Issue: June
COLUMNS
From Calgary to Colorado Springs, World Oil editor-in-chief Kurt Abraham examines the renewed optimism sweeping North America's upstream sector, highlighted by the IPAA-DEPA merger and growing confidence in the industry's future.
As operators seek more efficient ways to manage produced water, Oscar Velastegui of Veolia examines how innovations in nutshell filtration design could simplify maintenance and improve treatment performance.
Can nanoparticles help unlock the world's vast heavy oil resources? Contributing editor Leonard Kalfayan examines how emerging catalytic technologies, combined with steam injection, could improve in-situ upgrading and boost heavy oil recovery.
FEATURES
For operators managing pumpjacks, compressors, rotating equipment, and processing facilities, the shift to usage-based maintenance presents a practical opportunity to reduce costs while improving reliability.
A technical reassessment of legacy acquisitions in mature basins.
SPECIAL FOCUS: ARTIFICIAL LIFT
Severe gas slugging in unconventional Permian basin wells creates unstable intake conditions that can disrupt ESP operation and reduce run life. Field results show that the Hydro-Helical™ Slugger gas separator from Summit ESP®, a Halliburton service, reduced the duration and frequency of no-flow events, improved pump stability, lowered motor temperatures, and increased productive pumping time.
As the artificial lift market continues to evolve globally, Baker Hughes is playing a key role with innovative technologies that enhance the performance of ESPs and provide operators with greater efficiencies, lower total cost of ownership, and improved safety, as detailed by its vice president responsible for artificial lift systems (ALS).
Permanent magnet motors attract powerful savings for existing ALS technologies
The Reda Multiphase HPS™ horizontal multistage surface pump enabled Pemex to eliminate flaring, streamline oil transportation, monetize gas production and increase oil output.
As rod lift design platforms continue to evolve, operators that can evaluate more scenarios with greater speed, preserve legacy design data, and translate engineering insights faster into design decisions will be well-positioned to keep production flowing longer—and do so cost-effectively.
MANAGEMENT ISSUES
At this important point in U.S. history, the industry’s continued strong performance and unmatched economic impact underscore a simple truth: America runs on oil and natural gas
OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGY
The fundamental objective of late-life field management remains the safe production and containment of hydrocarbons. To ensure this, effective well integrity is critical.
Shallow-water wells can now be drilled using dynamically positioned (DP) deepwater rigs, if critical safety challenges are addressed. Recent drilling programs demonstrate that a properly designed tethered blowout preventer (TBOP) system allows a DP unit to drill new and workover wells or perform P&A operations in 500-ft (152-m) to 2,000-ft (610-m) water depths.
DECOMMISSIONING
Operators that carry out early condition assessments, maintain continuity in project teams and plan waste management routes well before shutdown are generally better positioned to manage uncertainty later.
As costs continue to increase in offshore well decommissioning, operators are searching for ways to efficiently and rapidly manage liabilities without compromising operational safety or the environment. These objectives can be advanced through modular, single-trip decommissioning systems, backed by experienced technical teams.
