With production in the Permian increasing by 93,000 barrels a day year on year and accounting for 68% of overall production in Texas, the basin is without doubt re-establishing itself as one of the most prolific areas within North America for oil & gas exploration. While high liquid rich reserves, horizontal drilling and completions techniques have played a key part in this success, the continued high ultimate recoveries being seen in the...

Last year, CAPP estimated that tight oil production in Alberta would reach 408,000 bpd by 2030. This year CAPP increased that prediction to 703,000 bpd by 2030. Indeed, the influx in Canadian tight oil production is evident with some unconventional oil producers boasting growth in reserves and production as high as 18% and 7% annually over the past 10 years with increased exploitation of oil fields such as the Duvernay, Montney and Bakken. How...

Vehicle OEMs are under increasing pressure to bring customers' connected lives into the vehicle. The challenge lies in providing seamless functionality while maintaining product differentiation to sell more vehicles in a world where demand for smart phone integration is rapidly increasing. The solution lies in optimizing the balance between embedded solutions and smart phone integration to maximize customer appeal and overcome connected device...

Production in the last quarter of 2013 averaged at 7.621 million barrels of crude oil per day - the highest daily average in 24 years and the largest year-on-year production growth between 2012 and 2013. Continuous advances and efficiencies in horizontal drilling has enabled operators to access previously unrecoverable oil and gas reserves and as a result, operators are constantly trying to push the envelope and drill further and faster, with...

Latest reports show that the Eagle Ford is currently producing 1.09 million barrels of oil per day - a staggering number that is even outperforming the Bakken. However, the biggest points of contention surrounding Eagle Ford wells are not how to get them producing large volumes of oil but more critically, how to keep them producing. A recent Wood Mckenzie study shows that most Eagle Ford wells typically drop off between 70 - 80 % in the first...

Just a year ago, it was practically a no brainer to rail Bakken crude to the higher paying Gulf Coast markets, but the recent collapse of the WTI and Brent price differentials has left the industry questioning the long term sustainability of rail. To gain clarity on the future viability of rail, existing and new rail and pipeline markets need to be examined side by side, in light of accessibility and transportation costs, to enable E&P ope...

Increasing environmental consciousness and subsequent stringent regulations are driving the implementation of intelligent water strategies. Innovative water re-use technologies, low-impact disposal methods, streamlined regulatory compliance, supplying alternative industries with recycled water and public education around hydraulic fracturing and water consumption are becoming key issues that light, heavy and conventional operators need to tack...

The Woodford Shale, covering virtually the entire state of Oklahoma, is far more complex then other shales found in North America. Yet it is still rapidly emerging as a major unconventional energy resource due to the recent oil discoveries that could transform the economics of the play. The formation is estimated to contain large residual concentrations of hydrocarbons with data from various studies confirming 400 million barrels of recoverabl...

Reports estimate that an additional 2 million mt/year of propylene will be required by 2015 to keep up with derivative market growth. With petrochemical producers continuing to adopt lighter steam cracker feedslates at a time when refineries are also adjusting production strategies in response to gasoline demand trends, propylene supplies in North America have reached unprecedented levels of shortness and price volatility continues to severely...

Water conservation in Alberta's in situ oil sands industry has always been a topic of both great concern and innovation but the recent implementation of Directive 081, has now made it mission-critical. Consolidating various aspects of water management requirements for thermal in situ oil sands operations, the directive sets strict two key restrictions that are now driving operator water innovation plans; water disposal limits and detailed requ...