Improved Recovery Week articles from March 1993

Improved Recovery Week archives from March 1993

Jury still out on Louisiana horizontal play. (horizontal drilling in Austin Chalk in Eastern and Central Louisiana yields poor return)
March 1, 1993... Horizontal drilling in the Austin Chalk -- as it extends into Eastern and Central Louisiana -- is demonstrating a tendency toward "stinginess" when it comes to crude oil discoveries. In Texas, the chalk is a prolific -- if somewhat...

Elf ordered to cancel lab moves. (Societe Nationale Elf Aquitaine cancels reorganization plans under pressure from energy industry unions and French government)
March 1, 1993... Energy industry unions, coupled with government majority ownership, have forced France's Elf Aquitaine to cancel plans to "right-size" its research and development capability. Elf Chairman Loik Le Floch-Prigent was told by the French...

Suit filed against N.M. coalgas operators. (natural gas and coalbed methane producers sued for ground water contamination in New Mexico)
March 1, 1993... A New Mexico couple has sued four producers, alleging the producers' conventional gas and coalbed methane production in the San Juan Basin contaminated ground water in the northwestern part of the state. And data contained in a recently...

GRI opens Houston center. (Gas Research Institute opens Natural Gas Supply Information Center at University of Houston; Houston, Texas)
March 1, 1993... The Gas Research Institute has opened its newest Natural Gas Supply Information Center at the University of Houston. The center provides producers with information on state-of-the-art technology for natural gas production from shales, coal...

Unocal recasts Coalinga well. (horizontal oil well drilling in Guijarral Hills oil field near Coalinga, California)
March 1, 1993... Unocal Corp. will try to recast a conventional well completed in 195 5 as a horizontal well in the Guijarral Hills field eight miles east of Coalinga, Calif. Slated to get another chance with modern technology is the Polvadero Unit No....

Calif. drilling permits down 37.5% in '92. (California's Oil and Gas Division reports statistics for 1992)
March 1, 1993... Final figures for notices to drill wells, filed in 1992 with California's Oil & Gas Div., paint a disquieting picture. The total was 1,326 notices, a decline of 37.5% from the preceding year's 2,120 notices. In the division's Dist. 4,...

BLM issues Wyoming coalgas EIS. (U.S. Bureau of Land Management releases environmental impact statement on coalbed methane project planned by MetFuels Inc.)
March 1, 1993... The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has released the final environmental impact statement on the MetFuels Inc. coalbed methane project in Central Wyoming's Hanna Basin. Deadline for public comment on the final ElS is March 15. The...

Amoco believes IOR's hot, sharing's cool. (Amoco Production Co. plans large annual expenditure for improved oil recovery program)
March 1, 1993... If the oil patch latched onto Amoco Production Co.'s stated commitment to improved oil recovery, mature U.S. oil fields would be in for considerable advanced secondary and tertiary recovery action. Amoco sees IOR as a necessary part of a...

Reverse drilling tested in Kentucky. (Gas Research Institute tests reverse-circulation air drilling in Appalachian Basin, Kentucky)
March 1, 1993... The Gas Research Institute is testing reverse-circulation air drilling in the Appalachian Basin. Reuben Graham, a principal contractor in the research project, said a three-well program in Pike County, Ky., showed the new drilling...

G.J. Zabaras of Shell Oil Co. (patents electrical submersible pump for lifting heavy oil; U.S. Patent No. 5,159,977)
March 1, 1993... G.J. Zabaras of Shell Oil Co. has patented an electrical submersible pump for lifting heavy oil. The performance of the pump is improved by injection of water such that the water and the oil being pumped flow in a core-flow regime, reducing...

M.C. Puerto of Exxon Production Research Co. (patents method of hydrocarbon recovery; U.S. Patent No. 5,135,052)
March 1, 1993... M.C. Puerto of Exxon Production Research Co. has patented a method of hydrocarbon recovery using a viscous microemulsion from the single-phase region of the ternary diagram of a microemulsion system that is optimal at the reservoir salinity....

T.O. Mitchell of Mobil Oil Corp. (patents process for recovery of oil; Canadian Patent No. 1,293,184)
March 1, 1993... T.O. Mitchell of Mobil Oil Corp. has patented a process for recovery of oil wherein a zone of greater permeability in said producing formation is closed by a novel gel, and oil is subsequently displaced from a zone of lesser permeability by...

Calif. agency proposes extended-reach coastal drilling. (California State Lands Commission makes proposal for development of oil fields lying beneath state coastal waters)
March 8, 1993... Lured by the potential of millions of dollars in state revenues, the Califomia Lands Commission proposes drilling from shore to develop the fields that lie beneath state coastal waters. A recent commission report proposed a $1.8 billion...

