SPE Talks Tech: Tier Differences, Heavy Oil Innovation, and Casing Failures

Breaking down new articles in the January 2020 Journal of Petroleum Technology issue.

Trent Jacobs and Steve Rassenfoss cover emerging technology for the Journal of Petroleum Technology (JPT), SPE’s flagship publication. With SPE Talks Tech, our writers debate and discuss the hottest topics in the technical arena of the oil and gas industry.

In this episode:

JPT: What’s the Difference Between Tier 1 and Tier 2? Not Much

The formula for value in a shale play used to be simple, lease acreage in the best quality rock based on Tiers cover large areas. That standard is fading as it has become obvious that the rock is highly variable and the drilling and completion designs are just as important.

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JPT: Heavy Oil Innovation Haunted by Low Oil Prices and Bad Memories

Heavy production spiked in two Canadian wells heated by an electric cable, but it is hard to find customers there at a time when Canadian oil prices and customers remember cables in the past that died young.

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JPT: An Unconventional Challenge: Can Casing Failures During Hydraulic Fracturing Be Stopped?

The shale sector is seeking answers to a complex issue involving casing deformations that block access to long sections of a lateral. As opposed to frac hits, this rising problem is considered to be an intrawell phenomena.

Mentioned in this podcast

SPE International App: https://www.spe.org/en/members/speiapp/

SPE Events: https://www.spe.org/en/events/about-events/

Trent Jacobs ?? tjacobs@spe.org

Steve Rassenfoss ?? srassenfoss@spe.org