Inc. buys seismic recording system from Opseis Inc.)
December 13, 1993... In order to meet what it calls "the growing demand for three-dimensional seismic data," Houston-based Seitel Inc. says its Seitel. Geophysical Inc. subsidiary has signed a letter of intent to purchase a second telemetric seismic recording...

Low permeability torpedoes Wyo. MEOR test. (microbial enhanced oil recovery test in Crook County, Wyoming)
December 13, 1993... A federally funded research test to see whether bacteria can effectively produce enough carbon dioxide to thin heavy stripper oil for improved recovery has run out of gas. The villain? Low permeability. During the past six months,...

Texaco finals Russian contract. (Texaco Inc. concludes deal to develop oil fields in Russia)
December 13, 1993... Texaco Inc. expects to finalize an agreement with the Russian government early next year to develop a series of huge oil fields at a cost of $2-3 billion. The company also said it's putting together a consortium with two very large U.S....

Shell, Imperial set Canadian IOR projects. (Shell Canada Ltd. and Imperial Oil Ltd.'s Imperial Oil Resources Ltd. plan thermal oil recovery projects in Western Canada)
December 13, 1993... Two oil companies recently announced plans to apply IOR programs in Western Canada. Shell Canada Ltd., along with the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority, is underway with an estimated C$ 11 million test of a new enhanced...

Saskatchewan to end royalty cuts.
December 13, 1993... The government of Canada's Saskatchewan province has announced changes to its fiscal structure for oil and gas that will eliminate royalty "holidays" for new oil wells. Doug Anguish, the province's energy minister, said "There will be no...

Ekofisk horizontal flows mightily. (Phillips Petroleum Co. reports successful production of Ekofisk offshore fields in Norway)
December 13, 1993... Production from the first horizontal development well to be drilled in the main Ekofisk field reservoir offshore Norway has been "stabilized" since Nov. 23 at about 11,000 b/d of oil and 11 mmcf/d of gas. Phillips Petroleum Co. Norway,...

Foam design cuts adsorption, says study. (Petroleum Recovery Institute of Calgary, Alberta, Canada reports on secondary recovery of oil research)
December 13, 1993... Surfactant adsorption, often blamed for poor economics of foam injection, can be brought to acceptable levels by properly designing the foaming surfactant, says a new study by the Petroleum Recovery Institute of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ...

L.V. Grego, R.C. Ng, and C.H. Phelps, all of Mobil Oil Corp. (receives patent for method to selectively close wellbore area in an intermediate zone formation; U.S. Patent No. 5,215,147)
December 13, 1993... L.V. Grego, R.C. Ng, and C.H. Phelps, all of Mobil Oil Corp., have patented a method for selectively closing a near-wellbore area in an intermediate zone of a formation. It comprises placing a drillable packer into the wellbore adjacent to...

Critics hit state well plugging; stripper owners seek aid. (petroleum industry professionals oppose plugging marginal oil and gas wells)
December 6, 1993... Owners and operators of marginal oil and gas wells in this country feel they are being dealt a double blow. While state regulatory bodies boast they are plugging abandoned and marginal wells at record rates to eliminate potential...

Pogo completes tests on benders. (Pogo Producing Co. tests horizontal gas wells in Eugene Island Block 295 offshore Louisiana)
December 6, 1993... Pogo Producing Co. has completed test five horizontal wells it has used to develop shallow gas formations in Eugene Island Block 295 offshore Louisiana. According to Paul Van Wagenen, chairman of the Houston-based company, the calculated...

Exxon decision pending on Wyo. CO2 line. (Exxon Company USA considers carbon dioxide pipeline for Powder River Basin, Wyoming)
December 6, 1993... Although beleaguered by state officials, Exxon Co. USA is still mum about whether it plans to build a carbon dioxide pipeline that might help producers in Northeastern Wyoming's Powder River Basin mount tertiary recovery programs on depleted...

