Posted on 05/21/2008 10:25:36 AM PDT by Red Badger
High prices still haven't prompted companies to use advanced extraction methods.
Even with record-high oil prices, about two-thirds of the oil in known oil fields is being left in the ground. That's because existing technologies that could extract far more oil--as much as about 75 percent of the oil in some oil fields--aren't being widely used, according to experts in the petroleum industry.
Several well-established technologies, including "smart oil fields," exist that could significantly boost the supply of petroleum from oil reservoirs. But a lack of investment in such technologies, particularly by the national oil companies that control the vast majority of the world's oil reserves, is holding back implementation. When oil is drawn from a field too quickly, or from a bad location, or with the wrong kind of well, large amounts of oil can be left behind, says Richard Sears, a visiting scientist at MIT who has served as a vice president for exploration at Royal Dutch Shell, based in the Netherlands. But the best technologies for managing an oil field require up-front investment--when an oil field is mapped and characterized and the first wells are drilled--and the payoff can take decades.
In most oil reservoirs, the oil resides in porous rock in geologic layers that are tens of meters thick but stretch for miles. A conventional oil well is a vertical shaft, so it is in contact with only a narrow cross section of the reservoir. Such a well depends on oil percolating through microscopic pores over long distances. That can slow production, and often oil can be stranded inside the irregular geometry of the oil field.
For 15 to 20 years, however, it's been possible to drill horizontal wells. These follow along the length of an oil field, so that the well is in contact with oil for miles, rather than for just several meters. What's more, advanced imaging technologies and new drilling rigs have made it possible in recent years to drill to an accuracy of one or two meters, Sears says. The increased precision in drilling allows oil companies to stay close to the top of the reservoir, where the oil is, and away from the water that can exist in the reservoir.
It has also become possible to make "smart wells" that include sensors that can survive the extreme temperatures and pressures found deep underground. These allow oil companies to detect, for example, when water, instead of oil, is being pulled into the well, and to quickly shut off production from that area, while continuing to produce from other sections of the well.
Such smart oil fields have started to become more common for international oil companies such as Shell, Exxon-Mobil, and BP. But they still aren't used in most oil fields. And their use is particularly low in fields run by national oil companies, says Larry Schwartz, a longtime researcher and scientific advisor for Schlumberger, a Houston-based company that provides various services to oil companies.
Schlumberger historically focused on providing services at the "front end," he says, which includes taking measurements, such as of the amount of oil and how easy the oil will be to produce, and "drilling sophisticated wells." But since oil prices have been high, the company's biggest revenue stream has come from projects related to improving existing wells, such as by fracturing rock underground to try to improve oil production at conventional wells that have stopped producing as much as they used to.
Steven Koonin, BP's chief scientist, says that cutting-edge research could lead to automated oil rigs on the sea floor, ultra-deep-water ocean drilling, and arctic exploration and production, as well as to technology for extracting oil from unconventional sources, such as shale. But although oil prices have been higher than $60 a barrel for almost three years, Koonin says that for the most advanced technologies, "oil prices will have to stay high for a couple of years longer before companies think they can make big investments."
Hey! Watch it!
Course VII, ‘74.
Except for, as I must point out repeatedly, their justifiable fear of the loose-cannon hissyfits of the moonbat-spooked Congress. That alone can break any deal.
This is what happened a while (decades ago) back.
Domestic producers started pumping, and OPEC ramped up production to undercut them and make their investment worthless.
That's easy to answer. Fax a request to the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC to send you the latest annual report. They will do so, for free. I faxed them as a simple teacher of American Government (Advanced Placement program -- something CFR supports) and they sent me loads of info on them and the globalist movement. I think that since AP teachers are usually culled from the most liberal faculty members, so by association I must be one of them! That's a guess but I did get a huge response. Anyway, In the back of the annual report there are lists of names for members of various levels including corporate donors and senior members. Then match a list of the of Shell Oil board members and I'll bet you get hits. Especially among the ceo, coo, and cfo if they're different folks. But you have to know folks names, not titles, because those are never listed. Even President Clinton is referred to as William Jefferson Clinton. Gotcha, wise guy.
Rice, Condoleezza - Secretary of State; former National Security Advisor (2001-2005)
Richardson, Frank E. - former President and CEO of Shell Oil Co.
Richardson, Henry J. III - professor at Temple University
Richardson, John - former Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs under Ford
Richardson, William B. "Bill" - Governor of New Mexico (2003-present); former Ambassdor to the United Nations and Secretary of Energy under Clinton
Richardson, William R. (Gen.) - former U.S. Army TRADOC commander under Reagan
That is just a tiny excised slice of the pie. Look at the whole list and you'll see who has sold their souls to Satan for a seat at the table of power.
Btw, who is the current President of Shell Oil? Do you see him there? I'll bet you do.
Although I don't use this product, since people are starting to use bicycles more, people might be interested in this autoshifting bicycle.
Autoshifting bicycleAlso, I'm keeping an eye on developments in bio-fuel production.
First, the bad news about ethanol. Ethanol fires are evidently harder to control than gasoline fires.
Ethanol fires hard to control 1Hopefully, ways will be developed to make controlling ethanol fires easier.
