bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Slimhole Exploration Requires Proper Technical Preparation
Authors: Shanks F. E. , Williams K. R. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Any application of new technology requires proper preparation to ensure a safe and efficient field program. Slim hole technology requires different preparation and procedures than conventional rotary drilling techniques. Application of the mining industry’s coring techniques, small wellbore annuli, precise fluid flow measurement for kick detection, and specialized drilling fluids requires significant technical understanding and preparation. For Mobil in 1991, to prepare for a first application of Slim Hole Drilling Technology, the preparations included drilling a test well with Longyear Company’s Oil and Gas Division at Mobil’s Dallas Research Lab and using the information to prepare for two slim hole oil and gas exploration wells to be drilled in Bolivia, South America. The test well gave Mobil drilling personnel practical hands on experience with the technology and provided a slim hole test laboratory to perform extensive borehole hydraulics tests and practice well control techniques. The information gained from the test well was used to plan two exploration wells in the Madre De Dios Block in Northern Bolivia.
Industry has proven the economic advantages of utilizing this emerging new technology for Oil and Gas Exploration, especially in the remote frontier areas of the world. The planning, technical, and operational points of interest are highlighted in the paper. The advantages and disadvantages of the technology observed during the wells are illustrated. Methods available to allow the technology to adapt to Oil and Gas and API standards are discussed. Many technical aspects of the application of the technology are discussed which will give an insight to the minimum technical preparation a company needs to perform to be comfortable with a first application. Areas of technology are highlighted where additional development of the technology is needed.
Development of the Brookeland Field Austin Chalk Drilling Dual Lateral Horizontal Wells
Authors: McMann R. E. , Lipp C. R. , Pruski C. K. , Cooney M. F. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
How can new technology be designed, or existing technology be used in a new way, to improve performance and reduce costs? This is a question every operator asks in an increasingly competitive market. With a successful horizontal development program in the Giddings Field in 1990 and 1991, Texaco’s Horizontal Drilling Team searched for answers to this question while expanding the program to the Brookeland Field in Newton Co., Texas.
The "Dual Lateral" concept was being used in other areas,1 but this was the first time Texaco would try this wellbore design - and in a wildcat area.
Planning aspects, the drilling operation and subsequent remedial operations will be reviewed. Production results and some conclusions as to the feasibility of drilling the dual laterals will also be presented.
Effective Safety Management Systems
Authors: Watson J. L. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
For an oilfield service company to implement an effective safety program, the management of the company must be committed to the safety of its employees, itscustomers, and the environment through a common global safety philosophy. Management responsibility extends beyond reacting and correcting safety problems. For a safety program to reach the goal of "zero accidents," it must take a proactive approach, identifying and correcting known hazards before an accident occurs. There are numerous essential elements of the approach i.e., reporting, not only unsafe acts and conditions, but also near misses.
Successful safety programs require proactive processes or safety management systems which are more than a program but a philosophy - a method of management consisting of common concepts and attitudes, and a belief that "there must be a deliberate path to follow for continuous improvement." Safety management systems require a continual process of teaching, implementing, auditing, action, and management review. Such systems center around four major processes: eliminate, control, train, and require.
An effective safety management system also allows for the development of safety contingency plans to address any customer requirements or local safety regulations not covered by the established plan.
This paper presents the essential elements of an effective oilfield service company safety management system and discusses the value of establishing a proactive, globally audited safety program. Methods of implementation and continual improvement are presented.
An Ocean Data Gathering Program for the Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Patterson M.M. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
With the increasing interest in deepwater oil and gas activities, it becomes evident that offshore operators need to understand in a fuller sense the ocean environment. Data on waves, winds, and currents are also needed for the development and calibration of environmental forecasting theories. To gather this data, Shell installed new, specially designed instruments on deepwater platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in 1967. platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in 1967. Details of the operation and installation of these pilot measuring stations are presented along with results of two years of data gathering.
Success of these pilot stations led Shell to seek the offshore oil industry's cooperation in developing a program that would gather data over a wide area in the Gulf. A set of specifications based on industry's experience was written by Shell with industry's help. Such a program called for measuring wind, waves, and barometric pressure on six platforms covering an area from South Pass on the platforms covering an area from South Pass on the east to East Cameron on the west. In addition a platform in the middle of this area was equipped to measure ocean currents. The stations are placed on platforms located in water as deep as possible. The program began in August 1968, and will gather data for 18 months. Its major task is to measure and record storm data. However, long term FM analog recorders will gather all data continuously. The program contractor, the Baylor Company, is required to furnish only limited analysis of the storm data consisting mainly of significant wave heights, wind speed and direction, current speed and direction and wave power spectra. They must also collect and store all other data and make it available at cost to the industry participants. participants. Portions of an analog tape from the program Portions of an analog tape from the program have been converted to digital form and analyzed to determine significant wave height, mean sea elevation and wave energy spectra. To date the entire system has recorded wave heights 60 percent of the time. Analysis performed on the raw data and calibration information from the contractor indicate that the entire system is operating satisfactorily.
