bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improved ROP in Ultrahard Rock
Authors: Bybee Karen 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 99045, "ROP Enhancement in Ultrahard Rock," by M. Roehrlich and K.-U. Belohlavek, ExxonMobil Development Co., prepared for the 2006 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, Miami, Florida, 21–23 February.
Drilling the hard and very abrasive Bunter formation in northwest Germany has been a challenge for 40 years. Low rates of penetration (ROPs) and high tool wear are common. The full-length paper details the analysis of historical data and the combination of bits, motors, and other bottomhole-assembly (BHA) components to improve ROP. The combination of new impregnated bits, new downhole motors, and improved hydraulics was the basis for the improvement.

Introduction
The Bunter, a hard and very abrasive formation, typically at a depth of 8,000 to 12,500 ft, consists of layers of quartzitic sandstone and silificated claystone with a compressive strength of 30 to 50 ksi. In the past, typical ROPs in 12 1/4-in. sections were 3 to 6 ft/hr. In the 1970s and 1980s, 15 to 20 insert bits were required to drill the section and reaming was necessary as a result of undergauge bits.
In the 1990s, a research project was initiated and funded by the German drilling industry to improve ROP in ultrahard and abrasive formations. In the past, the Bunter was characterized by the lowest ROP, shortest bit life, and highest cost per foot. Increasing the depth of cut (DOC) of impregnated bits in the Middle and Lower Bunter was identified as having potential for improvement. DOC means the length that is drilled with one revolution of the bit. An increase in DOC can be achieved by a decrease in overbalance or an increase in the amount of power available for drilling the rock. To analyze the key parameters, drilloff tests or drilling tests at fixed drilling parameters were conducted and plotted into Bingham diagrams.
Within the German drilling industry, two approaches to increase ROP have been chosen—use of downhole turbines and use of high-speed downhole motors in combination with improved hydraulics made possible by larger-inside-diameter drillpipe.
The full-length paper details results from downhole-motor runs with impregnated bits. All results are from 12 1/4-in. bits because this is the most common bit size used in Germany for the Bunter formation.
Rotary Speed. Until 1997, the standard for high-speed downhole motors was 400 rev/min at 790 gal/min (360 hp). In 1997, a 9 1/2-in. downhole motor was tested in Germany at 780 rev/min at 849 gal/min (515 hp). In 2004, a new 9 1/2-in. downhole motor was developed that delivers 975 rev/min at 1,055 gal/min (1,025 hp).
Weight on Bit (WOB). In 2004, the maximum WOB for high-speed downhole motors was approximately 48,100 lbm. With the 975-rev/min downhole motor, maximum WOB increased to 60,700 lbm because of improvements in bearings.
Guest Editorial: Oil and Gas Industry Leaders Target a Serious Problem That Affects Us All - Driving-Related Events
Authors: Tate Derek 
Published: February 2015

The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) has taken a strong proactive step to reduce the greatest common cause of death and serious injury plaguing our industry—motor-vehicle crashes (Fig. 1). OGP members formed a task force to study the issue and develop a realistic way to address it. The group selected a process that is elegant in its simplicity, yet remarkably thorough. They reasoned that since the industry was already accustomed to following recommended practice (RP) in nearly every facet of its work, why would it not be willing to develop and apply RP in driving?
The work was encouraged by sobering statistics amassed by the World Health Organization and the World Bank, which jointly estimated that 1.2 million people are killed annually in road crashes, and another 50 million are injured. Trends show that these numbers could increase by 65% over the next 20 years unless there is some intervention. While rates in developed countries are expected to decline, those of low- to middle-income countries will erase the decline, and the trend is expected to be steeply upward. Task-force members reminded themselves that the oil and gas industry field force is very active in these at-risk countries.
The task force took the position that one of the best ways to minimize driving fatalities is to minimize the occurrence of vehicle crashes. The best way to minimize the occurrence of vehicle crashes is to address their causes in a comprehensive way. Accordingly, the RP covers a spectrum of control areas. The team strived to apply experience, common sense, and best practice in determining the content of the document. Measures both proactive and reactive were included—preventative and mitigating, respectively. While the requirement for driver training and skill assessment will help prevent a crash, the requirement for the wearing of seatbelts reduces the potential for injury should a crash happen.
Task-force members sought to create a product that, if applied across the industry, should result in a step change in journey management and a substantial reduction in transport-related incidents. What differentiates an RP from a guideline is that an RP should be formally put into the business and operating practices of the company adopting it, requiring the universe of their enterprise—that is, permanent and temporary employees, partners, contractors, and vendors—to be influenced to adopt the practice as well. It is a powerful and effective incentive. An RP also becomes something by which the industry is recognized by the general public, governments, and regulatory agencies.
Techbits: First Continentwide Latin American HSE Workshop Held
Authors: JPT staff _ 
Published: February 2015

