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D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 6 7, N U M B E R 1 2 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
Vx Spectra
SURFACE MULTIPHASE FLOWMETER
An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Printed in US. Copyright 2015, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Rethink.
Reinvent.
Reimagine. SM
www.fmctechnologies.com
#RethinkReinventReimagine
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
We give
56 RESERVES/ASSET MANAGEMENT you the
Greg Horton, SPE, Retired, and Barbara Pribyl, SPE, Reserves and
Resources Manager, Santos superpowers
57 Chance of Development: Definition, Estimation, and Use
60 Aligning Diverse Portfolios and Execution for Capital Efficiency
youve
62 Applying Lessons Learned To Minimize Overall Investment in
Unconventional Plays
always
66 A Technical-Limits Approach Applied To Maximizing Gasfield Recovery dreamed of.
69 PRODUCTION AND FACILITIES Introducing the worlds
Ted Frankiewicz, SPE, Engineering Advisor, SPEC Services
first X-Ray technology
70 Optimized Design of Autonomous Inflow-Control Devices for Gas for oil wells.
and Water Coning
VISURAYs revolutionary VR90
72 Deployment of a Remote Acoustic Monitoring System for not only finds downhole blockages
Pipeline-Asset Integrity
faster, it lets you see 2D and 3D
74 A Study of Wettability-Alteration Methods With Nanomaterials reconstructions of the obstruction.
Application Well illuminate the problem, youll
eliminate the problem. Better yet,
76 BIT TECHNOLOGY AND BOTTOMHOLE ASSEMBLIES youll eliminate downtime and
Casey McDonough, SPE, Drilling Manager, American Energy Partners
increase profitability.
77 Designing and Testing of New Rotary-Steerable System for Use Onshore
Contact us for a
79 Hydraulic Percussion Drilling System Boosts Rate of Penetration,
LowersCosts
demonstration
visuray.com
81 Rotation by Reciprocation Casing-Landing Technology
83 WATER MANAGEMENT
Syed A. Ali, SPE, Technical Adviser, Schlumberger
ION
VISURAY X-RAY VIS
The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
free to SPE members for two months at www.spe.org/jpt.
PRODUCTION OPTIMIZATION CONSULTING
LETS MAKE A
GAME PLAN
Any well type. All forms of lift.
'VMMFMEPQUJNJ[BUJPO
2015 Weatherford. All rights reserved.
Drilling & Formation Evaluation | Well Construction | Completion & Stimulation | Production
AFRICA
Adeyemi Akinlawon,
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
Adeb Konsult DRILLING AND COMPLETIONS
David Curry, Baker Hughes
CANADIAN
Darcy Spady, Sanjel HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT,
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA Trey Shaffer, ERM
Bob Garland, Silver Creek Services
MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION
GULF COAST NORTH AMERICA J.C. Cunha, Chevron
J. Roger HIte, Inwood Solutions
PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS
MID-CONTINENT NORTH AMERICA Jennifer Miskimins, Barree & Associates
Michael Tunstall, Halliburton
PROJECTS, FACILITIES, AND CONSTRUCTION
MIDDLE EAST
Vacant
Howard Duhon, GATE, Inc. THE
AGILITY
RESERVOIR DESCRIPTION AND DYNAMICS
NORTH SEA Tom Blasingame, Texas A&M University
Carlos Chalbaud, GDF Suez E&P UK
We want to be your
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COPYRIGHT AND USE: SPE grants permission to make
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Stacey Maloney, Print Publishing Specialist use. This permission is in addition to copying rights grant- ____
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WORLD CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION1+ HENRY HUB GULF COAST NATURAL GAS SPOT PRICE
THOUSAND BOPD
6
O PEC JAN FEB MAR APR
Algeria 1370 1370 1370 1370 5 USD/million Btu
Angola 1860 1810 1760 1810 4
Ecuador 558 553 553 548
3
Iran 3300 3300 3300 3350
Iraq 3525 3425 3825 3861 2
Kuwait* 2550 2650 2650 2650
1
Libya 370 360 475 505
2014
NOV
DEC
2015
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
Nigeria 2470 2470 2420 2520
Qatar 1514 1520 1525 1531
Saudi Arabia* 9640 9740 9940 9940
UAE 2820 2820 2820 2820 WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)
Venezuela 2500 2500 2500 2500
TOTAL 32477 32518 33138 33405 MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT
Brent 55.89 59.52 64.08 61.48 56.56 46.52 47.62 48.43
THOUSAND BOPD WTI 47.82 54.45 59.26 59.82 50.90 42.87 45.48 46.22
20 1 5 W I N N
ER
Best Visualization
& Collaboration Award
ePLUS RETINA
ETIN
MONITORING SYSTEM
AFRICA by the Ministry of Land and Resources needed to assess the recoverability of oil
to380.6billion m3. from the basin and the rate of recovery.
Z The drillship Ocean Rig Athena is
preparing to drill appraisal and exploration AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA MIDDLE EAST
wells offshore Senegal for a joint venture
(JV) led by Cairn Energy. Two wells will Z Pilot Energy said that an independent Z Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP)
appraise the SNE discovery, which was audit of prospective oil resources for its said the gross proved and probable
ranked by IHS CERA as the worlds largest WA-507-P exploration permit offshore reserves atitsShaikan oil field in the
for oil last year. An exploration well will Western Australia has confirmed the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is estimated to
also be drilled in the Bellatrix prospect, for potential for multimillion-barrel oil be 639millionbbl. The estimate is more
which mapping has indicated a potential discoveries. The audit findings by than double the previous gross estimate
168 million bbl of oil resources. Cairn holds Gaffney, Cline & Associates supplement of 299millionbbl. Discovered in 2009, the
a 40% interest in the JV, with remaining Pilots previous announcement of a field is considered to have the potential to
interests held by ConocoPhillips (35%), confirmed potential for multi-Tcf natural produce 100,000B/D. The independent
FAR (15%), and Petrosen (10%). gas discoveries in the permit, located report findings could help GKP lower its
in the Carnarvon Basin. Pilot holds an field development costs.
Z The Ksiri West-A exploration well 80% working interest in the permit,
drilled by Circle Oil on the Sebou permit and Black Swan Resources holds the NORTH AMERICA
onshore Morocco has flowed gas at a rate remaininginterest.
of 8MMcf/D following tests. Reaching a Z Noble Energys Big Bend and Dantzler
total depth of 6,200 ft, the well perforated Z The first cargo of liquefied natural gas field projects in the US Gulf of Mexico
its primary Main Hoot target interval from (LNG) from the Gladstone LNG project moved toward startup by year-end as 8-in.
5,964 ft to 5,993 ft. It is being readied for in Australia has been delivered to Korea steel catenary risers, eight 100-ton subsea
production. Circle holds a 75% interest Gas (Kogas). Operated by Santos, the structures, and 40 miles of pipe-in-pipe
in the permit and Office National des Queensland-based project produces natural flowlines were installed by EMAS AMC. In
Hydrocarbures et des Mines holds the gas from coal seams and converts it to water depths ranging from about 6,600ft
remaining 25% interest. LNG for shipment to buyers, mostly in Asia. to 7,300 ft, the fields will be subsea tiebacks
Santos holds a 30% interest in the project to the Murphy-operated Thunder Hawk
with the other interests held by Petronas semisubmersible platform in Mississippi
ASIA
(27.5%), Total (27.5%), and Kogas (15%). Canyon Block734. Noble holds working
Z Indian Oil Corp. said it had allocated interests of 54% in Big Bend and 45% in
USD5 billion over the next 5 to 7 years Dantzler. Gross combined production is
EUROPE
to expand its exploration and production expected to reach 40,000BOEPD.
business to capitalize on the more Z Lukoil discovered a natural gas field
affordable prices for upstream assets in the Trident block (EX-30) offshore SOUTH AMERICA
resulting from lower oil prices. The Romania. The Lira 1X well was drilled
largest refiner and fuel retailer in India, to an 8,858-ft depth by the deepwater Z Petrobras said that a third exploratory
the company plans to participate in semisubmersible GSF Development well found light oil in the Carcara offshore
international and domestic auctions of DrillerII and has been temporarily discovery in the Santos Basin offshore
hydrocarbon acreage. abandoned for the evaluation of the Brazil, confirming that the find extends well
discovery. Seismic data have suggested beyond the initial discovery. The Carcara
Z OMV discovered natural gas at the that the field could hold more than 1.05 Tcf NW well lies 5.5 km (3.4 miles) northwest of
Latif South-1 well in the Latif exploration of gas reserves. Lukoil holds a 72% interest the initial discovery well and was drilled to
license in Pakistan. During testing, in the project with the other interests a depth of 2 km. When discovered in 2012,
the well flowed at a rate of 15 MMcf/D held by PanAtlantic Petroleum (18%) and Carcara was the biggest oil column ever
(2,500BOEPD). Appraisal work is needed Societatea Nationale de Gaze Naturale found in Brazils pre-salt region. Petrobras,
to confirm the size of the discovery. OMV Romgaz (10%). the operator, holds a 66% interest in the
holds a 33.4% interest in the license with area with the remaining interests held by
Pakistan Petroleum and Eni each holding Z UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) Galp Energia (14%), Barra Energia do Brasil
33.3%interest. said that a study has calculated a gross Petroleo e Gas (10%), and Queiroz Galvao
best estimate of 15.7 billion bbl of oil in Exploracao e Producao (10%).
Z An industry report cited by Sinopec place (OIP) to lie in three Jurassic shale
estimated that proved reserves have and interbedded limestone tight oil plays Z Compania General de Combustibles
nearly tripled at the Fuling project, the underlying the companys license areas (CGC) discovered a natural gas deposit in
largest shale gas discovery in China. The in the Weald Basin. Reservoir intelligence the Santa Cruz province of Argentina. The
report said that newly proved reserves firm Nutech reported that a net OIP Morena Sur well tested at an initial rate of
for the Jiaoshiba block in the Chongqing estimate of 3.9billion bbl is attributable to 3.5 MMcf/D. The company estimates that
municipality of southwest China total UKOGs eight license interests in the basin the discovery could increase its reserves in
273.8billion m3. The estimate would raise in southern England. OIP calculations are the Austral Basin of Patagonia by 40 Bcf
Fulings proved reserves figure certified not reserves estimates. Further study is to50 Bcf. JPT
Learn more
sas.com/oilgas
1
Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms.
2
IDC Worldwide Business Analytics 2014 2018 Forecast.
SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. 2015 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
S142453US.0715
COMPANY NEWS
E.ON has signed an agreement to sell installation of four wellhead jackets at Bul-
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
all its shares in E.ON E&P Norge in Norway Hanine field offshore Doha. McDermott is set
Petsec Energy has completed the to DEA Deutsche Erdoel. The transaction to install two jackets by December of next
acquisition of the participating interests value is USD 1.6 billion, including year, with the two remaining installations by
of Mitsui E&P Middle East (8.5%) and USD100million in cash on the balance July 2017. The jackets will be fabricated at
AWE (21.25 %) in Block 7 of the Al Barqa sheet effective January this year. E.ON the firms facility in Dubai.
permit in Yemen. The block is an onshore E&P Norge holds the Norwegian portfolio
exploration permit covering 5000 km2 of E.ONs oil and gas upstream business in Wood Group was awarded a contract
located approximately 340 km east of the North Sea and controls equity interests by Bechtel to provide an automation
Sanaa, the capital. It contains the Al Meashar in 43 licenses including a 28% interest in solution consisting of detailed engineering,
oil discovery and an inventory of leads the Skarv field and a 30% interest in the control hardware, and remote instrument
and prospects with significant oil potential Njordfield. enclosures for Tengizchevroils crude
as defined by 2D and 3D seismic surveys. storage capacity project at the Tengiz field
Oil Search (34%) remains the operator of Det norske oljeselskap has entered in Kazakhstan. The project will increase the
the block, with the other interests held by into an agreement to acquire Svenska capacity of the tank farm to accommodate
Petsec Energy Yemen (29.75%), KUFPEC Petroleum Exploration for a cash the upgrading of the existing tank farm.
(Aden) (21.25%), and the Yemen General consideration of USD 75 million on a cash-
Corporation for Oil and Gas (15%). free, debt-free basis. Svenska holds 13 Siemens has signed a long-term
licenses in Norway, including interests in agreement with gas company Dolphin
Total has signed an agreement to sell the Krafla/Askja (25%), Garantiana (20%), Energy to support its Dolphin gas project in
a 15% interest in the Gina Krog field in the Frigg Gamma Delta (40%), and Fulla/ Qatar, which supplies gas to UAE and Oman
Norwegian North Sea to Tellus Petroleum Lille-Frigg (25%) discoveries in the North by pipeline from the North field in Qatar. In
for USD 172 million (NOK 1.4 billion). The Sea. In addition, the company holds four the deal, Siemens will provide service and
field is expected to come on stream in 2017, exploration licenses in the Norwegian Sea. maintenance for nine aeroderivative gas
and produce 60,000 BOPD and 9 million m3 The transaction is expected to close in the turbines and nine compressors for 18 years.
of gas per day. Following the closure of the first quarter of next year.
transaction, Total will retain a 15% interest Saudi Aramco has awarded Saipem a
in the field, Tellus (15%), PGNiG Upstream contract for the engineering, procurement,
CONTRACTS
International (8%), and Det norske construction, and installation of structures
oljeselskap (3.3%). Statoil is the operator 2H Offshore has been awarded at the Karan field, offshore Saudi Arabia.
ofthe field and holds a 58.7% stake. a contract by Chevron to manage a The structures are the observation platform,
production riser weld qualification testing wellhead production deck module, auxiliary
AziLat Petroleum has entered into a program. The development of 20,000-psi platforms, 20-in. internally cladded flowline,
transaction with OGX Petroleo e Gas to technology is aimed at qualifying the and composite power cable.
acquire OGXs full interest in two blocks equipment required to develop future
offshore Brazil. The blocks, CE-M-603 and offshore fields with design pressures Technip USA and 3D at Depth have
POT-M-475, are located in the Ceara Basin above 15,000 psi and temperatures above signed a joint development agreement
and the Potiguar Basin, respectively, in 250F. The program will incorporate test to expand and commercialize the Light
the Equatorial Conjugate Margin and are pipe specifications, procurement and Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology
operated by ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil. qualification of new welding and automated for subsea metrology, field survey, and
Following the completion of the transaction, ultrasonic testing procedures, and inspection, repair, and maintenance
AziLat will control 50% participating comprehensive fatiguetesting. (IRM) applications. Known as laser
interest in the first block and 65% in the scanning, the LiDAR technology collects
second block, with ExxonMobil holding the Technip Umbilicals and Angoflex have precise 3D models of subsea structures
remaining interest. been awarded a contract by Eni to supply and seabed topography, and helps
umbilicals to its East Hub development address the challenges of subsea data
Infosys will acquire Houston-based project in Block 15/06, offshore Angola. collection and imaging in deep waters for
Noah Consulting, an advanced information The contract covers project management metrology survey programs and as-built
management consulting services company and manufacture of approximately 15 km fieldconfiguration.