South American heavy oil seen. (large reserves of heavy oil discovered in Ecuador)
March 8, 1993... Along with the huge light oil discoveries made recently in northern South American countries -- such as Cusiana in Colombia -- huge reserves of heavy oil are winning operators' attention. Petroecuador SA, the Ecuadoran national oil company,...

Midway-Sunset horizontal cheers SWEPI. (Midway-Sunset horizontal oil well near Maricopa, California produces favorable results as reported by Shell Western Exploration and Production Inc.)
March 8, 1993... Production figures have not been released, but Shell Western Exploration & Production Inc. describes as "encouraging" the results of a horizontal well on its MBS property, less than a mile north of Maricopa, Calif., in the Midway-Sunset field....

Texaco claims horizontal record. (Texaco Exploration and Production Inc. claims record for length of horizontal displacement)
March 8, 1993... A dual-lateral, medium-radius horizontal well drilled by Texaco E&P Inc. in the Brookeland field in extreme East Texas is being touted as a recordbreaker for length of horizontal displacement. The well, the Brookeland Unit 3 No. 1 -H, a...

Frac telemetry tool developed. (Gas Research Institute and ProTechnics International Inc. develop wireless bottomhole telemetry tool to monitor downhole temperature and pressure during fracturing jobs)
March 8, 1993... To get the best fracture possible in a given gas formation, downhole pressure and temperature must be monitored closely during the hydraulic frac treatment. That's why the Gas Research Institute, Chicago, and ProTechnics International...

Old field entry secondary IOR. (Arco Oil and Gas Co. plans pilot waterflood for improved oil recovery in North Tejon field near Bakersfield, California)
March 8, 1993... Arco Oil & Gas Co. plans to initiate a pilot waterflood in the North Tejon field, 20 miles south of Bakersfield, Calif. The company plans a maximum injection rate of 3,000 b/d in one injector. If the pilot is successful, the flood will be...

Hot oil process studied. (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology conducts research on method of melting paraffin build up in oil wells)
March 8, 1993... When paraffins build up in producing oil wells, one way to deal with the problem is to melt them with hot oil. Does this practice create long-term problems even as it solves the immediate one? Jill Buckley of the New Mexico Institute of...

Norway recoverable reserves up. (Norwegian Oil Directorate reports increase in anticipated recoverable reserves from Norwegian continental shelf)
March 8, 1993... The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate says anticipated recoverable reserves from the Norwegian continental shelf have increased by 12%. The directorate says discovered recoverable reserves total 5.6 billion tons of oil equivalent, and...

Estonian shale a short-term market. (Department of Energy reports on availability of opportunities for U.S. oil shale technology in Estonia)
March 8, 1993... U.S. providers of oil shale technology may find an overseas market expansion opportunity in Estonia, says a newly released Energy Dept. report. The Baltic nations -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- depend largely on outside fuel sources,...

Texaco gets 'sweet' Siberian IOR deal. (Texaco International Operations Inc. awarded contract for improved oil recovery for idle oil wells in Russia)
March 8, 1993... A Texaco Inc. subsidiary has concluded a deal with a Western Siberian oil and gas production association to restore production from idle wells in that far northern area of Russia. And Texaco received oil export guarantees from the Russian...

TIPRO workshop sets 'secondary' gas recovery. (Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association conducts improved recovery workshop in Houston, Texas)
March 8, 1993... When R.J. Finley discusses "secondary" gas recovery, he's not talking about gas produced from existing completions through new production mechanisms such as water or CO2 injection. He is, however, talking about gas not produced during...

Saskatchewan horizontals yield big strikes. (development horizontal well at Soda Lake oil field in Saskatchewan produces substantial accumulation of heavy oil)
March 15, 1993... A development horizontal well at the Soda Lake field in Saskatchewan has encountered a "significant" accumulation of heavy oil. The latest strike comes from Dorset Exploration Ltd., based in Calgary, Alberto. The company calls its well, 35...

Ohio tries deeper slant holes. (new directional drilling technique sought by Ohio oil producers at Silurian Clinton oil sands field)
March 15, 1993... Ohio operators have been drilling directional wells to the popular Silurian Clinton sand to the tune of 30-40 wells per year. Now, a trend is developing in the state: deeper directional holes. Since the first of the year, about a half-dozen...

Louisiana gets new deep chalk play. (Union Pacific Resources Co. plans horizontal drilling project in Avoyelles Parish oil field, Louisiana)
March 15, 1993... Just when things looked rather bleak for extension of Texas' Austin Chalk horizontal drilling play into Central Louisiana, news comes of a big chalk lease play in an entirely new sector of that state. Austin Chalk activist Union Pacific...

