bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Technology Focus: Wellbore Construction (May 2008)
Authors: Gonzalez Manuel 
Published: February 2015

Technology Focus
Well construction involves many disciplines, including casing design, tubing design, downhole-completion equipment, cementing, perforating, and, finally, stimulation. All of these things must be designed and implemented to build a successful economical well. However, the vast majority of the 2007 SPE well-construction papers were cement-related. Because cementing appears to be a recent, but strong, trend, I asked one of Chevron's cementing experts (Robert Carpenter) for his opinion. Below, he talks about why cementing for completions has become a hot topic.
"This is evidence of the growing realization that long-term isolation involves more than just pumping some cement spacer and 3,000-psi cement. People are beginning to recognize the stresses placed on the cemented annuli and to grasp the effect of the stresses on long-term annular isolation. We see this in the number of papers by service companies, universities, and now operators relating this concept and their experiences developing and applying cements with greater elasticity and/or self-healing properties.
The trend is to use more-elastic-cement designs to prevent tensile-stress-induced microfractures; more recently, one can add cement with self-healing properties. The big interest in recently developed swelling packers also is part of this trend. Newly developed, expanding packers are being used instead of cement and/or to supplement cement to ensure long-term isolation.
This trend results from several factors: rising cost of well construction (particularly in deepwater applications) and remedial work, deferred/lost production, and an increased focus on environmental and safety issues. The industry wants to avoid the cost and liability of future annular leaks and sustained casing pressure. All have combined to foster an increased development and adoption of technology to improve long-term annular isolation during well-construction and production operations. On another front, there has been an increased focus on cost-effective remediation and return to service of shut-in or leaking wells. Several of this year's papers detailed large-scale remedial-cementing programs and diagnostic methods used by several operators."
My thought is that it does no good to drill a USD-100-million well if, in the end, we cannot isolate the zone of interest.
Wellbore Construction additional reading available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org
SPE 108973 • "Multitype Application of Cement Packer: Simple and Economical Method of Accessing Bypassed Reservoir Potential" by Muhammad Idris, SPE, Vico Indonesia, et al.
SPE 105413 • "Cementing Considerations for Casing While Drilling: Case History" by Robert D. Strickler, SPE, ConocoPhillips, et al.
SPE 106765 • "Field Study Results Improve Squeeze-Cementing Success" by Michael Cowan, Shell International E&P.
Swelling Elastomers Improve Well and Reservoir Management in Horizontal Wells
Authors: Bybee Karen 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 107882, "Improved Well and Reservoir Management in Horizontal Wells Using Swelling Elastomers," by Majid Abdullah Mahrooqi, SPE, Ghaliba Hinai, and Franz Marketz, SPE, Petroleum Development Oman, prepared for the 2007 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Anaheim, Califoronia, 11–14 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
To increase recovery from maturing reservoirs, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is developing the capability to detect and shut off unwanted water and gas. Swelling elastomers (SEs) have been deployed to segment horizontal wells in combination with surveillance and shut-off technologies. In beam-pump wells, dual wellheads have enabled logging while pumping.

Introduction
The South-field fields in southern Oman mostly are mature oil fields operated by PDO. The fields produce medium-gravity viscous crude with viscosity ranging from 200 to 550 cp. The fields have been producing since the mid-1980s. Initial field development was by vertical wells. Since the mid-1990s, development has been primarily with horizontal wells. Production is from a combination of eolian and glacial sediments. Reservoir heterogeneity is high.
Almost all South field wells must have sand control. The horizontal reservoir section is appproximately 350 to 500 m long and may cross both reservoirs. The horizontal section is drilled with a 6 1/8-in. drill bit and completed with a standalone 4 1/2-in. sand-control liner using 200-μm wire-wrap screens (WWSs) in open hole. This results in an open annulus between the sand-control liner and the formation. More than 90% of the wells are artificially lifted by use of beam pumps, hindering accessibility because of surface units and rods.
Since the start of infill drilling, the new oil production has been dominated historically by high initial water levels, and as of 2002, new wells produced an average of 3 bbl of water for every 1 bbl of oil during their first year of production.

