WorldOil July2014

August 12, 2014
San Antonio, Texas

ShaleTechBreakfast.com
Eagle Ford
Get the latest project and technology updates on production in the Eagle Ford.
Featuring Presentations by:
Supported by:
Rod Skaufel
Bob Drummond
Asset President Shale
President, North Americas
BHP Billiton
Schlumberger
Get more information + Register Now at ShaleTechBreakfast.com
JULY 2014 / DEFINING TECHNOLOGY FOR EXPLORATION, DRILLING AND PRODUCTION / WorldOil.com
OFFSHORE
ADVANCES
MPD FOR DEEP WATER
Collaboration adds managed pressure
drilling to newbuild drillship
MARINE SEISMIC
Regional 3D seismic reveals
trends offshore Congo
SHALETECH: INTERNATIONAL
Activity ramping up at a slow,
but steady rate
Committed to your success
The secret to successful exploration today

is beyond technology. Its about people
and their talent to turn invention into
break-through products. You can copy
our products but the one thing no one
can copy is our DNA. Through our people
around the globe we are harnessing the
strength of knowledge and innovation that
is revolutionizing the future of energy.
Always looking forward, adversity in our
business is a certainty, but counting on
NOV means having a service provider who
cares, a technology leader who listens, and
a business partner who wont quit.
Talk to us. We are listening, and we are
committed to your success.
2014 National Oilwell Varco

All rights reserved
D392005606-MKT-004 Rev 01
Mantas Savickas, proud

NOV employee since 2008
email: rig@nov.com
For more information

contact your local NOV
representative or visit:
www.nov.com/wo/rig
CONTENTS
JULY 2014 / VOL. 235 NO. 7
55
88
99
SPECIAL FOCUS:
SPECIAL REPORT: NORWAY
COLUMNS
OFFSHORE ADVANCES
99
37
Collaboration adds MPD

functionality to deepwater rig
G. Feasey / N. Richard / G. Buyers
M. Tindle / B. Garrett
47
Lightweight risers increase

rigs water depth ratings
Riding a high tide, Norway

plans for the future
Getting into (and out of)

the Gulf of Mexico
K. Abraham
SHOW PREVIEW: ONS

111
J. Lehner / T. Marvel
ONS: Changes lie ahead,

and below, for the oil
and gas industry
17
Energy issues
19
Whats new in exploration
Same game, different questions

Demand for better exploration
technology continues to grow
21
M. Cruthirds
OFFSHORE RIG INNOVATIONS

55
Meeting offshore challenges

with new rig designs
E. Ball
COMPLETION TECHNOLOGY
63
Acoustical determination
of cement thickness in cased
oil wells
G.M. Wiercinski / M. Ludena
D.E. Gore
MARINE SEISMIC
73
Building understanding of
offshore Congo regional
geology through 3D seismic
SHALETECH: INTERNATIONAL
SHALES
116
81
Whats new in well logging and

formation evaluationPart 2
S. Prensky
The errors in human error
Whats new in production
25
Offshore in depth
Ill take Sand for $50, Alex

Offshore forecasts see more
growth, increased spending
27
Oil and gas in the capitals
29
Executive viewpoint
Iraq: Dj vu
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS:
SHALE TECHNOLOGY
REVIEW 2014
S123 Best practices from across
the shale technology
spectrum, from geoscience
and horizontal drilling, to
multi-stage fracing and water
management.
P. Coole / S. Baer / A. R. Ngoula
PETROPHYSICAL TECHNOLOGY
PROPPANT TABLES 2014

P151 World Oil presents a detailed
set of proppant tables, with
information on the suppliers,
products and specifications.
Geoscientists are doing good

things for the world
31
A series of recent tax breaks

is reviving activity in all UK
offshore basins, but technical
challenges remain
C. Plowden / Z. Hasan
A. Gorman / A. Sharma
Innovative thinkers
Presidential characterization:
D. Nathan Meehan
178
The last barrel

Pipe dumping trade case
proceeds in U.S.
NEWS AND RESOURCES

11
World of oil and gas
33
Industry at a glance
171
People in the industry
172
Companies in the news
173
New products and services
174
Marketplace /
Advertising sales offices
REGIONAL REPORT: UKCS

88
Drilling advances
23
Race to production
steadily ramping up
M. Cruthirds
First oil
175
Advertisers index
176
Meetings and events
ABOUT THE COVER

A Hybrid Riser Tower (HRT) streamlines
the riser layout and enables progressive
deployment. The Subsea 7 HRT technology
was used at BPs Greater Plutonio project.
Image courtesy of Subsea 7.
World Oil/JULY 20143
*OEVTUSJBM3VCCFS
$JSDVMBUJOH&RVJQNFOU
Mailing Address: PO Box 2608

Houston, TX 77252-2608, USA
Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301
Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433
WorldOil.com
PUBLISHERRon Higgins
EDITORIAL
*OEVTUSJBM3VCCFS *ODT4XBHFTBSFMJHIUBOEFBTZUP
IBOEMF ZFUSPCVTUFOPVHIUPXJUITUBOEIJHIQSFTTVSFDJS
DVMBUJOHFVOJPOTVCJTFBTZUPSFQMBDFTIPVMEUIF
OFFEBSJTF4XBHFTBSFBWBJMBCMFJOBOZTJ[FPSTUZMFPGDBTJOH
UISFBEoKVTUMFUVTLOPXXIBUZPVOFFE
'FBUVSFTPGUIF*3*4XBHF*ODMVEF
t%JTIFE5PQ%FTJHO3FEVDFT8FJHIUCZVQUP
t6OJPO&BTZUP.BJOUBJOPS3FQMBDF
t"$.&SFBEFE$POOFDUJPOTo/P1JQFSFBET
t0OFQJFDF%FTJHOBMMPXTGPS)JHI1SFTTVSF6TF
t"WBJMBCMFGPSBOZTJ[FDBTJOH XJUIBOZTUZMFUISFBET
Editor-in-ChiefPramod Kulkarni
Executive EditorKurt Abraham
News EditorMelanie Cruthirds
Associate EditorRoger Jordan
Contributing Editors
Dayse Abrantes, Brazil
Dr. A. F. Alhajji, Middle East
Eldon Ball, Offshore
Dr. Roger Bezdek, Washington
Ron Bitto, At Large
David Blackmon, Reg. Affairs
Robert Curran, Canada
Don Francis, At Large
William (Bill) Head, Exploration
Raj Kanwar, South Asia
Ian Lewis, EAME
Saeid Mokhatab, LNG

Dr. Jeffrey M. Moore, Asia-Pacific
Mauro Nogarin, Latin America
Dr. ystein Noreng, North Sea
Dr. William J. Pike, Exploration
Jim Redden, Drilling
Dr. Jacques Sapir, FSU
Mike Slaton, At Large
Henry Terrell, Production
Russell Wright, At Large
MAGAZINE PRODUCTION/+1 (713) 525-4633

Vice PresidentProductionSheryl Stone
ManagerAdvertising ProductionCheryl Willis
ManagerEditorial ProductionAngela Bathe
Assistant ManagerEditorial ProductionAshley Smith
Artist/IllustratorDavid Weeks
ADVERTISING SALES
See Advertising sales offices
CIRCULATION/+1 (713) 520-4440/Circulation@GulfPub.com

DirectorCirculation Suzanne McGehee
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
*OEVTUSJBM3VCCFS *ODT$JSDVMBUJOH)FBETDPNQMF
NFOUUIF*OEVTUSJBM3VCCFSMJOFPG$FNFOUJOH)FBET*3*
$JSDVMBUJOH)FBETBOE$FNFOUJOH)FBETVUJMJ[FBDPNNPO
2VJDL$POOFDUTVCUIBUBMMPXTRVJDLDIBOHFPVUGSPN
$JSDVMBUJOH)FBEUP$FNFOUJOH)FBEJTNBLFTGPSB
DPOWFOJFOUDJSDVMBUJOHUPPMXIFOVTFEFJUIFSJODPOKVODUJPO
XJUIBO*3*$FNFOUJOH)FBEPSBTBTUBOEBMPOFVOJU
ChairmanDr. William J. Pike, Managing Consultant and Contractor to the

National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy
Ben Bloys, Manager, Los Alamos Technology Alliance, Chevron
Franklin Boitier, Technical Communications Manager, Total
Paul Coppinger, President, Pressure Pumping, Weir Group plc, and Chairman,
Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association
Deepak M. Gala, SME, Well Control Engineering and Relief Well Planning, Shell
William Donald (Donnie) Harris III, President and CEO,
Forrest A. Garb and Associates
Alexander G. Kemp, Professor of Petroleum Economics, University of Aberdeen
Keith Lynch, Global Completions Chief, ConocoPhillips
Dr. D. Nathan Meehan, Senior Executive Advisor, Baker Hughes
Douglas C. Nester, COO, KOGAS Akkas BV
David A. Pursell, Managing Director and Head of Macro Research,
Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co.
John T. Rynd, President and CEO, Hercules Offshore, Inc., and Chairman, National
Ocean Industries Association
Art J. Schroeder, Jr., CEO, Energy Valley, Inc.
Svein Tollefsen, Petroleum Technology Manager, Statoil
Doug Valleau, Director, Unconventional Technology, Hess Corporation
Robert E. (Bob) Warren, President, Baclenna, Inc.
'FBUVSFTPGUIF*3*$JSDVMBUJOH
)FBE*ODMVEF
World Oil is indexed by Business Periodicals Index, Engineering Index Inc., and
Environmental Periodicals Bibliography. Microfilm copies are available through
University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Mich. The full text of World Oil is
also available in electronic versions of the Business Periodicals Index.
t2VJDL$PVQMJOH6OJPOBMMPXT

GBTU FBTZDPOOFDUJPO

UP$BTJOH4USJOH
t1MVHTDBOCFESPQQFEUISPVHIUIF

$JSDVMBUJOH)FBEBTTFNCMZ

CZTJNQMFSFNPWBMPGUIF

$JSDVMBUJOH)FBE$BQ
t"WBJMBCMFGPSBOZTJ[FDBTJOH XJUI

BOZTUZMFUISFBET
World Oil (ISSN 0043-8790), est. in 1916 as The Oil Weekly, is published monthly by
Gulf Publishing Company, 2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020, Houston, TX 77046. Periodicals postage paid at Houston, Texas, and at additional mailing offices. World Oil and
The Oil Weekly are registered trademarks of Gulf Publishing Company.
Subscriptions: World Oil is available on a complimentary Request Subscription basis to
persons actively engaged in the exploration/drilling/producing phase of the oil and gas
industry who are in a position to recommend, specify or approve the purchase or use
of equipment or services used in their operations. (When requesting subscription, state
title, company name and nature of business as initial qualifications.) Persons who do
not recommend, specify or approve the purchase or use of equipment or services (or
persons in a related field of service or industry) can order subscriptions at the following
rates: one year $299, two years $525, three years $674. AIRMAIL DELIVERY: Outside
North America additional, $175/year. Single copies: $35 each, prepaid. PAYMENT MUST
ACCOMPANY ORDER (make checks payable to World Oil).
Postmaster: Send address changes to World Oil, PO Box 2608, Houston, TX 77252-2608.
Subscription services/address changes: World Oil, Circulation Dept., PO Box 2608,
Houston, TX 77252-2608. Phone: +1 (713) 520-4440. E-mail: circulation@gulfpub.com.
Article reprints: World Oil, Cheryl Willis, Gulf Publishing Company, Advertising Production Manager. 2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020, Houston, Texas 77046. Phone: 713-5254633. Fax: 713-525-4615. Email: cheryl.willis@gulfpub.com.
Copyright 2014 by Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
0LMBIPNB$JUZ 0,
5PMM'SFFt'BY

XXXJSJPJMUPPMDPN
4JULY 2014/WorldOil.com
President/CEOJohn Royall
Vice PresidentRon Higgins
Vice President, ProductionSheryl Stone
Business Finance ManagerPamela Harvey
Part of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. Other energy group titles include:
Hydrocarbon Processing and Petroleum Economist
Publication Agreement Number 40034765
Printed in USA
GAINING GROUND OFFSHORE
CAMERONS TOTAL RIG PACKAGE SOLUTIONS
FLOW EQUIPMENT LEADERSHIP
Camerons Topside Equipment Packages:

Proven Solutions
Cameron offers rig equipment solutions that include world-class products, technology, services
and support. Demand for our topside packages is steadily growing around the globe. Since
Cameron entered the complete package market in 2011, we have secured dozens of topside
equipment package orders for jackup drilling rigs during this period. With innovative, highperforming, cost-effective Total Rig Package Solutions, Cameron is the obvious alternative to
the status quo and will continue making waves in the market.
SMARTRACKER Highlights
Fully automated tripping
and stand-building sequences
3-1/2" to 14" tubulars with
no head or die changes
Quiet, high-precision
AC motor technology
Overhead HSE focus built in
Intuitive controls with integrated
safety management
Learn more at: www.TheMomentumIsBuilding.com
AD01335DRL
RAISING PERFORMANCE. TOGETHER
Production enhancement
Our unique capabilities deliver higher production

and increased EUR from every fracture.
As an industry-leading production enhancement company, CARBO integrates unique technologies
and intellectual capital to design, build and optimize the frac. CARBO helps operators to:
Design and engineer enhanced fracture designs with our industry-leading FRACPRO fracture
simulation software.
Build more conductive, durable fractures for greater hydrocarbon flow by utilizing high quality
proppant as well as proprietary proppant-delivered production assurance, production intelligence
and flow enhancement technologies to continuously enhance and safeguard production.
Optimize field development and completion strategies using the experience and expertise of
our STRATAGEN fracture consulting services.
Together our unique technologies and services lower your finding and development cost per BOE.
carboceramics.com
solutions as unique as your frac
DESIGNED TO BE 30% LIGHTER THAN THE COMPETITION,

WHILE HAVING A SMALLER FOOTPRINT AND MORE POWER.
THATS PUMPING PERFECTED.
The PZ 2400: Built for Extreme Expectations.

With more horsepower, a smaller footprint and 30% lighter than competing
pumps in its class, The PZ 2400 dees logic. Thats okay. We dont build pumps
to be logical; we build them to last. Our proven innovations, like patented Y-style
uid-end technology, signicantly reduce stress and radically enhance longer life
over conventional pumps. Built to exacting standards, our pumps will help you
meet severe onshore and offshore production requirements without sacricing
real estate. See what 150 years of unyielding perfectionism can do.
Connect with us at: 1-866-GDPUMPS
gardnerdenverpumps.com
GardnerDenverPumps
GardnerDenverPumpsTV
@GDPumps
FIRST OIL
PRAMOD KULKARNI, EDITOR
Getting into (and out of)

the Gulf of Mexico
There are more ways than one to skin a
cat. An expression originating in England
in the 1840s.
My apologies to cat lovers everywhere,
but there was no better expression available to describe how oil and gas operators
have found success in the Gulf of Mexico
through a variety of E&P strategies.
Some operators are doing well by hugging the shallow-water area of the continental shelf. A few others are bringing
into production the discoveries made in
the 1990s, in the deepwater Miocene play.
Still others are going to extreme deep water
(9,000-ft depth and beyond) to start producing from the Lower Tertiary Paleogene
formation. Meanwhile, several operators
have sold off their producing properties
in the Gulf and shifted their E&P focus to
North American shale plays.
Supermajors. Operators, such as
Chevron, Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil, are
comfortable with both the scale and time
span of major deepwater projects. A decade is the typical time span for many of
the projects, from prospect evaluation and
lease bidding, to first oil. Chevrons Jack/St.
Malo is scheduled for start-up during 2014,
with a capacity production of 177 Mboed,
with Big Foot to follow during 2015 at a
capacity of 79 Mboed. In February 2014,
Shell completed its Mars B extension to
add peak capacity of 100 Mboed, and is developing its Stones FPSO-based project at
an ultra-deepwater depth. While Shell has
sold off its properties in the North American shale plays, the rest of the supermajors
have planted their feet firmly on both sides
of the deepwater/shale divide.
Major independents. Among the large
independents, operators such as Anadarko
and Noble Energy have also diversified
their E&P basket between the deepwater
Gulf of Mexico and shale plays. Anadarko
is expecting first oil from its Lucius spar
during the second half of 2014, and is on
track to produce from the Heidelberg facility in 2016. Yet, Anadarko has strong
positions in the Eagle Ford, Marcellus and
Wattenberg plays, and is also operating
fields offshore West Africa and Mozambique. Noble Energy also holds a similarly
diverse portfolio, divided between the
deepwater Gulf of Mexico, U.S. shales and
the Eastern Mediterranean. Meanwhile,
Apache and Devon have made more of a
commitment to their shale assets. Devon
has sold all of its Gulf properties and has
even moved its headquarters from Houston to Oklahoma City. With some shale
operators reporting return on investment
above 100%, perhaps there is merit in
Devons shale-only strategy.
Independent newbies. In February
2014, Fieldwood Energy acquired properties from Sandridge along the shelf, as well
as the deepwater Bullwinkle field. Meanwhile, well-funded Cobalt International
has staked its fortunes on the deepwater
Lower Tertiary plays, in partnership with
Anadarko, as well as on its own. An interesting addition to this category is Venari
Resources, which bills itself as the nonoperating partner-of-choice in the Gulf of
Mexico. Backed by more than $1.25 billion in private equity, Venari is focusing on
subsalt prospects in deep water.
New home for the NOCs. While Total
and Eni have been operating in the Gulf of
Mexico for several years, two interesting
NOC additions are Petrobras and Statoil.
Priding itself on its deepwater expertise,
Petrobras was the first to initiate FPSObased production in the Gulf of Mexico
from the ultra-deepwater Cascade and Chinook fields. Statoil has started wildcatting
in earnest in the Miocene plays, and hopes
to make major discoveries in the next few
months. Locals tend to carp about the
BSEE, but the reliable regulatory regime is
attracting interest from the large NOCs.
More the merrier. According to Wood
MacKenzie, 9 Bboe have been produced
in the Gulf of Mexico, thus far. In addition,
24 Bboe have been discovered, but are yet
to be produced, and future discoveries are
estimated at 14 Bboe. As such, there are
plenty of opportunities for operators of all
shapes and sizes in the Gulf of Mexico
mother of all oilfield bonanzas.
IN THIS ISSUE
55
Offshore rig advances. As
offshore operations continue their advance to deeper waters and

harsher environments, shipbuilders are
meeting the new challenges with innovative rig designs. Offshore Editor Eldon Ball
reports on GustoMSCs Magellan-class
drillship that is designed for 20,000-psi
well control, and both managed-pressure
and dual-gradient drilling. MPD is now
considered so essential, that our special focus article describes how Repsol,
Rowan Companies and Weatherford collaborated to provide full managed pressure and closed loop drilling capabilities
to the Rowan Renaissance drillship, as it
was coming out of the shipyard.
99
Special Report: Norway

riding a high tide. In ad-
dition to the UKCS regional report by

Deloitte authors, World Oil is pleased to
present a special report on Norway. Based
on Executive Editor Kurt Abrahams trip to
Stavanger, where he conducted exclusive
interviews with government officials, and
senior executives with operators and service companies, the report explains how
the Norwegian government and industry
are working together to plan future upstream growth, while keeping costs under
control, as the operators push E&P activity close to record highs.
116
ShaleTech: International
race to production ramp-
ing up. While North American operators

jumped on the shale trail like rabbits, international operators are progressing at
a turtle-like slow, but steady, rate. News
Editor Melanie Cruthirds reports that
even where regulatory, social or technological challenges exist, as is the case in
the UK, Spain, Russia and China, steady
progress is being made to, in the very
least, survey and estimate the presence
of shale oil and gas.
MULTIZONE COMPLETIONS
MP
ENHANCED
HAN
D MULTIZONE COMPLETION
TION SAVES
CONSIDERABLE
TIME AND COST.
O
ER
Case History:
OPERATOR CHALLENGE
Frac Pack Multiple Zones Offshore Reservoirs in ultra-deep water required

stimulation. Stacked, multizone completions negatively impacted economics.
HALLIBURTON SOLUTION
The Enhanced Single-Trip Multizone (ESTMZ ) system with pump

rates up to ve times the rate of older systems. It can pump at rates
up to 45 barrels per minute while increasing differential pressure
and proppant volume.
SOLUTION RESULTS
A total savings of on average 18 days per well on three

ultra-deepwater Chevron-operated wells in the Gulf of
Mexico Lower Tertiary.
COMPLETE
DEEP WATER
WITH
THE
LEADER.
Impressive results. Even for the completions leader worldwide. For Chevrons wells in the GoM,
the ESTMZ system for multizone completions really added up to major savings. Plus the industrys
highest pumping capability combined with risk reduction to the wellbore and topside personnel are all
signicant reasons to complete with the leader.
Whats your multizone completions challenge? To learn more, visit us at halliburton.com/Complete1
Solving challenges.
2014 Halliburton. All rights reserved.
WORLD OF OIL AND GAS

MELANIE CRUTHIRDS, NEWS EDITOR
PRODUCTION /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Maersk Oil UK gets approval to develop Flyndre, Cawdor
Maersk Oil UK has received approval from UK and Norwegian authorities to develop Flyndre and Cawdor fields. The fields lie approximately
293 km southeast of Aberdeen in Blocks 30/13 and 30/14 of the UK
North Sea (Flyndre and Cawdor) and Block 1/5 of the Norwegian
North Sea. The fields will be co-developed as a subsea tie-back to the
Clyde platform (pictured), operated by Talisman Sinopec Energy UK.
Flyndre will be developed with a single production well, while Cawdor
will be developed, initially, with a single production well, with potential
development of two further wells, based on field performance. Flyndre
is expected to peak at around 10,000 bopd, with first oil expected in
2016, and Cawdor should peak at around 5,000 bopd, with production beginning in 2017. Total recoverable resources are expected to be
approximately 30 MMboe for the initial development phase, with further
upside depending on performance and additional development phases.
Photo courtesy of Talisman Sinopec Energy UK.
Total starts production

at CLOV, boosts Block 17
output to 700,000 bpd
Total, operator of Block 17 offshore Angola, has
started up CLOV, a major deepwater development 140 km offshore Luanda, in line with
the initial project schedule. With a production
capacity of 160,000 bopd, CLOV will develop
proven and probable reserves of over 500
MMbbl. After Girassol, Dalia and Pazflor, CLOV
is the fourth FPSO unit on Block 17. Developing
four fields (Cravo, Lirio, Orquidea and Violeta),
the project comprises 34 wells and eight manifolds connected by 180 km of subsea pipelines
to an FPSO unit at water depths of 1,100 m
to 1,400 m. Measuring 305 m long and 61 m
wide, the FPSO has a storage capacity of 1.8
MMbbl of oil. The gas produced on CLOV will
be exported via a subsea line to the onshore
Angola LNG liquefaction plant. Along with
Total (40%), partners in the block are Statoil
(23.33%), Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17)
Limited (20%) and BP (16.67%). Sonangol is
the concessionaire for Block 17.
Gazprom Neft launches

production drilling at Badra
Gazprom Neft
has begun drilling
production wells at
Badra field in Iraq.
Drilling work began
in May 2014, with
a well more than
4,800 m long, under
a contract with
Chinese company
ZPEC, which provided for the drilling of six wells in total. Two development
wells have now been tested successfully and switched to
production status, making it possible to launch commercial
oil output at Badra. The development of a third well is still
underway. On May 31, Gazprom Neft began production at
Badra, and the central gathering station (CGS) is undergoing testing of its crude oil processing system. Testing will
be completed in three months, once enough oil has been
accumulated for commercial production. The field will then
be ready to reach planned production levels of 15,000
bopd. Photo courtesy of Gazprom Neft.
IEA: U.S. shale

revolution to
spread by 2019
In its annual, five-year oil market
outlook, released in June, the
International Energy Agency
(IEA) said it is likely that the
unconventional supply revolution
seen in North America over the
past several years will expand
outside those borders by 2019.
The groups report also projected
a slowdown in global oil demand
growth and OPEC capacity
growth facing headwinds. The
IEA report, Medium-Term Oil
Market Report 2014, goes on to
point out that a handful of countries are seeking to play catch-up
with the U.S. as a producer of
shale and light, tight oil (LTO). By
2019, it estimates, tight oil supplies outside of the U.S. could hit
650,000 bpd, including 390,000
bpd from Canada, 100,000 bpd
from Russia and 90,000 bpd
from Argentina. In the same
period, however, the IEA forecasts
that the U.S. will double its LTO
output to 5 MMbpd. In addition
to ongoing technical challenges
relating to field development and
production in the shale arena,
some OPEC producers are also
facing surface security concerns,
the report stated, with questions
surrounding how realistic it is
to expect three-fifths of OPECs
growth to come from Iraq by 2019,
with ongoing military upheavals
throughout the country.
BUSINESS ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Statoil, PTTEP
complete agreement
to divide Canadian oil
sands interests
Statoil and Thailands PTT Exploration
and Production (PTTEP) have
completed an agreement to divide
their respective interests in the Kai
Kos Dehseh (KKD) oil sands project
in northeastern Alberta, Canada.
Following the satisfaction of all
conditions precedent and the closing
of this transaction, Statoil now owns
100%, and continues as operator of
the Leismer and Corner development
projects, with PTTEP owning and
operating 100% of the Thornbury,
Hangingstone and South Leismer areas.
Statoil paid $200 million to PTTEP, plus
a working capital adjustment amount
of approximately $222 million.
Qatar Petroleum to invest nearly $11 billion in Bul

Hanine re-development
Qatar Petroleum (QP) reportedly has plans to invest nearly $11 billion in the re-development of Bul Hanine
offshore oil field, approximately 120 km east of the Qatari coastline. The project, which is at the pre-FEED
stage, is one of the largest to be managed and executed by QP. It is designed to prolong the fields life by
countering its output decline and doubling its oil production rate. Major reservoir and field-wide studies
have been undertaken to re-assess reserves and the long-term production prospects for each field. The
planned project scope includes new offshore, central production facilities and a new onshore gas liquids
processing facility at Mesaieed. Also included is a drilling campaign of about 150 new wells, scheduled for
between now and 2028. New wells will be drilled from the existing/modified wellhead jackets, as well as
from 14 new wellhead jackets.
Eni, Repsol, PDVSA agree to develop Perla eld

Officials representing PDVSA; its president, Rafael Ramirez; Eni and Repsol have signed strategic agreements concerning the exploitation of Perla field, one of the worlds largest discoveries in the last decade.
The first agreement is a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a new company (mixed enterprise), which will develop and produce Perlas condensate reserves. The new company will be run jointly
by CVP (PDVSAs affiliate, 60%), along with Eni (20%) and Repsol (20%). The second agreement is a term
sheet, which establishes the key elements required for an up-to-$1 billion investment structure to finance
PDVSAs (CVPs) share in the Perla development. Eni and Repsol will contribute up to $500 million, each.
Both agreements are subject to the signing of final contracts, and to the approval of local authorities.
3,016 FT
OLYMPUS TLP
3,300 FT
BONGA
3,999 FT
PAZFLOR
4,326 FT
TUBULAR BELLS
4,884 FT
KIZOMBA
6,075 FT
Deep Experience.
Ultra-deep Expertise.
THUNDER HORSE
7,021 FT
BRAZILIAN PRE-SALT
For more than 20 years, Tenaris has been a leader in deepwater projects around the world
in even the most complex operating conditions. Our package matches outstanding product
technology and performance, manufacturing precision and reliability, on-time delivery of
multiple items, and certied technical support in the eld. And, our R&D team continues to
develop safer, more environmentally friendly and innovative solutions.
8,250 FT
CASCADE & CHINOOK
9,039 FT
join the conversation: #whypipematters
INDEPENDENCE

Saturn
3D RADIAL PROBE
DISCOVERIES //////////////////////////////////////////////
BG, Ophir Energy
hit gas off Tanzania
Repsol strikes Russias largest

discovery in two years
Ophir Energy (20%) said that

it and BG Group (60%, operator) have discovered gas at the
Taachui-1 well, and subsequent
Taachui-1 ST1 well, in Block 1
offshore Tanzania. Ophir and BG
Group are partners in Blocks 1, 3
and 4. Taachui-1 was drilled near
the western boundary of Block
1. The well was sidetracked for
operational reasons, to complete
as the Taachui-1 ST1 well, and was
drilled to a TMD of 4,215 m. The
well encountered gas in a single
gross column of 289 m within the
targeted Cretaceous reservoir
interval; net pay totaled 155 m.
Estimates for the mean recoverable resource from the discovery
are approximately 1 Tcf. Photo
courtesy of BG Group.
SSatu
atttuurrnn is a ma
aatu
mark
mar
m
aark
rrk of
of SSc
Sch
Schl
cchl
h um
umbe
mbe
m
bbeerrge
rger
ger
gge
eerr. 20
2201
0 4 SScchlum
llum
um
umberg
mberg
erg
rgger.
e 14
er
14-FE4-FE
-FE-F
E 00
004
0044
0
Repsol made two new discoveries in Russias Karabashsky

Blocks, in Ouriyinskoye field, West Siberia. Recoverable
resources from the Gabi-1 and Gabi-3 wells are estimated, by
the Russian Federations Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment, at 240 MMboe. According to Minister of Natural
Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi, the find is the
biggest made in Russia in the last two years. Repsol has been
exploring the Karabashsky 1 and 2 Blocks since 2010, and, in
2011, it created a JV with Alliance Oil, called AROG, to carry
out development work in the country. During 2013, Russian
activity contributed 14,600 boed to Repsols production. This
has risen to 17,640 boed in 2014, with the start-up of new
gas wells at Syskonsyninskoye field.
GDF SUEZ discovers gas in

southern North Sea
GDF SUEZ has
reported a new gas
discovery in the
UK Southern North
Sea. The Cepheus
44/12a-6 exploration
well encountered a
gas column within the
Permian Lower Leman
sandstone, which
was the primary
reservoir target. The
well was spudded March 9, and drilled to a TMD of 12,125 ft.
It was deviated to the northeast, from a top hole location in
Block 44/12a, to the target location in Block 44/12b (License
P1731). The GSF Monarch rig, which drilled the well, was
scheduled to move off location May 29, after plugging and
abandonment operations. Photo courtesy of Transocean.
GOVERNMENT/REGULATORY ///////////////////////////////
Exxon Mobil awarded leases in Gulf boundary area
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Acting
Director Walter Cruickshank have announced the award of the first three oil and gas leases in the Gulf
of Mexico boundary area, subject to the U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement. The
leases were awarded to Exxon Mobil, which submitted bids for the blocks within (or partially within)
three statute miles of the maritime and continental shelf boundary with Mexico at Western Planning
Area Sale 233, held in August 2013. BOEM opened the three sealed bids, totaling $21,333,850, during
the Eastern and Central Planning Area Sales on March 19. The leases are in the Alaminos Canyon
Area, and will be subject to the terms of the U.S.-Mexico agreement, effective July 18.
Draft bill seeks 35%

local content in Mexico
UK energy minister
announces new shale terms
According to reports out of Mexico, a group

of legislators within the country is seeking
to raise the proposed local content provision
for oil and gas projects to 35%, up from the
25% recommended by Mexican President
Enrique Pena Nieto. The draft bill, proposed
by the heads of Mexicos Senate committees
on energy and legislative studies, would
exempt deepwater projects from the 35%
local content requirement. Additional laws
relating to the countrys energy industry
were scheduled to come under discussion
soon after the bills proposal.
UK Energy Minister Michael Fallon has said he will

move forward with updated rules for shale development. In June, he introduced a new flexibility to
licenses, whereby landholders can retain greater
areas than before. The new system will involve
production plans, which will govern acreage used
for production, and retention agreements, which
outline work plans agreed upon between the
license-holder and the Department of Energy &
Climate Change (DECC). Fallon said that the DECC
will reduce the confidentiality period on information
submitted about hydraulically fractured shale wells
from four years to six months.
Sampling with 3D radial

probe recovers fluids
from tight dolomite.
Switching from an extralarge-diameter
conventional sampling probe to the
Saturn 3D radial probe, an operator in the
Middle East acquired fluids from a lowpermeability dolomite at 6.5 the flow rate
and 1/3 of the drawdown to confirm mobile
oil where openhole logs were inconclusive.
Read the case study at
slb.com/saturn
MANAGED PRESSURE DRILLING
The New Drilling Convention.
Your toughest assets are
Extreme drilling environments are the new norm.

From drilling through narrow pore and fracture pressure gradient windows to
mitigating kicks and differential sticking, managed pressure drilling (MPD) gives
you assurance when conventional techniques are likely to fail.
2014 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
Our technology creates a secure closed-loop drilling system, which gives you
VMUSBQSFDJTFDPOUSPMPWFSVJETPXJOHJOUPBOEPVUPGZPVSXFMM4FFIPXUIF
global leader in MPD technology and services can help you safely reach TD.
Contact and collaborate with us at MPDanswers.com
Formation Evaluation
Well Construction
Completion & Stimulation
Production

EXPLORATION /////////////////////////////////////////////
Statoil drilling Martin prospect in deepwater GOM
As part of an ambitious effort to expand its E&P portfolio in North America, Statoil is in the midst
of drilling a wildcat well as an operator in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Statoil is using
the Maersk Developer, a sixth-generation semisubmersible, to drill the well on the Martin prospect
across Blocks 717, 718 and 761 in the Mississippi Canyon area. Installed at a 3,000-ft water depth, the
well is expected to reach TD during third-quarter 2014. The operator said it is fairly confident of success at Martin. Fields under production in the area include Mars and Ursa (Shell), and Thunder Horse
(BP), which are some of the largest producing fields in the GOM. For Martin, Statoil is the operator
(42.5%), with partners Nexen (25%) and LLOG (26%).
INPEX wins permit

to explore Western
Australian block
AWE abandons Oi-1 exploration

well offshore New Zealand
INPEX (40%) said that it and Santos

(operator, 60%) were awarded an
exploration permit for Release Area
WA-504-P, offshore Western Australia.
This is the 11th block in which INPEX
holds exploration permits or retention
leases in the vicinity of Ichthys gascondensate field, where the company,
as operator, is developing the Ichthys
LNG project. This latest block is
approximately 500 km off the coast of
Western Australia. It covers an 83-km2
area, where the water is approximately
400 m deep.
AWE, operator of Petroleum Mining Permit 38158

offshore Taranaki, New Zealand, has advised that due
to operational challenges in managing near-surface
unconsolidated formations, the Oi-1 exploration well has
been abandoned, and a new well, Oi-2, will be drilled
from an adjacent location. The Kan Tan IV semisubmersible has been moved 150 m to the new well location,
and preparations are being made to commence drilling
Oi-2. Oi-1 was drilled to a planned depth of 1,507 m in
a 17-in. hole. Installation of 13-in. casing was not
completed, due to wellbore instability at a shallow
depth. Subsequent attempts to sidetrack the well
were unsuccessful and, consequently, the JV decided
to abandon Oi-1. AWE said it has revised the drilling
program for Oi-2 to further mitigate risks, and to then
continue the program as previously planned.
ACQUISITIONS /////////////////////////////////////////////
Total sells interest
in Shah Deniz
Total has signed an agreement
to sell its 10% interest in the Shah
Deniz field, offshore Azerbaijan,
and the South Caucasus pipeline
to TPAO, the Turkish, state-owned
E&P company. The transaction is
valued at $1.5 billion and is subject to customary approvals. Shah
Deniz field is approximately 100
km southeast of Baku, Azerbaijan,
in the Caspian Sea, and covers
approximately 860 km2, in
water depths up to 550m.
Phase One of the field started
up in 2006 and is producing
200,000 boed. A second phase
was sanctioned in 2013.
Lukoil, NewAge farm into block

offshore Cameroon
Bowleven, an Africa-focused
oil and gas exploration group,
intends to sell part of its interest
in the Etinde permit, offshore
Cameroon, by entering into a
conditional agreement with
Lukoil and NewAge. The company will reduce its interest in the
permit from 75% to 25%, and will
receive aggregate consideration
of approximately $250 million.
Lukoil will acquire a 37.5%
interest, and NewAge will acquire
an additional 12.5% interest in
the Etinde permit to increase its
group holding from 25% to 37.5%.
Photo courtesy of Bowleven.
Chevron sells interests in Chad, Cameroon

Chevron Corporations subsidiary, Chevron Global Energy Inc., has sold its 25% non-operated interest in an oil-producing concession in southern Chad, and the related export pipeline interests, to the
Republic of Chad for approximately $1.3 billion. The transaction includes the sale of the subsidiarys
interests in seven fields in Chads Doba basin, which, in 2013, had an average net crude oil production of about 18,000 bpd. The sale also includes pipeline interests.
Eni buys 40% stake in Sasol eld off South Africa

Eni has concluded an agreement with Sasol to acquire a 40% interest and operatorship in
Exploration Right permit 236 (ER236) offshore South Africa. The permit grants the right to explore
for hydrocarbons in a wide, unexplored area of 82,000 km2 off South Africas east coast (Durban
and Zululand basins), Kwazulu-Natal province. The permit was granted to Sasol by South African
regulator, Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA), in late 2013.
ENERGY ISSUES
DR. WILLIAM J. PIKE, EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD CHAIRMAN
Same game, different questions

In the U.S., oil production hit a 27year high during May, increasing to 8.3
MMbpd. Natural gas output continues
to rise also, topping 86 Bcfd in March,
the highest U.S. gas production figure
in history. This presents a conundrum
to us old guys. We have to change the
conversation.
You see, for the last five decades or
so, we seniors have been discussing one
question almost all of the timeone oil
and gas question, that is. Where are we
going to find enough oil and gas? The
topic has dominated conferences, luncheon discussions, learned papers and
bar talk. It has been our quest, our raison detre. Now, thanks to shale, we have
more oil and gas than we ever imagined
we might have. And, now, the questions
become, What do we do with it? How
do we find a market for it, and how do we
sustain reasonable prices?
It is not that we mind these new questions. Not in the least. In fact, we are
quite proud of them, since we helped create them. Its just that we have to come
up to speed on a new topic to replace this
one, and we dont learn as fast as we used
to. But, we have a few options, which
appear below as a sort of primer to the
developing discussion and the primary
difficulty involved.
First, we have to get it out of the domestic market or suffer an internal glut
of oil and gas, and a descent into unacceptable oil and gas prices. In short, we
have to export the excess. That should be
easy enough, right? Sure it should be, if
we had the infrastructure, if we had the
will, and if we could keep politics out of
it. We can build the infrastructurewe
surely have the willbut the jury is out
on the political hurdles.
Lets start with the infrastructure.
We need transportation to move oil and

gas from the field to processing/refining
points, and from there to export facilities
(if they do not coexist, as they do along
the Gulf Coast). That would be some-
thing likesaythe Keystone XL Pipeline. But that pipelines route through

the U.S. is under eternal review, and its
completion before we open the first McDonalds on the moon is questionable.
The current administration has been
reluctant to sign off on it, for environmental reasons. Could it be, that there
are politics involved?
Of course, we could transport more
oil and gas by rail, but Washington is
spooked by the tank car derailments and
fatal explosions in Quebec (the tragic result of rail issues and not of the cargo),
and is reluctant to support further rail
transport of oil as is currently practiced,
although we have an exemplary record of
doing so for decades. But, that probably
is not politicalright?
Given that long-haul truck transport
is not economic, that leaves one other
optionshut it in to restrict supply and
raise prices. That may not be industrys
option, but it could be a politically acceptable option.
Lets say that, somehow, we get the
oil and gas transported, processed and to
an export point. At the moment, tanker
movement is still the acceptable way to
move oil over long stretches of water. It
should beor could befor gas also, or
so it would seem. But
A winding way forward. With the U.S.
oil and gas industry chomping at the bit

to get on with LNG exports, to offload
burgeoning shale gas production and stabilize prices at reasonable levels, a game
of political football has emerged between
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
and the U.S. Congress. In early June, DOE
issued a Notice of Procedures (NPP) for
Liquefied Natural Gas Export Decisions.
The notice, which outlines proposed
changes in the way LNG export permits
would be issued, would result in the suspension of conditional approvals for LNG
exports to non-Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) countries until the completion of
a full environmental review under the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act, significantly slowing the approval process.

Under DOEs prior policy, to allow
the issuance of conditional approvals
for non-FTA countries, only Cheniere
Energy Inc., which is building a liquefaction and export plant in Louisiana
(scheduled to begin operations in 2015),
has obtained all the permits necessary to
export natural gas.
DOEs reasoning for the change is
that it will prioritize approval for projects that are ready to go forward, and
that clearing the review process will enable better decisions to be made. And,
despite reservations on many fronts,
some in industry agree with DOE that
higher costs up front would weed out
those projects that were high on the
list for conditional approval but extremely questionable in terms of actual
execution capability.
Regardless of its merit, the DOE
plan has suffered sharp criticism, especially from Republican leaders of the
House Energy and Commerce Committee. Chairman Fred Upton and 60
co-sponsors introduced H.R. 6, the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom
Act (really!!!) that would give a 30-day
time limit (following a National Environmental Policy Act review) for a DOE
approval decision on LNG exports to
any World Trade Organization country.
The U.S. House of Representatives was
set to vote on H.R. 6 in the last week of
June. Democrats, needless to say, are not
in accord with H.R. 6. Obviously, there
are no politics here.
And there you have it. Unlike the
question of where can we find, and how
can we produce, the oil and gas we need,
the question of what we do with the oil
and gas that we produce is clear-cut.
You dont have to agonize over itjust
ask a politician, and be sure to use all of
the acronyms.
PIKE.WILLIAM@ATT.NET / Bill Pike has 47 years experience

in the upstream oil and gas industry, and serves as Chairman of the
World Oil Editorial Advisory Board.
CoreFlow
DIGITAL ROCK AND FLUID

ANALYTICS SERVICES
The future of core analysis is here.

Understand reservoir dynamics like never before.
Only CoreFlow services integrate physical and digital rock and uid analyses to create a 3D pore model that allows you
to quickly simulate reservoir ow performance under multiple production scenarios. A comprehensive approach
to laboratory core analysis enables more accurate quantication of critical parameters such as relative permeability,
so you can develop simulations to understand reservoir dynamics and estimate recoverable reserves.
Find out more at
slb.com/CoreFlow
Coor
Core
C
ore
reFFl
re
Flow
Flo
low
llo
ow
w iiss a m
markk ooff Sc
Schhl
hlu
hlum
lluuum
mbbe
berg
ergger.
erg
er.r. C
er
Copy
Cop
Co
oppyyrigh
opy
rrig
igh
iiggghht 22014
201
20
0014
0114 SSch
Sccchhhlllu
lumb
lum
umb
uum
mbberge
m
mberge
erg
rgggeer.r Allll riig
rge
igh
ight
gght
ht
hts re
resserv
seeerv
rvved
eed.
dd. 114
14-T
144-TS-0
-TTSSS-0
S-01
-000111177
WHATS NEW IN EXPLORATION

WILLIAM (BILL) HEAD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Demand for better exploration

technology continues to grow
Exploration technology has been
changing since its inception. We use it,
cuss it, and improve it. The folks who depend on technology spend a lot of money
to make it better, and lower-risk.
However, lets face our intent plainly. If a
divining rod made from a young apple tree
would work more than 50% of the time to
find oil, that first piece of apple tree would
be in a museum. Today, vendors would be
selling rods with GPS.
The truth is that no matter what we
use, we still see dimly into the subsurface.
Billions of dollars spent to date, and we
still do not clearly have an image of the
subsurface in sufficient detail to prevent
risk altogether. A RPSEA study, funded in
February 2009 with Knowledge Reservoir
(07121-1701), looked at just how effective
exploration and delineation methods were
in predicting drilling locations and reservoir size, compared to actual production.
The study showed that poor volumetric
forecasts occurred across most operators in
the Gulf of Mexico. The study pointed out
that a large gap exists between prediction
tools and practices. This was especially
true in predicting flow. The result?
Over-drilling was more of a problem
than under-drilling; most of us were disappointed by the last one or two wells in
a development.
This should surprise no one. Worldwide, we are a group of optimists. If explorationists want to drill, then super-cali-fra-gilistic-ex-pi-ali-do-cious to everything! Have
engineers never had a drilling budget that
was not inflated for safety and internal comfort? The end result is that as an industry,
we have spent a lot of money drilling where
we hoped we would find oil, more than drilling where we knew we would find oil.
The historical truth is that all exploration technology was once owned by oil
companies. Then, over time, that technology was transferred to independent parties. GSI and Schlumberger were born.
Drilling rigs and ships were sold. The
Mertz brothers moved across the street
in Ponca City, Okla. All oil company seis-
mic crews were disbanded. Some science

did remain inside oil. When Sir John gave
the industry AMOCOs tech, the reaction
inside oil was recognition of the obvious. Vendors with incentives to improve
technology would be the ones who had to
make those changes. Folks within oil became managers of technology.
Science consortiums, universities, national labs and 501(c)3s were the rising
tech centers. DeepStar, as a group JIP, was
one. Battelle, a 501 with 22,000 employees, is another. RPSEA working with congressional funding, finding technology
for its 189 members, is yet another. Today,
I see an effort by some oil companies to
once again own exploration technology.
Whats new? Companies, such as BP
and Statoil, have divisions to search for, and
purchase breakthroughs in, exploration
technology. Oil companies have learned
that not owning seismic data, except multiclient sets, was not the best idea on where
to look, since others are looking there, too.
Oil companies are re-learning that using
technology that everyone else is using may
not be the best path, either.
AAPGs annual convention this year
certainly demonstrated that a lot of people are in business to have oil companies
fall in love at first byte. There are now
bolt-on software products to differentiate individual companies exploration
programs. OTC 2014 held an open panel
discussion, where Statoil talked about
finding the next-generation E-tool set for
internal consumption. They might be interested in sharing later. That fellow was
swamped after the session closed. Private
ownership is, again, a developing trend.
The RPSEA model requires public dissemination up front. RPSEA receives hundreds of ideas and requests for funding.
The talent and demand for better exploration technology exists and is growing. We
should see some awesome breakthroughs
in technology, and new ideas to challenge
conventional concepts.
Tech news. In Mays issue, this column
reported RPSEAs announcement that it
is pursuing a JIP to further develop a fiber optic VSP tool that can be deployed
on drill pipe for either deepwater wells or
long horizontal wells. The workshop was a
success, and major oil is in discussion with
Paulsson, Inc.
SEGs SEAM will begin to study pore
pressure prediction as a joint privatepublic partnership with RPSEA and
about 14 interested oil companies and
vendors. The intent is to show our industry what current practice will produce, when compared to a perfectly
known geologic and fluid setting, when
the data used to determine pore pressure
are as perfect as they will ever be. Then,
opportunity exists to improve how we
predict pore pressure from seismic, and
hopefully create suggestions to advance
the science for a better, safer outcome.
The consortium will provide a collaborative forum, where industry experts
prioritize current challenges in the use
of seismic velocity models to construct
pre-drill pore pressure forecasts for well
planning. These challenges will be used
to design a comprehensive earth model
and to acquire, through state-of-the-art
computer simulation, benchmark data
sets. These sets will be used by industry to
quantify risk and uncertainty associated
with velocity models derived from both
current and future state-of-the-art seismic
acquisition, processing and imaging.
The focus will be the deepwater
GOM. However, resultant advances
in pressure prediction technology and
methodology will be more broadly relevant. SEAM Pressure Prediction will
commence in late 2014 and is expected
to last two to three years.
BHEAD@RPSEA.ORG / WILLIAM (Bill) HEAD is a project manager

for RPSEAs Ultra-Deepwater program. As a senior technologist,
he has worked over 38 years in U.S. and international exploration,
exploitation and production. Mr. Head has been instrumental to
several new international ventures, coordinating local and global
operations, and has managed one of the industrys largest computer
facilities. His positions of increasing responsibility have included
V.P. of technology for a large independent and V.P./COO of reservoir
imaging for a major service company.
DRILLING ADVANCES
JIM REDDEN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
The errors in human error

Typically, when something goes amiss
on the rig floor, fingers point straightaway at the crew. Obviously, the reasoning
holds, Don the Driller failed miserably to
comply with the companys finely tuned
procedures, thus human error is to blame
and case closed.
Instantly leaping to that conclusion and
declaring the incident resolved is a wasted
and, conceivably dangerous, exercise, Andrew Dingee, BPs global wells learning
advisor, told an SPE HSE study group last
month in Houston. To build a safety system, you must understand why an incident
occurred. The why is not just pilot error.
Theres a lot more at play here, and the key
is to dig deeper as to why the mistake was
made, said the safety specialist, who transitioned from the aviation sector.
A pilot and retired aviation instructor for
the U.S. Marine Corps, Dingee spent most
of his post-military career analyzing and
developing safety management systems
for commercial airlines. He transferred the
lessons learned dissecting airline accidents
to the oil field in 2010 and, before joining
BP, worked with companies to develop and
audit federally-mandated Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS).
He said many of the safety tools used
in the airline industry, such as the pilots
pre-flight checklist, are equally applicable
to the oil field, providing they are part of
a flexible management system that changes
as conditions warrant. Weve done a lot
of work lately on checklists, and Ive seen
a real difference, providing it is the right
checklist and is completed the right way.
For our crews on both offshore and land
rigs, it can be a real key to reducing NPT
(non-productive time), he said.
However, Dingee said companies and
employees, alike, need to get away from
what he calls plan bias. Why do we, as
humans, become slaves to a plan and continue to execute that plan, regardless of
the changes around you? We see the same
thing in our business, but when youre on
an offshore rig, sticking strictly to the plan
can be a negative.
The human equation. Dingee, chairman of the SPE Human Factors Technical
Session, has focused extensively on the impact of human elements in workplace mistakes, and with the publication of Hanger
Talk, literally wrote the book on the subject. His message is that the human element is the most flexible, adaptable part of
a companys management system, but also
the one most vulnerable to influences that
hinder performance.
Although up to 80% of accidents are
correctly labeled human error, effective
safety management, he said, requires that
the label be accompanied by exactly why
the incident occurred and how it can be
fixed. Preventing future accidents requires
an understanding of all the underlying
factors and conditions that affect human
performance, be it fatigue, inadequate
equipment or training, badly designed procedures, or poorly laid out checklists and
manuals. He singled out one commercial
airline, which after concluding that even its
most experienced pilots made, on average,
four errors per flight, subsequently put corrective systems in place.
Determining the why requires digging deeper and fully understanding the
levels at which employees performbe it
a skill, rule or knowledge-based scenario,
he said. With the former, an employee essentially is performing on automatic and
not fully engaged with the surrounding environment. In reality, we train our crews
to be on automatic, because then they are
actually working to standards and making
fewer errors. This actually makes a good
place to work, but you cant work on automatic all the time.
When youre working in a non-routine
or rule-based scenario, the company makes
the decisions for us on how to perform,
he said. You start flying on automatic,
you take an assessment of your environment, you make a decision based on the
rules youve been trained to, you execute,
and then you slide back into automatic.
So, youre going back and forth, and that is
when we make our best decisions.
Dingee said understanding the human

element is especially imperative when
training inexperienced hands. When
youre training, youre learning, and learning, first of all, is hard. You make mistakes.
Youre not operating on automatic behavior. Youre operating on conscious behavior, so you must go back and forth.
In yet another airline analogy, Dingee
said an example of knowledge-based performance is Captain Chesley Sully Sullenbergers widely celebrated ditching of
US Airways Flight 1549 in New Yorks
Hudson River in January 2009, after
the jetliner was disabled upon striking a
flock of geese after takeoff. No lives were
lost, which Dingee attributed largely to
an experienced pilot foreseeing a problem-in-waiting and planning accordingly. Having frequently flown that route,
Sullenberger feared the heavy flocks of
geese regularly traversing that particular
airspace and developed a contingency.
He was not operating from any manual.
He developed a solution in a knowledgebased scenario and, once the decision
was made, he and the crew were on automatic behavior.
Dingee said one of the problems in
many companies safety management systems is the collection of potentially valuable data, such as Stop-the-Work cards
and incident reports, that often are given
cursory examinations and filed away. We
have become data-rich, but informationpoor. Its very important that we correctly
mine the data that we receive. Your next
accident very likely is buried somewhere
within an incident report, he said.
I once asked a group of leaders,
wheres your next accident going to happen? They couldnt answer, because nobody had asked that question before. If
you cant recognize where you think your
next accident will occur, how can you put
something in place to prevent it?
JIMREDDEN@SBCGLOBAL.NET / Jim Redden, a Houston-based

consultant and a journalism graduate of Marshall University, has
more than 38 years of experience as a writer, editor and corporate
communicator, primarily on the upstream oil and gas industry.
MULTI-STAGE COMPLETIONS
You can do better

than good enough
when it comes to
open hole packers.
Our RockSEAL H2 dual element, hydraulic
packers provide built in redundancy and
every job is optimized for fracture control
and reliability. Contact us today and let us
help you maximize your assets.
DO IT ONCE. DO IT RIGHT.
www.packersplus.com
WHATS NEW IN PRODUCTION

HENRY TERRELL, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Ill take Sand for $50, Alex

The year was 1983, and I was working as
an editorial assistant at a petroleum magazine. One of my jobs was to mark up the
manuscripts for typesetting, then send the
printed galleys to the proofreaders. One particular article came back with a testy note.
THERE IS NO SUCH WORD! the
proofreader had written. IT IS NOT IN
ANY DICTIONARY.
The word, circled in red every place it
occurred, was proppant.
By the early 1980s, the term had actually been around for over 15 years, but its
not surprising that a proofreader couldnt
find it in the old musty dictionaries from
the company library. Before mid-1960s,
the operative phrase was propping agent.
I cant discover who coined the word
proppant, but the term seems to appear
all at once in several magazines in 1966.
Keeping the cracks open. Fracturing
with explosives and other forms of applied
pressure has been used in wells of all kinds
since the late 19th century, including oil,
gas and water wells. The deeper the well,
the more insistent an induced fracture
will be about closing back up. Methods of
keeping fractures open, with both acid and
sand, have existed since the 1930s.
Proppants have always been a required
component of hydraulic fracturing, but
their use has evolved steadily since the
first experimental frac job in 1947, which
utilized sand from the Arkansas River. I
dont know how good the sand was on that
first frac, but theyve improved since then.
Some varieties of silica (quartz) sand make
an almost ideal proppant. The highestquality sand tends to be naturally spherical, corrosion-resistant, extremely strong
and as cheap as sand.
Ordinary, angular sands dredged up in
rivers or scooped up from beaches are not
very useful as proppant, however. The best
natural frac sand is produced from highpurity sandstone. It can be sorted into sizes
ranging from 0.1-mm diameter to over 2
mm, depending on requirements, although
most of the proppant sand used today is
between 0.4 and 0.8 mm in diameter.
Potential sources of good-quality

proppant sand are St. Peter sandstone,
Oil Creek sandstone, Jordan sandstone
and Hickory sandstone, among others.
These particular stones are composed of
quartz grains that have been through many
weathering and erosion cycles, which has
removed almost all minerals other than
quartz, and produced grains of particularly round shape. They are usually soft and
poorly cemented, which allows them to be
excavated and crushed with minimal damage to the quartz grains.
Traditionally, Wisconsin and Texas supplied much of the proppant sand used in
hydraulic fracturing. However, surging demand has inspired many companies from
different regions to get into the sand business. Most of the more recent players are
located in the central U.S., particularly the
Midwestern states, where St. Peter sandstone deposits are close to the surface and
easily mined. Today, almost 60% of frac
sand is produced in the Midwest.
Manufactured, uncoated ceramic proppant was first used in 1983. The particles
made from sintered aluminum ore displayed many improved qualitiesgreater
crush resistance, improved spherical shape
and uniformity. They were also more expensive, but improved well production due
to better interparticle (interstitial) space,
which usually justified the added cost.
The very qualities that make proppant
flow easily are the same ones that make it
flow back out again. Proppant flowback
can begin immediately, along with fluid
flowback, as soon as fracturing pressure is
released, and may continue throughout the
life of the well. This is bad for two reasons:
reduction of hydrocarbon flow, leading
to decreased well revenue, and potential
equipment damage, leading to increased
intervention cost. Damaged tubulars, wellhead assemblies and valves can add considerably to the overall cost of a well.
Resin-coating was introduced to proppants to help mitigate flowback, but did
not find widespread use until the mid1980s. Both sand and ceramic proppants
can be resin-coated, but in general, resincoated sand occupies a middle position

between raw sand and ceramics, offering
performance improvement over the former and cost advantages over the latter.
Proppant uprising. As the shale revolution rolls forward, demand has grown
from modest to strong to truly staggering.
U.S. demand for well stimulation materials,
including frac sand, is forecast to rise over
10%12% a year during the next several
years. Estimates of total proppant demand
in North America by 2017 range from 55
billion lb to 100 billion lb per year. Sand is
expected to continue dominating volume
sales, with faster increases in resin-coated
products. Demand for ceramic proppants
will also continue to grow rapidly, although
traditional manufacturers of ceramic proppants have faced increasing competition
from China, where cheap bauxite is plentiful. There is also competition from lightweight proppant types, such as walnut
shells and crosslinked thermoplastics.
High oil prices have caused the fastest
growth to be in regions with the most liquids potential, including the Permian basin and the Eagle Ford shale in Texas, the
Marcellus shale in the East and Utica shale
in Ohio, and the Bakken region of North
Dakota. Longer-term, as natural gas prices
strengthen (with the growing possibility of
future U.S. LNG exports) then proppant
demand will increase in the more fallow
gas-prone areas of the Haynesville and
Woodford shales.
Perhaps the biggest question mark lies
over Californias Monterey shale, considered by many experts to hold very large
reserves of light oil. A major push to develop these unconventionals will put even
greater pressure on both natural and manufactured proppants in coming decades.
To meet the demands of the coming
decades, the proppant industry will require both improved materials and smarter engineering. But the operative word is
still going to be volume.
HENRY.TERRELL@GULFPUB.COM
HPHT
CHALLENGES
Trusted by operators worldwide

to handle the heat and pressure
With a field-proven portfolio of HPHT drilling fluids products, related services and modeling software,
M-I SWACO is the first choice of 59% of operators facing the challenges of HPHT wells*.
Our technologies include high temperature fluids that carefully control ECD and perform in
overpressured formations and weak zones. The result is a significant reduction in drilling-related
non-productive time, which is common in HPHT wells.
On a recent ultra-high temperature well (432F) in the Gulf of Thailand, the RHADIANT drilling fluid
system proved thermally stable throughout the drilling process and enabled the operator reach
production faster with no NPT.
www.slb.com/hpht
Mark of M-I L.L.C. *Welling Report 2014. 59% of operators stated M-I SWACO as the drilling fluids market leader for HPHT applications.
OFFSHORE IN DEPTH
ELDON BALL, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Offshore forecasts see more growth,

increased spending
Over the next several years, the North
American offshore market should see expenditures increase 51%, compared to the
previous five-year period, according to a
recent forecast by energy analysts at Infield
Systems. Historically, North America has
been dominated by U.S. Gulf of Mexico
(GOM) developments, and this trend will
continue, with the GOM accounting for
90% of regional capital expenditures.
As shallow-water reserves decline, operators have expanded their exploration
efforts into ever-deeper waters, with Capex forecast to increase 86% for projects in
water depths greater than 1,000 m, Infield
says. Key deep- and ultra-deepwater developments expected to feature significantly
over the period through 2017 include:
Anadarkos Heidelberg and Lucius
developments
Shells Stones and Appomattox ultra-deepwater developments
Exxon Mobils Hadrian North project, although some uncertainty surrounds it, and there may be some
re-design.
During the forecast period to 2017,
Infield expects Canada to increase Capex
spending. Seen as a new frontier for development, the Arctic region has been attracting increasing operator and media interest.
However, significant challenges exist for
operators wanting to work in these highly
protected waters, with environmental opposition remaining strong.
Among operators, Shell is expected to
account for the highest Capex during the
forecast, directing 97% of its offshore expenditures toward GOM developments.
Here, the operator is expected to develop
its second-most capital-intensive development globally after West Africas Bonga
Southwest, with the Stones and Appomattox projects accounting for a significant
share of Shells spending through 2017.
The largest proportion, 44%, of the cost
will be directed toward a newbuild semisubmersible. The forecast, Offshore North
America Oil & Gas Market Report, can be
accessed from the Infield Systems website.
Key operators. Other important operators include Anadarko and Exxon

