When: Wednesday December 18, 2019 | 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m

Where: Denver Athletic Club | 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO

Speaker: Dr. Leen Weijers, Vice President of Engineering, Liberty Oilfield Services LLC

Abstract:

This presentation reviews how the industry achieved a step-change in reducing service delivery cost through innovation and efficiency, allowing sustained economic development of unconventional resources at decreasing breakeven production costs.  Technological changes, as assisted by a better understanding through frac diagnostics, integrated modeling and statistical analysis have enabled the large cost reduction to commercially produce a barrel of oil.  As a result, shale frac designs have focused on higher intensity completions with tighter stage and cluster spacing, improved diversion through extreme limited entry perforation design and simultaneous and zipper frac’ing, increasing proppant mass per well, utilizing next-generation frac fluids to increase produced water recycling and using cheaper lower-quality proppant.  At the same time, the environmental footprint of oil & gas production has been shrinking and will continue to do so as operational changes continue to make our industry a better neighbor, for example through faster well construction utilizing fewer pad locations, development of quiet fleets, greener frac chemistry, frac focus disclosure, etc.  Together, oil and gas operators and their service providers have used technology & innovation to improve efficiencies and increase the overall daily pump time per frac crew.  However, there is plenty of room for further improvements in technology and efficiency.

Bio:

Dr. Leen Weijers is Vice President of Engineering at Liberty Oilfield Services LLC and served as its Business Manager at Liberty’s founding. Leen worked at Pinnacle Technologies from 1995 to 2011, where he oversaw development of the industry’s most widely used fracture growth simulator, FracproPT. He was Pinnacle’s Rocky Mountain Regional Manager from 2007 - 2011. Leen completed his doctoral research at the Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.  His focus was on fracture growth model experiments to investigate the interaction of hydraulic fracture systems with horizontal and deviated wells.

When: Denver Atheltic Club | 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO

Denver SPE members who would like to pre-pay for the Fall General Meeting lineup may now do so through the purchase of a Jack England Pass. This $130 pass represents a discount below normal admission rate and provides access to the January, February, March and May General Meetings including the Joint Session meeting on April 2020 . If a pass holder is unable to attend a pre-paid meeting, they can transfer the pass to another member by contacting denversection@spemail.org

When: Wednesday January 22, 2020 | 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m

Where: Denver Athletic Club | 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO

Speaker: Bernadette Johnson,Vice President of Strategic Analytics, Enverus (DrillingInfo)

Abstract:

This presentation will explore the Trends to Watch in 2020 that will drive prices natural gas, crude, and natural gas liquids.  Specific topics will include: sanctions, trade wars, global economic concerns, US production growth and exports, changing technologies, the growth of renewables, spacing dynamics, and the push towards capital discipline.   

Bio:

Bernadette Johnson serves as Vice President, Strategic Analytics for Enverus (DrillingInfo) and is responsible for helping to grow and expand Enverus’ analytics offerings.  She joined the company through the acquisition of products and services from Ponderosa Advisors.  With over 11 years’ experience in the energy industry, Bernadette has earned the reputation of industry expert with extensive experience providing crude, natural gas, and NGL fundamentals analysis and advisory services to various players in the North American and Global energy markets.  A regular commentator for and speaker to the energy industry, her specific market expertise spans: financial trading, production forecasts, demand forecasts by sector, infrastructure analysis, midstream analysis, storage value analysis, and price forecasts. Prior to joining Ponderosa, and now DI, Bernadette was Senior Research Analyst for Sasco Energy Partners in Westport, CT where she provided analytics and research support for a team of financial traders active in natural gas, power and oil futures markets. Bernadette began her career with BENTEK Energy, LLC as a Senior Energy Analyst, Natural Gas Market Fundamentals and consulting project team lead.  In addition to her current role at Drilling Info, Bernadette remains a partner and shareholder in Ponderosa Advisors' remaining businesses.   Bernadette holds a MS Degree in International Political Economy of Resources and a BS Degree in Economics, from the Colorado School of Mines.

