Improved Recovery Week articles from June 1992

Improved Recovery Week archives from June 1992

Borehole camera surveys rated in coalgas project. (Gas Research Institute and Taurus Exploration Inc. use a high-resolution borehole camera to develop technology to produce methane from shallow coal seams)
June 29, 1992... While the resolution of borehole camera surveys has improved significantly in recent years, camera housings may need to be rated for higher downhole pressures. That and other findings were revealed in a recent review of operations at the...

Crude output at 31-year low. (United States crude oil production report for May 1992)
June 29, 1992... U.S. crude oil production in May reached its lowest level since 1961, according to American Petroleum Institute figures. API's monthly statistics show May crude oil production averaged 7,055,000 b/d. That was 3.9% lower than the 7,339,000...

Unocal's E-R wells cut field decline. (Unocal Corp. increases its output from drilling extended-reach oil wells in Santa Barbara Channel, California)
June 29, 1992... Completion of four extended-reach (E-R) horizontal wells the past two years has reversed a 14-year production decline at Unocal's Platform C at the west end of California's Santa Barbara Channel in the Dos Cuadras field. The field was...

Air drill center starts work. (University of Pennsylvania's Drilling Hydraulics Research Center begins work at a test site in Warren County, Pennsylvania; funded by Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority and other organizations)
June 29, 1992... A 4,000' test well is being drilled in Warren County near Sheffield, Pa., to study air drilling techniques. Under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania's new Drilling Hydraulics Research Center, the well will be used to study...

Utah coalbed search heats up. (coal mining companies explore coalbed methane potentials in Utah)
June 29, 1992... When you hold coalbed methane leases on which you would qualify for tax breaks if they are productive, the prudent thing to do might be to test them with the drill bit before the tax breaks expire. And that's just what a number of...

Pickens would tap Alaska gas. (Mesa Limited Partnership official T. Boone Pickens)
June 29, 1992... T. Boone Pickens Jr., general partner of Mesa Limited Partnership, Amarillo, Texas, says he wouldn't mind being appointed "energy czar," along the lines of President Bush's "drug czar." Speaking at a recent Colorado Oil & Gas Assn....

Oklahoma plugs at record pace. (Oklahoma Corporation Commission awards contracts for plugging abandoned oil wells)
June 29, 1992... The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has been plugging abandoned wells at a rate that may have set a state record in May. Through May 19 -- representing the latest figures available -- the commission had plugged 98 wells and awarded...

Fracture mapping offered. (Halliburton Co.'s Halliburton Services Div. offers services to detect fracture at well sites; technique licensed from Hunter Geophysics)
June 29, 1992... Under a license from Hunter Geophysics, Houston-based Halliburton Services has begun offering a new tilt-meter fracture-mapping technique that expedites fracture geometry reporting -- usually within 24 hours. An array of tilt-meters...

Exec lists outlook for independents. (Enserch Exploration Inc.'s Gary Junco sees growth opportunities for gas and oil companies)
June 29, 1992... Independent U.S. oil and gas operators with enough commitment can find plenty of opportunities, including promising arenas for horizontal drilling, says a Dallas-based industry official. Gary Junco, president of Enserch Exploration Inc.,...

Michigan embraces shallow Antrim shale. (Michigan's Department of Natural Resources encourages oil and gas companies to drill the Antrim shale wells)
June 29, 1992... No other state relies on Devonian shale, these days, like Michigan. And no other Michigan counties rely on it like Otsego and Montmorency. And if Sect. 29 tax credits on unconventional gas development expire Dec. 31 -- as anticipated --...

Firm hawks Japanese computer to industry. (Fujitsu Ltd. markets its high performance supercomputer VP2000 to United States petroleum companies)
June 29, 1992... The Japanese computer giant Fujitsu is marketing its latest generation of supercomputer to U.S. oil and gas producers for their exploration/production efforts. The VP 2000 series, says the company, is intended to develop subsurface data...

E.P. Pierre of Arrow Resources Corp. (receives Canadian Patent No. 1,293,943 for a bitumen extraction process from tar sands)
June 29, 1992... E.P. Pierre of Arrow Resources Corp. received a patent directed at a process of bitumen extraction from tar sands using microwave radiation of a frequency strongly absorbed by water at a level sufficient to allow the tar sand to separate by...

D. Hall and H.Q. Bui of Texaco Development Co. (granted Canadian Patent No. 1,292,674 for a device regulating energy in oil wells)
June 29, 1992... D. Hall and H.Q. Bui of Texaco Development Co. have obtained a patent on method for thermal stimulation of subterranean reservoir. The invention provides a condensation shock-resistant fluid mixer for receiving streams of high-quality steam...

