Latest Oil Field Technology

Laversab, Inc. is a prime supplier of hazardous location computers, terminals and displays to the extremely demanding oilfield service industry. The cutting-edge technology that Laversab has created is among the most sophisticated and innovative technology in existence. Their innovative computers are Class 1, Div 1 and Div 2 certified by UL, certified for Zone 1 and 2 locations by ATEX as well as IECEx certified. The devices are built to survive in the most rugged and extreme of oilfield environments. Laversab Oilfield systems are in use in every corner of the world and under every possible climactic condition.

In the oilfield domain, new advances have appeared on the horizon. Here are six innovative ways experts hope will make the next oil spill less tragic.

1. A clay sponge to draw out oil and leave water behind

We reach for a sponge to clean up spills in our kitchens, so imagine what a giant one could do for a spill. While it seems like science fiction, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a super-lightweight clay sponge to draw out oil from contaminated water. The extracted oil could then be recycled. The substance, which experts are calling an aerogel, is a freeze-dried mixture of clay with a polymer and air. It works in freshwater, salt water and on plain surfaces. Researchers are developing the sponge for further tests. You can learn more about aerogel here.

2. One boat to out-skim them all

Booms and skimmers are popular cleanup devices currently used in oil spills, but skimming cannot be done in rough, windy seas, nor is it effective at night when visibility is low. However, the company Extreme Spill Technology has developed a high-speed skimming vessel that the company claims can solve these issues. While traditional skimmers cannot successfully operate in waves higher than 1.5 meters, EST’s boat can skim in waves higher than 3 meters. The lightweight vehicles can operate faster than traditional skimmers, and the machines do not clog as easily. The boat has been successfully tested by the Canadian Coast Guard. As CEO David Prior shared with MNN, the company plans to sell the boats worldwide.

3. Magnetic soap may clean tainted water

One of the main “cleaners” on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill were dispersants. As we previously reported, almost 3 million liters of dispersants and soaps were used in the cleanup. However, dispersants are problematic because they do not easily break down in the environment. Scientists from the University of Bristol have developed a new, iron-rich salty soap that reacts to magnetic forces once it is in the water. The salts form a magnetic core when placed in a solution. When a magnetic force is applied, the core — with the oil — rises to the surface of the water. The research is still theoretical, but experts hope that it's the first step toward a new, important cleaning formula.

4. A special skimmer with groove technology

After the 2010 spill, Wendy Schmidt, president of the Schmidt Family Foundation, which works to create clean energy solutions, launched the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE. The $1.4 million competition encouraged the best and brightest in the field of oil cleanup to present their solutions. The winner was Elastec/American Marine, an Illinois-based company that developed a kind of barrel skimmer than can separate oil from water, even in waves. The skimmer met the contest’s minimum requirement of an efficiency rate of 70 percent, skimming as much as 2,500 gallons per minute.

5. Kevin Costner’s oil filtration machine

When you think of Kevin Costner and water, you might picture the Oscar-winning actor sporting gills and swimming around an underwater ski lift. (See the actor’s 1995 watery post-apocalyptic film, "Waterworld.") However, it was the Gulf oil spill that revealed Costner’s greener side. Alongside his scientist brother Dan, Costner debuted an oil-filtration device that had been in development for more than a decade. As we previously reported, Costner has invested $26 million of his own money into a device that works on a centrifuge principle, separating and jettisoning clean water from oil. In 2011, it was revealed that British Petroleum had spent $16 million on the devices, even though they were shown to have failed initial field tests. While the devices show some promise, they became easily clogged with the heavier, sticker oils once in the field.

6. Peat moss mixture cleans up

Nature may soon mop up after our spills. Scientists in Norway have discovered that simple peat moss is an extremely good at absorbing oil. The company Kallak Torvstrøfabrikk is developing a product called Kallak Absorbent, which can be placed directly into the oil-soaked water. Ragnar Kallak, the company's founder, explained it to Science Daily: “[Peat moss] absorbs the oil on contact and encapsulates it. Water does not penetrate the peat moss, so the encapsulated oil is trapped in a non-sticky crust which is easily removed from the surface of the water.” Kallak Absorbent was deemed a success against a 2009 oil spill off the coast of Norway.

