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Information
Bottom Hole Pressure Surveys Production/Injection Rate Tests Openhole and Production Logs Productivity Index (PI) Tests Injectivity Index (II) Tests Cored (Arab-D) Wells Monthly Allocated Production Rate by Well Monthly Allocated Injection Rate by Well
Total Number
100,183 110,350 39,690 3,795 5,175 400 197,354 54,541
A variety of geologic, reservoir engineering/simulation, laboratory, production and facilities studies have been performed and reported for the field. 3-D seismic has been run, processed and interpreted for the area. A total of 3254 workover, stimulation and water shut-off jobs were performed on the wells. Data is still being gathered from the field utilizing real-time down hole pressure gauges and array electromagnetic tools for saturation monitoring. Drilling rigs are connected to the office through satellite links for continuous navigation and steering of horizontal and multi-lateral wells. Plans are underway to drill a number of smart wells with down hole monitoring and remote intervention capabilities. There are thirteen dynamic reservoir simulation models ranging from 100,000 to 4,000,000 cells with corresponding geologic models ranging in size from 1 to 50 million cells, each containing, on average, 14 bits of reservoir information. The current and future challenges facing North Ghawar engineers and geoscientists can be best expressed as: How can the field be managed smarter utilizing the wealth of knowledge faster and better?
Continuous
Continued Learning & Improvement Informed Decisions & Actions
Performance Indices
Post-Action Analysis/Feedback
In essence, the success of the learning model depends on the speed with which discreet data units evolve into informed decisions and then to performance indices (i.e., control points) for continual improvement. Knowledge management accelerates the transfer and use of existing know-how which in turn boosts productivity and enhances profitability and growth through timely and effective decisions. To develop an effective knowledge management system, the processes, tools, and skills involved in reservoir management decision-making need to be easily accessible. Another element for a successful knowledge management system is to facilitate expert or cross-disciplinary communication and knowledge exchange while making decisions. This implies what is referred to as Communities of Practice where knowledge is shared among disciplines to make a decision. North Ghawar reservoir management offers an ideal case for knowledge management application to optimize development and production of the remaining reserves. The field has a long history, a vast amount of data and a collection of intellectual experiences. New development and evaluation/observation wells are yet to be drilled in the undeveloped areas of the reservoir to sustain the production targets. Existing wells are to be worked over to maintain their productivity/injectivity at desired rates. Facilities are to be modified to handle expected increases of water production and to maintain deliverability of the total fluid volumes. Data collection will continue from the field to enhance our understanding of the reservoir behavior, calibrate our models, validate or help modify our strategies and monitor sweep. Minor improvements in any element of the process translate to huge cost savings due to economics of scale.
Approach
The objective was to develop a system that accommodates the reservoir management decision-making process and knowledge management for a specific asset or field. One of the tools involved in reservoir management decision-making is reservoir simulation. The reservoir simulation process is a continuous learning process. It requires repetitive tasks that were identified as areas that could be streamlined and simplified to reduce process time and make it more efficient. A system was custom designed and developed to handle the scale of data requirements as commonly encountered in Saudi ARAMCO. The system was named SMARTS, an acronym for Simulation & Modeling Advanced Reservoir Technology System. Connecting people to data and people to people was the principal design basis behind its development. Some of its key features include the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Capacity to handle large volumes of data. Speed of data access, analysis and interpretation. User-friendliness. Flexibility. Accessibility to multi-disciplinary groups.
SMARTS has a database that contains all geo-engineering data relevant to the asset in question. 3-D seismic, geologic models, simulation models, open hole and cased hole logs, pressure, production rate, water cut and PVT data are examples of the data stored in the asset database. The database is linked to the corporate database for continuous updates of allocated production rates data. It also contains reports and archives of individual geoscientist interpretations for reference and learning. The database is connected to tools and facilities to help in the visualization, interpretation and analysis of data. SMARTS would be linked to drilling rigs via satellite where well and reservoir data would be monitored in real-time to facilitate optimization of horizontal/multi-lateral wells placement. Well trajectories and reservoir data would be input in real-time into geologic and simulation models of the area to facilitate updates and continuous optimization. Figure 2 is a simplified schematic of the overall knowledge management model. This model represents a 3-tier approach to knowledge management asset data pool, asset knowledge pool, and asset management center all tightly linked to the user community of teams (geoscientists, executives, service providers, etc.). The user communities are assumed to be geographically distributed but fully linked among themselves through a live information-highway.
Lab Data
Other
Best Practices
JIPs
e-Library
Business Analysis
based training, etc. The probable scenario is that the projected advances in telemetry, communication, and computing will enable future asset teams to tackle highly complex problems routinely, easily, and in near real-time.
Activities
Monitoring Control Point/Performance Indices Forecasting & Business Analysis (What if, $) Intervention Decision Making Feedback Video-Animation Based Training
Competencies
Real-Time Learning/Adaptive Multi-Discipline Culture Nurturing Knowledge
Conclusion
Knowledge management is an essential element of a successful learning reservoir management process. Applying knowledge management concepts to reservoir management would result in enhancing decision making, speed up the process and add value. This paper proposes a 3-tier knowledge management model as a means of more effectively leveraging huge volumes of data in better managing giant fields like North Ghawar. The proposed model links various data and knowledge pools with asset teams via Mission Control Rooms in a virtual-reality environment. One of the key components of the knowledge management model is a tool named SMARTS that is designed to manage diverse streams of geoengineering data in real-time. The model, if successful, will pay huge dividends in North Ghawar because of the economics of scale, at hand.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Saudi Aramco management for permission to publish this paper. Special thanks to S. M. Al-Mubarak, K. A. Al-Alawan, A. A. Al-Nasser and R.J. Pratt for their assistance and contributions.
References
1. Al-Husseini, M.I. 1997. Jurassic Sequence Stratigraphy of the Western and Southern Arabian Gulf, GeoArabia Vol. 2, No. 4, Gulf Petrolink, Bahrain. 2. Greenes, Kent A., Science Applications International Corporation. Presentation at Saudi Aramco eKnowledge Forum, Feb. 5, 2002, Dhahran. 3. Saudi Aramco Reservoir Management Standards and Guidelines. 4. Saleri, Nansen G. Learning Reservoirs: Adapting to Disruptive Technologies, JPT, March 2002. 5. Buczek, David A., Sapient. Combating Brain Drain: Retraining Intellectual Capital in the Energy Industry, JPT, January 2002.