Texaco drills record horizontal in E. Texas. (Texaco E&P Inc., East Texas)
June 22, 1992... Texaco E&P Inc., having set one record by drilling Texas' first horizontal injection well, has kept up the pace by drilling, the first dual lateral horizontal in East Texas. And if that weren't enough, the company topped ill all off by...

It's lonely at the top.... (Independent Oil & Gas Association of Pennsylvania has devised new method of utilizing gamma ray tool in logging tool stack used as measurement to qualify for Pennsylvania tax credit in Devonian shale zones)
June 22, 1992... For years, Pennsylvania operators have had a tough time qualifying for the state tax credit for Devonian shale "reduced interval" wells because of stacked logging tools. Now the Independent Oil & Gas Assn. of Pennsylvania says it has a...

Independents prevail in Senate panel vote. (oil producers able to maintain tax credit following vote by Finance Committee)
June 22, 1992... A Senate Finance Committee vote to retain a tax change that favors independent producers may make it harder for Congress to drop the proposal in its final energy bill. The committee last week rejected an amendment proposed by Sen. Bill...

Systems give faster rig reports. (drilling and completion software)
June 22, 1992... Two new drilling and completion software packages are available from Malibu Engineering Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta. The company says its user-friendly Drillpak and Servicepak systems allow drillers to use data at the rig site to make more...

BP seeks IOR at Gyda. (British Petroleum Development (Norway) Ltd., improved oil recovery, Gyda field, Norwegian sector of North Sea)
June 22, 1992... BP Petroleum Development (Norway) Ltd. is looking at methods for improved oil recovery in its deep Gyda field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. It attributes the effort to geothermal gradients in the field. And anti-scale...

Mobil completes horizontal. (Mobil North Sea Ltd.'s first well a prolific gas producer in British sector, North Sea)
June 22, 1992... The first horizontal development well drilled by Mobil North Sea Ltd. in the Lancelot gas field in the British sector of the North Sea is a prolific gas producer. According to Mobil, operator and 99% interest-owner in the field, the No....

Onshore search seeks U.K. coalgas. (United Kingdom awards exploration licenses to several companies with focus on coalbed methane)
June 22, 1992... In a country where its offshore (North Sea) oil and gas activities steal most of the headlines, the United Kingdom recently awarded 18 onshore exploration licenses to 20 companies. In 13 of the awards, the licensees are primarily...

Okla. drilling woes recur. (rate of exploration half compared to 5 years ago in Oklahoma)
June 22, 1992... Drilling in Oklahoma these days is about half what it was five years ago. According to figures released recently by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, drilling permits were down a whopping 48.6% from 1987 to 1991, while well...

DOE funds methane project. (Dept. of Energy)
June 22, 1992... DOE'S Morgantown (W.Va.) Energy Technology Center has awarded a Salt Lake City company about $ 100,000 to investigate "previously wasted" natural resources, including coalbed methane. As part of the deal, METC will provide Resources...

Permanent GRI funding urged. (Gas Research Institute)
June 22, 1992... Add DOE to the list of parties commenting on the newest funding mechanism for the Gas Research Institute (GRI). The department noted that broad-based participation in GRI likely will be maintained with the amount of support from the...

Feds provide independents with grant. (Dept. of Energy funding new methods for improved recovery of oil including use of 3D seismic data for independent oil producers' use)
June 22, 1992... DOE wants to make available to independents technology that previously was thought to be too expensive for them. So it's backing up that idea with $150,000 in federal help. At the recent summer meeting of the Texas Independent Producers...

DOE gas research grants meager. (Dept. of Energy's focus on areas other than extraction of oil and natural gas)
June 22, 1992... DOE has selected some 200 applications from small, high-technology firms for federal funding under its most-recent round of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants. Projects dealing with the extraction of oil and natural gas were...

M. Gendouin of S-Cal Research Corp. (patent obtained on conserving steam quality in deep steam injection wells; U.S. Patent No. 5,085,275)
June 22, 1992... M. Gendouin of S-Cal Research Corp. has patented a process for conserving steam quality in deep steam injection wells. The application of steam injection for the recovery of heavy oil presently is limited to relatively shallow reservoirs,...

A.S. Taylor of British Petroleum Co. Ltd. (bitumen recovery process, Canadian Patent No. 1,293,464)
June 22, 1992... A.S. Taylor of British Petroleum Co. Ltd. has patented a bitumen recovery process where the tar sand is treated with an aqueous solution containing a surfactant and a hydrophilic alkylene oxide polymer in a temperature range of 40-100...