When: Wednesday February 19, 2020 | 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m

Where: Denver Athletic Club | 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO

Speaker: Dr. Todd Hoffman, Associate Professor, Montana Tech 

Abstract: 

Unconventional reservoirs have had tremendous success over the last decade due to technical advances including long horizontal wells and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing; however, their potential may be even higher.  There are trillions of barrels of oil in these resources, and while wells start out at high rates, they decline quickly and primary recovery factors are low, often in the single digits. This clearly indicates a need for some form of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) for these types of reservoirs.In this presentation, the efforts to implement EOR in unconventional reservoirs will be examined in full detail. A number of different injection fluids have been proposed including miscible gas, water and surfactants. Early work focused on modeling and lab studies, and this provided a base of knowledge that was leveraged to carry out pilot field studies. Pilots have been implemented in at least four basins, and the Bakken and Eagle Ford have both had multiple field trials. Huff-n-puff natural gas injection has been shown to be very successful in the Eagle Ford, and today, large-scale field development is occurring there.

Because most of the field trials have been completed in North America, the examples presented are mainly from there; however, as these techniques are reproduced in other basins, the worldwide potential is enormous, and that potential also is discussed in the presentation.

While much has been achieved over the last decade in unconventional reservoirs, implementing EOR in these types of reservoirs will likely bring about even greater success.

Bio:

Todd Hoffman is an Associate Professor in the Petroleum Engineering Department at Montana Tech. He teaches classes on Reservoir Simulation, Enhanced Oil Recovery, and Unconventional Reservoirs. Prior to that, he was a reservoir engineering consultant to the oil and gas industry. Todd has worked on reservoir models for more than 30 fields on six continents, and has published over 50 technical papers. His research involves improved recovery for conventional and unconventional reservoirs, fractured reservoir modeling and history matching. Todd received his B.S. in petroleum engineering from Montana Tech and his M.S. and Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from Stanford University.

When: Thursday, November 21, 2019 | 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Where: Halliburton Office | 1127 17th St, Suite 1900

Abstract:

Numerical reservoir simulation, when properly employed, is the most robust tool available for supporting decisions making in unconventional reservoirs.  It can be used to estimate number of wells per DSU, horizontal and vertical well placement, hydraulic fracturing optimization, sequence of fracture treatments for pad completions, parent child well interaction, and placement of infill wells in the areas of depletion, re-fracturing and EOR design and implementation.

 It is no longer adequate to simulate and forecast single well simulations to estimate a well’s EUR. The vertical and lateral complexities of the unconventional resource, the timing of neighboring well fracture treatments, and nearby well production all impact the performance of individual wells and the pad. These phenomena can only be properly captured in multi-well simulation models that account for the fracture treatment timing, along with well pressure and production rate responses.

 Dual-porosity reservoir simulation integrated with geomechanical features which capture both SRV generation during hydraulic fracturing and the SRV geometry changes during production is the most applicable modeling technique to address the complexities associated with unconventional resources.

 In this seminar the application of physics based reservoir modeling and simulation for unconventional reservoirs will be discussed.  The predictive capabilities of such models will be demonstrated with field examples.

Bio:

Tuba Firincioglu is the Director of Operations and Reservoir Studies at NITEC LLC.  Her professional experience has focused on the application of reservoir engineering technologies to the resolution of complex reservoir development programs. Since 1998, she has performed or managed over 100 reservoir studies involving dry gas, gas condensate, volatile oil, and black-oil fields; including modeling and design of many conventional and unconventional EOR applications. Her experience covers most geological environments from fluvial sands to carbonates.

Dr. Firincioglu is an expert in numerical simulation of fractured reservoirs and fluid PVT behavior under confinement.  She has been involved in unconventional oil and gas resources since 2009 and has worked on all the major unconventional basins in the United States.  During this period, she also designed and taught Unconventional Reservoir simulation courses to train operators’ personnel on Unconventional Modeling Workflow, LYNX Software, Sensor and 6X simulators.

Dr. Firincioglu holds a B.S. degree from Istanbul Technical University, an M.S. degree from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. degree from Colorado School of Mines - all in Petroleum Engineering.

When: Wednesday November 20, 2019 | 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m

Where: Denver Athletic Club | 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO

Speaker: Mary Van Domelen, Well Data Labs

Abstract: 

When the price of oil plunged in 2014, industry analysts predicted that shale plays would be shutdown as they would no longer be economical. In reality, the North America shale industry did not just survive, it thrived. How?

The most successful companies responded by exercising capital discipline and effectively managing their resources. As a result, breakeven prices for the key unconventional plays were decreased by 40-60%. Reduction of service pricing alone cannot account for the improvement in profitability relative to oil price. What other factors contributed? 

