
not satisfying buzzwords










houston, Texas 77057
P: +1 713.260.6400 F: +1 713.840.0923
HartEnergy.com
Mary Holcomb
mholcomb@hartenergy.com
Faiza Rizvi
frizvi@hartenergy.com

Chief Digital Officer

The company also looks to focus on its premium inventory as it pursues exploration opportunities.
Simultaneous fracs are among the methods being discussed by some U.S. shale players to drill and complete wells faster and more efficiently.
Executives from Equinor, Shell, Total and WindEurope discuss how producers of oil and gas are transferring knowledge to offshore wind.
Despite spending cuts made across the oil and gas industry, some companies are moving ahead with plans to drill exploration wells.
ON DEMAND
Hart Energy’s DUG conferences are the
fastest, easiest and safest way for you to
stream relevant market intelligence on
dynamic regions directly to your desk—no
matter where your desk is today. Start streaming
these free conference sessions on demand:
- DUG Midcontinent Virtual Conference at
DUGMidcontinent.com; and - DUG Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Virtual
Conference at DUGPermian.com.



y any measure, and by any lens through which it is viewed, the number of job losses in the oil and gas industry has been staggering. According to a recent report by the Petroleum Equipment and Services Association (PESA), layoffs in the oilfield services (OFS) sector linked to pandemic-related demand destruction hit more than 103,000 in August. Producers have laid off tens of thousands more. Texas, the country’s leading oil producer, has been hit the hardest with some 50,000 job losses, more than the next six states with the most layoffs combined.
If there is good news to be found in all of this, it is that the industry layoffs are beginning to plateau. Between January and May, the OFS sector saw nearly 85,000 layoffs. But from May to August, the sector has seen just under 20,000 job losses, according to PESA.
There is, of course, optimism for 2021. The hope of a vaccine and an expected increase in global energy demand mean that many jobs could return next year. But what will those jobs look like? In many ways, the jobs that were lost might not be the same ones that return.



s an energy technology company, Baker Hughes’ portfolio spans across oil and gas, alternative and renewable energy, as well as other industrial sectors, making it well positioned to respond to various market opportunities.
Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes, recently provided E&P Plus with an exclusive video interview in which he shared his views on the way forward for oilfield service companies in a post-pandemic future.
In addition, the Q&A below delves into even more details on Baker Hughes’ plans and strategies presently and looking ahead.

he holy grail of optimizing well completions is the ability to design in real time a hydraulic fracturing operation. Slowly fading are the days of “pump and pray,” replaced in part by the technological leaps made in the collection and analysis of millions of datapoints. With these datapoints, it is now possible to recreate the subsurface to better visualize the movement of fluid, the length of fractures and more.
With the commercialization of sealed wellbore pressure monitoring (SWPM), completions engineers can monitor fracture growth and the fluid volumes between treated wells by tracking the pressure response in a nonperforated wellbore. As fractures approach the sealed wellbore, a pressure response is generated. Engineers are able to use the response to determine fluid volumes quickly using pressure gauges mounted at the surface.
ESG

iddle us this: what comes first, the E, the S or the G?
The answer of course is the E. Wait, maybe it’s the S. It might just be the G when you really think about it.
Precisely.
No one agrees as to how one leads to the others, but everyone agrees the three common factors of measuring sustainability—environmental impact, social responsibility and corporate governance—are sure to be part of doing business this year, next year and beyond.
But that’s only if you want investors to like you, customers to choose you, other companies to work with you, and politicians to, well, leave you alone.
Just kidding, we know that last one will never happen.
But ESG is happening. Have you listened to an oil and gas company’s earnings call lately? ESG reporting has moved from an afterthought at the end to a highlight at the beginning. Companies large and small—operators and service providers—are releasing separate sustainability reports in more frequency.

iddle us this: what comes first, the E, the S or the G?
The answer of course is the E. Wait, maybe it’s the S. It might just be the G when you really think about it.
Precisely.
No one agrees as to how one leads to the others, but everyone agrees the three common factors of measuring sustainability—environmental impact, social responsibility and corporate governance—are sure to be part of doing business this year, next year and beyond.
But that’s only if you want investors to like you, customers to choose you, other companies to work with you, and politicians to, well, leave you alone.
Just kidding, we know that last one will never happen.
But ESG is happening. Have you listened to an oil and gas company’s earnings call lately? ESG reporting has moved from an afterthought at the end to a highlight at the beginning. Companies large and small—operators and service providers—are releasing separate sustainability reports in more frequency.















