Improved Recovery Week articles from December 1994

Improved Recovery Week archives from December 1994

Apache to buy Texaco U.S. properties for $600 million.
December 5, 1994... Houston-based Apache Corp., one of the most aggressive purchasers of domestic producing properties, agreed last week to buy more than 300 U.S. fields from Texaco Inc. for about $600 million. The fields are located in traditional...

Arco ups THUMS production. (Thums Long Beach Co.)
December 5, 1994... Production from the production facilities operated by THUMS Long Beach Co. has increased by 9,000 b/d since 1992, says Atlantic Richfield Co., owner of the camouflaged oil production facility at Long Beach, Calif. More than 1,200 wells...

Petrobras completes first Amazon horizontal. (Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. horizontal oilwell drilling)
December 5, 1994... The first horizontal well drilled in the Amazon jungle was brought onstream recently by Petroleos Brasilieros S.A., the Brazilian national oil company. The well, No. 7-RUC-3411-AM, was drilled in the Urucu Region, deep in the Amazon...

IPAA says '95 oil flow to decline. (Independent Petroleum Association of America forecasts)
December 5, 1994... Average domestic crude oil production will drop by 2.8% to 6.7 million b/d by the end of this year, says the Independent Petroleum Assn. of America, and next year, U.S. oil flow will recede by a further 2.5% to 6.5 million b/d, a level not...

Chevron finances producers. (Chevron Natural Gas and Bank of America provide financing for natural gas producers)
December 5, 1994... Chevron Natural Gas and the Bank of America have established a $100 million vehicle to provide volumetric production payments to natural gas producers. The program is part of the company's efforts to increase third-party marketing...

WRT to buy seven La. fields for $70 million. (WRT Energy Corp. leasing oil and gas fields in Louisiana)
December 5, 1994... WRT Energy Corp. has signed letters of intent to purchase a total of 4,200 gross acres of oil and gas leases in seven pre-1950 onshore oil and gas fields in Louisiana. The leases, located in Assumption, Iberia, LaFourche, Terrebonne and...

Amoco tries Whaleback again. (Amoco Canada Petroleum Company Ltd. attempting to obtain drilling permit in Alberta)
December 5, 1994... Undeterred by the Alberta Energy Resource Conservation Board rejection in September of its plan to develop 1.2 tcf of gas in the environmentally sensitive Whaleback area, Amoco Canada Ltd. is preparing a reapplication for drilling permits. ...

More rigs searching for gas. (drilling rig statistics)
December 5, 1994... The number of drilling rigs drilling for natural gas in the Lower 48 states has risen by more than 40% since 1992, says the National Economic Research Assn.'s most recent energy forecast. This year's drop in gas prices also suggests that...

Amoco sets off Polish coalbed methane drilling. (Amoco Poland Ltd.)
December 5, 1994... Amoco is getting its search for coalbed methane under way in Poland. The Amoco Corp. subsidiary last month spudded the first of 15 coalbed methane wells it plans to drill in Southern Poland as the result of an exploration agreement signed...

India seeks drilling technologies to up output. (Oil & Natural Gas Corporation)
December 5, 1994... India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), seeking to improve the nation's crude oil production, has created a comprehensive plan to improve its drilling technology. According to published reports, a Project and Production Management...

IPAA to fight to get $2 billion tax package. (Independent Petroleum Association of America 1994 annual conference)
December 5, 1994... With the new Republican Congress, independent producers have an opportunity to win many of the tax changes they want, if comments at the recent annual meeting of the Independent Petroleum Assn. of America count for anything. The...

C.H. Phelps, E.T. Strom and M.L. Hoefner, all of Mobil Oil Corp. (patent for method of profile control of producing reservoir, patent number 5,048,607) (New IOR Patent)
December 5, 1994... C.H. Phelps, E.T. Strom and M.L. Hoefner, all of Mobil Oil Corp., have patented a method for profile control in a producing formation or reservoir where substantially high flow rates of high pressures are encountered. It comprises injecting...

Israeli scientist urges oil shale use. (Tsevi Minster)
December 12, 1994... A recent report from a scientist with the Israeli Geological Survey suggests growing interest in oil shale development in Israel and neighboring countries could offer a common ground that would improve relations with neighboring states....

Texaco chief exhorts industry to change public perceptions. (Alfred DeCrane)
December 12, 1994... Texaco Chairman Alfred DeCrane is challenging petroleum industry leaders to become evangelists for their cause and to send a message to the public that the oil and gas business is good for America. "It is time for us in the industry to sound...

