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The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
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you!
Nathan Meehan, Baker Hughes SOUTH ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Salis Aprilian, PT Badak NGL
2018 President
SOUTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Darcy Spady, Broadview Energy
Libby Einhorn, Concho Oil & Gas
Vice President Finance
WESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil Annuitant
Andrei Popa, Chevron
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
AFRICA Thank you to all of our 2016
Adeyemi Akinlawon, Adeb Konsult
DRILLING volunteers. Your support in the
Jeff Moss, ExxonMobil
CANADIAN League of Volunteers continues to
HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT,
Cam Matthews, C-FER Technologies shape the future of our industry.
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
Trey Shaffer, ERM
Joe Frantz, Range Resources
謝謝
RUSSIA AND THE CASPIAN Khaled Al-Buraik, Saudi Aramco
Anton Ablaev, Schlumberger Helena Wu, Santos Ltd.
gracias
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Pam Boschee, Senior Manager Magazines discussion of technical and professional subjects per-
tinent to the interests of the Society in its publications.
Chris Carpenter, Technology Editor
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
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
delineated, drilled, and tested, with a flow of Idemitsu, and Petoro continue to explore
AFRICA
6.44 MMcf/D achieved from the Lower Goru the region. If the project is approved,
Z Sound Energy’s TE-7 well at the Tendrara formation through a 32/64-in. choke. The work could begin in 2019 or 2020, OMV
license in Morocco has achieved initial flow company is the operator with a 95% interest Senior Vice President David Latin told a
rates that the company called “significantly in the well. Government Holdings owns the conference recently.
better” than its estimates. The well, Sound’s remaining interest.
second on the license, was drilled to an Z Chevron has started production at
11,348-ft measured depth and an 8,566-ft the Alder field in the North Sea offshore
vertical depth. An initial, unstimulated
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA Scotland, more than 40 years after the
openhole test of the first 28% of a discovered Z Quadrant Energy has successfully field’s discovery. Alder is a single subsea
gross reservoir interval produced gas at tested the Roc-2 well in the Bedout Basin well tied back by a 17-mile pipeline to
a rate of 8.8 MMcf/D after 24 hours of offshore Western Australia. The well flowed the ConocoPhillips-operated Britannia
continuous flow through a 32/64-in. choke. at a maximum (equipment constrained) Platform, in which Chevron holds a 32.38%
Following the stimulation and test of the full rate of 51.2 MMscf/D of gas and 2,943 B/D working interest. With a design capacity of
interval, an extended well test was planned. of condensate from an 82-ft perforated 110 MMcf/D of natural gas and 14,000 B/D
interval at 14,435-ft water depth. The results of condensate, Alder is expected to ramp
Z Shell has initiated a two-well drilling of this and other recent successful wells up production over the coming months.
program in blocks 1 and 4 of the Mafia Deep show significant potential in this largely Chevron is the operator with a 73.684%
basin offshore Tanzania. Drilling is taking unexplored, relatively shallow-water area, interest, with ConocoPhillips holding
place in water depths of up to 7,545 ft, with the company said. Quadrant is the operator the remainder.
the company and its joint-venture partners of Roc-2 with an 80% interest. Carnarvon
Pavilion Energy and Ophir Energy investing Petroleum holds the remaining share.
almost USD 80 million in the program.
MIDDLE EAST
The two wells will meet the remaining Z Wintershall has spudded SH-6 well, the
requirements in the exploration licenses
EUROPE first offshore well in Abu Dhabi’s Shuwaihat
issued by the Tanzanian Ministry of Energy Z Lundin has made a discovery at the sour gas and condensate field. The company
and Minerals. Neiden 7220/6-2R well in Production drilled the field’s first onshore well, SH-5, in
License (PL) 609 of the southern Barents July 2015. A third well, SH-7, is planned for
Sea offshore Norway. The exploratory well offshore development. The field is being
ASIA encountered a gross 100-ft hydrocarbon developed in partnership with Abu Dhabi
Z Lukoil has produced oil from a third column, with 68 ft of oil and 32 ft of natural National Oil Company and OMV, with
well at the Vladimir Filanovsky field in gas, in a Permian carbonate target. Gross Wintershall as the operator.
the northern Caspian Sea. The flow rate resource estimate for the discovery is
is approximately 22,000 B/D of oil with between 25 million and 60 million BOE. The
total field production amounting to almost company is the operator with a 40% interest
NORTH AMERICA
66,000 B/D, the company said. Located in PL609, with DEA (30%) and Idemitsu Z Eni received approval from Mexican oil
about 136 miles from the city of Astrakhan, (30%) holding the remainder. and gas regulator La Comisión Nacional de
the shallow-water field is the second Hidrocarburos for a USD-177 million work
commissioned by the company in the Z EnQuest has achieved first oil from program to drill on three offshore blocks
Caspian’s Russian sector. the Scolty/Crathes project in the United for which the company won a production-
Kingdom North Sea, approximately 100 miles sharing contract in 2015 bidding. The
Z Petronas has begun gas production from northeast of Aberdeen. Scolty and Crathes program covers activities through 2017
the world’s first floating liquefied natural are light oil fields that collectively hold an at the shallow-water Amoca, Mizton, and
gas (FLNG) facility, the PFLNG SATU, at the estimated 15 million bbl of technical gross Tecoalli fields in the southern Gulf of Mexico.
Kanowit field offshore Malaysia’s Sarawak oil reserves. The development plan consists The fields hold an estimated 196 million bbl
state. The first-gas milestone marked the of two single horizontal wells tied back by in remaining oil resources.
onset of commissioning and startup for a subsea pipeline to the EnQuest-operated
the FLNG facility, preceding commercial Kittiwake Platform. The company and MOL
production and initial cargo shipment. The each hold 50% interests in the Scolty/Crathes
SOUTH AMERICA
facility is fitted with an external turret for project, which is operated by EnQuest. Z Range Resources successfully spudded
operating in water depths of 229 ft to 656 ft. the QUN 160 development well in Trinidad’s
It will extract gas through a flexible subsea Z OMV’s Wisting discovery in the Barents Morne Diablo field during November. Drilled
pipeline for the liquefaction, production, Sea, the northernmost find offshore Norway, to a depth of 2,600 ft, QUN 160 is a redrill
storage, and offloading of LNG at the field. could contain more than 1 billion BOE, the of the QUN 158 well and targeted the same
company said. That could make Wisting the Upper Cruse and Lower Forest sands as the
Z Oil & Gas Development Company largest discovery in the Norwegian Arctic. earlier well. Also in Trinidad, the company
has discovered gas at the Mithri No. 1 Preliminary recoverable reserves estimates was set to spud the GY218 SE well in the
exploration well in Pakistan’s Sindh range from 200 million to 500 million BOE. Beach Marcelle field during December. Range
Province. The discovery structure has been The company and its partners Statoil, is the sole interest holder in both fields. JPT
www.wellbarrier.com
RISK AND REWARD
“Disruptive” Technology
Janeen Judah, 2017 SPE President
Following my theme for the year on Risk we are all living through, but also the global gas and LNG mar-
and Reward, let’s think about how dis- kets. Ten years ago, the US was expected to be a gas importer
ruptive technologies alter the risk/reward and companies built LNG import terminals to meet the demand.
balance. The term “disruptive technol- Now, LNG export terminals are being built to move US gas out
ogy” is usually attributed to the Harvard to world markets. Huge, unanticipated commercial swings
Business School professor Clayton Chris- occurred, all due to the application of an existing technology to
tensen in his bestselling 1997 book, The new formations. And, no one saw it coming.
Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Tech- The oil industry has a history of technology jumps, usually
nologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Christensen defined disrup- triggered by hard times. When times are good, we concentrate
tive technology as a new emerging technology that unexpect- on keeping the rigs busy, staying ahead of the competition, and
edly displaces an established one. Disruptive technologies are “making hay while the sun shines.” Then oil price cycles down,
usually still unrefined, have performance problems, are not as commodities always do. Suddenly, both operators and ser-
widely known, and may not have a proven practical or com- vice companies have urgent new motivations, often of financial
mercial application. Disruptive technologies can significantly survival, to apply different methods to their businesses. We,
alter the course of our lifestyles, work, businesses, and even the too, often innovate out of desperation.
global economy. I love the colorful stories and entrepreneurial spirit of the
In 2013, McKinsey Global Institute published a list of the 12 early pioneers of the oil industry. Three large service companies
most potentially economically disruptive technologies. Think were founded by iconic pioneers: the Schlumberger brothers
about how life was before these advances: who applied mining technology to the new science of oil ex-
1. Mobile Internet ploration; Howard Hughes Sr., who commercialized the revo-
2. Automation of knowledge work lutionary invention of the cone bit; and my personal favorite,
3. Internet of Things Erle P. Halliburton. I still remember during my first year in the
4. Advanced robotics oil business, working in Midland, Texas, when my Halliburton
5. Cloud technology sales representative would take us to lunch and tell us bright-
6. Autonomous or near-autonomous vehicles eyed young engineers: “This lunch is on Erle P.” Who is Erle P.,
(cars, drones, etc.) I wondered?
