SPE-GCS

Magic Suitcase Demonstration - Permeability

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Demonstration of permeability

15-Aug-08 11:00 AM

Magic Suitcase Demonstration - Oil Source Trapping

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Demonstration of oil source trapping

15-Aug-08 11:00 AM

Magic Suitcase Demonstration - Gas Injection in Production of Oil

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Demonstration - Gas Injection used in production of oil

15-Aug-08 11:00 AM

Magic Suitcase Advanced Demonstration - Fluid Flow through Porous Media

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Magic Suitcase advanced demonstration of fluid flow through porous media

15-Aug-08 11:00 AM

Magic Suitcase - Thank You

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Thank you for taking the time to learn about the Magic Suitcase, and for your support of this initiative.

15-Aug-08 11:00 AM

Magic Suitcase

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

The Magic Suitcase is a set of hands-on presentation materials, both audiovisual and physical demonstrations, that allow our members to convey an understanding of what we do in the oil and gas industry. These presentations teach science and engineering concepts to a wide variety of audiences, covering topics that span all segments of the oil and gas industry.

15-Aug-08 10:00 AM

Magic Suitcase Demonstration - Porosity

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Demonstration of porosity

15-Aug-08 10:00 AM

Assessment of Forecast Uncertainty in Mature Reservoirs

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Subscribe to the video podcast

The 2007–08 SPE Distinguished Lecturer Program emphasizes current industry trends, challenges, and technology. Jorge Landa has been chosen as one of the Distinguished Lecturers for this program year.

Jorge Landa is a senior adviser in reservoir engineering with Chevron Energy Technology. His work experience before joining Chevron includes 15 years with Halliburton. Landa earned MS and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from Stanford University and a mechanical engineering degree from Universidad de Buenos Aires. He has written 14 papers in the areas of history matching, uncertainty assessment, well testing and data integration in reservoir characterization.

Facing the current challenge of oil industry, modern and efficient reservoir management is necessary. Making the right decision of reservoir development utilizing all available data in a timely manner is the key of successful operation. For mature reservoirs, this requires high quality uncertainty assessment of long term performance forecast estimations. The most difficult component of the total uncertainty in forecast is the one that stems from the implicit uncertainty in the geological and reservoir simulation model. In fact, regardless the amount of reservoir data that we collect, there is no way to define uniquely the reservoir model. It is thus necessary to work in an integrated probabilistic framework; and incorporating production data into the reservoir model is an important step to reduce the associated uncertainty in reservoir characterization and performance forecast. The technical challenge is in obtaining probabilistic description of the reservoir models. For mature reservoirs, this implies finding not one, but a large number of reservoir models that are consistent not only with the geological data but also with the production data. Applying smart sampling techniques combined with Monte Carlo simulation within a probabilistic framework, and utilizing available high performance computing resources, it is feasible to find multiple solutions to the history matching problem that can be used to estimate uncertainty for making management decision in a realistic time frame. This presentation will demonstrate the practical approach to solve this critical problem using field examples.

17-Mar-08 1:00 PM

Ronald Harrell - Distinguished Lecturer Series - Podcast

noemail@spegcs.org — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:00:00 GMT

Ron Harrell is chairman at Ryder Scott Company LP, which he joined in 1968. Mr. Harrell has managed reservoir engineering and geological studies worldwide, including property evaluations for acquisitions and divestitures, financing, and reservoir management. He graduated magna cum laude with a BS degree in petroleum engineering from LouisianaTechUniversity.

At various national and international annual conferences, Mr. Harrell has delivered presentations on oil and gas appraisals, reserves definitions and classifications and differences in reserves estimates. He has led the way in exploring emerging issues on reserve reporting requirements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Harrell is the past chairman of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Oil and Gas Reserves Committee. He chaired the four Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers forums that addressed SEC interpretive positions on petroleum reserves definitions. Mr. Harrell is a member of SPE, SPEE, API Houston Chapter and TIPRO, as well as a registered professional engineer in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Right click and choose 'save target/link as' to Download “Petroleum Reserve Estimates” podcast. This is a very large file of approximately 450 MB of data. It will take approximately 5-10 minutes on a high-speed connection.

