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Discusses an approach used by Anadarko Petroleum for development drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Selection of rig; Decision on drilling fluid system; Cement design used; Design of casing and wellhead.

Examines design factors for the oil drill pipe and important deepwater casing landing strings in onshore and offshore oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Developments in drilling tubulars; Key features of the high strength drill pipe; Statistical properties of high-strength grades.

Discusses the downhole completion designs for several wells in two ultra-deepwater gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico Canyon Express. Features of the equipment used in the drilling process; Use of the drillship Discoverer Spirit for the installation of wells; Responsibilities of the Wells Integrated Project Team for the subsea trees from the Canyon Express Project Team after final quality assurance.

Discusses the management of equivalent circulating density (ECD) for drilling deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil wells. Concept of ECD and its application in deep wells in deep water; Overview of well control principles; How to design for and manage ECD; Case history for a 22,435 feet measured depth well in deepwater; Conclusions.

The article presents informance on drilling and underreaming oil well in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Deepwater exploration in the GOM presents a number of unique challenges to drilling technology. It is the deepest productive test well in the GOM to date. One of the most successful methods to minimize costs and address the challenges is underreaming while drilling. During this process, a pilot hole of a smaller diameter precedes an underreaming or hole opening tool placed above it in the Bottomhole Assembly (BHA). While drilling previous wells in this deepwater environment, several downhole tool failures pushed operating costs upward. In this case, the operator's goal was to drill and underream as effective as possible while keeping the BHA healthy to the total depth.

The article discusses aspects of blowout preventers (BOP) testing. Topics include the important role of BOP in offshore drilling operations, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's requirements for the BOP and choke manifold to be inspected and pressure tested during drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico, and the use of Offshore Technical Compliance and Hecate software to develop a cost-effective digital pressure-testing software.

The article shows the efficiency of a non-toxic paraffin removal agent to restore flow to long-plugged oil pipeline in the Vermilion area offshore Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico that had been slated for de-commissioning. Topics discussed are high costs, health and safety issues associated with paraffin build-up, the origin of the evolution of paraffin removal solution, core formulation paraffin removal agent, and the remediation strategy for pipelines with microbial blockage and corrosion.

The article reports on new products for subsea production. Research and development efforts have invested in the development of subsea technology covering numerous deepwater provinces such as the Gulf of Mexico, South America and West Africa. These products include a 5,000-per square inch helico-axial pump and an integrated production bundle. Developments in the intervention sector include an auxiliary HP accumulator and a well intervention vessel.

The article presents information about the development of the Magnolia field at Garden Banks block 783 in the Gulf of Mexico by ConocoPhillips Co. with a tension leg platform in water. The final detailed planning of wells in the Magnolia field was completed in July 2004 by the team of completion designers. The team discovered two intermediate drilling liners without cement across the liner lap during the final completion planning. A potential problem on wells during production was the collapse of Polished Bore Receptacle. To avoid it, trapped annulus analysis was performed on liner hanger components before their installation in production wells.

The article presents information on the K2 development project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The K2 oil field development is located at the south of Louisiana's coastline. The development includes three subsea wells in Green Canyon. For this project, productive hydrocarbons were discovered by Conoco Inc. at the Reservoir 2 horizon in 1999. The project was sanctioned in 2004, after which drilling for the oil wells began. The Reservoirs suffer from environmental challenges, such as loop currents from the Gulf Stream, and hurricanes. Drilling a well is also a challenge, that requires an aggressive pore pressure plot and pressure regression at the reservoirs. Sand control is needed for the productivity and longevity of the oil wells.

The article presents information on a research on the use of high-resolution seismic for carbonate reservoirs description in the offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The study resulted in development well locations, their drilling order and a noteworthy infill producer. A high-resolution seismic survey was acquired over carbonate reservoirs in Arenque and Lobina fields there. The research was aimed at to assess four potential drill locations and modify their drilling order preference. The reservoir description results also enabled an appraisal well in Lobina field to be successfully sidetracked to target a thicker section of the main reservoir facies. The details of key reservoir features were only visible when advanced processing was applied to high-quality seismic data. A High-frequency, high-fidelity seismic data and a fully integrated workflow enabled reservoir properties, which were driven by detailed rock-physics analysis was used in the construction of a high-quality reservoir model and attribute maps.

