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Downhole tools available to oil and gas drilling firms are slowly evolving toward digitization, allowing more effective data collection and more productive drilling. Both conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources present challenges to these tools, whose increasing complexity raise safety concerns.

In this annual report of July 2004, World Oil reviewed contributions of six companies, which presented over 12 new developments covering applications such as: expandable casing patches; sand control screens; [...]

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has used two new drilling optimization techniques Baker Hughes, to improve risk management in Western Canada. The details of the new two products are presented.

Part 1, presented last month, covered 14 recent developments in four categories of artificial-lift technology: beam and progressing cavity pumping (PCP); plunger lift; and gas lift. This concluding article introduces [...]

New technologies have been developed in response to the challenge of operating in the deepwater and ultra-deepwater sector. The search for deepwater hydrocarbons requires state-of-the-art drilling and seismic technologies which are challenging the hostile deepwater conditions. The upsurge of interest in deepwater exploration hacaused increasing demand for rigs able to operate in depths greater than 500 mt, with the numbers rising from 67 in 1995 to 82 in 1997.

Subsea technology is essential for the future of the global gas and oil industry and has enabled operators to access previously unreachable reserves in deepwater regions of the world, such as the Atlantic Margin. Norland Consultants forecasts that spending on subsea equipment will reach $8.2 million-plus in 1998 and rise to $8.4 billion in 1999. It is widely acknowledged that future systems must be simpler and more flexible, with increased functionality.

The Expro Group has developed an ultrasonic processor which causes less damage to the seabed and local sea-life. The processor is also quicker than the conventional method of grinding. The processor has been tested by Agip (UK) and the subsea template does not become clogged with cutting debris. This reduces the overall costs as there is no clean-up required afterwards. ABB Vetco Gray modified a GLL tree so it could be used at record depths in Offshore Brazil. AEA Sonamatic developed Non-Destructive Testing which uses ultrasound to inspect subsea pipelines.

Rowan Companies Inc. plans to finish construction of a $170 million mobile offshore drilling facility by mid-1998. The rig will offer drilling and production capacity in harsh weather in water depths of 400 feet in the North Sea and 550 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. The facility is under construction at a time when offshore rigs are in high demand throughout the world. Mobile units are beneficial because they are easily moved and allow drilling operators to meet time commitments., A new heavy duty jack up, due in mid-1998, will be able to simultaneously drill and produce wells in harsher environments and deeper water than current jack ups in the [...]

The use of a downhole splitter allows oil well drillers to drill two cased wells from one well bore. The downhole splitter can be used for subsea completions, offshore platforms, offshore exploitation and delineation wells, as well as in environmentally sensitive onshore areas. The downhole splitter system was developed in Apr 1992 and tested in Wyoming. A detailed analysis of how the downhole splitter works and performed during field tests is provided., A downhole multiwell drilling template, called a downhole splitter, allows two wells to be drilled, cased, and completed from one well bore. After completion, each well can be produced, serviced, [...]

Concept employs robotics and minimizes cumbersome surface links to an underwater construction yard Sea trials of a deep-water, diverless pipe line repair concept that divorces sea-floor activities from surface conditions [...]

Use of chelating agents with improved borate crosslinker provides means to produce high-quality fracturing fluid from seawater base without costly equipment or complicated procedures A recent development in fracturing fluids [...]

Coiled tubing . . . operations and services Part 1-- The evolution of coiled tubing equipment. This opening article gives an overview of coiled tubing history and development. Operating concepts [...]

PART II: This is part two of a two-part series on selected areas of concern when dealing with high-pressure, high-temperature (HP/HT) wells. Part one appeared in our February 2002 issue [...]

Production drilling (PD) semi platforms with subsea trees have been selected in preference to dry tree platforms for several large deepwater developments in the North Sea, Brazil, and the Gulf [...]

Support companies are lining up, ready to provide goods for the first FPSO to hit the Gulf of Mexico. No company has submitted an application to develop a GoM field [...]

The offshore industry's drive to improve mooring and riser technology is driven by the need to operate in increasing water depths while controlling costs. Traditional steel wire/chain mooring systems are being replaced by synthetic fibre materials such as high modular polyesters and aramids. New developments in mooring technology are further discussed.

The offshore oil industry's floating production sector has seen rapid growth during the 1990s and is continuing to expand with the industry's move into deepwater and ultra-deepwater. Analyst Norland Consultants expects a total of 109 floating production units between 1999 and 2002, but this conservative estimate could be revised upwards if Brazil privatizes its offshore sector and West Africa continues to develop.

Drill-cuttings have long been a problem for the offshore oil industry and they have the potential to cause great environmental harm, but some companies are solving the problems with new ultrasonic technology. One example is from Scotland's Ecotec, a subsidiary of the Expro Group, which has designed an ultrasonic processor which reduces the drill cuttings to a disposable sonicated slurry. The equipment is so successful that it has become the preferred method for drill cuttings slurrification on Expro Group's Varg field.

Scotland's Weir Pumps Ltd. has developed a downhole pump for the offshore oil industry. The turbine-driven downhole multiphase pump provides an efficient alternative to electric-motor-driven submersible pumps, which are susceptible to electrical problems from fluids in the wellbore. Texaco has installed the equipment in its Captain field.

Kongsberg FMC's Guidelineless Hinged-Over Subsea Template (GLL HOST) is designed to address some problems associated with oil and gas production in deeper waters. The modularized subsea field development system will be tested in the Girassol field development project offshore Angola, due to come onstream by end-2000. The Norwegian company hopes that its new equipment, designed to cut installation costs, will become a universal system for all water depths and applications.