BP finds heavy oil off Shetlands. (British Petroleum Company PLC; Shetland Islands)
March 15, 1993... British Petroleum Ltd. has a major heavy oil discovery offshore from the United Kingdom in the North Sea west of the Shetland Islands. Preliminary calculations set reserves at from 250 million to 500 million barrels of 25 degrees API crude...

DOE to get tech transfer report. (Department of Energy receives report from outside organizations on petroleum technology transfer)
March 15, 1993... The Energy Dept. at the end of this month is expected to receive a report on the capabilities available from various outside organizations in the area of petroleum technology transfer. Additionally, the report will examine the practicality...

IOR project set inside Shawnee, Okla. (Vintage Petroleum Inc. conducts improved oil recovery project in Shawnee Townsite oil field in Shawnee, Oklahoma)
March 15, 1993... A secondary recovery unit has been formed on a 3,040-acre oil and gas producing area in the Shawnee Townsite field located primarily within the city limits of Shawnee, in Pottawatomie County, Okla. The simple waterflood unit was formed by...

Utah workover tax extended through '99. (severance tax credit extended to end of 1999)
March 15, 1993... Utah is extending its severance tax credit on oil well workovers and recompletions through the end of 1999. The extension was made by state lawmakers after an interim legislative committee submitted a report endorsing it (IRW 1/18). Five...

Mitchell ups E&P capital outlays. (Mitchell Energy and Development Corp. increases spending on oil and gas exploration and development for fiscal year 1993)
March 15, 1993... Houston-based Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. is increasing spending for oil and gas exploration and development drilling in fiscal year 1993, which began Feb. 1. The consolidated capital spending for drilling by the company's E&P...

Steamflood boosts operator's yield. (M.H. Whittier Corp. attains increased production from improved oil recovery project in Coalinga oil field in San Joaquin Valley, California)
March 15, 1993... A steamflood initiated in late 1991 by M.H. Whittier Corp. has given a significant boost to the independent operator's production from the Coalinga field in California's San Joaquin Valley. Whittier said pre-steam production from its Sect....

Lease sale may identify thermal IOR areas. (Bureau of Land Management solicits for California lease sale; improved oil recovery)
March 15, 1993... The Bureau of Land Management is soliciting nominations for parcels for its next California lease sale, scheduled to take place in June. Areas of the state in which thermal IOR techniques are used to coax heavy oil out probably will place...

Johnston pushes public-private R&D. (Senate Energy Chairman J. Bennett Johnston requests federal funding for civilian Department of Energy laboratories creating partnerships with private industry in research and development)
March 15, 1993... Senate Energy Chairman Bennett Johnston, D-La., wants Congress to earmark about $1 billion to civilian multi-program DOE laboratories for cost-shared partnerships with private industry. The legislation doesn't ask for any additional money,...

Independents push hard on import fee. (independent oil and gas producers oppose energy tax)
March 15, 1993... While the Clinton administration's proposed Btu-based energy tax seems to be gaining support in Congress, independent oil and gas operators are pushing for an oil import fee as an alternative. What's more, independents and majors rue the...

K.R. Pittaway, J.S. Moore and J.C. Albright of Conoco Inc. (patent test procedure related to carbon dioxide flooding for improved oil recovery; Canadian Patent No. 1,296,605)
March 15, 1993... K.R. Pittaway, J.S. Moore and J.C. Albright of Conoco Inc. have patented a single-well test procedure particularly adapted to evaluating and/or designing an improved oil recovery project involving carbon dioxide flooding. The invention is...

D.C. McClure of Marathon Oil Co. (patents process for oil recovery from oil-wet fractured formation; Canadian Patent No. 1,298,780)
March 15, 1993... D.C. McClure of Marathon Oil Co. has patented a process for recovering oil from an oil-wet fractured formation by altering the wettability of the formation with cyclically injected fluids. The process uses an imbibition displacement mechanism...

S.P. Current of Chevron Corp. (patents method for improved oil recovery with injection of surfactant; U.S. Patent No. 5,110,487)
March 15, 1993... S.P. Current of Chevron Corp. has patented an improved oil recovery method brought on by injecting a suffactant component which includes at least one anionic suffactant component and a non-ionic suffactant component in which the components are...

H.C. Phelps and E.T. Strom of Mobil Oil Corp. (patent method for prevention of damage to water-sensitive producing zone in oil well with water influx problems; U.S. Patent No. 5,150,754)
March 15, 1993... H.C. Phelps and E.T. Strom of Mobil Oil Corp. have patented a method to prevent damage to a water-sensitive producing zone in a well with water influx problems. A gellable petroleum mixture is injected into the well, where it forms a solid...

