Improved Recovery Week articles from March 1994

Improved Recovery Week archives from March 1994

Texaco, Unocal get aggressive on U.S. E&P outlook. (companies concentrate on domestic petroleum exploration and production)
March 28, 1994... Both Texaco Inc. and Unocal Corp. apparently feel domestic exploration and production still have a way to go. In deference to other U.S.-based major oil companies, that have put the lion's share of their stake in overseas ventures, Texaco...

Conoco to test composite tubing. (to be used in slimhole oil and gas drilling and production operations)
March 28, 1994... By the end of the year, Conoco Inc., Houston, will begin manufacturing and testing multiple grades of spoolable composite coiled tubing for use in slimhole oil and gas drilling and production operations. In a press release, the company...

DOE backs IPAA import study, says O'Leary. (Energy Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary endorses call for Commerce Department investigation of oil imports impact on national security as requested by Independent Petroleum Association)
March 28, 1994... Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary has stepped up to the batter's box to support the Independent Petroleum Assn. of America's plea for a Commerce Dept. investigation of the impact of oil imports on national security. O'Leary said the...

Syncrude is Murphy keystone. (Syncrude Canada Ltd. proves profitable investment for Murphy Oil Corp.)
March 28, 1994... In Canada, a major producer of revenues for Murphy Oil Corp, is its 5% interest is the oil sands projec in Northern Alberta, Syncrude Canada Ltd. In a recent interview with Dow Jones News service, Claiborne Deming, chief operating...

Camco gets Russian pump deal. (Camco International Inc. contract for electric submersible pump systems to be used in Western Siberia)
March 28, 1994... A unit of Houston-based Camco International Inc. has received two orders totaling $24.8 million for electric submersible pump systems for use in Western Siberia. The order came from a Russian oil production association, the company said....

Panaco sets Gulf recompletions. (plans improved oil recovery program in Gulf of Mexico)
March 28, 1994... Panaco Inc., Kansas City, Mo., has started a $7 million offshore drilling and recompletion program in the Gulf of Mexico, which will include several horizontal wells. The company said the program is under way in West Delta Area Blocks...

Sand removal tool extends horizontal well life. (Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority reports on tool patented by Tad Sudol, which removes sand deposits from oilwells during secondary oil recovery)
March 28, 1994... Producing horizontal wells in Western Canada are frequently plagued by sand accumulations that often restrict oil production and could mean premature well abandonment. Now, however, thanks to an invention for downhole sand removal,...

Beta wins 800-well Russian pact. (Beta Well Service Inc. acquires stake in Anglo Resources Ltd. joint venture improved oil recovery project in Russia)
March 28, 1994... Through acquisition of 50% of a major joint venture in the Stavropol region of Russia, Beta Well Service Inc. will begin workover and recompletion services on a total of about 800 existing Russian wells. Beta, of Calgary, Alberta,...

Montana OKs tax incentives. (Montana Legislature approves tax incentive bill for secondary and tertiary oil recovery projects)
March 28, 1994... The Montana Legislature has hopped aboard the tax incentives-for-oil operators bandwagon by approving a bill that lowers taxes on new secondary and tertiary recovery projects. The legislature also extended an existing tax exemption for...

Microwaves used to thin heavy oil. (Lagoven S.A. uses electromagnetic waves to increase yield from oil wells in Orinoco heavy oil belt, Venezuela)
March 28, 1994... A combination of both electromagnetic waves and horizontal wells is enabling Lagoven, a subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela to triple the heavy oil output from some wells located in Venezuela's Orinoco heavy oil belt. Lagoven, according...

Stripper depletion allowance upped to 19%. (Permian Basin Petroleum Association advises independent oil producers on federal tax laws affecting marginal oil production)
March 28, 1994... Producers and royalty owners involved in marginal well production should take advantage of the percentage depletion rate for 1993 stripper production, which is 19%, advises the Permian Basin Petroleum Assn. Federal tax law changes in 1990...

G. Chauveteau, J. Lecourtier, V. Plazanet, and A. Putz, all of Institut Francais du Petrole. (patent way to retain reduction of based-polymers displacement fluid; French Patent No. 2,680,540/A/) (New IOR Patents)
March 28, 1994... G. Chauveteau, J. Lecourtier, V. Plazanet, and A. Putz, all of Institut Francais du Petrole have patented a method of retention reduction of a based-polymers displacement fluid, injected in a rock matrix containing petroleum. It consists of...