Mobil79% of Anadarkos Capex will be
required by field developments in water
depths greater than 1,499 m. The greatest depths will be seen on the Lloyd Ridge
Cheyenne East prospect, where subsea expenditure is expected through 2014. The
most capital-intensive project for the U.S.
independent after Lucius is finished is expected to be Heidelberg, with its subsea
element and spar installation.
Exxon Mobil is forecast to direct Capex
to both U.S. and Canadian assets, with recent project sanctions including the giant
Julia tie-back within the GOMs Walker
Ridge area. Exxon Mobil remains undeterred by Shells Arctic hiatus, directing 5%
of its projected expenditures toward Canadian Arctic assets. Chevron should see lower levels of offshore expenditure over the
forecast, with Capex targeted at a smaller
number of fields than previously. However,
Chevrons average expenditure per field
development is forecast to increase.
Subsea completions are likely to see the
highest investment over the forecast period, driven by deepwater GOM developments. With exploration in deeper waters
increasing, subsea completion expenditures will inevitably rise. Offshore North
America, satellite wells continue to dominate market Capex.
The pipeline market will continue to
attract significant Capex, with the GOM
accounting for around 82% of the markets expenditures. SURF lines account
for the largest proportion of the market,
as a result of GOM deepwater activity,
with a large number of subsea tie-ins to
floating platforms required. In terms of
trunk lines, the forecast increase in expenditures is due to the increasing number of
installations expected offshore the U.S.
and Canada.
Almost 75% of offshore platform expenditures will relate to floating facilities,
mainly associated with GOM projects.
Regarding fixed platforms, 80% of Capex
is forecast to be directed toward fields in
Canada, with one of the largest projects

being Exxon Mobils Hebron platform offshore Newfoundland. Historically, the U.S.
has dominated the fixed platform market,
but as shallow-water development opportunities have declined, Canada is likely to
overtake the GOM.
Helicopter services totaling $24 billion. Energy analysts at Douglas-Westwood, meanwhile, forecast $24 billion in
expenditures for offshore helicopter services between 2014 and 2018, a 57% increase in comparison to the preceding fiveyear period. Western Europe will continue
to account for the largest share of expenditures, driven by the extensive North Sea infrastructure and operators preference for
large helicopters.
This is DWs first edition of the World
Offshore Oil & Gas Helicopters Market
Forecast, which says that a major driver
for growth in offshore helicopter services
is the field development lifecycle. During
drilling, helicopter requirements are shortterm, requiring flexibility from the helicopter operator. During production, long-term
crew transfer support is required. As production continues to ramp up, the drivers
for a larger fleet of helicopters strengthen.
While Western Europe continues to
underpin the overall market, DW expects
faster growth rates in Africa, Asia, Australasia and Latin America. Globally, the medium-sized class accounts for close to 60%
of total offshore helicopter service expenditures. Western Europe and Australasia
are exceptions, as customers in these markets favor larger helicopters with increased
range and carrying capacity.
The next five years will be important, as
a new generation of medium-class helicopters, such as the EC175 and AW189, are introduced. DW notes that these models are
highly efficient, with the most advanced
safety systems, and are expected to perform well offshore.
ELDON.BALL@WORLDOIL.COM Eldon Ball has more than 35 years

of experience in business-to-business writing and editing, technical
and economics communications, media relations, marketing, and events
management, specializing in oil and gas and high-tech businesses.
OIL AND GAS IN THE CAPITALS

DR. ANAS F. ALHAJJI, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, MIDDLE EAST
Iraq: Dj vu
Since the Sunnis cannot push south, and
Al-Malikis troops cannot retake lost territories, the possibility of a long civil war
and a de facto division of Iraq into three regions is high. The expected growth in production is the first victim of this conflict.
Iraq cannot deliver the 8 MMbopd that
the government has been talking about,
or even 6 MMbopd.
Plans to increase production to 6
MMbopd and above are contingent upon
building pipelines through western Iraq to
Syria and Jordan. Now, these areas are under the control of Sunni rebels. Production
growth is gone with the revolution.
If all, or some, of the international companies leave Iraq, the countrys oil production will start declining immediately, even
if oil fields and facilities are not attacked.
However, the main winners are the Kurds.
They achieved their dream of controlling
Kirkuk and its oil fields. In the medium
term, production and exports of 300,000600,000 bopd from the region are feasible.
But these exports do not change the fact
that long-term forecasts of various agencies and groups still count on Iraq delivering at least 6 MMbopd, and now it cannot.
Kurdistans production is already included
in these forecasts.
In conclusion, the short-run impact
could be limited, unless Shia infighting, as
the central government is weakened, limits
production. But the long-term
impact is significant, putting
more pressure on North America to produce more oil.
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2015
Iraqi oil production, MMbpd
Oil is the source of Iraqs problems. In the main tools to achieve its objectives, which
2003, after Iraq was invaded, I wrote an arti- include regime change.
Ironically, the U.S. and the Sunni rebels
cle entitled, The future of Iraq: Democracy
or Oilocracy.1 I argued then, that the Bush in Iraq share the same strategic objectives,
administration had an historic opportunity when it comes to controlling oil reserves
to diversify Iraqs economy and remove its prevent the enemy from the source of his
oil dependency. Without economic diversi- strength and finance a new regime of your
fication, a new Saddam Hussein sneaks into liking from oil revenues. Now, we can see
power. Diversification is the kind of preemptive the vicious cycle that brings us back to the
strike that will prevent future dictators from beginning of this columnif everyone
taking over Iraq. Without economic diver- wants to control Iraqi oil to fund a future
sification, In a few years, people will look at government of its liking, Iraq will remain
Operation Iraqi Freedom as one of the biggest dependent on oil and remain in turmoil, as
blunders in U.S. history. Now, we know how the country is ruled by dictator after dictatrue these predictions were: Iraq became tor, with no end in sight. It is an oil curse.
The above argument means either concompletely dependent on oil revenues, and
tinuous turmoil, as dictators are deposed,
another dictator snuck into power.
If dependence on oil revenues is the one after the other, or a strong ruler, who
problem, then removing Prime Minster will bring stability to Iraq but threaten
Nouri Al-Maliki, or forming a unity gov- neighboring countries.
The impact of current events on
ernment, will not solve the current crisis,
or any of Iraqs long-term problems. From global oil markets. Back in 2010, in this
the above argument, one might conclude column, I wrote about an in-house study
that the main reason for the U.S. invasion at NGP Energy Capital Management, that
of Iraq was to gain control of the countrys predicted an increase in Iraqs production
to only 4.9 MMbopd by 2018.4 While that
oil resources.
At the end of 2002, just about four prediction was considered pessimistic,
months before Iraq was invaded, I wrote as various groups talked about 6.0-plus
a piece in this column entitled, Will the MMbopd, recent events prove that even
U.S. invasion of Iraq fit the objectives of that prediction was too optimistic.
Bushs energy policy?2 The article conWhat we have seen in Iraq, in recent
cluded, No, the invasion is not about oil. weeks, is a Sunni revolution against AlNow, we know that most oil contracts Malikis regime and Shia dominance.
went to Europe and China.
This topic was discussed
again in June 2003, under the 40 years of Iraqi oil production.
title, The U.S. energy policy
4
and Iraqs Invasion: Does oil
matter?3 My conclusion was
3
that U.S. control of Iraqi oil
production did not fit the
Bush administrations energy
2
policy objectives, which were
championed by then-Vice
1
President Dick Cheney. If
oil was not the occupations
objective, then what was oils
0
role? The main conclusion
was that oil is not the objective
Sources: EIA 2014 and OPEC 2014
of the invasion, but it is one of
REFERENCES
1. http://www.steinbergrecherche.com/fralhajji.
htm
2. http://www.worldoil.com/December2002-International-Politics.html
3. http://www.worldoil.com/June-2003-International-Politics.html
4. http://www.worldoil.com/June-2010-Oiland-gas-in-the-capitals.html
ALHAJJI@NGPTRS.COM/Dr. Anas Alhajji

joined NGP Energy Capital Management, one of the
leading energy private equity firms in the industry, in
2008 as Chief Economist. He leads the firms macroanalysis of the oil, natural gas and related markets,
and the overall economic environment.
Vessel-based means
40 50% savings
on deepwater interventions.
FMC Technologies now offers vesselbased deepwater Riserless Light Well

Intervention (RLWI) in the Gulf of Mexico
and other elds worldwide. So you can
act in days rather than weeks and reduce
intervention costs by 40 - 50%. Its all
part of our new emphasis on services
that deliver faster, smarter interventions,
substantial cost savings and increased
productivity for the life of the eld. Learn
more at www.FTOServices.com
Offshore Loading Arm

Footless (OLAF)
Copyright FMC Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Schilling Robotics
ISOL-8 Pump
www.fmctechnologies.com
EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINT
CRAIG BEASLEY, CHIEF GEOPHYSICIST,
WESTERNGECO, AND SCHLUMBERGER FELLOW
Geoscientists are doing good

things for the world
In 2004, shortly after my term began as
SEG president, a massive undersea earthquake off the Sumatran coast triggered
the infamous Indian Ocean tsunami that
claimed a quarter-million lives. I received
a flurry of emails from SEG members
worldwide, asking what we could do to
help, not simply as concerned citizens,
but as geoscientists.
In my next presidents letter, I issued a
grand call to action for members to donate
to the SEG Foundation, to fund humanitarian-targeted geoscience projects. At that
time, however, only a smattering of people
donated money. The whole endeavor
stalled out, but it never quite went away.
The spark reignited, when I ran across
an organization called Engineers Without Borders, which delivers sustainable
engineering programs proposed by local
communities worldwide. I realized that we
didnt have to dream up our own projects
or manage them. We just had to raise sufficient seed money, and solicit proposals.
I contacted Schlumbergers CEO,
whom I knew personally. Many geoscientists, I said, resonate with the idea of using earth science theory and technology
to do good things for the world. And lets
be honest, the oil industry doesnt have
a great reputation in academic circles or
the public. This could help elevate our
profile, recruit highly motivated graduates, even inspire our own employees.
He committed $1 million on the spot, at
$200,000 per year.
Using this as seed money, the SEG
Foundation formed Geoscientists Without
Borders (GWB) in 2008, hired a full-time
administrator, and began soliciting proposals. To receive funding, a project must
meet three criteria. It must involve earth
science, have humanitarian benefits, and
engage university students. Each project
can receive up to $50,000/year for one or
two years.
Humanitarian projects with science.
In its first five years, GWB funded initiatives in Australia, Benin, Brazil, Greece,
Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ja-
maica, Nicaragua, Romania, South Africa,

Sweden and Thailand. Projects included
archeological excavations, earthquake preparedness, landslide prediction, pollution
mitigation, tsunami preparedness, volcano
preparedness, and water management. Last
fall, SEG produced a terrific short film,
entitled Geoscientists Without Borders,
now posted on YouTube (www.youtube.
com/watch?v=Md1185PL6dM), describing projects in Greece, Brazil, Jamaica and
South Africa.
Many of GWBs endeavors are profoundly impacting thousands of men,
women and children in their respective regions. Consider, for example, our pollution
mapping project in Romania.
After 40 years of aggressive copper,
lead and zinc mining, Zlatna is one of
Europes most polluted areas, and has attracted international scientific study to
determine pollutant levels and locations.
The University of Bucharest held field
camps in a valley that had been mined
since Roman times. Students observed
local children swimming, and farmers
watering their livestock, in a tailings pond
that contained high concentrations of toxic metals. So a team of graduate students
submitted a proposal to GWB to fund
near-surface geophysical, geomagnetic
and geochemical surveys. Their goal was
to map contamination levels in the soil
and aquifers along the Ampoi Valley, to
identify the least-polluted water sources,
and the safest places for planting crops.
A local mayor, who was also a geochemist, propelled the project beyond its original scope. With field data and certified geochemical lab results in hand, he petitioned
the Romanian government and European
Union for fundsand won approval for a
pipeline to bring potable water to residents
and communities throughout the valley.
Thats an impressive return on a relatively
small investment.
Recently, GWB selected three new humanitarian projects to fund in Guatemala,
Cameroon, and a remote island off the
Australian coast. The Guatemalan project
involves building local capacities for monitoring eruptive and landslide activity at the
Pacaya volcano. The ultimate goal is to save
lives by means of early warnings in case of
a catastrophic eruption, and to reduce false
evacuation recommendations.
In northern Cameroon, students will
conduct electromagnetic surveys to characterize a basement rock aquifer in the
Vina River catchment, to develop a freshwater well field. The objective is to provide
access to, and localization of, fresh groundwater reserves for domestic or irrigation
purposes. Remote Milingimbi Island,
Australia, has an aboriginal community
of about 1,600 persons, and groundwater
is their only water source. Students and
professors will use near-surface geophysical measurements to support water supply
investigations and engage local community
members in training and use of near-surface instruments to help ensure a sustainable water supply.
Geoscientists are doing amazing,
wonderful things around the world today through GWB, supported solely by
individual donors, oilfield service providers, a few software developers, and a
small number of E&P companies. Can
you imagine what we will achieve, if we
expand the base of support?
The vision, from the beginning, was to
build a track record of successful projects
to take our case to the oil industry. GWB
now offers a compelling business case,
worthy of broader, deeper industry support. I am confident that GWB can expand
to represent the entire oil industry and will
continue to inspire both students and the
public, as they understand that we are using our science, technology and collective
brainpower to make the world a better
place for generations to come.
CRAIG BEASLEY is chief geophysicist for WesternGeco and

a Schlumberger fellow. He completed BS, MS and PhD degrees in
mathematics and then joined Western Geophysical in 1981. He served
in several capacities of growing responsibility, including V.P., Data
Processing, after the formation of WesternGeco. He has received
numerous awards and served as the 2004-2005 SEG president. He is
the founding chair for the Geoscientists Without Borders committee.
| bakerhughes.com
Build a better well.
Well design and construction has long been part of the Baker Hughes DNA.
And we continue to redene the blueprint to build a better well. That means
we are extending the technical limits of whats possible, driving efciency gains,
and achieving unparalleled safety standardsregardless of the depth, reach,
temperature, or pressure requirements.
Let us build your next well and extend your access to the reservoir.
Learn more about how real leaders innovate at bakerhughes.com/wellconstruction
2014 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. 40715 04/2014
INNOVATIVE THINKERS
Presidential
characterization

D. Nathan Meehan
The beginning of an exciting new professional chapter is already underway for

Nathan Meehan. As the recently confirmed nominee for 2016 SPE President,
Meehan will see his calendar grow increasingly full as the end of 2015 nears, when he
will be preparing to assume the leadership
role next year. In his day job as senior executive advisor for reservoir and geosciences
at Baker Hughes Incorporated, Meehan
will be one of a handful of service company
professionals to have helmed the industry
group since its formation in 1957.
After collecting a pair of degrees in
physics (BS) and petroleum engineering
(MS), Meehan got his oil industry start
with Union Pacific Resources (UPR) in
1976, which would later prove to have been
the beginning of a 24-year-career with the
company. At the time, UPR was struggling
with tight reservoirs and permeability challenges. Applying what he had learned in
school, Meehan crafted software programs
for HP calculators that would enable engineers to determine fluid properties and
other reservoir engineering measurements.
This ability to peer below the surface
would provide the basis upon which teams
could model their hydraulic fracturing jobs.
As 2016 SPE President, Nathan Meehan
will bring nearly 30 years of experience in
reservoir characterization to the role.
As the industry took a sharp downturn in the late 1980s, Meehan embraced
his desire to continue working with technological applications, rather than P&Ls.
Spurred by what he remembers as exciting
times, technologically, Meehan took the
opportunity to earn a PhD in petroleum
engineering from Stanford University.
During this time, and after, he continued
to focus on reservoir characterization, but
also worked in geosteering and, at one
point, had a drilling department report to
him, during a time when UPR was actively
drilling 3,000-plus-ft horizontal wells.
Just over a decade later, UPR was
acquired by Anadarko, at which point
Meehan jumped briefly into a position at
Occidental Petroleum, before going into
engineering consulting. Although he enjoyed the projects he undertook as a consultant, including field studies and arbitration on technical challenges, it was not
long before Meehan was drawn back into
the fold of big-time oil and gas. In 2008,
he joined Baker Hughes with the goal of
helping the company, and its customers,
to better understand the reservoir. More
than 30 years after he first built calculator programs to help engineers see
subsurface properties, Meehan is interested in addressing the question of how
best to quantify the value of reservoir
characterization tools.
As much as majors, independents and

NOCs may be willing to spend on products and services in todays upstream industry, from Meehans perspective, there
is one concept that may be even more
valuable. Referring to the idea of a social
license to operate, he described a drilling
paradigm in which operators work smarter,
not harder (and messier, and noisier, and
larger). Pad drilling has become increasingly popular for cost savings and environmental friendliness, but Meehan said he
believes the industry can do much more,
while also reducing the number of wells
drilled and frac stages pumped.
Meehans social conscience extends beyond the oil and gas supply chain. A little
more than two years ago, he and his wife
returned from Hong Kong following an
18-month humanitarian trip, during which
time they performed community service
throughout Asia. Over the coming year,
Meehan will turn his focus, once again, to
the industry, as he becomes SPE presidentelect this fall. Meanwhile, when he has a moment of reprieve from overseeing things at
Baker Hughes, he will be mulling over which
objectives he would like to focus on during
his tenure as head of the 124,000-member
SPE, all while continuing to learn Mandarin
Chinese in his spare time, of course.
MELANIE.CRUTHIRDS@WORLDOIL.COM
INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE
The rapidly deteriorating political situation in Iraq, with

Sunni insurgents gaining control of much of that countrys oilproducing regions, sent oil futures sharply higher in early June,
with Brent Blend gliding past $110/bbl. This, along with greater
demand from China, put pressure on world oil supplies, which
rose to 90.44 MMbpd, most of that outside OPEC. Production
in the U.S. surpassed 8.3 MMbopd. Natural gas prices and production remained fairly steady. The U.S. rotary rig count stayed
flat going into June, hovering around 1,850, while the international count climbed modestly to 1,516 rigs running.
U.S. OIL PRODUCTION1

MAY
20142
30
556
21
609
191
7
22
131
7
1,341
23
69
85
10
325
997
22
348
3,189
114
12
193
29
8,331
7,775
STATE
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Florida
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana4
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
New Mexico
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Texas4
Utah
West Virginia
Wyoming
Others5
TOTAL U.S.
LOWER 48
1
3
5
Thousand barrels per day
MAY
20133
29
515
18
579
158
6
26
130
7
1,173
22
68
81
8
280
810
13
321
2,768
93
12
173
28
7,317
6,802
% DIFF.
3.4
8.0
16.7
5.2
20.9
16.7
15.4
0.8
0.0
14.3
4.5
1.5
4.9
25.0
16.1
23.1
69.2
8.4
15.2
22.6
0.0
11.6
3.6
13.9
14.3
APR
20142
28
564
20
607
190
7
22
134
7
1,263
21
68
88
8
297
965
20
340
3,087
110
12
187
29
8,074
7,510
2 Preliminary estimate, API.

Includes lease condensate.
DOEs revision, as of 10 months from current issue date, adjusted. 4 Includes federal OCS production.
Includes Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Virginia.
U.S. GAS PRICES ($/MCF) & PRODUCTION (BCFD)

$7
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
$6
$5
$4
WORLD OIL & NGL PRODUCTION

APR
2014
AVG. 2013
AVG. 2012
9.49
2.80
3.37
2.65
2.52
0.52
0.70
1.63
1.90
0.24
1.12
0.56
2.50
6.41
36.40
9.40
2.83
3.32
2.69
2.55
0.52
0.70
1.63
1.92
0.22
1.12
0.55
2.46
6.41
36.32
9.40
2.68
3.08
2.76
2.55
0.52
0.73
1.72
1.95
0.90
1.15
0.52
2.50
6.33
36.79
9.51
3.00
2.95
2.65
2.46
0.54
0.74
1.78
2.10
1.39
1.17
0.50
2.50
6.28
37.58
11.42
2.80
4.04
0.93
1.88
0.58
0.46
0.08
22.18
11.25
2.84
4.05
0.91
1.92
0.57
0.44
0.08
22.07
10.31
2.89
3.99
0.85
1.84
0.59
0.41
0.07
20.96
9.17
2.92
3.75
0.94
1.91
0.60
0.48
0.08
19.87
10.95
2.96
4.21
0.66
0.89
0.80
1.15
0.14
2.17
0.61
1.01
0.42
0.96
0.02
0.11
0.68
0.24
1.67
29.67
2.19
90.44
10.89
3.02
4.17
0.65
0.90
0.81
1.14
0.14
2.23
0.62
0.94
0.42
0.93
0.02
0.11
0.68
0.24
1.67
29.57
2.19
90.15
10.88
3.00
4.18
0.66
0.90
0.84
1.14
0.14
2.12
0.63
1.01
0.42
0.95
0.06
0.14
0.70
0.24
1.59
29.58
2.18
89.51
10.73
2.93
4.17
0.67
0.91
0.89
1.17
0.14
2.16
0.66
0.95
0.41
0.93
0.17
0.18
0.72
0.25
1.48
29.52
2.14
89.11
OPECCRUDE OIL
Saudi Arabia
Iran
Iraq
United Arab Emirates
Kuwait
Neutral Zone
Qatar
Angola
Nigeria
Libya
Algeria
Ecuador
Venezuela
NGLs & condensate1
TOTAL OPEC
OECD2
U.S.
Mexico
Canada
United Kingdom
Norway
Europe-others
Australia
Pacific-others
TOTAL OECD
NONOECD
Russia
FSU-others
China
Malaysia
India
Indonesia
Asia-others
Europe
Brazil
Argentina
Colombia
Latin America-others
Oman
Syria
Yemen
Egypt
Gabon
Africa/Middle East-others
TOTAL NONOECD
PROCESSING GAINS3
TOTAL SUPPLY
Million barrels per day
MAY
2014
Source: International Energy Agency

Note: Totals and subtotals may not add, due to rounding.
1 Includes condensates reported by OPEC countries, oil from non-conventional sources, e.g. Venezuelan Orimulsion
(but not Orinoco extra-heavy oil) and non-oil inputs to Saudi Arabian
2 Comprises crude oil, condensates, NGLs and oil from non-conventional sources.
3 Net of volumetric gains and losses in refining (excludes net gain/loss in China and non-OECD Europe) and marine
transportation losses.
$3
Monthly price (Henry Hub)
12-month price avg.
Production
$2
$1
$0
M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M
2012
2013
2014
Production equals U.S. marketed production, wet gas. Source: EIA.
U.S. ONSHORE WELL COUNT

Basin
Q2 2014
Q1 2014
+/
Year ago
+/
Ardmore Woodford
31
66
35
49
18
Arkoma Woodford
24
25
13
11
327
374
47
443
116
12
Barnett
Cana Woodford
SELECTED WORLD OIL PRICES ($/BBL)
94
77
17
82
DJNiobrara
267
258
266
Eagle Ford
1,110
1,171
61
1,044
66
30
135
Fayetteville
127
129
157
120
Granite Wash
132
148
16
141
97
94
109
12
105
Marcellus
524
576
52
475
49
Mississippian
386
408
22
343
43
2,374
2,351
23
2,169
206
Haynesville
90
75
60
45
W. Texas Inter.
Brent Blend
Dubai Fateh
Source: DOE
M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M
2012
2013
2014
Permian
Utica
102
112
10
131
29
Williston
707
737
30
582
125
Others
2,550
2,557
2,530
20
TOTALS
8,853
9,083
230
8,534
319
Source: Baker Hughes
INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE
INTERNATIONAL ROTARY RIG COUNT

REGION & COUNTRY
CANADA
EUROPE
Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Romania
Turkey
United Kingdom
Others
MIDDLE EAST*
Abu Dhabi
Egypt
Iraq
Kuwait
Oman
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Others
AFRICA*
Algeria
Angola
Kenya
Libya
Nigeria
Others
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
Ecuador
Mexico
Venezuela
Others
ASIA-PACIFIC
Australia
China, offshore
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
New Zealand
Thailand
Vietnam
Others
TOTAL
MAY 2014
Land
Offshore
160
2
93
60
2
1
4
1
4
6
0
18
3
0
12
1
41
1
0
19
27
13
367
47
21
9
45
11
94
0
34
0
59
0
20
0
82
19
0
0
12
8
100
40
47
0
1
16
12
1
11
1
9
3
20
19
333
71
105
0
21
26
38
0
26
1
49
36
72
3
22
5
131
112
11
9
0
28
90
38
17
11
1
3
2
2
1
14
0
6
9
1
1,184
332

Note: Totals may not add, due to rounding.
Monthly average
APR 2014
Land
Offshore
201
3
97
58
3
1
4
1
4
6
3
21
3
0
12
0
41
1
1
20
26
8
361
37
23
7
45
10
89
0
34
0
58
0
23
0
78
20
0
0
11
0
96
40
49
0
1
15
12
1
8
0
8
6
18
18
337
66
103
0
22
27
46
0
24
1
56
31
68
3
18
4
131
119
11
10
0
25
90
40
18
10
1
9
3
3
0
15
0
4
8
3
1,223
323
MAY 2013
Land Offshore
126
2
78
46
5
0
3
2
4
3
0
18
3
0
8
0
29
0
0
14
26
9
318
44
19
8
47
11
80
0
30
0
45
1
21
0
64
19
0
0
12
5
87
37
46
0
0
11
2
0
15
0
11
11
13
15
342
94
85
0
20
42
44
0
25
2
69
41
71
7
28
2
143
106
12
8
0
18
83
35
28
11
0
10
7
1
4
15
0
3
9
5
1,094
329
*No data available for Iran and Sudan/South Sudan.
INTERNATIONAL OFFSHORE RIGS*

U.S. GULF OF MEXICO
MAY 2014 MAY 2013
Total rigs in fleet
Marketed supply
Marketed contracted
Rig utilization, %
113
87
80
92.0
Source: IHS Petrodata Weekly Rig Count.
107
82
77
93.9
NORTHWEST EUROPE
MAY 2014 MAY 2013
94
93
92
98.9
90
88
87
98.9
WORLDWIDE
MAY 2014 MAY 2013
849
795
737
92.7
785
721
678
94.0
*Rigs are no longer broken out into mobile and platform categories.
WORKOVER RIG COUNT

REGION
Texas Gulf Coast
ArkLaTex
Eastern U.S.
South Louisiana
Mid-Continent
West Texas / Permian
Rocky Mountains
West Coast / Alaska
TOTAL U.S.
CANADA
MAY
2014
214
142
80
16
221
718
341
308
2,040
480
APR
2014
210
140
82
17
224
695
342
318
2,028
485
Source: Cameron
MAR
2014
205
137
96
17
221
699
336
326
2,037
560
MAY
2013
200
140
92
20
215
673
360
341
2,041
447
% chng
mo. ago
1.9
1.4
2.4
5.9
1.3
3.3
0.3
3.1
0.6
1.0
% chng
yr. ago
7.0
1.4
13.0
20.0
2.8
6.7
5.3
9.7
0.0
7.4
Note: Totals may not add, due to rounding.
INTERNATIONAL ROTARY
DRILLING RIGS
2,000
1,900
1,800
1,700
1,600
1,500
1,400
1,300
1,200
1,100 M J J A S O N D J F M A A M J J A S O N D J F M A M
2012
2013
2014
U.S. ROTARY
DRILLING RIGS
2,100
2,000
1,900
1,800
1,700 S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J
2012
2013
2014
U.S. ROTARY RIG COUNT
Monthly average
MAY
2014
6
6
0
0
10
9
0
11
45
44
1
65
1
32
3
114
28
14
19
53
0
12
9
2
2
89
0
173
37
194
59
0
0
892
2
0
119
88
56
35
9
33
9
97
325
38
16
65
27
26
46
3
57
1,859
JUN
2013
7
6
0
0
8
7
1
15
41
39
2
61
1
27
1
107
21
24
18
44
1
12
10
1
4
76
0
176
32
188
58
1
0
838
5
1
136
87
47
35
13
26
13
82
278
36
22
60
31
23
43
7
52
1,767
% DIFF.
JUN 13
JUN 14
0.0
16.7
25.0
28.6
0.0
26.7
14.6
17.9
50.0
8.2
100.0
18.5
200.0
1.9
28.6
37.5
16.7
18.2
100.0
8.3
40.0
100.0
75.0
17.1
4.0
21.9
5.9
0.0
100.0
6.3
40.0
100.0
13.2
2.3
17.0
0.0
23.1
26.9
7.7
24.4
15.1
5.6
31.8
3.3
12.9
8.7
16.3
57.1
13.5
5.1
STATE & AREA

ALABAMA-TOTAL
Land
Inland water
Offshore
ALASKA-TOTAL
Land
Offshore
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA-TOTAL
Land
Offshore
COLORADO
FLORIDA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA-TOTAL
North - Land
South - Inl. water
South - Land
Offshore
MICHIGAN
MISSISSIPPI
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
OKLAHOMA
PENNSYLVANIA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS-TOTAL
Offshore
Inland water
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7B
District 7C
District 8
District 8A
District 9
District 10
UTAH
W. VIRGINIA
WYOMING
OTHERS
U.S. OFFSHORE TOTAL
U.S. GRAND TOTAL
JUN*
2014
7
7
0
0
10
9
1
11
47
46
1
66
2
32
3
109
27
15
15
52
0
11
6
2
1
89
0
169
39
199
58
0
0
891
3
0
118
89
55
35
10
33
14
102
320
38
15
58
27
25
50
3
59
1,857
*Partial months data

Note: State monthly averages may not add up to U.S. total, due to rounding.
OPTIMIZE
FROM PORE TO PROCESS
TM
A unique approach for optimized production and increased recovery

INTEGRATE End-to-end solutions from reservoir to surface COLLABORATE Early engagement to anticipate
challenges and improve decisions ENGINEER Optimal system architecture to increase life-of-eld
production CONTROL Continuous monitoring to manage changing reservoir conditions BOOST
Production with scalable processing solutions ENHANCE Financial return over the life of the eld
LEARN more about our unique, unrivaled approach at www.onesubsea.com/engineer
SPECIAL FOCUS: OFFSHORE ADVANCES
Collaboration adds MPD functionality to deepwater rig
An operator, drilling contractor and service

company collaborated on the conversion of
an open-to-atmosphere deepwater rig, to
provide full managed pressure and closed
loop drilling capabilities.
GUY FEASEY, NEAL RICHARD, Weatherford; GARY BUYERS, Repsol;

and MARTIN TINDLE, BRIAN GARRETT, Rowan Companies
A trifecta, consisting of an operator, drilling contractor and
service company, undertook a proactive approach to integrating unique riser equipment and surface control systems into
a newly built, ultra-deepwater drillship. The objective was to
facilitate a rapid transition from a traditional rig to one with
managed pressure drilling (MPD) capabilities. By so doing,
they were able to provide a semi-permanent installation with
the means of immediate conversion to closed-loop drilling
(CLD) when required, thus eliminating typical MPD rig-up
preparation of 1214 months.
The newly-built, ultra-deepwater drillship Rowan Renaissance was
modied and optimized for MPD operations. Photo courtesy of
Rowan Companies.
MODIFICATION CHALLENGES
The use of conventional open to atmosphere drilling methods on challenging deepwater wells is now becoming insufficient
to achieve well objectives safely, on-time and on-budget. In some
cases, it can even mean that prospects are deemed undrillable.
One recent emerging industry trend is to incorporate the use of
riser gas handling (RGH) systems as an additional safety feature
to protect rig personnel from a gas-in-riser situation (one of the
biggest risks of deepwater operations). Although these systems
are a welcome addition, such adoption of new technology should
go a step further than just being a reactionary safety system. Instead, the goal should be to prevent these events from occurring
in the first place. What is needed is a pro-active approach, one
that provides for early detection of a potential hazard and swift
preventative measures. As a result, MPD systems are becoming the go-to approach for equipping modern rigs to address
some of the problems encountered while drilling challenging
deepwater wells.
Despite the successes achieved with MPD, its use on deepwater drilling vessels is limited by a host of constraints, including cost, equipment availability and deployment. To fully realize
its potential requires a focused, collaborative effort to develop
guidelines, procedures, equipment standards, rig modifications,
design and, above all, training. Extending these MPD advantages
to a broader scope of deepwater wells can offer safety, operational
and economic rewards. But deployment can be hampered by the
OFFSHORE ADVANCES
Fig. 1. Longitudinal Moonpool layout shows how the integrated

piping and instrumentation allowed an RGH package to operate,
as required by MPD operating procedures.
Fig. 2. RGH manifold (left) with MPD functionality (PRV,

automated chokes and owmeter), permanently built into the
rig, and designed to function automatically as instructed by the
Microux ICU (right).
Fig. 3. The RCD riser spool, redesigned to incorporate RCD

and allow riser choke, kill, boost and conduit lines to bypass to
termination joint at tension ring.
inability of deepwater drilling vessels, originally built for conventional open-to-the-atmosphere circulating systems, to readily accommodate an MPD system.
This lack of readiness manifests itself in a number of ways.
Dimensional restrictions, such as rotary table, diverter and
upper riser package IDs and ODs, are the most obvious issues
to overcome when integrating an MPD riser joint. Secondly,
depending on MPD variants, flexibility in fluid flow paths requires careful consideration to topside manifold design, piping, cabling and instrumentation. The least obvious bottleneck is the seamless integration of the hardware, software and
procedures, to achieve successful MPD service delivery. This
is imperative, to be able to respond immediately to dynamic
wellbore events.
In the move toward MPD readiness, modified rigs will have
enhanced RGH systems; but to be fully MPD-capable, more upgrading is generally required, such as topside pipe work, data/
communication networks, higher volume separators, and chang38JULY 2014/WorldOil.com
es in riser architecture. In under-construction and newly built

rigs, these needs can be addressed readily. But in existing rigs,
modifications can be problematic.
One of the significant issues encountered over the past several years has been the requirement for larger ID slip-joints, to
allow placement of the MPD RCD below the slip joint (larger
OFFSHORE ADVANCES
ID required for passage of the RCD bearing assembly), given

the current lead times involved with sourcing marine riser components. Solutions to this problem are already being developed
in the form of slimmer bearing assemblies. In the case study
described in this article, the drilling contractor upgraded the
planned slip joints to 19-in. ID, prior to the availability of the
slimmer bearing assemblies.
INDUSTRY COLLABORATION
In 2012, Repsol entered into an agreement with Rowan Companies to lease the first of four, planned new drillships to be built in
Korea. Initial specifications for the rig involved the incorporation
of a RGH system into the design. Following experiences in recent
deepwater operations, Repsol decided to review its requirements
and include MPD/CLD capabilities. Since the drillship was in
an advanced stage of construction, the incorporation of MPD
capabilities into its final design presented significant challenges.
A collaborative approach was needed between the operator, the
drilling contractor and the service company (Weatherford) to
requisition and install the MPD equipment, Fig. 1.
Repsol previously had experienced some severe well problems
in analogous wells, which resulted in significant time penalties.
As a result, the operator recognized that the use of MPD was a
prerequisite for reliable drilling operations with the new drillship.
Rowan Companies recognized the need for MPD and wanted to
offer a level of MPD readiness, which was not available in other
newbuild vessels. As an MPD service provider, Weatherford was
able to supply the peripheral equipment required to augment the
High Temperature
Fluxgate Probes for MWD
RGH system and manage all the integration needs. A decision

was made to design certain pieces of the vessels RGH package
to be compatible with Weatherfords below-tension ring RCD.
The RGH surface manifold was also designed to accommodate
Weatherfords Intelligent Control Unit (ICU), available electronic monitoring and control system, and automatic chokes, Fig. 2.
Following several meetings among the three entities, a detailed plan was derived to meet the existing time constraints. This
plan incorporated detailed procedures for the installation of all
of the surface piping and instrumentation required to integrate
the MPD equipment with the RGH system, into a package that
would allow for CLD operations to be performed. MPD systems
use much of the same equipment as RGH (such as the riser annular, flow spool and surface flow diverting manifold).
Since preventative MPD operations are more frequent than
reactive RGH operations, it was logical for the MPD service
provider to undertake the integration of the whole system to assure the operability of the RGH, and surface flow diversion was a
seamless process. Included in the plan specifications were sets of
bridging documents and procedures, which were developed and
fully understood by all parties through detailed training sessions.
Additionally, well control boundaries were set and responsibilities clearly assigned.
MPD CONVERSION
When the final decision was made to incorporate a CLD/

MPD system, the drilling vessel was in an advanced state of fabrication, and a timetable had already been compiled for its comple-
Save time. Save money. Save the well.
PATCH
Highly reliable inexpensive solid steel patch
Permanent restoration of casing integrity
8 High collapse and burst pressure ratings
8 Simple installation
8 Large effective coverage area up to 25 ft.
8 Cementing not required prior to installation
8 Extensive solid expandable experience
8
8
Mag610 and Mag611 Fluxgate Probes
&RQWDFW(QYHQWXUHWRGD\WRHIFLHQWO\
H[SDQGWKHOLIHRI\RXUZHOO
&,*8VcY'&*8deZgVi^dc
BV\+&%adlcd^hZdei^dc1(%eIgbh$3=oVi&=o
GddbiZbeZgVijgZZaZXigdc^Xh
E87hX]ZbVi^XVkVâVWaZ
8jhidbYZh^\chZgk^XZVkVâVWaZ
www.bartington.com
www.enventuregteseal.com
281.552.2200
Expand YOUR possibilities
TAM SOLUTIONS
DEEPWATER BIG PACKERS TO AVOID BIG PROBLEMS
Swellable
packers
up to 30 in.
MTM cementing Port

Collars up to 30 in.
Inatable plug and
storm packers up
to 30 in. casing or
open hole
Casing annulus packers
up to 24 in. casing and
30 in. open hole
TAM Big Packers for Deepwater Operations:

The stakes are high in deepwater operations.
Threatening storms? Depend on TAMs drill pipe Single Set inatable plug and storm packer.
Cement integrity? Count on TAMs casing annulus packers (TAMCAP), metal-to-metal
Port Collars, and FREECAP swellable packers to solve your most difcult problems.
Casing leaks and wellbore integrity issues? Trust TAMs exclusive multi-set inatable TAM-J
for reliable casing testing. Lost time in testing BOP/riser connections? Rely on TAMs TripSAVR
to surface-test these critical connections before a costly run in the hole.
Trust TAM for Big Solutions that are safe, reliable, and critical to your success.
WELL INTERVENTION
DRILLING & COMPLETIONS
UNCONVENTIONAL RESOURCES
RESERVOIR OPTIMIZATION
www.tamintl.com
OFFSHORE ADVANCES
tion and eventual deployment. Repsol wanted to adhere to this

schedule. A Weatherford team was deployed to Korea in July
2013 to carry out a detailed survey of the vessel, and to prepare a
program for the installation of the MPD facilities.
Prior to this survey, work had already commenced in ordering/
sourcing the required long-lead equipment. Detailed discussions
were held with Rowans subsea, drilling and engineering teams to
ensure the accuracy of the survey, the practicality of the resulting
installation plan, and adherence to the timetable. Full written operating procedures, hazop evaluations and rig crew training were
to be completed, as appropriate, during this timetable.
MPD INSTALLATION AND RIG MODIFICATION
The equipment installation and all necessary rig modifications

were discussed, and approved, on an ongoing basis while the ship
was proceeding to its ultimate destination, Fig. 3. The major
items installed, prepared for future use, and checked included:
Microflux control (MFC) system, which provides a range of
methods to precisely monitor, manage and control unexpected
events in drilling operations. Suitable space was available on the
drill floor for its installation.
Intelligent control unit (ICU). Given that Weatherfords
standard MPD manifold was not used, an ICU had to be custombuilt. The ICU provides for both pressurized mud cap drilling
(PMCD) and constant bottomhole pressure (CBHP) drilling
operations; precise management of the wellbore pressure profile;
wellbore and surface safety system monitoring; and early detection and control of kick/fluid loss incidents.
The RCD unit and operating ancillaries were tested at a

Weatherford facility in Louisiana. The RCD riser spool piece
design incorporated the riser choke/kill/boost/conduit lines,
Fig. 3. This approach was a major departure from previous BTR
MPD applications, which required a choke/kill/boost/conduit
termination joint, with very long hoses back to the moonpool, to
be positioned beneath the MPD riser joint.
The MFC manifold was accommodated within the existing
RGH manifold by designing a system, which allowed for a quick
retrofit to incorporate two automatic drilling chokes and a Coriolis flowmeter loop for accurate measurement of return mud flow.
The addition of a separate, compact panel for data acquisition
and automation of the drilling chokes, responding to the Microflux ICU, makes this a true MPD rig.
Other items checked, installed and/or modified included:
Determination of the riser stack space-out for the RCD
installation and evaluation of the existing components to
identify any additions and/or modifications required.
Identification of suitable locations for the installation of the
RCD hydraulic power unit (HPU), and the auxiliary equipment and pipework.
Checking that the availability of mud supply from the rig
pumps is adequate to maintain the circulation of mud across
the well during connections.
The location and wiring of all panels for operators, drillers
and remote panels, and the system database.
Checking the availability of adequate power, utilities and
communications. A Variation Order was signed with the
Industrial Bolting Systems Advanced Tensioning Systems Hydraulic Torque Wrenches Pneumatic Multipliers
Electric Multipliers Hands-Free Safety Time Saving Simplicity Industry-Leading Accuracy Patented Innovations
Bringing energy and the environment into harmony.
WE MAKE MORE THAN COMPRESSORS.

WE MAKE YOUR COMPRESSOR.
More than 1,000 DATUM compressors producedeach one engineered for
your specic application. The DATUM compressor boasts the ideal mix of standardized
components and custom-tailored featuresresulting in a compressor solution as unique as
your challenge. Our solutions are designed to deliver maximum performance, efciency and
reliability for your specic ow and pressure applications. In fact, a single DATUM casing can
deliver high compression ratios where others may require multiple casings to do the same
work. So, give yourself a competitive edge by choosing the compressor that will give you
the highest performance and lowest total cost of ownershipthe DATUM compressor.
Also available with Synchrony magnetic bearings and Dresser-Rand gas seals (at right).
For more information visit datum.dresser-rand.com
Visit us at ONS 2014, Hall J, Stand J-952, Stavanger, Norway, August 25-28
The Americas: (Intl +1) 713-354-6100 / EMEA: (Intl +33) 2-35-25-5225
Asia-Pacic: (Intl +60) 3-2093-6633 / datum.dresser-rand.com
CompressorsTurbo & Recip / Steam Turbines / Gas Turbines / Engines / Control Systems / Expanders
OFFSHORE ADVANCES
shipyard to install the required junction boxes and cabling at various locations around the rig. This proved to
be a very wise move, given the difficulties in trying to do
this work post-delivery from the shipyard.
Verification of the installation of stroke counters on the
rig pumps.
Identification of all planned piping routing and accurate
determination of the required dimensions. The original
plan was to have the shipyard install the necessary permanent pipework during the construction phase. Due
to the tight schedule however, Weatherford provided
the pipework.
Preparation of a detailed installation report, complete
with drawings, as needed.
All of this associated work was completed prior to rig arrival on the first MPD well location.
COLLABORATION SUCCESS
This entire MPD modification operation presented significant challenges to all the participants in logistics and installation operations, but it was completed, as planned. The MPD
system will be ready for deployment on the first required well
offshore West Africa.
Rowan, with Repsols support and encouragement, strove
to integrate all of the changes into making the rig look and feel
like similar units, but with greatly enhanced versatility to enable it to address the MPD challenges. The intricacies involved
in these modifications could not have been achieved without
very close collaboration between the three entities involved,

which provides a model for future such undertakings.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank Repsol, Rowan Companies and Weatherford for their permission and encouragement
to present this article.
GUY FEASEY is Global Sales and Marketing Director for

Secure Drilling Services at Weatherford and member of
the IADC MPD/UBO committee. Mr. Feaseys global role
marries his experience in the subsurface and drilling
elds, to advance MPD benets through MPD
integration onto deepwater vessels.
NEAL RICHARD is the MPD Technical Manager for the
North American region of Weatherfords Secure Drilling
services. With a BS degree in Industrial Technology from
the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Mr. Richard is
heavily involved in deepwater MPD rig integration and
the development of closed loop drilling solutions for
marine risers.
MARTIN TINDLE, Director of the Well Control group for
Rowan Companies, has 20 years of experience in the
subsea deepwater arena and 30 years in the offshore
drilling industry. Martin was part of the Rowan team that
developed the Riser Gas Handling System on the Rowan
R-class drillships and interfaces with MPD applications.
BRIAN GARRETT, Subsea Manager for Rowan
Companies, has an AAS degree in electrical technology
and 15 years of experience in ultra-deepwater drilling
vessels. Brian was also involved in the development of
the Riser Gas Handling System.
4 COMPANIES. 1 GOAL.
Our goal with the new acquisition is to combine best practices from all four
companies and bring them into compliance with the ISO standard already set in
place at Bishop Lifting. We have the highest quality standards in order to meet and
exceed your highest expectations.
Bishop Lifting Corporate HQ:

Houston, TX
Toll-Free: 1-800-972-1041
www.Lifting.com
Bishop Lifting Products, Inc. Houston, TX Odessa, TX Oklahoma City, OK Tulsa, OK Wichita, KS
Delta Rigging & Tools Angleton, TX Victoria, TX Hurst, TX Williston, ND Grand Junction, CO
Sulphur, LA Baton Rouge, LA Broussard, LA Houma, LA Fourchon, LA
Morgan City Rentals Morgan City, LA Golden Meadow, LA Lafayette, LA
Tuffy Products Fort Worth, TX
SPECIAL FOCUS: OFFSHORE ADVANCES
Lightweight risers increase rigs water depth ratings
The deepwater, lightweight

riser system, incorporating
improvements derived from
nearly a decade of operation,
can extend the water depth
range of rigs to 8,000 ft.
Nearly 60 deepwater rigs
operating today could drill,
economically, in deeper
depths, by using these
systems. Also, the improved
ultra-deepwater system
potentially can extend depth
ratings to 12,000 ft.
JEFF LEHNER and TIM MARVEL, Alcoa

Oil & Gas
Alloy risers can increase the water depth

capacity of a rig by as much as 50%.
As water depths increase, risers for drillships and semisubmersibles become some
of the most critical components of the
drilling operation. Risers must be strong
enough to maintain integrity during deployment and operation; be light enough
to be handled and supported by the floating drilling unit; and be constructed of materials that resist corrosion while exposed
to seawater. Lightweight, alloy risers provide a means of increasing the water depth
rating of floating rigs by as much as 50%
without requiring expensive upgrades,
Fig. 1. Because of their lightweight construction, alloy risers are easier to handle,
require fewer buoyancy devices, and can
enable floating rigs to increase their water
depth capabilities, when compared to conventional steel risers. The first generation
of lightweight deepwater (DW) risers has
been used successfully for nearly a decade
on two drillships and a semisubmersible
rig in Brazil, while drilling in water depths
as great as 7,200 ft.
Based on the experience of more than
nine years of operation and more than
4,000 days of drilling with lightweight,
alloy risers, a second-generation DW system has been developed and is now commercially available. In addition, an ultradeepwater (UDW) riser system concept
is available, using a higher-strength alloy,
which is designed for drilling in water
depths of up to 12,000 ft.
LIGHTWEIGHT RISERS
On floating rigs, the riser is the heaviest item used in drilling. Each 75-ft bare
joint in a steel riser weighs, in air, approximately 25,000 lb. A string of 100 bare
joints has a total weight of 2.5 million lb.
In comparison, a lightweight, alloy riser
joint of comparable strength weighs,
in air, 16,850 lb, so a string of 100 bare
joints has a total weight of 1.685 million pounds, or 32.6% less than the
steel equivalent.
Risers are encased in buoyancy modules to reduce their effective weight in
water, and steel risers require buoyancy
modules on 95% of the joints. Because
of their lighter weight, alloy risers require buoyancy modules on only 33%
of joints, decreasing storage and weight
OFFSHORE ADVANCES
ed to increase a rigs water depth capacity

from 4,000 ft to 6,000 ft, and the additional riser joints needed to reach the new
depth, require a total investment of approximately $49.5 million, including the
revenue lost by taking the rig out of service for the upgrades. However, if the operator decides to reduce weight by using a
lightweight riser system, the required investment would be approximately $26.7
million, a 46% reduction, Table 1.1
Fig. 1. Extending water depth with lightweight risers.
HISTORY OF LIGHTWEIGHT
RISERS
Fig. 2. Risers with buoyancy. The top image depicts an alloy buoyancy riser joint; the
lower image depicts a steel buoyancy riser joint.
Table 1. Costs to upgrade a oating rig from 4,000-ft to 6,000-ft water depth vs. use of
lightweight risers
Tensioner capacity upgrade
Drawworks and drawworks gear drive
Increase rotary table diameter
Increased number of riser joints
Increased number of buoyancy modules
Total cost of rig upgrade
8,000 ft of alloy riser
Bouyancy modules for alloy risers
Cost savings from lightweight riser
capacity requirements on the rig. In addition, buoyancy modules on steel risers need to be of larger diameter (54in. OD) than those used on alloy risers
(46-in. OD), and only half of each alloy
buoyant joint needs to be equipped with
buoyant materials, Fig. 2. This combinationof lighter weight and reduced
need for buoyancy modulescan increase the water depth capacity of a
floating rig by as much as 50%, without
extensive modifications to increase deck
capacity and weight handling capability.
$27.7 million
$ 5.5 million
$8.25 million
$5.7 million
$2.7 million
$49.5 million
$24.0 million
$2.7 million
$22.8 million
REDUCED RIG MODIFICATIONS
Rig operators, who elect to use steel

risers to drill at water depths beyond a
units initial depth rating, will need to invest in significant modifications. As water
depths increase, the rigs structural support must be enhanced to accommodate
the additional weight of a greater number
of steel riser joints, plus the tensioner system required to stabilize the riser during
drilling. Also, the rotary table and chain
drive on the drawworks must be upgraded for the greater weight. Upgrades need-
Development of a lightweight riser

system began in 1996, when a major offshore drilling contractor commissioned
an engineering study to determine the feasibility of using a riser manufactured from
lightweight alloys. In 1999, an alloy was selected for the system, an initial design was
completed, and prototype testing was conducted. Two full-scale joints were built and
tested in 2001, and design improvements
were made, resulting in the first-generation, lightweight riser system design.
During 2002, the first 100 joints were
manufactured, at the Progress facility in
Samara, Russia, which is the only plant in
the world capable of extruding such highquality, large-diameter aluminum tubulars
(Alcoa acquired this facility in 2005). In
2003, the first string was placed offshore
Brazil, on one of the contractors drillships,
effectively extending its water depth rating
from 4,000 ft to 6,000 ft (5,000-ft contractual depth). After the first deepwater riser
deployment, the flange bolts, inserts and
washers were replaced with an improved
design to enhance reliability and ease
maintenance. In 2004, the modified deepwater riser was returned to service and
performed to expectations at a maximum
water depth of 4,800 ft.2 Over the next two
years, the drilling contractor outfitted another drillship and a semisubmersible with
first-generation alloy riser systems, which
have all performed to expectations. Experience gained while using these systems led
to a few design modifications, resulting in a
second-generation deepwater system.
Lightweight riser material and design. The alloy selected for the DW light-
weight riser system is a high-strength,

Al-Zn-Mg alloy, with a yield strength of
50,700 psi and an ultimate tensile strength
of 58,000 psi. The riser system comprised
of this material has a 1.5-million-lb tension
capacity. The yield strength of the alumi-
EXPLORE
WITH API
SM
ONSHORE. OFFSHORE. EVERY SHORE.
Certication | Training | Events | Standards | Statistics | Safety

Washington, D.C. | Houston | Beijing | Singapore | Dubai | Rio de Janeiro
877.562.5187 (Toll-free U.S. & Canada) | +1.202.682.8041 (Local & International) | sales@api.org | www.api.org
Visit us at ONS 2014, Booth 580
Its a tough business. Look to API.