SPE and the Brazilian Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels Institute (IBP) held the industry's first continent wide Latin American Workshop for Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) in Exploration and Production (E&P) 23–24 August in Rio de Janeiro. The workshop drew some 170 professionals, which exceeded expectations. Participants came from 14 countries, including France, Malaysia, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
Designed to promote the exchange of knowledge and ideas, especially HSE best practices, the workshop focused on a broad array of topics:Effective HSE managementThe impact of human behavior in safety and on the environmentBest safety practices in the real worldHealth issues in E&PManaging and monitoring environmental resourcesOil-spill response plansE&P in sensitive areasClimate change
The tension between society's increasing demand for energy and its need and desire to reduce emissions was the theme of the workshop's first plenary session. Guilherme Estrella, director of E&P for Petrobras and president of the Administration Council of IBP, was session chairperson, and speakers included Beatriz Nassur Espinosa, Petrobras; Emmanuel Garland, Total; and José Félix García, Regional Association of Oil and Natural Gas Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean (Arpel).
Estrella noted the societal pressure on oil companies to change paradigms and the evidence of some shift in direction already seen as oil companies transform into energy companies. Themes covered by the speakers included the necessity of fulfilling the requirements of the next generation without neglecting the present one, the comprehensive need for effective HSE performance throughout the production chain, the importance of proactive alignment with society on biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability, and the value of strategic planning in the HSE sphere as a means of enhancing the sustainability of the E&P segment.
A second plenary session dealt with global warming, focusing on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and the coming challenges for the oil industry. Luiz Igrejas, Petrobras, chaired the session, and the speakers were Garland; Suzana Kahn, State Government of Rio de Janeiro; and Philip Hauser, Ecosecurities. Discussion encompassed the IPCC commitment to effect major change and also dealt with the technological and commercial responses under way in the attempt to meet this need for change, including various CO2 technologies and the development of a trading market for capped carbon emissions. All agreed that work has a long way to go simply to meet existing targets.
A panel session on effective HSE management systems was chaired by Don Salmond, Battelle Memorial Institute, and featured as panel lists Juan Ramon Candia, Fundación Chile; Hubmaier Andrade, El Paso-Brazil; and Tatiana Botelho, consultant. Session proceedings focused on the importance of management systems as essential tools for identifying and managing risk. Management systems and risk mapping are now considered fundamental inputs to company decision making.
Heavy-Crude-Oil Upgrading With Transition Metals
Authors: Bybee Karen 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 107837, "Heavy-Crude-Oil Upgrading With Transition Metals," by H.R. Nares, P. Schacht-Hernandez, M.A. Ramirez-Garnica, and M.C. Cabrera-Reyes, Inst. Mexicano del Petroleo, and L. Noe-Valencia, U. La Salle, Mexico, prepared for the 2007 SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, Buenos Aires, 15–18 April.
The full-length paper discusses the effects of some metallic oxides used to upgrade heavy-crude-oil properties. The objective is to increase oil mobility in the reservoir by reducing viscosity and improving oil quality by use of alumina-supported transition metals and liquid-phase transition-metals catalysts derived from acetylacetonate or alkylhexanoate compounds. Heavy crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was studied. Oil gravity was increased from 12.5 to 21 to 26°API, asphaltene content was reduced from 26 to 7 wt%, and distillable fraction was increased by 20 to 30 wt%.