Russian firm opens U.S. office. (Yukos Oil)
December 12, 1994... YUKOS Oil Corp., one of Russia's largest oil companies, last week opened an office in Houston for its U.S. unit, YUKOS America. George Lezov, president of the U.S. unit, said the Houston office will make it easier for the Russian company to...

Hunts out of Placid. (Placid Oil)
December 12, 1994... Dallas-based Placid Oil Co., once the flagship company of legendary independent H.L. Hunt, will become part of Occidental Petroleum Corp. in a deal valued at $250 million. Oxy will acquire Placid's producing properties in the U.S. Gulf Coast...

IPAA's Bode queries Reich. (Independent Petroleum Association of America, Denise Bode, Robert Reich)
December 12, 1994... Denise Bode, president of the Independent Petroleum Assn. of America, wrote a "hot" letter last week to Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, calling to attention his comments about ending "corporate welfare" to help boost American workers' standard...

Texas' new fields total 245 through Sept. (1994)
December 12, 1994... The Texas Railroad Commission says the number of Texas Discovery 1994 new field designations in the state is building at a substantial pace. As of the end of September, the latest date for which data are available, 245 eligible new fields had...

States get grant chances. (energy research)
December 12, 1994... The Energy Dept. is handing out money for energy research to states the agency thinks have been short-changed in that area. Oddly enough, a number of states that produce large volumes of oil and gas are included in the list. DOE is offering...

California steamer goes bankrupt. (Nahama and Weagant Energy)
December 12, 1994... A Bakersfield, Calif. company that has engaged in thermal recovery projects in the state's San Joaquin Valley is going belly up. Nahama & Weagant Energy Co., which was engaged several years ago in a steam/hot water flood on a 120-acre producing...

Canadian heavy oil outlook said bright.
December 12, 1994... Producers of Canadian heavy oil see a period of significant production growth through the turn of the century. But government officials, while also predicting growth, warn that traditional U.S. markets for the Canadian heavy oil production may...

Texas producers get 58 horizontal permits.
December 12, 1994... The Texas Railroad Commission granted a total of 58 permits for horizontal wells statewide in October, marking a decrease in activity from the previous month. By comparison, 67 such permits were issued in September, 65 in August, and 46 in...

New IOR patent. (improved oil recovery)
December 12, 1994... H.C. Hong and V.M. Ziegler of Chevron Research & Technology Co. have patented an improved oil recovery method using an inverted nine-spot pattern. In an inverted nine-spot pattern in an areally homogeneous reservoir, oil recovery is enhanced when...

Operators adjust to lower price outlook, trust new technology. (1994 petroleum conference sponsored by Arthur Andersen and Co.)
December 19, 1994... More U.S. oil and gas executives are optimistic that the industry can add significant oil and gas reserves, despite lower prices than they would like. What's more, operators both large and small are relying on new drilling and...

Canadian drilling rate high. (rig utilization for November 1994)
December 19, 1994... An average of 356 drilling rigs were at work in western Canada during November for an average utilization rate of 81%, according to the Canadian Assn. of Oilwell Drilling Contractors. That compares with 321 rigs active during October,...

White House budget axe could fall on DOE. (Department of Energy)
December 19, 1994... The Energy Dept. has been directed to prepare option plans for at least a 20% reduction in funding and possibly for complete elimination. President Clinton's economic and political advisors, faced with the new Republican power...

Report rates tight sands gas. (tight gas production report by Gas Research Institute)
December 19, 1994... During the past decade, U.S. tight gas production has more than doubled, and in 1991 represented nearly 14% of all non-associated production in non-Appalachian areas, says a new study by the Gas Research Institute. Published in a...

$51 million in contracts inked. (Halliburton Energy Services Div. contracts with Statoil A/S and Maritime Well Services)
December 19, 1994... Halliburton Energy Services has signed several three-year contracts with Statoil A/S, the Norwegian oil company, totaling about $51 million, or $17 million per year. Statoil has launched a major initiative to reduce operating costs...

Suncor spending $109 million on light oil. (petroleum and natural gas production increase planned for 1995)
December 19, 1994... Suncor Inc., already having announced a planned 20% production increase in oil sands production (IRW, 11/21), said its Resources Group will be making a C$150 million (U.S. $108.695 million) capital investment next year to boost its...

Texaco sells more properties. (Texas oilfields sold to Petro-Hunt Corp. and North Central Oil Corp.)
December 19, 1994... In its continuing quest to rid itself of marginal properties or those properties that are uneconomic through economies of scale, Texaco Inc. has sold its interests in 15 Texas properties. The sale, in separate transactions, is valued...

China crude output steady. (production statistics for January-November 1994)
December 19, 1994... Gross crude oil output from the Peoples Republic of China this year is expected to be more than 145 million tons if current rates hold through the end of the year. Much of the credit for staying even this year with last is improved...

