Drilling Innovations That Will Forever Change the Oil Industry

Oil drilling has now been practiced for over a century. The sector has developed by leaps and bounds as a result of several technological breakthroughs. This expansion has resulted in new advances in oil production that are altering the face of our civilization.

As early as 1880, the globe witnessed one of the earliest developments known as the rotary drill, which dramatically enhanced the oil drilling process. This rotary drill, however, was just the beginning of a lengthy line of subsequent developments that would eventually replace it in the twentieth century. In this post, we'll look at some of the most significant breakthroughs in oil production efficiency.

1. Offshore Drilling and ROVs

Oil drillers quickly discovered that wells located near seashores generated the most oil. This is why the industry needed to develop technologies for extracting oil from the seafloor. Drilling companies built oil rigs on several wharves in the 1980s, but the first oil well on land was discovered somewhere about 1947.

Remotely operated vehicles were among the early technologies that aided the establishment of these offshore drilling enterprises (ROVs). The US military was already using this technique to recover equipment that had been lost at sea. The oil sector was exploiting ROVs for their own purposes by the 1970s.

2. Hydraulic Fracturing

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is another new technology that Shale Gas relies on. This approach, which was created in 1940, has grown in popularity. Fracking is based on tight reservoirs, which often contain oil-bearing rocks with small holes, implying that the flow of oil from these is limited.

Drillers utilize fracturing to stimulate these wells by putting chemicals mixed with water into the well to produce pressure. This pressure, in turn, causes fractures in the rocks that can be hundreds of feet long. After these fissures are created, oil is allowed to flow freely out of the rock. According to numerous studies, fracking has contributed to an additional seven billion dollars oil barrels from wells in the United States.

3. Seismic Imaging

Initially, looking for oil wells was based solely on where oil had bubbled to the surface. Because most oil wells are buried far beneath the earth's surface, they cannot be discovered. Digging deep wells to set up rigs only to find barren patches was also highly costly.

Geologists were brought in to devise methods for locating oil wells that were hidden. They devised numerous approaches, the most important of which was 3-D seismic imaging. This system transmits sound waves into the ground and detects signals as the waves bounce off of obstacles.

This technology not only assisted in locating the most productive locations for establishing oil production units, but it also reduced the number of holes that were drilled without success.

4.   Measurement-While-Drilling Systems

One major disadvantage of seismic technologies was that they did not provide drilling operators with precise information about the amount of oil they were working with. These concerns were resolved in the 1980s thanks to a technology known as measurement-while-drilling (MWD).

With this system and its reliance on'mud pulse telemetry,' operators were able to collect and analyse real-time data, allowing them to establish the state of the oil well. This technology, in turn, enabled operators to drive oil wells in different ways based on the data they had gathered.

5.   Horizontal Drilling

We emphasized the potential of operators to steer their oil drilling operation in multiple directions while discussing MWD technologies. This capacity to drill in directions other than straight has become one of the most significant technological achievements in the history of the oil drilling process.

Oil reservoirs tend to be spread out horizontally from time to time, making vertical wells an ineffective method of extraction. This is why these technologies enable operators to dig vertically initially and then pivot to a horizontal well at the 'kick-off point.'

This technology has not only enabled the extraction of oil from horizontal wells, but it has also assisted operators in conducting their operations in a more environmentally friendly manner. The first horizontal wells were dug in 1929, but the process was prohibitively expensive at the time. However, with the introduction of hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling became a more inexpensive and realistic choice. By the late 1980s, nearly all oil drilling companies across the world were adopting horizontal drilling.

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Key of Technologies are Advancing Oil and Gas Drilling

Oil and gas (O&G) is still a thriving industry, managing $1.7 trillion USD per year and requiring over 94 million barrels of petroleum per day globally. It is expected that demand for fossil fuels would rise by around 25% during the next 22 years. As a result, in an era when automation, digital process control, and IoT are regarded as "common innovation processes," oil and gas companies have begun to adopt technologies that can assist them in gaining access to small isolated offshore reservoirs as well as areas characterized by extreme environments.

The 2016 Upstream Oil and Gas Digital Trends Survey identified eight critical areas in which the O&G industry should adjust in order to reap the benefits across their extractive environments. The fastest developing fields among them were robotics and drones, artificial intelligence, and wearable technology.

At the moment, more than 80% of Oil and Gas enterprises are undergoing a digital transformation that has the potential to unleash $1.6 trillion USD by enhancing reliability, optimizing operations, and creating new value. Furthermore, the adoption of "common innovation processes" can assist the O&G industry in gaining environmental credibility because robotics and drones, artificial intelligence, and wearable technologies offer tangible options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saving water, and avoiding oil spills, for example. Finally, modern operational technology translates into more efficient and less risky operations, and has the potential to deliver a wealth of process data to optimize O&G extraction procedures.

A number of developing technologies can help the O&G business comply with health, safety, and environmental regulations while also being cost-effective.

Robotic drilling systems (RDSs) provide entirely unmanned drill floors for both land and offshore operations. RDSs can handle pipes and tools, as well as replace casing crews and tongs, and they can handle machinery that revolve. Furthermore, cutting-edge drilling technology provides self-moving autonomous drill rigs that may be transported around an oil field from one well position to the next.

In-pipe inspection robots (IPIRs) can identify fractures, corrosion, and severe problems in pipes, which can cause pipe failures and halt output. These robots have nondestructive testing sensors that are embedded in the pipeline network. IPIRs operate autonomously at this point. They can send data and control signals; for example, IPIRs feature wireless sensor networks (WSNs) that can detect sand buildup, pipe damage, vandalism or theft, and fluid leaks in addition to monitoring pipeline integrity. WSNs are intended to communicate across the relay node, transmitting data to a single base station.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are another option for inspecting O&G facilities. Drones are increasingly being used to monitor tanks, pipelines, and refineries on a regular basis. Drones are frequently operated from a ground control station, necessitating the use of advanced flight control algorithms, inertial navigation, data fusion, and tracking control. These characteristics make drones useful for exploring O&G reservoirs in severe situations where human investigation is not feasible. To undertake faster and safer inspections, drones can be outfitted with a thermal camera, lights, and optical camera operators.