To view the podcast you will need a video player. You can either download the podcast file to your video iPod or, you can load iTunes for free onto your computer. iTunes is similar to Adobe Acrobat Reader which is needed to view a .pdf file. iTunes is used to listen and watch media files. Here is a link to download iTunes software. If you have questions about what a podcast is, you can read about it on Wikipedia.

Description of presentation:

Global events from Baghdad to Beijing and from The Hague to Houston over the recent past have ignited worldwide interest on oil and gas reserves. This renewed, expanded attention has clearly illustrated that the term “reserves” is widely misunderstood and abused – sometimes by individuals and/or organizations that should know better.

This presentation clarifies what the term “oil and gas reserves” means in several contexts. Various parties and stakeholders – for example regulators, financiers and producers – have differing needs for reserves information. However, whatever the need, all reserves estimates must be based on a sound understanding of the prevailing definitions and adequate high-quality data. Trained, ethical and independent reserves evaluators must interpret and present these estimates. The term “independent” should apply to internal reserves staff as well as third-party reserves evaluators.

The presentation will also direct attention toward an analysis of the impact of the US “Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002” on reserves estimation, verification and reporting as well as the impact of similar legislation in Canada and the U.K. The presentation will describe actions taken by several unidentified producers to ensure quality, integrity and transparency in their reserves estimating and reporting process.

15-Nov-07 2:00 PM

The Future of Yukos and the Russian Oil Business

noemail@spegcs.org — Fri, 04 May 2007 22:00:00 GMT

The SPE Gulf Coast Section is pleased to announce our first Video Podcast meeting. The dinner occurred on April 25^th and was hosted jointly with the Houston World Affairs Council. The topic was so popular that it sold out within days of being announced, making it an ideal choice for our first Podcast. We hope you find the information valuable and look forward to leveraging this communication tool in the future.

Right click and choose 'save target/link as' to Download “The Seizure of Yukos” podcast

To view the podcast you can either download the podcast file to your video iPod or, you can load iTunes onto your computer to watch from there. iTunes is similar to Adobe Acrobat which is needed to view a .pdf file. Here is a link to iTunes. If you have questions about what a podcast is, you can read about it on Wikipedia.

Subscribe to the podcast at this URL once you have iTunes installed.

Speaker Bio:
From early 2001 until the end of 2005, Mr. Misamore was Chief Financial Officer of YUKOS Oil Company. For periods during that time he was also Deputy Chairman of the YUKOS Management Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors.

Prior to joining YUKOS, Mr. Misamore had been Senior Vice President – Finance and Treasurer of PennzEnergy Company in Houston. A 28 year veteran of the oil and gas industry, Mr. Misamore’s prior positions also included Vice President and Treasurer of Pennzoil Company in Houston, various financial management positions with Marathon Oil Company/USX Corporation, investment portfolio management for a large trust company and teaching finance at a university.

Until recently Mr. Misamore was a YUKOS representative to the World Economic Forum, a member of the Board of the US-Russia Business Council, the Board of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland and the Supervisory Board of Mazeikiu Nafta in Lithuania. He is a member of Financial Executives International, and its Houston Chapter serves on FEI’s Globalization Oversight Committee. In 2004 he was named the top CEO/CFO in Russia for investor relations by IR magazine, and was recognized as an outstanding Graduate of Bowling Green State University.

Mr. Misamore earned both his BSBA in finance and his MBA from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Mr. Misamore was born in Findlay, Ohio in 1950, and moved to Houston in 1991

4-May-07 5:00 PM

Former GCS Chairman D. Raymond Perry Instrumental in the Scholarship Program

noemail@spegcs.org — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 21:00:00 GMT

As part of the 70th anniversary celebration, SPE GCS Continuing Education Chair and Web Site Chair Regina Eco interviewed long-time member and active volunteer D. Raymond Perry to get some insight into the history of the Gulf Coast Section. Perry has been an SPE member for nearly 60 years, and has volunteered at both the Section and international level. He now works as a consulting engineer and still attends SPE GCS monthly meetings.