7. Next-generation genomics Erle P. remains my favorite story of the early oil entrepre-
8. Next-generation storage, including batteries neurs. He didn’t invent oil well cementing, but he learned the
9. 3D printing trade in California and brought it to the oil fields of Oklahoma
10. Advanced materials and Texas. He was a tiny, chain-smoking, driven entrepreneur
11. Advanced oil and gas exploration and recovery who didn’t mind getting his hands dirty. He invented and tin-
12. Renewable electricity kered and visited his cementing crews in the field. He looked for
We’ve already seen the impact of some of these new technol- ways to improve tools and processes and improve customer ser-
ogies in the oil and gas business: cheaper, more robust sensors vice—classic hands-on entrepreneurship. Eventually Hallibur-
are multiplying; software is getting smarter, and I believe will ton added the innovation of hydraulic fracturing, and 50 years
mitigate some of the knowledge lost in the Big Crew Change; later it became the “new” disruptive technology.* Like many
and advanced materials continue to improve performance and of you, I’ll bet, I cringe every time I hear a reporter discuss the
resiliency in oilfield applications. McKinsey’s #11 singles out “new” technology of hydraulic fracturing. I’ll admit I’ve talked
advanced oil and gas technologies, and most agree that the back to the TV—we’ve been fracturing wells since the 1940s!
most disruptive oilfield innovation of the past 30 years has been
the application of advanced completion techniques in shales.
*Most histories attribute the first unsuccessful application of
Private ownership of minerals in the US enabled rapid commer- hydraulic fracturing to Stanolind Oil in the Hugoton, Kansas, gas
cialization of the country’s shale plays through hydraulic frac- field in 1947, and the first successful application to Halliburton
turing. This unforeseen innovation shook up the oil markets, as near Duncan, Oklahoma, in 1949.
I join most others in attributing the disruption of the hy- failure. Why isn’t the oil and gas industry quick to innovate? I
draulic fracturing in shales to George P. Mitchell. The inno- attribute it to three factors:
vation came during hard times because Mitchell’s company 1. High cost of entry. Unlike tech, most oil and gas innova-
had significant holdings in the Barnett Shale region of north tions can’t start with a few guys and their laptops. We are in a
Texas, and oil was lingering in the USD 10/bbl range. Solution: highly regulated capital intensive business and joining the club
Apply existing technologies, fracturing and horizontal drill- is hard. Our data are owned by operators or governments and
ing, to zones that were not considered very productive. Next access is impossible, making it hard for outsiders to innovate in
step: A revolution. Entrepreneurship plus private ownership our industry.
of minerals=innovation. When I speak to students, I end my 2. Hard to quantify, especially for outsiders. New oil and
talk with stories of entrepreneurship. I am amazed at the rich gas innovations are hard to quantify. It’s easy to quantify the
people I know now, and most of them did not get where they number of apps that get first round funding, the number of
are by being employees of a big company. The truly financially new drugs that enter Phase 3 trial, and how many patents are
successful mostly took risks, started new businesses, and built awarded, but it’s difficult for an outsider to see early technolo-
their own fortunes. gies within oil and gas companies. Many innovations are joint
The 21st century version of the oilfield entrepreneurs of 100 developments between service companies and operators and
years ago are the tech startups, also with fascinating stories. My hard to attribute to any one company.
favorite history of the early inventors of the computer and tech 3. Most important—the high cost of failure. I think this is
industries is The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Genius- the real barrier to most oil and gas innovation. Failures are cost-
es, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson. ly and hard to fix. Some failures are spectacular with both eco-
He includes chapters on lesser-known pioneers of the computer nomic and environmental impacts. “Fail fast, fail often” is not
industry, such as Grace Hopper and Gordon Moore, but also Bill an option for us, when the cost can be measured in hundreds of
Gates and Steve Jobs. Jacobson is also the author of the defini- millions of dollars.
tive biography Steve Jobs. It’s hard to plan for disruptive technologies, and I’d argue that
A well-kept secret of the tech industry is how many startups it is impossible. Companies create business plans that include
fail miserably. The most famous motto of Silicon Valley is “fail predictions and forecasts of technology innovations. We can
fast, fail often.” They know that failure leads to learnings or identify the gaps, but the inventions themselves are often more
to abandoning bad ideas early and moving on. Most estimate elusive. The triggering event is usually economic, where low
the failure rate for Silicon Valley startups at over 90%, on par prices force desperate innovation and high prices make known
with other small businesses. Even an elite tech incubator like inventions economic.
Y-Combinator has a 93% failure rate. But hope lives on. We love What’s next for disruptive oilfield technology? My list in-
the often repeated stories of tech billionaire successes like Face- cludes many of the items on McKinsey’s list: learning software,
book, Airbnb, Uber, and Snapchat, and the latest must-have sensors everywhere leading to an oilfield Internet of Things,
app, but the 90% failures sink unnoted below the waves. and, finally, real data mining and management. But the real
Most discussions of technology innovations deride the oil disruptive technologies are probably still in someone’s mind.
and gas industry as slow to innovate. And I’d agree, but not be- What technologies are we missing with the high castle walls of
cause of lack of interest or need, but because of the high cost of our industry? JPT
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
nov.com/beyond20k
Many column inches are filled with dis- for how we could transform what we do, ful automotive companies. Whether it
cussion of how companies need to oper- whether at a company or personal level is the global economic turmoil of 2008,
ate in the lower-for-longer market that and with a long-term outlook or on a new competitors entering the mar-
the upstream oil and gas industry con- daily basis. ket, or changes in regulation, the auto
tinues to face. Much of what we read One of the key transformations occur- industry has continually had to push to
is focused around headline words such ring now is organizations coming togeth- deliver innovative solutions in reduced
as “innovation” and “disruption.” I feel er—through mergers, acquisitions, and time and cost. From an engineering
these are used too often and inappro- alliances—to combine products and perspective, those that have succeeded
priately such that we lose focus around services from subsurface through sub- have done so by progressively reduc-
their meaning. However, if asked for one sea and pipelines to topside processing. ing reliance on traditional methods
word that I believe encapsulates what The move is clearly toward integration (expensive and time-consuming physi-
the oil and gas industry needs, it would of products and services, with compa- cal prototyping) in favor of extensive
be “transformation.” nies trying to reduce the costs of inter- engineering simulation.
The oil and gas industry has a histo- faces of different aspects of field devel- As an example, beginning in 2008,
ry of delivering incredible engineering opment and production and reducing at a time when automotive manufac-
feats that are impressive in their inno- the overhead of business operations. turers were seeing cataclysmic market
vation by any measure in terms of sheer While the impact of the downturn can- conditions, Jaguar Land Rover under-
physical or budgetary scale. Whether we not be ignored, it is my hope that these took a strategic shift. Its goal was not
look back to the early Gulf of Mexico and changes will offer the opportunity for only to survive the downturn but to sig-
North Sea facilities designed to with- transformation from an industry that nificantly expand product offerings and
stand extreme marine environments, the has been heavily project-focused to one sales while increasing profit. The busi-
ultra-deepwater subsea developments that is geared more to delivering stan- ness drivers and challenges laid out by
offshore Africa and Brazil, or the mega- dardized products designed to be flex- the company’s head of simulation, Andy
projects around floating LNG, the indus- ible enough to be modified to cope with Richardson, would sound familiar if
try has a history of innovation. The rise the range of projects and operating con- delivered by the chief technology officer
of independent oil companies, redefin- ditions in which they will deployed. This of an oilfield service company: “Devel-
ing markets in certain regions, has been is a move toward a more efficient engi- op new technologies while managing
a good example of disruptive practices. neering industry in the long term. massively increased system complex-
What we need to focus on now is how ity; identify failure modes and establish
we transform the industry. This word The Digital Transformation countermeasures to achieve right first-
can resonate with all of us working in of Engineering time design; reduce in-service failures;
the industry at every level within an Our industry has much to learn from simulate the full range of use cases; opti-
organization; all of us can offer ideas the transformations made by success- mized product, design efficiency, and
reduced production costs.” The oil and
gas industry shares many of the pains
Alex Read is Global Director, Business Development, Industries
and challenges felt by the automotive
Group at Siemens PLM Software. In 14 years at CD-adapco, he has
industry in that post-2008 period.
worked as a project engineer, led the customer support team for
northern Europe, and helped found CD-adapco’s operations in Jaguar Land Rover is now well on
Houston and São Paulo, where he led both the sales and technical the way to its goal: robust engineer-
teams. Read now leads the company’s global activities in the oil ing design ready for sign off before the
and gas industry, focusing on helping oil and gas firms succeed first physical prototype is built, and it
through simulation. He holds an undergraduate degree in is doing so while delivering financially
engineering and a graduate degree in computational fluid dynamics, both from the with 15% or more EBITDA growth in
University of Leeds, as well as an MBA from Rice University. each of the past 5 years.
Asset Controller logic for electronic flow measurement, Wear-resistance tests determined that
The Weatherford WellPilot ONE control- process control, and every form of arti- the coating demonstrated an increased
ler/remote terminal unit (RTU) provides ficial lift and offers scalability through resistance of more than an 1,100%
asset control, automation, and optimi- its unlimited capacity for input/output improvement over J55 steel (Fig. 2). Cur-
zation for the entire field and enables expansion modules. rently, 150,000 ft of production tubing
seamless transitions throughout all pro- ◗ For additional information, visit has been coated at wear points in mul-
duction and lift phases, which reduces www.weatherford.com. tiple wells. The coated tubing has been
the total cost of ownership (Fig. 1). Typi- in service for 21 months without need for
cally, automating a field requires opera- Tubing Coating any workover. Before running the coated
tors to use an array of different RTUs or Sucker-rod wear on production tubing tubing, these wells required a workover
controllers that adjust well operations has been an industry issue for decades, every 6 months.
while they collect, store, and transfer resulting in the need for costly work- ◗ For additional information, visit
near-real-time data. With the WellPilot overs. Grit and sand exacerbate the www.unitedcasing.com.
