Heartland Energy Colorado-Heartland Energy Development Corporation

Heartland Energy Colorado Special Operations

Article provided by: Heartland Energy Colorado

For our purposes special drilling operations include directional drilling, fishing, and well control. Directional drilling is intentially drilling the hole off-vertical for various reasons. Fishing is the operation crew members implement to retrieve an object in the wellbore that doesn't belong there and impedes drilling. Well control is the techniques crew members use to regain control of the well should formation fluids inadvertantely enter the well.

Direction and Horizontal Drilling
Often the drilling crews of Heartland Energy Colorado try to drill the hole as straight as possible. Sometimes, however, the operator wants the hole to be drilled at a slant. One area where operatior of Heartland Energy Colorado use slant or directional drilling is offshore. From a permanent platform that the operator installs over the drilling site, the crew must drill several wells to exploit the reservoir properly. To do so, crew members of Heartland Energy Colorado drill several directional wells. The crew may drill only the first well vertically; it drills the other wellls directionally.

To drill a typical directional well, the crew members drill the first part of the hole vertically. Then they kick off, or deflect, the hole so that the bottom may end up hundreds of feet or metres away from its starting point on the surface. By using directional drilling, the crew can drill forty or more wells into the reservoir from a signel platform.

Heartland Energy Colorado also uses directional drilling through horizontal drilling. An operator can better produce certain reservoirs with horizontal drilling. The drilling crew drills the well vertically to a pointabove the reservoir. The it deflects the well and increases the angle until it reaches 90 degrees, or horizontal. This horizontal hole penetrates the reservoir. When properly applied, one horizontal borehole can produce a reservoir better than several vertically drilled holes.

It is important that when Heartland Energy Colorado uses both horizontal and directional drilling that the crew can bend the frill stem to a high degree without breaking it because the crew gradually deflects the hole from vertical. Usually, crew members deflect the hole over hundreds of feet so that the bend is not sudden. Three to ten degrees of deflection of 100 feet is usually the amount desired. The crew of Heartland Energy Colorado can bend the metal tube because it is hallow and it won't break without a lot of stress. In cases in which the hole needs to cruve within a short distance, they use a special segmented pipe. Segmented pipe is very flexible and can bend a great deal without breaking.

Drilling Operations: Fishing & Well Control

Article submitted by: Heartland Energy Colorado

For our purposes special drilling operations include directional drilling, fishing, and well control. Directional drilling is intentially drilling the hole off-vertical for various reasons. Fishing is the operation crew members implement to retrieve an object in the wellbore that doesn't belong there and impedes drilling. Well control is the techniques crew members use to regain control of the well should formation fluids inadvertantely enter the well.

Fishingl
A fish is a piece of equipment, a tool, or a part of the drill string that the crew of Heartland Energy Colorado loses in a hole. Drilling personnel call small pieces, suh as a bit cone or a wrench "junk." Whenever junk or a fish exists in a hole, the crew has to remove it or fish it out otherwise they cannot continue to drill. Over the years, fishing crews have developed many ingenious tools and techniques to retrieve fish. For example, the crew can run an overshot into the hole to he fish. Crew members of Heartland Energy Colorado, make up the overshot on drill pipe and lower the overshot over the fish. Grapples in the overshot latch onto the fish firmly. Then the crew pulls the overshot and attached fish out of the hole.

Another fishing tool is a spear. Unlike an overshot, which the crew places over the fish, a spear then grips insde the fish and allows the crew to retrieve it. Other fishing tools include powerful magnets and baskets. The crew uses them to fish for junk. Since no two fishing jobs are alike, manufacturer and fishing experts have developed many other fishing tools to meet the unique needs of fishing crews.

Well Control
As mentioned earlier, one vital job drilling fluid should do is keep formation fluids from entering the wellbore. If enough formation fluids enter the wellbore, drilling personnel of Heartland Energy Colorado say that the well "kicks." A kick, if not recognized and properly handled, an lead to a blowout. A blowout can be a catastrophic event. In many cases, fluids in the blowout ignite and reduce the rig to a melted pile of junk.

Blowouts not only waste oil and gast but also threaten the lives of the crews working on the rig. Obviously drilling crews take a great deal of care not to allow blowouts, and in fact not too many occur at Heartland Energy Colorado. Because a blowout is a spectacular show and human lives are sometimes lost, a blowout often becomes a media event. Unfortunately, the impression may linger that blowouts are not the rarity they actually are. In fact, thousands of wells are drilled every year and very few of them blow out.