Copyright 2014 American Petroleum Institute, all rights reserved. API, the API logo, the Onshore slogan and the Tough slogan are either service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of API in the United States and/or other countries.
OFFSHORE ADVANCES
Table 2. Riser body specications

Riser body ID
Minimum wall thickness
Design temperature (max)
Forged anges
19.69 in.
118 in.
max, 2480F, min, -40F
40.94-in. OD, steel bolts (coated to prevent corrosion)
Table 3. Auxiliary line specication

Choke and kill lines
Booster line
Hydraulic lines
Design pressure
15,000 psi
5,000 psi
5,000 psi
Dimensions
7.13 in. OD by 4.37 in. ID (181 mm x 111 mm)
3.15 in. OD by 1.97 in. ID (80 mm by 50 mm)
3.15 in. OD by 1.97 in. ID (80 mm by 50 mm)
Fig. 3. The lightweight riser joints are constructed of extruded alloy with no longitudinal
seams.
tion must be kept in good working order,

as defined in the specification.
As with steel riser systems, regular
maintenance is required to keep the lightweight riser system operating reliably.
However, lightweight alloy risers have
been shown to require less deck maintenance during operation than steel risers.
Approximately every two years, each riser
joint should be disassembled, inspected and repaired. During these periodic
maintenance cycles, alloy risers require
less labor than steel riser systems. On the
first-generation deepwater lightweight
risers, most reliability issues were found
in the connections of the auxiliary lines.
These issues have been addressed with
re-engineered connections in the secondgeneration deepwater system.
Experience with lightweight risers.
Table 4. Comparison of deepwater and ultra-deepwater risers

Yield strength
UTS
Riser tensile capacity
Riser weight, in air
Riser weight, wet
Maximum water depth
Deepwater riser
50,750 psi
58,000 psi
1.5 million lb
17,000 lb
11,200 lb
8,000 ft
num alloy is comparable to material used

in steel riser systems, Table 2.
Riser joints are constructed of extruded
alloy with no longitudinal seams, Fig. 3.
Each joint body is 75 ft long, made of two
37-ft pipe sections, fusion-welded at the
center, with flanges attached at each end;
steel bolts are coated to prevent corrosion.
Each riser joint also includes two choke
and kill lines, a hydraulic line and a booster
line, whose dimensions and pressure ratings are listed in Table 3. All auxiliary lines
are extruded from the same alloy as the
body. Service line pins and boxes are made
of steel suitable for sour gas service.
To limit corrosion, each lightweight
riser joint is equipped with cathodic protection, consisting of bonded sacrificial
anodes to deplete, in preference to the al50JULY 2014/WorldOil.com
loy riser and its components. Anodes on

the deepwater system have provided
protection against
corrosion during
nine years of operation on three rigs.
Before being deployed, full-scale riser
joints successfully underwent a comprehensive testing protocol, which included
tensile, hydrostatic fatigue and impact testing. In May 2003, the riser system received
certification from American Bureau of
Shipping, verifying that it was designed,
constructed and maintained in accordance
with ABS, ASME and API guidelines, and
was approved for use on all drillships and
semisubmersibles in the contractors fleet.
UDW riser
69,600 psi
76,850 psi
2.26 million lb
16,800 lb
11,088 lb
12,000 ft
Operating considerations. While lightweight risers have significant advantages,

the alloy risers must be handled per their
specifications, which differ from those of
steel. Rig crews must be trained on proper
deployment, lifting, running and storage
procedures. Anodes for cathodic protec-
After the first deepwater, lightweight riser system was deployed on a drillship in
May 2004, similar systems were deployed
on another drillship and a semisubmersible by the end of 2005. All three rigs have
been operating in Brazilian waters. During nine years of operation, the deepwater
risers accumulated more than 4,000 days
in service while operating in water depths
from 525 ft to 7,200 ft.
The deepwater, lightweight riser system
has performed, as expected, and has effectively increased the water depth ratings of
the three rigs without requiring expensive
upgrades. As mentioned, some problems
were encountered early in the development of the riser system on the auxiliary
lines, including stab pin corrosion, and
stress corrosion cracking failures in booster and choke-and-kill line couplings. Improved manufacturing procedures, and a
new design for auxiliary lines, have been
implemented to address these issues on
the systems in operation and in the secondgeneration DW system.
Development of an ultra-deepwater
riser system. Soon after deploying the
first lightweight riser system in 2004, the

offshore drilling contractor embarked on
a program to develop an ultra-deepwater
(UDW) riser system, using a higherstrength, Al-Zn-Mg -Cu alloy, which would
be capable of drilling in water depths to
12,000 ft, with a tensile strength of 2.26
million lb. This riser system featured
tapered-body joints to strengthen ends
near flange connections, and was manufactured using a new friction stir welding
Expros Burner Boom Systems

with the Sea Emerald Burner
Features & benets of the BOOM SYSTEM
Offshore oil and gas well testing and clean up operations
Modular design scalable boom sections available in 60 ft up to 100 ft.
Horizontal or vertical boom racking options
Hull integration engineering support for achieving boom/rig certication
DNV, ABS or BV Design Certication
Features & benets of the SEA EMERALD BURNER

Flow Rate (3 Heads) 12,000 BOPD
Highly efcient, environmentally friendly; third-party rated at 99.993%
efcient.
Modular design can be used in multiple congurations to match the
anticipated ow rates
Stable Pilot assembly provides reliable ignition source
Go online and see our complete line of

Expro equipment at:
www.exprogroup.com/EQS
Or contact an Expro Equipment Sales
consultant at +1 281. 977. 2600
Surface Well Testing Packages:

Heater
Separator
Multi Sensor Relief Valves
Data Acquisition Systems
Gas Analyzers
ESD Panels
Surge Tanks
www.exprogroup.com
Expro Burner/Booms:
Sea Emerald Burners
Boom Systems
(Horizontal & Vertical Racking)
Can we be everything to everybody, everywhere?
Were giving it our best.
Knight Oil Tools is now in

more locations to serve
your global needs.
For more than 40 years we have delivered complete excellence to our customers.
Now we are delivering it worldwide. The highest quality equipment, the most
experienced people, the utmost standards in service and safety these are the
assurances you get when working with Knight Oil Tools. Now your confidence
can be as big as the world itself. Call us anytime, anywhere.
www.knightoiltools.com
2014 Knight Oil Tools, All Rights Reserved.
OFFSHORE ADVANCES
technique, because fusion welding could

not be performed on the stronger alloy,
Table 4. After the friction stir welding process on the alloy was perfected, and after
full-scale riser joints passed tension tests, a
string of the high-strength riser joints was
deployed near the end of 2007, to a semisubmersible drilling in the Gulf of Mexico
in 9,000 ft of water. Another string of 150
joints was sent to Brazil for deployment on
another semisubmersible.
During its first year of operation, the
UDW riser system on the first rig experienced pitting corrosion on the main tube.
This problem was traced to cathodic protection anodes that were not made of the
optimal material. Auxiliary tube issues
also occurred, and the higher-strength alloy risers were withdrawn from service.
Laboratory tests of two high-strength
alloys and three anode materials, conducted by Alcoa at Batelles Florida Materials Research facility, exposed the alloys
to sea water for up to one year in 2012
and 2013. The tests demonstrated that
both alloys performed well in simulated
deepwater applications, when the proper
anode was used and cathodic protection
was maintained.3
Further development of the UDW
system continues, with design improvements expected to enable this system
to exceed the water depth performance
achieved with the three deepwater, lightweight riser systems.
In addition to the deepwater riser systems in service, another semi is gaining
some of the benefit of using lightweight
alloys by operating with a hybrid riser
system that includes a steel main tube
and alloy auxiliary lines. The hybrid
riser weighs less than risers constructed
entirely of steel and enables an improvement in the rigs water depth rating.
are drilling successfully in water depths

down to 7,200 ft.
In addition, the improved UDW system has the potential to extend depth
ratings to 12,000 ft, and offers an option
for greatly enhancing the versatility of the
worlds floating rig fleet.
3. Moran, J., and H. Pate, Corrosion performance of aluminum

alloys for use in deepwater riser systems, NACE paper 4454,
Corrosion 2014 Conference, March 9-13, 2014
REFERENCES
TIM MARVEL is managing director of Alcoa

Oil & Gas in Houston, Texas. Previously, he
served for 19 years in engineering, operations,
technical and marketing positions at Baker
Hughes. A licensed professional engineer in
Texas, he has 11 U.S. patents for drilling-related
technologies.
1. 2H Offshore Subsea Riser and Engineering feasibility study,

Alcoa oil & gas aluminum drilling riser development, February
2008.
2. Deul, H., Aluminum alloy riser allows for deeper drilling on
existing rigs, SPE/IADC paper 92559, SPE/IADC Drilling
Conference, Feb. 23-25, 2005.
JEFF LEHNER is technology general manager,

Alcoa Oil & Gas. He has 32 years of experience
in designing and marketing products using
lightweight alloys in the aerospace, defense,
automotive, and oil and gas industries.
ESTABLISHED CAPABILITY
The deepwater, lightweight riser system, incorporating improvements based

on experience gained during nearly a
decade of operation, is established and
available to help extend the depth range
of floating rigs to 8,000 ft. Nearly 60
floating rigs in operation today could
drill, economically, in deeper water by
using lightweight riser systems. The issues encountered during the introduction of the first-generation, deepwater
riser system have been resolved and retrofitted into the three deepwater systems
in operation. These commercial systems
www.mustangeng.com
TECHNOLOGIES AND EXPERTISE
We support your projects through an unwavering focus on global growth, awless

execution and technological innovation. With a network of more than 80 modern
manufacturing and service facilities around the globe, we are located in the worlds
primary energy producing regions and on each of the industrys growth frontiers.
shawcor.com
Meeting offshore challenges with new rig designs

GustoMSC says the Magellan-class drillship will outperform
the current-generation fleet with respect to redundancy, autonomy, safety and load-carrying capacity.
The design is the result of a specific focus on operators
requirements, says Sjoerd Hendriks, design manager of the
Magellan project. After the Macondo incident in 2010, for example, there were many recommendations concerning operational procedures and rig design, with an emphasis on safety.
The Magellan is the largest drillship that GustoMSC has designed to date. The design backbone of the ship, the company
says, consists of the well-established and field-proven principles
of its predecessors. The Magellan design is equipped for 20,000psi well control systems, including the associated increases in capacity, such as high hookloads and setback capacities. The Magellan design provides the ability to accommodate higher pressures,
highly variable loads, mud volumes and setback capacities, and
incorporates advanced drilling techniques, such as managed pressure drilling (MPD) and dual-gradient systems.
JURONG ESPADON III DRILLSHIP
New offshore rig designs feature a drillship

capable of drilling 40,000-ft wells in a
12,500-ft water depth, with 20,000-psi well
control; a platform rig with hydraulic hoist; a
jackup with P&A capabilities; and integrated
software for quality management.
ELDON BALL, Contributing Editor

As offshore operations continue their advance into deeper
waters and harsher environments, offshore drilling contractors and shipbuilders are meeting the new challenges with
innovative rig designs. The new designs are evolving to deal
with a variety of operating conditions, and to place a growing
emphasis on efficiency, reliability and safety.
MAGELLAN-CLASS DRILLSHIP
GustoMSC has introduced its Magellan-class drillship,

named after the 16th century Portuguese explorer Ferdinand
Magellan, who was the first to circumnavigate the earth by sea.
GustoMSCs Magellan-class drillship is designed for 20,000-psi
well control, and both managed-pressure and dual-gradient
drilling.
Several contractors have ordered drillships for delivery in

2017 and 2018 that are based on Jurong Shipyards Espadon
III design, Fig. 1. Specifically designed for enhanced ultradeepwater drilling operations, the drillship is equipped with
advanced facilities, including a large moon pool to cater to a
larger riser angle, and bilge boxes designed for superior motion characteristics. The drillship also features larger deck
space, with an enclosed riser bay and round mud pits inside
the hull for operational efficiency and safety. Equipped with
DP-3 (Dynamic Positioning Class 3) capabilities, the drillship will be capable of operating at a 12,000-ft water depth
and drilling to depths of 40,000 ft, with accommodation facilities for a crew of 220. The drillships for Transocean will be
outfitted initially with one 15,000-psi BOP, with the ability to
add a second BOP.
F&G DS 3810 DRILLSHIP
The DS 3810 drillship from Friede & Goldman is designed

to drill 40,000-ft wells in waters to a 12,500-ft depth, with limited support in remote, harsh environments, Fig. 2. Ninetyday endurance means there will be fewer supply boat runs
required. The derrick has a stand-building center for greater
efficiency. Large pipe racks are available, within a semi-enclosed deck area, with an overhead gantry crane and subsea
access. Ample below-deck workshops have forklift and crane
access. Large slop tanks are provided to capture drainage and
storm water for zero discharge. Integrated ballast water treatment and IMO Tier III gensets, along with a dedicated waste
management system and double-skin tanks, minimize the environmental footprint for operations in sensitive areas.
Fig. 1. Jurong Shipyards Espadon III drillship design includes a

large moon pool to cater to a larger riser angle, and bilge boxes
designed for superior motion characteristics.
Fig. 2. The DS 3810 drillship from Friede & Goldman is designed

to drill 40,000-ft wells in waters to 12,500-ft depths, with a 90day endurance.
HEAVY DUTY JACK-UP
In another innovative step, Maersk Drilling has embarked

on an extensive newbuilding program that includes what it describes as four of the worlds largest jackup drilling rigs. Earlier
this year, Maersk took delivery of its first ultra harsh-environment jackup, Maersk Intrepid, from the Keppel FELS shipyard
in Singapore, Fig. 3. The jackup has a four-year contract with
Total E&P Norge AS.
Maersk Intrepid is the first in a series of four newbuild,
ultra-harsh-environment jackups to enter Maersk Drillings
rig fleet in 2014-2016. The four jackup rigs represent a total
investment of $2.6 billion. The first three jackups, including
Maersk Intrepid, will be delivered from the Keppel FELS shipyard during 2014-2015, and the fourth will be delivered from
the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME)
shipyard in South Korea during 2016.
The Maersk Intrepid will be drilling demanding and complex wells on the Martin Linge field development in the
Norwegian North Sea. The contract includes four one-year
options. The estimated value for the firm contract is $550

million. The XL Enhanced jackups, designed for use in the
ultra-harsh environment of the North Sea, represent a total
cost of $2.6 billion.
Before designing the new rigs, Maersk Drilling asked customers and crews what it would take to create a genuine next
generation rig. The result will be a family of rigs that include
more automation and sophisticated technologyinnovations
that Maersk says will boost uptime and improve safety, thanks
to a reduced need for manual work on the platform.
Built from 30,000 MT of steel per rig, the hulls measure
approximately 89 x 105 x 12 m, and the legs are more than
200 m long. Because the hulls are so big, they have to be built
in two parts, then floated out to sea separately and joined
while afloat. The first of the three rigs completed construction in April, with the other two planned for completion
in October 2014 and February 2015. Long-term contracts
have already been signed for all three rigs. New or improved
features include:
Dual-pipe handling to maximize uptime and drilling efficiency. While one string is working in the wellbore, a
second string can be built or disassembled at the other
work station. This significantly improves operational
efficiency.
An automated, remotely operated pipe handling system
allows all standard operations, such as stand building
and tripping, to be conducted without personnel on the
drill floor, ensuring a high level of consistency, as well as
improved safety and efficiency.
The XL Enhanced rigs have a rated drilling depth of
12,000 m and are designed for year-round operation in
the harsh environment of the North Sea, handling water
depths up to 150 m.
Cantilever reach from stern to well center is 30.5 m, and
from centerline to each side, it is more than 11 m, with a
combined cantilever load up to 1,400 MT
2,500 sq m of deck space
Fully equipped for HPHT drilling
Drilling and workover through surface, and prepared for
upgrading to subsea BOP
18-in., 15,000-psi BOP system
Automated solids control system, with five triple-deck
shakers in separate rooms
Automated, dust-free mud mixing system
Accommodation for 150 people in one-man cabins, versus the current 120 maximum in two-man cabins.
ENHANCED LETOURNEAU JACK-UP
Ensco has ordered two high-specification jackups, which

are enhanced versions of the LeTourneau Super 116E jackup
design. These jackups will include design specifications to
comply with the regulatory and customer requirements in the
Middle East, the primary target market for the new rigs. The
rigs are scheduled for delivery in mid-2016 from Lamprells
shipyard in the United Arab Emirates.
The rigs will feature enhanced crane capacity, liquid mud
storage and living quarters with 140 beds. Enscos Canti-Leverage Advantage technology allows the operator to drill more
wells from one location, when utilizing the enhanced hoisting capacity at the farthest reach of the cantilever. Other key
COMING SOON
HOS BAYOU
AUGUST 2014
Jones Act-Compliant
150 ton AHC knuckle boom crane
Introducing the HOS BAYOU: Hornbeck
2x work class ROV Capable
Offshores new HOS MPSV 310 class OSV/
Helideck rated for S-92N
Construction Support Vessel. This DP-2,
5,600 LT Deadweight
Jones Act-Compliant, MPSV is designed to
21,000 bbl Liquid Mud
Go Deep with below deck cargo carrying

capabilities and a 150 ton active heave
compensated knuckle boom crane.
hornbeckoffshore.com | 985.727.2000
2,200 bbl Methanol

8,000 ft2 Deck Area
Oil Spill Recovery (OSR-C2), ENVIRO,
and Green Passport (GP) Classified
features of the rig design include a dual-drilling fluid system, a

1.5-MM-lb derrick, TDS-8 top drive and a 15k BOP. The rigs
will outfitted initially to drill to a maximum TD of 30,000 ft,
in water depths as great as to 340 ft (with upgrades to 400 ft).
Fig. 3. The Maersk Intrepid is the rst in a series of four newbuild,

ultra-harsh-environment jackups to enter Maersk Drillings rig eet
in 2014-16.
RIG WITH HYDRAULIC HOIST
Meanwhile, Italian rig designer and manufacturer Drillmec will provide what it says is a new hydraulic technology
HH-220 (Hydraulic Hoist) rig for Aker Solutions, that will be
installed on a fixed platform in the North Sea. The contract
includes engineering, study, development and manufacturing
of an HH Drillmec rig, specifically designed for offshore platform drilling.
The design provides a smaller footprint and a significant
reduction in operating costs, according to Drillmec. The HH
model is designed to increase safety by automatic operations
through its hydraulic technology. The rig is being built at the
Drillmec manufacturing plant in Piacenza and will be installed
on the first platform during the second-half of 2014.
JACK-UP WITH P&A
Keppel FELS has signed an engineering services agreement

with Workfox, a subsidiary of the Seafox Group, to embark
on an engineering study of a purpose-built accommodation
jackup rig, with well intervention and plug-and-abandonment
(P&A) features.
The Seafox 8 project is being developed to address a gap in
the current P&A market. Subsea fields are reaching the ends
of their productive lives in areas, such as the North Sea and the
Gulf of Mexico. With increasing environmental concerns and
regulations, there are a substantial number of wells in both
these regions that will need to be properly sealed up in the
next few years.
Seafox 8 will offer P&A and well intervention services, as
well as accommodation and crane support services. It has a
spacious deck and comprehensive amenities for the comfort
of 282 persons onboard. The jackup also can be configured for
other offshore support services. The hull and legs of this newgeneration rig will be based on Keppels new KFELS J Class
design, which is customized to operate in water depths of up
to 112 m, in the harsh, offshore environmental conditions of
the Norwegian North Sea.
The industry estimates that as many as 12,000 wells in the
Gulf of Mexico qualify as P&A candidates. In the UK sector
of the North Sea, alone, it is estimated that more than 500
structures with about 3,000 wells are slated for permanent
abandonment in the near future. In the Norwegian sector of
the North Sea, more than 350 platforms and more than 3,700
wells eventually must be abandoned permanently.
INTEGRATED SOFTWARE
Meanwhile, classification society ABS has achieved what

it says is an industry first with the completion of the Rowan
Companies Rowan Renaissance drillship. This newbuild, built
in the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) yard in Ulsan, South
Korea, is the first in the world to have earned ABS Integrated
Software Quality Management (ISQM) notation.
As reliance on computer-controlled systems has increased,
verifying software programsincluding their integration
has become critical to safe and efficient operations, says ABS
chairman, president and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki. ABS

developed ISQM, a risk-informed software development and
maintenance process, to verify software at the time of installation, and monitor for consistency and reliability when software updates or hardware changes are made.
Historically, class rules have focused on steel and equipment. ISQM focuses on the software that controls the equipment. The ISQM process has a goal of reducing safety, environmental and productivity risks while increasing efficiency
and productivity of the drillship. The ISQM notation provides
a clear process of minimizing software-related risk throughout the life of an asset, ABS says. In its first application on the
Rowan Renaissance, ABS says that ISQM facilitated reliable integration of products from more than half-a-dozen major suppliers and more than 35 subsystems.
NEWBUILDS VS. UPGRADES
As the offshore industry continues its advance into more

challenging operating conditions, rig contractors face acute
challenges with their fourth- and fifth-generation units. As
offshore driller Seadrill commented in a recent report to
shareholders, The oil companies new requirements after Macondo, and the focus on increased water depth areas,
have significantly limited the contractibility of older equipment. The owners will face the choice of investing significant
amounts into 20- or 30-year-old assets, in order to try to meet
the new demands, or simply just lay up the unit. Some contractors may also attempt asset swaps with newbuilds without
a contract for older assets on long-term commitments, in an
attempt to secure work for their premium units, while saving
cost on large capex upgrades.
Seadrill adds that The market for high-specification jackup units continues to perform well. Operators have come to
appreciate the increased recovery factors that new assets can
provide. Coupled with the lack of building activity over the
last decades, there is still a shortage of capable rigs in the
near term.
September 1617, 2014

Houston, Texas | GasProcessingConference.com
Explore the Latest Opportunities and Trends

in North Americas Gas Market
The inaugural GasPro North America will bring together gas processing professionals for a two-day, technical conference devoted to
discussing the latest trends, technologies, opportunities and challenges in North Americas natural gas market.
Low natural gas prices and increased shale gas production in the US have led to a golden age of gas in North America with
investment and activity increasing for LNG, GTLs, NGL and more. Boxscore data indicates a 76% growth in new gas processing project
announcements within the past year, and numerous LNG terminals are in the planning phase. Canada is also well-poised to increase its
shale gas production. North American natural gas is reshaping the global energy industry.
GasPro is the perfect opportunity to network with your peers in the industry and keep up-to-date with the latest developments. Dont
miss the opportunity to be part of this important discussion.
The 2014 Conference Program will Focus on:

NGL/LNG
Stranded Gas/Sour Gas
Separation Technology/
Catalysts
Dehydration/Cryogenics
Compressors/Equipment
Reliability
GTL/Modular Construction
Alternative Uses
North American
Infrastructure Development
Equipment
Methane
Process Improvement
View the complete agenda online at GasProcessingConference.com
Speakers & Sessions Include:

Wireless monitoring of rotating equipment using
intelligent sensors with mobile capability
Fast track engineering and construction

of an LPG cryogenic plant
Dale Winterhoff
Principal Engineer
Miguel Wegner
CEO
Flowserve Corporation
Hytech
Sime DWC solution for sweetening

and dehydration
Ivan Grosman
USA Country Manager
Hytech
Domenico Tedeschi
RM&D Project Engineering Manager
Sime
Flare gas recovery for LNG
and NGL recovery is supercool
Matteo Baggiani
Program Manager
Trey Brown
VP, Engineering & Construction
Sime
S-Con, Inc.
September 1617, 2014 | Houston, Texas
Register Now and Save!

Conference Fees
Early Bird
(by August 6)
Regular
Admission
Single Attendee
$891
$990
Team of Two
$1,634
$1,815
Group of Five
$3,787
$4,208
Invited Speakers From:

Energy Transfer Partners
Valerus
Enterprise Products Partners, LP
Velocys
EnCana Corporation
Primus Green Energy
Devon Energy
Spectra Energy Corporation
DCP Midstream LLC
Saudi Aramco
Noble Energy
URS Corporation
Shell Oil
Exxon Mobil Research

& Engineering Company
View the Agenda Online!
Linde Process Plants
GasProcessingConference.com
Targa Resources Inc.
Three Ways to Participate:
1.
Register Early & Save: Take advantage of early bird rates

at GasProcessingConference.com.
2. Speaker Opportunities: Contact Melissa Smith, Events Director,

Gulf Publishing Company, at +1 (713) 520-4475,
or Melissa.Smith@GulfPub.com
3. Sponsorship Opportunities: Contact Lisa Zadok,

Events Sales Manager, Gulf Publishing Company, at +1 (713) 525-4632,
or Lisa.Zadok@GulfPub.com
COMPLETION TECHNOLOGY
Acoustical determination of cement

thickness in cased wells
The thickness and reliability of cement in a
cased well is a matter of concern for both
service companies and operators. A new
approach could help operators better gauge
the success of cement jobs.
propagated through them. This article deals primarily with the

compression wave.
The travel time for reflected waves is determined using the image source solution. A critical angle of refraction solution is used
to determine the refracted wave travel time.
CEMENT THICKNESS DETERMINATION
Dynamic Analytical Solutions, LLC
Once the primary cementing of a well has been completed, it

is necessary to verify the quality of the cement bond between the
casing and the formation. Determination of the cement thickness
is performed to ensure the isolation of different zones.
This article discusses the theories used in cement thickness
determination, the development of a new thickness algorithm,
the implementation of the algorithm into a computer program
and a discussion of the results for two wells.
CEMENT THICKNESS AND WAVE THEORY
In the acoustics field, the cement bond log (CBL) has been
the principle diagnostic tool of cementing conditions. This article
examines a new technique to overcome the limitations, expense,
and lack of precise results involved with the known methods describing cement thickness. The technique is based on analysis of
open-hole acoustic data and cased-hole CBL results. The advantage of the proposed method is that it utilizes existing services,
which are normally run as part of a well program.
SEISMIC WAVE PROPAGATION
The wave equation is the basis for propagation of a disturbance

in an elastic medium. There are four physical equations that are
the basic relationships to derive the wave equation. They consist
of continuity, state, motion and force. Their combination yields
the wave equation for a perfect non-viscous fluid. Wave theory
and ray theory are both used to solve the wave equation.
Interpretation of seismic reflection and refraction utilizes ray
theory and the travel times along ray paths. The transmission of
seismic energy through solids includes the shear wave, as well as
the compression wave propagation. Boundary waves are also included, although they are rapidly attenuated. The wave velocities
in any given medium decrease in the following order: compression wave, shear wave and boundary waves.
Compression waves are a particular type of longitudinal
wave whose direction of propagation is parallel to the direction of particle displacement. The direction of propagation is
away from the source. Gases, liquids and solids have a tendency
to oppose compression; therefore, compression waves can be
The previously discussed theory for seismic reflection and refraction are applied to the ray path analysis for a multi-layer system
in a cased oil well. Thickness determinations have been applied
by seismologists and geophysicists to determine the thicknesses
of horizontal layers by refraction and reflection of low-frequency
waves. In this article, the same seismic principles are applied on
a smaller scale, in a vertical multi-layer system, to determine an
unknown factornamely, the cement thickness, in the annulus,
between the casing and the formation wall.
Cement bond log. The CBL is based on the amplitude attenuation of the first arrival of an acoustic signal caused by the
energy transfer from the pipe and cement to the formation. The
wave train (seismogram) is the summation of all the waves arriving at the receiver from different paths. The attenuation of
the casing signal is considered to be the indication of a bonding condition between the casing and the formation. The casing
signal is caused by the casing ray of interest comprising the mud
path, casing segment traversed by the extensional wave in steel,
and the return mud path. Laboratory tests have determined
that the attenuation of acoustic waves in bonded pipe is directly
proportional to the percentage of the circumference around the
pipe having a good bond.
Fig. 1. Plots of cement thickness and sonic data versus depth
from Well A.
50
-12,280
Sonic signal, sec/ft

100
75
125
150
-12,290
-12,300
-12,310
Depth, ft
G.M. WIERCINSKI and M. LUDENA, ML&Associates; D.E. GORE,
-12,320
-12,330
-12,340
Thickness
Sonic
-12,350
-12,360
10
15
Cement thickness, in.
20
25
30
COMPLETIONS TECHNOLOGY
Fig. 2. Plots of cement thickness and VDL versus depth

from Well A.
300
-12,280
400
VDL signal, sec/ft

600
700
500
800
900
1,000
-12,290
-12,300
Depth, ft
-12,310
-12,320
-12,330
-12,340
Thickness
VDL
-12,350
-12,360
10
15
20
25
30

from Well Bs 10,300-ft zone.
50
-10,265
75

100
125
150
-10,270
-10,275
Depth, ft
-10,280
-10,285
-10,290
-10,295
Thickness
Sonic
-10,300
-10,305
10
15
20
Open-hole sonic log. This service is run as a formation
evaluation survey, which directly yields the interval transit time

in microseconds per foot. This is done in the open hole with a
fluid and formation interface. The open-hole measurement provides the transit time for the ray path analysis used to obtain the
cement thickness.
Open-hole caliper. An open-hole caliper is run to provide
a measurement of the borehole diameter. The effective caliper is used to describe the caliper reading after the casing
has been landed. It provides the space between the casing
and the borehole wall. An assumption is made that the casing
has been landed with centralizers and is roughly centered in
the borehole.
Interpretation. The combination of the open-hole data and
the cased-hole data permit the cement thickness measurement
to be made in a bonded condition. The interpretation consists
of the analysis of the complete wave train; the amplitude attenuation of the first arrival to determine bonding; the open-hole
log to determine formation transit time; and picking the correct
bond path arrival on the wave train.
Sample charts simulating data for different arrival times

may be constructed using the computer program developed
to implement this methodology. These charts aid in the interpretation of the data signature. Knowledge of the transit times
involved will give the interpreter a good idea of the arrival times
for each wave component.
For example, with a bond tool having a 5-ft spacer, the transit
times are:
Casing = 57 sec/ft
Mud
= 166 sec/ft
Cement = 83 sec/ft
The open-hole sonic shows a formation having an interval transit time of 50 sec/ft. The following arrival times may
be approximated:
Casing
= 5 57 = 285 sec
Mud
= 5 166 = 830 sec
Formation = 5 50 = 250 sec
This would mean that the arrival of the formation signal could
be ahead of casing time. When performing the interpretation, the
algorithm developed herein selects a reflection or a refraction,
based on the open-hole comparison.
The cement transit time is considered to be 83.3sec/ft for
various types of cementafter allowing a minimum curing
time of 48 hr to achieve sufficient compressive strength. If the
transit time of the formation is greater than that of the cement,
the arrival seen on the wave train is from a reflection at the cement and formation boundary. Refraction is not allowable,
whenever the velocity of sound in layer n is greater than the velocity in the adjacent n+1 layer.
Transit times are used in the analysis, since velocities are not
common in logging operations. Based on the data simulation
used to create the cement thickness charts, cement reflection
waves are expected to interfere with the attenuated pipe waves after 420 microseconds (5 83.3) for 5-ft spacing. Should the pipe
waves be completely attenuated, then the first arrival seen is that
of the cement wave.
Several factors must be accounted for in the determination of
the cement thickness, for either refracted or reflected waves:
Mud delay. The acoustic signal is delayed by the travel time
equation, dependent on twice the mud space, the critical
angle and the mud transit time.
Casing delay. The acoustic signal is delayed by the travel
time equation, dependent on twice the casing thickness, the
critical angle and the casing transit time.
Time differential. The amount of time in microseconds,
due to the delay caused by the mud, casing, and the formation, is subtracted from the seismogram time. This operation leaves the amount of time that the signal is delayed by
the bonded cement.
Cement thickness. The minimum amount of cement in
the annulus between the casing and the formation wall is
dependent on the time differential, the critical angle and the
transit time.
CEMENT-THICKNESS EQUATIONS
Refracted waves. During an acoustic event, waves will propa-
gate in all directions, in a spherical manner. The ray that causes a

wave to propagate down the borehole wall at a 90 angle is called
the ray of interest; the angle causing the vertical displacement
When the problem is complex, the solution is often simple. Volant Casing Running Tools
simplify well construction, reducing both manpower requirements and problems leading to
hole instability and non-productive time. Volant HydroFORM Centralizers greatly improve
casing runability with an enviable 100% failure-free track record. Volant MLT Rings provide
high torsional capacity, critical for liner drilling operations.
sales@volantproducts.ca volantproducts.ca | sales@volantoiltoolsUS.com volantoiltoolsUS.com
from the previous media is called the critical angle. In a cased

well, the critical angle is a function of the cement transit time
and the formation transit time. The cement transit time is a
known factor; the formation transit time is previously computed by the open-hole sonic log.
Several additional factors must be accounted for in the determination of the cement thickness with refracted waves:
Effective formation spacing. The length of the formation sampled by the ray of interest is dependent on the
detector spacing, tool diameter, bit size and critical angle.
Formation delay. The acoustic signal is delayed by the
formation and is dependent on the effective formation
spacing and the open-hole formation transit time.
CBL seismogram time. The total time that the signal

is delayed in a good bonding condition is identified on
the seismogram wave train as the arrival of the first compressional wave from the acoustic path of interest. (Seismogram data are also known as the Variable Density
Log (VDL)).
Cement thickness can be determined by refraction and
formation signal, when the formation transit time is less than
the cement transit time. This would correspond to hard rock
country. When the transit times are equal, it is not possible
to make a calculation. The formation characteristics, in this
condition, match those of cement.
Reflected waves. When the formation transit time is greater
Table 1. Well characteristics from the two test wells.

Parameter
Open Hole Data
Cased Hole
Well A
ISF/Sonic
Caliper
GR/CBL VDL
GR/CBL VDL
Lignite
83.3
57.0
166.6
5.5
5.0
9.875
5.0
2.0
Saltwater
83.3
57.0
188.6
5.5
4.70
9.875
5.0
2.0
Logging Data:
Bore hole uid
Cement transit time, s/ft
Casing Transit time, s/ft
Mud transit time, s/ft
Casing OD, in.
Casing ID, in.
Bit Size, in.
CBL detector spacing, ft
CBL tool diameter, in.
Well B
ISF/Sonic
than the cement transit time, it is not possible to obtain a refracted wave at a 90 angle along the cased borehole wall. In
this case, the first arrival of interest will be that of a reflected
wave at the cement/formation interface. (This may be the reason that formation time is not normally seen in a cased hole
logged in South Louisiana.)
Several additional factors must be accounted for in the determination of the cement thickness with reflected waves:
Angle of reflection. The angle of reflection can be approximated as a function of the seismogram time (VDL).
The seismogram time is the first of the compressive reflected waves in the cement. A formation signal will not
be seen under these circumstances and the first arrival
has a strong attenuation.
| bakerhughes.com
F.P.O.
Bypass risk.
Keep sand where it belongs.
Achieve more than 99% packing efciency and streamline operations with the TORRENT
openhole gravel-pack solution.
Multi-path screens transport the slurry past obstructions to ensure a complete and uniform
pack across the entire interval. Specialized ultra-lightweight proppant stays suspended in
non-viscous uid during pumping for added effectiveness in long horizontal applications.
And a reliable gravel-pack tool enables positive positioning throughout the operation while
you monitor job progress in real-time.
Overcome barriers. Improve reliability. Ensure sustainable, protable wells.
Learn more at bakerhughes.com/TORRENT
Fig. 4. Plots of cement thickness and VDL versus depth from

Well Bs 10,300-ft zone.
420
-10,265
430
440
450
VDL signal, sec/ft

460
470
480
490
Fig. 6. Plots of cement thickness and VDL versus depth from

Well Bs 10,400-ft zone.
-10,270
-10,400
-10,275
-10,410
Depth, ft
Depth, ft
-10,280
-10,285
-10,290
Thickness
VDL
-10,300
-10,305
430
440
VDL signal, sec/ft

450
460
470
480
490
500
Thickness
Sonic
-10,420
-10,430
10
15
-10,450
20

from Well Bs 10,400-ft zone.
50
-10,390
75

100
125
150
-10,400
-10,410
-10,420
-10,430
-10,440
Thickness
Sonic
-10,450
-10,460
420
-10,440
-10,295
Depth, ft
410
-10,390
500
10
15
20
CBL seismogram time (VDL). The total time that the

signal is delayed in a good bonding condition is identified
on the wave train as the first compressional wave arrival of
the cement reflected wave.
The reflection analysis must be used in formations where the
formation transit time is greater than the cement transit time.
This would, generally, correspond to soft and unconsolidated
formations. When the formation transit time is equal to the cement transit time, it is not possible to make the cement thickness
calculation, since a reflection angle in a cased hole is not allowed
where the cement and formation interface, theoretically, does not
exist. In practice, however, there is a reflected signal caused by the
roughness of the borehole wall.
A true mud angle algorithm was implemented to compute a
cement thickness measurement, based on a mud/casing interface
angle of incidence required to cause either a refraction or a reflection angle in the cement.
LOGGING EQUIPMENT AND ANALYSIS
The cement bond log system is used to present an amplitude

curve to determine if there is a bond to the casing; a transit time
curve, which serves as a travel time indicator to determine the
-10,460
10
Cement thickness, in
15
20
efficiency of the bond; and the VDL for detailed interpretation

of the cement condition. A computer program has been developed to implement the methodology described above. In the
program, borehole segments are defined as lengths of pipe that
have the same geometric parameters, well parameters and formation parameters.
The geometry of each borehole segment is defined by the
following parameters:
Segment ID of previous segment
Length of segment
Azimuth
Inclination.
Note that each borehole segment also has the following
well/formation characteristics:
Mud transit time (sec/ft)
Casing transit time (sec/ft)
Cement transit time (sec/ft)
Casing OD (in.)
Casing ID (in.)
Bit size (in.).
The well is modeled as an inverted tree, with the wellhead at
the origin of a right-handed Cartesian coordinate system (the
positive x-axis is due east and the positive z-axis is up). Each
segment is modeled as a vector with a tail point, length, inclination, azimuth and head point. The well data, plus borehole
segment geometry data, are entered in the application for each
wells borehole segment. The log data, consisting of path parameters and the actual sonic and VDL log data, are contained in a
separately loaded text file.
RESULTS
Measurements were taken on three cement bond sections in two wells. All the GR CBL VDL logs were run after
the 48-hr curing period required for the cement to achieve a
good compressive strength. The logs used were the caliper,
ISF/Sonic, and CBL VDL. Well characteristics are presented
in Table 1.
In reviewing the results, note that the sonic data are a function of the formation; they are not affected by the cement
thickness. Conversely, the VDL response is a function of the
cement thickness.
EXPERIENCE MAT TERS.

TRUST YOUR INVESTMENT TO A PROVEN LEADER.
Cudd Energy Services has a proven reputation for professionalism, reliability, and
experience. We apply ingenuity and persistence to each operation to help you achieve
the maximum return on your investment. With highly trained, certified crews located
in major resource basins, we stand ready to ready to deliver on time, every time.
67,08/$7,21&2,/('78%,1* (&2,/+<'5$8/,&:25.29(5
&(0(17,1*1,752*(1,1'8675,$/1,752*(16/,&./,1( %5$,'('/,1(
:$7(50$1$*(0(1763(&,$/6(59,&(6:(//&21752/
PROVEN EXPERIENCE. TRUSTED RESULTS.

WWW.CUDD.COM
For Well A, plots of cement thickness and sonic data versus

depth are presented in Figs. 1 and 2. The cause of the large VDL
spikes in Fig. 2 is unknown; however, they are most likely the
result of noise in the signal.
For Well B, only the ISF/Sonic and the CBL were available.
Since there were no caliper data available, the results were
compared to the bit size used to drill the hole. Plots of cement
thickness and sonic data versus depth are presented in Fig. 3
and Fig. 4 for the 10,300-ft zone and Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 for the
10,400-ft zone.
Measurement uncertainty. One of the most important
quantities involved is cured cement transit time, given to be

83.3 s/ft or 6.9 s/in. A variation of 1 s/in. in the cement
transit time would be considered reasonable. This yields a
0.140-in. uncertainty per inch of cement. The value of cement transit time does change slightly with types of cement
and curing time, resulting in a 0.3-in. uncertainty per inch of
cement. The fact that the cement transit time is not exactly
known could partially account for the difference in measurement of cement thickness by the cement bond log, as compared to the open-hole caliper.
CONCLUSION
An algorithm using ray and wave theory has been developed

to perform an acoustical determination of the cement sheath
thickness in cased oil wells. The algorithm implements a different approach that also takes into account reflection analysis,
due to the particular geological configuration affecting cased

well measurements.
Cement thickness determination is a decision-making tool, when it comes to deciding on performing remedial jobs in new and/or mature wells, saving the operator
both time and money, in addition to minimizing risks and
production problems.
GIORGIO M. WIERCINSKI completed his BS and Master
of Engineering in electrical engineering from Texas A&M
University. While attending the University of Oklahoma
under the Doctorate of Engineering program, majoring
in petroleum engineering with a dissertation in cased oil
well cement thickness, he was employed by The
Western Company of North America as a district
engineer in Lafayette, La. He is currently the director for research and
development at ML&Associates.
MIGUEL A. LUDENA completed his electrical
engineering degree at the University of Los Andes at
Merida, Venezuela, before starting a 23-year career with
Schlumberger, encompassing various divisions. He is
president of ML&Associates, an international consulting,
engineering and trading company in the oil, gas &
energy industry.
DUANE E. GORE completed his BS in nuclear
engineering at Texas A&M University and an MS in
computer science at the University of Houston Clear
Lake City. He has 37 years of analytical experience in
support of the design and operation of commercial
nuclear power reactors. He is a registered engineer
(Nuclear) in Texas and is a principal of Dynamic
Analytical Solutions, LLC.
JOIN US AS WE HONOR
Groundbreaking Strides
in the Oil & Gas Industry
Black Tie Gala

16 October 2014
The Houstonian Hotel Club & Spa
111 North Post Oak Lane | Houston, Texas 77024
Historically the dinner has sold out; therefore,

companies are encouraged to reserve a table soon.
To RSVP for this exciting event, tickets may be
purchased online or contact Gwendolyn Hood at
+1 (713) 520-4402 or Gwen.Hood@GulfPub.com for
more information.
RSVP at AWARDS.WORLDOIL.COM
SOUTH TEXAS is MEGA GRANDE

Guadalupe
Bexar
Kinney
Uvalde
Medina
MegaGrande 3
Wilson
DeWittt
Zavala
Coherence
Frio
Karnes
Atascosa
a
MegaGrande 1
Maverick
Goliad
Dimmit
McMullen
Mc
cMullen
n
Inst.Amp.
Bee
Live
Live Oak
k
Refugio
La
a Salle
Sallle
San Patricio
SpecD
Webb
Web
MegaGrande 2
Jim Wells
Well
Duval
Nueces
NEW MERGED VOLUMES WITH PRESTACK VTI MIGRATION
z Surface consistent processing solution including refraction

statics covering the entire volumes
CONTACT US at
z Flat PSTM gathers up to ~50 degrees (VTI correction included on PSTM)
SoTex@globalgeophysical.com
z Continuous in-line/cross-line numbering (single 3D CDP binning)

z True amplitude preserved, wide azimuth superior data quality
imaged seismic data
For More Information:

www.globalgeophysical.com/SouthTexasMerge
z Processing: Pre-Stack VTI Migration

L L E NCE
EQ
CE
AIM
ER
ZERO
PO
FOR
FE
Global delivers data, products and services that enable high resolution
insight into subsurface structure, faults, fractures, rock properties,
and reservoir dynamics.
EX
HS
z Bin size 82.5 x 82.5 ft.
I B LE
z Seamless pre-migration merge of all individual surveys followed

by a pre-stack time migration as a single survey
Our seismic solutions include data acquisition, microseismic

monitoring, data processing, reservoir geophysics and integrated
interpretation & consulting services. Our objective is to help oil and
gas companies identify and characterize prospectivity and productivity,
reduce risk, optimize well completion techniques and monitor
changes in hydrocarbon reservoirs.
SS
Now our RG3D South Texas Multi Client data is better than ever. With
over 4500 square miles of RG3D newly merged and reprocessed
volumes you get;
CTIO
O
N IS N
Global Geophysical Services, Inc.

tel +1 713-972-9200 www.globalgeophysical.com
MARINE SEISMIC
Building understanding of offshore Congo

regional geology through 3D seismic
EXPLORATION IN THE CONGO
Exploration offshore Congo is moving

into deeper water, with discoveries, such
as Moho Bilondo, helping to de-risk the
petroleum system. Through interpreting
the 3D regional dataset, trends that were
difficult to observe in sparse 2D, or only
block-scale 3D, have been identied easily.
PAT COOLE and SIMON BAER, Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS);

ALAIN RICHARD NGOULA, Socit Nationale des Ptroles du Congo
(SNPC)
Since 2007, PGS has been building a regional, multi-client
3D database across offshore West Africa with total coverage
of over 150,000 sq km. In partnership with national governments, PGS individual surveys and countrywide surveys
stretch from Angola to Nigeria, and allow for a regional overview of subsurface geology, which forms the major hydrocarbon accumulations along the West African margin. In 2013,
PGS, in association with SNPC, completed the integration of
the Congo MegaSurvey, (Fig. 1) into the West African database and began interpretation immediately. The results of this
survey are discussed in this article.
PGS has dedicated its Ramform Challenger seismic vessel for
offshore West Africa surveys. In 2013, the Congo MegaSurvey was
added to the West Africa database.
Hydrocarbon exports dominate Congos economy, accounting for 87% of the countrys export revenue in 2011.1
The first successful exploration project in the Congo was carried out by Socit des Ptroles dAfrique Equatoriale Franaise (SPAEF) in 1957, with the Pointe Indienne-1 discovery
well in the Grs de Mengo formation. This discovery proved
commercial, with production beginning in 1960, and continuing to this day.
Offshore exploration began in 1969, 12 years after the first
discovery, with the Emeraude Marine well. This field came
online in 1970. Since these initial discoveries, commercial
hydrocarbon volumes have been found in Miocene channel
and turbidite sequences, Albian carbonates, and pre-salt carbonates and sandstones. Over the past seven years, a number of offshore fields have come online. The most important
of these are the Moho fields, Fig. 1. These fields have been
pivotal in proving the existence of a working petroleum system in water depths of 600-900 m, opening up a huge area of
underexplored acreage.
CONGO PETROLEUM SYSTEM
The Congo basin is part of the west-central coastal province

of West Africa. It comprises a series of Atlantic-type margin sag
basins, extending from the southern edge of the Niger River
Delta to the Walvis Ridge, which formed as the South American and African plates rifted and drifted from the Late Jurassic,
onwards. Two distinct phases of deposition are recognized in
the Congo basinsyn-rift and post-rift (Fig. 2), with post-rift
deformation being strongly influenced by salt tectonics.
Syn-rift. Rifting of the African Plate resulted in the formation of a series of asymmetrical horst-graben basins trending
parallel to the present-day coastline (northwest-southeast).
Initially, the rift and associated basins were above sea level and
isolated from the newly forming ocean. Thick sequences of
fluvial and lacustrine rocks were deposited in the rift basins,
and these organic material-rich sediments, some deposited
in oxygen-deficient water, are one of the source rocks for the
hydrocarbons found today. Continued rifting widened the
zone of the normal faulting crustal extension through the Barremian.
Syn-rift offshore deposits of the northern (upper) part of
the Congo basin (Republic of the Congo) range in age from
Neocomian to Barremian, and consist of lacustrine and fluvial sediments. The Neocomian Vandji sandstone (coarse
sandstone equivalent to the Basal sandstone of the South
Gabon sub-basin) overlies the Precambrian basement. The
Sialivakou shale and Djeno sandstone are lacustrine shales
and turbidite sandstones equivalent to the lower part of the
Bucomazi formation (of the Lower Congo basin). The BarreWorld Oil/JULY 201473
www.polarcus.com
ARE YOU READY

FOR NEW HORIZONS?
We are.
With a wealth of operational experience and a passion for

geophysical excellence, Polarcus takes on the most
complex of 3D projects, delivering outstanding quality every
time. We give the highest priority to safe working practices that
combined with our commitment to minimize our environmental footprint, enables us to offer our clients an unrivalled
world-class service from Pole to Pole.
MARINE SEISMIC
Fig. 1. The PGS/SNPC multi-client Congo survey, with callouts

identifying producing elds, including Moho.
The Miocene reservoir hydrocarbons are

found in channels, where sedimentation
geometry is controlled by the topographic
basins situated between the anticlinal
structures above the salt walls. A root mean
squared (RMS) amplitude extraction of fullstack data, within a 100-ms time interval
in the Upper Miocene, shows the details of
multiple meander-form channel systems
extending out from the Congo River delta,
traversing the deep basin, and terminating in
fan-shaped morphologies.
Fig. 2. Stratigraphy of offshore Congo.2
main, organic-rich lacustrine shales and marls, and dolomitic

black shales of the Pointe Noire marl, which are up to 500 m
thick, are equivalent to the Melania formation lacustrine shale
in the South Gabon sub-basin, and the middle part of the Bucomazi formation of the Lower Congo basin. The Barremian
Pointe Indienne shale and the 300-m-thick Toca formation
consist of lacustrine siliciclastic shales and carbonate rocks,
equivalent to the Melania and Dentale formations in the South
Gabon sub-basin.
Pre-rift reservoirs typically range from shallow water to onshore and trend along the margin. However, it is important to
note that wells do not penetrate pre-salt in the deeper offshore
area, thus the deepwater pre-salt section remains untested.
With recent deeper-water pre-salt success along the Angolan
margin, and the Diaman discovery by Total, proving a working hydrocarbon system in deepwater Gabon, it will only be a
matter of time before deepwater pre-salt exploration emerges
offshore Congo.
Post-rift rocks range from Aptian to Holocene (Cretaceous to Tertiary) in age and represent the opening of the
Atlantic Ocean in equatorial West Africa. The initial post-rift
sequences are early to mid-Aptian age and consist of continental, fluvial and lagoon sediments deposited as rifting
ceased in the province. Periodic restricted circulation, caused
by volcanic activity to the south along the Walvis Ridge and
the incomplete opening of the rift through northern Africa,

created conditions, where extensive deposition of evaporite
units (mainly salt) occurred. Early post-rift rocks were generally deposited in two distinct regimesas transgressive units,
consisting of shelf clastic and carbonate sediments, followed
by progradational units along the continental margin, and as
open-ocean, deepwater sequences.
In the Upper Congo basin, the oldest post-rift rocks are the
Lower Aptian Chela formation. The Chela formation consists
of sandstone and shale deposited in a variety of environments,
including marine, lacustrine and fluvial. The thick (>1000
m) evaporite sequences are represented by the Aptian Loeme
Salt, which is composed of halite, carnallite, and minor anhyWorld Oil/JULY 201475
MARINE SEISMIC
Inspired Dedicated Reliable
a DNV GL company
Third-party testing of BOP software

A modern Blow-Out Preventer (BOP)
relies on a sophisticated redundant computer system to achieve
desired performance and safety.
The scope of BOP-HIL testing from
Marine Cybernetics is to verify
correct functionality according to

rules and regulations, user
requirements, and to detect hidden
software errors and design aws
in the BOP system software.
safe software safe operations
SC ANPARTNER REKL AMEBYR
turbidite and deep-marine shale units that originated from

drite. The thick salt in the basin acts as a dcollement zone
the Congo River. Fans, turbidites and stacked channel sysfor the post-salt growth-fault structures in the Congo basin.
tems dominate the Miocene, providing numerous, potential
Near the top of the main evaporite section, thin beds of clastic
hydrocarbon reservoirs.
sediments are commonly found, and the salt grades upward
into a regionally extensive, 50-m-thick
dolomite unit, representing the end of
the Loeme evaporite cycle. Above the Fig. 3. East-west seismic cross-section, with major interpreted horizons and proven
The study area is subdivided into two structural domainsa margin-ward
evaporites, the shelf-carbonate rocks reservoirs.
extensional domain in the shallower part of the survey, and a compressive domain in the
are represented by the Albian Sendji deeper part of the survey.
Carbonate, consisting of dolomite, oolitic limestone, and interbedded sandstone units, which were deposited in
tidal channels in the lower part, and as
offshore bars and shore face units in the
upper part.
Above the Sendji formation are the
Tchala sandstone (proximal to the shore
in the east) and the more distal/offshore
siltstone of the Likouala formation. These
formations are overlain by the Turonian
Loango dolomite and the Madingo marl.
The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary is
marked by an erosional event forming a
widespread unconformity.
The upper section of Cenozoic
sedimentation is dominated by progradational sandstone and siltstone
(proximal to shore), and more distal
Cable Technology
Partner
Technology Comes To Life
SM
ULTRA-DEEP WATER APPLICATIONS

De Regt Marine Cables is a worldplayer in the design
and manufacture of customer engineered dynamic
cable systems for subsea applications. One of its
latest developments are the Rigid Flexible Rods,
to replace the steel wires strength member for
the purpose of moving into deeper water
// BENEFITS OF THE RIFLER LIGHTWEIGHT

STRENGTH MEMBER
Self-supporting over a deployable length of

over 7km
Weight reduction of over 75% in water
Safe working: allowed in an explosive atmosphere
Usage of non-corrosive materials
Terminable with conventional methods
Krimpen aan de Lek, The Netherlands

info@deregtcables.com
Sales & Marketing
p.brussee@deregtcables.com
www.deregtcables.com
View the complete

marine product range
on www.sercel.com
ANYWHERE. ANYTIME. EVERYTIME.
MARINE SEISMIC
REGIONAL INTERPRETATION
An interpretation of the different sequences completed

across the dataset (Fig. 3) shows a classic east-west profile
of a passive margin salt basin, comprising an extensional
Fig. 4. Interaction between the Miocene and the salt.
domain with post-rift raft structures sliding on a salt dcollement, and a compressive domain, where the salt has been
transported down dip into a thick accumulation of sediment.
The salt walls and domes in the compressive domain may be
as thick as 1,400 m and have a significant effect on the overlying sediment. Fig. 4. Understanding the relationship between
the salt and its impact on the structural regime and palaeotopography is crucial to understanding the reservoir system and
trapping mechanisms.
POST-RIFT MIOCENE PLAY
The post-rift Miocene play is perhaps the most important

play type to consider across the margin. As hydrocarbon development has matured across the shallow shelf area, explorationists are looking into the deeper water to find reservoirs.
Discoveries, such as Moho Bilondo field, have de-risked the
deepwater Miocene sandstone play, which is currently the
main focus for exploration.
The Miocene reservoir hydrocarbons are found in channels, where sedimentation geometry is controlled by the topographic basins situated between the
anticlinal structures above the salt walls.
Fig. 5. RMS amplitude extraction of Top Miocene between +0.1 sec +0.2 sec.
A root mean squared (RMS) amplitude
extraction of full-stack data within a
100-ms time interval in the Upper Miocene shows the details of multiple meander-form channel systems extending
out from the Congo River delta, traversing the deep basin, and terminating in
fan-shaped morphologies, Fig. 5. These
channels and fan systems trend roughly
southeast to northwest. The regional
interpretation of these features provides
information on palaeocurrent direction
and flow changes over time, as well as
the displacement of channel systems
due to salt activity.
Figure 5 shows the Moho Bilondo
discovery, which lies in a Miocene turbidite channel. The regional scale of this
RMS map enables the identification of
leads within the same channel system,
Fig. 6. The leads, characterized by amplitude brightening, are located in Upper Miocene strata in the same interval
as the Moho Bilondo discovery.
BETTER UNDERSTANDING
Exploration offshore Congo is now

moving into deeper water, with discoveries, such as Moho Bilondo, helping
to de-risk the petroleum system. Prospectivity still exists in shallow water, as
demonstrated in the Grs de Djeno formation by the Nene Marine discovery
(Eni, 2012). Through interpreting the
dataset, trends in the Miocene channel
sequences that have previously proven
difficult to observe in sparse 2D, or
only block-scale 3D, have been identi78JULY 2014/WorldOil.com
MARINE SEISMIC
fied easily. Thus, the importance of using regional 3D data in

gaining a better understanding of channel trends to enhance
exploration efforts is clear.
REFERENCES
1. U.S. Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=CF#,
accessed May 5, 2014.
2. Brownfield, M.E., and R. R. Charpentier, 2006, Geology and total petroleum systems of the
West Central Coastal Province (7203), West Africa: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2207-B, p. 52.
Fig. 6. Survey data showing a) a full-stack seismic line illustrating the Upper Miocene
amplitude anomaly as a lead analogous to the Moho Bilondo discovery; b) RMS amplitude
extraction of Top Miocene +0.1 sec Top Miocene +0.2 sec, illustrating the lead outline.
PATRICK COOLE is a
reservoir geoscientist for
PGS, based in the UK. Mr.
Coole earned a BS degree in
geography and geology from
the University of Manchester,
and an MS in petroleum
geosciences from Imperial College, London.
He joined PGS in 2013, specializing in West
African hydrocarbon exploration for the
multi-client and reservoir teams.
SIMON BAER is a reservoir
geoscientist for PGS. Mr. Baer
graduated with BSc and MS
degrees in resource
management from the
Technical University of Aachen,
with specialization in applied
geophysics. Additionally, he earned a BSc
(Hon.) in geology from the University of Cape
Town. He has worked for two years on the
Congo survey, involved in regional
interpretation and prospectivity studies.
ALAIN RICHARD NGOUALA NZOUSSI has
been a geologist in the SNPC Department
Databases for nine years. He earned a
Diploma from the Marien Ngouabi University,
Brazzaville. Richard has worked on the
Congo MegaSurvey for the past three years.
Twice
IN SHIPREPAIRS
Twice the capacity

Twice the service
Twice the quality
www.astander.es
www.astican.es
&
LEAP800 Logging System

Dependabl e technology
for dependabl e formation s
7KH/($3/RJJLQJ6\VWHPGHYHORSHGE\*:'&KDVEHHQVXFFHVVIXOO\XVHGLQ&HQWUDO$VLD
$IULFD6RXWK$PHULFDDQG&KLQDVLQFH
+LJKVSHHGGDWDWUDQVPLVVLRQDWNESV1HWZRUNHGZHOOORJJLQJ
5HPRWHWHFKQLFDOVXSSRUW*OREDOGDWDVKDULQJ
&RPSOHWHVXLWHRIRLOILHOGWHFKQLFDOVHUYLFHV6KRUWWRROVDQGIDVWORJJLQJ
Whats new in well logging and formation evaluation

Part 2: In this nal installment of a two-part
series, the author highlights developments
in wireline cased-hole logging, reservoir
monitoring, coring, wellsite evaluation and
laboratory techniques.
STEPHEN PRENSKY, Consultant, Silver Spring, Maryland

New developments in cased-hole logging include near-well
acoustic imaging, digital slickline, downhole video, multi-detector pulsed-neutron logging and nonradioactive proppant
mapping. New developments in well and reservoir monitoring
include improvements in fiber-optic permanent monitoring
systems, distributed acoustic sensing and distributed chemical sensing. New developments in coring and core evaluation include a new sponge-core system, review papers on the
state-of-the-art in core evaluation, geochemical evaluation, a
spectral gamma-ray core scanner, and X-ray tomography core
imaging. New developments in wellsite evaluation include
real-time cavings monitoring, and portable and hand-held
rock analyzers. New developments in laboratory techniques

include cuttings-based well-log calibration, quantitative fluid
analysis and permeameters.
WIRELINECASED HOLE
Among the five items listed in this category, two appeared in

previous annual round-ups, and have had significant updates.
Acoustic. The near-well acoustic imaging technique (BARS)
described in World Oils 2013 formation evaluation roundup has
been extended to imaging in cased wells.1 In a case study involving post-fracture imaging in a layered carbonate in a horizontal
well, the technique provided reliable results up to 100 ft from
the borehole. This technique can be used to identify reservoir
features that have acoustic contrastbed boundaries, fractures,
and fluid contactsand has direct applications in well placement and well completion in mature fields.
Digital slickline. Schlumberger has developed LIVE digital slickline services, which allow real-time, two-way, digital
data telemetry during intervention operations and production logging, while using standard slickline surface equipment.2 The service is based on a new slickline cable that uses
a proprietary polymer coating over a standard slickline core
to provide electrical insulation that enables data transmission.
Fig. 1. The Schlumberger portfolio of LIVE digital slickline services and tools.3
Fig. 2. Log example showing compensated-neutron and pulsedneutron log evaluations, where tagged proppant was used.9
In addition to a core group of battery-operated toolswhich

includes a basic measurement cartridge, depth correlation
(gamma ray and casing collar locator), digital pressure, an
interactive jar and a controlled release devicea family of
specialized battery-operated tools has also been developed to
expand the range of slickline services, Fig. 1. Acquisition of
real-time downhole data during intervention operations results in greater precision, depth accuracy, and toolstring control during these operations.
Downhole video. Downhole video is used primarily to
monitor tubular integrity (corrosion or damage), fluid entry and
movement (production logging),4 and to locate dropped objects,
damaged tubing/casing, and wellbore fish. It also can be used for
borehole imaging in barefoot gas completions. EVs latest-generation e-line video cameraOptis Electric Line HDuses video
compression techniques and high-speed telemetry to stream
high-definition (HD) color video to surface, at 24 frames/sec,
in real time. Video data also can be stored in downhole memory.
The camera, which uses LED lighting, can be run with downview,
sideview or both. It is rated for operation at temperatures and
pressures up to 125C (257F) and 15,000 psi (103.4 MPa), respectively. The 1.68-in. (43-mm) tool can be run on mono-conductor or multi-conductor cable. The camera can be combined
with other toolscalipers for examplein a single toolstring.5
Multi-detector, pulsed-neutron logging. Weatherfords
multi-detector, pulsed-neutron, cased-hole reservoir evaluation
service, Raptor, (described in World Oil in 2009) has now been
commercialized.6 The tool employs four lanthanum-bromide
(LaBr3) scintillator detectors and a fast-neutron detector. The
use of multiple detectors in pulsed-neutron tools optimizes
data acquisition, and the detector array samples a larger portion
of the neutron-gamma transport field than traditional pulsedneutron tools. This, in turn, results in greater sensitivity to
formation gas, allowing improved formation characterization.
The use of LaBr3 detectors on the new tool provides improved
signal-to-noise ratio; greater peak resolution for better spectral

analysis; greater temperature stability; and potentially faster
logging speeds. The inclusion of a fast-neutron detector enables
improved data quality control.
The heightened gas sensitivity provided by the large detector array enables quantitative measurement of formation gas in
through-tubing and dual-completion environments.6, 7 In addition
to conventional sigma and C/O measurements, the tool makes
two new measurements that are principally used in formation
evaluation, a fast-neutron normalized burst ratio and a capture
ratio. These measurements are derived from ratios of the count
rates of the nearest and farthest detectors, using a generator bursttiming mode that is different from both the sigma and CO bursts.
The tool can mix the different measurements in a single pass.
Non-radioactive proppant mapping. Typically, the placement of proppant during hydraulic fracturing is evaluated through
the use of radioactive tracers pumped downhole with the fracturing slurry. Recently, however, a non-radioactive ceramic proppantcontaining a high thermal-neutron-capture compound
has been developed. It can be detected using conventional
compensated- or pulsed-neutron tools. The inert taggant material
is manufactured into every grain of proppant, which ensures the
detection of every grain. This proppant evaluation method avoids
the limitations of radioactive tracers and eliminates the potential
health risks and environmental hazards associated with handling,
transporting, pumping and flowing back radioactive materials.
The proppant location is determined through comparisons of
pre- and post-fracture logs or via a new technique that uses only
post-frac logging data. The latter technique is especially useful in
cases, where formation gas saturation in a zone changes between
the pre- and post-frac logging, resulting in count-rate changes that
are unrelated to the presence of proppant, Fig. 2.8, 9
WELL AND RESERVOIR MONITORING
Permanent Reservoir Monitoring. The current state-ofthe-art in fiber-optic monitoring is summarized by two recent
papers.10, 11 Fiber-optic sensors use simple sensing elements that
do not incorporate electrical components. They use inert materials, are highly accurate, and can operate at high temperatures and
pressures. Thus, permanent well and reservoir monitoring systems that use fiber-optic sensors are more reliable, have greater
design flexibility, and are more cost-effective than electrically
based sensor systems. Also, once these systems are installed, data
acquisition is simpler than geophone-based data acquisition. The
cost of providing multiple time-lapse surveys over a wells life is a
fraction of what it would be using conventional methods.
In contrast to single-point and multi-point sensors, which are
positioned at discrete depths along the fiber cable, distributed
sensors, e.g., DTS, take measurements along the entire length of
the fiber-optic cable. Initially, point sensors were used, where high
precision and fast measurements were needed, and distributed
sensors were preferred, where extensive coverage was required.
However, the newest sensors achieve both the precision of a point
sensor and the wide coverage of a distributed sensor.
Modern fiber-optic cables use pure silica fiber, which reduces
or eliminates the earlier problem of hydrogen darkening, thereby
increasing the lifespan and allowing operation at higher temperaturesthe current generation of commercial oilfield, fiberoptic sensors/gauges is typically rated for downhole operation
at temperatures up to 500F (260C) and pressures up to 30,000
psi (206.8 MPa). There are fiber-optic sensors capable of operating at temperatures up to 800C (1,470F).11 Multi-point sensors (Fiber-Bragg-Grating, FBG sensors) can be multiplexed in a
single fiber to provide multiple, simultaneous measurements of
different physical parameters.
Fiber-optic systems are being used to monitor a variety of operations in producing wells, including sand and fluid production;
water injection; compaction; well and completion integrity; realtime stimulation; and fracture-height monitoring. Shell has been
one of the leaders in the application of fiber-optic sensing and has
been partnering with other companies to develop new, innovative applications.12 Distributed fiber-optic systems are increasingly being installed in extreme downhole environments where
intervention is difficult and costly.13, 14
There has been a lot of recent activity investigating applications of permanently installed, distributed acoustic sensors
(DASs).10 Although, at present, DASs are less sensitive (have
a higher noise floor) than conventional geophones,15 they provide nearly equivalent data in many applications, including
geophysical vertical seismic profiling (VSP) images, in a single
shot; no resetting of geophones is needed over the length of the
well. At the same time, standard seismic processing techniques,
e.g., stacking, can be used to improve DAS data quality (the
signal-to-noise ratio), Fig. 3.
Some of the primary DAS applications are:
Real-time monitoring of stimulation treatments, to enable
optimization of fracturing design17
Microseismic evaluation of stimulation effectiveness15
For conventional and 3D VSP, wells that are too highly deviated to use geophones (particularly in HPHT wells)18, 19
In place of wireline noise logging for monitoring well integrity, i.e. detecting leaks and mapping fluid migration,
throughout the life of the well20
Downhole production and injection flow profiling (in
combination with DTS), in place of conventional production logging.21
In addition to downhole use, DAS systems, in the form of
ocean-bottom cables, are being considered or have undergone
field tests for acquiring 4D (time-lapse) seismic data over producing fields to monitor fluid movement and sweep efficiency.12, 22-24
Another innovative application of fiber-optic distributed sensing being investigated by Shell is distributed chemical sensing
(DCS), which will allow detection of specific molecules along the
inflow area of producing wells.12 One approach to DCS involves
the application of a chemical responsive coating on an FBG sensor. The presence of a chemical compound causes the coating
to generate an axial strain in the fiber/FBG. A strain-induced
wavelength shift in the FBG can provide quantitative information about the chemical composition of the borehole fluid. By applying different coatings on different FBGs, the DCS system can
measure the chemical composition.11
CORING AND CORE EVALUATION
Sponge core. Baker Hughes has introduced a new spongecoring service that uses a more tightly fitting sponge liner to prevent fluid migration, and results in more accurate measurements
of in-situ fluid saturation. The service provides 3.5-in. diameter
cores in 30-ft lengths. Some of the improvements include a larger
core diameter to enable greater accuracy in rock and fluid analysis; coring bits that more closely match the diameter of the core
Fig. 3. Walk-away VSP images from conventional geophone data

(left) and from DAS data (right), and corresponding seismic
spectra (bottom).16
to the sponge for better fluid isolation and absorption; a new

sponge-liner design that incorporates a mesh lining to protect
the sponge and reduce core jamming, and also prevents mud
contamination during the coring process; and the use of laser-cut
aluminum liners has improved core handling and greatly reduced
the possibility of damage to the core during handling. The service
is rated to 195F (90C) and 15,000 psi (103.4 MPa).25
Core evaluation. Two recent review papers summarize the
state-of-the-art in coring and core analysis.26, 27
Geochemical evaluation. Total has developed a new core
logging pyrolysis instrument that can be used to evaluate the remaining hydrocarbon potential in organic-rich rocks at the centimeter scale. The laser-induced pyrolysis system (LIPS) performs
automatic acquisition of high-resolution measurements of total
organic carbon (TOC) on conventional core at a 1-cm sampling
increment; the measurement acquisition time is 1 min/sample.
The resulting high-density TOC data can be used to generate
more accurate in-place resource estimates; to obtain more representative average rock properties for selected stratigraphic intervals; to calibrate well logs; and to help identify and target the best
zones for completion.
In the LIPS measurement, first a low-power laser shot is used
to clean the core surface; this is followed by a second, high-energy, laser shot that pulverizes and pyrolyzes the rock and organic
matter. Each laser shot focuses on a pinhead-size portion of the
core and does not affect its integrity. The volatile organic compounds, oxidized and pyrolyzed hydrocarbons that are released,
are transferred continuously through electrostatic filters to the
photo-ionization detector (PID). Only hydrocarbons are detectedthe PID is insensitive to the CO and CO2 released during
the thermal decomposition of carbonates.
During the first laser shot, the L1 measurement is made; the
L2 measurement is made after the second laser shot. The L2 meaWorld Oil/JULY 201483
Fig. 4. Plot of TOC vs. depth for a selected interval within a

Barnett shale core containing a total of 610 individual LIPS TOC
measurements. The calculated average TOC for the selected
interval from high-resolution LIPS data is 1.3% higher than from
conventional low-resolution TOC measurements on core plugs.29
both active and passive shielding, to reduce background noise.

