Saudi energy minister warns speculators not to bet against the OPEC+ alliance. Personnel are returning to platforms in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Sally was downgraded to a tropical depression late Wednesday, but the threat of another major hurricane remains as a tropical storm may form in the Gulf of Mexico today. Phase 1 involved a feasibility study for a facility capable of capturing 750,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. The next phase will explore building a facility capable of more than twice that amount.

The new numbers for the Marcellus Shale and Point Pleasant-Utica Shale represent large increases from previous USGS assessments of both formations. Production and proved reserves in the Permian Basin’s Wolfcamp Shale and Bone Spring Formation are reaching new heights, and a new assessment from the US Geological Survey indicates the industry is just scratching the subsurface when it comes to what may be technically recoverable. Major oil discoveries by Armstrong Oil & Gas and ConocoPhillips have compelled the US Department of the Interior to reassess its estimate of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources in parts of Alaska. The list of the biggest gas plays in the US is being revised as the US Geological Survey creates new estimates based on additional drilling results and available rock samples. New at Number 2 is the Mancos Shale on the Western Slope of the Rockies with 66 Tcf in recoverable reserves.

The complete paper discusses the use of cumulative production ratio curves normalized to a given reference volume in time for different unconventional plays in North America to investigate the median trend for each play and the median ultimate recovery per play. The merged companies will offer large-diameter coiled-tubing, directional drilling, snubbing, wireline services, and pressure pumping services. The amount of uncertainty related to directional drilling makes accurate drilling challenging, leaving much to human know-how and interpretation. Additionally, few path-planning methods in the literature consider the directional steering tool being used. This paper describes the analysis of sidetracks drilled in an open hole by an annular ledge formation method with a downhole motor in multilateral wells.

This paper describes a coiled tubing gas lift (CTGL) technique successfully used to restart production from two pilot wells in a mature field in Pakistan that had been shut in since 2015. Some well-testing operations are executed by performing multiple runs in hole using slickline and coiled tubing (CT). A technology has been developed that combines many of these operations, including contingency stimulation activities, into one run. The complete paper discusses an advanced matrix-stimulation work flow that brings reliability and flexibility to the acidizing of tight carbonate water injectors and has delivered injectivity improvements tight carbonate onshore reservoirs in the Middle East. The papers summarized in this year’s feature demonstrate the application and versatility of coiled-tubing-based solutions to different phases of a well’s lifecycle, from exploration through production and, finally, to abandonment.

BSEE today reports current oil production shut in is approximately 508,000 B/D and natural gas production shut in is 805 MMcf/D. Hurricane Sally made landfall this morning and is now moving inland, creating a significant flood threat over portions of the southeastern US. The acquisition and divesture deal includes large-interest positions in nine offshore exploration blocks, several of which Shell may become the operator of. The latest updates on the North American shale sector’s efforts to consolidate and restructure. In the region’s second bankruptcy of the month all of the operator’s assets will be sold to a private equity energy group, pending court approval.

An intelligent drilling optimization application performs as an adaptive autodriller. In the Marcellus Shale, ROP improved 61% and 39% and drilling performance, measured as hours on bottom, improved 25%. The new numbers for the Marcellus Shale and Point Pleasant-Utica Shale represent large increases from previous USGS assessments of both formations. A fracturing test site in West Virginia has quietly made a data trove available on the website of the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Lab. A drilling team has focused on increasing lateral lengths in the Marcellus Shale.

Polymer flooding increases the RF up to 20% at $3 to $6 per extra bbl of oil. It also contributes towards reducing CO2 emission by 3–6 times per bbl. It’s a proven technology with more than 300 projects worldwide. SNF offers modular plug and pump facilities connected to existing infrastructure. To optimize decision-making, minimize risk, and create value, oil and gas companies can turn to liberated, contextualized data.

Advanced machine-learning methods combined with aspects of game theory are helping operators understand the drivers of water production and improve forecasting and economics in unconventional basins. The national oil company’s remote northern region has delivered a pair of greenfields that await further drilling before a reserves estimate can be made. The Pennsylvania-based producer will leave Louisiana where profiting from tight-gas fields has proven difficult and focus on its legacy assets in the Marcellus Shale. The complete paper presents a solution that assesses tight matrices and natural fractures at a level not previously achieved. At the tight-matrix level, advanced nuclear spectroscopy is carried out with a new pulsed-neutron device that achieves simultaneous time- and energy-domain measurements.

Discussed are real-world examples of the less often considered but valuable environmental benefits delivered via MPD. This paper focuses on the preparation for, and implementation of, well-control training, while highlighting the integration of people skills into curricula and what advantages operators and drilling contractors have obtained. This paper presents lessons learned regarding design, testing, and installation of a completely integrated managed-pressure-drilling (MPD) control system on a deepwater drilling rig. This work focuses on the development of specific methodologies to support managed-pressure-dilling (MPD) operations implemented on real-time diagnostic software. This paper presents the design considerations, methodology, and results of two deepwater MPC operations conducted to cement production casing strings within a target operating window of approximately three-tenths of a pound.

The complete paper presents a solution that assesses tight matrices and natural fractures at a level not previously achieved. At the tight-matrix level, advanced nuclear spectroscopy is carried out with a new pulsed-neutron device that achieves simultaneous time- and energy-domain measurements. The complete paper presents a large-scale work flow designed to take a vast amount of data into consideration. The work flow can be scaled for projects of any size, depending on the data available. What Damage Is Wrought by the Rush to Shut In Wells? The Permian Basin is now influencing the upstream water market on the way down, while many questions swirl around the implications of unprecedented shut-ins.