Improved Recovery Week articles from June 1993

Improved Recovery Week archives from June 1993

GRI-led horizontal projects meet with mixed results. (Gas Research Institute evaluates directional oil well drilling projects conducted with independent operators and engineering firm)
June 7, 1993... Three pilot horizontal drilling projects the Gas Research Institute launched nearly three years ago with independent operators and an engineering firm have met with mixed success. But overall results of the experimental gas wells indicate...

Gemini finals two Texas horizontals. (Gemini Exploration Co. completes directional drilling oil wells in Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk trend of Southwest Texas)
June 7, 1993... Gemini Exploration Co. recently completed two dual lateral horizontal wells in the Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk trend of Southwest Texas. Gemini, based in Austin, Texas, is one of the more active drillers in the Chalk. It plans a...

Tool for quick downhole testing patented. (Louisiana State University professor Robert Desbrandes patents apparatus and method for testing of subsurface formation parameters)
June 7, 1993... A Louisiana State University professor has patented an apparatus and method for quick testing of subsurface formation parameters. The new technology uses a downhole tool attached to the drill stem that gathers formation information while...

Phillips bender top producer. (Phillips Petroleum Co. directional drilling oil well project proves to be largest oil producer in Oklahoma)
June 7, 1993... That recently announced horizontal well completed by Phillips Petroleum Co. in Oklahoma's Cement field (IRW 5/17) is said to be the state's largest current producer. The well, the West Cement Medrano Unit Well No. 71, near Apache in Caddo...

1992 E&D spending falls 26%. (petroleum exploration and production report from Arthur Andersen and Co. survey)
June 7, 1993... Spending in 1992 for U.S. exploration and development by 30 of the largest energy companies fell to its lowest level in a decade, says an Arthur Andersen & Co. survey. Domestic E&D spending dropped $3.7 billion, or 26%, to $10.5 billion in...

Look to drilling plans, investors told. (Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc. advises independent oil producers to increase spending on geological and geophysical work to attract investors)
June 7, 1993... The petroleum news is full of oil and gas production acquisition deals these days, particularly with independents buying producing properties from the majors and each other. But operators are increasing their applications for drilling...

Senate next Btu-tax battleground. (President Clinton needs senate approval for energy tax bill)
June 7, 1993... President Clinton turned his attention to the Senate following the recent narrow victory for his economic plan in the House, which passed by just six votes, despite an 82-member Democratic majority. It appears votes will be even tougher to...

Canadian research lab operates MRI center. (Petroleum Recovery Institute of Calgary, Alberta utilizes magnetic resonance imaging for use and design of methods to increase oil and gas recovery)
June 7, 1993... The Petroleum Recovery Institute, Calgary, Alberta, is using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to improve the use and design of methods to increase oil and gas recovery. Designated the Founders Imaging Centre, the new MRI lab is the first...

SPE offers 20,000 papers on CD-ROM disk. (Society of Petroleum Engineers publishes technical papers spanning 40 years of research through 1991)
June 7, 1993... More than 40 years of technical papers presented through the Society of Petroleum Engineers are available on CD-ROM. The compact disk, with read-only memory, which SPE calls MasterDisc, allows a user to search the first pages of some 20,000...

D.T. Terry and E.F. Vinson of Halliburton Co. (patent method for producing gelable silicate solution to form seal in subterranean formations; U.S. Patent No. 5,168,928)
June 7, 1993... D.T. Terry and E.F. Vinson of Halliburton Co. have patented a method for producing a gelable silicate solution by mixing fumed silica and an alkali metal hydroxide with water. The silicate solution is used to form a seal or plug in one or more...

B.A. Hardage of Western Atlas International Inc. (patents method for detection of fractures in subsurface formation penetrated by drill bit during drilling; U.S. Patent No. 5,144,591)
June 7, 1993... B.A. Hardage of Western Atlas International Inc. has patented a method for detecting the presences of fractures in a subsurface formation being penetrated by a drill bit during drilling. Teeth on the drill bit act as individual seismic sources,...

GRI-TIPRO tech transfer agent has big plans. (Gas Research Institute/Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association official Terry Ramsey appointed technology transfer agent for Texas region)
June 14, 1993... Terry Ramsey hopes that by 2000 access by independent operators to new wrinkles in oil and gas technology will help lower overall oil and gas well drilling and completion costs by as much as 10% and increase recoverable gas reserves by more...

