JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY • www.spe.

org/jpt JANUARY 2017

JA N UA RY 2 0 1 7 • VO LU M E 69, N U M B E R 1
JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

EOR PERFORMANCE AND MODELING

MATURE WELLS AND FIELD REVITALIZATION
WELL INTEGRITY AND WELL CONTROL
DECOMMISSIONING AND ABANDONMENT
FEATURES
SPE Technical Directors on Surviving the Downturn
The Grand Challenge of Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Transforming the Industry
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CONTENTS
Volume 69 • Number 1

14 GUEST EDITORIAL • INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION

TAKES MANY FORMS
The oil and gas industry has historically delivered incredible
engineering feats that are impressive in innovation and sheer
physical and budgetary scale. The downturn provides an
opportunity for transformation from an industry that has been
heavily project-focused to one that is geared to delivering
standardized products designed to be flexible for a range of
projects and operating conditions.
19 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE • PREVENTING EMULSIONS
BY MITIGATING SOLIDS
Approaches to integrated investigative testing and root cause
identification are discussed to prevent solid emulsions from
stabilizing to impair flowlines and other field infrastructure.
30 ENGINEERS NEED TO LEARN FROM HISTORY
BECAUSE THE INDUSTRY TENDS TO REPEAT IT
SPE’s technical directors offer advice on how to get through the An artistic rendition of a
current bad times, which are not so different than when they got nanoparticle. The development
in the business. of nanotechnologies for oil and gas
has been building momentum for
34 INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA CONTINUE WORKING several years and products that
can be used in a reservoir-wide
ON BIG IDEAS FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY application may be just around
A number of ongoing industry research projects are developing the corner. Source: Getty.
nanoparticles that work at the reservoir level and for fluid
treatment. Though they may be a few years away from finalization,
these efforts highlight nanotechnology’s increasingly sophisticated
and growing application scope for oil and gas operations.
39 THE GRAND CHALLENGE OF CARBON CAPTURE DEPARTMENTS
AND SEQUESTRATION
Authored by the steering committee and at-large members of 6 Performance Indices
the SPE Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilization and the SPE R&D 8 Regional Update
technical sections, this article is a summary of the 2016 follow-up 10 President’s Column
paper on carbon capture and sequestration, one of the five grand
12 Comments
challenges to the industry identified by the SPE R&D Committee
in 2011. 16 Technology Applications
22 E&P Notes
75 AIME LEGACY CONTINUES TO BENEFIT SPE AND 77 People
OTHER MEMBER SOCIETIES
78 Professional Services
The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum
Engineers (AIME) is the parent organization of SPE. AIME fulfills its 79 Advertisers’ Index
legacy by supporting member societies’ programs and awards, and 80 SPE Events
by documenting the history of the industries and technologies.

An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Printed in US. Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
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you the
42 EOR PERFORMANCE AND MODELING
Omer Gurpinar, SPE, Technical Director of Enhanced Oil Recovery,
Schlumberger
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43 Proper Simulation of Chemical-EOR Pilots—A Real Case Study you’ve
45 Experimental and Numerical Studies of CO2 EOR in Unconventional
Reservoirs always
48 A Field Trial in a Carbonate Reservoir Using a Solvent-Based
Waterflood Process
dreamed of.
Introducing the world’s
50 MATURE WELLS AND FIELD REVITALIZATION
Jesse Lee, SPE, Chemistry Technology Manager, Schlumberger first X-Ray technology
51 Tapping Difficult Oil in a Giant Carbonate Field in Qatar
for oil wells.
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56 Use of Modern Reservoir Characterization in Mature Fields To Unravel faster, it lets you see 2D and 3D
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59 WELL INTEGRITY AND WELL CONTROL eliminate the problem. Better yet,
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60 Mitigating Gas in Riser Rapid Unloading for Deepwater Dual-Gradient increase profitability.
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63 Next-Generation Kick Detection During Connections demonstration
66 Methodology and Array Technology for Finding and Describing visuray.com
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68 DECOMMISSIONING AND ABANDONMENT

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69 Risk-Based Abandonment-Prioritization Strategy for Inactive Subsea Wells

71 A New Recommended Practice for Fit-for-Purpose Well Abandonment
73 Concurrent Decommissioning Method Enables Safer, Lower-Cost Process

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The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
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 www.interwell.com

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 SPE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
2017 President
Janeen Judah, Chevron
2016 President
Nathan Meehan, Baker Hughes
2018 President
Darcy Spady, Broadview Energy
Vice President Finance
Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil Annuitant
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
AFRICA
Adeyemi Akinlawon, Adeb Konsult
CANADIAN
Cam Matthews, C-FER Technologies
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
Joe Frantz, Range Resources
GULF COAST NORTH AMERICA
J. Roger Hite, Inwood Solutions
MID-CONTINENT NORTH AMERICA
Chris Jenkins, Independent Energy Standards
MIDDLE EAST
Khalid Zainalabedin, Saudi Aramco
NORTH SEA
Karl Ludvig Heskestad, Aker BP
NORTHERN ASIA PACIFIC
Phongsthorn Thavisin, PTTEP
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NORTH AMERICA
Erin McEvers, Clearbrook Consulting
RUSSIA AND THE CASPIAN
Anton Ablaev, Schlumberger
JPT STAFF
Glenda Smith, Publisher
John Donnelly, Editor
Pam Boschee, Senior Manager Magazines
Chris Carpenter, Technology Editor
Trent Jacobs, Senior Technology Writer
Anjana Sankara Narayanan, Editorial Manager
Joel Parshall, Features Editor
Stephen Rassenfoss, Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Stephen Whitfield, Staff Writer
Adam Wilson, Special Publications Editor
Craig Moritz, Assistant Director Americas Sales & Exhibits
Mary Jane Touchstone, Print Publishing Manager
David Grant, Digital Publishing Manager
Laurie Sailsbury, Composition Specialist
Dennis Scharnberg, Proofreader
SPE
thanks
SOUTH AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Anelise Quintao Lara, Petrobras
SOUTH, CENTRAL, AND EAST EUROPE
Matthias Meister, Baker Hughes
you!
SOUTH ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Salis Aprilian, PT Badak NGL
SOUTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Libby Einhorn, Concho Oil & Gas
WESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Andrei Popa, Chevron
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
Thank you to all of our 2016
DRILLING volunteers. Your support in the
Jeff Moss, ExxonMobil
League of Volunteers continues to
HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT,
shape the future of our industry.
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Trey Shaffer, ERM
MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION
J.C. Cunha
grazie
COMPLETIONS
Jennifer Miskimins, Colorado School of Mines
PRODUCTION AND FACILITIES
cпасибо
Hisham Saadawi, Ringstone Petroleum Consultants
RESERVOIR DESCRIPTION AND DYNAMICS
Tom Blasingame, Texas A&M University
DIRECTOR FOR ACADEMIA
Dan Hill, Texas A&M University
merci
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
謝謝
Khaled Al-Buraik, Saudi Aramco
Helena Wu, Santos Ltd.
gracias
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 PERFORMANCE INDICES

WORLD CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION+‡ HENRY HUB GULF COAST NATURAL GAS SPOT PRICE‡

THOUSAND BOPD
6
O PEC MAY JUN JUL AUG
5 USD/million Btu
Algeria 1350 1330 1350 1350
Angola 1818 1823 1829 1833 4

Ecuador 556 550 545 550 3

Indonesia 845 851 845 841
2
Iran 4100 4120 4130 4150
Iraq 4355 4405 4415 4455 1

DEC

2016
JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV
Kuwait1 2550 2570 2570 2570
Libya 285 330 310 250
Nigeria 1808 1938 1873 1913
Qatar 1537 1537 1537 1537
Saudi Arabia1 10340 10540 10670 10640 WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)‡
UAE 2670 2820 2840 2840
Venezuela 2300 2280 2220 2210
APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV
TOTAL2 34724 35304 35344 35349
Brent 41.58 46.74 48.25 44.95 45.84 46.57 49.52 44.73

WTI 40.75 46.71 48.76 44.65 44.72 45.18 49.78 45.71

THOUSAND BOPD
NON-OPEC MAY JUN JUL AUG
Canada 2811 3112 3657 3854
China 3973 4034 3938 3874 WORLD ROTARY RIG COUNT†
Egypt 495 495 494 493

Mexico 2207 2213 2192 2179

REGION MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV
Norway 1608 1480 1762 1603
US 408 417 449 481 509 544 580
Russia 10440 10453 10254 10316
Canada 42 63 94 129 141 156 173
UK 992 898 979 837
USA 8882 8711 8693 8744 Latin America 188 178 186 187 189 183 181
Other3 12415 12511 12511 12194 Europe 95 91 94 96 92 87 97
TOTAL 43823 43907 44480 44094
Middle East 391 389 390 379 386 391 380
Total World 78547 79211 79824 79443
Africa 91 87 82 81 77 77 79
Asia Pacific 190 182 186 194 190 182 188
INDICES KEY
+
Figures do not include natural gas plant liquids. TOTAL 1405 1407 1481 1547 1584 1620 1678
1
Includes approximately one-half of Neutral Zone production.
2
Includes all current OPEC members.
3
From the October issue of JPT, the “Other” line item also includes
Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Equatorial
Guinea, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, and WORLD OIL SUPPLY AND DEMAND‡
Yemen. Monthly production from these countries was listed individually
in previous JPT issues. Ongoing work on the US Energy Information
Administration (EIA) website is disrupting the regular updating of MILLION BOPD 2016
these countries’ production numbers. Additional annual and monthly
international crude oil production statistics are available at: Quarter 4th 1st 2nd 3rd
http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/.
† Source: Baker Hughes. SUPPLY 96.49 95.52 95.50 96.31
‡ Source: EIA.
Numbers revised by EIA are given in italics. DEMAND 94.26 94.18 95.29 96.16
Supply includes crude oil, lease condensates, natural gas plant liquids, biofuels, other liquids,
and refinery processing gains.

6 JPT • JANUARY 2017

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 REGIONAL UPDATE
AFRICA
Z Sound Energy’s TE-7 well at the Tendrara
license in Morocco has achieved initial flow
rates that the company called “significantly
better” than its estimates. The well, Sound’s
second on the license, was drilled to an
11,348-ft measured depth and an 8,566-ft
vertical depth. An initial, unstimulated
openhole test of the first 28% of a discovered
gross reservoir interval produced gas at
a rate of 8.8 MMcf/D after 24 hours of
continuous flow through a 32/64-in. choke.
Following the stimulation and test of the full
interval, an extended well test was planned.
Z Shell has initiated a two-well drilling
program in blocks 1 and 4 of the Mafia Deep
basin offshore Tanzania. Drilling is taking
place in water depths of up to 7,545 ft, with
the company and its joint-venture partners
Pavilion Energy and Ophir Energy investing
almost USD 80 million in the program.
The two wells will meet the remaining
requirements in the exploration licenses
issued by the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy
and Minerals.
ASIA
Z Lukoil has produced oil from a third
well at the Vladimir Filanovsky field in
the northern Caspian Sea. The flow rate
is approximately 22,000 B/D of oil with
total field production amounting to almost
66,000 B/D, the company said. Located
about 136 miles from the city of Astrakhan,
the shallow-water field is the second
commissioned by the company in the
Caspian’s Russian sector.
Z Petronas has begun gas production from
the world’s first floating liquefied natural
gas (FLNG) facility, the PFLNG SATU, at the
Kanowit field offshore Malaysia’s Sarawak
state. The first-gas milestone marked the
onset of commissioning and startup for
the FLNG facility, preceding commercial
production and initial cargo shipment. The
facility is fitted with an external turret for
operating in water depths of 229 ft to 656 ft.
It will extract gas through a flexible subsea
pipeline for the liquefaction, production,
storage, and offloading of LNG at the field.
Z Oil & Gas Development Company
has discovered gas at the Mithri No. 1
exploration well in Pakistan’s Sindh
Province. The discovery structure has been
8 JPT • JANUARY 2017
delineated, drilled, and tested, with a flow of
6.44 MMcf/D achieved from the Lower Goru
formation through a 32/64-in. choke. The
company is the operator with a 95% interest
in the well. Government Holdings owns the
remaining interest.
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA
Z Quadrant Energy has successfully
tested the Roc-2 well in the Bedout Basin
offshore Western Australia. The well flowed
at a maximum (equipment constrained)
rate of 51.2 MMscf/D of gas and 2,943 B/D
of condensate from an 82-ft perforated
interval at 14,435-ft water depth. The results
of this and other recent successful wells
show significant potential in this largely
unexplored, relatively shallow-water area,
the company said. Quadrant is the operator
of Roc-2 with an 80% interest. Carnarvon
Petroleum holds the remaining share.
EUROPE
Z Lundin has made a discovery at the
Neiden 7220/6-2R well in Production
License (PL) 609 of the southern Barents
Sea offshore Norway. The exploratory well
encountered a gross 100-ft hydrocarbon
column, with 68 ft of oil and 32 ft of natural
gas, in a Permian carbonate target. Gross
resource estimate for the discovery is
between 25 million and 60 million BOE. The
company is the operator with a 40% interest
in PL609, with DEA (30%) and Idemitsu
(30%) holding the remainder.
Z EnQuest has achieved first oil from
the Scolty/Crathes project in the United
Kingdom North Sea, approximately 100 miles
northeast of Aberdeen. Scolty and Crathes
are light oil fields that collectively hold an
estimated 15 million bbl of technical gross
oil reserves. The development plan consists
of two single horizontal wells tied back by
a subsea pipeline to the EnQuest-operated
Kittiwake Platform. The company and MOL
each hold 50% interests in the Scolty/Crathes
project, which is operated by EnQuest.
Z OMV’s Wisting discovery in the Barents
Sea, the northernmost find offshore Norway,
could contain more than 1 billion BOE, the
company said. That could make Wisting the
largest discovery in the Norwegian Arctic.
Preliminary recoverable reserves estimates
range from 200 million to 500 million BOE.
The company and its partners Statoil,
Idemitsu, and Petoro continue to explore
the region. If the project is approved,
work could begin in 2019 or 2020, OMV
Senior Vice President David Latin told a
conference recently.
Z Chevron has started production at
the Alder field in the North Sea offshore
Scotland, more than 40 years after the
field’s discovery. Alder is a single subsea
well tied back by a 17-mile pipeline to
the ConocoPhillips-operated Britannia
Platform, in which Chevron holds a 32.38%
working interest. With a design capacity of
110 MMcf/D of natural gas and 14,000 B/D
of condensate, Alder is expected to ramp
up production over the coming months.
Chevron is the operator with a 73.684%
interest, with ConocoPhillips holding
the remainder.
MIDDLE EAST
Z Wintershall has spudded SH-6 well, the
first offshore well in Abu Dhabi’s Shuwaihat
sour gas and condensate field. The company
drilled the field’s first onshore well, SH-5, in
July 2015. A third well, SH-7, is planned for
offshore development. The field is being
developed in partnership with Abu Dhabi
National Oil Company and OMV, with
Wintershall as the operator.
NORTH AMERICA
Z Eni received approval from Mexican oil
and gas regulator La Comisión Nacional de
Hidrocarburos for a USD-177 million work
program to drill on three offshore blocks
for which the company won a production-
sharing contract in 2015 bidding. The
program covers activities through 2017
at the shallow-water Amoca, Mizton, and
Tecoalli fields in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
The fields hold an estimated 196 million bbl
in remaining oil resources.
SOUTH AMERICA
Z Range Resources successfully spudded
the QUN 160 development well in Trinidad’s
Morne Diablo field during November. Drilled
to a depth of 2,600 ft, QUN 160 is a redrill
of the QUN 158 well and targeted the same
Upper Cruse and Lower Forest sands as the
earlier well. Also in Trinidad, the company
was set to spud the GY218 SE well in the
Beach Marcelle field during December. Range
is the sole interest holder in both fields. JPT
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 RISK AND REWARD
“Disruptive” Technology
Janeen Judah, 2017 SPE President
Following my theme for the year on Risk
and Reward, let’s think about how dis-
ruptive technologies alter the risk/reward
balance. The term “disruptive technol-
ogy” is usually attributed to the Harvard
Business School professor Clayton Chris-
tensen in his bestselling 1997 book, The
Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Tech-
nologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Christensen defined disrup-
tive technology as a new emerging technology that unexpect-
edly displaces an established one. Disruptive technologies are
usually still unrefined, have performance problems, are not
widely known, and may not have a proven practical or com-
mercial application. Disruptive technologies can significantly
alter the course of our lifestyles, work, businesses, and even the
global economy.
In 2013, McKinsey Global Institute published a list of the 12
most potentially economically disruptive technologies. Think
about how life was before these advances:
1. Mobile Internet
2. Automation of knowledge work
3. Internet of Things
4. Advanced robotics
5. Cloud technology
6. Autonomous or near-autonomous vehicles
(cars, drones, etc.)
7. Next-generation genomics
8. Next-generation storage, including batteries
9. 3D printing
10. Advanced materials
11. Advanced oil and gas exploration and recovery
12. Renewable electricity
We’ve already seen the impact of some of these new technol-
ogies in the oil and gas business: cheaper, more robust sensors
are multiplying; software is getting smarter, and I believe will
mitigate some of the knowledge lost in the Big Crew Change;
and advanced materials continue to improve performance and
resiliency in oilfield applications. McKinsey’s #11 singles out
advanced oil and gas technologies, and most agree that the
most disruptive oilfield innovation of the past 30 years has been
the application of advanced completion techniques in shales.
Private ownership of minerals in the US enabled rapid commer-
cialization of the country’s shale plays through hydraulic frac-
turing. This unforeseen innovation shook up the oil markets, as
To contact the SPE President, email president@spe.org.
10
we are all living through, but also the global gas and LNG mar-
kets. Ten years ago, the US was expected to be a gas importer
and companies built LNG import terminals to meet the demand.
Now, LNG export terminals are being built to move US gas out
to world markets. Huge, unanticipated commercial swings
occurred, all due to the application of an existing technology to
new formations. And, no one saw it coming.
The oil industry has a history of technology jumps, usually
triggered by hard times. When times are good, we concentrate
on keeping the rigs busy, staying ahead of the competition, and
“making hay while the sun shines.” Then oil price cycles down,
as commodities always do. Suddenly, both operators and ser-
vice companies have urgent new motivations, often of financial
survival, to apply different methods to their businesses. We,
too, often innovate out of desperation.
I love the colorful stories and entrepreneurial spirit of the
early pioneers of the oil industry. Three large service companies
were founded by iconic pioneers: the Schlumberger brothers
who applied mining technology to the new science of oil ex-
ploration; Howard Hughes Sr., who commercialized the revo-
lutionary invention of the cone bit; and my personal favorite,
Erle P. Halliburton. I still remember during my first year in the
oil business, working in Midland, Texas, when my Halliburton
sales representative would take us to lunch and tell us bright-
eyed young engineers: “This lunch is on Erle P.” Who is Erle P.,
I wondered?
Erle P. remains my favorite story of the early oil entrepre-
neurs. He didn’t invent oil well cementing, but he learned the
trade in California and brought it to the oil fields of Oklahoma
and Texas. He was a tiny, chain-smoking, driven entrepreneur
who didn’t mind getting his hands dirty. He invented and tin-
kered and visited his cementing crews in the field. He looked for
ways to improve tools and processes and improve customer ser-
vice—classic hands-on entrepreneurship. Eventually Hallibur-
ton added the innovation of hydraulic fracturing, and 50 years
later it became the “new” disruptive technology.* Like many
of you, I’ll bet, I cringe every time I hear a reporter discuss the
“new” technology of hydraulic fracturing. I’ll admit I’ve talked
back to the TV—we’ve been fracturing wells since the 1940s!
*Most histories attribute the first unsuccessful application of
hydraulic fracturing to Stanolind Oil in the Hugoton, Kansas, gas
field in 1947, and the first successful application to Halliburton
near Duncan, Oklahoma, in 1949.
JPT • JANUARY 2017

I join most others in attributing the disruption of the hy-
draulic fracturing in shales to George P. Mitchell. The inno-
vation came during hard times because Mitchell’s company
had significant holdings in the Barnett Shale region of north
Texas, and oil was lingering in the USD 10/bbl range. Solution:
Apply existing technologies, fracturing and horizontal drill-
ing, to zones that were not considered very productive. Next
step: A revolution. Entrepreneurship plus private ownership
of minerals=innovation. When I speak to students, I end my
talk with stories of entrepreneurship. I am amazed at the rich
people I know now, and most of them did not get where they
are by being employees of a big company. The truly financially
successful mostly took risks, started new businesses, and built
their own fortunes.
The 21st century version of the oilfield entrepreneurs of 100
years ago are the tech startups, also with fascinating stories. My
favorite history of the early inventors of the computer and tech
industries is The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Genius-
es, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson.
He includes chapters on lesser-known pioneers of the computer
industry, such as Grace Hopper and Gordon Moore, but also Bill
Gates and Steve Jobs. Jacobson is also the author of the defini-
tive biography Steve Jobs.
A well-kept secret of the tech industry is how many startups
fail miserably. The most famous motto of Silicon Valley is “fail
fast, fail often.” They know that failure leads to learnings or
to abandoning bad ideas early and moving on. Most estimate
the failure rate for Silicon Valley startups at over 90%, on par
with other small businesses. Even an elite tech incubator like
Y-Combinator has a 93% failure rate. But hope lives on. We love
the often repeated stories of tech billionaire successes like Face-
book, Airbnb, Uber, and Snapchat, and the latest must-have
app, but the 90% failures sink unnoted below the waves.
Most discussions of technology innovations deride the oil
and gas industry as slow to innovate. And I’d agree, but not be-
cause of lack of interest or need, but because of the high cost of
JPT • JANUARY 2017
Entrepreneur Erle P.
Halliburton with his original
1920 mule-drawn oil well
cementing rig. Source:
Halliburton Company.
failure. Why isn’t the oil and gas industry quick to innovate? I
attribute it to three factors:
1. High cost of entry. Unlike tech, most oil and gas innova-
tions can’t start with a few guys and their laptops. We are in a
highly regulated capital intensive business and joining the club
is hard. Our data are owned by operators or governments and
access is impossible, making it hard for outsiders to innovate in
our industry.
2. Hard to quantify, especially for outsiders. New oil and
gas innovations are hard to quantify. It’s easy to quantify the
number of apps that get first round funding, the number of
new drugs that enter Phase 3 trial, and how many patents are
awarded, but it’s difficult for an outsider to see early technolo-
gies within oil and gas companies. Many innovations are joint
developments between service companies and operators and
hard to attribute to any one company.
3. Most important—the high cost of failure. I think this is
the real barrier to most oil and gas innovation. Failures are cost-
ly and hard to fix. Some failures are spectacular with both eco-
nomic and environmental impacts. “Fail fast, fail often” is not
an option for us, when the cost can be measured in hundreds of
millions of dollars.
It’s hard to plan for disruptive technologies, and I’d argue that
it is impossible. Companies create business plans that include
predictions and forecasts of technology innovations. We can
identify the gaps, but the inventions themselves are often more
elusive. The triggering event is usually economic, where low
prices force desperate innovation and high prices make known
inventions economic.
What’s next for disruptive oilfield technology? My list in-
cludes many of the items on McKinsey’s list: learning software,
sensors everywhere leading to an oilfield Internet of Things,
and, finally, real data mining and management. But the real
disruptive technologies are probably still in someone’s mind.
What technologies are we missing with the high castle walls of
our industry? JPT
11
 COMMENTS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Bernt Aadnøy, University of Stavanger

Syed Ali—Chairperson, Consultant

Tayfun Babadagli, University of Alberta

How Big a Threat? William Bailey, Schlumberger

Mike Berry, Mike Berry Consulting

John Donnelly, JPT Editor Maria Capello, Kuwait Oil Company

Frank Chang, Saudi Aramco

Simon Chipperfield, Santos

As the oil industry begins to emerge from one of the worst Alex Crabtree, Hess Corporation

downturns in decades, some see a new threat on the horizon: Gunnar DeBruijn, Schlumberger
the growing use of electrically powered vehicles, which could Mark Egan, Retired
cut seriously into future oil consumption. Mark Elkins, Retired
Automobile manufacturers and oil companies are trying to
Alexandre Emerick,
estimate the growth potential of these vehicles, which cur- Petrobras Research Center
rently make up only 1% of the global transportation market Niall Fleming, Statoil
but have surprised automakers with a quick uptake in demand
Ted Frankiewicz, SPEC Services
over the past 2 years. There are now more than 1 million electric cars on the road, up
70% from 2014, according to the International Energy Agency. Transportation cur- Stephen Goodyear, Shell

rently accounts for more than half of oil consumption worldwide. The oil recession Omer M. Gurpinar, Schlumberger
of the past 2 years underscored the critical importance of the balance between global A.G. Guzman-Garcia, Retired
supply and demand. As oil supplies swamped consumption with US shale output sky- Greg Horton, Retired
rocketing, Saudi Arabia increased production to try to drive high-cost producers out
John Hudson, Shell
of business, and demand in places such as China cooled off.
Morten Iversen, Karachaganak Petroleum
Automakers and many prominent companies in the oil industry apparently see dif-
ferent futures for electric vehicle growth. Both the widely watched ExxonMobil and Leonard Kalfayan, Hess Corporation

BP annual energy outlook surveys have paid little attention to potential disruptions Thomas Knode, Contek Solutions
from electric vehicles, although both have noted the growing efficiency of the tradi- Sunil Kokal, Saudi Aramco
tional combustion engine as a factor in reduced demand. In a survey of top oil execu- Marc Kuck, Eni US Operating
tives attending the Oil and Money Conference in London in November, only 12% saw
Jesse C. Lee, Schlumberger
electric vehicles as a serious threat to the industry, ranking lower than such issues as
Douglas Lehr, Baker Hughes
a potential looming supply shortage, lack of capital investment, and break-even price
points for production. “Electric cars, they can grow, but I don’t think that is a problem Silviu Livescu, Baker Hughes

for us,” ENI Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi said at the conference. Shouxiang (Mark) Ma, Saudi Aramco
Notably, Statoil and BHP Billiton have a different take. Statoil Chief Executive John Macpherson, Baker Hughes
Eldar Saetre said at the same event that global oil demand could peak in the 2020s as Graham Mensa-Wilmot, Chevron
the rising use of electric vehicles will “shrink” the industry. And BHP said in a blog
Stéphane Menand, DrillScan
on its website that “2017 could be the year when the electric car revolution really
Badrul H. Mohamed Jan, University of Malaya
gets started.”
Automakers believe that as batteries become cheaper and can support longer driv- Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco

ing ranges, consumption of electric vehicles will soar. They are also banking on the Eric Ringle, FMC Technologies
preferences of millennials and the coming prospect of driverless vehicles to enhance Martin Rylance, BP GWO Completions
electric transport demand. Executives of Mercedes, BMW, and Ford all recently pre- Engineering
dicted a strong uptake in electric vehicle use over the next decade. Robello Samuel, Halliburton
Oil analysts are just starting to put serious research to the question and predictions Otto L. Santos, Petrobras
vary widely. Wood Mackenzie believes that electric vehicle use could take 1–2 mil- Luigi A. Saputelli, Frontender Corporation
lion B/D of oil consumption out of the market within 20 years. IHS Markit is embark-
Sally A. Thomas, Retired
ing on a major study, predicting that electric vehicles could account for 15% to 35%
of all vehicle sales by 2040, which “could bring about the greatest transformation Win Thornton, BP plc

since the dawn of the automotive age.” Others predict that energy efficiency and gov- Xiuli Wang, Baker Hughes
ernment regulations pushing a low-carbon future will have the most impact on future Mike Weatherl, Well Integrity, LLC
demand, but the rapid uptake of technologies that are disrupting long-term business Rodney Wetzel, Chevron ETC
models should bring this issue to the surface in the next couple of years. JPT
Scott Wilson, Ryder Scott Company

Jonathan Wylde, Clariant Oil Services

Robert Ziegler, Weatherford

To contact JPT’s editor, email jdonnelly@spe.org.

12 JPT • JANUARY 2017

 New results
without a new stack.

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requirements with zero failures.
The new RCX™ Low-Shock SPM Valve virtually eliminates
hydraulic shock during operations, extending the lifespan of the
entire MUX control circuit. Its patent-protected design simplifies
onsite assembly and installation, lowering the risk of damaging
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NOV_Lowshock SPM_JPT_2017.indd 1 11/21/2016 4:31:35 PM