for the oil and gas industry, in a cash deal of dynamic and static steel tube umbilicals
worth USD 70 million. The new acquisition for the field, which is located 350 km north Eni awarded Saipem a contract for the
will combine Noahs industry knowledge, of Luanda in water depths of 450 m to engineering, procurement, construction, and
information strategy planning, data 600m. The manufacturing of the umbilicals installation for its East Hub development
governance, and architecture capabilities is set to be completed in the second half of project in Block 15/06 offshore Angola.
with Infosys ability to provide technology nextyear. The contract includes the provision of five
and outsourcing services on a global flexible risers and 20 km of rigid flowlines,
scale to oil and gas customers. The sale Qatar Petroleum awarded a contract and the installation of subsea umbilicals,
is expected to close before the end of the to McDermott International for the risers, and flowlines. The project is set for
third quarter of next year. engineering, procurement, construction, and completion by the end of next year. JPT
Water cut
Fluid flow rate
Pressure
Water cut Temperature
Fluid flow rate
Pressure
Temperature
Manara JPT October, November, and December 2015 15-CO-41442 AD.indd 1 9/14/15 8:45 AM
IMPROVING PEOPLES LIVES
What constitutes a perfect day? It The SPE journey to an incident-free workplace began with
depends. To a surfer, it is a day of warm a forum titled Getting to ZeroAn Incident-Free Workplace:
sunshine and perfect waves. To sports How Do We Get There? Sessions addressed defining zero as
fans, perhaps a great win by their favorite zero HSE incident occurrences, management systems and met-
team. We each have our own idea of what rics; understanding and developing a safety culture; stakehold-
makes a perfect day. ers and their roles and importance; and taking the risk out of
Another aspect of a perfect day may the work process.
not be a conscious thought but is of ut- Based on the success of the forum, a workshop was held in
most importance: arriving home safely at the end of the day. Houston in 2011 to enable more open sharing of information
Last month, I wrote about how the Society of Petroleum En- with 90 attendees from 10 countries and 55 companies. Out-
gineers (SPE) mission statement reflects the role of the Society comes of this workshop included identifying the top three in-
and its members in serving the public benefit. This month, let fluencing factors for getting to zero:
us discuss how we are going beyond statements to actions to im- Having leadership commitment and engagement
prove peoples lives by not only enabling affordable energy, but Creating a culture of perfection
also by doing it in the healthiest, safest, and most environmen- Having a common language of communication
tally responsible way possible. Identifying these factors focused efforts on the desired out-
come. It also provided a framework for ongoing discussion on
HSE: An Evolving Approach three provoking questions for shaping exploration and pro-
When I started my career, the topic of health, safety, and envi- duction (E&P) industry HSE management going forward.
ronment (HSE) was often seen as a regulatory obligation to 1. How can leadership be effected and implemented?
meet government requirements. HSE is now recognized as the 2. What is a culture of perfection? How can it be achieved?
right thing to do for two very important reasons. 3. What does a common HSE language consist of and how
1.It is part of our moral and ethical responsibility to our em- does it gain acceptance?
ployees, customers, contractors, the communities in which On 30 June, the journey to zero was re-energized with the
we work, and to the future of our planet. first in a series of global interactive sessions called Getting
2.HSE is good for business. There is no downside to good to ZeroThe Road to Stavanger. I participated in this event
HSE practices. Conversely, the cost of poor practices can via the web and was impressed at how well the web event and
drive companies out of business. the live presentation in Houston were integrated. A second
More organizations are striving to eliminate or significantly session was conducted in September in Stavanger, a third in
reduce HSE incident occurrences. This trend in performance October in Kuala Lumpur, and a fourth in Rio de Janeiro in De-
improvements over the past decade has plateaued. We need cember. Conversations will also take place in the Middle East,
a breakthrough. This will not occur overnight; it will require along with follow-up sessions in the United States. These ses-
ajourney. sions will culminate with an interactive workshop in April
2016 in Stavanger, prior to the biennial SPE International
Getting to Zero Conference and Exhibition on Health, Safety, Security, Envi-
SPE has a long commitment to HSE and I strongly encour- ronment, and Social Responsibility.
age you to visit its website at spe.org/hsenow. This free web- These interactive sessions include in-room and online pre-
site for HSE professionals is an informative public resource. sentations and questions and answers with real-time polling
HSE is a growing discipline within SPE globally. OnePetro of all participants. They will address the following questions:
(www.onepetro.org) now has 6,000 published HSE papers. Is getting to zero achievable?
As the number of professionals sharing knowledge on HSE What are the most critical values to achieving zero?
increases, SPE offers the ideal place where they can gath- Which issues need more time?
er, access resources, increase learning, and collaborate to We have an early consensus that achieving zero HSE inci-
improve industry practices. dent occurrences is possible. The most critical core values, as
15-GE-0427 - Spot the Difference Ad - Journal of Petroleum Technology - 11.10.indd 1 11/5/15 8:33 AM
identified in the initial sessions, are visible leadership, team- could understand would require changing the conversation and
work, and openness to change. Top influencing components changing the vocabulary.
needing more time and effort include a total alignment of all We began with an internal communications campaign that
stakeholders in relation to a vision of zero, human behaviors included videos, testimonials, conversations, posters, a Web
and a common language of communication. page, and resource materials designed to make getting to zero
more meaningful and to help employees at all levels embrace it
Getting From Words to Action as much as possible. The perfect HSE day was defined as a day in
Lao Tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher who is credited which everyone in the company goes home safe, with no record-
with writing the classic text, the Tao Te Ching. In it, he wrote able injuries, no seriousmotor vehicle accidents, and no signifi-
, which is translated as The journey of cant environmental spills. We began to measure and track per-
a thousand miles begins with a single step. Many cultures share fect HSEdays.
the recognition that significant change cannot take place until Everyone shares one simple metric for measuring suc-
action is taken to bring it about. cessno acronyms, no jargon, and no incident rates. There
My employer has taken that first step on the journey to zero is one simple number: zero. Each day is a new opportunity to
by revolutionizing the way the company manages HSE with achieve it. Everyone in the company can see how their actions
the concept of a perfect day which equates to no injuries, impact the company and its outcomes. On every day that we
no accidents, and no spills. Jack Hinton, vice president of HSE record a perfect day, each employee receives an email from
at Baker Hughes, participates in all of the Getting to Zero our chief executive officer. It is the email I most look forward
interactive sessions. When Hinton introduces his section of to eachday.
the program, he asks the audience to reconsider the con- Results have been remarkable. In 2012, the company logged
cept of needing more time to address issues critical to achiev- 22 perfect HSE days. In 2013, the number improved to 42. In
ing zero. 2014, the total was 92, the equivalent of a perfect quarter. On
We talk about needing more time, but do we really need 6 October 2015 we crossed the 100 perfect HSE Days mile-
more time, or is it more about needing to do something differ- stone. Many of our operating units have recorded a year or
ent, and needing to do it now? asks Hinton. more of consecutive perfectdays.
This was the question facing Baker Hughes in 2009. We had Uncertainty and anxiety surrounding market conditions
made significant progress in standard HSE measures but it is and other potential distractions have historically result-
hard for an employee to relate to a total recordable injury rate. edinHSE incident rates trending up. We are seeing theopposite.
What we did redefined who we were and how we did business,
including how we manage HSE. We made a decision to reorga- Moving Forward on the Journey
nize from a number of companies made up of product lines and As part of our goal of making every day a perfect HSE day, we
services to a single company with an interdependent culture. mine the wealth of information we have on any incident that
As part of this culture, we stated our purpose: enabling safe, occurs. We have identified five basic issues common to every
affordable energy, and improving peoples lives. This purpose incident, regardless of classification.
is defining; it is within the DNA of the people who make up 1. Hazard identification: What hazards might I face while per-
the company. forming this task?
As Hinton says, When you have a purpose, you really do not 2. Hazard control: How can I control the hazards to avoid
have more time. The time is now. being injured?
Safety is as much our purpose as energy is, so we made it in- 3. Process education: Am I properly trained and do I under-
tegral to the company and outlined a business framework for it, stand the task?
as we did for other key aspects of the business. 4. Change management: What is outside my normal scope
ofwork?
The Perfect HSE Day 5. Sharing lessons learned: How can I share what I have
Like most companies, Baker Hughes was comfortable measuring learned with my coworkers?
HSE performance incrementally. Our journey caused us to fun- Learnings are fed back into the HSE incident management
damentally shift such that we were no longer happy with incre- system for future use. We are unsatisfied with being able to clas-
mental improvement. Our employees wanted more, and our sify incidents and determine why they happened; we must fix
leadership supported it. Getting to zero became a reflection of them so they do not happen again.
who we already were, rather than a new initiative. This is not a campaign; it is a progression in our thinking. It
The perfect HSE day embodied our definition of zero and all has evolved into the way we do business. It can become the way
that was necessary to achieve it: engaged and visible leadership, business is done throughout the E&P sector. That is where we are
teamwork, trust, willingness to change, a culture of perfection, heading. That is what we can accomplish when we envision every
andextremely importanta common vocabulary of HSE. employee as an HSE professional. That is how we will get to zero.
The perfect HSE day that everyone throughout the organization That is the perfect day. JPT
20% of global upstream spending this year. A BP executive last month was quoted John Hudson, Shell
as saying that oil majors have canceled 80 projects this year and cut capital Morten Iversen, BG Group
expenditures by as much as USD 22 billion. Leonard Kalfayan, Hess Corporation
The agency also believes that OPEC cannot indefinitely keep its current strategy Tom Kelly, FMC Technologies
of flooding the market with oil to maintain market share. At some point in the Gerd Kleemeyer, Shell Global Solutions
near future, the loss in oil revenue to OPEC states will not be sustainable. The InternationalBV
IEA is also somewhat skeptical that output growth from Iran and Iraq will not Thomas Knode, Statoil
beachallenge. Marc Kuck, Eni US Operating
Tight oil growth in the US has changed the global oil market because of the short Jesse C. Lee, Schlumberger
investment cycle of tight oil and its ability to respond quickly to price signals. Silviu Livescu, Baker Hughes
That means that when oil prices do recover, growth in the US tight oil sector will
Shouxiang (Mark) Ma, Saudi Aramco
recover with them and, in addition, producers are becoming increasingly adept at
John Macpherson, Baker Hughes
operational efficiency and use of technology. But the sweet spots eventually will
Casey McDonough, Chesapeake Energy
be depleted and operations in less productive areas will lead to higher production
costs. The IEA predicts that US tight oil production will reach a plateau in the Stephane Menand, DrillScan
early 2020s at slightly above 5 million B/D before beginning to decline. Badrul H Mohamed Jan, University of Malaya
A period of lower for longer cannot be ruled out because of the possibility of Lee Morgenthaler, Shell
tepid global economic and oil demand growth, OPECs continuation of its market Michael L. Payne, BP plc
share strategy, and resilient supply from US tight oil and other non-OPEC sources. Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco
However, the IEA considers this a less likely scenario. Jon Ruszka, Baker Hughes
Global concern about climate change will continue to have an impact on the oil
Martin Rylance, GWO Completions
and gas industry. Investment and development in alternative energy sources Engineering
is growing, as is support from government subsidies. The industry will come Otto L. Santos, Petrobras
under additional pressure this month during the United Nations Conference Luigi A. Saputelli, Hess Corporation
on Climate Change in Paris. There should be no energy company in the world Sally A. Thomas, ConocoPhillips
[which] believes that climate policies will not affect their business, IEAs
Win Thornton, BP plc
Executive Director Fatih Birol said in November. The conference goal is to reach
Xiuli Wang, Minerva Engineering
a legally binding, global agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Earlier this
Mike Weatherl, Well Integrity, LLC
year, 10 major energy companies declared support for a global deal on climate
change, with some recommending that governments agree to carbon pricing as Rodney Wetzel, Chevron ETC
www.interwell.com
Please contact Interwell sales representative
in your area for more information.
www.interwell.com
GUEST EDITORIAL
desalinization desalinization
The American Petroleum Institute esti- Offshore
Membrane
Ocean
mates that oil and gas exploration and Produced water TDS <40,000 mg/L
production in the US generates approxi-
Onshore Fine Fine
mately 20 billion bbl of produced water Total particle droplet
annually. And, because the production suspended removal removal
Thermal
solids
life of wells is usually advanced, the ratio Porous
formation TDS >40,000 mg/L
of barrels of produced water to hydro- Free oil
carbons recovered can be as high as 9:1. reduction Reinjection
Tight
Accordingly, in the past several formation Fine Fine
particle droplet
decades, produced water has become removal removal
the largest byproduct in the oil and gas
Hot water/steamflood
industry. Managing all this produced Thermal enhanced
Demineralization
Downhole
water includes injecting the water into oil recovery
Desalinization/
the formation to maintain formation Fine Fine
SAGD particle droplet
pressure, thereby increasing hydro- removal removal
carbon production, or disposing of the Hydraulic fracturing. New fluids only (limited treatment).
water in deep wells. Before the water
Disposal well
can be injected, disposed of, or dis- (salt water disposal)
charged offshore, it is necessary to
remove oil, suspended solids, or both to Disposal well
protect formation rheology or to meet
dischargeregulations. A water process engineers initial approach to produced water treatment
If you ask an experienced produced applications and options.
water process engineer working in the
oil and gas industrythey are get- formation and its associated hydrocar- effective and efficient produced water
ting harder to find these dayshow to bons. Plus, the properties of produced treatment strategy.
treat produced water, be prepared to water and its volume vary considerably While an initial analysis could begin
answer a lot of questions. And, these depending on the location of the field, with a number of variables, contami-
are likely to be on a range of topics such its geologic formation, the type of hydro- nants in the water and the water quality
as local operating conditions, charac- carbon product being produced, and the requirements determine the treatment
teristics of the produced water, water reservoirs age. process. Contaminants are generally
treatment requirements, and available For those new to produced water, categorized into three types: suspended
treating options. It is also important to the preceding information can be over- oil droplets/particles, dissolved organics
understand that produced water con- whelming. But for produced water and inorganics, and biological matter.
tains chemical characteristics of the experts, it is the basis for developing an
Free Oil and Suspended Solids
Free oil and suspended solids represent
Daniel Shannon is the produced water product manager for the most common challenges to treat-
Camerons Process Systems division. During his 35-year career, ing produced water. For offshore dis-
Shannon has held senior product management, commercial, and charge, oil removal is necessary to meet
engineering management positions in water treatment at Calgon, local regulations. When water is inject-
Baker Petrolite, GE Water & Process Technologies, and Halliburton. ed, both onshore and offshore, the par-
ticulate threatens the formation rheol-
ogy, well productivity, and well life. Left
DENHAM CAPITAL
Energy and resources-focused private equity firm with over $7.9 billion in invested and committed capital | www.denhamcapital.com
Denham Capital does not offer or sell securities to the public. No solicitation or offer to sell securities is made hereby.