More on Heartland Energy Colorado | Colorado Energy News | Heartland Energy

Origin and Natural Accumulation of Oil and Gas

Oil and gas deposits are basically hydrocarbons which get into buried rocks and minerals. To better understand and visualize these deposits, one must picture an ancient sea teeming with an immense variety of living organisms. The ancient body of water which these organisms resided would have covered most of the American West, including Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Some of the creatures in this sea were large fish and other swimming beasts, but the majority of living things consisted of vast amounts of microscopic organisms. Scientists believe that it is these tiny plankton-like creatures that gave rise to today’s oil and gas.

These miniature life-forms died millions of years ago, and their remains settle to the bottom of the sea. Over time, these very small remains build up to enormous quantities of organic sediment. Built up in thick deposits on the seafloor, the organic material mixes up with sand and mud from the bottom. Eventually, the many layers of sediments built up until they became hundreds or even thousands of feet thick. The weight of the overlying layers created great pressure and heat in these bottom layers. The pressure and the heat changed the layers of sediment into rock. Meanwhile, heat, pressure, other natural forces turned the dead organic material within the layers into hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are the basis for gas and oil.

At the same period of time that dead organisms are being changed into hydrocarbons, geological forces are influencing the Earth’s crust. Cracks, otherwise known as faults, are created and crust movement created folds in the sediment layers previously discussed. Molten rock is thrust upwards, altering the formation of surrounding beds. Wind and water erode formations and disturbances in the earth moved large amounts of rock. All of these alterations in the layers of our curst are very important because they can trap and store hydrocarbon deposits under the right circumstances.

Over centuries, the weight of the overlying rocks continued to push downward, forcing hydrocarbons out of their source rocks. They seep through the cracks and fissures, oozing upwards until they become trapped by some kind of geological surface. When they are trapped and stored in a subsurface rock, they become our modern day oil and gas deposits. Today, the oil and gas industry is seeking out these petroleum deposits formed and stored millions of years ago.

In order to better seek out and find these oil deposits, geologists started to apply the earth sciences to narrow down the search. Since most petroleum deposits are buried deep underground, there are usually no surface hints as to their locations. Also, most of the world’s gas and oil probably lies under ocean floors. However, scientists have developed effective seismological methods to view the subsurface. Seismology uses sound waves which bounce off of buried rock layers. These sound waves paint a clear picture of the underlying rock surfaces and petroleum deposits. This scientific method ensures that companies will find oil before they spend the money to drill.

The history of our geology and all of the new science available at our disposal leads us to understand that there are very large oil and gas deposits right here in North America. With deposits in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado being substantial, companies like Heartland Energy in Colorado are taking advantage of domestic oil deposits. Especially in Colorado, there are large shale oil reserves which scientists are researching in order to effectively extract the oil. Heartland Energy is among the leading developers of oil and gas in Colorado trying to capitalize on these deposits left by the ancient sea that once covered the Colorado plateau. Heartland Energy is developing new strategies and is on the cutting edge of Colorado Energy.

(source: A Primer of Oilwell Drilling, 6^th ed. By Ron Baker) [ Heartland Energy Colorado]

The Best Way to Find Oil & Gas Jobs

Written by John Lewis

Globally, the oil & gas sector rolls out many jobs. Indeed, it is as tough for recruiters to make a selection, as it is for the job seekers to associate with big corporations. The oil & gas jobs are known to offer international experience and great standard of living.

Being one of the most crucial sectors related to energy resources, there remains a need for skilled professionals. Be it the business division, finance or exploration, the recruiters never want to settle down below the creamy layer. It is extremely important for the professionals to go about hunting the best suited position.

In addition, there is a specific way to go about it. After all, there are master minds that never let the opportunities slip from their hands. While on a spree to look out for oil & gas jobs, remember to identify the profile you are looking for. Always consider the challenges that you are searching for and the ones that the present job opening advices.

It is also of great importance to understand your level of competence. In addition, ask yourself if your comfort level allows you to go for offshore or onshore oil & gas jobs. Secondly, equip your resume with an edge. Sharpen it with the skills that you possess and feel appropriate for the job. It makes sure that it does not go unnoticed.

Another point is to trim out any inclusion which spoils the show. Never forget to include relevant experiences, trainings and seminars that you have attended for the enhancement of your skills.

Yet another point is helpful for those who wish to make a smart entry into this field. Always maintain your profile with business network that are related to your sector. Such links would be helpful to keep you updated about news, events and valuable pieces of information.

Nevertheless, establishing good rapport with existing members can be a useful tool to grab that coveted position among oil & gas jobs. The networks are already flourishing with the presence of the Internet. In this way, you will never be away with those oil & gas jobs that you had always wished to reach.

