scholarly journals Drafting Canadian Oilfield Master Service Agreements: An Overview of Key Clauses and Market Trends

10.29173/alr2 ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
Trent Mercier ◽  
Josh Kane ◽  
Sharbil Nammour

A cohesive master service agreement is a fundamental component of the operator–service provider relationship for the provision of oilfield services for upstream oil and gas operations. This article: explores the sometimes unique contract relationships found in the Canadian marketplace; provides an overview of key contentious issues and potential solutions, which are examined and contrasted with those seen in American and international contracts; and identifies recent relevant market trends, including special considerations for large-scale hydraulic fracturing operations and the perspectives of new international operators entering the Canadian marketplace.

2002 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Raymond E. Quesnel

This article examines the current core legislation that governs oil and gas activity in Canada's North. While there has been increased industry interest in the Northwest Territories, there has thus far been a lack of actual oil and gas projects against which to measure the efficacy of the current regime in the context of northern development. An historical analysis of the legislative developments indicates that the northern regime formed the basis for the legislative framework now governing east coast megaprojects. The author evaluates the current basis on which rights are granted and recorded, the tenure system, the royalty regime, and the project approval process. He concludes that, while the northern regime is suitable for large scale developments, it may require certain changes to accommodate smaller, more conventional projects likely to be undertaken.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (21) ◽  
pp. 12552-12560 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Warner ◽  
T. H. Darrah ◽  
R. B. Jackson ◽  
R. Millot ◽  
W. Kloppmann ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Hamedifar ◽  
Herve Wilczynski

Abstract Major Oil and Gas operators and service companies look to undertake large scale digital transformations aimed at producing integrated, connected, and intelligent enterprises. These transformations require accelerating the journey to the cloud to modernize the entire application portfolio. By transitioning to the cloud, firms enjoy improved data analytics which allow for evolution to next generation digital work environment. This shift, however, comes with workforce challenges. Employees in all categories and at most levels will require significant cross- and up-skilling to take full advantage of the digital transformation. As vendors, suppliers, service companies, and operators move products and equipment around an expanding ecosystem of assets, security threats are likely to increase due to further geopolitical instability. Data based decision making, which enables the optimization of assets and automation of operations to minimize workforce risk exposure must be implemented with consideration of enterprise risk reduction (across the asset and workforce operational risk life cycle). As Oil and Gas operations become more geographically dispersed and diverse, they are exposed to new and evolving risk factors which can directly impact value. These risk factors make asset acquisition, development, management, and maintenance all more challenging. Analyses of risk in a digital foundation risk-based platform is most valuable at the earliest stages of asset development in determining whether to proceed with the planned development through to end-of-life decommissioning. Successful firms must create an end-to-end digital roadmap which delineates between technical and transactional activities and outlines effective stakeholder engagement at each project stage. The fundamental thesis of this paper is that although risk can be mitigated and reduced through the introduction of digital tools into oil and gas operations, it can never be completely removed. Furthermore, while industry research on the impact of digitalization usually rely heavily on cost savings, optimization, and health, safety, and environment (HSE) related cases, they typically fail to consider the contribution of digitalization on risk assessment and management. This paper argues that we need to move away from the focus on cost savings, process optimization, and HSE metrics improvement metrics. This paper sets up a mechanism for developing risk-based strategies for implementation of digital solutions.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Allison

