Sunday, June 26, 2016

There is a saying that a crisis is too good a thing to waste. That’s been true these days of the oil industry, which has taken the downturn in oil prices as a way to push operational efficiencies and new technologies to improve how they operate.

As S&P Global Platts explains, oil companies have invested in geosteering, the process of drilling in precisely the right spot of a reservoir to maximize oil collection. Even a few feet off of a reservoir’s “sweet spot” can make a major difference in production, and efforts have been made to improve reservoir modeling, lateral logging and measurement-while-drilling that allows real-time gauges of a drill site’s physical properties. These types of technologies help drillers avoid sidetracks, which can not only add costs to the drilling process, but force companies to take extra time setting up a well.

Advancement has also been made in microseismic monitoring, which allows operators to monitor the hydraulic fracturing process in real time and adjust perforation spacing and the fracturing fluid blend in response to the conditions. This process can improve perforation efficiency from between 50 and 60 percent to more than 80 percent, giving a serious increase in production yield from a given well.

The drilling company EOG recently announced a proprietary enhanced oil recovery technology to use on mature wells in the south Texas Eagle Ford Shale to force out crude that was missed during the first pass. Many upstream companies have also been working to make advancements in the length of lateral drilling, using geosteering to stay within a given drilling zone. This, too, is allowing drillers to pull more oil out of the ground in less time.

These are just a few of the many advancements happening right now across the industry. While the drop in oil prices has been tough on drillers and oil-related companies, it has presented an opportunity for companies to experiment and improve procedures and processes that will benefit the industry for years to come.

At Lowrance Machine Shop, we are constantly monitoring the oil industry and work to keep you updated of any major news. We also work diligently to offer high quality machining service, custom part creation and repair and much, much more. To find out more about how we can help you and your business, give us a call today at (281) 449-6525.

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• oil boom
• oil economy
• oil industry news
• oil market conditions