'Improved' recovery means exploration efficiencies. (newer and better ways to improve recovery)
June 15, 1992... Integrated geological, geophysical and engineering approaches to basin modeling are increasingly ways to improve recovery, says an oilfield services official. "Experts believe the goal of reducing the wildcat well success ratio to below...

U.K. horizontal technology unit set. (research unit formed in United Kingdom in joint venture between Heriot Watt University and the Petroleum Science and Technology Institute to focus on horizontal technology issues)
June 15, 1992... On the strength of 37 producing horizontal wells in the United Kingdom so far, two research outfits have formed a horizontal well technology unit. The unit, a joint venture of Heriot Watt University and the Petroleum Science and...

NIPER bid deadline July 27. (contracts for managing the operation of National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research)
June 15, 1992... Proposals for operating the National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research (NIPER) from 1993 to 1998 are due July 2 at DOE's Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center. DOE will choose the winning proposal - which, under new guidelines,...

Dusters dampen Utah horizontal scene. (oil well failures)
June 15, 1992... Failure of three wells in recent months may have dampened enthusiasm for horizontal drilling in the Kane Springs Federal Exploratory Unit in Southeastern Utah, despite intense leasing and drilling last year by producers. But hopeful...

Anschutz gets Spanish permits. (rights for petroleum exploration in Spain granted to Anschutz Iberia Corp.)
June 15, 1992... A subsidiary of Denver-based Anschutz Corp. has been awarded 13 exploration permits in Spain. Anschutz Iberia Corp., the subsidiary, says the permits cover some 1.2 million acres in Northwestern Spain. The company will explore for...

Stuntz promotion held. (Senator Richard H. Bryan blocks appointment of Linda Stuntz as deputy secretary of energy)
June 15, 1992... Angry with DOE for choosing his state for a new high-level nuclear waste repository, Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., has put a hold on the nomination of Linda Stuntz for deputy secretary of energy. The Senate traditionally allows any senator...

Defense firm gets oil patch. (Defense Research Technologies Inc. receives funding for project to improve measurement-while-drilling technique using new mud pulser)
June 15, 1992... Now that defense spending is winding down a bit, companies that supplied defense material are trying to survive. One such firm, Defense Research Technologies, has received a $500,000 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from...

Gas coproduction alive, profitable. (recovery of trapped natural gas)
June 15, 1992... While wider use of coproduction of natural gas has been hindered by tougher environmental restrictions and low gas prices, the technique is viable, and a few pilot projects are giving operators experience. Coproduction - producing large...

D.C. Faecke of Mobil Oil Corp. (method of viscous oil recovery, Canadian Patent 1,285,216)
June 15, 1992... D.C. Faecke of Mobil Oil Corp. has patented a method for recovering viscous oil from a viscous oil-containing formation separated by at least one horizontal layer having lower vertical permeability than the remainder of the reservoir into at...

K.E. Kisman and B. Russell of AOSTRA. (method of reducing water coning in oil reservoirs patented at Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority, U.S. Patent 5,062,483)
June 15, 1992... K.E. Kisman and B. Russell of AOSTRA have patented a treatment for reducing water coning in oil reservoirs. The invention has application only to a first well producing oil having a high water cut, said oil well being completed in a...

C.A. Glandt of Shell Oil Co. (method of producing hydrocarbons from formations composed of shale layers, U.S. Patent 5,046,559)
June 15, 1992... C.A. Glandt of Shell Oil Co. has patented a method and apparatus for production hydrocarbon-bearing deposits in formations having shale layers. The apparatus and method produces thick tar sand deposits by electrically preheating paths of...

Unocal lists properties in steam area. (California)
June 15, 1992... Cheek-by-jowl with Chevron USA in recent offers of producing properties for sale in California - including several fields under thermal IOR - comes Unocal. Unocal is offering to sell or trade properties that account for about 3,500 b/d,...

Wyoming 'huff 'n puff' tests said uneconomic. (criticism of improved oil recovery method using truck-borne carbon dioxide)
June 8, 1992... The idea of using truck-borne carbon dioxide for "huff 'n puff" IOR operations in Wyoming has proved to be a loser. Speaking at the recent EOR Symposium in Casper, Wyo., sponsored by the University of Wyoming's Enhanced Oil Recovery...

