Improved Recovery Week articles from May 1994

Improved Recovery Week archives from May 1994

26th offshore conference features IOR technology. (Offshore Technology Conference, improved oil recovery)
May 2, 1994... Improving offshore production yields in maturing marine reservoirs will get a lot of attention at the Offshore Technology Conference that opens today in Houston. Technical presentations dealing with IOR techniques and practices include...

CO2 flood planned for Texas field. (carbon dioxide)
May 2, 1994... Clayton Williams Energy Inc., Midland, said last week it paid $200,000 to acquire a lease on a group of west Texas oil wells and will invest about $2 million to carry out a carbon dioxide flood on the wells. The company said the...

Lawmakers still await oil meeting with Clinton.
May 2, 1994... When it comes to meeting with the Clinton administration about the growing domestic petroleum industry crisis, no news is apparently bad news. It has been more than a month since 117 members of Congress, led by Sen. David Boren, D-Okla.,...

Montana to air IOR incentives. (hearing scheduled for discussion of proposed tax incentives for improved oil recovery projects)
May 2, 1994... The Oil and Gas Conservation Board in Montana will hold a public hearing May 12 on proposed rules required for tax incentives for horizontal and enhanced recovery oil projects. The new rules are proposed in order to provide procedural...

North Sea E-R well on stream. (extended-reach)
May 2, 1994... The Medwin field in the British Sector of the North Sea, a satellite of British Petroleum Co. Ltd.'s Clyde field, has begun production with an initial flow of 10,200 b/d of oil, says the company. The field is located three miles southeast...

Suncor plans new Canadian oil sands plant.
May 2, 1994... Toronto-based Suncor Inc.'s new annual report said it plans to begin building a new mine at its Fort McMurray, Alberta oil sands operation. The company said it is evaluating leases and alternative technologies for the proposed mine and...

Firm to develop Egyptian field. (Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd.)
May 2, 1994... Calgary, Alberta-based Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. has acquired a 90% working interest in a field in Egypt's Gulf of Suez and plans to develop it with extended-reach drilling from shore. Canadian Oxy acquired the interest from...

Elf plans Gabon horizontals. (Elf Gabon, horizontal oil wells)
May 2, 1994... Elf-Gabon, a 57%-owned subsidiary of France's Elf Aquitaine, has begun oil production at its new onshore Avocette field in Gabon, West Africa. The field has an initial combined production of 15,000 b/d from two wells, one of which was...

Drill pipe shortage looms, say contractors. (oil and gas well drilling pipe)
May 2, 1994... The domestic oil and gas industry is facing a drill pipe shortage within a year that will sideline many land rigs, officials of the International Assn. of Drilling Contractors said recently. And contractors were warned that unless they...

Australian firm mulls CO2 flood. (Santos Ltd., carbon dioxide)
May 2, 1994... Investigation is now under way for extension of miscible flood operations in Australia's Tirrawarra field, with engineers looking also at horizontal drilling, huff |n puff and other operational approaches to tap oil located in flank areas. ...

G.C. Sresty, R.H. Snow, J.E. Bridges, all of ITT Research Institute. (New IOR Patents)
May 2, 1994... Research Institute, have patented a method of electromagnetic heating in situ to recover liquid hydrocarbons from an oil shale formation containing kerogen in an inorganic matrix where the formation is substantially impermeable to fluids under...

J.Bock, D.B. Siano and S.J. Pace of Exxon Research and Engineering Co. (New IOR Patents)
May 2, 1994... J. Bock, D.B. Siano and S.J. Pace of Exxon Research and Engineering Co. have patented a process for recovering oil from a downhole formation through the use of an aqueous treating media that comprises a hydrophobically associating terpolymer of...

La. Gov. to propose oil industry stimulation. (Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards)
May 2, 1994... Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards will stump for the state's ailing oil and gas industry during the 1994 legislative session, which convened last week in Baton Rouge. Oil and gas revenues currently account for 18% of the state's budget, in...

Coiled tubing could soon rival conventional drilling.
May 9, 1994... While worldwide use of coiled tubing for workover and development drilling is insignificant today, it could gain enough momentum from the lull in current activity to rival conventional methods in as few as five years -- even offshore. ...

Ponder gets Azerbaijan contract. (Ponder International Services Inc.)
May 9, 1994... A unit of Ponder Industries Inc. of Alice, Texas, has finalized an agreement with the State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan to furnish oil services in that former Soviet republic. The agreement also calls for sale and lease by Ponder...