Cost Range TSS Spec Oil Spec
Contaminant to be Removed
USD/bbl mg/L micron mg/L
Suspended solids and free oil removal 0.20 to 2.50 10 mg/L <10 25
Fine particulate removal 0.50 to 2.00 <5 NTU <2
Oil removal prior to desalination
0.50 to 1.50 <1
Fine droplet removal
Desalinationdischarge/agricultural upcycling TDS mg/L
Membrane 3.00 to 5.00 10 to 30 mg/L
Thermal 6.00 to 8.00 <1 to 10
Biological programs are often monitored
Nonoxidizing biocides 0.50 to 2.50
based on bug counts. Real metrics are
observation of evidence of biological activity
Oxidizing biocides 0.10 to 1.00
such as presence of slime in tanks, etc.
to separate from the water naturally, the on the droplet/particle size, density, and dissolved solids 40,000mg/L, thermal
process could take years, making the the velocity of water. desalination technologies, including mul-
method impractical. Decreasing the density of oil droplets/ tistage evaporators and vapor recompres-
The rate of separation of free oil particles can be accomplished by attach- sion, are used. For produced water with
and suspended solids from produced ing them to gas bubbles. Decreasing their total dissolved solids 40,000 mg/L,
water can be accelerated using the densities to a point that is substantially membrane systems areused.
followingmethods: lower than the produced water in which
Increasing oil droplet/solid particle they are suspended allows the particles Biological Matter
size to rise and separate. It can be done by Biological matter includes bacteria and
Changing water flow direction injecting gas, producing bubbles that all their metabolic byproducts. Bacteria
Decreasing water flow velocity range in size from 100 and 200 microns, develop in produced water as a result of
Decreasing oil droplet/particle or by causing a pressure drop that releas- contamination during exploration and
density es dissolved gas bubbles as small as 10 production. Bacteria and their metabol-
Increasing the size of droplets/par- to 20 microns. The oil droplets/particles ic activity can cause equipment fouling
ticles is effected through charge neu- entrained in the water will attach to gas and failure as well as reservoir damage.
tralization by adding cations such as bubbles or be drawn up by the bubbles Control of the microbiological commu-
iron or aluminum. Once neutralized, lift and rise to the waters surface where nity in a water system can be sustained
the oil droplets/particles collide and they can be removed with a skimming or through good housekeeping, which can
stick together in what is termed the overflow device. substantially reduce the use and expense
agglomeration process. As the particles of biocides that must also be applied.
coalesce and form larger aggregates, Dissolved Organics
their separation speed from the water and Inorganics Summary
increasesgeometrically. Dissolved organics and inorganics The fundamental principles covering the
Changing the direction of a produced include hydrocarbons such as aromat- treatment of produced water are becom-
water stream containing oil droplets, ics, and inorganic salts such as calcium ing increasingly important in the pro-
particles, or both causes these entrained carbonate. These contaminants must be duction of hydrocarbon resources.
contaminants to separate from the water. removed for discharging into the envi- Understanding how produced water
By using coalescing media, a stream of ronment or upcycling into agricultural contaminants and water quality deter-
produced water can be forced to change or upstream applications, such as steam- mine mechanical and chemical treatment
direction multiple times. This process assisted gravity drainage. Dissolved options, along with capital and operat-
can separate the heavier particles and the organic contaminants can be removed ing costs, is essential. Removing con-
lighter oil droplets from the water. The from produced water by destabilization taminants is crucial to maintaining well
resulting high coalescence of droplets and precipitation prior to fine particu- productivity, well life, equipment integ-
and particles increases the collision rate, late removal. rity, and sustaining environmental com-
causing agglomeration. Desalination is the process by which pliance. Expert water process engineers
Decreasing the velocity of a produced inorganic salts are removed. Desalina- provide a core competency in the devel-
water stream promotes the separation of tion process technologies are generally opment of an effective produced water
solids and oil. The rate and efficiency at categorized into two types: thermal and management program that optimizes
which this process occurs is dependent membrane. For produced water with total costs and water quality.JPT
The PosiFrac Toe Sleeve is designed to open on bleed down after the high-pressure
casing test. Multiple sleeves can be installed at the toe of the well and can be opened
simultaneously, providing more than one fracture initiation point.
The PosiFrac HALO large bore frac seat has the largest ID of any frac plug on the
market, and it does not require mill-out following plug-and-perf completion operations.
The simple design increases reliability and virtually eliminates the risk of pre-setting
while being pumped to setting depth. Using industry standard wireline setting tools,
the PosiFrac HALO is setting a new standard for plug-and-perf completions.
www.tamintl.com/unconventional PosiFrac HALO is a HydraWell, Inc. technology licensed exclusively to TAM International.
Mature-Asset Solution challenges: optimizing production from wells. ScaleGone and ScaleGone CI are
The Baker Hughes DeclineShift solution existing wells, maximizing revenue from slow-release products, providing long-
for mature assets is designed to help oper- production, and increasing recoverable lasting scale and corrosion protection up
ators get the most out of their mature resources. By use of accurate asset profil- to several years depending on loading.
assets through a focus on maximizing cap- ing and root-cause analysis of decreasing These products can prevent deposition
ital efficiency and returns; expertise to performance, Baker Hughes designs effi- in the wellbore region and the tubing
design a customized plan and to execute cient, integrated solutions to maximize just as powerfully as they can at the for-
it precisely and surgically in the field; and immediate and long-term value. Because mation face, to prevent scale and costly
an innovative technology portfolio that each solution is engineered in a precise production problems. U.S. Waters family
offers advanced, integrated production- manner, most require only a small wellsite of ScaleGone products can provide flow
characterization and -enhancement solu- footprint and can be designed to address assurance and asset integrity through-
tions. The resulting fit-for-purpose solu- multiple challenges in a single operation. out the life of a well, with no need for
tion is engineered to ensure minimal For additional information, visit truck-treating liquid products or tanks
disruption, downtime, and footprint www.bakerhughes.com. and pumps for continuous feeding of liq-
and increased returns. When building uid chemicals. ScaleGone helps ensure
a DeclineShift solution for a particular Scale Inhibitor maximum well production by preventing
asset, Baker Hughes takes an individual U.S. Water introduced ScaleGone and scale deposits that reduce flow and helps
approach, focusing on the asset profile ScaleGone CI, an innovative, long- provide extended well integrity with cor-
and the operators objectives and drivers lasting (up to several years), slow-release, rosion protection.
(Fig. 1). Each solution begins with close solid scale inhibitor (SI) and a combined For additional information, visit
examination of the areas that have the SI/corrosion inhibitor (CI) for hydraulic- www.uswaterservices.com.
greatest effect on each operators bottom fracturing fluids as well as use in produc-
line. This examination can range from ing wells. ScaleGone solid SI particles, Production and Reservoir-
individual-well diagnostics to full-field which measure the same size as prop- Management System
analyses, and focuses on three primary pant, can be introduced during stimu- Schlumberger, in collaboration with Saudi
lation treatment, ensuring distribution Aramco, has developed a new comple-
throughout the well fracture (Fig. 2). Safe tion system that provides simultaneous
to use with other stimulation products, control of multiple zones across multiple
ScaleGone slowly releases into well pro- well sections, increasing recovery while
duced fluids. In addition, ScaleGone can reducing lifting and intervention costs
be introduced into already-producing (Fig. 3). The Manara production and res-
Production-Optimization
Consulting Service
Weatherford introduced its production-
optimization consulting services. The
consultants are in-house subject-matter
experts who collaborate with operators
to design integrated optimization solu-
Fig. 3Schlumbergers Manara production and reservoir-management system. tions for proactive well, reservoir, and
asset management. Drawing from a com-
ervoir management system, which uses the benefits of the original Duoline DL prehensive portfolio of lift equipment
inductive coupler technology to provide Ring System (Fig. 4). Duoline Flush is and a 480,000-well history of successful
power and telemetry, can be deployed in a glass-reinforced-epoxy lining system software deployments, consultants assist
conventional or extended-reach wells, in that, when installed into carbon-steel cas- with choosing the right technologies
two or more sections, or across any num- ing and tubing, protects the base mate- for the optimal outcome. The consult-
ber of lateral junctions. The system incor- rial from corrosion from materials that ing team can configure offeringswhich
porates compact stations positioned in may be present in the well fluid. Reservoir include artificial-lift systems, surface
zones within each well section to mea- cleanup with hydrochloric acid at concen- and downhole sensors, controllers, and
sure water cut, fluid-flow rate, pressure, trations up to 28% can be accommodated production-optimization software
and temperature in real time. Multiple to ensure good flow rates. Duoline Flush to suit assets ranging from convention-
stations can be placed in each lateral, may be installed into threaded oil-country al and deepwater sources to unconven-
providing precise control of zonal pro- tubular goods, either new or used, with- tional shale and heavy-oil sources. The
duction or drawdown. Work flows that in most connection options. The Duoline team also can recommend comprehen-
normally take 3 to 6 months can be per- Flush System uses the patented FL-Ring sive solutions for various operational
formed in 1 day. Sensors placed upstream system that permits lining of shoulder-to- challenges. For example, they can part-
of stations analyze production from the shoulder premium connections without ner with operators to maximize produc-
associated zone, with data communicat- affecting the geometry and performance tion in naturally flowing and artificially
ed to the surface through a single elec- of the connections. The system can be lifted wells with high outputs, or they can
tric control line. When a particular zone installed into a wide range of bore diam- help to reduce operational costs in assets
sees water breakthrough, the system can eters and weights. Duoline can accommo- with thousands of minimally producing
adjust the electric flow-control valve to date interventions with both coiled tub- wells. The services follow a cycle of ongo-
hold back the water while other zones
continue producing. The Manara system API Ring
has been installed in four wells in the Mid- API Pipe Coupling Grout API Pipe
dle East. In one case, six stations and four
inductive couplers were deployed in three
laterals of a well, providing daily down-
hole monitoring, reservoir management,
and drawdown control in each zone.
For additional information, visit
www.schlumberger.com.
Lining System
The Duoline Flush System is an extension
and natural progression to the success-
ful Duoline DL System, which has been
used in thousands of onshore and off-
Liner Liner
shore wells worldwide over the past 10
years. Using the same component mate- API Flush Flare
rial with an enhanced internal geometry, Fig. 4The new Duoline Flush System provides increased through bore
Duoline is now able to offer an increased while maintaining all the benefits of the original Duoline DL Ring System.
through bore while still maintaining all (API=American Petroleum Institute.)
Artificial-Lift
Analyze Optimization Select
Cycle
Monitor Design
Fig. 5Weatherford production- Fig. 6Thermoflex PE, a lightweight polyethylene pipe for cold-weather
optimization consulting uses a six- climates from Polyflow.
stage cycle to help operators enhance
performance and achieve full-field
optimization.
Cold-Weather Pipe
Polyflow, a manufacturer of spoolable
reinforced thermoplastic pipe for trans-
porting hydrocarbons, water, and other Fig. 7A map-view slice from one well of, from left, a stimulated rock
fluids, announced the launch of Thermo- volume (SRV), an APV approximately 2 years into production, and an APV
flex PE, a lightweight polyethylene pipe approximately 3 years into production from Global Geophysical Services.
for cold-weather climates. Production of
Thermoflex PE is currently under way, installation, and support to its ExPERT contributing to production. Fluid noise in
and it will be available in various sizes pipeline-rehabilitation program. the fracture system is also imaged. When
and pressure ratings (Fig. 6). The market For additional information, visit a well is producing, the drainage network
need for pipe that can withstand tough www.polyflowglobal.com. that is connected to the wellbore experi-
climates calls for a better choice than ences enhanced activity because of the
steel or other plastic pipe in the Bakken. Production-Monitoring System movement of fluid; the resultant changes
Thermoflexs unique polymer construc- Ambient seismic activity generated by in local stress cause failure events. Glob-
tion and aramid-fiber reinforcement producing wells can be used to map the al Geophysical Services Ambient Seis-
deliver high resistance to hydrocarbons volume of rock surrounding the well- mic production monitoring is useful for
in sour and sweet environments around bore. This acoustically active rock vol- observing changes in APVs over time. This
the world. Operators in cold environ- ume is termed the active production 4D monitoring, when conducted at regu-
ments can benefit from Thermoflex volume (APV). While monitoring micro- lar intervals over years of production, pro-
PEs resistance to corrosion and cycli- seismic activity during hydraulic fractur- vides unprecedented views of reservoir
cal loading. This allows oil and gas ing has become a common practice, using production (Fig. 7). These APVs can be
exploration-and-production companies the lower-amplitude ambient signal to used for making predrill predictions about
in the Bakken and other northern regions monitor production is a new and prom- production volumes, for understanding
to get wells flowing faster for increased ising technology. Small changes in local the interactions between producing wells,
profitability while enhancing safety, stresses can result in failure on small pre- and for determining refracturing candi-
reliability, and longevity. In support of existing fractures. This generates acoustic dates and infill-drilling strategies. JPT
Thermoflex PE, Polyflow delivers ser- activity that, when imaged, reveals reser- For additional information, visit
vice in the field as well, from modeling, voir features including the volume of rock www.globalgeophysical.com/ambient.
