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The Mesa Verde formation is highly naturally fractured and varies in depth from 5500" to 6200". Low recoverable reserves make wells in this area marginally economical. The lower hole is air drilled and cemented back to the intermediate at 3700 feet. Historically, the production casing has been cemented with a 50/50 Poz/H blend mixed at 13.2 ppg. Bond logs were often marginal and fall back was a problem. This paper reviews the development of a lightweight cement system with the ability to develop high compressive strength to enhance the mechanical seal.

When the Underground Injection Control Regulations were promulgated in 1980, existing oilfield (Class II) injection wells operating at the time that the regulations became effective were excluded from Area of Review requirements. The Environmental Protection Agency has expressed its intent to revise the regulations to include the requirement for Area of Reviews for such wells. A methodology developed for obtaining Area of Review variances has been applied to oilfields in Gaines County, Texas.

Carbonate environmental concepts have been applied to a typical Permian dolomite reservoir. The Monahans Clearfork field, Ward and Winkler Counties. Texas, was selected because the initial development was completed and the secondary recovery project was installed prior to the development of the carbonate environmental concept as an operational tool. The problem in the Monahans Clearfork Secondary Recovery Project is twofold. First, oil response to water injection has been less than originally anticipated.

This paper presents catalytic heating techniques, their application in the field and theory of operation. The use of these heaters in freeze protection of valves, chokes, regulators, meter runs, and other field equipment is explained. The paper contains the effects of sour gas, liquids, explosive atmospheres, and ambient temperature on catalytic heaters. The author's statements come from studies of actual usage, experimentation with controlled conditions, and research of literature.

A method has been developed and successfully applied to generate a high quality foam with nitrogen and concentrated chemical for treating down the annulus. The advantages of the foam method are that the total liquid volume required to completely fill the annular space of a well is very small compared with the bulk volume of the foam. The low hydrostatic loading does not adversely affect production.

Drilling optimization can be defined as the application of all the forces available in drilling to a desired depth, with a minimum total cost. If this optimum is to be approached, the drilling supervisor must have accurate data, timely interpretations and confidence in its application. This paper will concentrate on data collection and interpretive systems as technical support to the drilling supervisor.

A method has recently been developed for evaluating the Delaware Mountain group of West Texas by using electromagnetic propagation, photoelectric effect, and neutron density measurements. The Delaware Mountain group is a series of sand-shale sequences deposited in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico during the Guadalupian Age. For a variety of reasons, conventional interpretation methods based on resistivity measurements have not always been definitive in these formations for distinguishing between oil and water.

SONAN (sonic-analysis) logging resulted primarily from the research and development of a practical logging sound by McKinley et. al. of Esso Production Research Company (EPRC). McKinley primarily confined his research to the use of this system for documenting fluid flow behind cemented casing but also described the potential of this system as a flow meter. Following the publication of his findings in 1973, several service companies, including Dresser Atlas, began field testing equipment varying slightly from the EPRC designs.

A "smart" predictive computer program called RODSTAR has been developed that combines expert rod pumping knowledge with state-of- the-art wave equation and pumping unit modeling algorithms. With this computer program one can get optimized system designs in minutes by asking the program to calculate the strokes per minute, plunger size, and rod string design for a desired production rate. RODSTAR also helps the user select the pumping unit size and warns him about bad designs, pump or rods that are too big for the tubing, or pumping speed that is too high.

Selection of lubricants depends on many factors of design, service and operating conditions. Examples, including the selection of lubricants for pumping unit gear reducers, are given.

The increase in small diameter casing completions has increased the use of small size tubing. Gas lift would be the most suited method of artificial lift in many installations where it has not been used due to the unavailability of accurate flowing pressure gradient traverses for small conduits. Initial evaluation of gas lifting through small tubing using calculated pressure gradients based on the extrapolation of a widely accepted two-phase energy loss correlation eliminated the feasibility of gas lift. The calculated pressure gradients were much higher than actually exist.

Major assets of producing companies include reservoirs that are subject to secondary recovery operations. These secondary projects can be improved upon through the proper application of technical knowledge and experience. During the past 10 years, large investments have been made in initiating new water-floods and gas injection projects. Improved recovery programs have been undertaken in existing secondary operations which include infill drilling, converting new or existing wells to injection service, and well workovers designed to control or improve injection profiles.

