Improved Recovery Week articles from January 1993

Improved Recovery Week archives from January 1993

$2 billion Ex-Im Bank-Russia deal delayed again. (Russian officials unable to secure final terms for agreement with U.S. Export-Import Bank regarding credit for oil and gas equipment)
January 11, 1993... Russian officials can't agree on final terms governing a deal with the U.S. Export-Import Bank for $2 billion in credit for purchase of U.S. oil and gas equipment and parts. The Ex-Im Bank two weeks ago had worked out the framework, which...

Japanese focus on Orimulsion. (Japanese power companies sign agreements with Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. to investigate development of Orinoco tar deposits)
January 11, 1993... Several Japanese power companies are trying to use Venezuela's Orinoco tar. Kashima-Kita Electric Power Corp. has been using Orimulsion for power generation since 1991, and now other power companies are platming to introduce the fuel. The...

Wyoming producers push incentives. (Wyoming Independent Producers Association promotes tax-incentive proposal for petroleum industry)
January 11, 1993... The Wyoming Independent Producers Assn. is pulling out all the stops on a proposed "oil economic recovery" tax-incentive program for their state. WIPA believes Wyoming's high ad valorem, severance and other taxes, combined with state...

Unocal improves Cook Inlet field. (develops new oil reserves at Granite Point platform in Cook Inlet, Alaska)
January 11, 1993... Using extended-reach drilling, Unocal Corp., Los Angeles, is developing new reserves at its Granite Point platform in Alaska's Cook Inlet. Based on the success of four wells already drilled, Unocal plans to resume development drilling...

Fracmaster, Russians get okay. (Canadian Fracmaster Ltd. receives financing for improved oil recovery project in Western Siberia in partnership with Tomskneft Production Association and Vasyugan oil and gas division)
January 11, 1993... Canadian Fracmaster Ltd., in partnership with Tomskneft Production Assn. and the Vasyugan oil and gas production division, has won project financing approval for improved oil recovery from a field in Western Siberia. The financing comes...

Australian coalbed methane deals made. (Australian government grants permits for exploration of coalbed methane)
January 11, 1993... U.S.-based Enron Corp. is the latest player in the quest to develop coalbed methane in Australia. Houston-based Enron says it will be taking options to explore an 18,500-square-mile area in Queensland. At the same time, the New South...

UPRC completes horizontal. (Union Pacific Resources Co. finishes horizontal oil well drilling in Fayette County, Texas)
January 11, 1993... Union Pacific Resources Co., Fort Worth-based subsidiary of Union Pacific Cop., has completed a Texas oil and gas producer with a far-reaching horizontal leg. The well, the Finchef No. 1-H in Fayette County, was drilled to a true vertical...

San Juan methane stake upped. (Evergreen Resources Inc. buys additional share of coalbed methane reserves in San Juan Basin, New Mexico)
January 11, 1993... Denver-based Evergreen Resources Inc. has increased its stake in nine shut-in coalbed methane wells in New Mexico' s San Juan Basin, from 60% to 93.8%. The company said it bought about 4.6 bcf of coalbed methane reserves, effective...

McKnight new energy chief. (William McKnight elected Canadian energy minister replacing incumbent Jake Epp)
January 11, 1993... William McKnight, former agriculture minister in Canada's federal government, has replaced Jake Epp as energy minister. Epp, doesn't intend to seek reelection to Parliament. He has been at the center of Canadian energy issues for several...

2nd horizontal phase ends. (Dynamic Oil Ltd. completes horizontal oil well drilling program in Saskatchewan)
January 11, 1993... Dynamic Oil Ltd. has completed Phase 2 of its horizontal drilling program in Saskatchewan. The company, based in Vancouver, B.C., drilled and completed three horizontal wells during the last quarter of 1992. The first well, Lougheed...

Suncor sets near-record syncrude run. (reports 1992 as second-best year for production of synthetic crude oil)
January 11, 1993... Toronto-based Suncor Inc. said its oil sands group finished 1992 with 21.4 million barrels of synthetic crude oil, making it the second-best year for production in the history of its Fort McMurray, Alberta, oil sands upgrader. A Suncor...