Cheap oil will lead to price shock, says Subroto. (OPEC secretary-general)
May 9, 1994... Without cooperation among all oil exporters, supply stability will be at risk in the medium-to-long term, warns Subroto, secretary-general of OPEC. Speaking at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston last week, Subroto said...

Texaco joins Canadian research. (member of AOSTRA/ARC/CANMET/Industry Research Program in Alberta, Canada)
May 9, 1994... Texaco Inc. last month became the latest industry member to joint the AOSTRA/ARC/CANMET/Industry (AACI) Research Program in Canada's Alberta province. The five-year AACI program, which ends in 1996, serves as a model for...

Devonian shale database published. (Petroleum Information Corp. issues 'The Michigan Antrim Gas Production File') (Product Announcement)
May 9, 1994... A comprehensive production data file on Michigan's rapidly expanding Devonian gas play has been published by Petroleum Information Corp., Houston. Information in the report, The Michigan Antrim Gas Production File, is reported by...

Aussie horizontals exhibit early water coning. (Australian horizontal wells)
May 9, 1994... Horizontal wells -- at least in thin beds -- are no panacea for production, says a senior Australian engineer. Henry Irrgang, senior engineering advisor to Bridge Oil Ltd. and formerly with Esso Australia Ltd., said recently that in...

Boren announces retirement. (David L. Boren leaving Senate)
May 9, 1994... Sen. David Boren, D-Okla., last week announced his resignation from the U.S. Senate to become president of the University of Oklahoma. Though a Democrat, Boren, who was elected to the Senate in 1979, has campaigned against several of...

Husky cuts upgrader costs. (Husky Oil Co.)
May 9, 1994... In a move that concedes it is losing money on the Bi-Provincial Upgrader in Saskatchewan, Husky Oil, Houston, says it is ordering cost cuts, including layoffs, to reduce losses. Though the company declined to be specific, it said it...

Online tech transfer pact set. (Knowledge Express Data Systems L.C. agreement with Dept. of Energy)
May 9, 1994... A unit of Houston-based Telescan Inc. has signed a $2 million agreement with the Energy Dept. to create a new online technology transfer and communication network. The initial agreement, Telescan said, is part of a two-year, $4...

Amoco to continue Polish coalgas search. (Amoco Poland Ltd.)
May 9, 1994... As part of an ongoing corporate restructuring, Amoco Corp. has killed an agreement to search for conventional oil and gas in Poland, but will continue exploring for coalbed methane there. The company earned 80o per share on revenues...

Azerbaijan compiles production, IOR plan. (improved oil recovery)
May 9, 1994... A department in Azerbaijan's Ministry of Economics emphasizes in a new report the need for improved oil recovery technology, particularly for its depleted onshore oil and gas reserves. Excerpts from the report provided by...

A. Stahl, A Moradi-Araghi, J. Westerman, H.L. Hseih, J.H. Hedges and G. Bjornson, all of Phillips Petroleum Co. (U.S. Patent 5,186,257 on new polymers for improved oil recovery)
May 9, 1994... A. Stahl, A Moradi-Araghi, J. Westerman, H.L. Hseih, J.H. Hedges and G. Bjornson, all of Phillips Petroleum Co., have patented the preparation and use of new and useful polymers, for applications such as enhanced oil recovery, well drilling,...

D.R. Watkins, J.J. Clemens, J.C. Smith, S.N. Sharma and H.G. Edwards, all of Union Oil Co. of California. (U.S. Patent 5,224,543 on use of borate fracturing fluid gel)
May 9, 1994... D.R. Watkins, J.J. Clemens, J.C. Smith, S.N. Sharma and H.G. Edwards, all of Union Oil Co. of California, have patented a method for fracturing a producing formation comprising (a) pumping a borate crosslinked fracturing fluid gel having a...

R.M. Tjon-Joe-Pin and A.R. Roberts, both of BJ Services Co. (U.S. Patent 5,224,544 on forming blocking gel inside well bore)
May 9, 1994... R.M. Tjon-Joe-Pin and A.R. Roberts, both of BJ Services Co., have patented a method for forming a blocking gel within a well bore within a producing formation comprising the steps of: formulating a gellable blocking fluid by blending...

Norway IOR projects could equal current production. (improved oil recovery program could equal offshore oil production)
May 13, 1994... Norway, whose offshore oil production is expected to peak in 1996 at 2.8 million b/d, expects that high point to be followed by a production plateau, then a slip into decline at the turn of the century. Because of this, Norway's...