Rockies gas atlas due in October. (comprehensive atlas of major natural gas reservoirs in Rocky Mountain states entitled 'Rocky Mountain Gas Atlas' to be available in October 1993)
June 14, 1993... Industry soon will have available the first comprehensive atlas of major natural gas reservoirs in the Rocky Mountain states. Geological surveys in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah have been compiling data since May 1991 for the...

EPA postpones coalbed methane contracts. (puts off funding for coalbed methane recovery contracts while deciding on project objectives)
June 14, 1993... EPA has postponed funding coalbed methane recovery contracts until it decides exactly what it wants from the demonstrations. Earlier this year, EPA announced it was considering awarding a contract to Amoco Production Co. to test that...

BP Alaska to announce drilling pact. (BP Exploration Alaska Inc. announces workforce reduction and oil well drilling joint venture)
June 14, 1993... BP Exploration Alaska Inc, say it has achieved about 80% of its announced workforce reduction and will soon announce a second drilling alliance on the North Slope. The new alliance is thought to be a joint venture made up of Pool Arctic...

Morgan State gets IOR grant. (Morgan State University; Baltimore, Maryland receives grant from DOE for improved oil recovery research)
June 14, 1993... DOE has picked Morgan State University in Baltimore for a three-year, $199,800 grant to study development of surfactants for IOR operations. Morgan State is one of four historically black colleges and universities to have been selected by...

Tenneco buys into Benton's 3-D developments. (Tenneco Ventures invests in Benton Oil and Gas Co. oil field developments as working interests secured after conducting three dimensional seismic surveys)
June 14, 1993... Without more cash, Benton Oil & Gas Co., Oxnard, Calif., would not have been able to develop two underdeveloped salt dome-based oil fields in state-controlled waters off the Louisiana coastline. So it has decided to take on Tenneco Ventures...

Alexander hikes production 44%. (Alexander Energy Corp. increases total oil and gas production)
June 14, 1993... Alexander Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, says one horizontal well it recently completed in Texas' Austin Chalk trend could significantly increase its total oil and gas production. The company said the well, the Dusek No. 3-H, drilled in...

Amoco Canada charts '92 IOR. (Amoco Canada Petroleum Company Ltd. increased production of heavy oil and bitumen in 1992; improved oil recovery)
June 14, 1993... In Amoco Canada Petroleum Co. Ltd.'s view, production of domestic conventional oil will keep decreasing as the productive capacity of Canada's aged oil fields declines. However, the company says in its recently published 1992 annual...

Virginia pushes coalbed methane sans credit. (coalbed methane producers continue development despite absence of Section 29 tax credits)
June 14, 1993... Some coalbed methane producers in Virginia are willing to operate in a Sect. 29-less world. Into June, the state had issued at least three dozen drilling permits this year for coalbed methane wells. While this is down from about 50 similar...

N. Kohler and A. Zaitoun of Institute Francais du Petrole (IFP). (patent process and composition for selective reduction of water permeability in hot and brine hydrocarbon reservoirs)
June 14, 1993... N. Kohler and A. Zaitoun of Institute Francais du Petrole (IFP) have patented a process and composition for the selective reduction of the water permeability in hot and brine hydrocarbon reservoirs. The aim of the process is to selectively...

E. Sunde of Den Norske States Oljeselskap AS (Statoil). (patent method of microbial improved oil recovery; U.S. Patent No. 5,163,510)
June 14, 1993... E. Sundle of Den Norske States Oljeselskap AS (Statoil) has patented a method of microbial IOR in which a population of aerobic bacteria is introduced into the formation at a position spaced from a production borehole. The microorganisms are...

G. Kalfoglu of Texaco Inc. (patents process to add polyetholxylated or polypropoxylated dialkylates to increase viscosity of surfactant systems used in improved oil recovery; U.S. Patent No. 5,167,281)
June 14, 1993... G. Kalfoglu of Texaco Inc. has patented a process to add polyetholxylated or polypropoxylated dialkylates to increase the viscosity of surfactant systems and to employ such systems in IOR (U.S. Patent No. 5,167,281).

Syncrude sets production record. (Syncrude Canada Ltd. sets monthly synthetic crude oil production record in May 1993)
June 14, 1993... Syncrude Canada Ltd. in May set a monthly synthetic crude oil production record, having shipped more than 6.5 million barrels of high-quality light syncrude from its Fort McMurray, Alberta, plant. The May production level surpassed the...