SEs
SEs have been available for a number of years, and recently the oil industry has become more interested in them. Some SEs are water based and some are oil based. Because of the high water production from startup in the South field, water-based SEs were selected. The theory is that specially designed rubber elements will swell, when contacting formation water, to seal off the annulus between the completion and the wellbore.
A key element to achieve improved oil recovery through well and reservoir management in a horizontal well is segmenting the well into different flow units. SEs are being deployed to enable segmentation. The SE tool provides zonal isolation through the swelling of the elastomers when contacting produced water in the wellbore. Fig. 1 shows a casing joint with SE seals.
Fluid-Movement Measurements Through Eccentric Annuli Produce Unique Results
Authors: Bybee Karen 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 109563, "Fluid-Movement Measurements Through Eccentric Annuli: Unique Results Uncovered," by Larry Moran, SPE, ConocoPhillips Co., and Mark Savery, SPE, Halliburton, prepared for the 2007 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Anaheim, California, 11–14 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Better understanding of fluid movement through eccentric annuli over a wide range of casing standoffs and flow rates is essential for proper cement placement. A full suite of physical testing was performed to find differences in velocities and flow rates on the wide side vs. the narrow side of an annulus. Nine models were built, each taller than 6.5 ft and each with unique annular geometries. The annular sizes chosen are common to primary-cementing operations. The flow area was divided at the top of each model to capture wide- and narrow-side flow variations. The weight of recovered fluid vs. time was recorded and used to determine flow rates and velocities on both sides.

Introduction
In oil- and gas-well completions, cementing operations are used to ensure zonal isolation. On many production liners, the wellbore geometry is such that very slow flow rates during cementing are required to prevent fracturing/losses. In addition, liner-top packers and tiebacks give annular clearances that are quite small. These narrow clearances cause excessive backpressure with normal flow rates, often requiring the use of slow-flow-rate cementing to prevent losses. The other option is pumping cement at a high rate with losses, often with uneconomical and undesired outcome.
The most likely causes of slow-flow-rate cementing failure were poor centralization and poor compatibility between muds, spacers, and cements. Poor centralization causes channeling, and poor compatibility causes viscous interfaces leading to channeling. Today, centralizers are better than in the past and higher degrees of centralization are often attempted. Spacers also are better today. Another significant change is cement slurries that are often much thicker than anything pumped years ago. Accurate modeling of these flow phenomena can help uncover the conditions required to achieve a good cement bond around the entire casing string.

Experimental
The goal was to build a set of large-scale apparati that allowed a complete study of steady-state-flow response of various fluids in eccentric annuli. Nine pipe-in-pipe eccentric annular models were built using standard casing materials. Each model was unique in its combination of geometry and inner-pipe standoff.
Deepwater Completions Offer Great Potential
Authors: Probert Tim 
Published: February 2015

Guest editorial
Deepwater E&P is a growing part of the world's energy supply. Estimates are that deepwater production will grow 78% by 2011, making it one of the leading growth sectors in our industry.
The explanation is simple: many of the world's largest untapped reservoirs are in deep water. The "golden triangle" of the Gulf of Mexico, offshore Brazil, and west Africa are joined by newer areas of opportunity in India, Malaysia, Australia, the eastern Mediterranean, offshore Norway, and eastern Canada. There are even more promising possibilities in the salt and subsalt reservoirs located in the basins of the golden triangle.
The industry's definition of deepwater exploration and its technical challenges are expanding along with knowledge of the reserves. Ten years ago, deep water was anything more than 1,500 ft water depth. Today, the deepwater frontier is more than 5,000 ft. The frontier of a decade ago is now practically routine. And along with these greater water depths, operators are facing increasing total well depths and higher temperatures and pressures.
The deepwater opportunity comes at a price—the high rig rates and capital intensity make it a high-risk and high-reward proposition. And the enormous technical challenges make deepwater wells a focal point for developing and deploying advanced technology in every aspect of well construction and production.
Completions technology brings operators more production, lower costs and lower risks, and holds the promise of enabling the future production the world demands. What follows is a snapshot of the deepwater completions picture, with emphasis on those areas that will contribute most to operators’ success. All these elements are interrelated and complementary. Developments in one area contribute to the effectiveness of the others. Ultimately, it is the integrated development of all aspects of deepwater completions that promises to make possible the production the world is counting on over the next several years.

