Are the new flaring regulations creating more headaches for you?

This paper covers the use of foam fracturing in the Ft. Worth Basin. It will discuss the design parameters and economic considerations in foam treatments. Finally, case histories will show results of production.

ARCO Oil and Gas Company has drilled two horizontal drainhole wells in the Empire Abo Unit. A horizontal drainhole well is one in which the wellbore is turned from vertical to horizontal in a short radius and the horizontal hole is then drilled out some distance into the formation. These wells were drilled to evaluate the mechanical feasibility of the drilling process and to examine the effect producing through the drainholes would have on the well's tendencies to form gas cones. Although several problems were encountered while drilling the drainholes, the drilling technique used does seem to be mechanically sound. The wells have not been on production long enough to fully evaluate their gas coning performance as compared to conventionally completed wells. This paper will briefly examine the gas coning problem in the Empire Abo Unit, discuss some of the techniques used to limit gas coning in the Unit, and review ARCO's experience with horizontal drainholes.

Historically, gas recovery was not considered a profitable proposition for producers in the Permian Basin. Today's commodity gas pricing makes it a viable revenue generator with a 10:1 recovery payback. Safety and environmental incident prevention, lost profit potential, responsibility to shareholders, and the economics and feasibility of thermal imaging create a convincing case for investing in infrared thermography. Pioneer Natural Resources operates 5600 producing wells and 1617 tank storage batteries, with more than 2,000 miles of flow and transmission line in the Permian asset. In 2007 the company invested in a gas leak detection camera and a thermographer. The economics, safety and environmental benefits proved so compelling that a second camera and thermographer were added in 2008.

The accumulation of paraffin deposits in pumping wells and flow lines presents a production and transportation
problem that is very costly to the oil industry. This problem has been attacked in many ways and, until a few years ago, the removal of such deposits was accomplished by mechanical means only. These usually involved lost time, extra labor, and special tools, all of which were expensive to the operator. Because
of the high cost of mechanical methods, it was found that, in many cases, the use of chemical solvents
was a more economical way to remove paraffin deposits. Such solvents, when properly applied, removed
paraffin deposits from the well and flow line, with far less expense to the operator.

One of the factors influencing the potential applicability of a tertiary recovery program to a specific reservoir is the amount and distribution of oil remaining in the reservoir. Experience has demonstrated that predictions for determining the yet-to-be-recovered oil saturation are frequently optimistic. More positive means for accurately assessing the reservoir oil saturation are needed. Two procedures have recently been used in Amoco's operations in an effort to better define reservoir oil saturation prior to the planning of a tertiary recovery program. These procedures were the use of: 1) Esso's pressure core barrel, and 2) a log-inject-log technique. Pressure cores were obtained in watered-out locations in three different reservoirs. One of the reservoirs was very loosely consolidated, highly permeable sandstone, and the oil saturations found in the cores were considered to be lower than actually existed in the reservoir. Possible factors contributing to the low oil saturations are discussed. Pressure cores from the other reservoirs, both dense carbonates, contained oil saturations in the range expected on the basis of laboratory flow tests on native-state cores.

Two predominant methods, millipore filtration and turbidity, have been used in the past to measure the efficiency of filters. These methods are useful for empirical measurements of filtration but do nothing to quantify the various sizes of interest. The introduction of the Coulter Counter to industrial application has presented a new method for monitoring filter performance. Now, the efficiency of the filter can be determined at any size from 0.4 to 800 microns. This paper illustrates the use of the Coulter Counter in the development of a new filter design. The testing involved laboratory testing of the pilot filter, on site location of the pilot filter, and final onsite testing of a full size vessel.

The Thermal Decay Time (TDT) log is used to detect hydrocarbons through casing. When used with a porosity log obtained in open or cased hole a water saturation can be calculated. The TDT water saturation computed in high porosity and high salinity situation approached the accuracy obtained from an openhole suite of logs. Since a high salinity and low porosity situation exists in many areas of West Texas, special interpretation techniques must be used to compute a semi-quantitative water saturation in these horizons. Examples of logs recorded in West Texas attest to the validity of these interpretation techniques.

