Issue: May-June 2019

Virtual Reality (VR) has been the most anticipated upcoming technology for the past three years. However, in these past three years it has been slow to deliver on the large promises made. VR was expected to revolutionize the way that industry worked from training to day-to-day operations. While it has taken longer than everyone expected, that promise is now becoming… Read More

The oil and gas industry faces technical challenges unique to its business, with hundreds of thousands of onshore and offshore wells distributed over wide geographic areas and thousands of miles of pipelines requiring continuous monitoring, periodic maintenance, and constant connectivity to ensure safety and optimized performance. As new, Internet-enabled technologies emerge to help address the operating challenges in these environments,… Read More

For decades, offshore oil and gas personnel have performed insulation resistance tests with handheld megohmmeters to prevent motor and generator failures that lead to costly unplanned shutdowns, production interruptions and rewinding repairs. However, these tests only provide a snapshot of motor or generator health. In a matter of only a few days, windings and cables that are exposed to salt… Read More

Mineral buyers want to be special. Unfortunately, most know that aside from the strength of their network there isn’t a lot to differentiate one group from the next. That, of course, doesn’t stop them from trying. Nearly every mineral buyer has an obligatory website offering “fast and fair offers” telling potential sellers that they will give them more for their… Read More

How an innovative approach regarding the optimum time to implement artificial gas lift has significantly improved production as wells decline – beginning on day one Even after the prep work is finished and product recovery has been initiated, there is still no surefire way for oilfield exploration and production companies to confidently know how much and for how long their… Read More

Offshore makes a comeback. Bloomberg reports that investors expect offshore investment in 2019 to increase for the first time in five years. The greater offshore investment has also led to higher demand for digital technology, in large part to gain greater transparency of workflow processes and data. The digital twin creates a virtual replica of the offshore field, allowing for… Read More

Marked by intensified volatility due to continuous sharp oil price fluctuations, the oil market experienced its longest and deepest slump in 2014-2016. However, following the oil production cut deal, the prices recovered for a brief time and reached an all-time high in 2019. The oil production cut deal between OPEC and allies, including Russia, coming to an end in June… Read More

Last year’s tumultuous oil prices saw WTI and Brent both start the year at over $60 for the first time since 2014, the benchmark year for pre-crash prices. Hopes of a true price rebound began to grow as both commodities hit four-year highs several times throughout 2018. For an online archive of how intense the hype became, simply search “will… Read More

To continue to reduce costs, frac sand companies and oil companies have started to build their own frac sand mines in the Permian Basin, located mostly in the western part of Texas and in the southeastern part of New Mexico. While the quality of these in-basin frac sand mines is slightly lower than Wisconsin White Sand, operators cut millions from… Read More