Oilfield Terminology (Part 3)

This is part three in our series on oilfield terminology. So far, in part 1, we've covered the following basic terms and concepts: petroleum engineering, natural gas, hydrocarbon, gasoline, reservoir and drilling rig. In part 2, we shifted gears a bit and introduced a panoply of totally new concepts; those being: blowout, tool pusher, pig, moon pool. The following article is hopefully going to further expand our oilfield ken.

Petroleum Play

Petroleum Play (sometimes simply just "play") is a group of oil prospects or oil fields located in the same region that are controlled by an identical set of geological circumstances. Its most common use is in the realm of the exploitation and extraction of hydrocarbon-based resources.

The typical steps in the actual play cycle are as follows:

1. Initial observations of potential reserves
2. Testing & adjustments made to the opening estimates of extraction
3. High degree of success in identifying and extracting oil from reserves
4. Lower degree of success as the reserves begin to get depleted
5. Gradual decrease in further exploration of the region

Oil Depot

An oil depot, which is at times also called an oil terminal, is an industrial facility for the storing of oil & petrochemical products. These products are generally sent out to end users or further storage facilities. Oil depots are typically located near refineries, but some are actually attached to pipelines from which they draw their supplies.

Roughneck

A roughneck is a term used to describe the hard-manual labor workers in the oilfield industry. Although the term is used to describe a bevy of different hard-manual workers across different industries, it is most commonly used to describe oil rig workers. The term has been around for quite some time now. It became popular in the 1930s. The physically demanding work helped the workers develop thick, strong, burly necks, making them easily distinguishable from the rest of the crowd. And so, for this reason, the term caught on like wildfire. People seem to use the term with a badge of honor; there is no derogatory connotation to the term whatsoever.

Petrochemicals

Petrochemicals are chemical products that are derived from petroleum. A great deal of chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or even renewable sources like corn or sugar cane. The 2 most common petrochemical classes are olefins (which includes ethylene and propylene) and aromatics (which includes benzene, toluene & xylene isomers). Oil refineries make olefins and aromatics by fluid catalytic cracking of petroleum fractions. Chemical plants produce olefins through the steam cracking of natural gas liquids such as ethane and propane.

Oilfield Terminology (Part 2)

We are continuing our series on oil field terminology. Below we have listed another handful of terms and concepts that are key to getting a better grip of the oil industry.

Blowout

Here is one of the terms you hope you never have to hear again. Talk about a catastrophe, both in terms of financial and environmental. A blowout is basically the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well. This occurs after the pressure control systems have failed.

Before the advent of pressure control equipment in 1921, the uncontrolled release of oil and gas from a well while drilling was super common. People called it oil gusher back then, or even gusher or wild well. The minutest spark can lead to an incredibly catastrophic oil or gas fire.

Tool Pusher

A tool pusher (also spelled toolpusher) is a job within the oil drilling industry. It is sometimes also called a pusher for short. On a land drilling rig, the pusher can also be the rig manager, making him responsible for each of the operations on deck. On drillships, however, or on offshore oil rigs, pushers are basically department heads that are in charge of the drilling department and reporting to the OIM (or the Offshore Installation Manager). This all depends on the company, of course. The majority of the time, companies like to do it where there is an Offshore Installation Manager who the toolpusher reports to.

Pig

No, we are not talking about those pink creatures with the voracious appetites. In the oil field domain, the term pig, is actually a a nound and a verb. In the context of piplines, pigging refers to the practice of using devices called pigs that perform various maintenance operations on a pipeline.

The included operations consist of cleaning and inspecting the pipeline. This is accomplished by inserting the pit into what is known as a "pig launcher". A pig launcher, or a launching station, is an oversized section in the pipeline. The launcher is closed and the flow of the product in the pipeline is actually used to push it along in the pipe. This continues on until it reaches the receiving trap, known as the pig catcher.