A Monte Carlo Model To Assess Effects of Land-Disposed E&P Waste on Groundwater
Authors: Parker J. C. , Unlu Kahraman , Kemblowski M. W. 
Published: December 2007

ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to develop quantitative stochastic methods to assess effects of land-disposed E&P waste on groundwater quality. A computer model was developed to assess the probability of groundwater contamination from salts and oily waste constituents disposed by landspreading or in waste pits. The model considers leaching of chemicals from the waste zone over time until the constituent mass is depleted. It considers volatilization of organics for landspreading. Water flow is controlled by the net infiltration rate (rainfall minus evaporation and surface runoff), except for lined pits, in which flow may be limited by a low permeability layer. The program models one-dimensional convective-dispersive transport of dissolved constituents through the unsaturated zone and three-dimensional transport in groundwater zone. Organic constituents are subject to adsorption and biodecay. A Monte Carlo method is used to determine the probability distribution of maximum constituent concentration at receptor locations, given probability distributions of hydrogeologic and waste properties.
Deterministic simulations are presented for conditions representative of unlined E&P waste pits in the USA for receptors 500 ft (Receptor 1) and 1,500 ft (Receptor 2) directly downgradient of the source at the elevation of the water table. The results indicate peak groundwater concentrations are attenuated by a factor of more than 103 for TDS at Receptor 1 and by 104 at Receptor 2. For benzene, adsorption and biodecay combine to produce attenuation factors of more than 106 at Receptor 1 and 107 at Receptor 2. Monte Carlo simulations using national statistical distributions of soil and waste properties indicated TDS concentrations at the 85% cumulative probability level (15% probability of exceedance), of 15 mg/L at Receptor 1 and 4 mg/L at Receptor 2. For benzene at the same probability level, the concentration was 0.023 µg/L at Receptor 1 and 0.0019 µg/ L at Receptor 2.
The Fate of Underground Injection
Authors: Cooper K. J. , Lyle R. R. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Underground injection via Class II injection wells is a suitable technology for the continued safe and economically viable disposal of oil field brines in the United States. Currently, there is growing concern in industry regarding the regulatory fate of injection well technology. These concerns stem from the public’s perception of risk due to use of this technology and from an increasingly restrictive regulatory environment. As environmental regulations become more comprehensive and restrictive, brine handling and disposal costs are becoming a more significant constraint for both new and existing production operations. The potential for increased operator liability, additional financial burdens, and new logistical challenges are related to current and projected increases in operating costs. These factors are now becoming contributing factors for production being prematurely abandoned or never developed.
In this paper, a number of technical arguments that support the continued use of underground injection are summarized along with historical information regarding injection practices. Class I and Class II wells are compared along with a brief update regarding new and developing Class II regulations.
NORM: Projected Financial and Fiduciary Impacts on Exploration and Production Operations
Authors: MacDowell Peter , Gray P. R. 
Published: December 2007

ABSTRACT
Regardless of the existence of regulatory constraints, fiduciary risk assessment, for any environmental liability is the art of defining the probability that contamination will occur in the first instance. Following its occurrence-assessment and quantification of the volume of contaminant present, discernment of the type and extent of pollutant, the cost of engineering controls, worker protection, remediation and the financial impact of any personal injury actions as a result of exposure and property damage litigation resulting from the mere presence of the contamination - are some of the management tasks to be addressed.
However in a regulatory void, simultaneously accompanied by the absence of prudent corporate environmental governance, an additional option exists. That is to simply ignore the presence of the pollution and do nothing.
The selection of either of these alternatives can be considered as the initial step in effecting the science of risk management - wherein the ultimate financial and fiduciary liability is directly proportional to the option selected.
Applying Financial Portfolio Theory to the Analysis of Producing Properties
Authors: Edwards R. A. , Hewett T. A. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Most owners of oil and gas producing properties realize that a significant amount of economic risk is inherent in their investments. Most also intuitively understand that if a number of producing assets are held, their total risk is reduced through the process of diversification. For an oil company that owns multiple producing oil and gas properties, two questions arise in analyzing risk. First, how to quantify the risk of the entire portfolio of producing properties including the affects of diversification; and second, how to manage the risk within a portfolio and strategically select specific investments or properties for acquisition or disposition to optimize the total portfolio risk-return relationship.