Taxes as incentives, penalties considered. (independent oil producers offer suggestions for national energy policy at President-elect Clinton's economic conference in December 1992)
January 11, 1993... Two independent producers offered widely different views on energy policy at President-elect Clinton's pre-Christmas economic conference in Little Rock, Ark. Tony Sanchez, chairman of Sanchez-O'Brien Oil & Gas Inc., Laredo, Texas,...

E.P. Pierre of Arrow Resources Corp. (patents process for physical separation of tar sand into upper bituminous and lower mineral fractions; Canadian Patent No. 1,308,378)
January 11, 1993... E.P. Pierre of Arrow Resources Corp. has patented an improved process for physical separation of tar sand into upper bituminous and lower mineral fractions. The improvement is exposing the tar sand to microwave radiation, at a temperature less...

P. Toma of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority. (patents method for bitumen/heavy oil recovery; Canadian Patent No. 1,305,046)
January 11, 1993... P.T. Toma of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority has patented a method for bitumen/heavy oil recovery by providing vertical injection and production wells penetrating the reservoir and interconnecting an injection well with...

A. Nigrini and L.M. Hsueh of Chevron Research Co. (patent method for controlling rock dissolution and pipe corrosion; Canadian Patent No. 1,294,213)
January 11, 1993... A. Nigrini and L.M. Hsueh of Chevron Research Co. have patented a method for controlling rock dissolution and pipe corrosion during steam injection operations. The dissolution of silica from the gravel pack in the wellbore area and the...

U.S.-Russian rig developed. (National-Oilwell and Caterpillar Inc. form joint venture with Russian drilling equipment manufacturer, Uralmashzavod)
January 11, 1993... Houston-based National-Oilwell and Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, 111., have agreed to form a joint venture with Uralmashzavod, Russia's leading drilling equipment manufacturer, to develop a new drilling rig design. The rig design will...

Tax credit extension endorsed in Utah. (legislators approve extension of workover tax credit until 1999)
January 18, 1993... An interim legislative committee has endorsed extending a Utah workover tax credit until 1999, but there is disagreement over its benefits to the state. One legislator insists that the credit was the nucleus of an economic rebound in the...

Third Ecuador bender completed. (Oryx Energy Co. finishes horizontal oil well in Coca-Payamino field in Oriente Basin of Ecuador)
January 18, 1993... Oryx Energy Co. has completed a third horizontal well in the unitized Coca-Payamino field in Ecuador's Oriente Basin. The company said the Payamino No. 8 flowed on test at a rate of 3,928 b/d from a lateral leg totaling 1,703' in length in...

Midway-Sunset Arco's California 'star'. (Arco Oil and Gas Co. praises production record of Midway-Sunset field in Bakersfield, California)
January 18, 1993... Even as it sells off some properties in California, Arco Oil & Gas Co.'s California business unit considers the Midway-Sunset field its production keystone. Dan White, manager of the unit, said recently that the field produces about 40,000...

Completions at 21-year low. (Petroleum Information Corp. reports on U.S. oil well count for 1992)
January 18, 1993... Houston-based Petroleum Information Corp. says the U.S. well count for 1992 will total slightly more than 24,000 completions, reflecting the nation's lowest drilling level in 21 years. PI bases its estimate on drilling trends and indicators...

Slant rig design planned. (Precision Drilling Ltd. signs agreement for design, construction and operation of slant drilling rig)
January 18, 1993... A drilling contractor based in Calgary, Alberta, has made plans for design, construction and operation of a C$4 million slant drilling rig. Precision Drilling Corp. said it completed an agreement with a major oil company- it wouldn't say...

Reservoir simulator helps up gas production. (Gas Research Institute researchers develop computer-based reservoir simulator to enhance gas recovery)
January 18, 1993... Researchers have developed an integrated, microcomputer-based reservoir simulator to help engineers optimize gas recovery from reservoirs containing strong inflows of water. Sponsored by the Gas Research Institute, the simulator was...