In fluid-injection projects, the channeling or bypassing of injected fluids through fractures and high-permeability stringers results in poor reservoir sweep efficiency and low oil recovery. When the injected fluid is water, channeling problems have a less severe impact on the flood economics because water is relatively inexpensive, and it can be recovered and recycled through the reservoir to recover additional oil. However, many of the improved oil-recovery processes employ expensive fluids such as surfactants, micellar fluids, and solvents, which must produce oil during a single pass of a relatively small volume through the reservoir. Therefore, it is important to identify and correct any serious reservoir heterogeneities which would lead to channeling and to the inefficient use of the expensive improved recovery fluids. Some knowledge of the near wellbore reservoir heterogeneities can be derived from well logs and core permeability data. Pressure transient and pressure pulse tests are useful in detecting interwell fractures and in determining interwell communication. Other information is sometimes available from prior waterflood performance. A supportive method of determining reservoir interwell anatomy and reservoir performance in an improved recovery process is the tracing of interwell flow of injected water during an initial waterflood. During the past several years, the results of approximately 20 tracer programs that have been conducted in reservoirs undergoing waterfloods, gas drives, and alternate water-solvent injection have These tracer programs have provided the proving ground and the opportunity for screening the performance of numerous water and gas tracer materials and for arriving at a suite of "preferred" tracers for waterfloods and gas drives. This paper discusses the use of chemical and radioactive tracers to identify sweep problems in a tertiary miscible pilot area in West Texas, two potential micellar pilot areas in Wyoming, a Wyoming waterflood, and a hydrocarbon miscible project in Alberta, Canada.

Well flow analysis is the examination of well performance based on fundamental mathematical models of flow in well tubulars and flow through porous media. It is used to assign the pressure drop to each part of the flow path existing between the well drainage boundary and the wellhead pressure. Many types of computer software are available to perform the calculations and plot the results in an easy to read chart of well head pressure versus flow rate. Multiple curves can be generated so that actual performance can be compared to predicted performance for different wellbore conditions. Such curves will be used in this presentation to evaluate performance of different wells. One case study will demonstrate the use of well flow analysis to define the wellbore condition after perforating a gas well in South Texas. Well bore condition is defined by the perforation geometry and near perforation permeability. A pressure build-up test will be analyzed to provide a skin factor. This skin factor will be further evaluated using a simple, steady state, radial flow model for perforations to determine the near wellbore permeability.

Since the start of gas-lift, especially intermittent gas-lift, the need was felt for something to go between the base of a liquid slug and the gas that was pushing it up in a pipe.

The Vapor Jet System is an alternative to conventional vapor recovery technology for the recovery of hydrocarbon vapors from oil production facilities" storage tanks. The process utilizes a pump to pressurize a stream of produced water to serve as the operating medium for a jet pump. The potential energy ( pressure ) of the produced water stream is converted to kinetic energy ( velocity ) in the jet pump. The high velocity water stream entrains the near atmospheric pressured vapors and returns them to the facilities" low pressure system for separation and sale. The water is then returned to the water storage tanks for further de-gassing and reuse in the Vapor Jet System process, disposal or injection. The Vapor Jet System is simple, cost effective and virtually maintenance free. The Vapor Jet System can be installed for significantly less than compressor based systems and over the life of the installation operate at a fraction of their operating expenses.

The Walnut Bend Field is located approximately 65 miles north of Dallas in Cooke County, Texas. The field was discovered in 1938 by Sinclair. ARC0 is the operator of Unit 1 and Unit 2 along with 10 other 100% working interest leases. Most of the current production comes from Unit 1 and Unit 2.

As a joint effort by several petroleum industry associations in Texas, the Petroleum Industry Security Council (PISC) was formed in early 1982 to combat the ever mounting oilfield theft problem. Chartered as a non-profit organization, PISC is charged with developing programs designed to reduce and control thefts in the oil patch. The primary thrust of PISC is to support and compliment law enforcement officials and industry security personnel.