These two questions will be addressed in this paper. It is shown that if risk is one of the criteria used in decision analysis for an oil and gas investment, the economic analysis should consider the impact of that investment on the risk of the firm’s entire portfolio of investments, including the important effect of risk diversification. The results of such a portfolio-based risk analysis may be significantly different than for risk analysis performed within a single project framework.
It is proposed that a model based on financial portfolio theory can be used to quantify the risk and expected return of portfolios of oil and gas producing properties and identify new investments that can optimize the firm’s risk-return relationship. It is also shown that portfolio analysis provides an ideal technique for incorporating the results of geostatistical analysis and stochastic reservoir flow simulation into an economic framework that can be used for strategic decision making.
Composting Bioremediation for Exploration and Production Wastes
Authors: Martinson M. M. , Malter P. L. , McMillin T. G. , Fyock LeRoy , Wade Mark 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Exploration and production (E&P) of oil resources typically result in the accumulation of process by-products from drilling, work over operations, field production facilities, and gas plants. These by-products currently are classified by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as exempt wastes. Increasingly, bioremediation options are being utilized to remediate the waste materials from these four E&P activities. Recent biological treatment applications using biological land treatment and composting technology have proven successful in meeting target reduction goals for organic and inorganic compounds found within the waste matrix.
Bioremediation using land treatment or soil composting technology provides engineered control of environmental conditions by stimulating either natural or augmented microbes, either in the landfarmed soil or within the compost mixture, to degrade organic carbon and immobilize inorganic constituents. This paper presents an overview of the three major composting processes for soil bioremediation applications and describes the critical environmental factors that control treatment success. Three soil composting bioremediation case histories from lab to pilot to field will be discussed. Costs and achievable treatment levels will be compared with traditional land treatment approaches.
Cost Trends in International Petroleum Activities
Authors: Kennedy J. R. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Explorationists, planners and engineers must be able to estimate quickly and consistently the costs for exploring and developing international oil and gas fields. This paper presents the major factors and relationships impacting these costs in various regions of the world, and the cost trends that have been established. PC-based software, which focuses on individual producing basins, allows the efficient generation of cost estimates using the relationships presented. The estimated costs presented are based upon accepted engineering design and operating practices for typical field developments, as well as a vast database of well and field data, terrain description and existing infrastructure.
Parallel Simulated Annealing for Stochastic Reservoir Modeling
Authors: Panda M. N. , Lake L. W. 
Published: December 2007

ABSTRACT
Simulated annealing (SA) techniques have shown great potential to generate geologically realistic permeability fields by combining data from many sources, such as well logs, cores, and tracer tests. However, the application of SA in reservoir description and simulation is limited owing to its prohibitively large computational time requirement, even on modern supercomputers.
This paper introduces an implementation of a parallel SA algorithm for stochastic reservoir modeling on a Hypercube processor network (Intel iPSC 860). The corresponding sequential code, which incorporates univariate and bivariate statistics to generate the permeability field, is optimized to gain maximum advantage from the parallel application. In this particular parallel implementation, each processor runs the same source code asynchronously using the single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) approach, with synchronization linked to an optimality test. By porting the SA algorithm to a parallel computer we can generate permeability fields that represent non-Gaussian bivariate statistics and complex flow geometry at a finer scale than was previously feasible.
Reconciliation of Resistivity Log Readings in Vertical and Horizontal Boreholes
Authors: Bonnie J. H. M. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Two examples are discussed of a vertical pilot hole and a horizontal side-track, in which the resistivities recorded in the vertical hole are significantly different from those recorded in the horizontal hole. It is concluded that the differences may be caused by (1) variations in reservoir quality, (2) nearby layers, (3) resistivity anisotropy or (4) borehole and invasion effects. Resistivity tool modelling is found to be an essential tool in the analysis. However, the presently available computer codes are capable only of handling the effect of nearby, parallel layers. Full 3D modelling will be required to account for borehole and invasion effects and more complex layering. In addition, core data or data from "directional-resistivity" logging tools will be required to quantify the effect of resistivity anisotropy.
As long as it is impossible to fully quantify the above-mentioned effects, it is recommended to treat hydrocarbon saturations from horizontal well logging data with great care, especially when they are to be used in oil-in-place and/or reserves calculations. This applies in particular when no nearby vertical calibration well is available.
