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Trivia Question: In directional drilling, why is a whipstock so named? Read the latest newsletter placed online just today! Consider Regional or National advertising or sponsorship on the PTTC Web Network—Click here for details
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				Calendar: Upcoming Regional Events Calendar: Upcoming Industry Events Calendar: Upcoming Regional Events 9/13 Midcontinent: Producers' Forum (EKOGA) – Chanute, KS. Contact: 785-864-7396 9/14-15 Rocky Mountain: Structural Concepts and Applications in Rocky Mountain Hydrocarbon Plays (RMAG) – Denver, CO. 10/10 Central/Eastern Gulf Coast: Technologies and Exploitation Strategies for Developing Naturally Fractured Reservoirs – Shreveport, LA. Contact: 225-578-4538 10/11 Midcontinent: Crash Course in Log Analysis (Kansas Geological Survey) – Lawrence, KS. 10/12 Midcontinent: PfEFFER Log Analysis, Overview and Examples (Kansas Geological Survey) – Lawrence, KS. 10/17 Texas: Modern Methods Used To Capture Production Data and Implement Field Automation – Midland, TX. Contact: 512-471-0320 10/18 Midwest: Seizing Opportunities in a Mature Basin (Michigan O&G Association) – Gaylord, MI. Contact: 269-387-8633 10/24-25 Rocky Mountain: Sequence Stratigraphy; Principles and Applications – Golden, CO.     DOE Highlight: Pinnacle Technologies Improves Fracture Mapping Technology In a DOE-supported project Pinnacle Technologies has demonstrated an improved fracture mapping technology. The advanced mapping system delivers a more accurate picture of underground conditions and allows improved alignment of induced fractures with natural fractures. Benefits include better quality data, fewer mapping failures, improved understanding of fracture behavior and improved well spacing and placement. The hybrid system combines two mapping techniques, which allows concurrent operation of tiltmeter observation and microseismic fracture mapping with geophone sensors in one array in one well, including the fracture well, rather than the multiple wells and arrays of current practice. Prototype arrays were demonstrated in a Colorado coalbed methane well and in a Barnett Shale test.     PTTC Highlight: Visit PTTC at Summer NAPE—Booth #2257 Those of you making the trek to Houston for Summer NAPE, stop by and see us. Find a prospect at the show, get a lead on a technology from us. At the least, stop by and let's catch each other up on what's happening in our respective worlds.     Trivia Answer: Within four days of the completion of Drake's well in Titusville (Aug. 27, 1859), John Grandin had bought acreage surrounding an oil seep, found a driller and commenced drilling. Talk about seizing opportunity quickly. Two months later though the well was twice as deep as Drake's and still no oil. Plus they found their 2-inch hole was too small for the casing they had. Improvising a reamer from a discarded tram axle worked well to a point—that is, to a depth of 134 ft where the tool became stuck and "never saw daylight again." Not satisfied with this "first," the driller tried makeshift torpedoes from blasting powder, the second "first" for this well. On the third shoot, the well was ruined.   From "The Petroleum Age," December 2005. Courtesy of The American Oil & Gas Historical Society (www.aoghs.org). Summer NAPE – Houston, TX.     Industry Highlight: Electrical Submersible Pumps—Riding Out Those Power Blips Power blips are a fact of life and are particularly troublesome for submersible pumps and variable speed drives. There is lost time when the pump goes down and potentially shorter motor life. Many power blips are very short term. Baker Hughes Centrilift addressed that challenge with its "Power Ride Through Module." This unit detects power interruptions and energizes the downhole equipment during these events—for the very short term blips, equipment keeps operating smoothly. In a Venezuelan application, shutdowns due to power system transients were reduced 95%. Above is just one of many developments highlighted in World Oil's annual "What's New in Artificial Lift" in their April and May issues available online. Those responsible for maintaining reliability and efficiency in artificial lift are encouraged to review the articles to learn about other technology developments that may fit their application.     DOE Highlight: Power From Stranded Gas Saving California Leases A DOE-supported project (Oil Field Flare Gas Electricity Systems or OFFGASES) is demonstrating how distributed power generation from stranded natural gas reduces power costs and is making a difference in saving marginal leases. Results from four field demonstrations with fuels of varying energy content/quality are demonstrating the possibilities.  High-Btu gas (1,600 Btu/scf): boosted oil production in its three-well marginal oil field from 10 to 23 bopd. Medium-Btu gas (not meeting pipeline quality requirements): now producing 150 bopd in a 19-well field that had been at risk for abandonment. “Harsh” (contains naturally high levels of N2, CO2, H2S) gas: brought into compliance with air emissions regulations by scrubbing hydrogen sulfide from the gas using a patented sulfur-treating system. Ultralow-Btu (as little as 15 Btu/scf): Just to flare it, producers have to spike it with purchased natural gas. Tests using FlexEnergy's Flex-Microturbine, which uses catalytic combustors, are ongoing. While the microturbine is working, improvements are still needed and testing continues.     