Reservoirs consisting of heterogeneous with the surrounding matrix at a funda- The relaxation time for a molecule
carbonates and shaly sands pose for- mental level. The technology provides a near a pore wall surface tends to be much
mation evaluation challenges for con- more complete, real-time assessment of faster than that for a molecule in the bulk
ventional logging-while-drilling (LWD) producibility in complex reservoirs. fluid volume. A distribution of all the
measurements. Widely used resistivi- relaxation times, known as a T2 distribu-
ty, density, neutron porosity, and sonic Evolution of the Technology tion, can be used to derive both irreduc-
measurements are all sensitive to both The industry has used NMR technol- ible and producible fluid volumes, and
the formation matrix and the fluids, ogy for formation evaluation for more an improved estimation of permeability.
which may create ambiguities in the than 25 years, during which significant These measurements are also important
evaluation of reservoir fluids. technical and operational developments for identifying bypassed pay zones and
The Schlumberger proVision Plus have greatly enhanced its capabilities estimating productionrates.
magnetic resonance-while-drilling and applications. In porous media, NMR The first NMR tools were deployed
(MRWD) technology offers enhanced techniques reveal pore and fluid prop- on wireline after the hole had been
evaluation capabilities. By manipulating erties by exciting the nuclear states of drilled, which added rig time and cost
the hydrogen atoms in the fluids, nucle- hydrogen-containing molecules in the to the operation and did not allow for
ar magnetic resonance (NMR) meth- formation fluids and measuring the real-time changes to the wellbores tra-
ods provide a focused measurement of relaxation times for the induced excited jectory. Schlumberger shifted the ser-
fluid properties and their interactions energy states. vice from wireline to a while-drill-
ing application in 2002. This early
work focused on redesigning the sen-
Mineralogy-Independent Porosity Facies Analysis Pore Size Distribution sor array to make it more robust and
capable of withstanding dynamic drill-
T2= ing environments.
Signal distribution
Signal distribution
Signal distribution
The better protection of the PDC cutters in the first contact 3D & LAYOUT: RENDER.NO
COUNTERFORCE
with the bottom of the hole has already delivered impressive
results. An operator in South-Eastern Europe recently drilled
a deep 6.0 inch section in one bit-run with excellent ROP.
The bit drilled for 235 hours to a local TVD record of 5350m
(17500). Back on surface, the bit was graded 1-3-WT.
www.tomax.no
Attenuation Resistivity
at 40-in Spacing
Irreducible water
Rate of Penetration 40-in Spacing Porosity Porosity
< 3 ms Cumulative Porosity Net
Bound water
0 0.2 ohm.m 2,000 0.6 ft3/ft3
Oil volume
100 m/h ft3/ft3 0 0.6 0
Free water
T2 Distribution Formation
310 ms Pressure-While- Cumulative Porosity Gross
Phase Shift Resistivity Thin-Bed
Bound Fluid Drilling Permeability Analysis
Formation Sigma at 28-in Spacing Density 1030 ms
Density Image Spectroscopy T2 Logarithmic Mean Volume Cumulative Porosity Gross
0.1 mD 10,000 0.5 3.5
0 cu 40 0.2 ohm.m 2,000 1.65 g/cm3 2.65 30100 ms
1.96 2.33 0.50 4.50 0.5 ms 5,000 0.6 ft3/ft3 0 0 m 15
Phase Shift Resistivity, Magnetic Resonance Thin-Bed 0.50 8.50
Caliper Gamma Ray 16-in Spacing Neutron Porosity Density Image Spectroscopy T2 Cutoff Density Porosity 100300 ms Cumulative Porosity Net
Permeability Analysis Volumetrics
105 in 510 0 gAPI 150 0.2 ohm.m 2,000 0.6 ft3/ft3 0 0.68 g/cm3 3.9 0 1 0.5 ms 5,000 0.3 g/cm3 0 > 300 ms 0.1 mD 10,000 0 unitless 1 0 ft3/ft3 1 0 m 15
Thinly
laminated
sand-shale
pay zone
Thinly
laminated
sand-shale
pay zone
Fig. 2In a deepwater well offshore West Africa, the Schlumberger multifunction logging-while-drilling system
clearly identified two distinct pay sands. When these logs were combined with the magnetic resonance-while-drilling
measurements, two additional laminated sand-shale sequences were discovered. The result was a 60% increase in
calculated reserves.
continuous permeability measure- sourceless formation evaluation-while- meability in both shaly sands and
ments, and providing direct detection of drilling technology, which uses pulsed heterogeneouscarbonates.
hydrocarbons, the technology offers a neutron generator technology to yield a The MRWD system also identifies
number of benefits in the assessment of detailed description of the rock matrix areas of low permeability, thus helping
complex reservoirs (Fig.1). Because the mineralogy. Taken together, the two to improve decision making about where
data are acquired as the well is drilled, technologies provide sophisticated rock and how to produce. When additional pay
petrophysicists and reservoir engineers and fluid property evaluation without zones are discovered, the data can be used
can assess the formation fluids before chemical sources. to create a targeted completiondesign.
they commingle with drilling fluid, The combined use of the two tech-
which complicates evaluation. nologies yields a complete petrophys- Case Studies
The MRWD data complement other ical picture of reservoir quality, mak- An operator drilling a deepwater well
LWD data, enabling advanced petrophys- ing it possible to identify pay zones that offshore West Africa required a better
ical evaluation of complex reservoirs. For would otherwise be passed over and means of evaluating potential pay zones
example, the system can be run with a accurately determine reservoir per- in a thinly bedded sandstone reservoir.
Continued Innovation
The latest generation of the MRWD system has been used in
more than 250 wells worldwide, with more than 250,000 m
of formation logged. Further advancements have been made
to the system, including a larger tool size. To complement
the 6-in. tool for 8-in. holes, the MRWD 8-in. tool was
introduced this year for 12-in. holes.
New processing techniques are also being developed to
extract greater value from the measurements provided by the
technology. The techniques will help reveal the porosity and
fluid signatures in the data. Ultimately, this information will
extend the systems ability to reveal previously hidden pay
zones and optimize completion strategies to maximize the
producibility of complex plays. JPT
Researchers at Yale University who ana- tion to a shale gas well in the study area, The samples with the highest con-
lyzed groundwater wells in the Marcellus said Brian Drollette, the studys lead centration of organic compounds were
Shale area have determined that hydrau- researcher and a PhD student at Yale. taken from water wells less than 300 ft
lic fracturing is highly unlikely to be a Furthermore, we saw that this relation- deep. Additionally, two of the positive
direct source of contamination. ship also existed between the concen- samples contained a known hydraulic
The 3-year study, published in the Pro- tration and the distance to the nearest fracturing additive, which Drollette said
ceedings of the National Academy of Sci- gas well that had an environmental and supports the likelihood that chemicals
ences, also found that well casing failures health safety violation. released onto the surface will potentially
and produced water containment ponds From 2012 through 2014, Drollette leach into groundwater sources.
did not impact the groundwater samples took samples from 64 residential water For the organic compounds addressed
taken during the study. The research- wells spread across about 7400 km2 in by US federal safe drinking water stan-
ers concluded that the samples that test- northeastern Pennsylvania, making it dards, the study found that the concen-
ed positive for some of the same organ- the most extensive study of its kind to trations were well below those the laws
ic chemical compounds used in drilling date. Unlike earlier studies that have allow and could be easily removed with
and completion operations, but not in focused exclusively on methane migra- inexpensive and widely available carbon
dangerous concentrations, resulted from tion into groundwater, the Yale-led effort filters. For those chemicals where no
accidental spills on the surface. also analyzed water samples for a sub- standards exist, specifically the diesel-
We found that there was a significant set of heavier chemicals that represent range organic compounds, the research-
relationship between the levels of diesel- about 10% of those disclosed through ers said their concentrations were also
range organic compounds and the loca- public databases such as FracFocus. very low.
The researchers analyzed the sam-
ples using techniques such as noble
gas analysis and inorganic fingerprint-
ing that allowed them to dismiss other
potential sources of contamination.
Analysis of the samples with the
highest concentration of organic
compounds showed that the aquifer
water was geologically young
compared with the saline water
associated with the Marcellus Shale,
which indicated that the upward
migration through thousands of feet
of rock was unlikely.
Had the heavy organic compounds
been transported into the
groundwater via a leaking well
casing,they likely would have
been accompanied by high levels
of lighter gases such as methane,
which were not observed.
Residential wellsites from one of the most active areas of the Marcellus Shale If there were breaches in
in northeastern Pennsylvania were tested to determine likely sources of containment ponds, levels of
groundwater contamination. Image courtesy of Yale University. inorganic compounds such as
Despite a number of recent and high- communication and operational training 1977 where 583 people were killed when
profile jetliner crashes, commercial avi- program known as crew resource man- two Boeing 747s collided on the runway.
ation has entered into a new era of safe- agement (CRM). A dense fog that enveloped the airport
ty. Seven of the past 10 years have seen The basic principle of CRM is to encour- the day of the crash certainly played a
the fewest fatal accidents in the indus- age key personnel to speak up when they role. However, what ultimately led to the
trys nearly 7-decade history and this detect problems or notice mistakes while disaster was the poor communication
year is on track to be the safest yet. maintaining the hierarchy of authority. between pilots and air traffic controllers
Aside from the significant improve- The concept was born from the ashes and the bad decision making thatensued.
ments made in aircraft reliability, much of the aviation industrys deadliest acci- In the search for answers on how
of the progress has been attributed to the dent at the Spanish island of Tenerife in to avoid such preventable tragedies in
the future, the experts determined that
improving communications in the cock-
pit was critical. In 1979, CRM was devel-
oped and by the 1990s, it became a hall-
mark of airline training programs around
the world. Today, CRM is credited with
saving the lives of countless passengers
and airline crews.
The hope is that someday the same can
be said for the offshore drilling sector.
Five years removed from the Macondo
subsea blowout that killed 11 crewmen
and led to the worst oil spill in US histo-
Key personnel working through problems in a rig simulator. Coupling
ry, the offshore sector has made signifi-
simulators with enhanced communication training, some believe rig operations cant strides in work safety. Yet it remains
can be made safer and more efficient. Photo courtesy of The Well Academy. to be seen whether that event will lead to
nov.com/offshore
More than 50 years after inventing the The working name for the device is By reducing the air pressure by more
air gun, Stephen Chelminski is working the Low Pressure Source (LPS), which than 50% and significantly increasing
on a new version of the industry stan- he refers to as a sound source. That the volume of air used to create the
dard designed to be more in tune with distinction reflects the negative asso- sound, the device increases the dura-
the current needs of the industry and ciations that have been attached to the tion of the sound emitted, changing it
itsregulators. name airgun. to a lower frequency boom. The output
While the components used would be In redesigning the original, the goal also is said to offer a larger volume of
familiar to anyone who has worked with was to create a familiar device that emits the low-frequency signals needed for
an air gun, it has a fatter shape and pro- a lower energy burst of sound concen- determining rock properties and imag-
duces sounds in a lower range. If it were trated on less than 100 Hz, with more ing deepertargets.
a horn, it would be a tuba and a standard of the hard-to-get signals below 10 Hz. Those figures were based on testing of
air gun would be a trumpet. The low frequencies are critical, a reduced-size prototype of the device in
The goal is to reduce the energy emitted said Shuki Ronen, external and col- Seneca Lake, New York, which is home
to produce the lower frequency range that laborative research manager for Dol- to a testing facility used by the US Navy
is useful for seismic, while decreasing the phin Geophysical, which is supporting for testing sonar equipment.
emission of frequencies said to cause trou- Chelminskis work to commercialize the If Chelminskis air gun reaches the
ble for marine life. Something like 3% to LPS. He said the device can generate a market, it will be up against a newly
6% of the energy from an air gun is turned signal that is a quarter octave lower than designed air gun with a limited high-
into useful energy for seismic. The rest is a standard air gun, which is valued for frequency bandwidth from Teledyne
wasted, said Chelminski, chief executive what it can reveal about rock properties Bolt, whose website traces its air gun
officer of Chelminski Research, during an and deeper layers. business back to Chelminskis original
interview at the recent Society of Explora- The seismic services company design in the mid-1960s.
tion Geophysicists (SEG) annual meeting planned to decide late this year whether The Teledyne Bolt air gun is called
in New Orleans. to pay to build a full-sized version of the the E-source air gun and was developed
new sound source for testing, which will in conjunction with Schlumberger. It is
depend on whether there are interested ready for use in a full seismic survey,
users, Ronen said. said David Gerez, technology manager
It is competing for attention at a of sound sources at Schlumberger, in an
time when there has been an upsurge SEG conference presentation.
in new sound source development, Looking ahead, there are multiple
ranging from new-generation guns companies, including Teledyne, work-
to marine vibrators. All are aiming at ing on a new generation of marine
better frequency control and lower vibrators, which open the possibili-
energysignals. ty of sound sources with even more
Frequencies higher than 100 Hz are frequency control and longer, lower-
an environmental issueresearchers energy signals that are more of a hum
say they are a threat to marine mammals than a pop.
and certain fishwhich has led to the Ronens SEG presentation showed
need for compliance with regulations that a new generation of lower pressure
that may cause costly delays in survey devices based on an air gun design may
work. The higher-frequency sounds are not equal what the marine vibrators are
of little use for seismic imaging because promising in terms of reduced sound
they dissipate in the earth, contributing energy and frequency control. But air
little to images based on the signals that guns have a significant edge because
echo up to the surface. they are familiar devices that the off-
Chelminski described how the air gun shore industry has embraced due to
works: A large volume of air emitted at their reliability and low cost.
Stephen Chelminski, the inventor of
a moderate pressure bursts through a The LPS from Chelminski has the same
the air gun, is now testing a new-
generation device designed to deliver large port to create a bubble, which pro- elements as older air guns, he said, adding
better seismic surveys with reduced duces the sound waves needed for seis- he was trying to design something that
environmental impact. mic surveys. does not present challenges to users.
Vimlesh Bavadiya is leading a team of tell them the rocks physical proper- the drilling string in and out of the
engineering students at the Universi- ties, such as its average compressive hole and played a critical role during
ty of Oklahoma (OU) to repeat its vic- strength. We will let them know what construction, sharing his knowledge of
tory in SPEs Drillbotics competition formations we expect to deliver, but it machine tools with the team members
nextyear. could changeslightly. that were fabricating parts.
