Scouts – Oil Patch Detectives
Oil scouts like Justus McMullen often braved harsh winters (and sometimes armed guards) to visit well sites. Their intelligence debunked rumors and “demystified” reports about oil wells producing in...
View ArticleThis Week in Petroleum History, July 27 – August 2
July 27, 1918 – Launch of First Concrete Oil TankerRare image of the world’s first concrete oil tanker, the 98-foot-long “Socony” built for Standard Oil Company of New York.America’s first concrete...
View ArticleNylon, a Petroleum Polymer
The world’s first synthetic fiber is the petroleum product “Nylon 6.” It is discovered by a DuPont chemist who produces the polymer from chemicals found in oil.“Women show off their nylon pantyhose to...
View ArticleMarcellus, Utica provide 85% of U.S. shale gas production growth since start...
The productivity of natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale and the neighboring Utica Shale is steadily increasing because of ongoing improvements in precision and efficiency of horizontal drilling...
View ArticleArtificial Lift: What to Do When the Drilling is Done
Thus far we have explored the current technological practices involved in directional drilling; completing a well, including casing, perforating and stimulation; we have discussed enhanced oil...
View ArticleNew methanol and fertilizer plants to increase already-growing industrial...
Reversing a decline that lasted more than a decade, industrial natural gas consumption has grown steadily since 2009 as relatively low natural gas prices have supported use of natural gas as a...
View ArticleEIA reports show different aspects of U.S. oil production statistics and trends
EIA publishes several reports covering current crude oil and natural gas production conditions and how recent trends may affect the near-term outlook for the oil and gas industry. Each EIA product is...
View ArticleConventional Oil E&P — Should you Rethink your Strategy?
The story of the US domestic oil patch over the past 14 years has been squarely focused on unconventionals—Barnett Shale, Fayetteville, Woodford, Haynesville, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Mississippian Lime,...
View ArticleElectricity from natural gas surpasses coal for first time, but just for one...
In April, traditionally the month when total electricity demand is lowest, U.S. generation of electricity fueled by natural gas exceeded coal-fired generation for the first time since the start of...
View ArticleCoal, nuclear, and renewables expected to boost Vietnam's electricity capacity
Vietnam is poised to significantly transform its electrical power generation mix over the next two decades as it modernizes the country's agrarian economy to become a more industrialized nation. To...
View ArticleExploring Seismic Waves
A sign and marker commemorating the August 9, 1921, test of seismic technology is located on I-35 at a scenic turnout near Ardmore, Oklahoma, about halfway between Oklahoma City and Dallas.An earth...
View ArticleAlley Oop’s Oil Roots
The popular Depression era comic strip caveman Alley Oop began in the imagination of a cartoonist who drew Permian Basin oilfield maps.A 1995 postage stamp commemorates “Alley Oop” by Victor Hamlin, a...
View ArticleThis Week in Petroleum History, August 3 – August 9
August 3, 1769 – The Petroleum Discovery at Rancho La BreaThe La Brea “tar pits” are discovered during a Spanish expedition. “We debated whether this substance, which flows melted from underneath the...
View ArticleDiscovering the La Brea “Tar Pits”
Outside the Page Museum of Los Angeles, life-size replicas of several extinct mammals are featured at the Rancho La Brea in Hancock Park. Although commonly called the “tar pits,” the pools are...
View ArticleAlgeria is reforming its laws to attract foreign investment in hydrocarbons
Algeria is the third-largest oil producer in Africa, after Nigeria and Angola, and the largest natural gas producer in Africa. However, production of both oil and natural gas has declined over the past...
View ArticleSwaps, Options and Forwards: Oilfield Financing Part II
As we’ve seen, there is a lot of knowledge and technology that goes into planning a well, much less a pad of wells, or a drilling program for a hot play like the Eagle Ford. You probably need a good...
View ArticleMonthly power sector carbon dioxide emissions reach 27-year low in April
The electric power sector emitted 128 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MMmt CO2) in April 2015, the lowest for any month since April 1988, according to the most recent estimates in EIA's Monthly...
View ArticleRussia is world's largest producer of crude oil and lease condensate
Russia is the world's largest producer of crude oil (including lease condensate) and the second-largest producer of dry natural gas, after the United States. Hydrocarbons play a large role in the...
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