and Deloitte Insights; data compiled by Brian Walzel; design by Melissa Ritchie)

dditive manufacturing (AM) involves the technologies that build 3D objects by adding layer upon layer of material (e.g., plastic, metal or concrete), and the process involves making objects from 3D model data.
In this exclusive Q&A with E&P Plus, Andreas Graichen, group manager for digitalization and industrialization of additive manufacturing with Siemens Energy, discusses the Siemens AM Monitor—a 2020 Offshore Technology Conference Spotlight on New Technology award winner.



s the world grapples with the dreadful human cost of COVID-19, the global economy is also coming to terms with the scale of the pandemic. While the impact on oil markets was swift and dramatic, the gas and LNG sectors have also been hit hard by coronavirus.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, oil price crash and ensuing economic upheaval, 2020 was already shaping up to be one of oversupply for global gas markets. Last year was a record year for new capacity additions, with nearly 40 MMtonnes of supply added in 2019—supply that was poised to put downward pressure on prices in 2020.
The events of early 2020 are impacting the gas market this year. The impact on gas demand was immediate as countries around the world went into lockdown. However, as restrictions loosen, demand is already showing signs of recovery.
in Asia, the Middle East, North Sea and Africa.
ynamic reservoir data are a key enabler for oil and gas operators to prove reserves and maximize hydrocarbon recovery. However, traditional well testing approaches, where a job is planned, executed and interpreted in a linear fashion, can limit operators from obtaining the optimal amount of data during the well test. Furthermore, this approach is inefficient and rigid, significantly increasing the time operators spend between acquiring data and making key field development decisions.
For many decades, the linear well testing approach remained unchanged until the introduction of wireless telemetry about 10 years ago. Wireless telemetry enables acoustic data to be transmitted across downhole repeaters from the downhole gauges to surface in real time. Prior to this innovation, the only way to gather real-time data was through a wireline deployment during the drillstem test (DST), which increases risk and cost.
operations will enable better wells and better production.
emote and automated drilling capabilities are nothing new for the oil and gas industry. Its roots can be traced back more than 20 years, but adoption has accelerated with the evolution of digital and machine learning technologies throughout the past decade.
Now, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote operations are playing an increasingly important role in the industry. In this exclusive video interview with E&P Plus, Paul Madero, vice president of drilling services with Baker Hughes, discusses why these technologies are so important in the oil and gas industry today.
ow more than ever, operators are focused on methods of improving well performance to reduce costs and increase production. Much of that improvement is centered on well spacing, completion designs and surface efficiency. Drawdown management during the IP period—or flowback—is an often overlooked means of improving well performance. The data collected during this early-time flowback period offers one of the first glimpses of valuable information that helps to evaluate well performance and reservoir responses.
Many operators tend to either flow wells too aggressively or too conservatively. This approach is often derived from rules of thumb or simplified diagnostics that fail to capture the true effects of drawdown on well performance. A real-time workflow must be used to evaluate flowback data to optimize the drawdown strategy so operators can maximize the production of each well, in the shortest amount of time, all without damaging the reservoir or completion.
ow more than ever, operators are focused on methods of improving well performance to reduce costs and increase production. Much of that improvement is centered on well spacing, completion designs and surface efficiency. Drawdown management during the IP period—or flowback—is an often overlooked means of improving well performance. The data collected during this early-time flowback period offers one of the first glimpses of valuable information that helps to evaluate well performance and reservoir responses.
Many operators tend to either flow wells too aggressively or too conservatively. This approach is often derived from rules of thumb or simplified diagnostics that fail to capture the true effects of drawdown on well performance. A real-time workflow must be used to evaluate flowback data to optimize the drawdown strategy so operators can maximize the production of each well, in the shortest amount of time, all without damaging the reservoir or completion.
and tiebacks
ovel use of diverless connections in construction of a shallow subsea tieback offshore Malaysia cut costs by approximately 20% while improving safety and reducing the project’s carbon footprint. A key project component was a Stinger Deployed Diverless Connector (SDDC) developed in a partnership between AFGlobal and pipeline contractor Cortez Subsea.
Deployed as part of Vestigo Petroleum’s Tembikai Non-Associated Gas (TNAG) field development program, the project integrated new and proven technology to connect the pipeline to two flexible risers and to connect pipeline sections without the need for divers and welding. AFGlobal and Cortez Subsea developed the SDDC system to connect the pipeline to the host facility.
including lower LOE, de-risking, ESG benefits and more.
il and gas production and delivery to midstream refiners consumes significant amounts of energy in the form of onsite generation and utilization of equipment fueled primarily by diesel or natural gas. The costs associated with this energy routinely rank as a top LOE for operators. As producers look for options to reduce costs, energy-related LOE offers an opportunity for significant savings through conversion to electrical power or improvements to existing electrical infrastructure.
Reducing LOE can often be accomplished while achieving other benefits, such as reductions in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, improved resiliency and all-around de-risking of operations.

