Improved Recovery Week articles from March 1999

Improved Recovery Week archives from March 1999

Federal government, through DOE, DOI and SBA, poses moves to help independents weather cost-price squeeze.(US Department of Energy, Department of Interior and Small Business Administration)
March 1, 1999... The federal government seems to be doing what it can to help stressed U.S, oil and gas producers. The Energy Dept., led by its new secretary, Bill Richardson, has announced a number of new initiatives that could spell temporary relief to...

Gulf Canada to joint-venture C$19 million test of new upgrading technique for use at Surmount.(Gulf Canada Resources Ltd)
March 1, 1999... Denver-based Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. says it will fund a CS 19 million bitumen and heavy oil upgrading test program. The program would confirm laboratory and bench-scale testing, and includes construction of a field demonstration...

New lift device tabbed for DOE certification short list; said to hike oil production, nix water flow.(US Department of Energy)
March 1, 1999... With the threat of producers being forced to shut-in marginal wells a very real one these days, more emphasis is being placed on cutting operating costs in the field. And Largo, FL-based Toups Technology Licensing Inc. says its Balanced...

For Oxy, Elk Hills plays crucial role in the name of the game for oil companies - reserve additions.(Occidental Petroleum Corp)
March 1, 1999... Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. has the Elk Hills field in Kern County, CA, to thank for a hefty reserves replacement tally last year. The company said recently it had replaced 378% of its 1998 worldwide oil and gas production...

North Sea fields still profitable at $10/bbl., says new Woodmac report; no shut-ins foreseen.
March 1, 1999... Despite the fact that some companies have entertained the idea of shutting-in some "satellite" fields there, production from the North Sea in 1999 will increase, says Wood Mackenzie. What's more, says the Edinburgh, Scotland-based petroleum...

Oklahoma oil producers getting tax cuts: foot-dragging in house imperils similar law for Texas stripper wells.
March 8, 1999... Emergency tax-reduction measures in producing states are being passed to help oil and gas producers, but it hasn't all been a "done deal." In Oklahoma, for instance, the state legislature last month passed the largest gross production tax...

DOE, state energy officers to field-test energy wise field equipment to aid small producers.(Dept. of Energy)
March 8, 1999... A long with several high-profile initiatives to help U.S. producers weather the oil price crisis, DOE is pecking away at the "little stuff," as well. For example, the department is setting aside $170,000 and calling on in-kind...

Railroad Commission, DOE in cahoots to develop online permit process in Texas: may be running by 2005.(Texas Railroad Commission; Dept. of Energy)
March 8, 1999... The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) is getting help from the federal government to help enable it to use the Internet to process regulatory compliance documents for Texas producers and operators. Under the project, if funded by the Texas...

EIA report says new technology has cut offshore drilling, project development time substantially.(Office of Oil and Gas' Energy Information Administration)
March 15, 1999... Many of the technology advances that have helped improve oil and gas recovery on land are being extended to offshore development. And in so doing, offshore operators are lessening the time between discovery and initial production, particularly...

Gulf Canada negotiating with unnamed firm to operate Canadian heavy oil/oil sands jointly to reduce costs.
March 15, 1999... Because there's still a gloomy outlook for Canadian heavy oil production, at least for the next few months but perhaps for years - Calgary, AB-based Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. is looking into joining forces with another heavy oil producer to...

Identifying non-conventional gas resources overseas is newest GRI Select project; $1.1 million funding sought.
March 22, 1999... Chicago-based Gas Research Institute last week announced a $1.1 million, 18-month project that will evaluate non-conventional gas resources around the world. Such resources include tight sands gas, coalbed methane, gas shales, fractured...

Newest DOE cost-share initiative keys on cutting drilling waste expenses enhancing environment.
March 22, 1999... The Energy Dept. last week announced still another research initiative, this time to help U.S. independent operators reduce field development costs. The cost-share program, involving six research teams, also will help to improve...

Report 'blue-skys' methane hydrates as future gas source; EIA calculates U.S. supply to be 320,000 tcf.(Energy Information Administration)
March 22, 1999... Though methane (gas) hydrates appear to exist in astonishing quantities below the mudline beneath the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, the first attempt at producing them offshore likely will be in the Gulf of Mexico, says the Energy Dept. ...

Idaho company plans summer airborne 'hyperspectral' imaging survey to help high-grade Wyoming gas reserves.(Earth Search Sciences Inc.; Powder River Basin; coalgas and natural gas discovery)
March 29, 1999... A 12-year-old company specializing in remote sensing says it will embark this summer on a joint venture to establish how its equipment can be used to explore for both coalbed methane and conventional natural gas. Earth Search Sciences Inc....

PennzEnergy, Sonat set joint venture to drill 600 Raton Basin coalgas wells at Vermejo Park Ranch.(PennzEnergy Co.; Sonat Exploration Co.)
March 29, 1999... Last week, PennzEnergy Co. and Sonat Exploration Co. formed a venture to develop coalbed methane reserves underlying the 700,000-acre Vermejo Park Ranch in the Raton Basin of northeastern New Mexico. PennzEnergy is headquartered in Houston....

Australian oil shale plant, nearing completion, presages ultimate savings of 10% in oil imports.(Stuart Oil Shale plant in Queensland State)
March 29, 1999... As construction of the US$160 million, 4,500-b/d Stuart Oil Shale pilot plant nears completion in Queensland State, the shares of the Australian companies involved have gained in value. It's apparently no surprise, since their partner in...

New report reveals petroleum R&D spending on abrupt decline: cutbacks evident, says OIGCC.(Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, Oklahoma City)
March 29, 1999... The future of petroleum technology is in serious jeopardy, says a new report by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), Oklahoma City. The just-published report, entitled "Who Will Fund America's Energy Future?", was...

Conoco continues search for oil near National Monument in Utah: enviro-groups press protest.(Conoco Inc.; Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah; Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance)
March 29, 1999... Houston-based Conoco Inc.'s somewhat stubborn campaign to establish petroleum production on public lands in southern Utah is upsetting enviro-groups again. Conoco recently spudded its Muley Creek-Federal Well No. 1 in Garfield County,...