La. incentives pass Senate. (Louisiana oil and gas industry incentives)
May 13, 1994... Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards' package of goodies for the oil and gas industry was unanimously approved recently by the state Senate. The measures now move to the House of Representatives, where they are expected to receive quick...

Petrobas announces well; outlines IOR plans. (oil well, improved oil recovery plan)
May 13, 1994... Petrobras, Brazil's state oil company, is up and running with oil and gas production from the deepest water in the world, at 3,369'. Joao Carlos de Luca, director of exploration and production for Petrobras, chose the recent Offshore...

'93 Wyoming gas yield tops 1 tcf. (trillion cubic feet)
May 13, 1994... Gas production in Wyoming in 1993 totaled more than 1 tcf, says Petroleum Information Corp. State producers extracted 1.051 tcf last year, compared with 1.011 tcf in 1992, PI said. Exxon Corp. led Wyoming gas producers with...

McFarland closes Midway-Sunset deal. (McFarland Energy Inc. purchases property from M.H. Whittier Corp.)
May 13, 1994... McFarland Energy Inc. has completed its purchase of substantially all of the 100% revenue interest in the Star Fee property, located in the North Midway portion of California's Midway-Sunset field. McFarland, based in Santa Fe...

Venezuelan heavy crude study set. (Maraven unit of Petroleos de Venezuela and Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc. to study how to produce and process Venezuela's Boscan field extra-heavy oil)
May 13, 1994... An agreement has been signed by Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc. and Maraven, a unit of Petroleos de Venezuela, for a joint study on forming a strategic association to produce and process extra-heavy oil from Venezuela's Boscan field. ...

Extension set for NWT field. (Northwest Territories oil field)
May 13, 1994... The Norman Wells oil field in Canada's Northwest Territories may be given an extension of operations, if proposed legislation carries. The Canadian government recently introduced an extension bill in the House of Commons for the...

Bombay high IOR hopefuls drop out of race. (improved oil recovery candidates at India's Bombay High field)
May 13, 1994... Only three -- all from the United States -- of the seven oil companies originally interested in improved recovery work at India's Bombay High field have submitted final offers (IRW, 1/31). According to published reports, Occidental...

Oil fields expected to dominate world flow. (Interior Department report)
May 13, 1994... Throughout the 1980s, exploration drilling added 40,000-50,000 square miles each year to the list of areas outside the United States and Canada that have been explored for oil, says a new Interior Dept. report. Despite all that...

Green River Basin compact formed. (Consortium for Emerging Gas Resources in the Greater Green River Basin formed)
May 13, 1994... A consortium is being formed as a forum for technology transfer realized from new projects to be conducted by various government and private groups in the Green River Basin of the Western United States. Called the Consortium for...

New IOR patents. ((T.Mikus of Shell Oil Co., U.S. Patent No. 5,255, 742; S.Chou of Chevron Research & Technology Co., U.s. Patent No. 5,234,054))
May 13, 1994... T. Mikus of Shell Oil Co. has patented a method for heat injection into a producing formation. The method uses flameless combustion. The absence of a flame eliminates the flame as a radiant heat source and results in a more even temperature...

Tech Transfer Council discussed by independents. (Petroleum Technology Transfer Council)
May 23, 1994... Beginning Aug. 1, the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council expects to have seminars and regional workshops lined up, and to have regional resource centers set up around the country. Speaking at a special session of last week's annual...

Slim-hole horizontals planned. (Clayton Williams Energy Inc., slim-hole drilling technique)
May 23, 1994... Midland, Texas-based Clayton Williams Energy Inc. is planning a pilot project to resume drilling on its Creteceous trend blocks -- chiefly in the Austin Chalk trend -- with a less-expensive slim-hole drilling technique for horizontal wells....

Horizontal drilling branches out in Calif. (Bechtel Petroleum Operations)
May 23, 1994... Bechtel Petroleum Operations geologist Tony Reid thinks the characteristics needed for horizontal drilling success are present to such a great extent in California that he's surprised there aren't horizontal wells all over the state. ...

Texas to air new incentives. (Texas Railroad Commission)
May 23, 1994... Flushed with the success of a package of tax incentives for bringing inactive wells back on production, the Texas Railroad Commission intends to announce new incentives soon. Jim Nugent, RRC chairman, said in Austin recently that the...

Colorado gas production soars.
May 23, 1994... Gas production in Colorado in 1993 rose about 23% from a year earlier, while oil production remained about the same. According to Petroleum Information Corp., 1993 gas production in Colorado was 428 bcf, which represented a...

