With Independence Day celebrations occurring across the U.S., in cities ranging from “one stoplight” towns (or in my youth – no stoplights, one stop sign and a 2 block long main street with asphalt) to major metro areas, freedom is on our minds. Our soldiers continue bravely fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Equally as committed, the U.S. O&G industry continues fighting to produce the natural gas and oil needed to fuel our economy and standard of life. It’s not an easy fight, and casualties do occur – the Deepwater Horizon incident being a prime example. Despite this tragedy, deepwater/ultra deepwater reserves are sorely needed.
What are also needed are the reserves, definitely oil but also natural gas, remaining in mature properties. Exploration is not needed there – but efficiency and a relook with today’s technology as many of these reservoirs were developed decades ago. It is a fact of life that many of these properties are now operated by small independents whose technical staff is limited – very knowledgeable but spread really thin. Particularly for this niche, PTTC has been a resource they can pull from to efficiently learn what they need to know to solve problems and realize opportunities. PTTC has been delivering local affordable workshops where “those who know share what they know” since 1993. The majority of the information shared is as applicable today as it was years ago when it was shared. Working together, AAPG Datapages and PTTC are now making a significant portion of this historical workshop information available in TECHPLACE at a very nominal cost. – Just $195 per year for an individual subscription, which basically equates to the cost of attending just one of PTTC’s workshops today.
PTTC’s regional organizations regularly deliver workshops that focus on the needs of independents. In an exciting development, PTTC Headquarters is augmenting this program with several series of workshops with content appropriate for mature properties. In these series of workshops there has been a conscious effort to pull in results from DOE-supported R&D projects. This is a good thing. Whatever one may think of the federal government, DOE’s oil and gas R&D program has served a niche in stimulating technology application by smaller independents. Examine the series (below), read full descriptive information on the flyers and choose which ones would work for you.:
- IOR Field Applications and Case Histories – content tailored by
location, so check out a few locations to see which best fits you- Lafayette, LA (Aug. 24)
- Jackson, MS (Aug. 26)
- Houston, TX (Sep. 2)
- Denver, CO (Sep. 8 )
- Bakersfield, CA (Sep. 29)
- Technologies Targeting Mature Properties – RPSEA Small Producer,
Stripper Well Consortium (plus, there is a special feedback session – PTTC wants insight on what you want to learn- Shreveport, LA (Aug. 23)
- Tulsa, OK (Aug. 25)
- Wichita, KS (Aug. 26)
- Mining Online Tech Information (Getting Better Answers Faster) (plus, there is that feedback session where you get to tell PTTC what you want to
learn about)- Dallas, TX (Aug. 3)
- Oklahoma City, OK (Aug. 4)
- Golden, CO (Aug. 13)
- Data Management & Technology for Mature Properties
- Dallas, TX (July 21)
- Oklahoma City (July 22)
Closing on the freedom note, there is a new study by the National Energy Policy Institute (NEPI) about “Toward a New National Energy Policy: Assessing the Options.” For now, only the executive summary is available online. There are several features in NEPI’s approach that make the study unique, so check it out. NEPI, which is located at the University of Tulsa, is a nonpartisan independent energy research organization funded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation.
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Lance Cole
E. Lance Cole, PTTC Operations Manager, an Oklahoma resident since 1978 and a registered professional engineer in Oklahoma, has served PTTC since 1996, beginning as Project Manager and then as Executive Director until AAPG assumed PTTC management responsibility. As National Project Manager, he was responsible for technical oversight of PTTC’s regional lead organizations and contract reporting for the national office, and served as a technical adviser on all aspects of the program. As Executive Director, he had primary staff responsibility for the overall PTTC organization. Mr. Cole received a B.S. in chemical engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and an M.S. in management from Southern Nazarene University. His professional experience encompasses reservoir and corrosion engineering, as well as reserve estimation and appraisal. He has worked with a major oil and gas company, a large integrated independent, and in engineering-oriented consulting companies. Mr. Cole is a member of SPE, AAPG, SEG, and SIPES and, in the past, has been involved with the SPE/DOE IOR Symposium in Tulsa for several years. Email Lance Cole.
