Survive, Revive, Thrive: Chapter 10—Anchors Aweigh

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (07) ◽  
pp. 5-6
Author(s):  
Tom Blasingame
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Professional Society ◽  
Global Society ◽  
Societal Benefit ◽  
Conducting Materials ◽  
The World ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Advance Notice ◽  
Control And Eradication

It Is Time To Leave Port Education is not a way to escape poverty; it is a way of fighting it.—Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian president, 1922–1999 As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides in most parts of the world, and as a global society we commit ourselves to its control and eradication everywhere, it is time for our “ship” to leave port. As we pull up our anchor (“anchors aweigh” means the anchor is off bottom and the ship is free to move), we must accept that there are risks out there, but we must get back to the task of exploration and production of oil and gas as never before. As I predicted in this column many months ago, we are definitely leaner (fewer people, with even more work to do) and now we need to be much meaner (better skilled, better motivated, and better focused). All the old adages apply: “life isn’t fair,” “there are no guarantees,” etc.—but a commitment to “duty, honor, and service” (an unofficial motto of my employer, Texas A&M University) stands firm in my mind for our industry. As we leave port, we must have the confidence and purpose that has defined our industry since its inception—improving lives, mitigating poverty, and providing the energy to enable a modern global society. Reasons We Must Change as an Industry Life’s a bit like mountaineering—never look down.— Edmund Hillary, New Zealand explorer, 1919–2008 I was in a panel session a few weeks back and, as SPE President, I am certain they saved the toughest question for me: “What are the reasons we must change as an industry?” I confess that this question was particularly hard because it requires a sketch of our future strategies as an industry and as a professional society, which in many ways remains undefined. Fortunately, I had some advance notice and was able to put some thought into my answer. Paraphrasing Darwin, “we must adapt or die.” It is that simple. Our industry provides enormous societal benefit, and just as the future of renewables lies in metals for batteries, conducting materials, circuitry, etc., the present and future of manufacturing lies in oil and gas. There simply are no viable substitutes.

Development of Global Contract for In-Line Inspection

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Gower ◽  
Jude Moore
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
The World ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Process Work ◽  
The Right

In-Line inspection has increasingly been used across the oil and gas industry over the past 30 years as a key part of pipeline integrity programmes. Whilst the industry has started to develop standards through the ILI Association and the Pipeline Operators Forum the way in which the industry selects tools and contractors has not developed to the same extent. A significant amount of time is spent managing the procurement process rather than focusing on the selection of the right tools and ensuring they perform to expectations. The challenge is further exacerbated when operations are dispersed globally and involve many different operating relationships. BP has been a user of ILI technology since its introduction in the late 1970s and it has consistently grown in importance to BP in managing the integrity of an aging pipeline asset base. In 2006/2007 BP’s Exploration and Production Technology Group (EPTG) in conjunction with the Procurement and Supply Chain Management group (PSCM) carried out a review of its procurement arrangements across the globe for pipeline ILI to ascertain best practice and capture key lessons. It also gathered experience from other strategic long term supply chain initiatives around the BP Group to help inform and develop the ILI strategy. Early discussions held with ILI Suppliers confirmed that, whilst regional frameworks have been in place in some countries, extending this to a global operation would be breaking new ground in engaging ILI services and would be of benefit to both ends of the supply chain. The process not only needed to follow rigorous supply chain procedures that would meet EU Procurement Directives and BP Group requirements, it also had to meet the specific requirements of many Countries around the world. It was recognised that flexibility would be required to accommodate the introduction of new tools, developing technology and accommodate new areas of operation. BP also wanted to stimulate continuous improvement in ILI tool performance and application of innovative improved technology. More significantly a key objective of the Global Contract was to drive inspection quality and consistency, whilst maintaining a competitive but equitable pricing strategy. Successful implementation was not just about delivering a contract scope of work; it required the development of relationships and a common understanding so that when problems arise they can be resolved quickly and efficiently. This required a significant amount of work engaging both the ILI Contractors and Operating Units across the world in the process. Work on developing the Global ILI Contract was successfully concluded with contract awards in late 2007. The paper explores some of the challenges, lessons learnt and benefits of developing a Global Contract for ILI.