New slim-hole MWD tool, others touted at SPE. (measurement-while-drilling tool featured at Houston, Texas Society of Petroleum Engineers energy conference)
March 22, 1993... New horizontal drilling technology - including a slim-hole MWD tool and a system for bringing short-radius angle-build to medium-radius drilling - prompted talk at a Houston energy conference last week. At a special session on horizontal...

Sonat horiz. flows 2,240 b/d. (Sonat Exploration Co. horizontal oil well produces 2,240 barrels per day)
March 22, 1993... Only weeks ago, it looked as if Sonat Exploration Co.'s Austin Chalk horizontal wells in the Bayou Jack field of Avoyelles Parish, La., had come to naught, or nearly so. The company's first horizontal in the area produced at very low...

Utah's first coalgas field gets nod. (U.S. Bureau of Land Management approves PG and E Resources Co. coalbed methane project in Utah)
March 22, 1993... The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has given the green light to Utah's first coalbed methane production unit. BLM gave permission to PG&E Resources Co. of Dallas for 124 wells in an area in Central Utah that has attracted exploration by at...

Huge Sharjah horizontal complete. (Crescent Petroleum finishes horizontal oil well in Arabian Gulf off emirate of Sharjah)
March 22, 1993... Crescent Petroleum, operator of the offshore Mubarak field in the Arabian Gulf off the emirate of Sharjah, has completed a second horizontal well in the Thamama gas condensate reservoir, according to a bulletin from OPEC headquarters. The...

BP back with IOR project. (British Petroleum PLC contract with Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. for improved oil recovery)
March 22, 1993... British Petroleum Co. last week signed an agreement with Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. to reactivate a shut-in oil field in Venezuela's Orinoco Delta. By doing so, BP became the first major multinational oil company to return to Venezuelan...

Wyo. lawmakers override petroleum bill veto. (Wyoming House and Senate legislators override veto of Oil and Gas Economic Recovery Act by Governor Mike Sullivan)
March 22, 1993... For only the third time in Wyoming's history, the state Legislature voted to override a govenor's veto of pending legislation. Wyoming's Senate and House voted to turn back Gov. Mike Sullivan's veto of H.B. 288a, known as the Oil and Gas...

Russians buy workover rigs. (purchase of U.S. oil well servicing and reactivation machinery from American companies)
March 22, 1993... Russia's commitment to reactivation of shut-down wells is resulting in purchases of significant numbers of U.S. well servicing and workover machinery, presumably to be used by Russian companies. This joins a growing volume of similar...

Steam project aims at production boost. (Berry Petroleum Co. embarks on steam injection project for improved oil recovery in San Joaquin Valley, California)
March 22, 1993... Berry Petroleum Co. began injecting steam in mid-March as the initial move in a $3 million project aimed at revitalizing a lease in the McKittrick field in California San Joaquin Valley. The Taft, Calif., independent produces 50-60 b/d from...

Russia welcomes Canadian oilfield help. (Rusia-Bitech Co. plans oil and gas field development in Lake Baikal, Siberia)
March 22, 1993... Russia is rolling out the red carpet to Canada's oil and gas industry and has come looking for Canadian investment and expertise for Russian oilfield projects worth up to US$5 billion. In Calgary, Alberta, representatives of Rusia-Bitech...

RRC grants 100 Texas horizontal permits. (Texas Railroad Commission; horizontal oil well drilling permits)
March 22, 1993... Producers in Texas received 100 state Railroad Commission permits to drill horizontal wells during January and February, with 50 permits granted each month. By comparison, 62 permits for horizontal wells were issued in December, 57 in...

J.M. Sanchez and R.D. Hazlett of Mobil Oil Corp. (patents solvent stimulation process for horizontal oil well drilling; U.S. Patent No. 5,167,280)
March 22, 1993... J.M. Sanchez and R.D. Hazlett of Mobil Oil Corp. have patented a solvent stimulation process whereby a viscosity reducing agent is circulated through a horizontal well via a production string. Said agent exits the production string and enters...

R.D. Sydansk of Marathon Oil Co. (patents process for recovering liquid hydrocarbons; U.S. Patent No. 5,129,457)
March 22, 1993... R.D. Sydansk of Marathon Oil Co. has patented a process for recovering liquid hydrocarbons comprising injection into a fractured subterranean formation a polymerenhanced foam comprising a polymer selected from a synthetic polymer or a...