The new equipment delivers high quality per counting time unit,
which allows measurement results to meet or exceed the quality of
downhole logging, significantly improving core log correlation.31
ROCK IMAGING
Fig. 5. Schematic representation of sample size versus resolution

of the most common X-ray-computed tomography methods.
Laboratory-sized micro-CT has a similar resolution as SRXTM, but
much lower brilliance leading to lower data quality.36
(1 m)3
Medical CT
Volume of analyzed sample
(0.1 m)3
Desktop
micro-CT
(10 m)3
(1 mm)3
Synchrotronbased X-ray
tomography
(0.1 mm)3
(10 m)3
0.1 m
1 m
10 m
0.1 mm
Resolution/voxel dimension
1 mm
surement is proportional to the quantity of pyrolyzed residual

organic matter, i.e., the intensity of the signal increases with the
quantity of organic material impacted by the laser, and is similar
to the S2 peak obtained from Rock-Eval analysis. TOC measurements on a number of core plugs using conventional methods,
e.g., Rock-Eval, Leco, Fisher assay, or thin section are used to calibrate the LIPS results, Fig. 4.28-30
Spectral, natural gamma-ray core scanner. The Ocean
Drilling Program has developed a new high-efficiency, low-background stand-alone system to provide high-resolution, spectral
natural gamma-ray measurements, even in carbonate-rich rocks
and sediments, which are naturally low in gamma-ray activity.
The multi-detector design includes an array of eight NaI detectors, to increase count rates and minimize statistical error, and
Core imaging. Digital-rock physics, particularly when applied to unconventional shale reservoirs, typically, involves a
multi-scale imaging workflow, in which rocks are imaged using
a variety of techniquesX-ray CT, micro-CT, FIB/SEMat increasingly finer scales, from whole core, cutting and core plug to
the pore and subpore scale.
These images are then used to create 3D renderings of the microstructure that aid in understanding the contributions of heterogeneity, fracture density, pore types, pore connectivity, mineralogy and organic content to the petrophysical response and
production characteristics. Petrophysical properties calculated at
the smallest (nanometer) scale are applied to the core-plug scale,
via up-scaling techniques, and also can be compared with conventional laboratory-derived data.32, 33, 52, 53
Dual-energy CT. Conventional X-ray CT uses a single energy X-ray beam to generate images, which primarily reflect
variations in rock/mineral density and porosity, while dualenergy CT can provide quantitative information. Dual-energy
CT is used to image whole core simultaneously, at two different
energy levels, and can be calibrated and processed to provide
continuous bulk density (Rhob) and photoelectric factor (Pef)
or effective atomic number (Zeff ) values at 0.5-mm resolution.
These data, in turn, can be used to interpret porosity, organic
content, and mineralogy. When the data are combined with
spectral gamma data, elastic properties and brittleness index
can be determined. The high-resolution bulk density and photoelectric data can identify different lithotypes, which allows
improved selection of representative core plugs for use in the
second level of DRP. In addition, the data can be used to calibrate bulk-density logs in washed-out intervals.34, 35
Synchrotron X-ray CT. The application of the latest synchrotron sources in X-ray tomography can significantly reduce the current limitations in X-ray micro-CT instrumentation for characterizing the microstructural details in rocks.36 The high brilliance
of synchrotron radiation provides increased resolution, which
allows detection of details as small as 1 m in millimeter-sized
samples. The monochromatic X-ray beam allows for quantitative
measurements of material properties, such as density, as well as
increased contrast and reduced noise, Fig. 5.36 Synchrotron X-ray
tomography (SRXTM) can provide ultra-high-resolution 3D images of core; however, the availability of synchrotron equipment
is very limited, primarily to research laboratories.
WELLSITE EVALUATON
Real-time cavings monitoring. Keeping the borehole clean

in high-angle and extended-reach wells is essential to prevent
cuttings buildup that can lead to borehole-instability issues.
Cavings provide the first and most important indicator of
wellbore deterioration.37 Consequently, monitoring the volume
and characteristics of cavings during drilling is an important tool
used to predict the potential for wellbore instability. The prototype of a new cuttings flowmeter tool, the automatic caving-flux
measurement (MAC) tool, is undergoing field tests. The tool automatically measures caving flux (flow) in real time while drilling,
and the software generates information on

Table 1. Summary of rock properties that may be measured accurately from core and/or
cumulative cavings and cutting production, cuttings.
46
as well as a pseudo-caliper log of borehole Property
Core
Cuttings
Application to log
geometry. The weight of cuttings/cavings
calibrations
Possible
Not possible
Rock storativity
is measured at defined intervals, and a cal- Total and effective porosity
Not possible
Porosity-permeability
culation of rock volume is made from the Absolute and relative permeabilities Possible
correlations
estimated rock weight, Fig. 6.
Oil, water saturations
Possible
Not possible
Fluid saturations
The flux calculation is based on a se- Electrical properties
Possible
Not possible
Fluid saturations
ries of measurements. The tool is used to Gas-oil/oil-water capillary pressures Possible
Not possible
Fluid saturation
distribution
identify situations in which cuttings and
High-pressure mercury capillary
Possible
May be possible
Fluid saturation
cavings flows are high enough to cause pressures
distribution
wellbore instability. The system estimates Clay content from XRD
Possible
Possible
Rock composition
the wells actual diameter, based on the TOC from LECO method
Possible
Possible
Organic carbon volume
Possible
Possible
Organic carbon volume,
cutting information, and by comparing the TOC from programmed pyrolysis
maturity
ideal with the actual borehole diameter,
Vitrinite reectance
Possible
Possible
Maturity of organic
which allows identification of zones, where
matter
wellbore failure may occur, as well as the Mechanical properties
Possible
Not possible
Log-derived mechanical
properties
approximate size of collapse.38
Portable and hand-held rock analyzFig. 6. Schematic of the MAC cuttings owmeter. The device
ers. The use of portable and hand-held devices to obtain rock
hangs from the side of the shale shaker, and the load cells just
elemental composition data at the wellsite continues to expand.
underneath the cutting container are used to weigh the cutting/
The current generation of handheld XRF (X-ray fluorescence)
cavings. 38
devices can quickly and simultaneously determine up to 30 elements on cuttings, core, or outcrops in real time. XRF is a nondestructive technique, in which the sample is bombarded with
high-energy, primary X-rays or gamma rays, thereby causing the
sample to emit secondary (fluorescent) X-rays, which are detected and plotted, based on energy and intensity. The energy of the
detected, secondary X-rays is unique for each element, and the
corresponding intensities are converted to concentrations and reported as percentages or parts per million. Similar to the process
used in geochemical well logging, sample mineralogy can be inferred from the elemental composition. The mineralogy is subsequently used to infer physical properties of the rock unit. Recent
applications include chemostratigraphy39, 40 and geosteering.41, 42
Agilent has introduced the latest model (4300) in its series
of battery-operated, handheld FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared
reflectance) spectroscopy devices.43 This device offers a variety
of sampling interfaces to provide in-situ molecular composition
analysis of rocks and minerals, with little or no sample preparation. The on-board analysis software accesses libraries of both
LABORATORY TECHNIQUES
absorbance and diffuse reflectance spectra for rocks and minerCuttings-based well log calibration. Core-derived rock
als, to assist in identification of samples that have both rough and
properties data are preferred for calibrating well logs. However,
reflecting (e.g., crystal faces) surfaces. The diffuse reflectance
core data are available for only a small number of wells, whereas
(DRIFTS) interface is the preferred method for samples that
drill cuttings are available for every well. A recent study evaluated
dont reflect a lot of light, i.e. rock samples. FTIR analysis provides
the accuracy of well log analyses, calibrated by using rock-propinformation on sample chemistry, the relative amounts of minererties data derived from both core and cuttings, with analyses
als present, and the presence of water and hydrocarbons.44 This
obtained using only cuttings-derived data. The study concluded
that in the absence of core samples, a select set of cuttings-derived
method has been used in the laboratory to provide rapid, cutrock properties provides an acceptable, cost-effective alternative,
tings-based quantitative analysis of the major parameters governin some reservoirs. Established laboratory techniques were used
ing production in unconventional reservoirs, i.e., kerogen, quartz,
to obtain the cuttings-based rock properties, Table 1.46
calcite, dolomite, and clay minerals (illite, kaolinite, smectite).45
The combination of XRF and FTIR analysis provides a more
Quantitative fluid analysis. With the increasing application
complete understanding of the chemistry of a sample. XRF
of advanced mud gas analysis, efforts are underway to integrate
analysis provides information about the elements present in a
the information obtained from this technique with data acquired
sample and is more sensitive to heavier elements. FTIR analysis
from downhole fluid analysis, to improve reservoir-fluid characprovides complementary information about how the elements
terization (composition) and thus enable more accurate fluid and
are bonded to form the minerals chemical composition, and is
reservoir models.47, 48
very sensitive to most minerals composed of light elements, inLaboratory permeameters. Permeameters are used widely
cluding all silicates.
to measure rock permeability. Modern permeameters are deWorld Oil/JULY 201485
signed to measure very-low rock permeability and employ the

steady-state or transient-flow (pulsed-decay) methods, or both in
some cases. In the steady-state design, flow is established through
the sample, and the permeability is calculated from the measured
flowrate and pressure gradient. However, steady-state methods
are generally impractical for measuring very low-permeability
rocks (< 0.1 md), because a long period of time may be required
to establish steady-state flow.
In the pulse-decay design, a cylindrical (core-plug) sample is
connected to two fluid reservoirs. At the start of the experiment,
the fluid pressure in the upstream reservoir is suddenly increased,
i.e., a pressure transient is created. As the pressure transient propagates though the samplei.e., the pressure transient decays
fluid flows from the upstream reservoir, across the sample to the
downstream reservoir, and the data acquisition system records
the change in pressure across the sample, the downstream pressure, and time. Permeability is calculated from a linear regression
performed on the pressure time data. The current generation of
pulse-decay permeameters is designed specifically to measure
permeability in unconventional tight gas and shale gas formations, and tight carbonates. These devices can determine permeability in the range of 0.1 md to 10 nd.
A recent paper used published data to examine common pitfalls in permeameter interpretation and to identify areas where
permeametry interpretation can be improved.49 In another development, a new permeameter design incorporates temperaturecompensated pressure transmitters, an advanced data logging
system and modern fitting technology that allow a measurement
range between 1 md and 1 nd with an uncertainty < 0.5 nd. Tests

can be run at confining pressures up to 10,000 psi (68.9 MPa)
and pore-fluid gas pressures up to 4,350 psi (30 MPa).50
Mini-permeameters are smaller devices that provide rapid,
nondestructive and relatively inexpensive permeability values.
Mini-permeameters use a probe that is pressed against the surface of a sample while flowing gas through an aperture into the
sample. When the gas flowrate and pressure are judged to have
reached steady-state, they are recorded, and the measurement
is complete and flowrates are converted to permeability values.
These devices are commonly used to take permeability measurements on a dense sampling grid on split whole core to resolve
fine-scale heterogeneities not visible on CT images; they are
also small enough and can be ruggedized for field use. A recent
development is a non-contact minipermeameter that provides
extremely fast measurements and can be used in the laboratory
and in the field. In contrast to other mini-permeameters, which
require several minutes per measurement, the measurement acquisition time for this new design is 5 msec; also, the distance between measured sample points can be as small as 0.04 mm versus
0.1 mm for contact mini-permeameters. The measurement can
be made on any rock surface, as long as a 5-mm2 area is available
below the probe.51
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Visit WorldOil.com to view the references for this article.
STEPHEN PRENSKY is a consultant to logging service companies, with

40 years of working experience in petroleum geology and petrophysics.
He previously worked for Texaco, the U.S. Geological Survey and the
U.S. Minerals Management Service.
November 45, Houston, Texas | WGLConference.com
Bet on Yourself and the Future of Energy at WGLC

Conquering Self-Doubt
and Embracing Your Future
Platinum Sponsor:
Silver Sponsor:
Day One Keynote Speaker: Joyce Roch

Former President & CEO
Girls Incorporated
>> Stay tuned to WGLConference.com for more agenda announcements.
Bronze Sponsors:
Print Program
Sponsor:
Signage Sponsor:
ANTI STICK-SLIP TOOL

AN END TO SPEED LIMITS
The AST is being used in an increasing number of applications:
STRINGERS
ENLARGEMENT
ROUGH SEAS
PERFORMANCE INTERVENTION
The patented Anti Stick-Slip Tool (AST) from Tomax

counteracts excessive torsional peaks from the bit by
continuously regulating the depth of cut based on the
reactive torque. This allows a much more aggressive
choice of bits to maximise ROP without increasing
stick-slip. Using sharper bits requires less weight to
maximise ROP and the reduced compressional load
reduces friction, heat and wear.
Depth (ft)
6000
Agressive/Unlimited bit
8500
Conventional bits
10 000
11 500
13 000
The combination of the AST and aggressive bits is eld

proven and has delivered substantial cost savings for
operators globally.
Learn how AST works and how to implement at:
tomax.no
Contact us:
Aberdeen:
+44 1224 561313
Houston:
+1 713 557-7542
Stavanger:
+47 51 95 11 70
Rio de Janeiro: +21 3497-5083
14 500
5
10
Time (days)
15
20
Side-by side progress curves from a recent well. A radical

improvement in ROP and reduced BHA runs delivers big
savings in hard carbonates.
REGIONAL REPORT
UKCS
Recent tax breaks are showing signs of revival on the UKCS; however, technical
and commercial challenges remain
CATHERINE PLOWDON, ZAKI HASAN, ALEX GORMAN and ANDR SHARMA, Deloitte Petroleum Services Group
Since the first UK licenses were issued in 1964, 42 Bbbl of
oil have been produced from the British North Sea, and it is estimated that there could be up to 24 Bbbl remaining. Since the
production peak in 2009, output has declined steadily, due in part
to increasing basin maturity, lower drilling activity levels and a
changing fiscal regime. However, the recent introduction of tax
breaks for brownfield projects, small fields and HPHT fields, to
name a few, could spark renewed activity on the UK Continental
Shelf (UKCS).
RECENT UKCS ACTIVITY
During first-quarter 2014, only one condensate field was

approved for development offshore. Although two gas fields
went onstream during the first quarter, this is still a considerable drop from an average of five field developments per quarter in 2012. Similarly, in 2013, 10 new fields were granted
approval by the Department of Energy & Climate Change
(DECC), and 26 incremental projects were sanctioned. This
compares to 29 new projects approved during 2012, includ-
ing 21 new fields and eight incremental fields. A chart shows

the total number of fields operated in each UK offshore
sector, Fig. 1.
During first-quarter 2014, 12 exploration and appraisal wells
were spudded on the UKCS. This represents an 8% decrease
from first-quarter 2013, when 13 wells were drilled. During 2012,
the average number of wells spudded per quarter was 16.
Among the 12 exploration and appraisal wells spudded on the
UKCS during the first quarter, five are in the Central North Sea,
three in the Moray Firth, two are West of Shetland, and one is in
both the Southern North Sea and the East Irish Sea, Fig. 2. The
final quarter of 2013 showed a different allocation of well spuds,
with three wells drilled in the Northern North Sea, three wells
drilled in the Moray Firth and one well drilled West of Shetland.
Of the 12 wells spudded during first-quarter 2014, nine were
exploration wells and the remaining three were appraisals. Drilling activity during fourth-quarter 2013 was skewed toward appraisal activity, with only one well out of the seven being a wildcat.
Despite picking up by the end of 2012, following the low activity
North Atlantic Drillings West Phoenix harsh-environment semisubmersible (left) has been drilling production wells at Totals development of Loggan and Tormore gas/
condensate elds in the Southern North Sea (photo courtesy of North Atlantic Drilling). At ConocoPhillips Britannia complex (center), output from the Britannia satellites,
Brodgar and Callinash, began in 2008. Work continues on a new mono-column design compression facility for the Britannia platform. When it comes online this year, it will
increase Britannias gas production by 90 MMcfd (photo courtesy of ConocoPhillips). Dana Petroleums Triton FPSO, in the Central North Sea, produces oil and gas from
Bittern, Clapham, Pict, Saxon, Guillemot West and North West elds, about 120 mi east of Aberdeen (photo courtesy of Dana Petroleum).
numbers seen in 2011, the exploration and appraisal wells spudded during 2013 were down to 47, following a total of 65 in 2012.
NORTH SEA CHALLENGES
The UKCS is a mature province, and the opportunities for big

finds are declining, while the geological complexity of new and
existing plays increases. According to Oil and Gas UKs Activity
Survey 2014, the number of boes in production, under development or being considered for investment, with a >P50 confidence
level, has declined from 9.9 Bboe last year to 9.4 Bboe this year.
This decrease was attributed to the struggle to increase recovery
from existing fields, the difficulty in commercializing new discoveries, and poor exploration success in recent years.
The introduction of new field allowances in recent years has
allowed investment in areas previously left high and dry by high
tax rates. Tax breaks have been introduced for projects West of
Shetland, brownfield projects, small fields, deep and shallow gas,
and HPHT fields, allowing a portion of a companys profits to
be exempt from taxation, and encouraging development of new
technology to exploit difficult plays.
Although the UK fiscal regime is still thought to be complex,
with the recently introduced Bare Boat charter set to complicate matters, it is predicted by Oil and Gas UK that activity will
improve in 2014, including an increase in production, due to a
combination of 25 new field startups over the next two years and
existing fields coming back onstream. According to Oil and Gas
UKs Activity Survey 2014, 80% of operators predict that production will increase in 2014.
The North Sea is one of the worlds most expensive offshore
provinces. Operating costs continue to riseit is now almost five
times more expensive to extract a barrel of oil than it was in 2001.
Among other limiting factors, oil companies list the upkeep of ag-
ing equipment; the exploitation of more complex, smaller fields;

weather conditions; and high rig rates.
During 2013, two major North Sea projects were postponed,
due to rising operating costs. These included the development of
Statoils Bressay heavy oil field, estimated to contain between 200
MMbbl and 300 MMbbl of recoverable oil, with development
costs of $7 billion, as well as Chevrons Rosebank project.
Although the UK is predominantly a mature oil and gas province, it still presents a number of opportunities and challenges for
E&P companies. The Wood Review, published in February 2014,
aimed at maximizing economic recovery for the UK, highlights
the importance of cluster developments to make projects more
viable; government and industry working together; the need for
a more proactive and influential independent regulator; and the
shift to a more holistic approach, with industry participating and
collaborating fully.
SOUTHERN NORTH SEA
The Southern North Sea comprises more than 300 gas fields
and 75 Tcf of recoverable gas. The principle source of gas in the
Southern North Sea is folded and faulted Carboniferous strata
below the regional base Permian unconformity, which underlies
the Lower Permian sandstones.
Key operators. Perenco operates 32 fields in the Southern
North Sea, followed by ConocoPhillips (23), Centrica (15)
and Shell (13). Other active operators in the area are RWE
DEA, Tullow Oil, E.ON, GDF Suez, Alpha Petroleum, Bridge
Energy, Eni, Ithaca Energy and Wintershall. Perenco became
a major player in the Southern North Sea, following acquisition of BPs gas fields between 2003 and 2012, and operates
five compression hubs, allowing it to transport third-party
gas, as well as its own. ConocoPhillips operates the Caister
REGIONAL REPORT / UKCS
EnQuest
BP
Dana Petroleum
Shell
Talisman
Shell
RWE DEA
Centrica
Perenco
ConocoPhillips
EnQuest
Maersk Oil
CNR International
TAQA
Talisman
BP
Total
Number of operated elds
Major developments. As
Murdoch System (CMS),
stated in Deloittes Year End
consisting of the Murdoch Fig. 1. Signicant operators in each UK basin, and their numbers of
operated elds.
Review for North West Europe,
complex, the Caister satellite
six new developments were replatform and the gas trunk
35
ported in the Southern North
line to the Theddlethorpe
30
Sea. Projects listed for future
gas terminal. The CMS acts
25
development in the area inas a hub for Caister, Boul20
clude RWE DEA-operated
ton, CMS III, Katy, Kelvin,
15
Crosgan and Kepler, the Dana
Munro and Murdoch fields,
10
Petroleum-operated Platypus,
and also provides third-party
5
0
Pharos and 47/10-8 discovtransportation.
eries, the Apache-operated
West Sole Stream. LocatOlympus discovery, and the
ed approximately 65 km eastGDF-Suez-operated Cygnus
northeast of the Dimlington
project. The area, once thought
gas terminal, the West Sole
West of
Northern North Sea
Southern North Sea
Central Graben
to be mature, has seen an influx
Stream includes West Sole,
Shetland
of activity, due to the shallow,
Hyde, Hoton and Newsham
sometimes small nature of its
fields, and is a major proFig. 2. Distribution of UK offshore wells
gas fields. Large shallow-water
duction hub in the Southgas fields qualify for relief of up to 500
ern North Sea. The West Sole stream is drilled, by basin, during rst-quarter 2014.
million, when reserves of the field and any
operated by Perenco, which transports
8%
8%
17%
related field total 20 Bcm or less. Small gas
its own and third-party gas through its
fields also qualify for relief, depending on
Dimlington terminal. West Sole field is
42%
25%
the size of the field.
the first commercial discovery made on
Platypus. Located 18 km northwest
the UKCS in 1965. It produced first gas
of the West Sole facilities, the Platypus gas
in 1968, and like most of the producing
accumulation was discovered in 2010 by
gas fields around it, exploits a Leman
Central North Sea
Moray Firth
Dana Petroleum. The field lies in shallow
Permian sandstone reservoir. Initial reWest of Shetland
Southern North Sea
water, with good Permian reservoir qualserves were quoted as 1.133 Tcf, and reEast Irish Sea
ity. Parkmead indicates a best estimate of
maining reserves are estimated, as of Jan.
103 Bcf of recoverable reserves. Dana and
1, 2013, to be 109.6 Bcf. Babbage, Hyde Fig. 3. The rst phase of production at
three partners are now looking to progress
and Hoton fields, among others, tie back RWE DEAs Breagh eld is scheduled to
run from 2014 to 2018, owing from seven
to field development, with a final Field
to West Sole.
to the Breagh A platform (photo
Development Plan (FDP) to be submitted
Breagh. Sitting 100 km north-north- wells
courtesy of RWE DEA).
during 2014.
west of the West Sole stream, Breagh gas
Given the prosperous nature of this
field was discovered in 1997, and developarea, and the potential eligibility of accument was approved in July 2011. First gas
mulations developed for small field and
was achieved in October 2013. The field is
shallow-water allowances, operators are
operated by RWE DEA (70%) with partactively seeking to develop field clusters.
ner Sterling Resources UK (30%). The
Dana seeks to develop the Platypus disfield represents the first UK offshore decovery jointly with the Possum, Pharos
velopment of the Carboniferous Yoredale
and Blackadder gas prospects and the
formation, and potentially a new play in
47/10-8 discovery, which are interpreted
the Southern North Sea.
as all being part of a consistent structure,
The reservoir is contained within a
on strike with West Sole field.
four-way dip closure under the Permian
Zechstein formation. Field reserves are
estimated at 19.8 Bcm, with the three first
CENTRAL NORTH SEA
wells brought into production at an initial
The Central North Sea is an area where
flowrate of 2.75 MMcmgd.
operators are challenged technically, due
The first phase of production, durto the HPHT prospects and developing which an annual volume of 1.1 Bcm
ments. In some areas, ultra-HPHT develis predicted, will run from 2014 to 2018,
opments often combine the challenges of
by means of seven wells to the Breagh
complex structural setting and relatively
A platform (Fig. 3) on the fields west
poor seismic imaging, as a result of deep
side. The gas from Breagh field flows to Coatham Sands near
depth and destructive multiple interference from shallower hoTeesside, from which it continues to the gas treatment facilrizons. Completion designs are also complex for HPHT field
ity in Teeside. Phase 2 of the Breagh development will add
wells, and a number of projects have experienced failures as a rea new platform, Breagh Bravo, and wells tied in on the east
sult of technical issues, in particular with downhole equipment.
of the field.
An example is the ConocoPhillips-operated Jasmine HPHT
UKCS / REGIONAL REPORT

field, which was discovered in 2006 and, at the time, represented a significant find in the mature Central North Sea.
Most recently, in the UK Budget 2014, the government announced that consultation had begun on a new field allowance
for ultra-HPHT clusters. The measures are intended to boost
investment in ultra-HPHT fields, by providing an allowance to
exempt a portion of a companys profits from the supplementary
charge. The amount of profit exempt will equal at least 62.5% of
qualifying capital expenditure that a company incurs on these
projects. This measure is extremely important for the commercialization of technically challenging prospects in the region. The
allowance has been described by Oil and Gas UK as having the
potential to attract 56 billion of investment in the near term, if
it is pitched at the appropriate rate.
Greater Stella Area. The Ithaca-operated Greater Stella Area
(GSA) is in the core of the Central Graben area of the Central
North Sea, approximately 240 km southwest of Peterhead and 17
km from the UK/Norway median line, Fig. 4. It is an area surrounded by numerous, large producing fields and undeveloped
discoveries, with major companies, including Total, Shell, ConocoPhillips, BP and Talisman, all operating infrastructure.
The GSA contains Stella and Harrier fields, currently being
developed, plus the Hurricane discovery and Twister prospect,
which were awarded in the 27th UK Offshore Licensing Round
in early 2013. The JV has identified Twister as a target in Block
29/5e, analogous to the appraised Hurricane Rogaland sand interval. The GSA is driven by monetization of over 30 MMboe of
net 2P reserves and delivering a forecast of approximately 16,000
boed of net, initial annual production. There is also the potential
of additional value via opportunities provided by undeveloped
discoveries surrounding the GSA hub.
Stella was discovered by Shells 30/6-2 exploration well in
1979. Subsequent well 30/6-3 and sidetrack 30/6-3Z were drilled
from 1983 to 1984, and discovered oil. A drillstem test flowed
2,750 bopd and 23 MMcfgd from the Andrew sandstone. Harrier was discovered in 2003 by Maersk with the 30/6-4X exploration well. Three sidetracks were drilled to appraise, core and test
the reservoirs on the Harrier structure. Oil at Stella and Harrier
is found within two main reservoirsAndrew and Ekofisk. Andrew is the primary reservoir, a sandstone formation of Paleocene
age containing light oil and rich gas condensate, whereas Ekofisk
is a chalk reservoir containing a volatile oil.
The joint development plan for the fields was approved by
DECC in April 2012. Ithacas original development plan for Stella
and Harrier entailed the drilling of seven development wells (five
on Stella and two on Harrier) and the installation of associated
subsea wellheads, manifolds, intra-field pipelines, and the tie-back
of facilities to a Floating Production Facility (FPF), called FPF1. Hydrocarbons will be exported via a 10-in., 60-km gas export
pipeline to the CATS pipeline. Production is due to start in 2016.
Catcher Area. Another area of significance in the Central
North Sea is the Catcher Area, situated approximately 86 km west
of the GSA, Fig. 4. Premier Oil gained its initial interest in the area
by acquiring Oilexco in 2009. The Catcher discovery was made in
2010 by exploration well 28/9-1. Premier subsequently increased
its stake to 50% and assumed operatorship in January 2012. A
number of follow-up wells have discovered further hydrocarbon
reservoirs in the area. Varadero, Burgman, Carnaby and, most recently in April 2013, Bonneville, have all been discovered close to
the Catcher discovery, amounting to 2P reserves of 96 MMboe.
Fig. 4. Map showing the Greater Stella Area and Catcher Area
within the Central North Sea.
Erne
Gill
Beverley
Egret
Milburn Madoes Seagull
Heron
022/27 (Area 1)
022/30 (Area 16)
022/28 (Area 2)
Orchid
Pierce
Erskine
Corfe 29/3b
Glenelg
Banff
Elgin; Franklin
Cougar
Carnaby
Rocket
Vincent Centurion
Catcher Area
Tiger
Burgman
Bonneville
Puffin
Curlew A
Acorn
Curlew West
Beechnut
Kessog
Stella
Jasmine
Julia Horne
Jill
Harrier
Isabella
Jessica
0 3.5 7
14 Km
Legend
Open blocks
Licensed area
Produced using PetroView
Andromeda
ED50 UTM Zone 31 North
AUK
Midwin
The Catcher Area development concept was agreed in December 2012, and final governmental sanction of the project was
expected during second-quarter 2014. All of the fields will be
subsea tie-backs to the Catcher FPSO. Continuous development
drilling of 14 producers and eight water injectors will commence
in 2015. First oil is scheduled for 2017, with production expected
to peak at 50,000 bopd. The newbuild FPSO will have a processing capacity of 60,000 bopd and storage capacity of 650,000 bbl.
Capital expenditure for the development is estimated at $2.2 billion, including 30% for allowances and contingencies. Catcher
will account for approximately 6% of all UKCS output and create
a new production hub in the Central North Sea.
NORTHERN NORTH SEA
The Northern North Sea includes the East Shetland basin,

Beryl Embayment, Viking Graben and the East Shetland platform. According to an Oil and Gas UK report, 21% of overall
reserves sanctioned in 2012 were in the Northern North Sea,
which included the approval of Mariner, a large heavy oil field
development. According to the same report, the Northern
North Sea has 13 new potential developments that have varying probabilities of coming to fruition. The Northern North
Sea is second only to the Central North Sea in exploration and
appraisal drilling activity. The Northern North Sea accounted
for 18% of drilling in 2012, compared to the Central North
Seas 61% share.
Production hubs. The Northern North Sea is predominantly
an oil basin and is one of the most concentrated regions for infrastructure. The vast majority of facilities are fixed, large steel
platforms and concrete gravity-based platforms. The concentration of quality major developments in the Northern North Sea
tracks the long presence of super-majors, such as BP, Shell and
Total, and major independents, such as Marathon Oil, EnQuest,
Dana and TAQA. The Northern North Sea also stands out as
the most expensive region on the UKCS, conducive to operators
with large capital plans. The presence of large cap players and a
well-connected network of pipelines and infrastructure has encouraged new entrants into the region, which has boosted activity
by attracting third-party businesses and additional proven barrels
previously considered uneconomical.

Four fields were approved for development, and three fields
started producing during 2012. In 2013, six wells were spudded
in the Northern North Sea region. During 2013, two fields were
approved for development and brought onstream.
Alwyn hub. The Total-operated Alwyn North field was discovered in October 1975 and began producing in 1987. Alwyn
North consists of a four-legged steel platform and an eight-legged,
large steel platform, respectively NA-A and NA-B, linked by a
73-m steel bridge. NA-A is the drilling and accommodation platform, whereas NA-B houses the processing facilities. The NA-A
wellhead area comprises up to 40 well slots with 26 pre-drilled
wells. The processing platform, NA-B, acts as a support center
for a number of neighboring fields: Alwyn, Dunbar, Ellon, Grant,
Nuggets, Forvie and Jura. The processed oil and gas are exported
via Cormorant Alpha and the Brent pipeline system to the Sullom
Voe oil terminal in the West of Shetland. Gas is transported to the
Total-operated St. Fergus terminal.
The Alwyn area hub has processed and produced over 1 Bboe.
The focus on asset integrity in the area has particularly rejuvenated investment in new technologies, to ensure that the hub can
facilitate development of new discoveries in the area. The Alwyn
hub should continue playing a major role in the area and remain a
vital hub to attract more activity to the region.
Other key hubsBrae area. The Marathon-operated Brae
area is a strategically positioned hub for activity in the Northern North Sea. Marathon has operated the hub for more than 30
years and has significantly supported development in the area.
More than 30 third-party businesses rely on the Brae area hub for
production, transportation and processing of hydrocarbons. The

long-standing hub has provided stand-alone marginal projects
with a feasible economic option.
The Brae area consists of three large steel platforms: Brae
Alpha, Brae Bravo and East Brae, all connected by an intra-field
pipeline network. The Brae infrastructure offers transportation
of third-party liquids via the Brae-Forties pipeline. Of the total
throughput processed and transported from the Brae infrastructure, two-thirds are from third parties.
Brent area. Shells (50%) Brent field was discovered in 1971,
and BP holds the
other 50%. There Fig. 5. Production from the Cladhan eld
are four large, development will be tied back to TAQAs Tern
concrete gravity- Alpha platform (photo courtesy of TAQA).
based platforms
on Brent field
Alpha,
Bravo,
Charlie and Delta.
The Brent hub has
produced oil and
gas since 1975.
Shell identified
decommissioning
requirements for
the field in 2006.
Major developmentsCladhan. In the North-
DISCOVER THE DORIS

DIFFERENCE
Your independent
engineering partner
50-year experience in offshore /
onshore O&G industry
Flexibility and adaptability to Clients needs
DORIS Group Locations :

Paris - Houston - Rio de Janeiro - Luanda - Lagos - Jakarta - Perth
www.doris-engineering.com
archerwell.com
Better
wells by
design.
For over 40 years, Archer has proven itself as a global leader in
offshore drilling and well services. Our dedication to your success
has led us to design the safest and most efficient methods for
securing the integrity and performance you demand throughout
the life of your well. Contact us today and discover all the ways
our proven techniques and newest advances are delivering
better wells no matter the offshore environment.
Oiltools
Modular Rigs
Platform Drilling
P&A Services
Engineering
Perforating
Wireline
Rental

ern North Sea, Cladhan field is approximately 100 km northeast
of the Shetland Islands, in water depths of about 500 ft. The field
lies 20 km southwest of Tern field, straddling Blocks 210/29a and
210/30a. The fields development plan was approved by the DECC
in April 2013. The initial development phase consists of two producers and one injection well. Cladhan is expected to produce over
17,000 boed initially, with first oil expected in first-quarter 2015.
Production will be tied back to TAQAs Tern Alpha platform
(Fig. 5), 17 km northeast of Cladhan, then routed to Sullom Voe
terminal through the Brent oil line. Tern Alpha platform is a fixed
installation serving the manned drilling and production installation
for Tern. The Tern platform also serves Hudson and Kestrel fields.
The Cladhan tie-back to Tern is another example of the Northern
North Seas continuing investment in operated infrastructure, to
support marginal projects and maximize the basins recovery.
The Cladhan discovery well confirmed a 110-ft light oil column. Further appraisal on the southward extension made a commercial discovery, Cladhan South. The operators expect to continue with a potential appraisal program on the field.
Kinnoull. A 1.1-billion investment is being made to develop
45 MMboe of reserves in the Andrew development, which consists of three reservoirs, the largest of which is Kinnoull. Development at Kinnoull will include three subsea wells drilled as a
single cluster. The development will also include installation of
a 220-tonne riser caisson on the platform, as well as strengthening of the decks and associated tie-ins. It will be tied back to the
Andrew platform via a 28-km pipeline. As part of the project,
the partners installed a dedicated subsea system on the Andrew
A live webcast from
platform to handle production from Kinnoull and to facilitate

output from the Lower Cretaceous reservoir below the Andrew
reservoir. Oil will be separated at the Andrew facilities, before being exported to the Forties Pipeline System. Gas will be exported
through the CATS system.
WEST OF SHETLAND
In the West of Shetland, there are two main production hubs,

Clair Ridge and Schiehallion (Fig. 6), both are operated by BP
Fig. 6. The two main production hubs in the West of Shetland
area are BPs Clair and Schiehallion elds.
Rosebank
Laxford
Glenlivet
Torridon
Laggan and Tormore
Edradour
Fulla Victory
Cambo
Tornado
206/11 (Area 1)
Suilven
Cullin
Loyal
Morven Alligin
Schiehallion
Foinaven
Whirlwind
Bombardier
Lancaster
Strathmore
Solan
Foinaven Foinaven East

Amos
Southwest
0 5 10
Freya
205/10 (Area 2)
20 Km
Clair
Legend
Open blocks
Licensed area
Produced using PetroView
ED50 UTM Zone 31 North
Remedial
Cementing Forum
August 19, 2014 | 10 a.m. CDT / 11 a.m. EDT
Photo courtesy of Baker Hughes
Remedial cementing procedures are required during the life of all wells.
Remedial work is fundamentally different from primary cementing.
Where primary cementing materials and techniques are used to seal
and maintain casing or liners in a drilled hole, there are two categories
of remedial cementing: squeeze cementing and plug cementing.
>> Register at WorldOil.com
>> Topics to be discussed include:

Squeeze cementing will be discussed in detail. It is a great deal
more difficult and is broader in its application than plug cementing.
Squeeze cementing can be used to reduce or eliminate a vast number
of undesirable downhole conditions: (1) repair a faulty primary cement
job, (2) isolate formation intervals, (3) alter formation characteristics,
and (4) repair casing problems. Probably the more important use
is to segregate desired hydrocarbon-producing zones from those
formations producing other uids, usually water and/or gas. In all
cases, proper diagnosis of the downhole problem, understanding
and controlling the wellbore conditions, and thorough planning,
designing and engineering of the squeeze procedure are required for
its successful application. Plug cementing also will be reviewed.
Speaker:
William K. (Bill) Ott, P.E.
Founder
Well Completion Technology
Moderator:
Joe D. Woods
President
International Pinpoint
Sponsored by:
Additional sponsorships available. Contact Ron Higgins

at +1 (713) 529-4301 or Ron.Higgins@WorldOil.com
REGIONAL REPORT / UKCS

and undergoing major redevelopment projects. Each hub has
had to tackle the challenges of deepwater metocean conditions
and the lack of infrastructure in the area. These challenges have
resulted in high development costs compared to the North Sea,
due to the specialist equipment required to drill in waters up to
1,000 m deep, and install new infrastructure.
In the 2012 budget, the UK government introduced the
deepwater tax allowance for fields in water depths greater than
1,000 m and for gas fields that are over 60 km from infrastructure.
This was introduced to encourage investment in the region, despite
the challenges. FPSO developments have taken place in the West of
Shetland, as well as the construction of new pipelines linking fields
to the Sullom Voe terminal in the Shetland Isles. New cutting edge
technology, plus the greater regional knowledge now available,
have generated a rapidly improving success rate in finding new
discoveries. Advanced seismic technology allows better imaging of
reservoirs, even below the volcanic material common in the region.
BP operates all of the producing fields in the West of Shetland;
however, DONG and Total are active, working on development
projects. Ithaca drilled an exploration well at the start of the year
on Handcross, and Hurricane spudded an exploration well on the
Lancaster discovery. OMV has continued to expand its presence
in the UK and has purchased four licenses from Hess, including
Cambo and stakes in Schiehallion and Rosebank, for 30 million.
There is significant interest and investment in the West of Shetland region, despite the challenges and high costs.
Clair. Production from Clair began in 2005, following installation of a platform, and associated oil and gas export facilities. A
105-km, oil export pipeline was installed, to link to Sullom Voe,
and gas is exported via a 10-km spur line to the Magnus trunkline.
Total first-phase investment was 650 million. The second phase
of the Clair development, Claire Ridge, was approved in October 2011 to target the fields northern portion. Two new bridgelinked platforms will be installed in 2015, and new pipeline infrastructure will be installed to connect to the processing facilities.
This will expand capacity to produce a further 640 MMbbl of oil,
due to come onstream in 2016/2017. It will require a total investment of 4.5 billion.
The second phase will allow Clair to become a hub for future
expansion. A third-phase appraisal program is underway to develop the area to the east. If the $500-million appraisal program is
successful, this will result in a third development phase.
Schiehallion and Loyal. Developed jointly, Schiehallion
and Loyal are part of a cluster of producing fields, including
Foinaven and Foinaven East, all operated by BP. Schiehallion
and Loyal began production in May 2002 and have been developed with 29 subsea wells in four clustersSchiehallion Central, Schiehallion West, Loyal and Schiehallion North. Oil flows
through subsea pipelines and risers into an FPSO, and gas is exported via pipeline to Sullom Voe.
Schiehallion was discovered in the post-rift sandstones that are
similar in age to the Forties sandstones in the North Sea, and has
provided more confidence in the post-rift play. The thin, almost
flat-lying reservoir formations were being drained by production
wells in horizontal sections as long as 1.5 km. Non-horizontal
wells injected water at other points in the reservoir, to move the
hydrocarbons toward the producing wells and maintain reservoir pressure. However, the fields are now shut-in for redevelopment. Forty-nine new production and water injection wells will
be drilled in phases, and a new FPSO will be deployed to handle
expanding output. The total redevelopment cost is estimated at

3 billion, and first oil is expected in 2015.
Additionally, the Handcross prospect, drilled by Ithaca in December 2013, could, potentially, be tied back to the Schiehallion
grouped development. Cambo, drilled by Hess with the Stena
Carron deepwater drillship and now operated by OMV, may be
developed as a hub, with the prospect of linking to OMVs Tornado and BPs Suilven discoveries.
Other projects. Total is developing its Laggan and Tormore
fields, which includes construction of gas gathering infrastructure
on the fields, as well as a new gas processing plant at Sullom Voe.
Together with two proposed 143-km pipelines, this development
is estimated to cost 3.3 billion and will benefit from the deepwater gas field allowance.
Investment in this development will allow further exploration
and development in the West of Shetland basin, since it will act as
a hub for future expansion. For example, DONG is assessing the
potential development of a smaller discovery, Glenlivet, as a tieback to the Laggan and Tormore export pipeline. The field could
become a significant part of the new gas gathering system being
installed as part of the Laggan/Tormore development, as it is only
15 km from the gas export pipeline. The license contains another
discovery, Laxford, and a number of further potential exploration
targets. Some of these additional opportunities may have the potential to be commercialized through the Laggan/Tormore system.
CONCLUSIONS
The UKCS is truly a diverse oil and gas province, with both
opportunities and challenges across its key basins. There still remains significant potential to unlock additional reserves, production and value in the UKCS. Opportunities include the revival of
the Southern North Sea with recent interest and key gas developments; development of HPHT fields in the Central North Sea,
the continuing investment in Northern North Sea infrastructure
for new tie-ins, and the potential that lies in major redevelopments off the West of Shetland.
CATHERINE PLOWDON is a senior oil and gas analyst at Deloitte
Petroleum Services Group in London. She researches eld development
and start-up activity and also works on eld economics across North
West Europe. Ms. Plowdon joined Deloitte in March 2010, having
completed a BS joint honours degree in geology and geography at The
University of Birmingham. Email: cplowdon@deloitte.co.uk
ZAKI HASAN is an oil and gas analyst at Deloitte Petroleum Services
Group. He tracks upstream activities across the region, with a focus
on eld developments and eld economics. Mr. Hasan earned an MS in
energy nance from CEPMLP, University of Dundee, and a BE degree in
mechanical engineering. He worked as a planning engineer at FLSmidth
prior to pursuing a masters degree.
ALEX GORMAN is an oil and gas analyst for Deloitte Petroleum Services
Group in London. She produces the Weekly Service for North West
Europe, a weekly report detailing licensing and drilling activity across
North West Europe. Ms. Gorman earned an MGeol degree with honours
in Applied and Environmental Geology from the University of Leicester
in 2013. She previously worked as an exploration geologist. Email:
agorman@deloitte.co.uk.
ANDR SHARMA is a senior oil and gas analyst for Deloitte Petroleum
Services Group in London. He monitors and tracks upstream oil and
gas sector activity, focusing specically on drilling, licensing and eld
developments across North West Europe. Mr. Sharma earned a BS
degree with honours in Geological Sciences from the University of
Leeds in 2009, as well as an MS in Structural Geology with Geophysics
from the same institution in 2010. He worked as a geophysicist at
Petroleum Geo-Services prior to joining Deloitte. Email: andsharma@
deloitte.co.uk
Supported by
THE ADIPEC 2014 CONFERENCE

CREATED FOR THE INDUSTRY BY THE INDUSTRY
THE WORLDS NEW MEETING POINT FOR OIL & GAS PROFESSIONALS
UNPARALLELED LEARNING AND

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES:
BE PART OF THE WORLDS LARGEST TECHNICAL OIL AND GAS

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME:
MINISTERIAL DEBATES
CEO PANEL DISCUSSIONS
111+
37+
400+
COMPANIES
COUNTRIES
SPEAKERS
81
TECHNICAL
SESSIONS
INDUSTRY PLENARY SESSIONS
BREAKFAST
BRIEFINGS
INDUSTRY
LUNCHES
MORE THAN A CONFERENCE: ADIPEC ALSO PLAYS HOST TO AN EXHIBITION

SHOWCASING OVER 1,600+ EXHIBITORS AND PRODUCTS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
ORGANISED BY
CONFERENCE ORGANISER
Riding a high tide, Norway plans for the future
As operators push Norwegian

E&P activity close to record
highs, the government and
industry are working together
to plan future upstream
growth prudently while
keeping costs under control.
KURT ABRAHAM, Executive Editor

These are flush times in Norways
upstream oil and gas industry. Activity
is at record or near-record highs in most
categories. Exploration success has been
good, yielding a healthy collection of dis-
Phase one of development of Statoils

Johan Sverdrup oil eld will utilize four
platforms. This eld is the fth-largest
discovery made in the history of the North
Sea (image courtesy of Statoil).
coveries. Never has there been a more expansive, technologically sophisticated list
of development and production enhancement projects underway. By all appearances, the health of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) couldnt be better.
Yet, there are concerns that this prosperous markets future could be jeopardized by one common factor: cost.
Governmental officials and company
executives all worry that costs for just
about everything are high, particularly
for drilling. The good news is that government and the industry already have
begun to work together, to find ways to
contain costs.
BASIC OPERATING DATA
According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), Norways crude

production declined 4.8% during 2013,
averaging 1.464 MMbpd. Condensate
output was 12.6% lower, at 68,483 bpd.
Gas production was 5.2% less, averaging
10.52 Bcfd, while NGL output slipped

0.5%, to 304,762 bpd., Fig. 1.
Drilling totaled a near-record 225 wells
(59 exploration, 166 development) last
year, along with 2.6 MMft of hole. Fortyfour exploration wells were wildcats. The
forecast, this year, is for a nearly identical
performance. Indeed, at mid-year, exploration wells already totaled 33.
Twenty new discoveries were made in
45 exploration wells. In all, 717 MMboe
of new reserves were added. At the end
of 2013, said NPD, Norways remaining
reserves included 5.25 Bbbl of oil, 72.4 Tcf
of natural gas, 252.2 MMbbl of condensate
and 1.34 Bbbl of NGLs. These figures are
exclusive of so-called contingent resources and the potential from improved recovery, which would add another estimated
7.4 Bbbl of oil, 21.4 Tcf of gas, 400 MMbbl
of condensate and 375 MMbbl of NGLs.
The exploration situation has turned
around since the mid-2000s, when there
was a drop in effort, said NPD Director
General Bente Nyland, Fig. 2. The number of companies present has increased.
We are replacing some of the oil production with gas now, so that the split in total
boes is about half-and-half. The last few
years, weve had several good discoveriesthey will stop the decline in oil production, Fig. 3. Next year, we will have 50
years of activity offshore Norway, with 78
fields in production.
FINANCIAL/REGULATORY
Exclusive of exploration costs, total

NCS investment for approved and decided expenditures on fields, discoveries, pipelines and onshore plants was a
record NOK 171 billion ($27.9 billion).
In addition, another NOK 2 billion
($326.2 million) were spent on planning
and initial design for projects not yet approved or decided. This year, NPD forecasts at least NOK 166 billion ($27.1
billion) will be spent on approved projects, with another NOK 10 billion ($1.6
billion) to be spent on projects not yet
decided or approved.
Oil platform
North Sea, Norwegian Sector
Simply when you need the best.

Tested to the limits.
Ensuring ultimate reliability of
communications at sea.
Weve got
you covered.
As you strive to explore more of the worlds oceans its important to choose the right maritime
satellite communications partner. Intellian have proved time and time again its high performance
VSAT, Sat TV and FleetBroadband systems can be relied upon to keep you connected to the world,
even in the most extreme locations.
Innovative designs, built to perform, engineered to last and simple to use: Intellian continuously
produces patented technology to deliver performance leading RF capability. Seamless integration
and superior remote management and control capability make Intellian the preferred choice for
the worlds leading service providers
v240M - The worlds first auto switching 2.4 meter antenna

system for seamless global operation on C and Ku-band.
When the bottom line relies on staying connected, trust Intellian.
intelliantech.com
Fig. 1. As Norwegian oil production has declined, and gas output has increased or
remained level, the split between the hydrocarbons, in terms of boes, has become nearly
even.
300
Mill. Sm3 oil equivalents per year
250
200
Gas (40 mJ)

Condensate
NGL
Oil
INTEGRATED SERVICES
Fluid
Container Solutions
From Hoover
150
100
50
0
1971
1976
1981
1986
1991
Investment levels are just one side of

the financial picture. In some ways, we
actually see two trends, said Erling Kvadsheim, director of Environmental and Industrial Policy at trade association Norsk
Olje & Gass (NOG). Oil production has
fallen dramatically since 2000, to 50% of
that level, but investment levels are at a record high. Of course, the need for greater
investment, just to keep output level, much
less grow it, means that costs for equipment and services have skyrocketed.
Yes, the authorities are very concerned, continued Kvadsheim. There is a
big debate over cost elements, particularly
for drilling. NPDs Nyland agrees: The
biggest challenge is the cost factor, and that
is a problem, because companies margins
are shrinking. The costs of services have
risen, and steel prices have increased. The
industry needs to look into thishow can
we use standardized solutions? I think that
we and NOG pretty much agree on that.
Kvadsheim said that NOG is trying to
come to grips with these costs. We are trying to look within the companies and see
what might be the problem. Maybe its a
case of how work is organized. Here is another thoughtweve come so far in worrying about meeting HSE regulations and
internal company regulations, that the sum
of it all has become too much. The better
and cheaper part has been missed, in an effort to meet the HSE requirements.
Some additional factors contribute to
the cost problem, continued Kvadsheim.
Were spending too much time before the
bit starts drilling, and were also suffering
from limited rig capacities in Norway. And
yes, the 2-4 work agreement (which spec-
1996
2001
2006
2011
2016
Fig. 2. NPD Director General Bente Nyland

has seen an improvement in Norwegian
exploration efforts since the mid-2000s.
With advanced
d
design and
manufacturing
g
capabilities, turnkey
transport options and a robust
selection of certified DNV tanks
and frames; tote tanks (IBCs);
and large format multipurpose
offshore tanks, Hoover is
positioned as a leader in tank and
container solutions. Packaged
as turnkey integrated services,
Hoover offers transportation,
tank cleaning, GPS asset tracking,
ifies that field personnel work two weeks

offshore and then spend four weeks off the
job) is a factor, even though it doesnt apply
to everyone. It affects mostly the operators,
large drilling contractors and large service/
supply companies.
NOGs perspective is shared by some of
the larger service/supply firms. The 2-4
work rule is certainly contributing to the
cost situation by the slow learning curve
for new hires, said Schlumberger Norway
Chairman Torjer Halle. And what I call the
Dark Side of the NCS is the big drop in
drilling efficiency that weve seen over the
last 10 years, whereby the amount of footage drilled per well, per day, has been declining. Per Harald Kongelf, regional head
for Norway at Aker Solutions, said that he
tank level monitoring and more.