ABSTRACT In the midst of aggressive anti-drilling campaigns by environmental organizations and well-publicized complaints by citizens unaccustomed to oil and gas operations, rigorous studies of unconventional oil and gas development show that there are no widespread or systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States. In addition, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have significantly declined with the growth in natural gas production and its use in power generation. Furthermore, induced seismicity from subsurface waste disposal has plummeted in response to industry initiatives and new regulations. This record of environmental protection reflects the fact that U.S. hydraulic fracturing, like other oil and gas operations, is highly regulated by the states. In addition, air emissions, operations on federal lands, and subsurface injection are subject to federal regulation. Academic and government researchers have documented that chemicals and gas produced by hydraulic fracturing are not contaminating drinking water. However, as an added complication, methane occurs naturally in drinking water aquifers in some producing areas. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed a four-year study of potential aquifer contamination from hydraulic fracturing and associated industry operations. The report found some impacts on drinking water including contamination of drinking water wells; however, the number of cases was small compared to the number of wells hydraulically fractured. The scientific peer-review and public critique of the study, which continues after more than a year, may recommend additional research. The emotionally charged, anti-fracking campaigns provided important lessons to U.S. operators: pre-drilling, baseline data on water and air quality are essential to answering public concerns; infrastructure issues such as increased truck traffic on small, local roads are important to residents; and the initial failure to disclose the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluid intensified public concern.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayang Wang ◽  
Brenna Barlow ◽  
Wes Funk ◽  
Cooper Robinson ◽  
Adam Brandt ◽  
...  

The importance of reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations as a near-term climate action is widely recognized. Most jurisdictions around the globe using leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs to find and fix methane leaks. In this work, we empirically evaluate the efficacy of LDAR programs using a large-scale, bottom-up, randomized controlled field experiment across ~200 oil and gas sites in Canada. We find that tanks are the single largest source of emissions, contributing to nearly 60% of total emissions. The average number of leaks at treatment sites that underwent repair reduced by ~50% compared to control sites. Although control sites did not see a reduction in the number of leaks, emissions reduced by approximately 36% suggesting potential impact of routine maintenance activities to find and fix large leaks. By tracking tags on leaking equipment over time, we find a high degree of persistence – leaks that are repaired remain fixed in follow-up surveys, while non-repaired leaks remain emitting. We did not observe any significant growth in emission rate for non-repaired leaks, suggesting that any increase in observed leak emissions following LDAR surveys are likely from new leaks. Vent emissions reduced by 38% without a significant reduction in the average number of vents across control and treatment sites, showing the importance of both anomalous vents and temporal variations in vent emissions. Our results show that a focus on equipment and sites that are prone to high emissions such as tanks and oil sites are key to cost-effective mitigation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 2225-2241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Savvaidis ◽  
Anthony Lomax ◽  
Caroline Breton

ABSTRACT Most current seismicity in the southern U.S. midcontinent is related to oil and gas operations (O&G Ops). In Texas, although recorded earthquakes are of low-to-moderate magnitude, the rate of seismicity has been increasing since 2009. Because of the newly developed Texas Seismological Network, in most parts of Texas, recent seismicity is reported on a daily basis with a magnitude of completeness of ML 1.5. Also, funded research has allowed the collection of O&G Op information that can be associated with seismicity. Although in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, recent seismicity has been associated mostly with saltwater disposal (SWD), in the South Delaware Basin, West Texas, both hydraulic fracturing (HF) and SWD have been found to be causal factors. We have begun to establish an O&G Op database using four different sources—IHS, FracFocus, B3, and the Railroad Commission of Texas—with which we can associate recent seismicity to HF and SWD. Our approach is based on time and epicentral location of seismic events and time, location of HF, and SWD. Most seismicity occurs in areas of dense HF and SWD-well activity overlapping in time, making association of seismicity with a specific well type impossible. However, through examination of clustered seismicity in space and time, along with isolated clusters of spatiotemporal association between seismicity and O&G Ops, we are able to show that a causation between HF and seismicity may be favored over causation with SWD wells in areas of spatially isolated earthquake clusters (Toyah South, Reeves West, Jeff Davis Northeast, and Jeff Davis East). Causality between SWD and seismicity may be inferred for isolated cases in Reeves South and Grisham West.