Energy Decarbonisation and Primary Energy in the 21st Century

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Vladislav Brkić
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Oil And Gas Sector

This paper emphasizes the role of primary sources of energy, primarily oil and gas in the future (so-called “energy mix”) with the expected trends in the future. The changes expected by the oil and gas sector in the 21st century have been underlined due to energy decarbonisation. There are intense discussions about the oil and gas future due to the effects of climate change and the announcement that oil is in the final phase of exploitation due to the high depletion of fields around the world. How are the big oil companies responding to these challenges and what are the trends of global energy consumption? In the 21st century, it is necessary to take in account all types of energy with the growth of renewable sources. In the meantime, natural gas is imposed as a bridge between fossil and decarbonised energy, and the trends in the gas segment in the world and in the Republic of Croatia will be emphasized as well. In addition, the new Croatian energy strategy must be aligned with changes in the oil and gas sector, as well as exploration and production of hydrocarbons. Carbon-free energy is still a long way, but the low-carbon energy period has begun.

Survive, Revive, Thrive: Chapter 3: Getting Oriented

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 8-9
Author(s):  
Tom Blasingame
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
The Other ◽  
True Believer ◽  
Global Community ◽  
Theodore Roosevelt ◽  
Global Society ◽  
The World ◽  
Wrong Direction ◽  
Workforce Reductions

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President Getting Oriented - The Only Wrong Direction Is Backwards I begin this column by saying that after attending several recent SPE events filled with students and professionals, all virtual of course, that I have seen the very best of us as members of SPE. To a person, you all have been nothing short of inspiring. Our members know that there is a better tomorrow on the horizon and diligently prepare for the days when our industry begins to thrive again. On the other hand, the industry consolidations and workforce reductions continue, and frankly, I don’t know of anyone whose life and career has not been touched by this pandemic-induced crisis. It’s an axiom of life that if you cannot control it, then you must control how you deal with it. I believe operating under this axiom will serve us well collectively and individually as we push through the pandemic. I want to repeat a passage from my remarks at the President’s Session on Member Monday at ATCE in late October. “As an industry, we are as relevant as ever, even more so now. And further, our industry continues to provide economic growth, as well as access to cleaner water, better food, and affordable transportation. I am a believer, a true believer, I believe in what we do, in who we are, and how important our contributions are to society … I want to thank each of you for your time and effort in support of SPE. We are who we are because of what you have done, and we are who we will become because of your commitment to serve this industry and our global society. The world needs what we do - now, more than ever.” I want you to know that I believe in our mission and our future. As we “Get Oriented,” I want to assure you that as a discipline, we will become stronger, and as an organization, SPE will become more focused on content generation and delivery than at any time in its history. Most importantly, I want to assure you that SPE will continue to serve its members and its global community as the preeminent technical organization in upstream oil and gas. It is imperative that you “Get Oriented” with what you can do and will do in the future as SPE continues to evolve.

The Greenhouse Effect and the Resource Management Act, as Related to Oil and Gas Exploration and Production

1995 ◽  
Vol 13 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 207-220
Author(s):  
R W Plume
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
The Government