ONE controller, operators will be able to problem, along with corrosives such as
improve wellsite efficiency by control- hydrogen sulfate, methane, and carbon Section Milling Technology
ling multiple application-specific opera- dioxide. Diamond Scientific was asked The Abrado Medusa section-milling tech-
tions precisely. Initially installed to mon- by United Casing to develop a product nology, which allows for full stabilization
itor flowing wells and to automate the to extend the life of the tubing at wear while milling at extended reach, offers
full production facility, the controller points. A 5-year research and develop- an additional cost-effective solution for
can transition to different forms of lift ment project resulted in the ACR-T16 operators to address the challenge of
as well conditions change. The control- coating. While the primary concern is permanent abandonment of wells and
ler can also simultaneously handle mul- abrasion of the tubing, a variety of tests isolation of formation hydrocarbons.
tiple tasks for multiple wells, and it is were performed by independent labo- Conventional section mills are limited in
capable of monitoring and controlling ratories to ensure the corrosion stabil- sweep diameter, and milling at extended
various forms of artificial lift at once. ity of the coating. Autoclave tests for reach is further complicated by a lack of
Other capabilities include oil, gas, and corrosion in various atmospheres, pres- effective stabilization. The Abrado Medu-
water measurement; tank-level monitor- sures, and temperature variations were sa is a fully self-stabilized technology that
ing; well testing; hazardous-substance conducted, resulting in excellent adhe- enables successful extended-reach mill-
monitoring; and well control and shut- sion and no coating loss or blisters in ing, including milling through a num-
downs. The controller includes built-in aqueous, hydrocarbon, or liquid phases. ber of casing strings, whether centric or
eccentric, without damaging the outer bined with a range of well-integrity or pro- ing capillary pressure and accelerates the
casing. The ability to create window sec- duction-logging tools, can provide com- time to first oil while reducing nonpro-
tions of longer lengths through multiple prehensive diagnostics of well problems. ductive time. An operator working in
cemented casing strings regardless of ◗ For additional information, visit deepwater Gulf of Mexico needed a frac
depth enables placement of a competent www.gowellpetro.com. pack to complete a new well to enable
cement barrier, ensuring formation iso- production quickly. The well had very low
lation at or near the reservoir interface Neutral-Wettability Proppant bottomhole pressure, low reservoir ener-
or source of migrating hydrocarbons. Baker Hughes’ NeutraProp neutral- gy, and no gas lift. The NeutraProp was
The fully stabilized milling system has wettability proppant is a surface- selected and applied, and all of the flow-
been used to create windows in casings modified material that enables fluids to back fluids were recovered in approxi-
as small as 7 in. up to 185/8 in. in diam- flow freely through the pore spaces in a mately 14 hours. This represents a 43%
eter while cleaning or underreaming cas- proppant pack (Fig. 4). It is neither oil- reduction in rig time compared with an
ing sizes up to 30 in. Successful window wet nor water-wet, and it can be applied average of 24.5 hours on three previ-
lengths in excess of 240 ft, and well devi- to various substrates from lightweight ous wells in which conventional prop-
ations above 60°, have been achieved. ceramic to high-strength proppant. The pant was used. The operator eliminated
Operators have been able to place a con- proppant reduces pressure drop in multi- 10 hours of rig time and saved more than
firmed cement barrier to block the flow phase flow and eliminates the buildup USD 438,000 by using the proppant.
paths of migrating hydrocarbons in wells of fluid residues, letting more hydrocar- ◗ For additional information, visit
previously unable to be abandoned using bons flow out of the reservoir at high- www.bakerhughes.com.
conventional milling equipment. er rates for longer periods of time. The
◗ For additional information, visit solution also improves cleanup by reduc- Manufacturing Technology
www.abrado-intl.com. Peak Well Systems’ IRIS-3D manu-
facturing technology provides a high-
Array-Noise Tool expansion, mechanical support system
GOWell Petro introduced its latest gener- that can be applied to a wide range of
ation array-noise tool (ANT) for deploy- possible applications. For downhole
ment on electric line or slickline. GOWell’s applications in particular, it can be used
ANT tool is a leak-detection technology to extend the performance of tradition-
that uses high-sensitivity acoustic sen- al elastomer seals and therefore enables
sors packaged within a 111/16-in.-outer- a new suite of wellbore sealing systems.
diameter wireline tool (Fig. 3). The com- With the addition of IRIS-3D compo-
bination of a vertical array of differen- nents to Peak’s existing downhole SIM
tial acoustic measurements when coupled plug system, personnel have been able
with advanced processing provides sen- to extend the performance of the SIM
sitive leak detection while logging. Rejec- seal from 150°C and 5,000 psi to 200°C
tion of unwanted road noise has typically and 10,000 psi. IRIS-3D is now focus-
been a major challenge with noise logging, ing on two development paths: the abil-
which has only been solved by taking sta- ity of IRIS-3D to develop a new range
tionary measurements. However, the of high-performance medium-expansion
design features of the ANT overcome this plugs and exploring the role of IRIS-3D
limitation and provide an enhanced ability in high-expansion seal systems. The lat-
to detect leaks and other downhole noise ter could potentially deliver an IRIS-3D
sources such as completion anomalies or enabled, high-performance, through-
reservoir behavior. When the ANT noise tubing retrievable plug capable of passing
tool is combined with GOWell’s Magnetic through a 4.5-in tubing before expanding
Thickness Detector (MTD) electromagnet- over 70% to seal in 7-in. casing. The tech-
ic pipe-inspection tool, a comprehensive nology has other potential applications
leak evaluation is possible. The MTD iden- beyond downhole seals and extrusion
tifies the location of pipe connections in Fig. 4—Baker Hughes’ NeutraProp barriers, including drilling tools, connec-
neutral-wettability proppant. Top
multiple casing strings and other comple- image shows unmodified ceramic
tors, and surface-pipeline tools. JPT
tion items that can be prone to leaking. The proppant; bottom image shows ◗ For additional information, visit
ANT tool can be run alone or, when com- NeutraProp proppant. www.peakwellsystems.com.
There are many oilfield applications to environment and may result in operator they contain mostly treatable compo-
treat oil emulsions and water (reverse) fines. Any oil that is not captured and is nents, outside of formation sands and
emulsions. Root cause determination lost to disposal is a loss of profit. clays. These treatable components
with full solutions to emulsion issues include paraffin and asphaltene, min-
can be more efficient and cost-effective Current Industry Practices eral scales (i.e., calcite and barite), and
than bandage-type downstream appli- A typical industry practice is to use a corrosion byproducts (i.e., iron sulfide,
cations such as acid treatments, demul- demulsifier to treat standard emulsions. iron carbonate, and iron oxides). Hav-
sifiers, and water clarifiers. Improving Choosing an effective demulsifier is ing a detailed process for identifying,
flow assurance or preventing under- often viewed as a “black art,” frequently collecting, and analyzing the generat-
deposit corrosion issues are addition- done by conducting a “bottle test” with ing source can allow for more effective
al benefits of finding and eliminating a kit of demulsifiers or blends. There are treatment programs.
problems at their source. three main processes by which demulsi- If solids are prevented from forming
fiers “unlock” emulsions: flocculation, upstream, oil and water easily separate
The Impact of Emulsions coalescence, and solids wetting. out on their own. With the exception of
The development of an oilfield emul- Another industry method for treating formation fines, most of the oilfield sol-
sion requires four key components: oil, solids is to batch treat with acid. Acid ids precipitate out of the gas and liquids
water, an emulsifying agent (solids, sur- can effectively treat calcium carbon- as pressure and temperature changes
factants, or chemicals), and agitation ate, the most common carbonate scale, occur in a well. These phase changes
(or shear). Solids, such as scale parti- and iron sulfide, a corrosion byprod- continue through the separation and
cles, corrosion byproducts, or waxes, uct. When acid is added to iron sulfide, compression equipment, to midstream
tie the oil and water together. Agitation it creates a byproduct of hydrogen sul- and downstream for final processing.
mixes the two, resulting in an emul- fide, a poisonous gas. Acid treatments Using phase monitoring, sampling,
sion. Removing or preventing any one are temporary, lasting no more than a and a variety of investigative testing can
of these four components will break or couple of days. Although they success- help determine when solids precipitate,
prevent emulsions. fully put the solids into the solution, as causing an emulsion to form. Sampling
Stable emulsions can have damaging soon as the water pH rises back during from the wellhead through the entire
effects on lines and result in increased dilution, the solids typically precipitate process to water disposal allows the
costs for handling solids (through back out from solution. determination of which solids will stay
mechanical removal), heat energy, and in solution, precipitate out, stay sus-
chemical programs. They can also result Identifying the Root Cause pended in the flow, or deposit out on the
in capital expenses, such as purchas- These common industry practices for piping and vessels.
ing the filtration equipment needed to treating emulsions act as bandages that Further deposit analysis and char-
remove solids. In addition to the oper- often require additional spending. A dif- acterization will determine the break-
ating costs associated with emulsions, ferent approach has been introduced to down of the solids to help identify the
operators may experience unexpected the market that goes deeper than the root cause of the deposits. To determine
downtime and lost production. customary treatment practices to iden- total dissolved solids (TDS), water and
Water that is separated out in pro- tify the root cause of the emulsion and oil should be collected from one point in
duction facilities contains residual oil solids. By starting upstream, producers the system and analyzed. A filter analy-
that is trapped in reverse emulsions— can proactively focus on preventing sol- sis at the same time and location can be
oil droplets dispersed in the water phase ids and emulsions formation. used to identify and measure total sus-
vs. a standard emulsion where water When analyzing the emulsifying pended solids (TSS).
is trapped in the oil phase. The con- agents that prevent these emulsions A deposition coupon can be used to
centration of this residual oil is usually from separating with standard sepa- measure the precipitated solids that
too high for permitted discharge to the ration equipment, we typically find are depositing in the production equip-
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
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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 successes and challenges of produc- However, finding additional people Pad Drilling Drives
ers in the United States’ most active oil to drive expansion could pose some Improvement
play received a wide-ranging discussion difficulty. “Right now, the Permian Panelists agreed that pad drilling, in
by three panelists recently at an SPE Basin from an unemployment perspec- which multiple wells are drilled from
Gulf Coast Section meeting in Houston tive is very, very low,” said Ken Lizak, a single pad, is an increasingly impor-
on the state of the Permian Basin. director of stimulation design in sub- tant factor in improving Permian opera-
Exclusively following a question-and- surface technical services and sup- tions. As a result of pad methods, “rigs
answer format, the nearly hour-long port at Occidental. “So as we grow have gotten much more efficient,” Smith
program last month covered oil prices, from today, that means bringing com- said. “If you look across the basin as a
the fracturing fleet, staffing, technol- muter people in. We lived through whole, there haven’t been that many
ogy, reservoir issues, and other top- that back in 2013–2014. So getting pad wells drilled. So that’s going to be
ics related to the basin that covers west back up and running, it’s going to be a big change. We’re already starting to
Texas and southeastern New Mexico. a challenge.” see that.”