Tuboscope/Dreco form Russia unit. (Tuboscope Vetco International Corp. forms joint venture with Dreco Energy Services Ltd.; opens office in Moscow, Russia)
January 18, 1993... Tuboscope Vetco International has formed a Russian joint stock company and has opened an office in Moscow. The Houston-based tubular goods inspection contractor said facilities established in Russia will be shared with Calgary,...

Suncor contracts for equipment. (awards contracts to Transwest Dynequip Ltd., MMD Mining Machinery Developments Ltd. and Wajax Industries Ltd. for equipment to upgrade oil sands mining operation at Fort McMurray, Alberta)
January 18, 1993... The Oil Sands Group of Toronto-based Suncor Inc. has awarded C$53 million in contracts for equipment to upgrade its current oil sands mining operation at Fort McMurray, Alberta. Last October, Suncor announced a new strategy for the...

AGLC keeps coalgas holdings. (Australian Gas Light Co. sells oil, gas exploration and production assets but continues to operate coalbed methane project in New South Wales)
January 18, 1993... While Australian Gas Light Co., Sydney, has sold most of its oil and gas exploration and production assets to Santos Ltd., the company will retain its interests in several pipelines and utility plants, as well as its Sydney Basin coalbed...

Independents optimistic to 2000. (independent oil and gas producers hope to experience increase in revenues during 1990's due to increase in demand, low drilling costs, new technologies and upcoming tax relief from 1992 Energy Act)
January 18, 1993... Independent oil and gas operators, shaking off the effects of six years of industry downsizing, arc hopeful about the remainder of the 1990s. According to one of their prominent members, changes are taking place nationally and worldwide...

Crestar trades Valhalla East to Petro-Canada. (Petro-Canada Inc. assumes operation of Valhalla East field northwest of Grande Prairie, Alberta as part of asset exchange with Crestar Energy)
January 18, 1993... Petro-Canada said it has taken over as operator of the Valhalla East field, some 40 miles northwest of Grande Prairie, Alberta, through an exchange of assets with Crestar Energy Inc. The acquisition stretches Petro-Canada's extensive...

R. Tailby of Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap A.S. (patents valve for injection of liquids into subsurface formations; U.S. Patent No. 5,141,056)
January 18, 1993... R. Tailby of Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap A.S. has patented a valve for injecting chemicals and similar liquid substances into subsurface formations being penetrated by an oil or gas well. The valve comprises a cylindrical housing with seals...

B.W. Hoskins and H.M. Fiur of International Royalty & Oil Co. (patent method for oil recovery by electromechanical vibration; U.S. Patent No. 5,101,899)
January 18, 1993... B.W. Hoskins and H.M. Fiur of International Royalty & Oil Co. have patented a method for oil recovery by electromechanical vibration through an electrically conduetire production tubing suspended in a wellbore and lined by an electrically...

J. Wilensky and Jack Sloan. (patent process for economic recovery of intractable oil using local visbreaking of oil; U.S. Patent No. 5,097,903)
January 18, 1993... J. Wilensky and Jack Sloan have patented a method for economical recovery of intractable oil using a process of local visbreaking of the oil in order to produce a medium/heavy cracked gas oil which is injected into the intractable oil-bearing...

Independents press for oil import fee. (independent oil producers urge President Clinton to support oil import fee)
January 25, 1993... In the wake of renewed fighting in the Arabian Gulf, U.S. independent producers have asked President Clinton to back an oil import fee. Leaders of the Independent Petroleum Assn. of America, as well as the chairmen of three of the nation's...

Sooner wells lowest since 1943. (Oklahoma Corporation Commission reports decrease in oil and gas wells and dry holes drilled in Oklahoma in 1992)
January 25, 1993... Oil and gas wells and dry holes drilled in Oklahoma in 1992 totaled only 1,678, dropping to theft lowest level since 1943, says the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. The previous low point in wells drilled -- in 1943 --was 1,184. Of...

Manitoba ups horizontal well exemption. (government revises oil and gas legislation, increasing production volume granted to horizontal oil wells)
January 25, 1993... The government of Manitoba is in the midst of revising its entire oil and gas legislation, and as a beginning, has increased the production volume granted to horizontal wells. Now, the first 62,900 barrels produced by a horizontal well...

