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Vol. 58 No. 12

December 2006

Company News

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

  • A joint-industry project to develop and pilot the AGR Subsea riserless mud-recovery system in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico has been launched, with field trials to be performed in 2007. The program is sponsored by BP, Shell, and Demo2000, the Research Council of Norway. The riserless mud recovery seeks to recirculate and reuse drilling fluids, reducing operating time and environmental impact from discharges to the sea. AGR Subsea will attempt to make the technology operational in water depths up to 1500 m.

  • Landmark and WellDynamics Inc. are jointly developing the oil and gas industry’s first integrated, model-based solutions for closed-loop optimization of intelligent wells. These solutions will offer real-time well data and advanced models that monitor, forecast, and optimize well behavior and production for individual wells and across entire gathering networks.

  • Chevron Corp. and the Los Alamos Natl. Laboratory created a joint research project to improve the recovery of hydrocarbons trapped in oil shales and slow-flowing-oil formations. The goal of the collaboration is to develop an environmentally responsible and commercially viable process to recover crude oil and natural gas from western U.S. oil shales. The project will focus on oil-shale formations in the Piceance basin in Colorado. The work will include reservoir simulation and modeling, as well as experimental validation of new recovery techniques, including a form of in-situ processing that has the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

  • EnCana Corp. and scientists from the Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT) are testing ultrasound exploration technology in Wyoming’s gas fields. MIT has developed the technology to work with hydraulic fracturing, monitoring vibrations underground through boreholes rather than from the Earth’s surface.

  • WesternGeco has acquired the rights to a data-whitening technology from Apache Corp. Through an ongoing technology collaboration, WesternGeco will continue to work with Apache to develop and commercialize the technology. This signal-processing algorithm is designed to improve structural interpretation of geophysical data by enhancing the high-frequency spectrum.

  • Weatherford ran the first electromagnetic logging-while-drilling (EM-LWD) triple-combo operation with extended-range setup for Saudi Aramco. The company said the project represents the successful proof of concept of EM-LWD with annulus-pressure technology and extends the scope of development of future underbalanced-drilling initiatives, which will require two-phase fluid with drillpipe gas injection.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

  • Grant Prideco acquired Anderson Group Ltd. and related companies, including Andergauge, a provider of specialized downhole drilling tools. Purchase price was U.S. $115.7 million plus assumption of $39.9 million in debt.

  • Weatherford acquired Omni Laboratories Inc., a company specializing in core-management services, including the retrieval, testing, analysis, and preservation of core samples. Omni also is known for pioneering wellsite stabilization procedures for unconsolidated cores.

  • Sondex plc, a supplier of downhole technology, acquired Houston-based Ultima Labs Inc. for U.S. $1.65 million and contingent payments of up to $7.35 million based on future performance. Ultima Labs offers products related to logging-while-drilling and wireline applications.

  • Canadian Natural Resources entered into an agreement to acquire assets of Anadarko Canada Corp., a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., for U.S. $4.075 billion. The assets are in western Canada, with current production of 358 MMcf/D of natural gas and 9,300 BOPD.

CONTRACTS AND TENDERS

  • A comprehensive riser- and flowline-monitoring contract was awarded to 2H Offshore Inc., an Acteon company, for Chevron’s Tahiti project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The company said the system design-life requirement of 10 years is an industry first and that all the subsea sensors, electronics systems, and communication cables are configured with double redundancy.

  • Hydro signed an exploration and development agreement with Natl. Iranian Oil Co. for the Khorramabad Block in Lurestan Province in southwestern Iran. The initial scope of the agreement is for a 4-year exploration and trial period. The program includes 2D seismic and the drilling of three wells.

  • Weatherford was awarded a 2-year contract for PetroCanada in the North Sea for an initial four-well program in the Guillemot and Saxon fields northeast of Aberdeen. The work includes provision of four 5½-in. expandable-sand-screen completions in openhole applications.

CORPORATE MOVES

  • ConocoPhillips and EnCana Corp. entered into an agreement to create a North American joint-venture heavy-oil company. ConocoPhillips will provide the downstream segment, while EnCana will provide the upstream portion, tapping into its Foster Creek and Christina Lake projects in the Athabasca oil sands of northeast Alberta.

  • Rapid Solutions Corp. opened a new office in Houston that will focus on sales and support of Rapid’s consulting and software for production forecasting, well-life-cycle management, and capital-asset management.

  • Schlumberger completed its U.S. corporate office relocation to Houston from New York City. The company will continue to maintain corporate offices in Paris and The Hague.

  • Roemex Ltd., the Aberdeen-based specialty oilfield chemical supplier, has opened an operation in Houston. The new location will support the company’s operations in South America and continue to develop chemical supplies for the Gulf of Mexico.