Injection program to up yield at Norway's Snorre field. (Petroleum Directorate increases estimate on total reserves in North Sea by 20% due to improved oil recovery techniques)
June 21, 1993... Norway's Petroleum Directorate says estimated total reserves from the Snorre field in that country's sector of the North Sea could soon be upgraded by 20% to 1 billion barrels. That's possible because of a pilot project involving the...

Texas extends IOR incentives. (Governor Ann W. Richards signs bill S.B. 466 extending tax incentives for new and expanded improved oil recovery projects)
June 21, 1993... Texas Gov. Ann Richards signed into law a bill (S.B. 466) that extends by four years the opportunity for operators to qualify for existing tax incentives for new and expanded IOR projects. The bill extends the 50% severance tax break for...

DOE funds seven reservoir projects. (offers $5 million to universities and state geological survey to develop accurate methods for geological description of gas and oil reservoirs)
June 21, 1993... DOE hopes a new initiative will result in more effective production methods that could keep many aged U.S. oil fields in operation, particularly for indcpendent producers. Under the initiative, DOE has made more than $5 million available...

Horizontal well ups reserves. (Pogo Producing Co. utilizes directional drilling to increase yield at Eugene Island Block 330 oil field in Gulf of Mexico)
June 21, 1993... Pogo Producing Co. is developing a 21-year-old oil and gas field in the Gulf of Mexico, adding additional proven reserves with the aid of horizontal drilling technology. Pogo, as operator, recently completed two wells in the Eugene Island...

IPAA reports drilling cost uptick in 1992. (Independent Petroleum Association of America reports 4% decline in average cost of domestic oil and gas production, increased use of improved oil recovery technology)
June 21, 1993... The Independent Petroleum Assn. of America says domestic oil and gas wells are getting deeper, and operators are returning to existing wells with improved recovery technology. Yet, in 1992, this trend failed to reflect in higher drilling...

Imperial revs up heavy oil output. (Imperial Oil Ltd. plans production schedule for improved oil recovery project in Cold Lake, Alberta)
June 21, 1993... Imperial Oil Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, is working to find ways to speed heavy oil production at its Cold Lake project. A company senior vice president, Douglas Baldwin, said the company will bring phases 7 and 8 of its Cold Lake program...

Horizontal scores in Sask. (Western Canadian provincial governments offer incentives for improved oil recovery; Petrolantic Ltd. completes directional oil well drilling project in Saskatchewan)
June 21, 1993... Incentives offered by Western Canadian provincial governments to operators that drill horizontal wells or re-complete horizontally in vertical wells are keeping the number of such wells high in recent months. An example is Petrolantic...

Two Kern fields revise reserves downward. (oil reserve estimates decreased for Kern County, California oil fields)
June 21, 1993... Downward additions outnumber by a margin of 2-to-1 upward additions to estimated reserves in four of California's Kern County oil fields, where improved recovery projects play a role in production. The state Oil, Gas and Geothermal...

'92 Okla. oil yield down; gas up slightly. (report from Oklahoma Corporation Commission)
June 21, 1993... Oil production in Oklahoma during 1992 declined 5.6% from 1991 totals, while natural gas production increased by 1.4%, says a recent report from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Crude oil and condensate production totaled 101. 8...

S.F. Chien, C.L. Redus and P.L. Sigwardt of Texaco Development Corp. (patent method of determining flowline steam quality; Canadian Patent No. 1,301,481)
June 21, 1993... S.F. Chien, C.L. Redus and P.L. Sigwardt of Texaco Development Corp. have patented a method of determining flowline steam quality which uses flow restriction devices with water addition at a known rate between restrictions. Another object of...

W.J. Clarke of Geochemical Corp. (patents method of grouting porous gas and petroleum-bearing formations with cementitious material useful for cementing of wellbore; U.S. Patent No. 5,106,423)
June 21, 1993... W.J. Clarke of Geochemical Corp. has patented a method of grouting porous gas and petroleum-bearing formations with a cementitious material comprising ultra-fine ground slag that is useful for primary and remedial cementing of a wellbore. A...

P.I. Day of Union Oil Co. of California. (patents method for determining true 'in situ' resistivity of thin layer within formation from dual induction log data; U.S. Patent No. 5,142,472)
June 21, 1993... P.I. Day of Union Oil Co. of California has patented a method used for determining true in situ resistivity of a thin layer within a formation from dual induction log data. The method first corrects resistivity data read from the dual induction...

Upped San Juan Basin pace spurs research. (forecast increase in coalbed methane production in San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Colorado encourages production method research)
June 27, 1993... The expected increase in coalbed methane production in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and Colorado has researchers seeking more cost-effective treatment methods for the volumes of brackish formation water produced by drilling operations. ...