Onshore or offshore, domestic or
international, Hoover has the fluid
container solution for you.
'-6*%4t$"3(0t8"45&t5&$)/0-0(:t4&37*$&
www.hooversolutions.com/chemicaltanks
1.888.603.3480
is concerned about cost but optimistic that

the industry can solve the problem. To
me, its much more about increasing efficiency, and also improving the quality and
reliability of equipment and services, said
Kongelf. We have to take the opportunity
to make our industry more efficient and
ensure proper returns.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum
& Energy and NPD continue to provide
oversight, including two different types of
licensing rounds this year. As part of the
numbered rounds that grant new acreage
in open areas, the 23rd Round is in process.
The latest version of the other license type,
Fig. 3. Due to good exploration results in
recent years, the decline in oil production
should be halted (chart courtesy of Norsk
Olje & Gass).
800
700
Million Sm3, oil
500
400
300
Billion bbl, oil
600
200
1
100
0
0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Year
Discoveries after 2005
Discoveries before 2005
Fields in 2004
Goal for reserve growth
2005 RNB prognosis for total reserve growth
2005 RNB prognosis for reserve growth in elds
Fig. 4. Activity on the NCS is split between

the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and
Barents Sea (map courtesy of Norwegian
Petroleum Directorate).
Awards in Predefined Areas, has a deadline

for nominations in September (see the
sidebar interview with Petroleum & Energy Minister Tord Lien).
Norways government and the opposition majority in parliament reached a compromise to delay electrification of three
North Sea oil fields in the Utsira High area
until 2022. This reduces the risk of further
delays in starting the Johan Sverdrup oil
development. The opposition majority, in
May, had demanded that operator Statoil
include three more fields in its shore-based
power plan for Sverdrup, as part of efforts
to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Accordingly, Statoil would have had to
start laying cables to the other fields during Sverdrups start-up phase, which, the
operator said, would delay the 2019 output
start and lead to losses as high as $3.3 billion. Statoil said the compromise means
full electrification will not happen until the
second phase starts sometime in 2022.
OPERATOR ACTIVITY
There were 77 fields onstream at the

end of 2013, including 60 in the North Sea,
16 in the Norwegian Sea and one in the
Barents Sea, Fig. 4. During 2013, production started from Jette field in the North
Sea and Hyme, Skarv and Skuld fields
in the Norwegian Sea. Within the next
couple of years, we expect 13 development
projects, said NPDs Nyland, Fig. 5.
The Norwegian government continues
to maintain large holdings in NCS licenses
through the States Direct Financial Interest (SDFI). After its partial privatization in
2001, Statoil transferred administration of
the SDFI holdings to a new state company,
Petoro. We only have 65 employees, and
we dont sell oil and gas, but Petoro is partner in 189 licenses, and we produce around
1 MMboed from shares in 34 fields, said
Sveinung Sletten, Petoros head of communications. Our sole commercial goal is to
maximize the value of the SDFI portfolio.
Statoil. The worlds largest offshore operator is Statoil. We operate 44 developed
fields and 80% of NCS production, said
Rannfrid Skjervold, Statoils senior V.P.
for Strategy & Portfolio, Fig. 6. Our NCS
equity production during 2012 was 1.33
MMboed. Roughly 50% of our resource
base is in Norway, as is 70% of production.
Statoil has six major new developments
underway or soon to begin: Johan Sverdrup, Johan Castberg, Aasta Hansteen,
Gina Krog, Gudrun and Valemon. The
largest of these is Johan Sverdrup, found in
2010 in the North Sea, and estimated to be

the fifth-largest discovery in NCS history.
With reserves of 1.8 Bbbl to 2.9 Bbbl of oil,
Sverdrup should produce for 50 years, with
plateau output at 550,000 to 650,000 boed.
At peak output, Sverdrup will account for
25% of all NCS oil production. A plan
for development and operation (PDO)
should be ready for regulatory approval
within the next 12 months.
Sverdrups phase one development
concept includes four platforms, to be
installed during 2018 and 2019, Fig. 7.
These include one wellhead platform with
drilling facilities, one processing platform,
one living quarters platform (450 cabins),
and one riser platform with deck space
for future EOR. Most of the 40-50 production and injection wells will be drilled
from the wellhead platform. There will be
11-17 wells drilled prior to first oil. Power
will come from shore. A 274-km, 36-in. oil
pipeline will run to Mongstad oil terminal,
while a 165-km, 18-in. gas pipeline will go
to Krst gas terminal.
Engineers have postponed a concept decision for Johan Castberg in the Barents Sea
until the summer of 2015. Disappointing
exploration results around Castberg and
mounting costs are behind the decision. In
the Norwegian Sea, Aasta Hansteen already
has an approved PDO, which calls for two,
four-well subsea templates to be tied back
to a spar, Fig. 8. Capacity will be 100,000
boed, with start-up in 2017. Originally
considered a minor gas discovery after being discovered in 1974, Gina Krog is being
developed with a platform and an 850,000bbl FSU. Capacity should be 50,000 boed,
with start-up in 2017.
North of Sleipner in the North Sea,
Gudruns gas/condensate project stayed
on schedule. Capacity is 65,000 boed,
and first output began on April 7, 2014,
said Skjervold. Output from the platform
is tied back to Sleipner A. Reserves are
70 MMbbl of oil and 1.7 Tcf of gas. At Valemon in the North Sea, west of Bergen, a
platform will be controlled remotely from
nearby Kvitebjrn field. Production will
begin in late 2014, with a 50,000-boed capacity. Reserves are 206 MMboe.
We are working to perfect an offshore
manufacturing process, to fast-track projects, noted Skjervold. We have put six
fields onstream, using this process, and another six are on their way. These projects
have a break-even cost of about $40/boe,
40% shorter execution time, and average
IRR greater than 25%.
Meanwhile,
subsea processing Fig. 5. During the next two years, NPDs Nyland expects up to
is becoming increas- 13 additional eld development projects to be sanctioned (map
courtesy of Norsk Olje & Gass).
ingly important to
us for future projects, said Bjrngulf
Eidesen, Statoils
leader of Technology and Subsea
Systems. We established a subsea
factory (SSF) strategy in 2013 that
has been approved
by our leadership.
Further work on
developing the SSF
concept is planned
to be carried out by
an operator JIP. InFig. 6. Statoil Senior V.P. for Strategy and
deed, subsea is one
Portfolio Rannfrid Skjervold says that as
of our companys four priorities, said An- the worlds largest offshore operator, her
dr Maerli, project leader for Subsea Tech- company is working to perfect an offshore
process, to fast-track
nology and Operations. More than half of manufacturing
projects (photo by Kjetil Alsvik, Statoil
Statoils production is coming from subsea ASA).
wells. Our total of 526 subsea wells, all in
Norway, is second only to Petrobras.
ConocoPhillips. One of the firms premerger predecessors, Phillips Petroleum,
became involved offshore Norway when
activity began in 1965. Phillips went on
to become the countrys first operator of
commercial production, when Ekofisk oil
field went onstream in June 1971 after being discovered in 1969.
Today, ConocoPhillips produces
118,500 boed, including non-operated assets. The company operates four
fieldsEkofisk, Eldfisk, Embla (an
HPHT field) and Tor, known as the 2/4Z, subsea installation Ekofisk 2/4VB,
Greater Ekofisk Area (GEA), which cov- other facilities, and the drilling of 44 wells.
ers PL 018, Fig. 9. Four other fields were It will raise the Ekofisk recovery rate 2.5%.
The second major project, Eldfisk II,
shut down in 1997, when the Ekofisk II
comprises a new, integrated platform, with
re-development went onstream.
When production started at Ekofisk in 40 new wells planned for production and
1971, we estimated that it was possible to water injection. It will improve Eldfisk
extract 17% to 18% of the hydrocarbons, fields recovery rate by 6.5%. These insaid Hroar Hermansen, technical manager, vestments will allow the fields to produce
partner operated assets. But that figure, effectively for the next 40 years, said Herdue mostly to water injection, has risen mansen. At the same time that were addsteadily, and we now estimate that it will hit ing platforms, we also disposed of nine
52% in 2028. Indeed, by the end of 2013, older platforms between 2008 and 2013.
The third large project is Ekofisk 2/4L,
the GEA fields had produced 5.6 Bboe, ina new accommodation and field center
cluding 3.9 Bboe from Ekofisk.
As of spring 2014, 18 GEA platforms platform with 552 beds, all in single cabins.
Total. The French company has been
were operating. New, ongoing GEA development projects involve investment of active on the NCS from the beginning.
NOK 83 billion ($13.54 billion). Among After a 10-year lull of not expanding its
the three largest projects is Ekofisk South, holdings, the firm is re-establishing itself as
consisting of wellhead platform Ekofisk a leading operator. As of mid-2014, Total
INTEGRATED SERVICES
$BSHP
$POUBJOFS4PMVUJPOT
'SPN)PPWFS
From offshore baskets to a variety

of containers workshop, mini,
half-height, dry good, freezer
and open top Hoover has
the container solution to fit any
cargo need. Hoovers integrated
package options enable you to
get the necessary accessory items
to complete the job slings, pipe
slings, transportation GPS asset
tracking and more. Onshore or
offshore, domestic or international,
Hoover has the cargo container
solution for you.
'-6*%4t$"3(0t8"45&t5&$)/0-0(:t4&37*$&
www.hooversolutions.com/cargo
1.888.603.3480
NORWAYS PETROLEUM MINISTER REMAINS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC

World Oil: What areas of Norway are most prospective
for additional exploration?
Minister Tord Lien: For decades to come, the North Sea
will be very important for Norwegian production. We discovered Johan Sverdrup a few years ago, and it was a major oil
discovery. Hopefully, it will be developed, and start producing in 2019. Most of the time, we do find additional, smaller
resources that can be tied into existing infrastructure.
That is basically the same situation that we see in the Norwegian Sea. The advantage is that we have good infrastructure
already, with some good prospects, making developments
profitable. In the future, the Barents Sea will be important for
Norway, and the numbers coming out of NPD show loads of
gas, but also oil. This summers drilling campaign will be very
interesting, after which we will know a lot more about the regional geology.
Goliat field will go onstream next year as the first Barents
Sea oil producer. Snhvit field is already producing gas. This
will be the first time that were opening acreage in the Barents
Sea since the mid-1990sthis is in the eastern and southeastern Barents Sea.
WO: What are your licensing round plans?
Lien: Were working with two licensing rounds right now.
The numbered rounds are granting new acreage in open areas.
The other type, Awards in Predefined Areas, grant new acreage in mature areas, close to existing infrastructure and where
we have very good knowledge of the geology. The deadline
for APA nominations is in September. And then we have the
23rd Round in the Barents Sea. There should be a deadline
late this summer for announcing which tracts we will award.
Nominations came in months ago, and some areas had many
nominations.
WO: What are some significant field projects underway, and which others may be sanctioned?
Lien: Well, theres Johan Sverdrup in the North Sea, of
course, which is very interesting, technically. The Sverdrup
PDO will come within a year. In the Barents Sea, there is the
Johan Castberg greenfield project. Snorre is a brownfield
Norwegian Minister of Petroleum & Energy Tord Lien meets
with World Oil Executive Editor Kurt Abraham in Stavanger
on May 19, 2014.
development, in production since 1996. It is going to be redeveloped to produce more oil. Goliat is still under development and will be interesting to follow. Two other interesting
projects are Osegard and its subsea compression, and Totals
Martin Linge. And, of course, the Wisting Central discovery
in the Barents Sea is very interesting. Well know more about
that one before Christmas.
WO: What are your goals for Norwegian oil and gas
policy?
Lien: I have three objectives. The first one is to keep a sustained level of oil and gas production I am responsible for
creating production. Norway has been a stable exporter for
decades, and this has created enormous value for the country.
Weve also created confidence in the reliability of our supplies.
My second objective is to implement Carbon Capture and
Sequestration (CCS) in Europe. To that end, I was fortunate
to travel with U.S. Energy Secretary Moniz to Mississippi,
to visit a project underway there. I do hope to contribute to
moving CCS forward and see a European operation created.
My third objective relates to electricity being in my portfolio. We want to contribute to a more renewable Europe and
also ensure a reliable, future electricity supply for Norway. So,
we need to keep increasing our production of renewables.
WO: How is the effort progressing, to improve the oil
recovery rate?
Lien: The oil companies have done a good job. Statoil is
the lead company on this effort, and it has goals to do even
better. This is a job that the companies have been working
on very hard for some time. Its also about creating a framework that makes it economically viable to increase recovery
rates, and also about having the technologists and the technology available, through research and education, to get it
done. Worldwide, the average recovery rate is 22%. I believe
that for the Shelf, and the North Sea in general, we are above
40% (Statoil is at 46%), heading toward 50%, and hopefully
higher. If subsea compression turns out to be the success that
were all hoping it will be, then that will make more resources
commercially and economically viable.
WO: Due to the Russian-Ukraine situation, is there
concern about Western European gas supplies? Do you
foresee increased development of Norwegian gas supplies?
Lien: The E.U. states have been developing their gas infrastructure for many decades. To have a good market, you need
to have good infrastructure. That will strengthen the security
of supply. And they (E.U. states) have LNG capacity thats
equal to almost half their annual consumption.
We built production and infrastructure to help support the
E.U. countries. The players on the Shelf will have to make decisions on commercial viability and where to sell the gas. If we
are to continue making large investments, the companies will
have to see the security of the infrastructure. As for short-term
output increases, I will say this90% of pipeline capacity is
already in use. We could, for a short while, increase gas output
maybe 10%,but only for a short period, or we would ruin
the pressure in Troll field!
Fig. 7. Assuming that a PDO is approved within the next year, then the four platforms
in phase one of the Johan Sverdrup development will be installed during 2018 and 2019
(image courtesy of Statoil).
INTEGRATED SERVICES
8PSLTIPQ
4PMVUJPOT
'SPN)PPWFS
holds 33 operated licenses. Weve been

investing $2.5 billion annually offshore
Norway, said Martin Tiffen, managing
director of Total E&P Norge AS, Fig. 10.
Our production reached 240,000 boe last
year. We expect that to grow some more in
the next three to five years.
The firms latest operated development is Martin Linge oil and gas field.
Discovered in 1978, the fields reserves
had been stranded, until recently. The
key to unlocking this development was a
well drilled in 2009 and 2010, said Leif
Harald Halvorsen, communications manager for Total in Norway. The limiting factor in not developing the field sooner, was
whether gas reserves were interconnected.
The well in 2009 answered that question.
The initial Martin Linge development
will drill 11 wells, and the platform will
have 21 extra well slots. Reserves are estimated at 189 MMboe, mostly gas. First
output is planned for late 2016. One
new thing that were doing on this development is using electrical power from
shore, said Tiffen. It will run about 170
km to the field, and be the longest power
cable from shore in the world. It costs a
little more up front, but there are better
economics later on, and a better environmental footprint.
Another Total innovation is its Field
Operations force, which includes construction of a new building in the Stavanger area, Fig. 11. The building will be Totals new NCS hub and contain the central
control room for Martin Linge. A parallel,
redundant control room will be at the field.
Our offshore personnel will spend half of
Fig. 8. In the Norwegian Sea, Aasta

Hansteen eld will be developed with a
large spar (image courtesy of Statoil).
From galleys to laboratories to

offices to workshops, Hoover
has a DNV certified container
solution to fit any workspace
accommodation need. Hoovers
integrated package options
enable you to get the necessary
accessory items to complete the
job turnkey benches, vices,
hoists, air conditioning and more.
Onshore or offshore, domestic
or international, Hoover has the
workshop for you.
the year in a regular, 2-on, 4-off work pattern, and then the other half of the year,
they will be onshore, integrating control
from the new building, explained Tiffen.
BP. Offshore Norway, BP operates five
fieldsUla, Valhall, Hod, Tambar and
Skarvthrough 13 platforms and one
FPSO. BPs completion of two major development projects at Skarv and Valhall
fields, has significantly increased production. Following the fields start-up, BPs net
output roughly doubled in 2013 to 48,100
boed. During first-quarter 2014, net average production jumped to 70,000 boed.
'-6*%4t$"3(0t8"45&t5&$)/0-0(:t4&37*$&
www.hooversolutions.com/workshops
1.888.603.3480
Following commissioning of its new

process and hotel platform, Valhall has
the potential to continue producing until
2050. BP also has considerable modifications and upgrades to make on the Ula and
Skarv assets, as well as potential future tiebacks. In addition, there is the gradual decommissioning and removal of facilities in
old installations at Valhall and Hod.
Exxon Mobil. The company has been
active on the NCS since 1965, participating in many discoveries. In the deepwater
portion of the Norwegian Sea, Exxon Mobil operates the Mre West license, where
2D seismic was conducted during 2013.
Exxon Mobil operates Balder, Ringhorne, Jotun and Sigyn fields, whose combined production in 2012 was just above
65,000 boed. Balder is in the North Sea,
190 km northwest of Stavanger, and includes the Balder FPSO and several subsea
production systems. Balder exports gas via
the Jotun A FPSO. During 2012, the Balder
FPSO processed 36,400 bopd15,900
bopd from Balder and 20,500 bopd from
Ringhorne. Seismic surveys in the area
were carried out in 2009 and 2012, to prepare for drilling that began in 2013.
In the North Sea, 200 km west of Stavan-
ger, Jotun field was developed with two

installationsa wellhead platform (Jotun
B), which transfers resources to an FPSO
(Jotun A). Average production in 2013 was
2,710 boed. Jotuns declining production
has created spare capacity, which has been
utilized by connecting Balder to Jotun via a
gas pipeline. Later, pipelines were installed
between Ringhorne and Jotun, allowing
Ringhorne output to flow to the Jotun A
FPSO, in addition to the Balder FPSO.
Ringhorne field includes a platform
with initial processing and water injection.
Output is routed to the Balder and Jotun A
FPSOs. In 2012, Ringhorne produced an
average 31,800 bopd, while Sigyns output
was 33 MMcfgd and 8,000 bcpd.
Shell. The company operates six NCS
production licenses with two actively producingOrmen Lange gas field and Draugen oil field. In the Norwegian Sea, Ormen
Lange is Norways second-largest gas field,
in water depths between 850 and 1,100 m.
The fields 24 wells are divided between
four subsea templates, the last of which was
installed in the fields northern portion in
2011/2012. Ormen Lange also produces
significant amounts of condensate.
In April 2014, Shell and the Ormen
Fig. 9. The venerable Ekosk eld complex is an example of production extending far
beyond initial expectations, thanks to technical advances and improved recovery rates
(photo courtesy of ConocoPhillips).
Lange partners postponed the fields Offshore Compression Project. The decision
was based on an updated economic assessment incorporating new cost information
for the current concepts.
Marathon Oil. After many years of
NCS operations, Marathon Oil announced
on June 2, 2014, that it would sell its Norwegian business to DNO for $2.7 billion.
The deal includes the sale of the Alvheim
FPSO, 10 company-operated licenses and
a number of non-operated interests.
Principal operated asset is the Alvheim
area (65%), comprising three licenses. Alvheim field was developed with an FPSO
and subsea wells, and went onstream in
2008. Oil is transported via shuttle tanker,
and gas is piped to the UKs SAGE system.
Output peaked at more than 93,000 boed
in 2009. The fields total resource has increased through development drilling. An
infill program was planned for unswept
areas in 2014/2015. In addition, Marathon
has been developing the Byla discovery
as a subsea tieback to Alvheim. Start-up is
expected in early 2015.
Talisman Energy. Talisman operates
Blane, Gyda, Yme and Varg fields. During
2013, Talismans Norwegian production
averaged 15,000 boed across nine fields.
Last year, the company said that it would
sell all of its Norway assets, a process that
is ongoing.
Also in 2013, the company reached an
agreement with the Yme platform contractor to terminate the Yme field re-development contract. Removal of the Yme
Fig. 10. Martin Tiffen, managing director
of Total Norge E&P AS, says that his rm
is working hard to expand its presence on
the NCS, including development of Martin
Linge eld (photo courtesy of Total Norge
E&P AS).
platform will occur in 2015. A review of

alternative re-development concepts is underway. First oil from Brynhild field is expected during second-half 2014. Drilling
will be operated at Gyda and Varg.
Centrica Energy. The company operates Vale field (50%), has an interest in
more than 60 licenses, and is drilling three
operated wells. In Centricas Butch license,
an exploration well was drilled 220 km off
the coast during second-half 2011. Further
drilling is ongoing to prove up additional
volumes. A development concept selection
is planned for late 2014. First production
would be in 2018.
Centrica acquired 40% of PL442 from
Statoil in 2012, and the block contains two
undeveloped oil discoveries, Gamma and
Delta, collectively called Frigg Gamma
Delta (FGD), northeast of Heimdal. During 2013, further studies of a potential
FGD development indicated that a standalone project is potentially attractive.
Concept selection is planned for 2015, followed by a final decision in 2016.
Centricas Fogelberg discovery found
HPHT gas condensate in 2010, north of
sgard and south of Heidrun. A concept
selection was expected in mid-2014.
Other operators. A number of other
companies operate fields in production, or
fields with approved PDOs. Enis Marulk
gas/condensate field is about 25 km southwest of Norne field. Marulk was developed
with a subsea template tied back to the
Norne FPSO, and gas production began in
April 2012. Enis Goliat oil field is 50 km
southeast of Snhvit in the Barents Sea. It
is being developed with a circular FPSO
(Sevan 1000), plus eight subsea templates,
Fig. 12. The oil will be offloaded to shuttle
tankers. Output is planned for late 2014.
In June 2014, Det norske oljeselskap
ASA purchased Marathon Oils Norwegian assets for $2.7 billion. Even before
that transaction, Det norskes operated licenses totaled 26. In May 2013, Det norske started its first, operated, Norwegian
oil production at Jette field, 6 km south of
Jotun and tied-in to Jotun A. Det norskes
Ivar Aasen field development, 30 km south
of Grane and Balder fields, was approved
in May 2013. The development comprises
a PdQ platform with spare well slots. First
production is planned for late 2016.
The co-operator of the giant, 1.8-Bbblto-2.9-Bbbl, Johan Sverdrup oil field development with Statoil is Lundin Petroleum (for details, see the Statoil section).
In addition, Lundins Brynhild develop-
Fig. 11. Totals new Field Operations

building in the Stavanger area will be able
to remotely control Martin Linge eld from
shore (photo by Kurt Abraham, Executive
Editor).
INTEGRATED SERVICES
Waste
Container Solutions
From Hoover
Whether you need mud skips/
ment is incorporating a four-well, subsea

tie-back to Pierce field in the UK North
Sea. First oil is now expected late in thirdquarter 2014. Also, Lundins development
of 186-MMboe reserves at Edvard Grieg
field is progressing. The 15-well, $4-billion project is expected to go onstream in
fourth-quarter 2015.
Since entering Norway in 2003, BG
Group has gained 10 operatorships. Production began from a two-well, subsea
tie-back at Gaupe field in 2012, in the Central North Sea, and is due to grow in 2014,
when the Knarr development starts up.
Trym and Oselvar fields are operated
by DONG Energy. Tryms gas flows from
subsea facilities to treatment in Nybro,
Denmark, while condensate is routed to
the terminal in Fredericia. Most of Oselvars gas production goes to Ula field for
injection, for enhancing oil output.
Since entering Norway in 2001, GDF
SUEZ E&P Norge has steadily expanded
its NCS portfolio. The firms first operated
production is at Gja gas field in the North
Sea, 60 km west of Flor. Gas reserves are
produced through five subsea templates.
Wintershall operates roughly 25 NCS
licenses and hopes to operate 50,000 boed
by 2015. At Wintershalls Maria field in
the Norwegian Sea, the preferred devel-
cutting boxes or waste disposal

options trash compactors,
bags, food grinders, etc. Hoover
has the solution to fit your waste
needs. Hoovers integrated service
options slings, GPS asset tracking,
transportation and more provides
a turnkey answer. Onshore or
offshore, domestic or international,
Hoover has the waste container
solution for you.
'-6*%4t$"3(0t8"45&t5&$)/0-0(:t4&37*$&
www.hooversolutions.com/waste
1.888.603.3480
Fig. 12. Eni will use a circular FPSO, a

Sevan 1000 design, to handle output from
subsea wells at Goliat eld in the Barents
Sea (image courtesy of Eni).
Fig. 13. Once its outtting is nished, the

Archer Topaz modular drilling rig will be
dispatched to the North Sea, where it will
P&A 12 gas wells at Heimdal eld for Statoil
(photo courtesy of Archer Limited).
opment scheme is to connect to nearby

infrastructure, via a subsea tie-back. Maria
should produce around 130 MMbbl of oil
and just over 2 Bcm of gas.
SERVICE/SUPPLY SECTOR
The Norwegian service/supply sector

is a significant incubator of technical innovation. Not surprisingly, a number of
trends have emerged, from both the technical and business sides of the sector.
We share Statoils vision of being able
to power a subsea production plant on the
sea floor, said Aker Solutions Kongelf.
Helping oil companies to improve recovery rates and be more effective in well
intervention are definitely priorities. We

need more efficient well access. There is
also a big push toward standardization and
modularization of equipment. At technical advisory DNV GL, the director of
operations for Norway, Marianne Hauso,
said her firm is trying to drive the industry
toward developing common subsea standards, and to operate with more efficiency.
We also need common documentation.
The seismic arena is quite active, thanks
to the Barents Sea, said Schlumbergers
Halle. Our WesternGeco division is participating in a major seismic project there,
explained Halle. The surveys cover blocks
proposed for the 23rd Licensing Round,
for an area of about 13,700 km2. Statoil is
the operator for this joint acquisition of
3D seismic by 33 participating oil companiesa new approach for the industry.
The surveys began in April and, we have
two boats working there. It will continue
through third-quarter 2014, with data processing following into next year.
At Archer, which provides drilling and
well services globally, the company has
developed a new addition to its platform
drilling operations, said the firms executive V.P. and president of the North Sea
Region, John Lechner. Working with
German firm Max Streicher GMBH, we
have built two highly automated, modular
platform drilling rigs (MDRs), said Lechner. These rigs can service the platform
drilling industry more efficiently and costeffectively than most fixed drilling facilities
or MODU intervention solutions.
The first unit, Archer Emerald, continued Lechner, is operating in New Zealand, and it will later work for Talisman in
the UK. The second rig, Archer Topaz, is
going to be working a contract with Statoil
for permanent P&A of 12 gas wells at
Heimdal field, in the North Sea, Fig. 13.
Performing P&A operations on a modular
rig is a first for Archer, as well as the industry. This will allow safer, faster, more efficient P&A operations, with fewer people
on board, noted Lechner.
One relatively simple category, where
the service/supply sector makes a difference in the lifespan and economics of NCS
facilities, is offshore paints and coatings.
As noted by Miles Buckhurst, global sales
director at Jotun A/S, the use of premium, new-generation paints and coatings
ensures longer lifetimes for platforms, decreases the possibility of fire and reduces
the incidence of corrosion. This relates to
both structures and deck equipment.
Within the service/supply sector, the

government has fostered an atmosphere
that encourages new start-up firms. What
you have in Norway is governmental funding of people with good ideas, said Schlumbergers Halle. They see some R&D
gaps, and they help people create products
and companies. Of course, we have a good
record of acquiring and maintaining these
companies, as they mature.
One recent start-up is Mirmorax AS,
which now offers five different products.
But the firms concept for a topside, multiphase sampling system may be the most
intriguing. I had an idea for a multiphase
sampling system, said Mirmorax CEO
and President Eivind Gransaether. The
initial idea was for calibrating multiphase
meters, but we found that operators were
interested in sampling. The main motivation was to get live samples. What we
invented was basically a device to get live
samples without bringing it up from the
seabed to topsides.
Another niche product is the Fishbones stimulation system, developed by
Fishbones AS founder and inventor Rune
Freyer. This system is an open-hole liner
completion that connects the well and
the reservoir without the drawbacks of
hydraulic fracturing, explained company
CEO Eirik Renli. Its a simple operation.
You run the reservoir liner string as normal, set the liner hanger slips, and circulate
fluids with the rig pumps. A large number
of small-diameter laterals jet out from the
wellbore to penetrate the reservoir.
The system has tested successfully in
two onshore wellsa re-entered Austin Chalk well owned by Enervest that
had been shut-in near College Station,
Texas, and a CBM well in Indonesia. A
third well was planned for July, also in
Texas and operated by Enervest, which
has 1,200 Austin Chalk wells and obviously sees merit in the system. The firms
R&D team is also qualifying the tool in a
Belgium quarry, whose sandstone has the
same properties as a reservoir offshore
Norway. This is a high-risk proposition,
to start up a company with a brand-new
tool, said Renli. But our founder also
invented the Swell Packer at a brand-new
company, EasyWell, which eventually was
bought out by Halliburton. So, he has a
good track record.
EDITORS NOTE:
This is the first of a series of articles on Norways upstream
industry. Subsequent articles will address more specific, technically
oriented topics.
INTEGRATED SERVICES
Hoover
Contains
The Solutions
Offering a concentrated integrated service approach for tank and container solutions, Hoover blends engineering
and manufacturing with technology and service to bring the oil and gas industry high quality, certified tank and
container solutions for fluids, cargo and waste.
Fluid Container Solutions include tote tanks (IBCs), ISO tanks, vertical and horizontal multipurpose offshore tanks
Cargo Container Solutions include offshore baskets, transport frames, workshops, mini, half-height, dry good,
freezer and open top containers
Waste Container Solutions include offshore mud and waste skips, trash compactors and food grinders
Hoover combines fluid, cargo and waste container solutions with GPS asset tracking, liquid level monitoring, tank
cleaning, reconditioning, certification and transportation services to provide a complete integrated services solution.
Onshore or offshore, domestic or international, Hoover has a container solution for you.
'-6*%4t$"3(0t8"45&t5&$)/0-0(:t4&37*$&
w w w. h o o v e r s o l u t i o n s . c o m
1.888.603.3480
ONS: Changes lie ahead, and below,

for the oil and gas industry
ONS 2012 at a glance:
59,913 visitors
21,077-sq-m exhibition area

(expanded to 24,000 sq m
in 2014)
1,264 exhibiting companies
34 exhibiting nations
109 participating nations
www.ons.no
MELANIE CRUTHIRDS, News Editor
In the same way that operators, service companies and manufacturers

have switched gears to respond to the
changing oil and gas landscape offshore
Norway, the UK and mainland Europe,
the organizers of this years Offshore
Northern Seas (ONS) event have also
updated their focus. Now in its 40th
year, the conference and exhibition will
operate under the overarching theme of
Changes this year, beginning from the
ground up, with both a new format and
new facilities. However, the event will
not completely abandon its roots as an
epicenter for geopolitical discussion surrounding energy issues in the region, but
will augment its schedule by adding sessions dedicated to technical topics. ONS
2014 will be held Aug. 2528 in Stavanger, Norway, at Stavanger Forum, with
more information about the conference
available online at www.ons.no.
One of the most basic of changes associated with ONS 2014 is clear from
this years program, with the event scheduled to begin on a Monday, instead of a
Tuesday. This switch will see an expected
60,000 visitors flock to the Stavanger Forum venue, which this year features a new
exhibition hall, as well as a new hotel,
said Jon Are Rrtveit, V.P. of marketing
and information for ONS. The Stavanger
Forum facilities, overall, will offer nearly
25,000 sq m of exhibition stands for 1,250
exhibitors, up from the 21,077 sq m of
space in 2012, said Rrtveit.
The new space, Hall E, will have room
for 4,000 attendees and can seat 8,000
people in concert hall configuration, said
Stavanger Forum Managing Director Cornelius Middlethon. During ONS, Hall E
will host about 5,000 sq m of space. He
added that a second new exhibition building, Hall V, is under construction across
Nearly 60,000 attendees visited ONS 2012, with at least as many forecast to attend this
years event. Photo credit: ONS/Kallen.
SHOW PREVIEW / ONS 2014
features a steep roof on the sides, upon

which grass will be laid, like a slanted,
rooftop garden. He described the space
as a venue for exhibitions, trade fairs,
concerts and banquets, with 5,000 sq m
of space, plus a reception area, a kitchen and meeting rooms. With all of the
venues features, including ongoing outdoor upgrades being carried out by the
local Stavanger municipality, the point
is that now the region has its own builtfor-purpose facility for large events,
Stavanger Forum Hall E will be able to host about 5,000 sq m of
said Middelthon.
space during ONS 2014. Photo credit: E. Ashley
In fact, Stavanger
Forum is working
with the city and
other authorities,
he said, to try to
bring the World
Gas Conference to
the town in 2021.
The new hotel
facility, the Clarion Hotel Energy,
opens on Aug. 20,
at the far western
end of Stavanger
the highway from the main grounds.
Known as the Viking Hall (Vikinghallen),
Hall V will be sufficiently ready in time to
be used for the limited duties of registration and check-in for ONS in August. By
the next ONS in 2016, Hall V will be in
full use for exhibits.
Visual interest is not limited to the
inside of Hall E. According to Middelthon, an architectural contest was held in
2009, resulting in a winning design that
Forum. It will have 400 guest rooms, plus

14 conference rooms with space for 1,000
people. These capacities will make it the
regions largest conference hotel.
In yet another first during 2014, ONS
will hold its own conference for the first
time in the shows history, with this
change in directing coinciding with a
change in format. For years, said Rrtveit,
the conference focused solely on geopolitical discussions, but ONS will now limit
those topics to the morning sessions; this
years afternoon sessions will cover technical subjects. It makes sense to augment
the conferences coverage as the region
struggles with declining production, yet
has several promising, challenging targets
on the horizon, including the massive
Johan Sverdrup and sgard subsea compression projects.
MONDAY, AUG. 25
On Monday, Aug. 25, ONS will open

with a plenary session titled Why changes are the key, which will focus on global
shifts in energy supply and demand. Moderated by BBC presenter and journalist
Nisha Pillai, the session will run from 9:45
Ensuring well integrity is critical, but costly.

I need continuous visibility to safeguard well barrier
performance without loss of production.
YOU CAN DO THAT

Emersons Roxar downhole Wireless system enables instant
detection of abnormal pressure changes behind the well casing. Such changes
may indicate barrier deterioration, leading to oil or gas migration and potentially
hazardous situations. The availability of real-time Annulus B pressure and
temperature measurements allows operators to confirm barrier conditions, ensure
safe operations and prevent expensive interventions. For more information go to
www.EmersonProcess.com/RoxarDownhole
VISIT US AT BOOTH 430, HALL D
The Emerson logo is a trademark and a service mark of Emerson Electric Co. 2014 Emerson Electric Co.
SHOW PREVIEW / ONS 2014
a.m. to 12 p.m., with a preliminary welcome from Cato Meling, head of the ONS
Conference, and opening remarks from
Gro Brkken, chair of the ONS Conference committee. Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg will follow, speaking to
the conference theme of Changes, with
Statoil President and CEO Helge Lund
up next to discuss a sustainable energy
future. Rounding out the morning presentations will be IEA Executive Director
Maria van der Hoeven, who will speak to
changing approaches to energy security,
followed by keynote speaker Elon Musk,
CEO and founder of Tesla Motors.
The plenary session will be followed
by a City of Stavanger luncheon, from
12:30 to 2 p.m., with the afternoons parallel sessions starting immediately after,
and running until 4 p.m. One session,
again moderated by Pillai, will focus on
Mega projectsmega opportunities,
and will feature topics including Shells
Prelude FLNG, unconventional gas, and
Exxon Mobils Hebron and Sakhalin
fields. The second session, moderated by
Arne Hjeltnes, will cover We must work
smarterthe need for cultural change,
and includes presentations entitled,
What change is needed? Game changing collaboration, Working smarter, increased recovery at lower cost, and Preparing for the future.
winner, presented by NPD Director General Bente Nyland.

An Innovation Luncheon bisects the
second day, and Stubholt returns to host
one of the afternoons sessions, How to
get more out of mature fields. Technical
presentations in this section will include
topics, such as UKCS maximizing recovery review, What does it take? Imagine
seismic 4D, and Drilling faster and cheaper. The alternate session is entitled The
new center of attention: The Middle East,
and will be moderated by Pillai. Presentations from this section include Business
opportunities in the Middle East, The
Middle East today: What is exceptional
and what isnt? The challenge of Middle
East oil, an inside view from Norway, and
Youth energy, the driving force for change
in the Middle East.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 27
On the conferences last day, Norwegian politician and Litteraturhuset Director Aslak Sira Myhre will moderate
a morning plenary session called Sneak
peek into the future: What will happen
in the next 40 years? Covering a variety
of topics relating to sustainability and

efficiency, the opening block of presenters begins with DNV-GL CEO Henrik
O. Madsen, speaking about breaking
through toward a sustainable energy future. He will be followed by Dr. Gunhild
Stordalen, chairman of the Stordalen
Foundation and CEO of GreeNudge,
who will discuss Green opportunities for a better world. Concluding the
days first half will be presentations from
Martin Bachmann, board member overseeing E&P at Wintershall, discussing
Europewhich way? and Tim Bertels,
manager of CCS for Shell, covering CCS
and energy efficiency.
The conferences final luncheon will
cover Safety, and is followed by one
technical session entitled, Wake up call:
Renewablesnew energy, which includes discussions like The big picture,
Oil and gas into renewables, Reality
check, and Saved by the bellagain?
The afternoons other track, Show me
the money! will delve into Financing
the energy industry, Innovation vs.
standardization, Financing growth
and Attracting investment.
TUESDAY, AUG. 26
The second day of ONS 2014 will

follow the same new format as the first,
with the morning session moderated by
Kvaerner Senior V.P. for Strategy and
Communication Liv Monica Stubholt,
and dedicated to the theme, The NCS
limitless possibilities, but is the price too
high? Norwegian Minister of Petroleum
and Energy Tord Lien will speak to perspectives on the future of the Norwegian
Continental Shelf (NCS), while Phillip
Lambert, CEO of Lambert Energy, will
follow and speak to regional challenges.
Later, Statoil Executive V.P. of D&P, Norway, Arne Sigve Nylund will present on
future prospects for the NCS, and Tore
Halvorsen, senior V.P. of subsea technologies at FMC, will cover opportunities for
cost reductions in the area. The morning
plenary session will close with a presentation from Trevor Garlick, regional president of BP North Sea, who will discuss
The enhanced oil recovery opportunity
is now, and the announcement of the
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate Award
Dont Miss
Early Bird
Savings
Register by August 19
and Save!
Join us this August and Discover the Latest HPHT

Technology and Solutions
Focus on Lower Tertiary and Gulf of Mexico HPHT challenges
World Oils ninth annual High-Pressure, High-Temperature Drilling and Completions Conference will be held September 2324 in Houston, Texas, at the Norris
Conference Centers-CityCentre. This years conference will feature a high-level, two-day technical program devoted to knowledge sharing and best practices in
high-pressure, high-temperature drilling. With two tracks, one devoted to exploration and drilling and the other to completions, the agenda features sessions
focused on uids, equipment, LWD & MWD, sealing technology, tubulars/reliability/service life, testing and more.
Specic Topics to be Discussed Include:

Case histories from the Lower Tertiary Gulf of Mexico (GoM)
Lower Tertiary GoM conditions/special operations/equipment
Operator responsibility and plans in HPHT environments
HPHT standards, qualications, permitting process
Subsea trees
Controls, risers and owlines

Equipment design, development and implementation
Sealing technology (metallic and nonmetallic)
And more
Developed by our esteemed advisory board, the 2014 conference program features top professionals at leading companies including: Baker Hughes, Clariant,
C-FER Technologies Inc, Chevron, Enventure Global Technology, FMC Technologies, Halliburton, High Performance Tubular Technology, Newpark Drilling Fluids,
Pemex, Schlumberger, Siemens Industry Inc, Special Metals Corporation, Weatherford and more.
HPHT Drilling and Completions Conference 2014 Advisory Board:
Grant Affleck
Business Development Manager
of Technology, Global
Drilling Services
Chris Kocurek
Staff Subsea Facilities
Engineer
Pramod Kulkarni
Editor
Charles (Chuck) Pleasants

Wellbore Construction
Technology Director
Brian Skeels
Engineering Technologies Director
Ian Penman
Global Advisor, Completion Tools
Bob Sokoll
Staff Drilling Engineer
& Chair HPHT Drilling
& Completions
Conference
Robert (Bob) Holicek

Deepwater Theme Manager
Jim Raney
Engineering &
Technology Manager
Kaz Javanmardi
HPHT Principal Technical Expert,
PT Deepwater Wells
HPHTConference.com
Michael (Mike) Payne

Senior Advisor
Earl Shanks
OIE Chief Technologist
Ramn I. San Pedro, P.E.

Principal
September
2324, 2014
Houston, Texas
Image courtesy of Schlumberger
HPHTConference.com
Hear from Leading HPHT Professionals:

2014 Conference Presentations Include:
Drilling high temperature wells in Mexico South
Oscar Buitrago, Schlumberger
Case History: HPHT wellbore design exibility? Use a solid expandable!
Tina Tallant, Enventure Global Technology
Contemplating the use of multilateral wellbores for the lower tertiary
Doug Durst, Halliburton
Downhole MWDhigh pressure electronics in Gulf of Thailand

Chris Hartley, Weatherford
Operational challenges: Drilling HP HT HD Gulf of Mexico wells
Alejandro Montiel, Pemex and Carlos Padilla, Schlumberger Mexico
HPHT steam well connection compounds
Larry Vincent, High Performance Tubular Technology
And more
As an HPHT Attendee, Youll have the Opportunity to:

Learn from the experts in the industry about the latest
technology advancements
Explore effective solutions for pressure and temperature challenges
specic to HPHT settings
Discover best-practices for improved HPHT drilling, completions

and production
Network with key professionals in this important industry segment
Take Advantage of our Best Rates with Early Bird Registration by August 19
Discounted Price
(by August 19)
Regular
Admission
Single Attendee
$880
$990
Team of Two
$1,705
$1,815
Registration Type
Register Online at HPHTConference.com or Call +1 (713) 520-4402

For more information about the event contact:
Melissa Smith, Events Director, +1 (713) 520-4475, Melissa.Smith@GulfPub.com
For sponsorship opportunities contact:

Lisa Zadok, Events Sales Manager, +1 (713) 525-4632, Lisa.Zadok@GulfPub.com
INTERNATIONAL
RACE TO PRODUCTION
STEADILY RAMPING UP
MELANIE CRUTHIRDS, News Editor
As the U.S. shale oil and gas industry enters
an era in which development has become fiscally
beneficial for the right kind of producer, operators
and NOCs in certain other parts of the world seem
poised to follow suit. Unconventional production
is already online in Argentina, and wells across Poland and Australia are being drilled and cased every
day, with fracing scheduled in the near, foreseeable
future. Even where regulatory, social or technological challenges exist, as is the case in the UK, Spain,
Russia and China, steady progress is being made to,
in the very least, survey and estimate the presence of
shale oil and gas.
It often seems to be the case, internationally, that
development is stalled by one of two scenarios: a
lack of technical knowledge and equipment, or a
lack of public or governmental support. In some
cases, progress has stalled indefinitely, as is true in
France, where hydraulic fracturing has been outlawed completely. This report will look at a few of
todays most active international shale plays.
INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK
When considering hydrocarbon resources outside of the U.S., the International Energy Agency
(IEA) provides an annual, five-year, oil market outlook, the latest of which was released last month.
This year, the agency said it is likely that the unconventional supply revolution seen in North America
over the past several years will expand outside those
borders by 2019. IEA also projected a slowdown
in global oil demand growth and OPEC capacity
growth facing headwinds.
The IEA report, Medium-Term Oil Market Report
2014, goes on to point out that a handful of countries are seeking to play catch-up with the U.S. as
a producer of shale and light, tight oil (LTO). By
2019, it estimates, tight oil supplies outside of the
U.S. could hit 650,000 bpd, including 390,000 bpd
from Canada, 100,000 bpd from Russia and 90,000
bpd from Argentina. In the same period, however,
the IEA forecasts that the U.S. will double its LTO
output to 5 MMbpd.
Since 2013, YPF and Chevron have worked

together to develop shale resources at the
Loma Campaa Project in Argentinas Vaca
Muerta formation (photo courtesy of YPF).
World Oil/MONTH 2011117
SHALETECH / INTERNATIONAL
WESTERN EUROPE
Long marked by their tendency to locate large populations on comparatively

small amounts of land, Western European nations continue to struggle to meet
growing domestic energy consumption
demands without increasing their import
reliance. According to recent information
from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the UK, in 2013, joined
many of its mainland European neighbors
as a net importer of petroleum products
for the first time. The UK, with France,
Germany and Spain, may find that partial
answers to its energy supply questions lie
in the shale pay zones beneath its borders.
However, even where shale oil and gas
reserves have been locatedthrough estimation or through exploratory drilling
these countries still contend with aboveground issues, such as how best to regulate
shale permitting and approval, and whether
or not to allow fracing. While each country
has made moves to determine how, and if,
shale projects develop within its boundaries, there have been larger measures across
the continent, aimed at guiding how European nations handle this emerging sector.
After making a strong push to update
existing European Union (EU) regulations
regarding shale E&P in fourth-quarter
2013, the European Parliament (EP), a
legislative component of the EU, was in
compromise mode by March. Initially, in
October 2013, EP members had voted to
send up proposed legislation that would
make shale gas projects of any size, which
routinely employ fracing, subject to environmental impact assessments. Current
EU regulations stipulate that only shale
gas extraction projects producing at least

500,000 m3/d are required to submit impact assessments. Although the EP was
not able to include language that makes
these assessments mandatory for shale gas
projects, it did augment the proposed legislation, so that new project aspects would
have to be accounted for.
United Kingdom. It has been a busy year
for the British Geological Survey (BGS),
which, in association with the Department
of Energy & Climate Change (DECC),
released data from three studies on shale
geology and resource estimation between
June 2013 and June 2014. The latest resource estimates encompass an area in
Scotlands Midland Valley, which stretches
east from Glasgow to beyond Edinburgh,
to the northeast. Shale formations have
inherently complex geology and, in this
case, the BGS reported that there was a
limited amount of good quality seismic
and borehole data available for estimation
purposes, giving the survey a higher degree
of uncertainty than its predecessors. Still,
the area is estimated to hold 49.4 Tcf to
134.6 Tcf of gas-in-place, and 3.2 Bbbl to
11.2 Bbbl of oil-in-place.
The prospective Carboniferous shales
studied at Midland, according to BGS, occur within a stacked rock sequence and
are, individually, thinner than in many
unconventional gas and oil systems worldwide. BGS noted that reserve and recovery estimates were not possible at such an
early date, without the drilling and testing
of new wells to determine flowrates.
In late May, BGS released its second
survey of UK shale potential, this time
Fig. 1. Cuadrilla Resources is seeking permission to drill, frac and ow-test gas from wells at two
shale sites in the UK, including one at Preston New Road (photo courtesy of Cuadrilla Resources).
focusing on an area bordering the coast,

south of London, called the Weald basin.
Here, resource estimates were placed at
2.20 Bbbl to 8.57 Bbbl, with no significant
gas resource recognized, using the current
geological model. Again, given the general amount of uncertainty associated with
shales, additional drilling and testing will
be necessary to get a better idea of what
production could look like at Weald.
And, not to forget the study that started
it all, BGS, back in June 2013, released its
first independent research on shale gas
potential, specifically looking at the Bowland basin and beyond, and estimated that
the region held nearly 1,300 Tcf of gas.
This earliest survey, which covered an area
between the later Weald and Midland studies, was intended to, according to BGS at
the time, give industry and regulators an
indication of how best to plan future exploratory drilling.
More than a year later, after bouts of
public outcry over fracing and permitting delays, UK Energy Minister Michael
Fallon has now said that his department
will revise how it handles shale development, aiming to replace inflexible rules
with an improved approach. Fallon said
he has introduced a new flexibility to licenses, which will result in landholders
being able to retain larger areas than before. Fallon also said that the new system
will involve production plans, which will
govern acreage used for production, and
retention agreements, which outline work
plans agreed upon between the licenseholder and the DECC.
As the UK reevaluates its approach to
shale, operators, both domestic and foreign, are moving forward with plans. In
January, Total acquired a 40% interest in
two UK shale gas exploration licenses,
covering 240 km2 in the Gainsborough
Trough area of the East Midlands region.
Petroleum Exploration and Development
Licenses (PEDL) 139 and 140 joined
Totals existing shale gas portfolio. The
French operator signed on to partner with
four firms, including IGas. Total said it
will assume operatorship from IGas, as the
project moves toward development from
initial exploration.
In a later development in May, IGas,
agreed to purchase another of the license partners, Dart Energy, for roughly
$198 million. The combination of the
two E&Ps, has created the largest acreage-holder in the UK, with more than 1
million net acres under license, includ-
INTERNATIONAL / SHALETECH
ing shale. In the meantime, the PEDL
139/140 partnership has completed 3D
seismic acquisition on the licenses, as part
of a $46.5-million work program, which
will include drilling and testing a vertical
exploration well, and associated well pad
construction, with potential for a second,
horizontal appraisal. Elsewhere this year,
IGas drilled the Irlam-1 well on its Barton
Moss concession in March.
Meanwhile, Cuadrilla Resources has,
since April, worked steadily to submit, and
receive approvals for, a handful of shale
projects in the county of Lancashire, on
the UKs western coast. By late June, the
company had received validation and acceptance of applications for up to four shale
gas exploration wells, each, at two sites,
Roseacre Wood and Preston New Road;
the second of which is shown in Fig. 1. The
company is seeking permission to drill, frac
and flow-test gas from wells in an area called
the Fylde, from which they can tap into the
underlying Bowland shale. The company
estimates that its Lancashire licenses could
hold up to 200 Tcf of trapped shale gas.
Another UK operator, Egdon Resources, recently expanded its onshore
UK unconventional portfolio, acquiring

Alkane Energy in May. Through the addition, Egdon gained 10 licenses covering
66,867 net acres prospective for shale gas.
Of these, the company said it considers
three of the licenses as having the most
potential: PEDLs 043 and 169 (Gainsborough Trough in the East Midlands basin),
and PEDL 191 (in the Bowland basin).
France. As of October 2013, France continued to uphold its ban on fracing, with
its Constitutional Court ruling against U.S.
firm, Schuepbach Energy. The company
had challenged the revocation of its exploration permits following the passage of
a fracing ban in 2011 by former President
Nicolas Sarkozy. However, Frances oil and
gas lobby, LUnion Franaise des Industries Ptrolires, in a press conference from
February, took the stance that shale gas
would be a major shake-up in the global oil
and gas industry over the coming years. So,
there may be hope, yet.
POLAND
Although Poland has cleared the first

hurdle to shale development, by allow-
ing companies to conduct basic exploration and drilling campaigns without major hindrances, business has not been as
quick-paced as some had anticipated. After
Exxon Mobil, Marathon Oil and Talisman
pulled out of the country, a handful of players remain, and operations are moving
steadily ahead, as companies get better at
connecting technology and technique in
the largely unexplored geography.
Chevron retained four shale concessions in southeastern Poland (Frampol,
Grabowiec, Krasnik and Zwierzyniec) for
a total of 1.1 million acres. Last year, the
major drilled its first exploration wells in
the Zwierzyniec and Krasnik concessions,
and a 3D seismic survey was underway
on the Grabowiec tract, with completion
slated for second-quarter 2014. Chevron
planned to explore throughout 2014.
Operator San Leon Energy is moving
forward with its exploration and drilling
schemes, leveraging farm-ins and commercial agreements with the goal of bringing
its fields closer to production, Fig. 2. In
early July, the company signed a JV with
Palomar Natural Resources (PNR) covering seven concessions in Polands Perm-
PT PIPA MAS PUTIH, FULLY MANAGED and OPERATED BY INDONESIAN

STAFF, HAS BEEN IN SCREEN MANUFACTURING BUSSINESS SINCE 1984
AND,
HAS IMPLEMENTED INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
( API SPEC Q1/API SPEC 5CT/QMS ISO 90019001-2008/QMS ISOISO-TS 29001/EMS ISO 14001
14001--2004/OHSAS 18001
18001--2007 )
ON ALL of ITS PRODUCT
SCOPE of PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SCREEN MANUFACTURER for OIL, GAS, WATER WELLS & INDUSTRIAL
MANUFACTURER OF DOWN HOLE TOOLS and ACCESSORIES
THREADER of OCTG & DOWN HOLE TOOLS
SUPPLIER of OCTG, DRILL PIPE, LINE PIPE, and SUCKER ROD
REPAIR / SERVICE of SCREEN LINER, OCTG, DRILL PIPE, SUCKER ROD
and DOWN HOLE TOOLS
HEAD OFFICE
PT PIPA MAS PUTIH
WEBSITE : www.pipamas.com
Jl Kramat Asem No. 1

Jakarta 13120, Indonesia
Phone 6262-21
21 8194370 (hunting)
Fax 6262-21 8563363, 8563364
e-mail : contact@pipamas.com
FACTORY
Jl Tenggiri No.1 Batu Ampar
Pulau Batam,
Batam, Indonesia
Phone 6262-778 412522 ,
Fax 6262-778 412557 , 62
62--778 412910
e-mail : pbf@pipamas.com
REPAIRSHOP
Jalan Duri Dumai Km 4.5 Duri,
Duri, Riau, Indonesia
Phone 6262-765 560030, 62
62--765 560730
Fax 6262-765 560695
e-mail : sec.pdf@pipamas.com
Fig. 2. San Leon Energy has signed several

agreements with hopes of moving its Polish
concessions closer to production (photo
courtesy of San Leon Energy).
ian basin, including Siekierki and Rawicz

gas fields. The JV will drill, evaluate, complete and test at least two wells at Rawicz,
in the southern Permian, with the first well
planned for the third or fourth quarter. At
Siekierki, in the northern Permian, the JV
will work over, recomplete and test three
existing wells, beginning in the third or
fourth quarter.
Back in April, San Leon made additional moves to address production potential
at Siekierki, when it announced progress
on commercial development with Baker
Hughes Poland Sp. Z.o.o. After signing a
Letter of Intent in February, the two companies had agreed to commercial terms
for Blocks 206, 207 and 208, including
workovers on the four Trzek wells, three
of which are addressed in the PNR JV. San
Leon also signed a farm-out agreement
with TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd, in
May, for concessions in Polands Permian/
SW Carboniferous basin.
According to Aprils operational information from 3Legs Resources, the company had drilled, cased and cemented the
third and final well of its 20132014 drilling program, Lublewo LEP-1ST1H. The
well was the third lateral, and the seventh

overall, that the companys JV with ConocoPhillips, Lane Energy Poland, had
drilled on its western Baltic basin concessions since 2010, Fig. 3. 3Legs Resources
also continued exploratory efforts, carrying out 3D and 2D seismic surveying on
two of its concessions.
RUSSIA
In mid-2013, the EIA took stock of

shale oil and gas resources outside of the
U.S., and identified Russia as holding an
estimated 75 Bbbl of technically recoverable shale oil, and 285 Tcf of technically
recoverable shale gas.
One of the longer-standing JVs in Russia, Salym Petroleum Development
(SPD), has seen Shell and Gazprom
Neft work together to drill 900 wells since
spudding their first in 2004. In January,
SPD started drilling its first horizontal
appraisal well in the Bazhenov formation
at the Upper Salym prospect, as part of a
pilot project (Fig. 4); the JV plans to drill
five horizontal appraisals in 20142015,
using multi-stage fracturing technology.
Previously, SPD had drilled three vertical
Register Now
The integrated event for unconventional resource teams
Sponsorship and exhibit
QRRQTVWPKVKGUCTGUGNNKPIHCUV
Book yours today.
25 - 27, August 2014 Colorado Convention Center Denver, CO
www.URTeC.org
4GIKUVGTPQYCPFDGPGVHTQO
High-quality, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed
science and technology forums
A premier marketplace for technology

exchange between vendors and users
4,500+ Engineers and Geoscientists from

every facet of the unconventional sector
collaborating under one roof
Engaging networking events on the show floor
INTERNATIONAL / SHALETECH
exploration wells, and collected 3D seismic, cores and well logs at Upper Salym.
According to the JV, oil reserves at Upper
Salym total 25 million t.
Gazprom Neft has also seen movement on its other unconventional projects.
In April, the operator tested a new well
at 50 m3/d from the Bazheno-Abalaksky
formation, in the Palyanovskaya zone. As
the company prepares for commercial development of unconventional oil reserves,
it said it plans to continue to study the
Bazheno-Abalaksky complex, with four inclined wells approved for drilling in 2014.
The company is also investigating shale
resource potential through a second JV
with Shell, the Khanty-Mansi Oil and Gas
Union, which is conducting geological research on the Yuilsk-4, Yuilsk-5, and South
Lungorsky-1 sites in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District. And, in March, one of
its subsidiaries, Gazpromneft-Khantos,
was granted a license for geological exploration of the deep oil-saturated prospective
horizons in the Achimov and Bazhenov
formations at southern Priobskoye field.
Other Russian companies also have
partnered with foreign E&Ps to learn
more about unconventional plays. In May,
Lukoil signed an agreement with Total to
create a JV for exploring and developing
the Bazhenov formations tight oil potential in Western Siberia. Initially, the JV
will assess the technical feasibility of developing the tight oil potential on four licenses in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous
District. The companies said seismic acquisition was scheduled to start this year,
with exploration drilling slated for 2015.
Around the same time, in late May, Rosneft signed an agreement with a unit of
BP to implement a joint, two-phase pilot
project to develop the Domanik shale formations, and any future unconventional
resource potential in the plays.
In March, China Petroleum and

Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) came
out with its first major breakthrough of
the year, announcing plans to develop its
Fuling field into the countrys first shale
gas project of its kind, with an annual production capacity of 10 Bcm, by 2017. The
company said it expects the fields capac-
ity to hit 1.8 Bcm by the end of this year,

and to swing up to 5 Bcm by 2015. Sinopec expects to develop some 340 Bcm of
shale gas in two phases. It also said it plans
to tap the Dingshan and Nanchuan blocks,
in southeastern Sichuan.
China National Petroleum Corp.
(CNPC), with various domestic part-
Fig. 3. 3Legs Resources owed gas from a single-stage frac at its ebie LE1 well December 2010,
and has since focused on its other Polish wells (photo courtesy of 3Legs Resources).
CHINA
Much like Russia, China sits atop

large shale resources. In fact, EIA ranked
the nation first in technically recoverable
shale gas, with an estimated 1,115 Tcf,
and third in technically recoverable shale
oil, with an estimated 32 Bbbl. But, unlike
Russian firms, Chinese companies have
faced greater struggles in harnessing the
right technology, for the right price, to effectively recover these resources. China
is under pressure to boost domestic production, from whatever sources possible,
to meet its demands at home.
PGS MULTICLIENT DATA LIBRARY

The PGS MultiClient data library off ers global coverage and provides unparalleled access to exploration
opportunity.
With nearly our entire eet updated with GeoStreamer acquisition technology, our surveys provide
seismic data that have no comparison when it comes to imaging clarity.
To yield optimal returns on your exploration eff orts, explore the world with us.
Visit our data library today at: www.pgs.com/multiclient
A Clearer Image
www.pgs.com
MultiClient
Marine Contract
Imaging & Engineering
Operations
tW
Fig. 4. Salym Petroleum Development drilled

its rst horizontal appraisal well on Russias
Bazhenov formation earlier this year (photo
courtesy of Salym Petroleum Development).
&t,^DD
W
and Budget. Up to three of these wells, said

the company, will be cased for future fracturing stimulation and production testing.
As of late June, the fifth well was scheduled
to be drilled in EP 128. The companies
said they plan to conduct extensive openhole evaluations, with a well on each of
their permits.
Australia-based Santos is also active in
another unconventional area, with activity in the Cooper basin, north of Adelaide.
Although the company largely focuses on
LNG projects, including PNG LNG in
Papua New Guinea and GLNG in Australia, it is still flowing gas from Cooper, too.
At the end of last year, the company was
flowing gas from its Moomba-194 vertical shale well, a follow-up to the existing
Moomda-191, at an average of 3 MMcfgd.
ARGENTINA

tK'
ZZ

tW

Fast. Z
D
Flexible. s
DD^
Secure.>
D,',',
For more about WavePoint, visit:
www.freewave.com/products/allproducts/
WavePoint.aspx
+1 866.730.1466
sales@freewave.com | www.freewave.com
&td/
ners, is also making progress on its unconventional projects, most notably on its
Changning development in the Sichuan
basin. In March, the operator announced
that it had implemented its first synchronized zipper frac on four horizontal shale
gas wells in its Changning H2 group. Soon
after, CNPC announced that it had also
begun drilling another well, this time in
the Changning H3 group, with roughly 50
wells planned for the block.
AUSTRALIA
Calgary-based E&P PetroFrontier

Corp. describes the onshore oil and gas
landscape in Australia as being similar
to Canada in the 1960s: huge tracts of
unexplored land in hydrocarbon-prone
basins. With a handful of exploration
permits (EPs) covering more than 13 million acres in the southern Georgina basin, in Australias Northern Territory, the
operator established a JV with Statoil for
its holdings in 2012. The Norwegian major assumed operatorship in September
2013, and will carry on with the current
exploration phase to the end of this year.
PetroFrontier estimates that its permits
hold, at the low end, un-risked prospective (recoverable) oil volumes of more
than 14 Bbbl.
The JV has been busy since the beginning of 2014, having spudded, most recently, OzDelta-1, a vertical exploration
well on EP 128, which was the fourth well,
of up to five planned, in its 2014 Work Plan
EIA ranks Argentina in the top five,

worldwide, in terms of technically recoverable resources, for both shale oil and gas,
with 27 Bbbl and 802 Tcf, respectively.
While many other nations are struggling
with shale, operators in Argentina are well
into production. The countrys own YPF
signed an accord with Chevron in July
2013, to further shale development at the
Vaca Muerta formation in Neuqun province. Chevron reaffirmed its commitment
to development in April, with YPF estimating the initial investment at $1.2 billion.
Chevron completed four exploratory
wells last year in its El Trapial concession, which targets the Vaca Muerta, and
planned to production test the wells this
year. The 2013 agreement between the
two companies covers the Loma Campaa Project, and enables the first phase
of development for that lease, including
an initial 100-well drilling program over
a 5,000-acre tract. For Chevron in the
Vaca Muerta, 109 wells were drilled in
2013, and the plan for 2014 included approximately 140 wells. Chevron operated
four concessions in the Neuqun basin in
2013, with an average net production of
18,000 bopd and 6 MMcfgd.
YPFs efforts in Neuqun appear to be
paying off, as the company announced in
June that it had recorded its highest daily
oil output in more than eight years in May,
pumping more than 70,000 bpd. This figure includes production from the assets it
acquired from Apache in an $800-million
purchase in February. YPF also recorded
positive gas output from the region, flowing more than 915 MMcfgd.
July 2014
SHALE TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

New technologies and best
practices for shale exploration,
drilling, fracturing
and water management
Productive-SRV technology determines what proportion of the total

stimulated rock volume is filled with proppant and will contribute
to long-term production. This analysis allows operators to optimize
well spacing and stage length, and to compare different completion
methods. Image courtesy of MicroSeismic Inc.
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO
PUBLISHED IN JULY 2014
Copyright 2014 Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved. For additional copies,
contact Gulf Publishing Company. Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301. Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433
(World Oil, Attention: Reprints Department). Mailing address: Gulf Publishing Company,
PO Box 2608, Houston, TX 77252 USA.
How can we get our factory drilling to deliver factory production?
Start by attacking that 30% rejection rate.