Introduction
Some of the main problems that heavy crude oil presents are:low mobility through the reservoir because of its high viscosity, which affects the wells productivity index (PI);difficult transportation to the refineries and the high cost of that transportation; andthe low processing capacity in the refineries. For these reasons, it is necessary to enhance the heavy crude oil, both above ground and underground. Some of the main processes used are carbon rejection, hydrogen addition, and physical separation. All these processes are focused on converting oil residues into more-valuable products such as gasoline, middle distillate, and fluid-cracking catalytic feedstock.
An interesting alternative to recover the heavy and extra heavy crude oil is downhole catalytic upgrading. This alternative presents several advantages compared with its above ground counterpart such as an increase in the well PI, a reduction in the lifting and transportation costs to the refining center, the production of more-valuable products as a result of the decreases in viscosity values, resins, asphaltenes, sulfur, and metal contents.
Some of the most important processes that have been studied to enhance heavy and extra heavy crude oil are steam-drive, cyclic steam injection, steam-assisted gravity drainage, fireflood, and downhole catalytic processes. The main objective of these processes is to decrease the viscosity of the heavy crude oil to improve its flow from the reservoir to the producer well. This viscosity reduction can be achieved by increasing the reservoir temperature or by injecting hydrogen-donor compounds. Two ways to improve the quality of heavy crude oil are hydrocracking and hydrotreating such as aromatic hydrogenation and desulfurization. This removal can be achieved by injection of a catalytic solution [organic metallic compounds of molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni)].
Decision Environments: Lessons Learned From Implementation and Future Direction
Authors: Denney Dennis 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 112215, "Evolution of Decision Environments: Lessons Learned From Global Implementations and Future Direction of Decision Environments," by Michael Hauser, SPE, Chevron, and Helen Gilman, SAIC, prepared for the 2008 SPE Intelligent Energy Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, 25-27 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Chevron and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) are implementing asset-decision environments (ADEs) across business units as part of Chevron's i-field initiative. Decision and collaboration environments address challenges associated with response to real-time data, scarcity of experienced resources, and integration of and collaboration between disciplines and locations. Practical lessons learned on how to design an ADE are presented to address problems and deliver value, and still remain flexible to developments in the future.

Introduction
This digital-oilfield initiative was launched in late 2002 with a vision of transforming the way assets are managed and operated by integrating new technologies, new work processes, and new ways of working. The integrated field is an operational transformation philosophy that drives enhanced and optimized operating processes with these common attributes.Manage by exception (focus on highest value)Improve collaboration across distance and functionRemove people from harm's wayStandardize and centralize analysis and decision makingUse real- or right-time data in decision making
An assessment process to engage assets and business units was developed that identifies an asset's key issues and makes recommendations on how to resolve those issues and add value. Early assessments, carried out in 2003 and 2004, recognized some common issues associated with different groups not able to access the same data at the same time, the need to collaborate across disciplines and locations, and how to make best use of scarce expert resources. The concept of the ADE was developed in 2004 in response to these needs.

ADEs at Chevron.
The definition of an ADE is intentionally general, allowing several types of decision environments to be included. An ADE is a real-time operating environment in which people can manage and execute business processes by use of collaborative decision making across part or all of an asset or business unit. Fig. 1 shows how an ADE, or collaborative environment, spans the office and field, and may include experts from other locations or other organizations. It may be a physical operation room, a virtual environment, or a hybrid of both. An ADE is not defined by its physical properties; rather, it is thought of in terms of the activities and processes that it enables and facilitates.
Drilling-Vibrations Modeling and Field Validation
Authors: Bybee Karen 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 112650, "Drilling- Vibrations Modeling and Field Validation," by J.R. Bailey, SPE, E.A.O. Biediger, SPE, V. Gupta, SPE, D. Ertas, SPE, W.C. Elks, SPE, and F.E. Dupriest, SPE, ExxonMobil, originally prepared for the 2008 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, Orlando, Florida, 4-6 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
A modeling tool has been developed that enables drilling engineers to design vibration-resistant bottomhole assemblies (BHAs), given tool-placement constraints and desired directional objectives. This model can be applied to configurations with the majority of common drilling components. Modeling results have been validated in large, intermediate, and small hole sizes. Redesign has resulted in improved drilling results, including increased on-bottom drilling time, longer tool life, higher rate of penetration (ROP), reduced nonproductive time associated with tripping, and better hole quality.

Introduction
Vibration of drillstrings and BHAs has contributed to operational problems since rotary drilling was first invented. Failure of drillstring components, such as rotary-steerable (RS) BHAs or logging-while-drilling (LWD) tools, may result in nonproductive time while tripping to replace the failed equipment. Downhole components may eventually part so that fishing or sidetracking operations are required. In some situations, equipment failure also can result in well abandonment. In addition to these unplanned events, whirl or lateral vibration causes the cutting action of the bit to be inefficient, and ROP may decline significantly. The operator drills approximately four million ft of hole each year, and mechanical-specific-energy (MSE) analysis suggests that the performance in more than 40% of this footage is affected adversely by whirl.
At various times in the past, investigators have focused on certain elements of the drillstring-dynamics problem and have made some progress, to be succeeded by new theories using generally more-complicated models. The current activity is marked by an emphasis on digital-data collection using both surface and downhole instruments, and the use of time-domain modeling to take advantage of increasing computing power. The full-length paper represents an attempt by the operator to strike a forward path by maximizing the benefits of both worlds: using digital systems to take measurements only recently made possible and developing and using sophisticated frequency-domain dynamic-modeling tools to characterize the dynamic performance of BHAs.
Zonal-Isolation Barriers Meet Valhall Waterflooding, Fracturing Demands
Authors: Nijhof Jeroen , Blane David 
Published: February 2015