PTTC Highlight: Your Input Needed Regarding Knowledge Centers—Take the Survey The knowledge center concept is simple. For a given topic, say hydraulic fracturing, PTTC would identify a few respected, unbiased individuals, universities or organizations that are recognized as leaders in the field. We listen to those experts, letting them help define what content needs to be captured within a knowledge center. We then retain them to develop the knowledge center and make information available through the Internet and workshops. It is not really research; it’s gathering all that is relevant (as determined by experts). To determine if this concept is really feasible, PTTC needs your input—please let us know your priorities for different topics, or suggest additional topics, by taking the Online Survey. Candidly, the amount of response is one factor PTTC will consider in evaluating the feasibility of developing knowledge centers.     Trivia Answer: A common 19th Century horse-drawn carriage accessory was a slanted whip holder known as a whipstock.  It was often mounted on the dashboard and “had an angle to it.” When West Virginia drillers began using wedges to redirect boreholes, the term was adopted and remains part of oilfield lexicon. (Petroleum Age Vol. 3, No. 2 - June 2006) Courtesy of American Oil & Gas Historical Society (www.aoghs.org).
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Industry Highlight: What's New In Artificial Lift (World Oil) Each year World Oil runs a two-part article on new developments in the world of artificial lift. Authored by James Lea, Herald Winkler and Robert Snyder, the article covers new developments in five categories: sucker rod pumping, progressing-cavity pumping; gas-well deliquefying, and jet pumping. Examples of the technologies covered include: Through Tubing Conveyed Electrical Submersible Progressing Cavity Pumping System (ESPCP by Baker Hughes Centrilift) – allows the pump to be retrieved without removing the production tubing, motor, gear reducer, seal and cable. The pump is typically the first component requiring replacement, and since it can now be replaced without pulling the entire system, well servicing costs are dramatically lowered. Critical Velocity Reduction System (CVR by Weatherford – see page 21) – The most common methods for gas-well deliquefying are plunger lift, soap injection, or flow-area reduction. The CVR system provides for each method to be used either independently or in combination. Composite Progressing Cavity Technology (by EXOKO Composites Co.) – In conventional PCP pumps the stator made from chrome-plated steel is the wear element. When pumps fail, a costly pulling job is required. With EXOKO's design a precise elastomer layer is placed on the rotor and the stator is made from hard composite material. The rotor is now the wear element and can be retrieved and replaced at less cost by just pulling the rods.
DOE Highlight: Produced Water Management Information System (PWMIS) DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory, in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory, has developed the web-based Produced Water Management Information System (PWMIS). The new system offers critical information on current technologies and best practices, summaries of relevant state and Federal regulations, and a decision tree for technology options to deal with produced water issues. PWMIS is an easily navigable web tool that consolidates all the required information in one location.
PTTC Highlight: Many of you are wondering – what has PTTC been doing? To put it succinctly, we've been engaged in a battle for economic survival. Good news! Two things have occurred. First, the Department of Energy has provided $1 million of funding through September 2008 to help PTTC transition to a primarily industry-funded organization. Second and exciting for the long-term, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) has come forth with an exciting proposal. AAPG and PTTC have expressed their “mutual intent” to conduct negotiations directed towards creating an AAPG-managed PTTC. Assuming positive negotiations, the transition to an AAPG-managed PTTC could occur by early fall. The new entity, although quite different, would remain true to the PTTC vision and would be very cost efficient. It would retain: The industry-directed and regionally-focused structure that is a core concept of PTTC, University involvement as Regional Lead Organizations, The strong commitment to maintaining local, affordable workshops, The multidisciplinary operator-oriented approach, and A separate legal identity as a 501(c)3 corporation. Expanded capabilities would result from having access to management, marketing, communications, business/data systems, and information archival capabilities available within AAPG.
Trivia Answer: Separate wells drilled in 1886 in Portland and Eaton, Indiana, sparked intensive drilling for shallow gas. By 1897, more than 5,400 wells had been drilled in pursuit of Indiana's natural gas. Abundant gas drew many factories, but production practices were wasteful and by 1902 producing pressure was only 80-90 psi. Gas supplies dropped and many factories had to close. Courtesy of American Oil & Gas Historical Society (www.aoghs.org).