More Texas IOR incentives told. (Texas Governor Ann W. Richards signs legislation creating incentives for improved oil recovery)
June 27, 1993... Texas legislators continue to go to bat for the state's oil and gas producers. On the heels of a new bill that extended tax benefits for new and expanded IOR projects in the state (IRW, 6/21), Texas Gov. Ann Richards last week signed a...

Saskatchewan closer to seizing upgrader. (government of Saskatchewan plans takeover of Newgrade heavy oil upgrader near Regina, owned by Federated Co-operatives Ltd.)
June 27, 1993... The threat by the Saskatchewan government to take over the heavily indebted Newgrade heavy oil upgrader near Regina has taken an ominous turn, with a unilateral expropriation bill being given a second reading in the provincial legislature. ...

Chevron bids for Elk Hills control. (submits proposal to DOE for takeover of Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve, California)
June 27, 1993... Chevron Corp., anticipating the July 31, 1995, expiration of Bechtel Petroleum Operations' contract for operating the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve in California, has submitted its proposal to take over the running of the reserve. And...

Precision swaps rigs for stock. (Precision Drilling Corp. acquires new rigs with acquisition of other drilling companies)
June 27, 1993... Anticipating the ongoing exploration/development drilling boom in Western Canada, Precision Drilling Corp. is wheeling and dealing in order to get control of as much as 20% of the rigs available for shallow gas drilling in the region. The...

Aussie shale process upgrade cuts costs. (Australian researchers discover method of decreasing oil shale conversion costs)
June 27, 1993... Australian researchers have found a way to slash oil shale conversion costs by about US$3.50 per barrel and thereby transform the economics of processing the huge deposits of shale Down Under. The key, says the chief researcher, is that the...

Sonat La. horizontal results told. (data available from directional oil well drilling project completed by Sonat Minerals Inc. in Western Louisiana)
June 27, 1993... Completion data on Houston-based Sonat Minerals Inc. 's first horizontal well in Western Louisiana indicate the well is no stem-winder, but is productive from Austin Chalk horizons. The well, the Sonat Minerals No. C-I, in Vernon Parish...

Howell chalks horizontal re-entries. (Howell Petroleum Corp. announces production results from Brazos County horizontal re-entry oil wells in Austin Chalk/Buda Limestone trend of Southwest Texas)
June 27, 1993... Houston-based Howell Petroleum Corp. last week announced production results on its first two Brazos County horizontal re-entry wells in the Austin Chalk/Buda Limestone trend of Southwest Texas. The company said its McLaughlin Lake Unit Well...

Texas issues 44 May horizontal permits. (permits for horizontal oil well drilling granted by Texas Railroad Commission in May 1993)
June 27, 1993... The Texas Railroad Commission granted 44 permits for horizontal and sidetrack wells around the state in May, marking a decline in activity from the previous four months. Even though permit numbers were higher for January-April than in May,...

RRC considers new water frac rules. (Texas Railroad Commission evaluates new guidelines for cyclic imbibition soaks)
June 27, 1993... The Texas Railroad Commission in Austin is considering a set of guidelines created to eliminate erroneous producer filings for certification of cyclic imbibition soaks --better known as "water fracs" -- as IOR projects. The guidelines,...

W. Sneed. (patents wireline delivery tool for underground oil well; U.S. Patent No. 5,180,009)
June 27, 1993... W. Sneed has patented a wireline delivery tool for an underground well with a pipe, a surface seal for the pipe, and a wireline extending from the surface into the pipe. The wireline delivery tool includes a body with a diameter of less than...

D.C. Van Slyke of Unocal Corp. (patents invention for separation of oils from particulate solids; U.S. Patent No. 5,186,686)
June 27, 1993... D.C. Van Slyke of Unocal Corp. has patented an invention for the separation of oils from particulate solids such as drill cutting, gravel, sand, soil and ash. The invention has application, for example, in well drilling operations, in...

W.A. MacWilliams and W. Eadie of Eadie Technology Inc. (patent process and apparatus for partial upgrading of heavy oil feedstock; Canadian Patent No. 1,313,639)
June 27, 1993... W.A. MacWilliams and W. Eadie of Eadie Technology Inc. have patented a process and apparatus for partial upgrading of a heavy oil feedstock. The invention relates to treating produced heavy crude oil in a coalescing treater and visbreaking the...