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05/17/2008

james van blaricum - U.S. oil industry

JAMES E. VAN BLARICUM

But there is another side--the U.S. oil industry does not prosper during periods of low oil prices. Oil industry workers lose their jobs, many small wells are permanently sealed, and the exploration for new oil sources drops off.

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Ethanol, which is often blended in gasoline, contains less energy per gallon than gasoline. However, a 10-percent or less ethanol blend would have only a slight impact on fuel efficiency. According to U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy guidelines, E-85 (85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline blend) may reduce fuel efficiency by 26 percent.

Throughout the 1990s, these factors and the low cost of natural gas helpedlead to increased investment in facilities using natural gas.For example, the vast majority of new electricity generationcapacity built in the United States in the past decade has beennatural gas-fired. However, for the last five to seven years, the price of natural gas has been trending upward .

Americans use almost 17 million barrels of oil (more than 700 million gallons) every day of the year. And experts say we will be using more and more oil, especially for transportation, in the coming years. Even now, we use almost 13 percent more oil for transportation than we did in 1973 when the first oil crisis hit the United States. This is true even though today's automobiles get more than 1.5 times as many miles to the gallon as their 1970s counterparts. There are 50 percent more vehicles on the road today than in the 1970s. Today we use about two out of every three barrels of oil to keep us on the move.(signal oil and gas company)

Natural gas pipelines are subject to regulatory oversight, which in many ways determines the manner in which pipeline companies must operate.

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In order to process and transport associated dissolved natural gas, it must be separated from the oil in which it is dissolved. This separation of natural gas from oil is most often done using equipment installed at or near the wellhead.

Permanent completions are those in which the completion, and wellhead, are assembled and installed only once. Installing the casing, cementing, perforating, and other completion work is done with small diameter tools to ensure the permanent nature of the completion. Completing a well in this manner can lead to significant cost savings compared to other types.

As mentioned, natural gas is highly pressurized as it travels through an interstate pipeline. To ensure that the natural gas flowing through any one pipeline remains pressurized, compression of this natural gas is required periodically along the pipe. This is accomplished by compressor stations, usually placed at 40 to 100 mile intervals along the pipeline. The natural gas enters the compressor station, where it is compressed by either a turbine, motor, or engine.(signal oil and gas company)

To safeguard the environment, oil drilling and oil production are regulated by state and federal governments. Oil companies must get permission to explore for oil on new lands. Many experts believe that 85 percent of our remaining oil reserves are on land owned by the federal government. Oil companies lease the land from the federal government, which, in return, receives rental payments for the land as well as percentage payments from each barrel of oil.

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Acid treatments have been applied to wells in oil and gas bearing rock formations for many years. Acidizing is probably the most widely used work-over and stimulation practice in the oil industry [1].

Farm-in - Transfer of part of an oil or gas interest in consideration for an agreement by transferee(s) to meet certain expenditure that would otherwise have to be undertaken by licensee(s).

The tubing head is much like the casing head. It provides a seal between the tubing, which is run inside the casing, and the surface. Like the casing head, the tubing head is designed to support the entire length of the casing, as well as provide connections at the surface, which allow the flow of fluids out of the well to be controlled.(signal oil and gas company)

Matrix treatments designed to give a 20% increase in production rate (formation assumed to be undamaged) have given up to 80% increases in production (San Andres Dolomite, Texas) indicating effective damage removal even in wells considered undamaged.

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Commingling - Producing oil and gas from two or more reservoirs at different depths, or where product of two or more fields is transported via a common pipeline.

Structural traps - Formed by Earth movements that fold rocks into suitable shapes or juxtapose reservoir and sealing rocks along faults. Traps may also form when rocks are domed over rising salt masses.

Installing a pipeline is much like an assembly line process, with sections of the pipeline being completed in stages. First, the path of the pipeline is cleared of all removable impediments, including trees, boulders, brush, and anything else that may prohibit the construction. Once the pipeline's path has been cleared sufficiently to allow construction equipment to gain access, sections of pipes are laid out along the intended path, a process called 'stringing' the pipe. These pipe sections are commonly from 40 to 80 feet long, and are specific to their destination. That is, certain areas have different requirements for coating material and pipe thickness.(signal oil and gas company)

Deethanizer - this step separates the ethane from the NGL stream.

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Pipeline Markers - Signs on the surface above natural gas pipelines indicate the presence of underground pipelines to the public, to reduce the chance of any interference with the pipeline.

Liner - Small diameter casing extending into producing layer from just inside bottom of final string of casing cemented in a well.

Gasoline - Mixture of lighter liquid hydrocarbons used chiefly as a fuel for internal-combustion engines. Produced by fractional distillation of petroleum; by condensation or adsorption from natural gas; by thermal or catalytic decomposition of petroleum or its fractions; by hydrogenation of producer gas or coal; or by polymerisation of hydrocarbons of lower molecular weight.(signal oil and gas)

Acids are used to break acid sensitive gels used in propped fracture applications. The use of acid breakers in open hole horizontal well compilations has recently been demonstrated [3].

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Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) - Issued by manufacturer of chemical substances that sets out hazards likely to be encountered by those who come into contact with substance.

Choke - Device to restrict rate of flow during testing of an exploratory discovery.

Before the 1850s, Americans often used whale oil to light their homes and shops. When whale oil became scarce, people began looking for other oil sources. In some places, oil seeped naturally to the surface of ponds and streams. People skimmed this oil and made it into kerosene. Kerosene was commonly used to light America's homes before the arrival of the electric light bulb.(signal oil & gas)

Secondary Recovery - Recovery of hydrocarbons from a reservoir by increasing reservoir pressure by injecting gas or water into reservoir rock. (see also Primary and Tertiary Recovery.)

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and pore spaces are very small or are blocked by mineral growth.

Does it make a difference what car I drive? - More fuel-efficient vehicles can save gasoline. A highly fuel-efficient vehicle could potentially cut gasoline use in half or more. How much depends on the vehicle and driving habits and needs. If a less fuel-efficient car requires 20 gallons of gasoline a week compared with 10 gallons for a highly fuel-efficient vehicle, more than 500 gallons of gasoline could be saved annually.

Associated Gas - Natural gas associated with oil accumulations, either dissolved in oil or found as a cap of free gas above oil in reservoir.(james e van blaricum)