|
The Goal of "Environmentally Friendly Drilling
Systems"
Texas A&M University is working
together with Noble Technology Services, Anadarko Petroleum,
the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) and others in a
research collaboration to test and adapt technologies
designed for exploiting hydrocarbon resources with a reduced
environmental footprint. The team is looking at a variety of
things, ranging from drilling waste management to lease
roads.
Publications developed in recent
years are available through HARC’s website (www.harc.edu/OurWork/
Projects/DrillingSystems). Articles in Drilling
Contractor (March/April 2007) and The American Oil & Gas
Reporter (August 2007) are a stimulating read. A
relatively new project continues research with regards to
low impact lease roads. Texas A&M University won one of the
recent R&D awards from the Research Partnership to Secure
America’s (RPSEA’s) small producer program (www.rpsea.org/en/art/?61). This project will identify and
test new techniques for low impact lease roads in a
desert-like ecosystem with field testing being performed at
Texas A&M’s Desert Test Center near Pecos, Texas.
Experimental test sections will be instrumented for remote
measurement with the goal of finding material with the
ability to withstand both normal and heavy truck traffic
over intermittent periods through a complete calendar year.
A “disappearing road,” selected from a student competition
currently being conducted by the Global Petroleum Recovery
Institute at Texas A&M (www.gpri.org/EvironDrilling/
DRContest/DRCompetition
Desert.pdf), will be one of the alternatives
tested.
Readers are encouraged to visit HARC’s website for further
information on the “Environmentally Friendly Drilling
Systems” project (www.harc.edu/
OurWork/Projects/Drilling
Systems). |
Carl "Michael" Smith Named IOGCC Director
In mid-March, Carl “Michael”
Smith was named Executive Director of the Interstate Oil and
Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC). As Executive Director, Smith
will be responsible for providing advocacy, coordination,
education and strategy to the IOGCC’s 30 member and eight
associate states on key domestic issues. With prior
experience within the Department of Energy, as Oklahoma’s
Secretary of Energy, an independent producer and a past
President of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association,
he brings a unique blend of expertise and personal energy
from the public and private sector to IOGCC. For further
detail on Smith’s background, see IOGCC’s press release (www.iogcc.
state.ok.us/news_PRbody.aspx?PRID=54).
While at IOGCC’s website, one
might check out recent IOGCC reports on “Orphaned Well
Plugging Initiatives” (www.iogcc.
state.ok.us/PDFS/2008_IOGCC
_Orphan_Well_for_web.pdf) and “CO2
Storage: A Legal and Regulatory Guide for States” (www.
iogcc.state.ok.us/PDFS/Road-to-a-Greener-Energy-Future.pdf).
The CO2 Storage report outlines a model CO2
storage statute, a set of model rules and regulations
governing the storage of CO2 in geologic media
and an explanation of those regulatory components. Also
included is a report addressing the ownership and right of
injection of CO2 into the subsurface.
According to the Orphaned Well
report, there are approximately 60,000 wells on orphan well
plugging lists and states estimate that more than 90,000
orphan wells might exist with many actually being
undocumented. States with the most orphan wells, in
decreasing order, are Texas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
There are state programs that
encourage getting more from orphan wells. California has an
“adopt a well” program that allows prospective operators to
enter into an agreement to test an orphan well for up to 90
days without incurring any liability for plugging. If
successful, the operator can adopt the well and become its
permanent operator. If unsuccessful, the operator can walk
away without incurring any liability. In Texas, when a
certified orphan well is put back into production by an
approved operator, the well is eligible for a 100% exemption
from natural gas production tax and the oilfield cleanup fee
for as long as the certified operator manages the well. |
RECLAIM for Reconditioning Oil-Based Mud Works Well in
Wyoming Field Test
RECLAIM is a chemically-enhanced
centrifugation process designed to remove the bulk of fine
colloidal particles and/or increase the oil/water ratio (OWR)
in oil-based drilling fluids. RECLAIM removes low-gravity
solids while recovering base oil. It provides a dry,
closed-loop system onsite and produces cleaner fines for
disposal. During the trial, 580 bbls of used mud from two
separate batches were processed. Densities for the batches
were 14.5 and 11.2 lb/gal. OWRs were 55/45 and 63/37 and
both batches had 24% solids. Over 380 bbls of solids-free
fluid within specs (LT 10 lb/gal; GT 80/20 OWR) and with 0%
solids were recovered. Costs were 15% below the cost of
traditional processing and there were environmental
advantages. As a result, the equipment was retained on
contract to continue reconditioning diesel-based mud on
location.
Excerpted from “Reclaim Technology Cuts Costs for Oil-based
Mud Treatment in Wyoming Field Pilot Field Trial,” Drilling
Contractor, Jan/Feb 2008, pp. 78-79. Full article may be
viewed online at
http://drillingcon
tractor.org/dcpi/dc-janfeb08
/DC_Jan08_HSEMISwaco.pdf.
|
EPA's Natural Gas Star
Program
(www.epa.gov/gasstar?)
Production Tech Transfer
April 29 - Denver, CO.
May 1 - Rock Springs, WY.
Offshore Production Technology Transfer
May 6 - New Orleans, LA.
Production & Processing Tech Transfer
July 23 - Midland, TX.
Natural Gas STAR 2007 Award Winners
Production—EnCana Oil & Gas Inc.
Processing—Enbridge Energy Partners
Transmission—Columbia Gas Transmission Distribution—Alliant
Energy
Rookie of the Year—Southwestern Energy
Implementation Manager of the Year —Scott Mason, Encana Oil
& Gas Inc .
|
|
Environmental