This presentation captures the key lessons learned. The organizational, operational, and technological advancements which allowed the shale industry to continue to thrive in a “lower for longer” price environment are illustrated through case histories. Geologists worked to identify each play’s core, while companies evolved from delineation to full field development. The synergistic effect of combining new technology with operational efficiency is illustrated by the ability to drill longer laterals with significant decreases in drill days. Completion optimization, fueled by the use of big data analytics, resulted in drastic increases in EUR allowing expansion of the core in many plays. Improvements in artificial lift technologies accelerated early time production, significantly increasing the net present value of capital employed. Throughout all these processes, cooperative relationships between the service sector and E&P companies was imperative to the continued success of the industry.

Can the lessons learned by the shale industry be applied in the global setting?  Absolutely.

Bio:

Mary Van Domelen holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma. She is a licensed Professional Engineer and a SPE Certified Petroleum Engineer with over 35 years of experience. Mary started her career with Halliburton in research and operations roles based in the USA, Europe, Africa, and Middle East. She has held engineer advisor and management roles with innovative E&P companies such as Maersk Oil, Chesapeake, and Continental Resources. Her experience includes horizontal drilling and completion operations in multiple basins. She has co-authored more than 30 papers and holds several patents. Mary was a 2015-2016 SPE Distinguished Lecturer and was the 2016 SPE Mid-Continent North America Regional Completions Optimization and Technology Award recipient.

When: Wednesday, November 6, 2019 | 11:30 to 1:00 p.m.

Where: Liberty Oilfield Services | 950 17th Street #24,  Denver, CO 80202

Abstract: "A Random Walk Down Oil Street"- a review of 2019, the state of the industry and a look ahead at 2020.

Bio: Best known for the LinkedIn #hottakeoftheday, David is an executive, entrepreneur, energy industry expert and writer (if I was published - I’d be an author). He is also the DU Jr. Pioneers hockey coach; constant school auction MC; Former US National Squash player and current scratch golfer (yes, available for tournament invites) .

Lunch will be provided.

Join us as well for our monthly Happy Hour at Wynkoop Brewing at 4:30 PM

When: Thursday, October 31, 2019 | 6:00 pm to 8:00 p.m.

Where: Top Golf Centennial | 10601 E Easter Ave, Centennial, CO 80112

RSVP Link

Come Celebrate Halloween with SPE Young Professionals at our annual Top Golf event!

For $30/person, this frightfully fantastic takeover includes a party bus seat, delicious appetizers, drinks and hours of fun! Costumes are strongly encouraged!

Those interested in riding the party buss will meet at a downtown location TBD and be dropped off at Centennial Top Golf location.

We look forward to seeing you there for a casual and exciting SPE Top Golf event!

When: Wednesday October 16, 2019 | 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m

Where: Denver Athletic Club | 1325 Glenarm Pl., Denver, CO

Title: "Production Optimization of Conventional and Unconventional Wells with ESP Real Time Data"

Speaker: Lawrence Camilleri, Schlumberger

Abstract:

Optimizing production has always been important, but there is naturally a greater focus on high rate wells, such as those produced with ESPs (Electrical Submersible Pumps). A key driver is arresting decline while minimizing infill drilling, which is often achieved by identifying wells with skin to identify stimulation candidates and increasing drawdown on wells with good pressure support. With unconventionals, accelerating production while minimizing power consumption become dominant goals. This presentation explains how real-time gauge data enables high-frequency, high-resolution downhole flow rate measurements on ESP wells. Thereby providing both rate and pressure, which are essential to enabling inflow characterization and thereby identifying optimization opportunities without the need for traditional buildups, which cause production deferment.

Fortunately, technology advances have improved real time data quality in terms of both sampling frequency and metrology.  There has also been a reduction in the cost of measurement, transmission and storage, which signals the true dawn of the digital age. The presentation therefore also reviews how real time data enables increases in well uptime and ESP run life as well as minimizing power consumption.  Using material from recent SPE papers, both theoretical methodology and real case studies are presented to illustrate the value of real time data for both conventional vertical wells and unconventional multifracked horizontal wells.  While the case studies are based on ESP applications, the lessons learnt on how to extract value from real-time data can be applied to other artificial lift techniques, especially since inflow characterization is generic.

Bio:

Lawrence has over 33 years of experience in production operations of which 27 years have been focused on artificial lift in a variety of roles ranging from field and application engineer to his current role as Global Domain Head, which is Schlumberger’s most senior technical position in the Artificial Lift Division.  He has published over 16 SPE conference papers and 3 patents covering all aspects of ESP operation such as inflow characterization and advanced completions.  This body of work is particularly noteworthy as it combines theoretical explanations and field case studies using real time data.