 GUEST EDITORIAL
Industry Transformation Takes Many Forms
Alex Read, Global Director, Business Development, Industries Group, Siemens PLM Software
Many column inches are filled with dis- for how we could transform what we do,
cussion of how companies need to oper- whether at a company or personal level
ate in the lower-for-longer market that and with a long-term outlook or on a
the upstream oil and gas industry con- daily basis.
tinues to face. Much of what we read One of the key transformations occur-
is focused around headline words such ring now is organizations coming togeth-
as “innovation” and “disruption.” I feel er—through mergers, acquisitions, and
these are used too often and inappro- alliances—to combine products and
priately such that we lose focus around services from subsurface through sub-
their meaning. However, if asked for one sea and pipelines to topside processing.
word that I believe encapsulates what The move is clearly toward integration
the oil and gas industry needs, it would of products and services, with compa-
be “transformation.” nies trying to reduce the costs of inter-
The oil and gas industry has a histo- faces of different aspects of field devel-
ry of delivering incredible engineering opment and production and reducing
feats that are impressive in their inno- the overhead of business operations.
vation by any measure in terms of sheer While the impact of the downturn can-
physical or budgetary scale. Whether we not be ignored, it is my hope that these
look back to the early Gulf of Mexico and changes will offer the opportunity for
North Sea facilities designed to with- transformation from an industry that
stand extreme marine environments, the has been heavily project-focused to one
ultra-deepwater subsea developments that is geared more to delivering stan-
offshore Africa and Brazil, or the mega- dardized products designed to be flex-
projects around floating LNG, the indus- ible enough to be modified to cope with
try has a history of innovation. The rise the range of projects and operating con-
of independent oil companies, redefin- ditions in which they will deployed. This
ing markets in certain regions, has been is a move toward a more efficient engi-
a good example of disruptive practices. neering industry in the long term.
What we need to focus on now is how
we transform the industry. This word The Digital Transformation
can resonate with all of us working in of Engineering
the industry at every level within an Our industry has much to learn from
organization; all of us can offer ideas the transformations made by success-
Alex Read is Global Director, Business Development, Industries
Group at Siemens PLM Software. In 14 years at CD-adapco, he has
worked as a project engineer, led the customer support team for
northern Europe, and helped found CD-adapco’s operations in
Houston and São Paulo, where he led both the sales and technical
teams. Read now leads the company’s global activities in the oil
and gas industry, focusing on helping oil and gas firms succeed
through simulation. He holds an undergraduate degree in
engineering and a graduate degree in computational fluid dynamics, both from the
University of Leeds, as well as an MBA from Rice University.
14
ful automotive companies. Whether it
is the global economic turmoil of 2008,
new competitors entering the mar-
ket, or changes in regulation, the auto
industry has continually had to push to
deliver innovative solutions in reduced
time and cost. From an engineering
perspective, those that have succeeded
have done so by progressively reduc-
ing reliance on traditional methods
(expensive and time-consuming physi-
cal prototyping) in favor of extensive
engineering simulation.
As an example, beginning in 2008,
at a time when automotive manufac-
turers were seeing cataclysmic market
conditions, Jaguar Land Rover under-
took a strategic shift. Its goal was not
only to survive the downturn but to sig-
nificantly expand product offerings and
sales while increasing profit. The busi-
ness drivers and challenges laid out by
the company’s head of simulation, Andy
Richardson, would sound familiar if
delivered by the chief technology officer
of an oilfield service company: “Devel-
op new technologies while managing
massively increased system complex-
ity; identify failure modes and establish
countermeasures to achieve right first-
time design; reduce in-service failures;
simulate the full range of use cases; opti-
mized product, design efficiency, and
reduced production costs.” The oil and
gas industry shares many of the pains
and challenges felt by the automotive
industry in that post-2008 period.
Jaguar Land Rover is now well on
the way to its goal: robust engineer-
ing design ready for sign off before the
first physical prototype is built, and it
is doing so while delivering financially
with 15% or more EBITDA growth in
each of the past 5 years.
JPT • JANUARY 2017
Transforming Engineering
and Product Development
As with the automotive example above,
engineering design and product devel-
opment for oil and gas needs to be led
by computer-based simulation. The aim
is to reduce time, cost, and risk to the
delivery of an operating product or sys-
tem. The more understanding we gain
from a virtual environment, the less test-
ing and prototyping we require. In this
approach, a digital twin of the product or
system is developed and used to simulate
its behavior to identify and assess initial
concepts, to test and select which option
should be progressed, and then to opti-
mize the product during detailed design.
The use of simulation in the oil and
gas industry is not new; however, the
transformation we need is in how
we use it to lead our engineering and
design rather than to verify or vali-
date a design. This means that engi-
neering simulation needs to move fur-
ther upstream in the design process and
also, critically, the activity needs to be
more fully integrated into design activi-
ties. All too often, engineering analysis
teams are exactly that—separate teams
from the core design activity. The better
integrated the engineering simulation
activities can be within the engineering
process, the better the chance that the
value of simulation can be gained and
that the understanding acquired from
simulation can lead engineers to make
informed decisions.
Cost has never been so critical to
engineering design and operation, yet
it is often somewhat detached from the
engineering design process with cost-
ing being performed-based on design
options developed. This can lead to
complex interactions or numerous iter-
ations in targeting designs that meet the
required performance or constraints
and at the same time meeting cost and
budgetary needs.
However, if you can model or predict
costs in terms of materials and manu-
facture them from an analysis or simu-
lation perspective, it is simply another
variable or constraint within the design
process. It can be solved in parallel with
the design and performance targets.
This approach can introduce a cost
model to engineering analysis or physi-
JPT • JANUARY 2017
cal simulation. A recent case study of If we automate more of the setting up
applying this approach to the design of a and running of models, engineers will
riser demonstrated costs being reduced have more time to work on adding real
by more than 10% using an automat- value by using data to inform engineer-
ed design-space exploration approach, ing decisions and designs. The digital
where minimum cost was targeted with twin approach can drive design, pro-
a wide range of design variables and vide design teams with greater insight,
operational constraints. Here a cost and, critically, allow engineers to be
model was integrated with a dynamic engineers. Rather than replacing the
riser analysis and the findings provided requirement for an engineer, automa-
a very clear trade-off between cost and tion of engineering analysis frees up
performance, enabling informed deci- time for engineers to analyze and pro-
sions to be made relating to cost and cess the data they generate.
performance from the same data set Major changes are taking place across
obtained from within the same analysis. our industry and the concepts discussed
here are not conceptual or blue-sky
Transform How We Use thinking. The move toward oil and gas
Engineering Time product development becoming truly
Increased efficiency has been identi- simulation-led is already beginning, but
fied as one of the key targets in decreas- the rate of change needs to increase.
ing development and operating costs. Change is never easy, but the opportuni-
Engineering analysis and modeling has ty and results will make it a worthwhile
often been seen as labor-intensive with transformation for our industry. JPT
many engineers spending too much
time building and running models rath-
er than as engineers using the data. The
adverse result of this is that there is
less time available to really analyze and
understand the findings and outputs,
and the real engineering value of analy-
sis and simulation can be lost.
Automated design-space explora-
tion can truly transform this, as can the
increasing access to high-performance
computing facilities or cloud-computing,
which can enable quick turnaround of
larger and more complex models. The
aim of automated design-space explo-
ration is to take control of a number of
engineering simulation technologies so
that they work together, sharing data
and using this data to intelligently search
the available design options. The process
automation aspect is key to reducing the
time engineers need to spend “babysit-
ting” analysis, making sure we have set
up all of the calculations that are needed
to obtain a full set of data. The second
important aspect is the bringing togeth-
er of multiple engineering analysis or
simulation tools (which could be flow
and thermal, structural, costs, or many
other predictive approaches or software
tools) and enabling them to interact and
share outputs so that findings do not
have to be manually passed among engi-
neers and teams.
15
 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Chris Carpenter, JPT Technology Editor
Asset Controller
The Weatherford WellPilot ONE control-
ler/remote terminal unit (RTU) provides
asset control, automation, and optimi-
zation for the entire field and enables
seamless transitions throughout all pro-
duction and lift phases, which reduces
the total cost of ownership (Fig. 1). Typi-
cally, automating a field requires opera-
tors to use an array of different RTUs or
controllers that adjust well operations
while they collect, store, and transfer
near-real-time data. With the WellPilot
ONE controller, operators will be able to
improve wellsite efficiency by control-
ling multiple application-specific opera-
tions precisely. Initially installed to mon-
itor flowing wells and to automate the
full production facility, the controller
can transition to different forms of lift
as well conditions change. The control-
ler can also simultaneously handle mul-
tiple tasks for multiple wells, and it is
capable of monitoring and controlling
various forms of artificial lift at once.
Other capabilities include oil, gas, and
water measurement; tank-level monitor-
ing; well testing; hazardous-substance
monitoring; and well control and shut-
downs. The controller includes built-in
Fig. 1—The Weatherford
WellPilot ONE universal
controller is preloaded with
built-in, advanced logic and is
expandable to provide multiwell
automation and control for the life
of the entire field.
16
logic for electronic flow measurement,
process control, and every form of arti-
ficial lift and offers scalability through
its unlimited capacity for input/output
expansion modules.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.weatherford.com.
Tubing Coating
Sucker-rod wear on production tubing
has been an industry issue for decades,
resulting in the need for costly work-
overs. Grit and sand exacerbate the
problem, along with corrosives such as
hydrogen sulfate, methane, and carbon
dioxide. Diamond Scientific was asked
by United Casing to develop a product
to extend the life of the tubing at wear
points. A 5-year research and develop-
ment project resulted in the ACR-T16
coating. While the primary concern is
abrasion of the tubing, a variety of tests
were performed by independent labo-
ratories to ensure the corrosion stabil-
ity of the coating. Autoclave tests for
corrosion in various atmospheres, pres-
sures, and temperature variations were
conducted, resulting in excellent adhe-
sion and no coating loss or blisters in
aqueous, hydrocarbon, or liquid phases.
Fig. 2—A Taber abrasion machine, used to test Diamond Scientific’s ACR-T16
tubing coating.
Wear-resistance tests determined that
the coating demonstrated an increased
resistance of more than an 1,100%
improvement over J55 steel (Fig. 2). Cur-
rently, 150,000 ft of production tubing
has been coated at wear points in mul-
tiple wells. The coated tubing has been
in service for 21 months without need for
any workover. Before running the coated
tubing, these wells required a workover
every 6 months.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.unitedcasing.com.
Section Milling Technology
The Abrado Medusa section-milling tech-
nology, which allows for full stabilization
while milling at extended reach, offers
an additional cost-effective solution for
operators to address the challenge of
permanent abandonment of wells and
isolation of formation hydrocarbons.
Conventional section mills are limited in
sweep diameter, and milling at extended
reach is further complicated by a lack of
effective stabilization. The Abrado Medu-
sa is a fully self-stabilized technology that
enables successful extended-reach mill-
ing, including milling through a num-
ber of casing strings, whether centric or
JPT • JANUARY 2017
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stimulation
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 Fig. 3—The ANT from GoWell Petro uses high-sensitivity acoustic sensors for leak-detection applications.
eccentric, without damaging the outer
casing. The ability to create window sec-
tions of longer lengths through multiple
cemented casing strings regardless of
depth enables placement of a competent
cement barrier, ensuring formation iso-
lation at or near the reservoir interface
or source of migrating hydrocarbons.
The fully stabilized milling system has
been used to create windows in casings
as small as 7  in. up to 185/8 in. in diam-
eter while cleaning or underreaming cas-
ing sizes up to 30 in. Successful window
lengths in excess of 240 ft, and well devi-
ations above 60°, have been achieved.
Operators have been able to place a con-
firmed cement barrier to block the flow
paths of migrating hydrocarbons in wells
previously unable to be abandoned using
conventional milling equipment.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.abrado-intl.com.
Array-Noise Tool
GOWell Petro introduced its latest gener-
ation array-noise tool (ANT) for deploy-
ment on electric line or slickline. GOWell’s
ANT tool is a leak-detection technology
that uses high-sensitivity acoustic sen-
sors packaged within a 111/16-in.-outer-
diameter wireline tool (Fig. 3). The com-
bination of a vertical array of differen-
tial acoustic measurements when coupled
with advanced processing provides sen-
sitive leak detection while logging. Rejec-
tion of unwanted road noise has typically
been a major challenge with noise logging,
which has only been solved by taking sta-
tionary measurements. However, the
design features of the ANT overcome this
limitation and provide an enhanced ability
to detect leaks and other downhole noise
sources such as completion anomalies or
reservoir behavior. When the ANT noise
tool is combined with GOWell’s Magnetic
Thickness Detector (MTD) electromagnet-
ic pipe-inspection tool, a comprehensive
leak evaluation is possible. The MTD iden-
tifies the location of pipe connections in
multiple casing strings and other comple-
tion items that can be prone to leaking. The
ANT tool can be run alone or, when com-
18
bined with a range of well-integrity or pro-
duction-logging tools, can provide com-
prehensive diagnostics of well problems.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.gowellpetro.com.
Neutral-Wettability Proppant
Baker Hughes’ NeutraProp neutral-
wettability proppant is a surface-
modified material that enables fluids to
flow freely through the pore spaces in a
proppant pack (Fig. 4). It is neither oil-
wet nor water-wet, and it can be applied
to various substrates from lightweight
ceramic to high-strength proppant. The
proppant reduces pressure drop in multi-
phase flow and eliminates the buildup
of fluid residues, letting more hydrocar-
bons flow out of the reservoir at high-
er rates for longer periods of time. The
solution also improves cleanup by reduc-
Fig. 4—Baker Hughes’ NeutraProp
neutral-wettability proppant. Top
image shows unmodified ceramic
proppant; bottom image shows
NeutraProp proppant.
ing capillary pressure and accelerates the
time to first oil while reducing nonpro-
ductive time. An operator working in
deepwater Gulf of Mexico needed a frac
pack to complete a new well to enable
production quickly. The well had very low
bottomhole pressure, low reservoir ener-
gy, and no gas lift. The NeutraProp was
selected and applied, and all of the flow-
back fluids were recovered in approxi-
mately 14 hours. This represents a 43%
reduction in rig time compared with an
average of 24.5 hours on three previ-
ous wells in which conventional prop-
pant was used. The operator eliminated
10 hours of rig time and saved more than
USD 438,000 by using the proppant.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.bakerhughes.com.
Manufacturing Technology
Peak Well Systems’ IRIS-3D manu-
facturing technology provides a high-
expansion, mechanical support system
that can be applied to a wide range of
possible applications. For downhole
applications in particular, it can be used
to extend the performance of tradition-
al elastomer seals and therefore enables
a new suite of wellbore sealing systems.
With the addition of IRIS-3D compo-
nents to Peak’s existing downhole SIM
plug system, personnel have been able
to extend the performance of the SIM
seal from 150°C and 5,000 psi to 200°C
and 10,000  psi. IRIS-3D is now focus-
ing on two development paths: the abil-
ity of IRIS-3D to develop a new range
of high-performance medium-expansion
plugs and exploring the role of IRIS-3D
in high-expansion seal systems. The lat-
ter could potentially deliver an IRIS-3D
enabled, high-performance, through-
tubing retrievable plug capable of passing
through a 4.5-in tubing before expanding
over 70% to seal in 7-in. casing. The tech-
nology has other potential applications
beyond downhole seals and extrusion
barriers, including drilling tools, connec-
tors, and surface-pipeline tools. JPT
◗ For additional information, visit
www.peakwellsystems.com.
JPT • JANUARY 2017
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Preventing Emulsions by Mitigating Solids
Bob Long, SPE, U.S. Water
There are many oilfield applications to
treat oil emulsions and water (reverse)
emulsions. Root cause determination
with full solutions to emulsion issues
can be more efficient and cost-effective
than bandage-type downstream appli-
cations such as acid treatments, demul-
sifiers, and water clarifiers. Improving
flow assurance or preventing under-
deposit corrosion issues are addition-
al benefits of finding and eliminating
problems at their source.
The Impact of Emulsions
The development of an oilfield emul-
sion requires four key components: oil,
water, an emulsifying agent (solids, sur-
factants, or chemicals), and agitation
(or shear). Solids, such as scale parti-
cles, corrosion byproducts, or waxes,
tie the oil and water together. Agitation
mixes the two, resulting in an emul-
sion. Removing or preventing any one
of these four components will break or
prevent emulsions.
Stable emulsions can have damaging
effects on lines and result in increased
costs for handling solids (through
mechanical removal), heat energy, and
chemical programs. They can also result
in capital expenses, such as purchas-
ing the filtration equipment needed to
remove solids. In addition to the oper-
ating costs associated with emulsions,
operators may experience unexpected
downtime and lost production.
Water that is separated out in pro-
duction facilities contains residual oil
that is trapped in reverse emulsions—
oil droplets dispersed in the water phase
vs. a standard emulsion where water
is trapped in the oil phase. The con-
centration of this residual oil is usually
too high for permitted discharge to the
JPT • JANUARY 2017
environment and may result in operator
fines. Any oil that is not captured and is
lost to disposal is a loss of profit.
Current Industry Practices
A typical industry practice is to use a
demulsifier to treat standard emulsions.
Choosing an effective demulsifier is
often viewed as a “black art,” frequently
done by conducting a “bottle test” with
a kit of demulsifiers or blends. There are
three main processes by which demulsi-
fiers “unlock” emulsions: flocculation,
coalescence, and solids wetting.
Another industry method for treating
solids is to batch treat with acid. Acid
can effectively treat calcium carbon-
ate, the most common carbonate scale,
and iron sulfide, a corrosion byprod-
uct. When acid is added to iron sulfide,
it creates a byproduct of hydrogen sul-
fide, a poisonous gas. Acid treatments
are temporary, lasting no more than a
couple of days. Although they success-
fully put the solids into the solution, as
soon as the water pH rises back during
dilution, the solids typically precipitate
back out from solution.
Identifying the Root Cause
These common industry practices for
treating emulsions act as bandages that
often require additional spending. A dif-
ferent approach has been introduced to
the market that goes deeper than the
customary treatment practices to iden-
tify the root cause of the emulsion and
solids. By starting upstream, producers
can proactively focus on preventing sol-
ids and emulsions formation.
When analyzing the emulsifying
agents that prevent these emulsions
from separating with standard sepa-
ration equipment, we typically find
they contain mostly treatable compo-
nents, outside of formation sands and
clays. These treatable components
include paraffin and asphaltene, min-
eral scales (i.e., calcite and barite), and
corrosion byproducts (i.e., iron sulfide,
iron carbonate, and iron oxides). Hav-
ing a detailed process for identifying,
collecting, and analyzing the generat-
ing source can allow for more effective
treatment programs.
If solids are prevented from forming
upstream, oil and water easily separate
out on their own. With the exception of
formation fines, most of the oilfield sol-
ids precipitate out of the gas and liquids
as pressure and temperature changes
occur in a well. These phase changes
continue through the separation and
compression equipment, to midstream
and downstream for final processing.
Using phase monitoring, sampling,
and a variety of investigative testing can
help determine when solids precipitate,
causing an emulsion to form. Sampling
from the wellhead through the entire
process to water disposal allows the
determination of which solids will stay
in solution, precipitate out, stay sus-
pended in the flow, or deposit out on the
piping and vessels.
Further deposit analysis and char-
acterization will determine the break-
down of the solids to help identify the
root cause of the deposits. To determine
total dissolved solids (TDS), water and
oil should be collected from one point in
the system and analyzed. A filter analy-
sis at the same time and location can be
used to identify and measure total sus-
pended solids (TSS).
A deposition coupon can be used to
measure the precipitated solids that
are depositing in the production equip-
19
 is the proper identification. Any solids
1000 that are collected can be sent to a lab for
Oil and Grease (ppm) testing to further identify the emulsify-
ing agent.
Oil in Water (parts per million)

Control Range (ppm)

800 During the analytical testing of non-
crystalline (also called amorphous)
deposits, energy dispersion X-ray meth-
600 ods can be used to identify the elemental
breakdown. The ideal deposit analysis
method for crystalline deposits is X-ray
400 diffraction, as it has the advantage of
producing a molecular determination.
When X-rays interact with a crystalline
200 substance, a diffraction pattern is cre-
ated, along with the percentage of each
phase of the sample.
0 The use of a scanning electron micro-
scope and the determination of parti-
12

12

12

13

13

13

14

14

14

15

15

15

16
1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/

1/
cle size distribution, clay content, and
/0

/0

/0

/0

/0

/0

/0

/0

/0

/0

/0

/0

/0
01

05

09

01

05

09

01

05

09

01

05

09

01
general and pitting corrosion rates are
Fig. 1—Average oil and grease in water (in parts per million [ppm]). An
other helpful tools for determining the
integrated approach was implemented in 2013, which resulted in an average system’s problems and the best method
of 400 ppm less oil in the disposal water. Source: U.S. Water. for prevention.

The Integrated Approach

500
The basic process of developing root
cause solutions begins by mapping the
450 process flow and measuring tempera-
TSS (mg/L)
Total Suspended Solids (mg/L)

tures and pressures at each stage to cre-

400 Hydrocarbons
Acid Soluble
350
Acid Insoluble
Treatable
300
250
200
150
100
50
0 process changes to a minimum during
2012 2013 2014 2015
Fig. 2—Annual average total suspended solids (TSS) composition (in mg/L).
The new integrated approach implemented in 2013 resulted in a more than
90% reduction in TSS. Source: U.S. Water.
ment, which would not be present in rate on its own throughout the system
the TDS or in the TSS. Solids on the or if additional treatment, such as heat
filter or coupon can then be sent to or chemicals, will be needed to resolve
a laboratory to identify a component the emulsion. Centrifuging the emul-
breakdown and determine if they are sion also indicates how tight the emul-
chemically treatable. sion is and if the solid will separate
Centrifuging fluids is a way to deter- on its own. The next step after collect-
mine visually if the emulsion will sepa- ing, cleaning, and preserving the solids
ate a monitoring and survey plan. Expe-
rienced operators should walk the pipe
and process flow to compile historical
data, such as prior testing, corrosion,
and flow assurance failures.
It is important to follow this by
methodically collecting a baseline of
statistically valid data. After reviewing
the survey and lab data, the integrity
team should be engaged to help devel-
op root cause solutions for trial. These
trials should be implemented, one solu-
tion at a time, keeping production and
evaluation. The baseline data that were
collected should be referenced during
solution evaluation for clear compari-
son and to evaluate if improvements are
being made.
Finally, if a trial solution is proven to
be more effective, that solution should
be implemented permanently, opti-
mized with continued data collection,
and key performance indicators should
be set.
Using this integrated approach,
alternative root cause solutions can be

20 JPT • JANUARY 2017

 applied upstream to prevent scale and
corrosion. For example, if there is car-
bon dioxide present in a system, high
pitting corrosion rates and a depos-
it analysis would show iron carbonate
solids. Applying a nonemulsifying cor-
rosion or iron inhibitor upstream of
the reaction or precipitation could be a
more cost-effective solution.
Proven Results
In 2013, an offshore field operator used
this integrated approach. The opera-
tor was experiencing scale buildup in
flowlines and separators, which result-
ed in corrosion issues on a handful of
wells. The issues were compounded by
an ineffective biocide program applied
at the water plant, and dissolved oxy-
gen intrusion that further precipitated
iron oxides, which were oil coated and
plugged the disposal wells. No corro-
sion program was in place, and scale
inhibitors were applied downstream
of precipitation.
A multifunctional product contain-
ing inhibitors for iron, scale, and cor-
rosion was developed for this field and
was applied upstream of separation.
The operator was able to discontinue
a surfactant program on the injection
wells, the summer emulsion-breaker
program, and winter emulsion-breaker
injection into some producing wells.
This resulted in the oil meeting pipeline
specifications for sales, and an average
400 ppm oil reduction in the disposal
water (Fig. 1).
Ongoing monitoring in 2015 showed
very low corrosion rates and a more
than 90% reduction in TSS from
2013 (Fig.  2). The return on invest-
ment included cost savings from fewer
coiled tubing cleanouts, reduced
injection well pump maintenance,
and a USD-100,000 reduction in
chemical expenses, compared with the
bandage-type programs used previous-
ly. The measures taken also resulted in
additional revenue from 2,920  bbl of
oil that were previously held in a re-
verse emulsion.
While traditional solids mitigation
methods may provide immediate ben-
efits, they typically result in addition-
al expenditures and treatment mea-
sures further down the line. Using
investigative testing enables oper-
ators to determine the root cause of
their issues and develop customized,
proactive solutions.
Once implemented, these solutions
can prevent emulsion stabilization and
result in more efficient operations and
long-term asset integrity. Although
individual systems suffer from partic-
ular issues, entire fields can be opti-
mized through the use of a holistic,
integrated approach. JPT

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 E&P NOTES
Hot Permian Play Gets Panel Focus
Oil prices, fracturing fleet, staffing, and technology among topics aired.
Joel Parshall, JPT Features Editor
The successes and challenges of produc-
ers in the United States’ most active oil
play received a wide-ranging discussion
by three panelists recently at an SPE
Gulf Coast Section meeting in Houston
on the state of the Permian Basin.
Exclusively following a question-and-
answer format, the nearly hour-long
program last month covered oil prices,
the fracturing fleet, staffing, technol-
ogy, reservoir issues, and other top-
ics related to the basin that covers west
Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
“It’s exciting to see the Permian come
around and actually be the hottest play
and the hottest area probably in the
world,” said Billy Smith, technology
director for North America at Hallibur-
ton. “The encouraging thing about the
Permian, at least with the operators I’ve
spoken with, is that at USD 50[/bbl] oil,
a lot of the play is very valid and very
economic.” Some Permian plays are eco-
nomic for their operators at USD 40/bbl
oil, he said.
Greater Efficiency
Anton Babaniyazov, a senior production
engineer in the Lower 48 Mid-America
Business Unit at ConocoPhillips, point-
ed to lower drilling and completion
costs and “a huge improvement in effi-
ciency” in the basin. “From the place-
ment standpoint, we’ve significantly
improved contact with the reservoir,”
he said, citing a 17% improvement year
to year in industry production from the
basin’s unconventional plays.
Interest in Permian involvement is
increasing among smaller operators,
particularly in the western portion,
Babaniyazov said. Further growth is
likely. “There will be lots of opportuni-
ties,” he said.
22
However, finding additional people
to drive expansion could pose some
difficulty. “Right now, the Permian
Basin from an unemployment perspec-
tive is very, very low,” said Ken Lizak,
director of stimulation design in sub-
surface technical services and sup-
port at Occidental. “So as we grow
from today, that means bringing com-
muter people in. We lived through
that back in 2013–2014. So getting
back up and running, it’s going to be
a challenge.”
Readiness of Fracturing Fleet
There are also questions about the read-
iness of the fracturing equipment fleet
to respond to significant expansion, in
light of units that have been stacked
[taken out of operation] in the downturn
and may need repairs or that have been
cannibalized. Smith said that 6.5 million
to 7 million horsepower of fracturing
unit capacity is available across the US
industry, which can service 600 to 700
rigs and would be at 100% utilization if
the rig count hit 800.
“The question is whether stacked
horsepower is cold stacked, or is it
repairable,” he said. “It really depends
on how quick and costly it is to bring
things back.”
If oil prices stay below USD 55/bbl,
equipment availability can be relative-
ly smoothly managed in the Permian,
Smith said. But at prices from USD 60/bbl
to 70/bbl “all of a sudden all of the other
plays come back, and then for sure we
reach the threshold of equipment not
being available,” he said.
While Lizak predicted a slow oil price
recovery, he said, “I think prices are
going to come up a lot faster than the
frac fleet.”
Pad Drilling Drives
Improvement
Panelists agreed that pad drilling, in
which multiple wells are drilled from
a single pad, is an increasingly impor-
tant factor in improving Permian opera-
tions. As a result of pad methods, “rigs
have gotten much more efficient,” Smith
said. “If you look across the basin as a
whole, there haven’t been that many
pad wells drilled. So that’s going to be
a big change. We’re already starting to
see that.”
Pad drilling has enabled Hallibur-
ton in the Permian to focus on tracking
pumping time, as opposed to nonpump-
ing time, “because we pump for almost
24 straight hours,” Smith explained.
Still, the industry faces the difficul-
ty of expanding into more marginal
areas.  “The wells are good right now
in  the Permian because we’re drilling
in the sweet spot,” Lizak said. “And the
one big challenge we have is how can
you go to those marginal areas out-
side of the sweet spot and make those
wells just as good. When you go from
2,000 pounds [of proppant] per foot
in the sweet spot and out on the edge
you take 6,000 pounds per foot to
get the same production, is that eco-
nomic? We spend a lot of time look-
ing at what we can do to move the
sweet spot.”
The economics of operations may
also be increasingly affected by surging
acreage costs, which Lizak described as
becoming “ridiculously high.”
Technology and Oil Prices
In a downturn, the level of technolo-
gy applied in the field is often a func-
tion of the oil price. At USD 50/bbl,
Permian operators are resuming the
JPT • JANUARY 2017
application of custom well chemistry, If per-barrel prices rose to the And Smith said that higher-end diag-
such as surfactants and clay controls, USD 70 range, Babaniyazov said that nostics and the broader application
that they had set aside at lower prices, technologies to mitigate flow assur- of fiber-optics would probably come
Smith said. ance issues would see increased use. into play.

Oklahoma Official: Progress Being Made, but Induced

Seismicity Will Not Stop Anytime Soon
Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer

One of Oklahoma’s top government the injection of produced water from scientific connection could not be estab-
officials announced recently that it triggering earthquakes. lished, an argument he believes was “not
could be many more months before helpful.” Earlier in his remarks, while
the full scope of the state’s regulatory Shifting Conversation pointing to a chart showing the his-
response plan for induced seismicity is Among the earliest challenges Teague torical trend line of Oklahoma’s seis-
proven effective. related centered on how the seismic- mic activity, he said, “Look at how that
Oklahoma is a top-five oil and gas ity problem was initially being commu- ramps up—that is not natural.”
producing state in the US that has also nicated and described to the general Times have changed. Teague said
seen a nearly 4,000% spike in earth- public. He expressed disappointment while there remain a few holdouts on the
quakes since 2009, making it among the in the misguided attempts by activ- issue, the overall attitude now shared by
most seismically active regions in the ists to blame hydraulic fracturing for many in the industry is praiseworthy.
country. Scientists and industry experts the earthquakes—cases of which do This position shift has resulted in the
have concluded that the earthquakes are exist, but are very few in numbers— greater cooperation of oil and gas com-
instances of induced seismicity brought but also in the industry representatives panies with regulators by way of fund-
about by the injection of produced who publically downplayed the possible ing for research and the state’s new
wastewater into a fault-connected layer linkage between disposal well activity disposal well reporting system, along
of rock called the Arbuckle formation. and earthquakes. with the donation of seismic infor-
Michael Teague, secretary of ener- Only 2 years ago, Teague noted that mation that has greatly expanded the
gy and environment for Oklahoma, some of those working in the industry state’s knowledge of its subterranean
explained that even though the state has speaking circuit were claiming that a fault network.
ordered hundreds of disposal wells to
cease operations or cut back their injec-
tion volumes, the earthquakes are slow-
ing down but growing in strength. He
suggested that it will take quite a bit of
time for the built-up pressures inside
the Arbuckle thought to be triggering
the quakes to dissipate.
“The unfortunate answer to the
long-term question is, this could take 2
years,” until Oklahoma’s seismic activ-
ity returns to normal, Teague said. “And
there’s not much more that we could do
that would make it go much faster.”
The Secretary’s remark was made
during a November SPE meeting in
Houston hosted by the Gulf Coast Sec-
tion’s study group on wastewater man-
agement. His keynote presentation
touched on several issues that his office,
which collaborates with state and fed-
eral regulators, has faced in figuring
out how to create a framework that pro- Speaking at a recent SPE meeting, Oklahoma’s Secretary of Energy and
motes the production of oil and gas Environment spoke to industry professionals about the challenges regulators
and also addresses the need to prevent are facing in solving the problem of induced seismicity.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 23

 8 the towns of Luther, Pawnee, and Cush-
M2.8+ Earthquakes
ing, the state created even tighter zones
7 30 Day Mov. Avg.
around those quakes’ epicenters.
6 180 Day Mov. Avg. Disposal wells located in the bullseyes
Earthquakes per Day

of these zones, which have a radius rang-

5 ing from 3 to 10 miles, have been shut in.
Many more disposal wells located just a
4 few miles beyond that innermost ring
have been ordered to reduce injection
3
volumes anywhere from half to a quarter
2 of their 2014 monthly averages.
Teague said that regulators have set-
1 tled on partial reductions for the major-
ity of the affected disposal wells due
0 to the potential risk of trigging earth-
Jan-09 Jan-10 Jan-11 Jan-12 Jan-13 Jan-14 Jan-15 Jan-16 Jan-17 Jan-18
quakes by reducing the subsurface pres-
The occurrence rate of 2.8-magnitude or greater earthquakes in Oklahoma sure by too much, too quickly—a lesson
began ticking above normally observed levels in 2009 and reached a peak that has been learned the hard way.
sometime in 2015. The state is still experiencing multiple felt seismic events a
When disposal well operators were
day compared to two per year on average between 1978–2008. Source: Office
of the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Energy. first faced with mandatory reductions,
rather than inject lower volumes on a
Though there is no doubt amongst tion of disposal wells roughly represents daily basis, some decided to cease injec-
the experts on the causal relationship a quarter of the state’s total number. tions completely for a few days, and
between disposal wells and the earth- A map of the state’s “areas of volume then would start back up and inject at
quakes, they are still unsure of the exact reduction” show that three of the most the maximum allowed rates for a anoth-
mechanics involved. There are conflict- regulated areas fall within the borders er few days. Teague said “they were
ing theories that suggest the problem is of a larger centrally positioned restric- absolutely causing earthquakes” by fluc-
driven by area-specific geology vs. the tion zone that was established earlier. tuating the injection activity like this,
idea that the quakes are more related to After a number of recent 4.0-magnitude and implied that new rules were adopt-
select disposal sites with above-average or greater earthquakes occurred near ed to end this practice.
injection rates.
Teague said this uncertainty under-
scores the need for continued research
and collaboration between regulators,
industry, and the universities carrying
out much of this seismic investigation
work. “The research isn’t done,” he said,
while acknowledging, “That gets really
frustrating if it’s your baby that’s getting
woken up six or seven times a night, but
that is the truth of the matter.”

Areas of Volume
Regulatory Evolution Reduction 2015 EQ
Though seismicity throughout Oklaho- 2015
–0.200000–1.000000
ma began rising above historic base- 1.000001–2.000000
2.000001–3.000000
3.000001–3.500000
line levels in 2009, it would not be until 3.500001–3.999999
4.000000–4.500000
4 years later that the problem grew so 4.500001–6.000000
NewAOil_02.26-2016
OK_Central Reduction_2016_03_07
bad that it prompted state officials to Cushing 3 mile (Shutin)
Cushing 6 mile (Reduce)
shut in the first disposal well linked to Western Regional Reduction 2016_02_10
Luther-Wellston_10 mile (Reduce)
Luther-Wellston_15 mile (Shutin)
an earthquake. Pawnee_10 mile (Shutin)
Pawnee_15 mile (Shutin)
Since then, dozens more disposal Osage Pawnee
Pawnee_Original_10 mile 0 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 Date: 9/20/2016
Miles
wells have been ordered to shut in and
about 700 others have been plugged-up
This map plots the locations of recorded earthquakes in north-central
to higher injection intervals or seen their Oklahoma as they relate to the areas in which regulators have ordered
allowable injection volumes reduced by a volume reductions for disposal well injections. Source: Office of the Oklahoma
substantial figure. The affected popula- Secretary of Energy and Energy.

