Proppant Progress
- Category: Feature
- Published on 01 May 2013
New players and strategic partnerships, more research and niche products are adding pizzazz to one-obscure sector
The proppant sector has been on its double-digit-per-annum growth curve for a while now, and the pace shows little sign of slowing, despite what some see as the risk of a glut in the wake of a swarm of new entrants. With the widespread application of substantial fracturing treatments for shale gas and tight oil completions and, according to some estimates, proppants often accounting for up to five per cent of the cost of a well, this hitherto somewhat obscure sector could soon acquire some heft within the industry as a whole.
Tapping The Global Brain
- Category: Feature
- Published on 15 April 2013
A cyberspace-connected world enables new wave of innovation prize contests seeking big solutions to big challenges
Napoleon's need to feed his invading armies and the British Navy's desire to navigate its way across distant oceans may seem about as far removed from the industrial colossus that is the growing oilsands industry of northern Alberta as one can get, but they now have something in common—they all have turned to cash prizes to solve intractable problems that threaten their expansion.
Energy Transformation?
- Category: Feature
- Published on 08 April 2013
Natural gas assuming a bigger role in powering upstream and midstream operations
A portable 25-megawatt electricity generator is the linchpin of one of several systems and technologies that appear poised to significantly improve, if not transform, on-site processes for pad drilling and completions, especially in the unconventional natural gas sector. General Electric's (GE) TM2500+ offers multi-fuel flexibility and can run on either natural gas or a range of liquid distillate fuels. Its role in on-site pad operations is premised on relatively low natural gas prices continuing in North America over the long term.
The Pad Revolution
- Category: Feature
- Published on 01 April 2013
Multiple horizontal wells from a single location increasingly the norm
It seems so simple: drilling multiple wells from one pad is less obtrusive on the landscape, more economical for producers and a major reason for the continued success of the rapidly evolving modern oilpatch—and that’s unlikely to discontinue anytime soon.
