A comprehensive evaluation strategy offers a better return on investment. Getting the most from existing wells requires making the most of advanced tools and services. Critical evaluation of the potential benefits... more

A new technology allows producers to develop unrecognized reserves. Asset managers can choose from an array of techniques for field development and redevelopment: vertical and horizontal wells, multilaterals and hydraulic... more

The petroleum industry's next generation of low-hanging fruit is ripe and ready to be picked: monetizing the world's best intellectual assets. If it isn't drilled, perforated, logged, simulated or made of... more

Although the need for life-cycle asset management has always existed for operators, particularly those with more mature assets, it now has a bigger part in business planning. Life-cycle asset management has... more

The ultradeep, ultracomplex Gulf of Mexico development directs new thinking at reserves and records. The Na Kika development is about 140 miles (225 km) southeast of New Orleans, La., in... more

The slump in spending plans for the United States continues. The international oil community is managing its assets with a tight fist this year as worldwide spending by a large... more

To drill a well, you need a rig, a crew, pipe, bits, mud and cement. But if you're planning to do some well construction, you also need a computer and... more

A new computer program predicts pumping pressure and equivalent circulating densities (ECDs) and explores the advantages of using new tools like a circulating sub for completion fluid displacement operations. Drilling mud... more

Being in a rush to complete a well can result in losing it completely. Take the time to analyze the data and design a proper completion. After a high-profile exploratory well... more

NORTH AMERICA Newfield Exploration signed a multiyear technology agreement with Landmark Graphics Corp. to adopt Landmark's geological and geophysical software products and support services. The agreement also calls for Landmark to... more

By switching to Linux clusters and implementing Web-based application software, PGS can get processed seismic data from the boat to shore 200 times faster. It used to be that when seismic... more

Marlow Ropes is to supply the first polyester permanent mooring system for a spar-based production unit in the Gulf of Mexico. Permanent mooring for production units with polyester is not new.... more

NORTH AMERICA Gas giant El Paso Corp. plans to sell some of its gas properties and gathering system in Utah to Westport Resources Corp. for US $502 million. The sale... more

Drilling crews working offshore for BP in the North Sea are operating with a new performance-based contract that takes forward the operator's concept of drilling beyond the limit. KCA Deutag and... more

NORTH AMERICA ChevronTexaco Corp. named John W. McDonald corporate vice president. He will head the company's strategic planning activities. McDonald replaces Patricia E. Yarrington, who was recently named vice president,... more

1. Amerexx Energy Inc. of West Palm Beach, Fla., plans to drill a remote wildcat in the White River Valley of Nevada 65 miles (105 km) south-southwest of Ely. The... more

1. Australia's Petsec Energy Ltd. plans to begin production from its two gas discoveries - West Cameron 352 A-13 and West Cameron 343 A-17 - this month. The wells penetrated... more

1. Sixteen prospects have been identified in and around the 1.1 billion-bbl Buzzard field, and operator EnCana plans to spud wells on some of these prospects during 2003. During an analysts... more

1. After carrying out initial exploration work in ultradeep water off the Caribbean coast of Colombia, TotalFinaElf decided not to continue to the second phase of operations on its offshore... more

1. UK independent Dana Petroleum's appraisal well offshore Ghana came in as a disappointment. The WT-2X well was drilled in the shallowwater region of the Western Tano block to a... more

1. Lukoil has taken a 20% interest in Kharyaga field in the Timan-Pechora area of the Yamal-Nenets region of northern Russia. The move to acquire 10% of the field from... more

1. Talisman Energy Qatar, a subsidiary of Talisman Energy Inc., signed an exploration and production-sharing agreement for Block 10 offshore Qatar. The block is in shallow waters 62 miles (100 km)... more

1. Medco Energy signed a US $6.25 million agreement to buy Petroleum Development Associates, a company that owns 60% of the Lemantang block on South Sumatra. The block already produces... more

Geoscientists seem to be rediscovering an age-old fascination with rock physics. Of course it's easy enough to joke that folks like geologists and petrophysicists are so interested in subsurface rocks that... more

A benchmark study compares best drilling and completion practices in South Texas, and a US government program encourages technological developments for deep, hot gas wells. Ziff Energy Group has completed... more

Anadarko is testing an alternative to sucker rods in marginal fields. Faced with a tight squeeze between costs and revenue in marginal fields, Anadarko has found a new path to profits... more

It is the cusp of the new year as I write this. The celebrations will be over and 2003 begun when you read it. That transition period should be a... more

Remote IT-enabled (RITE) services can significantly improve earnings and return on capital expenditures. Unyielding market pressures force the industry to seek new avenues to improve return on capital expenditures. These pressures... more

Exploration wells in 2002 and a future licensing round off Ireland have renewed interest in the hostile Atlantic Margin region. Exploration acreage in the Atlantic Margin from the Faeroe Islands to... more

The formation of Petronas, Malaysia's national petroleum corporation, in 1974 preceded the transformation of the country's oil and gas industry. Petronas has grown into a fully integrated entity engaged in... more