To all who were bold enough congratulations on taking the 2023 exam!   Any comments you take the time to make can help future test-takers prepare. And of course suggestions for blog/Guidebook/Companion improvements are always welcome and appreciated. I enjoy hearing from all.  Please remember the blog rule: specific prior PE Exam questions cannot be discussed. General topics, resource suggestions, and testing techniques only please. Try not to discuss specific problems from prior exams, such as comments like: "...several of the drilling questions with probability...” it ..read more

A gas reservoir produced 1 MMscf gas and 13 MSTB water. The current and initial gas formation value factors...reservoir modeling predicts two equally possible scenarios for water influx...The initial gas in place (MMscf) is most likely closest to: A) 27.1 B) 30.1 C) 33.1 D) There is likely not any water influx.  This problem is fairly simple; just watch the units. It try to crank these out quickly and let the chips fall where they may, so it wouldn't surprise me if I had an error floating around on this one. Just remember on gas reservoir problems, 90% of the errors are units, and the las ..read more

Well 24-7X was drilled and capable of 2,000 STB/D. However, production was immediately choked back to 900 STB/D from first production due to a combination of contractual and facility issues. In July of the fourth year...24-7X’s percentage of total production over the last twelve months was closest to: A) 23; B) 23.5; C) 24; D) 24.5.  This is a standard DCA problem (with a few tricks). I'll post the solution later, but feel free to ask any questions/discuss in the meantime. It does take some time to get used to the format and equations in the new SPE Reference ..read more

Effective liquid permeability is found in the lab by graphing gas permeability versus the reciprocal mean flowing pressure and extrapolating the reciprocal mean pressure to zero. In this problem, a rock core filled with gas “A” has a permeability of 40 md with an average flowing pressure of 1.25 atm and has a permeability of 30 md when said mean flowing pressure is doubled. If this same rock core is filled with gas “B” and then has a permeability of 40 md with a flowing pressure of 2.5 atm, the permeability (md) for gas “B” at a flowing pressure of 5 atm is closest to: A) 30 B) 25 C) 20 D) 15 ..read more

Question: I found your blog, thank you for all the information and practice questions and guide work. I am overwhelmed so far in my quest to study for the exam. Seeing your suggestions that I read SPE Textbook Series #1, #2, #12, and #4 and the 7 volume Petroleum Engineering books makes me think I need to start with a prep course to hone in on how to study efficiently. Based on commenters or private correspondence do you know which prep course is best suited for the newer CBT test? Answer: I would merely 1) do as many practice problems as possible using the SPE Exam Resource. Once you've done ..read more

The 2022 exam is now in the past!  Any comments you test-takers have will help future test-takers to prepare. And any suggestions for blog/Guidebook/Companion improvements are always welcome and appreciated. I really enjoy hearing from everyone.  Please remember the blog rule: specific prior PE Exam questions, in whole or in part, cannot be discussed. General topics, resource suggestions, and testing techniques only please. Try not to "cross the line" into discussing specific problems from prior exams, such as comments like: "...several of the drilling questions with probability ..read more

A company has two good but highly speculative opportunities to invest in, gas field A and oil field B, yet only enough capital to invest in one due to a stiff interest rate of 15% for both. The investments and expected cash flows are below. Which alternative should be selected based on NPV analysis? A) Investment A; NPV of A >$50,000 more than “B” B) Investment A; NPV of A <$50,000 more than “B” C) Investment B; NPV of B <$50,000 more than “A” D) Investment B; NPV of B >$50,000 more than “A” A and B Initial invest: $200M and $300M Annual revenue: $100M and $150M Annual expense: $10 ..read more

If a 10,000 ft drillstring’s frictional pressure loss is 1,433 psi, and the 12 lbm/gal mud returns fill a 10 ft x 10 ft tank at 6-1/2 inches per minute, the pressure at the base of the drill collar is closest to? The ID of the drill collars is 2.5 in and pump pressure is 3,000 psi. A) 7825 B) 7819 C) 7813 D) 7800. This problem is solved using the standard mechanical energy balance equation. Note the only source truly needed to solve it is the SPE Reference (to calculate the pressure from gravity). If you don't include the KE effect will be off just slightly. Note KE is generally ignored in the ..read more

Which mechanisms of water intrusion into oil wells are relatively easily controlled (select four only): __ Watered-out layer without crossflow. __ Fractures between injector and producer. __ Moving oil/water contact. __ Coning. __ Cusping. __ Casing leaks. __ Edge water from poor areal sweeps. __ Gravity segregated layer in a thick reservoir layer with high-vertical permeability. __ Channel flow behind the casing from primary cementing that does not isolate water-bearing zones from the pay zone. __ Fractures or faults from behind the water zone. A fairly straighforward problem; you will eithe ..read more

2021 is history. Comment away! Suggestions for blog/Guidebook/Companion improvements are always welcome and appreciated. I enjoy hearing from all.  Please remember the blog rule: prior PE Exam questions, in whole or in part, will NOT be discussed. General topics, resource suggestions, and testing techniques only. Please don't "cross the line" by discussing specific problems from prior exams. Comments like: "...several of the drilling questions with probability...” is crossing the line. Thanks, folk!  There will be a delay between comment submission and when it appears; please be pati ..read more