24 JPT • JANUARY 2017

 In January, the Oklahoma Corpora-
tion Commission (OCC), the state’s oil
and gas regulator, issued a statement
expressing similar concerns. The OCC
said that a series of earthquakes that
occurred in a matter of days near the
town of Fairview, including four mea-
suring at least a magnitude 4.0, may
have been connected to the simultane-
ous startup of a number of oil and gas
wells that had temporarily lost power
during a storm.
The statement read that as those wells
began producing again, a “tremendous
volume” of produced water was gen-
erated and then subsequently injected
into the Arbuckle at the same time. The
statement concluded by asking that in
the future, operators “gradually restore
operations in the event of a sudden shut-
down due to power failures.”
Stronger Magnitudes
While pointing out that the rate of earth-
quakes is falling, which may be due to
a combination of injection restrictions
and an overall reduction in the state’s oil
and gas production, Teague highlight-
ed that the magnitudes, or the inten-
sity, of the earthquakes “are going the
wrong way and nobody really under-
stands why.”
He noted that only days before
his appearance on 6 November, a
5.0-magnitude earthquake rattled the
town of Cushing, Oklahoma, home to
the world’s largest crude oil transpor-
Beware of Bottlenecks
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Oil companies that have slashed the
break-even cost of producing oil from
shale plays now must figure out how to
hold on to those hard-won gains.
US producers can profitably produce
oil from these difficult formations at
prices that are 50% lower than they
were during the boom, according to
Rystad Energy. But roughly half of those
gains are at risk as drilling activity rises.
“Lower unit prices of service com-
panies are a major reason for the drop,”
said Jon Duesund, senior project man-
JPT • JANUARY 2017
tation and storage hub. No serious inju-
ries or damage to the hub’s infrastruc-
ture were reported, however, a number
of buildings in the town suffered dam-
age. Including the Cushing earthquake,
three of the state’s five strongest record-
ed earthquakes have occurred in 2016.
Due to the aftershocks associated with
some of those events, Teague said the
state would most likely end 2016 with
more than 600 3.0-magnitude events—
loosely held as the strength at which
most people can feel ground movement.
Even so, the final tally will fall far short
of 2015’s total of 907 3.0-magnitude
earthquakes, marking the state’s first
decline in seismicity in 5 years.
Teague said these figures reflect that
in some parts of Oklahoma the injec-
tion restrictions may be working, but in
other areas under similar restrictions,
the earthquakes are continuing largely
unabated. This has been a particularly
difficult situation for state officials to
grapple with.
On one hand, the science is telling
them that it can take perhaps 18 months
for a volume reduction to have the
desired effect. But on the other hand,
their responsibility to the public dic-
tates that corrective measures be imple-
mented in a shorter timeframe.
This has led to a creeping expan-
sion of the restriction zones when
the initial mitigation strategies fail to
immediately calm the seismic shift-
ing. Teague explained that although
ager for Rystad, during a recent briefing
in Houston.
Discounts squeezed out of suppli-
ers are considered “nonsustainable”
because prices will rise as demand
rises, allowing service companies to
raise prices.
An early example of that is the sand
used to prop open fractures. Prices have
risen this year by 25% as companies use
significantly more proppant per well,
according to a Bloomberg story quot-
ing IHS.
more action is warranted when size-
able earthquakes strike within an area
already under restriction, officials have
grown wary of simply lumping on more
and more restrictions, which he com-
pared to Band-Aids, “because then
you can’t figure out which Band-Aid
is working.”
Nevertheless, Oklahoma’s regulators
have announced that their next step
in response to the ongoing earthquake
activity in Cushing will be the creation
of an even larger restriction zone that
will affect more disposal wells.
For Further Reading
SPE 180365 Dynamic Considerations
for Induced Seismicity by Robert
Walker and Fred Aminzadeh,
University of Southern California.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/180365-MS
SPE 173383 On Liability Issues
Concerning Induced Seismicity in
Hydraulic Fracturing Treatments
and at Injection Disposal Wells:
What Petroleum Engineers Should
Know by Keith Hall, Louisiana
State University et al. http://dx.doi.
org/10.2118/173383-MS
SPE 180461 The Effects of Faults on
Induced Seismicity Potential During
Water Disposal and Hydraulic
Fracturing by Nick Umholtz and
Ahmed Ouenes, FracGeo. http://
dx.doi.org/10.2118/180461-MS
“We can potentially surpass the
amount of proppant used in 2014 already
in 2017,” when more than 100  billion
pounds were pumped, he said.
Rystad’s analysis roughly breaks down
the savings that have reduced the break-
even price for unconventional produc-
ers into three categories:
◗ Efficiency and productivity gains
represent about 40% of the gains
seen since 2014, and those will last.
◗ Discounts gained due to the
downturn represent another 40%,
25
 and those will shrink as conditions
improve.
◗ The remaining 20% falls in
between. For example, some of
the biggest gains have come from
high-grading, such as evaluation
methods used to select the most
productive drilling targets. Those
savings will last as long as the
exploration team can keep finding
the sweet spots.
Rising demand will test how durable
those cost reductions really will be.
“Some of the efficiencies we see dis-
appearing,” Duesund said. “We will not
see the [break-even cost] level in 2014,
but it will be higher than current levels.”
Costs will rise because “future effi-
ciency and productivity gains are not
expected to counter the cost inflation,”
he said. For example, the drilling rigs
still working can drill far more feet
per day than the average rig working
before the downturn. But the cost per
day will rise as the demand goes up;
and as many more rigs go into service,
less efficient equipment and crews will
be working.
In the next 2 or 3 years a signifi-
cant increase in demand will allow price
UK Geomechanical Firm Targeting US Shale;
Addressing Frac Hits
Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer
One of the oldest names in geomechan-
ical modeling has learned some new
tricks, and like so many recent advances
in the oil and gas industry, it has every-
thing to do with the North American
shale revolution.
Founded nearly 30 years ago, UK-
based Rockfield was among the first
to develop a hydraulic fracture model
for conventional reservoirs, and re-
mained one of the few names in spe-
cializing in this field for much of
that time.
But the market opportunity presented
by the complex geomechanics involved
with fracturing tight rock and shale
reservoirs has spurred more competi-
tion and forced legacy modeling com-
panies such as Rockfield to revamp
26
increases, and “we will run into some
bottlenecks,” Duesund said.
The severity of the problem will
depend on the level of activity in the
shale business. Rystad’s optimistic
price outlook, with the price of oil ris-
ing USD 10/bbl per year over the next 4
years, makes it more of an issue. While
the onshore conventional business is
expected to produce more, global pro-
duction will be affected by deep spend-
ing cuts in high-cost areas such as
deep water.
Increased demand for services and
supplies will result in shortages of
equipment, supplies, and labor in some
areas, and these bottlenecks will not be
evenly distributed.
More efficient drilling rigs drilling
longer horizontal wells in fewer days
mean the available equipment should be
able to keep up with the demand.
“About 1,000 horizontal rigs could
be enough to get back to same num-
ber of horizontal well spuds as seen in
2014,” Duesund said. Three years ago,
the Baker Hughes rig counts showed
more than 1,500 rigs drilling horizon-
tal or directional wells, which is about
three times the current level.
their existing codes and develop new
software products.
The company spent 2 years working
on this front to create a set of mod-
Modeling hydraulic fracture designs in
naturally fractured formations offers
shale operators a way not only to
judge their completion strategy, but it
may also help them avoid generating
fractures that intersect with another
well. Source: Rockfield.
When it comes to completing those
wells, though, the risk of bottlenecks
rises due to the growing demand for
horsepower to pump fracturing jobs.
The size of the current active frac-
ture fleet is not big enough to meet the
growing demand from more wells and
larger completion.
“We saw in 2010–2011 that pres-
sure pumpers’ margins went up about
10 percentage points when the indus-
try ran into bottlenecks, which proba-
bly equates to somewhere around a 20%
price increase for the operators,” he said.
Three years from now, finding the
skilled labor needed to gear up opera-
tions could also be a problem, Due-
sund said. Low unemployment rates are
allowing laid off workers to find jobs in
other sectors. When demand rebounds,
the job market may look different from
the last drilling boom that began in
2009, when unemployment rates were
high as a result of the Great Recession.
The bottleneck can also be over-
come, but at a cost. He said that work-
ers who have been out of the oil business
for years during the slowdown “may
be reluctant to return unless they get
good salaries.”
ules—basically, pieces of its flagship
modeling software named Elfen—that
can be imbedded into the commercial
software platforms that many operators
and service companies routinely use.
In addition to hydraulic fractur-
ing simulation, the modules were also
designed to predict near-wellbore
effects that apply to drilling, comple-
tions, and production. Another set
of new modules focuses on static and
dynamic reservoir modeling as well as
forward modeling of a reservoir’s geo-
logic evolution.
A Guiding Tool
Although these latest modeling products
are the beneficiaries of modern comput-
ing power and programming prowess—
JPT • JANUARY 2017
essentially making them much smart-
er than previous generations—they are
not being touted as one-to-one replica-
tors of the subsurface.
Adam Bere, the chief technolo-
gy officer and head of the consultan-
cy department at Rockfield, explained
that today’s unconventional modeling
technology should instead be viewed
as a tool for reducing uncertainty. He
also said that modeling can serve as
a guide for engineers regarding what
they should look for in the subsurface
data as they plan how to stimulate a
shale well.
“We can’t put our hand on our hearts
and say that everything we’re model-
ing here is exactly what you would see
4,000 m under the ground. I don’t think
it would be wise to ever say that,” he said.
“However, what we can do with model-
ing is run through many different sce-
narios and then you can understand the
sensitivities to different parameters.”
Bere added that through this itera-
tive process, engineers can get a better
grasp of how the reservoir’s stress state
and even the bedding of very thin layers
of rock may impact their key concerns
such as fracture length, stimulated vol-
ume, and proppant placement.
To bring it closer to many of the
industry’s largest shale producers, the
company opened its Houston office in
2015. Bere said the firm is optimistic
about gaining market share in this sec-
tor based on the understanding that the
margin for error in shale fields is lower
today than ever before.
Prescriptive-Analytics Modeling Technology Captures
Reservoir Physics
Chris Carpenter, JPT Technology Editor
Producers face a number of decision-
making challenges. Specifically, they
must optimize field development and
operational decisions in light of the
complex interplay of fiscal, market, and
reservoir variables.
Data analytics is enabling new and
better solutions for handling these
problems. Tachyus’ Data Physics tech-
nology combines machine learning and
JPT • JANUARY 2017
The shale business appears general-
ly to be embracing this type of soft-
ware technology, partly evidenced by
the rising number of SPE papers cover-
ing the subject from an operator’s point
of view. Though they are certainly aware
that this area of modeling still needs
time to mature, our lower-for-longer
era is driving them to find out if it can
offer lasting improvements to their rate
of return.
Frac Hit Protection
Among the opportunities that Rock-
field sees for its modeling products is
helping operators avoid the cross-well
communication problem known as frac
hits. This issue is common, and happens
when a new well is being hydraulical-
ly fractured and the pressure from that
operation sends fluids, and even prop-
pant, through extensive natural fracture
networks that are connected to older
producing wells.
In the worst cases, a frac hit will harm
the performance of adjacent wells, or it
can knock them offline completely. It is
an important issue to resolve consid-
ering that many shale producers are in
the infill drilling mode and their wells
are getting closer and closer togeth-
er. Over the past few years, these com-
panies have crafted a mix of mitigation
techniques, but the problem persists.
An accepted practice to block frac hits
involves loading up potentially affect-
ed producing wells with fluids, usual-
ly water. Some believe doing this will
impede approaching fractures, but there
reservoir physics to rapidly integrate
relevant data sources in real time. The
prescriptive analytics of the new tech-
nology enables operators to efficient-
ly compare possible decision scenarios
to balance short- and long-term trade-
offs, such as ultimate oil recovery vs.
production targets. This methodol-
ogy, combined with a scalable cloud-
based computational platform, enables
are some who shy away from this meth-
od, believing instead that it may actu-
ally do more harm than good. Others
will switch up their tactics depending
on the field.
Uno Mutlu, chief operating officer of
Rockfield’s Americas business, empha-
sized that when choosing which strate-
gy to use, many operators overlook the
importance of the primary forces at play
in a shale reservoir, including physics,
flow and pressure regimes, geomechan-
ics, or local stress states.
“In certain cases, fluid loading could
divert approaching fractures away from
a champion producer and prove to be an
effective shield to minimize undesired
interference between wells. In other
cases, the same approach might reverse
this effect and attract infill-well frac-
tures toward an existing producer well,”
he explained.
To estimate if fluid loading will work
or not, one of the things that the com-
pany’s models take into account is
whether a field is naturally fractured.
In each scenario, the flow regimes and
rock deformation mechanisms that dic-
tate a formation’s response to fracturing
are different and need to be simulated to
remove some of the guesswork.
These parameters also change over
time as a reservoir becomes depleted of
hydrocarbons and reservoir pressure,
meaning what worked once in a particu-
lar area may fail the next time it is tried.
“So to sum it up,” Mutlu said, “you won’t
be able to use rules of thumb when it
comes to frac hit protection.”
closed-loop reservoir optimization,
in which reservoir and surface mod-
els are frequently updated and continu-
ously identify new optimal operation-
al decisions.
The work flow is not intended for geo-
logical characterization of a subsurface
reservoir. Ideally, the models would be
used to explore the “possibility space”
of millions of potential field develop-
27
 15,000
14,000
Monthly BOPD
13,000
12,000
11,000
10,000
0 3
Actual field results over the pilot period of 12 months. The orange curve is
the actual field-wide production, and the gray line is the expected baseline if
cyclic candidates were chosen the same way they were before the application
of Data Physics technology. The results in the figure are actual field results
over the pilot period and not model output.
ment scenarios and to identify a few
candidate scenarios that are optimal
against one or more objectives.
The models use a novel approach to
integrate machine-learning techniques
with the underlying reservoir-physics
equations and limit the solutions to
those that are consistent with the under-
lying reservoir physics. The models pro-
duce accurate predictions of the key
output variables, even when field con-
ditions change dramatically between
training data and prediction period.
Data Physics models leverage the
inherent continuity of reservoir behav-
ior. Spatially accurate models can be
Total Wins Award for Project Integration
John Donnelly, JPT Editor
Total’s Laggan Tormore project claimed
the International Petroleum Technology
Conference (IPTC) Excellence in Project
Integration Award at the 10th IPTC in
Bangkok, Thailand.
The IPTC Excellence in Project Inte-
gration Award highlights projects that
have demonstrated distinction through-
out the entire value chain, and are equiv-
alent in value to at least USD 500 mil-
lion. Past winners have included both
international and national oil compa-
nies. Taken into account are projects that
28
Incremental
Production
Baseline
6 9 12
Month
built with orders-of-magnitude speed-
up, allowing local well-level optimiza-
tion both for injection redistribution
and infill-drilling purposes. The mod-
els are generated using a well-defined,
automated algorithmic process
The core modeling and optimiza-
tion work flow begins with an extract-
transform-load process of surface and
subsurface data. Actual field data are
divided into two sets: training data,
which are used to identify model param-
eters, and validation data, which are
intentionally withheld from the training
process and used to validate predictive
power and statistical accuracy.
exemplify strong teamwork, solid geosci-
ence knowledge, reservoir and produc-
tion engineering expertise, outstanding
facilities engineering practices, a strong
commitment to health, safety, and the
environment, and advocate innovative
and people-oriented human resource
policies and community programs. Pre-
vious award winners include the Qatar-
gas Debottling project by Qatargas, the
Independence Hub project by Anadarko
Petroleum, Sakhalin-1 by Exxon Nefte-
gas, Qatargas 2 by Qatargas, Parque das
Next, the data assimilation step
assigns and fits the parameters of the
model, inferring from the history of
each well an ensemble of fit parameters
that satisfy both past data and physi-
cal laws. Once training data are fit and
an ensemble is produced, the predictive
accuracy of each member of the ensem-
ble can be measured against the valida-
tion data set.
An example application was a deploy-
ment with a mid-sized independent
that operates 150,000 B/D of produc-
tion. This project was implemented on
a 13,000 B/D steamflood field to opti-
mize cyclic-steam candidate selection.
The field, located in the San Joaquin Val-
ley of California, covers approximately
10 sq miles. As is typical for the region,
the oil in the field is heavy, with a gravi-
ty of 14 °API, a viscosity of approximate-
ly 4,000 cp at 100°F, and a gas/oil ratio
of less than 50 scf/STB. The field has
approximately 1,150 producers and 150
steam injectors injecting approximately
100,000 B/D of steam.
The technology identified the wells
with the highest incremental produc-
tion potential to cycle steam at any point
in time given current oil price and steam
cost. Engineers increased field-wide
production by 1,000 B/D by optimizing
10% (cyclic-only portion of production)
of the field’s production over 12 months.
The results in the figure are actual field
results over the pilot period and not
model output.
Conchas by Shell, Pazflor by Total, Perdi-
do by Shell, RGX2 by RasGas, and CLOV
by Total.
The pioneering GBP 3.5-billion Laggan
Tormore development, offshore West
of Shetland, unlocks the harsh Atlan-
tic Margin play and opens up a new gas
province for the United Kingdom. The
project was executed using new tech-
nologies to overcome a harsh environ-
ment. Interesting innovations saw new
methods of environmental protection
deployed on a huge scale.
JPT • JANUARY 2017
 The Laggan and Tormore fields lie
140  km north-west of Shetland in water
depths that descend rapidly from 120 m to
more than 600 m. To address these chal-
lenging conditions, Total implemented the
longest subsea-to-shore development ever
seen in UK waters. The project now meets
8% of the UK’s daily gas requirements.
The project won against China Nation-
al Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) Kes-
hen development project. The Keshen
gas field is characterized by fractured
tight sandstone reservoirs, with the bur-
ied depth of 6500–8000 m and reser-
voir pressure of 116–128 MPa. Adopting
Total’s Laggan-Tormore project uses subsea-to-shore technology.
an integrated exploration and develop-
ment mode, CNPC has built an annual gas
capacity of 5 BCM by the year 2015, with 400 long-term job opportunities for the The IPTC is a collaborative effort
a total investment of RMB 11.8 billion. local residents, and creates significant among four industry societies: the Amer-
A series of technologies applicable to economic and social benefits. ican Association of Petroleum Geolo-
gas development in complex mountain The 10th IPTC was held 14–16 Novem- gists (AAPG), the European Association
fronts were developed, covering reser- ber 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. The of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE),
voir description, well placing, fast drill- event, which was hosted by PTT Explo- the Society of Exploration Geophysicists
ing, well completion, and reservoir stim- ration and Production Public Company (SEG), and SPE. IPTC is a platform to pro-
ulation. The project opens up a new Limited (PTTEP), attracted more than mote knowledge sharing and scientific
frontier for gas reservoir development, 3,700 industry professionals from more and technology dissemination on a glob-
provides clean energy and more than than 50 countries. al scale. JPT

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 TECHNICAL DIRECTORS OUTLOOK
Engineers Need To Learn From History
Because the Industry Tends To Repeat It
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
In the 2 years since oil prices plunged, job
cuts and retirements have changed the
face of petroleum engineering. SPE’s mem-
bership mix has shifted to younger, with
the biggest numbers in their 20s and 30s.
“We have seen most of the older gen-
eration wiped out. It is pretty scary see-
ing the people being asked to leave” who
have so much knowledge, said Tom Blas-
ingame, the technical director for reser-
voir description and dynamics.
There are still Baby Boomers left in
the ranks, and they want to pass on what
they have learned from experience. The
seven SPE directors interviewed for this
story began their careers during the long-
lasting funk that began in the early 1980s
and lingered through the 1990s. At last
year’s SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition (ATCE) in Dubai, they
offered their perspectives in a discussion
titled “The Way to Move Forward is to
Look Back.”
While the oil market seems to have set-
tled into a narrow range and the pace of
layoffs slowed later in the year, these are
still hard times.
“Unfortunately a lot of people are
losing their jobs; that is happening
25%
Professional Members by Age (as Percentage of Membership)
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
<20 20–24 25–29 30–34 35–39 40–44 45–49 50–54 55–59 60–64 65++
The largest group of SPE members is in its 30s, while older membership is
declining. http://www.spe.org/about/demographics.php.
30
across the world and across the indus-
try, even in national oil companies,”
said Hisham Saadawi, technical direc-
tor for production and facilities. “The
perception is prices will remain like
this now.”
The pressure to cut costs remains
intense, including personnel budgets.
Even some top students from Texas A&M
University are hearing from companies
that “we do not have the budget to hire
now,” said Blasingame, a petroleum engi-
neering professor at Texas A&M, adding
that for many, “the anxiety meter is off
the scale.”
Fewer students are enrolling in petro-
leum engineering programs in the US and
elsewhere because it no longer ensures
a good-paying job, with some schools
seeing declines of 50% or more in their
incoming classes.
“There is no panic. I am sensing the
biggest concern is the job situation for
graduates. That is pretty tough in many
places,” said Dan Hill, director for aca-
demia. For the faculty in many programs,
there is a positive side to the declines in
enrollment: the lowering of class sizes to
more desirable levels.
2015 2005
A hiring drought also has its costs.
“In previous downturns, there were
companies that spent years without
any significant hiring or training strat-
egy,” said J.C.  Cunha, technical direc-
tor for management and information.
“Without injecting new ideas, new peo-
ple, and new blood, organizations tend
to stagnate.”
While the working professionals have
to plan for oil to linger around USD 50/bbl,
experience shows bad times are not for-
ever. Oil companies are in a world where
demand is growing, older fields produce
less every year, and the remaining oil is
in formations that are harder to devel-
op and produce. All point to the need for
more and better petroleum engineers.
“The big thing now with undergrad-
uates is we really need to make sure
they believe in the future of petroleum
engineering,” Blasingame said. Faith
is required because becoming a petro-
leum engineer requires a large invest-
ment of time and money to prepare
for a job in an industry where hiring
varies unpredictably.
Long-term thinking matters, but say-
ing “no” to cost-cutting is not an option.
Cunha covered lower-cost ways of sus-
taining hiring, training, and mentoring,
while Jeff Moss, technical director for
drilling, is pushing for seeking out sus-
tainable cost reductions.
While companies are reporting lower
costs per barrel to investors, a significant
part of those gains was the product of
deep discounts squeezed out of suppliers,
who will claw back those losses when the
market allows. Finding a way to use drill
bits longer will offer a lasting saving that
discounts cannot.
Hard times also force buyers to dis-
tinguish between wants and needs, and
JPT • JANUARY 2017
eliminate things that do not clearly add
value, such as highly customized equip-
ment specifications.
“They are looking at the specifica-
tions used during the era of high oil
prices,” Saadawi said. There is talk
about going back to the day when the
industry kept costs down by ordering
industry-standard equipment and sim-
plified designs. But with more fields
in harsh environments and more reg-
ulations, sometimes simple is not
an option.
Cost-cutting has also added respon-
sibilities for those managing operations
while reducing the number of corpo-
rate support specialists in areas such
as health, safety, and the environment
(HSE). “Now we are increasingly seeing
operational leaders moving into the top
spot for HSE,” said Trey Shaffer, techni-
cal director for health, safety, security,
environment, and social responsibility.
He has been looking for ways to ensure
those multitasking professionals can get
the range of information they need to
cover all that ground.
Many of the students graduating this
year are looking at jobs that take them in
unexpected directions, which is a famil-
iar experience for those who graduated
during the 1980s.
During his career, Blasingame said he
has met a lot of “people who came in the
back door, taking jobs they didn’t want
and working into mainstream engineer-
ing.” He added, “If you find your niche,
someone will find value in it.”
And what seems like a small job today
may become an essential skill 20 years
from now. When Jennifer Miskimins,
technical director for completions,
started out in that area, it was an off-
shoot of production engineering. Now,
fracturing during completion is the fac-
tor making production from unconven-
tional plays possible.
Her career choice was guided
by what she enjoyed doing, and that
needs to be a motivation for those
choosing an oil industry major when
the rewards are uncertain. The asso-
ciate professor at the Colorado School
of Mines said she has noticed that
“with the young students, I am seeing a
passion again.”
JPT • JANUARY 2017
Tom Blasingame
Reservoir Description and Dynamics
In a brutal job market,
petroleum engineer-
ing students seeking
jobs are looking for an
edge. “Most are hun-
kered down. The only
way to get noticed is
to get the best grades” plus involvement
in internships and strong projects, said
Blasingame, who has been considering
what else they could do.
“I agonized over that. I really tried
to think of what a student could do to
make them more valuable in this envi-
ronment,” he said.
But based on his experience and those
he has known who got into the business
during bad times, those who are per-
sistent and flexible are likely to find a
roundabout journey to a career.
Blasingame’s path began with a detour
at the start of his senior year as the oil
boom was sliding into a bust in 1983. “I
thought I would get a job with Amoco. I
had a fantastic internship. But like many
others, I ended up getting the wrong
envelope,” he said. The letter said the
company had no job to offer.
While considering “what do I do now?”,
he addressed a pressing problem—
finding a topic for his senior research
paper—by asking Professor John Lee,
who returned in the past year to teach at
Texas A&M University.
“He didn’t say anything. He walked
over to his bookshelf, pulled out a book,
stuck a Post-it into it to mark the pages
and told me to make a copy,” he said. That
section laid out a method for calculations
related to a pressure buildup test. Lee
seemed to have doubts about those equa-
tions and instructed the undergraduate
to “figure out everything about this.”
When Blasingame returned around
Christmas time, with his analysis using
math he had learned in an effort to impress,
the discussion took an unexpected turn.
“He asked, ‘Have you ever thought of
grad school?’”, Blasingame said, adding,
“I said no. He said you ought to think
about grad school.”
That was not in the plan, which was to
work in the oil fields like his father who
had owned a drilling company when he
was a child. But he followed that advice,
even though graduate school looked like
a wrong turn to some of his peers.
“I was willing to do things others were
not willing to do. People were laughing
about it, who would be stupid enough to
do that,” he said. But in his case, he had
stumbled onto the right path after all.
Jennifer Miskimins, Completions
In the space of a career, Miskimins has
seen how a little-noticed specialty can
evolve into a critical skill.
When she started doing completions
in the late 1980s, it was a well construc-
tion job handled by a production engi-
neer. “They were in charge from when
they finished up [drilling] to perforation
and stimulation to putting in the right
producing equipment,” she said. Some
fracturing was required, but “there
would be one stimulation or fracturing
stage on a well vs. 40,
50, or 100 now.”
That difference
helps explain why
completions now play
a critical role in well
performance, expand-
ing the universe of rock that can be
developed. This big change was recog-
nized in the past year when Miskimins
became the first SPE director for com-
pletions, with a goal of creating comple-
tions engineers capable of pushing this
trend further.
The associate professor at the Colora-
do School of Mines is just beginning to
see universities offering advanced class-
es in completions, as well as more atten-
tion being paid to it in related courses
such as drilling and stimulation design.
“It is mind-boggling to me, especially
in the US and Canada, how important
fracturing is, and there is not a [specific]
course on stimulation,” at some schools,
Miskimins said, adding, “It is so much
more important. A lot more people spe-
cialize in it and work in it.”
What has been a North American
obsession is growing globally. “We have
a couple of PhD students from Saudi
Aramco in fracturing and we haven’t
seen that in the past,” she said. These
31
 students are coming to the US at a time
when the Saudi Arabia national oil com-
pany is recruiting fracturing talent to
aid in its effort to tap tight and uncon-
ventional gas fields, and has presented
papers on using it to maximize conven-
tional production.
Currently she sees companies with
teams of completions engineers in the
field relying on a few experts’ multi-
disciplinary skills that draw from res-
ervoir modeling to rock mechanics. In
the future she sees more skilled comple-
tions engineers using the growing array
of diagnostic tools to maximize fractur-
ing results.
“We do not have people specializing in
it,” in school, she said. “We do not have a
lot of people that can get down into the
detail and that are experts in it.”
Jeff Moss, Drilling
The average cost of drilling is down a lot
since oil prices crashed, but that could
quickly change. There
needs to be more
focus on “sustain-
able cost reduction,”
said Moss. Experi-
ence shows that the
downside of savings
squeezed out of a supplier or service sup-
plier is that they will raise prices as soon
as the market allows.
Even now with the price breaks, many
onshore producers are struggling to
turn a profit and those considering off-
shore development are even further from
break-even.
“You need to be lopping decimal points
off” the costs, Moss said. “They will have
to compete with unconventionals, and
that means they cannot drill a well pro-
ducing 10,000 B/D for USD 200 million
and expect to make money.”
Many little savings are not likely to be
enough. “In deepwater, a lot of opportu-
nities will require some serious mindset
changes,” said Moss. While R&D budgets
are squeezed, history shows that during
periods when cost pressures are extreme,
some operators will try new things rather
than abandon projects.
In the 1980s Moss worked on early
uses of horizontal drilling. It was an
32
emerging technology, but it proved to
be a better alternative than vertical wells
and fracturing tight gas formations in the
North Sea.
“It was desperation as much as any-
thing else. It paid its way,” Moss said.
Over time, he said they were “able to
define niches to apply it appropriately
to more effect, and later learned how to
fracture those horizontals.”
Obvious targets for deepwater cost
reductions now are the many casing
strings required to stabilize wellbores
in challenging wells where drillers are
working in a narrow window between
the pressure required to control the pore
pressure in the well and the level that
could damage the reservoir.
There are tools available aimed at the
problems that lead to costly, complex
well designs—more accurate pressure
predictions, managed pressure drilling
(MPD), and wellbore strengthening.
“It we can do managed pressure drill-
ing and eliminate casing string, things
start getting really attractive,” Moss said.
The available tools include established
methods—MPD has been widely used
offshore—but accepted workflows must
be developed to increase the comfort
level for users and regulators.
Lowering the cost of offshore to
make it a sustainable option long-term,
requires answering the question: “Can
you eliminate significant chunks of cost
without incurring added risk?”
Trey Shaffer
Health, Safety, Security, Environment,
and Social Responsibility
The booms and busts of Texas’ oil-driven
economy have redirected the career of
Shaffer in environmental consulting.
It includes three
busts over 3 decades,
starting with graduat-
ing from Texas A&M
with a degree in archi-
tecture in 1989 during
one slump, to running
a group of 250 workers doing oilfield
cleanup and hazardous materials emer-
gency response at Boots and Coots until
the 2003 downturn pushed him out of
that job to ERM Group, where he rode a
boom in oilfield environmental planning
from 2009 to the latest slump.
His position as a partner at ERM has
not changed, but as the health, safe-
ty, security, environment, and social
responsibility director, he is seeing how
deep staff cuts since 2014 have altered
the discipline. “My estimate of what has
happened is 30–40% of the profession-
als in the HSE [health, safety, and envi-
ronment] discipline were repurposed,”
he said. Some have gone into other roles,
been laid off or retired, he said, adding,
“It has been a dramatic shift.”
The focus on safety and the environ-
ment needs to remain constant, but after
the job cuts, the responsibility is increas-
ingly added to the job descriptions of
those in other roles.
On the plus side, the change recog-
nizes that decision makers need to con-
sider both the operational and environ-
mental criteria when making decisions
on problems, such as handling produced
water, managing emissions, or improv-
ing safety performance.
The days when the HSE professionals
were there to identify the problem for an
operations person to solve has passed.
Now, “if you identify a problem, you have
to marry it with a solution.”
Those all-purpose professionals are
feeling pressure to produce more with
less, leaving them little time to learn
more about the HSE aspects of their job
at a time when spending on training and
conferences is down.
“Younger professionals are in leader-
ship roles,” he said. “They are rising into
leadership roles much more rapidly with
amazing responsibilities for big parts of
the business.”
Shaffer said SPE needs to figure out
“how to find these people and bring
them into” programs to expand their
knowledge of the HSE issues they face on
the job.
One obstacle is their primary profes-
sional focus is often in another disci-
pline, making them less likely to attend
an SPE HSE event. The HSE content
needs to be better integrated into SPE
conference programs, with topics tied
to the areas of the most interest. He
said, “We need to make the HSE content
very relevant.”
JPT • JANUARY 2017
 J.C. Cunha
Management and Information
Companies have an obligation to their
shareholders to control costs, and to do
so in a way that does not reduce their
long-term performance. It is an especial-
ly difficult balancing act when the pres-
sure to cut costs is far greater than pre-
paring for the day when this industry
finally rebounds.
“Companies that
are not hiring any-
body, that have let tens
of thousands of work-
ers go,” have reduced
their ability to bounce
back, Cunha said. In a
recovering market good hires are costly,
as companies compete for candidates in
a pool reduced by retirements and people
leaving the business.
Continued hiring of younger workers
will add lower-wage talent and avoid a
future workforce that is again dominated
by key people about to retire.
The downturn speeded that genera-
tional change and increased the work-
load of those managing complex, multi-
million projects. Those new hires need
mentors and training at a time when
many experienced workers are leaving
and training budgets have been slashed.
Experienced managers are not like-
ly to argue with the importance of hir-
ing, but in this market, “it is clearly not
a priority,” Cunha said. His presenta-
tion at the ATCE in Dubai offered advice
on hiring and training on a shoestring,
beginning with “keeping a sensible
hiring policy is better than no hiring
at all.”
Cunha said companies need to find
ways of holding on to experienced work-
ers to fill those gaps and provide con-
tinuity on long-term projects. Low-
cost options could include looking for
people willing to work limited hours
with jobs that would include mentoring
and training.
“With young engineers coming into
industry, you use them to pass on the
culture and pass on experience to help
form teams for the future,” Cunha said.
“It is a better way to prepare for the
bounce back.”
JPT • JANUARY 2017
Hisham Saadawi
Production and Facilities
Today’s oil prices
take Saadawi back to
2004. Back then, the
price of a barrel of oil
was roughly what is
now, and “oil com-
panies were making
profits. Everybody was happy, if you can
use that term.”
The consultant from Abu Dhabi is
thinking there are lessons to be learned
from how things were done back when
the specifications for a crude oil export
pump may simply refer to the data sheet
in the API Standard 610. During the boom
years, specifications became increasingly
complex and costly to deliver.
“I had discussions with many people at
ATCE thinking about trimming out speci-
fications,” he said. They need to simplify
the process to reduce the hours, man-
power, and cost, while ensuring what is
ordered is fit-for-purpose.
Over time, there have been more
complex developments requiring spe-
cial attention, such as sour reservoirs
and deep offshore fields, where special
orders are required. But when possible,
the industry should use “functional spec-
ifications” based on API standards.
The need to simplify is changing the
look of the offshore projects that are still
on the books, with simpler shallow-water
production platforms designed for Mid-
dle East and Asia developments.
To keep developments alive, others are
looking to advance the day when produc-
tion begins by tying back the early wells
to nearby facilities until a production
platform is completed.
The position Saadawi occupies on the
board represents some rethinking as well.
The post combines areas once covered by
two directors: production and operations
with project, facilities, and construction.
The change is in keeping with the times
when many within those disciplines are
seeing their responsibilities expand.
“I think for those that survive, they
end up doing more multitasking,” said
Saadawi. Even at larger companies,
“you get production and facilities
commingled together.”
Dan Hill, Academia
There has been a sharp decline in the
number of students enrolling in petro-
leum engineering programs as they see
that graduates are now having trouble
finding jobs.
It is reminiscent of the plunge in
the early 1980s, when enrollment
dropped by 90% in 4 years said Hill,
the Texas A&M petroleum engineering
department chair.
But he does not see
things getting as bad
as they were when he
was starting his aca-
demic career at the
University of Texas
at Austin in 1982, the
year oil prices had peaked and enroll-
ment there totaled 1,100 students. Five
years later oil, prices had plunged and
there were 100 students.
Hill said that “if the slump lasts long
enough, it could be a pretty dramatic
drop in enrollment.” But adds, “I am opti-
mistic it is going to pick up before long.”
This is a global problem. As a director,
Hill has learned through his contacts that
programs in Europe and China are also
feeling the downturn. Those in the Mid-
dle East are steadied by hiring commit-
ments made by national oil companies.
In the US, the declines in incoming
students range from a few percent at
programs that limited their enrollments
during the boom to more than 50%.
Texas A&M is seeing only a small drop. It
capped its enrollment in 2010 after see-
ing it triple from 2003.
US graduation rates are expected to
decline, from about 2,100 petroleum
engineers for the 2015–2016 academic
year to 1,400 for the 2018–2019 year,
according to a study by Lloyd Heinze,
a petroleum engineering professor
at Texas Tech University, who surveys
US programs.
Enrolling in petroleum engineering
when hiring is down looks like a risky
bet. But many of the small number of
Generation X engineers hired during the
last bust are now in senior positions.
“Those folks that came out of those
small classes, a lot of them are now lead-
ers in our industry,” Hill said. JPT
33
INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA
CONTINUE WORKING ON
T he nanotechnologies enjoying com-
mercial success in the oil field today
are small in number, and for the most
part, can be categorized as single-well
applications. Examples include the dis-
solvable ball-drop systems used in hor-
izontal well completions and the spe-
cialty additives operators are using to
enhance drilling fluids.
The next big leap for this area of
emerging technology will be the devel-
opment of nanoparticles that work on
larger scales, either in production oper-
ations or for fluid treatment.
Counted among the industry’s nano-
pioneers, Saudi Aramco is getting clos-
er to the deployment of nanoparticles
for a number of reservoir-wide applica-
tions. Others are working on creating
nanoparticles that will improve the per-
formance of waterflooding, and univer-
sity researchers in Texas are develop-
ing a magnetic nanoparticle that aims
to make offshore water treatment more
efficient, and possibly more economic.
These concepts were presented at
SPE’s Annual Technology Conference and
Exhibition held last year in Dubai. Taken
together, they offer a small, yet compel-
ling, sample of the ideas still working
their way through the pipeline.
Kirk Rainey, the vice president of
A&I Ventures in Houston and a former
BIG
chemical-enhanced oil recovery expert
at Shell, has been involved with nano-
technology consortiums for more than
7 years. Speaking generally, he explained
that the oil and gas industry is inter-
ested in nanoparticles partly because of
the potential efficiencies they offer. It
helps to think of nanoparticles from a
chemical perspective; their collective-
ly high-surface-area—typically where
chemical reactions take place—means
even relatively small volumes can make
a big impact.
“The negatives include the fact that in
many cases engineering these nanoparti-
cles, or nanostructures, can be very cost-
ly,” said Rainey. “And while it may be easy
to do on a small scale, learning how to
scale something up to the oil field is going
to take a lot of effort, and the ability to do
that is sometimes unknown.”
That point about scale is very impor-
tant, especially when discussing reser-
voir applications. Rainey emphasized
that if large doses of nanoparticles are
needed, then their cost must be relatively
low to justify their use. He said the abil-
ity to strike such a balance will separate
“laboratory curiosities” from viable com-
mercial products.
The following projects highlighted at
ATCE address some of these challenges
and other industry concerns that include
IDEAS
whether nanoparticles will remain stable
under reservoir conditions, precipitate
out of the fluids they are infused into, or
simply do what they were designed for.
Nano Tracer Test a Success
Saudi Aramco’s continued research
efforts have resulted in what the nation-
al oil company is reporting as the first
successful inter-well field test of fluores-
cent nanoparticle tracers (SPE 181551).
The long-range experiment is one of the
latest examples of the company’s efforts
to “illuminate” reservoir behavior with
nanoparticles and help it maximize
recoveries. Though the test began in mid-
2014, detectable amounts of the original
300-kg batch of nanoparticles were still
being recovered from a producer well
throughout last year.
“Ten years ago, trying to suggest that
maybe nanoparticles could be used in
the reservoir was a completely mad idea
and everyone laughed,” said Erika Ellis,
a physicist at Saudi Aramco who works
on the company’s nanoparticle projects.
“But now we’ve pushed nanoparticles as
a tracer material through a reservoir and
have successful results—and this is the
first time that it’s ever been done.”
The test built upon years of research
and development of the company’s own
brand of carbogenic nanoparticles called
FOR NANOTECHNOLOGY
Arab-dots, or simply A-dots. They are
named for the Arab D formation, a major
carbonate reservoir in the supergiant
Ghawar oil field. Contained within the
A-dots are even smaller bits of fluores-
cent material that are easily detectable
using an instrument called a fluorometer.
And though it was planned to be
executed using an injector and a pro-
ducer well with a reservoir distance of
between 150–200 m, the test was carried
Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer
out in wells with a respective distance
of 475  m. Instead of jeopardizing the
test, the increased distance only under-
scored the reservoir-transit capabilities
of the A-dots.
Another unplanned factor involved
a number of injector well shutdowns,
which also ended up being a good thing
because it proved that the A-dots moved
right along with the erratic water front.
The strong correlation also allowed the
research team to figure out that it takes
10 months for the A-dots to move from
the injector to the producer—a param-
eter that will help measure their perfor-
mance in the future.
According to Ellis, the project has
given Saudi Aramco data that suggest its
nanoparticle tracer may be more effec-
tive than the commercial chemical trac-
ers it uses. One of the problems with
chemical tracers is that they are prone
An image taken with a
transmission electron microscope
shows Saudi Aramco’s Arab-dots
as small black specs. Though
they have proven to be very
robust in the reservoir, these
images are about as close as
the company’s researchers can
get to physically describing this
particular nanoparticle whose
chemical structure remains
unknown. Source: Saudi Aramco.
 to spread out in a wide scope, sometimes
missing the flow stream of a producer
well, she said.
This may happen because the mol-
ecules of chemical tracers are in fact
smaller than some nanoparticles, includ-
ing A-dots, which measure about 10 nm
in circumference, or about 1/1000th the
width of a human hair.
The result is that the chemical trac-
ers will follow many pathways, some that
flow with the oil and water and some
that do not. Ellis said the data show
that the larger A-dot particles move in a
much more direct line toward the pro-
ducer, which is why the responses of
produced fluids and the nanoparticles
were so similar during and after the
injector shutdowns.
The other big benefit of using A-dots as
a tracer is that at USD 3 per/kg, they will
be highly competitive with other tracer
technologies once the company begins
manufacturing them at an industrial
scale. Their low cost comes thanks to
the simple bucket reaction used to make
them, which involves mixing citric acid
and ethanol, plus heat.
One of the mysteries of the A-dots is
that Saudi Aramco’s researchers say they
do not know why they are so resilient to
the challenges that other nanoparticles
are more susceptible to such as floccula-
tion (clumping), precipitation out of hot
brine, and absorption to carbonate rocks.
Though they know their chemical com-
position—a mix of carbon, hydrogen,
nitrogen, and oxygen—Ellis said that the
reason for the uncertainty is because the
A-dot’s chemical structure is too hetero-
geneous to be properly described.
Nanomapping, Mass-Tagging,
and Seawater Fracturing
But even if they are unsure of how they
work, the researchers now have evidence
that the A-dots are capable of holding
up to reservoir conditions for long peri-
ods of time and over long distances. Ellis
said this has left the door wide open for
a much wider application suite for the
A-dots and other nanoparticles that the
company is researching.
The company is already using nanopar-
ticles in drilling fluids, presumably for
wellbore strengthening, but it is looking
36
toward even more emerging concepts
such as magnetic reservoir mapping and
hydraulic fracturing mapping. The idea
behind these “nanomappers” is that they
will slow down an electromagnetic wave
as it is pulsed from an injector to a pro-
ducer well.
The difference between the wave’s
travel time through the fluids before and
after they have been infused with mag-
netic nanoparticles may allow engineers
to visualize a water drive front, or in a
monobore scenario, what a well’s frac-
ture network looks like.
The company is also working with
research partners to develop a new set
of nanoparticles, some that are fluores-
cent and some that will be used for mass-
tagging—an innovation that intends to
offer tracer resolution measured on the
atomic scale. The plan for mass-tagging
involves using a common nanoparticle
that is proven to be reservoir-tolerant
and then “we can pick any molecule out of
an infinite range of possibilities, attach it
to the nanoparticle and boom, you have a
specific barcoded tracer,” Ellis explained.
Another future step is to finish the
development of a line of chameleon
A-dots that will alter their fluorescence
spectrum when they come into contact
with crude. A different variety, called
nanocore shells, are to be used to encap-
sulate droplets of acid and release them
at a specific point inside the reservoir
to etch out wider pore paths that will
improve hydrocarbon flow.
In yet another nano-project, Saudi
Aramco is trying to enable the use of
untreated seawater for hydraulic fractur-
ing in sandstones (SPE 181283). The com-
pany has gone to great lengths to protect
its freshwater resources by using sea-
water for its enhanced oil recovery proj-
ects and is seeking a similar strategy for
its burgeoning unconventional program
that is focused on tight gas production
to replace the oil Saudi Arabia currently
burns for power generation.
This project has not yet left the labora-
tory, but the initial data points are posi-
tive. In presenting the paper, Ghaithan
Al Muntasheri, the chief technologist for
the production technology team at Saudi
Aramco, described the nanoparticles as
“nano-crosslinkers” that increase peak
fluid viscosity—an important factor for
proppant transportation—by 23% to
116%. Such levels of viscosity should sig-
nificantly reduce the need for synthetic
polymers or guar.
With the nanoparticles, the fractur-
ing fluids tested remained stable at tem-
peratures up to 300°F and were effec-
tive even with a very high salt content
of 56,000 ppm. Al Muntasheri said cur-
rent technologies do not work at such
extreme temperatures and can only tol-
erate 35,0000 ppm of salt.
Core flood and proppant pack test-
ing also showed that the regained per-
meability was more than 90% with
the nanoparticles. And critically, the
nanoparticle fluid system is compatible
with scale inhibitors that would be need-
ed to offset the obvious formation dam-
age associated with introducing seawater
to a reservoir.
Al Muntasheri said in a fracturing
treatment the nanoparticles would rep-
resent about 0.02% of the total volume
of fluids used, which he estimated would
be 500-700 kg in weight, for a cost of
USD 100,000 or less.
The paper goes on to report that this
approach does not require any modifi-
cation to the pumping equipment used
for the fracturing job, and because of its
delayed reaction to temperature, which
helps the fluids maintain a high viscosity,
less horsepower is required for pumping.
This operational benefit may result in a
longer lifetime for pumping units.
Nanocapsules for
Waterflooding Conformance
Low-cost polymer gels are among the
most popular tools used in waterflooding
treatments to selectively shut off high-
permeability channels that are gener-
ating excess water production. Though
polymer gels are widely used because
they are effective, their big drawback is
that the gelation process tends to begin
quickly in the near-wellbore area, leaving
the bulk of the reservoir unaffected.
Chemists at the Research Triangle
Institute in Raleigh, North Carolina, think
they can improve the conformance capa-
bilities for one of the most widely used
gel systems, partially hydrolyzed poly-
acrylamide (HPAM), by placing its main
JPT • JANUARY 2017
 600 nm 200 nm