The word corrosion may be defined as the destruction of metal by chemical or electrochemical action. Destruction by mechanical means is usually called erosion. The rusting of iron is an example of corrosion, while the filing of iron to dust is an example of erosion. Essentially, atmospheric corrosion is the reverse process to that involved in refining metals from their ores. Iron is usually found in nature as iron oxide or iron hydroxide. When it corrodes in air, it returns to iron oxide or iron hydroxide. Copper occurs as the sulfide or basic sulfate. When copper tarnishes, it reverts to the sulfide, and, in certain atmospheres, to the basic sulfate. Because the refining of metal from ore requires the expenditure of energy, the metal is at a higher energy level than the ore, and it is natural that it would try to revert to the form in which it is found in nature. Because iron need only combine with oxygen to form the hydroxide, it is a wonder that we can use iron at all when it is exposed to air. The main reason that it does not destroy itself more quickly than it does is that rust, as it forms on the metal, acts as a barrier between the metal and air, thus slowing down the corrosion process.

The purpose of this paper is to provide practical information on the selection of natural gas compressors. No claim is made that this selection procedure is unique -- this information is drawn from experience and data from many sources. The intent was to keep the commercial aspect out of the paper and to try to provide a valuable source of information to be used by anyone. The paper will present practical design calculations used to size natural gas compressor packages for field application. The first part of the paper will be a combination of definitions and concepts that are involved in compression and the second part will concern itself with the sizing of the compressor package.

Thermal/infrared inspection detects and isolates abnormal variations in radiant energy emitted from bearings, motor, switch gear and transformers of operating oil field pumping units. Thus, qualitative and quantitative data on each problem is established. Thermographic and/or photographic images are taken to document the condition.

Thermographic inspection, through the use of portable infrared imagers and non-contact spot radiometers, has been performed on approximately three thousand pumping units in many active Permian Basin oil fields within the past two and one-half years. Infrared imagers with camera adaptability were used to inspect saddle or Sampson post bearings, equalizer or tail bearings, wrist pin bearings, exterior gear box bearings, electric motor and related switch gear on each beam-type pumping unit. In many instances, pole-mounted transformers were scanned for thermal differentials, completing the wellsite inspection. This technique detects and isolates abnormal variations in the radiant energy emitted from the bearings, motor, switch gear and transformers. Thus, qualitative and quantitative data on each problem bearing or electrical component was precisely established. Thermograms and photographs were taken to document the condition.

This paper will present case studies detailing the successful use of thermoplastic lined tubulars including liner products composed of HDPE, a proprietary polyolefin blend, and PPS of 2,400 wells operating in 29 different fields. All of the lined tubulars in these wells are still in services today and some were installed back in 1996. A review of critical limitations of the liners such as temperature and diameter changes will also be discussed in an effort to avoid the misapplication of thermoplastic liners. Improved tubular service life, economic benefits, and enhanced flow characteristics due to the high quality service finish of the liners will be detailed in at least twenty specific case histories and field including both injection and production well environments.
The fundamental technical benefits of various thermoplastic lined tubulars will be covered with an emphasis on the proven extension of tubing service life using thermoplastic liners. One often overlooked advantage of TPPL tubing is that is reduces the friction of sucker rods on the tubing ID. Data from recent testing by ConocoPhillips that quantifies the benefit will be presented. Furthermore, to exhibit the overall economic impact of thermoplastic lined tubulars, a review of field installation and handling procedures will be presented as well.

This paper discusses the installation and field service application of thermoplastic pipe with reference to basic physical and chemical properties and pipeline design considerations.

An innovative approach has been used to model flow through discrete fracture networks in a massive carbonate reservoir in order to understand and predict performance of vertical and horizontal well completions. This approach focuses on completion effectiveness and the influences that fractures have in a three-phase gravity influenced flow system. The model is set up as a dual porosity, dual permeability simulation of a discrete fracture network of high permeability grid blocks capable of modeling three-phase flow. This model reveals the dominant factors controlling well life cycle performance demonstrated in the Yates Field Unit Natural fracture networks dominate flow throughout the reservoir with added economic significance to completion efficiency. Therefore 3D discrete fracture network (DFN) models based on connected-fracture orientation from FMI logs and flow surveys have been used as a basis for constructing the 3-phase simulation grid. The differences in mobility between the three phases result in abnormally shaped gas-oil and water-oil contacts as drawdown is applied. As the fracture oil column depletes, oil mobility reduces with the decrease in effective fracture connection to the outlying oil column. This loss of oil mobility through phase dis-connection in flow conduits has not been the focus of prior studies. The simulator has successfully generated production profiles similar to those observed in field performance data. This wellbore simulation has been used to develop a strategy for optimal completion performance and placement.