Factory drilling in unconventionals has delivered exceptional results. However, no factory in the world
would accept such a high rejection rate. For instance, 36% of zones stimulated on a typical multiwell program
in the Eagle Ford did not contribute to production. Getting the production part of the factory on track requires
technologies to understand geological variability, optimize well placement, and deliver effective stimulations.
Our technology has led to a 99.9% placement success rate in more than 21,000 unconventional treatments in
20 different countries with a 20% average productivity gain.
Now thats a well-performing factory.
slb.com/shale
Best practices for more production, less HSE impact
PRAMOD KULKARNI, Editor
INSIDE THIS SUPPLEMENT
S127
Factory drilling is no substitute for formation evaluation. There is
It was only 1981, when George

Mitchell began experimenting with
horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracturing in the Barnett shale. In
just 33 years, we have discovered
scores of major shale plays in North
America and often, through trial and
error, weve built up an enormous
body of knowledge regarding shale
formation evaluation, horizontal
drilling, multi-stage fracturing and
water management.
Since each shale play is different,
and there could be major variations
within a few miles of even a particular play, it is necessary to crack the
code for a specific shale well program. Nevertheless, as the articles
in this Shale Technology Review demonstrate, it is possible to establish
certain best practices processes for
each phase of shale E&P, regardless
of where the activity is taking place.
If I may be bold enough to make
a prediction, I think that within the
next decade, there will be operators, who will be able to adapt the
North American shale experience
toward developing major shale plays
in countries as geologically diverse
as Argentina, Australia, China and,
possibly, England.
general agreement that for unconventional shale plays to be economically

viable, the production cost must be reduced. Contributing Editor Eve Sprunt argues against
a groupthink approach of reducing costs through factory-style drilling. Sprunt suggests
that detailed formation evaluation is necessary for reservoir characterization before factory
drilling can take place.
S129
Finding sweet spots, optimizing completions. In the early days,
many operators thought of shale as being homogeneous and fraced the

heck out of the rock, regardless of the specific petrophysical properties. Now, there is more
detailed evaluation of petrophysical properties, such as the total organic content, maturity
and brittleness to locate specific sweet spots. Contributing Editor Ron Bitto reports that
G&G advances are now being used to optimize completions, as well.
S135
New technologies tackle drilling efficiency and HSE. Contributing
Editor Jim Redden examines how operators and service companies are
improving drilling efficiency through best practices, and reducing waste streams from E&P
activity. Insights on drilling efficiency are the result of an interview with BHP Billitons Derek
Cardno, V.P. of Drilling and Completions.
S139
Continuing advances in fracturing technology. Fracturing technology
dates back more than 60 years, but the technology is continuing to evolve.
Contributing Editor Eldon Ball reveals that while the plug-and-perf technique is used for more
than 85% of multi-stage completions, the proppant is not distributed evenly across the multiple perforation clusters, leaving gaps in the fracture stimulations. Among the new solutions
is intrastate diversion through the use of self-removing, chemical diverting agents.
S143
Advances in water management tools. Contributing Editor Don

Francis explains how the industry needs to improve shale water management, but also needs to change the public perception of water use. Some of the
water recycling technologies that could help improve public perception include forward
osmosis, mixed oxidant biocide and a three-stage solids removal, chemical treatment
and evaporation process.
World Oil/JULY 2014S125
Todays extended reach wells come with a whole new set of challenges. More than
ever, you need a centralization solution that wont let you down. Volants Centralization
Solution combines the rugged dependability of our HydroFORM Centralizers with
our proprietary centralizer optimization strategy. Every application is different and
each demands a custom-made centralization solution. Thats what we delivera Volant
solution precisely engineered for each and every liner or casing run, no matter what
the challenges. No matter how far you need to go.
sales@volantproducts.ca volantproducts.ca | sales@volantoiltoolsUS.com volantoiltoolsUS.com
Factory drilling is no substitute

for formation evaluation
In a push to reduce costs
in unconventional shale
play reservoirs, some in
the industry are racing to
systematize development
processes, even before
understanding many of
the aspects that play a role
in shale production. This
manufacturing approach
is not a substitute for a
comprehensive understanding
of a formation.
EVE SPRUNT, Consultant

The oil industry is buzzing with talk of
implementing factory drilling to reduce
costs. Everyone agrees that for unconventional shale plays to be economically viable, production cost must be reduced. But
will the groupthink approach to optimization lead operators to the winning path?
Reducing operating costs is important.
However, formation quality is a major factor in profitability. Low-cost wells alone
are not the solution. Drilling costs can be
reduced, while simultaneously investing to
understand the formations.
Yes, costs are too high for shale plays to
continue to be economically attractive, but
what are the big underlying questions? To
optimize a process, operators need to understand the major variables. At this point,
we may not have even identified all of the
critical factors. We need to pause to think
about what we know and what we dont
know. Unconventional plays are different,
and we need to think outside the box in
identifying important reservoir characterization questions and in devising ways to
obtain answers.
Shale plays are not continuous. Lets
start with the misnomer of referring to
shale plays as continuous plays. If they
were really continuous (in contrast with
conventional plays, in which traps and seals

are essential), you would have an equally
good chance of drilling a profitable well
anywhere the shale formation is sufficiently thick and thermally mature. Drilling results do not support that hypothesis. Production data indicate that good wells differ
from bad wells by more than just the differences in how the wells were stimulated and
completed. Research has documented the
economic importance of sweet spots in
shale plays and explained that a key factor
in profitable shale oil production is being
able to identify these ahead of the drill bit,
and preferably before leasing.1
Even in the face of solid evidence to
the contrary, some erroneous geologic
concepts can persist for decades. Im old
enough to have been taught in school that
wind sculpted the deserts, and that it was
mere coincidence that the continents appeared to fit together across the Atlantic.
Throughout history, there are ample examples of experts overlooking the obvious, and convincing the public that they
are correct.
Rare but significant events are important in earth sciences. Water is scarce in the
desert, but sporadic floods are now known
to be the major factor in shaping the desert landscape. Analogously, shales are not
homogeneous, and infrequent events play
an important role in shale properties. Although extremely fine sediments comprise
the bulk of shale formation, the hundredyear (or longer interval) storm that transports larger particles can have a major
impact on the permeability and porosity.
Localized alteration, due to igneous events
and faulting, can lead to variations in kerogen (organic matter) maturity and rock
properties.2, 3 In turn, these differences lead
to major variations in hydrocarbon properties and permeability. A key challenge is to
identify ahead of the drill bit the areas with
greater ability to produce hydrocarbons.
Identifying sweet spots. Seismic
technology has been the workhorse of
the industry for decades, but is it the most
cost-effective way to identify the so-called
sweet spots in shale plays? In exploration

for conventional resources, in which precise determination of traps and seals is essential, seismic is the best tool, so geophysics groups are dominated by seismologists.
Experts of all types naturally look at how
their own expertise can be extended to
address new problems. Seismologists are
often convinced that with its better resolution, seismic studies are the best tools for
reservoir characterization.
For many years, seismology has been,
by an overwhelming margin, the chosen
method for analyzing subsurface structure. Seismic surveys can provide information on numerous factors, including
details of subsurface structure and rock
properties. Given the resolution of information provided by seismic surveys, seismologists often see little reason to bother
with other methods. However, seismic
surveys are expensive and ground access
is required, so restricted access may result in partial coverage. In common with
many technologies, the interpretations of
seismic data can be ambiguous.
Taking a macro approach. In shales,
detailed knowledge of traps and seals is
not required. Therefore, seismology may
not be the most effective method of providing answers to questions that are critical to reducing costs. On the macro scale,
better decisions might be made with less
expensive screening data gathered over
larger areas, when combined with insights
obtained from detailed studies on samples from some key wells.
We have macro-scale techniques that

may not be as precise as seismic, but have
the potential to be much more cost-effective and have the added benefit of not
requiring as many boots on the ground.
These techniques can provide valuable
information at lower cost than seismic surveys. Gravity and magnetics can identify
deep tectonic structures that are associated
with regional faulting. Satellite imagery,
coupled with advanced computing, may
be adequate in identifying the tectonic
structures, regional faulting and fractures

that serve as conduits for hydrothermal fluids. We need to be more open-minded in
identifying both the key factors that make
an area a sweet spot and the least expensive
ways of characterizing those factors.
The unconventional plays are a reminder of many factors we dont understand
about kerogen (organic material) maturation and expulsion. We dont really even
understand how hydrocarbons escape
from the low-permeability source rock to
C US T OM E R F OC US P R E S SU R E P U M P ING
MORE AND
LESS IS
5X BETTER.
Stainless Steel SPM Duralast

st
Fluid End Technology
More.
Weir Oil & Gas brings you more in uid end technology. More
long-lasting performance, improved corrosion resistance and
greater overall durability with the stainless steel SPM Duralast
uid end technology that provides ve times the life cycle.*
And less.
Reduced maintenance, less downtime and lower overall
operating costs.
Available for all SPM frac pump models, the patented
Duralast uid end technology lets you frac longer and
in harsher environments. Its advanced design improves
fatigue life by more than 50 percent and reduces stress
concentrations by more than 30 percent.*
Contact us today for more performance and less worry.
Excellent
Oil & Gas
Solutions
WeirInAction.com weiroilandgas.com 1.800.342.7458
*When compared to conventional SPM uid ends that do not feature Duralast uid end technology.
S128JULY 2014/Shale Technology Review
begin their migration to conventional reservoirs. When we recover shale samples,

we cant be sure which of the carefully photographed micro features existed in situ.
The only fractures that we know for certain
existed in place are those with evidence of
natural cements. The timing and volume
of gas generation during maturation of the
kerogen could play an important role in
migration. We need to think broadly about
the important unknowns and have an open
mind as to the most cost-effective ways to
obtain solutions.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to persuade old hands to try new tricks. When
there is a focus on cost cutting, it becomes
difficult to get the funding to test new or
less frequently used characterization technologies, even if those technologies promise to be much more cost-effective. Staff
experts want to preserve their research programs, not bring in new technologies from
outside their field of expertise.
The tendency of experts to focus their
search for solutions on their own discipline also contributes to emphasis on
the manufacturing process and factory
drilling. Drilling and production dominate the cost of a well, so management
turns to those groups to save money.
However, the biggest way to cut costs is to
understand the factors that create sweet
spots, and to avoid drilling in geologically
less promising areas.
Cutting drilling costs by drastically
curtailing collection of formation evaluation data in poorly understood formations
is short-sighted. Immediate costs are reduced, but the lack of information about
the producing formation leads to higher
costs in the long run.
To improve the economics of shale
plays, we must invest in characterizing and
understanding what makes some areas
sweet spots, and what is the most costeffective technologies are for predicting
their locations, before implementing lowcost factory drilling. We need to be openminded and question the pre-conceived
assumptions we have been working with
for years.
LITERATURE CITED
1. Berman, A., Reflections on a decade of shale gas, examples from the Haynesville and Eagle Ford, presentation
to the Houston Geological Society, Sept. 30, 2013.
2. Edman, J., How local variations in thermal maturity
affect shale oil economics and producibility, World Oil,
Vol. 233, No. 3., pp. 4753.
3. Newman, J., J. Edman, J. Howe and J. LeFever, The Bakken at Parshall field: Inferences from new data regarding
hydrocarbon generation and migration, Unconventional
Resources Technology Conference, No. 1578764, 2013.
Finding sweet spots and optimizing

completions through G&G advances
Recent advances in a number of G&G
techniques, such as full-azimuth imaging,
deep shear wave imaging, integrated wireline
evaluation and microseismic monitoring are
improving results in unconventional plays
Fig. 1. Paradigms EarthStudy 360 provides rich information

from all directions and reection angles, resulting in high-quality
imaging and velocity model building.
RON BITTO, Contributing Editor

In an ideal world, operating companies would have a complete
geological modelwith full reservoir characterizationbefore
beginning their horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing programs to develop unconventional resources. Unfortunately, companies seldom have time to get a complete picture before development must begin.
In the U.S., a detailed seismic reservoir characterization is often used as a post-mortem analysis, said Duane Dopkin, Executive V.P. Geoscience at Paradigm.
COMPLEXITY
In addition to understanding conventional reservoir parameters, operators developing unconventionals also have to derive
the unique properties of shale and other tight formations. These
parameters include formation brittleness, total organic content
(TOC), maturity, natural fracture patterns and the in-situ stress
fields of the formation. Once assembled, this information enables
operators to define the sweet spots.
However, because each unconventional basin has different
characteristics, and there is a high degree of heterogeneity within
each individual reservoir, operators must use flexible, creative
workflows to gather information from all available sources.
The process of imaging, characterizing, and interpreting
shale plays is complex, said Dopkin. With conventional seismic
data, we use seismic reflection data to establish a structural and
stratigraphic framework, and to derive some basic reservoir properties. Both of these can contribute to the geometric and physical description of the reservoir. Its not so simple with a shale resource play. We not only need to know the depth to the shale with
a high degree of accuracy, but we also need to understand the
structural and compositional fabric of the shale, and understand
how it changes laterally and vertically.
SEISMIC ACQUISITION
Recent advances in land seismic technology have enabled

the acquisition of massive volumes of high-density, full-azimuth,
single-sensor, surface seismic data, according to Charles Wagner,
manager of Schlumbergers Seismic for Unconventionals Center
of Excellence.
Historically, telemetry systems were unable to cope with

ultra-high data rates, Wagner said. The response from several
geophones was merged at recording time, irrevocably mixing receiver responses together. Today, each geophone can be recorded
separately, with some systems recording as many as 100,000 live
channels at each shot point.
With the onset of full azimuth land acquisition systems, the
long-sought-after ability to analyze azimuthal variations in rock
responseeconomicallyhas been realized. This is of critical
importance to evaluation of unconventional resources, especially
organic-rich shales, Wagner said.
The vertical resolution of surface seismic is such that faults
and large fractures can be detected by identifying breaks in continuous seismic reflectors. But smaller fracture sets, which affect
fluid flow and hydraulic fracture propagation, cannot be detected
in such a way. However, using advanced seismic inversion methods and full azimuth high-density data, we can now quantitatively
predict mechanical properties and natural fracture density in specific rock layers, Wagner said.
SEISMIC PROCESSING FOR UNCONVENTIONALS
The science of applying seismic data to shale plays puts tremendous pressure on geophysicists and the geophysical method,
said Dopkin. For example, we have to use best practices to remove overburden effects.
If we are just interested in getting a good depth position to
land the well and to geosteer through the formation, depth imaging, if properly applied, is strongly positioned to achieve this, said
Dopkin. Today, we also want to understand the internal properties of the shale that will make us successful in terms of production. That is why the industry has developed tools to help achieve
that understanding.
(0dXel]XZkliè^
plants throughout
North America.
U.S. owned and operated
]fifm\i,'p\Xij
ASME Stamp Code Vessels
Xe[8G@()=DfefîXdd\[
Production Tanks
JkXk\$f]$k_\$Xik#è$[ffi
jk\\cî`kYcXjkè^#gXèkè^
and coating booths
Add up Dragons more than 50 years of
The companys expansive inventory
building high quality oil eld equipment,
and
a workforce currently 2,500 strong and
comprehensive line of exploration and
growing; plus its 19 manufacturing sites;
production equipment including, tanks,
25 rental and service centersall
trailers, pumps, and rigs and all the parts
family-owned and operated from the
that go with them. Dragon equipment
Beaumont, Texas corporate ofceand
delivers exceptional durability under the
you have a formula that succeeds. This is
harshest conditions and in a variety of
what you get with Dragon. This is why so
applications including well servicing,
many companies in the energy industry
bulk storage, liquid and solids hauling
choose to do business with Dragon.
and many pumping solutions.
product
offering
includes
Experienced personnel and

Zfdd`kk\[?\Xck_#JX]\kp
Xe[<emìfed\ekXcJkX]]
Make it happen.
nnn%[iX^fegif[lZkjck[%Zfd($/..$)*($/(0/
U.S 2014
owned
and
operated
for reserved.
over 50
Copyright
Modern
Group
Inc. All rights
RANCODESERTAD
WORLDOIL 4/14
years.
Copyright 2014 Modern Group Inc. All rights reserved.
One such tool is Paradigms EarthStudy 360, Fig. 1. The

system is designed to deliver data and information for consumption by geophysicists, geologists and drilling engineers.
The program uses surface recorded seismic data to recover
in-situ stresses and fractures that are difficult or impossible to
recover with conventional seismic methods. Its ability to recover full azimuth data, in-situ, and in-depth allows geophysicists to create deliverables that can be correlated to well and
engineering data.
In general, the structural interpretation of the reservoir is
much the same between conventional and unconventional reservoirs, said Bill Ross, director, Geological and Geophysical
Frameworks, at Landmark. Its well known that only one-third
of frac stages meet expectations, one-third are marginal, and
one-third contribute nothing to production. The big challenge
is finding the sweet spot for the drill bit and the frac stages.
You also have to be aware of where you are in the basin,
Ross added. In these petroleum systems, the shale is both the
source rock and the reservoir. How deep is it? How long has it
been down there? You need to fill in the layers to build your
model, drill to your targets, and update your maps fast enough,
so that they can improve performance on the next well.
To facilitate this process, Landmarks Decision Space Geosciences is a unified workspace bringing together geophysical,
geological and petrophysical data.
Baker Hughes collaborates with CGG. Baker Hughes, in
conjunction with CGG, is combining advanced, integrated,
wellbore formation evaluation analysis with a variety of reservoir rock and fluid parameters from 3D seismic analysis to locate sweet spots across unconventional reservoirs, according to
Amr El Hosary, product manager LWD seismic, Baker Hughes.
Near-wellbore anisotropy lithology, mineralogy, TOC, saturations, porosity, mechanical properties, fracture characterization and identification of stratigraphic sequences can be derived
from log and seismic data and analysis.
CGG arrives at a variety of reservoir rock and fluid parameters from simultaneous inversion processing of the 3D seismic.
Then, using Hampson-Russell software, CGG models multiattribute lithofacies, volumetrics and other key determinants
(including TOC). These results are calibrated with wellbore
data to extrapolate these characteristics across the reservoir for
sweet spot identification.
GEOMECHANICS
Because the success of fracturing programs depends on the

in-situ stresses and brittleness of unconventional reservoirs,
geomechanics has become extremely important in reservoir
characterization. A recent paper described a field-scale study of
the geomechanics of the Haynesville shale,1 which systematically identified shale layers in the field, where wells were most
likely to be productive.
The study identified one class of rock as the most promising for production. This rock class has uniformity in mechanical properties, rock fabric and in-situ stress, except for regions
with structural changes and curvature. The studys model also
showed that these shale layers would result in high-producing
wells, only if they were contained by stronger rock class layers
located above them. The analysis was confirmed by the fact that
more than 75% of the best producing wells in this region of the
play are in reservoir layers beneath the containing rock class.
RESERVOIR FLUID CHARACTERISTICS
A recent paper by Exxon Mobil concluded that the performance of liquids-rich reservoirs is dependent on in-place fluid
composition and phase behavior. The study presented an overview of fluid types in tight reservoirs, from black oil to dry gas,
and described their impact on key reservoir characteristics, based
on the extent of organic matter development and the physics of
the related fluid production.
The study found that, unlike conventional liquids reservoirs,
the most promising unconventional resources have gas-dominated transport mechanisms, so understanding the phase behavior
of liquids, and its impact on well performance, is a critically important economic consideration.
Because unconventional reservoirs have extremely low permeability, high drawdowns are required for production, so it is
difficult to obtain single-phase fluid samples. Representative,
initial fluid samples are needed to accurately forecast future performance, but obtaining these is, currently, impractical for some
rich-liquid systems.
Core and fluid sampling. Halliburton has addressed this
need by developing a system that captures core samples, at reservoir pressure, and seals them downhole. The companys wirelinedeployed CoreVault system takes large-diameter cores and recovers 100% of the fluid contained in the core sample, Fig. 2.
WIRELINE AND LWD LOGGING
Wireline logging also faces challenges in unconventional reservoirs. Shale and other tight reservoirs require a more targeted
suite of measurements than conventional reservoirs, said John
Dahl, product line manager, Petrophysics, at Baker Hughes. After the initial pilot well logs, data acquisition becomes more challenging in long horizontal wells.
Also, Archies equation (for water saturation) doesnt apply in
shale reservoirs, so you cant use conventional methods to calculate barrels in place. Production is driven by stimulation effectiveness, so you are more interested in understanding mineralogy,
geomechanics and total organic carbon, Dahl said.
Log datataken by either conveyance methodcan be difficult to interpret, according to Martina Nardi, Global LWD Formation Evaluation manager at Weatherford. Log responses
especially
from
gamma raycan
differ significantly Fig. 2. Halliburtons CoreVault system takes
in shale reservoirs, large-diameter cores and recovers 100% of
the uid contained in the core sample.
due to their organic content, Nardi
said.
In conventional reservoirs,
the gamma ray is
a lithology indicator that distinguishes between
shale (high gamma ray) and sand
(low gamma ray).
In shale plays, the
organic content is
often associated
with high uraniWorld Oil/JULY 2014S131
um values and, therefore, the typical sand/shale evaluation is

no longer valid.
In addition to standard triple combo measurements (gamma,
ray, resistivity, density and neutron), a spectral gamma ray that
resolves the gamma ray counts into the elements of uranium,
thorium and potassium can help determine shale brittleness and
calculate the TOC. The data can also be used to identify the types
of clay in the shales. This significantly affects the fracability of the
rock, Nardi said.
Petrophysical interpretation for unconventional reservoirs
needs a different approach than conventional log interpretation,
said Camilo Mejia, U.S. Regional LWD Formation Evaluation supervisor at Weatherford. Understanding the geomechanical properties of shale, which control the occurrence of natural fractures and
the creation of hydraulically induced fractures, is key to successful
stimulation and completion of wells in a shale reservoir, Mejia said.
Weatherford developed the CrossWave LWD sonic tool that
provides 360 azimuthally focused measurements of compressional- and shear-wave velocities, enabling 3D characterization
of geomechanical properties along the length of the horizontal
wellbore in mechanically anisotropic shale reservoirs, added
Mejia. Using data provided by this service, the operator can select
the best areas for stage placement, while optimizing the fracturetreatment design and execution.
LWD imaging in the Barnett. As infield drilling has increased
in the Barnett shale, collision and encroachment from well to well
has become a growing concern, Fig. 3. Encana teamed up with
Baker Hughes to demonstrate the use of high-resolution images
to optimize perforation spacing, and to redesign stimulation and
stage placement.2 High-resolution, state-of-the-art LWD imaging
tools were used to acquire images on a well drilled between two
600-ft (182.9 m) offset wells.
Baker Hughes StarTrak high-definition LWD imaging service
records micro-resistivity measurements around the circumference of the borehole, with the BHAs rotation, with azimuthal
measurements acquired in 120 separate oriented sectors. The
resolution of StarTrak LWD imaging is based on the electrode
diameter of 0.22 in., providing the industrys highest resolution
LWD imaging service. As the BHA rotates, the sensor rotates, as
well, and scans the near-wellbore formation. The sensor records
microresistivity measurement along the circumference of the
wellbore, and a high-resolution magnetometer is used to reference the image to magnetic north.
Fig. 3. Collision and encroachment from well to well has become
a growing concern, as ineld drilling has increased in the Barnett
shale of Texas.
The images from Encanas well were used to map fracture systems, faults and stresses in the field. With the knowledge obtained
from these LWD images, completions have been redesigned to
optimize fracture treatments, enabling increases in well productivity of up to 20%, compared to offset wells.
DEEP SHEAR WAVE IMAGING
In extremely low-permeability formations, gaining insight

into the natural fracture system, both intersecting and around the
borehole, is crucial. Baker Hughes FracXplorer deep shear wave
imaging system promises to improve detection of subseismic
faults up to 60 ft from the borehole.
Standard methods of fracture evaluation can only investigate a
limited area around the borehole. Imaging looks at the borehole
wall, while the other borehole acoustic methods rely on refracted
and guided modes that extend only 2 ft to 4 ft into the formation.
The flexural wave from the dipole source is one of the guided
modes that, generally, reads the deepest into the formation and is
used in the standard cross-dipole analysis.
The dipole source flexural waves travel near shear wave velocity at low frequency. When these waves move away from the borehole and impinge on a fracture, their energy reflects back to the
receivers in the borehole, enabling the fracture to be imaged. The
strongest response occurs from the shear waves intersecting a fluid/gas filled fracture and polarizing in the fractures strike direction. The shear waves also have azimuthal sensitivity, so fracture
direction can be determined. These features enable evaluation
of fractures up to 60 ft from the borehole, even detecting major
events that do not intersect the well. The system also can image
geologic features that cannot be detected by the surface seismic,
such as the occurrence of sub-seismic faults. Baker Hughes ran
field trials of the new FracXplorer service to compare shear wave
analysis with cross-dipole acoustic logs in three shale basins and a
tight sandstone formation, Fig. 4.3
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) logs are useful in determining the effective permeability of unconventional formations,
down to the nanodarcy range. NMR logs can provide a better picture than density, neutron and resistivity measurements.
NMR gives a clear estimate of total porosity and an effective
means of validating our petrophysical interpretation, said Dan
Buller, principal petrophysicist at Halliburton. The company
discussed the use of NMR technology in unconventional formations, in a paper delivered at a recent conference.4 Density and
neutron measurements dont always respond to these subtle alterations and changes within the rock. In addition, porosity measurements provide no indication of permeability.
However, because NMR measurements directly measure
the rocks pore size, they can detect variations in porosity and
permeability within the formation. The direct measurement of
effective porosity provides a fairly accurate evaluation of reservoir storage capacity. The pore size measurement, achieved by
the relaxation measurement of the NMR device, enables the
calculation of relative permeability, matching the permeability
measured in cores in the lab.
INTEGRATED WIRELINE EVALUATION
In a recent paper,5 Saudi Aramco presented the results of

combining wireline, NMR geomechanical and dielectric data to
evaluate reservoirs in Texas Eagle Ford shale and Saudi Arabias

Qusaiba shale. The authors discussed how large variations in the
mineralogy resulted in significant variation in the grain density.
Saudi Aramco found that wireline geochemical logs effectively
predicted an accurate grain density, even when there were large
variations in mineralogy and TOC. Dielectric measurements
were used as an alternative to micro-resistivity logs, which can
be inaccurate in formations containing kerogen, to derive water
saturation values.
NMR measurements were also incorporated into shale reservoir interpretations. When the NMR porosities were overlaid
in shale reservoir zones devoid of kerogen, the density porosity
measurement was a good prediction of the kerogen volume. In
addition, the difference between the NMR porosity and dielectric apparent water-filled porosity was lower bound on the volume of hydrocarbon in both shale fields studied.
ADVANCES IN SURFACE LOGGING
Because of the difficulty in obtaining and interpreting wireline

logs in unconventional shale formations, companies have turned
to surface logging and geochemical analysis. Unconventional
shale operators need much more information about the formations than traditional mud logging analysis can deliver, said Neil
Cardy, Advanced Cuttings Evaluation product manager at Baker
Hughes. They need to know what clay minerals are included in
the shale, the TOC, and the amount of dolomite and other rock
types that could affect reserves calculations.
Until recently, answering these questions has required laboratory analysis, which was usually done after the well was completed. Baker Hughes Advanced Cuttings Evaluation (ACE)
service uses a range of analytical methods to contribute to a full
understanding of the reservoir while drilling. The service uses
a high-resolution digital (HRD) microscope to create images of
sedimentological features; mineral assemblages and cements;
and grain morphologies. Digital imagery from cutting samples
can be transmitted in real time, making it easier to discuss formation lithologies with the operators asset team.
Another advanced component, the X-ray fluorescence
(XRF) service, can identify elements by measuring the emission of characteristic "secondary" or fluorescent X-rays from
a sample that has been excited by bombardment with highenergy X-rays. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis measures the
scattering of a beam of X-rays when passed through a crystalline material. This analysis identifies the minerals present in the
sample, including clay minerals.
Rig site pyrolysis analysis identifies the amount, type and
maturity of the kerogen in the formation. This enables real-time
identification of productive and non-productive zones. Previously, this analysis had to be performed at a laboratory.
By combining advanced cuttings evaluation in the vertical
wells with LWD and wireline logs, including elemental tools, the
cuttings can then be analyzed in the horizontal sections to characterize the laterals, Cardy explained. This can enable the well to
be geosteered, so that the well path stays in the sweet spot.
Baker Hughes and CGG have combined their portfolios to
bring CGG Robertson RoqSCAN wellsite mineralogical analysis
to the rig site. This technology uses a portable scanning electron
microscope (SEM) fitted with X-ray detectors to give an automatic
quantitative and diagnostic analysis of mineralogy and texture (including porosity) within 30 min. of the sample arriving at surface.
MICROSEISMIC
MONITORING
Fig. 4. Baker Hughes FracXplorer deep
There
have shear, wave imaging system facilitates
been a number detection of subseismic faults.
of studies6, 7 using microseismic
techniques
to
quantify
stimulated rock volume
produced during
fractured completions, to measure
hydraulic fracture
half-lengths during
fracturing,
and to map the
geomechanics of
shale reservoirs. In
addition to being
central to extensive
engineering projects, microseismic
technology has become a commercial service in most
unconventional
plays. For example, Pinnacle, a Halliburton service, is working
with operators in the Eagle Ford, Marcellus, Wolfcamp and other
unconventional plays to help evaluate hydraulic fracturing on a
practical basis.
The trend in fracturing is toward tighter perforating clusters
and smaller spacing for wells, said Charlie Waltman, Microseismic product champion at Pinnacle. Operators are using microseismic during fracing to determine how close to space the wells,
and to decide whether to stagger them in TVD or stack them.
Microseismic monitoring helps determine whether the lateral is
placed at the right depth by measuring the height of the frac and
determining if there is any out-of-zone growth.
Pinnacle recently introduced a new service in fracture diagnostics. FracHeight service involves a new hybrid tool, deployed
in an offset monitor well, that combines fiber optic wirelineconveyed microseismic receivers with Pinnacles downhole tiltmeter sensors that directly measure the formation movement
associated with fracture dilation.
INTEGRATING RESERVOIR DATA
With a wide range of technologies for reservoir characterization, it is easy for operating companies to be overwhelmed with
data and potentially overlapping services. The whole process can
be optimized, using software tools that combine data and models
to facilitate collaboration as a project is being implemented.
A recent paper by BHP Billiton8 described a workflow process that the company has used to develop assets in the Eagle
Ford. Recognizing the uncertainties that exist in reservoir and
completion parameters, BHP Billiton used a history-matching
process to optimize drilling, well spacing and landing points for
laterals, as well as stage lengths and completion and hydraulic
fracturing design.
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Visit WorldOil.com to view references for this article.
| bakerhughes.com
Bifuel services by the numbers...
170
168
110,000
70
Ten wells with
More
than
Up to
stages fractured in 27 days
Mmcf average 30-day production rate

of the operators 10 well eld
gallons of diesel replaced with

cleaner-burning natural gas
percent reduction in particulate

matter emissions. Also cut NOx
output in half and eliminated
carbon monoxide emissions
Learn more about the 100% proven Bifuel services at bakerhughes.com/bifuel
New technologies tackle drilling

efficiency and HSE issues
New technologies enabling

increased drilling efficiency,
with reduced HSE footprint,
include real-time, remote
monitoring centers, walking
rigs, uids cycle automation
and remote pipe racking.
JIM REDDEN, Contributing Editor

Sobering reports of rig site accidents
and growing scrutiny over E&P-generated waste streams deliver cautionary messages to the unconventional plays, where
textbook efficiencies continue to delineate well construction.
While multi-well pad drilling and
other technology-driven efficiencies
have doubtlessly reduced the overall
Among the technologies that have
accelerated with the factory-style
approach intrinsic to shale drilling is
the use of remote operation facilities to
monitor real-time performance on critical,
unconventional well applications. Photo
courtesy of Baker Hughes.
HSE footprint, myriad safety and environmental issues continue to put many
of the shale plays squarely in the public
and regulatory crosshairs. The industry,
to be sure, has responded accordingly,
as reflected in the recent development of
safer, less waste-inducing technologies,
among them remote pipe racking, which
essentially renders the derrickman a
misnomer, water-based drilling fluids incorporating nanotechnology, and fluids
cycle automation.
Joining in the wave of new HSE-directed innovations, the public and privately-funded Environmentally Friendly
Drilling (EFD) program is conducting
field trials, aimed at providing unbiased
research into the technical, economic
and societal feasibilities of candidate
technologies to address distinctive air,
water and land issues, Fig. 1. Within its
wide-ranging Technical Integration Program (TIP), the EFD initiative works
with industry, academic, governmental
and environmental representatives on a
host of studies, including unprecedented
tailgate emission studies to validate gasfueled drilling technologies; evaluate the
onshore environmental benefits of dope-
free pipe connections; advance the use of

longer-drilling aluminum drill pipe; and
promote lightweight U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT)-certified drilling
rigs to reduce roadway damage.
Richard Haut, Ph.D., manages the
EFD program, which is administered
through the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) of The Woodlands, Texas. Our emphasis is on getting
all the stakeholders involved, and reach
a consensus that this stuff, does indeed,
address environmental issues. Of course,
at the same time, someone's got to save
money, and someone's got to make money, Haut explained.
In no application is that economic reality more apparent than in shale drilling,
where only optimizing HSE takes precedence over lowering costs. Consequently,
the unconventional plays have spawned
a host of celebrated technologies, highlighted by AC-powered rigs with interpad walking/skidding packages that
have fueled a factory-style approach that
is yielding impressive productivity improvement.
Across all our shale plays, we will
drill 23% more wells per rig this fiscal
year than we did last year, said Derek
Cardno, BHP Billitons V.P. of Drilling
and Completions.
FAMILIARITY BREEDS
EFFICIENCY
Cardno said that having a wealth of

new technologies available becomes
doubly valuable when combined with
play-specific insight. BHP Billiton has
learned that, full well, within the aggregate 1.5 million net acres it holds
throughout the Eagle Ford, Haynesville,
Permian basin and Fayetteville shales.
Though universal homogeneity is certainly not a characteristic that can be
remotely applied to the shale plays, one
constant for every operator, in every
basin, is intense pressure to hold down
costs. Unlike deepwater, where you
spend money to deliver time and costWorld Oil/JULY 2014S135
Fig. 1. The Texas A&M Global Petroleum Research Institute (GPRI) analytical lab on
location in the Eagle Ford. The unit is being used in a RPSEA research project to
determine the best technology for re-using and recycling make-up and produced water.
(photo courtesy of the Environmentally Friendly Drilling program).
Fig. 2. A Nabors Pace-X rig on contract with BHP Billiton making hole in the Haynesville
shale while surrounded by a sound barrier (photo courtesy of BHP Billiton).
saving efficiencies, in this game you have

to be low-cost, Cardno said.
Owing to its early mover positions,
BHP has recorded some of its most impressive cost-reducing drilling efficiencies in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville.
The 17 H&P FlexRigs that BHP is running in the Eagle Ford had drilled some
15 wells of 12,000-ft total vertical depth
(TVDs) at considerably under $3 million/well, Cardno said. Weve drilled
several wells with 15,000-ft runs from
surface casing to TD, and used the same
assembly to drill the intermediate section, build the curve and drill the lateral.
And, this is in the toughest part of the
Eagle Ford, which is deeper, with high
temperatures that require we really pay
attention to the set-up of our mud motors
and the parameters we run.
He singled out the Haynesville, however, where BHP Billiton is operating
three advanced Nabors Pace-X walkS136JULY 2014/Shale Technology Review
ing rigs (Fig. 2), as recording some of

the most impressive results per capita.
These rigs are specd for the type of
wells we're drilling there, which are deep,
with long laterals and small hole sizes, he
said. We focus closely on rig moves, and
even though these rigs have about double
the loads of the H&P Flex 5 rigs, we are
moving them in about the same time.
On the other side of the efficiency
equation, Cardno said BHPs experience
in the Permian clearly reflects the trialand-error that characterize initial entry
into any basin. When you first go out
there, your earlier wells will always be
your worst wells. It takes time to focus
on an area and fully understand what you
need to do, and what works well. In the
Permian, we have a huge acreage position
spread out across the Midland and Delaware basins, and its taken us a while to
get our arms around it. We have since narrowed our focus in the Delaware basin,
and now, were getting repeatable results.

Were concentrating on repeatability and
plan to begin pad drilling this year.
Getting to that point, however, has
required more than a little experimentation, as reflected in BHPs attempts
to alter its Permian casing designs. We
started running four strings and decided
to see if we could drill them with three
strings. We could get some of the wells
down with three strings, but we were
having so many problems that we actually were drilling our four-string wells
cheaper. So, we decided to drill with four
strings, get really efficient and repeatable
at it, and later go back and see if we could
eliminate a casing string.
Continuous improvement is a constant throughout the BHP operations in
the shale plays. For instance, one area
were really focusing on is our cementing
programs. If you think you can drill a horizontal well and achieve proper isolation
without good cementing practices, youre
kidding yourself. Also, our engineers have
focused on each hole section, each activity, and getting very sharp on continually
improving every single part of the well.
However, Cardno emphasized that
drilling efficiencies take a back seat to
enhancing safety, particularly when it
comes to eliminating rigsite conditions
that precipitate catastrophic accidents
and optimizing well control. We have
put a huge focus on well control and
adhering to good well control practices,
Cardno said. We continually audit our
operations, and make sure all our equipment and procedures are in good shape.
We still dont have the consistency that
were striving for, but we're in much better shape than we were.
One area ripe for further investigation, he said, is developing a full-proof
solution for the inaccuracies, discrepancies and other problems often seen in
traditional trip sheets. Ideally, he believes
that trip sheets should be built into the
drillers controls, automatically updated
with real-time trip tank data, and set to
alarm when hole fill and displacement are
incorrect. That would eliminate some of
the basic errors we see. Its a matter of
catching things quickly before they become big problems. Thats one area that
we possibly could automate, somewhat.
AUTOMATING FLUIDS CYCLE
To that end, one strategy that holds

enormous potential for optimizing both
well control and the efficiency of unconventional drilling programs is the automation of key components of the fluids
cycle, says Jason Norman, managing partner of Houston's OnSite Integrated Services. Norman co-founded the company
in January 2013 after working on drilling
automation initiatives at Shell, Chevron
and, more recently, Apache.
At OnSite, Norman focuses on the
drilling fluids cycle, where proprietary
patent-pending diagnostic software is
combined with Coriolis metering technology to measure and interpret flowrate, density, mass flowrate, and temperatures going in and out of the wellall
in real time. Norman said incorporating
process control functionality is particularly helpful in identifying early kick
detection, by allowing the driller to instantly distinguish between a kick and
ballooning.
The bottom line is, rather than having the driller unable to determine if
the well is ballooning or taking a kick,
if you have a well control package and
process control thats not driven by human beings, you can remove all doubt
from an incident. Early kick detection is
extremely vital, as kicks cost so much to
deal with. Even if it's a kick that is controlled, they have to circulate it out, and
that takes rig time and leads to NPT
(non-productive time).
Along with kick detection, automated
process control of the fluids cycle can go
a long way toward improving efficiencies
and eliminating the costs of unnecessary
sweeps and other preventative measures
that have become standard inclusions in
many authorizations for expenditures
(AFE). Rather than pumping a periodic
sweep as a matter of course, Norman said
data generated from Coriolis meters placed
strategically on the flow line, as determined
by a rig survey and analyzed through diagnostic software, provide a definitive snapshot of hole cleaning efficiency, Fig. 3.
We infer some diagnostics from the
data we receive, he said. We can determine hole cleaning efficiency, sweep efficiency, and mud pump efficiency, and we
can monitor losses and provide data on
the severity of those losses. This also allows us to detect the difference between
ballooning and a kick. We do that by
looking at the signature of the data on every connection, so we can look back and
determine if this is a normal flow-back
signature or an abnormal signature.
In many cases, well see drilling programs calling for sweeps every 500 ft
to 1,000 ft, whether they need it or not,
because thats the way we've always
done it. Many drillers might also go two
to eight times bottoms-up, and you ask
them why and, again, theyll say thats
the way theyve always done it. On many
Eagle Ford operations, they may routinely
pump six to eight times bottoms-up. What
weve done is develop a clear-cut means of
determining the effectiveness of remedial
hole cleaning and not just a gut feel.
Once the diagnostics have established
a clean hole, Norman said examination
of the mass balance circulation can determine the amount of circulating time
necessary prior to pulling out of the hole.
Graphical representations of the measurements gives the driller clear evidence
of the rig time being expended by circulating needlessly. Norman said a number
of drilling contractors have wholeheartedly embraced the instrumentation concept. They recognize that this (automation) will become commonplace in two
to five years time, whether its instrumentation at its basic level to just measure flow and density going in and out of
their well, or doing the whole enchilada
with automated mud mixing, salinity,
water cut, particle size distribution, and
what have you. At a minimum, everybody
will be doing flow and density. Its just the
right thing to do. It's a cheap insurance
policy to maintain a good safety record.
REDUCING WASTE STREAM
Minimizing the waste generated at the

rig site begins with the formulation of
the drilling fluid. While many operators

prefer the lubricity, inhibition and other
performance characteristics of oil-based
mud, use is trending more toward waterbased drilling fluids, where the resulting cuttings, unlike those produced by
their invert emulsion counterparts, are
approved for onsite discharge or can be
converted to road grading and other beneficial reuse applications.
Weve been running oil mud, but
were going to start experimenting with
water-based mud, Cardno said. Obviously, the prize is reduced disposal costs,
but we have to balance it and determine
whether well give up anything in terms
of ROP and inhibition. If we can drill
just as fast and save on disposal, that may
be the cheaper way to go.
Nearly all the drilling fluid companies
lay claim to aqueous-based fluid systems
that they say meet those criteria. NOV
FluidControl, for one, said an evaluation
of more than 156 Eagle Ford wells that
employed its PolyTrax water-based drilling fluids system showed average ROP
equaling those of oil-based mud offsets,
with dramatic decreases in waste volume
and overall well costs. Besides reducing
well costs, were also not continually filling up a pit on somebodys ranch with
oil-based mud cuttings, said Operations
Manager Carl Tolbert.
M-I SWACO, a Schlumberger company, is focusing on developing onshore,
synthetic-based drilling fluids, using readily biodegradable linear paraffin as the base
fluid, as well as advancing nanotechnology
in water-based mud to enhance wellbore
stability and reduce the waste volume.
Fig. 3. Coriolis meters placed strategically on the ow line deliver measurements, both in
and out of the well, on owrate, density, and mass owrate, with the ensuing data used to
infer a number of diagnostics, including hole-cleaning efficiency. Photo courtesy of OnSite
Integrated Services.
Fig. 4. The easy-to-operate Stand Transfer

Vehicle (STV) allows remote pipehandling
with the derrickman out of harm's way.
(photo courtesy of NOV).
separation of ultra-fine low gravity solids (LGS) from invert emulsion drilling
fluids, allowing operators to reuse oilbased drilling fluids over multiple wells,
without the need for high rates of dilution, says Michael Joling, a technical services engineer and project manager for
M-I SWACO Environmental Solutions.
The company claims the technology has
been proven to reduce solids below 1%
while drilling.
FINGERTIP PIPEHANDLING
Weve been pursuing onshore synthetics, parallel with what we are doing
with synthetics offshore and many of the
same issues are at play. Certainly, one of
the key issues is the base fluids, which
are driven by availability that changes
as manufacturers change their product
mix, said M-I SWACO Manager of Environmental Affairs John Candler.
Candler said a prototype syntheticbased mud (SBM) introduced in the
Marcellus shale delivered impressive results in balancing the high inhibition and
other performance characteristics of a
non-aqueousbased mud with the environmental benefits of its water-based
counterpart. Linear paraffin demonstrates excellent onshore performance,
both from bioremediation and toxicity
perspectives he said, adding that new
testing criteria for evaluating onshore
SBM is now under investigation.
M-I SWACO also is advancing nanosilica-based products for water-based
muds to physically, rather than chemically, block water intrusion into shales.
By enhancing the shale inhibition of water-based drilling fluids without the use
of chemicals, the nanoparticles not only
improve wellbore stability, but reduce
the waste volume generated at the rigsite,
Candler said.
Essentially, nanoparticles provide
wellbore stability by mechanically plugging pores down to a few nanometers in
size, effectively decreasing the permeability of the older and more non-reactive
shales normally deposited in the production zones. That combination reduces the
waste generated and improves the efficiency of getting the hole down, Candler said.
M-I SWACO also introduced the
RHE-USE solids control technology
that relies on mechanical and chemical
With the intrinsic hazards of pipehandling representing a prime opportunity

for improving onshore rig safety, several
attempts have been made over the years
to develop remote pipe racking technologies that would place the derrickman on
safe ground. A spate of derrickman-related accidents early in the shale drilling
boom accelerated development efforts
to engineer a safer pipehandling system
and one that would not compromise the
consistent tripping speed and efficiency
of manual operation.
After the development of a prototype
machine and extensive field tests in the
Barnett Shale, NOV, working in conjunction with a drilling contractor, unveiled
its fingerboard-mounted Stand Transfer
Vehicle (STV), allowing the one-time
derrickman to replicate manual pipehandling operations, but do so alongside
the driller on the rig floor, Fig. 4. The
machine effectively stages drillpipe and
drill collars through manual hydraulic
control from the fingerboard and remote
control from the drillers cabin.
The STV has been one of our best
new products ever, as far as performance
in the field is concerned, said Joel Heinen, product technical manager for NOV
Rig Systems and Aftermarket. Its done
a really bang-up job, and now customers have been using it long enough that
were getting repeat orders. The real success story has been in its acceptance by
other contractors.
Heinen said that despite its operational simplicity, the remotely controlled
pipe-handling machine has thus far demonstrated manual-like tripping speed and
efficiencies. Weve seen tripping speeds
in line with an experienced derrickman.
Were continuously completing field time
studies to further validate the data.
The modular machine does not rely
on complex encoders for position control, and instead employs a dual camera
and monitor system to deliver visual

feedback, Heinen said. One camera
is mounted on the guide arm where it
tracks the guide head along its path in
and out of the fingerboard and to and
from well center. The other fixed camera
provides a well center view of the pipe
transfer between the STV and elevator.
The cameras and monitors deliver immediate verification of the operation to
the operators joystick and switch commands, reducing considerably the learning curve for training.
Since its driven by sight and not a
computer, you can walk right up and
start using it, said Sales Director Tom
Yost. Since the derrickman sits right
next to the driller, when the driller goes
on break, the derrickman sits in the drillers chair. When the derrickman goes on
break, a roustabout can operate the STV.
If the machine goes down, the crew fixes
it or you can revert to manual operations. So, this is a very unique machine.
Its just taken awhile for people to adopt
the technology.
OPPORTUNITIES REMAIN
Impressive efficiency gains notwithstanding, it appears more technical

improvements are within reach. Baker
Hughes, for example, recently introduced its Navi-Drill Ultra-Curve drilling
motor that it says features a differentiating reduction in bit-to-bend length that
optimizes high-rate curve building. The
optimized geometry of the Navi-Drill
Ultra Curve motor helps maintain a constant tool-face while drilling the curve,
resulting in more consistent build-up
rates and improved rates of penetration while sliding, said Alfred Knipper, product line director of Directional
Drilling Systems.
BHPs Cardno said a prime opportunity also exists for the development of
a cost-effective rotary steerable system,
capable of handling the rigors of highspeed, short-radius horizontal shale drilling. These are very clever and expensive
tools, but when you put them in a really
tough environment like the shales with
high build rates, they typically come out
destroyed, and you end up spending too
much. I would love to see rotary steerable
become cost-effective and sufficiently
durable for these plays, Cardno explained. I think weve just started to really tap into some of the efficiencies that
are still out there.
Fracturing technology continues to advance

The E&P industry is known
for building on past
successes, and hydraulic
fracturing technology is no
exception. Improvements and
new innovations continue to
evolve in response to diverse
economic and environmental
needs.
Fig. 1. Heterogeneous rock properties and formation closure stresses between perforation
clusters can affect where the fractures initiate and grow (image courtesy of Haliburton).
ELDON BALL, Contributing Editor

Although hydraulic fracturing of reservoirs has been around for over 60 years,
recent fracturing advances in association
with horizontal drilling and other techniques, have placed a whole new emphasis on further development. The technology isnt new, but it is still evolving.
For example, the most common
method of zonal isolation used in todays multi-stage fracturing treatments is
known as plug-and-perf. In this method,
multiple perforation clusters are shot for
each stage, and each stage is isolated, using a frac plug placed by wireline pumpdown operations. This method has been
shown to be effective at isolating stages
and, therefore, is being used for 75% to
85% of all multi-stage treatments.
One challenge that has arisen for plugand-perf completionsand that has been
demonstrated with modeling, production
logging and microseismic mapping studiesis that most multi-zone fracturing
techniques do not distribute proppant
evenly across the multiple perforation
clusters, leaving much of the pay zone
unstimulated. The poorly stimulated or
missed clusters create gaps in the fracture
network and have a major economic impact on the wells profitability by hindering production flowrates and reducing the
wells estimated ultimate recovery (EUR).
Halliburton has addressed this challenge of multi-cluster stimulation with
a strategy to maximize the number of

perforation clusters that receive stimulation, by sequentially stimulating each
zone through a series of treatments separated by a customizable diversion spacer.
This technique is also known as an intrastage diversion. Using diverting agents
in oil and gas wells has been around for
many years, but only recently, a new
generation of biodegradable, high-performance-sealing, self-removing, multimodal chemical diverting agents has
proven efficient and effective. New precision delivery methods have also made
it possible to achieve on-demand, competent diversion efficiency in even the
most difficult applications.
The new technology allows the industry to execute advanced design techniques to deliver a more effective hydraulic fracturing system during primary
completions of horizontal multi-cluster
wells. These precision applications include sequential stimulation of each
zone in a completion, to improve cluster
efficiency. That is, a series of proppant
cycles or treatments is pumped on each
interval, with each cycle separated by a
diversion spacer. An additional application enables effective re-fracturing of
horizontal multi-cluster wells in source

rock reservoirs (SRRs), most commonly
termed shale formations, without using
any mechanical isolation methods.
INTRASTAGE DIVERSION METHOD
Many of todays wells are designed

with tight perforation cluster spacing to
increase the number of fractures contacting the formation and intersecting
the wellbore. This strategy is based on
reservoir simulation and production
correlation to optimize overall reservoir
drainage volume per wellbore. These
progressive reservoir-specific designs
present a high degree of difficulty to
stimulate effectively; that is, to initiate
and propagate a unique fracture from
each of the designed perforation clusters.
The difficulty in simultaneously
initiating multiple dominant fractures
in close proximity to each other is an
agreed-upon concept in the industry.
This finding is reinforced by treatment,
production, diagnostic sensor and geomechanical modeling data. The effect
can be explained by interference between fractures propagating from closely
spaced clusters, essentially acting as
competing fractures and, to the natural
high degree of heterogeneity in formation closure stress, the designed clusters

penetrate along each stage of the lateral.
These wells typically include multiple
clusters per stage interval (3 to 6), with
tight spacing or a high cluster density,
and can include 15 to 30 isolated zones.
To sequentially stimulate each zone, using an intrastage diversion, presents a
very small margin for error in diversion
efficiency from a design and operational
delivery standpoint.
The solution developed by Halliburton
is the AccessFrac intrastage diversion
system, Fig. 1. This system, Halliburton
says, enables a higher cluster efficiency to
be achieved on each zone. The method
works by separating the stimulation of
the initially dominant clusters from clusters that are non-dominant on the initial
injection, due to intersecting portions of
the rock with a higher closer stress. In addition to stress contrast between clusters,
a portion of the clusters in an interval can
encounter fracture-to-fracture interference, called stress shadowing, that tends
to pinch the near-wellbore region contacted by inner clusters, and limit fracture
propagation from them.
The perforation clusters that break
down initially and take fluid will typically
be those that intersect the lowest formation closure stress in the interval. A higher
bottomhole pressure is required to break
Fig. 2. The BroadBand technique
developed by Schlumberger is designed
for re-fracturing operations, given its ability
to promote temporary cluster isolation
without the aid of mechanical devices, such
as bridge plugs.
down the clusters shot in the higher stress

regions. Using this sequential method, after the first proppant cycle is placed, a diversion spacer is designed to be pumped
into the wellbore to bridge and seal the
initially dominant clusters. This process
results in an elevated BHP. This higher
pressure allows the breakdown of subsequent clusters in the higher closure stress
areas and can overcome the stress shadow
placed in the interval by the first treatment cycle.
The fracturing fluids pumped on the
second cycle are placed into the newly
broken-down perforation clusters. The
end result, the company says, is more effective stimulation of each designed perforation cluster, and a higher cluster efficiency that is demonstrating enhanced
production results over conventional
stimulation methods.
EAGLE FORD CASE HISTORY
Halliburton reports that earlier this

year, an Eagle Ford shale operator completed its first trial well of the AccessFrac
intrastage diversion application, to improve perforation cluster completion efficiency on each zone. Each of the 18 stages
consisted of a series of two equally sized
treatments, with a diversion spacer separating them. Each zone was 220 ft plugto-plug, and had six perforation clusters
spaced 33 ft apart. The two deepest were
2 ft, and the remaining four were 1 ft each,
all having a shot density of 6-SPF.
The trial well was part of a four-well
pad; each well received equal proppant
amounts and had an equal number of
stage intervals. The initial flow tests,
Halliburton reports, showed the trial well
outperforming the average of the three
offsets by 19% for oil production and 39%
for gas output.
After 60 days of production, the AccessFrac well in the trial had produced
17% more (boe) than the best of the three
same pad offsets, and was predicted to
have a 25% higher EUR of oil over its life
than the other three, which all came in relatively the same, according to Halliburton.
Since the first trial well, the intrastage diversion system has been applied to 10 subsequent wells, representing over 220 successful stage applications, with minimal
adverse impact on the completion design
or efficiency, the company says.
In the end, Halliburton says, better
stimulation coverage is being achieved
along the lateral, due to a higher percent-
age of the perforation clusters receiving

stimulation, and this is leading to consistently improved production volumes.
Halliburton reports that the intrastage
diversion method enables sequential
stimulation of each zone, allowing the
treatment to overcome differences in formation stresses, and the natural cluster
interference or pinching that occurs while
pumping into multiple clusters.
BROADBAND SEQUENCING
In another advance in fracturing technology, Schlumberger has introduced

its BroadBand Sequencing technology,
which the company says enables sequential stimulation of perforation clusters in
wells drilled in unconventional reservoirs.
The new technique sequentially isolates
fractures at the wellbore, to ensure that
every cluster in each zone is fractured.
According to Schlumberger, the technique results in greater production and
completion efficiency, compared to conventional methods. Developed using a
composite fluid comprising a proprietary
blend of degradable fibers and multimodal particles, the BroadBand Sequence
technique is designed for use in new wells
and in recompletions. Schlumberger says
the technique is particularly suitable for
re-fracturing operations, given its ability
to promote temporary cluster isolation
without the aid of mechanical devices,
such as bridge plugs, Fig. 2.
Optimizing the stimulation of
wellbore perforation clusters in unconventional reservoirs is a significant challenge for our industry, said Amerino Gatti, president, Well Services, Schlumberger.
The BroadBand Sequence technique addresses this challenge and increases our
customers well production by enhancing
stimulation contact in every zone in the
reservoir. Schlumberger says the technique has delivered robust, consistent
performance in more than 500 operations
in several unconventional plays, including
the Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Woodford,
Spraberry and Bakken shales.
According to Schlumberger, the technique has enabled customers in South
Texas to increase production from new
completions in unconventional reservoirs
by more than 20%, and has reduced well
completion time by up to 46% in plugand-perf operations. This was accomplished by stimulating longer intervals,
compared with conventional methods.
The technology was applied to a well in
The moment of truth:
Where do your fracs (and your well investment) go?