MMS looking for way out of OPA 90 dilemma. (Minerals Management Service seeks ways to implement Oil Pollution Act of 1990 without adversely affecting small offshore companies)
December 19, 1994... The Minerals Management Service recently set up a panel with the task of investigating less stringent ways of implementing the financial responsibilities section of the 1990 Oil Pollution Act. In a recent opinion, the Solicitor of the...

C. Chu of Texaco Inc. (patent no. 5,246,071 for oilwell injection and production scheduling) (New IOR Patents)
December 19, 1994... C. Chu of Texaco Inc. has patented a method of staggered scheduling of injection and/or production into and from alternate rows of injection and/or production wells in hydrocarbon formations penetrated by multiple five-spot, inverted...

R.S. Silver, P.M. Bunting, W.G. Moon and W.P. Acheson, all of Chevron Research Co. (patent no. 1,309,366 for microbial profile modification in microbial enhanced oil recovery) (New IOR Patents)
December 19, 1994... R.S. Silver, P.M. Bunting, W.G. Moon and W.P. Acheson, all of Chevron Research Co., have patented process for use in a microbial profile modification. The present microbial process improves sweep efficiency more effectively than is currently...

Elk Hills NPR plant part DOE's $10.6 billion budget cut proposal. (Naval Petroleum Reserve privatization)
December 26, 1994... Rather than facing elimination, the Dept. of Energy is looking at cutting its budget by $10.6 billion over the next five years as a major component of President Clinton's proposed tax break program for middle-class families. An important...

Pipestone extends B.C. field. (Pipestone Petroleums Inc. oilfield discovery near Highway, British Columbia)
December 26, 1994... Discovery of a "significant pool extension" in the Highway/Beg area of British Columbia has been announced by Pipestone Petroleums Inc. The Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based company said the first well to establish the extension -- a re-entry...

Water, gas injection up Norwegian flow. (enhanced oil recovery boost Statoil A/S offshore production)
December 26, 1994... Waterflooding and gas injection at Norway's two largest offshore fields have been highly effective in upgrading reserves, says Statoil, the national oil company. The Statfjord and Gullfaks fields are expected to yield an additional 400...

Royalty bidders selected. (Minerals Management Service contract with twelve companies for natural gas marketing program)
December 26, 1994... The U.S. Minerals Management Service has named 12 gas marketers to handle the Interior Dept.'s royalty gas marketing pilot program. The winning companies include Amerada Hess, Anadarko Trading, Chevron U.S.A., CNG Energy Services, Coastal...

Polymer company acquired. (TIORCO Inc. acquisition of Oil Field Products Group)
December 26, 1994... Tiorco Inc., Denver, recently acquired the Oil Field Products Group of SNF Holding Co., also of Denver. The acquisition includes the FLOPAAM and FLOPERM gel polymer technologies and field equipment used by OFPG to process gelled polymer...

Clayton Williams ups Giddings slim-hole wells. (Clayton Williams Energy Inc. drilling horizontal oilwells)
December 26, 1994... Midland, Texas-based Clayton Williams Energy Inc. currently has three rigs drilling slim-hole horizontal wells on its Austin Chalk properties, and the company says results are good. Williams Energy instituted the switchover from...

TRC, Tipro open bulletin boards. (Texas Railroad Commission and Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association offer online information services for petroleum industry data)
December 26, 1994... Inquiring minds wanting to know about the Texas and national energy industries now can access myriad facts and figures through the Texas Railroad Commission's "Cross-ties" computer bulletin board. Additionally, the Texas Independent...

W. Va. finds 'overwhelming' number of wells. (West Virginia Office of Oil and Gas and Geologic and Economic Survey, abandoned oil wells)
December 26, 1994... The West Virginia Office of Oil & Gas and Geological and Economic Survey has found what it says are an "overwhelming" number of abandoned oil and gas wells in the state, and the count isn't even over yet. State regulators recently...

T. Mikus of Shell Oil Co. (patent number 5,255,742 for flameless heat injection for enhanced oil recovery) (New IOR Patents)
December 26, 1994... T. Mikus of Shell Oil Co. has patented a method for flameless heat injection into a formation. The absence of a flame eliminates the flame as a radiant heat source and results in a more even temperature distribution throughout the length of the...

J.C. Shen of Union Oil Co. of California. (patent number 5,035,813 for water-based fluid treatment) (New IOR Patents)
December 26, 1994... J.C. Shen of Union Oil Co. of California has patented an aqueous fluid for treating an underground formation penetrated by a well borehole. It comprises water; lime in amount of between 10-3-% by weight of the total amount of water in the...