Ethanol fires hard to control 2
On the brighter side concerning ethanol, there's now evidence that people might get as much, or more, bang per buck for their gas dollars with gas / ethanol mixtures.
Gas-competitive gas / ethanol mixturesAlso, I was surprised by the introduction of a machine (popularly known as a still) for making home-made ethanol.
EFuel100In stark contrast to the 1700 gallons of water required to make one gallon of corn-based ethanol as indicated by the OP, the EFuel100 uses only 170 gallons of water to produce 35 gallons of ethanol In other words, the EFuel100 uses less than 1% (about 0.2%) as much water as corn ethanol, under five gallons, to produce one gallon of ethanol.
But also note that the water used in the EFuel100 process does not take into account the water needed to grow the sugar that is used for this process.
And watch out for fines for violating biofuel regulations.
Fines for violating biofuel regulationsAlso, progress is being made in the development of other non-corn ethanol production technologies as well.
Non-corn ethanolFinally, I've also been hearing good things about biodiesel production but need to find some links.
Marxist freepers rock! (/sarcasm)
“If the oil companies can’t utilize some of their mass, windfall profits to at least build additional refineries, we need to ‘redistribute’ their ill-gotten gains to the industrial base, and individual taxpayers, of this country to offset the damage. With extreme riches comes sizeable responsibilities.”
On % profit on investment every oil company should close down tomorrow,
What they make can’t justify their staying in business.
They are about 2% below minimum that I was taught in economics in college in the 50s.
Did you pray for a new pony too??
You don’t seem to take very well to being doubted or questioned, teach. Too bad for your “AP” students.
Actually, I did know one of the two Shell people listed -— Frank Richardson, who was CEO around 20 years ago. Always wondered what he was doing in retirement and would never have dreamed he has gotten into Satanism as you charge (he was, after all, an engineer and in my experience engineers tend to be pretty firmly connected to reality -— unlike a certain AP teacher I’ve recently encountered). Despite the fact that I remember him as a wonderful individual as well as a great CEO, I’m the first to admit you can’t tell a book by its cover.
Sold his soul to Satan you say; well, who would have thunk?
I apologize for having missed the fact that you asked who the current Shell Oil CEO is. His name is John Hofmeister. I don’t know him or very much about him other than bits and pieces of his testimony before the Senate today. I don’t see his name on your list, but he could be the devil himself for all I know (the executive succession criteria from times past may have been altered radically as a result of the influence of the international Satanists you’ve mentioned). His comments seemed reasonable enough (certainly more so than the “boob-bait” being dished out by the Senators), but who knows, really?
Well, I must be doing something right, I have the highest pass rate on the AP exam of anybody in the history of my inner city school. Also, as kids rotate thru my other courses and their younger siblings go to the school, those parents keep calling the school and demanding the younger kid be put into my classes. I think you might benefit from my Psychology class, clearly you have issues.
I know I have issues, so I'm not in denial which is always the first symptom of a more serious ailment. I'm not a real psychologist, I just teach the subject and I did stay at a Holiday Inn a few times, but I think you suffer from DOUBTING THOMAS syndrome. A sure cure is to read the Book of Revelation along with a book titled The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey. In the meantime, I'm inching within just a few years until retirement and I'm going to keep on having a blast. In the quiet moments, I'll pray for you.
You know, the Prince of Darkness is really a winsome cat. He's attractive and folks want to be around him.... He's always the life of that extra wild party! A lot of the folks who serve him do so out of ignorance or a host of other reasons none of which entertain an eternity of swimming in a Lake of Fire. "Normal" folks who attend church on Christmas and Easter and think of themselves as Christians always like to think of the Devil as a guy in a stupid outfit with horns and a red pitchfork. Satan loves that. You don't have to sign your name in blood, just take your eyes off Jesus Christ and he'll walk you down that gentle path into Hell.
How do I know so much about the devil? I've been among his best customers for decades. Everyday is a struggle to follow Christ but then I look around and see Bible Prophesy splashed across the front pages and it gets easier. Also, I get the occasional doubting thomas with a sly twist of sarcasm and it reminds me to try and be more understanding and gentle. As a former Infantry Captain, my success rate at this is less than stellar, so if I've come off here as you have to me, I apologize. Take it easy, I certainly am.
Watch what happens when the RATs start losing revenue off oil.
The RATs have the cure, same with tobacco, higher taxes..
Just a thought.
And thank you for your post.
/Salute
Government education....
Your understanding would be incorrect.
Speaking as someone has been employed in the oil industry for nearly three decades, that couldn't be more wrong.
During my career, it has been a very cyclical industry, and many times we were losing money. The result was layoffs of employees and reduced drilling for only the high probability of success wells.
The entire wave of mergers which ended companies like Amoco, ARCO, Texaco and Phillips was because they were not situated in places to survive the downturn in oil prices.
I don't know how many rounds of layoffs I've survived in my career. It's more than 10.
Yes, it's a boom now. But a bust is surely somewhere around the corner. I've seen it too many times.
If oil companies controlled the prices, all those companies I just mentioned would still be around. In some cases, the brand name survives as a marketing tool for gas stations, but the companies are long gone.
Oil companies don’t make more profit when oil goes up—they make LESS profit per gallon! Taxes far exceed the oil company profit per gal.
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