World Bank to free loans. (U.S. Export-Import Bank loans to Russia for oil and gas field improvement)
December 6, 1993... The nearly $2 billion in delayed U. S. Export-Import Bank loans to Russia's oil and gas industry may be freed by actions taken by the World Bank at a Dec. 14 meeting of bank member countries in Washington. Bank officials said last week...

Halliburton seismic sale okayed. (Western Atlas International Inc. to acquire geophysical services and products business)
December 6, 1993... Dallas-based Halliburton Co. says that from an antitrust standpoint, it's free to close the sale of its geophysical services and products business to Western Atlas International Inc., Houston. Halliburton said the waiting period under the...

Producers seek smaller Oriskany zones. (gas producers seek productive formations in Lower Devonian Oriskay oil sands in Appalachian Basin)
December 6, 1993... The largest fields with production from Lower Devonian Oriskany sands already may have been found, but that isn't stopping producers in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia from searching for smaller reservoirs. Reserves per well...

Aussie coalgas tests poorly. (Tipperary Corp. fails to achieve commercial quantities from coalbed methane test well in Queensland, Australia)
December 6, 1993... That coalbed methane test well drilled in Queensland, Australia, by Denver-based Tipperary Corp. has failed to produce gas in commercial quantities. The company said the well, Comet Ridge No. 2, was part of a two-well exploratory program...

BJ Services overseas ops shine. (reports earnings for fiscal year 1993, claiming majority of revenue increases from international operations)
December 6, 1993... BJ Services Co., Houston, reported net income of nearly a dollar a share for fiscal year 1993 (which ended Sept. 30), and attributed much of the income to strong revenue increases in the company's international operations. BJ Services,a...

Benton gets first oil money from Russian field. (Benton Oil and Gas Co. gets payment from oil produced through joint venture with Geoilbent Ltd.)
December 6, 1993... Benton Oil & Gas Co., Oxnard, California said its joint venture company in Russia, Geoilbent Ltd., has received its first cash payment in U.S. dollars from oil produced as a result of its Russian workover and re-entry drilling program. ...

Suncor operation to get C$105 million. (plans capital expenditures budget for oil sands operation at Fort McMurray, Alberta for 1994)
December 6, 1993... Suncor Inc. plans to spend C$105 million of its C$290 million 1994 total capital expenditures budget on its Canadian oil sands operation at Fort McMurray, Alberta. Rick George, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the...

62 Texas horizontal permits granted in October. (horizontal oil well drilling permits, October 1993)
December 6, 1993... The Texas Railroad Commission granted 62 permits for horizontal wells statewide in October, reflecting a slight increase in activity from the previous month. By comparison, 56 permits were approved in September, 47 in August, and 52 in July....

D.V.S. Gupta, M.K. Pakulski and B.M. Prasek of Western Co. of North America. (patent way to fracture formations utilizing fracturing fluid and breaker system; U.S. patent No. 5,226,479)
December 6, 1993... D.V.S. Gupta, M.K. Pakulski and B.M. Prasek of Western Co. of North America have patented a method of fracturing a formation by injecting a fracturing fluid and a breaker system into the formation, said breaker system comprised of an enzyme...

H.V. Le and W.R. Wood of BJ Services Co. (patent fracturing method; U.S. Patent No. 5,226,481)
December 6, 1993... H.V. Le and W.R. Wood of BJ Services Co. have patented a method of fracturing. A base fracturing fluid is blended from a hard mix water containing-divalent cations, a hydratable polymer capable of gelling in the presence of borate ions;...

A. Zaitoun and N. Kohler of Institute Francis du Petrole (IFP). (patent way to find selective reduction of water permeability in reservoir rocks utilizing aqueous gel; French Patent No. 2,682,991)
December 6, 1993... A. Zaitoun and N. Kohler of Institute Francis du Petrole (IFP) have patented a process to obtain a selective reduction of water permeability in the very permeable area of reservoir rocks with the help of aqueous gel formed by mixing and...