The release of CO2 into the atmosphere - and more specifically its consequential effect on global temperature – is now more-or-less universally acknowledged as a significant international environmental problem. Known colloquially as the Greenhouse Effect, it is the subject of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. That convention commits its signatories to specific actions directed at stabilising emissions of greenhouse gases (including CO2) at 1990 levels. It was signed at the UN Conference on Environment & Development (the “Earth Summit” which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992) by 153 countries including New Zealand. New Zealand has now officially ratified the Convention and has thus effectively committed itself to participate in international programmes of CO2 emission reduction. The Resource Management Act 1991 requires regulatory authorities to consider the environmental effects of activities in their jurisdiction. Carbon dioxide is now considered to be a “contaminant” as defined in the Act and it therefore becomes contingent upon local authorities to determine a suitable response to the problem of CO2 emissions. Regional and district policy statements and plans are required to be consistent with the national policy statement. Although a national policy statement on CO2 emissions does not yet exist it can be expected that eventually the approval of resource consents for oil and gas exploration and production activities typically will require specific actions relating to the release of CO2. The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is almost entirely the direct result of two fundamental and worldwide activities: the combustion of fossil fuels and the removal of forest cover. When burned, hydrocarbons add large quantities of CO2 to the atmosphere. The removal of forest cover reduces the ability of the ecosystem to extract CO2 from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. The oil and gas industry is, of course, the source of a large proportion of the hydrocarbons used for energy and other purposes. It can therefore be expected that governments (including New Zealand) will focus on various aspects of the industry in their efforts to meet the reduction goal. Until recently the central Government approach to CO2 emission reduction was to implement the so-called no regrets policies which are desirable goals (e.g. increased energy efficiency) which have the positive spin-off effect of reducing CO2 emissions. By themselves such policies are likely to be inadequate to meet the internationally accepted reduction target. The Government must therefore implement more stringent measures. As the matter now stands the Government is investigating a diverse range of methods for reducing CO2 emissions. Because CO2 emissions and energy use are inextricably linked, reducing CO2 emissions can clearly have a detrimental effect on economic development. The 'holy grail' of policy development in this area is to reduce CO2 emissions without producing harmful effects on the economy. Several options (and myriad variations on the theme) have been put forward including, for example, carbon taxes and tradeable quotas. These options and others are now being assessed by Government officials. The industry should be alert to the distinct possibility that policy will focus directly on oil and gas production. From a regulatory point of view such an approach has an enticing simplicity but the effect on the oil and gas industry may prove to be less than desirable.

Electromagnetic Methods for Shale Gas Exploration in Southern China

2011 ◽  
Vol 402 ◽  
pp. 771-774
Author(s):  
Xin Gong Tang ◽  
Zhu Liu Su ◽  
Wen Bao Hu ◽  
Liang Jun Yan
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Seismic Exploration ◽  
Complex Topography ◽  
Geological Structures ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
Electromagnetic Methods ◽  
The World ◽  
Exploration And Production

The shale gas is becoming a new strategic energy source in the world. To improving the efficiency of exploration and production of such a non-conventional resource has been a global choice of oil and gas powers. Many previous researches have revealed that China has equivalent amount of shale gas reserves as USA. China-based research has shown that the southern China is one of the most potential areas for shale gas exploration. However, the complex topography with carbonate covers and sophisticated geological structures in southern China is a main difficulty for seismic exploration to get reliable and high-resolution data. This paper alternatively present electromagnetic exploration methods that are applicable to shale gas exploration in such rugged area.

scholarly journals World Petroleum Legislation: Frameworks That Foster Oil and Gas Development

2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 70 ◽  
Author(s):  
William T. Onorato ◽  
J. Jay Park
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Host Government

In this article the authors draw upon the experience of the World Bank in encouraging petroleum investment in its member countries to analyze the essential elements of international-standard legislative frameworks for petroleum exploration and production operations. The basic components of Petroleum Law, Regulations, and Model Contracts are examined with a view to explaining the principles and rationale for each essential element of successful legislative frameworks while recognizing that there is room for a myriad of variations and innovation depending on the hydrocarbon endowment, real or perceived, of each host government.

scholarly journals Well integrity management in mature fields: a state-of-the-art review on the system structure and maturity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1833-1853
Author(s):  
Mostafa S. Yakoot ◽  
Ahmed A. Elgibaly ◽  
Adel M. S. Ragab ◽  
Omar Mahmoud
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
System Structure ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Well Integrity ◽  
The World ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Integrity Management ◽  
Five Elements ◽  
Safety And Environment