OGA seeks Sect. 29 return. (Independent Oil and Gas Association of Pennsylvania meets with various energy groups focused on methods of obtaining Section 29 tax credit)
January 25, 1993... The Independent Oil & Gas Assn. of Pennsylvania and other energy groups have been meeting this month with proponents of the Sect. 29 tax credit to chart a course with which to get the credit back. Sect. 29 of the Internal Revenue Service...

'Chevron to stress IOR. (plans to increase production from existing core operations with improved oil recovery)
January 25, 1993... `Chevron to stress IOR Chevron Corp. will spend $4.9 billion for capital and exploratory projects in 1993, with an increasing share going overseas. The international spending program, which totals about $2.6 billion, includes funds for...

Texas horizontal permits uptick. (Texas Railroad Commission reports increase in horizontal oil well permit grants in 1992)
January 25, 1993... There was a slight increase in the number of horizontal well permits issued in Texas in the last month of 1992, but overall, operators sought fewer permits to drill such wells last year than in the prior year. The Texas Railroad Commission...

DOE backs IOR research grants. (Department of Energy offers grants for research on improved oil and gas production technology)
January 25, 1993... The Dept. of Energy has proposed two grants totaling $10.1 million to be carried out by two of its centers for energy research. The first grant of about $10 million would go to the University of Wyoming's Western Research Institute to...

Idle wells spur suggestions. (Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission reports on potential reserves of oil and gas in idle oil wells)
January 25, 1993... Idle wells offer "potentially substantial volumes of oil and gas," says a new report by the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission. The report also recommends ways states can manage those wells to protect both future production and the...

Iran seeks IOR assistance. (plans $800 million gas reinjection project for improved oil recovery; seeks outside investment for first time since 1979)
January 25, 1993... Iran is seeking outside investment in an $800 million gas reinjection project, says the Middle East Economic Survey. The project is in Iran's offshore fields in the Arabian Gulf and some of its onshore fields in southern Iran. The...

Halliburton-Smith Int'l. deal signed. (Halliburton Co. acquires directional drilling systems and services business of Smith International Inc.)
January 25, 1993... Dallas-based Halliburton Co. recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire the directional drilling systems and services business of Smith International, Inc., Houston. Halliburton is paying Smith for the property with about $240...

Suncor syncrude production on target. (synthetic crude oil sands plant in Fort McMurray, Alberta expected to meet production target)
January 25, 1993... Despite an electrical failure and resulting plant freeze in late December, Suncor, Inc.'s Fort McMurray, Alberta oil sands plant is expected to meet its projected 1993 synthetic crude oil production target. The plant, which was taken off...

Chevron drills Alba horizontal. (Chevron U.K. Ltd. successfully drills horizontal oil well in Alba field in North Sea)
January 25, 1993... Chevron U.K. Ltd. recently drilled a successful horizontal delineation well from a mobile offshore rig in the Alba field in Great Britain's sector of the North Sea. The well was the first horizontal hole drilled in Alba's unconsolidated...

H.M. Muijs and P.P.M. Kejzer of Shell Canada Ltd. (patent steam foam process; Canadian Patent No. 1,295,118)
January 25, 1993... H.M. Muijs and P.P.M. Kejzer of Shell Canada Ltd. have patented a steam foam process in which steam is injected into, and fluid is produced from, horizontally spaced locations within a portion of an oil reservoir in which the disposition of a...

P.R. Shu of Mobil Oil Corp. (patents method for controlling profile of formation in high temperatures; U.S. Patent No. 5,103,907)
January 25, 1993... P.R. Shu of Mobil Oil Corp. has patented a method for controlling the profile of a formation where temperatures higher than 400[degrees]F. are encountered. An aqueous solution of potassium silicate is injected into a zone of greater...

J.H. Bayless and R.E. Williams of Novatec Production Systems, Inc. (patent process using injection of hydrogen peroxide to recover viscous oil; Canadian Patent No. 1,309,336)
January 25, 1993... J.H. Bayless and R.E. Williams of Novatee Production System, Inc. have patented a process for recovery of viscous oil by injecting hydrogen peroxide into the formation, preferably under conditions which inhibit decomposition of hydrogen...