“It’s exciting to see the Permian come Pad drilling has enabled Hallibur-
around and actually be the hottest play Readiness of Fracturing Fleet ton in the Permian to focus on tracking
and the hottest area probably in the There are also questions about the read- pumping time, as opposed to nonpump-
world,” said Billy Smith, technology iness of the fracturing equipment fleet ing time, “because we pump for almost
director for North America at Hallibur- to respond to significant expansion, in 24 straight hours,” Smith explained.
ton. “The encouraging thing about the light of units that have been stacked Still, the industry faces the difficul-
Permian, at least with the operators I’ve [taken out of operation] in the downturn ty of expanding into more marginal
spoken with, is that at USD 50[/bbl] oil, and may need repairs or that have been areas. “The wells are good right now
a lot of the play is very valid and very cannibalized. Smith said that 6.5 million in the Permian because we’re drilling
economic.” Some Permian plays are eco- to 7 million horsepower of fracturing in the sweet spot,” Lizak said. “And the
nomic for their operators at USD 40/bbl unit capacity is available across the US one big challenge we have is how can
oil, he said. industry, which can service 600 to 700 you go to those marginal areas out-
rigs and would be at 100% utilization if side of the sweet spot and make those
Greater Efficiency the rig count hit 800. wells just as good. When you go from
Anton Babaniyazov, a senior production “The question is whether stacked 2,000 pounds [of proppant] per foot
engineer in the Lower 48 Mid-America horsepower is cold stacked, or is it in the sweet spot and out on the edge
Business Unit at ConocoPhillips, point- repairable,” he said. “It really depends you take 6,000 pounds per foot to
ed to lower drilling and completion on how quick and costly it is to bring get the same production, is that eco-
costs and “a huge improvement in effi- things back.” nomic? We spend a lot of time look-
ciency” in the basin. “From the place- If oil prices stay below USD 55/bbl, ing at what we can do to move the
ment standpoint, we’ve significantly equipment availability can be relative- sweet spot.”
improved contact with the reservoir,” ly smoothly managed in the Permian, The economics of operations may
he said, citing a 17% improvement year Smith said. But at prices from USD 60/bbl also be increasingly affected by surging
to year in industry production from the to 70/bbl “all of a sudden all of the other acreage costs, which Lizak described as
basin’s unconventional plays. plays come back, and then for sure we becoming “ridiculously high.”
Interest in Permian involvement is reach the threshold of equipment not
increasing among smaller operators, being available,” he said. Technology and Oil Prices
particularly in the western portion, While Lizak predicted a slow oil price In a downturn, the level of technolo-
Babaniyazov said. Further growth is recovery, he said, “I think prices are gy applied in the field is often a func-
likely. “There will be lots of opportuni- going to come up a lot faster than the tion of the oil price. At USD 50/bbl,
ties,” he said. frac fleet.” Permian operators are resuming the
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.
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.
Beware of Bottlenecks
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Oil companies that have slashed the ager for Rystad, during a recent briefing “We can potentially surpass the
break-even cost of producing oil from in Houston. amount of proppant used in 2014 already
shale plays now must figure out how to Discounts squeezed out of suppli- in 2017,” when more than 100 billion
hold on to those hard-won gains. ers are considered “nonsustainable” pounds were pumped, he said.
US producers can profitably produce because prices will rise as demand Rystad’s analysis roughly breaks down
oil from these difficult formations at rises, allowing service companies to the savings that have reduced the break-
prices that are 50% lower than they raise prices. even price for unconventional produc-
were during the boom, according to An early example of that is the sand ers into three categories:
Rystad Energy. But roughly half of those used to prop open fractures. Prices have ◗ Efficiency and productivity gains
gains are at risk as drilling activity rises. risen this year by 25% as companies use represent about 40% of the gains
“Lower unit prices of service com- significantly more proppant per well, seen since 2014, and those will last.
panies are a major reason for the drop,” according to a Bloomberg story quot- ◗ Discounts gained due to the
said Jon Duesund, senior project man- ing IHS. downturn represent another 40%,
One of the oldest names in geomechan- their existing codes and develop new ules—basically, pieces of its flagship
ical modeling has learned some new software products. modeling software named Elfen—that
tricks, and like so many recent advances The company spent 2 years working can be imbedded into the commercial
in the oil and gas industry, it has every- on this front to create a set of mod- software platforms that many operators
thing to do with the North American and service companies routinely use.
shale revolution. In addition to hydraulic fractur-
Founded nearly 30 years ago, UK- ing simulation, the modules were also
based Rockfield was among the first designed to predict near-wellbore
to develop a hydraulic fracture model effects that apply to drilling, comple-
for conventional reservoirs, and re- tions, and production. Another set
mained one of the few names in spe- of new modules focuses on static and
cializing in this field for much of dynamic reservoir modeling as well as
that time. forward modeling of a reservoir’s geo-
But the market opportunity presented Modeling hydraulic fracture designs in logic evolution.
by the complex geomechanics involved naturally fractured formations offers
with fracturing tight rock and shale shale operators a way not only to A Guiding Tool
judge their completion strategy, but it
reservoirs has spurred more competi- may also help them avoid generating
Although these latest modeling products
tion and forced legacy modeling com- fractures that intersect with another are the beneficiaries of modern comput-
panies such as Rockfield to revamp well. Source: Rockfield. ing power and programming prowess—
Producers face a number of decision- reservoir physics to rapidly integrate closed-loop reservoir optimization,
making challenges. Specifically, they relevant data sources in real time. The in which reservoir and surface mod-
must optimize field development and prescriptive analytics of the new tech- els are frequently updated and continu-
operational decisions in light of the nology enables operators to efficient- ously identify new optimal operation-
complex interplay of fiscal, market, and ly compare possible decision scenarios al decisions.
reservoir variables. to balance short- and long-term trade- The work flow is not intended for geo-
Data analytics is enabling new and offs, such as ultimate oil recovery vs. logical characterization of a subsurface
better solutions for handling these production targets. This methodol- reservoir. Ideally, the models would be
problems. Tachyus’ Data Physics tech- ogy, combined with a scalable cloud- used to explore the “possibility space”
nology combines machine learning and based computational platform, enables of millions of potential field develop-
13,000
cal laws. Once training data are fit and
12,000 an ensemble is produced, the predictive
Incremental accuracy of each member of the ensem-
Production ble can be measured against the valida-
11,000
Baseline tion data set.
10,000
An example application was a deploy-
ment with a mid-sized independent
that operates 150,000 B/D of produc-
0 3 6 9 12 tion. This project was implemented on
Month a 13,000 B/D steamflood field to opti-
mize cyclic-steam candidate selection.
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
The field, located in the San Joaquin Val-
cyclic candidates were chosen the same way they were before the application ley of California, covers approximately
of Data Physics technology. The results in the figure are actual field results 10 sq miles. As is typical for the region,
over the pilot period and not model output. the oil in the field is heavy, with a gravi-
ty of 14 °API, a viscosity of approximate-
ment scenarios and to identify a few built with orders-of-magnitude speed- ly 4,000 cp at 100°F, and a gas/oil ratio
candidate scenarios that are optimal up, allowing local well-level optimiza- of less than 50 scf/STB. The field has
against one or more objectives. tion both for injection redistribution approximately 1,150 producers and 150
The models use a novel approach to and infill-drilling purposes. The mod- steam injectors injecting approximately
integrate machine-learning techniques els are generated using a well-defined, 100,000 B/D of steam.
with the underlying reservoir-physics automated algorithmic process The technology identified the wells
equations and limit the solutions to The core modeling and optimiza- with the highest incremental produc-
those that are consistent with the under- tion work flow begins with an extract- tion potential to cycle steam at any point
lying reservoir physics. The models pro- transform-load process of surface and in time given current oil price and steam
duce accurate predictions of the key subsurface data. Actual field data are cost. Engineers increased field-wide
output variables, even when field con- divided into two sets: training data, production by 1,000 B/D by optimizing
ditions change dramatically between which are used to identify model param- 10% (cyclic-only portion of production)
training data and prediction period. eters, and validation data, which are of the field’s production over 12 months.
Data Physics models leverage the intentionally withheld from the training The results in the figure are actual field
inherent continuity of reservoir behav- process and used to validate predictive results over the pilot period and not
ior. Spatially accurate models can be power and statistical accuracy. model output.
Total’s Laggan Tormore project claimed exemplify strong teamwork, solid geosci- Conchas by Shell, Pazflor by Total, Perdi-
the International Petroleum Technology ence knowledge, reservoir and produc- do by Shell, RGX2 by RasGas, and CLOV
Conference (IPTC) Excellence in Project tion engineering expertise, outstanding by Total.