Hydra-tight Ltd.'s deepwater, diverless connector and repair tool has been successfully tested by Statoil A/S on the Norwegian Sea's Haltenpipe project. The connector, which provides pipeline coupling and repair capabilities at up to 500m under water, features metal-to-metal sealing, external-test capability, a design life of 50 years, and joint removability and reusability., A diverless, deepwater tie-in and repair tool has been developed and successfully tested on the Norwegian Sea's Haltenpipe project. Den norske stats oljeselskap AS (Statoil) and Hydratight Ltd., Wolverhampton, U.K., [...]

Byline: Russell Wright New products for subsea production include a 5,000-psi helico-axial pump and an integrated production bundle. In the intervention sector, new developments include an auxiliary HP accumulator and [...]

Proposed guidelineless system uses drill pipe or cable to connect flexible subsea tree flowlines to a seafloor manifold A new guidelineless system for attaching a flexible flowline from a deepwater [...]

Easily-mated ROV tool and API profile moves industry big step closer to cost-saving standardization The ability to have standardized interfacing between remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and subsea installations is a [...]

Stuck pipe training Well Control School has released a newly developed online training program. Called the Stuck Pipe Prevention Training Program, the course was developed to target rig personnel - [...]

RIGFLOOR EQUIPMENT Improved dewatering process management control Kem-Tron Technologies has developed a Human Machine Interface (HMI) software control system that optimizes process performance. Key performance breakthroughs in the newest HMI [...]

New Rig Design Prototype rig features rack-and pinion-design The American Augers engineering concept was to create a drilling rig that used a rack-and-pinion design, which mechanically allows the rig to [...]

New Rig Design Fast-moving rig designed for shallow, shale-gas plays The Sparta Series Drilling System (SSDS) is a safe, highly efficient, fast-moving rig designed specifically for shallow shale gas plays [...]

New Rig Design New rigs raising system enables drill floor and mast to be raised in one operation Veristic Technologies new Rocket Rig was designed to simplify the rig-up process, [...]

OPEC changes Inherently safe designs Over the past years, I have written several columns and articles that, hopefully, you found to be humorous, enlightening, entertaining and often just plain goofy. [...]

Designed for multiple completions, abrasive perforating reduces debris obstruction and enhances safety. COMPLETION/STIMULATION Oriented perforating using abrasive fluid through coiled tubing Designed for multiple completions, abrasive perforating reduces debris obstruction [...]

Using a lateral entry tool with coiled tubing enhances production and injection, saving time and adding payzone. COMPLETION/STIMULATION Entering multilateral wells using coiled tubing Using a lateral-entry tool with coiled [...]

An innovative invention is making light work of raising sunken steel structures in the US Gulf of Mexico, writes Anne Feltus WHEN THREE hurricanes swept through the Gulf of Mexico [...]

Ionix Technologies Inc. has developed the Ionix Static Eliminator, designed to dissipate and prevent buildup of static inside polyethylene (PE) distribution pipe line systems. When gas flows over the Eliminator's [...]

Donlar Biosyntrex Corporation launched a biodegradable scale and corrosion inhibitor for down-hole, squeeze treatment in oil production. Donlar's patented multifunctional polyaspartate product maintains oil formation pressure and prevents scaling, enabling [...]

Designed to mount directly onto large valve actuators, Midland Pneumatic's introduces the IMPACT 2000 reduces extensive pipework and is able to close-couple the system to the actuator, eliminating the need [...]

Strategic Software Ltd. launched Strategic VesselOps, an integrated vessel operations and voyage management system. The system, developed in close cooperation with the Armada Group, is a combination of Strategic's systems [...]

Centek developed the Centek Centralizer in association with the Production Engineering Research Association. The spring steel oil well casing centralizer is manufactured from one piece of specialized steel using a [...]

Kongsberg Simrad launched the subsea sea sensor module, the SSM301. The system capitalizes on equipment that is already installed in most vessels with dynamic positioning systems by allowing data from [...]

MariTEL launched the Marine Wireless VHF Radiotelephone Network in the Gulf of Mexico and lower Mississippi River. The Radiotelephone Network offers mariners private and automatic telephone calls between the ship [...]

The STOP IT[R] Pipe Repair System by Indumar Products, Inc. is used to repair leaks and for corrosion control in marine and offshore applications. STOP IT[R] can be used on [...]

Marine Safety Systems (MSS) has completed testing of its patented system for launching and recovering rescue boats from offshore platforms, FPSOs, drilling rigs, and large ships. The system consists of [...]

Stalmonteringer AB Stalab designs and builds generating sets (gensets), components and complete modules, as well as prefabricated buildings for the power industry and engine manufacturers. The company specializes in container [...]

System being examined for Albuskjell A single-lift concept for platform removal and installation was launched to provide a more cost-effective heavy-lift method that is also environmentally friendly. The method was [...]

Tension leg units begin to compete with Spars One of the most difficult steps in introducing a new floating production vessel design is convincing an oil and gas producer to [...]

Market driving equipment development About 6,500 offshore petroleum industry installations worldwide will likely have to be decommissioned over the next three decades. Many of these are in the North Sea [...]

Selection guide for eight major systems When the pressure of a reservoir is such that it is insufficient to lift produced fluids to the surface, an artificial means is necessary [...]

Enhanced pump designs boost reliability PART II: This is Part II in a two-part series dealing with multiphase hydraulic submersible pumps, specifically the one used on Texaco's Captain Field. Part [...]

Another dual-gradient solution in trial To overcome narrow drilling margins, several artificial mud lift systems are in the development or testing phases. One such system, designed by PSL, is based [...]

AMG, the Alto Mar Girassol Joint Venture, which comprises Stolt Offshore and Bouyges Offshore, announced in late June that it successfully completed installation of the first riser tower on Girassol [...]