Focuses on the construction of a subsea tie-back to a host platform on the Falcon Corridor in the Gulf of Mexico. Background on the Falcon Corridor; Challenges facing the field development plan; Decision made by Pioneer to focus on prospects within 15 miles of the manifold; Factors that contributed to the success of the development plan.

Discusses problems being encountered by operators in deep-shelf drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Status of offshore well depths; Requirement for drilling deep subsalt wells on the shelf; Philosophy for well construction; Discussion on shelf wells.

Describes an approach of a team of geohazards specialists to mitigating shallow water flow (SWF) risk. SWF problems encountered in oil wells drilled within the Mississippi Canyon Area in the Gulf of Mexico; Location of the Mississippi Canyon Block 849; Definition of SWF.

Presents information on the Lost Circulation Assessment and Planning (LCAP) program, a methodology that assesses project-specific lost circulation problems in the Gulf of Mexico and Central Asia. Key elements in the improvement of LCAP; Steps involved in the development of LCAP; Benefits of the LCAP program.

Details the drill-in and completion of the BP company-operated offshore development well Marlin A-4 in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. Objectives of the well; Design and selection of a drill-in fluid; Use of the proprietary, brine-based PayZone drilling fluid from TETRA Technologies company; Details of the drilling operations.

Presents a study that defined Biodegradation Index mathematically and illustrated its use in two deepwater Gulf of Mexico examples. Components that influenced oil gravity and viscosity in reservoirs; Field examples; Empirical relationship.

Explores how regional data, paleo-reconstructions and seepage data have typed oil source-rock characteristics across the deepwater and ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Elements of risk for a petroleum system; Recent organic matter contamination; Definition of seepage related to petroleum systems versus unrelated anomalies.

Deals with basic design considerations that help reduce failures in running long casing strings in deep wells in deep water. Factors to consider in the design of landing strings; Theory and premise of slip crushing; Case history at the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Reports on the acquisition and processing of multicomponent (4C) recording and three-dimensional seafloor seismic data to improve the seismic image of Donald Field along the Gulf of Mexico. Description on the 4C equipment used; Advantages to using wide-azimuth patch over narrow-azimuth swath for C-wave acquisition; Discussion on the different imaging routes which pursued for P- and C-wave preprocessed data.

Presents a study which observed distortion zones on prestack seismic data at two Gulf of Mexico locations. Results of the seismic data volume of the locations; Implications of the changes in lateral velocity at locations; Conclusions.

Describes how the anisotropy problem in the Gulf of Mexico was discovered, and how its effects were remedied to allow accurate migration of the reservoir and an associated salt body, thus allowing proper field developing. Background of the Garden Banks Block 260 Baldpate field; Why further reservoir delineation was deemed necessary before project sanctioning; Details on the depth migration performed.

Presents two presentations on how the oil deepwater industry upgrades its technology and works with the principal regulator for the United States (US) Gulf of Mexico and the Minerals Management Service of the US Department of Energy. DeepStar's efforts to contribute to technology developments; Processes in which an operator goes through in selecting facilities; Discussion on flow assurance techniques; Focus on project planning and prevention by chemical treatment.

Discusses the field application and performance of a log-gel borate fluid-breaker system for intermediate-temperature Gulf of Mexico frac-and-pack treatments. Viscosity, fluid-loss and conductivity data for the system; Dynamic proppant transport capabilities.

Describes the development and deployment of a snubbing system suitable for use on semisubmersible drilling vessels on Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico. Definition of snubbing; System options for arranging contemporary snubbing technology for work on subsea oil wells; Snubbing unit design options.

Presents a simulation study on the high recovery rate of gas from the downdip waterdrive gas reservoir of Ocean Energy company in the Gulf of Mexico. Analysis of the effect of gas recovery on the production rate; Impact of the elevation of gas rates on ultimate recovery.

The article informs that the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has released a draft programmatic environmental impact statement, that recommends protections for marine mammals and environments in the Gulf of Mexico from oil and gas geophysical survey impacts. Topics discussed include concern over the abandonment of older floaters, benefits of state tax credit programs on exploration efforts, and deployment of geophones.