The competition to build the best Hard times in the business are add- John Kibe said he used his experi-
automated drilling machine was creat- ing another taste of reality: Teams will ence as an electronics technician to find
ed to provide engineering students with need to raise the money to build their more accurate and cheaper substitutes
a dose of real-world experience, where equipment with budgets again capped for the electronic components that cost
teamwork is required to attack a com- at USD 10,000. And the maximum far more than the team couldafford.
plex challenge when time and money weight on bit has been reduced from The derrick structure was designed
are limited, the rules change, and in the 50 lb to 20lb, making it harder to drill by Henry Le, who devised a model-
end, things break. efficiently. ing technique to visualize how the rig
It was a very difficult path. But it The slight winning edge in last years components would work together.
was very good, Bavadiya said, sum- competitionwhere Florence said it Mathematical formulas came from all
ming up the experience of the five-mem- was almost impossible to differentiate the team members, with Christy and
ber team that won the first ever Drill- the winnercame down to how the Kibe converting them into the control
botics competition, which was created OU team responded to a late change in systemprogram.
by the SPE Drilling Systems Automation the required drillpipe to a thin-walled It was a marathon effort. We had dif-
TechnicalSection. aluminum tube. ferent classes, day jobs, and families
The OU team goes into this school All the teams made adjustments to with kids to take care of, Bavadiya said.
year with a working drilling rig, as do deal with that weak link. Bavadiya said We would get in the lab to start around
the teams from the University of Texas the judges told his team that it gained an 8 pm and work to midnight. Sometimes,
and Texas A&M University, which also edge by taking the extra step of modify- we could go to 2 a.m. or 4 a.m.
competed over the last school year. The ing the hydraulic system to pressurize Having a working rig is a good start-
goal is to create a device able make the the inside of the pipe to resist buckling. ing point, but controlling drilling in a
adjustments needed to drill through a A key team member behind that step different type of rock will require sig-
block made from multiple layers of rock was Mohammad Aljubran, who was in nificant adjustments to keep up with
with no human intervention. charge of the hydraulics system, which the competition, which could grow
Last year, the challenge was to pro- had to be revamped up to add the right to six teams or more, Florence said.
gram the driller to change settings amount of pressure, Bavadiya said. While last years teams will be modify-
to adjust to the change of hardness The change required action by others ing rather than building a rig, he did
when moving from sandstone to gran- on the team to adjust the equipment and not think that will provide a signifi-
ite. This academic year, the teams control program to the properties of a cant edge.
must drill straight through layers run- pressurized pipe. Team members shared Unlike our overly competitive indus-
ning at different angles, which will their knowledge of drilling, mathemat- try, academia readily shares knowledge
tend to push the drill bit off course, ics, electronics, process control, struc- without undue emphasis on intellectual
said Fred Florence, president of Rig tural engineering, machining, and weld- property ownership. The new entrants,
Operations, who is the cochair of ing, said Ramadan Ahmed, the team and even the previous ones, for that
the competition. mentor, associate professor of petro- matter, can review the other concepts
Test rocks will be covered with leum engineering at OU. and choose how they wish to proceed,
cement so competitors cannot see lay- Bavadiya said he drew on his years of he said.
ers that are described only as not copla- drilling experience and the people skills Either way, it is a tough test, and Flor-
nar. We want to surprise them, but he gained while leading clubs and other ence said those who compete demon-
not shock them, Florence said. When organizations to create the team effort strate valuable skills. He said that even
we drill a well in the real world, we that brought out good ideas and kept the in this down market, employers should
have some idea of what rocks we should project on track. hire the graduating competitors because
encounter. There is uncertainty about Team member Stephen Christy they know more about this today than
the depths and thicknesses. So we will designed the traveling block that moved you know. JPT
A row of frac tanks used to hold water before and after a hydraulic fracturing
operation stand ready at a wellsite. An increasing number of researchers and
companies believe the flowback stage holds many of the keys needed to unlock
more potential from shale wells. Photo courtesy of Joshua Doubek.
O
nce a horizontal well is hydrau- driver shared by all the interested pro- there. We have the data, but nobody has
lically fractured, the next step ducers is that for the most part, they are the time or perceives the value to inter-
is to clean up the well by flow- already required to record the flowback pret the data.
ing it back to remove water and loosen stage per US and Canadianregulations. But there are a few outliers crunch-
proppant from the wellbore. So arguably, the cost of collecting this ing the numbers. Companies including
Most shale producers in North Amer- data is nil, said James Crafton, presi- Devon Energy are using the early produc-
ica have given little thought to this flow- dent of consultancy firm Performance tion and flowing pressure data of flow-
back stage and see it merely as a prelude Sciences, who has been working with ser- back fluids to establish their production
to the cash-flow generating production vice companies and shale producers on benchmarks. Nexen Energy is among
stage. However, a few companies have different flowback issues for more than those also using flowback data to quick-
come to realize it represents a valuable 15years. ly screen the effective size of fracture
opportunity to learn more about their Crafton and others involved in this designs, determine key reservoir prop-
wells in a week or two than their compet- area have long been trying to convince erties, and to predict long-term produc-
itors are learning after several months the shale business that how a well is tion. Ongoing flowback research is look-
ofproduction. flowed back is often as important as the ing at the chemical makeup of flowback
Essentially, flowback data is a bridge completion itself and that by ignoring fluids to see what else can be learned
between what happened during a com- this maxim, they are leaving money on about shale reservoir behavior.
pletion and what will happen as hydro- the table. It is that simple, he said. At the Black Hawk field in Texas, Devon
carbons are produced. An important The frustration for me is that the data is reports that flowback analysis has led to
100,000 300,000
90,000
30-Day Cumulative Production (BOE)
250,000
80,000
70,000
200,000
60,000
50,000 150,000
40,000
100,000
30,000
20,000
50,000
10,000
0 0
Jan-12 Jun-12 Dec-12 Jun-13 Dec-13 Jun-14 Dec-14 Jun-15 Jan-12 Jun-12 Dec-12 Jun-13 Dec-13 Jun-14 Dec-14 Jun-15
Date of First Production Date of First Production
Legacy Strategy Delayed Strategy New Strategy Legacy Strategy Delayed Strategy New Strategy
Data from every oil and condensate well Devon Energy operates that began producing from January 2012 to March
2015 show an average production increase of 100% for 30-day and an 87% increase for 90-day cumulative production in
wells using a new strategy based on flowback analysis. Graphic courtesy of Devon Energy.
T
he standard for progress in shale gy Practice, raised a seemingly sim-
development has been the dras- ple question: Having good directional
tic reduction in the number of control gives you better wellbore qual-
days needed to drill a well, from more ity. I wonder why we are not measuring
than 20 to less than 5 in some unconven- thatsystematically?
tional plays. But some question whether No one at the ATCE or since has
it has become a misleading metric for an offered a simple formula to answer that
industry needing more productive wells. question. The measure of a produc-
The human tendency is to optimize tive wellbore will vary based on
within a given constraint. Right now, it is corporate business models and
reaching the total depth in the shortest the opinions of exploration
time, said Robello Samuel, technology and production experts
fellow, drilling, at Halliburton. If all you from a variety of disci-
care about is that quantification, you do plines, often with con-
not worry about tool damage or wellbore flicting points of view.
quality, or what it is like to complete it. To a geologist, what
Maximizing drilling performance and constitutes a produc-
efficiency is not the same as optimizing tive wellbore leans
it, he said. toward geosteering
Everyone needs to remember why to guide the hole
they are drilling the hole. As much oil through the most pro-
and gas needs to come out as possible, ductive rock, which
said Bart Critser, geosteering manag- can run counter to
er for Terra Guidance. Otherwise its the goals of a produc-
just a multimillion dollar, fancy hole in tion engineer worried
theground. that the ups and downs
The payoff for drilling faster has large- of a tortuous wellbore
ly been realized. While further time sav- will lead to long-term
ings are possible, the discounts now blockages. It is often
offered by service companies hungry hard to put a dollar value
for work have slashed the potential sav- on some potentially
ings. In September, the day rate for a
typical rig in the Permian Basin was
USD 18,000, according to Hart Energy Subsidence in a
Market Intelligence. That is equivalent to producing oil field
likely caused
only 360bbl of oil at USD 50/bbl. tubing (orange)
Saving a day of drilling is a bad trade inside two
if the hole quality suffers. The downsides casing strings
of a badly drilled well can range from to corkscrew.
casing damage and pump breakdowns, This example
of extreme
to missed sweet spots and accumula- tortuosity
tions of sand in low spots slowing the was imaged
flow, according to drilling experts at the using
recent SPE Annual Technical Conference Gyrodatas
and Exhibition (ATCE) held in Houston, Micro-Guide
service.
and in interviews since. Graphic
One of them, Moray Laing, oil and courtesy of
gas lead for the SAS Americas Ener- Gyrodata.
Drillers are also being asked to drill control centers put drilling and geo- talking to those in completions and pro-
longer laterals stretching out 2 miles or steering experts side by side to balance duction about their definition of a pro-
more within moving target zones. Devon the sometimes conflicting goals of drill- ductive well.
Energy, which has been involved since ing a relatively smooth wellbore that There is a major disconnect between
the beginning of unconventional devel- also comes in contact with the maximum drilling engineers and production, said
opment in the Barnett Shale, turned to amount of productive rock as it moves up John de Wardt, president of de Wardt &
geosteering several years ago when it or down. Company. The consulting firm advised
began developing the Woodford Shale in a company operating in South America
Oklahoma, said Bill Wheaton, a produc- Critical Conversations to reorganize its drilling operations to
tion engineer in exploration and strate- There is no handbook that describes the increase cooperation among the drilling,
gic services for Devon. characteristics of the most productive completions, and production depart-
Geosteering had not been needed in wellbore. The key performance indica- ments. The result was a 66% reduction
the Barnett, which is extremely thick tors would need to be defined by the in well costs and a 20% rise in produc-
and easily fractured, making precise well company operating the well, said Fred tion, he said.
paths less critical. In the Woodford, geo- Florence, president of Rig Operations. Laing points out that the asset man-
steering was required to ensure the well In my opinion, each operator will have agers approving drilling should use that
reached the more productive spots. their own criteria based on the impact to authority to set the standards of the well
Devon is one of the bigger compa- each ones bottom line. to be drilled. It is a two-way street, de
nies using analytics to set standards for Consultants who work with operators Wardt said. Those in completions and
building and managing wells to increase say the first step toward greater produc- production need to say this is the prod-
productivity, Wheaton said. Its drilling tivity is to get those who manage drilling uct I want delivered to me.
The Yarega heavy oil field is an tions from the processes, and significant- hole assembly and drillstring. Another
example of Russias technical ly improved workplace health and safety issue was the inability to reach target
advancements in heavy oil and protection. The counterflow SAGD also depth with casing because of the rigs
bitumen production. Describe the allowed us to develop new areas in the low weight, friction, and an inability to
technologies deployed in the field Yarega field that were not prepared by push down casing from the surface.
andtheir effects on production. functioning mines. The use of a slant drilling rig resolved
Due to the requirements for high oil these issues. However, we had to use
production rates and final oil recov- What are the benefits of using slant workover rigs later on.
ery factors, we applied a counterflow thermal production technologies? In oil mining, the horizontal drill-
steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) In the Yarega field, there is no alternative ing technology has been changed sev-
technology in Yarega, which resulted in to thermal methods for oil production. eral times in Yarega. Before 2011, hor-
even reservoir coverage by thermal expo- The majority of the nonthermal devel- izontal well lengths did not exceed
sure, higher oil production rates, and opment technologies for heavy oil fields 300 m because of technical constraints
lower steam/oil ratio values. Modeling are known to be economically inefficient. and wells were drilled blindly. Start-
results also had shown higher expected Lukoil is working on improving thermal ing in 2011, we increased horizontal well
final oil recovery factors. methods for production in its heavy oil lengths up to 800 m with the application
A surface/underground thermal fields. We have set a goal to increase oil of new mining drilling systems. In addi-
oil mining field development method production rates by 40% and final recov- tion, measurement-while-drilling tech-
is in common use in the Yarega field. ery factors by 10% by developing the nology allowed us to maximize the length
The oil production performance indi- currently employed methods and apply- of reservoir contact. As a result, oil pro-
ces of the oil mining method were sig- ing new approaches and technologies in duction rates increased significantly and
nificantly improved by the follow- pilot project programs. operating expensesdecreased.
ingmeasures:
The lengths of horizontal wells What are the lessons learned in using How can intelligent well technology
drilled from underground mines vertical drilling rigs and rack-type increase heavy oil production?
were tripled due to new directional rigs at the field? The key factor in successful SAGD proj-
drilling systems, thus oil rates from The main issues associated with drill- ect implementation is to provide suf-
new wells were increased. ing from traditional vertical rigs were a ficient steam quality supported with
An upgrade of a surface steam result of the high dogleg severity associ- instrumental daily control and reservoir
generation unit raised the steam ated with the reservoirs shallow depth heating monitoring along the horizontal
pumping pressure. (200 m to 220 m in total vertical depth). welllengths.
By implementing counterflow SAGD Among the challenges faced were low The steam dryness factor, pressure,
technology, we increased horizontal penetration rates because of insufficient and temperature are monitored online
welllength, reduced operational expens- weight on bit owing to buckling and from the steam generation facility to the
es, eliminated adverse working condi- the inadequate weight of the bottom- wellheads on Yarega field. To control res-
ervoir heating along a production wells
length, fiber-optic systems are mounted
Mikhail Chertenkov, SPE, is the deputy chief executive officer of
behind casing on screens in the horizon-
field development technology at Lukoil-Engineering. His areas of
scientific interest include improvement in the processes for tal parts of the well. In steam-injection
development of heavy oil fields and new technologies. Chertenkov wells, fiber-optic systems are mounted
holds a degree in geology and prospecting of oil and gas fields on tubing.
from the Tomsk Polytechnic University in Russia. He was a Fiber-optic sensors provide reservoir
program committee cochair at the SPE Russian Petroleum temperature profile data to allow on-
Technology Conference in Moscow in October. time decision making for steam cham-
The SPE North Africa Technical Confer- matically, putting more pressure on Egypt also requires increased efficiency
ence and Exhibition held in Cairo in Sep- upstream activities, where existing and throughout the oil and gassectors.
tember highlighted the upstream sector future oil and gas opportunities cannot In terms of drilling, we have pro-
with a focus on Egypt and the opportuni- be explored without applying state-of- gressed from drilling tens of meters
ties offered in the region, despite its eco- the-art-technologies, he said. to many kilometers below the surface,
nomic hardships and geopolitical risks. Innovation is required for tapping the both vertically and horizontally. The
Delivering the keynote speech on regions vast resources. We can also total number of wells put on produc-
behalf of the petroleum minister, Sherif expect further innovations to reduce the tion during 20142015 is 388, producing
Ismail, who was appointed as Egypts escalating costs of exploration and pro- 80,800BOPD and 13,400 B/D of conden-
prime minister one week before the duction, unlock additional resources, sates, El-Bakly said.
event, Sherif Sousa said that North Afri- and increase supplies, Sousa said. He also referred to the discovery of
ca offers many opportunities in the Ahmed El-Banbi, program chairman the Zohr supergiant gas field. It could
upstream sector. Sousa is the first under- and a professor at Cairo University, said become one of the worlds largest natural
secretary of gas affairs at Egypts Petro- that the oil price downturn may not con- gas discoveries and help meet Egypts gas
leum and Mineral Resources Ministry. tinue for a long time, and the industry needs for decades, he said. It will be a
There are as many opportunities will emerge for the better and more effi- game changer for Egypt and the Mediter-
today as there ever were, but they are cient. We have done this before, and ranean in terms of energy stability and
different and lie in more harsh environ- we will do it again. So, get ready for the will give a boost forward for more natural
ments requiring advanced technologies industry when it bounces back, he said. gas discoveries in the area.
and greater investments. A clear exam- Osama El-Bakly, chairman of Agiba Eni reported that available well and
ple is the recent Zohr discovery achieved Petroleum, said that soaring domestic seismic data indicate that the Zohr discov-
by Eni, he said. Zohr is the largest gas consumption has led Egyptian General ery could hold a potential of 30 Tcf of lean
discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Petroleum Corp. (EGPC) to speed up its gas (5.5 billion BOE) in place covering an
Mediterranean Sea. development plans. He spoke on behalf area of approximately 100 km2.