Two images produced by transmission electron microscopy show nanocapsules containing chromium (III) after 48 hours
of exposure to synthetic seawater held at 50°C. Source: Research Triangle Institute.

reactant, chromium (III), inside time-
released nanocapsules (SPE 181547).
This concept has received a great deal
of fanfare in the medical industry for its
potential to deliver cancer-killing drugs
and other medicines to specific parts of
the human body.
In the case of waterflooding, the nano-
capsules would be used to delay the expo-
sure of chromium to HPAM, allowing the
two constituents to travel deeper inside
the reservoir before forming into a gel.
Computer modeling suggests that this
could result in oil production improve-
ments of single-digit percentages.
The paper’s authors note that a com-
pany called Brightwater has developed
another nanoparticle-based technology
that also seeks to block off water chan-
nels. However, Leah Johnson, a chem-
ist with RTI International, said her team
believes its work represents the first time
that anyone has sought to encapsulate
chromium for a conformance application.
The nanocapsules are formed through a
complex inverse miniemulsion technique
that involves multiple steps of combining
hydrophobic elements and surfactants
with a water-based solution containing
the chromium. In one phase, as the solu-
tion is stirred, nanodroplets of chromium
are formed and in the next step a reaction
takes place that encapsulates them.
In addition to establishing an effective
encapsulation process, the researchers
also found that the early formulations

This graphic compares the conformance of a gel system for waterflooding with and without the use of nanocapsules to
delay chromium (III) from crosslinking, or turning into a gel. If the idea works, it would allow operators a greater ability
to improve conformance deeper into a mature oil reservoir. Source: Research Triangle Institute.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 37

 50 µm
1 minute
A microscopic observation of magnetic nanoparticles, light brown, shows them attaching to a much larger droplet
of oil, dark brown. This coagulation process takes place within minutes as is shown in this time sequence. Source:
University of Texas at Austin.
of their nanocapsules effectively delayed
the gelation process for up to 17 days.
They also observed that the nanocapsules
will remain intact for at least 48 hours
when exposed to 122°F (50°C) synthetic
seawater, suggesting that the long-term
delivery of chromium is quite possible.
“There’s a variety of different degrad-
able chemistries we’re looking at to
incorporate into the shell,” Johnson said,
explaining that some of those chemis-
tries are water sensitive while another
is more reactive to temperature. “So we
can really tune the concentration of the
degradable chemistries within the shell
to release at different time points.”
Further work is being done with the
University of Texas at Austin (UT) and
Tufts University in Massachusetts to
understand the mobility of the nano-
capsules through sandpacks. The early
results from this work show that the
nanocapsules remain about the same size
when exiting a sandpack, which Johnson
said is “very promising.”
Magnetic Oil Separation
In another project, researchers at UT
are working on a magnetic nanoparticle
technology to remove the micron-sized
oil droplets left dispersed in produced
water after it has been treated by conven-
tional separation technologies, e.g., grav-
ity and membranes (SPE 181893).
In testing, the experimental system
removed 99% of the oil droplets and may
eventually lead to the development of a
compact and highly efficient separation
system for offshore installations that are
challenged by space constraints and the
high cost of water treatment.
38
50 µm
5 minutes
When the magnetic nanoparticles
are  introduced to produced water,
they  surround the oil droplets in a
way  that is reminiscent of how white
blood cells  attack a foreign bacteria
or virus. In most cases, it takes about
5  minutes for all the nanoparticles to
find an oil droplet, and in a rapid-mix
chamber that time can be reduced to just
3 minutes or less.
The nanoparticles are attracted to
the oil droplets through electrostatic
forces. This is achieved by coating the
nanoparticles with a positively charged
polymer since most oil droplets have a
negative charge. And the weaker that
negative charge is, the quicker the reac-
tion takes place.
Saebom Ko, a research associate at UT
who is helping to lead this research proj-
ect, explained, “After attaching to the
oil droplets, the small nanoparticles get
bigger, and so whenever you have a mag-
netic field, the particles will move very
quickly to where the magnet is placed.”
In a real-world scenario, the mix of
nanoparticles and oil would be pulled
to the side of a treatment tank where
the next trick is to recover them while
letting the treated water flow out. That
part of the process is to be addressed
with a small continuous flow system
that the UT researchers hope to have
ready for testing next year.
The UT researchers also found that
crude types with a higher acidity need
more magnetic nanoparticles to be
effectively separated. And so far, the
upper limit for oil content in the test
fluids has been 0.25% by weight, but
the plan is to step that up in future work.
100 µm
60 minutes
Pending the results of the continu-
ous flow system and further funding, Ko
said the last item on the agenda would
be to build a pilot system. Because the
nanoparticles are costly, she added that a
critical requirement of a field-system will
be a way to separate them from the oil
droplets at the end of the process so they
can be reused.
“That will be the hardest part,” Ko
said. “But if you can reuse the nanopar-
ticles many times, then cost-wise, you
have some competition” with conven-
tional separation technologies. JPT
For Further Reading
SPE 181547 Nanocapsules for
Controlled Release of Waterflood
Agents for Improved Conformance
by Leah Johnson et al., RTI
International. http://dx.doi.
org/10.2118/181547-MS.
SPE 181283 Nanomaterials-Enhanced
High-Temperature Fracturing Fluids
Prepared with Untreated Seawater
by Leiming Li and Ghaithan A.
Al-Muntasheri, Saudi Aramco. http://
dx.doi.org/10.2118/181283-MS.
SPE 181893 Oil Droplet Removal From
Produced Water Using Nanoparticles
and Their Magnetic Separation
by Saebom Ko et al., University
of Texas at Austin. http://dx.doi.
org/10.2118/181893-MS.
SPE 181551 Oil Industry First Interwell
Trial of Reservoir Nanoagent Tracers
by Dmitry Kosynkin and Mohammed
Alaskar, Saudi Aramco. http://dx.doi.
org/10.2118/181551-MS.
JPT • JANUARY 2017
 The Grand Challenge of Carbon
Capture and Sequestration
George J. Koperna Jr., Neeraj Gupta, Michael Godec, Owain Tucker, David Riestenberg, and Lydia Cumming
C arbon capture and sequestration
(CCS) is designed to reduce atmo-
spheric emissions of greenhouse gases
(GHGs). The CCS process captures car-
bon dioxide (CO2) generated at large-
scale industrial sources (power plants,
refineries, gasification facilities, etc.)
and transports it to an injection site
to be permanently stored in the sub-
surface. With extensive research link-
ing GHG concentrations in the atmo-
sphere to observed changes in global
temperature patterns, CCS technology
could play an important role in poli-
cy efforts to limit the global average
temperature rise.
Even with the wealth of experience
already in place within the oil and gas
industry, the obstacles to advancing CCS
to the forefront of GHG mitigation tech-
nologies remain significant. Large-scale
CO2 injection projects remain primar-
ily in the realm of commercial CO2-EOR
(enhanced oil recovery) projects. The
key challenges to enabling CCS include
cost-effective capture and transport
JPT • JANUARY 2017
Fig. 1—The Kemper County
Energy Facility. Courtesy of
Mississippi Power Company.
of industrial CO2, clear access to pore
space for CO2 storage in geologic forma-
tions, proven methodologies for demon-
membranes, and ionic liquids to strip
the CO2 from the flue stream. However,
these technologies were developed to
strating storage integrity, and dissemi- handle smaller-scale operations and
nation of best practices. SPE members higher-CO2-purity streams. When ap-
can play a significant role in addressing plied to large electric generating plants,
these challenges. process efficiency is reduced, and the
energy penalty associated with the cap-
Cost-Effective Capture of ture process drives up costs, increas-
Power Sector and Industrial CO2 ing the levelized cost of electricity by
A major technical challenge facing cap- 50% or  more, depending on local fac-
ture at electric generating facilities is tors. Also, to accommodate the substan-
that the CO2 concentration in large- tial volumes of the CO2 and flue gas at
volume flue streams is quite low. Current full-scale industrial sources, the removal
removal technologies include techniques technologies require significant scale up
that apply amines, chilled ammonia, and footprint for deployment.
Editor’s Note: In 2011, the SPE R&D Committee identified five grand challenges facing
the oil and gas industry. A series of articles focusing on each of these challenges was
published in JPT in 2011 and 2012. This is a condensed version of a 2016 follow-up
paper examining the current status of one of the grand challenges: carbon capture
and sequestration. The full paper can be found here: www.spe.org/industry/carbon-
capture-sequestration-2016.php. This collaborative paper is authored by steering
committee and at-large members of the SPE Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilization
and the SPE R&D technical sections.
39
 While early movers are developing
large-scale capture demonstrations
such as SaskPower’s Boundary Dam
Project, Southern Company’s Kemper
Energy Facility (Fig. 1), and NRG’s Petro
Nova Facility, we are still very early on
the “learning curve.” Support for more
development of next-generation capture
technologies and large demonstrations
is required to push us down the cost
curve. This involves reducing the cost
of materials and construction, parasitic
costs related to energy for operations,
compression, and operation and main-
tenance costs.
Government Oversight
Challenges
Many of the aspects of a CO2 storage
project mirror those of CO2-EOR proj-
ects. The land department is in charge
of securing the acreage position, geosci-
entists describe the reservoir and seal,
and engineers design the surface and
subsurface equipment as well as pro-
vide a plan to maximize the value prop-
osition offered across the acreage. In
addition, some type of unitization may
be required of disparate mineral and
pore space owners. Finally, there is typ-
ically a state or federal permitting or
oversight agency to ensure the project
complies with established environmen-
tal requirements.
However, CO2 storage is currently
viewed as a “waste management” activ-
ity, with perhaps little public buy-in
or perceived economic benefit to the
local population, particularly in areas
with little to no hydrocarbon extrac-
tion industry presence. In the US, this
is further exacerbated by the fact that
ownership of pore space in which stor-
age would occur is generally retained
by the surface owner and the hydro-
carbons are maintained by the mineral
owner/lessee, and multiple owners/les-
sees may be involved. A well-conceived
outreach strategy combined with mech-
anisms for ensuring both local benefits
and trustworthy environmental stew-
ardship are required to obtain local pub-
lic and stakeholder acceptance of the
storage projects.
Because of this disparate owner-
ship, an alternative option to amelio-
40
rate pore-space access issues is to con-
sider offshore storage using existing
or new platforms. While the offshore
drilling and operations cost is consider-
ably higher, the government common-
ly holds the pore and mineral rights,
diminishing the number of stakeholders
potentially involved.
Safe, Secure, Large-Scale
CO2 Storage
A major difference between CO2 injec-
tion and hydrocarbon production is the
fact that injected CO2 has to be accom-
modated in the subsurface by compres-
sion into the formation and pore water,
increasing reservoir pressure. Determin-
ing the reservoir continuity at distance
without drilling many costly appraisal
wells and the resultant pressure accom-
modated storage capacity is a saline for-
mation challenge. In addition, CO2 has
a much higher mobility than water, and
with a lower density shows strong grav-
ity segregation. Plume modeling strate-
gies, coupled with advanced geophysical
techniques for calibration, are an area
of continuing focus, particularly where
laterally extensive CO2 plumes develop.
Once the primary pressure accommo-
dation space has been used, the chal-
lenge may be to develop reservoir engi-
neering strategies to use the remaining
pore space more efficiently for storage.
Extraction of brine could increase stor-
age efficiency and reduce the area affect-
ed by a pressure plume.
Depleted Fields and
Existing Infrastructure
Depleted oil and gas fields offer prov-
en secure storage—the capacity is well
understood and the storage security is
proven. However, they introduce some
challenges. When a gas field is high-
ly depleted, the CO2 will initially be
in the gas phase, yet it is transported
in the dense phase. There are a num-
ber of potential solutions that include
heating, starting in gas phase, or intro-
ducing methane or nitrogen. Man-
agement of the movement of the fluid
through the phase envelope is there-
fore key, and requires the exploitation
of CO2-EOR expertise coupled with
potentially novel petroleum engineer-
ing solutions. The assessment, mon-
itoring, and repair of legacy wells is
also important when dealing with de-
pleted fields.
Demonstrating Secure Storage
Scaling up CO2 storage technology to
address climate change, while demon-
strating to stakeholders that the pro-
cess  is safe and secure, is a signifi-
cant challenge. The 40-plus years of
experience gained in the design and
operation of CO2-EOR projects provides
the primary foundation for establish-
ing a comparable understanding for
the  issues associated with CO2 stor-
age. CCS-specific monitoring, permit-
ting, and long-term care programs must
be established and applied to develop
commercial sites. Risk assessment is an
essential activity during the selection
and qualification of sites for long-term
storage of CO2, for the development of a
risk management strategy, and in estab-
lishing guidelines for safe and effective
operations. While geologic uncertain-
ties/risks are highly site-specific, the
main perceived risks are of potential
CO2  or brine leakage from wells and
geologic pathways, and induced seis-
micity and  ground displacement.
Worldwide, a considerable amount
of CCS regulatory framework devel-
opment has occurred. In most cases,
these efforts build upon existing frame-
works for regulating oil and gas activ-
ities. For example, the US Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA) has
published underground injection con-
trol well requirements for the geolog-
ic storage of CO2, based on protec-
tion of underground drinking water
sources, and has established reporting
requirements under its Greenhouse Gas
Reporting Program for facilities that
inject CO2 underground for both CO2-
EOR and geologic storage. Importantly,
EPA guidance confirms that CO2-EOR
can result in stored CO2. Nonetheless,
substantial legal and regulatory con-
cerns remain.
Dealing With Abundant CO2
Should CO2 capture become cost-effec-
tive, the volume of CO2 available for
transportation and injection would
JPT • JANUARY 2017
require significant expansion of the cur-
rent infrastructure. Today, 50 individu-
al CO2 pipelines with a combined length
of more than 7,250 km (4,500 miles)
exist in the United States. Should 10%
of total emissions be captured, it would
far exceed the transport ability of this
infrastructure. To bridge this gap, con-
siderable infrastructure development is
needed. Early delivery targets for CO2
would include areas where well infra-
structure is already in place, such as
large oil fields, while areas with minimal
oil and gas development would be devel-
oped later for CO2 storage. While the
capabilities exist to build the infrastruc-
ture, the task will require a tremendous
influx of capital and personnel, and reg-
ulatory cooperation.
Large volumes of low-cost, readily
available CO2 could allow for the devel-
opment of new EOR strategies, using
CO2 in excess of traditional practice.
These techniques could include verti-
cal or gravity-stable flooding protocols
that may effectively recover the bulk of
the remaining oil, while also using less
water. Also, larger hydrocarbon pore
volume injections in traditional hori-
zontal floods, and possibly earlier appli-
cation of CO2-EOR, might be adopted in
lieu of waterflooding. New best practices
for these cases would need to be devel-
oped and shared within the industry.
Development and
Dissemination of Best Practices
The need for timely dissemination of
CO2 storage projects best practices is
key to the widespread deployment of the
technology. While CO2-EOR serves as
an analogue for CO2 storage, and many
best practices are transferable, notable
differences exist. These include regu-
lations and regulatory entities, owner-
ship issues, short- and long-term liabil-
ity, public outreach and pressure/plume
management. We believe that SPE has a
role to play in the documentation and
dissemination of CO2 storage best prac-
tices through support of publications
and conferences/forums. JPT

George Koperna is vice president and reservoir engineering
manager with Advanced Resources International, specializing
in unconventional resources, enhanced recovery applications,
and carbon storage. He is chairperson of SPE’s Carbon Capture,
Utilization, and Storage Technical Section and a former member
of the SPE International Board of Directors. He holds MSc and
BSc degrees in petroleum and natural gas engineering from
West Virginia University.
Michael L. Godec, a vice president with Advanced Resources
International, has prepared numerous assessments of the
potential sequestration capacity and economic potential
associated with geologic storage in oil and gas fields, deep
saline aquifers, gas shales, and unmineable coal seams. He has
examined CO2 storage and possible CO2-EOR opportunities for
numerous proposed power plants and other industrial facilities,
both in the US and internationally. For 2009–2010, Godec was
an SPE Distinguished Lecturer on the subject of “Environmental
Performance of the Exploration and Production Industry: Past,
Present, and Future.” He holds an MS degree in technology
and human affairs from Washington University in St. Louis,
Missouri, and a BS degree in chemical engineering from the
University of Colorado, Boulder.
Neeraj Gupta, a senior research leader/Battelle Fellow at
Battelle Institute, provides technical and program development
leadership for Battelle’s subsurface resources work. He has
more than 25 years of domestic and international experience in
CO2 storage, CO2-EOR, and other subsurface projects. He has
led several field programs and research projects on CO2 storage
technology. He holds a PhD in geological sciences from Ohio
State University, an MS degree in geochemistry from George
Washington University, and MS and BSc degrees in geology
from Panjab University, India.
David E. Riestenberg is a project manager with Advanced
Resources International. He has more than 15 years of experience
in the energy sector, with emphasis on the geologic aspects of
unconventional resources and the use of carbon dioxide for
both enhanced recovery and sequestration. He is the project
manager and monitoring lead for the SECARB RCSP Phase
III Anthropogenic Test CO2 storage demonstration in Mobile
County, Alabama. Riestenberg holds a BS degree in biology from
the College of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, and an MS degree in
geology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Owain Tucker is Shell’s global deployment lead for carbon
storage. He leads storage projects and is responsible for
technical assurance, integration, and informing the CCS
research agenda, along with the development of capability
within Shell. He cochairs the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative work
group on CO2 storage capacity and the Zero Emissions Platform
task force on transport and storage business models, and is a
board member of the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research
Centre. He studied physics and geophysics at the University of
Witwatersrand and holds a DPhil in experimental physics from
the University of Oxford.
Lydia Cumming is a principal research scientist at Battelle,
the world’s largest independent research and development
organization. She has been engaged in a number of government
and industry projects focused on investigating technical,
policy, and public acceptance issues associated with geologic
storage of carbon dioxide. She is currently performing technical
and outreach activities for the Midwest Regional Carbon
Sequestration Partnership. She also is the project manager for
the Mid-Atlantic US Offshore Carbon Resource Assessment
Project. Cumming earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from
Ohio State University.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 41

 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

EOR Performance and Modeling

Omer Gurpinar, SPE, Technical Director of Enhanced Oil Recovery, Schlumberger

Since the last time I wrote for this fea- Current conditions have In closing, I have to remind myself that
ture, enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) activ- we have been waterflooding since the
ities around the world have been steadi- made most companies 1930s and the fundamental EOR schemes
ly increasing, meaning that the unusu- decide to optimize (i.e., chemicals and CO2) have been with
al crises our industry has been going us since the late 1960s. Low-salinity and
through did not kill EOR. Instead, activi-
performance of their hybrid schemes have been growing dur-
ties have expanded. For sure, current existing assets, and EOR ing the past 10 years, and we are getting
conditions have had some effect on how is a key part of that. better at establishing conformance con-
we see EOR, and, amazingly, with few trols such as foams and thermally activat-
exceptions, it has been positive. Cur- ed polymers. If we also add the inclusion
rent conditions have made most com- it is expected that the next big wave will of completions and EOR-specific moni-
panies decide to optimize performance start when EOR becomes an integral part toring technologies to the enablers, it is
of their existing assets, and EOR is a key of unconventional development. easy to anticipate that more and more
part of that. After all, optimizing is an The EOR papers I have had the privilege EOR will be considered a normal part of
ordinary ingredient of cost control. It is to review this year truly support these field optimization. JPT
also worth adding that unconventional observations regarding the state of the
oil, which, for many, was the reason for industry. Novel EOR schemes, advance-
the current crisis, is a big reason for the ments in reservoir characterization lead- Recommended additional reading
expansion of EOR. The unconvention- ing to better insights into the recovery at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
al producers are very keen on increas- processes, and new physics and model-
ing recovery from their assets. There- ing techniques all demonstrate the high SPE 181156 Viscosity vs. Accuracy—Flow-
Control-Feasibility Work Flow in Polymer
fore, while enhancements on drilling level of interest in EOR among operators, Flooding by Kousha Gohari, Baker Hughes,
and hydraulic fracturing will continue, academia, and research organizations. et al.
SPE 184086 Simulation of Chemical EOR
Processes for the Ratqa Lower Fars Heavy-
Omer Gurpinar, SPE, is the technical director of enhanced oil Oil Field in Kuwait: Multiscenario Results
recovery for Schlumberger. He leads Schlumberger in develop- and Discussions by M.T. Al-Murayri, Kuwait
ment of technologies and services to help improve recovery Oil Company, et al.
factors in oil fields. Gurpinar has more than 35 years of industry SPE 180208 Effects of Multicomponent
experience in various aspects of numerical reservoir modeling, Adsorption and Enhanced Shale Reservoir
with specific focus on naturally fractured reservoirs, reservoir Recovery by CO2 Injection Coupled With
optimization, and EOR. He has contributed to recovery optimi- Reservoir Geomechanics by S. Yang,
zation for numerous oil and gas fields globally. Since joining University of Calgary, et al.
Schlumberger in 1998, Gurpinar has served as the vice president or technical direc- SPE 180875 Effectiveness of Low-Salinity-
tor in various segments. He holds BS and MS degrees in petroleum engineering. and CO2-Flooding Hybrid Approaches in
Gurpinar is a member of the JPT Editorial Committee and can be reached at Low-Permeability Sandstone Reservoirs
ogurpinar@slb.com. by H.T. Kumar, Texas A&M University, et al.

