HOME PAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS, Print Editions, Newsletter PRODUCTS READ THE PETROLEUM NEWS ARCHIVE! ADVERTISING INFORMATION EVENTS PAY HERE

Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
October 2006

Vol. 11, No. 41 Week of October 08, 2006

Oil Patch Insider

Norwegians drawn to Canada’s sticky, black stuff; No word yet on Rutter’s Glennallen gas well

Watch for the Norwegian flag to join the United Nations of the Oil Sands.

Statoil, Norway’s largest oil producer, is hunting for partners to both extract bitumen from northern Alberta and participate in developing technology for that process, a company spokeswoman said.

If a deal is struck, Norway would join the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, Japan and South Korea among the international players in the oil sands, with India likely to be next to fall to the lure of the sticky black tarry substance.

The Statoil official said the 30-year-old company is exploring opportunities to gain a foothold in “one of the world’s largest reserves of non-conventional oil.”

Prodding the decision is the strength of crude oil prices and shrinking output from maturing offshore fields in the North Sea, which underpins Statoil’s success.

The spokeswoman said Statoil could apply technological knowledge acquired from its participation in Venezuela’s Sincor heavy oil project.

She said it suits Statoil to become involved in ventures with technology-development potential and to build on that technology.

But she said Statoil is not committing itself to becoming a partner in one of the mega-projects that carry price tags of C$10 billion and more.

Only one-fifth of Canada’s oil sands can be developed through mining methods.

The rest is too deeply buried to be removed through open-pit methods and relies on evolving technologies to force the raw bitumen to the surface.

—Gary Park

No word yet on Rutter’s Glennallen gas well

As of the morning of Oct. 5, there was still no word from the oilfield service contractors testing Rutter and Wilbanks’ 7,500-foot exploration well near Glennallen in Alaska’s undeveloped Copper River basin.

The Midland, Texas-based independent started drilling the well in February 2005 in search of commercial quantities of natural gas, but drilling was hampered when the company encountered extremely high pressures in the well bore. To mitigate the high pressure the company had to use heavy mud to complete drilling, which damaged the formation.

“We had … skin, formation damage,” Bill Rutter III told attendees of the South Central Energy Forum on Sept. 21. “We ended up drilling most of that well with 20 pound mud. Many would say that was impossible, but it wasn’t impossible, just expensive.”

Rutter said the company was now trying to test the well using a Cad Pressure Central snubbing unit, which allows the use of a coiled tubing unit in a well with a lot of pressure.

The tool being used to penetrate the casing is a Perf Drill, he said.

“They are actually drilling through the casing where they think the reservoir is, some 10-12 feet past the reservoir damage,” Rutter said.

But so far, Rutter said Oct. 5, “we’re still having lots of mechanical problems.”

—Kay Cashman

Some Alaskans reject Chavez’ offer for free oil; donations pouring in from people applauding APIA’s decision

Donations are pouring in from Americans who applaud the stance leaders of the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association took Sept. 28, saying they will not accept oil for residents of Nelson Lagoon, Atka, St. Paul and St. George offered by Venezuela President Hugo Chavez out of loyalty to President Bush and the country, according to the Associated Press.

“Despite the critical need for fuel in our region, the Unangan (Aleut) people are Americans first, and we cannot support the political agenda attached to this donation,” the leaders said in a statement.

Venezuela owns Texas-based refiner Citgo, which offered free heating fuel valued at about $5 million in August to 12,000 households in 151 Alaska Native villages.

Oil can cost up to $7 per gallon because of shipping costs, and most villages do plan to accept the help.

Critics say Chavez is trying to make Bush and the U.S. government look as if they do not care for their own people.

Fishing companies and a development association are kicking in money to help the four Bering Sea communities and others nearby.

—Rose Ragsdale






Petroleum News - Phone: 1-907 522-9469
[email protected] --- https://www.petroleumnews.com ---
S U B S C R I B E

Copyright Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA)Š1999-2019 All rights reserved. The content of this article and website may not be copied, replaced, distributed, published, displayed or transferred in any form or by any means except with the prior written permission of Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA). Copyright infringement is a violation of federal law.