Perry joined SPE in 1948 and became chairman of the Lou-Ark Section in 1962 and chairman of the Evangeline Section in 1968. After moving to Houston, he held numerous officer positions in the Gulf Coast Section, including director, programs chair, and chairman in 1985. At the international level, Perry has volunteered on the Nominating Committee, Distinguished Author Committee, Annual Technical Conference committee, region board of directors, U.S. Council Committee, and others.

Q: Have your employers supported your volunteering time with SPE?
A: Yes, without question.

Q: What changes have you seen in the Gulf Coast Section offerings for members?
A: Originally, there was only one meeting a month. The GCS expanded over time into various study groups like we have today. I was fortunate to be able to encourage this expansion in the 1980s. When there was an idea for a new study group, the board advanced the group $500 for start up costs. The money was well spent; just look at the results. Social activities became a bigger part of the Section in recent years, to raise money for scholarships.

Q: When did the Gulf Coast Section start raising funds for scholarships?
A: The Section began a formal program about 1983. Before that, money was taken from the treasury for two scholarships each year. As the Section grew,
individual members came up with ideas to raise more money each year. Once funding efforts became more effective, six scholarships were awarded each year. We were fortunate to have members who understood how to organize events and would volunteer to handle the events. The Section officers basically stayed out of their way, because we understood that they knew best what to do and they often volunteered to pay all the expenses for getting the first event started. The Section members and their employers have been very generous with their time and money.

Q: Has your spouse been active in the SPE Houston Auxiliary and its former scholarship quilt program?
A: My wife Virginia Perry (Gin) has been very active in the Auxiliary. Early on, the Auxiliary members sold raffle tickets for quilts they made to raise money for scholarships. I became involved with their group after I spent one hot Saturday afternoon at a shopping mall where Gin and Laura Clark had sold $20 in tickets and thought they had a good day. I told them to give me that quilt and let me take it downtown to the next SPE GCS meeting where they could sell tickets and make some real money. We also hauled those quilts to various schools to show the students the efforts that the wives made for their scholarships. Gin handled the details well, and I was just “dragged along” to some of their activities. They raised $5,000 per year for several years, for quilts that took months of work in
several stages. At any one time there would be 10 to 15 wives involved. One Auxiliary member, an artist, designed all the blocks for the quilts. Others selected the colors, sewed the blocks, or quilted from top to bottom. One home each year was used to hang the quilt in a room so the wives could surround it and stitch the parts together. It took weeks. For the most part back then, the Auxiliary did not give students scholarships as such. Instead, they made student loans, which the
students repaid after going to work upon graduation.

Q: Do you have any advice for young people entering our industry today?
A: Yes. Look ahead every day, and try to improve your knowledge. Keep up with technology and attend SPE meetings. The upstream oil industry is fun and has something new to offer you every day.

28-Sep-05 4:00 PM

Hurricane Katrina Disaster Assistance

noemail@spegcs.org — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 21:00:00 GMT

SPE expresses its deep concern for the many lives disrupted by Hurricane Katrina and for its many members in the Gulf Coast region and elsewhere who may have been touched by this disaster. SPE has nearly 1,500 members in the affected region, and many other members are wondering how they can help.

How to Help
Information from major disaster relief agencies indicates that financial contributions are the greatest need. Community agencies in surrounding states who have accepted many of the refugees also need food, water, bedding, clothing, baby supplies, and other items. If you live near one of the affected states, check with local relief organizations or your local newspaper for information on how you can help.

Connect with Other Members in Need
SPE has set up an online community for Hurricane Katrina assistance to allow members to reach out to other members in need. Members who have lodging, vehicles, or other assistance to offer can post information. Members displaced by the hurricane can review that information and post their own needs on the site. SPE has established this forum as a way for SPE members to reach out to those in need.