42 JPT • JANUARY 2017

Proper Simulation of Chemical-EOR Pilots—
A Real Case Study
A critical step in proper design and
optimization of any chemical-
enhanced-oil-recovery (CEOR) process
is appropriate and precise numerical
simulations. Addition of chemical
species to the material-balance
equations, along with finer resolution
requirements for CEOR simulations
compared with waterfloods, often
makes it impractical to run full-field
CEOR simulations to the required
accuracy. Sector models, by their
definition, are naturally suited for
modeling of pilots. This paper presents
a case study for appropriate simulation
of a CEOR pilot.
Introduction
Chemical flooding (polymer flooding,
surfactant/polymer flooding, and alkali/
surfactant/polymer flooding) has im-
proved significantly over the past de-
cade because of vast research efforts to
find practical solutions to specific field
applications, improvements in the man-
ufacturing and synthesis of new chemi-
cals, field trials, and implementations by
the industry.
Because of the complexity of CEOR and
the inherent uncertainties regarding suc-
cess of a particular CEOR process, exten-
sive evaluations are required before deci-
sions about full-field implementation can
be made.
Numerical simulations are critical in
CEOR evaluation and provide a realistic
performance estimate, assuming that the
underlying Earth model is reliable and ap-
propriately calibrated. Usually, chemical
floods are performed on candidate fields
with a successful waterflood history, but
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
of paper SPE 179659, “Proper Simulation of Chemical-EOR Pilots—A Real Case
Study,” by Nariman Fathi Najafabadi, SPE, and Adwait Chawathe, SPE, Chevron,
prepared for the 2016 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference, Tulsa, 11–13 April. The
paper has not been peer reviewed.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
JPT • JANUARY 2017
CEOR simulations are more complex and
challenging compared with waterflood
modeling and history matching.
Sector-Model Generation
For the subject asset, which is a brown-
field, the primary requirement in CEOR
modeling is a representative, quality-
controlled waterflood-history-matched
full-field (or sector) model. Such a model
should replicate the field performance
(pressures and flow rates), at least on
an overall basis and, preferentially, on a
well-by-well basis. The model used for
this study had high well density, was suf-
ficiently reliable, and was used routinely
for field development and performance
prediction. The paper demonstrates the
preparation and use of a sector model
from this readily available waterflood full-
field model for a polymer-flood pilot area.
The area of interest (AOI) for the
pilot should be selected during an
alternatives-analysis phase by a multi-
functional team of field engineers and
scientists and CEOR subject-matter ex-
perts after a project-framing exercise. In
this case, this area is a seven-spot pat-
tern containing a central injector and
six surrounding producers. This is a
small area compared with the full-field
model. A local-grid-refinement (LGR)
option was considered to create a suf-
ficiently fine grid for CEOR simulation,
but the resulting model was still deemed
practically prohibitive.
It was then decided to use a sector
model containing the AOI in the middle
to evaluate the CEOR project. In order to
minimize the effect of boundary on the
AOI, one seven-spot pattern was added
in each direction surrounding the sec-
tor model to be studied. Generally, when
choosing the extent of the sector model,
one can leverage the presence of seal-
ing faults or other no-flow boundaries
to minimize the required sector-model
area. Unfortunately, in this case, there
were no sealing faults or no-flow bound-
aries in the immediate vicinity of the AOI.
Flow-diagnostics tools that use stream-
line simulations were used to ensure that
all the streamlines connecting to the
AOI are contained in the selected sector
model. This is an important step in en-
suring that all areas of the field in com-
munication with the AOI are included in
the sector model, which is critical for ob-
taining a representative CEOR forecast
with this model.
Boundary-Condition
Optimization
Although an attempt was made to mini-
mize the effect of the sector boundary
on the AOI by choosing a substantial-
ly larger sector model compared with
the AOI, it is still critical to recreate
the full-field model fluxes at the sector-
model boundary and evaluate the effect
of boundary conditions on the wells in
the AOI. There are many ways to repro-
duce the full-field model fluxes at the
boundary of the sector model:
◗ Adjust the contribution of the
wells on the boundary to the
sector model on the basis of a
corrected AOI of the boundary
wells.
◗ If the preceding technique is
not sufficient to reproduce the
fluxes, one can use material-
balance regions in the full-field
model to extract the fluxes at
the cells on the boundary of the
sector model. This information
can be used to tune injection/
production rate or bottomhole
pressure of pseudowells placed at
43
 the boundary of the sector model production histories that are very simi- sweep efficiency), polymer-concentration
to reproduce the full-field model lar to those of the same area/wells in the sensitivities were conducted using
fluxes. full-field model. appropriate injection-pressure and
◗ Pore-volume multipliers at the production-rate constraints.
boundary of the sector model are Grid-Size Optimization
another way of adding pressure To mitigate the numerical-dispersion Conclusions
support and mitigating the problem, it is recommended to have CEOR simulations are more complex
boundary effects. approximately 15 cells between wells and tend to be more computational-
Using these techniques can help estab- for numerical simulation of CEOR using ly expensive compared with water-
lish the appropriate boundary condition single-point upstream fully implicit nu- flood simulations. The complexity in
that results in backward boundary- merical reservoir simulators. To keep CEOR simulations is because of addi-
condition optimization, meaning that, the artificial mixing in check, it is rec- tional material-balance equations (for
if the boundary conditions of the sector ommended to use cell sizes on the order the chemicals) that need to be solved,
model are close enough to those of the of 30 ft or smaller. These are simply while the computational burden is the
full-field model, initializing the sector rules of thumb and should be tested for result of the finer grid resolution that
model to initial conditions (of the full- every reservoir and process. Choosing is required to mitigate numerical dis-
field model) and simulating the history a practical cell size for a given problem persion and artificial chemical dilution,
of the field should result in saturation requires balancing the level of accura- plus smaller timestep requirements of
and pressure distributions and injection/ cy required and the simulation runtime CEOR models because of highly non-
that can be afforded, given the number linear phase behavior and rheology of
of simulations needed to optimize the the chemicals. Thus, CEOR simulations
SI METRIC slug design and perform required sensi- are a trade-off between numerical ac-
CONVERSION FACTORS tivity simulations. curacy and computational expediency.
The list below includes SI‘metric A detailed study was performed to Massively parallel computing, dynamic
conversion factors for common evaluate various process and reservoir LGR, and sector modeling are potential
engineering units. parameters affecting the optimal grid options to achieve the trade-off success-
acre × 4.046 873 E+03 =m2
size for polymer and surfactant/polymer fully. This paper focused on sector mod-
acre × 4.046 873 E−01 =ha processes. A tool was then developed eling and explained its challenges and
acre-ft × 1.233 489 E+03 =m3 that could provide an educated initial its analysis and resolution options. For
ampere-hr × 3.6* E+03 =C
Å × 1.0* E−01 =nm guess for the appropriate grid size for successful CEOR modeling,
°API 141.5/(131.5+°API) =g/cm3 the process of choice. After the grid- ◗ Ensure that the sector-model
atm × 1.013 250* E+05 =Pa
bar × 1.0* E+05 =Pa optimization exercise for the problem at boundary conditions (fluxes and
bbl × 1.589 873 E−01 =m3 hand was performed, it was concluded pressure) adequately mimic full-
Btu × 1.055 056 E+00=kJ
Ci × 3.7* E+10 =Bq that a 5×5 grid refinement (in the x- and field performance.
cp × 1.0* E−03 =Pa • s y-direction) is required for appropriate ◗ Get the grid resolution right, a
cycles/sec ×1.0* E+00=Hz
dyne × 1.0* E−02 =mN simulation of this polymer flood. The critical step that ensures that
eV × 1.602 19 E−19 =J performed level of refinement puts the o The reservoir sweep is honored.
ft × 3.048* E−01 =m
ft2 × 9.290 304* E−02 =m2 cell size count of the sector model close o The chemicals perform per
ft3 × 2.831 685 E−02 =m3 to 400,000 cells. laboratory expectations in the
°F (°F−32)/1.8 =°C
°F (°F+459.67)/1.8 =K reservoir.
gal (U.S. liq) × 3.785 412 E−03 =m3 Polymer-Flood Study o There is a reasonable trade-off
hp × 7.460 43 E−01 =kW
hp-hr × 2.684 520 E+00=MJ The two important design parameters between simulation accuracy
in. × 2.54* E+00=cm for a polymer flood are processing rate and expediency.
in.2 × 6.451 6* E+00=cm2
in.3 × 1.638 706 E+01 =cm3 and (endpoint) mobility ratio. The higher ◗ Set aside repopulating the fine-
kip × 4.448 222 E+03 =N the polymer viscosity, the lower the end- grid properties by running Earth-
knot × 5.144 444 E−01 =m/s
ksi × 6.894 757 E+03 =kPa point mobility ratio and, thus, the better modeling work flows on the fine-
kW-hr × 3.6* E+06 =J the sweep efficiency. On the other hand, grid models.
lbf × 4.448 222 E+00=N
lbm × 4.535 924 E−01 =kg processing rate (defined as the fraction Even if the fine-grid properties are in-
mL × 1.0* E+00=cm3 of the reservoir pore volume that can be herited from the coarse grid, the flow-
mho × 1.0* E+00=S
mile × 1.609 344* E+00=km flooded on an annual basis) may also be field heterogeneity of the fine-grid mod-
oz (U.S. fl) × 2.957 353 E+01 =cm3 proportional to the endpoint mobility els could be very different from that of
psi × 6.894 757 E+00=kPa
psi2 × 4.753 8 E+01 =kPa2 ratio. Processing rate is a very important the coarse-grid models. The effect of
sq mile × 2.589 988 E+00=km2 parameter for project economics, and the this difference on the recovery efficien-
stokes × 1.0* E−04 =m2/s
ton × 9.071 847 E−01 =Mg higher the processing rate, the higher the cy predicted by the models is a func-
ton (metric) × 1.0* E+00=Mg net present value of the CEOR project. tion of how displacement and sweep ef-
tonf × 8.896 444 E+03 =N
tonne × 1.0* E+00=Mg To find the polymer concentration ficiencies are affected by the numerical
*Conversion factor is exact.
that optimizes both processing rate and dispersion/artificial mixing and flow-
endpoint mobility ratio (best achievable field heterogeneity, respectively. JPT

44 JPT • JANUARY 2017

Experimental and Numerical Studies
of CO2 EOR in Unconventional Reservoirs

T his study investigates oil-production

mechanisms from the matrix into
the fracture by simulating two laboratory
experiments as well as several field-scale
studies and evaluates the potential of
using carbon dioxide (CO2) huff ’n’ puff to
enhance oil recovery in unconventional
liquid reservoirs (ULRs) with nanodarcy-
range matrix permeability and complex
natural-fracture networks. This study
explores the mechanisms contributing
to oil recovery with numerical modeling
of experimental work and investigates
the effects of various parameters on
oil recovery.
Introduction
CO2 injection has been recognized as one
of the more important and successful-
ly applied enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR)
processes in the US since the start of the
first commercial CO2-injection project in
1972. Statistics show that, out of the 153
active CO2 EOR projects worldwide, 139
of them are in the US. CO2 flooding is the
only EOR method in the US that has been
consistent and economical since the drop
in oil prices in the 1980s. One of the main
advantages of CO2 injection is that CO2
can achieve miscibility with the resident
hydrocarbon when minimum miscibility
pressure (MMP) is attained.
Although CO2 flooding has demon-
strated the potential of increasing oil pro-
duction in conventional reservoirs, if this
EOR process were to be applied to ULRs,
the oil-recovery mechanism could not
be considered the same as that during
a conventional CO2 flooding because of
the differences in reservoir petrophysical
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains
highlights of paper SPE 179634, “Experimental and Numerical Studies of CO2 EOR in
Unconventional Liquid Reservoirs With Complex Fracture Networks,” by Jianlei Sun,
SPE, Amy Zou, and David Schechter, SPE, Texas A&M University, prepared for the
2016 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference, Tulsa, 11–13 April. The paper has not
been peer reviewed.
properties, fluid-phase behavior, and the
fundamental mass-transfer mechanisms.
In general, diffusion during gas in-
jection has been recognized as a critical
mechanism that affects the oil recovery
in fractured reservoirs. If the diffusive
flow in the matrix is being neglected dur-
ing simulation, the calculated result will
underestimate productivity.
Furthermore, complex fracture ge-
ometry has been proposed for hydraulic
fracturing because of the intersection be-
tween hydraulic fractures and in-situ nat-
ural fractures. Numerous simulation and
experimental studies have evaluated pro-
duction performance of complex fracture
networks. However, there is no extensive
work regarding the potential of CO2 huff
’n’ puff in complex fracture geometries.
Core-Scale
Laboratory Experiment
Two experiments were performed using
two sets of preserved sidewall core from
the same well in a ULR. The petrophysical
properties and the saturations of the cores
were not measured before the experi-
ments, to preserve the core original condi-
tions. However, because the cores are not
stored in a pressurized environment, the
fluids saturating the cores can be assumed
to be dead oil and water. To simulate the
presence of a highly permeable fracture
around the core, glass beads were packed
outside the cores to allow CO2 to have di-
rect contact with the cores. Two Berea
sandstone disks were placed on each end
of the setup to block the glass beads from
entering the production tube. The core
holder was then placed inside a water bath
that circulated hot water to simulate the
reservoir temperature. The assembly was
mounted in a computed-tomography (CT)
scanner, and the cores were kept horizon-
tal during the experiment.
The experiments were performed under
constant-pressure conditions where vis-
cous displacement was absent. The first
experiment (i.e., Experiment 1 as seen in
Fig. 1) was performed at 3,000 psi at 150°F,
and the second experiment (i.e., Experi-
ment 2 as seen in Fig. 2) was performed
at 1,600 psi and 150°F. Periodic scanning
of the cores with the CT scanner was per-
formed throughout the experiment. The
experiments typically last for 2 to 3 days,
and production was allowed twice a day
on average. The CT images of the core
revealed constant density/saturation/
composition changes of the resident fluid
during both experiments, which indicated
that CO2 was constantly penetrating into
the core throughout the process. Final oil-
production volumes of 0.4 mL were re-
corded for both experiments. On the basis
of the estimated original oil in place, the
experiments yielded high oil recovery.
Core-Scale Numerical Modeling
The core-sale modeling followed the
experimental work described in the pre-
ceding section. The petrophysical prop-
erties of the cores and the fluid proper-
ties of the dead oil were evaluated after
the experiments.
Core-Scale Experiment Simulation. To
save computational time, a horizontal
slice of the Cartesian core model was
taken for investigation.
For the base case, the conditions
are 3,000 psi and 150°F, which are the
same as for Experiment 1. Injectors were
placed in the fracture region for pressur-
izing and pressure maintenance. Produc-
ers were not introduced at this point.
The recovery factor is not sensitive
to the matrix and fracture permeabil-

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 45

 CT Images: Shale Sidewall Core 1 First Experiment Test Conditions: 3,000 psi, 150°F occurring between the matrix and frac-
ture is considered to be diffusion. For a
diffusion case, higher pressure would re-
2100 sult in better CO2 solubility in oil, which
Slice 20 1950 contributes to the increase in recovery.
Slice 30
1800 Furthermore, for the capillary pressure,
1650
the base case is under miscible condi-
1500
tions with zero capillary pressure. Water
saturation slightly affects the recovery
2.5 hr 4.3 hr 30.1 hr 50.7 hr 58.4 hr 72.5 hr 78.1 hr 95.1 hr 99.1 hr factor, which might be because of differ-
ences in the compressibility of water and
Fig. 1—Saturation variation of two CT images with time for Experiment 1.
oil and CO2 being soluble in water.
CT Images: Shale Sidewall Core 1 Second Experiment Test Conditions: 1,600 psi, 150°F
1623
1542
Field-Scale Numerical Modeling
1462 A synthetic field case was developed to
1381 study oil-recovery mechanisms on a larg-
Slice 20 1300
er scale. To save computational time, a
Slice 30 single stage with one fracture on a hori-
zontal well was modeled. The main focus
of the field study was to use the properties
from the core model to predict and opti-
5.1 hr 25.4 hr 34.9 hr 43.8 hr 55.4 hr 67.5 hr mize the performance of CO2 injection in
Fig. 2—Saturation variation of two CT images with time for Experiment 2. various cases. In this study, the field-scale
input parameters were obtained from the
ity. The higher the fracture and matrix three system pressures were consid- previous core-scale simulation.
porosity, the larger the diffusion coeffi- ered—3,000 psi (miscible as Experi- The fluid model for the experimen-
cient and the better the recovery factor. ment 1), 1,600 psi (immiscible as Experi- tal simulation was built on the basis of
In addition, because the MMP of the fluid ment  2), and 1,800  psi (near miscible). the dead-oil data from the reservoir. To
system was determined to be 1,727  psi, The main mechanism for mass transfer model the fluid in the reservoir with lit-

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46 JPT • JANUARY 2017

tle knowledge of the live-oil properties, sensitive to matrix porosity, fracture depletion; thus, huff ’n’ puff is most
methane was combined with the dead- porosity, saturation, and diffusion effective below bubblepoint pressure.
oil components to create a live-oil model. coefficient, and it is not sensitive ◗ Field-scale simulation shows that
Base cases with different production to matrix permeability, fracture the incremental oil is sensitive to
pressures were considered for primary permeability, relative permeability, matrix porosity, matrix permeability,
depletion and for huff ’n’ puff. The bot- or capillary pressure. Improved oil fracture porosity, fracture
tomhole flowing pressures for the differ- recovery was observed by changing permeability, time of first injection,
ent cases are 2,000 psi; 1,550 psi, which the porosity and the diffusion cycling length, injection rate, injection
is slightly above the MMP; 1,300 psi, coefficient. pressure, and number of cycles, and it
which is below the MMP but above bub- ◗ From field-scale simulation, it was is not sensitive to capillary pressure,
blepoint pressure; and 1,000 psi, which observed that gas expansion is diffusion coefficient, or length of
is below the bubblepoint pressure. After an important mechanism during soaking time. JPT
30 days of injection and 15 days of soak-
ing, production took place at the same
pressure as the corresponding primary-
depletion bottomhole pressure.
The oil incremental percentage for the
cases is modest, as is expected for huff
’n’ puff. In reality, natural fractures may
exist in these reservoirs so that produc-
tion should be higher than the calculat-
ed value in this model, depending on the
intensity of the natural fractures.

Summary of Sensitivity Parameters.

The effect of several parameters was inves-
tigated on both cumulative oil production
and oil incremental percentage. Among all
the parameters, the matrix/fracture po-
rosity and permeability are the most sig-
nificant, and the higher the matrix/frac-
ture porosity and permeability, the higher
the incremental oil. On the other hand,
diffusion, capillary pressure, and soak-
ing time have almost no effect on the field
model. For the field model, convection
from pressure drawdown can be consid-
ered to be the dominating mechanism in-
stead of diffusion, which is different from
the previous core-scale simulations where
diffusion is the dominant mechanism for
oil recovery. Furthermore, regarding in-
jection operating parameters, the later the
initial injection time is, the larger the in-
jection rate is, the higher the injection
pressure is, and the longer the injection
length is; the more cycles there are, the
more chances there are to repressurize the
reservoir and provide gas drive to assist
production under immiscible conditions.

Conclusions
◗ Core-scale experiments show that
CO2 huff ’n’ puff recovers oil from
ULRs.
◗ Core-scale simulations show that
diffusion plays a key role in oil
recovery. The recovery factor is

JPT • JANUARY 2017 47

 A Field Trial in a Carbonate Reservoir
Using a Solvent-Based Waterflood Process

D imethyl-ether (DME) -enhanced

waterflood (DEW) is a process in
which DME is added to injection water
In a DEW, DME is dissolved in the in-
jection brine and injected into the for-
mation. The DME solubility is dependent
duced water and shallow-aquifer water,
resulting in an intermediate salinity of
approximately 130,000 ppm.
and, upon injection, preferentially on salinity and temperature but can be
partitions into the remaining oil. As a up to 38 wt% for fresh water. Upon con- Success Criteria for Full-Field
result, it swells the oil and reduces the tact with the oil in the reservoir, the DME DEW Implementation
oil viscosity, significantly improving oil will partition to the oleic phase, where it A notional full-field DEW development
mobility. Several coreflood experiments will swell the oil, reduce its viscosity, and in the light-oil carbonate field was used
conducted in tight-carbonate plugs mobilize the oil to the producer wells. to define the success criteria, key per-
have shown incremental recoveries The process is schematically presented formance indicators, and objectives for
of up to 20% post-waterflood. A field in Fig. 1. the pilot. Given the value of DME as the
trial has been designed to derisk this In light-oil reservoirs, additional oil is enhanced-oil-recovery agent, it is critical
technology, which, if successful, would primarily produced by oil swelling. After that the DME be recovered and recycled
add significant reserves. injection of the DME-containing brine efficiently, in order to make the project
slug, a chase phase will be used to dis- economically attractive. Efficient recov-
Introduction place the mobilized oil further and re- ery and recycling consist of
Enhancing oil recovery from low- cover the DME from the remaining oleic ◗ A high DME-recovery factor,
permeability formations has been chal- phase. During this chase, DME will par- achieved by controlling subsurface
lenging. DEW presents the advantages of a tition back into the initially DME-free pattern dispersion and optimization
miscible flood without the negative effects water phase. Recovery efficiencies are of chase-slug size
of density differences. DME is a slightly found to be very high. There is no resid- ◗ Minimized DME subsurface residence
polar hydrocarbon that is miscible with ual DME because of its solubility in the time, achieved by minimizing pore-
most known crude oils. As a result, upon mobile phase. DME does not adsorb to volume-injection time
contact with crude oil, the DME will swell the rock/fluid interface, and DME recov-
the oil and reduce its viscosity, after which ery occurs microscopically in a shock. Objectives
the oil will be effectively displaced. DME DEW was thoroughly examined and The pilot is intended to derisk the full-
is soluble in water and, therefore, can be experimentally tested for a carbonate field implementation of this new technol-
injected with any existing waterflood. Be- field in Oman. The field consists of a low- ogy through the assessment of
cause the molecule is small, there are no permeability and sparsely naturally frac- ◗ Solvent usage and effect of geology
limitations on formation type or perme- tured limestone reservoir. Typical per- ◗ Wettability change from DME
ability. Its water solubility enables effi- meability is in the range of 1 to 10 md. injection and its effect on arrival of
cient recovery of the DME with a clean- The reservoir contains light oil with a oil bank and injectivity
brine chase. Because it does not interact viscosity of 1 cp at reservoir conditions ◗ Building in-house expertise for
with the formation, recovery efficiencies with a highly saline aquifer. First produc- handling and operating the process
of DME are found to be close to 100% in tion started in the mid-1970s, and the
laboratory core experiments. Depending field has a lengthy and complex develop- Pilot Boundary Conditions
on the injected-slug size and the crude- ment history. It has had a well-managed and Conceptual Design
oil composition, oil recovery could be en- line-drive waterflood for several decades. Because the field is currently undergoing
hanced by 10 to 25% in field application. Injection water consists of a mix of pro- a waterflood, the pilot needs to be oper-
ated within the surface and subsurface
operating envelopes. Produced fluids
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
will have to be routed through the exist-
of paper SPE 179838, “Persistence in EOR—Design of a Field Trial in a Carbonate
ing central processing facilities, which
Reservoir Using a Solvent-Based Waterflood Process,” by Abdullah Alkindi, SPE, are not specifically designed to handle
Nasser al-Azri, Dhiya Said, and Khalid AlShuaili, Petroleum Development Oman, DME. Even though DME is not corrosive,
and Paul te Riele, SPE, Shell Development Oman, prepared for the 2016 SPE Enhanced a material-compatibility study of all non-
Oil Recovery Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia, Muscat, Oman, 21–23 March. The metallic elements in the central process-
paper has not been peer reviewed. ing facility imposes a maximum DME

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

48 JPT • JANUARY 2017


Pore Scale
Reservoir Scale
Virgin Reservoir Waterflood
Life Cycle of a Reservoir (Time)
Fig. 1—Schematic of the DEW process at the pore and development scale. DME is represented by the red color.
concentration in the produced streams of
500 ppm by weight.
Because DME is diluting the crude oil
as a light solvent, asphaltene precipita-
tion can be expected. Asphaltenes depos-
ited in the near-wellbore region of the in-
jectors could result in reduced injectivity
and conformance-control issues. A de-
tailed experimental asphaltene-stability
program was designed and executed.
This confirmed a low asphaltene content
of the reservoir crude (less than 1 wt%)
and a high DME concentration above
which asphaltene precipitation would
occur (greater than 70 mol%). These
high concentrations are expected only
in the near-wellbore region of the injec-
tors where, because of the long water-
injection preflooding phase and the low
asphaltene content of the crude oil, no
significant effect is expected. In the near-
wellbore region of the producers, where
the oil saturations are higher and flow-
assurance concerns would be expected,
the DME concentration will not reach the
critical concentration that will lead to the
precipitation of asphaltenes.
The solubility of DME depends on the
salinity of the brine. Conversely, the pres-
ence of DME will have an effect on the
solvency power of the water for certain
ions. Divalent ions especially will be af-
fected, which can result in scaling when
mixing DME with the injection brine. A
scaling study was designed and conduct-
ed that indicated a risk of scale precipita-
tion upon mixing the selected brine with
DME. To mitigate this and reduce the
reservoir-souring risk, a sulfate-removal
unit was selected for the water-treatment
lineup. Additionally, various scale inhibi-
tors were tested for their effectiveness
and were added to the injection water to
reduce the risk further.
JPT • JANUARY 2017
Pore Scale
Reservoir Scale
Injection of DME/Water Oil Swells/
Viscosity Drops
Life Cycle of a Reservoir (Time)
Surveillance Plan
An extensive surveillance and data-
gathering plan was designed for the
pilot. Surveillance focuses on four main
areas—injector well, producer wells, ob-
servation well, and production metering.
Injector. The injector well is based on
a recompletion of an existing produc-
er well. During injection, vertical con-
formance and containment will be
monitored by distributed-temperature
sensing. Shut-ins required for thermal
tracer analysis are aligned with pressure-
falloff surveys to determine the presence
and extent of induced fracturing in the
near-wellbore region.
Producers. The producers are drilled
30  m from the injector and completed
with a dual completion string. Artificial
lift is provided by DME-compatible elec-
trical submersible pumps. The second
string provides access for a production-
logging tool (PLT) with flowing bottom-
hole sampling capability. The PLT will
provide data on vertical flood confor-
mance, and flowing bottomhole samples
taken at various depths will provide in-
formation on DME vertical conformance.
Observation Well. The observation well
will be cored over the reservoir section
to provide a baseline for observation-well
saturation. During the pilot, reservoir sat-
uration will be determined through casing
by a reservoir-saturation tool operated in
carbon/oxygen (C/O) mode. The C/O ratio
can be determined quantitatively only
when the fluids are free of DME. Petro-
physical modeling indicated that it can
be used qualitatively for determining the
arrival of the DME-rich front. Therefore,
the observation well gives information on
Mobilization of Oil/ Chase Water
DME Mixture
◗ Degree of desaturation between the
end of the preflood and the end of
the water chase
◗ Arrival and conformance of DME at
the observation well
The timing of the arrival provides infor-
mation on areal conformance, and the ver-
tical profile will provide information on the
vertical conformance and containment.
Metering. Given the large volume of
water being injected throughout the dif-
ferent phases of the pilot, the facilities
and metering will have to operate at high
base sediment and water. Therefore, a
dedicated test separator is used to give
accurate readings of oil, water, and gas
rates. Additional sampling and analysis of
the oil and water stream will provide data
on the composition of the liquid streams.
In order to obtain the DME mass balance,
DME will be metered primarily in the gas
phase through a gas chromatograph.
Tracer Testing. Three tracer slugs are
planned for various stages of the pilot. At
the start of the waterflood phase (base-
line), the first tracer slug is injected to con-
firm injector and producer connectivity.
It will provide information on the degree
of fracturing and assist in balancing the
intake and offtake of each well in the pat-
tern. The second tracer slug is injected be-
fore the start of injection of the DME slug.
This slug will confirm the injector/produc-
er connectivity at the start of DME injec-
tion and provide information on the aver-
age saturation when compared with the
DME production response. The last tracer
slug is injected after the chase-water in-
jection to confirm whether DME-induced
changes have occurred in the areal con-
formance when compared with the tracer
slugs injected before DME injection. JPT
49
 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Mature Fields and Well Revitalization

Jesse Lee, SPE, Chemistry Technology Manager, Schlumberger

In last year’s Technology Focus concern- It has been a challenge for technology and prepare ourselves for the
ing mature fields, I highlighted the topics our industry to implement activity uptick.
of refracturing, efficiency, and environ- In this feature, I would like to bring up
mental responsibility. Evidently, these new technology for the the topic of fracture hits. While in-field
three topics remain as the critical aspects past 2 years because drilling is becoming more common, this
of mature-field development. However, crosswell communication initiated while
of market depression.
for 2017, I would like to steer readers’ pumping a hydraulic-fracturing treat-
attention to new technology, advanced However, 2017 is certainly ment seems to be inevitable. It is not
modeling, and the interesting topic of the year to revisit the topic entirely clear how to prevent or control
fracture hits. this phenomenon. However, there are
Advanced modeling, the ability to cap- of new technology and several years of data and publications
ture reservoir information in high def- prepare ourselves for the regarding this matter, plus some new
inition and translate the knowledge technology to minimize fracture hits.
into mathematical expressions, has
activity uptick. I believe this will open up new oppor-
always been a key enabler that allows tunities for further maximization of
our industry to maximize well perfor- scale mapping tool not only enhances oil well production.
mance. For instance, advanced model- production from the target reservoir but In this editorial, I talked about
ing allows much more thorough derisk- also can help the asset team in proper advanced modeling, new technology, and
ing of enhanced-oil-recovery investment reservoir characterization and redevel- fracture hits. Therefore, I have selected
and leads to the maximization of finan- opment planning. It has been a challenge several papers on these topics to share
cial returns. for our industry to implement new tech- with you. Enjoy your reading. JPT
Concerning new technology that nology for the past 2 years because of
improves mature-field development, market depression. However, 2017 is cer-
the advanced geosteering and reservoir- tainly the year to revisit the topic of new Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 177148 State of the Art in 3D
Jesse Lee, SPE, is chemistry technology manager at Reservoir Characterization: Palo Azul Field,
Schlumberger. He holds a PhD degree in chemistry from Yale Ecuador by J. Sandoval, Halliburton, et al.
University and conducted post-doctoral-degree research at the SPE 179177 Advanced Modeling of
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lee joined Schlumberger Interwell Fracturing Interference: An Eagle
in 1997 in Tulsa as a development engineer, focused on the devel- Ford Shale Oil Study—Refracturing
opment of polymer-based fracturing fluids. During 2000–2010, by Adrian Morales, Schlumberger, et al.
he managed new-product development at Schlumberger prod- SPE 177060 Geomodeling Work Flow
uct centers in Sugar Land, Texas, and Clamart, France. At Adapted to a Mature Extraheavy-Oil Field—
Schlumberger, Lee is responsible for developing technical collaborations and manag- Case Study: Modelization of Petrocedeño
ing relationships with external chemical companies. He is a member of the JPT Deltaic Reservoir for the EOR Polymer
Editorial Committee. Project by R. Mulder, Statoil, et al.