Integration Award at the 10th IPTC in facilities engineering practices, a strong The pioneering GBP 3.5-billion Laggan
Bangkok, Thailand. commitment to health, safety, and the Tormore development, offshore West
The IPTC Excellence in Project Inte- environment, and advocate innovative of Shetland, unlocks the harsh Atlan-
gration Award highlights projects that and people-oriented human resource tic Margin play and opens up a new gas
have demonstrated distinction through- policies and community programs. Pre- province for the United Kingdom. The
out the entire value chain, and are equiv- vious award winners include the Qatar- project was executed using new tech-
alent in value to at least USD 500 mil- gas Debottling project by Qatargas, the nologies to overcome a harsh environ-
lion. Past winners have included both Independence Hub project by Anadarko ment. Interesting innovations saw new
international and national oil compa- Petroleum, Sakhalin-1 by Exxon Nefte- methods of environmental protection
nies. Taken into account are projects that gas, Qatargas 2 by Qatargas, Parque das deployed on a huge scale.
For decades, engineers have had to trust the future of their wells to the lesser of
two evils: exceptionally expensive TCP or unreliable first generation toe valves.
Superior Completion Services has advanced toe valve technology with the new
OmniFrac Pro Toe™, a mechanically simple design that simply works.
superiorenergy.com/completionservices
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS OUTLOOK
In the 2 years since oil prices plunged, job across the world and across the indus- A hiring drought also has its costs.
cuts and retirements have changed the try, even in national oil companies,” “In previous downturns, there were
face of petroleum engineering. SPE’s mem- said Hisham Saadawi, technical direc- companies that spent years without
bership mix has shifted to younger, with tor for production and facilities. “The any significant hiring or training strat-
the biggest numbers in their 20s and 30s. perception is prices will remain like egy,” said J.C. Cunha, technical direc-
“We have seen most of the older gen- this now.” tor for management and information.
eration wiped out. It is pretty scary see- The pressure to cut costs remains “Without injecting new ideas, new peo-
ing the people being asked to leave” who intense, including personnel budgets. ple, and new blood, organizations tend
have so much knowledge, said Tom Blas- Even some top students from Texas A&M to stagnate.”
ingame, the technical director for reser- University are hearing from companies While the working professionals have
voir description and dynamics. that “we do not have the budget to hire to plan for oil to linger around USD 50/bbl,
There are still Baby Boomers left in now,” said Blasingame, a petroleum engi- experience shows bad times are not for-
the ranks, and they want to pass on what neering professor at Texas A&M, adding ever. Oil companies are in a world where
they have learned from experience. The that for many, “the anxiety meter is off demand is growing, older fields produce
seven SPE directors interviewed for this the scale.” less every year, and the remaining oil is
story began their careers during the long- Fewer students are enrolling in petro- in formations that are harder to devel-
lasting funk that began in the early 1980s leum engineering programs in the US and op and produce. All point to the need for
and lingered through the 1990s. At last elsewhere because it no longer ensures more and better petroleum engineers.
year’s SPE Annual Technical Conference a good-paying job, with some schools “The big thing now with undergrad-
and Exhibition (ATCE) in Dubai, they seeing declines of 50% or more in their uates is we really need to make sure
offered their perspectives in a discussion incoming classes. they believe in the future of petroleum
titled “The Way to Move Forward is to “There is no panic. I am sensing the engineering,” Blasingame said. Faith
Look Back.” biggest concern is the job situation for is required because becoming a petro-
While the oil market seems to have set- graduates. That is pretty tough in many leum engineer requires a large invest-
tled into a narrow range and the pace of places,” said Dan Hill, director for aca- ment of time and money to prepare
layoffs slowed later in the year, these are demia. For the faculty in many programs, for a job in an industry where hiring
still hard times. there is a positive side to the declines in varies unpredictably.
“Unfortunately a lot of people are enrollment: the lowering of class sizes to Long-term thinking matters, but say-
losing their jobs; that is happening more desirable levels. ing “no” to cost-cutting is not an option.
Cunha covered lower-cost ways of sus-
25% taining hiring, training, and mentoring,
Professional Members by Age (as Percentage of Membership)
while Jeff Moss, technical director for
20% drilling, is pushing for seeking out sus-
tainable cost reductions.
15% While companies are reporting lower
costs per barrel to investors, a significant
10%
part of those gains was the product of
deep discounts squeezed out of suppliers,
5%
who will claw back those losses when the
2015 2005
market allows. Finding a way to use drill
0%
bits longer will offer a lasting saving that
<20 20–24 25–29 30–34 35–39 40–44 45–49 50–54 55–59 60–64 65++
discounts cannot.
The largest group of SPE members is in its 30s, while older membership is Hard times also force buyers to dis-
declining. http://www.spe.org/about/demographics.php. tinguish between wants and needs, and
Arab-dots, or simply A-dots. They are out in wells with a respective distance research team to figure out that it takes
named for the Arab D formation, a major of 475 m. Instead of jeopardizing the 10 months for the A-dots to move from
carbonate reservoir in the supergiant test, the increased distance only under- the injector to the producer—a param-
Ghawar oil field. Contained within the scored the reservoir-transit capabilities eter that will help measure their perfor-
A-dots are even smaller bits of fluores- of the A-dots. mance in the future.
cent material that are easily detectable Another unplanned factor involved According to Ellis, the project has
using an instrument called a fluorometer. a number of injector well shutdowns, given Saudi Aramco data that suggest its
And though it was planned to be which also ended up being a good thing nanoparticle tracer may be more effec-
executed using an injector and a pro- because it proved that the A-dots moved tive than the commercial chemical trac-
ducer well with a reservoir distance of right along with the erratic water front. ers it uses. One of the problems with
between 150–200 m, the test was carried The strong correlation also allowed the chemical tracers is that they are prone
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- Computer modeling suggests that this The nanocapsules are formed through a
released nanocapsules (SPE 181547). could result in oil production improve- complex inverse miniemulsion technique
This concept has received a great deal ments of single-digit percentages. that involves multiple steps of combining
of fanfare in the medical industry for its The paper’s authors note that a com- hydrophobic elements and surfactants
potential to deliver cancer-killing drugs pany called Brightwater has developed with a water-based solution containing
and other medicines to specific parts of another nanoparticle-based technology the chromium. In one phase, as the solu-
the human body. that also seeks to block off water chan- tion is stirred, nanodroplets of chromium
In the case of waterflooding, the nano- nels. However, Leah Johnson, a chem- are formed and in the next step a reaction
capsules would be used to delay the expo- ist with RTI International, said her team takes place that encapsulates them.
sure of chromium to HPAM, allowing the believes its work represents the first time In addition to establishing an effective
two constituents to travel deeper inside that anyone has sought to encapsulate encapsulation process, the researchers
the reservoir before forming into a gel. chromium for a conformance application. 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.
of their nanocapsules effectively delayed When the magnetic nanoparticles Pending the results of the continu-
the gelation process for up to 17 days. are introduced to produced water, ous flow system and further funding, Ko
They also observed that the nanocapsules they surround the oil droplets in a said the last item on the agenda would
will remain intact for at least 48 hours way that is reminiscent of how white be to build a pilot system. Because the
when exposed to 122°F (50°C) synthetic blood cells attack a foreign bacteria nanoparticles are costly, she added that a
seawater, suggesting that the long-term or virus. In most cases, it takes about critical requirement of a field-system will
delivery of chromium is quite possible. 5 minutes for all the nanoparticles to be a way to separate them from the oil
“There’s a variety of different degrad- find an oil droplet, and in a rapid-mix droplets at the end of the process so they
able chemistries we’re looking at to chamber that time can be reduced to just can be reused.
incorporate into the shell,” Johnson said, 3 minutes or less. “That will be the hardest part,” Ko
explaining that some of those chemis- The nanoparticles are attracted to said. “But if you can reuse the nanopar-
tries are water sensitive while another the oil droplets through electrostatic ticles many times, then cost-wise, you
is more reactive to temperature. “So we forces. This is achieved by coating the have some competition” with conven-
can really tune the concentration of the nanoparticles with a positively charged tional separation technologies. JPT
degradable chemistries within the shell polymer since most oil droplets have a
to release at different time points.” negative charge. And the weaker that For Further Reading
Further work is being done with the negative charge is, the quicker the reac-
SPE 181547 Nanocapsules for
University of Texas at Austin (UT) and tion takes place.
Controlled Release of Waterflood
Tufts University in Massachusetts to Saebom Ko, a research associate at UT
Agents for Improved Conformance
understand the mobility of the nano- who is helping to lead this research proj-
by Leah Johnson et al., RTI
capsules through sandpacks. The early ect, explained, “After attaching to the
International. http://dx.doi.
results from this work show that the oil droplets, the small nanoparticles get
org/10.2118/181547-MS.
nanocapsules remain about the same size bigger, and so whenever you have a mag-
when exiting a sandpack, which Johnson netic field, the particles will move very SPE 181283 Nanomaterials-Enhanced
said is “very promising.” quickly to where the magnet is placed.” High-Temperature Fracturing Fluids
In a real-world scenario, the mix of Prepared with Untreated Seawater
Magnetic Oil Separation nanoparticles and oil would be pulled by Leiming Li and Ghaithan A.
In another project, researchers at UT to the side of a treatment tank where Al-Muntasheri, Saudi Aramco. http://
are working on a magnetic nanoparticle the next trick is to recover them while dx.doi.org/10.2118/181283-MS.
technology to remove the micron-sized letting the treated water flow out. That
SPE 181893 Oil Droplet Removal From
oil droplets left dispersed in produced part of the process is to be addressed
Produced Water Using Nanoparticles
water after it has been treated by conven- with a small continuous flow system
and Their Magnetic Separation
tional separation technologies, e.g., grav- that the UT researchers hope to have
by Saebom Ko et al., University
ity and membranes (SPE 181893). ready for testing next year.
of Texas at Austin. http://dx.doi.