AbstractNowadays, oil and gas (O&G) fields are maturing and creating new threats. This urged the operating companies and industry researchers to have intensive focus on well integrity (WI). Building Well Integrity Management System (WIMS) establishes standardized criteria to guarantee that integrity of all wells is preserved during their lifespan, functions properly in healthy condition, and is able to operate consistently to fulfill the expected production/injection demands. Moreover, exploration and production (E&P) companies put Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE), assets, production, local and public image as top priority in their businesses. Having effective WIMS at all times and throughout all well phases reduces the frequency of major integrity failures and thus helps companies to be on track regarding the aforementioned considerations. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review on the system structure and maturity of WIMS in mature fields. This state-of-the-art review highlights the efforts made by different O&G operators all over the world to develop and start application of WIMS, which varies widely due to differences in the main WI challenges that are recurring in each field or concession. Moreover, it lists the goals and expounds the stages of launching effective WIMS. In addition, the key elements, around which the WI program is structured, are discussed and presented for various O&G operators. The major five elements of accountability and responsibility, well operations procedures, well intervention procedures, tubing and casing integrity program, and wellhead and X-tree maintenance are overviewed. Furthermore, this paper assesses WIMS sustainability through demonstration of WI maturity models, scrutiny of maturity levels, and analysis of transformative elements to convert WIMS into strategic framework. Risk management systems as well as application of analytics in WIMS are also covered and thoroughly discussed. In reviewing the literature covering different assets—all over the world for the last 15 years—it was found that real progress was made in WI area, and WIMS established in many operating companies through different approaches. However, the introduced systems lack universality and few of them are applying artificial intelligence as powerful tool for boosting the system. The most obvious finding to emerge from the analysis is that WIMS is crucial system that must be implemented and matured for well lifecycle. The findings of this study can help operating companies for better framing of key pillars to have robust and operable WIMS throughout different fields and concessions, hence improving the well integrity performance worldwide.

Business in the Heart of Darkness: SOCO's Oil Exploration in the Virunga National Park

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Ameet Morjaria ◽  
Charlotte Snyder
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil Exploration ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
The Past ◽  
Heart Of Darkness ◽  
The World ◽  
Exploration And Production

Roger Cagle, the co-founder and deputy CEO of SOCO International, watched the dreary London rain outside his office window one February morning in 2015. Never had SOCO, the oil-and-gas exploration and production player that ranked among Britain’s top 200 companies, experienced such a public backlash against its operations. For nearly 20 years, Cagle had helped steer his company’s projects around the world—often in volatile regions where others feared to tread, such as Vietnam, Russia, and Yemen—while delivering significant returns to investors. But the international uproar surrounding SOCO during the past year had been nothing short of mind-boggling.

scholarly journals The irrationality of Petrobras’ divestments in refining

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cássio Garcia Ribeiro ◽  
Guilherme Jonas Costa da Silva ◽  
Francielly De Fátima Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Income Elasticity ◽  
Publicly Traded ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Export Sector ◽  
The World ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
Barrier To Entry ◽  
Owned Company ◽  
Oil Company

<p>Petrobras is a Brazilian state-owned company that is one of the largest oil companies in the world. It is internationally recognizedfor being a company at the technological frontier in the segment of exploration and production (E&amp;P) of oil and gas in deepwaters. Also, Petrobras is the publicly traded oil company with the largestproduction of hydrocarbons in the world. This paper aims to investigate the strategies Petrobras currently adopts in refining based on an econometric analysis of panel data. The article is apioneer in the sense of empirically demonstrating that Petrobras consolidated its position in E&amp;P while advancing in the aggregation of value in the refining sector. We can see that income elasticity are less than 1 (about 0.6%). Thisis positive and significant, but the smaller sensitivity than unity demonstrates that the country has broken the barrier to entry into the export sector of oil products.Thus, based on econometric estimates, it is believed that there is a great misunderstanding in the strategy of divestitures and downsizing in the segment of refining.</p>

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