2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (06) ◽  
pp. 48-48
Author(s):  
Frank Chang

Hydraulic fracturing technologies propagated from North America outward to other oil- and gas-producing regions in the world. In earlier days, the main technology developments were mostly related to the materials, such as fluids and proppants, and their characterizations. In recent years, more advancements have been made in tools, engineering processes, and analyses. In a cased-hole fracturing treatment, perforating plays a critical role to the success of the job, though it is often overlooked because perforations are visualized as holes with empty tunnel behind the pipe. Any damage is irrelevant because fracturing will simply bypass the damage. In fact, a shaped charge is made of metal liner and case with explosive loaded in between. The metal material is pushed into the formation under extremely high pressure from the detonation of the explosive. Without backflow of reservoir fluid to flush out the debris, the perforation tunnels are very likely plugged. In tight formations, the backflow is not efficient because the permeability is too low and the time scale of the surge is very short. Obtaining information about perforation before pumping the fracture treatment allows the engineers to adjust the job design, adding perforations or other means to deliver a more-desirable outcome for the fracturing treatment. Not all the wells or zones are suitable for hydraulic fracturing. Concerns over the well completion rating, nearby water layers, equipment and water availability, and other environmental and infrastructure constraints can limit the selection of stimulation method. Matrix chemical injection has often been the preferred or sometimes the only option. More-advanced technologies, however, are needed to extend reservoir access beyond the distance of matrix stimulation. Mechanical tunneling tools have been developed in recent years. They can bridge the gap between matrix and fracturing treatment very well. When combined with chemicals, this process can add efficiency in certain carbonate reservoirs. Hydrochloric acid continues to be the most effective and low-cost material for carbonate stimulation. Though exotic chemistries such as chelating agents and organic acids have been promoted for being less corrosive at high temperatures, the cost and dissolving capacity limit their use to large-scale implementation. The ability to inhibit the corrosion tendency of hydrochloric acid can prove to be beneficial in the economics of acidizing. New technologies in corrosion prevention, both in acid stimulation and production processes, should always be beneficial. During the tough year of 2020, and for the foreseeable future, implementation of engineering ingenuity will become more critical to maintain economical energy delivery in our industry. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. SPE 202369 Novel High-Effective Component for Acidizing Corrosion Inhibitors: Indolizine Derivatives of the Quaternary Quinolinium Salts by Zhen Yang, China University of Petroleum, et al. SPE 203086 First Successful Fishbone Stimulation Completion in Onshore Oil Field in the United Arab Emirates by Fernando Quintero, ADNOC, et al.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Miriam R. Aczel ◽  
Karen E. Makuch

High-volume hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling has “revolutionized” the United States’ oil and gas industry by allowing extraction of previously inaccessible oil and gas trapped in shale rock [1]. Although the United States has extracted shale gas in different states for several decades, the United Kingdom is in the early stages of developing its domestic shale gas resources, in the hopes of replicating the United States’ commercial success with the technologies [2, 3]. However, the extraction of shale gas using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling poses potential risks to the environment and natural resources, human health, and communities and local livelihoods. Risks include contamination of water resources, air pollution, and induced seismic activity near shale gas operation sites. This paper examines the regulation of potential induced seismic activity in Oklahoma, USA, and Lancashire, UK, and concludes with recommendations for strengthening these protections.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
L. D. Kapranova ◽  
T. V. Pogodina

The subject of the research is the current state of the fuel and energy complex (FEC) that ensures generation of a significant part of the budget and the innovative development of the economy.The purpose of the research was to establish priority directions for the development of the FEC sectors based on a comprehensive analysis of their innovative and investment activities. The dynamics of investment in the fuel and energy sector are considered. It is noted that large-scale modernization of the fuel and energy complex requires substantial investment and support from the government. The results of the government programs of corporate innovative development are analyzed. The results of the research identified innovative development priorities in the power, oil, gas and coal sectors of the fuel and energy complex. The most promising areas of innovative development in the oil and gas sector are the technologies of enhanced oil recovery; the development of hard-to-recover oil reserves; the production of liquefied natural gas and its transportation. In the power sector, the prospective areas are activities aimed at improving the performance reliability of the national energy systems and the introduction of digital technologies. Based on the research findings, it is concluded that the innovation activities in the fuel and energy complex primarily include the development of new technologies, modernization of the FEC technical base; adoption of state-of-the-art methods of coal mining and oil recovery; creating favorable economic conditions for industrial extraction of hard-to-recover reserves; transition to carbon-free fuel sources and energy carriers that can reduce energy consumption and cost as well as reducing the negative FEC impact on the environment.


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