R.N. Tipman, V.S.V. Rajan, and D.Wallace, all of Oslo Alberta Ltd. (patent method to improve quality of froth from bitumen oil sands extraction; U.S. Patent No. 5,223,148) (New IOR Patents)
March 28, 1994... R.N. Tipman, V.S.V. Rajan, and D. Wallace, all of Oslo Alberta Ltd., have patented a process for improving the quality of froth derived from the extraction of bitumen from oil sands, in which effective separating of water and solids is...

Gulf Basin study examines active hydrocarbon migration. (Global Basins Research Network conducts research)
March 21, 1994... Improved oil and gas recovery takes on a whole new meaning when folks start talking about tapping directly into migrating hydrocarbons before they even make it to the reservoir. And that's not a pipe dream. Producers have long known...

Tulsa firm gets china IOR contract. (Electromagnetic Oil Recovery Inc. contract with China National Technical Import Corp. for improved oil recovery products)
March 21, 1994... Electromagnetic Oil Recovery Inc., Tulsa, Okla., recently gamered a $400,000 contract to supply and install its improved oil recovery products for two wells in the Peoples Republic of China. The contract was let by China National...

Texas energy breaks aired on Capitol Hill. (Texas oil and gas industry officials meet with lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to praise tax incentive programs, inform legislators of economic plight)
March 21, 1994... Texas Railroad Commission members last week were filling Washington, D.C., in on the tax incentive programs in Texas that they say have led to the drilling of hundreds of new wells and increased oil and gas production. And later in the...

NIPER seeks producer input. (National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research focuses on independent energy producers)
March 21, 1994... More communication is needed between the federal government and energy producers to help resolve the industry's most pressing problems, says Tom Wesson, director of the Energy Dept.'s Bartlesville (Okla.) Project Office. "All of our...

$10 billion needed for Russian IOR. (improved oil recovery)
March 21, 1994... With help from the West, the Russian oil and gas industry will be able to recover by the end of the century, says Nikita Dvorets, an independent Russian oil analyst. According to the OPEC Bulletin, a publication of the OPEC, Dvorets said...

Ex-Im Bank readies Russian loan. (Export-Import Bank of the United States to finance loan for oil and gas industry)
March 21, 1994... The Export-Import Bank of the United States is now ready to finance a $245 million loan to help the Russian oil and gas industry. The loan would be the bank's largest to Russia so far, and its first under a controversial $2 billion...

Canadian energy boards share info. (National Energy Board and Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board trade oil and gas geologic and reservoir information)
March 21, 1994... Canadian national and Alberta provincial energy regulatory agencies have signed an agreement to share oil and gas geologic and reservoir information. The National Energy Board and Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board, both based...

AOSTRA backs two new heavy oil projects. (Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority)
March 21, 1994... Two separate major oil company heavy oil extraction experiments are being carried out in Alberta, Canada, both with the assistance of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority. Currently receiving AOSTRA backing are a...

Enron files EIA for Wyoming waterflood. (Enron Oil and Gas co. plant secondary oil recovery project in Sublette County, Wyoming; files environmental impact statement)
March 21, 1994... A draft environmental impact statement has been published by the Bureau of Land Management on Enron Oil and Gas Co.'s plan to drill about 37 oil wells in the foothills of the Wyoming Range in Sublette County, Wyo., as part of an improved...

E. Gilje, C. Sonesson, P.E. Hellberg, K. Holmberg and S. Svennberg, all of Norske Stats Olijeselskap A/S (Statoil). (patent surfactants for use in improved oil recovery process; Norwegian Patent No. 170,972/B/)
March 21, 1994... E. Gilje, C. Sonesson, P.-E. Hellberg, K. Holmberg and S. Svennberg, aH of Norske Stats Oljeselskap A/S (Statoil) have patented a series of surfactants that are less sensitive to salinity and temperature and the equivalent alkane-carbon value...

IOR activity at Norwegian N. Sea field ups recovery. (improved oil recovery increases productivity at Snorre oil field)
March 14, 1994... An ongoing water injection/gas reinjection pilot project is definitely improving recovery and incremental production at the Snorre field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The Snorre field, discovered in 1979, is located in blocks...