The region is also facing rising costs. of Tarek El Molla, conference chairman The Zohr 1X NFW discovery well was
Exploration and production [E&P] costs and the chief executive officer (CEO) drilled to a total depth of approximately
in different regions are escalating dra- ofEGPC. 13,553 ft (4131 m) and hit 2,067ft (630m)
To achieve this target, we require the
coordination and cooperation between
various E&P companies in the country,
including EGPC, EGAS [Egyptian Natu-
ral Gas], and Ganope [Ganoub El-Wadi
Petroleum], he said.
Among the proposed solutions to
meet the growing local demand, Egypt is
increasing E&P activities and reviewing
agreements and development leases with
foreign partners. We are also developing
unconventional resources, increasing the
Ahmed El-Banbi, program chairman use of enhanced oil recovery [EOR] meth-
and a professor at Cairo University, ods, as well as changing the strategic use Osama El-Bakly, chairman of Agiba
says that the oil price downturn may Petroleum, says that soaring domestic
of oil and gas to increase its value, he said.
not continue for a long time, and the consumption has led Egyptian
industry will emerge for the better The widening gap between the demand General Petroleum Corp. to speed
and more efficient. and supply of petroleum products in upits development plans.
IN CORE ANALYSIS,
Khalifa, CEO of Dragon Oil. Unlike IOCs
[international oil companies] which
come to the region and take concessions,
SMEs focus on marginal fields with low
overhead, but their contribution to job
and wealth creation is huge.
EXPERIENCE
IS EVERYTHING
Al-Khalifa said that major companies
can help local SMEs through talent shar-
ing, technology transfer, and business
partnerships. In return, SMEs should
avoid taking high risks and plan for bet-
ter capital management, he said.
Ali Mira, president and CEO of Sahara 152 SENIOR INDUSTRY
Oil and Gas, said that SMEs play a vital role
in the Egyptian oil industry as they pro- EXPERTS
duce more than 115,000 B/D of Egyptian
oil. Medium companies produce about
91,000 BOPD, while small enterprises
4,084 YEARS OF KNOWLEDGE
produce around 24,000 BOPD, he said.
Mira said that there are 37 SMEs
COMBINED
working in the oil and gas industry in
Egypt, with Khalda Petroleum, which is
an Apache-operated joint venture with
EGPC, Petrobel [Belayim Petroleum], and
Gupco [Gulf of Suez Petroleum] leading
the market. These companies also face
the challenges of a shortage of skilled
labor and lack of capital.
SMEs are very important to the
countrys economy and overcoming the
www.weatherfordlabs.com
JPT DECEMBER 2015
MANAGEMENT
Fig. 1A comparison of failure distribution in a subsea system (left) and focus area of condition monitoring
system(right).
ment failure trends may be obtained Theoretical Model The key differences in modeling a sys-
from the reliability data source, OREDA, A Markov chain is a method to study tem with condition monitoring and one
a database used to collect and exchange the transition from one state to anoth- without are:
reliability data for the improvement of er based on conditional probabilities There is no complete loss in
safety, reliability, maintenance effective- (Fig.3). It is commonly used to describe equipment functionality when
ness, and to enhance industry reputation systems that follow a chain of linked the condition monitoring system
on equipment and plant performance. events, in which what happens next proactively detects a failure.
The database provides subsea equipment depends on the current state of the sys- Mostof the functions of the
performance history for a wide range of tem. The effect of introducing a condi- equipment are still available.
equipment from system to component tion monitoring system on the availabil- Thisisrepresented by the
level. This information can be used to ity of equipment is demonstrated using restoration parameter b from
predict the availability performance of this approach. thepartial failure state to the
systems and facilities.
Data from OREDA24 Databank Version
5000.2.1 up to 11 June 2015 was analyzed
for the number of failures in various sub-
systems, including control system, well-
head, subsea tree, template, manifold,
and flowline. The control system was
identified as the leading contributor of
subsea system failures, followed by the
wellhead and subsea tree. The condition
monitoring system is designed to moni-
tor the subsea conditions with the same
order of focus (Fig.1).
A closer look at control system fail-
ures shows that the subsea control
module (SCM) is the largest contribu-
Control/signal failure, single well shutdown, 58%
tor (33%) to subsystem failures. Fur-
Other, single well shutdown, 6%
ther examination of the critical failure
Internal leakageutility medium, single well shutdown, 6%
modes of the module (Fig. 2) reveals External leakageutility medium, reduced production/injection, 6%
that the failure rate of the control/signal External leakageutility medium, single well shutdown, 6%
(58%) is the largest contributor to sin- Fail to function on demand, reduced production/injection, 6%
gle well shutdown. The ability to moni- Fail to function on demand, no consequence, 6%
tor the condition of the SCM and plan Fail to function on demand, single well shutdown, 6%
ahead for maintenance is, therefore,
crucial in reducing downtime. Fig. 2Failure distribution for subsea control modules based on OREDA.
Operational Example
Fig. 3A Markov chain for equipment condition. a is the probability that signs The first full condition monitoring sys-
of failure can be diagnosed correctly given that the equipment is in a partial
failure state; b is the probability of equipment to be working given it is in a
tem by FMC Technologies, Condition
partial failure state; c is the probability that condition monitoring triggered and Performance Monitoring (CPM),
maintenance will be carried out to restore the equipment to a working state; was delivered to an oil and gas field in
d is the probability that a failure can be diagnosed correctly given that the the North Sea. The system consists of
equipment has failed; m is the probability that maintenance will be carried out data collection software and historical
and will restore the equipment to a working state; and R(t) is the probability
that equipment remains working given that it is currently working.
data storing, together with an onshore
analysis server.
The electronic components in the
Wear-out Life,
Early Life, >1
subsea router module are sealed at
<1 atmospheric pressure. An internal pres-
Failure Rate
20.93%
20
Probability of Maintenance (%)
Reactive maintenance
(without condition monitoring)
15 Proactive maintenance
(with condition monitoring)
Reactive maintenance
(with condition monitoring)
10
5 4.72%
1.24%
0
0 5 10 15 20
Time (years)
Fig. 5The probability of maintenance was found to be higher for equipment without condition monitoring than for
equipment with condition monitoring.
Reserves/Asset Management
Greg Horton, SPE, Retired, and Barbara Pribyl, SPE, Reserves and Resources Manager, Santos
The oil and gas industry has undergone of their businessat strategic, tactical, ibrating performance, to extract value
dramatic change in recent times. On one and operational levels, underpinned at from lessons learned to be used in devel-
hand, technology has driven an increase all times by sound and unbiased techni- opment of realistic learning curves, is
in availability of supply, primarily from cal and commercial work. assessed in paper SPE 172973.
unconventional sources. Concurrently, The suite of papers in this feature The need for cost and capital efficiency
global economic and political influences addresses various aspects of these criti- calls for careful integration of technical
have resulted in sustained oversupply of cal business requirements. At the strate- and commercial elements. Many com-
oil and gas, despite declining demand. gic level, the importance of using a robust panies will be able to cite examples of
The effect on the industry has been to framework for ranking exploration, disconnect between these elements, with
return to operating conditions not seen appraisal, and development projects in resultant destruction of value and loss of
for decades, with sustained low prices order of commercialization maturity, as opportunity. Recognition of uncertainty
and sluggish demand forecast to contin- embodied by the Petroleum Resources and sound technical input into commer-
ue at least in the near to medium term. Management System promulgated by cial and financial models are critical and,
The solution space for oil and gas com- SPE, is discussed in paper SPE 170747. when done correctly, allow effective port-
panies to stay viable during this diffi- At the tactical and operational level, the folio analysis to be conducted. Paper OTC
cult period is challenging and cannot be importance of systematic application of 26061 provides an excellent overview of
reliant on external factors of rapid price standards and guidelines for technical the elements of such an analysis.
increase, uplift in demand, or reduction work and of maximizing the benefit by a These papers highlight the critical
in supply. Instead, companies need to truly multidisciplinary approach to deci- importance of application of overarch-
find efficiencies within their capital- and sion making and development of a road ing strategic frameworks within oper-
operating-cost base and to examine close- map to show the way forward to opti- ating and service companies as key
ly and make optimal use of their assets. mize recovery and maximum value is enablers to realizing required efficiency
Business as usual no longer exists, and described in paper SPE 175004. Further- improvements. These frameworks must
companies must challenge every aspect more, the value of look-backs and cal- include mechanisms to consistently and
objectively assess portfolios of assets, to
identify their strengths and weaknesses,
Greg Horton, SPE, is retired from Santos after 33 years of to provide confidence levels that reflect
reservoir-management responsibilities and maintains an active the inherent risk and uncertainty that
role in improving the SPE Petroleum Resources Management
exist within oil and gas projects, and,
System (PRMS). He holds an honors degree in civil engineering
from Adelaide University. Horton joined Santos as a field petroleum
above all, to ensure best use of human
engineer in 1982. Since then, he has worked in many petroleum, capital and incorporate lessons learned
reservoir, and planning engineering roles and in financial roles. from past experience. JPT
Horton has managed extensive external audits of Santos reserves
and contingent resources. He was a member of the SPE Oil and Gas Reserves
Committee from 2011 to 2014, is a member of the PRMS Improvements Subcommittee,
Recommended additional reading
and serves on the JPT Editorial Committee.
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
Barbara Pribyl, SPE, is reserves and resources manager at Santos. SPE 175527 Validating Analog Production
Type Curves for Resource Plays
She has more than 20 years of experience as a geologist and in
by Mark McLane, Rose & Associates, et al.
reserves and resources management based in the Australian oil
and gas, coal exploration, and coal-seam gas industry. Pribyl holds IPTC 18063 Is Your Trap Filled To Spill?
an honors degree in geology from the University of Wollongong. by Douglas Peacock, Gaffney, Cline &
Her focus in recent years has been on Australian and international Associates
oil and gas reserves and resources assurance and reporting. Pribyl IPTC 18128 The Art of Balancing the Cost
has been a member of the SPE Oil and Gas Reserves Committee and Value for Field Development
since 2014. by Keng Seng Chan, Petronas, et al.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
2.0
Barnett Shale
T he development of unconventional
resources in North America
was aided by the readily available
Retrospective Assessment
The retrospective assessment for the Bar-
ly the water resource has been contrib-
uting to gas production. When plotted
on an annual basis rather than a cumu-
infrastructure, water resources, nett was simulated for five specified cases lative basis, it becomes apparent that,
expertise, and a general understanding by use of the parameters summarized in from approximately 1985 to 1998, water
of potential sweet spots caused by Table 1 and the corresponding cost pa- effectiveness was higher than the typi-
numerous well penetrations. Even with rameters summarized in Table 4 of the cal 0.3 to 1 Mscf/gal, which corresponds
these favorable conditions, an estimated complete paper. This cost model was used to the time period when conventional
40% of unconventional wells are to represent the average cost throughout crosslinked-polymer fluids were com-
uneconomical. This paper provides a the development. Hence, this retrospec- monly used in the early wells. The water
retrospective assessment of the Barnett tive assessment does not account for the effectiveness is lower than average from
and Eagle Ford Shale plays to highlight actual variability in cost from year to year. 2000 to 2008, which is consistent with
lessons learned and the associated value the high-volume slickwater treatments
of those learnings. Barnett Shale Base Case. The over- that were common during that time pe-
all financial investment amounts to riod and with the transition to more frac-
Introduction USD 64 billion for well capital expendi- turing treatment stages per well as the
Although horizontal drilling and multi- ture (CAPEX) for the more than 21,500 industry moved along the learning curve.
stage fracturing (MSF) have changed the wells drilled from 1981 through 2013. The Wells became more cost-efficient at
economic viability of unconventional re- simulated well cost averages USD 1.5 mil- achieving reservoir contact over time with
sources significantly, such drilling has lion for vertical wells and USD 3.8 mil- increasing lateral length and stage count,
also encountered a wide range of produc- lion for horizontal wells with 10 fractur- but the usage of resources such as water
tion variability. This nonideal produc- ing stages. The per-stage cost (hydraulic and proppant became less effective over
tion performance further leads to con- fracturing plus fracturing water and per- time. This decrease in resource effective-
sumption of local resources such as water forating) represents more than 40% of ness is consistent with the 40% of clusters
and proppant that are used in hydraulic- the financial investment over the history that are not contributing to production
fracturing treatments. The poor econom- of the development (58% from well con- and the 40% of wells that are not econom-
ic performance of a high percentage of struction including rigs and less than 1% ical from the MSF brute-force approach,
wells is the result of spatial variability in from measurements in the base-case de- with lateral-landing challenges, and with
reservoir characteristics such as hydro- velopment), with the per-stage costs rep- changes in reservoir quality as operators
carbon in place, gas/oil ratio (GOR), and resenting 50% of the well CAPEX when moved out of the core areas over time.
reservoir pressure; lateral heterogeneity using higher stage counts per well start-
along the wellbores; limited accuracy of ing in 2009. Barnett Shale Retrospective Cases. The
well placement; and variability in drilling, The effectiveness of water usage is impact of developing the Barnett with
completion, and stimulationpractices. illustrated by the historical volume of the efficiency and effectiveness lessons
The development of best practices and water used compared with the cumula- learned was simulated using the actual
the learning curves associated with the tive gas production. When compared on a number of horizontal wells drilled start-
Barnett and Eagle Ford Shale plays are cumulative basis, the results suggest that ing from 2000 (representing the first
detailed in the complete paper, as are the water usage and gas production show day of production for the retrospective
the rationale and methodology for retro- a consistent trend. The higher the water- cases). Using this well-count investment,
spective assessments of both plays. effectiveness value, the more effective- the production profiles for the five cases
were established. It is obvious that im-
plementing horizontal drilling and MSF
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
from Day 1 would have a profound impact
of paper SPE 172973, USD 40 Billion Learning Curve: Leveraging Lessons Learned on the time to produce 15 Tcf, reducing
To Minimize the Overall Investment in Unconventional Plays, by C.N. Fredd, SPE, from the actual 32 years to approximately
J.L. Daniels, SPE, and J.D. Baihly, SPE, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2015 SPE 12 years with MSF Efficiency case.