echnology often drives industry disruption and is a foundational element to support and react to any changes in the business. But for industries experiencing the ripple effects of disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, adopting advanced technologies and a digital-first strategy have become critical for many companies to merely survive.
While energy organizations were among the first to adopt digitization, Deloitte emphasized in a recent report that many are now taking the necessary next steps to embrace the power of analytics, collect and integrate troves of HSE and security (HSSE), operations, supply chain and finance data, as they recognize the opportunity to make their “$3.4 trillion asset base smarter and more efficient.”

t would be no exaggeration to say that artificial lift has made a tremendous contribution to increased production in oil fields. More than 50% of oil wells use artificial lift techniques, such as pumps and injection methods, to boost production. It is estimated that the artificial lift equipment market amounts to almost $10 billion annually, enabling $800 billion of oil production per year.
Despite these impressive results in the oil segment, artificial lift has gained relatively little traction in gas wells, both conventional and unconventional. This is largely because until now there have been no artificial lift tools that can directly induce energy into the gas to increase production and recoverability. While operators have been able to get positive results using wellhead compressors, experience has shown that these devices can accelerate liquid loading, especially in unconventional wells, due to higher critical lifting velocity and lower production fluid density within the wellbore. The result is decreasing productivity and premature abandonment.


atural gas producers along the Texas-Louisiana border will play leading roles in the upstream sector’s recovery from the depths of its 2020 market disruptions. That positive news ranks as a key takeaway from the FundamentalEdge report published Sept. 9 by data services leader Enverus.
Producers nationwide dramatically trimmed 2020 spending plans as commodity prices fell alongside dropping demand, one notable result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rig activity was cut and production declined nationwide as oversupply overtook the market, particularly in oil-directed plays. In turn, associated gas production dropped – and the so-called “dry gas plays” made up the difference as natural gas prices rose to multi-year highs this summer.


s the oil and gas industry continues to weather the storm of the downturn, South America’s upstream sector is preparing for a wave of new growth and opportunity.
Across the globe, operators have slashed capex and reduced activity after the worst price crash in decades wreaked havoc on the sector. The current state of the market has put the U.S., Europe and Africa in a dire state, offsetting a potential 2021 recovery by two or more years.
Although the outlook for the sector remains uncertain, South America is expected to lead the recovery among regions given its attractive onshore and offshore prospects, the political resolve in Guyana and Argentina’s hydrocarbon production, according to Wood Mackenzie analysts.

immersive experience
ugmented reality (AR) is having a transformative impact on the oil industry, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is playing an evolving role in managing critical asset malfunctions and breakdowns on remote sites while assisting in maintaining social distancing through audio/visual-based virtual communication.

After an oil spill or leak, it is important to act fast. If the oil has gotten into soil, scientists need to rapidly assess how much oil there is and how far it has spread. It is a costly and time-consuming process. A team at University of Nebraska-Lincoln found a new method using technology called Vis-NIR spectroscopy that is faster and cheaper.


Results from a Niobrara well were announced by Samson Resources Co. The 34-3031 39-74 NH Allemand Fed initially flowed 2,413 bbl of 49°API oil, with 4.375 MMcf of gas and 1,224 bbl or water per day. The Hornbuckle Field was drilled in Section 30-39n-74w in Converse County, Wyo., to 22,326 ft (12,207 ft true vertical depth). It was tested after 47-stage fracturing with a shut-in casing pressure of 3,000 psi during testing on a 28/64-inch choke. Production is from a perforated zone at 12,298 ft to 22,061 ft.
An Upper Three Forks venture in Dunn County, N.D., initially flowed 5,172 bbl of 41°API oil, 3.785 MMcf of gas and 4,884 bbl of water per day. Marathon Oil Co.’s Ritter 34-12TFH well was drilled in Section 12-146n-94w. The Bailey Field discovery was drilled to 21,287 ft (10,761 ft true vertical depth) and produces from perforations at 11,114 ft to 21,154 ft. Gauged on a 64/64-inch choke, the flowing casing pressure was 1,200 psi.
A Wolfcamp well in Eddy County, N.M., was tested flowing 4,544 bbl of oil, 10.925 MMcf of gas and 9,581 bbl of water per day. Oxy USA Inc.’s Corral Fly 35-26 Federal Com 036H is in Section 2-25s-29e. The Purple Sage Field well was drilled to 20,483 ft (10,364 ft true vertical depth). Tested on a 37/64-inch choke, the shut-in casing pressure was 1,600 psi, and production is from a perforated zone at 10,537 ft to 20,387 ft.