Technology Update
The Valhall field, operated by BP Norge in the Norwegian North Sea, is undergoing a massive redevelopment that will allow the field to keep producing until approximately 2050. With the field undergoing waterflooding, the operator is investigating strategies to prevent formation damage that could result from a waterflood and to minimize costs as the redevelopment program progresses.
The reservoir-management plan relies on multiple-zone water injection, with management of offset water in the producing wells controlled by heavy-duty sliding sleeves. Proppant fracture stimulation of the production wells requires high-differential-pressure isolation between zones. Cementing of the reservoir liner normally provides this isolation between the producing zones, but the presence of cement can render the sliding sleeves inoperable.
The use of zonal-isolation-barrier (ZIB) devices that were developed by READ Well Services was identified as a potential solution for meeting the isolation requirements of the producing wells and was implemented, marking the industry's first use of this, specific ZIB technology (Fig. 1). This alternative approach was deemed necessary to limit the risk of damaging the sliding sleeves and reduce other operating risks, when compared with the established practice of running and cementing the reservoir liner.
ZIB devices possess the advantages of both cement and mechanical barriers, such as packers, in executing zonal isolations, but without the operational risks associated with these traditional technologies. The basic principle of the ZIB technology is that when pressure is applied to the inside of the liner, the metal outer sleeve will inflate and conform to the profile of the formation. If required, the ZIB can also be expanded in the future—for example, should a washout or water breakthrough occur.
The ZIB can be activated by applying pressure from the surface to the entire completion or by deploying a hydraulic-expandable-tubular-system tool by means of wireline, coiled tubing, or drillpipe (Fig. 2). Nine ZIB devices have now been deployed at Valhall with 65/8-in. liners, providing open-hole zonal isolation during fracturing and production operations.
Australia Outback Could Be Next World-Class Unconventional Play
Authors: Redden Jim 
Published: February 2015

A small Colorado independent believes the 7 million acres it has under license in the heart of the Australian Outback could very well be the world's next gargantuan unconventional oil and gas play.
"This is a huge resource," consultant Chris Moyes said of the Falcon Oil & Gas holdings in the vast Beetaloo Basin of the Northern Territory. "It is the biggest unconventional resource we know outside of North America. It certainly is of the same class as Gorgon and potentially bigger."
That, indeed, is saying something considering the Chevron Gorgon liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) project at Barrow Island on the Northwest Shelf is widely touted as one of the world's largest-ever production ventures. When combined with existing developments and some 11 proposed greenfield projects, Gorgon will play a key role in Australia's objective of overtaking Qatar as the world's top LNG exporter and possibly help reverse its declining oil production.
As Gorgon dominates most of the news coming out of Australia of late, Falcon is quietly going about seeking strategic partners for a prospect that Moyes said will be a "100-year project." "It will take a long time to fully exploit a resource of this size and type," he said.
Falcon is very optimistic about the project's potential, particularly because it may hold almost 20 billion bbl of oil and 64 Tcf of recoverable gas and is located within a ready-made infrastructure and on the doorstep of one of the world's biggest markets (Fig. 1). "We are very excited about the activity that is going on in the Beetaloo Basin," said Falcon board member Steve Shultz. "We think it has the potential to be a very big part of the Falcon portfolio."
Reservoir evaluation consultancy Ryder Scott conducted an independent analysis of the Falcon Beetaloo holdings and determined the prospect could contain 19.1 billion bbl of oil and 63.9 Tcf of gas. Those estimates were classified as "unrisked prospective resource best estimates," which for undrilled prospects typically is generated by integrating seismic interpretation with regional geologic data and taking into account a number of geological risk factors. Those include the trap risk, source risk, and reservoir risk, which Ryder Scott defines as "the probability that a lithology exists with sufficient porosity, permeability, and continuity to contain moveable hydrocarbons." Moyes said as much as 80% of the Beetaloo resource base is unconventional tight gas and oil.

More Seismic Needed
The Beetaloo, however, has not been entirely undrilled. Between 1989 and 1998, Pacific Oil and Gas drilled 11 wells, all of which showed the presence of oil and gas. Most of those earlier wells were drilled as part of a mining program. "They were looking for minerals, but of course, they got oil and gas shows and began to think of it as an oil and gas play," said Moyes, president of Moyes and Company, upstream technical and transaction advisers assisting Falcon in securing prospective partners.