Aside from smart sensors and machine interface, recent advancements in 4D seismic data gathering and computer capacity are assisting O&G businesses in capturing more accurate subsurface geology for finding fossil fuel resources.

Oil and gas corporations who are already looking ahead:

Maersk Oil has established a new unmanned platform, the Tyra Southeast-B, in the Danish North Sea, following the operation of the first unmanned, fully automatic, and remote operating platform, the Norwegian Oseberg H, located on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Tyra's reserves are predicted to grow by 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) during the next three decades.

Statoil, Enegi Oil (Nu-oil), the Wood Group, and the China Offshore Oil Engineering Company are concentrating their efforts on operations to access more minor reservoirs. Small reservoirs have recoverable reserves of less than 20 MMBOE. According to Enegi Oil, there are 88 fields in the North Sea with fewer than 15 MMBOE that can be developed using buoy technology, for example. Others are taking notice of the region north of the Arctic Circle, which "may contain roughly 30% of the world's undiscovered gas and 13% of the world's unknown oil deposits."

In Canada, Statoil and Husky Energy are exploring drilling for oil and gas resources in deep-water, far-offshore oil 500 kilometers off Canada's east coast, in the Flemish Pass Basin, using ocean and subsea technology, remote sensing, and autonomous underwater vehicles.

To summarize, automation and digitalization may provide certain benefits to the oil and gas industry in terms of safety, environmental performance, public health, productivity, operations, efficiency, reliability, and investment. To remain competitive, oil and gas companies must evolve, as the means in which energy is generated, consumed, and distributed have changed tremendously. We are living in an era in which people have more decision-making power based on real-time data.

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Survey for Searching Oil and Gas

Sesmic Survey

The search for oil and gas requires a knowledge of geography, geology and geophysics. Crude oil is usually found in certain types of geological structures, such as anticlines, fault traps and salt domes, which lie under various terrains and in a wide range of climates. After selecting an area of interest, many different types of geophysical surveys are conducted and measurements performed in order to obtain a precise evaluation of the subsurface formations, including:

• Magnetometric surveys. Magnetometers hung from airplanes measure variations in the earth’s magnetic field in order to locate sedimentary rock formations which generally have low magnetic properties when compared to other rocks.

• Aerial photogrammetric surveys. Photographs taken with special cameras in airplanes, provide three-dimensional views of the earth which are used to determine land formations with potential oil and gas deposits.

• Gravimetric surveys. Because large masses of dense rock increase the pull of gravity, gravimeters are used to provide information regarding underlying formations by measuring minute differences in gravity.

• Seismic surveys. Seismic studies provide information on the general characteristics of the subsurface structure. Measurements are obtained from shock waves generated by setting off explosive charges in small-diameter holes, from the use of vibrating or percussion devices on both land and in water, and from underwater blasts of compressed air. The elapsed time between the beginning of the shock wave and the return of the echo is used to determine the depth of the reflecting substrata. The recent use of super-computers to generate three-dimensional images greatly improves evaluation of seismic test results.
• Radiographic surveys. Radiography is the use of radio waves to provide information similar to that obtained from seismic surveys.

• Stratigraphic surveys. Stratigraphic sampling is the analysis of cores of subsurface rock strata for traces of gas and oil. A cylindrical length of rock, called a core, is cut by a hollow bit and pushed up into a tube (core barrel) attached to the bit. The core barrel is brought to the surface and the core is removed for analysis.

When the surveys and measurements indicate the presence of formations or strata which may contain petroleum, exploratory wells are drilled to determine whether or not oil or gas is actually present and, if so, whether it is available and obtainable in commercially viable quantities.

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TYPES OF DRILLING CONTRACTS

The type of Drilling Contract

1.  TURNKEY DRILLING CONTRACT:

A type of financing arrangement (contract) for the drilling of a wellbore that places considerable

risk and potential reward on the drilling contractor. Under such an arrangement, the drilling

contractor assumes full responsibility for the well to some predetermined milestone such as the successful running of logs at the end of the well, the successful cementing of casing in the well

or even the completion of the well. Until this milestone is reached, the operator owes nothing to

the contractor. The contractor bears all risk of trouble in the well, and in extreme cases, may

have to abandon the well entirely and start over. In return for assuming such risk, the price of the

well is usually a little higher than the well would cost if relatively trouble free. Therefore, if the

contractor succeeds in drilling a trouble-free well, the fee added as contingency becomes profit.

Some operators, however, have been required by regulatory agencies to remedy problem wells,

such as blowouts, if the turnkey contractor does not.

 2. FOOTAGE DRILLING CONTRACT:

In the context of Oil & Gas law, a footage drilling contract refers to a contract in which the drilling contractor is paid to drill to a specified formation or depth. The drilling contractor is paid a set amount per foot drilled, and is given broad control over how to do the work. Under this kind of contract, the risk of unexpected delays along with other liabilities is on the contractor and not on the lease operator.

3. DAYWORK DRILLING CONTRACT: 

In relation to Oil & Gas law, a daywork drilling contract is one in which the lease operator hires a drilling rig and oilfield workers and retains the right to direct drilling operations. The lease operator pays an amount based on the time spent in drilling operations. This type of contract gives the lease operator broad control over the drilling contractor. As a result, courts impose broad liability on the lease operator for any damages caused due to the drilling.

4. COMBINATION DRILLING CONTRACT: 

The basis for payment is often combined in the final agreement. An Operator may agree to pay Footage rate to a certain depth, then pay daywork for any drilling done below that depth.

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General Step and Procedure Oil Gas Drilling in Onshore

To find oil, you cannot simply punch a hole in the ground. Perhaps, this is what many people believe.

There are many complexities involving multiple service companies and two complete teams of crews. With so much happening (and with so many difficulties regarding scheduling, safety, and environmental practices) drilling for oil is not for the faint of heart.

This is a general 51 steps for drilling in the USA, for example. 