Moon Pool

A moon pool is a feature of marine drilling-platforms, drill-ships & diving support vessels. It is also called a wet porch in underwater habitats. A moon pool is an opening in the floor or base of the hull, chamber, or platform giving access to the water beneath it, which allows the technical staff or even the researchers to lower tools and instruments into the sea. In the oilfield systems domain, a moon pools are used in just the same way, only that the degree to which they are depended on varies. Today's drilling-platforms use the most sophisticated moon pools. They are integral to the success of the operation.

Oilfield Terminology (Part 1)

So we are making an effort to give the general population a better understanding of what value Laversab brings to society. And it'd make sense to start by listing and defining some basic terms - to familiarize everyone with the oilfield terminology. The oil industry is an incredibly demanding and exciting industry which employs among the most sophisticated technology around. Who would have thought that the oil industry would get so technologically advanced? If you weren't cognizant of this, no worries, you are not in the minority. Most likely, the technological advances in the oil industry wouldn't be all that you weren't cognizant of, and so, it is our goal to make the discipline much easier to apprehend. We will try and meet that goal by going over some of the core concepts that those in the oil industry must have a firm understanding of.

Let us start by making explicit what we mean by oilfield terminology. Oilfield terminology encompasses those jargon terms which are used by folks working in the upstream segment of the petroleum industry. It includes terms describing equipent, professions, and procedures specific to the industry. Some of these terms are formal terms with formal definitions - made official by leaders in the industry. Others are slang terms that have become popular over time - many of them used by oilfield workers long before being considered terms worth referencing.

Petroleum Engineering

Petroleum Engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the development and exploitation of crude oil and natural gas fields. It also includes the technical analysis and forecasting of their future performance. A petroleum engineer aims to extract gaseous and liquid hydrocarbon products from the earth. Everything from dilling, to producing, to processing, and to transporting these products falls under the petroleum engineer's job responsibility.

Natural gas

Natural gas is a fossil fuel that is formed when layers of buried plants, animals, and gases are exposed to intense heat and pressure over thousands and thousands of years. Plants obtain energy from the sun, and that energy is stored in the form of chemical bonds in natural gas. Because natural gas cannot be replenished on a human time frame, it is a nonrenewable resource. It is a hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting mostly of methane. Natural gas is an energy source that is very valuable when it comes to electricity generation. Also, when it comes to fueling vehicles, natural gas is by far one of the most efficient energy sources. Natural gas is most often found deep into the ground - in underground rock formations.

Hydrocarbon

A hydrocarbon is any of a class of organic compounds consisting entirely of both hydrogen and carbon. Most hydrocarbons that are found on earth naturally occur in crude oil. Decomposed organic matter provides a great deal of carbon and hydrogen, which can lead to an endless chain of when bonded.

Petroleum

Petroleum is a naturally occurring, oily, thick, typically dark-colored liquid that is a mixture of various hydrocarbons, occurring naturally in many different places in the world. It is commonly obtained by drilling and it is used either in a natural state or a refined state as fuel. It is most commonly separated by distillation into gasoline, and in lesser cases, benzene, kerosene, naphtha and paraffin. The term petroleum covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that are made up of refined crude oil. Petroleum is recovered mainly via oil drilling.

Gasoline

Gasoline is a clear liquid derived from petroleum. It is mainly used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. Gasoline consists mostly of organic compounds that are obtained by the fractional distillation of petroluem. Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts. Without it, gasoline could not be produced.

Reservoir

A reservoir is a subsurface rock formation that contains one or more than one individual and and separate natural accumulations of moveable petroleum, confined by rock that is impermeable and characterized by a single pressure system.

Drilling Rig

A drilling rig is a machine that is used to create large holes in the ground. They can be massive structures - used not just for oil wells or natural gas extraction wells, but for water wells as well. In the case of an oil or natural gas drilling rig, the sizes vary, but they are mostly very large in size. They are used to identify geologic reservoirs, as well as to create holes that allow the extraction of oil or natural gas from those reservoirs.