The use of high strength proppants in wells that are deeper than 15,000' is not new to the oil industry. Utilization of these expensive proppants; however, in shallow (+8400'), hard formation wells is new to the industry, especially in the West Texas area. Four wells in the Calvin (Dean) Field of Glasscock County, Texas are currently undergoing a comparison test. Two wells were fractured using 20/40 mesh sand while the other two wells were fractured using 20/40 mesh sintered bauxite.

A three-well pilot horizontal well program was recently implemented at the North Central Levelland Unit (NCLU) in Cochran and Hockley counties, Texas. Short radius technology was utilized to drill two injection wells and one producer. Horizontal lateral length ranged from 500" to 700". Primary objectives of the program were to increase injection and production rates and increase waterflood sweep efficiency. Horizontal technology could also be instrumental in improving the economics of a future carbon dioxide (C02) flood.

This paper covers the special pumps for this condition; also some recommendations for improving gas oil separation in the well and increasing pump efficiency.

The term "long run equipment" is a flexible one and, of necessity, does not arbitrarily follow any steadfast set of specifications. This is readily understandable when consideration is given to the numerous problems involved in adapting a universal set of accessories to slow or high speed and two or four cycle engines. Also, the equipment must adapt itself to those problems peculiar to the area in which it must serve and, of course, the operators have certain preferences in regards to manufacturer or model.

The single largest operating cost in the Permian Basin is electrical power due to the widespread use of waterflooding and/or high volume artificial lift. In most cases, operators with large power loads can receive preferential industrial power rates in order to lower their power costs. However, in cases where smaller power loads exist or preferential rates are not an option, the operator must investigate other options to lower its power bill.

Many present and future production problems can be identified and predicted with less cost and downtime utilizing oil field chemistry applications. The chemical characteristics of drilling, completion and work-over fluids have immediate and long lasting effects that can enhance or impede production. The temperature and pressure changes that occur during production effect the chemical equilibrium of the formation fluids. The application of oil field chemistry can predict immediate and long-term chemical changes that affect production.

This paper concerns itself with expansion of information concerning centrifugal separation equipment used in gas plants. The paper will also review basics of separation processes utilizing centrifugal force. Techniques will be described by which these and other forces combine to effect separation. It will also describe equipment proven after years of use and that has more recently been used after development efforts. Characteristics of this equipment and evaluation of results will be presented.

This paper will be concerned only with the control of paraffin through use of chemicals. The particular problems created by the paraffin deposit, or their degree of severity, will vary but will be common to certain areas of similar conditions. It is necessary, therefore, that the treating programs be flexible and adapted to the particular condition. Before such a program is designed, a complete survey of the problem should be made.

Experience has established that AC and/or DC powered electrical/electronic equipment is particularly vulnerable to damage from lightning, switching surges and other overvoltage disturbances originating on power distribution facilities! Some types of electromechanical devices are also susceptible to damage from excessive transient voltages from these sources. Overvoltages are also generated within a load complex by switching of equipment, but their magnitudes are generally lower than surges from primary distribution circuits.

A systematic study was undertaken in order to establish a procedure by which the effect of operating conditions on the efficiency of beam pumping systems can be determined with a minimum of expense. The study concentrated on the effect of easily controllable parameters such as direction of rotation, counterbalance effect, motor selection, torque mode for variable torque motors, tubing back pressure, stuffing box friction and motor slip on the energy usage.

This paper discusses the utilization of reservoir engineering data from a field operations viewpoint taking into consideration both oil and gas reservoir performance. The purpose of this discussion is to enhance the useful exchange of reservoir engineering and field data to further optimize production and monitor reservoir behavior. Attention is focused on the well rather than the reservoir. The discussion treats the question: "why collect data?" and considers conditions for proper well test data gathering and the significance of data in determining well treatments.

In early 2000 Hydril Advanced Composites Group introduced an alternative for standard piping products to the industry. Initially utilized for flow lines, the product, called Spoolable Carbon (Fiber) Reinforced Epoxy (SCRE), has had rapid and widespread acceptance for that application. Other applications that the product has been used for include production tubing and injection strings. Early utilization has been limited by production capacity limitations. This SCRE is a continuous length advanced composite pipe that is delivered, stored and deployed on a spool.

In the last decade, systems analysis methods were widely used to describe the performance of flowing and gas lifted oil wells, several applications dealt also with gas wells. The present author's aim is to apply these procedures to sucker rod pumping and to develop calculations for modeling the operation of rod pumped wells. A discussion of systems analysis methodology is given first. Then, a sucker rod pumped well is analyzed and considerations are given on the application of these methods to describe the performance of a pumping system.