In testing, the experimental system The UT researchers also found that
org/10.2118/181893-MS.
removed 99% of the oil droplets and may crude types with a higher acidity need
eventually lead to the development of a more magnetic nanoparticles to be SPE 181551 Oil Industry First Interwell
compact and highly efficient separation effectively separated. And so far, the Trial of Reservoir Nanoagent Tracers
system for offshore installations that are upper limit for oil content in the test by Dmitry Kosynkin and Mohammed
challenged by space constraints and the fluids has been 0.25% by weight, but Alaskar, Saudi Aramco. http://dx.doi.
high cost of water treatment. the plan is to step that up in future work. org/10.2118/181551-MS.
George Koperna is vice president and reservoir engineering David E. Riestenberg is a project manager with Advanced
manager with Advanced Resources International, specializing Resources International. He has more than 15 years of experience
in unconventional resources, enhanced recovery applications, in the energy sector, with emphasis on the geologic aspects of
and carbon storage. He is chairperson of SPE’s Carbon Capture, unconventional resources and the use of carbon dioxide for
Utilization, and Storage Technical Section and a former member both enhanced recovery and sequestration. He is the project
of the SPE International Board of Directors. He holds MSc and manager and monitoring lead for the SECARB RCSP Phase
BSc degrees in petroleum and natural gas engineering from III Anthropogenic Test CO2 storage demonstration in Mobile
West Virginia University. County, Alabama. Riestenberg holds a BS degree in biology from
the College of Mount St. Joseph, Cincinnati, and an MS degree in
Michael L. Godec, a vice president with Advanced Resources geology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
International, has prepared numerous assessments of the
potential sequestration capacity and economic potential Owain Tucker is Shell’s global deployment lead for carbon
associated with geologic storage in oil and gas fields, deep storage. He leads storage projects and is responsible for
saline aquifers, gas shales, and unmineable coal seams. He has technical assurance, integration, and informing the CCS
examined CO2 storage and possible CO2-EOR opportunities for research agenda, along with the development of capability
numerous proposed power plants and other industrial facilities, within Shell. He cochairs the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative work
both in the US and internationally. For 2009–2010, Godec was group on CO2 storage capacity and the Zero Emissions Platform
an SPE Distinguished Lecturer on the subject of “Environmental task force on transport and storage business models, and is a
Performance of the Exploration and Production Industry: Past, board member of the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research
Present, and Future.” He holds an MS degree in technology Centre. He studied physics and geophysics at the University of
and human affairs from Washington University in St. Louis, Witwatersrand and holds a DPhil in experimental physics from
Missouri, and a BS degree in chemical engineering from the the University of Oxford.
University of Colorado, Boulder.
Lydia Cumming is a principal research scientist at Battelle,
Neeraj Gupta, a senior research leader/Battelle Fellow at the world’s largest independent research and development
Battelle Institute, provides technical and program development organization. She has been engaged in a number of government
leadership for Battelle’s subsurface resources work. He has and industry projects focused on investigating technical,
more than 25 years of domestic and international experience in policy, and public acceptance issues associated with geologic
CO2 storage, CO2-EOR, and other subsurface projects. He has storage of carbon dioxide. She is currently performing technical
led several field programs and research projects on CO2 storage and outreach activities for the Midwest Regional Carbon
technology. He holds a PhD in geological sciences from Ohio Sequestration Partnership. She also is the project manager for
State University, an MS degree in geochemistry from George the Mid-Atlantic US Offshore Carbon Resource Assessment
Washington University, and MS and BSc degrees in geology Project. Cumming earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from
from Panjab University, India. Ohio State University.
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.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
www.spe.org/go/attend17HFTC
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
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Reservoir Scale
Reservoir Scale
Virgin Reservoir Waterflood Injection of DME/Water Oil Swells/ Mobilization of Oil/ Chase Water
Viscosity Drops DME Mixture
Life Cycle of a Reservoir (Time) 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 Surveillance Plan ◗ Degree of desaturation between the
500 ppm by weight. An extensive surveillance and data- end of the preflood and the end of
Because DME is diluting the crude oil gathering plan was designed for the the water chase
as a light solvent, asphaltene precipita- pilot. Surveillance focuses on four main ◗ Arrival and conformance of DME at
tion can be expected. Asphaltenes depos- areas—injector well, producer wells, ob- the observation well
ited in the near-wellbore region of the in- servation well, and production metering. The timing of the arrival provides infor-
jectors could result in reduced injectivity mation on areal conformance, and the ver-
and conformance-control issues. A de- Injector. The injector well is based on tical profile will provide information on the
tailed experimental asphaltene-stability a recompletion of an existing produc- vertical conformance and containment.
program was designed and executed. er well. During injection, vertical con-
This confirmed a low asphaltene content formance and containment will be Metering. Given the large volume of
of the reservoir crude (less than 1 wt%) monitored by distributed-temperature water being injected throughout the dif-
and a high DME concentration above sensing. Shut-ins required for thermal ferent phases of the pilot, the facilities
which asphaltene precipitation would tracer analysis are aligned with pressure- and metering will have to operate at high
occur (greater than 70 mol%). These falloff surveys to determine the presence base sediment and water. Therefore, a
high concentrations are expected only and extent of induced fracturing in the dedicated test separator is used to give
in the near-wellbore region of the injec- near-wellbore region. accurate readings of oil, water, and gas
tors where, because of the long water- rates. Additional sampling and analysis of
injection preflooding phase and the low Producers. The producers are drilled the oil and water stream will provide data
asphaltene content of the crude oil, no 30 m from the injector and completed on the composition of the liquid streams.
significant effect is expected. In the near- with a dual completion string. Artificial In order to obtain the DME mass balance,
wellbore region of the producers, where lift is provided by DME-compatible elec- DME will be metered primarily in the gas
the oil saturations are higher and flow- trical submersible pumps. The second phase through a gas chromatograph.
assurance concerns would be expected, string provides access for a production-
the DME concentration will not reach the logging tool (PLT) with flowing bottom- Tracer Testing. Three tracer slugs are
critical concentration that will lead to the hole sampling capability. The PLT will planned for various stages of the pilot. At
precipitation of asphaltenes. provide data on vertical flood confor- the start of the waterflood phase (base-
The solubility of DME depends on the mance, and flowing bottomhole samples line), the first tracer slug is injected to con-
salinity of the brine. Conversely, the pres- taken at various depths will provide in- firm injector and producer connectivity.
ence of DME will have an effect on the formation on DME vertical conformance. It will provide information on the degree
solvency power of the water for certain of fracturing and assist in balancing the
ions. Divalent ions especially will be af- Observation Well. The observation well intake and offtake of each well in the pat-
fected, which can result in scaling when will be cored over the reservoir section tern. The second tracer slug is injected be-
mixing DME with the injection brine. A to provide a baseline for observation-well fore the start of injection of the DME slug.
scaling study was designed and conduct- saturation. During the pilot, reservoir sat- This slug will confirm the injector/produc-
ed that indicated a risk of scale precipita- uration will be determined through casing er connectivity at the start of DME injec-
tion upon mixing the selected brine with by a reservoir-saturation tool operated in tion and provide information on the aver-
DME. To mitigate this and reduce the carbon/oxygen (C/O) mode. The C/O ratio age saturation when compared with the
reservoir-souring risk, a sulfate-removal can be determined quantitatively only DME production response. The last tracer
unit was selected for the water-treatment when the fluids are free of DME. Petro- slug is injected after the chase-water in-
lineup. Additionally, various scale inhibi- physical modeling indicated that it can jection to confirm whether DME-induced
tors were tested for their effectiveness be used qualitatively for determining the changes have occurred in the areal con-
and were added to the injection water to arrival of the DME-rich front. Therefore, formance when compared with the tracer
reduce the risk further. the observation well gives information on slugs injected before DME injection. JPT
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.
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.
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.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
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- Upscaling Challenge. Ideally, a fine- graphical changes from sedimentologi-
bodies orientation. layering model would represent the en- cal interpretation.
3D Porosity Modeling. The porosity tire reservoir-heterogeneity spectrum The variation of vertical resolution
model is linked to a petrofacies model for a geocellular model. However, in is always approached by a fine-layering
(RT) because each has a different range practice, such an approach is not valid condition (1 ft). Nevertheless, the simu-
of estimated porosity that is popu- because of simulation time constraints. lation time consumption constrains such
lated in the grid. EM allows for each It is strategic for properties propagation an attempt; therefore, an upscaling ap-
RT and for each grid interval, to allow to keep the x, y grid size of 100×100 m proach is pursued. During the upscaling
choosing the corresponding variogram while varying the vertical resolution. process, only two reservoir heteroge-
estimated previously. This grid size honors the lateral strati- neities were visualized, gigascopic scale
Recompletions Solutions
and macroscopic scale. The production is necessary to demonstrate their ef- then were gathered by a drilling cam-
performance indirectly implies all of the fectiveness for prediction. Therefore, in paign. Such analysis showed an average
reservoir-heterogeneity contributions, this project, a “blind test” with Well Np of approximately 1.2 million STB for
and then honoring such performance by LGA-60 was performed for porosity. a new well (Fig. 1b).
layering definition ensures a successful To achieve such a comparison, poros- Recognizing the Volumetric Poten-
upscaling process. ity from the log was compared with that tial. On the basis of remaining oil re-
Uncertainty Analysis. To quantify modeled on an x–y plot at the same in- serves, this stage defined the potential
the risk during variable prediction, an terval depth. For each interval, marine, targets to be drilled. According to the
uncertainty analysis is applied. EM pro- tidal, and fluvial Hollin are discriminat- Np, the current recovery factor per in-
vides advantages for calculating statisti- ed. The results showed a correlation co- terval was defined under the current
cal uncertainty maps. efficient of 52, 55, and 72%, respectively. production scheme (100% pumping).
