General Interest

Paraffin mitigation has been the subject of many case studies involving various chemical blends, treatment frequencies and in some cases down hole tools. All with varying degrees of success, most leave the operator left managing the issue rather than mitigating it. Struggling to find an effective solution for wells in Upton county, Diamondback set out to find a solution beyond the typical conventions. Establishing a systematic approach, Diamondback found a solution that mitigates paraffin formation, prolongs well run times and ultimately reduces operating expenses for Diamondback wells.

High disposal costs and a limited availability of freshwater have led many industry players in the Permian Basin to reclaim produced water and use it in subsequent well fracturing. This reclamation process typically involves pumping produced water from numerous production batteries to a central location where it is placed in storage in large surface impoundments until such time that it is needed in fracturing operations.

The presentation opens by highlighting the Industry’s responsibility for environmentally safe water disposal, then discusses the pros and cons of Vendor Owned / Managed versus Company Owned / Operated water systems. Design considerations for the holistic water management system are as follows:
 
•         System Capacity and Layout : Evaluate not only current needs, but future needs. Design for the “worst” case scenario, by building the system above current volumes and determine what expansion will be required for the future drilling program.

A new sulfur removal process utilizing traditional iron oxide in a very unique way.  The process produces a highly effective technology to completely remove H2S and eliminate acid gas disposal, liquid chemical management and other environmental challenges.

Chlorine dioxide has a wide variety of applications in the oilfield, including fracturing, water flood, salt water disposal wells and producing well stimulation.  It is uniquely suited to deal with the core problems of microbiological fouling, H2S, iron sulfide and oil/water emulsions.  The unique attributes of this oxidizing chemical mean that it will not react with hydrocarbons and most amines (unlike other oxidizers), and thus is effectively targeted on the problems most commonly encountered.  

Blowout Engineers were called to resolve a Permian Basin blowout. Well Control personnel were able to complete the project using unconventional solutions to a common issue occurring in the Permian. 

Located on 10 acres of land near the intersection of East Loop 289 and Fourth Street in Lubbock, the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering Oilfield Technology Center (OTC) is designed to serve as a research and teaching facility to give petroleum engineering students a hands-on experience in the design and operation of typical oilfield equipment. This paper will discuss the capabilities of the facility as well as plans for future growth.

High costs of obtaining fresh water and produced water disposal, as well as low commodity prices have made water reclamation an attractive option for companies looking to increase their profit margins. Special environmental considerations arise when dealing with the handling and treatment of produced and reclaimed fluids for use in oilfield operations.

One of the challenges in unconventional gas/oil reservoirs is characterization and modeling. There are different models for describing the production in an unconventional reservoir, i.e. dual porosity, triple porosity, etc. In this paper we generalize the solution for a Multi-Porosity Model (MPM). Different MPMs are considered and an appropriate measure will be discussed to select the best model that describes the production data using any known reservoir properties.

Failure meetings are a proven optimization tool to reduce failures, cut costs, and increase production. However, many companies don’t utilize this tool or don’t properly optimize it. This paper will cover the basics of preparing for and holding a failure meeting along with a brief explanation of root cause analysis.