This article focuses on the cement pulsation technology which has recently been adapted by offshore oil production companies. It is reported that after figuring in the cost, an operator realized savings of about $130,000 from eliminating potential Gulf of Mexico remedial cementing. Cement pulsation is a patented process that is relatively simple and inexpensive to apply. It maintains the cement column's original hydrostatic pressure during the slurry transition period, until the cement develops sufficient strength to resist fluid influx. Cement pulsation utilizes low-frequency, small-amplitude water pulses applied to the annulus immediately after cement placement. Proprietary software is used to determine correct magnitude of the applied surface pulse. The cement pulsation job design software determined an appropriate surface pulse pressure. Pre-job pulse design helps ensure that pulse energy is sufficient to shear the gel strength of the entire cement column. When pulsing in shallow open-hole intervals, the software also makes certain that the equivalent circulating density increase associated with the pulse is acceptable. Cement pulsation has been applied successfully to more than 600 onshore wells in the U.S. and Canada.

The article discusses the remediation of a pig/paraffin obstruction in a deepwater subsea tieback of the Gulf of Mexico's Cottonwood field. It notes that the cottonwood is the first field development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico operated by Petrobras. It adds that the flow assurance team used solvent soaking and controlled pressurization techniques to release the obstruction

The article focuses on the impact of the mandated shutdown in the Gulf of Mexico after the oil spill on the 2010 and 2011 production levels in the U.S. The shutdown is stated to postpone the future production of some of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) more than 86 billion bbl of undiscovered oil and natural gas. It states that it will affect the budget challenged coastal states of Louisiana, Virginia, Alaska in the U.S. as a result of federal ambiguities.

The article talks about the discovery of a Spider-Squid in the deepwaters. It is reported that dubbed as "Spider-Squid" by the staff of the periodical "World Oil" the creature floats placidly along the seafloor, unfazed by drilling at the nearby wellhead in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Further it is reported that it has been identifird as a rarely seen Magnapinna squid. A scientific report released in 2001 established that this type of squid occurs worldwide in the permanently dark zone below about 4,000 ft. Also it is stated that in this way, oil and gas development in deep water provides an opportunity for biologists to study and discover elusive deep-sea creatures.

The article reports on Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) technology which enables redevelopment sidetracks in mature oil fields. It also shows how deployment and training efficiencies have improved the technology's application. As reported, Shell E&P Co., Signa Engineering and At Balance Americas have been deploying MPD for several years. The initial success in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was at Mars Field in 2004. The lessons learned there were later applied at Auger Field, where similar problems occurred. Mars and Auger are in the deepwater GOM in 2,800-3,000 ft of water, southeast and southwest of New Orleans, respectively. It is also reported that based on GOM success, Shell is now using the system in Canada, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The article reports on a study which has revealed that Automatic Rig-Activity Detection (ARAD) helps identify and minimize Invisible Lost Time (ILT) on both deepwater and land wells. The ARAD software was used to track the progress of the initial batch set operation of an ultra-deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico on a daily basis. The purpose of this was to get a field-level overview of the visible and invisible Non-Productive Time (NPT) and areas for potential operational improvements. The ARAD approach proved to be highly useful not only to document learning curves, but also to identify sources of ILT and address these in a dialogue with operational field staff.

The article presents information related to the Independence Project, an ultra-deepwater subsea oil and natural gas exploration project. It is reported that from the needs of exploration and production companies and midstream energy companies to facilitate the development of several ultra-deepwater, natural gas discoveries in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a unique partnership has developed between the companies. It is said that two of the anchor fields for this project are a natural fit for co-development. Five months after Anadarko Petroleum Corp. discovered Spiderman field in November 2003, Eni SpA announced the discovery of San Jacinto field.

The article reports that the technology of rotary steerable systems (RSS) has received acceptance for oil well drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. RSS has been used on 75% of floating rigs for deepwater oil drilling.

Presents information on studies about oil well drilling in the U.S. Overview of underbalanced drilling projects in the country; Trends in oil well drilling; Decline in offshore drilling rig utilization in the Gulf of Mexico.

Describes the snubbing job performed from a floating vessel in the Gulf of Mexico illustrating the increasing complexity of deepwater workovers. Objective of the activity; Design of the system; Description of the operation of the system.