For discrete variables, such as RT, the The correlation coefficients for marine Even though the primary drive mech-
software provides the most-probable and tidal Hollin indicate an important anism is a bottom-water drive with a
facies grid. In this project, the “most- stratigraphic component to be improved strong aquifer, the recovery factor for
probable” 3D facies grid for the Hollin in this model. Nevertheless, it is consid- Hollin was low (17% average).
reservoir was determined using a total of ered to be acceptable. For choosing potential areas sur-
30 facies realizations. rounded by drained zones, the
P1, P2, and P3 Reserves Map. With Reservoir and Dynamic Model. The opportunity-index (OI) approach was
the scope of reducing uncertainty asso- complete paper represents a work flow implemented, which is composed of
ciated with the upscaled model, a new for identifying the remaining reser- static and dynamic variables. This tech-
fine-layering grid (1-ft thickness) for all voir opportunities for enhancing effi- nique allows the generation of OI maps
intervals of the Hollin reservoir was cre- ciency and increasing the hydrocarbon- discretized for the tidal and fluvial in-
ated. A new volumetric quantification of production rate. tervals. These maps clearly highlight the
the original oil in place was performed Initialization. The initialization of low- and high-potential areas caused by
without including the net-to-gross ratio the Hollin reservoir model began by rock heterogeneity and dynamic param-
and considering three different areas for analyzing grid construction, fluid/rock eters. The white and green colors indi-
the calculation: P1 as proven, P2 as prob- properties, and water/oil contact. cate a high OI associated with good rock
able, and P3 as possible. History Matching. The reservoir- properties and a highly moveable oil vol-
Blind Test With LGA-60. Because all integrated outcomes showed com- ume, which helps ensure maximum pro-
geocellular models have uncertainty, it mon solutions and good practice that duction and recovery.
allowed fully representing the pore- Analyzing the main intervals, it is no-
medium heterogeneities and optimizing ticeable that tidal Hollin displayed two
history matching. target zones (one to the north and one
Technical Papers The time was constrained up to Oc- to the south). On the other hand, the
tober of 2014. The pressure and full- fluvial interval of Hollin does not spot-
The complete SPE technical field production had an excellent adjust- light potential targets because of early
papers synopsized in this ment of 98%, as well as the water- and water sweep.
issue are available free to oil-production rates. The dynamic Once the main targets were identified
SPE members for 2 months
model replicated the pressure perfor- by OI maps, each prospective well was
mance and water breakthrough for the evaluated in the simulation model con-
at www.spe.org/jpt.
full-field case. sidering a minimum drainage radius of
Vintage Analysis. The initial oil-rate 500 m, based on regulations.
estimation was taken from historical data For ranking well prospects, it is impor-
Subscriptions in which initial oil-production rate was tant to analyze the cumulative oil by well
declined to the current date. For different in addition to the probabilistic reserves
Address Change:
scenarios (P10, P50, and P90), the initial types. Under this scope, a 66% probabil-
oil rate declined from the beginning at ity existed for volumetric success.
Contact Customer Services
almost 90%. This might be related to a The synergy of an appropriate inter-
at 1.972.952.9393 to notify skin formation, such as fines migration pretation for the Lago Agrio Field by
of address change or blocking the pore throats and causing the use of innovative reservoir character-
make changes online at accelerated oil rate to decline with an in- ization allowed foreseeing new oppor-
www.spe.org/members/ crease in water cut. This scenario could tunities for production increases in a
update.
be optimal for applying new technology mature field. These characterizations
to mitigate such effects (Fig. 1a). included geological knowledge invest-
The vintage analysis estimates the cu- ment, remaining-oil-zone detection, in-
Subscriptions are USD 15 mulative oil production (Np) for a new crease of new outside area for drilling to
per year (members). well. Using the Np and remaining oil re- the west, and the possibility of enhanc-
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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.
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ĞŶŐŝŶĞĞƌĞĚƐŽůƵƟŽŶƐfor the oil and
gas industry that get to the root cause
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20, and 30 bbl of dry gas. The gas en- was further stepped down to 42 gal/min The results of a conventional drilling-
tered the wellbore at the hole bottom in and kept constant until the gas was com- riser gas-handling study are described in
5 minutes when the circulation rate was pletely circulated out. the complete paper.
600 gal/min. A pressure of 250 psi was For WBM, the pump rates of 160 and
constantly applied at the top of the riser 250 gal/min are both safe to handle the Conclusions
throughout the simulation. When the gas inside the riser. However, for OBM, ◗ A multiphase model is verified with
tail of gas entered the riser, the pump it is very challenging to handle gas in field data and is able to reproduce
rate was reduced to 250 or 160 gal/min the riser at a pump rate of 160 gal/min. A observed trends for riser-gas
and kept constant until the gas was com- liquid rate of 9,019 gal/min is seen at the migration in deepwater applications.
pletely circulated out. To safely han- surface. When the pump rate was slowed The results are particularly useful for
dle riser gas when using OBM in the down to 42 gal/min, the maximum liq- deepwater-well OBM scenarios.
simulation, the flow rate is reduced to uid rate was 1,374 gal/min for a 30-bbl ◗ The water-hammer effect does
42 gal/min when gas starts to break influx. The peak surface liquid rate and not contribute significantly high
out as it approaches the surface. Fig. 1 gas rate last only 2 minutes, which is pressure when closing the riser
shows the results of the simulation. The safe for a gas separator to handle. during rapid unloading.
blue line represents when the gas en- To investigate the effect of surface ◗ For deepwater riser-gas risk
tered the riser; the pump rate was re- backpressure on peak liquid rate and mitigation, WBM is easier to handle
duced to 160 gal/min and kept constant gas rate during riser gas handling, pres- than OBM when using constant
until the gas was completely circulated sures of 0 to 600 psi were applied on pump rate.
out. The dark red line represents the the top of the riser for a 10-bbl in- ◗ Conventional deepwater drilling
same methodology as the blue line ex- flux with a pump rate of 160 gal/min. and dual-gradient drilling show the
cept that the pump rate was reduced to The maximum liquid rate and gas rate same trend and magnitude of gas
250 gal/min. The green line represents are extremely high if there is no back- rate and liquid rate on surface when
the same methodology as the blue line pressure applied. With 250-psi surface handling gas in the riser.
except that the drilling fluid was OBM. backpressure, the liquid rate and gas ◗ The proposed procedure to apply
The purple line represents when the gas rate can be handled safely. With surface surface backpressure proactively
entered the riser; the pump rate was re- backpressure higher than 250 psi, there can be useful in safely handling
duced to 160 gal/min. At the moment is no significant benefit for riser-gas riser gas when using either WBM
gas started to break out, the pump rate risk mitigation. or OBM. JPT
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Next-Generation Kick Detection
During Connections
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
◗ 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
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velopment purposes, and may generally
Job URL: http://apptrkr.com/920633
be ignored by the software users. The top
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.
Is there a value proposition for Unlike a capital project, rium; far too often, it is only the remain-
decommissioning? decommissioning is not ing hydrocarbons or a deferral that
Our industry is governed by rules that receives attention. Governance for late-
require cleanup and closure of oil and something that you can life asset and project planning decisions
gas facilities after they cease to produce. choose to do or not to do. could then be tested against maintain-
Unlike a capital project, decommission- ing this value equilibrium. For example,
ing is not something that you can choose the foresight to select a cessation-of-
to do or not to do. The choices for a value retention through proactive late- production date to capture a downcycle
decommissioning project are really when life planning. Perhaps a suitable time decommissioning market could capture
and how, with a resulting “how much?” frame to invoke a value metric is when value that would have been lost in a blind
The “when” typically defaults to “not the remaining hydrocarbon value equals drive to deferral. Like a capital project,
now,” representing a belief that defer- the estimated decommissioning costs. there are a number of early planning
ral results in the lowest cost outcome. Is Good planning decisions would then bal- decommissioning activities that can be
“not now” really the value proposition ance capturing the remaining hydro- deployed to maintain that value equilib-
for decommissioning? carbons with delivering a cost-effective rium. Let us consider this value metric
I assert that the value proposition decommissioning project. The goal then and approach for future decommission-
for decommissioning is really one of becomes maintaining this value equilib- 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.
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.
D NV GL is introducing a new,
risk-based recommended practice
for performing and qualifying well
Well-abandonment
design
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
100
ages of its annual capital budgets.