High-Rate Fracturing Systems
Stimulating production through hydraulic fracturing is a proven way of making deepwater wells economical. Frac packs of long, thick unconsolidated producing intervals in turn depend on the ability to pump frac fluid at a high rate and place proppant in large quantities.
Tools and techniques that make access to these zones profitable include using hydrostatic properties of frac fluids to increase bottomhole fracture pressure without unsafe surface treating pressures. This helps achieve the high pressure needed for the fracture without exceeding the pressure rating of surface equipment. Also, tool systems using carbide-protected crossover tool designs are now able to withstand the large volumes of proppant at high rates needed to capitalize on the high-rate fluid pumping. These technologies are valuable in their own right, and they are crucial to the development of single-trip multizone completions.
Trends and Strategies in Recruiting and Retaining Talent
Authors: Hamilton John 
Published: February 2015

Talent & Technology
The upstream oil and gas industry faces unique issues and challenges in today's changing global economy. Despite the recent downturn, multinational companies still will need to augment staff and expand the technology used in critical areas of the world to meet the growing needs of energy hungry countries. These companies face a number of challenges in meeting the human capital demands needed to meet the heightened demand throughout the world.
These unique challenges include attracting highly skilled employees to sometimes remote locations with extreme weather conditions and retaining these employees as competing companies seek to relocate top talent to new regions requiring similar skills. In addition, the shifting workforce will create additional strains in meeting staffing requirements. As other sectors have seen, senior level workforce personnel in the baby boomer generation are beginning to retire and vacate high-level positions that require experience and specific expertise. This workforce adjustment will mandate that younger employees quickly learn skills and gain the necessary experience to maintain production quality as highly experienced employees retire.

Trends in Recruitment
Companies that will need to attract and recruit employees in the future will need to implement new strategies and tactics to address the immediate as well as long-term needs of reaching a targeted group of prospective employees. For instance, today's workforce is looking for more than a just a job. Younger job candidates are much more interested in creating solutions to daily challenges, working with new science and technology, and in seeking career growth and development. These individuals choose a career path on the forefront of innovation and find immense job satisfaction being a part of this. Therefore, employers must also "sell" the position to a prospective hire during the recruitment and interview process.
Companies must start by looking internally to identify what makes a successful employee. An understanding of the motivation for the best workers will help to create a picture for what to look for when hiring. This will include what attracted this employee to the company, what makes him/her successful in the organization, as well as the factors that cause this person to stay with the company. Applying this information to the company's business model of retaining and strengthening the current workforce will create a solid foundation.
Technology Focus: Intelligent Fields Technology (May 2009)
Authors: Alves Iberê 
Published: February 2015

Technology Focus
Intelligent fields, e-fields, i-completions, and digital fields are terminologies used to describe the use of real-time data to obtain the greatest results from wells, reservoirs, or fields. This achievement can be reached through transforming raw data into a most precious resource called "useful information." The analysis and use of the information in an effective control system leads to the desired optimization of a petroleum production system. This process is analogous to transforming a potential raw mineral into a precious jewel.
Many industries take increasing advantage of the digital era. Advances in hardware, software, and communications technology are used to improve performance. More specifically, the petroleum industry has proved that these paradigm shifts do pay off. In facing the challenge, it has been possible to meet the continuously growing demand for energy. Also, such challenges have led to successful operations in adverse conditions and locations throughout the world.
An adequate mindset to embrace this new technology from an operator's perspective will be decisive. To apply it successfully, companies must master the intricacies associated with the deployment of this new technology.
The concept of intelligent fields reveals a promising scenario for the future of the industry. The driving force is the potential for enhanced production, reduced operation expense, and improved safety. Nevertheless, these goals may be jeopardized, not because of unavailable technologies, but due to a lack of participation or integration of the various disciplinary teams.
The ultimate intelligent-field management will be achieved when we are capable of acquiring real-time data from an entire set of reservoirs, our main asset, completely closing the production automation cycle. Some intrinsic difficulties are bound to occur, although modest advances have been achieved in reservoir-data acquisition.
From Real-Time Data to Updated Models: Challenge of Intelligent Fields Applied to Gas Storage
Authors: Denney Dennis 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 113171, "From Real-Time Data to Updated Models: The Challenge of Intelligent Fields Applied to Gas-Storage Business," by A. Tiani, SPE, G. Bartolotto, P.D. Strippoli, and R. Latronico, Eni E&P, and G. Spitaleri, Stogit, prepared for the 2008 SPE Europec/EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition, Rome, 9-12 June. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Underground gas storage (UGS) is a complex activity, which faces the challenge of combining variability of daily commercial-client requests with the reservoirs’ capability to deliver. Stogit has implemented an integrated system that dynamically links databases, visualization tools, and reservoir/well simulators to assist the management process. The challenge has been to extract the maximum information from the available database and to computerize the process of updating well/reservoir performance.