Enhanced Reservoir Description: Using Core and Log Data to Identify Hydraulic (Flow) Units and Predict Permeability in Uncored Intervals/Wells
Authors: Amaefule Jude O. , Altunbay Mehmet , Tiab Djebbar , Kersey David G. , Keelan Dare K. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
Understanding complex variations in pore geometry within different lithofacies is the key to improved reservoir description and exploitation. Core data provide information on various depositional and diagenetic controls on pore geometry. Variations in pore geometrical attributes in turn, define the existence of distinct zones (hydraulic units) with similar fluid-flow characteristics. Classic discrimination of rock types has been based on subjective geological observations and on empirical relationships between the log of permeability versus porosity. However, for any porosity within a given rock type, permeability can vary by several orders of magnitude, which indicates the existence of several flow units.
In this paper, a new, practical and theoretically correct methodology is proposed for identification and characterization of hydraulic units within mappable geological units (facies). The technique is based on a modified Kozeny-Carmen equation and the concept of mean hydraulic radius. The equation indicates that for any hydraulic unit, a log-log plot of a "Reservoir Quality Index," (RQI), which is equal to 0.0314k/ϕ, versus a "Normalized Porosity Index" (ϕz) which is equal to ϕ/(1-ϕ) should yield a straight line with a unit slope. The intercept of the unit slope line with ϕz = 1, designated as the "Flow Zone Indicator" (FZI), is a unique parameter for each hydraulic unit. RQI, ϕz and FZI are based on stressed porosity and permeability data measured on core samples.
FZI is then correlated to certain combinations of logging tool responses to develop regression models for permeability predictions in cored and uncored intervals or wells. The proposed technique has been successfully tested in clastic rocks from East Texas, South America, West Africa, South East Asia and Far East Asia, as well as carbonate sequences from West Texas and Canada. This paper documents the theoretical development, validates and characterizes the hydraulic units, and presents predicted versus actual permeability data to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed technique.
Control of Fractured Reservoir Permeability by Spatial and Temporal Variations in Stress Magnitude and Orientation
Authors: Teufel L. W. , Rhett D. W. , Farrell H. E. , Lorenz J. C. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
A case study of the Ekofisk field, a naturally fractured chalk reservoir in the North Sea. demonstrates the strong influence of horizontal stress anisotropy on fracture conductivity and reservoir permeability. Directions and magnitudes of horizontal in situ stresses, as well as the distribution and orientations of natural fractures, vary locally across the structural dome that forms the Ekofisk reservoir. Fracture permeability is stress-sensitive and decreases as effective stresses in the reservoir increase due to pore pressure reduction resulting from production of oil and gas. Changes in fracture permeability also depend on the orientation of fractures relative to the evolving anisotropic stress field in the reservoir. Steeply dipping fractures aligned parallel to the local maximum horizontal stress direction show the smallest decline in permeability as the reservoir is depleted and can control permeability anisotropy in a naturally fractured reservoir containing multiple fracture sets.
Deep Gas Exploration in Middle Ordovician Prairie du Chien and St. Peter Formations in the Michigan Basin with Rose City Field as a Case Study
Authors: Harris J. W. , McRae C. D. 
Published: December 2007

Abstract
During the 1980’s, deep gas exploration in the Michigan basin targeted middle Ordovician sandstones in the Prairie du Chien (PdC) and St. Peter formations. Deeper-pool gas discoveries occur in simple closures associated with drape-fold anticlines, interpreted to overlie reactivated, oblique-slip basement faults. The PdC and St. Peter formations consist of up to 1300 feet of interbedded sandstones and shaly dolomites that pinch out along the southern margin of the basin. Tight, shaly, tidal-flat carbonates within the lower PdC, and transgressive marine carbonates and shales within the St. Peter provide good source rocks and top seals, producing multiple pay zones found in many fields. Clean, cross-bedded and skolithos-burrowed sandstones capping shelf sand bar or prograding shoreface sequences make the best reservoirs.
A multi-disciplinary study of the Rose City Field, a deeper-pool field discovered in 1985, served as an analogue for development and production of Shell’s other fields. The depositional environments of the sandstones were found to have significantly influenced their subsequent diagenesis and ultimately their present reservoir characteristics. The geologic model and calculated log values were combined with seismic structural interpretations to characterize the reservoir system and map the distribution of hydrocarbon-bearing pore volume (SgΦH). Volumetric and material balance estimates of OGIP agree within 10%, which is considered excellent. This approach was applied to other multi-well fields to help ensure equity and improve ultimate recovery.