Improved Recovery Week articles from October 1996

Improved Recovery Week archives from October 1996

First steamflood in Australian history planned for old field.
October 7, 1996... A long-abandoned oil field in Victoria, Australia is going to be revived with the first application of thermal recovery technology - specifically steamflooding - in Australian history. The Lakes Entrance field, which lies immediately onshore...

More revealed on oil sands projects. (Canada)
October 7, 1996... More details were given on two planned Canadian oil sands production projects at a conference in Edmonton, Alberta, last week. Pilot plants in the northern Alberta tar sands belt area are being planned by Shell Canada Ltd. and Gulf Canada...

U.K. government seeks space/oil tech transfer.
October 7, 1996... The exploration of outer space might hold the key to better hydrocarbons recovery. At least that's the thinking behind an initiative launched in Britain by the OSO, the government organization responsible for promoting the country's oil and...

BLM seeks public comment in royalties. (Bureau of Land Management)
October 7, 1996... Public comment about ongoing low royalty rates for stripper wells on federal lands will be received by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Washington until Oct. 29. Such comments will help decide whether to continue, revise or end the...

Marketing deal spells lush future for integrated 4-D seismic. (4-D software marketing agreement between Western Geophysical and Columbia University)
October 14, 1996... No dollars were revealed, but last week's announced joint 4-D software marketing agreement between Western Geophysical and Columbia University almost certainly involved hundreds of millions. In what must have been an intense bidding war earlier...

BP sets Alaska project. (British Petroleum Co. Ltd.)
October 14, 1996... British Petroleum Co. Ltd.'s subsidiary in Alaska is making some headlines, despite all the press its partner in many North Slope operations - ARCO Alaska Inc. - has been getting lately. BP said BP (Alaska) Inc., Anchorage, plans to develop its...

DOE to divide Elk Hills sales package. (Dept. of Energy; Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve)
October 14, 1996... When the Energy Dept. sells the federal government's portion of the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve sometime next year, it will do so in fragments. And while nobody is sure of a fair price for the field, DOE also is looking for qualified...

Russian venture gets loan. (Geoilbent)
October 14, 1996... The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved providing up to US$55 million to Geoilbent, a Russian company of which 34% ownership is held by Benton Oil & Gas Co., Carpinteria, Calif. Benton is involved in Geoilbent...

Topside pump hikes flow.
October 14, 1996... A multiphase pump installed in 1994 atop the Gullfaks A platform in the Norwegian Sector of the North Sea raised oil production from one well by 1% from June to September of this year, reports Statoil, Norway's state oil company. According to...

Leases won, producers admit big Alaska find.
October 14, 1996... ARCO Alaska Inc., Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Union Texas Petroleum Alaska Corp. recently grabbed up five tracts on Alaska's North Slope, paying slightly more than $2 million for 5,900 acres in a state lease sale. They were the only companies...

Aussie coalgas buy-in set. (coalbed methane development in Queensland, Alaska)
October 14, 1996... Companies continue to jockey for position regarding coalbed methane development in Queensland, Australia. Late last month, Oil Co. of Australia Ltd. (OCA), Sydney, NSW, proposed to acquire 50% interest in the ATP 525P field, a coalbed methane...

W. Brae horizontals planned. (West Brae field in the U.K. sector of the North Sea)
October 14, 1996... Development of the West Brae field in the U.K. Sector of the North Sea by a group led by Marathon Oil U.K. Ltd. will be accomplished with three horizontal production wells and a water injector to provide pressure maintenance. The field,...

Texaco touts 3-C development. (seismic technology to monitor a carbon dioxide flood in West Texas)
October 14, 1996... Officials with Texaco's Exploration and Production Technology Dept. are proposing that the Colorado School of Mines at Boulder head up the test of a new 3-C seismic technology to monitor a carbon dioxide flood in West Texas. Yep. That's right:...

IOR reports available from NTIS. (improved oil and gas recovery; National Technical Information Service)
October 14, 1996... The following reports on improved oil and gas recovery processes and tools are available from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, Va. 22161. Call 703-487-4650 (fax 703-321-8547) for details and prices....

AOSIS reports on IOR, heavy oil. (Alberta Dept. of Energy, Oil Sands Information Services; improved oil recovery)
October 14, 1996... The Alberta Dept. of Energy, Oil Sands Information Services (AOSIS) makes the following oil sands/heavy oil/IOR technical reports and papers available to interested parties. For copies, call AOSIS in Calgary at 403-297-3631 (fax: 403-297-3638)....

