Content Updated Wednesday, August 20 2008
Highlights
COMING SEPTEMBER 2008
The year-to-date 10 percent increase in domestic drilling permits reflects an industry in full throttle. Natural gas plays like the Marcellus and Haynesville, along with phenomenal oil production rates in the Bakken resulting from applied geophysics and the latest horizontal and multistage well stimulation techniques, are proof positive of the vast potential that lies ahead. The individuals driving all of the action will find the information they need for further progress in
The September Issue Of
The American Oil & Gas Reporter!
August 2008 Cover Story
High-Performance WBM Optimizes Drilling Efficiency In Demanding Vicksburg Wells
By Erik Hoover and John Trenery
AUSTIN, TX.–Drilling operations continue to get more complex as fields mature and operators search for new oil and gas reservoirs. Not only are oil and gas companies drilling more advanced well designs such as extended-reach and long-lateral horizontal wells, but they also are targeting challenging formations such as deep and high-pressure/high-temperature zones in ever-more complex geology. Because of the technical difficulties associated with these wells, exploratory and developmental drilling has become increasingly risky.
A case in point is the Vicksburg natural gas play in South Texas, which is characterized by extensive structural faulting that creates hydrocarbon traps within deep, tight, geopressured sandstones. The subsurface is complex, with rollover anticlines and major fault systems cutting through the pressured Vicksburg sands interval, compartmentalizing the reservoir and further complicating the structural setting.
