JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY V. 63, N. 11, NOV 2011

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY 

V. 63, N. 11, NOV 2011

DEPARTMENTS

6 Performance Indices

8 Regional Update

10 CompanyNews

12 Spectrum

16 Comments

John Donnelly

22 Technology Applications

26 Technology Update

28 Techbits

108 People

111 Professional Services

11 5 Advertisers’ Index

116 Meetings

18 Guest Editorial • How Converging Technology Trends Will Drive the Next Great Step Change • James Bement, Vice President, Halliburton Sperry Drilling

To achieve a significant step change in safety, efficiency, reliability, and performance while addressing growing demand and reservoir complexity, the oil and gas industry will have to decide how best to use automation.

32 From Bacteria to Barrels: Microbiology Having an Impact on Oil Fields

Companies are using microbes to get more oil from old fields, turn coal into natural gas, and to manage sour gas problems caused by bacteria. The interest reflects advances in identifying bacteria and understanding what they do.

40 Interest Grows in Asia Pacific Offshore Projects

The vast horizon of the Asia Pacific offshore region, one of the world´s most active hydrocarbon provinces, will remain a major factor in the global petroleum industry for decades. Throughout the region, the need for technology innovation is increasing as the industry faces the challenges of deepwater projects, stranded gas monetization, drilling and development in bigb-pressure/high-temperature formations and management of CO2 levels in producing reservoirs.

50 Industry Salaries Continue to Rise

Results of’ the annual salary survey of E&P professionals worldwide show that compensation in the petroleum industry in 2011 continues to follow the growth trend of recent years, with an overall increase in average base pay globally of 6,5%.

54 Quantifying the Invisible: Getting a Handle on Methane’s Climate Impact

Earlier this year, a Cornell University professor made quite a splash publishing o paper asserting that emissions from shale gas rivaled those from coal. Not so, say three separate recent reports whose issuers have impeccable credentials.

59 Offshore Europe Draws Record Attendance

Drawing record attendance, Offshore Europe 2011 focused on project complexity, innovative operating models, the evolution of national oil companies, the challenges of decommissioning, new technology, and the industry’s long-term future.

64 Drilling and Completion Fluids

Brent Estes, SPE, Drilling Fluids Specialist, Chevron Energy Technology Company

65 Improving Compatibility of Drilling Fluid, Completion Fluid, and Other Well-Treatment Fluids for Deepwater Wells

68 Holistic Drilling-Fluid and Waste Management in the Fayetteville Shale

72 Drilling With a Balanced-Activity Invert-Emulsion Fluid in Shale: Is It Sufficient for Maintaining or Enhancing Well bore Stability?

75 Drilling Highly Depleted Formations With Engineered-Particle Nonaqueous Fluids: South China Sea

78 Horizontal and Complex-Trajectory Wells

Jon Ruszka, SPE, Field Career Development Manager, Baker Hughes Africa Region

79 Overcoming Challenges of Drilling High-Dogleg-Severity Curves

84 Successful Short-Radius Re-Entry Well in Deep-Gas Drilling in Saudi Arabia

88 Shallowest Horizontal Well Drilled in the Middle East: Challenges and Successes

94 Gas Production Technology

Scott J. Wilson, SPE, Senior Vice President, Ryder Scott Company

95 Flow-Assurance Challenges n Gas-Storage Schemes in Depleted Reservoirs

98 Achieving Solids-Free Gas-Production Target Rate From Highly-Unconsolidated-Sandstone Formation Interval

102 Screening Method To Select Horizontal-Well Refracturing Candidates in Shale-Gas Reservoirs