50 JPT • JANUARY 2017

Tapping Difficult Oil
in a Giant Carbonate Field in Qatar

A fter 70 years of production,

more than 30% of the Arab C
reservoir stock-tank original oil in
Dukhan, Arab C Reservoir

Top Arab C Depth

place has been recovered through Structure TVDss (ft)
Khatiyah
various mechanisms including natural –5,250
Sector
depletion, waterflooding, gas lift –5,500 Ras Laffan
implementation, and horizontal-well –5,750
–6,000
development. Extending production
–6,250
into future years requires a strategic –6,500
approach focusing on innovative Fahahil –6,750
Sector –7,000
development to target the remaining Doha
–7,250 Dukhan
oil saturation. Integration of a recently –7,500
acquired, high-resolution 3D-seismic –7,750
survey complements the data State of
available for subsurface description Contour Interval Qatar
Jaleha 200 m
and characterization, positively Sector
affecting reservoir-model history- OOWC

matching metrics. 0 10 20 30 40
Diyab km
Sector
Introduction
The large, mature Dukhan field is locat-
ed onshore Qatar, approximately 80 km 0 5 10
west of Doha. The Arab C reservoir in- km
terval is a carbonate anticlinal structure
lying 5,500 to 7,000 ft below the sur- Fig. 1—Dukhan Arab C reservoir. TVDss=true vertical depth subsea;
OOWC=original oil/water contact.
face. Areally, the Arab C reservoir has
been divided into four structural ele-
ments from north to south (i.e., Khati- yah sector to 400 ft in the Jaleha sec- improve recovery and enhance produc-
yah, Fahahil, Jaleha, and Diyab). The tor. It has a weak to moderate connect- tion. As the water front from injection
first three sectors comprise the con- ed aquifer lying below the oil column. progressed, gas lifting in Arab C was ini-
tinuous oil-bearing extent of the res- Arab C development started with verti- tiated in 2003 to continue producing the
ervoir, while Diyab is water-bearing on cal wells, initially completed openhole. high-water-cut wells. Currently, 60% of
the basis of results from wells drilled to Increase in water production led to a the Arab C producers are flowing under
date (Fig. 1). well-completion-scheme change; verti- gas lift assistance.
Arab C is an undersaturated-oil res- cal wells were then completed cased-
ervoir. The original oil column ranged hole and perforated selectively. Hori- Reservoir Description
from 1,400-ft thickness in the Khati- zontal drilling commenced in 1992 to Arab C is a heterogeneous organiza-
tion of limestone and dolomite litholo-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of gies deposited on a shallow-water Ju-
paper IPTC 18296, “Tapping the Difficult Oil and Enhancing Reservoir-Development rassic ramp system. Hydraulically, the
80-ft-thick interval represents a net-
Strategy To Maximize Recovery From a Mature Waterflood Giant Carbonate Field in
work of grainstone conductors com-
the Middle East: Arab C Reservoir, Dukhan Field, State of Qatar,” by Mohamed Naguib
partmentalized by muddy carbonate
Bin Ab Majid, Carlos Troconiz, Mohammed Nedham Al-Shafei, Gheorghe Luca, baffles resulting in layer-constrained
and Ariel Cachi, Qatar Petroleum, prepared for the 2015 International Petroleum dynamic behavior. Lateral ranges of 1
Technology Conference, Doha, Qatar, 7–9 December. The paper has not been peer to 4  km for baffling thin beds support
reviewed. Copyright 2015 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced a localized layer-constrained dynamic
by permission. behavior and a high degree of vertical

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 51

 heterogeneity, though communication
pathways are impacted by sporadic oc-
currences of cross-cutting conductive
and resistive faults. Reservoir poros-
ity is 15 to 20%, and the average per-
meability is approximately 150 md, but
this varies widely on the basis of reser-
voir zone.
Arab C is divided into upper and
lower units. The Lower Arab C is the
better-quality reservoir package and
also has a more consistent vertical per-
meability, whereas the Upper Arab C
is an overall poorer interval with more
vertical-flow barriers. Arab C can be di-
vided into 12 reservoir zones, distrib-
uted between the Upper Arab C (Zones
1 through 6) and the Lower Arab C
(Zones 7 through 12). The Lower Arab C
development is more mature and has
been water-swept quite effectively in
most parts of the reservoir, whereas the
Upper Arab C, which contains most of
the reserves, is currently being pursued
more rigorously.
Both units have specific reservoir
challenges. In the Upper Arab C, high
vertical and lateral heterogeneities
cause uneven flood fronts; low-pressure
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52
areas are caused by poor lateral con-
nectivity between injectors and produc-
ers and poor reservoir quality. In the
Lower Arab C, it is difficult to identify
and access economic remaining oil in
late-stage waterflood.
Seismic Data
A new full-field 3D-seismic survey over
Dukhan was acquired between 2009
and 2011. The results show an im-
proved structural definition of all res-
ervoirs. This enables identification and
mapping of undrilled and unexploited
hydrocarbon-bearing zones across the
field. The data also provide distinct fault
definition that allows for more-accurate
identification and mapping of faults with
displacements as small as 12 ft, which
will lead to better infill-well planning
while maximizing recovery and allowing
safer drilling.
Geological/Dynamic Modeling
The most-recent Arab C static and dy-
namic models completed in 2013 have
been used to enhance the development
plan for the reservoir, which includes
adding line-drive-pattern waterflood
to the existing peripheral waterflood
scheme. This scheme is expected to
improve sweep and maintain pressure
better. These models are being main-
tained by continuous updates of well
activities and pressure and produc-
tion data.
Reservoir Surveillance
The Production Engineering and Geo-
science Integration (PEGI) tool was in-
tended to integrate engineering data
with geology, allowing development
of reservoir-surveillance maps at ap-
propriate layering and timesteps. PEGI
links structural and stratigraph-
ic reservoir models to production/
injection data, well- completion his-
tory, and pressure and logging sur-
veys within a date, depth, and geo-
layer database.
For the Arab C reservoir, eight flood-
front mapping units (FFMUs) were
defined from the 12 zones; 1–2, 3–4,
5, 6, 7–8, 9, 10, and 11–12. The first
four correspond to the Upper C and
the last four to the Lower C. The def-
inition took into account fieldwide
baffles and reservoir-quality varia-
tion. Similarly, pressure maps can also
be generated with PEGI for compar-
ison and evaluation, showing pres-
sure for the same FFMU at different
timesteps. This methodology facilitates
the identification of areas of over-
and underinjection.
Flood-front analysis for Arab C from
PEGI revealed a notable trend of lag-
ging water movement in the Upper C.
This is explained by the better-quality
(higher-permeability) reservoir rock in
the Lower C coupled with preferential
water injection in the Lower C intervals.
Streamline simulation is used to en-
sure effectiveness of the waterflood
scheme in Arab C. This method provides
a more-convenient and -flexible way to
adjust production and injection rates
periodically in the reservoir. For new or
workover wells, streamline simulation
provides a rate-target-setting guideline
to produce unswept areas better. It al-
lows optimizing production and injec-
tion rates.
Tapping the Difficult Oil
The integration of the production data,
surveillance flood-front maps, and cal-
ibrated models has allowed identifica-
tion of additional opportunities that can
be implemented to maximize Arab C re-
covery. The following are the opportuni-
ties resulting from this integration.
Cellar-Oil Opportunity. Analyses of
reservoir-simulation results revealed
undrained cellar oil in the northern area
of the field, which is downdip from the
current line of injectors. The model has
shown a significant economic amount of
cellar oil that can be drained by the drill-
ing of additional infill wells.
Oil Below Secondary Gas Cap. The
secondary gas cap in the Khatiyah
dome formed during the early natural-
depletion period and overlies a thick,
economical oil column that is undrained
by existing wells, as demonstrated by
simulation results. Infill wells will be
drilled lower in the column to drain
this oil. The production and pressure
in these wells will be strictly monitored
and controlled by a maximum gas/oil
ratio (GOR) and oil rate. Wells are ex-
pected to start production with allevi-
ated GOR and water cut.
JPT • JANUARY 2017
Infill Drilling Targeting Lower C. Production and surveil-
lance data have shown a tendency for an uneven water-
flood movement in Arab C, which is mainly driven by the Host
high vertical heterogeneity that includes the presence of
tight zones (baffles) and high permeability contrast be-
tween geolayers. Because the Lower Arab C has been most-
ly flooded, locating wells in this section is becoming more
challenging, but opportunities still exist to produce the re-
maining oil. BE PART OF THE PREMIER OIL & GAS
EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE
Optimal Well Placement Assisted by Seismic Data. The
new 3D-seismic data have better resolution for imaging
small faults and fracture zones in order to predict reser-
voir properties away from well control reliably and to image WHY ABU DHABI?
deeper reservoirs.

Enhancing Low-Pressure Wells. Because the good-

96,374 Attendees

permeability Lower C layers have been mostly swept, most

new wells target the low-permeability Upper C layers locat-
ed at the top of the reservoir. Pressure maintenance in these
2,034 Exhibiting Companies

layers is challenging because of the poor communication be-

tween the producers and injectors. The interbed layers act as 20 NOCs
barriers to bottom pressure drive in most of the areas. Low-
ering production and boosting injection rates in some wells
typify the actions taken. When these approaches proved in-
15 IOCs

sufficient, new Upper C dedicated injectors were added to the

pattern. As a result, in recent years, pressure restoration has 25 Country Pavilions
been successful and production deferment caused by shut-in
has been greatly reduced.
162 Conference Sessions
Gas Lift Strategy. Increasing water cut can cause low-
productivity-index wells to cease flowing, and the number
of wells showing this issue increases as the waterflood front
750 Expert Speakers

progresses. Lifting the well by continuous gas injection was se-

lected as an inexpensive and convenient solution to this prob- 10,009 Delegates
lem. On the basis of simulation forecasts, it is expected that
more than 15% of the current Arab C reserves will be produced
by gas lift. WHY ABU DHABI?
UAE holds the world’s sixth largest oil reserves
Workovers. A significant number of workovers is required to Abu Dhabi is home to the ADNOC group of companies
recover the remaining oil in the reservoir. In most cases, the United Arab Emirates offshore reserves accounting for
workover objective is to shut off the zones with high water 50% of production in 2 years
production that lead to high water cut in the well. During the Abu Dhabi is a major exporter and bilateral trade
workover, the flooded Lower C interval is typically sealed by partner to more than 25 energy markets across Africa,
a cement squeeze job, and then the well is recompleted in the Europe and Asian Sub-Continent.
upper layers. Although the productivity of the well decreases $330bn of contracts across the MENA region of which
because the Upper C has poorer reservoir quality, a substantial 42% is from KSA and UAE
increase in the oil rate and a reduction in the water production
are achieved. BOOK YOUR STAND NOW
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) in Waterflood-Swept Areas.
www.adipec.com/bookastand
EOR has been identified as a different recovery mechanism to
reduce the remaining oil in the waterflood-swept areas in the
Arab C reservoir. A pilot carbon dioxide water-alternating-gas
scheme has been devised to confirm the viability of the EOR
concept and the expected benefit. If the pilot is successful, im-
plementation on a sectorwide basis is envisaged. The pilot is Supported By

planned for a 2- to 5-year period. JPT

Host City Official Media Partner Conference Organiser ADIPEC Organised By

JPT • JANUARY 2017

 New Technology in a Mature
East Malaysian Field

T he T Field, located offshore east

Malaysia, is a mature oil field that
began its development in the 1970s.
Receiver Receiver Transmitter

Long spacing Short spacing

Conceptual geological models generally 100-ft depth 50-ft depth of investigation
illustrated this field as a retrogradational of investigation
turbidite setting. It is commonly known
that the turbidite channel has enormous Rich measurement set
geological complexity and, therefore, — Modular multispacing
presents great challenges for successful — Broad frequency spectrum
horizontal-well placement. This paper Automatic real-time multilayer inversion
describes the first job in southeast Asia
in developing horizontal-well placement
in a turbidite environment.
Fig. 1—Performance features of the new-generation deep-reservoir-mapper tool.

Introduction serves; production data indicated that od will result in an incremental recovery
As of 15 years ago, T Field’s remaining downdip oil remains untapped by existing because of the pressure maintenance and
oil deposits were present in the relative- producers. An average dipping angle of 13 better sweep efficiency. However, this re-
ly thin turbidite channel complex on the to 20° and gas-cap-dominant drive sug- covery is not ideal; the reservoir pressure
steep-sloping flank of the field. Vertical gested that remaining-oil potential could was halved because of historical produc-
and slanted wells were drilled to produce be unlocked only through the addition tion, and lateral discontinuity still exists.
the targeted reserves, but post-drilling of the drainage point. Material-balance Infill drilling was recommended as the
findings always showed inconsistency in analysis was conducted, which further best way forward.
sand existence and distribution because verified the earlier deduction by showing
of lateral sand discontinuity. that the targeted reservoir contains more Well-Concept and -Execution
Because of the limited infill reservoirs, oil in place compared with existing book Strategy
high reservoir dip angle, and less-prolific figures and has reserves at approximately The feasibility of executing the drilling
productivity, drilling a highly deviated twice the amount of previous estimates campaign during the early stage of the
oil producer along the reservoir dip and made from decline-curve analysis. study was also considered. In past devel-
steering along its productive layer in the A reservoir model was subsequently opment campaigns, deviated wells were
oil leg are found to be the optimal drilling constructed. Two types of reservoir mod- drilled to penetrate and produce from
approach. However, high well-placement els were built in this exercise: a simple multistacked reservoirs. The replication
risks were assessed owing to uncertain- grid homogeneous model and a heteroge- of such practices may result in missing
ties in lateral sand distribution, variable neous model that was created by referring the reservoir target because of the high
formation dip, and fluid contacts. to a geological depositional concept and to potential of reservoir discontinuity.
reservoir distribution based on a geosta- Because the reservoir dipping angle is
Evaluating Infill/ tistical method. Reservoir-modeling and approximately 15°, and to achieve data
Redevelopment Potential -simulation results are consistent with gathering on the latest fluid contacts,
Some reservoirs located within the west- those obtained from material balance. As the project team decided to land the well
ern area were believed to carry more re- expected, the secondary-recovery meth- inside the gas zone, close to the exist-
ing drainage point, followed by drilling
along the reservoir dip to penetrate gas/
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
oil contacts (GOCs), oil columns, and the
of paper SPE 176120, “Success Story: A New Development Concept Utilizing New
oil/water contacts.
Advanced Technology in a Very Old Complex Mature Field,” by K.F. Ng, T. Afandi,
D. Sa’adon, J. Ja’afar, M.A. Omar, and N.A. Latiff, Petronas, and G.I. Santoso, Technology Approach
K. Alang, I.D. Roberts, N. Murad, D. Permanasari, and F. Kutty, Schlumberger, A new concept of deep-reservoir-mapper
prepared for the 2015 SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Bali, measurement that is sensitive to multi-
Indonesia, 20–22 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. layer boundaries provides early warning

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

54 JPT • JANUARY 2017

signs to geosteering operations in eval-
uating the borehole position and also
proactively proposes the required steer-
ing adjustment. This measurement con-
cept, using multiple receivers spaced at
specific distances, was able to delineate
reservoir structure in larger scale with-
in ±30 m true vertical depth (TVD) per-
pendicular to the tool axis. Because of
the large depth of investigation, the tool
also provides high assurance in optimiz-
ing the landing section. The tool’s raw
measurements will be converted to ad-
vanced interpretation with an interpreta-
tion software that enables fast automatic
real-time inversion methods. Fig. 1 shows
the new generation of deep-reservoir-
mapper tool introduced in this project.
Modeling
T-Field prejob modeling was performed
and simulations were conducted on the
basis of the properties of the offset wells.
All nearby offset wells were squared and
forward modeled to evaluate the select-
ed measurement response. The original
logs were properly squared and repre-
sent good formation properties. Forward
models were run to generate modeled-
log data from entered squared logs. In
the prejob stage, the forward model was
run along the planned trajectory in the
structure populated with Well A and
Well B offset-well properties, including
gamma ray, resistivity, and neutron den-
sity. Synthetic logs were generated after
the forward-modeling step was com-
pleted. These were used to populate the
curtain-section structure properties.
Inversion modeling was carried out
along the planned trajectory, focusing on
the production interval from the planned
9⅝-in.-casing-shoe point to the landing
point inside the target reservoir. In gener-
al, good resistivity contrast between shale
and sand observed from the offset logs
gave a high resolution of inversion, which
enabled clear multiple-bed-boundary
mapping. The purpose of the modeling
was to identify the detection distance of
the reservoir roof from the tool, in order
for the necessary well-placement work
flow to be planned. The top of the reser-
voir was mapped within 5 m true vertical
thickness (TVT), and the base of the res-
ervoir was detected within 35 m TVT from
the planned trajectory, with the approach
angle of 63°. The model also confirmed
JPT • JANUARY 2017
the GOC can be detected 26 m TVT after
the trajectory has penetrated approxi-
mately 80-m measured depth (MD) into
the reservoir from the shoe. The expecta-
tion of a thinning reservoir was observed
in the simulation model after the inver-
sion mapped the conductive zone within
10 m TVT from the trajectory and delin-
eated a thinning or pinching-out feature.
It was observed that the dip of the top
reservoir increased and became steeper
upon entering the thinning layer.
Close to the toe section, the inversion
was able to map a flat conductive feature
considered to be the expected oil/water
contacts at 10 m TVT from the trajectory.
The TVD resistivity profile was plotted to
quantify the accuracy of the multiple per-
centiles of inversion.
To anticipate the geological challenge
encountered during the execution phase,
a geological scenario was created to high-
light the possibilities of the turbidite-
channel setting. By creating this scenar-
io, the appropriate decision would be
taken to follow the allowable dogleg and
estimated MD length to pursue the un-
derneath sand in case of encountering
the pinchout sand.
Drilling Strategy
Before drilling the production zone in the
8½-in. section, the 9⅝-in. casing shoe
must be set at a certain TVD at the top of
reservoir, which requires a specific well-
placement work flow for landing in the
12¼-in. section. The primary objective of
having this work flow (described in detail
in the complete paper) was to ensure the
execution of smooth decision making dur-
ing the landing operation in order for the
total depth for the casing point to be 5 m
TVT above the target reservoir. This work
flow is followed step by step until the first
key marker is encountered during drilling.
The 8½-in.-section-landing work flow
was designed to capture the necessary
work action through tool detection dur-
ing real-time execution to form a conclu-
sive and determinative (yes-or-no) obser-
vation. The main objective was to ensure
that the well is landed on the basis of
the MD length required to meet the gas
column, for production using autogas
lift. For the 8½-in. landing, the first step
began after the drilling commenced out of
the casing shoe, followed by the tool iden-
tification of the reservoir. The criteria for
detecting the reservoir were set and refer-
enced to the detection of the top sand and
its dip. The trajectory adjustment would
be made with the necessary dogleg and
approach angle depending on the actual
detection criteria. To achieve the mini-
mum gas-column length, a forward pro-
jection was established once the tool was
able to detect these criteria.
Implementing the systematic work flow
was the key element in ensuring that the
9⅝-in.-casing point was successfully set
at 6 to 7 m TVT above the reservoir roof.
Reservoir-Mapping Application
Exposed New Unexpected
Pool Sand
Steering at the first sand lobe led to a pen-
etration of 73-m MD into the gas cap and
a 170-m-MD interval in the oil-bearing
sand, which already achieved the mini-
mum well objective. After encountering
pinchout sand, the trajectory penetrated
the shale layer. The tool was able to detect
a high-resistivity layer below the trajec-
tory, which led to the discovery of a new
reservoir pool 8 m underneath the trajec-
tory. A sidetrack well was then planned
to penetrate the new reservoir pool. The
sidetrack well drilled a 600-m-MD inter-
val of oil column and successfully doubled
the initial production target of T Field.
Well Performance
The well was completed open hole with
an approximately 150-m-MD standalone
sand screen in the second oil-sand lobes,
and blank pipe was installed near the
upper sand lobes. A swellable packer is
used to provide isolation between the two
zones. The initial production of this well
achieved 1,750 BOPD, a gas/oil ratio of
1,050 scf/STB, and a zero water cut. The
application of the new reservoir-mapper
tool enabled the penetration of two sand
lobes, doubled the targeted initial pro-
duction rate, and added reserves.
Conclusion
The success of this well revitalization
was attributable to the holistic approach
taken in the planning stage, successful
execution of the work flow, and the ap-
plication of a new deep-mapper technol-
ogy that suited the turbidite challenge.
These concepts were formalized in sys-
tematic work flows and incorporated
real-time data. JPT
55
 Use of Modern Reservoir Characterization
in Mature Fields To Unravel Hidden Reserves

T his paper discusses the successful,

fully integrated, 3D Earth modeling
(EM) and dynamic reservoir simulation
these intervals vary from field to field. A
sedimentological study was performed
with core data, core descriptions, bore-
calculated for each reservoir. Then, with
the help of the rock-compressibility
analysis from a neighboring analog
of the Hollin Formation in the Lago hole well logs, and general knowledge of field, the pore volumes were normal-
Agrio Field within an operator’s first the Oriente Basin. ized, obtaining porosity changes per
producer field in Ecuador. Early each confining-pressure increase.
feedback of reservoir heterogeneity Petrophysical-Properties Modeling. Once core porosity was corrected,
helped in understanding key reservoir Diagenetic Analysis. X-ray diffrac- the log-core calibration was achieved.
issues and developing the methods tion and scanning-electron-microscope The best porosity estimation is given
undertaken to solve various problems. (SEM) data allow analysis of the miner- by density neutron because it evi-
The implementation of cutting- alogical features in the fluvial, tidal, and dences clay content and calcareous
edge reservoir-modeling techniques marine intervals of the Hollin forma- cement correctly.
contributed to improving production tion. In the fluvial/tidal Hollin interval, Permeability and Rock-Typing
rates and enhancing recovery. it is observed that quartz is the predomi- Models. In the fluvial/tidal Hollin, the
nant mineral, followed by clay minerals; integration of capillary pressure and
Available Data calcite and illite minerals were observed a Winland R35 plot suggests the exis-
Lago Agrio has features of a mature toward the top. The most common clay tence of five RTs that influence fluid
field: more than 43 years of production mineral is vermicular kaolinite. Sili- flow (four reservoir rocks and one
history, 75% of extracted official re- ceous cement was observed in patches. caprock). By use of statistical analy-
serves P1 and P2 (quantified by the oper- Toward the top, evidence of calcareous sis, porosity windows were established,
ating company), and a declination from cement is shown. Meanwhile, in the ma- which define the boundaries for each
plateau production of 31%, along with rine Hollin interval, the predominance permeability regression.
a steady decline of the field. New drill- of glauconite and a significant percent- In the marine Hollin, scarce core
ing and the workover of existing wells age of ankerite are observed. permeability/porosity and no capil-
during the reservoir productive life have The existing differential diagene- lary pressure limit the rock-typing ap-
not been able to increase production. sis between the fluvial/tidal and ma- proach. A straightforward permeability/
Abundant data exist from a number of rine units markedly affects the textural porosity relationship represents the
wells in the Lago Agrio Field, such as characteristics of the rock and the rela- absolute-permeability model. However,
from conventional-log-suite core analy- tionship of flow/storage capacity; there- the effective-porosity distribution and
sis, pressure/volume/temperature fluid fore, it becomes extremely important pore diameter from the SEM were ana-
tests, pressure buildup, and a broad pro- to model permeability and rock types lyzed to obtain thresholds to discretize
duction history. (RTs) separately for these units. flow units. Using this approach, three
Porosity Correction. Porosity mea- RTs were identified (two reservoir rocks
Discussion and Results surements on core plugs were conduct- and one caprock).
Sedimentological Model. Sever- ed by various methods and at various Permeability and rock-typing models
al authors define three deposition- pressure confinements. This generated for fluvial/tidal and marine Hollin inter-
al environments for the sediments of the need to standardize the information vals honor the diagenesis differences an-
the Hollin Formation: fluvial, tidal- before it was used to compare with logs alyzed from mineralogical information.
dominated, and shallow marine. How- and create models of RTs. In the first in-
ever, the thickness and lithofacies of stance, net confinement pressures were 3D Geocellular Model. 3D Petrofa-
cies Modeling. In facies modeling, it
is important to consider as inputs RTs,
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
vertical proportional maps, facies var-
of paper SPE 177195, “Application of Modern Reservoir Characterization in Mature iogram parameters, and depositional
Fields To Unravel Hidden Reserves,” by M. Rodriguez, F. Abad, L. Rodriguez, and environments, out of a total of 33 sedi-
J. Gaibor, Halliburton, and M. Moran and A. Verdezoto, Petroamazonas, prepared mentological environments. The grid
for the 2015 SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, was oriented from east to west. How-
Quito, Ecuador, 18–20 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed. ever, a new vision of the depositional-

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

56 JPT • JANUARY 2017

 Hollin Reservoir—Lago Agrio Field
10,000 1
Initial oil-production rate (BOPD)
P10 250
8,000 0.8
P50 450
P90 750
6,000 0.6 Cumulative oil for new well:
1.2 million bbl
4,000 0.4

2,000 0.2

0 0
04/1970 03/1981 02/1992 02/2003 01/2014 – 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00
(a) (b) Millions
History Data P90 P50 P10
1971–1979 1982–1988 1993–1999
2003–2006 2007–2013

Fig. 1—Vintage analysis: (a) initial-rate estimation; (b) cumulative oil production per well.

pathway direction governed the geo-
bodies orientation.
3D Porosity Modeling. The porosity
model is linked to a petrofacies model
(RT) because each has a different range
of estimated porosity that is popu-
lated in the grid. EM allows for each
RT and for each grid interval, to allow
choosing the corresponding variogram
estimated previously.
Upscaling Challenge. Ideally, a fine-
layering model would represent the en-
tire reservoir-heterogeneity spectrum
for a geocellular model. However, in
practice, such an approach is not valid
because of simulation time constraints.
It is strategic for properties propagation
to keep the x, y grid size of 100×100 m
while varying the vertical resolution.
This grid size honors the lateral strati-
graphical changes from sedimentologi-
cal interpretation.
The variation of vertical resolution
is always approached by a fine-layering
condition (1 ft). Nevertheless, the simu-
lation time consumption constrains such
an attempt; therefore, an upscaling ap-
proach is pursued. During the upscaling
process, only two reservoir heteroge-
neities were visualized, gigascopic scale

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 and macroscopic scale. The production
performance indirectly implies all of the
reservoir-heterogeneity contributions,
and then honoring such performance by
layering definition ensures a successful
upscaling process.
Uncertainty Analysis. To quantify
the risk during variable prediction, an
uncertainty analysis is applied. EM pro-
vides advantages for calculating statisti-
cal uncertainty maps.
For discrete variables, such as RT, the
software provides the most-probable
facies grid. In this project, the “most-
probable” 3D facies grid for the Hollin
reservoir was determined using a total of
30 facies realizations.
P1, P2, and P3 Reserves Map. With
the scope of reducing uncertainty asso-
ciated with the upscaled model, a new
fine-layering grid (1-ft thickness) for all
intervals of the Hollin reservoir was cre-
ated. A new volumetric quantification of
the original oil in place was performed
without including the net-to-gross ratio
and considering three different areas for
the calculation: P1 as proven, P2 as prob-
able, and P3 as possible.
Blind Test With LGA-60. Because all
geocellular models have uncertainty, it
Technical Papers
The complete SPE technical
papers synopsized in this
issue are available free to
SPE members for 2 months
at www.spe.org/jpt.
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at 1.972.952.9393 to notify
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58
is necessary to demonstrate their ef-
fectiveness for prediction. Therefore, in
this project, a “blind test” with Well
LGA-60 was performed for porosity.
To achieve such a comparison, poros-
ity from the log was compared with that
modeled on an x–y plot at the same in-
terval depth. For each interval, marine,
tidal, and fluvial Hollin are discriminat-
ed. The results showed a correlation co-
efficient of 52, 55, and 72%, respectively.
The correlation coefficients for marine
and tidal Hollin indicate an important
stratigraphic component to be improved
in this model. Nevertheless, it is consid-
ered to be acceptable.
Reservoir and Dynamic Model. The
complete paper represents a work flow
for identifying the remaining reser-
voir opportunities for enhancing effi-
ciency and increasing the hydrocarbon-
production rate.
Initialization. The initialization of
the Hollin reservoir model began by
analyzing grid construction, fluid/rock
properties, and water/oil contact.
History Matching. The reservoir-
integrated outcomes showed com-
mon solutions and good practice that
allowed fully representing the pore-
medium heterogeneities and optimizing
history matching.
The time was constrained up to Oc-
tober of 2014. The pressure and full-
field production had an excellent adjust-
ment of 98%, as well as the water- and
oil-production rates. The dynamic
model replicated the pressure perfor-
mance and water breakthrough for the
full-field case.
Vintage Analysis. The initial oil-rate
estimation was taken from historical data
in which initial oil-production rate was
declined to the current date. For different
scenarios (P10, P50, and P90), the initial
oil rate declined from the beginning at
almost 90%. This might be related to a
skin formation, such as fines migration
blocking the pore throats and causing the
accelerated oil rate to decline with an in-
crease in water cut. This scenario could
be optimal for applying new technology
to mitigate such effects (Fig. 1a).
The vintage analysis estimates the cu-
mulative oil production (Np) for a new
well. Using the Np and remaining oil re-
serves (active producer wells), the data
then were gathered by a drilling cam-
paign. Such analysis showed an average
Np of approximately 1.2 million STB for
a new well (Fig. 1b).
Recognizing the Volumetric Poten-
tial. On the basis of remaining oil re-
serves, this stage defined the potential
targets to be drilled. According to the
Np, the current recovery factor per in-
terval was defined under the current
production scheme (100% pumping).
Even though the primary drive mech-
anism is a bottom-water drive with a
strong aquifer, the recovery factor for
Hollin was low (17% average).
For choosing potential areas sur-
rounded by drained zones, the
opportunity-index (OI) approach was
implemented, which is composed of
static and dynamic variables. This tech-
nique allows the generation of OI maps
discretized for the tidal and fluvial in-
tervals. These maps clearly highlight the
low- and high-potential areas caused by
rock heterogeneity and dynamic param-
eters. The white and green colors indi-
cate a high OI associated with good rock
properties and a highly moveable oil vol-
ume, which helps ensure maximum pro-
duction and recovery.
Analyzing the main intervals, it is no-
ticeable that tidal Hollin displayed two
target zones (one to the north and one
to the south). On the other hand, the
fluvial interval of Hollin does not spot-
light potential targets because of early
water sweep.
Once the main targets were identified
by OI maps, each prospective well was
evaluated in the simulation model con-
sidering a minimum drainage radius of
500 m, based on regulations.
For ranking well prospects, it is impor-
tant to analyze the cumulative oil by well
in addition to the probabilistic reserves
types. Under this scope, a 66% probabil-
ity existed for volumetric success.
The synergy of an appropriate inter-
pretation for the Lago Agrio Field by
use of innovative reservoir character-
ization allowed foreseeing new oppor-
tunities for production increases in a
mature field. These characterizations
included geological knowledge invest-
ment, remaining-oil-zone detection, in-
crease of new outside area for drilling to
the west, and the possibility of enhanc-
ing oil  recovery. JPT
JPT • JANUARY 2017
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Well Integrity and Well Control

Otto Luiz Alcantara Santos, SPE, Consultant

One of the more important aspects of Recently, new technologies Recently, new technologies and re-
well integrity during drilling operations search have been applied or developed to
is early kick detection. When an unin- and research have been improve the kick-detection systems and
tentional flow of the formation fluid into applied or developed to to overcome some of the difficulties. To
the wellbore occurs during conventional cite just a few examples,
drilling operations, it must be detected
improve the kick-detection ◗ Development of automated kick-
promptly and the flow must be stopped, systems and to overcome detection systems (one of the papers
normally by closing the well. The early some of the difficulties. summarized here addresses kick
detection is crucial in minimizing the detection during connections)
influx size. When the amount of forma- ◗ Kick detection just above the
tion fluid inside the well is large, espe- The early kick detection is accom- bit using logging-while-drilling
cially if it is gas, the pressure inside the plished with a rig equipped with the information
well will be higher during the subsequent appropriate kick-detection sensors and ◗ Kick detection using wired
well-control operations. This can lead to alarms and with a rig crew trained in drillstring
an increase in time to control the well quickly recognizing a kick and in the ◗ Research on the effect on kick
or even to a worse situation: the loss of shut-in procedures. However, there are detection of gas solubility in
control. Another concern may be the situations where early kick detection nonaqueous drilling fluids
amount of formation fluid to be handled becomes more problematic—for exam- (mineral oil, paraffin, ester, and
at surface. Deepwater, high-pressure/ ple, when operating on a floating rig olefins)
high-temperature, and slimhole drilling because of its motions, when using non- ◗ The use of managed-pressure-
are situations where early kick detection aqueous drilling fluids because of gas sol- drilling systems (one of the papers
is mandatory. ubility, or during connections. recommended for additional
reading comments on the advantage
of this technology in reducing the
Otto Luiz Alcantara Santos, SPE, is an independent consultant kick size) JPT
and instructor of well-control and advanced well-construction
technologies. During almost 40 years, he worked as a Petrobras
well-construction engineer. Santos holds a BS degree in civil
engineering and an MS degree in petroleum engineering from Recommended additional reading
the Colorado School of Mines and a PhD degree in petroleum at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
engineering from Louisiana State University. He was also a fac- SPE/IADC 173153 A Barrier-Analysis
ulty member at the University of Tulsa in 1994. Santos has writ- Approach to Well-Control Techniques
ten several technical papers in well-construction technology, especially on well by D. Fraser, Argonne National Laboratory,
integrity and directional and horizontal drilling. He is the author of the book Well et al.
Control in Drilling Operations and coauthored the book Directional Drilling. Santos is SPE 180047 Impact of New and
editor of the SPE book Drilling and Production Operations in HPHT Wells. He was an Ultrahigh-Density Kill Fluids on Challenging
SPE Distinguished Lecturer for 2009–2010. Santos is the current program chairper- Well-Kill Operations by T. Rinde, Acona Flow
son of the SPE Bahia/Sergipe Section and has served or is currently serving on sev- Technology, et al.
eral SPE committees. He is also a member of the JPT Editorial Committee. In 2010, SPE 180053 A Numerical Study of Gas-
Santos received the International Association of Drilling Contractors Exemplary Kick Migration Velocities and Uncertainty
Service Award. He can be reached at ottolasantos@gmail.com. by K.K. Fjelde, University of Stavanger, et al.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 59

 Mitigating Gas in Riser Rapid Unloading
for Deepwater Dual-Gradient Well Control

I n deepwater dual-gradient wells,

if gas comes into the riser, a rapid
unloading event may occur if removal
Several different procedures were
tested; however, Test 5 produced a rapid
unloading of the riser. 550 lbm of nitro-
may damage equipment. A discussion of
water-hammer-effect calculation is pro-
vided in the complete paper.
of the gas is not carried out properly. gen gas was injected through the drill-
Oil-based muds (OBMs) present an string and circulated into the riser. This Riser Gas-Risk-Mitigation
even greater challenge when compared gas bubble was then pumped up the riser Procedure
with water-based muds (WBMs) to with an open blowout preventer (BOP). If the gas comes into the riser with un-
avoid gas in riser events. A study using This study uses a dynamic multiphase- controlled flow, there is a potential for
a dynamic multiphase-flow software flow software to reproduce the stand- severe slugging flow that can cause dam-
simulated a rapid-unloading event pipe pressure and surface liquid rate age to equipment and threaten drilling
and determined the gas fraction in the in this test. The simulated standpipe- crews. The proposed procedure is to con-
riser annulus and the effect on riser pressure trend matches the recorded stantly apply 250 psi on the top of the
fluid levels. data very well. The first field obser- riser during drillpipe connections and
vation was of a “small spray of mud,” drilling operations. Systems that are able
Case Description which most likely came from the top-fill to provide some top pressure on a ma-
and Model Verification pump as the air in the riser was pushed rine riser include, but are not limited
Several researchers have run field tests out by the mud and gas injected into the to, gas-handler systems and managed-
to study rapid unloading of gas in deep- riser. The next field observation noted a pressure-drilling (MPD) systems. Pres-
water risers. These tests used WBMs; fountain of mud with a height of approx- sures of 600 to 700 psi can be applied to
there are no comparable data from tests imately 33 ft. Calculations show a maxi- these systems.
using OBMs. mum fluid velocity of 46 ft/sec, while The common thread between the gas-
Previous papers described the re- the simulation results show a 49-ft/sec handler and MPD systems is the ability to
sults from field tests of procedures maximum mud velocity. At the moment impose a limited amount of backpressure
for handling various well-control sce- of rapid unloading, there are some frac- upon the riser and to be able to circulate
narios in a dual-gradient drilling appli- tions of free gas coming out with the the content of the riser through a surface
cation. The test well is a vertical well drilling fluid. choke. For the case where zero or small
located in 1,214  ft of water. The dual- The field test shows that gas migration backpressure is applied, there is the po-
gradient drilling system being tested and rapid unloading occur at 35 minutes, tential for rapid unloading of the riser
is a controlled-mud-level-type system, while the simulation shows the event to when gas approaches the surface.
so the level of mud in the riser is used be over by 48 minutes. The software was It is not possible to impose a pres-
to achieve the dual-gradient effect. The not able to fully match the exact timing of sure greater than 2,000 psi on a marine
riser mud level was lowered 328 ft below the event. However, the simulation was riser system because the riser is a large-
the Kelly bushing. Mud used during the able to match all the trends in pressure diameter, low-pressure vessel. In addi-
test was 8.91-lbm/gal WBM, with a plas- and velocity involving gas migration and tion, if there is a weighted mud within
tic viscosity of 9.0 cp and a yield point of rapid unloading. the riser providing a significant portion
21 lbf/100 ft2. The drillstring mud-pump If the riser were shut in to help control of this riser rated pressure in the form
rate was 660 gal/min, and a top-fill pump fluid unloading caused by gas in the riser, of a differential pressure to the outside
flowing at 158 gal/min injected mud at the water hammer needs to be investigated seawater, the pressure that can be im-
top of the riser. to determine if it presents a danger and posed at the top of a marine riser with-
out causing damage may be reduced to
approximately 600 to 700 psi. There is
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
no significant benefit in applying surface
of paper OTC 27242, “Mitigating Gas in Riser Rapid Unloading for Deepwater Dual-
backpressure greater than 250 psi for
Gradient Well Control,” Zhaoguang Yuan and Dan Morrell, Schlumberger; Paul small influx. The mitigation approaches
Sonnemann, Safekick; and Colin Leach, Mulberry Well Systems, prepared for are, thus, usually limited to the use of ap-
the 2016 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 2–5 May. The paper has not proximately 200 to 300 psi of backpres-
been peer reviewed. Copyright 2016 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced sure at the top of a riser. One proposed
by permission. practice is to maintain this backpres-