Middle East Unconventional Resources Conference and Exhibition, Muscat, Oman, The effect of technology and integra-
2628 January. The paper has not been peer reviewed. tion is just as valuable as the innovation
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
of horizontal drilling and MSF, both pro- Eagle Ford Shale nology plus Integration provides the op-
viding the opportunity to reduce the well- Retrospective Assessment portunity to reduce the well-count invest-
count investment by more than 5,000 Eagle Ford Shale Base Case. The over- ment by an additional 3,500 wells. Hence,
wells while achieving the same produc- all financial investment amounts to more even with the application of the MSF Effi-
tion target. The reduction in the number than USD 70 billion for well CAPEX for the ciency practices from other plays, there is
of wells drilled to achieve 15 Tcf obviously almost 13,000 horizontal wells, 300,000 significant additional opportunity to re-
has an enormous economic impact. The fracturing stages, 72 billion gal of water, duce the overall investment with the ap-
retrospective assessment (detailed in the and 69 billion lbm of proppant to deliver plication of Technology plus Integration.
complete paper) indicates that more than 1 billion bbl of oil from 2005 through mid- Given all the lessons learned over the
USD 23 billion in overall well CAPEX sav- 2014. Because of the higher number of past 9 years (moving beyond the MSF Ef-
ings could be realized if the Technology fracturing treatment stages per well in the ficiency to include Technology plus In-
plus Integration plus MSF Efficiency case Eagle Ford, the per-stage cost represents tegration), this retrospective assessment
were implemented from the first day of approximately 58% of the financial in- indicates that the Eagle Ford could have
production in the field. vestment over the history of the develop- delivered higher production or could have
Implementing the efficiencies of hori- ment compared with approximately 40% been developed with more than 4,000
zontal drilling and MSF clearly reduced in the Barnett base case. fewer wells (a greater than 35% reduc-
the investment in the number of wells It is clear that the Eagle Ford took sig- tion), could have saved almost 20 billion
drilled and well CAPEX. The simulation nificantly less time to ramp up in activity gal of water (a greater than 25% reduc-
cases demonstrate that additional im- when compared with the Barnett. This was tion), and 40 billion lbm of proppant (a
provements in investment efficiency because of the application of many of the greater than 60% reduction), and could
are achieved by applying the Technolo- lessons learned from developing the Bar- have reduced well CAPEX investment by
gy plus Integration plus MSF Efficiency nett and other shale plays. An economic USD 18 billion (greater than 20% saved)
case. Only through the technology and well design was reached fairly quickly in while still delivering the same 1 billion bbl
integration strategies was an improve- the learning curve, and the number of wells of oil production if initially exploited by
ment in the resource usage achieved be- drilled increased from fewer than 100 to applying the key lessons learned. In the
cause of an increase in the effective- more than 1,000 per annum over 2 years. Eagle Ford oil window, USD 18 billion is
ness of the completion and stimulation the financial value of the learning curve.
designs. Given all the lessons learned Eagle Ford Shale Retrospective Cases.
over the past 30 years, this retrospec- Because the Eagle Ford already leveraged Implications for New
tive assessment indicates that the Bar- the innovation of horizontal drilling and Unconventional Plays
nett Shale could have delivered higher MSF from the start of the development, When taken together, these retrospective
production or could have been devel- there is a relatively minor change in oil assessments demonstrate that the value of
oped with 11,700 fewer wells drilled (a production between the base case and the the learning curve is more than USD40bil-
greater than 50% reduction), could have MSF Efficiency case. The results also dem- lion for the Barnett (gas) and Eagle Ford
saved 20 billion gal of water (a greater onstrate that Technology and Integration (oil window). This value represents the ef-
than 25% reduction) and 21 billion lbm both provide additional opportunity to in- fect of Technology plus Integration plus
of proppant (a greater than 45% re- crease oil production or reduce the invest- MSF Efficiency on the required investment
duction), and could have reduced well ment required to achieve a given produc- per unit production. The combined reduc-
CAPEX investment by USD 23 billion tion target. For increased oil production tion in investment for the same cumula-
(more than 35% saved) while still deliv- per unit investment, the Technology plus tive production is more than 16,000 wells,
ering the same 15 Tcf of gas production Integration plus MSF Efficiency case has 40billion gal of water, and 60 billionlbm
if initially exploited by applying the key the potential to provide a 70% increase of proppant. Alternatively, Technology
lessons learned. In the Barnett Shale, relative to the base case. The application plus Integration plus MSF Efficiency can
USD 23 billion is the financial value of of MSF Efficiency approaches from Day 1 increase the production per unit invest-
the 30-year learning curve. could have saved 600 wells, whereas Tech- ment by more than 70%. JPT
In the Hydrocarbon Journey, complex production processes often require a complex series of steps to
remove and treat the oil, gas, water, and solids that are extracted from the reservoir. These processes
require technology, experience and innovation.
To meet these challenges, Cameron offers the broadest range of separation and processing technologies
in the industry. In addition, our research centers enable us to create real-world processing scenarios so
we can find answers to even the toughest challenges.
AD02073CAM
System Concept
M aximizing recovery of
hydrocarbons from oil and gas
fields represents responsible asset
The system is used to evaluate the life-
of-field recovery potential of oil and gas
rameters (described in detail in the com-
plete paper) used to frame the recovery
factor in each.
management and is extremely valuable to fields, and the steps required to achieve
both the operator and the host country. this potential, on the basis of the follow- Concept Application
Successful pursuit of this goal involves ing key factors: The current process consists of five
a complex combination of technical, Depth of technical knowledge across keysteps:
commercial, organizational, and human multiple functions 1. Prime
factors. This paper describes recent Innovation, creativity, and 2. Establishing baseline
progress in developing a proprietary awareness of latest technologies 3. Capture
recovery-factor-evaluationprocess. Understanding field specificity, so 4. Rank
that identified opportunities are 5. Report
Introduction properly applicable to the field These steps are carried out over two
In 2002, a root-cause analysis was car- under review workshop sessions with the field teams
ried out on the basis of both external- and are applied to both oil and gas fields.
ly published and internally held data to The Efficiency-Factor Framework. The
identify key success factors for increas- systems efficiency-factor framework Session 1. Prime. This step starts with
ing recovery factor in both gas and oil represents the overall recovery factor up-to-date information about current
fields. This root-cause analysis led to the for the oil field as a product of four com- field understanding, dynamic perfor-
development of a robust and systemat- ponent efficiency factors: mance, and possible future activities
ic approach to identify and describe op- 1. Pore-scale displacement (micro- needing to be collated.
portunities called the Reservoir Techni- scopic efficiency of the recovery process) Establishing Baseline. Before think-
cal Limits (RTL) system. Since its first 2. Drainage (connectedness to a ing of ways to improve recovery, the team
application, this process has provided producer) needs to calibrate their forecast of what
a systematic framework to identify new 3. Sweep (movement of oil into pro- the current development scope will re-
recovery-improving activities across a ducers within the drained volume) cover to adequately define the founda-
portfolio of fields, generate clear owner- 4. Cutoffs (losses related to end of field tions for identifying new opportunities.
ship of the activities by field teams and life or access) The systems conceptual framework is
individuals, and identify technology re- Each efficiency factor is given as a frac- used to split the overall recovery into the
quirements (existing or new) to prog- tion between zero and unity and used as different component efficiency factors
ress the opportunities. This process has a multiplier in the recovery calculation. to achieve a good understanding of the
proved highly effective in identifying and For gas reservoirs, the same approach base case. This involves a consensus on
evaluating the practical recovery poten- was adopted to identify the key compo- what the field has delivered to date and
tial within these fields. nent efficiency factors and operating pa- how, as well as what will have been de-
The process hinges on breaking the rameters influencing recovery. There are livered by the end of the current devel-
overall recovery factor into separate- obvious differences between oil fields, opment plan on the basis of previously
component efficiency factors so that tar- volumetric gas fields, and aquifer-drive committed activities. Available field data
geted recovery-enhancing methods can gas reservoirs, with these subsequently should be used to calibrate individual-
be evaluated. reflected in the efficiency factors and pa- component efficiency factors. Field
knowledge and understanding provided
by the field team are then used to evalu-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
ate the contribution of each of these effi-
paper SPE 175004, The Reservoir-Technical-Limits Approach Applied To Maximizing
ciency factors to the base recovery factor.
Recovery From Volumetric and Aquifer-Drive Gas Fields, by Abdelmadjid Alane, Once characterized, the base-case re-
Peter J. Lumsden, P. Craig Smalley, Richard Hallam, Peter A. Salino, SPE, Steven covery factor is benchmarked against a
J. Wells, and Tim J. Primmer, BP, prepared for the 2015 SPE Annual Technical screened set of analogs. This identifies
Conference and Exhibition, Houston, 2830 September. The paper has not been whether the recovery factor is high, nor-
peerreviewed. mal, or low compared with analog fields,
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
0.6 400
RTL factor calculated with these two indepen-
0.5 dent approaches. This quality control of
300
0.4 the opportunity set is aided by the use
of the internal consistency check built
0.3 200
into the system tools. Recovery factors
0.2 derived from the sum of the opportunity
Remaining
100 volumes (a top-down approach) should
0.1 Produced
be similar to those obtained from the
0 0 efficiency-factor increments (a bottoms-
Sanctioned Options Possibilities Barrier Remaining
up approach). The input volumes and ef-
Fig. 1Screenshot from the system tool used for internal consistency checks.
ficiency factors are dynamically linked to
Stacked bars refer to volumes from the opportunities (top-down), and the
short thick black horizontal lines represent the efficiency-based recovery a summary plot in the system tool, as il-
factors (bottoms-up). lustrated in Fig. 1.
The external consistency check is then
operational, or commercial Quality Control. The identified op- completed, referring to the companys
barrier preventing their current portunities are quality controlled to en- extensive Reservoir Performance Bench-
progression. These are currently sure that they are consistent and reason- marking toolkit. The gas benchmarking
unfeasible or uneconomical and able when compared with other fields. process is based on a proprietary data-
can progress only with a step This is performed in two ways: first, with base of more than 800 producing gas
change in technology, cost, or an internal consistency check (within the fields and reservoirs. The toolkit allows
commercial framework. field under review), and second, with the recovery factors from the system re-
an external consistency check through view to be compared with those from
comparison with performance data from identified analog fields.
analogous fields. Report. This stage consists of two
One Stop for The internal consistency check is car- main activities: first, closing out the
ried out on the basis of the efficiency system workbook, incorporating all of
Everything JPT framework through evaluation of the the identified opportunities and asso-
Get all your online JPT overall recovery factor in two distinct ciated volumes; second, drawing up a
content in one place at and independent ways. resource-progression work plan, cover-
www.spe.org/jpt 1. The identified opportunities are as- ing all opportunities with clearly defined
sociated with incremental volumes that timelines and accountability for activ-
Responsive Design they are expected to deliver once im- ity. The finalized workbook is submit-
SPE members can access plemented, regardless of whether these ted to the central subsurface-function
the latest issue of JPT are ranked as Options, Possibilities, or team in order to maintain the global
from any of their devices. Barrier Opportunities. These volumes systemdatabase.
Optimized for desktop, are summed together with the vol- Resource Progression. The systems
tablet, and phone, JPT is umes already produced, then divided software suite and supporting documen-
easy to read and browse by the in-place hydrocarbon volume to tation facilitate the process and enable
anytime you are online. obtain the theoretical recovery factor the outcome of the review to be captured,
for each opportunity set if it were to analyzed, and presented in a consistent
beimplemented. manner. Once a review is completed,
2. The same opportunities aim to im- the field team creates and updates their
Offline Access prove one or more of the component resource-progression hopper and the
efficiency factors. As a result, each op- resulting opportunity set is progressed
Download PDF versions portunity is associated with one or more through a defined resource-progression
of 180+ issues dating efficiency factors, and estimates are work plan incorporating all identified op-
back to 1997 for reading made of how much these would be in- portunities with clearly defined timelines
online or when an creased once the opportunity is imple- and actions to progress.
Internet connection is mented. Input from the field team and Three case studies highlighting appli-
not available. challenges from the external technical cation of the system are described in the
experts are crucial at this stage. This is complete paper. JPT
Advances in technologies for produc- One interesting One interesting development asso-
tion and facilities are being driven by ciated with production optimiza-
the development of unconvention- development associated tion is the use of nanotechnologies to
al resources and the need for more- with production address issues ranging from the con-
efficient and -reliable operations. Con- trol of rock wettability characteris-
siderable progress is being made, for optimization is the use tics to the development of fluids with
example, on the design and performance of nanotechnologies improved heat-transfer characteris-
of wellbore-inflow-control devices. The tics. These applications are moving the
to address issues ranging
objective of this technology is to con- field of nanomaterials from the charac-
trol both the volume and the charac- from the control of rock ter of science projects to emerging or
ter of fluids entering an extended-length wettability characteristics commercialtechnologies.
wellbore. Both passive and autonomous Finally, the trend toward the increased
devices are now available from a number to the development use of modeling and simulation technol-
of suppliers. Field experience with this of fluids with improved ogies, which was identified in this fea-
technology was the subject of 10% of the ture last year, continues unabated. More
papers in this years survey of publica-
heat-transfer than 25% of the papers reviewed for
tions and presentations. characteristics. this years feature were concerned with
Pipeline technology continues its the development of models and simula-
rapid evolution with a focus on the gies on any line passing through urban tions or were associated with their use
safe operation of, and the early detec- or other sensitiveenvironments. and validation. The emphasis was heavy
tion of breaks and leaks in, long- With low oil and gas prices being a on the generation of models and simula-
distance lines. The environmental haz- continuing drag on our industry, a sig- tions that were simple to use, were com-
ards associated with unplanned fluid nificant amount of work was reported putationally efficient, and that gener-
losses from material failures or unwel- on field-optimization and operations- ated short-term realizable cost savings.
come human intervention make the improvement (i.e., cost-reduction) tech- One interesting paper described the
deployment of acoustic monitoring tech- nology. Authors worldwide described development of a fuzzynistic model for
nologies increasingly desirable and eco- their efforts to reduce unplanned shut- more accurate predictions of flow pat-
nomically viable. In some geographical downs, lower maintenance costs, improve terns and pressure losses in pipelines, a
areas, strong environmental and safety operational reliability, and squeeze more critical topic for the design and opera-
concerns about pipelines will most likely barrels out of existing wells by develop- tional control of surface facilities.JPT
favor the installation of such technolo- ing field-optimization models.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Introduction Fig. 1Satellite view of the Kwale and Akri terminals flanking the Niger River.
The technology of this system is based
upon discrete vibroacoustic sensing.