John L Lewis is a professional writer who has been writing articles on topics like petroleum engineering, Oil & Gas Jobs etc.

What is an Independent Oil & Gas Company

Wednesday, 06 May 2009 08:36

(Source: Chris Jent)

The basic definition of an Independent Oil and Gas Company is a non-integrated company which receives nearly all of its revenues from production at the wellhead. They are exclusively in the exploration and production segment of the industry, with no downstream marketing or refining within their operations. The tax definition published by the IRS states that a firm is an Independent if its refining capacity is less than 50,000 barrels per day on any given day or their retail sales are less than $5 million for the year. Independents range in size from large publically held companies to small proprietorships.

Many independents are privately held small companies with less than 20 employees. The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) recorded in a 1998 survey that "a large percentage of independents are organized as C Corporations and S Corporations at 47.6% and 27.7%, respectively. A total of 91.4% of responding companies are classified as independent (versus integrated) for tax purposes. More than one fifth of responding companies reported their stock is publicly traded."

Independent producers derive investment capital from a variety of sources. A 1998 IPAA survey reports that 36.2% of capital is generated through internal sources followed by banks 27.8 % and outside investors (oil & gas partners) at 20.3 %.

Supplying Future Energy Needs
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) states in their Annual Energy Outlook 2007, "Despite the rapid growth projected for biofuels and other non-hydroelectric renewable energy sources and the expectation that orders will be placed for new nuclear power plants for the first time in more than 25 years, oil, coal, and natural gas still are projected to provide roughly the same 86-percent share of the total U.S. primary energy supply in 2030 that they did in 2005." In this report the EIA also predicts consistent growth in U.S. energy demand from 100.2 quadrillion Btu in 2005 to 131.2 quadrillion Btu in 2030.

Maturing production areas in the lower 48 states and the need to respond to shareholder expectations have resulted in major integrated petroleum companies shifting their exploration and production focus toward the offshore in the United States and in foreign countries. Independent oil and gas producers increasingly account for a larger percentage of domestic production in the near offshore and lower 48 states. Independent producers' share of lower 48 states petroleum production increased form 45 percent in the 1980's to more than 60 percent by 1995. Today the IPAA reports that independent producers develop 90 percent of domestic oil and gas wells, produce 68 percent of domestic oil and produce 82 percent of domestic gas. Clearly, they are vital to meeting our future energy needs.

The Best Way to Find Oil & Gas Jobs

Wednesday, 06 May 2009 07:33

(Source: John Lewis)

Another point is to trim out any inclusion which spoils the show. Never forget to include relevant experiences, trainings and seminars that you have attended for the enhancement of your skills.

Key Factors to Oil and Gas Investing

Tuesday, 05 May 2009 08:29

(Source: Wrigth Brianna)

In the last few years, we have seen a tremendous rise in investment in oil and gas. A major reason for this might be the tragic scenario in the share markets across the globe, which has forced many investors, to look out for alternative avenues of investments. As it is, oil and gas investment requires a keen sense of judgment on the part of the investor in determining what oil and gas stocks he should invest in.

Now, before you decide to invest in any particular stocks, such as the oil sands stocks, or the Canadian oil stocks, you need to take care of a few aspects. The following are some of the aspects, which you need to consider, before you go ahead with your investment:

1. First and foremost, your decision should be based on facts rather than market sentiments. That does not at all imply that you have to go against popular views; but it is always better to go by a logical analysis, instead of mood swings.

2. The most common saying that is very much applicable in Oil and Gas investment is; do not keep all your eggs in one basket. So, as it is in this case, it is advisable to diversify your portfolio and not pin all your hopes on a particular area. This would not only help you gain in the long run, but would also lower the risk factor as well. In fact the more diversified is your portfolio, the lower are your chances of loss.

3. Make sure that your research is not limited to simply market reviews. Do what most people rarely do, i.e. read journals and know about latest research and development projects as well as new patent rights which have been registered. This would give you a fair idea of promising prospects. Apart from that, make sure that you know bout the recent findings in regard to oil and natural gas reserves.

4. A common mistake which you should always avoid is investing your cash reserves, all at one time. You should always have some spare reserves, to bail you out of difficult times. Spare reserves may also play a great role in maximizing your returns as well.

Apart from the above factors, there are several other factors, which may help you in making the right kind of investment. Make sure that you do not buy overpriced stocks. For this you may check the price earning ratio. Apart from this, another factor which plays an important role is commodity prices. So, if you are looking forward to long term investment in oil and gas, then you do not have to worry much about the commodity prices. In case if you are focusing on short term investment, then in that case, commodity prices become extremely important.