Exxon Mobil announced two additional reservoirs in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. The additional reservoirs are adjacent to and southeast of the Yellowtail Field discovery well. According to partner Hess Corp., these are the 17th and 18th oil discoveries on the block. The new findings increase the recoverable resource base to more than 8 Bboe. The most recent well, Yellowtail-2, was drilled about 1 mile southeast of Yellowtail-1 to appraise its size, and it found the two new discoveries adjacent to the discovery reservoir and below it. Drilling operations were recently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but operations are continuing at exploration well Redtail-1, which is northwest of Yellowtail-1. The reported net production from the Liza Field averaged 22,000 bbl/d of oil in the second quarter of 2020, but the field hit 120,000 bbl/d in the third quarter after the commissioning of water injection equipment and bringing gas injection fully online
A discovery was reported in offshore Suriname’s Block 58 by Apache Corp. The Kwaskwasi-1 well was drilled to 6,645 m and hit 278 m of net oil and volatile oil/gas condensate pay in multiple stacked targets in Upper Cretaceous Campanian and Santonian intervals. The shallower Campanian interval contained 63 m of net oil pay and 86 m of net volatile oil/gas condensate pay. Samples indicate between 34°API and 43°API oil. The deeper Santonian interval contains 129 m of net hydrocarbon reservoir. After completion operations are done at Kwaskwasi-1, the rig will be moved to drill Keskesi East-1. Apache has identified at least seven distinct play types and more than 50 prospects within the thermally mature play fairway.




Weatherford International Plc has selected Girish K. Saligram, previously COO at Exterran Corp., as its next president and CEO. Saligram’s appointment, which includes a seat on the Weatherford board, takes effect Oct. 12. The top position has been vacant since early June following the resignation of former CEO Mark A. McCollum.
Hurricane Energy Plc has appointed Antony Maris CEO and executive director.
GoExpedi, an e-commerce, supply chain and analytics company, has named Noel Connolly senior vice president of digital strategy.
The Plaza Group, an international petrochemical marketing firm, has promoted Jose Flores to executive vice president.
BCCK Holding Co., a provider of in engineering, procurement, fabrication and field construction services, has appointed Thai Pham, P.E. senior process engineer. Pham will be located in BCCK’s office in The Woodlands, Texas, and will be responsible for supporting proposals and technology developments across the company.

Tel: 713-260-6449
dwest@hartenergy.com
Tel: 713-260-6478
htinne@hartenergy.com
Tel: 713-260-1067
bmiller@hartenergy.com
Tel: 713-260-6437
dfoster@hartenergy.com
Tel: 713.260.5204
chagen@hartenergy.com
1616 S. Voss Road, Suite 1000
Houston, Texas 77057 USA
Tel: 713-260-6400
Toll Free: 800-874-2544
Fax: 713-627-2546
Tel: 713-260-6408
iosubmission@hartenergy.com
Tel: 713-260-4637
iosubmission@hartenergy.com
E&P Plus
1616 S. Voss Road, Suite 1000
Houston, Texas 77057
Tel: 713-260-6442
Fax: 713-840-1449
custserv@hartenergy.com



emand from the global community for our industry to employ a more sustainable method of providing access to energy continues to grow. While the global pandemic prompted a drastic change in the way we work, our industry was already undergoing a significant transformation. We have been working to answer the global call to action introduced by the U.N. with the Sustainable Development Goals. We have moved beyond simply meeting an expectation—we are committed to building sustainable operations across the entire E&P value chain.
Meeting this challenge requires embracing innovation and driving high performance, and doing so more safely and sustainably than in years past. Schlumberger is focused on creating technology that unlocks access to energy in this new environment. Customer centricity, digital enablement and sustainability are all elements of our strategy. We see the intersection of the three as an opportunity to steer a transformational change to our industry’s operational footprint.