Accessing the Online Community
Follow the links at www.spe.org. SPE members should use their regular login. For those who may not have their login information readily available,
SPE has set up the following login for this site:

username: katrina
password: help

When you post information, please remember to identify yourself by name and with an email address where you can be reached. SPE does not recommend including a phone number unless it is the only way you can be contacted.

28-Sep-05 4:00 PM

Society of Petroleum Engineers Policy on Web Site Links

noemail@spegcs.org — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 21:00:00 GMT

The Society of Petroleum Engineers encourages open and objective sharing of information on technical and professional subjects pertinent to the interests
of SPE members.

Links to Other Sites from SPE.org

SPE.org, including its subsidiary sites like www.spegcs.org, establishes links to other organizations that offer information, goods, or services that address the technical or professional interests of individuals working in the upstream oil
and gas industry. Such links are provided as a convenience to SPE.org visitors and do not imply SPE’s endorsement of the linked sites, the organizations operating such sites, nor any products or services of those organizations. SPE is
not responsible for the contents of any linked site, any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to the information contained in such sites. The privacy policies of linked sites may differ; you should check the privacy policy of any linked sites before providing personal information.

Links on SPE.org will not include any commercially oriented text or graphics. (For information about advertising on SPE.org, contact the SPE sales
manager at sales@spe.org.)

SPE reserves the right to remove links to any other Web sites at any time. Objections to any links on SPE.org or any of its subsidiary sites should be directed to the SPE Web content manager at web@spe.org.

Links to SPE.org from Other Sites
SPE welcomes links from the Web sites of other industry-related organizations with the following conditions:

      a. No commercially oriented text or graphics may be associated with the
           link to SPE.org.
      b. Links may not imply any SPE endorsement or sponsorship of the
           organization providing the link or any of its products or services.
      c. Links may not connect directly to any SPE “knowledge assets,” including
           abstracts or papers in the SPE eLibrary, JPT Online content, content of
           any SPE online periodical, or any information that requires a login for
           access. Links to such material require special permission from SPE.
      d. Links to the SPE home page, or most other publicly available pages
           within the SPE.org site (including the main page to enter the eLibrary and
           the table of contents for JPT Online), are acceptable without notification to
           SPE.

For links to the Web sites of individual SPE Sections, please contact the Section directly to determine whether they require permission.

The following description of SPE and its purpose may be useful to organizations seeking to include a description with a link to SPE. Use of this description is not required for linking to SPE.org.

The Society of Petroleum Engineers is a worldwide, individual-member organization serving engineers, managers, and scientists in the E&P segments of the oil and gas industry. Its mission is to provide the means for collection, dissemination, and exchange of technical information concerning the developments of oil and gas resources, subsurface fluid flow, and production of other materials through wellbores for the public benefit and to provide opportunities through its programs for interested (and qualified) individuals to maintain and upgrade their individual technical competence in the aforementioned areas for the public benefit. SPE has more than 64,000
members in more than 57 countries.

28-Sep-05 4:00 PM

Then & Now October 2005

noemail@spegcs.org — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 21:00:00 GMT

October 1955
The latest drilling innovation is the ball-bearing drilling tool. A jet-type nozzle on the end of the drill pipe sprays steel balls at the bottom of the hole via the mud system. As the steel balls bombard the formation, they pulverize the rock. Some of the steel balls are carried to the surface by the mud system and are subsequently separated from the mud and propelled back downhole. # Shell pushes the Gulf of Mexico envelope by staking a location for a test 63 miles off the Texas coast in 93 ft of water. Meanwhile, Zapata Offshore Co. announces plans for a new drilling platform that will be designed for “deep drilling” (100 ft water depths) in the Gulf of Mexico at a construction cost of $2 million. (Look out China, here we come!) # A Canadian historian claims to have conclusive proof that the world’s first successful oil well was brought in at Oil Springs, Ontario, in 1857, 2 years before the Drake well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Plans are reported for the development of an international historical site commemorating the birthplace of North America’s oil industry. (Arise, ye patriots! Are we going to stand idly by and allow our own American Colonel Drake to be deprived of his just deserts?)