IPAA, DOE meet on tech transfer. (Independent Petroleum Association of America and Department of Energy discuss the formation of a national technology transfer organization for oil and gas concerns)
June 8, 1992... DOE and representatives of independent producers are talking about creation of a national oil and gas technology transfer organization. A meeting for discussion of the idea was scheduled for late last week, after IRW went to press, at DOE...

Chevron selling properties in steam area. (California oil-field property)
June 8, 1992... Chevron is offering for sale 11 packages of producing properties in California, including some in four fields where steam injection plays - or has played - a role in improving recovery. The four fields involving thermal recovery are Kern...

Anti-proration measure hit. (regulation of oil and gas by state commissions would no longer be allowed if energy legislation passes Congress with its anti-proration amendment intact)
June 8, 1992... Congressional lawmakers have just one more chance to overturn a part of recently passed omnibus energy legislation that is aimed at restricting producer-state prorationing efforts. The House and Senate have passed omnibus bills, so the...

Oilfield chemical demand upped. (according to a report from Fredonia Group Inc.)
June 8, 1992... The need to cut costs by developing less-expensive chemical substitutes for conventional oilfield chemicals will contribute to a projected growth in demand, an industry study reports. In its new report, B301 Oil Field Chemicals, the...

Co-op well plan cuts production costs. (Gas Research Institute reports on cooperative natural gas well drilling)
June 8, 1992... Successful reservoir research conducted today can often be applied in the future, with excellent results. At least what's the Gas Research Institute (GRI) and a couple of large oil companies hope for the Canyon Sands in South Central...

Farmers fight heavy oil. (farmers and ranchers in Alberta, Canada protest proposed increase in water usage by Esso Resources Canada Ltd.)
June 8, 1992... In Northern Alberta, Canada, a fracas is developing between farmers and ranchers and oil companies over water usage. A community advisory committee from the draught-parched Cold Lake region is opposing an application by Esso Resources...

Chevron combines research. (five separate oil and gas research groups are organized into one)
June 8, 1992... By combining its five oil and gas research and technology organizations under one banner, Chevron Corp. says it can serve as much as $60 million a year and improve the application of high tech its oil and gas operations. The new...

Ontario firms feed new LPG plant. (liquified petroleum gas)
June 8, 1992... Several Canadian operators in Southern Ontario are saving and marketing both solution gas and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) from oil production, demonstrating another way that older, smaller wells can improve the bottom line. The...

Tax changes force delay on shale project. (Australian developers freeze Stuart oil shale project)
June 8, 1992... Promoters of Australia's most promising oil shale project have been forced back to the drawing board because of threatened tax changes. Now, Bechtel Corp., the U.S. engineering/construction company that is expected to provide guarantees...

J.H. Duerksen of Chevron Research Co. (improved oil recovery patent; U.S. patent no. 5,014,787)
June 8, 1992... J.H. Duerksen of Chevron Research Co. received a patent for fluid injection and oil production from a single wellbore which includes providing a path of communication between the injection and production zones (U.S. Patent No. 5,014,787.

R.B. Stewart and A.P. King of Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij N.V. (improved oil recovery patent; U.K. patent no. 2241008/A/)
June 8, 1992... R.B. Stewart and A.P. King of Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij NV have patented a method and well system in which fluids such as steam, water, foam or chemical inhibitors which prevent scale or asphalt deposition are injected...

J.A. Mason. (improved oil recovery patent; U.K. patent no. 2239867/A/)
June 8, 1992... J.A. Mason has been awarded a patent related to the use of a mixture of salt of lactic acid and chlorous acid as an improved bacteriocidal agent in flooding waters used in oil recovery operations. The mixture is obtained by reacting lactic...

A.S. McKay and T.N. Nasr of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority. (improved oil recovery patent; U.S. patent no. 5,056,596)
June 8, 1992... A.S. McKay and T.N. Nasr of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority have patented a method for recovery or bitumen or heavy oil in situ by injection of hot water, of low quality steam, plus caustic and [CO.sub.2]. The addition...

Norcen 'tight' on panhandle horizon. (horizontal oil well management at Norcen Explorer Inc.)
June 8, 1992... Houston-based Norcen Explorer Inc. is calling its first horizontal well - in the Crest (Des Moines) field in Ochiltree County, near Perryton, Texas - a "tight" hole. But when the company reveals the outcome of the well, more horizontal...

Louisiana verging on horizontal mini-boom. (horizontal oil-well drilling on the rise in Louisiana)
June 1, 1992... Horizontal drilling action is heating up in Louisiana, where three Austin wells are under way. And although horizontal action thus far has been confined to its east-central area, Louisiana's potential to be the next Chalk hotspot may...