Borehole sonic transit time measurements have been used by engineers and geologists in west Texas since the mid-1950's. The great majority of this sonic data has been acquired in open hole. With recent improvements in acquisition and processing technology, reasonable data can now be obtained in cased wellbores. The purpose of this study is to compare cased hole data with the established open hole data standard. The evidence suggests that usable compressional and shear transit time data can be obtained through casing. There are over 120,000 cased wellbores in west Texas as of this writing. A large percentage of these were surveyed prior to the development of most current petrophysical and geophysical processing techniques that require sonic inputs. With this technology, these wellbores can now be properly evaluated.

Past studies by DOE, NPC, and GRI confirm that an enormous volume of gas is trapped in low permeability reservoirs. However, neither current technology nor price is adequate to allow widespread development of these reservoirs. To better understand the fracturing process and, thus, be able to eventually improve technology, it is first necessary to improve our understanding of the low permeability reservoirs that are being fracture treated. The Gas Research Institute (GRI) is sponsoring research in which comprehensive efforts are being undertaken to perform geological, coring, logging, well testing, fracture treatment monitoring, and fracture diagnostic studies on selected wells in two targeted basins, the Travis Peak formation in East Texas and the Corcoran and Cozette formations of the Piceance Basin. This paper summarizes the research effort which has as its ultimate goal to learn how to measure and analyze data so that fracture dimensions can be calculated in real time, or as the fracture treatment is being pumped. Eventually, we hope to be able to alter the design during a treatment in order to control fracture shape. Engineers and scientists are being placed in the field with computers so they can analyze the data while the job is being pumped. Several cooperative wells in East Texas have been drilled and analyzed. Additionally, the first of four Staged Field Experiments has been completed. The Staged Field Experiments are wells drilled where GRI is in complete control of the entire operation allowing more latitude with experimentation not possible in cooperative wells. Conventional whole cores (up to 400 feet per well) have been taken. The cores have been used to determine regional and local environments of depositions. Complete suites of open hole logs have been run and used to calculate rock and mechanical properties. Log interpretation results have been found to compare favorably with the core analysis results. In-situ stress tests have been run and compared to the log and core data. Fracture treatments are being monitored and analyzed. Post-fracture well tests are run to estimate the effectiveness of the fracture treatments. Also included in the paper is a documentation of the monitoring equipment that has been designed and developed by GRI contractors. Included are mobile Qualit Control (QC) laboratories and a new generation rheology unit that measures both couette and capillary viscosity at bottomhole temperatures. The unit also is designed such that fluid leakoff anticipated in the formation can be simulated.

More than 400,000 wells in the United States operate with beam pump artificial lift equipment. Most of these wells have a pump capacity which exceeds the production rate of the well. Also, most of these wells pump 24 hours per day. These wells would operate more efficiently and at a lower cost with a device that reduces the amount of pumping unit operating time. This reduction in operating time decreases both
electricity and maintenance costs.

Computers aid the engineer in that they make available sophisticated solution procedures, take the drudgery out of computation and provide accuracy in number handling. One of the most recent innovations in computing is the timesharing system. This system brings the computer face-to-face with the engineer and gives immediate online answers, but is this tool a panacea or a Pandora box, a money maker or a dollar drain; severely limited or unlimited; to be welcomed or resisted? The authors will relate their experience discussing suitable and unsuitable timesharing applications, those programs currently available and those known to be under development, and will show basic timesharing costs together with the economics compared to other computing methods. A basis is presented for placing a dollar value on the shorter "turn-around" time obtained by timesharing.