Utah set $5 million IOR plan. (improved oil recovery)
May 23, 1994... An industry-university team lead by the Utah Geological Survey has begun studying nearly 200 wells as part of a $5 million effort to increase production in the Uinta Basin. Researchers also are developing a reservoir simulation...

Pride gets $50 million risk policy. (Overseas Private Investment Corp. insures Pride Petroleum's purchase of Perforaciones Western)
May 23, 1994... The Overseas Private Investment Corp. has approved risk insurance of up to $50 million for Houston-based Pride Petroleum's acquisition of Perforaciones Western, an oilfield services company in Venezuela. Most of the investment will...

Pa. producers seek research reconsideration. (Independent Oil and Gas Association of Pennsylvania)
May 23, 1994... The Independent Oil and Gas Assn. of Pennsylvania wants a state funding group to reconsider its decision to reject the association's application for a pilot gas industry technology transfer center. IOGA recently learned that its...

Oklahoma strives for former leadership. (leadership in technology and research)
May 23, 1994... Oklahoma Gov. David Walters wants his state to re-establish leadership in technology and research to rebuild its independent petroleum industry, so he is pitching $68 million in programs to Energy Dept. officials in Washington, D.C. ...

Alberta reserves fell 3.4% in '93, says agency. (Canada)
May 23, 1994... Oil and natural gas reserves, including developed bitumen reserves in Canada's richest petroleum province, fell in 1993 compared with 1992 totals, the Energy Resources Conservation Board announced recently. Alberta's conventional...

New IOR patent. (improved oil recovery) (K.J.T.M. Kempers Shell Canada Ltd., Canadian Patent No. 1,326,437)
May 23, 1994... L.J.T.M. Kempers Shell Canada Ltd. has patented a method for stimulating oil recovery from a producing reservoir by injecting a miscible flooding medium into the reservoir. It is a further object of the present invention to increase the...

Brazil eyeing highly deviated, deepwater wells. (oil wells)
May 30, 1994... A study by Brazil's national oil company so far points to unstable borehole walls and unsuitable equipment as reasons for the time losses and high costs associated with highly deviated drilling in deep water. Petroleo Brasiliero S.A....

Amoco plans nitrogen injection. (for improved coalbed methane recovery)
May 30, 1994... Amoco Production Co. has requested and received approval from the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission for a nitrogen injection pilot project for improved recovery of coalbed methane. The pilot project, to be conducted in Sects....

Australian coalgas activity burgeons.
May 30, 1994... Coalbed methane exploitation in Australia is making rapid progress with the recent approval of a 12-MW power station fueled by gas from an abandoned coal mine and positive results from a test over a wide area west of Sydney. In a...

DOE, GRI to partner gas research. (Department of Energy, Gas Research Institute)
May 30, 1994... The Energy Dept. and the Gas Research Institute, the two largest U.S. natural gas research, development and demonstration organizations, signed an agreement recently to work together on RD&D projects. The two groups signed a...

Syncrude takes cash flow hit. (Syncrude Canada Ltd.)
May 30, 1994... Syncrude Canada Ltd. said its 1993 cash flow before capital spending was $248 million, down 33% from $374 million in 1992. In a news release, the company said it produced 67 million barrels of high-quality light sweet synthetic crude...

UPRC plans 77% multilaterals in Chalk. (Union Pacific Resources Co., Austin Chalk trend of Louisiana and Texas)
May 30, 1994... Fort Worth, Texas-based Union Pacific Resources Co. plans a "slight" increase in the number of horizontal wells it will drill this year in the Austin Chalk trend of Texas and Louisiana. Of the 270 horizontal wells planned for this...

Yeltsin to change tax policy. (oil and gas sales taxes on US firms in Russia)
May 30, 1994... Russian President Boris Yeltsin is expected to sign two decrees by the end of the month that will reduce, if not eliminate, two onerous taxes on oil and gas sales imposed on U.S. companies there. The announcement was made recently by...

Canadian company sets new units. (Canadian Fracmaster Ltd. will create two new divisions)
May 30, 1994... In a reorganization aimed at expanding Calgary, Alberta-based Canadian Fracmaster Ltd.'s global presence, it will create two new divisions. The company is engaged primarily in oilfield services, particularly oil and gas well...

EIA sees big hike in '94-'95 oil demand. (Energy Information Administration)
May 30, 1994... Rebounding economic growth in the industrialized and developing countries will contribute to a substantial increase in world oil demand, according to the Energy Dept.'s Energy Information Admin. This and other demand forecasts are...