The following steps are necessary in order to produce oil or gas from a well:

1. 10-30 different service companies are required.
2. Each company working on a well must adhere to around-the-clock scheduling, safety and environmental practices.
3. Build a new road to access the rig location.
4. Clear the area for the new rig.
5. Build infrastructure for water and electricity around the rig site.
6. Dig an earthen pit to prevent soil or water table contamination.
7. Dig a pilot hole at the precise location marked by the survey crew.
8. Dig two other holes (the “mouse” hole and the “rat” hole) nearby to hold pieces of equipment and pipe during drilling.
9. A rig that can dig a 10,000 ft. well requires 50-75 people and 35-45 semi-trucks to move and assemble the rig.
10. Assembly of the rig takes around 3 and a half days.
11. A strict inspection of the rig must take place once built.
12. Operations of the rig go on 24/7, typically ceasing only one day each year for Christmas.
13. Two shifts of two complete crews must work the rig every day.
14. There are two stages of drilling: 1. running and cementing of cases and 2. drilling until the bit reaches the depth of the targeted zone.
15. Each drill bit typically lasts 4,500 – 6,500 feet of drilling.
16. Replacing the bit requires the removal of the entire string of drill pipe in a process called “tripping out”.
17. “Tripping out” takes several hours and requires crews to cool the bit and keep the soil and hole intact.
18. To help keep cuttings from plugging the hole, the mud must be sent through shakers to send the cuttings into a separated area.
19. Additional mug system equipment: de-sanders, de-silters and de-gassers, remove smaller particles and gas from the mud.
20. Clean mud is then recirculated back down into the hole.
21. The Blow-Out Preventer (or “BOP”) is installed on top of the casing head before drilling takes place.
22. The BOP must have high-pressure safetly valves designed to seal off the well and block any escaping gases or liquids from the hole beneath in order to prevent a blow-out from occuring.
23. Drilling must begin with a designated surface depth, usually around 50-100 feet below the water table.
24. Special care must be taken to prevent contamination of the water in the water table while drilling by isolating the water table and the wall with concrete and steel encasing.
25. New sections of pipe must be added to the string as the bit drills deeper.
26. When the hole reaches a designated depth, the derrickhands secrete fluid through the hole to condition it for logging.
27. A “logging tool” measures the depth and condition of the hole for the oil company.
28. The tool gives the information of whether or not the well can indeed produce oil or gas.
29. At this point, it must be determined whether the well is to be complete or plugged and abandoned.
30. If the well is designated as a producer, the crew must re-insert the pipe back into the hole to ensure the hole is still intact.
31. To test the hole, mud must be re-circulated.
32. Once everything tests positively, the drill pipe is removed.
33. At this point, the crew must insert the last string of production casing running the entire depth of the hole.
34. Then, the casing is cemented in the hole.
35. The production crew then brings in the work-over unit and rigs it up to prepare the hole for production.
36. The crew runs small diameter tubing into the hole as a conduit for oil or gas to flow through and up the well.
37. Next, the work over unit trips out of the hole and picks up a perforating gun.
38. The perforating gun is lowered into the hole to production depth using a thin metal cable called a “wireline”.
39. An electrical signal is sent down the wireline, firing the gun and igniting explosive charges.
40. These charges create holes through the cement encasing and formation connecting the well bore to the reservoir.
41. To stimulate the flow of hydrocarbons (or oil), sometimes it’s necessary to “frack” the well.
42. “Fracking” involves pumping air, sand and fluids under extreme pressure down the hole and out through the perforations.
43. This fractures or forces cracks into the formation.
44. The remaining particles will hold the cracks open, releasing the flow of oil or gas.
45. Monitoring the flow allows the crew to determine the best location for the “choke”.
46. The “choke” controls the flow of the oil or gas.
47. Once pressure is released, the hydrocarbons are allowed the escape through the fractured zone and flow into the well bore.
48. The oil or gas can now travel up the well casing string.
49. The well bore is isolated from the surrounding formations with casing and cement, preventing any contamination.
50. The final step is to install a pump jack or production well-head, or what’s called the “Christmas Tree”.
51. It’s the time to produce the well and plan for any future field development.

Watch the Video : 

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What worker doing during Drilling Operation?

During drilling, the personnel and equipment must be protected against unexpected pressure surges in the wellbore. In oil and gas drilling, these surges can come from hydrocarbon fluids trapped under impermeable rock which holds them at pressures higher than the static head of the fluid column in the wellbore, and in geothermal operations the surges come from hot formations which heat the pore or wellbore fluids above the saturation temperature at the static wellbore pressure. In either case, the first line of control is the weight of the fluid column in the wellbore. 

With a gas column, this weight is negligible, but with mud the liquid density will range from slightly greater than water (-8.5 pounds per gallon) to almost three times that. In addition to the clays and additives which raise the viscosity of the mud to improve hole cleaning, weighting materials such as barite are often added to increase the mud's density and enable it to control higher downhole pressures.

The pressure surge cannot immediately be controlled with fluid weight, the wellbore can be mechanically sealed at the surface with BOPS, or blow-out preventers. There are three principal types of BOP: blind rams, which are sliding plates that come together across the wellbore when the drill string is not in the hole; pipe rams, which are like blind rams except that the sliding plates are cut out in the center so the rams can seal around the drill pipe; and an annular preventer, which is an inflatable bladder that seals around drill collars, stabilizers, or other off-size or irregularly shaped tools.

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New Oil Drilling Technology Will Soon Spark An Explosion Of Oil

Energy stocks have been tearing higher since the election on bets that the Trump administration will relax environmental restrictions and open more federal lands to oil and gas drilling. Crude oil’s staying north of $50 hasn’t hurt, either.

It is up there in part because OPEC threw in the towel and agreed to production limits. Unfortunately for OPEC, those limits don’t apply to US and Canadian shale producers. And the history of OPEC is that they all cheat like crazy, anyway.

There will be no end to oil production

I think it is entirely possible that we will see oil prices climb somewhat further by mid-year, possibly approaching $60, and then pull back as capped US production comes back online. Look at the chart below to see the wide variation among forecasts of major energy analysts working for the big banks.

I also think that this year, we’ll start to see a new pattern: Production could keep rising even as prices fall. Conventional wisdom says that producers stop pumping at some point when it becomes unprofitable, but I think that is about to change.

