In December 1922, a huge blowout in the Los Barrosos-2 well in one of Venezuela's Bolivar Coast oil fields became an economic watershed for that nation. A steady high column of oil bursting skyward for 10 consecutive days, at an estimated rate of 100,000 b/d, attracted the attention of the entire world.
The natural gas sector in Venezuela has recently undergone a profound change as a result of regulatory reforms launched in 1999 by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM).
Orimulsion's 20-year development history includes basic and applied research, process scale-up to industrial level, commercial utilization, and the creation of new generations in order to comply with technical and environmental challenges from worldwide users.
Downhole mixing of carbon dioxide (CO2) with fracturing fluid allowed for better control of a hydraulic frac treatment in a Morrow gas zone, according to RealTimeZone Inc., Roswell, NM, developer of the process.
Mr. Wyman's letter (OGJ, Nov. 27, 2000, p. 10) repeats a tired argument usually heard from the don't-eat-meat people: that using grain to produce fuel (or meat) somehow takes food out of the mouths of the hungry.
ArivaSol, a new carrier fluid for use in drilling and production operations, offers solvent performance the developer says is equivalent to that of aromatic solvents and physical characteristics that offer enhanced performance in the field.
Worldwide spending on exploration and production of oil and natural gas will jump more than 19% next year, based on what Lehman Bros. called "the largest, most comprehensive study ever" of capital spending plans by independent and integrated operators.
Although recent survey results indicate that planned capital spending for exploration and production in 2001 will increase by 20% over 2000 spending, Raymond James & Associates Inc. (RJA) predicts that actual spending will be closer to 30-35%.
ExxonMobil Corp. plans to appeal a $3.5 billion verdict awarded in a case that alleged predecessor Exxon Corp. defrauded Alabama of royalties on production from 10 gas wells in state waters in Mobile Bay, company officials said.
Enron Corp. Pres. Jeffrey K. Skilling has been elected CEO of Enron Corp. effective Feb. 12. Kenneth L. Lay will continue to serve as chairman of the board.
With UK analysts Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd. reporting largely static production levels in the Italian oil and gas sector over the last 2 years, ENI SPA's last-minute bid to takeover Lasmo PLC in December-the latest step in company plans to build up its international portfolio while boosting its total output toward the 1.5 million boe/d mark (see related story, p. 24)-is looking to have been timely.