Firm finals horizontal well battery. (Beau Canada Exploration Ltd. finishes construction on oil processing plant in Saskatchewan)
March 14, 1994... Beau Canada Exploration Ltd. has completed construction of an oil processing plant in the Winter area of Saskatchewan to process production from 26 horizontal wells. The Calgary-based independent said initial production is now being...

Swepi to reactivate McKittrick steamflood. (Shell Western E and P Inc. plans improved oil recovery project in McKittrick oil field, San Joaquin Valley, California)
March 14, 1994... Shell Western E&P Inc. plans a major drilling program to reactivate an idle steamflood project in the McKittrick field in California's San Joaquin Valley. The project could provide a significant boost to production in the declining...

Dresser sells stake in mud company. (Dresser Industries Inc. sells interest in M-I Drilling Fluids Co. to Smith International Inc.)
March 14, 1994... 2 Dresser Industries Inc., Dallas, has completed the sale of its 64% interest in M-I Drilling Fluids Co. to Houston-based Smith International Inc. In a press release, Dresser said its share was sold for $160 million. M-I Drilling...

DOE opens Class III demonstration project. (seeks research formethods of keeping oil reservoirs in production through use of new technology)
March 14, 1994... The Energy Dept. has opened its third round of competition for oilfield projects that can demonstrate ways to keep many endangered U.S. reservoirs in production through the use of new technology. DOE will accept proposals through June 8...

Factions do W. Va. coalgas deal. (West Virginia Legislature introduces bill affecting consent rights to coalbed methane in West Virginia)
March 14, 1994... Coal industry factions struck a deal recently with oil and gas interests in West Virginia that will allow for higher production of coalbed methane gas in the state. The agreement, which ends a legislative fight that has been going on for...

Oil sands research group formed. (The Canadian Oilsands Network for Research and Development)
March 14, 1994... Oil sands research group formed oil companies, research groups, and universities have joined with the Canadian federal and Alberta provincial governments to form a new group called The Canadian Oilsands Network for Research & Development...

Senate panel okays deepwater incentive plan. (Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee waives federal royalties for oil and natural gas producers in Gulf of Mexico)
March 14, 1994... The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has approved a bill to let oil and natural gas producers in deep Gulf of Mexico waters forego paying federal royalties until they've recovered their initial operating costs. Leases...

Microbes control paraffin, boost production. (Coastal Oil and Gas Corp. utilizes microbes to inoculate waxy oil from wells in Uinta Basin, Utah)
March 14, 1994... Coastal Oil & Gas Corp., Salt Lake City, is getting a production "bonus" by inoculating waxy oil from wells in Utah's Uinta Basin with microbes to reduce operating costs. The company, a subsidiary of Coastal Corp., Houston, was not...

S. Bou-Mikael, R.B. Alston and D.L. Hoyt, all of Texaco Development Corp. (patent way to recover oil from formation with two wells; Canadian Patent No. 1,299,092)
March 14, 1994... S. Bou-Mikael, R.B. Alston and D.L. Hoyt, aH of Texaco Development Corp., have patented a method for recovering oil from a formation penetrated by at least two wells. It comprises injecting a recovery fluid simultaneously into the formation...

J.M. Sanchez of Mobil Oil Corp. (patents way to decrease time necessary for use of Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage process; U.S. Patent No. 5,215,146)
March 14, 1994... J.M. Sanchez of Mobil Oil Corp. has patented a method for reducing the time during which steam moves in a lateral direction between two parallel superimposed horizontal wells when using a Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process. Form...

'93 success spurs second U.S./Canada horizontal meet. (heavily-attended 1993 International Williston Basin Horizontal Well Workshop leads to second conference in April, 1994)
March 14, 1994... Based on the success of a 1993 workshop on horizontal drilling in the Williston Basin in both the United States and Canada, a second one has been set for April 25-26 in Minot, N.D. The Second International Williston Basin Horizontal Well...

Technology gives operator 'leg up' in old Louisiana fields. (WRT Energy Inc. utilizes radioactive through-pipe logging tools for improved oil recovery)
March 7, 1994... Wells with large volumes of produced formation brine, resulting in lower hydrocarbon yield, have caused many former owners to shut-in or plug and abandon them due to the high cost of conventional water treatment. With the use of a device...