New technology will lead to greater production and higher profits

If you are an oil producer—or really, any commodity producer—two things can improve your profit margin: higher selling prices for the resource you produce or lower production costs. Some combination of both works as well.

Now, selling prices are mostly outside the producer’s control, though adept hedging can help. Cost reduction is, therefore, the place to concentrate your attention. Back in 2015, I wrote about new drilling techniques and other technology that promised to bring oil and gas production costs significantly lower.

Now, in the last few weeks, people in the business have told me these technologies are moving rapidly toward deployment. They foresee considerably lower drilling and production costs by the end of this year.

I had a confidential briefing recently about some new energy production processes that are coming online in the oil patch. Let me just say that production from an oil well drilled with these new techniques is getting ready to increase substantially.

In some cases, the amount of oil produced per dollar spent on drilling is going to more than double. There are significant chunks of the petroleum-producing parts of the United States where $40 oil will not be a barrier to drilling and new production.

Eventually—in a few years—these techniques will begin to show up in wells around the world, and there will be an explosion of oil. Even as many oilfields dry up, there will be new fields developed from previously unprofitable sources.

This will have massive economic and geopolitical implications

This technology trend means that the current oil price range may well break lower—perhaps this year, but certainly within this decade—without energy companies losing profits.

Not every company will reap the rewards equally, of course; but the industry as a whole is excited. Energy exploration and production is quickly becoming a technology-driven industry with the US as world leader.

If Trump permits construction of more pipelines and natural gas export terminals, we could see North American exports rise considerably in the next few years.

Obviously, over time, a falling energy price will not be good for OPEC or for Russia. Those lower prices will create geopolitical challenges as well as economic ones. I don’t know how it will all shake out. We will likely see some big, energy-driven changes in the world order in the coming decades.

But that is beyond the scope of my crystal ball.

Source: www,forbes.com

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Mobile Field Gas Conditioning Technology

The increasing popularity of dual-fuel engines for powering drilling and completions operations in the U.S. has led to a reduction of diesel fuel by up to 70%, according to Navigant Research. Not only does the use of field gas make refueling simpler, but it also reduces the number of fuel delivery trucks on the road as well as the need for “hot” fueling and flaring off unwanted gas. However, the biggest benefit of the use of field gas is the cost savings delivered in the form of reduced diesel fuel bills.

A traditional drilling rig, according to Navigant, can require upward of $2.5 million per year in diesel fuel costs. With potential savings like this, along with the other benefits created through its use, the adoption of dual-fuel systems as an alternative to diesel systems is increasing, especially in regard to their use in hydraulic fracturing spreads. Navigant reported that the annual dual-fuel engine revenue in the U.S. is expected to grow to more than $58.1 million by 2024.

For all of the benefits provided by dual fuel, there are a few challenges. For example, availability of existing natural gas gathering lines as well as the compatibility of the field gas Btu and the moisture content with the engine are the primary challenges that have helped create an environment for innovative solutions.

Challenge remover

Nacelle Solutions, a West Virginia-based provider of fueling solutions, developed a flexible mobile technology that is contained in a small footprint to condition all forms of field gas for use in engines during drilling and completions operations. This technology, known as Dwight, specifically addresses the issues of high Btu, high moisture content and more in an onsite trailerbased field gas conditioning system.

“We saw operators moving toward wanting to utilize natural gas to displace diesel fuel,” said Gov Graney, co-founder of Nacelle Solutions. “Well economics was one of many reasons for this shift. On a completions site it is not unrealistic for operations to burn through 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel in a day. So, at $2.50 per gallon, you’re looking at $37,500 per day spent on diesel fuel.”

The Dwight mobile field gas conditioning system processes rich source gas to power high-horsepower completions operations. (Source: Nacelle Solutions)

Engine technology has developed to the point where dual-fuel engines are readily available and have been proven to work well with the proper gas specifications, including Btu content below 1,100, according to Graney.

“The challenge for dual-fuel engines came from areas with high Btu and/or moisture content in the gas. To gain the benefits of utilizing field gas, this challenge needed a solution,” he said.

Seeing this as an opportunity to provide a service to an opening market, Nacelle Solutions was founded, and the Dwight mobile field gas conditioning system was developed.

“The Dwight enables a high-Btu source gas to be used as field gas by conditioning the gas stream to a specification that will maximize performance of the engine without damaging it,” he said.

Preplanning ensures that the mobile system is configured to work with the composition of the inlet gas source. The unit is connected to a single source of gas, typically tying directly into the customer’s gathering system. The completely self-contained system is built on a 15-m (48-ft) drop-deck trailer and can be deployed either onsite or on an adjacent pad, according to the company.

“After going through a series of regulators, knockout scrubbers, slug catchers and more, three streams of gas exit the system: one containing conditioned gas to power the equipment, an enriched stream that flows back into the customer’s pipeline and another containing free-standing produced fluids,” Graney said. “Everything stays in gaseous form with the system, [and] there are no natural gas liquids created, so therefore there is no need to store or handle natural gas liquids throughout the process. The system is typically brought in when the Btu content is over 1,100. We have a separate system for handling gas with Btu under 1,100.”

With an estimated 40% reduction in diesel fuel costs, according to the company, the No. 1 benefit is cost savings.

“Another benefit is the reduction in the carbon footprint on each location,” Graney added. “That is due to the reduction of fuel delivery trucks that are coming on the location burning diesel fuel as well as diesel being utilized in the engines there. From a safety standpoint it reduces the amount of hot fueling that is required on site.”

Case study

Pennsylvania-based Eclipse Resources worked with Nacelle early on in the development of the Dwight mobile field gas conditioning system. The system was deployed for operations at its Purple Hayes #1 superlateral well drilled in Ohio’s Utica Shale in 2016. According to Oleg Tolmachev, executive vice president and COO of Eclipse, the mobile field conditioning unit solved the challenge of using high-Btu gas and moisture-containing gas to where it becomes usable by dual-fuel engines.