W
REAL WORLD (unpredictable)
PLANNED
K
PLANNED
REAL WORLD (unpredictable)
Dh
REAL WORLD (predictable)
PLANNED
Plug-and-perf simply cannot deliver predictable frac results, and neither can open-hole packers
Dh
right where you plan them and proppant volume in every frac is exactly what you want. Cemented,

>
WZ,^
ncsfrac.com
+1 281.453.2222
info@ncsfrac.com
Leave nothing behind.
2014, NCS Energy Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Multistage Unlimited and Leave nothing behind. are trademarks of NCS Energy Services, LLC. Patents pending.
Fig. 3. Baker Hughes Shadow frac plug can be left downhole during production, which
eliminates the plug drill-out phase of plug-and-perf completions.
Sequence technique provided 46% savings in completion time and 68% savings
in plug costs, helping the operator achieve
a higher rate of return, Schlumberger says.
SHADOW FRAC PLUG
South Texas for a re-fracturing operation

that resulted in double the production,
with a four-fold increase in flowing pressure, the company said.
BroadBand Sequence is the first release
of a family of completion technologies
aimed at maximizing well productivity in
unconventional reservoirs. Schlumberger
cites the case of an independent operator
in the Eagle Ford that focuses on the optimization of field development operations,
with the goal of finding the most effective,
efficient methods to complete wells. The
operator typically uses the plug-and-perf
technique, Schlumberger says, with the
following parameters per stimulation
stage: an interval length of 200 ft and four
perforation clusters.
The interval length dictates the required number of plug-setting operations
along the wellbore, and therefore completion times, as well as operational costs.
Extending the interval length without
altering the spacing between perforation
clusters would provide a solution to reduce time and cost. However, limitations
on treating rate and fracture gradient anisotropy could lead to ineffective fracturing-fluid distribution among the increased
number of clusters within the interval,
potentially compromising well productivity and EUR. An effective stimulation
technique that would optimize fluid and
proppant allocation was required.
The BroadBand Sequence fracturing
technique was used in one well to evaluS142JULY 2014/Shale Technology Review
ate its ability to address the challenge. For

the candidate well, the interval length was
tripled to 600 ft, greatly reducing the total number of bridge plugs required. The
number of perforation clusters per interval was also tripled (to 12) by keeping
the spacing between clusters unchanged.
For a fair test, the amount of proppant
per unit length of lateral and the pumping
rate were also kept the same, as for a conventional completion. Three stimulation
stages were used per interval, separated by
two pills of composite fluid.
Schlumberger reports that the BroadBand Sequence technique saved time and
cost without lowering productivity. Eight
intervals were stimulated, separated by
seven bridge plugs. The eighth interval
was 400 ft long and, therefore, needed
only two stages of proppant (separated by
one pill of the BroadBand technique composite fluid), resulting in 23 stages in all.
The total operating time for stimulation,
milling out the plugs via CT, and subsequent cleanout was 56 hr. An equivalent
23-stage operation using the conventional completion technique would have
required 22 bridge plugs and 104 hr.
The effectiveness of the BroadBand Sequence technique was confirmed through
surface pressure responses and tracer logs,
Schlumberger says. Based on 60 days of
oil-, water-, and gas-rate measurements,
production from the candidate well was
on par with a comparable offset well completed conventionally. The BroadBand
Baker Hughes, meanwhile, has introduced its Shadow series frac plug, (Fig.
3), a permanent millable plug designed
to be left downhole during productiona capability that the company
says eliminates the plug drill-out phase
of plug-and-perf completions. The plug
features a large flow-through inner diameter (ID) and uses the companys disintegrating frac balls, so that production can
flow with the plugs in place. The plugs
cut days off of completion times, Baker
Hughes says, and eliminate the cost
and risk associated with coiled tubing
(CT) intervention.
The frac plugs are run in-hole on
wireline and are set in sequence along the
lateral section of the wellbore to isolate
zones for treatment, just like composite
plugs. The initial reservoir entry point is
created using Baker Hughes own sleeve
pressure-actuated valve, rather than a perforating gun run in on CT. After all zones
have been perforated and fractured, the
plugs stay in the well, and production can
be turned on without intervention, and
with no reduction in production volume.
The Baker Hughes IN-Tallic disintegrating frac balls are made of controlled
electrolytic metallic (CEM) nano-constructed materiala technology pioneered by Baker Hughes. The balls hold
pressure during fracturing operations,
and then completely disintegrate in the
well when exposed to produced fluids,
preventing production blockages and
eliminating debris.
Baker Hughes cites a field application
in which an operator in the Horn River
basin of northern British Columbia
wanted to significantly improve overall
well site efficiency and reduce time on
location during plug-and-perf hydraulic
fracturing operations. The operator had
a seven-well pad and agreed to complete
two of the wells with Shadow frac plugs.
The other five wells were completed
with conventional composite plugs. Baker Hughes set 27 Shadow plugs in the
first well and 25 in the second. Because
of the plugs large ID, the wells were
ready to be put on production, as soon as
fracturing operations were complete, the
company says.
Water management tools and

techniques continue to expand
To use water resources more efficiently
during hydraulic fracturing associated
with shale development, the E&P industry
continues to add new devices and
innovative techniques, including this
collection of eight recent items.
Fig. 1. The ve stages of the hydraulic fracturing water cycle,

from the EPA report, Potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on
drinking water resources: Progress report, December 2012.
DON FRANCIS, Contributing Editor

By now, the sourcing, logistics, reuse and disposal challenges of water for shale frac operations are well known to everyone with even a peripheral interest in the subject. Outside the
technical challenges, perceptions (or misperceptions) among
some, of environmental hazards associated with hydraulic
fracturing also loom. Water management is not specifically a
shale-frac issue. In fact, the World Economic Forum community identifies water crises as one of the top 10 global risks,
which serves to raise the visibility of frac-water use.
As the industry works at a feverish pace to meet the demands of high-tempo shale development, its successes promise not only more efficient production of much-needed
energy resources, but also a change in public perception of
shale operations.
TECHNOLOGY DRIVERS
API Guidance Document HF2, Water Management Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing ( June 2010), describes fluid requirements for successful fracturing. These requirements
are the result of the geology, the operating environment, the
frac design, the scale of the development process, and the results required for total project success.
The document boils it down to this: What does the
reservoir rock need, and what will the rock give back after
fracturing?
It also points out that understanding the in-situ reservoir
conditions is critical to successful stimulations, and in the design of the fracture treatment and fluid used. While the concepts and general practices are similar, the details of a specific
fracture operation can vary substantially from resource to resource, from area to area, from operator to operator, and even
from well to well.
The ideal properties of a fracturing fluid relate to its compatibility with the formation rock; its compatibility with the formation fluids; its ability to transfer enough pressure throughout the entire fracture to create a wide fracture, and be able to
transport the proppant into the fracture, while breaking back
down to a low-viscosity fluid for cleanup after the treatment.
EPA STUDY
In 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

began research under its Plan to Study the Potential Impacts of
Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources.1 The purpose of the study is to assess the potential impacts of hydraulic
fracturing on drinking water resources, if any, and to identify the
driving factors that may affect the severity and frequency of such
impacts. Scientists are focusing primarily on hydraulic fracturing
of shale formations to extract natural gas, with some study of other oil- and gas-producing formations, including tight sands, and
coalbeds. The EPA has designed the scope of the research around
five stages of the hydraulic fracturing water cycle, Fig. 1. Each
stage of the cycle is associated with a primary research question:
Water acquisition: What are the possible impacts of
large-volume water withdrawals from ground and surface waters on drinking water resources?
Chemical mixing: What are the possible impacts of
hydraulic fracturing fluid surface spills on, or near, well
pads on drinking water resources?
Well injection: What are the possible impacts of the
injection and fracturing process on drinking water resources?
Flowback and produced water: What are the possible
impacts of flowback and produced water (collectively
referred to as hydraulic fracturing wastewater) surface
spills on or near well pads on drinking water resources?
Wastewater treatment and waste disposal: What are
Reuse produced water as

frac water with Veolias
ROSS technology
Scan here for

more information.
WATER TECHNOLOGIES
ROSS technology is an effective method for treating produced

water generated from shale oil production.
Reduce fresh water demand, disposal costs, truck traffic and emissions
Effectively remove scale formers (hardness, silica, iron, barium, strontium)
Effectively remove particulates (oil, solids, bacteria)
Create absolute barrier to particulates, minimizing downstream carryover
Experience high-system recovery rates (>98%), minimizing liquid waste generated
Reduce costs with packaged, modular, shop fabricated technology
Reuse and recycle produced water from shale oil production
Tel.: 1-800-337-0777
www.veoliawaterstna.com
Water.info@veolia.com
the possible impacts of inadequate treatment of hydraulic

fracturing wastewater on drinking water resources?
As API and EPA suggest, frac-water technologies are certainly
not one-size-fits-all. Numerous, recent approaches aim to solve
the technical problems associated with water reuse, which often
have a knock-on benefit of shrinking logistical difficulties.
A THREE-STAGE PROCESS
A three-stage process claims to cost-effectively create fresh

water from a variety of contaminated wastewater sources, while
yielding beneficial salt products and distilled water, Fig. 2. Water
distillate from Integrated Water Technologies FracPure process2
is said to be safe to return to the environment and exceeds all EPA
and state environmental regulatory agency drinking water standards. Wastewater sources that can be treated for frac operations
include wastewater treatment plants, sewage plants, mine water
effluent and other industrial wastewater.
In Pennsylvanias Marcellus shale, one of the companys main
operating areas, the process is creating pure water from abandoned mine effluents and acid mine drainage sources in close
proximity to natural gas sites. To date, the company has established brine treatment plants in several strategic locations regionally throughout the Marcellus shale, to reduce trucking costs from
drilling sites and allow for handling large volumes of brine locally.
At these plants, water sources undergo solids removal, chemical treatment, and evaporation and crystallization processes that
result in complete re-use and disposal of all frac and produced
water. According to the company, the process hedges risk against
disposal wells, produces distilled water and 99.7% pure salt products, and treats all produced water to drinking water standards.
components, so there is no use of high-pressure components or

exotic metals. Low pressure on the membrane reduces fouling
and scaling.
In early 2012, the company completed a four-month test of
the system using 1,430 bbl (60,000 gal) of produced water from
the Marcellus shale. Typical of oilfield waste, the raw water had
greatly variable salinities and other constituents. The average salinity of the raw water was 73,000 parts per million of total dissolved solids (ppm, TDS), roughly 10% higher than RO brine.
Boron was measured at concentrations that exceeded safe limits
for drinking water and agriculture applications.
The system test consistently produced water that meets EPA
drinking water standards (below 500 ppm, TDS) and achieved
a brine concentration over 200,000 ppm, TDS. The company
calculates the total cost to treat the water, including pretreatment
and energy costs, at more than 35% lower than mechanical vapor
recompression.4
MOBILE, HIGH-VOLUME TREATMENT
Omni Water Solutions platforms are intended for applications where contaminated water has complex, variable and/
or unpredictable levels of heavy metals, organic compounds
Fig. 2. Interior of the FracPure crystallization plant (image
courtesy of Integrated Water Technologies).
FORWARD OSMOSIS
Forward
osmosis
In forward (or direct) osmosis (FO), water from one solution selectively passes through a membrane to a second solution,
based solely on the difference in the chemical potential (concentration) of the two solutions. The process is spontaneous and
can be accomplished with very little energy expenditure. Thus,
FO can be used, in effect, to exchange one solute for a different
solute, specifically chosen for its chemical or physical properties.
For desalination applications, the salts in the feed stream could be
exchanged for an osmotic agent, chosen specifically for its ease of
removal, e.g. by precipitation, Fig. 3.3
Oasys Water uses forward osmosis to
produce clean water from produced water, which can have salt concentrations Fig. 3. Block diagram illustrating strategy for applying FO and thermal precipitation of an
up to five times higher than seawater and osmotic agent to accomplish desalination.
is often laced with radioactive materials.
Q
25C
AB recycle
The companys Membrane Brine Concentrator (MBC) is a movable system
Very dilute
Dilute AB
Sea water
Sea water
Dilute AB
AB
that can treat up to 4,000 bpd or 116 gpm
HX
HX
Ambient
80C
80C
60C
5C
25C
of produced water, industrial brines, or
Low
RO concentrate, Fig 4. It says the system
press.
Precip.
HX
has successfully treated challenging, proQ
RO
Very conc.
Pptd.
duced water streams and has demonstratConc. brine
Conc. brine
AB
AB
Mixer
ed the ability to reduce disposal volumes
80C
80C
Ambient
by more than 80%, reducing the total cost
Q
Q
of water treatment by up to 30%.
Fresh water
Heat
Feed water stays in liquid form, requirpump/recovery
ing significantly less energy. The nonmetallic process uses readily available
Streamline your water

management strategy and
release the potential of your
well with Hydronomics.
and dissolved solids.5 One such mobile,

high-volume treatment platform is the Fig. 4. The Oasys process is a patented membrane-based desalination platform that can
H.I.P.P.O. unit, which enables treatment turn up to 15% salt water (approximately ve times the salinity of seawater) into fresh
and re-use of water at the point of use water (image courtesy of Oasys Water).
for frac operations. The company's automation technology allows operators
to treat water to the appropriate level
regardless of changes in the raw water
chemistry. Transport, purchase and disposal costs for fresh and wastewater are
reduced significantly.
The portable, self-contained unit
treats water at a rate of up to 350 gal/
min., without advance consideration of
source water contaminants. No pretesting or pre-treatment is required. The
control system enables water treatment
without an operator on-site.
Since June 2013, Omnis mobile water treatment unit has been used in a
Marathon Oil water recycling pilot project to convert produced water into fresh water, clean brine and
BENEFICIAL USE OF OZONE
hydrocarbon streams. The objective in this pilot was to reduce
Although about 20% to 60% of the water used for fracturboron levels from 90 ppm to less than 5 ppm in the freshwater
ing shale flows back, its reuse is prohibited because of the constream. The system has successfully treated over 140,000 bbl
taminants. The common spoilers of the flowback water are
to date, with results verified by analysis from three different
hydrocarbons, oil and grease, diesel-related organics, BTEX,
independent labs.
polyacrilamides, transition metals, barium and strontium.
KTIs Nanozox process has, as its basis, peroxide-coated micro- to nanobubbles, which persist as a negatively-charged bubMIXED OXIDANT BIOCIDE-FREE FRAC PROCESS
ble emulsion to effectively treat the contaminants of concern.7
For high-level bacteria issues, a process from Neohydro uses
mixed oxidant generators to create ozone, HOCL, free-radical
Organics oxidize to carbon and oxygen. Metals are precipitated
and hydrogen peroxide onsite for on-the-go oxidizing of highand filtered out in a form that can be immobilized for disposlevel bacteria influents.6
al. The water can be treated further to concentrate salinity for
granular salt production, road de-icing, or deep-well disposal.
Preceding the hydraulic fracture, the Neo-Frac process uses a
Evaporated water, free from volatile organics, can be returned
freshwater-based fluid that continually removes bacteria throughto river systems.
out the entire frac operation. The fluid eliminates corrosive buildRecycling water is produced by a combination of treatment
up and improves overall well efficiency. Water returned from the
of the first stage of flowback water, treatment and dilution of the
frac is treated to remove heavy metals, organics and cations, ensecond stage of flowback water, and treatment and desalination
tirely on-site.
of third-stage flowback water.
Using the companys proprietary electro-oxidation technology, HOCL brine solution is created on-site and added on the
fly to eliminate iron related bacteria (IRB), sulfate-reducing bacTREATING HIGH DISSOLVED SOLIDS
teria (SRB) and slime-forming bacteria (SLYME). The HOCL
A system from ThermoEnergy processes flowback and proworks on contact and has residual capabilities equivalent to
duced water from wells, lagoons or other similar sources with
biocide capabilities. There is no need to store or transport toxic
TDS (total dissolved solids) content of more than 30,000 to
biocides, and harmful effects of biocides on the environment
250,000 mg/l.8 Typical throughput is 4,000 bbl or over 165,000
are eliminated.
gal of water per day, with an estimated recovery of 65% to 90%,
Wastewater is pumped into units exposed to an electric field.
at less than 500 ppm, TDS in the distillate.
In a process called high-voltage electrolysis, the chemical bonds
The system is based on the companys patented technology
of salt (NaCl) and water (H2O) inside the solution are released;
and consists of four vessels in series. The evaporative process
uses flash vacuum distillation to separate out TDS from water.
producing ozone from water, monotonic chlorine, free radicals,
The technology was originally developed for difficult-to-treat
and hydrogen peroxide. All are powerful sterilizing elements that
high TDS industrial wastewater. By using flash vacuum distildestroy all biological oxygen demand (BOD) or chemical oxygen
lation, the company says the TurboFrac system is able to treat
demand (COD) organic/inorganic pollutants and biofilm presboth very high TDS watersin the range of 100,000 to 250,000
ent in the water.
mg/lthat other evaporative processes cannot handle. By stagThe water is subjected to electro-oxidation long enough to
ing the vessels, the system has energy consumption equal to
destroy all biological and chemical contaminants. Trace elements
MVR/crystallizers at significantly lower capital costs.
re-bond when the process ends, safely and efficiently converting
The skid-mounted system can be combined with other
99.9% of the supplied water into acceptably regulated levels of
pre-treatment technologies, such as degasifiers, to remove
chlorine and mixed oxidants.
H2S gas from the incoming feed water, coagulation and flocculation to remove fracing chemicals, and a multimedia filter
to remove suspended solids. The final product or distillate
from the system can be reused as fracing source water, or it
can be discharged.
REDUCING TRANSPORTATION COSTS
Unlike the science of water treatment, which offers numerous avenues of investigation, the logistics of water tend to have
predictable and unchanging componentstrucks, trains and
pipelines. But within the physical constraints of transportation,
new ideas do emerge.
In an effort to reduce the costs of transporting water, LTR
has developed a way to transfer water long distances that eliminates most trucking, at less cost than traditional poly pipe lines.9
A high-rate, high-pressure, lay-flat discharge hose decreases
costs by decreasing set-up time and equipment.
Available in 8-in. and 10-in. sizes, the long sections and fewer joints reduce the chance for leaks and enable fast set-ups by
the companys field technicians. This method can reduce labor
costs, as well as truck traffic. The polyurethane hose operates in
a wide range of temperatures.
USING PRODUCED AND BRACKISH WATER
According to Apache Corporation, the company is expanding its use of alternative water sources in an effort to minimize
freshwater used in hydraulic fracturing operations.10 The company says that it has increased its use of produced water and
brackish water for drilling in the Anadarko and Permian basins,

and has recycled more than 500,000 bbl of produced water for
hydraulic fracturing in the Anadarko basin.
The produced water is recycled at the companys Stiles
Ranch water recycling plant in Wheeler County. It is treated to
remove components that would interfere with hydraulic fracturing, such as particulate matter and iron sulfides. It is also
treated to control bacteria and algae growth before it is delivered by pipeline to hydraulic fracturing locations, where it is
used instead of fresh water.
The company also uses groundwater from the brackish Santa Rosa aquifer for hydraulic fracturing operations at some of its
Permian basin wells. The company uses nearly all the produced
water available in some areas, and, if necessary, it mixes treated
produced water with brackish water, eliminating the need for
fresh water.
REFERENCES
1. http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/hf-report20121214.
pdf#page=18
2. http://integratedwatertech.com/fracpureprocess.htm
3. http://prod.sandia.gov/techlib/access-control.cgi/2006/064634.pdf
4. http://oasyswater.com
5. http://www.omniwatersolutions.com/mobile-water-treatment-solutions/fracwater/
6. http://www.neohydro.com/neofrac
7. http://www.kerfoottech.com
8. http://www.thermoenergy.com/wastewater-recovery/applications/oil-gas-hydrofracking-wastewater
9. http://fracwater.com
10. http://www.apachecorp.com/Sustainability/Environment/Water/Recycling_water_for_drilling_operations/index.aspx
INTRODUCING THE WORLD OIL APP!

Download on your iPhone or iPad today at
WorldOil.com/mobile-app.aspx
Whats new in shale technology

Flexible fueling option for shale plays
Weatherford has developed a lower-cost fueling solution
for shale field operations, with its DF RamForce, a pumping unit powered by a 2,500-hp Caterpillar (CAT) engine
and transmission, equipped with a dual-fuel conversion
package. The package, labeled DGB (dynamic gas blending) by CAT, allows for the use of diesel, natural gas, liquid
propane or CNG in various combinations. The result is a
dependable, economical fuel alternative that saves money
and reduces the number of diesel tankers required to fuel pumping unit fleets during operations. The DF RamForce is built specifically for dual-fuel applications, and includes all-CAT
parts (engine, transmission and fuel system) to ensure system integrity. It will soon come
equipped with Weir fluid ends composed of stainless steel, which hold up to heavy pumping
and are field-proven to out-last conventional carbon steel fluid ends. In some cases, operators
have been able to replace up to 70% of diesel usage with unprocessed field gas.
http://weatherford.com/Products/Completion/
Compliant,
enclosed
combustors
introduced
AEREON, a single-source supplier
of environmentally compliant gas
and vapor combustion, handling
and recovery equipment, has
launched a new line of regulatorycompliant, enclosed combustor
solutions. The Quad-O Design
Enclosed Combustor (QDEC) is
a completely smokeless system,
offering quiet operation, with no
visible flame, reducing emissions to
comply with NSPS Subpart OOOO.
QDEC does not require electrical,
steam or assist gas utilities to
achieve smokeless performance,
which reduces capital, operational
and maintenance expenses.
www.aereon.com
Green solution designed to achieve

desired formation stabilization
Phoenix Chemical Technologies has introduced KCL MAX, a proprietary,
polymeric formulation clay and swelling shale stabilizer that is applied
in small liquid doses to achieve desired formation stabilization results
during drilling, fracing, workover and well stimulation. It is designed to
work most effectively at a ratio of 3%5%/100 gal of fluids make-up, and
is especially beneficial in perforating fluid systems. When used in shale
drilling applications, the near-solids-free nature of clear brine fluids,
and the controlled high densities they achieve, contributes significantly
to stabilization of sensitive formations. Additionally, when utilized as a
stabilizer in a drill-in fluid, the low-solids nature of brine fluids contributes
to increased penetration rates and lower abrasion for longer bit life. KCL
MAX eliminates the need to handle and apply dangerous bulk chemicals,
and delivers even better results in a wide range of applications. As part
of the companys green solutions family of products, it is environmentally
safe and requires no Department of Transportation documentation, or the
use of PPE for personnel on site.
www.phoenixchemtech.com
Pipe-handling system serves directional

drilling operations
Altronic, a branch of HOERBIGER

Engine Solutions, has received
aftermarket certification of the GTI
Bi-Fuel product line from the Air
Resources Board of the California
Environmental Protection Agency
(CARB) for use on off-road,
compression-ignition engines in
stationary applications. The GTI
Bi-Fuel system is designed to allow
diesel engines to operate on a
blend of diesel and gaseous fuels.
The system displaces a portion of
the diesel fuel with clean-burning,
domestically produced natural gas.
Vacuworx, a manufacturer of
innovative vacuum lifting technology and heavy-duty materialhandling equipment, has launched
a lightweight pipe-handling system
to lift and position drillstems in
horizontal and directional drilling
operations. The HDD Pipe Handling
System utilizes wireless, remote
controller operation, and the latest
vacuum-lifting technology, to
tilt and place drillstems at angles between 0 and 30, without the use
of ropes or slings. Suitable for use with Vacuworx MC Series lifters, the
HDD unit is significantly lighter in weight than competing technologies,
and requires only one worker to lift drill stem and transfer pipe into a
drilling rig, reducing exposure to risk of injury in a pipe yard or on a job
site. The equipment features a 360 hydraulic rotator that gives operators
complete control over drill stem, and allows for the precise placement of
pipe joints with fewer workers on the ground.
www.altronic-llc.com
www.vacuworx.com
Product line attains

CARB certication
New motor targets

horizontal shale
drilling challenges
Baker Hughes has launched the
Navi-Drill Ultra Curve drilling
motor, which drills high-build
curves with precise directional
control in horizontal shale plays.
Featuring reduced bit-to-bend
length and improved toolface
control, the Ultra Curve motor
completes the vertical, curve
and lateral in one run, thereby
exposing more of the reservoir
and increasing well efficiency
and productivity. Because the
steerable motor has a smaller
adjustable kickoff angle requirement, it can provide higher, more
consistent build-up rates in the
curve section and better rotation
through higher dogleg severities.
It also delivers improved directional steering control through the
lateral section and enhanced hole
cleaning in the vertical section.
The Ultra Curve motor extends
footage and rates of penetration
in the vertical sections, improves
the performance and directional
consistency in the build section of
wells, enabling precise wellbore
placement while improving overall
drilling performance and reducing
well costs.
www.bakerhughes.com
Activator-free
proppant sets in
low temperatures
Santrol, a Fairmount Minerals
company, has commercialized
its CoolSet curable resin-coated
proppant that sets in fractures to
prevent flowback at a reservoir
temperature of 100F. With
robust, unconfined compressive strength and enhanced
conductivity, 20/40 CoolSet
proppant increases hydrocarbon
production. The technology,
which is frac fluid- and breakerfriendly, also ensures better crush
resistance, minimized proppant
embedment, and significantly
reduced fines generation.
Customers can source the proppant from Santrols eight Permian
basin terminals, in addition to
receiving it in other regions, such
as the Midcontinent.
www.fairmountminerals.com/
santrol.aspx
Are your wells performing like they should?

Check these numbers.
1
Bakken Shale / North Dakota
Eagle Ford Shale / Texas
Green River Basin / Wyoming
Multiple wells: avg. 9400-ft laterals, 28 stages
30-day cum. avg. rate: 1204 boe/d
Avg. IP: 1447 boe/d
Avg. IP: 9789 mcf/d
180-day cum. avg. rate: 3865 mcf/d
FT{eT_Pac]TaTSfXcW_d\_X]VbTaeXRTb_aêXSTab^]fT[[bX]SXTaT]c
shale plays, delivering high-conductivity results on every job. Operators
continue to choose Rainbow because they know we work side-by-side
with their completions team to maximize every wells performance.
We engineer, manufacture and supply ceramic proppants that meet or
exceed API and ISO quality standards. With distribution and transloading
facilities across major shale plays including the Bakken, Eagle Ford,
Permian Basin, Haynesville and Green River Basin; we supply best-in-class,
cost-competitive proppants used in hydraulic fracturing.
Your success depends on how well the proppant you pump performs.
Let us help pump performance into your next well.
rainbowceramics.com
1.888.618.PROP (7767)
info@rainbowproppants.com
PROPPANT TABLES / 2014

World Oil is pleased to present the industrys exclusive set of proppant tables. The tables presented here
are classified according to the supplier, products and specifications. The common specifications listed
include physical and chemical properties, API crush test results, mesh size and conductivity. Please contact the supplier for more detailed specifications on a specific product.
Prime Plus curable

resin coated sand being
unloaded at one of
Momentives strategically
located transloads. Photo
courtesy of Momentive
Specialty Chemicals Inc.
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO
PUBLISHED IN JULY 2014
Copyright 2014 Gulf Publishing Company. All rights reserved. For additional copies,
contact Gulf Publishing Company. Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301. Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433
(World Oil, Attention: Reprints Department). Mailing address: Gulf Publishing Company,
PO Box 2608, Houston, TX 77252 USA.
2014 PROPPANT TABLES
CARBO
CARBOLITE LIGHTWEIGHT CERAMIC
CARBOECONOPROP LIGHTWEIGHT CERAMIC
TYPICAL SIEVE ANALYLSIS [WEIGHT % RETAINED]
U.S. MESH
MICRONS
12/18
16/20
20/40
30/50
40/70
U.S. MESH
MICRONS
20/40
30/50
+12
+1,700
16+20
1180+850
12+16
1,700+1,180
91
20+30
-850+600
60
16+20
1,180+850
93
30+40
600+425
35
79
20+30
850+600
90
40+50
425+300
17
30+40
600+425
90
50
300
40+60
425+250
97
60+70
250+212
70
212
MEDIAN PARTICLE DIAMETER [MICRONS]

20/40
30/50
635
473
API CRUSH TEST

20/40
% BY WEIGHT FINES
30/50
@5,000 PSI
1.0
0.8
@7,500 PSI
5.2
2.8
16/20
20/40
30/50
40/70
1,374
1,001
730
522
334
API CRUSH TEST
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
REFERENCE CONDUCTIVITY, MD-FT@250F
12/18
12/18
16/20
20/40
30/50
40/70
@7,500
PSI
17.9
14.0
5.2
2.5
2.0
@10,000
PSI
19.3
8.3
5.8
4.4
2 LB/FT2
2LB/FT2
20/40
30/50
2,000
6,300
4,150
4,000
5,500
3,300
6,000
4,100
2,550
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
8,000
2,500
1,600
10,000
1,300
975
CLOSURE STRESS, PSI
CARBOHYDROPROP LIGHTWEIGHT CERAMIC

U.S. MESH
MICRONS
40/80
+40
+425
-40+50
-425+300
68
50+80
300+180
30
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
12/18
16/20
20/40
30/50
40/70
2,000
38,795
24,630
10,700
4,640
2,200
4,000
24,560
17,780
8,900
3,740
1,660
6,000
9,940
9,035
6,000
2,870
1,270
8,000
4,840
4,625
3,700
1,900
870
10,000
2,235
2,400
2,000
1,270
555
12,000
650
340
CARBOPROP INTERMEDIATE-STRENGTH PROPPANT


40/80
U.S.
MESH
MICRONS
12/18
16/30
325
12
1700
12+14
1700+1400
42
API CRUSH TEST
20/40
30/60
40/70
40/80
14+16
1400+1180
40
@5,000 PSI
0.50
16+18
1,180+1,000
15
28
@7,500 PSI
2.00
18+20
1,000+850
46
20+30
850+600
23
75
30+40
600+425
21
68
CLOSURE STRESS, PSI
2LB/FT2
40+50
425+300
28
70
2,000
1,570
50+70
300+210
26
4,000
1,210
70
210
6,000
890
% BY WEIGHT FINES
8,000
610
10,000
360
P152JULY 2014/Proppant Tables

12/18
16/30
20/40
30/60
40/70
1,328
936
672
453
324
12/18
16/30
20/40
30/60
40/70
CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
API CRUSH TEST
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@10,000
PSI
@12,500
PSI
14.0
5.0
20.0
2.8
9.4
2.3
5.3

CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
12/18
2,000
30,940
4,000
12/18
16/30
20/40
30/60
40/70
2,000
42,265
18,410
8,170
3,720
2,170
4,000
36,530
14,150
6,595
3,235
1,865
6,000
23,460
10,635
5,370
2,790
1,585
8,000
12,520
7,385
4,285
2,345
1,250
10,000
5,380
5,430
3,405
1,850
1,000
12,000
3,600
3,975
2,720
1,335
765
14,000
2,325
2,975
2,140
925
565
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
16/30
20/40
30/60
40/70
CARBOBOND RCS (P) PRE-CURED RESIN-COATED SAND
13,400
7,290
2,870
1,680
TYPICAL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
22,040
10,920
5,840
2,440
1,350
RESIN TYPE
6,000
12,260
7,940
4,820
2,010
1,015
EQUILIBRIUM pH
8.9-9.3
8,000
6,750
4,620
3,540
1,575
770
RESIDUAL ACIDITY
< 0.1
PHENOLIC
10,000
3,810
2,930
2,400
990
570
per gal 50% NaOH/100 gal 2% KCL
12,000
2,270
2,120
1,900
665
440
SOLUBILITY: ISO 13503-2
WEIGHT, %
WATER
CARBOHSP HIGH-STRENGTH SINTERED BAUXITE

PROPPANT
< 0.2
ALKALINE WATER
Cured
TYPICAL SIEVE ANALYSIS [WEIGHT % RETAINED]
< 0.2
Water with 2% KCL
< 0.2
Brine
< 0.3
12% HCI/3% HF acid
< 1.0
Oil
U.S. MESH
MICRONS
12/18 16/30
20/40
30/60
40/70
12
1,700
12+14
1,700+1,400 27
14+16
1,400+1,180
43
16+18
1,180+1,000
27
30
18+20
1,000+850
55
20+25
850+710
12
45
25+30
710+600
40
30+40
600+425
11
70
40+50
425+300
25
74
50+70
300+212
19
70
212
SHELF-LIFE, years
< 1.0
> 3 estimated
TYPICAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

AVAILABLE SIZES
20/40, 30/50, 40/70
SUBSTRATE
PREMIUM FRAC SAND
PHYSICAL STATE
SOLID, PARTICULATE
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
2.55 0.05
ABSOLUTE VOLUME, gal/lb
0.047
BULK DENSITY, lb/ft3
87 4
KRUBLEIN SHAPE FACTORS

12/18
1,291
16/30
956
20/40
697
30/60
430
Roundness
0.7
Sphericity
0.7
40/70
350
PARTICLE SIZE DIST.
API CRUSH TEST
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
12/18
16/30
20/40
30/60
40/70
@10,000
PSI
9.3
0.7
0.6
@12,500
PSI
13.0
3.8
1.4
1.3
1.4
@15,000
PSI
2.7
2.3
2.3
Meets or exceeds
Uncoated sand substrate
ISO 13503-2
TURBIDITY, (NTU/FTU)
< 250
COATING EFFICIENCY, wt%
> 99.8
World Oil/JULY 2014P153

2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
20/40
30/50
40/70
2,000
6,080
3,585
1,200
4,000
5,110
2,770
1,050
6,000
3,155
1,345
800
8,000
1,520
640
545
10,000
735
365
315
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
PACK STRENGTH PERFORMANCE

CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
CRUSH RESISTANCE, % BY WEIGHT FINES

GENERATED
20/40
6,000
30/50
40/70
AVAILABLE SIZES
20/40, 30/50, 40/70
SUBSTRATE
PREMIUM FRAC SAND
PHYSICAL STATE
SOLID, PARTICULATE
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
2.55 0.05
0.047
87 4

Roundness
0.7
Sphericity
0.7
PARTICLE SIZE DIST.
Meets or exceeds
Uncoated sand substrate
ISO 13503-2
< 250
> 99.8
0.32
0.28
8,000
0.91
0.52
10,000
2.11
3.90
1.14
12,000
4.04
2.06
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
15,000
8.31
2.88
CARBOBOND RCS (C) CURABLE RESIN-COATED SAND

RESIN TYPE
PHENOLIC
EQUILIBRIUM pH
8.9-9.3
RESIDUAL ACIDITY
< 0.1
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
20/40
30/50
40/70
2,000
4,715
2,460
1,430
4,000
4,160
2,305
1,300
6,000
2,720
1,800
1,060
8,000
1,615
1,125
635
10,000
795
540
275
PACK STRENGTH PERFORMANCE

WATER
WEIGHT, %
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
< 0.2
ALKALINE WATER
CRUSH RESISTANCE, % BY WEIGHT FINES

GENERATED
20/40
30/50
40/70
6,000
1.13
0.41
0.26
Uncured
< 1.0
8,000
3.20
1.42
0.57
Cured
< 0.2
10,000
6.30
2.44
0.99
Water with 2% KCL
< 0.2
12,000
10.20
4.49
1.76
Brine
< 0.3
15,000
17.80
8.93
3.12
12% HCI/3% HF acid
< 1.0
Oil
SHELF-LIFE, years
< 1.0
> 3 estimated

CARBOBOND LITE CURABLE RESIN-COATED CERAMIC
PROPPANT
COORSTEK
CERAPROP

RESIN TYPE
PHENOLIC
EQUILIBRIUM pH
8.9-9.3
RESIDUAL ACIDITY
< 0.1
TYPICAL SIEVE ANALYSIS (WEIGHT % RETAINED)

MESH
U.S. MESH
MICRONS
16/30
20/40
-16+20
850-1,180
71
WEIGHT, %
-20-30
600-850
29
91
WATER
< 0.2
-30+40
425-600
-40+50
300-425
ALKALINE WATER
Uncured
< 1.0
-50+70
212-300
Cured
< 0.2
-70
<212
Water with 2% KCL
< 0.2
Light brine
<0.3
12% HCI/3% HF ACID
< 1.0
Oil
< 1.0
SHELF-LIFE, years
30/50
40/70
89
92
5
API CRUSH RESISTANCE TEST (% BY WEIGHT FINES)
> 3 estimated

AVAILABLE SIZES
12/18, 16/20, 20/40, 30/50
SUBSTRATE
CARBOLITE
PHYSICAL STATE
SOLID, PARTICULATE
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
2.60 0.03
0.046
96 4
MESH
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/70
7,500
1.4
1.3
1.1
0.8
10,000
6.2
4.8
3.7
1.8
12,500
8.4
7.7
7.5
3.1
13,000
10.5
9.2
14,000
10.8
8.7
15,000
6.2
REFFERENCE CONDUCTIVITY (MD-FT@250F, 2 LB/FT2)

CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
MESH
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/70
2,000
17578
7990
4679
2292
Roundness
0.9
4,000
12281
6139
3589
2078
Sphericity
7605
5065
3014
1827
0.9
6,000
PARTICLE SIZE DIST.
Meets or exceeds
8,000
3537
2845
2160
1079
Uncoated ceramic substrate
ISO 13503-2
10,000
2359
1946
1499
654
< 250
12,000
1255
964
417
> 99.8
REFFERENCE PERMEABILITY (DARCY@250F, 2 LB/FT2)

CLOSURE
STRESS, psi
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
2 LB/FT2
12/18
16/20
20/40
30/50
2,000
24,670
14,355
7,715
2,985
4,000
22,315
12,855
6,960
2,755
6,000
17,640
10,910
6,025
2,415
8,000
9,525
7,340
4,580
1,910
10,000
6,310
4,870
3,580
1,445
12,000
3,655
3,270
2,605
965
14,000
1,825
MESH
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/70
2,000
887
403
230
131
4,000
640
320
181
121
6,000
393
262
146
100
8,000
177
142
107
61
10,000
120
99
78
39
53
52
26
12,000

TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS (ISO 13503-2)
PRIME PLUS PROPPANTS

MESH
TEST
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/70
APPARENT SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
2.63
2.61
2.66
2.66
SPHERICITY,
KRUMBEIN AND
SLOSS
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.9
ROUNDNESS,
KRUMBEIN AND
SLOSS
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.8
BULK DENSITY, LB/

FT3
9 5.1
94.7
93.7
92.3
ACID SOLUBILITY
12/3 HCL/HF, %
WEIGHT LOSS
3.1
2.5
4.1
5.6
TURBIDITY, NTU
28
31
35
24
SETTLING RATE, FT/

MIN
111
104
53
26
MESH SIZE
TYPICAL UPPER CLOSURE

STRESS, PSI
TYPICAL TEMP. PROPPANT

RANGE, F
TYPE
30/50, 40/70
10,000
160-450*
Premium resin
coated sand
BLACK PRO PROPPANTS

MESH SIZE

STRESS, PSI

RANGE, F
TYPE
40/70
10,000
150-400
Resin coated
sand
SB EXCEL PROPPANTS
MESH SIZE

STRESS, PSI

RANGE, F
TYPE
20/40
8,000
160-375*
Resin coated
sand
MOMENTIVE
SIBERPROP PROPPANTS
NEW PROPPANT TECHNOLOGY
MESH SIZE

STRESS, PSI

RANGE, F
TYPE
16/30, 20/40
8,000
130-200**
OILPLUS PROPPANTS
MESH SIZE
16/30, 20/40,
30/50, 40/70

STRESS, PSI

RANGE, F
TYPE
8,000 (16/30)
10,000 (20/40,
30/50, 40/70)
160-400*
Enhanced
oil ow resin
coated sand
Low-temp.
resin coated
sand
CURABLE CERAMICS
XRT CERAMAX P PROPPANTS
BLACK ULTRA PROPPANTS

MESH SIZE

STRESS, PSI

RANGE, F
TYPE
16/30, 20/40,
30/50
8,000 (16/30,
20/40) 10,000
(30/50)
90-160
Ultra lowtemp. resin

coated sand
(U.S. only)
YUKON BLACK PROPPANTS

MESH SIZE
16/30, 20/40

STRESS, PSI

RANGE, F
TYPE
8,000
70-160
Ultra lowtemp. resin

coated sand
(Canada only)
CURABLE SANDS
SB PRIME PROPPANTS
MESH SIZE
20/40

STRESS, PSI

RANGE, F
TYPE
10,000
160-450*
MESH SIZE

STRESS, PSI

RANGE, F
TYPE
20/40
14,000***
175-450
Resin coated
bauxite
XRT CERAMAX V PROPPANTS

MESH SIZE
TYPICAL UPTYPICAL TEMP. PROPPANT

PER CLOSURE/ RANGE, F
TYPE
STRESS, PSI
14+40
14,000
175-450
Resin coated
ceramic
XRT CERAMAX E PROPPANTS

MESH SIZE
TYPICAL UPTYPICAL TEMP. PROPPANT

PER CLOSURE/ RANGE, F
TYPE
STRESS, PSI
20/40
12,000
175-450
Resin coated
ceramic
*
At temperatures below 160F, use AcTivator consolidation aid.
** At temperatures below 130F, use AcTivator consolidation aid.
*** XRT Ceramax P proppant uses bauxite, which is the highest strength ceramic. Conductivity testing
conducted up to 14,000 psi.
Visit momentive.com/oileld or fracline.com for additional information and specications.
Premium resin
coated sand
RAINBOW
RAINBOW REALITE - ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT CERAMIC
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/70
2,000
8,157
3,663
1,677
U.S. MESH
MICRONS
30/50
40/70
4,000
6,443
2,882
1,489
20+30
-850+600
6,000
4,429
2,238
1,292
2,334
1,562
889
30+40
-600+425
60
8,000
40+50
-425+300
39
82
10,000
1,249
826
486
50+70
-300+212
16
12,000
741
527
70
-212
REFERENCE PERMEABILITY, DARCIES@250F

API CRUSH TEST
% BY WEIGHT
FINES
@7,500 PSI
@10,000 PSI
30/50
40/70
7.1
2.7
12.0
6.7
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/70
2,000
426
194
84
4,000
345
155
76
6,000
245
124
67
8,000
136
90
48
10,000
77
51
28
12,000
48
34
CLOSURE/STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/70
2,000
151
91
4,000
113
74
6,000
69
54
8,000
35
30
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/70
19
16
U.S.
MESH
MICRONS
10,000
16+20
1,180+850
74
20+30
850+600
25
94
30+40
600+425
60
40+50
425+300
40
77
RAINBOW PROPMASTER - INTERMEDIATE-STRENGTH

CERAMIC
RAINBOW PROPLIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT CERAMIC

U.S. MESH
MICRONS
20/40
30/50
40/70
50+70
300+212
21
16+20
1,180+850
70
212
20+30
850+600
95
0.5
30+40
600+425
81
40+50
425+300
18
74
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/70
@7,500 PSI
0.6
0.5
@10,000
PSI
5.6
2.0
1.3
1.0
50+70
300+212
0.5
25
70
212
API CRUSH TEST
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
API CRUSH TEST
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@5,000 PSI
20/40
30/50
40/70
0.6

2 LB/FT2
16/30
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/70
@7,500 PSI
3.0
1.5
1.3
CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
@10,000
PSI
7.5
2.5
2.7
2,000
14,920
8,314
3,061
1,564
4,000
11,607
6,868
2,566
1,380
6,000
7,256
5,323
2,080
1,150
8,000
4,202
3,478
1,611
956
10,000
2,345
2,250
926
765
12,000
1,435
634

CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
16/30
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
TYPICAL SIEVE ANALYSIS

2 LB/FT2
40/70
SIEVE NO
20/40 BAUXLITE
20
5
60
2,000
865
509
187
96
30
4,000
700
432
161
87
40
35
MPD* (mm)
0.65
6,000
456
343
134
73
8,000
282
232
106
62
10,000
167
159
64
52
12,000
107
47
SIEVE NO
30/50 BAUXLITE
30
40
75
SAINT-GOBAIN PROPPANTS
SAINT-GOBAIN BAUXLITE/VERSALITE
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
BULK DENSITY
2.85
1.6
50
20
MPD* (mm)
0.47

SIEVE NO
40/80 BAUXLITE
40
4
90
SIEVE NO
12/18 BAUXLITE
70
12
80
14
38
MPD* (mm)
0.33
18
57
MPD* (mm)
1.35
*MPD: Median Particle Diameter
API CRUSH TEST

16/20
16/30
VERSALITE
16/20 BAUXLITE
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
12/18
SIEVE NO
16
6,000
1.5
18
55
8,000
16
20
40
10,000
20
16
12
MPD* (mm)
0.97
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
20/40
PLUS
20/40
30/50
40/80
6,000
1.5

SIEVE NO
16/30 BAUXLITE
8,000
16
10,000
20
84
30
12
MPD* (mm)
0.95

SIEVE NO
VERSALITE
18
25
56
40
36
MPD* (mm)
0.74

SIEVE NO
20/40 BAUXLITE PLUS
20
30
82
40
10
MPD* (mm)
0.71

CONDUCTIVITY (MD-FT)
CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI

SIEVE NO
12/18
16/20
16/30
VERSALITE
VERSAPROP
18
8
56
2,000
33,555
18,725
16,185
9,735
25
4,000
27,145
15,165
13,360
7,435
40
36
MPD* (mm)
0.74
6,000
13,350
10,390
9,555
5,190
8,000
7,435
6,495
6,070
3,445
10,000
4,395
4,260
4,140
2,155
12,000
2,975
2,815
3,005
1,365
SIEVE NO
30/50 INTERPROP
30
40
75
CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
20/40
PLUS
20/40
30/50
40/80
2,000
8,490
6,515
3,045
1,500
6,000
4,925
3,955
1,890
1,060
8,000
3,340
2,670
1,420
845
10,000
2,270
1,750
995
700
SIEVE NO
40/80 INTERPROP
525
40
70
90
1,165
695
SAINT-GOBAIN INTERPROP/VERSAPROP
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
BULK DENSITY
3.2
1.88
1,300
0.47
6,710
1,410
2,435
20
MPD* (mm)
4,000
12,000
5,285
50
80
MPD* (mm)
0.33

SIEVE NO
35/140 IP-H
35
SIEVE NO
12/18 INTERPROP
50
35
12
80
50
14
38
140
10
18
57
MPD* (mm)
0.28
MPD* (mm)
1.35
API CRUSH TEST
CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
12/
18
84
7,500
30
12
10,000
MPD* (mm)
0.95
12,500
SIEVE NO
16/30 INTERPROP
16
20

SIEVE NO
20/40 INTERPROP
20
30
82
40
10
MPD* (mm)
0.71
16/
30
VERSAPROP
20/
40
2.2
1.4
0.8
0.5
0.9
1.5
13
4.4
3.5
2.5
1.2
1.7
7.6
5.9
2.6
3.1
30/
50
40/
80
35/
140
Everything begins with a
choice.
VersaProp
Z{Z?,,
Imported Ceramics
Z{Z?,,
Only quality delivers value
Choosing the right proppant for your completion

means considering not just cost, but the overall value.
In 2013, Saint-Gobain Proppants were the right
choice in more than 500 wells in North America
alone. With our new plant expansion, we nearly
doubled our capacity.
Saint-Gobain Proppants has built a proud legacy of
engineering the highest quality ceramic proppants
that not only meet, but exceed, rigorous application
requirements for quality, safety and environmental
responsibility.
As the worlds first ceramic proppant manufacturer,
weve spent the last four decades applying our
technological expertise to the design of innovative,
industry-leading proppants offering proven
performance in downhole applications.
The power to choose is in your hands.
p.{Z1Z?qZZZ
A;x;Zq ZqZx Zx{x(Z
Saint-Gobain Proppants: The Right Choice

Learn more about our brands:
VersaLitepMZ;pGZ;pDZ
proppants.saint-gobain.com
Made in the USA
Better Proppant.
Better Production.
Our engineered proppant manufactured under strict quality
controls creates superior ow paths for better production.
You can rely on our better proppant supplied from one of the
industrys largest terminal networks to increase conductivity
and prevent proppant owback.
Get more from your wells at Santrol.com.
Propel SSP
CoolSet
PowerProp
SpearProp

CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
12/18
16/30
VERSAPROP
2,000
34,915
16,560
9,120
SIEVE NO
30/50 SINTERED BAUXITE
30
40
75
4,000
25,251
13,100
6,930
50
20
6,000
14,137
8,950
5,027
MPD* (mm)
0.47
8,000
7,428
5,630
3,292
10,000
4,222
3,180
2,238
12,000
2,621
2,260
1,397
SIEVE NO
14,000
40
CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
70
90
20/40
30/50
40/80
35/140
2,000
7,830
3,138
1,330
936
80
MPD* (mm)
0.33
4,000
6,585
2,525
1,088
735
6,000
5,230
2,043
910
539
8,000
3,615
1,721
739
361
API CRUSH TEST
10,000
2,375
1,299
593
242
20/40
40/80
994
416
153
ULTRAPOP
30/50
1,720
CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
16/30
12,000
302
105
7,500
0.5
0.6
0.2
0.2
14,000
SAINT-GOBAIN SINTERED BAUXITE/ULTRAPROP

SPECIFIC GRAVITY
BULK DENSITY
3.5
2.04

SIEVE NO
16
20
10,000
2.5
1.2
1.5
0.6
0.5
12,500
4.5
2.2
0.9
15,000
1.5
2.1
CLOSURE
STRESS
(PSI)
16/30
20/40
ULTRAPROP
30/50
40/80
2,000
16,375
7,065
8,535
2,710
1,324
4,000
12,210
5,980
6,640
2,220
1,118
6,000
9,505
5,030
5,649
1,875
947
8,000
7,155
4,140
4,552
1,430
792
10,000
4,875
2,800
3,469
1,100
642
84
30
12
MPD* (mm)
0.95
12,000
3,515
2,030
2,348
845
501
14,000
2,470
1,595
1,727
615
379
SIEVE NO
20
30
82
40
10
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
BULK DENSITY
MPD* (mm)
0.71
3.9
2.2
SAINT-GOBAIN TITAN
SIEVE NO
ULTRAPROP
SIEVE NO
30/50 TITAN
18
30
25
56
40
75
40
36
50
12
MPD* (mm)
0.74
MPD
0.47

API CRUSH TEST
SANTROL SUPER LC CURABLE RESIN-COATED PROPPANT
CLOSURE STRESS, PSI
30/50
20,000
<2
25,000
<5
30,000
<6
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

MESH
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
BULK
DENSITY,
LB/FT3
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
ABSOLUTE
VOLUME,
GAL/LB
40/70
2.55
96.8
1.55
0.04650.0469
30/50
2.55
96.8
1.55
0.04650.0469
20/40
2.55
96.8
1.55
0.04650.0469
16/30
2.55
96.8
1.55
0.04650.0469
KRUMBEIN
ROUNDNESS
KUMBREIN
SPHERICITY
ACID SOLU- TURBIDITY,

BILITY
FTU
TEMP. STABILITY, F
0.7
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
CLOSURE STRESS, PSI
30/50
6,000
2693
8,000
2182
10,000
1747
12,000
1494
14,000
1253
16,000
1046
18,000
882
20,000
709
SANTROL
SANTROL COOLSET CURABLE RESIN-COATED PROPPANT
CONDUCTIVITY, MD-FT @250F, 2 LB/FT2

MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
BULK
DENSITY,
LB/FT2
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
ABSOLUTE
VOLUME,
GAL/LB
CRUSH RESISTANCE,
8,000 PSI
40/70
869
730
525
322
215
MESH
30/50
2,023
1,680
1,031
602
313
20/40
92.4
1.48
0.0467
4.2%
20/40
4,490
3,954
2,842
1,029
452
16/30
8,623
4,509
1,909
880
340
KRUMBEIN ROUNDNESS
KRUMBEIN SPHERICITY
0.8
0.8
CRUSH RESISTANCE
CONDUCTIVITY, MD-FT @ 2 LB/FT2, 2% KCI
MESH
20/40
TEST
TEMP.,
F
2,000
125
1,862
4,000
1,486
6,000
1,202
8,000
786
10,000
MESH
4,000
8,000
40/70
0.8%
4.2%
30/50
2.3%
5.1%
20/40
3.4%
5.9%
16/30
3.9%
6.8%
224
20/40
150
2,732
2,183
1,544
1,103
262
20/40
250
3,157
2,791
1,879
1,307
433
PERMEABILITY DARCIES @ 250F DEGREES 2LB/FT2

CRUSH RESISTANCE
MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
20/40
0.1
0.6
1.9
4.2
MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
40/70
44
38
29
18
13
30/50
109
92
58
38
21
20/40
238
219
161
62
29
16/30
238
98
49
20
UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH

MESH
20/40
24 HR @ 1,000
PSI
12 HR @ 1,000
PSI
12 HR @ 1,500
PSI
110
110
100
UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH, 200F
MESH
1 HR @
1,000
PSI
6 HR @
1,000
PSI
12
HR @
1,000
PSI
18
HR @
1,000
PSI
24
HR @
1,000
PSI
48
HR @
1,000
PSI
40/70
125
445
800
920
950
955
30/50
125
385
660
800
855
860
20/40
125
325
550
700
760
765
16/30
135
220
300
360
410
415

SANTROL SUPER DC CURABLE RESIN-COATED PROPPANT
SANTROL OPTIPROP G2 CURABLE RESIN-COATED

PROPPANT
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
ABSOLUTE
VOLUME,
GAL/LB
MESH
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
BULK
DENSITY,
LB/FT3
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
ABSOLUTE
VOLUME,
GAL/LB
0.04640.0468
40/70
2.54
93
1.49
0.04690.0473
1.48
0.04640.0468
30/50
2.54
93
1.49
0.04690.0473
1.48
0.04640.0468
20/40
2.54
93
1.49
0.04690.0473
ACID SOLU- TURBIDITY,