Morocco rates oil shale resources. (Energy and Mines Minister Abdellatif Guerraoui reports on economic aspects of oil deposit development)
March 7, 1994... Morocco has two deposits that hold an estimated 6 billion metric tons (tonnes) of oil shale, but unless oil prices double or triple, developing them won't be economical. According to published reports, Morocco's Energy and Mines Minister...

Swepi to spend $40 million at South Belridge. (Shell Western E and P Inc. plans improved oil recovery project at South Belridge oil field, California)
March 7, 1994... Though the first oil was discovered in California's South Belridge field in 1911, Shell Western E&P Inc., a major leaseholder in the field, is getting set to make South Belridge's Diatomite pay give up a lot more oil. Since its discovery...

Alberta's new agency nears debut. (to be named Alberta Energy and Utilities Board)
March 7, 1994... Alberta Energy Minister Patricia Black plans tO introduce legislation to create a new Alberta energy regulatory agency within the next week to 10 days. The new agency, to be called the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, will combine the...

Rigs run 'flat out' in W. Canada. (Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors president, Hugh Strain, reports on oil well drilling in Alberta for January and February 1994)
March 7, 1994... The outgoing president of the Canadian Assn. of Oilwell Drilling Contractors, Hugh Strain, announced recently that Alberta drilling activity for the first two months of the year has exceeded the as sociation' s forecast by 30%. At the...

Williams to expand Manzanares system. (Williams Field Services Group plans increase in capacity of Manzanares coalbed methane gathering system)
March 7, 1994... With its Manzanares coalbed methane gathering system at full capacity of 750 mmcf/d, Williams Field Services Group is looking into increasing the system's volume to 950 mmcf/d by the first quarter of next year. The system serves the San...

Amoco leads Texas oil producers. (Amoco Production Co., 1993)
March 7, 1994... Statistics from the Texas Railroad Commission show Amoco Production Co. and Exxon Co. U.S.A. as the top oil and gas producers, respectively, in Texas last year. Amoco led all oil producers with an avenge daily production of 128,887...

Benton tests Venezuelan bender. (Benton Oil and Gas Co. tests horizontal oil well in Uracoa oil field, Eastern Venezuela)
March 7, 1994... Benton-Vinccler, the Venezuelan venture operated by Benton Oil & Gas Co., Oxnard, Calif., said the first horizontal well in the Uracoa oil field in Eastern Venezuela has been declared successful. The Benton-Vinccler Well No. UM- ] 5...

Oil incentives bills set in Oklahoma, Louisiana. (tax incentives legislation for oil well drilling)
March 7, 1994... A tax incentives package to stimulate increased drilling and production in Oklahoma is winding its way through the state Legislature and Louisiana oil producers are hoping for a similar package in their state. Many of the proposals in...

Chevron replaces abacuses with computers. (provides computers for Russian engineers developing Tengiz field, Kazakhstan)
March 7, 1994... Tengizchevroil, the joint venture company between Chevron Corp. and the government of Kazakhstan, in just seven months has moved from a 2,000-year-old information management system to late 20th century computer technology. Chevron...

P.D. Robison, A.J. Stipanovic, C.E. Stypulkoski, N.C. Wan and S. Easter, all of Texaco Inc. (patent thickening agent for oil recovery from petroleum reservoirs; U.S. Patent No. 5,236,046)
March 7, 1994... P.D. Robison, AJ. Stipanovic, C.E. Stypulkoski, N.C. Wan and S. Easter, all of Texaco Inc., have patented an invention to provide a thickening agent that is stronger than existing agents and will withstand higher temperatures and improve the...

W.A. Edelstein, H.J. Vinegar, C.F. Hsu, and O.M. Mueller, all of General Electric Co. (patent in situ operation for extracting shale oil or tar sand with radio frequency signal; U.S. Patent No. 5,236,039)
March 7, 1994... W.A. Edelstein, H.J. Vinegar, C.F. Hsu, and O.M. Mueller, all of General Electric Co., have patented an in situ method of extracting oil from shale or tar sand by applying a radio frequency excitation signal to the hydrocarbon-bearing layer...