“Specifically, Nacelle’s mobile equipment was the first of its kind at the time when we began utilizing it, and in fact we deployed the first prototype unit,” he said. “Cost savings and financial arrangements with Nacelle are proprietary information, but suffice it to say that these savings are significant, and we have been utilizing this technology in all of our completions operations.”

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Nigeria, The First Crude Oil producer in The African Continent

Nigeria, or rather the region of the Niger Delta, is notorious for the continued tensions between local multinationals and guerrillas (and the consequent repercussions on the country's oil activity and crude oil prices) is one of the richest areas of hydrocarbons.

The quantity and quality of these resources have attracted the interests of the major Western companies that have been operating in the oil and, most recently, in the gas sector for decades.

The first crude oil producer in the African continent, member of OPEC, the country oscillates between the sixth and the eighth position as a world exporter and is the fifth supplier of the United States, while the recent results obtained under the NATURAL GAS liquid prelude to a protagonist future also on this market.

Nonetheless, over 60% of Nigeria's 150 million people live in an endemic poverty stash, with less than a dollar a day.

A situation of marginalization and exploitation to which the institutions could not answer - complicit also the corruption of a political class more attentive to their own personal interests than to the needs of the population - and who is degenerated into rebellion and violence perpetrated against the foreign oil installations and Western technicians, by local militias fighting in the name of the emancipation of their land and direct control over their resources.

In a descriptive and accessible way to everyone, the book by Agata Gugliotta, "Nigeria, whose resources? Oil and gas in the Niger Delta "reconstructs the economic and political life of Nigeria seen through black gold, the resource that still hinders the way of being a state enslaved to the needs of private capital; contextualizes the motives and developments of a revolt that, overwhelmingly overwhelmingly over time, has just recently swung to the backdrop of the media; analyzes what might prove to be a ransom for the country, or, conversely, an accelerator of the crisis: the exploitation of gas resources.

Burned in torch for decades, gas - considering the magnitude of RESERVES on site and its growing role in the international energy landscape - could offer the country a new stage of development and create opportunities to get out of the economic crisis and the climate of violence which attracts him.

But regardless of the time and the uncertainties related to the development of the gas sector, the economic and social degradation, the ' pollution of air, water and land every day that the Nigerian population is forced to suffer, they require urgent attention.

On the other hand, as the pages of this page show - written in a delicate but acute civil passion - the conflict that has bloomed Nigeria for a long time is likely to get stuck further, leading to a collapse of an economy already on the brink and making it increasingly difficult to see the presence and the " activities of Western multinationals.

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What is Shale Shaker and the purposes

Vibrations are a type of industrial equipment used to remove rock particles from the drilling mud. This drilling fluid, or mud, plays a key role in the drilling process. It is washed through rock cuttings when cut from the drill, and also helps to cool the tip to reduce the risk of overheating. The vibrator is designed to remove these rock bits and other solid materials from the drill mud so it can be reused safely over and over again. Shale stirrers often serve as part of a wider mud removal system, which helps keep the free mud free, not only solid, but also unwanted gases and other contaminants.

To understand how shale shale works, it is useful to understand how it refers to other parts of the drilling process. The drilling fluid, consisting of water, oil and chemicals, collects in a storage pit or drum from the ground. Once the drilling begins, this fluid travels down through drilling cables and enters the hole through holes in the tip mechanism. From here, it washes back the sides of the hole, carrying rock particles and other debris on the surface. Once the mud reaches the surface, it goes to the storage pit for re-use.

In drilling projects with a mud cleaning system in place, this mud flows directly from the hole and vibrator. The vibrators consist of a vibrating tray covered with a wire mesh screen. Rocks and other solid materials remain on the top of the screen as the liquid passes through. The vibrant screen action helps to facilitate this process.

The shale shaker shade selection is critical to the elimination of solid materials. The size of the holes on the screen should match the size of the rock that is extracted from each hole. It is also important to choose corrosion-resistant materials such as galvanized steel to withstand extreme conditions at a puncture site. Many projects include more vibrations so that the drilling mud has to pass through several layers of cleanliness and refinement.

Shale shaker offers many advantages to drilling companies. These systems allow you to clean drilling fluid so that it can be reused over and over again. Without these agitators, debris in the mud could damage drilling and halt operations. Reusing drilling fluid helps to save limited resources, and also reduces costs for drilling equipment. Finally, vibrating makes it easy to capture rocks and other solids that have been contaminated with oil so that they can be ecologically disposed of.

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What is Lifting Gas ?

Gas Elevator is a method to increase the natural reach of an oil well by reducing the weight of liquid in the column by means of high pressure gas injection. The weight of oil in the column well, with the resistance caused by the viscous crude oil flow through the system well, the natural pressure of the reservoir must be exceeded to provide flow. Gas injection near the bottom of the column and reduces the density of the oil, and the total weight of liquid within the column well. Gas lift plants are generally more compact and require less energy than other methods of increasing flow rates, and are a popular solution for offshore drilling projects.

Most oil reserves are under adequate natural pressure to provide an economic rate of flow at the time of the first exploited. As oil is removed from the tank, however, the pressure decreases and the flow rate slows or stops completely. Since this usually occurs before the bulk of the oil has been removed from the tank, the rest of the oil can be utilized by reducing the downward pressure of the column and reservoir. This can be done by pumping the oil directly through the column, replacing the missing oil in the tank with water or other liquids, or by reducing the weight of the liquid in the column.

The gas is injected into the column and either through the well of the well or directly through the production tube. If the gas is injected through the well coating, the gas inlet valve is usually placed in a spindle, a kind of niche built on the side of the production tube. This allows the oil to flow through the pipe without being obstructed by the gas injection equipment, and is generally favored in low volume wells. In larger wells, the gas lifting system can be lowered into the production tube directly without significantly affecting the oil flow.

In the case of most land-based wells, other streamlining methods are simpler and cheaper than gas lifting. It is mainly used on offshore drilling rigs, where space is a premium and the compact nature of the injection mechanisms is an advantage. It is also used in petroleum fields that produce a high volume of natural gas. The gas can be passed through a washing plant to purify and dry the gas on site, where it can be injected immediately into oil wells with marginal production. Once the gas is injected into a well, the majority is recovered to the surface and can be compressed and re-injected without a large amount of waste.

