HOUSTON–Well bore ballooning or breathing during drilling has become a greater challenge in horizontal resource plays. Ballooning is a formation anomaly whereby pumped fluids’ circulating friction ...

IRVING, TX.–Condensate has been coming in from gathering systems for years and has been handled in different ways. However, the industry’s focus on liquids-rich resource plays has elevated the focus ...

WASHINGTON–U.S. crude oil production has risen sharply in recent years, with much of the increased output moving to market by rail. In 2008, U.S. Class I railroads originated 9,500 carloads of crude ...

As crude oil prices continue to climb, South Texas operators are zeroing in on new horizons in the Eagle Ford Shale and revisiting a formation once thought to be an industry classic: the Austin Chalk.

REDMOND, WA.–Safe, efficient, and profitable development of shale natural gas resources depends on achieving a clear understanding of the role of natural fractures in shale gas production. Natural ...

Technology integration plays a significant role in identifying the key drivers of production and optimizing well performance. Integrated workflows are being used in the Midland Basin to help operators ...

Horizontal well spacing remains one of the critical questions facing operators in the Permian Basin’s stacked resource plays because it directly impacts initial well productivities and long-term ...

HOUSTON–With the extended slowdown of the Gulf of Mexico’s “independent’s playground” since April 2010, independent oil and gas companies have been looking for new areas to spend their offshore ...

SANTA FE, N.M.—New Mexico has a long history of stringent environmental regulations, but it is becoming even more difficult to operate in. “We are facing an increasingly intense regulatory environment ...

KEVIN BIRN, director, IHS Energy, is part of the IHS North American crude oil markets team and leads the IHS Energy Oil Sands Dialogue. His expertise includes Canadian oil sands development, ...

NEW ORLEANS–With more than 70 percent of Gulf of Mexico oil production coming from wells in water depths greater than 1,000 feet, it is hard to believe deepwater wells accounted for only half of that ...

LEOBEN, AUSTRIA–Drilling hydraulics are a key parameter in the well construction process, and an array of operational problems encountered during drilling impact the fluid flow and pressure response ...