Oil and natural gas wells have traditionally been drilled vertically, at depths ranging from a few thousand feet to as deep as five miles. Today, advances in drilling technology allow oil and natural gas companies to reach more reserves while reducing environmental impact by:

• reducing the surface “footprint” of drilling operations
• drilling smaller holes and generating less waste
• creating less noise,
• avoiding sensitive ecosystems
• completing operations more quickly.

Here are some technologies used:

Horizontal Drilling - Horizontal drilling starts with a vertical well that turns horizontal within the reservoir rock in order to expose more open hole to the oil. These horizontal “legs” can be over a mile long; the longer the exposure length, the more oil and natural gas is drained and the faster it can flow. More oil and natural gas can be produced with fewer wells and less surface disturbance. However, the technology only can be employed in certain locations.

Multilateral Drilling - Sometimes oil and natural gas reserves are located in separate layers underground. Multilateral drilling allows producers to branch out from the main well to tap reserves at different depths. This dramatically increases production from a single well and reduces the number of wells drilled on the surface

Extended Reach Drilling - Extended Reach Drilling - Extended reach drills allow producers to reach deposits that are great distances away from the drilling rig. This can help producers tap oil and natural gas deposits under surface areas where a vertical well cannot be drilled, such as under developed or environmentally sensitive areas. Wells can now reach out over 5 miles from the surface location. Offshore, the use of extended reach drilling allows producers to reach accumulations far from offshore platforms, minimizing the number of platforms needed to produce all the oil and gas. Onshore, dozens of wells can be drilled from a single location, reducing surface impacts.

Complex Path Drilling - Complex well paths can have multiple twists and turns to try to hit multiple accumulations from a single well location. Using this technology can be more cost effective and produce less waste and surface impacts than drilling multiple wells.

Rock and fluid properties will determine how much oil and natural gas can be recovered from a reservoir. After an exploratory well has been drilled, it is evaluated to determine if there is enough oil and natural gas in the reservoir to make it economically feasible to initiate recovery operations.

Drill Cuttings and Core Samples - As the drilling mud is brought to the surface, it is run through a sieve to removed the drill cuttings (pulverized rock) before the mud is recycled down into the well. Small pieces of rock are selected for microscopic analysis to determine the type of rock being drilled, how porous it is, and whether oil is present. The drilling mud also is analyzed with sensors to see if trace amounts of oil or natural gas are present — an indication of a possible accumulation at depth. In the past, rock cuttings were the principal source of well information.

Well Logging - A special bit can be used to cut a cylindrical piece of rock that can be brought to the surface for analysis. The core is sent to a laboratory where the exact porosity and permeability can be determined. This gives a good indication of how well oil or natural gas would flow through the rock. Fluid samples can be taken and analyzed to determine the amount and type of hydrocarbon present in the rock.

Wells are completed for production if the value of the recoverable oil and/or natural gas is greater than the cost of drilling and producing them and delivering them to market. If not, the well is plugged In accordance with industry standards and federal or state requirements (depending on the location) and the site is restored.

Laversab’s latest Atex computers - the Zone-1 and Zone-2 rig-floor computers are designed to overcome challenges presented by drill rig environments.

Onshore Drilling (Part 3)

As of result of advances in horizontal drilling natural gas resources in shale basins has been more accessible leading to more diversified sources of natural gas. Combining this with other technologies such as seismic imaging has contributed to lower marginal operating and capital costs, which in turn allow natural gas producers to more economically extract natural gas from resources.

Horizontal drilling also permits the development of natural resources with minimal above-ground disturbance, reducing the environmental footprint of natural gas operations and the cost and potential disturbance of existing roads or other infrastructure. Directional drilling and horizontal drilling terms are often used interchangeably. Directional drilling refers to drilling at a slant or angle to increase contact with the resource. Horizontal drilling is a type of directional drilling. Horizontal drilling uses a technique known as hydraulic fracturing in order to extract natural gas from geologic formations. For more information please visit our hydraulic fracturing section. Measurement while drilling is something that is carefully done during this process. To fail to do so can be financially crippling - leaving plenty of money on the table.