Read More → What is Lifting Gas ?

Investment for Offshore Rig

Offshore drilling is a technology-heavy industry, and if you want to invest in companies that work in this space of goods, you want to be familiar with the associated terminology.

Since offshore drilling can take place in unforgiving places, companies need to implement specific boats for specific drilling projects. These ships are among the most technologically advanced man-made structures. Some ships are designed to withstand strong winds and high waves. Others are more suitable for exploratory projects in shallow waters and need to move from one place to another quickly.

Here are the names of some of these pots you can expect to come across as you start investing in offshore drilling companies:

• Barge drilling: The drilling barge is one of the most agile vessels on the market. It is a floating device usually towed by a tug to hit puncture positions. The drilling barge is mainly used in the inland, still shallow waters, such as rivers, lakes and swamps.
• Jack-up rig: The rig jack-up is a hybrid vessel that is part floating barge, part drilling platform. The jack-up drilling rig is towed to the desired position, usually open, shallow waters where its three "legs" are lowered and "jacked" towards the seabed. When the legs are fixed, the drilling platform is raised to the desired levels to allow for safe drilling.
• Submarine Rig: The submersible rig is similar to the rig jack-up, as it is mainly used for shallow water drilling and is fixed to the bottom of the sea.
• Semi-submersible plant: sometimes referred to as a seed, this structure is a stunt of modern technological development. It's like a submersible, except that it has the ability to pierce deep in adverse weather conditions and not forgive. 
• The drilling platform is high and sits on top of a floating structure that is semi-submerged in water (hence the name) and secured by large dowels that can weigh up to 10 tons each.
• Drill Ship: The drilling vessel is essentially a ship with a drilling deck. It is perhaps the most versatile drilling tool as it can easily be sent to remote offshore locations, including deepwater drilling.
• Offshore Oil Platform: When one of the previous vessels discovers a commercially viable offshore oilfield, a company may decide to build a permanent platform to exploit this discovery. Insert the offshore oil platform. These facilities are a spectacle to see and are really from the floating city man. They are staffed, they include homes, and are often equipped with shelter. They are ideal for difficult conditions in deep waters.

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What is Seismic Drilling

Seismic drilling, also known as drilling, is perforation conducted as part of a seismic survey of geological formation. In such studies, the team uses a series of controlled vibrations to generate a map of underground structures. This map can determine where deposited material is to be found and how accessible it will be drilling equipment. Seismic surveys are an important part of oil and gas, and are also used by researchers who want to map geological formations for scientific purposes.

In seismic drilling, a company uses a drill specially designed to dig a hole at the desired depth. Air and water cutters are both available for this purpose, and are often mounted on slides or mobile platforms. This allows the team to quickly move the drill between the positions, which may be critical on a large survey. The time it takes to establish a drilling platform and stabilize it can add considerably the overall time required for the survey, and as a result teams try to use mobile drills where it is possible to do so.

After sinking a hole, team members can mount explosives inside. These explosives cause ground vibrations when they go out. With the use of seismic equipment, the team can follow the movement and reflection of vibrations. This information can help build a map of underground features and formations. The seismic drilling team may include geologists, explosive experts, and other personnel with training in seismic surveys.

A permit is usually required for seismic drilling. The process can be disruptive and can cause problems for plants, animals, or residents in the region. Permission seekers must describe the area they want to work and what they will do there. While on the site, team members usually follow business protocols set to make the site as secure as possible. They also check waste material to keep the site clean and tidy.

If seismic drilling suggests that training is workable, the team can locate some locations for drilling wells. The company may sink some test wells to confirm the results before starting large-scale production on the site. This survey and exploration can be expensive, especially when companies believe that not all land sites will produce usable deposits. Some sites may not have any useful material, while other deposits may be visible on a seismic survey, but essentially unavailable due to their depth or configuration.

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What Is Involved In Drilling Oil Well ?

Oil well drilling requires a great deal of work from a wide range of professionals. For well drilling oil to be successfully completed, many distinct stages of the process must be completed. These include: initial research and the discovery of oil; legal satisfaction and - always - social and environmental responsibilities; the creation of drilling rigs; and, finally, the extraction of the oil.

The first step in the process is to locate an oil source. Research geologists sites where rock and soil conditions suggest possible oil deposits. Today, satellite imagery helps them study land. Other modern technologies help measure anomalies of the Earth's gravitational and magnetic field that could be indicative of a petroleum depot. Various seismic instruments can also be used to send shock waves through rock layers to determine if oil pools exist beneath them.

After a site has been identified, legal issues have to be addressed. Companies must work within the limits of the laws of the jurisdiction in which the site is located. International efforts for parts of countries and supranational and multinational organizations are now encouraging companies to maintain certain standards, no matter where they are. Companies are increasingly needed to research and minimize possible negative social and environmental impacts of drilling oil wells.

Preparations for drilling the oil well include clearing trees and leveling the ground. A reservoir is built to keep some of these natural debris while artificial rubbish must be removed from a natural site. Natural waste is also sometimes transported to another location if its collection at the site could cause environmental damage to the area. Access roads are usually needed for transportation to and from the site, but in cases where the site is remote or road construction has been banned, alternative access by air or waterways may need to be consolidated.

Once these preparations have been made, the crew digs a hole around the programmed drilling position. This work is known as a "cellar." The main drilling is built and other holes are dug around for storage. Finally, the plant is installed and deep drilling can begin. A chassis tube is inserted where the perforator has dug, followed by concrete to create solid walls. After the drilling process is completed, the system is removed, and a pumping system is installed. The oil can be extracted.

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What is Petroleum Well or Oil Well ?

An oil well is a perforated tree through a portion of the eartha crust in order to recover crude petroleum products. From the concept of good to its abandonment, it undergoes several stages of development. Oil wells can be run in a variety of positions and not all produce the same product. They will always produce at least a small amount of natural gas, which may or may not be caught for sale.

The first registered oil well was built in 347 CE in China and technology had spread to Japan since the seventh century. These simple drilling constructions, made of bamboo, have been replaced as technology and processes have been refined. The modern age has brought perforated petroleum wells with a rigid cable and then rotary drills. Modern drilling techniques allow nearly horizontal drilling, providing access to hydrocarbon reserves that are deep in the subsoil.

