Issue: April 2022
Columns
For the second time in a week, U.S. President Joe Biden managed to confuse the American public, taking advantage of the average person-on-the-street’s lack of knowledge about the global oil market.
The EU should be buying LNG from friendly countries like America, Australia, and other Western democracies to meet their firm generation needs. It’s dependable, affordable, and cleaner than coal.
The consequences of the war between Ukraine and Russia will be considerable for the energy and oil markets. Given the extent of damages produced by the war and the sanctions taken by NATO countries and their allies, a ceasefire will not imply a return to normal.
In the U.S. and many other countries, rampant inflation is taking place, the various supply chains are a mess, energy supplies are disrupted, and the cost of oilfield equipment and services is jumping higher. It’s hard to ignore all this negativity, but in this column, we’re looking for some positivity, wherever we can fit it.
In a heat exchanger column, I discussed the use of certain nano-particles to increase the thermal conductivity of fluids used in heat exchangers. This month, I’d like to expound a bit more on a particular type of nano-fluids: Nano-Lubricants.
Things are beginning to move a little quicker in ESG reporting and standards. Recently, the International Sustainability Board published its first two proposals on development of global standards.
Despite WTI surging to an 11-year high of $108.50/bbl in March, U.S. shale operators resisted ramping-up drilling activity and remained disciplined with capital expenditures.
Special Focus: Offshore Technology
An integrated platform, incorporating data from multiple systems that are accessible to a real-time operations center and field personnel, produces a comprehensive model of a company’s ecosystem. The innovative combination results in safer, more reliable operations with less downtime.
All-electric systems are vital for the future of subsea operations in the energy transition.
A new slickline-deployed, memory-based, cased-hole evaluation system delivers the same quality data used to identify bypassed reserves as conventional wireline but without the higher costs and logistical burdens.
Annual awards were handed out to 14 deserving technical advancements and innovations geared to the offshore upstream industry.
Operators and service companies continue to implement new ESG initiatives. One provider is focusing more attention on operations at liquid mud plants to reduce, reuse and repurpose materials. The goal is to diminish the environmental footprint and promote operational efficiencies.
Features
To achieve more sustainable drilling, operators should drill fewer, more accurate wells. This becomes increasingly challenging, as operators encounter more complex reservoirs. A new 3D reservoir mapping service helps operators improve geosteering in such environments, reducing the need for more wells while optimizing production.
Skyrocketing oil prices caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine and Biden’s war on hydrocarbons present the Gulf of Mexico E&P industry with a conflicting brew of circumstances.
Scott Sheffield has a forewarning for the acreage-restricted private operators helping drive record production in the Permian basin: your annual double-digit growth rates are unsustainable.
After a record year in 2021, projections suggest that global offshore wind may reach 712 farms, 29,000 turbines and 235 GW by 2030, including 96 farms, 1,300 turbines and 14.5 GW in floating facilities.
Compared to fourth-quarter 2021, the Dallas Fed’s survey found that U.S. E&P activity surged in first-quarter 2022. However, there are still a few question marks that will linger through the year.