Most wells drilled for water, oil, natural gas, information or other subsurface objectives are vertical wells - drilled straight down into the earth. However, drilling at an angle other than vertical can obtain information, hit targets and stimulate reservoirs in ways that can not be achieved with a vertical well. In these cases, an ability to accurately steer the well in directions and angles that depart from the vertical is a valuable ability.

When directional drilling is combined with hydraulic fracturing some rock units which were unproductive when drilled vertically can become fantastic producers of oil or natural gas. Examples are the Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin and the Bakken Formation of North Dakota.

Why Drill Wells That Are Non-Vertical?

Directional and horizontal drilling have been used to reach targets beneath adjacent lands, reduce the footprint of gas field development, increase the length of the "pay zone" in a well, deliberately intersect fractures, construct relief wells and install utility service beneath lands where excavation is impossible or extremely expensive.

Sometimes a reservoir is located under a city or a park where drilling is impossible or forbidden. This reservoir might still be tapped if the drilling pad is located on the edge of the city or park and the well is drilled at an angle that will intersect the reservoir.

If a rock unit is fifty feet thick, a vertical well drilled through it would have a pay zone that is fifty feet in length. However if the well is turned and drilled horizontally through the rock unit for five thousand feet then that single well will have a pay zone that is five thousand feet long - this will usually result in a significant productivity increase for the well. When combined with hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling can convert unproductive shales into fantastic reservoir rocks.

This is done by drilling in a direction that intersects a maximum number of fractures. The drilling direction will normally be at right angles to the dominant fracture direction. Geothermal fields in granite bedrock usually get nearly all of their water exchange from fractures. Drilling at right angles to the dominant fracture direction will drive the well through a maximum number of fractures.

Onshore Drilling (Part 2)

Cable tool drilling has historically taken many forms. These tools have now become so sophisticated, and so complex, that it takes a company like Laversab oilfield systems to generate said tools. Laversab oilfield systems has created highly advanced surface system equipment. In the early days of percussion drilling, equipment was very crude compared to today’s technology. The ‘springpole’ technique, used in the early 1800s, consisted of a flexible pole (usually a tree trunk) anchored at one end, and laying across a fulcrum, much like a diving board. The flexible pole, or springpole, would have a heavy bit attached at the loose end. In order to get the bit to strike the ground, workers would use their own body weight to bend the pole toward the ground, allowing the bit to strike rock. The tension in the pole would spring the bit free, in case it became stuck in the ground.

Many improvements have been made since these early percussion rigs. In fact, it was from cable tool drilling that one of the most important drilling advancements was made. In 1806, David and Joseph Ruffner were using the springpole technique to drill a well in West Virginia. In order to prevent their well from collapsing, they used hollow tree trunks to reinforce the sides of the well, and to keep water and mud from entering the well as they dug. They are credited as the first drillers to use a casing in their well – an advancement that made drilling much more efficient and easily accomplished. It is believed by many that ‘Colonel’ Drake’s 1856 well achieved success due to the use of steel casing to reinforce the well. Drake’s well was drilled using steam powered cable tool drilling methods.

Innovations, such as the use of steam power in cable tool drilling, greatly increased the efficiency and range of percussion drilling. Conventional man-powered cable tool rigs were generally used to drill wells 200 feet or less, while steam powered cable tool rigs, consisting of the familiar derrick design, had an average drilling depth of 400 to 500 feet. The deepest known well dug with cable tool drilling was completed in 1953, when the New York Natural Gas Corporation drilled a well to a depth of 11,145 feet. Despite the historical significance of cable tool drilling, modern drilling activity has shifted mainly toward rotary drilling methods. However, the foundation of knowledge laid by years of cable tool drilling is, in many cases, directly transferable to the practice of rotary drilling.

Horizontal Drilling

Horizontal drilling is flexible in that it allows for the extraction of natural gas that had previously not been feasible. Although on the surface it resembles a vertical well, beneath the surface, the well inclines so that it runs parallel to the natural gas formation. These legs can go in different directions at different depths and can be more than one mile long horizontally, in addition to the vertical well that can be thousands of feet below the surface. Horizontal drilling allows one surface well to branch out underground and tap many different natural gas resources. It also allows the well to make contact with larger areas within productive formations.