Perforation starts once a suitable site has been selected and all plans have been finalized. A hole between 5 and 50 inches (12.7-91.4 cm) was exerted. This section is the wider segment of the hole, as each subsequent perforated segment will be slightly smaller so as to reduce the pressure originating from the bottom. After each section is perforated, a casing made of steel is placed inside the hole and cemented in place. There are usually no more than five successive segments practiced in any hole.

The oil well must be completed, ie it must be adapted for oil production and harvesting. Often the pressure accumulated within the reserve is sufficient to force the oil on its own strong, but if the pressure level is insufficient, a pump is installed in place. The oil is then harvested by a series of valves known as production trees set top installation. These keep track of the oil pressure inside the well and adjust accordingly. Eventually, the installation will be abandoned when it is no longer profitable to operate.

A petroleum well can produce mainly petroleum or gas and can produce both. Small amounts of natural gas, which is a byproduct of the oil creation itself, are present in every oil well. Some wells produce almost entirely gas.

Oil wells can be placed either onshore or offshore. The function of the good is the same regardless of the position, but due to the difficulty of drilling and maintaining a well in the sea, offshore wells are much more expensive. These wells are punched only when the presence of a large amount of oil has been proven. They also require more planning and have more security requirements.

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Fracking, thousands of spills and accidents in US oil and gas wells

Spills of polluted fluids and chemicals from 16% of unconventional hydrocarbon wells

According to the study of "Unconventional Oil and Gas Spills: Risks, Mitigation Priorities, and State Reporting Requirements" published by Environmental Science & Technology by a team of US researchers led by Laureen Patterson of the Harvard Law School's Environmental Policy Initiative, the situation of the pollution generated by the USA fracking wells is serious: every year, from 2 to 16% of oil and gas wells exploited by the fracking technique in Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania there have been spills of hydrocarbons, water filled with chemicals, fluids of hydraulic fracturing and other substances. The largest spillage tested by the study resulted in the leak of 100,000 liters of polluting liquids.

The study dealt with unconventional oil and gas spills in 31,481 wells operated by fracking technique in the 4 US states between 2005 and 2014, identifying 6,648 spills over the past 10 years. In all states, the first three years of a well's life, during drilling and hydraulic fracturing, have had the highest production volumes but also the highest risk of spillage. A significant part of the spills (from 26% in Colorado to 53% in North Dakota) occur in wells that have suffered more than one spill, "Which suggests that wells in which spillages have already occurred deserve more attention," they say researchers.

Figures that worsen many of the previous study, "Environmental Impact Assessment of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources" of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on fracking in 8 US states between 2006 and 2012, which had concluded that there were 457 spills.

Patterson, interviewed by BBC News, explains why this strong difference: "The EPA has only looked at spills during the same process of hydraulic fracturing, which take place only in a period ranging from a few days to a few weeks. We have investigated spills in unconventional wells from the time of perforation throughout the production, which could last decades. "

In North Dakota, there were 4.453 accidents 

recorded

 , much more than in Pennsylvania, Colorado and New Mexico, and this can be explained with the different types of reporting. In North Dakota there must be reported any spill over 42 gallons, while in Colorado and New Mexico starts from 210 gallons.

Most of the spills occur during the first three years of wells activity and about 50% of spills occur from the pipelines for the transport of polluted fluids.

"The causes are quite different," says Patterson. "Equipment failures are the major factor, loading and unloading of trucks with material is a far more common human error than in other places."

. Researchers are convinced that "making state data on spills more consistent and accessible could provide stakeholders with important information on where to target efforts to identify and prevent 

future

 losses. However, reporting obligations differ between states, which requires considerable effort to make the data usable in order to be able to analyze them. "

Another author of the study, Kate Konschnik, also of the Harvard Law School, concludes: "Analysis like this is really important to defining and reducing the risks for water supply and human health. Writing state regulations for reporting these factors in mind is crucial to ensuring that correct data is available in the industry, the states and the research community, and in an accessible form. "

Read More → Fracking, thousands of spills and accidents in US oil and gas wells

17.6 million Americans live near oil and gas wells and fracking

Those who live within 1 Km from active wells are more at risk of cardiac and neurological problems, cancer and malformation at birth

Physicians, Scientists and Engineers (Why) for Healthy Energy is a non-profit research institute that provides scientific and technical information based on the health, environmental and climatic impacts of energy production and use and is now published on Environmental Perspectives Health  the study "Towards Consistent Methodology to Quantify Populations in Proximity in Oil and Gas Development: A National Spatial Analysis and Review of Environmental and Climate Dimensions of Energy Production and Use," which shows that "approximately 17.6 million Americans live within a kilometer of an active oil or gas well ". The study, conducted with researchers at the California-Berkley University and Havey Mudd Collegs, is the first US census on the number of people living near petroleum and gas production sites, both traditional and fracking wells .

The Why recall that previous studies "have found that active oil and gas production degrades the quality of air, surface water and groundwater; Contaminate soil and increase exposure to noise and light pollution. According to separate studies, when people live within one kilometer of these activities, they have a greater risk of being hospitalized for numerous medical problems, including heart and neurological problems, tumors, and increased incidence and severity of asthma. Neighborhood proximity to these activities has also been associated with birth problems, including premature birth, lower birth weight, neural tube defects, and congenital heart defects.

Yet so far, only a few studies have been published to quantify populations living near petroleum and gas stations and these studies did not link pollutant emissions to certain types of oil and gas production activities.

The study's main author, Eliza Czolowski, explains, "Our study was designed specifically to determine how many Americans saw increased health risks from potential exposure to pollutants emitted by petroleum and gas activities."

In addition to computing the total population of the Usa exposed, researchers analyzed exposure in the various US states by highlighting those with particularly high percentages of population living close to active wells. West Virginia was the most risky state, with 50% of residents living near an active oil or gas well. Right after Oklahoma, it's 47%. La Czolowski. It points out that "When a member on two of a population is potentially exposed to a health risk, this becomes a concern for public health."