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

60 JPT • JANUARY 2017

 10,000 gas separator and then back to the rig
mud system.
The procedure that was simulated in-
Surface Maximum Liquid Rate (gal/min)

volved closing the BOP once the gas was

circulated into the riser. Drilling fluid
was pumped into the riser annulus at
1,000
a rate of 160 or 250 gal/min through a
booster line for WBM. A different pump
rate was needed for OBM as the gas top
approached the surface and started to
break out. The pump rate was stepped
100 160 gal/min, WBM down further to 42 gal/min to safely cir-
250 gal/min, WBM culate the gas out.
160 gal/min, OBM
Dual-Gradient Drilling-Riser
42 gal/min, OBM Gas-Handling Study
With the previously described riser-gas
10 risk-mitigation technique, a simulation
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
was conducted to determine the effec-
Influx Volumes (bbl) tiveness for different influx volumes.
Fig. 1—Maximum liquid rate. This typical Gulf of Mexico well has a sea-
water depth of 8,000 ft. The total depth
sure constant from the start of circula- The goal of such mitigation is to con- is 31,000 ft. The reduced mud level is
tion through the booster line. Without trol and handle limited volumes of hy- 660 ft. The subsea pump is positioned at
proactive use of backpressure, events can drocarbon within the marine riser. a depth of 1,300 ft. In a normal drilling
occur very rapidly when gas approach- These generally small volumes are han- process, the pump rate is 600 gal/min.
es surface, making proper intervention dled by circulating through a choke, with In the simulation, the influx volumes
more difficult. returns then being routed to a mud- at the bottom of the hole are 1, 5, 10,

Together,
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your challenges are unique and
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ĞŶŐŝŶĞĞƌĞĚƐŽůƵƟŽŶƐfor the oil and
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ŽĨƉƌŽďůĞŵƐʹĮŶĚŝŶŐ
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ŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ

www.uswaterservices.com
 20, and 30 bbl of dry gas. The gas en-
tered the wellbore at the hole bottom in
5 minutes when the circulation rate was
600 gal/min. A pressure of 250 psi was
constantly applied at the top of the riser
throughout the simulation. When the
tail of gas entered the riser, the pump
rate was reduced to 250 or 160 gal/min
and kept constant until the gas was com-
pletely circulated out. To safely han-
dle riser gas when using OBM in the
simulation, the flow rate is reduced to
42  gal/min when gas starts to break
out as it approaches the surface. Fig. 1
shows the results of the simulation. The
blue line represents when the gas en-
tered the riser; the pump rate was re-
duced to 160 gal/min and kept constant
until the gas was completely circulated
out. The dark red line represents the
same methodology as the blue line ex-
cept that the pump rate was reduced to
250 gal/min. The green line represents
the same methodology as the blue line
except that the drilling fluid was OBM.
The purple line represents when the gas
entered the riser; the pump rate was re-
duced to 160 gal/min. At the moment
gas started to break out, the pump rate
was further stepped down to 42 gal/min
and kept constant until the gas was com-
pletely circulated out.
For WBM, the pump rates of 160 and
250 gal/min are both safe to handle the
gas inside the riser. However, for OBM,
it is very challenging to handle gas in
the riser at a pump rate of 160 gal/min. A
liquid rate of 9,019 gal/min is seen at the
surface. When the pump rate was slowed
down to 42 gal/min, the maximum liq-
uid rate was 1,374 gal/min for a 30-bbl
influx. The peak surface liquid rate and
gas rate last only 2 minutes, which is
safe for a gas separator to handle.
To investigate the effect of surface
backpressure on peak liquid rate and
gas rate during riser gas handling, pres-
sures of 0 to 600 psi were applied on
the top of the riser for a 10-bbl in-
flux with a pump rate of 160 gal/min.
The maximum liquid rate and gas rate
are extremely high if there is no back-
pressure applied. With 250-psi surface
backpressure, the liquid rate and gas
rate can be handled safely. With surface
backpressure higher than 250 psi, there
is no significant benefit for riser-gas
risk mitigation.
The results of a conventional drilling-
riser gas-handling study are described in
the complete paper.
Conclusions
◗ A multiphase model is verified with
field data and is able to reproduce
observed trends for riser-gas
migration in deepwater applications.
The results are particularly useful for
deepwater-well OBM scenarios.
◗ The water-hammer effect does
not contribute significantly high
pressure when closing the riser
during rapid unloading.
◗ For deepwater riser-gas risk
mitigation, WBM is easier to handle
than OBM when using constant
pump rate.
◗ Conventional deepwater drilling
and dual-gradient drilling show the
same trend and magnitude of gas
rate and liquid rate on surface when
handling gas in the riser.
◗ The proposed procedure to apply
surface backpressure proactively
can be useful in safely handling
riser gas when using either WBM
or OBM. JPT

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Next-Generation Kick Detection
During Connections

A t least 25% of all influx events

on deepwater wells occur while
making connections, but few deepwater-
rig contractors use kick-detection
alarms to alert the driller during a
connection. Because of the transient-
flow characteristics associated with
connections, kick detection during
connections is the most challenging
to automate effectively. An influx-
detection-at-pumps-stop (IDAPS)
software was developed to provide
early warning of abnormal flowback
conditions during connections.
Introduction
On the basis of an internal review of
kick-detection technology, an operator
determined that three different well-
construction activities must be included
in any automated, smart kick-detection
system: drilling, making connections,
and tripping.
A multiyear effort was initiated in 2012
to develop an automated kick-detection
system specific to connections. This ef-
fort resulted in the development of the
IDAPS software that is now in daily use
in the operator’s real-time operations
centers (RTOCs), where it is part of the
routine suite of monitoring programs
used during the well-construction phase
of offshore wells. Most existing influx-
or kick-detection systems designed for
RTOC users require frequent interaction
with a knowledgeable user, but the IDAPS
application was designed to require only
minimal interaction to automatically de-
tect connection-related possible influx-
es, with an associated influx probability
from low to confirmed, and to alert RTOC
users in real time.
IDAPS-Software-Development Process.
The software-development program in-
cluded the following six steps.
1. Definition of functional requirements
and performance objectives and estab-
lishment of performance metrics. The
influx-detection requirements for IDAPS
software as defined by the operator as fol-
lows are detailed in the complete paper.
◗ Provide reliable influx alarms for all
historical connection events.
◗ Estimate influx volume for all high-
confidence influx alarms.
◗ Provide clear, brief explanations for
data indicating influx alarms.
◗ Detect and provide alarm messages
for possible sensor problems.
2. Collection of data and labeling
“ground truth.” The historical data sets
consisted of time-tagged values (at 1-
or 5-second sampling rate) of bit depth,
hole depth, flow in, flow out, and pit vol-
ume for approximately 30 wells drilled
over a large range of depth intervals and
drilling conditions. Later in the IDAPS
development process, a few “blind” data
sets were also provided to validate the
performance derived from the histori-
cal data sets. The provided data included
recorded examples for more than 3,000
pumps-off events. However, only 10 of
these pumps-off events included a de-
tected influx. Therefore, the most impor-
tant limitation of the historical data in
the software-development program was
the limited number of verified connec-
tion kicks detected after pumps off.
3. Development of an algorithm ap-
proach to meet objectives. IDAPS soft-
ware was required to process data in a
fully automated mode of operation. The
operator’s stringent performance objec-
tives therefore required a processing de-
sign that was robust against often highly
erratic or confounding data. Elements
of the software-design approach that
directly addressed these important re-
quirements included the following.
◗ A suite of more than 30 pattern-
recognition algorithms to
detect data-validity issues and
automatically reject and archive
egregious data issues detected in
real time
◗ Separate analysis of segmented
temporal patterns in both pit
volume and flow out
◗ Optimal trend-detection processing
based on cumulative comparison to
temporally dependent limits derived
for each of the segmented features
◗ Statistical analysis of data for each
pumps-off event and recent previous
pumps-off events to calculate
temporal dependent-pattern limits
that have well-understood statistical
relevance for influx detection
◗ Feature fusion techniques that
permit detection on the basis of
single-sensor behavior as well as
joint-sensor characteristics
4. Development of early prototypes
and performance assessment.
5. Conversion of prototypes to an
RTOC application and beyond.
6. Modification on the basis of soft-
ware user feedback.

IDAPS-Software Processing Descrip-

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
tion. The general processing approach
of paper SPE 178821, “Next-Generation Kick Detection During Connections: Influx- is as follows:
Detection-at-Pumps-Stop Software,” by B.A. Tarr, SPE, D.W. Ladendorf, SPE, and ◗ Data for pumps-off occurrences are
D. Sanchez, Shell, and G.M. Milner, SPE, CoVar Applied Technologies, prepared detected, aligned, and saved over a
for the 2016 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, user-specified maximum monitoring
1–3 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. interval as unique “events.”

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 63

 Fig. 1—IDAPS Monitoring display.

◗ Recent valid data patterns are used remove invalid data as templates in ◗ Advanced signal processing and
to calculate acceptable limits for setting thresholds. four-feature fusion are designed not
“normal” events. ◗ Statistically meaningful and only to minimize false alarms and
◗ Pattern-recognition algorithms are sustained deviations from “normal” maximize detection performance
applied to detect data-validity issues threshold limits result in warning but also to allow influx detection for
and report these to users as well as flags. larger single-feature excursions.
◗ The final decision variable is
compared with four different
thresholds generally corresponding
to an increasing level of confidence.
Using these confidence thresholds
also results in decreasing the
false-alarm rates for the higher-
Department Head confidence-level influx alarms.
The IDAPS event-comparison display
The John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at The
Pennsylvania State University invites nominations and applications for an innovative, is shown automatically at each detected
visionary leader as Department Head. The Department is interdisciplinary, diverse, and connection event, while the IDAPS moni-
dedicated to the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible recovery, processing, toring display always remains accessible.
and utilization of earth resources. It is internationally recognized for its research in the The monitoring display shows key data
areas of energy, energy business and finance, and environmental science and engineering.
in real time and provides users with an
The successful candidate should have an exceptional record of scholarship, leadership
experience, be qualified for tenure, be committed to the interdisciplinary nature of the interface to visually examine and com-
department, be dedicated to increasing diversity, and be supportive of College-wide pare data for previous pumps-off events.
initiatives. Women and members of under-represented groups are strongly encouraged As shown in Fig. 1, flow in (top plot),
to apply. Review of applications will begin 9 January 2017. Applicants should upload: 1) flow out (middle plot), and pit volume
a letter describing how they would lead the Department and contribute to mission; 2) a
(bottom plot) are plotted in units select-
complete CV; and 3) the names and addresses of three to five referees. Questions can be
directed to Professor David Stensrud at david.stensrud@psu.edu. ed during setup, and they scroll right to
CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS: For more about safety at Penn State, and to review left with current time. The current date
the Annual Security Report which contains information about crime statistics and other and time, hole depth, and bit depth are
safety and security matters, please go to http://www.police.psu.edu/clery/ , which will also shown in the top text box. There are four
provide you with detail on how to request a hard copy of the Annual Security Report. list boxes on the right of the monitoring
Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to display. The bottom list, containing mes-
providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, sages regarding data sample indexing
color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or
protected veteran status.
and event times, is used primarily for de-
velopment purposes, and may generally
Job URL: http://apptrkr.com/920633
be ignored by the software users. The top

64 JPT • JANUARY 2017

three list boxes contain lists of pumps-
off events with time/depth information.
The top list contains all pumps-off events
detected since the start of IDAPS soft-
ware, the second-from-top list contains
only those pumps-off events detected
to have some type of data-validity flag,
and the third-from-top list contains only
those pumps-off events with an IDAPS-
software possible influx detection. Users
may click any event in the three lists to
view the relevant event-comparison dis-
play, with the selected event shown as the
most-recent event.
In all three lists, some events may have
color backgrounds corresponding to the
software-determined level of confidence
that the data indicate a possible influx
(light green, low; yellow, medium; orange,
high; and red, confirmed). Also, some
events may have a line through the text.
If a line is drawn through an event in the
list, the data for that event have not been
used to derive normal values or threshold
limits. This indicates that the data for that
event had an “auto archive, but do not
use” data-validity flag or that the user has
manually removed the data from the list.
At each influx confidence level, a
colored pop-up banner appears at the
front of the event display and, in case
no screen is visible because of computer
sleep mode, the computer begins to beep.
These alarm banners will remain visible
and the audible beeping will continue
until the user clicks “OK” to acknowledge
the confidence-level banner. Banners are
color coded to convey the level of confi-
dence or influx probability.
If a lower-level alert has been acknowl-
edged and is no longer visible, and the in-
flux confidence increases to a higher level,
a new banner is issued and the computer
resumes beeping until the new banner is
acknowledged. The two highest-level ban-
ners, high and confirmed, include an esti-
mate of the influx volume.
System Statistical Performance Based
on Historical Data. A portion of the his-
torical data provided by the operator was
used routinely to assess the effects of
software design changes and to ensure
that the key performance metrics of con-
cern remained at values that were in close
agreement with the operator’s require-
ments. A standard IDAPS test set was ob-
tained from 17 wells, and these data in-
JPT • JANUARY 2017
cluded pumps-off events with verified or
strongly suspected influx events during
connections, as well as more than 1,300
BOHRIS
pumps-off events that had no influx pat-
terns. A discussion of the software sta-
Simply look deeper.
tistical performance based on historical BOHRIS offers:
data is detailed in the complete paper. > Comprehensive well data management
> Standardized visualization of schematics
RTOC Testing and Rollout of Software. including well barrier schematics
The operator’s RTOC functional goals > Precise calculation of safe well operating
include pressures for specific well completion
◗ Proactively improving project > Options to consider casing pressure
delivery; performance; drilling derating through specified wall thickness
costs; health, safety, and reductions
environmental factors; and
operational excellence
◗ Enabling collaboration between the
disciplines
◗ Capitalizing on new
communications technology
To ensure alignment with these goals,
the RTOC testing included both function-
al and nonfunctional testing elements.
Functional Testing. The functional
testing was broken down into four com-
ponents: unit testing, integration testing,
system testing, and acceptance testing,
executed in that order.
During this functional-testing phase,
the software was used to monitor multi-
ple offshore rigs, including floaters and
tension-leg platforms. Testing was vali-
dated by the real-time monitoring engi-
neers assigned to each of the rigs and by
the real-time pore-pressure-prediction
team. The software is now in daily use
monitoring multiple offshore wells.
Nonfunctional Testing. The nonfunc-
tional testing involved testing the IDAPS
application against the business require-
ments and involved measuring/testing
the application against defined technical
qualities. The three main components of
the nonfunctional testing were
◗ Performance, load, and stress
testing
◗ End-user usability testing
◗ Operating-system compatibility
testing
Realized Benefits of Using the Appli-
cation. The software now provides a tool
for RTOC engineers to monitor connec-
tions and other pumps-off events consis-
tently for any sign of an influx (in some
cases, before the rig team will see any
deviation large enough to trigger a re-
sponse on the rig). JPT
www.innogy.com/esk/BOHRIS
 Methodology and Array Technology for
Finding and Describing Leaks in a Well

T his paper presents a new technology

and methods that can detect leak
locations in a well and illustrate the flow
profile of the leak. A substantial amount S1 (x,y)
of time and effort can be expended
in repairing leaks in wells, and these S2 (x,y)
methods can reduce that time. The
S3 (x,y)
paper shows results and compares them
to those of other techniques for a well S4 (x,y)
that had been shut in as a result of a Leak Source (x,y)
small leak. S5 (x,y)

S6 (x,y)
Background
Noise tools have been used to detect S7 (x,y)
the sound of leak flow to provide an
estimated description on the basis of
the magnitude of the noise and the fre-
quency properties. Typically, these tools
consisted of one hydrophone or receiv- ∆t
er that was limited to frequency and
information recorded. The majority of Fig. 1—Illustration of a leak source and how a seven-sensor linear array would
these tools provided stationary mea- measure the differences in the timing (Δt) or phase shift of the waveforms.
surements that can reduce the optimum
intercept of leak or leaks. Many new cal- and flow behind pipe to reduce risks multiple measurements or waveforms
culations have been performed that have and nonproductive time. To improve the are used to localize the leak or flow
improved these results; nonetheless, multiplicity of the sound measurement in radial distance and vertical depth
they can still be hampered by physical originating from fluid and gas move- in the wellbore or surrounding region.
properties of sound conveyance through ment, an array of hydrophone sensors Through beam forming, simultaneous
layers of hardware or changes in the was researched and tested to develop estimates of vertical and radial location
structure of the well. new relationships and characterization can be made of the sound source. This is
During the last few decades, advance- possibilities. The acoustic linear array achieved by calculating the time delay or
ments in passive acoustic devices have with distributed hydrophone sensors phase shift between the sensors using a
included broadening measurements, im- could be synchronized to obtain infor- cross-correlation technique. Fig. 1 illus-
proving quality, and increasing the ob- mation emanating from a flow source trates an acoustic source and array and
served aspects of the measurements. and fused together to obtain new insight shows how a basic beam-forming process
Meanwhile, minimal advancements have into leaks and flow characterization. functions under free-space conditions.
been realized in the oil industry for leak/ Array processing and beam forming
flow detection or characterization. The Localization by Use of an Array are performed using the frequency do-
oil industry needed a device that could One aspect of this new approach is based main in part based on spatial filtering
accurately locate and characterize leaks on a theory of beam forming in which algorithms. Beam-forming calculations
create a 2D energy-distribution map over
the area of interest. For the localization
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
estimate, the radial and vertical compo-
paper SPE 181497, “Methodology and Array Technology for Finding and Describing nents focus on the highest energy assess-
Leaks in a Well,” by Freeman Hill, Halliburton; Andy Bond, Caelus Energy Alaska; ment. This method is used to determine
and Michael Biery, Srinivasan Jagannathan, Darren Walters, and Yinghui Lu, real-time radial and vertical location
Halliburton, prepared for the 2016 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, while logging and in post-processing by
Dubai, 26–28 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed. use of high-definition data.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

66 JPT • JANUARY 2017

 Without an array, determining the leak
location with frequency and magnitude
alone can sometimes be misleading. In
experiments, it was found that sound
traveling through a wellbore structure
can be dispersed and shows greater mag-
nitude and frequency in a region differ-
ent from the actual source.
Data fusion using beam-forming meth-
odology provides additional details about
the leak. With the 2D energy-distribution
map of the data created by beam form-
ing, the shape and flow profile of the
sound sources can be illustrated.
Beam forming also offers another ben-
efit because it provides phase-shift infor-
mation on each sensor with respect to the
source. The signals from the array can
be phase corrected to be fused together
to represent the acoustic source, signifi-
cantly increasing quality by boosting the
signal/noise ratio.
Field Application
A well at the Oooguruk field on the Alas-
kan North Slope had just initiated gas lift
after flowing naturally for approximately
1 year. In monitoring the well, it was ob-
served that a leak had formed between
Annulus A (IA) and Annulus B (OA). Gas
lifting operations ceased, and the task
of finding the problem was initiated. Gas
lift operations could not continue with
elevated pressure on OA. The deviated
15,636-ft (measured depth) well present-
ed 4½-in. tubing, 7-in. casing, 9⅝-in. in-
termediate casing, 11¾-in. surface cas-
ing, and 16-in. conductor. IA consisted
of a pressure of 940 psi, whereas OA was
bled off to 370 psi, creating a pressure
difference of 570 psi. Six days were re-
quired for OA to build back up to 940 psi,
demonstrating a 95-psi/D leak on aver-
age. There was no means to estimate or
measure the volume exchanged; how-
ever, the recharging had relatively little
effect on the pressure in IA, indicating a
small gas leak.
Field operations began gathering in-
formation to ascertain the location of
the leak. Several different pressure tests
were completed on the various annu-
li and tubing. The tubing and OA were
confirmed to have integrity. IA was con-
firmed to leak to OA only. On the basis of
the speed of the leak, it was speculated
that the leak was quite shallow. Addition-
al information confirming the leak from
JPT • JANUARY 2017
IA to OA was the buildup of hydrogen sul-
fide (H2S) gas in OA. Because the lift gas
used contains as much as 100 ppm H2S, it
can actually act as a tracer for gas leaks.
A better logging tool was needed to at-
tempt to further confirm the leak and to
identify, as closely as possible, the depth
at which the leak was occurring.
An array acoustic-measuring device
was used to gather information about
the well in an attempt to locate the leak.
First, planning had to be performed to
ensure optimal probabilities of detect-
ing the leak during the logging process.
The leak would be stimulated with pres-
sure and flow being applied from sur-
face. The maximum pressure to be ap-
plied at the surface was approximately
1,900 psi in IA. Gas was to be applied,
and then the steps would be repeated
with diesel.
The operation included setting a tem-
porary tubing plug at 11,363 ft, along
with filling the tubing with diesel. Gas
was pumped into IA, and OA was bled off
and allowed to flow into a gas-recovery
system, thus stimulating the leak. A tem-
perature log was run down, which is al-
ways beneficial to help verify what other
data are showing. The well was logged
up at 20 ft/min from 10,202 ft, main-
taining a pressure of approximately
1,900 psi on IA through pumping efforts.
From the logging information, areas
of interest were marked for follow-up
stationary readings.
From the initial runs, areas were iden-
tified for further investigation for sta-
tionary readings and additional analy-
sis. These areas were 11,287 ft; 4,700 to
5,500 ft; 3,200 ft; 2,000 ft; and near the
surface at 32 ft. The location at 11,287 ft
was quickly identified as a gas lift man-
drel (GLM), and, with slickline, the
dummy valve was replaced. On relog-
ging this area, the small leak into the tub-
ing from the GLM was repaired. In addi-
tion, the areas of interest at 3,200 ft and
2,000 ft became quiet with this repair,
confirming that they were related to the
flow to and through the GLM.
The gas was replaced with diesel as
the stimulating fluid for the leak. The
areas of interest were revisited under
these new conditions to gather infor-
mation. Stationary measurements were
also made, with an extended stop at
32  ft. Heightened activity was observed
repeatedly at 32 ft, but, being so near
to the surface and with elevated back-
ground noise, the dynamic-logging
pass could not triangulate on a reliable
radial pick in this area. However, the
extended real-time stationary measure-
ment showed a more reliable radial pick,
indicating flow in OA.
The area between 4,700 and 5,500  ft
proved to be nonrelenting. It exhibit-
ed very small noise traces over a long
interval in all passes. A 2D flow map
was created to help with the interpre-
tation. This was a leak from IA into the
inner tubing. On closer examination, the
source appears to be tubing-thread leaks
because the length of interval is indica-
tive of a crew-shift change. In this well,
this is not an issue because the leak flow
was extremely low. In adjacent wells,
tubing-thread leaks have been an issue.
The area of interest at 32 ft showed
the most promise for the 95-psi leak. The
2D-flow-map modeling algorithms were
used and indicated an active leak. The
process can reduce outside influences
from noise not associated with the leak
itself. A 2D flow map was created, which
obtained a good representation of the
leak flow path from IA to OA. An audio
record from processed frequency infor-
mation of the raw leak noise alone with
no other background noise was created
that provided another confirmation of
the leak.
The leak was concluded to be a poten-
tial thread leak near the casing hanger
in the well. Options to repair the well in-
clude attempting to place a gas-sealing
liquid that can penetrate the threads,
and the more-expensive option of com-
pleting an extensive rig workover. The
current plan is to attempt to use the less-
expensive liquid material.
Conclusions
The hydrophone array provides new
aspects to the measurement and bet-
ter characterization of the leak or flow
behind pipe. Through research and ex-
perimental data, new relationships and
correlations have been developed to de-
termine the location of the leak accu-
rately in real time. Fusing data by use of
beam-forming techniques improves data
quality and provides a means for creat-
ing a 2D energy-distribution map of the
sound being monitored. JPT
67
 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Decommissioning and Abandonment

Win Thornton, SPE, Vice President of Decommissioning, Global Projects Organization, BP

Is there a value proposition for
decommissioning?
Our industry is governed by rules that
require cleanup and closure of oil and
gas facilities after they cease to produce.
Unlike a capital project, decommission-
ing is not something that you can choose
to do or not to do. The choices for a
decommissioning project are really when
and how, with a resulting “how much?”
The “when” typically defaults to “not
now,” representing a belief that defer-
ral results in the lowest cost outcome. Is
“not now” really the value proposition
for decommissioning?
I assert that the value proposition
for decommissioning is really one of
Unlike a capital project,
decommissioning is not
something that you can
choose to do or not to do.
value retention through proactive late-
life planning. Perhaps a suitable time
frame to invoke a value metric is when
the remaining hydrocarbon value equals
the estimated decommissioning costs.
Good planning decisions would then bal-
ance capturing the remaining hydro-
carbons with delivering a cost-effective
decommissioning project. The goal then
becomes maintaining this value equilib-
rium; far too often, it is only the remain-
ing hydrocarbons or a deferral that
receives attention. Governance for late-
life asset and project planning decisions
could then be tested against maintain-
ing this value equilibrium. For example,
the foresight to select a cessation-of-
production date to capture a downcycle
decommissioning market could capture
value that would have been lost in a blind
drive to deferral. Like a capital project,
there are a number of early planning
decommissioning activities that can be
deployed to maintain that value equilib-
rium. Let us consider this value metric
and approach for future decommission-
ing projects. JPT

Win Thornton, SPE, is vice president of decommissioning, global Recommended additional reading
projects organization, at BP. He has more than 35 years of expe-
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
rience in offshore construction and decommissioning projects
working as an operator for BP, Chevron, and Oxy; as a contractor SPE 180040 Plug-and-Abandonment
from Brown & Root and WorleyParsons; and as a consultant for Solution for Oilfield Decommissioning in the
Winmar and TST. Thornton holds a BS degree from the Georgia North Sea by P. Aguilar, Schlumberger, et al.
Institute of Technology and an MS degree from the University of OTC 27152 Integrated Decommissioning—
Houston. His recent work includes offshore decommissioning Increasing Efficiency by William R. Price,
and reuse projects in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, California, Alaska, Southeast Oceaneering International, et al.
Asia, and South America. Thornton has championed the environmentally sound and OTC 27128 Practical Applications
cost-effective disposal of obsolete platforms through placement in state-sanctioned of Structural-Analysis Support to
“Rigs to Reefs” programs. He is a member of the JPT Editorial Committee and can be Decommissioning by Ahmed M.A. Abdelaah,
reached at win.thornton@mac.com. Atkins Energy, et al.

68 JPT • JANUARY 2017

Risk-Based Abandonment-Prioritization
Strategy for Inactive Subsea Wells

T his paper describes how an

exploration-and-production
company successfully developed
In-House Well
Information
Collate and
Verify
Common Data
Access
Oil and Gas UK
and applied a qualitative risk-based
abandonment-prioritization strategy
Spud Date
for an inventory of inactive subsea wells.
Initial and
The exercise entailed a qualitative- Classification Design Life
assessment methodology using 25 well-
integrity-related criteria. An aggregate
of weighted scores was subsequently
Appraise
applied to the company’s corporate Against Subcategory Data
risk-assessment matrix on the basis 25 Metrics
of the escalation potential in the event
of a loss of containment. The results
clearly highlighted the wells with the Summing and Subcategory Scores
highest risks. Weightings

Well History
The inactive subsea wells relevant to the Integrity
Aggregation
exercise are distributed across the central of Submetrics
as Proxy for
North Sea in water depths ranging from Likelihood
244 to 474 ft. These normal-pressure/
normal-temperature subsea wells are all
located in the mature UK Central North Mapping Into P&A Priority
Prioritization as Proxy for
Sea offshore basin and were completed in Consequence
relatively benign reservoirs with compar-
atively low corrosion susceptibility. Fig. 1—Flow chart illustrating risk-based abandonment-prioritization
Each inactive subsea well evaluated methodology. P&A=plug and abandonment.
had functioned earlier in its life as an
oil producer (with gas lift capability), Methodology reflected corporate risk-management
water injector, or aquifer well. The ma- Because degradation is not driven sole- protocols to achieve a consistent, fair,
jority of these subsea wells were shut ly by age, and having recognized that and accurate risk ranking. These guide-
in and disconnected from their flow- each well behaves differently, the meth- lines were based on a number of fac-
lines and hydraulic-control and data- odology (Fig. 1) required each well to tors, including but not limited to the
acquisition systems. However, the wells’ be assessed on the basis of evidential technical integrity of key elements, evi-
physical isolation from the flowlines and information presented and in accor- dential documentation, field service his-
great distance from the host installa- dance with how closely the well followed tory, incident records, and well-integrity
tion meant that they presented negli- the corporate standard ideal integrity maintenance records.
gible safety risks to personnel onboard model of its well type. A specific set of An initial classification was applied on
the installations. scoring guidelines was developed and the basis of the available design life of
key surface equipment (in this case, sub-
sea horizontal spool trees and wellheads)
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
and well functionality, thus enabling each
of paper SPE 181020, “Risk-Based Abandonment-Prioritization Strategy for Inactive well to be classified broadly into one of
Subsea Wells,” by Abimbola Oladipo, Maersk Oil North Sea UK, and Adrian three preliminary-risk-assessment cate-
Houlbrook, DNV GL, prepared for the 2016 SPE Intelligent Energy International gories: high, medium, or low.
Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen, 6–8 September. The paper has not been A qualitative approach was adopted
peer reviewed. for assigning well-integrity scores by

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 69

 defining five indicative metrics com-
monly known to affect and be closely
related to the general integrity and reli-
ability of inactive wells: technical, bar-
riers, operational history, cement, and
casing/tubing. To account for the differ-
ent well functions and the varying lev-
els of criticality of the categories of in-
formation, a series of weightings drawn
from internal experience and industry
statistics and based on risk distribution
was devised and grouped under each
indicative metric.
A series of design- and condition-
based well-integrity metrics was subse-
quently defined for each predetermined
indicative metric, after which a qualita-
tive assessment was conducted.
The well-integrity metrics required
that a score between 1 and 10 (where 1 is
the worst score and 10 is the best score)
be assigned to each metric on the basis of
the information available, adequacy for
service, well-integrity history, and fitness
to continue in a shut-in state.
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70
The product of these metric category-
weighting factors and scores was then
summed to provide a holistic and in-
dicative value representing well integ-
rity and a prioritization category. The
well-integrity scores were incorpo-
rated into the company’s corporate
risk-assessment process to provide
an indication of the likelihood of loss
of containment.
Results
The assessment presented the affected
wells as having a risk distribution across
the low-to-medium categories in the cor-
porate risk matrix.
Well 18, for instance, was seen to have
a high well-integrity score but was as-
signed a risk category of medium be-
cause of its ability to flow unassisted,
presenting the potential for a major en-
vironmental effect in the event of a loss
of containment.
Well 24 was considered to have the low-
est well-integrity score; the age of the well
and the length of time it had remained
shut in were major factors contributing
to the comparatively lower score.
Wells with limited information con-
cerning flow potentials were assigned
a more-conservative environmental-
consequence score of 5. Wells in this cat-
egory that also had low well-integrity
scores were prioritized for plug and
abandonment. Wells 22 through 34
(with the exception of water injectors)
are examples of wells that comparatively
showed the lowest well-integrity scores.
In addition, the majority of the inactive
subsea wells within this group had sig-
nificant tree-design-life use and varying
extensive well depths with difficult tra-
jectories, causing the scoring system to
consider them by logical assumption to
be more susceptible to length- and wear-
related leak occurrence.
Well 5, a production well that has never
been produced and thus is not an aban-
donment candidate in the short to medi-
um term, was included in the assessment
in order to establish its risk category
because of its inactive and disconnect-
ed status. Its high flow energy meant it
was categorized in the “massive envi-
ronmental consequence” cell of the risk-
assessment matrix.
On the basis of the operational envi-
ronment, the risk assessment focused
primarily on environmental conse-
quences; however, this could be extend-
ed further to include business, assets,
equipment, reputation, and econom-
ic consequences. In addition, external
hazards such as diver safety, trawler is-
sues, proximity of neighboring assets,
wellhead fatigue, and their consequen-
tial effect, which would determine a
more-absolute rather than relative
risk position, could be considered in
future assessments. In addition, post-
abandonment data and findings could
be used to revalidate and recalibrate the
model accordingly in the future.
Benefits
The exercise benefited from both local
and foreign cross-disciplinary input
within the assets and functions teams,
and from corporate contribution,
thus leveraging on the company’s cu-
mulative diverse subsea-well experi-
ence and jointly serving as a beneficial
knowledge-sharing and management
opportunity. The successful juxtaposi-
tion of internal subsea-well experience
with external risk-management exper-
tise increased overall credibility of the
process for stakeholders.
The output from the exercise provid-
ed senior management and stakehold-
ers with more confidence and assur-
ance that the inactive-well stock was
being managed within the corporate risk
parameters, local regulations, and pre-
vailing industry standards. In addition,
the validated risk ranking and evaluated
risk exposure that the inactive-well stock
presented to the company became more
visible to stakeholders.
Most importantly, the information
gained proved valuable as one of the
inputs for planning future subsea-well
assurance and abandonment programs
and fed into the long-term plans, en-
hancing the company’s economic man-
agement of the inactive-well stock. More
so, the company has now revisited the
strategy for managing subsea wells that
are approaching the end of their eco-
nomic life in a bid to minimize addition-
al risk. In the long term, the company
can now more effectively and efficiently
target well remedial actions up to and
including plug and abandonment on
the basis of risk, as recommended by
the regulator. JPT
JPT • JANUARY 2017
A New Recommended Practice
for Fit-for-Purpose Well Abandonment

D NV GL is introducing a new,
risk-based recommended practice
for performing and qualifying well
Well-abandonment
design

abandonments titled DNVGL-RP-E103,

Risk-Based Abandonment of Offshore Well-barrier
failure modes
Wells. Most of the current regulations Well-specific input
use prescriptive requirements for
well-abandonment design and the
necessary plugging operations. As Geology input
Flow potential
Reservoir, Overburden
an alternative to the established one-
size-fits-all approaches, the DNV GL
recommended practice analyzes the Valued ecosystem
Natural resources
components
abandonment requirements for each
well and field using a quantitative
method that takes into account Dispersion
Metocean data modeling
subsurface uncertainties.