BILITY
FTU
TEMP. STABILITY, F
16/30
2.54
93
1.49
0.04690.0473
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
KUMBREIN
SPHERICITY
ACID
TURBIDITY,
SOLUBILITY FTU
0.7
KRUMBEIN
ROUNDNESS
TEMP.
STABILITY,
F
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
0.7
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
0.7
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
MESH
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
BULK
DENSITY,
LB/FT3
40/70
2.57
92.4
1.48
30/50
2.57
92.4
20/40
2.57
92.4
KRUMBEIN
ROUNDNESS
KUMBREIN
SPHERICITY
0.7

MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
40/70
920
30/50
2,215
755
560
322
260
1,780
1,175
655
357
20/40
5,601
4,940
3,810
1,359
763
PERMEABILITY DARCIES @ 250F, 2LB/FT2

MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000

MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
40/70
980
862
730
560
330
30/50
1,986
1,843
1,269
687
379
20/40
4,670
3,943
2,950
1,700
906
16/30
6,230
5,600
3,945
2,100
900
10,000
40/70
47
41
30
18
16
30/50
121
99
67
38
21
20/40
290
278
220
96
47
CRUSH RESISTANCE
MESH
4,000
8,000
40/70
0.5%
1.4%
CRUSH RESISTANCE
MESH
4,000
30/50
1.0%
2.5%
20/40
1.0%
3.0%
16/30
1.2%
3.7%
8,000
40/70
0.5%
2.0%
30/50
2.0%
3.5%
20/40
3.0%
4.9%

MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
40/70
56
50
44
35
22
30/50
109
102
72
40
22
20/40
245
198
160
105
55
16/30
350
306
205
131
50
UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH @200F

1 HR @
1,000
PSI
6 HR @
1,000
PSI
12
HR @
1,000
PSI
18
HR @
1,000
PSI
24
HR @
1,000
PSI
48
HR @
1,000
PSI
40/70
255
530
800
1,050
1,180
1,200
30/50
225
480
735
955
1,060
1,080
20/40
225
460
675
865
980
1,000
MESH

UNCONFINED COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH @250F
MESH
1 HR @
1,000
PSI
6 HR @
1,000
PSI
12
HR @
1,000
PSI
18
HR @
1,000
PSI
24
HR @
1,000
PSI
48
HR @
1,000
PSI
40/70
255
635
900
1,115
1,270
1,290
30/50
255
635
880
1,085
1,240
1,260
20/40
255
635
850
1,050
1,190
1,210
16/30
160
510
765
890
965
985
SANTROL TLC PRECURED RESIN-COATED PROPPANT

MESH
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
BULK
DENSITY,
LB/FT3
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
ABSOLUTE
VOLUME,
GAL/LB
40/70
2.57
96.8
1.55
0.04640.0468
30/50
2.57
96.8
1.55
0.04640.0468
20/40
2.57
96.8
1.55
0.04640.0468
16/30
2.57
96.8
1.55
0.04640.0468
KRUMBEIN
ROUNDNESS
KUMBREIN
SPHERICITY
ACID
TURBIDITY,
SOLUBILITY FTU
TEMP.
STABILITY,
F
0.7
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
0.7
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
SANTROL POWERPROP PRECURED RESIN-COATED

PROPPANT
MESH
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
BULK
DENSITY,
LB/FT3
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
ABSOLUTE
VOLUME,
GAL/LB
40/70
2.51
91.8
1.47
0.04750.0479
30/50
2.55
94.9
1.52
0.04680.0472
20/40
2.56
99.3
1.59
0.0467.0471
KRUMBEIN
ROUNDNESS
KUMBREIN
SPHERICITY
ACID
TURBIDITY
SOLUBILITY
TEMP.
STABILITY,
F
0.7
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600

MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
40/70
1,380
1,121
848
664
373
226
170
30/50
3,320
3,003
2,366
1,508
818
502
20/40
5,009
3,847
3,008
1,969
1,190
626
334
CRUSH RESISTANCE
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
CONDUCTIVITY, MD-FT @250F, 2LB/FT2

2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
40/70
869
706
470
245
124
30/50
1,583
1,272
856
419
207
121
20/40
5,035
3,629
2,014
987
503
9,950
6,730
3,120
4,000
10,000
12,000
40/70
0.0%
0.8%
1.4%
30/50
0.0%
1.2%
2.4%
20/40
0.0%
2.0%
3.7%
MESH
16/30
MESH
1,156
513
MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
40/70
74
63
50
41
24
16
13
30/50
178
169
141
94
54
36
20/40
268
218
176
119
76
41
23
SANTROL THS PRECURED RESIN-COATED PROPPANT
CRUSH RESISTANCE
MESH
4,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
40/70
0.8%
1.9%
3.7%
5.9%
30/50
0.9%
2.1%
3.9%
6.9%
20/40
1.0%
2.6%
4.2%
7.8%
16/30
1.76%
7.3%

MESH
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
BULK
DENSITY,
LB/FT3
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
ABSOLUTE
VOLUME,
GAL/LB
40/70
2.52
93
1.49
0.04730.0477
30/50
2.52
93
1.49
0.04730.0477
20/40
2.52
93
1.49
0.04730.0477
KRUMBEIN
ROUNDNESS
KUMBREIN
SPHERICITY
ACID
TURBIDITY,
SOLUBILITY FTU
TEMP.
STABILITY,
F
0.7
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
0.7
0.7
< 2%
< 250
600
0.8
0.8
< 2%
< 250
600
PERMEABILITY DARCIES @250F, 2LB/FT2

MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
40/70
48
40
27
15
30/50
86
71
49
25
13
20/40
272
201
115
59
31
16/30
530
360
174
69
32
8,000
10,000
12,000

CONDUCTIVITY, MD-FT @250F, 2LB/FT2
API CRUSH TEST
MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
40/70
1,090
980
762
485
305
30/50
1,990
1,866
1,230
790
400
202
100
20/40
6,743
4,302
3,011
1,753
995
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@ 12,500
PSI
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/80
5.6
2.1
1.6
0.7
1.8
1.2
@ 15,000
PSI
CRUSH RESISTANCE
MESH
4,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
REFERENCE CONDUCTIVITY, MDFT@250F
40/70
0.4%
0.8%
1.5%
3.5%
30/50
0.4%
1.2%
2.2%
3.7%
CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
16/30
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/80
20/40
0.6%
1.6%
2.6%
4.3%
2,000
8,060
4,408
1,447
4,000
6,909
3,780
1,267
6,000
9,742
6,023
3,265
1,130

MESH
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
8,000
7,356
4,901
2,806
989
40/70
60
55
43
28
21
10,000
5,455
3,833
2,341
850
30/50
105
101
70
46
25
15
12,000
4,013
2,903
1,815
712
20/40
328
249
178
103
61
14,000
3,053
2,116
1,383
574
16,000
1,647
1,000
438
SANTROL SPEARPROP RESIN-COATED PROPPANT


MESH
ACID
SOLUBILITY
TURBIDITY
(NTU)
100
0.3%
MESH
ABSOSPECIFIC
LUTE
GRAVVOLUME,
ITY
GAL/LB
100
<250
2.51
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
CRUSH
RESISTANCE K-VALUE
(% FINES)
1.43
1.9 @ 8,000
PSI / 3.7 @
15,000 PSI
COATING CLUSTERS
>99%
17
ROUNDNESS AND
SPHERICITY
7.0, 7.0
<10%
SINTEX
CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
16/30
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2,000
542
302
102
4,000
480
264
90.9
6,000
664
432
234
82.2
8,000
516
363
205
73.3
10,000
397
293
175
64.3
12,000
303
229
139
54.7
14,000
240
172
108
45.1
16,000
138
80.6
35.1
2 LB/FT2
40/80
SINTERBALL BAUXITE
SINTERLITE BAUXITE

U.S. MESH
MICRONS
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/80
16+20
1,180+850
84
U.S. MESH
20+30
850+600
14
79
16+20
1,180+850
86
850+600
13
77
MICRONS
12/18
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/80
30+40
600+425
17
77
20+30
40+50
425+300
18
84
30+40
600+425
21
47
425+300
43
54
50+70
300+212
13
40+50
70
212
50+70
300+212
34
70
212

API CRUSH TEST
API CRUSH TEST

12/18
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@ 7,500
PSI
15.3
16/30
20/40
9.4
30/50
4.0
40/80
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/80
@ 7,500
PSI
2.6
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@ 10,000
PSI
5.1
4.4
1.4
0.8
2 LB/FT2
40/80
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@ 12,500
PSI
10.7
8.3
2.9
1.5
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@ 15,000
PSI
3.8
2.3
1.8

CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
12/18
2,000
34,018
16,509
9,249
3,308
2,044
4,000
23,124
14,124
7,526
2,759
1,644
6,000
12,888
9,834
5,515
2,299
1,274
8,000
6,941
6,439
3,643
1,753
904
10,000
3,994
3,488
2,061
1,252
576
12,000
2,847
2,033
1,100
773
343
2 LB/FT2
16/30
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50

CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
12/18
2 LB/FT2
16/30
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/80
2,000
2,013
1,012
563
205
124
4,000
1,447
893
472
175
102
6,000
847
643
355
150
80.7
8,000
474
436
243
117
58.5
10,000
283
244
142
85.8
38.1
12,000
209
147
78
54.2
23.2
SINTERPROP BAUXITE
U.S. MESH
MICRONS
16/30
20/40
30/50
40/80
16+20
1,180+850
49
20+30
850+600
46
80
30+40
600+425
12
51
40+50
425+300
43
47
50+70
300+212
47
70
212
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES

CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
16/30
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/80
2,000
13,752
8,773
3,001
1,597
4,000
11,392
7,758
2,567
1,244
6,000
9,157
6,543
2,198
1,113
8,000
6,682
5,015
1,785
985
10,000
4,819
3,200
1,356
821
12,000
3,417
1,988
969
658
14,000
2,311
1,198
623
501

CLOSURE
STRESS,
PSI
2 LB/FT2
16/30
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/80
2,000
855
554
193
104
4,000
728
499
168
82.8
6,000
600
430
147
75.2
8,000
451
338
121
67.6
10,000
335
223
94.1
57.3
12,000
245
143
69.2
46.9
14,000
171
88.6
46.2
36.4
SUN
SINTERPROP BAUXITE
SUN FRACKBLACK HT
U.S. MESH
MICRONS
20/40
30/50
40/70
16+20
1,180+850
MESH
20+30
850+600
95
SPECIFIC
GRAVITY
BULK
DENSITY,
LB/FT3
BULK
DENSITY,
G/CM3
KRUMBEIN
ROUNDNESS
TYPICAL
TEMP
RANGE,
F
30+40
600+425
96
40+50
425+300
88
14/40
1.05
41.2
0.66
0.9
< 275
30/80
1.05
41.2
0.66
0.9
< 275
50+70
300+212
11
70
212
CONDUCTIVITY, MD-FT @0.02 2LB/FT2

MESH
API CRUSH TEST

20/40
30/50
40/70
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@ 7,500
PSI
4.0
3.5
1.4
% BY
WEIGHT
FINES
@ 10,000
PSI
9.6
7.1
3.7
4,000
6,000
8,000
14/40
2,000
14,100
2,600
500
300
30/80
2,000
400
80
50

CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/70
2,000
4,000
10,737
5,202
2,519
8,789
4,3112
2,112
6,000
6,359
3,093
1,614
8,000
3,697
1,804
954
10,000
2,077
1,044
511
12,000
1,107
587
288

CLOSURE
STRESS, PSI
2 LB/FT2
20/40
2 LB/FT2
30/50
2 LB/FT2
40/70
2,000
594
291
142
4,000
501
249
115
6,000
374
184
91
8,000
225
110
61.4
10,000
132
64.8
35.2
12,000
72.7
37.4
23
Frac-specic experience.
Frac-specic
technology.
Get where you want to be faster.

In the race to save time and increase efficiencies in fracturing
operations, FMC Technologies delivers the goods: Our patented
isolation sleeve protects multiple wellhead components from
extreme pressures and erosion. Our frac-specic valves have
built-in sand traps that protect primary sealing surfaces. And
with service facilities near all major shale plays, we provide the
support you need to complete your well on time and on budget.
Copyright
C
Copy
opy
py
yri
rrigh
rig
iigh
ig
gh
g
ht FMC
FMC
C Tech
T
Te
Technologies,
ech
e
ec
cch
hn
no
olllogie
olo
o
iies
ie
ess,
e
s, In
Inc.
ncc.. A
All
llll R
Rights
ig
ght
gh
g
htts R
h
Re
Reserved.
ese
errv
er
ved
ed.
e
d.
PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY

MELANIE.CRUTHIRDS@WORLDOIL.COM
In a June 10 meeting of Statoils Corporate Assembly,

Svein Rennemo (left) was re-elected as chair and
Grace Reksten Skaugen (right) as deputy chair of the
board of directors. Bjrn Tore Godal, Maria Johanna
Oudeman, Jakob Stausholm, Catherine Hughes and
James Mulva were re-elected as shareholder representatives to the board. Additionally, ystein Loseth was
elected as new shareholder representative to the board.
Since 2010, Loseth has served as CEO, and, before that,
as first senior executive V.P., of Vattenfall AB, one of
Europes largest energy companies. For the re-elected
board members, the election entered into effect from
July 1 until the next ordinary election of shareholder
representatives to the board of directors in 2015. For
Loseth, the election enters into effect from Oct. 1. Photo
credit: Trond Isaksen/Statoil.
Exxon Mobils board of

directors has elected Jack
P. Williams and Darren
W. Woods to the positions of senior V.P. and
member of the corporate
management committee.
Williams, who is executive V.P. of Exxon Mobil
Production Company,
will also become a V.P. of
the corporation. Woods
is president of Exxon
Mobil Refining & Supply
Company and a V.P. of the
corporation. Williams and
Woods, together with Rex
W. Tillerson, chairman
and CEO, and senior V.P.s
Mark W. Albers, Michael
J. Dolan and Andrew P.
Swiger, will constitute the
corporations management committee.
Abakan Inc., a specialist

in the advanced coatings
and metal formulations
markets, has appointed
Ryan Owen, PhD, to the
companys board of directors. Dr. Owen has more
than 13 years of industry
experience with BP, both
domestically and internationally in upstream oil
and gas, and has worked
for Wood Mackenzie and
GlobalData. Most recently,
Dr. Owen worked with
an emerging oil and gas
operator, Ping Petroleum,
as the companys manager
of surface developments.
Apache Corporation has

announced the appointment of Annell R. Bay
to its board of directors.
Bay retired recently after
six years as V.P. of Global
Exploration at Marathon
Oil. Prior to joining
Marathon, she was V.P.
of Americas Exploration
for Shell Exploration and
Production Co. and V.P. of
Worldwide Exploration at
Kerr McGee Oil and Gas
Corp. Earlier, Bay held
positions of increasing
responsibility in oil and
gas exploration at Shell,
Chevron, Sohio, Oryx
Energy and Kerr McGee.
Bay holds BS and MS
degrees in geology from
Trinity University and the
University of Texas at
Austin, respectively.
Superior Performance
Inc., a premium threaded
tubing and casing products
and services specialist,
has appointed Mitch
Thibodeaux as president. Headquartered in
Lafayette, La., Thibodeaux
will oversee the companys
field service operations,
rental tool equipment
line and new product
development. He has been
in the oil and gas industry
for more than 25 years,
and has served at Superior
Performance for more than
17 years.
MicroSeismic, Inc.
announced that Jeff Foster
has been named president
and CEO. Founder of the
company and past CEO,
Peter M. Duncan, will continue with MicroSeismic
as co-chairman. Foster
brings more than 25 years
of diverse oilfield drilling
and completion experience
to the role, having worked
for a major operator, a
major service provider, and
a small cap products and
service company. In addition to his role as president
and CEO, Foster will serve
on the board of directors.
Aker Solutions has

recruited David Phillips
from HSBC Global Equity
Research as head of
industry and investor
relations. He started on
June 17. Phillips served
as global co-head of oil
and gas research, and
managing director at
HSBC since mid-2011, after
joining the bank as an
analyst in 2005. He earlier
specialized as an analyst,
covering the chemicals
sector, for banks including
Commerzbank, Morgan
Stanley and Dresdner
Kleinwort Benson. Phillips
will be based at Aker
Solutions London office.
rjan Gjerde, who has

been CFO at Norwegian
independent E&P company Noreco since March
2012, has handed in his
resignation and will leave
the company by Aug. 31.
The search for his replacement has already commenced, according to the
company. In addition to
leading the firms finance
and accounting group,
Gjerde headed its investor
relations activities. Gjerde
informed Noreco that he
is leaving in order to take
part in a new business
venture. Photo credit:
Emile Ashley.
InterMoor, an Acteon
company, has appointed
Lesley Maxwell as
group human resources
manager and Nick Knight
as business development
manager for InterMoor
Marine Services Ltd.
Maxwell has more than
20 years of international
experience as a senior
manager in management
consulting and human
resources roles across
different sectors, and will
be based in Aberdeen.
Knight, who will also be
based in Aberdeen, joins
InterMoor from UK-based
Viking SeaTech.
Superior Energy Services

has named Paul Remson
as V.P. of risk management. Based in Houston,
his responsibilities
include the placement,
analysis and management of the companys
comprehensive property,
casualty, marine and
specialty insurance
programs. Remson joins
Superior with more than
26 years of experience
in risk management and
corporate claims. He most
recently held the position
of director of insurance at
McDermott International,
and was previously
employed by BJ Services
Company, and Alexander
and Alexander.
Hoover Container
Solutions has promoted
Gabriela Blanco to
international client services
manager. Blanco joined
Hoover in February 2012 in
the international customer
service department and
worked to support international sales. She worked
previously for National
Oilwell Varco in Houston
as liaison between outside
sales representatives
and customers in Latin
America, and was with
Weatherford earlier.
Thomas Joseph (Tommy) Taylor, former chairman of the

Texas Alliance of Energy Producers (2010 to 2012), was
killed on June 18, 2014, along with two passengers, when
the private airplane he was piloting crashed near Morton,
Texas, about 50 miles west of Lubbock. Federal aviation
investigators continue to investigate the cause of the
accident, although bad weather may have been a
contributing factor. Mr. Taylor was born on March 27,
1953, in Abilene, Texas, where he graduated from high
school before earning a BBA degree in Petroleum Land
Management from the University of Texas. Mr. Taylor
opened an independent lease brokerage office in Houston in 1978 and, for several
years, bought, sold and managed oil and gas properties in Texas and seven other
states. Returning to Abilene in 1986, he drilled wells and bought producing properties
for 20 years, before selling out in 2005 and starting Snowmass Energy Partners. He
was a well-known leader among independent U.S. producers, and an avid hunter,
rancher, private pilot, polo player and skier. He is survived by his father, step-mother,
brother and four adult children, as well as his long-time companion, Dr. Stefanie
McCain. For more details, please see page 178.
COMPANIES IN THE NEWS

EDITORIAL@WORLDOIL.COM
93 million shares outstanding

(approximately 102 million shares
fully diluted).
On June 9, Maersk Drilling

delivered the worlds largest
jackup, the Maersk Intrepid,
to Westcon Yards in Olen,
Norway. The rig sailed from
Singapore with the heavy lift
vessel Hawk, and has a leg
length of 206.8 m. According
to Malvin Eide, rig manager
at Westcon Yards, the rig
was scheduled to stay at
the yard for 5060 days for
crew training, equipment
installation and on-board
testing. Photo credit: yvind
Stre, Westcon.
Marathon Oil has entered into a

definitive agreement with Det norske oljeselskap under which Det
norske will purchase Marathons
wholly-owned subsidiary,
Marathon Oil Norge, for a total
transaction value of $2.7 billion.
After adjustment for debt, net
working capital and interest on the
net purchase price, Marathon Oil
expects net proceeds of approximately $2.1 billion at closing. The
effective date of the transaction
is Jan. 1. The companies expect
to close the transaction, subject
to the necessary government and
regulatory approvals, in the fourth
quarter of this year.
Energy XXI has completed the

previously announced acquisition
of EPL Oil & Gas for approximately
$2.3 billion, making Energy
XXI the largest publicly-traded
independent operator on the
Gulf of Mexico shelf. The transaction included the assumption of
approximately $805 million of
EPL debt, net of cash, payment
of approximately $1.02 billion in
cash, and approximately 23 million
common shares of Energy XXI
stock. After closing the transaction,
Energy XXI has approximately
Baker Hughes and CGG have

announced that their Magnitude
JV has expanded its capabilities to
provide dedicated resources and
technologies for borehole, surface,
and permanent microseismic
monitoring. With this expansion,
Magnitude offers a full range of
microseismic services that can
help operators improve well
completion design and maximize
recovery at a lower cost per barrel.
A key component of Magnitudes
new services is a team of
seasoned experts, whose technical
disciplines range from engineering,
geophysics and microseismic, to
wireline and rock mechanics.
CB&I has been awarded a contract

by Pieridae Energy (Canada) for
the front-end engineering and
design (FEED) of the Goldboro
LNG project at the Goldboro
Industrial Park in Nova Scotia,
Canada. Under the FEED contract,
CB&I will design and engineer
two LNG liquefaction trains, and
associated facilities, in preparation
for the engineering, procurement
and construction phase. Goldboro
LNG will produce up to 10 Mtpa of
LNG, and will have on-site storage
capacity of 690,000 m3 of LNG.
Honeywell Process Solutions was

selected by Suncor Energy to provide automation systems for a new
multi-billion-dollar Fort Hills Oil
Sands project in Alberta, Canada.
Honeywell will supply technology
to integrate the sites control and
safety systems, manage alarms,
and provide advanced simulation
software that enables critical
operations planning and operator
training. The facility is expected to
be operational in late 2017.
Polarcus has completed acquisition of the Breagh multi-client

project in the UK Southern North
Sea. The 840-km2 RightBand
project was acquired by Polarcus
Naila towing an 8-by-75-by6,000-m spread, and utilizing
Polarcus infill management solution. The data are being processed
through a broadband workflow,
with final data products available
in December 2014. The survey is
designed to provide enhanced
imaging of the Carboniferous
Breagh field areas in UK Block
42/13, and extends the companys
multi-client coverage in the basin
to over 5,400 km2 of high-density

3D seismic data.
Vallourec has been selected to

supply premium line-pipe and
welding services for the TEN
ultra-deepwater oil and gas
project, operated by Tullow
Oil in Ghana, and executed by
a consortium of Subsea 7 and
Technip. Vallourec will provide
Subsea 7 with seamless offshore
line-pipe, including anti-corrosion
coating, for a total of 15,000 t.
The pipe will be dedicated to
production flowlines (pipe-in-pipe
system by ITP InTerPipe) and gas
export lines. Vallourec subsidiary
Serimax will provide associated
welding services for the double
jointing operations related to the
production pipe-in-pipe and gas
export lines.
Tendeka was awarded a three-year

contract to provide zonal isolation
technologies to be utilized by
an oil and gas company in the
Malaysia region. The contract was
awarded through Tendekas partner in the region, Dialog Systems
Sdn Bhd (DSSB), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Dialog Group Bhd,
an integrated specialist technical
service provider serving the oil, gas
and petrochemical industry.
TESCO has announced the signing

of a definitive agreement between
its subsidiary, Tesco Corporation
(U.S.), and Tech Field Services
Inc. (TFS). Under the terms of the
definitive agreement, Tesco has
acquired the assets of TFS, and
will incorporate the TFS business
into its U.S. after-market sales
and service (AMSS) operations.
TESCO specializes in top drive
sales, rentals and after-market
services. Established in 2006 in
Magnolia, Texas, TFS provides
parts, maintenance and repairs for
multiple top drive manufacturers,
including TESCO top drive units.
Blackhawk Specialty Tools, a

provider of engineered specialty
equipment and services to the
oil and gas industry, has acquired
Trinity Tool Rentals, including
its wholly-owned subsidiary
Blake Manufacturing. The terms
of the transaction were not
disclosed. Blackhawk Specialty
Tools was founded in 2008, is
headquartered in Houston, and
provides premium automated top
drive cement heads, and other
related cementation products
and services. Trinity Tool Rentals,
founded by Harvey Sharp III and

Jason Galbreath in 1998, designs,
rents and sells advanced drilling
and completion equipment.
The Greater Lafourche Port

Commission (GLPC) has been
recognized for its distinguished
record as a dedicated steward
of Louisianas coastal lands by
the Coalition to Restore Coastal
Louisiana (CRCL). GLPC was presented with a Coastal Stewardship
award at the 2014 CRCL Awards
Banquet on May 9. Over the past
several years, GLPC has worked
closely with federal, state and local
partners to implement, enhance
or champion for numerous coastal
and environmental restoration
projects, in and around Port
Fourchon. In some instances, restoration techniques were utilized for
the first time on GLPC projects,
making Port Fourchon a proving
ground for coastal science and
restoration techniques.
Santrol, a Fairmount Minerals

company, has opened its eighth
proppant terminal in the Permian
basin. The new Carlsbad, N.M., rail
terminal is serving the western part
of the basin. Santrols proppant
distribution network now includes
more than 50 terminals throughout the U.S., in all of the major
conventional and unconventional
hydrocarbon basins.
Superior Drilling Products, Inc., a

provider of drilling products for the
oil, natural gas and mining services
industry, has acquired Hard Rock
Solutions, LLC, for $25 million,
of which $12.5 million was paid in
conjunction with the closing of its
initial public offering. The company
acquired Hard Rocks patented Drill
N Ream wellbore technology, a
unique reaming assembly technology that has been used in over 850
horizontal wells since 2011.
Univar Inc., a global distributor of

industrial and specialty chemicals
and related services, broke ground
on a new 52,000-sq-ft facility
on 12 acres of land in Elmendorf,
Texas, on May 20. The facility, in
the Alamo Junction Rail Park,
south of San Antonio, is under
construction, and is expected to
be fully operational by the end of
the year. It will be a full-service
distribution center, with capabilities to blend and distribute
packaged and bulk materials for
customers at the north end of the
Eagle Ford shale.
NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Reservoir mapping-while-drilling service

reveals subsurface features
Schlumberger has
introduced its GeoSphere
reservoir mapping-whiledrilling service. The new
technology reveals features
in subsurface beddings,
and fluid contacts at the
reservoir scale, to optimize
well landing operations,
steering capabilities and
mapping of multiple boundaries, using new deep-directional
resistivity measurements enabled by proprietary real-time
interpretation techniques. With a deep range of investigation that
extends more than 100 ft from the wellbore, drilling teams can
use the GeoSphere service to reduce drilling risk and accurately
land wells, resulting in the elimination of pilot holes. The realtime reservoir mapping-while-drilling service also enables the
positioning of wells within target reservoirs, away from fluid
boundaries, leading to increased reservoir exposure, as well as
allowing geoscientists to refine their seismic interpretation, and
geological and structural models.
www.slb.com/geosphere
Solution monitors
subsea BOP
conditions
Cameron has debuted two new
products: the Cognition Stack
Instrumentation Infrastructure
package and the EVO 300 Bonnet
technology. The Cognition package
offers a new way to monitor subsea BOP stack functions from the
surface, while the stack is deployed
subsea. The Cognition package
provides a network of new sensors,
resilient communication paths to
transmit sensor data to the surface,
and the analytics, alerts and alarms
to turn the data into insights
about the condition of the subsea
BOP. In addition to the Cognition
package, Cameron also introduced
the EVO 300 Bonnet. The product
addresses drillers need to shear
stronger, thicker tubulars and
provides 54% greater ram closing
force versus earlier bonnets.
www.c-a-m.com
Gravel-pack solution improves efficiency, reduces risk

Baker Hughes has commercialized its patent-pending, TORRENT openhole gravel-pack solution, which combines
a field-proven, multi-path gravel-pack screen; specialized, ultra-lightweight proppants; and a reliable gravel-pack
system to provide reliable, long-term sand control and profitable field development. The EXCELLPAK multi-path
screen provides multiple, interconnected flow paths to transport slurry over the entire length of the screen,
regardless of annular obstructions. To reduce operational requirements and HSE risks, the solution also includes
a selection of the companys LiteProp ultralight weight proppants. The low density of the proppants keeps it suspended, enabling lower pumping rates to reduce friction and improve efficiency in long horizontal applications.
Additionally, the SC-XP gravel pack system features a swab-resistant V0-rated packer element that enables fast
conveyance and withstands high circulation rates. Rounding out the solution is gravel-pack simulation software
that allows comprehensive job planning and real-time decision-making during deployment.
www.bakerhughes.com
DOT/DNV-certied
mud skips/cutting
boxes added to
product line
Hoover Container Solutions, a
subsidiary of Hoover Group, Inc.,
has added a new DOT/DNVcertified mud skip/cutting box
to its offshore product line for
transportation and safe handling
of hydrocarbon-contaminated
drill cuttings, to and from offshore
platforms. The mud skips/cutting
boxes have patented sliding doors
and a removable crank handle,
and the units provide a safe,
efficient means for containment
of drilling waste for transportation
to treatment or disposal sites. The
units are designed and manufactured to DNV 2.7-1/EN 12079/DOT
49CFR176.340 standards, and
have certified slings, complete
with shackles, in accordance with
DNV 2.7-1/EN 12079 standards.
www.hooversolutions.com
Solid steel, inexpensive casing patch

provides permanent seal
Enventure has introduced the ESeal Patch, a new casing patch technology that utilizes a unique permanent, inexpensive casing patch solution
that reliably restores well integrity. The expandable casing patch is a
solid steel liner that seals short sections of damaged casing and perforations. The new technology utilizes elastomer seals deployed top and
bottom, and, once expanded, the elastomer seals anchor the system to
the base pipe. This design provides a quick, inexpensive and permanent
seal, while reinforcing short casing sections, restoring well integrity and
prolonging well life.
Subsea ROV
accommodates
large payloads
Deep Blue Engineering UK Ltd. has
introduced the Shuttle Sub, a new
lift and deployment system in the
form of a large-payload-carrying,
remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
It does not require an additional
ROV to conduct visual monitoring
or connector installation activities subsea; instead, technicians
on a support vessel carry out
these tasks remotely. The Shuttle
Sub is unique, in that it is also
the payload carrier, transferring
deployment and retrieval tasks
to the ROV, providing optimum
control and removing the need for
lift line-based operations.
www.deepblueengineering.
co.uk
Innovations
customized for oil,
gas needs
SKF has introduced several new
products for the oil and gas
industry, including tapered roller
thrust bearings, locking T-seals
and low-torque operator gate
valve assemblies. The companys
roller thrust bearings for top drives
are characterized by their high
load-carrying capacity and ability
to accommodate shock loads. The
patented SKF locking T-seals offer
a robust replacement option for
conventional T-seals and spring
back-up seals. Additionally, the
designs of SKFs low-torque operator gate valve assemblies for highpressure wellhead systems simplify
installation and field retrofit.
www.skf.com
Mooring
component allows
for quick release
Sofrasers new Sofeat inline viscometer can reach pressures up to 1,900

bar, a performance unequalled for process viscosity measurement using
vibrating technology. Featuring a high-pressure mounting flange, highly
resistant materials, and design improvements to the sensing element,
the sensor performs under very high-viscosity environments, without
a loss of sensitivity. Up to 300C, it can resist pressures of up to 1,400
bar; increasing up to 1,900 bar at ambient temperature. The viscometer
has applications in fracturing, drilling and PVT (pressure, volume and
temperature) experiments.
Delmar Systems has introduced

the Delmar Quick Release (DQR),
an in-line mooring component
with a simple mechanical release
that allows the rig to safely and
efficiently offset or depart from a
moored location in an emergency,
with or without the use of support
vessels. The DQR can be used
with any anchor foundation and
allows for safe mooring of DP
rigs, as well as traditional moored
rigs. Additionally, the DQR can be
reconnected in the field, without
recovery to shore, by simply
replacing the shear pin.
www.sofraser.com
www.delmarus.com
www.EnventureGT.com
Inline viscometer maintains integrity at

extremely high pressures
MARKETPLACE
CHERYL.WILLIS@GULFPUB.COM / +1 (713) 525-4633
CUSTOM
ARTICLE
REPRINTS
FROM
For samples and a

price quote contact
Cheryl Willis
at 713-525-4633 or
Cheryl.Willis@GulfPub.com
Call 713-525-4633
for details about
Structural Adhesive Resists

High Temperatures
World Oils
Marketplace
Recruitment
Advertising
Program
Use a combination of print,
recruitment e-newsletter,
plus Website to reach our
total audience circulation of
more than 100,000!
Master Bond Supreme 45HTQ

Toughened, quartz filled epoxy
Serviceable from -60F to 450F
Superior durability and chemical resistance
High compressive strength
+DFNHQVDFN1-86$
main@masterbond.com
www.masterbond.com
INDIA
ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES

Ron Higgins, Publisher
OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA
2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020
AUSTRALIA
Houston, TX 77046 USA

Phone: +1 (713) 529-4301, Fax: +1 (713) 520-4433
Ron.Higgins@WorldOil.com
WorldOil.com
NORTH AMERICA
TX
Don DePugh
Phone/Fax: +1 (713) 520-4435
Don.DePugh@GulfPub.com
TX, AL, DC, FL, IA, IL, IN, GA, KY, MD, MI, MN, OH,
TN, VA, WI, AND WESTERN CANADA
Andy McDowell, Sales Manager
Phone/Fax: +1 (713) 520-4463
Andy.McDowell@GulfPub.com
TX, AR, AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, KS, LA, MO, MS, MT, ND,
NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY
Bailey Simpson
Phone/Fax: +1 (713) 525-4660
Bailey.Simpson@WorldOil.com
CT, DE, MA, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, VT, WV
AND EASTERN CANADA
Merrie Lynch
Phone: +1 (617) 357-8190, Fax: +1 (617) 357-8194
Merrie.Lynch@GulfPub.com
Brian Arnold
Phone: +61 (8) 9332-9839, Fax: +61 (8) 9313-6442
Australia@GulfPub.com
BRAZIL
Alfred Bilyk
Brazmedia
Phone/Fax: +55 (11) 23 37 42 40,
Cell: +55 (11) 85 86 52 59
Brazil@GulfPub.com
CHINA, HONG KONG

Iris Yuen
Gulf Publishing Company
Phone: +86 13802701367 (China)
Cell: +852 69185500 (Hong Kong)
China@GulfPub.com
FRANCE, GREECE, NORTH AFRICA, SPAIN,

PORTUGAL, SOUTHERN BELGIUM, AUSTRIA,
LUXEMBOURG, SWITZERLAND, GERMANY
Catherine Watkins
Phone: +33 (0) 1 30 47 92 51, Fax: +33 (0) 1 30 47 92 40
Catherine.Watkins@GulfPub.com
JAPAN
Yoshinori Ikeda
Pacific Business Inc.
Phone: +81 (3) 3661-6138, Fax: +81 (3) 3661-6139
Japan@GulfPub.com
Manav Kanwar
Phone: +91-22-2837 7070/71/72 Fax: +91-22-2822 2803
India@GulfPub.com
INDONESIA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE, THAILAND

Peggy Thay
Publicitas Singapore Pte Ltd
Phone: +65 6836 2272, Fax: +65 6297 7302
Singapore@GulfPub.com
ITALY, EASTERN EUROPE

Fabio Potesta
Mediapoint & Communications SRL
Phone: +39 (010) 570-4948, Fax: +39 (010) 553-0088
Fabio.Potesta@GulfPub.com
KOREA
Young-Seoh Chinn
JES Media, Inc.
Phone: +82 (2) 481 3411/3, Fax +82 (2) 481 3414
jesmedia@unitel.co.kr
PAKISTAN
S. E. Ahmed
Intermedia Communications
Phone: +92 (21) 663-4795, Fax: +92 (21) 663-4795
RUSSIA, FSU
Lilia Fedotova
Anik International & Co., Ltd.
Phone/Fax: +7 (495) 628-10-33
Lilia.Fedotova@GulfPub.com
UNITED KINGDOM, NETHERLANDS,

NORTHERN BELGIUM, SCANDINAVIA
Michael Brown
Phone: +44 161 440 0854, Cell: +44 79866 34646
Michael.Brown@GulfPub.com
ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE

AB Sandvik Materials Technology ....................94
www.smt.sandvik.com
ADIPEC, DMG Events .........................................98B

www.adipec.com/conference
American Petroleum Institute ............................49

www.api.org
Archer........................................................................96
www.archerwell.com
Astican-Astander ...................................................79
www.astican.es
Baker Hughes ....................................................S134

www.bakerhughes.com/bifuel
Baker Hughes .........................................................30

www.bakerhughes.com/wellconstruction
Baker Hughes ..........................................................67

www.bakerhughes.com/TORRENT
Bartington Instruments ....................................... 40

www.bartington.com
Bishop Lifting Products, Inc. ..............................46

www.lifting.com
Bluebeam Software Inc. .......................................20

www.bluebeam.com/global
Bristow Group Inc. ............................................... 179

www.bristowgroup.com
C&J Energy Services .............................................62

www.cjenergy.com
Cameron ..................................................................... 5
www.TheMomentumIsBuilding.com
Carbo Ceramics Inc. ............................................ 6-7

www.carboceramics.com
Chevron .....................................................................16
www.chevron.com/careers
CJ Winter .................................................................45
www.cjwinter.com
CNPC GWDC .......................................................... 80

www.gwdc.com.cn
Cudd Energy Services ..........................................69

www.cudd.com
Doris Engineering ..................................................95

www.doris-engineering.com
Dragon Products, Ltd .....................................S130

www.dragonproductsltd.com
Dresser-Rand ......................................................... 44
www.datum.dresser-rand.com
Elsteel ........................................................................92
www.elsteel.com
Enventure Global Technology ........................... 40

www.enventuregteseal.com
Expro Americas .......................................................51

www.exprogroup.com
Fincantieri Offshore .............................................. 57

www.fincantierioffshore.com
FMC Technologies.....................................28, S170

Freewave Technologies .......................................122

www.freewave.com
Gardner Denver ........................................................ 8

www.gardnerdenverpumps.com
Global Geophysical Services .............................. 72

www.globalgeophysical.com
Gulf Publishing Company

Events - GasPro..............................................60-61
www.gasprocessingconference.com
Events - HPHT .............................................. 114-115

www.HPHTConference.com
Events - WGLC .....................................................86

www.WGLConference.com
Events - World Oil Awards................................70

Awards.WorldOil.com
World Oil Breakfast Series ...............................177

www.ShaleBreakfast.com
World Oil Marketplace .......................................174

World Oil Webcasts ............................................97
www.WorldOil.com
Halliburton ............................................................... 10
www.halliburton.com/Complete1
Hempel A/S ............................................................ 110

www.hempel.com
Hoover Container Solutions..............................109

www.hooversolutions.com
Hoover Container Solutions.............................. 107

www.hooversolutions.com/waste

www.hooversolutions.com/workshops

www.hooversolutions.com/cargo
Hoover Container Solutions............................... 101

www.hooversolutions.com/chemicaltanks
Hornbeck Offshore ................................................58

www.hornbeckoffshore.com
Hytorc........................................................................43
www.hytorc.com
Industrial Rubber ..................................................... 4

www.iri-oiltool.com
Intellian ...................................................................100
www.intelliantech.com
Knight Oil Tools ......................................................52

www.knightoiltools.com
M & D Industries Of Louisiana .............................41

www.DrillLab.com
M-I SWACO ..............................................................24

www.slb.com/hpht
Marine Cybernetics................................................76
www.marinecybernetics.com
Momentive Specialty Chemicals ................. S157

www.momentive.com
National Oilwell Varco ............................................ 2

www.nov.com/wo/rig
NCS ENERGY......................................................S141
www.ncsfrac.com
Newpark Drilling Fluids LP..................................32

www.newparkdf.com
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. ...........26

www.tubular.nssmc.com
OMC 2015 ..............................................................98A

www.omc2015.it
OneSubsea...............................................................35
www.onesubsea.com/engineer
Packers Plus ............................................................22

www.packersplus.com
PGS ........................................................................... 121

www.pgs.com/multiclient
Polarcus .................................................................... 74
www.polarcus.com
Pt Pipa Mas Putih .................................................. 119

www.pipamas.com
Rainbow Ceramics ...........................................S150

www.rainbowceramics.com
Rockwater Energy Solutions ........................S146

www.rockwaterenergy.com/hydronomics
Roxar ........................................................................ 112

www.EmersonProcess.com/RoxarDownhole
Rushmore Associates Ltd. ....................................71

www.rushmorereviews.com
Saint-Gobain Proppants .................................S161

www.proppants.saint-gobain.com
Santrol, A Fairmount Minerals Company ..S162

www.santrol.com
Scame Parre SpA .................................................. 113

www.scame.com
Schlumberger ..........................................................18
www.slb.com/CoreFlow
Schlumberger ..........................................................13
www.slb.com/saturn
Schlumberger .......................................................180
www.drilco.com
Schlumberger ...................................................S124
www.slb.com/shale
Sercel CGG ............................................................... 77

www.deregtcables.com
Shawcor ....................................................................54
www.shawcor.com
Supreme Services, Inc. .........................................66

www.supremeservices.com
TAM International ..................................................42

www.tamintl.com
Technogenia .............................................................15
www.technogenia.com
Tenaris ........................................................................12
www.tenaris.com
Tesco Corporation .................................................39

www.tescocorp.com
Tognum AG (MTU) .................................................91

www.s4000oilgas.mtu-online.com
Tomax AS .................................................................87
www.tomax.no
U.S. Steel Tubular Products ................................36

www.usstubular.com
Unconventional Resources Technology

Conference ......................................................... 120
www.URTeC.org
Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies.....S144

www.veoliawaterstna.com
Volant Products Inc. ..............................................65

www.volantoiltoolsUS.com
Volant Products Inc. ..........................................S126

www.volantproducts.ca
Weatherford .............................................................14
www.MPDanswers.com
Weir Oil & Gas ...................................................S128

www.WeirInAction.com
Wood Group Mustang ..........................................53

www.mustangeng.com
This index and procedure for securing additional information are provided as a service to World Oil advertisers and a convenience to our readers. Gulf Publishing Company is not responsible for omissions or errors.
MEETINGS AND EVENTS

JULY
SPE Forum, Well Construction
Efficiency: NPT, Reliability,
and Process Improvement,
Jul. 1318, Santa Fe, N. M.
(See box for contact information)
Gulf Publishing Company Events,
Artificial Lift Technology Forum,
Jul. 15, Norris Conference
Center, City Centre,
Houston, Texas
AUGUST
IADC, 2014 Asset Integrity &
Reliability Conference,
Aug. 20, Norris Conference
Center, CityCentre, Houston, Texas
4th Atlantic Conjugate Margins
Conference, Aug. 20,
Delta St. Johns Hotel,
St. Johns, Newfoundland,
Canada
P: +1 (709) 758-6610
www.noia.ca/News-Events
NAPE South, Aug. 2022,
George R. Brown Convention
Center,
Houston, Texas
P: +1 (817) 847-7700
info@napeexpo.com
www.napeexpo.com
IADC/SPE, 10th Asia Pacific
Drilling Technology Conference,
Aug. 2527, Bangkok
International Convention Centre
at Central World, Bangkok,
Thailand
ONS (Offshore Northern Seas)
2014, Aug. 2528, Stavanger
Forum, Stavanger, Norway
P: +47 51849046
jar@ons.no
ons.no/2014
SPE/AAPG/SEG, Unconventional
Resources Technology
Conference (URTeC), Aug. 2627,
Colorado Convention Center,
Denver, Colo.
P: +1 (918) 560-2618
sknowlton@urtec.org
www.urtec.org/registration
SEPTEMBER
Oil Sands Trade Show &
Conference, Sept. 910,
Suncor Community Leisure
Centre, Fort McMurray,
Alberta, Canada
P: +1 (403) 209-3555
www.oilsandstradeshow.com
SPE, 2014 Deepwater Drilling and

Completions Conference,
Sept. 1011, Moody Gardens Hotel
and Convention Center,
Galveston, Texas
AAPG, 2014 International
Conference & Exhibition (ICE),
Sept. 1417, Istanbul Congress
Center, Istanbul, Turkey
Celle Drilling 2014, International
Conference and Exhibition for
Advanced Drilling Technology,
Sept. 1516, Congress Union,
Celle, Germany
P: +49 5141 208818-6
conferenceoffice@celle-drilling.
com
OCTOBER
IADC, Drilling Africa 2014
Conference & Exhibition,
Oct. 12, Le Meridien Etoile Hotel,
Paris, France
IADC, Contracts & Risk
Management Conference 2014,
Oct. 1415, Norris Conference
Center, CityCentre,
Houston, Texas
Marine Technology Society
(MTS), Dynamic Positioning
Conference, Oct. 1416,
Venue TBA, Houston, Texas
P: +1 (202) 717-8705
www.mtsociety.org/conferences/
Dynamic
IADC, 2014 Advanced Rig

Technology Conference &
Exhibition, Sept. 1617,
Moody Gardens Hotel,
Galveston, Texas
SPE, Asia Pacific Oil & Gas

Conference and Exhibition,
Oct. 1416, Adelaide Convention
Centre, Adelaide, Australia
dmg Energy Events, Canada LNG

Export Conference & Exhibition,
Sept. 1618, Calgary TELUS
Convention Centre,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
P: +1 (403) 209-3555
www.canadalngexport.com
Interstate Oil & Gas Compact

Commission (IOGCC), 2014
Annual Meeting, Oct. 1921,
Hyatt Regency, Columbus, Ohio
P: +1 (405) 525-3556
Iogcc@iogcc.state.ok.us
www.iogcc.state.ok.us/events
Texas A&M University System

Turbomachinery Laboratory,
43rd Turbomachinery & 30th
Pump Symposia, Sept. 2225,
George R. Brown Convention
Center, Houston, Texas
P: +1 (979) 845-7417
info@turbo-lab.tamu.edu
pumpturbo.tamu.edu
GAIS (Global African Investment

Summit), Oct. 2021, The Savoy
Hotel, London, UK
P: +44 20 7938 6000
F: +44 20 3180 6550
www.tgais.com

HPHT Drilling and Completions
Conference, Sept. 2324,
Norris Conference Center,
City Centre, Houston, Texas
IADC, Drilling HSE&T Europe 2014
Conference & Exhibition,
Sept. 2425, Movenpick Hotel,
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
SPE, Heavy and Extra Heavy Oil
Conference: Latin America,
Sept. 2426, Hotel Intercontinental
Medelln, Medelln, Colombia
dmg Energy Events, International
Pipeline Exposition,
Sept. 30Oct. 2, Calgary
TELUS Convention Centre,
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
P: +1 (403) 209-3555
www.internationalpipeline
exposition.com
SPE, Annual Technical Conference

& Exhibition, Oct. 2729,
RAI Centre, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
dmg Energy Events, Heavy
Oil Latin America Exhibition &
Conference, Oct. 2830,
Margarita Island, Venezuela
www.heavyoillatinamerica.com
EAGC (European Autumn Gas
Conference), Oct. 2830, Grange
St. Pauls Hotel, London, UK
P: +44 20 7938 6000
F: +44 20 3180 6550
www.theeagc.com
dmg Energy Events, Gas Asia
Summit, Oct. 2931, Marina Bay
Sands, Singapore
www.gasasiasummit.com
NOVEMBER
Womens Global Leadership
Conference, Nov. 45, Hyatt
Regency, Houston, Texas

ADIPEC 2014, Abu Dhabi
International Petroleum
Exhibition & Conference, Nov.
1013, Abu Dhabi National
Exhibition,
Abu Dhabi, UAE
P: +971 2 6970 505
www.adipec.com
IADC, Annual General Meeting
2014, Nov. 1214, Ritz-Carlton
New Orleans, New Orleans, La.
(See box for drilling information)
SPE, Caspian Technical
Conference, Nov. 1214, Korme
Exhibition Center,
Astana, Kazakhstan
SPE, Middle East Artificial Lift
Conference and Exhibition, Nov.
2627, The Diplomat, Radisson
Blue, Manama, Bahrain
DECEMBER
IADC, Well Control Europe
Conference & Exhibition, Dec.
23, Aberdeen Exhibition &
Conference Center, Aberdeen, UK
SPE, Heavy Oil Conference and
Exhibition, Dec. 810, Hilton
Kuwait Resort, Mangaf, Kuwait
IPTC (International Petroleum
Technology Connference), Dec.
1012, Kuala Lumpur Convention
Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
F: +60 3 2182 3030
iptcreg@iptcnet.org
www.iptcnet.org
International Association of
Drilling Contractors (IADC)
P: +1 (713) 292-1945
info@iadc.org
www.iadc.org/events
Society of Petroleum
Engineers (SPE)
P: +1 (972) 952-9393
spedal@spe.org
www.spe.org/events/
calendar
World Oil/Gulf Publishing
Company Events
P: +1 (713) 529-4301
events@gulfpub.com
www.worldoil.com/
gpc-events.aspx
World Oil introduces the
SHALE BREAKFAST SERIES
Eagle Ford
World Oil is pleased to announce that we will be holding technical breakfasts in North Americas major
shale plays. At the breakfasts, youll hear presentations from leading experts in the region and have
the opportunity to network with fellow oil and gas professionals.
We invite you to join us for the rst breakfast, focusing on the Eagle Ford shale play, on August 12, 2014
beginning at 7 a.m. CDT in San Antonio, TX at the Wyndham St. Anthony Riverwalk. In San Antonio,
youll hear from Rod Skaufel, Asset PresidentShale, BHP Billiton and other speakers to be announced.
Featured Presentation:
BHP Billiton is one of the largest producers in the Eagle Ford shale and aims to
produce 200,000 barrels of liquids per day within 23 years. Skaufel will address how
the company is consistently pursuing productivity improvements in its Eagle Ford
operations. He will discuss how the company is improving efficiencies in its operations
while reducing costs, benchmarking to identify optimal performance, and employing
analytical and numerical models to help target trials and accelerate learning.
Register Now at ShaleBreakfast.com

Registration is $40 per person. Tables of ten may be reserved for $350.
Breakfast at a Glance:
7 a.m................ Coffee
7:30 a.m. ........ Continental Breakfast
89 a.m........... Technical Presentations
Supported by:
August 12, 2014

79 a.m. CDT | San Antonio, Texas
Wyndham St. Anthony Riverwalk
THE LAST BARREL

KURT S. ABRAHAM, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Pipe dumping trade case proceeds in U.S.

South Korea is the most egregious case, ing one by TMK IPSCO, and reduced
Not receiving much publicity, but still
proceeding is a trade case launched by because in 2012, it exported nearly half of hours at others, there will be a positive
nine U.S. pipe manufacturers, alleging that the 1,771,320 net tons in question. Unfor- finding. The trade case results, one way or
South Korean firms, and others, are illegal- tunately, 40% to 50% of all pipe on the U.S. the other, will certainly have repercussions
ly dumping large amounts of oil country E&P market is coming in as imports for TMK IPSCOs future, said Galitzine.
tubular goods (OCTGs) on the U.S. mar- theres just too much excess global capacity
Farewell to a prominent independirected at the U.S., said Barnes.
ket at abnormally low prices.
dent. It is with great sadness that we report
Once the case was launched, DOC en- the death of Thomas J. (Tommy) Taylor
Executives at TMK IPSCO recently updated World Oil on the case, which is now gaged in data and information collection, on June 19, when a plane he owned, and
a year old. Back on July 2, 2013, TMK IP- after which DOC released preliminary was piloting, crashed west of Lubbock,
SCO and eight other domestic pipe manu- results on Feb. 18. Federal officials inexpli- Texas (see also page 171). Tommy was the
facturers launched a trade case (Docket cably gave the South Koreans a temporary former chairman of the Texas Alliance of
no. 2965 at www.usitc.gov) with the U.S. free pass, even though DOC did not send Energy Producers while I was still on that
Department of Commerce (DOC) and its own accountants out, to look over the groups staff, so I was fairly acquainted with
the U.S. International Trade Commission nine companies books, until later.
him. He was a colorful fellow, well-known
However, the process is not finished, and liked among U.S. independent pro(ITC), requesting that they launch antidumping and countervailing duty inves- said Barnes. We were disappointed, be- ducers, as well as legislators in Texas and
tigations against nine countries. They al- cause DOC felt that zero additional tar- Washington, D.C. He was a good friend of
leged that OCTGs were being dumped on iff was warranted or should be imposed Texas Gov. Rick Perry for roughly 30 years.
the U.S. market by South Korea, Taiwan, on Korea. But the DOC had not had the
Tommys businesses did very well
Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, the Philippines, In- chance to review many of the complainant for him over more than 35 years, and he
companies briefs. So, were very hopeful accumulated three homes and a ranch.
dia, Thailand, Turkey and Ukraine.
Two of the companies did not take po- that by July 11, when DOC has to issue its He was a first-rate negotiator; he loved
sitions on Saudi Arabia. In our petitions, final ruling, that they will have a clearer pic- to negotiate a deal, remembers Bill Stewe, the companies, charged that the above- ture, and a margin will be assigned.
vens, chief government relations advisor
Once DOC issues its ruling, the ITC for the Texas Alliance, who grew up with
named countries have been flooding the
U.S. market with OTCGs at dumping mar- has to act on those findings and determine Taylor in Abilene. Tommy was a really
gins ranging anywhere from about 12% to whether there has been injury to U.S.- good athlete. He was a good polo player,
as high as 240%, said TMI IPSCO Chair- based pipe producers, explained Barnes. a good snow skier, and at age 60, he could
A July 15 hearing will be followed by ad- still barefoot water ski. And he loved to
man Piotr Galitzine.
As explained by TMK IPSCO Senior ditional filings and a final decision on ap- fly that airplanehe was a really good piV.P. and Chief Commercial Officer Scott proximately Aug. 14. The U.S. firms hope lot. Most of all, he was a great fatherhe
Barnes, and quoted from the Tariff Act that after numerous plant closings, includ- loved his four kids (now adults).
of 1930, the term, dumping
Tommy died while using
margin, means the amount
one hobby (flying) to take
by which the normal value ex- Tommy Taylor speaks to a Texas Alliance meeting in Abilene, as
care of another hobby (polo).
chairman, during 2011, with Bill Stevens standing at far right.
ceeds the export price or conThe two Colorado residents,
structed export price of the
who died with him in the
subject merchandise. For incrash, were friends that he had
stance, in the case of the South
hired and was ferrying down
Koreans, if the fair, normal
to Brenham, Texas, to pick up
value of items being exported
some polo ponies and drive
to the U.S. is $1,000, and the
them back to Aspen. Sadly,
exporting companies are only
due either to bad weather,
charging $470.90, the differmechanical failure or both,
ence, the dumping margin, is
they never got to Brenham.
$529.10. On a percentage basis,
Tommy Taylor will be missed
compared to the $470.90 level,
by many.
the $529.10 equates to a dumpKURT.ABRAHAM@WORLDOIL.COM
ing margin of 112.36%.
6,614* people on our safety team.
JUST
THE
FACTS.
More than 60 million people worldwide have put their trust and safety in us.
2.6 million* passengers own safely every year.
*Numbers reect Bristow Group and its Afliates
At Bristow, we take pride in delivering safe, reliable and timely offshore helicopter services that help
make your business protable and efcient. And the results of our operational excellence are evident.
Visit our website for more facts about how we can take your business places.
bristowgroup.com
Tubulars &
Inspection
Services
Global, industry-leading tubular equipment

and inspection services.
For more than 60 years, DRILCO has provided superior and innovative tubular products and services for
drilling operations. DRILCO developed the first continuous-line heat-treating technology, invented Hevi-Wate
transition drillpipe, and set the first industry standards for tubular inspections and mobile field hardbanding.
Whether you are building new rigs, refurbishing, or need service in the field, DRILCO is there.
Find out more at
drilco.com
Hevi-Wat
Hevi
Hev
-Wat
-Wa
Wate is a mark
mark of Scchhlu
hlumber
erger.
ger. 2014 Schl
h umbe
mberger
rger. 14-DT14-DT-0086
008

WorldOil July2014

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

WorldOil July2014

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

August 12, 2014

San Antonio, Texas

Asset President Shale

President, North Americas

Get more information + Register Now at ShaleTechBreakfast.com

Committed to your success

The secret to successful exploration today

2014 National Oilwell Varco

Mantas Savickas, proud

For more information

SPECIAL REPORT: NORWAY

Collaboration adds MPD

Lightweight risers increase

Riding a high tide, Norway

Getting into (and out of)

SHOW PREVIEW: ONS

ONS: Changes lie ahead,

Whats new in exploration

Same game, different questions

OFFSHORE RIG INNOVATIONS

Meeting offshore challenges

Whats new in well logging and

The errors in human error

Whats new in production

Ill take Sand for $50, Alex

Oil and gas in the capitals

P. Coole / S. Baer / A. R. Ngoula

PROPPANT TABLES 2014

Geoscientists are doing good

A series of recent tax breaks

The last barrel

NEWS AND RESOURCES

World of oil and gas

People in the industry

Companies in the news

New products and services

REGIONAL REPORT: UKCS

Meetings and events

ABOUT THE COVER

World Oil/JULY 20143

Mailing Address: PO Box 2608

Saeid Mokhatab, LNG

MAGAZINE PRODUCTION/+1 (713) 525-4633

CIRCULATION/+1 (713) 520-4440/Circulation@GulfPub.com

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

ChairmanDr. William J. Pike, Managing Consultant and Contractor to the

GAINING GROUND OFFSHORE

CAMERONS TOTAL RIG PACKAGE SOLUTIONS

FLOW EQUIPMENT LEADERSHIP

Camerons Topside Equipment Packages:

Learn more at: www.TheMomentumIsBuilding.com

RAISING PERFORMANCE. TOGETHER

Our unique capabilities deliver higher production

solutions as unique as your frac

DESIGNED TO BE 30% LIGHTER THAN THE COMPETITION,

THATS PUMPING PERFECTED.

The PZ 2400: Built for Extreme Expectations.

Connect with us at: 1-866-GDPUMPS

Getting into (and out of)

Offshore rig advances. As

offshore operations continue their advance to deeper waters and

Special Report: Norway

dition to the UKCS regional report by