More rehab contracts signed for Albanian fields.
October 21, 1996... An Australian company is planning to use both horizontal drilling and either water or steam injection to develop two oil fields in Albania. Drillsearch Energy NL, a publicly owned company, with two other private Australian companies, recently...

Newf. bids hit C$125 million. (Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board)
October 21, 1996... The Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board recently accepted C$125 million in bids from producers for the rights to explore seven parcels offshore Newfoundland's west coast and in the Grand Banks North Area. The top bid was an offer of...

New oil sands producer formed. (Toronto, Ontario's BlackRock Ventures Inc.)
October 21, 1996... There's a new heavy oil/oil sands producer in Western Canada, and it plans to develop a number of shallow heavy oil reservoirs to furnish cash flow for thermal development of a much deeper oil sands deposit, from which it could ultimately produce...

Microbial pilot underway.
October 21, 1996... A pilot microbial project being conducted by Edmiston Oil Co., Inc., Wichita, Kan., continues in a shallow oil field in Leavenworth County, Kan., says a recent bulletin from the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council. The test is to see whether...

U.S. gas reserves up again.
October 21, 1996... The Washington-based Energy Information Administration says U.S. proved reserves of natural gas increased for the second year in a row in 1995. Both oil and gas discoveries in Federal offshore Gulf of Mexico waters, says EIA, played a major...

Statoil 3-D work nears $130 million in '96.
October 21, 1996... One of the most liberal users of 3-D seismic imaging in Europe is Norway's Statoil, which says more than 125,000 miles of 3-D lines will have been shot by year-end over licenses it operates in the North Sea and in the Atlantic Frontier West of...

Duri gas contract extended. (Corridor Block production-sharing contract by Pertamina Humas P.T. with Gulf Canada Resources Ltd and Talisman Energy Inc.)
October 21, 1996... The Indonesian state oil company, Pertamina, has extended the Corridor Block production-sharing contract with Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. and Talisman Energy Inc. until 2023. Consequently, the two companies fore, ally converted reserves of...

IOR meeting seeks papers. (improved oil recovery; 12th Oil Recovery Conference on Mar. 19-20, 1997)
October 21, 1996... A call for technical presentations has gone out from the Univ. of Kansas/Tertiary Oil Recovery Project for the 12th Oil Recovery Conference, to be held March 19-20, 1997 in Wichita, Kan. According to the organizers, 10 presentations will be...

Oklahoma production slide continues.
October 21, 1996... Oil and gas production in Oklahoma during the first quarter of this year was down slightly from the same period last year, according to preliminary figures published by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. But the downward trend still...

Enhanced MRIL tool logs total porosity. (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Logging)
October 21, 1996... Just as they promised back in the summer, NUMAR Corp. announced commercial availability of the "total porosity" enhancement to its Magnetic Resonance Imaging Logging (MRIL(R)) tool at the SPE Annual Conference and Technical Exhibition in Denver....

Contractors expand 3-D, 4-D capabilities.
October 21, 1996... Geophysical companies in the U.S. continue to expand their operations, as well as their services, around the world. Topping the list of recent geophysical news-makers is Western Geophysical, Houston, and its recent agreement with Columbia...

IOR reports available from NTIS. (improved oil recovery; National Technical Information Service)
October 21, 1996... The following reports on improved oil and gas recovery processes and tools are available from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, Va. 22161. Call 703-487-4650 (fax 703-321-8547) for details and prices....

AOSIS reports on IOR, heavy oil. (Alberta Dept. of Energy, Oil Sands Information Services; improved oil recovery)
October 21, 1996... The Alberta Dept. of Energy, Oil Sands Information Services (AOSIS) makes the following oil sands/heavy oil/IOR technical reports and papers available to interested parties. For copies, call AOSIS in Calgary at 403-297-3631 (fax: 403-297-3638)....

Suncor 3Q bitumen production takes unusual dip. (Suncor Inc.)
October 21, 1996... Oil sands bitumen production for Suncor Inc.'s Oil Sands Group was uncharacteristically down in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, but the company expects to meet its annual production target nonetheless. Rick George, Suncor president and CEO,...

Bottom-cable 3-D may extend life of N. Sea Forties field. (British Petroleum's Forties oil field in the North Sea)
October 28, 1996... Seismic techniques developed in the Gulf of Mexico have given the clearest pictures yet of British Petroleum's venerable Forties field to help engineers plan further infill drilling. The company employed Western Geophysical to undertake a 3-D...