Introduction
Impact analysis
There is an ongoing paradigm Risk analysis
shift toward differentiating plug-and-
abandonment requirements on a well-
by-well basis instead of having prescrip- Risk evaluation
tive requirements, which not only will
provide the appropriate focus for complex Risk assessment
wells and facilitate development of new
technology but also will potentially reduce
plug-and-abandonment expenditures.
Qualified well-
The recommended practice is intend- abandonment
ed to provide an alternative approach Risk context design
based on functional requirements and
risk-acceptance criteria to assess aban- Fig. 1—Elements in well-abandonment risk assessment.
donment designs. This is consistent with
offshore engineering practice and is in- Advantages of this approach are that ◗ The flexibility to make use of
tended to facilitate cost-efficient solu- it has new plugging technology in the
tions, including the development of new ◗ Explicit criteria for environmental future
technology. By calculating the risk lev- protection ◗ Site-specific considerations
els for the proposed solutions and cross ◗ Plug-and-abandonment spending
checking them with the risk-acceptance focused on higher-risk wells Methodology, Data,
criteria, more-cost-effective solutions ◗ The ability to optimize well- and Results
can be identified and implemented. abandonment design The methodology for performing risk-
based assessments of well-abandonment
designs is composed of five steps. The
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
steps are
of paper OTC 27084, “Introducing a New Recommended Practice for Fit-for-Purpose 1. Establishing the risk context
Well Abandonment,” by David Buchmiller, SPE, Per Jahre-Nilsen, Stian Sætre, and 2. Identifying well-barrier-failure
Eric Allen, SPE, DNV GL, prepared for the 2016 Offshore Technology Conference, modes
Houston, 2–5 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2016 Offshore 3. Performing a risk analysis
Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. 4. Performing a risk evaluation

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 71

 5. Conducting qualification for well-
abandonment design
Fig. 1 depicts the elements in a well-
abandonment risk assessment. Estab-
lishing the risk context is the first step
in the process and applies to the en-
tire assessment. The second, third,
and fourth steps are part of the risk-
assessment process, where the well-
abandonment risks are identified, ana-
lyzed, and evaluated. At the conclusion
of the risk-assessment process, a qualifi-
cation of the well-abandonment design
is performed.
Step 1—Establishing
the Risk Context
The main input elements that are sug-
gested to be evaluated in the new recom-
mended practice can be grouped within
the following four main categories:
◗ Well-specific data (well design,
well history, and current status)
◗ Geology data (reservoir and
overburden condition)
◗ Environmental data (environmental
resource
overview)
◗ Metocean data (ocean
currents, including salinity
and temperature profiles)
An important part of establishing
the risk context is inspecting the flow-
potential sources. An assessment of the
flow potential of individual formations
penetrated by the well is a key to well-
abandonment design. A flow potential,
in this context, is defined in the rec-
ommended practice as a hydrocarbon-
bearing formation containing moveable
hydrocarbons sufficient to have a po-
tential environmental or safety effect.
The flow potential for hydrocarbon-
bearing formations should be catego-
rized on the basis of the maximum an-
ticipated flow potential for the identified
hydrocarbon-bearing formations.
The recommended practice provides
guidance on a secondary aspect when
establishing the risk context: the design
and implementation of permanent well
barriers. The recommended practice
states that the permanent-well-barrier
design should be fit for purpose and take
into account the effects of any reason-
ably foreseeable chemical and geological
process. A permanent well barrier may
consist of any material or combination
72
of well-barrier elements as long as it pro-
vides the following functionalities:
◗ Withstand the maximum anticipated
combined loads to which it can be
subjected
◗ Function as intended in the
environments (pressures,
temperatures, fluids, and
mechanical stresses) that can
be encountered throughout its
life cycle
◗ Prevent unacceptable
hydrocarbon flow to the external
environment
The permanent-well-barrier design
should be an application of the well-
specific requirements for each flow-
potential formation. For hydrocarbon-
bearing formations with moderate or
significant flow potential, two indepen-
dent barriers should be included in the
well-abandonment design to increase the
design’s reliability. For cases with multi-
ple hydrocarbon-bearing formations, al-
ternative permanent-well-barrier designs
could be established that could fulfill the
abandonment design requirements and
have an acceptable level of risk.
Step 2—Identifying the
Permanent-Well-Barrier
Failure Modes
Evaluating potential weaknesses in
the well-abandonment design is the
main objective of Step 2. This should
be accomplished by performing a
permanent-well-barrier failure-mode
identification and assessment. In this
process, the well-barrier failure mode
should be identified for the specific per-
manent well-abandonment design. The
failure-mode identification process
should include
◗ Identification of failure and
degradation mechanisms and
categorization of threats according
to established consequence
categories
◗ Identification of additional threats
related to unique aspects of the well-
abandonment design; for example,
o Unique features of the subsurface
under consideration
o Technical or organizational
aspects that are outside the well
operator’s experience
o Well-completion design and
integrity
◗ Identification of interdependencies
between different failure modes
related to failure, including
potential for cascading
◗ Identification of effects that may
increase likelihood of occurrence or
severity of consequences
Step 3—Performing
Risk Analysis
Following the well-barrier failure-mode
identification, the recommended prac-
tice spells out the method in which the
risk analysis should be performed. The
risk analysis should focus not only on
the permanent well integrity of the aban-
doned well but also on the associated
health, safety, and environment risks.
The risk-analysis process in the new rec-
ommended practice is composed of four
main substeps.
Step 3.1—Assessing the Down-
hole Flow Potential of the Well-
Abandonment Design. In order to as-
sess the magnitude of the consequence
of potential hydrocarbon flow, detailed
downhole-flow-potential analysis should
be performed to determine the maxi-
mum flow potential and hydrocarbon
content and composition in the hydro-
carbon-bearing formations penetrated
by the well. The assessment should be
performed using the maximum antici-
pated flow potential from the identified
hydrocarbon-bearing formations.
Step 3.2—Establishing Site-Specific
Environmental and Safety Criteria.
The site-specific environmental criteria
can be established by mapping the valued
ecosystem components around a given
well. The result could be a list and map of
valued ecosystem components and a cat-
egorization of their importance.
Step 3.3—Modeling Dispersion. Dis-
persion modeling is performed in order
to forecast the transportation and des-
tination of the identified hydrocarbon-
flow potentials. Such models can calcu-
late and record the distribution (as mass
and concentrations) of hydrocarbons on
the sea surface, in the water column, and
in the sediments, and the results from
the dispersion modeling are used in the
risk analysis.
(Continued on page 76)
JPT • JANUARY 2017
Concurrent Decommissioning Method
Enables Safer, Lower-Cost Process

W ith regulatory pressure and

the cost of decommissioning
increasing, many operators are seeking
the decommissioning requirements codi-
fied into law that only required decom-
missioning within 1 year of lease expira-
several months or years, to execute all
phases of the decommissioning process.

new and better decommissioning tion or lease relinquishment. Traditional Decommissioning

methods that could get more work The newly issued guidelines speci- Methodology
done safely and at a lower cost. New fied the maximum number of years that The traditional decommissioning pro-
technologies have made possible a wells and structures were allowed to re- cess is composed of multiple phases of
new, optimized decommissioning main idle before they had to be decom- work executed in discrete, sequential
methodology. The size and capabilities missioned and removed. Lease operators steps performed with as few as two and
of a newly designed and constructed now had to decommission and remove as many as nine mobilizations of dif-
liftboat allowed a departure from the wells and structures no longer useful for ferent, specialized personnel and equip-
traditional method of performing oil and gas production as soon as possible ment. Decommissioning programs using
decommissioning work steps sequentially but no later than 5 years after cessation this process often require many weeks or
to a new method of performing the of production. months to complete the decommission-
majority of work steps concurrently. Offshore oil-and-gas-facility decom- ing of a single structure.
missioning activities are inherently haz- Traditionally, the steps in decommis-
Introduction ardous because they often involve work- sioning are performed sequentially be-
A government study and subsequent safe- ers performing various tasks in, on, and cause most steps require separate, spe-
ty alert following the severe hurricanes around oil and gas wells, platforms, and cialized workers or equipment. The
of 2004 and 2005 that toppled 123 struc- production facilities that have no future process of conducting the decommission-
tures and 800 wells in the US Gulf of utility for hydrocarbon production. Some ing steps in this manner consumes op-
Mexico outer continental shelf prompt- of these facilities may have been idle for erator resources to plan, permit, select
ed the US Minerals Management Service many years and could be in various stag- contractors, mobilize to the field, and
to recommend that “operators … review es of decomposition, depending on their then manage each work-scope execution.
and evaluate their inventory of nonpro- age and the level of maintenance per- Depending on the quantity and experi-
ducing wells and facilities to determine formed over their life time. ence of an operator’s internal engineering
the future utility of these structures and A new, optimized decommissioning and project-management resources along
the level of threat posed to the environ- methodology was made possible through with contractor availability, the entire de-
ment and human safety should a facil- the use of a newly designed and construct- commissioning of a single structure could
ity experience a catastrophic loss.” Fol- ed 335-ft-class self-elevating, self-propelled take several months to complete.
lowing another severe hurricane season liftboat. The size and working capabilities The costs to perform the many steps of
in 2008, when another 200 wells and of this new vessel allowed a departure from the decommissioning process using tra-
54 structures were damaged or toppled, the traditional method of performing de- ditional, sequential methods have been
the US Department of the Interior’s Bu- commissioning work steps sequentially to estimated to be as much as USD 4 million
reau of Ocean Energy Management Regu- a new method of performing the majority to USD 10 million per structure.
lation and Enforcement issued Notice to of work steps concurrently.
Lessees (NTL) No. 2010-G05, commonly Traditional methods for decommis- Optimized Decommissioning
referred to as the “Idle-Iron NTL.” This sioning offshore facilities at their end Methodology
NTL, for the first time, provided decom- of life typically require multiple (four The optimized decommissioning model
missioning guidance for wells and struc- to nine) mobilizations of different per- seeks to eliminate as much of the intan-
tures on active leases reaching far beyond sonnel and equipment spreads, spanning gible management time and associated
costs as possible and to reduce the tangi-
ble direct costs associated with perform-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights ing multiple mobilizations of different
of paper OTC 26867, “Decommissioning-Process Optimization Methodology,” by G.L. equipment and personnel spreads over
Siems, SPE, Petroleum Asset Retirement Specialists, prepared for the 2016 Offshore potentially long periods of time. By com-
Technology Conference, Houston, 2–5 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed. bining as many services as possible into a
Copyright 2016 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. single mobilization to the work site, then

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

JPT • JANUARY 2017 73


Fig. 1—335-ft-class liftboat.
160
2011–2014
140 Traditional Method
PA Wells—245 PA Wells—360 (+47%)
120 PA Structures—93 PA Structures—109 (+17%)
USD 409 million USD 278 million (–32%)
Million USD
100
80
60
40
20
0 ducted simultaneously could allow more
2011
Gross Spend (Projected)
Fig. 2—Traditional-decommissioning projected cost vs. concurrent-model
actual cost. PA=plugged and abandoned.
reducing project work time by perform-
ing many of the decommissioning work
steps concurrently, more work can be ac-
complished in less time, resulting in less
money being spent. It has been project-
ed that, by eliminating multiple spread
mobilizations and performing concurrent
operations over a continuous campaign of
decommissioning work, the work scope
could be completed in half the time, with
total costs reduced by one-third.
New Technology
Implementation of the optimized decom-
missioning model requires the ability to
stage and conduct multiple decommission-
ing services at the same or nearly the same
time. New technology was needed that had
adequate deck space for equipment and
could provide marine transport and a sta-
ble work deck, lodge 50 to 80 service work-
ers, and provide heavy-lift capability.
74
2011–2014
Gross USD
New Method
2012 2013 2014
Gross Spend (Actual)
A newly constructed, self-elevating
liftboat with 335-ft leg length (Fig. 1)
was used to revolutionize the process of
decommissioning offshore facilities that
exist in 280-ft water depths or less. This
self-propelled, dynamically positioned
liftboat, with its 500-ton-lift-capacity
crane, 15,400 ft2 of available deck space,
and accommodations for up to 152 crew
and service workers, allows all equip-
ment and personnel needed to complete
the decommissioning process to mobi-
lize to a single work location at one time.
Because this heavy-lift vessel does not
require tugboats to maneuver it or anchors
to secure it in place, it can arrive at one lo-
cation, preload, and jack up in approxi-
mately 6–8 hours; then it performs the
work scope, jacks down, and moves to the
next work site. This mobility allows work
to be performed at multiple locations in a
comparatively short period of time.
Application and Results
It has been demonstrated in practice
that the cost to decommission a toppled
structure is more than 10 times greater
than the cost to decommission one that is
still standing. One operator recognized,
after having 14 structures and their asso-
ciated 63 wells toppled in the hurricane
seasons of 2005 and 2008, that the com-
pany’s financial success, in part, meant
dealing with their idle-iron issues soon-
er rather than later. At year-end 2008,
the company had an inventory of 285
nonproducing, idle wells, with 60% of
them on aging, multiwell structures with
a high susceptibility of being toppled by
future storms.
After 2 years of well plugging-and-
abandonment operations designed to
mitigate as much of the potential risk
from hurricane toppling as possible, the
company saw that the cost to perform
decommissioning-related work was con-
suming greater than acceptable percent-
ages of its annual capital budgets.
The new method of decommissioning
assets concurrently was introduced to
company management in March 2011. It
was quickly realized that the concept of
multiple service operations being con-
work to be done in less time, reduce over-
all decommissioning costs, and allow the
work to be conducted well within budget-
ary limits. The new concept would allow
the predicted volume of work to be com-
pleted within the time constraints of both
the law and the idle-iron notice to lessees,
with only a relatively small decommis-
sioning team to execute the campaign.
A post-work analysis of the decommis-
sioning campaign shows that both the
quantity of work and the cost-performance
goals predicted were attained. The
blue bars in Fig. 2 show the predicted
gross annual cost using the traditional,
sequential-steps decommissioning pro-
cess. The actual gross annual cost to com-
plete the work using the new concurrent
method is shown by the green bars.
The final, and perhaps most significant,
achievement of implementing the concur-
rent, optimized decommissioning pro-
cess was the demonstrated improvement
in worker safety. More than 580,000
man-hours were worked by the 60- to
80-person marine and service crew mem-
bers, with no lost-time incidents. JPT
JPT • JANUARY 2017
MEMBER SOCIETIES
AIME Legacy Continues To Benefit SPE
and Other Member Societies
Roland Moreau, Vice President Finance, SPE Board of Directors, and Kate Baker, President, SPE Foundation
For those not familiar with AIME, it
stands for the “American Institute of
Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum
Engineers.” AIME, founded in 1871 in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was one
of the first national engineering societ-
ies established in the United States. In
subsequent years, AIME was joined by
four other engineering founder societ-
ies—the American Society of Mechani-
cal Engineers, the American Institute of
Electrical Engineers, the American Soci-
ety of Civil Engineers, and the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers—and
formed the United Engineering Foun-
dation. An interesting side note is that
US President Herbert Hoover, a mining
engineer, served as the AIME president in
1920. More detailed information on the
history of AIME can be found in the JPT
articles referenced below.
As AIME itself continued to grow, it
decentralized and formed four indepen-
dently operated member societies:
◗ SME (Society for Mining,
Metallurgy, and Exploration)
◗ TMS (The Minerals, Metals, and
Materials Society)
◗ AIST (Association for Iron & Steel
Technology)
◗ SPE (Society of Petroleum
Engineers)
The overarching mission of AIME
remains to support its member societies,
with an accompanying vision to honor
its legacy as a valued partner with the
member societies. The purpose of this
article is to report to our members how
AIME is fulfilling its mission of preserv-
ing our legacy.
AIME’s History and Heritage Com-
mittee is charged with providing over-
sight to activities related to preserving
and enhancing this legacy. Some of the
JPT • JANUARY 2017
key focus areas include archiving his-
torical materials, documenting key ini-
tiatives and activities of the institute
prior to the formation of the indepen-
dent member societies, capturing oral
histories from members on their experi-
ences in the “early days” of their respec-
tive industries, maintaining the AIME
awards and recognition program, and
highlighting specific activities such as
commemoration of AIME’s 145th anni-
versary in 2016 and planning for the
150th milestone in 2021.
Examples of the these items include
development of a multisociety Engineer-
ing and Technology History Wiki that
includes a chronological record of impor-
tant achievements in the history of engi-
neering and technology and firsthand
experiences recorded in the oral histories
as described earlier. We encourage mem-
bers, especially students, to visit this pre-
mier and unique site at www.ethw.org.
Most of SPE’s content is under the “Ener-
gy” button, while most of the content
for the other three member societies is
under the “Materials” button. Also, all
of the AIME oral histories can be found
at http://ethw.org/Oral-History:AIME_
and_Its_Member_Societies:_AIST,_SME,_
SPE,_and_TMS.
AIME annually honors its legacy by
presenting awards among its member
societies. In SPE, these include the Hon-
orary Membership, one technical, and
three professional awards. Honorary
Membership is the highest honor that
SPE presents to an individual and is lim-
ited to 0.1% of the SPE total member-
ship. This elite group of 71 extant mem-
bers also holds Honorary Membership
in AIME.
The Anthony F. Lucas Technical
Leadership Gold Medal, established
in 1936 by AIME, honors distinguished
achievement in the identification and
development of new technology and con-
cepts and demonstrating distinguished
achievement in improving the technique
and practice of finding and producing
petroleum. It is SPE’s major technical
award. Lucas was a mining engineer,
often referred to as the father of petro-
leum engineering. His theory of the asso-
ciation of salt domes with oil and his suc-
cessful drilling of the famous Spindletop
field near Beaumont, Texas, was one of
the most important developments in the
history of the petroleum industry.
The Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold
Medal was established by AIME in 1932
and is awarded for distinguished admin-
istrative achievement in mining, metal-
lurgical, or petroleum industry admin-
istration marked by leadership, ethical
conduct, and support of innovation or
administrative changes at senior man-
agement levels resulting in positive out-
comes. Rand was AIME president in 1913.
The DeGolyer Distinguished Service
Medal recognizes outstanding service to
SPE, the profession of engineering and
geology, and to the petroleum industry.
Everette Lee DeGolyer was a storied wild-
catter. He did early work in the field of
geophysics as it applied to the petroleum
industry, introducing the torsion balance
as an oil exploration tool and the use of
both refraction and reflection seismo-
graphs for oil exploration. He organized
Amerada Petroleum Corporation in 1919
and also organized Geophysical Research
Corporation as an Amerada subsidiary.
He became the first petroleum president
of AIME in 1927.
The Robert Earll McConnell Award,
established in 1968, recognizes bene-
ficial service to mankind by engineers
75
 through significant contributions that
advance a nation’s standard of living or
replenish its natural resources. Robert
Earll McConnell was a member of AIME
and a prominent mining engineer.
Finally, SPE also gives AIME’s Rossit-
er W. Raymond Memorial Award once
every 4 years to the best paper by a mem-
ber under 35. It will be given next at SPE’s
2019 Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition banquet.
Looking forward, and casting a wider
net externally, AIME’s External Affairs
Committee is conducting a review of
AIME’s participation in external awards
programs with a view toward more effec-
tively promoting member society candi-
dates for such recognition. The members
of the task force held two meetings, and a
preliminary auditing and inventory of all
the external awards AIME might reason-
ably influence have been completed.
One of the most exciting activities of
the External Affairs Committee is the
AIME Council of Excellence, a member
societies collaborative work focused on
identifying technologies (mature, and/
or leading edge) that might have inno-
A New Recommended
Practice for Fit-for-Purpose
Well Abandonment
(Continued from page 72)
Step 3.4—Combining Flow-Potential
Analysis and Dispersion Modeling.
Following the completion of the disper-
sion modeling of the hydrocarbons, a
combined result of the flow-potential
analysis and the dispersion modeling can
be acquired. This provides a total risk
picture in the form of an impact analy-
sis, where the consequence and the like-
lihood of hydrocarbon flow are quan-
tified. The new recommended practice
explains that the resulting risk pictures
are well-specific.
Step 4—Performing
Risk Evaluation
The outputs from the risk-analysis step
are used to conduct the risk evaluation
and assessment, which will assist in deci-
sion making and comparison of the well-
76
vative application within AIME-member
industries. Proposed applications or case
histories of technology transfer applica-
tions may be shared through joint tech-
nical articles in all of the four societies’
technical journals, applied technology
workshops, and conference panel ses-
sions. If you have an idea for new and
innovative utilization of longstanding oil
and gas technologies in other extrac-
tive industries, or about the feasibility
of application of crossover technology
in the oil and gas industry, contact your
SPE Council representatives, Behrooz
Fattahi (chair) or members Ford Brett
and Khalid Aziz.
Finally, we wanted to update you on
another multisociety sustainability event
that AIME is helping to facilitate. In Feb-
ruary 2017, AIME and its partner soci-
eties will hold the third in the series of
symposia for Engineering Solutions for
Sustainability: Materials and Resources.
This installment has a theme of “Toward
a Circular Economy” and will explore
the interdependent roles each sector of
the various industries play in bringing
about a sustainable future. The outcome
abandonment design relative to the risk-
acceptance criteria.
In order to determine whether the out-
comes of the risk evaluation are accept-
able or not, environmental- and safety-
risk-acceptance criteria are established.
In the recommended practice, the
environmental-risk-acceptance crite-
ria should be based on the hydrocarbon
exposure of the identified valued ecosys-
tem components.
Environmental-risk-acceptance crite-
ria for different compartments of the eco-
system (sea surface, water column, sedi-
ments) should be based on the following:
◗ Proportion of identified valued
ecosystem components exposed
to a defined threshold value for
hydrocarbons
◗ Probability that the proportion of
valued ecosystem components is
exposed to a concentration above
the defined threshold value
The new recommended practice sug-
gests that safety-risk acceptance be
of the event will be a vision for and road-
map to a sustainable world where afford-
able and reliable resources support the
social, economic, and environmental
needs of a growing population. The sym-
posium will take place in Denver, Colo-
rado, immediately preceding the SME
annual meeting and will include speak-
ers from a wide cross-section of indus-
tries, as well as representatives from gov-
ernment, academia, consultancies, and
professional societies. Further informa-
tion on this symposium can be found at
www.essmandr3.org. JPT
References
Donnelly, J. 2007. SPE’s Parent Achieved Its
Own Lasting Legacy. J Pet Tech 59 (10):
54–56.
Fattahi, B. and Lawrie-Munro, M. 2013.
AIME, SPE’s Parent Organization. J Pet
Tech 65 (6): 135.
The authors of this article currently serve
on the AIME Board of Trustees. If you have
any questions or have feedback related
to any of the activities described herein,
please contact either Kate Hadley Baker
or Roland Moreau.
established on the basis of the poten-
tial for adverse safety consequences for
the wells to be abandoned permanently.
Site-specific safety-risk-acceptance crite-
ria can be used, or generic industrywide
recommendations can be applied.
Step 5—Conducting
Qualification for
Well-Abandonment Design
In order to qualify whether the proposed
design complies with the risk-acceptance
criteria, a well-abandonment-design
qualification is urged in the new recom-
mended practice. This is the final step in
the risk-assessment framework illustrat-
ed in Fig. 1. The qualification will quan-
tify whether the risk associated with a
given abandonment design is found to
be acceptable. If the design is unaccept-
able, a revised design should be proposed
and assessed until an acceptable design is
found and qualified. Through this meth-
od, the result is a qualified well-abandon-
ment design. JPT
JPT • JANUARY 2017
PEOPLE
ROBERT J. BANKS, SPE, was appointed as
interim chief executive officer (CEO) of
Swift Energy, following Terry E. Swift’s,
SPE, retirement in October. Banks will con-
tinue to serve as executive vice president
and chief operating officer, a position he
has held since 2008. Previously he was vice
president of international operations and strategic ventures at
the company. He has more than 40 years of experience in the
oil and gas industry, both domestically and internationally,
and has held senior-level positions at Santa Fe International,
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Company, Mosbacher Energy Com-
pany, and Vanco Energy Company.
JAN DELL, SPE, was appointed vice presi-
dent of clean energy at Wood Group. She
will lead the company’s existing renew-
ables technical services, consulting, and
advisory capabilities and expand these ser-
vices to other regions. She will also broad-
en the services to include water and cli-
mate. Dell has more than 2 decades of experience in the
energy, industrial, water, and climate sectors. Before joining
Wood Group, she held senior strategy and management posi-
tions with AECOM, CH2M Hill, and ConocoPhillips, where she
led global energy and industrial project developments incor-
porating sustainable designs. Dell is the vice chair of the US
Federal Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Cli-
mate Assessment and was the convening lead author of the
“Energy Supply and Use” chapter of the US National Climate
Assessment report published in 2014.
BERNARD J. DUROC-DANNER, SPE, was
appointed chairman emeritus by the Board
of Directors of Weatherford. He founded
the company 30 years ago and grew it into
a leading oilfield service provider. In this
honorary and advisory role to the Board,
he will not receive any remuneration and
will remain an external advisor. Duroc-Danner’s current ap-
pointment follows his departure from being chairman of the
board, president, and CEO of Weatherford. ROBERT RAYNE,
vice chairman of the board, was appointed chairman of the
board. KRISHNA SHIVRAM, Weatherford’s chief financial offi-
cer (CFO), was appointed interim CEO, and will continue as
CFO until a new CFO is named.
JPT • JANUARY 2017
GREGORY RACHAL, SPE, was appointed
president at Oilfield Helping Hands (OHH).
OHH is a nonprofit charitable organization
comprising volunteers devoted to provid-
ing financial assistance to oilfield workers
in financial crisis. Since it was founded
in  2003, OHH has raised more than
USD  3.3  million for more than 300 families through dona-
tions, corporate memberships, and fundraising events. Rachal
has extensive experience in drilling fluids, and held positions
with M-I SWACO and Halliburton in sales, product line and ac-
count management, and operations and project management.
He holds a BS degree in industrial art from Northwestern State
University and postgraduate qualifications in management
and computer science from Tulane University.
JONATHAN VERLANDER, SPE, was ap-
pointed principal of the E&P advisory and
professional learning and development
practice areas of Houston-based energy
search firm and management consultancy
The Energists. He has more than 20 years
of experience in domestic and internation-
al geoscience, portfolio analysis, and energy finance gained at
Enterprise Oil, Shell, RBS, Société Générale, and Common-
wealth Bank of Australia. Before joining The Energists, he led
the oil and gas teams for Commonwealth Bank in London
and  Houston. Verlander holds a BSc and PhD from the
University of Oxford, and is a fellow of the Geological Society
of  London.
In Memoriam
This section lists with regret SPE members who recently
passed away. If you would like to report the passing of a
family member who was an SPE member, please write to
service@spe.org.
Robert M. Caruthers, Brentwood, Tennessee, USA
Hamdi A. El Banbi, Cairo, Egypt
Gregory B. Hueni, Lakewood, Colorado, USA
Fraser T. Innes, Aberdeen, UK
Sean Parker, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Luther W. Randerson, Midland, Texas, USA
Gregory J. Reep, Wayzata, Minnesota, USA
Clarence R. Schmalhausen, Houston, Texas, USA
Werner Toelcke, Barsinghausen, Germany
77
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JPT • JANUARY 2017 79

 SPE EVENTS
WORKSHOPS
6–7 February ◗ Muscat—SPE Advanced
Field Development—Sustainability and
Challenges
6–7 February ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE Global
Integrated Series: Managing Well Integrity
in a Low-Cost Oil Environment
6–7 February ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE Asset
Integrity Management—How to Improve
Profitability, Performance, Efficiency and
People
13–14 February ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Mature Field Redevelopments—How to
Stay Relevant For the Foreseeable Future
20–21 February ◗ Aberdeen—SPE
Brownfields Redevelopment—A Meeting of
Minds To Meet the Challenges
20–21 February ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Improve Well Control and Drilling
Performance with the Advances in
Managed Pressure Drilling Technology
21 February ◗ The Woodlands—SPE Can
Technology Save Deepwater?
28 February–1 March ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE
Better Well Control—Staying Focused in a
Changing Environment
28 February–2 March ◗ Dubai—SPE
Well Testing—Technology, Operations,
Sampling, and Reservoir Characterisation
in the Current Price Environment
6 March ◗ Manama—SPE Women in
Leadership—Invest, Initiate, Innovate
6–7 March ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE Optimising
Flow Assurance in a Challenging Cost
Environment
13–14 March ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Maximising Well Performance Through
Drilling Fluids, Cementing, and Waste
Management Optimisation
20–21 March ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Floating LNG—Weathering the Challenges
Find complete listings of upcoming SPE workshops, conferences, symposiums, and forums at www.spe.org/events.
80
21–22 March ◗ Rio de Janeiro—SPE
Offshore Fields Life Extension
21–22 March ◗ San Diego—SPE/GRC High-
Temperature and Corrosion in Drilling and
Production—Exploring Geothermal and Oil
and Gas Synergies
22–23 March ◗ Dubai—SPE Multiphase
Metering and Fiber Optics Monitoring—
Recent Developments and Challenges
27–28 March ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE New
Approach in Horizontal Wells Drilling—
Cost Efficiency, Higher Productivity, and
Unconventional Solutions
27–29 March ◗ Muscat—SPE/AAPG E&P
Data Management and Analytics—Enabling
Capital Efficiency
3–4 April ◗ San Antonio—SPE High Density
Drilling and Completions
CONFERENCES
24–26 January ◗ The Woodlands—
SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology
Conference and Exhibition
15–16 February ◗ Calgary—SPE Canada
Heavy Oil Technical Conference
15–16 February ◗ Calgary—SPE Canada
Unconventional Resources Conference
20–22 February ◗ Montgomery—SPE
Reservoir Simulation Conference
6–9 March ◗ Manama—SPE Middle East Oil
and Gas Show and Conference (MEOS)
14–16 March ◗ The Hague—SPE/IADC
Drilling Conference and Exhibition
21–22 March ◗ Houston—SPE/ICoTA Coiled
Tubing and Well Intervention Conference
and Exhibition
28–29 March ◗ Rio de Janeiro—IADC/
SPE Managed Pressure Drilling and
Underbalanced Operations Conference
and Exhibition
3–5 April ◗ Montgomery—SPE
International Conference on Oilfield
Chemistry
4–6 April ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE Asia Pacific
Health, Safety, Security, Environment and
Social Responsibility Conference
SYMPOSIUMS
15–16 March ◗ Salvador—SPE Latin
American and Caribbean Mature Fields
15–16 March ◗ Amman—SPE Iraq—The
Petroleum Potentiality and Future
of Energy
24–27 April ◗ Dammam—SPE-KSA Annual
Technical Symposium & Exhibition
24–28 April ◗ The Woodlands—SPE
Electric Submersible Pumps
FORUM
14–16 February ◗ Rotterdam—SPE:
Emerging Technologies for Enhancing
Reservoir Contact
5–9 November ◗ San Antonio—SPE:
“Waterless Fracturing”—Reducing Fresh
Water Use for Reservoir Stimulation in a
Future Water—Constrained World
CALL FOR PAPERS
SPE Offshore Europe ◗ Aberdeen
Deadline: 13 January
SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition ◗ San Antonio
Deadline: 31 January
OTC Brasil ◗ Rio de Janeiro
Deadline: 8 March
SPE 3rd Kuwait Oil & Gas Show and
Conference ◗ Kuwait City
Deadline: 13 March
JPT • JANUARY 2017
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*Mark of Schlumberger. © 2017 Schlumberger. All rights reserved. 16-OSS-227101