Nearly a quarter of Ohioans - 24% - live alongside active wells. MA is the Texas true to most people at risk: 4.5 million. Near live ponds they live 1.4 million children up to 5 years old, a subgroup very vulnerable to environmental exposures

The researchers examined both hydraulic fracturing techniques (fracking) and traditional wells, and Czolowski noted that "Despite the differences in conventional and non-conventional oil production techniques, the health risks can be very similar. Many atmospheric pollutants, including benzene, formaldehyde and particulate matter, are emitted from both conventional and non-conventional activities because they are co-produced with oil and gas, not specifically because a well is fractured hydraulically. Also the emissions of atmospheric pollutants from associated activities, such as drilling wells and truck traffic, are not specific to hydraulic fracturing. "

The researchers point out that some of the data they requested were not available and therefore encourage further studies that follow similarly stringent methodologies, focusing in particular on public health, and taking into ACCOUNT variables excluded from their study, such as population density and activities.

The study concludes that "Given the large number of individuals and the large percentage of populations potentially exposed to pollutants emitted by petroleum and gas activities, protection standards and policies should be considered. Health protection policies may include minimum distances between these activities and places where they live, play and study people, as well as a widespread deployment of the best available technologies to reduce air pollution. "

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Purpose of Barite or Baryte

In oil and gas drilling

Worldwide, 69–77% of baryte (barite) is used as a weighting agent for drilling fluids in oil and gas exploration to suppress high formation pressures and prevent blowouts. As a well is drilled, the bit passes through various formations, each with different characteristics. The deeper the hole, the more baryte (barite) is needed as a percentage of the total mud mix. An additional benefit of baryte (barite) is that it is non-magnetic and thus does not interfere with magnetic measurements taken in the borehole, either during logging-while-drilling or in separate drill hole logging. Baryte (barite) used for drilling petroleum wells can be black, blue, brown or gray depending on the ore body. The baryte (barite) is finely ground so that at least 97% of the material, by weight, can pass through a 200-mesh (75 μm) screen, and no more than 30%, by weight, can be less than 6 μm diameter. The ground baryte (barite) also must be dense enough so that its specific gravity is 4.2 or greater, soft enough to not damage the bearings of a tricone drill bit, chemically inert, and containing no more than 250 milligrams per kilogram of soluble alkaline salts.[7] In August 2010 API (American Petroleum Institute) published specifications to modify the 4.2 drilling grade standards for baryte (barite) to include 4.1 SG materials.

In oxygen and sulfur isotopic analysis

In the deep ocean, away from continental sources of sediment, pelagic baryte (barite) precipitates and forms a significant amount of the sediments. Since baryte (barite) has oxygen, systematics in the δ18O of these sediments have been used to help constrain paleotemperatures for oceanic crust.

The variations in sulfur isotopes (34S/32S) are being examined in evaporite minerals containing sulfur (ex, baryte (barite)) and carbonate associated sulfates (CAS) to determine past seawater sulfur concentrations which can help identify specific depositonal periods such as anoxic or oxic conditions. The use of sulfur isotope reconstruction is often paired with oxygen when a molecule contains both elements.

Other uses

Baryte (Barite) is used in added-value applications which include filler in paint and plastics, sound reduction in engine compartments, coat of automobile finishes for smoothness and corrosion resistance, friction products for automobiles and trucks, radiation-shielding cement, glass ceramics and medical applications (for example, a barium meal before a contrast CAT scan). Baryte (barite) is supplied in a variety of forms and the price depends on the amount of processing; filler applications commanding higher prices following intense physical processing by grinding and micronising, and there are further premiums for whiteness and brightness and color.It is also used to produce other barium chemicals, notably barium carbonate which is used for the manufacture of LED glass for television and computer screens (historically in cathode ray tubes); and for dielectrics.

Historically baryte (barite) was used for the production of barium hydroxide for sugar refining, and as a white pigment for textiles, paper, and paint

Although baryte (barite) contains a "heavy" metal (barium), it is not a toxic chemical because of its extreme insolubility.

It is also sometimes used as gemstone.

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Classification of BOP - Blowout Preventer

There are several types of BOPs, as they can be classified according to their scope, and their conformation.

Classification for use:

The first subdivision distinguishes the onshore (offshore) BOPs . The first ones are generally smaller and simpler, and are used exclusively in drilling rigs on the mainland. Submarines BOPs, on the other hand, are designed to operate in offshore fields, and therefore are used in oil platforms or drillships . They have a more advanced technology, especially for what concerns the control mode of the BOP itself having to be activated from remote locations, and are also more impressive, because of the presence of a frame (chassis) of support, and the different conformation of the wells submarines.

The split of a Blowout preventer stack: the upper one is an annular BOP, the lower one represents a BOP on a jaw.

Classification by constructive technology :

The classification as a function of their architecture, distinguishes between the so-called BOP - blowout preventer

The first ones consist of a rubber ring, perforated in the center and whose hole diameter is equal to that of the well. The ring is contained in a steel crankcase . Inside the crankcase , and under the rubber ring, a hydraulic piston is mounted , which when actuated compresses or decompresses the ring from bottom to top or from top to bottom. In this way the ring (also called anular ) is closed or opened.

The jaws BOPs are also made of a metal casing, in which there are two opposing jaws, and may differ in "Combi", that is, with jaws coupled to two to two in two arms, or "Quad", with four distinct arms.

In the case of BOP for Coiled Tubing of Quad type, we find the following rams: Top Blind Rams, which have the function of hermetically closing the shaft; Shear Rams or Cutter Rams, which have the task of cutting the coiled tubing that is well with blades, followed by the Rams Slip, which have the shape of wedges, which have the task of supporting the coiled tube section cut and left in well. Finally there are the Rams Pipe that must ensure hydraulic seal on the tube and prevent the shaft pressure from creating a Blowout.

Between the Cutters and the Slip there is a kill line, a point where fluid can be pumped to "kill" the well, that is to provide a hydrostatic to the latter, which avoids the blowout. The jaws are controlled by hydraulic pistons through which they can be closed or opened. The first jawbone BOP was invented in 1922.

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