East Texas crude oil—$2.90/bbl
U.S. active rig count—2,768

October 1980
U.S. active rigs set an all-time record for a single week—3,164, breaking the previous record of 3,137 set back in December 1955. # Australia’s BHP Ltd. is reportedly probing the feasibility of extracting methane from coal seams and has just completed four wells to 1,500 ft in Queensland. (As Bill Skelly was once quoted as telling his geologists, “I don’t care if you find it in a manure pile, just get me some oil.”) # Activity level in the service sector accelerates to the point that Western Company of North America President John Fanning reports that the company has added 50% to its onshore workforce. # A report by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution indicates the most promising spots for future world oil exploration to be Alaska, the Soviet Union, and Mexico. The report goes so far as to state that Mexico could discover reserves in the next 50 years exceeding those of the Middle East.

U.S. active rig count—3,164

October 1995
Despite a shortage of gasoline stations that has forced Jakartan motorists to resort to using gasoline cut with kerosene in their automobiles, the city of Jakarta reports plans to remove 20 of its gasoline stations and replace them with trees to help absorb mounting levels of carbon dioxide. (Perhaps it’s a good time to invest in rickshaws.) # Gulf of Mexico operators begin returning to facilities evacuated just before Category 5 Hurricane Opal swept across the central gulf. (Sound familiar?) # Ubiquitous tar balls in Alaska’s Prince William Sound reportedly predate the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, and according to an American Chemical Society report, they may have originated all the way back to a 1964 Alaskan earthquake. # The average price of gasoline in the United States drops to its lowest level in 6 months at $1.12 per gallon for self-serve regular unleaded. (Speaking of endangered species…what ever became of the gas station attendant?)

Light sweet crude oil—$17.51/bbl
Natural gas—$1.73/MMBTU
U.S. active rig count—765

The Rest of the Yarn
For the next few months, this column will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first colossal American oil field, the East Texas field, by taking a look back at its colorful history.

The discovery well, the now famous Daisy Bradford No. 3, was brought in by C.M. (Dad) Joiner on October 3, 1930. The strike was made in an area considered a very poor risk by most geologists at the time. Joiner had tried twice unsuccessfully before finding oil in the prolific Woodbine sand at 3,592 ft on his third attempt. If the pay had been a few hundred feet deeper, this one too probably would have been plugged.

Joiner’s well, at what became known as Joinerville in Rusk County, was the first of nearly 29,000 wells completed in the first 25 years of the field’s history. At one time there were 559 operators active in the field. Shortly after the field was delineated, it was estimated that this 43-mile-long stratigraphic trap could easily produce 3 billion barrels of oil, a feat it accomplished in its first 25 years. The first quarter of a century of its history was perhaps the most fabulous and colorful of any previous period in the life of the U.S. oil industry.

Things certainly got off to a rocky start for one of the first true wildcatters. Joiner was scraping the bottom of his financial barrel. For some time before the Bradford No. 3 came in, he had paid farmhands to work as roughnecks for a few days at a time. He offered shares in the well and even in the entire Bradford lease to his crew members in lieu of pay.

The Joiner strike excited a great many people, but it was written off lightly by others as an insignificant “pocket” discovery. Some leasing began along the western periphery of the Sabine uplift, but the biggest oil boom of all time did not begin in earnest until two more wells hit. The first of these, the E.W. Bateman Crim No. 1, was located 10 miles north of the Bradford well. This strike was at first believed to be a new pool. A short while later another strike, the Moncrief-Farrell et al. Lathrop No. 1 occurred 14½ miles northeast of the Bateman well. Both the Bateman and the Moncrief-Farrell wells were much bigger than Joiner’s Bradford well, the Crim No. 1 coming in at 22,000 BOPD compared to 300 BOPD for the Bradford No. 3.

