Volume 9, No. 3, 3rd Quarter 2003

 

 Petroleum Technology Transfer Council   

WWW.PTTC.ORG
 

PTTC Facilitating Change

Just when you think you have seen it all, more big changes occur. With everything in flux, its no surprise the public at large and many in industry are asking hard questions about energy. Do we need to access areas with known reserves that are presently off limits? Would tax changes encourage further development? Is there adequate investment available to fund needed operational improvement? Is there enough infrastructure remaining to support this development? Will the energy industry be able to attract an able workforce to take the industry forward? Can deploying known and proven technologies reduce costs and increase production enough to 

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In This Issue

Environmental Corner.................. 3
Tech Transfer Track................... 4-6
State-of-the-Art Summary.......... 7-9
DOE Digest............................ 10-11
Solutions From the Field............ 12
Upcoming PTTC Events............. 15

PTTC is a national not-for-profit information network formed in 1993 by oil and natural gas producers. Programs are funded primarily by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy through the National Petroleum Technology Office (NPTO) and Strategic Center for Natural Gas (SCNG) within the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL). Other funding comes from state governments, universities, state geological surveys, and industry contributions.

Serving Field-Level Operations

PTTC's Appalachian Region has now held several "Well Tender" or "Pumper" workshops. These workshops focus on issues that those in the field operating wells and leases face every day. Increasing their efficiency increases well and lease profitability. The concept evolved from earlier efforts by Roger Willis, vice president of Universal Well Services, with the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York in 2000. Matt Vavro, training consultant retained by PTTC, Willis and many other industry volunteers worked hand-in-hand to refine the concept. This allows PTTC to deliver the workshops in a neutral setting at multiple locations to realize maximum benefit for industry.

Since spring, PTTC has sponsored five workshops in various states, including Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio and two in Pennsylvania, each of which drew from 80 to 125 attendees. The workshops started with a video "oil field tour" by Willis, showing how wells are drilled and completed. This was followed by a pointed economics discussion by Vavro, showing how oil and gas investments must compete with all other investment options and the results of small improvements the pumper can make to improve well profitability. Additional presentations dealt with basic well calculations and field safety issues.

Attendees then split into smaller groups, rotating through 10 vendor equipment stations where vendor staff discussed key elements of their equipment and field questions. Knowledge and technology flowed freely both ways. Vendors noted that getting feedback from the people actually using their equipment was invaluable. Experienced staff was able to refresh skills, while new staff became familiar with best practices and procedures currently used throughout industry.

Additional PTTC regional and satellite offices are exploring how similar workshops could be delivered in their producing areas.The time issue must consider not only the time spent becoming aware of technology through PTTC and others, but also the additional significant time required to truly become knowledgeable in the technology. That often takes looking through professional society literature, talking to vendors and suppliers, getting opinions from independent experts, etc. Staffing may need to be beefed up. The extra time and money for this process can be significant. Busy independents may forgo spending this time and money, but the consequences can be ill-informed decisions that can unjustly discredit newer technologies or missed opportunities when appropriate technologies are not used.

 

Elements Of Success - Relevant information presented by knowledgeable, interesting speakers. Photos from the recent Bremen, Ohio workshop. Left photo-Roger Willis, Universal Well Services, and Matt Vavro, training consultant, demonstrating the "Force of Pressure." Right photo-Matt Vavro, outlining basic calculations for trouble shooting wells. The Westerman Companies offered the use of their facilities and Cooper Cameron Valve/Northrup Equipment/WKM Demco provided lunch.