New detonator makes bang. (Rig Environment Detonator from Halliburton Energy Services)
October 28, 1996... A new detonator for safer well perforating - particularly from offshore rigs - has been introduced by Halliburton Energy Services. The Rig Environment Detonator (RED[TM]) does not use primary explosives, says the company. Additionally, it...

Aussies plans N. Texas lateral re-entries. (Australia's Bligh Oil & Minerals NL explore Hardeman Basin of North Texas)
October 28, 1996... Australia's Bligh Oil & Minerals NL says it is experimenting with short-radius horizontal drilling on producing properties in the Hardeman Basin of North Texas in the U.S. The company says it has identified at least 10 producing fields in...

Azerbaijan development planned. (Ramco Energy PLC, Mobil Corp. and Total to develop oil reserves in Azerbaijan)
October 28, 1996... The Scottish company Ramco Energy Plc has joined with Mobil Corp. of the U.S. and Total of France to form a consortium to develop oil reserves in the Caspian Sea off Azerbaijan. According to published reports, a Ramco official said the new...

Indonesian gas field extended. (Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. and Talisman Energy Inc. extends exploration of Sumpal Well No. 2 in Indonesia)
October 28, 1996... A step-out to an onshore Indonesian well drilled last year on the Corridor Block Production-Sharing Contract Area indicates a significantly larger gas discovery than expected, say the Canadian participants. Gulf Canada Resources Ltd. and...

'95 U.S. stripper well tally lowest since '47.
October 28, 1996... If anybody knows what's going on with stripper wells, it's the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and the IOGCC says the nation's production from stripper oil wells last year was the lowest in 49 years. And while the number of gas...

BPO moving to Tulsa. (Energy Dept.'s Bartlesville Project Office)
October 28, 1996... The Energy Dept. last week said it will relocate its petroleum field office from Bartlesville, Okla. to Tulsa. The move meets one of the commitments made by Energy Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary in a reform and cost-saving plan announced in 1995....

UAE ups horizontals at Zakum. (United Arab Emirates' Zakum Development Co. drills more horizontal wells)
October 28, 1996... Using horizontal drilling technology, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sharply increased productive capacity of its largest Arabian Gulf oil field, officials said recently. Officials of Zakum Development Co. (Zadco) said the company had...

Faroes licensing set; re-entry 'tight.' (marine drilling licenses around Faroe Islands)
October 28, 1996... Probing the subsurface secrets of the Faroe Islands has proved more costly than exploration groups expected, particularly since information it may impart will have a major impact on bidding for marine drilling licenses around this Danish...

3-D data helps score gas in Sacramento Basin. (Equity Oil Co. tests gas well drilled using 3-D seismic technology)
October 28, 1996... Salt Lake City-based Equity Oil Co. recently reported testing of the 11th gas well drilled using 3-D seismic technology in the Grimes area of the Sacramento Basin in northern California. The Equity Jacob Well No. 1-33 flowed gas during a...

Striking while the 3-D iron is hot. (3-D seismic surveys for oil exploration)
October 28, 1996... Houston-based JEBCO Seismic Inc. plans in February to resume shooting bottom-cable 3-D seismic surveys in shallow waters along the coastal bend of Texas. Why? Because the seismic company wants to strike while the shallow-water data "iron" is...

IOR reports available from NTIS. (improved oil and gas recovery reports from National Technical Information Service)
October 28, 1996... The following reports on improved oil and gas recovery processes and tools are available from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, Va. 22161. Call 703-487-4650 (fax 703-321-8547) for details and prices....

AOSIS reports on IOR, heavy oil. (improved oil recovery reports from Alberta Dept. of Energy, Oil Sands Information Services)
October 28, 1996... The Alberta Dept. of Energy, Oil Sands Information Services (AOSIS) makes the following oil sands/heavy oil/IOR technical reports and papers available to interested parties. For copies, call AOSIS in Calgary at 403-297-3631 (fax: 403-297-3638)....

IOR patent. (Halliburton Co.'s C.W. Kessler and G.J. Frisch patent improved oil recovery method)
October 28, 1996... C.W. Kessler and G.J. Frisch, both of Halliburton Co. have patented a method for determining the downhole flow regime in a horizontal well borehole traversing a subterranean formation. A first gas holdup value within the borehole is measured...

Software ups state oil and gas tax, royalty take. (Syntel Inc.'s Oil and Natural Gas Administration and Revenue Database system)
October 28, 1996... New software is available that's helping states capture previously overlooked revenues from oil and gas taxes and royalties. The software apparently has increased New Mexico's annual tax and royalty collections by $28 million, which probably...