Horizontal record set. (Penwell Energy Inc. sets oil-well drilling record)
June 1, 1992... Those horizontal drilling records just keep on coming. The most recent involves a horizontal completed recently by Penwell Energy Inc. of Midland, Texas. Penwell's Edwards No.2 well in the W.T. Ford field in Ector County, Texas, is...

Aussie boffins try shale cost-cutting. (researchers at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization explore new oil shale processing methods)
June 1, 1992... Australian researchers believe they can find simpler and cheaper oil shale processing method that increases oil yields and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. The research also points the way to cheaper oil recovery, thus overcoming the...

Nevada bets on first horizontal. (Makoil Inc. plans to drill Nevada's first horizontal oil well)
June 1, 1992... The first horizontal well in Nevada is slated for the Trap Spring field in Railroad Valley in the east-central part of the state, about 60 miles southwest of Ely. Makoil Inc., Las Vegas, will redrill a vertical well, Munson Ranch No....

Baker Hughes forms MWD entity. (new division, Eastman Teleco, will perform measurement-while-drilling services for oilfields)
June 1, 1992... Baker Hughes, Houston, has folded newly purchased Teleco Oilfield Services Inc. into a new division, to be known as Eastman Teleco. The new division melds the directional drilling products and services once marketed by the Eastman...

Alberta reserves book out. (Calgary's Energy Resources Conservation Board publishes an encyclopedia of Alberta petroleum resources)
June 1, 1992... The Energy Resources Conservation Board, Calgary, has recently published an encyclopedia of Alberta's petroleum, including oil sands, gas and sulfur reserves as of December 1991. The book contains estimates of established reserves and...

Russian oil tax said axed. (pressure from American corporate investors seems to have caused Russian officials to rescind an oil export tax)
June 1, 1992... That $5/barrel export tax on Russian oil apparently has been given the deep six by that republic's energy minister. While no official word has come from Moscow, it is believed that several warnings issued by U.S. companies with operations...

Enron joins Plains in venture. (Enron Oil and Gas Co. and Plains Resources Inc. join in oil exploration)
June 1, 1992... Two Houston-based companies have joined in a five-year, 50-50 exploration venture to explore acreage that may -- or may not -- cover a large gas field. Enron Oil & Gas is joining Plains Resources in exploring acreage Plains quietly...

U.S. automatic rig resurfaces. (use and development of J.C. Brommell's automatic oil-drilling rig since the 1960's; development of the JAVELIN pipe-handling machine)
June 1, 1992... The original automatic drilling rig, developed in the early 1960s for use onshore, is still active, even as Europe tests the concept for use offshore. In his most recent Wellsite Market Letter, Publisher Darnell Peacock says J.C....

Texas horizontal permits rise in April. (horizontal well drilling permits)
June 1, 1992... The Texas Railroad Commission granted 72 permits for horizontal or sidetrack wells in April. By comparison, the commission issued 63 permits in March, 56 in February, 59 in January and 60 in December 1991. Operators have applied for...

Defense firm gets oil patch grant. (Defense Research Technologies receives Department of Energy research grant)
June 1, 1992... Now that defense spending is winding down a bit, companies that supplied defense material are trying to survive in the private sector through technology transfer. One such firm, Defense Research Technologies (DRT), has received $500,000...

Laurier Schramm, Conrad Ayasse, Karin Mannhardt and Jaromir Novosad of the Petroleum Recovery Institute. (patent an improved oil recovery method; U.S. patent no. 5,060,727)
June 1, 1992... Laurier Schramm, Conrad Ayasse, Karin Mannhardt and Jaromir Novosad of the Petroleum Recovery Institute in Calgary, Alberta, have received a patent for a method for improving enhanced recovery of oil using surfactant-stabilized foams. The...

William Rendall, Conrad Ayasse and Jaromir Novosad of the Petroleum Recovery Institute. (patent an improved oil recovery process; U.S. patent no. 5,074,358)
June 1, 1992... William Rendall, Conrad Ayasse and Jaromir Novosad of the Petroleum Recovery Institute in Calgary, Alberta, have received a patent for surfactant-stabilized foams for enhanced oil recovery. The process is a method of economically providing...

W. Jager and D. Schreiber of Interatom GmbH. (patent an improved oil recovery process; Canadian patent no. 1,278,511)
June 1, 1992... W. Jager and D. Schreiber of Interatom GmbH has patented a process for extracting oil from a well and using the gas that is removed with the oil. The process comprises using the heat of a helium-cooled, high-temperature reactor to heat a...