Mini-refrigerator aids deep-earth measurements. (instrument designed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico used to cool drilled oil well boreholes)
March 29, 1993... A refrigerator no bigger than two soda cans stacked end to end is receiving interest from international oil and gas exploration and research institutes for use in cooling down drilled boreholes. Designed and patented by an engineer at Los...

Downhole hydraulic pump set. (Weir Group PLC develops hydraulic-drive downhole pump) (Product Announcement)
March 29, 1993... The Pump division of Weir Group PLC, Glasgow, Scotland, has developed a hydraulic-drive downhole pump that exhibits considerable endurance. Development of the pump comes at a time when a number of North Sea offshore operators are going...

EPA considers Amoco for methane pact. (Amoco Production Co. considered by Environmental Protection Agency for non-competitive coalbed methane recovery contract)
March 29, 1993... EPA -- not DOE -- is considering Amoco Production Co. for a non-competitive coalbed methane recovery contract. What's more, EPA would like to award other such contracts, the agency announced recently. The contract with Amoco involves...

New reservoir sensors debuted. (Chevron Corp. develops fiber optic-based downhole sensor package)
March 29, 1993... Chevron Corp. has developed a fiber optic-based downhole sensor package capable of withstanding intense temperatures and pressures while transmitting data continuously for the lifetime of a reservoir. There are forecasts that, if...

Producer sells tax credits in stock. (Eastern American Energy Corp. sells Section 29 tax credits)
March 29, 1993... Denver-based Eastern American Energy Corp. recently found itself with $8 million more in Sect. 29 tax credits than it could use, so it sold some in a 20-year-old trust that began trading recently on the New York Stoc Exchange. The...

Mobil plans 431 Calif. injectors/producers. (Mobil Oil Corp. plans oil well drilling in California)
March 29, 1993... Unlike many operators in California, Mobil Oil Corp. plans a more active drilling campaign this year than last. In 1992, the company filed notices for more wells than any other operator in the state, drilling 373 wells. This year, 431 wells...

Lateral holes could reawaken S. Michigan. (horizontal drilling planned to revive oil wells in Albion-Scipio field in Southern Michigan)
March 29, 1993... Horizontal drainholes may be the answer for reviving many of the producing stripper wells in the largely depleted Albion-Scipio trend in Southern Michigan. Mark Dixon, a lateral drilling consultant based in Toledo, Ohio, told a gathering...

Amoco tops '92 Texas drilling. (Texas Railroad Commission reports Amoco Production Co. and Exxon Corp. as top oil and gas producers in 1992)
March 29, 1993... Texas Railroad Commssion statistics show Amoco Production Co. and Exxon Corp. to be the top oil and gas producers, respectively, in the state last year. Amoco led all oil producers with an average daily production of 140,980 barrels --...

Gas drilling surge expected. (1993 to see increase in drilling for natural gas according to study conducted by Baker Hughes Inc.)
March 29, 1993... Drilling for natural gas will increase noticeably within six months, says James Woods, chairman of Baker Hughes Inc. Speaking last week at the annual Howard Weil Institutional Energy Conference in New Orleans, Woods said the gas drilling...

RRC's Williamson lets fly at Btu tax. (Texas Railroad Commissioner Barry Williamson opposes Bill Clinton's energy tax proposal)
March 29, 1993... The Clinton administration's Btu tax proposal may soon be the law of the land, but detractors are pulling out all the stops to condemn the plan everywhere they can. The American Petroleum Institute -- the majors -- and the Independent...

J.M. Dees, P.J. Handren and T.B. Jupp, all of Oryx Energy Co. (patent method for deceasing resistance to fluid flow; U.S. Patent No. 5,131,472)
March 29, 1993... J.M. Dees, P.J. Handren and T.B. Jupp, all of Oryx Energy Co., have patented a method for deceasing the resistance to fluid flow in a subterranean formation around a well having unperforated casing fixed therein, the casing extending at least...

M.C. Puerto of Exxon Production Research Co. (patents method for recovering hydrocarbons; U.S. Patent No. 5,135,052)
March 29, 1993... M.C. Puerto of Exxon Production Research Co. has patented a method for recovering hydrocarbons from a subterranean reservoir formation containing hydrocarbons and water. It comprises determining the effective reservoir water/hydrocarbon bank...

M. Kumar of Chevron Research & Technology Co. (patents method for optimizing recovery of petroleum from subterranean formations; U.S. Patent No. 5,174,377)
March 29, 1993... M. Kumar of Chevron Research & Technology Co. has patented a method for optimizing recovery of petroleum from a subterranean, petroleum-containing formation by improving the efficiency of a steam drive through a linear heat reduction schedule...