The Bateman and Moncrief-Farrell wells opened the flood gates to a tremendous influx of operators and promoters, and the boom was on in earnest. Where there were only five wells drilled by the end of 1930, more than 3,600 wells were drilled and completed by the end of 1931. With the boom came massive leasing and development in and around Kilgore, but also proration violations, price collapses,
a saltwater crisis, and even martial law being declared by the governor. More on these developments in future columns.

Readers are encouraged to submit brief, ostensibly true stories
about notable personalities from our industry’s storied past.
Submissions should be e-mailed to contest@houston.spe.org.

History Quiz
In 1995, what California oil field became the 15th billion-barrel oil field in the United States?

If you would like to participate in this month’s quiz, e-mail your
answer to contest@houston.spe.org by noon, October 15. The
winner, who will be chosen randomly from all correct answers,
will receive a $50 gift certificate to a nice restaurant.

Answer to September’s Quiz
In 1912, Standard Oil of New Jersey opened the first prototype service station in the United States.

Answer to May’s Quiz
The “Amerada” portion of the name Amerada Hess is a contraction of America and Canada, the two countries in which Amerada founder Lord Cowdray formed it to explore for oil.

Congratulations to May’s winner—David Smith with Eni Petroleum Exploration Co.

28-Sep-05 4:00 PM

From the Chair - October 2005

noemail@spegcs.org — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 20:00:00 GMT

Happy 70th Birthday! You’re looking pretty good for your age—it’s obvious you’ve been taking care of yourself, staying fit, and eating right. To celebrate, your board of directors is throwing you a birthday party at the Wiess Energy Hall on Thursday, October 13. As you are the guest of honor, there is no cost to attend. That’s right; it’s free - but you have to register online at www.spegcs.org.

We are all so very proud of you, and once again, I hear congratulations are in order. You’ve just won yet another SPE President’s Award for Section Excellence - that makes seven in a row! This is a truly impressive feat, but unlike Lance Armstrong, I expect you to strive for an eighth award this year. You have a great team and great programs here, and as you strive to repeat, don’t forget our mission statement:

The mission of the Gulf Coast Section shall be the promotion of mutual cooperation in furthering the objectives of the Society of Petroleum Engineers International Inc. This shall be accomplished by the following:

     a. Providing forums that afford members the opportunity to upgrade
          and maintain professional competence
     b. Providing social interaction that increases member participation in
          Section activities as a whole, while striving to maintain the integrity
          of the Section
     c. Supporting programs in area primary and secondary schools to
          encourage students to develop their abilities in mathematics,
          science, and engineering
     d. Supporting engineering programs at the university level
     e. Enhancing the image of the oil and gas industry by sponsoring
          community service programs.

Now, as you celebrate your birthday and your award, don’t forget to be responsible. Don’t drink and drive, and don’t raise money for nonprofit organizations without strong policies and procedures in place to prevent abuses of power and misappropriations of funds. The SPE Gulf Coast Section is a large organization, working with more than $1 million per year and with more than 12,000 members representing 20% of the worldwide SPE membership. Accordingly, numerous checks and balances are in place to ensure your hard-earned fund-raising dollars are managed properly.

One example is our Conflict of Interest Policy. I expect you to read it and understand it. Each member of the board of directors and every officer of every study group and committee are expected to read the policy and acknowledge that they are in compliance. In addition, please read the newly formed “Whistle Blower” policy designed to give you a confidential means of reporting any potential violation of the policies and procedures governing the Society of Petroleum Engineers. These and all policies and forms are available for you todownload from our Web site at www.spegcs.org.

Once again, “Happy Birthday,” and congratulations on your seventh consecutive SPE President’s Award for Section Excellence! Don’t forget to floss yourteeth and register online for the October 13th birthday celebration at Wiess Energy Hall. I look forward to seeing you there! Visit www.spegcs.org for more details.

28-Sep-05 3:00 PM