Introduction
The intelligent-field concept is a promising scenario for the future of the oil and gas industry. The increasing amount of available data, use of real-time subsurface sensors, and the trust in the potential of the digital revolution are the main drivers. However, the kind of automation required is peculiar to the oil industry because the detailed characteristics of the reservoir are unknown. The intrinsic impossibility to measure directly, to "see," the reservoir requires continuous interpretation of indirect data to feed complex models.
Going from data to models to decisions is the concretization of value of the whole petroleum-engineering activity. Decisions are enhanced by a value chain that is able to define a limited number of clear scenarios from the data. Whereas downstream oil and gas processes have a degree of certainty and automation comparable with other industries, it is a big challenge to automate the subsurface process. In this context, the measure/analyze/decide cycle, as the basis of each feedback loop, encounters processes in which the human factor is mandatory and the work and experience of the petroleum specialist are required. Field surveillance and optimization of the production/storage cycle require fast and effective decision making, supporting the daily-to-hourly market changes.

Performance Surveillance for Gas-Storage Fields
To monitor well production and performance and to control the production from the wells remotely, many sensors and controls have been deployed to manage the operativity of the wells and fields from a central operations-control room. The main data acquired are pressure and temperature at the wellhead, at cluster nodes, and at the plant manifold; gas rate at the wellhead, cluster nodes, and plant manifold; production of liquids (e.g., water and gas); and status of valves, compression units, treatment facilities, lines, separators, and others.
Toward the E-Field: Continuous Monitoring of Pore-Fluid Phase Using Horizontal Wells
Authors: Denney Dennis 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 119681, "Toward the E-Field: Continuous Monitoring of Pore-Fluid Phase Using Horizontal Wells," by B.J. Evans, SPE, and B. Hartley, Curtin University, Australia, and N. Keshavarz, Research Institute for the Petroleum Industries, Iran, prepared for the 2009 SPE Middle East Oil & Gas Show and Conference, Bahrain, 15-18 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
The electric field, or e-field, is a method of monitoring oilfield production remotely and continuously over a long term by use of vertical and horizontal wells. Continuously monitoring fluid movement requires monitoring with horizontal wells. It has been shown that seismic methods can show subtle changes in the pore-fluid phase, which enhances the potential for long-term monitoring where pore-pressure is declining, under waterflood or CO2 flood, and in areas in which gas is being replaced by water.

Introduction
As the production of oil and gas depletes reserves, it is important to determine the location of missed pay zones. When 3D surveys are repeated over time, after subtraction from the original 3D data, the difference is known as the repeat-3D-difference volume or the time-lapse (or 4D) image volume. These data can show missed pay zones, and, provided that seismic-reflection-data quality is high (with signal/noise ratios of approximately 12:1), it becomes possible to determine changes in oil and gas location and, on the basis of pressure effects that improve production management, enable drilling of step-out production wells.
Such 4D-difference slices through the reservoir provide knowledge of oil in place, the location of high gas saturation, pressure, and information on the areal extent of thief zones. This method requires a high signal/noise ratio to make the resulting difference image trustworthy for dependable drilling decisions. Such high signal/noise ratios are very rare and tend to apply to offshore surveys in which very calm sea conditions allow high-level signal/noise ratios.
The problem with land surveying is that the source is in contact with the soil surface and, typically, produces high-level coherent noise, both compression and shear energy, as well as having all of the attendant issues of strong absorption and scattering. Near-surface layering of complex geological formations such as basalt flows, sand dunes, hard pavements, river courses, and mountains along with variable weather conditions from one 3D survey to the next all contribute to the inability of the source to radiate a consistent amount of energy or consistent enough radiation pattern from one survey to the next. Different receiver couplings result in a poor signal/noise ratio and an inability to provide a high-quality 4D-difference image.