The complete paper discusses the successful execution of the first offshore multilateral well completed for multistage high-pressure proppant stimulation, according to the authors, in the Black Sea offshore Romania. This paper details the design and execution of what the authors say they believe is the first successful frac-pack operation in a previously gravel-packed well. The evolution of hydraulic fracturing is a long and circuitous one that deserves examination. Engineering and completions leaders from Liberty Oilfield Services did just that, authoring a paper that encapsulates the high points in the development of the groundbreaking completions practice. Producers in Texas have claimed an economic victory with their transition to local sands that they once avoided using in horizontal wells due to their low-quality.

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 examines multiple factors that can affect the severity of stick/slip and measures their actual effect. The advent of the rotary-steerable system (RSS) introduced an efficient way to drill both current and future wells. However, current tools still fail to replace positive displacement motors (PDMs).

A routine maintenance project became more complicated when an ROV inspection exposed unexpected trenching that reduced the holding capacity of the system. This paper highlights the issues and challenges surrounding pipeline trenching and burial in ice-gouge environments. The current state of practice is discussed along with the technology gaps that need to be addressed.

The single independent riser (SIR) is a hybrid riser configuration optimized for ultradeepwater field development. The SIR is composed of a flexible jumper and a rigid part vertically tensioned by means of distributed or continuous buoyancy. This paper describes an automated work flow that uses sensor data and machine-learning (ML) algorithms to predict and identify root causes of impending and unplanned shutdown events and provide actionable insights. The Monument well represents the Norwegian operator’s first deepwater drilling project in US waters in 5 years. Transocean reported a long list of reasons why the deepwater drilling business is coming back strong.

The complete paper presents a case study in which offline cementing improved operational efficiency by reducing drilling times and provided significant cost savings. The data analytics firm projects US dry gas output growth will shrink to 2 Bcf/D next year from 8–9 Bcf/D in 2018 and 2019. The complete paper describes a recent directional coiled-tubing drilling (DCTD) job completed for an independent operator in the Appalachian Basin.

Many two-phase and three-phase separators in the oil and gas industry continue to underperform. This article explores the weaknesses in different sizing methodologies and proposes manageable approaches to quantifying each. This paper provides details of comprehensive computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) -based studies performed to overcome the separation inefficiencies experienced in a large-scale three-phase separator.

The complete paper discusses the systematic approach adopted by a service company to achieve the goal of safely abandoning wells offshore southwest Brazil with different completion types using light workover vessels. For the offshore sector, the collapse in oil demand and prices came just as the market was beginning to look up. Now many companies are focused on survival. This article discusses how various market segments, regions, and companies are faring in “the new reality.” This paper presents a fatigue-prediction methodology designed to extend the life of unbonded flexible risers and improve the accuracy of floating production, storage, and offloading vessel response analysis.

The complete paper discusses the systematic approach adopted by a service company to achieve the goal of safely abandoning wells offshore southwest Brazil with different completion types using light workover vessels. Plug-and-abandonment (P&A) operations can be expensive, leading to negative net present value. Historically, P&A operations in the North Sea—estimated to hold some 3,000 wells of declining production—were performed with either drilling or workover rigs.

While oil- and gas-related companies slash budgets and staff and operators pull back from production and exploration, the tax coffers of US local and state governments are shrinking fast and with hard repercussions. Pre-COVID-19 forecasts were blown out of the water and nearly made moot quickly in the first quarter of this year. Attempts to form long-term forecasts are stymied by uncertainties until some degree of stabilization returns to the oil and gas industry. It has now been nearly 3 months since the one-two punches of an unprecedented modern-day pandemic and a free fall in oil prices due to the oversupply of oil resulting from a tremendous, sudden drop in demand. Networking is core to SPE activities, whether through an event, a local section meeting, service on a committee, or other activity.

Of all the programs that SPE offers, the most rewarding and enjoyable ones for me personally are the conferences. I love walking the floor of an exhibition hall, discovering the latest technology advancements, and listening to the various product demonstrations. From the beginning, SPE has focused on knowledge dissemination in four fundamental areas, which I refer to as the core disciplines: drilling, completions, reservoir (including geosciences), and production operations. No company or organization could have predicted our industry would be facing a viral pandemic, coupled with oil prices at their lowest levels in almost 2 decades. This is a time to put our heads together and come up with a new plan. This is what oil and gas does best.