80
The new method of decommissioning
60 assets concurrently was introduced to
40 company management in March 2011. It
was quickly realized that the concept of
20
multiple service operations being con-
0 ducted simultaneously could allow more
2011 2012 2013 2014
work to be done in less time, reduce over-
Gross Spend (Projected) Gross Spend (Actual) all decommissioning costs, and allow the
Fig. 2—Traditional-decommissioning projected cost vs. concurrent-model work to be conducted well within budget-
actual cost. PA=plugged and abandoned. ary limits. The new concept would allow
the predicted volume of work to be com-
reducing project work time by perform- A newly constructed, self-elevating pleted within the time constraints of both
ing many of the decommissioning work liftboat with 335-ft leg length (Fig. 1) the law and the idle-iron notice to lessees,
steps concurrently, more work can be ac- was used to revolutionize the process of with only a relatively small decommis-
complished in less time, resulting in less decommissioning offshore facilities that sioning team to execute the campaign.
money being spent. It has been project- exist in 280-ft water depths or less. This A post-work analysis of the decommis-
ed that, by eliminating multiple spread self-propelled, dynamically positioned sioning campaign shows that both the
mobilizations and performing concurrent liftboat, with its 500-ton-lift-capacity quantity of work and the cost-performance
operations over a continuous campaign of crane, 15,400 ft2 of available deck space, goals predicted were attained. The
decommissioning work, the work scope and accommodations for up to 152 crew blue bars in Fig. 2 show the predicted
could be completed in half the time, with and service workers, allows all equip- gross annual cost using the traditional,
total costs reduced by one-third. ment and personnel needed to complete sequential-steps decommissioning pro-
the decommissioning process to mobi- cess. The actual gross annual cost to com-
New Technology lize to a single work location at one time. plete the work using the new concurrent
Implementation of the optimized decom- Because this heavy-lift vessel does not method is shown by the green bars.
missioning model requires the ability to require tugboats to maneuver it or anchors The final, and perhaps most significant,
stage and conduct multiple decommission- to secure it in place, it can arrive at one lo- achievement of implementing the concur-
ing services at the same or nearly the same cation, preload, and jack up in approxi- rent, optimized decommissioning pro-
time. New technology was needed that had mately 6–8 hours; then it performs the cess was the demonstrated improvement
adequate deck space for equipment and work scope, jacks down, and moves to the in worker safety. More than 580,000
could provide marine transport and a sta- next work site. This mobility allows work man-hours were worked by the 60- to
ble work deck, lodge 50 to 80 service work- to be performed at multiple locations in a 80-person marine and service crew mem-
ers, and provide heavy-lift capability. comparatively short period of time. bers, with no lost-time incidents. JPT
For those not familiar with AIME, it key focus areas include archiving his- in 1936 by AIME, honors distinguished
stands for the “American Institute of torical materials, documenting key ini- achievement in the identification and
Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum tiatives and activities of the institute development of new technology and con-
Engineers.” AIME, founded in 1871 in prior to the formation of the indepen- cepts and demonstrating distinguished
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was one dent member societies, capturing oral achievement in improving the technique
of the first national engineering societ- histories from members on their experi- and practice of finding and producing
ies established in the United States. In ences in the “early days” of their respec- petroleum. It is SPE’s major technical
subsequent years, AIME was joined by tive industries, maintaining the AIME award. Lucas was a mining engineer,
four other engineering founder societ- awards and recognition program, and often referred to as the father of petro-
ies—the American Society of Mechani- highlighting specific activities such as leum engineering. His theory of the asso-
cal Engineers, the American Institute of commemoration of AIME’s 145th anni- ciation of salt domes with oil and his suc-
Electrical Engineers, the American Soci- versary in 2016 and planning for the cessful drilling of the famous Spindletop
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Institute of Chemical Engineers—and Examples of the these items include the most important developments in the
formed the United Engineering Foun- development of a multisociety Engineer- history of the petroleum industry.
dation. An interesting side note is that ing and Technology History Wiki that The Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold
US President Herbert Hoover, a mining includes a chronological record of impor- Medal was established by AIME in 1932
engineer, served as the AIME president in tant achievements in the history of engi- and is awarded for distinguished admin-
1920. More detailed information on the neering and technology and firsthand istrative achievement in mining, metal-
history of AIME can be found in the JPT experiences recorded in the oral histories lurgical, or petroleum industry admin-
articles referenced below. as described earlier. We encourage mem- istration marked by leadership, ethical
As AIME itself continued to grow, it bers, especially students, to visit this pre- conduct, and support of innovation or
decentralized and formed four indepen- mier and unique site at www.ethw.org. administrative changes at senior man-
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◗ SME (Society for Mining, gy” button, while most of the content comes. Rand was AIME president in 1913.
Metallurgy, and Exploration) for the other three member societies is The DeGolyer Distinguished Service
◗ TMS (The Minerals, Metals, and under the “Materials” button. Also, all Medal recognizes outstanding service to
Materials Society) of the AIME oral histories can be found SPE, the profession of engineering and
◗ AIST (Association for Iron & Steel at http://ethw.org/Oral-History:AIME_ geology, and to the petroleum industry.
Technology) and_Its_Member_Societies:_AIST,_SME,_ Everette Lee DeGolyer was a storied wild-
◗ SPE (Society of Petroleum SPE,_and_TMS. catter. He did early work in the field of
Engineers) AIME annually honors its legacy by geophysics as it applied to the petroleum
The overarching mission of AIME presenting awards among its member industry, introducing the torsion balance
remains to support its member societies, societies. In SPE, these include the Hon- as an oil exploration tool and the use of
with an accompanying vision to honor orary Membership, one technical, and both refraction and reflection seismo-
its legacy as a valued partner with the three professional awards. Honorary graphs for oil exploration. He organized
member societies. The purpose of this Membership is the highest honor that Amerada Petroleum Corporation in 1919
article is to report to our members how SPE presents to an individual and is lim- and also organized Geophysical Research
AIME is fulfilling its mission of preserv- ited to 0.1% of the SPE total member- Corporation as an Amerada subsidiary.
ing our legacy. ship. This elite group of 71 extant mem- He became the first petroleum president
AIME’s History and Heritage Com- bers also holds Honorary Membership of AIME in 1927.
mittee is charged with providing over- in AIME. The Robert Earll McConnell Award,
sight to activities related to preserving The Anthony F. Lucas Technical established in 1968, recognizes bene-
and enhancing this legacy. Some of the Leadership Gold Medal, established ficial service to mankind by engineers
A New Recommended
abandonment design relative to the risk- established on the basis of the poten-
Practice for Fit-for-Purpose
acceptance criteria. tial for adverse safety consequences for
Well Abandonment In order to determine whether the out- the wells to be abandoned permanently.
(Continued from page 72) comes of the risk evaluation are accept- Site-specific safety-risk-acceptance crite-
able or not, environmental- and safety- ria can be used, or generic industrywide
Step 3.4—Combining Flow-Potential risk-acceptance criteria are established. recommendations can be applied.
Analysis and Dispersion Modeling. In the recommended practice, the
Following the completion of the disper- environmental-risk-acceptance crite- Step 5—Conducting
sion modeling of the hydrocarbons, a ria should be based on the hydrocarbon Qualification for
combined result of the flow-potential exposure of the identified valued ecosys- Well-Abandonment Design
analysis and the dispersion modeling can tem components. In order to qualify whether the proposed
be acquired. This provides a total risk Environmental-risk-acceptance crite- design complies with the risk-acceptance
picture in the form of an impact analy- ria for different compartments of the eco- criteria, a well-abandonment-design
sis, where the consequence and the like- system (sea surface, water column, sedi- qualification is urged in the new recom-
lihood of hydrocarbon flow are quan- ments) should be based on the following: mended practice. This is the final step in
tified. The new recommended practice ◗ Proportion of identified valued the risk-assessment framework illustrat-
explains that the resulting risk pictures ecosystem components exposed ed in Fig. 1. The qualification will quan-
are well-specific. to a defined threshold value for tify whether the risk associated with a
hydrocarbons given abandonment design is found to
Step 4—Performing ◗ Probability that the proportion of be acceptable. If the design is unaccept-
Risk Evaluation valued ecosystem components is able, a revised design should be proposed
The outputs from the risk-analysis step exposed to a concentration above and assessed until an acceptable design is
are used to conduct the risk evaluation the defined threshold value found and qualified. Through this meth-
and assessment, which will assist in deci- The new recommended practice sug- od, the result is a qualified well-abandon-
sion making and comparison of the well- gests that safety-risk acceptance be ment design. JPT
ROBERT J. BANKS, SPE, was appointed as GREGORY RACHAL, SPE, was appointed
interim chief executive officer (CEO) of president at Oilfield Helping Hands (OHH).
Swift Energy, following Terry E. Swift’s, OHH is a nonprofit charitable organization
SPE, retirement in October. Banks will con- comprising volunteers devoted to provid-
tinue to serve as executive vice president ing financial assistance to oilfield workers
and chief operating officer, a position he in financial crisis. Since it was founded
has held since 2008. Previously he was vice in 2003, OHH has raised more than
president of international operations and strategic ventures at USD 3.3 million for more than 300 families through dona-
the company. He has more than 40 years of experience in the tions, corporate memberships, and fundraising events. Rachal
oil and gas industry, both domestically and internationally, has extensive experience in drilling fluids, and held positions
and has held senior-level positions at Santa Fe International, with M-I SWACO and Halliburton in sales, product line and ac-
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Company, Mosbacher Energy Com- count management, and operations and project management.
pany, and Vanco Energy Company. He holds a BS degree in industrial art from Northwestern State
University and postgraduate qualifications in management
JAN DELL, SPE, was appointed vice presi- and computer science from Tulane University.
dent of clean energy at Wood Group. She
will lead the company’s existing renew- JONATHAN VERLANDER, SPE, was ap-
ables technical services, consulting, and pointed principal of the E&P advisory and
advisory capabilities and expand these ser- professional learning and development
vices to other regions. She will also broad- practice areas of Houston-based energy
en the services to include water and cli- search firm and management consultancy
mate. Dell has more than 2 decades of experience in the The Energists. He has more than 20 years
energy, industrial, water, and climate sectors. Before joining of experience in domestic and internation-
Wood Group, she held senior strategy and management posi- al geoscience, portfolio analysis, and energy finance gained at
tions with AECOM, CH2M Hill, and ConocoPhillips, where she Enterprise Oil, Shell, RBS, Société Générale, and Common-
led global energy and industrial project developments incor- wealth Bank of Australia. Before joining The Energists, he led
porating sustainable designs. Dell is the vice chair of the US the oil and gas teams for Commonwealth Bank in London
Federal Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Cli- and Houston. Verlander holds a BSc and PhD from the
mate Assessment and was the convening lead author of the University of Oxford, and is a fellow of the Geological Society
“Energy Supply and Use” chapter of the US National Climate of London.
Assessment report published in 2014.
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