This technology takes advantage of the Vibroacoustic monitoring implies the ad hoc radio links). The acoustic and
fact that any acoustic signal reaching, recording of the low-frequency elastic elastic waves produced by flow varia-
or generated upon, the pipeline will waves traveling along the pipe body by tions propagate along the pipeline and
introduce vibroacoustic waves within use of accelerometers and geophones, are recorded at the monitoring stations.
the pipeline body and the transported- and of the pressure wave traveling into Multichannel processing of the collect-
fluid medium (crude oil, brine, and nat- the fluid by use of hydrophones. When ed signals enables the detection, local-
ural gas). In addition to the general the sensors are placed on both sides of ization, and classification of the trigger-
noise of the fluid flow within the pipe- a source point, cross-correlation tech- ing events.
line, these acoustic waves are transport- niques enable the localization of the ori- The system has been tested in single-
ed along the conduit for long distances. gin point. If only one recording point is phase and multiphase transportation
Especially within the fluid, the sound available, it is possible to take advantage lines during several field campaigns in
propagation is expected to travel sever- of the different propagation velocity of order to obtain
al kilometers, depending on the density the acoustic waves in the pipe shell and Sound-propagation parameters
of the medium and the pipe diameter. in the inner fluid. within the fluid
In the pipe body, because of the vari- Environmental noise produced
ability of the boundary conditions, the Vibroacoustic Technology by flow-generation/-regulation
calculation of the sound propagation The system comprises a discrete net- equipment
is complex, but mathematical analyses work of pressure and vibration sensors Pressure-noise level produced by
proved the existence of modal solutions installed on the pipeline at relative dis- leak events
that are allowed to travel several kilome- tances of tens of kilometers. Communi- Vibroacoustic transients generated
ters. Moreover, for high-density fluids cation between the acquisition systems by operating pigs
(i.e., crude oil or brine), the acous- and the control unit can be implement- Now, only 5 years after the begin-
tic waves can be measured across the ed with different options (existing pri- ning of the research-and-development
pipeshell. vate network, wired or wireless, or with effort, there are four systems installed
and fully operational in industrial sites:
Three of them are in Italy, and one is in
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
the Kwale/Akri pipeline, which is the
of paper SPE 171763, Field Deployment of an Innovative Acoustic Monitoring focus of this paper.
System for Remote Real-Time Pipeline-Asset Integrity, by R. Schiavon, Tecnomare;
G.Bernasconi, Politecnico di Milano; G. Giunta and G.P. Borghi, Eni; and N. Okere, Kwale/Akri Pipeline
NAOC, prepared for the 2014 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Kwale and Akri pumping stations are
Conference, Abu Dhabi, 1013 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed. connected by a water/oil-mixture-
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.
A bronze statue of Will Rogers provid- have merit today. But is the prohibition ment. Because horizontal and extended-
ed by the state of Oklahoma in 1939 on crude-oil exports still necessary? The reach wellbores account for the majority
stands in a unique position in front of landscape has changed. The US in now a of the wells being drilled, technologies
the entrance to the US House of Repre- swing producer of crude. geared around that development will
sentatives chambers. Of the 100 statues President Ford continued the vision produce the highest returns. The under-
provided by the 50 states, only Rogers statement in his State of the Union standing and proper application of
statue is pointed toward the entrance of address. He pointed to goals for depend- rotary-steerable systems will continue
the House. Rogers, who derived much of able and domestic energy. The loftiest to provide a step change in the way fields
his commentary material from Congress, goal he stated was, We must develop our are developed. Bit technology continues
said before he died, Even after Im gone, energy technology and resources so that to improve and innovate. It will take per-
Im gonna keep an eye on you. the United States has the ability to supply formance and skill by both operators
In January 1975, President Gerald Ford a significant share of the energy needs and service companies to compete in
delivered his first State of the Union of the free world by the end of this cen- todays low-price environment. Technol-
address in the House of Representa- tury. While we did not achieve energy ogy developed and implemented during
tives chambers. The United States had independence at the end of the century, the boom will receive closer scrutiny and
just survived the oil embargo of 1973, that goal is now reachable. It was tech- evaluation during the bust.
which resulted in a shortage of gasoline nology in oil exploration and extraction For good fortune, legislators rub the
and high energy prices. Energy indepen- (shale oil) that increased our production left shoe of the Will Rogers statue on the
dence was the focus of his address to the by more than 80% since 2008. Demand way to chambers. That shoe has become
nation and the impetus behind the Ener- has not kept up. Since June of 2014, oil worn, like that of the statue of St. Peter
gy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. prices have dropped 60%. The dura- in Rome, by the touch of the devoted. In
The act contained three main com- tion of the current low prices has already January of 2017, the US will swear in a
ponents: (1) oil conservation through exceeded all downturns since the fall of new president and a new class of legisla-
vehicle-fuel-economy standards, (2) the 1985, when the Saudis, while losing mar- tors. May the tradition continue and Will
creation and direction of the Strategic ket share to other nation members of the Rogers good fortune encourage sensible
Petroleum Reserve, and (3) the prohibi- Organization of the Petroleum Exporting energy policy and favorable commod-
tion on crude-oil exports. While no leg- Countries, increased oil production to ityprices. JPT
islation is perfect, the conservation of 10million B/D.
oil and the establishment of the Strate- Technology will play an increasing role
gic Petroleum Reserve are ideas that still in the lower-commodity-price environ- Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
Casey McDonough, SPE, is a drilling manager for American Energy SPE 173861 Precise Quantification of
Partners. He has 10 years of practical drilling experience working Deformation of the BHA for Improved
in the Permian basin and with the Barnett, Marcellus, and Utica Performance in Directional Drilling by
shales. McDonough has nearly 23 years of combined consulting, Przemyslaw Kukian, Weatherford, et al.
managerial, technical, and field experience in the oil and gas SPE/IADC 173168 Freeing Differential
industry. He has worked as a consultant providing clients with Stuck Pipe With Nitrogen Reduces Lost-in-
pore-pressure and wellbore-stability studies. McDonough also Hole Drillstrings Significantly by Norbert
held technical and managerial positions in downhole logging- Heitmann, Schlumberger, et al.
while-drilling development for Dresser and Halliburton, where he contributed to SPE 174798 Analytical Model To Estimate
density, neutron, vibration, and hot-hole technology. He began his career as a field the Directional Tendency of Point- and
engineer for Sperry Sun Drilling Services and holds a BS degree in industrial engineering Push-the-Bit BHAs by Yuan Zhang,
from the University of Oklahoma. McDonough serves on the JPT Editorial Committee. Halliburton, et al.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
prototype was built to prove the steering Some testing equipment was obvi-
concept and to measure steering forces. ous, such as ovens and vibration tables
for testing of electronics boards. Less
Prototype B. Prototype B comprised a clear, initially, were the motor- and gear-
new steering head that could deliver the test setups, the horizontal-drilling ma-
forces required to create a steering re- chine, the endurance-test bench, and
sponse and survive the loads in a down- the component-shock machine that were
hole drilling environment. This model identified as the RSS developed and ex-
comprised a custom-designed hollow isting testing mechanisms proved to Fig. 3Prototype C.
motor and gear solution (Fig. 2). beinsufficient.
A bench-test setup was used for verify-
Prototype C. The significant change for ing the efficiencies of motors and motor/ of shock can be adjusted by modifying
Prototype C was that it was designed to gearbox combinations, with power and the material used for contact when the
suit the drilling of 7-in. hole (Fig. 3). torque in and out being measured con- assembly is dropped and the height of
The design was improved further by tinuously. This test setup was critical in the cam used for operating the arm. The
splitting the motors/gears and stabilizer evaluating improvements in the bearings shock generated is measured by an accel-
steering section into two separate mod- being used and in the configuration of erometer mounted on the test assembly.
ules. This made it possible to isolate al- the gearbox.
most all of the steering stabilizers drill- A horizontal-drilling machine was Conclusions
ing loads into a separate section of the used for controllably applying WOB and The new RSS development could sub-
tool. Prototype C was a complete system monitoring ROP. Coupled with a standard stantially change the drilling landscape
built to demonstrate that the steering 900-hp mud pump and a conventional within the unconventional plays in the US
concept functioned in a predictable and mud motor, the system has a stroke of land market. The tool is short and highly
controllable manner while drilling. 10 ft, with two pneumatic cylinders pro- maneuverable and can be adjusted con-
viding up to 7 t of WOB and the option to tinuously. It also has directional sensors
Prototype D. Prototype D is the field- add drill collars as required to drill addi- close to the bit (6 ft behind) that enable
test-pilot series based on Prototype C, tional length. close control and adjustment of the well
redesigned to meet requirements for a A horizontal-test rig was used that can path. The geometry and design of the tool
production series run, including a mod- rotate the assembly at up to 200 rev/min, enable short-radius wells to be drilled
ular design to make assembly and ser- provide fluid circulation (up to 400 gal/ (dogleg severities of up to 15/100 ft),
vicing simpler. It also benefits from in- min to generate power and cool bear- which is in line with the best available in
creased motor-gear efficiency through ings), and apply WOB and lateral bending the industry today.
improved bearing design and reduc- load to generate up to 50 G of axial shock The testing and development process
tion of other losses, as well as an in- twice per revolution and apply a side load has been a staged progression, from a
creased temperature and pressure rat- along with drag force to the nonrotating simplistic full-scale proof of concept to a
ing to meet real-world environmental stabilizer. This rig was designed after the fully functioning RSS prototype that has
requirements. The overall geometry and initial drill tests through concrete proved undergone significant drill and endur-
key design elements from Prototype C to be too smooth, with very little shock ance testing.
weremaintained. and vibration. The goal was to provide The four prototypes have become
extended periods of controlled shock and more sophisticated over time, with an as-
Testing drilling loads to the whole system while it sociated testing regime commensurate
Simulating real-world drilling conditions was operating. with their capability. Having a smart and
during testing of the RSS was always seen A single-axis shock machine was highly maneuverable drilling tool is not
as challenging. The main objective was used that was capable of generating up enough to generate success in the on-
to ensure that the tool released for field to 200 G of shock approximately once shore drilling market. Testing needs to
testing would be tested sufficiently to per second to assemblies weighing up ensure that it is also highly reliable and
avoid premature failures. to 50 kg. The magnitude and duration can endure. JPT
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.
Water Management
Syed A. Ali, SPE, Technical Adviser, Schlumberger
Horizontal drilling followed by multistage The need for such vast However, several operating areas, includ-
fracturing is the most prevalent mode ing the Haynesville, Marcellus, and Bak-
of hydrocarbon extraction from shales.
amounts of fresh water ken shales and west Texas areas, have
Hydraulic fracturing of a well encompass- in hydraulic fracturing produced waters with much higher salin-
es, on average, approximately 30 fractur- significantly affects ity (TDS concentrations greater than
ing stages, with each stage using approxi- 150,000 ppm).
mately 3,800 bbl of fresh water, equat- water availability and An ideal solution would be to reuse
ing to approximately 114,000bbl for each sourcing and the cost and the high-TDS produced water in subse-
well. The need for such vast amounts of quent fracturing treatments with mini-
fresh water in hydraulic fracturing signifi- logistics of accessing and mal filtration to remove the suspended
cantly affects water availability and sourc- trucking the water to the solids. In response, a growing group of
ing and the cost and logistics of accessing chemical suppliers, researchers, and ser-
wellsite. ...Thus, in the
and trucking the water to the wellsite. Fur- vice companies are on a mission to devel-
thermore, regulations designed to protect interest of conservation and op fracturing fluids using high-TDS pro-
communities and the environment from sustainability, it is highly duced water as a base fluid that provides
potential sources of contamination are a stable rheology.
becoming increasingly stringent. desirable to maximize The papers featured this month deal
Approximately 1030% of the fresh any opportunity to reuse with the formulation of stable fractur-
water injected into a well during frac- ing fluid from high-TDS produced water.
turing treatments returns to the surface
the produced water for I urge you to look at OnePetro, the SPE
along with various amounts of formation subsequent fracturing online library, and download papers.
water, henceforth referred to as produced treatments. You will find updates on best practices,
water. Thus, in the interest of conserva- case studies, new fluid formulations, and
tion and sustainability, it is highly desir- much more. JPT
able to maximize any opportunity to reuse ate the industrys dependence on fresh
the produced water for subsequent frac- water but also lowers the overall cost of
turing treatments. the fracturing operations. Conventional Recommended additional reading
Produced water usually contains resid- fracturing-fluid systems require fairly at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
ual hydrocarbon; high levels of total dis- low TDS to achieve stable rheology, so
solved solids (TDS), including sodium, produced water requires extensive treat- IPTC 18142 Slickwater Chemistry
Concerns and Field Water Management
calcium, magnesium, barium, and other ment before it can be used for fracturing. inTight Gas by David Langille, Shell Canada,
salts; suspended solids; and residual There have been attempts to develop et al.
production chemicals. Reclaiming pro- fluids that can be prepared with produced
SPE 173371 Chemical Compatibility
duced water as the base fluid for hydrau- waters that contain a limited amount of of Mixing Utica and Marcellus
lic fracturing not only helps to allevi- TDS, typically less than 30,000 ppm. ProducedWaters: Not All Waters
Are Created EqualA Case Study
by F.B. Woodward, Shell Exploration
Syed A. Ali, SPE, is a technical adviser with Schlumberger. & Production, et al.
Previously, he was a Chevron Fellow with Chevron Energy SPE 173324 The Freshwater Neutral
Technology Company. Ali received the 2012 SPE Distinguished Challenge: The Need for Protection,
Service Award and the 2006 SPE Production and Operations Reduction, Innovation, and Conservation
Award. He holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees. Ali served as executive by R. Greaves, Southwestern Energy, et al.
editor of SPE Production & Operations and currently serves on SPE 173372 Overcoming Obstacles
several SPE committees, including the JPT Editorial Committee, for Produced Water in Bakken Well
the Formation Evaluation Award Committee, and the Well Stimulations by Darren D. Schmidt,
Completions Subcommittee. Statoil,et al.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Viscosity (cp)
150 600 increased. On the 20,000-ft-measured-
500 depth well, the pipe time was 17 min-
utes, implying that the fluid would be ex-
100 400 posed to shear for a significant amount
300 of time. Stages at the toe of the well
were treated as expected, with no pres-
50 200 sure spikes leading to incomplete prop-
100
pant placement. This may imply that the
fluid is less sensitive to shear than would
0 0 beexpected.
0:00:00 0:10:00 0:20:00 0:30:00 0:40:00 0:50:00 1:00:00 1:10:00 1:20:00 1:30:00 1:40:00
The two wells treated had offset wells
Elasped Time (hh:mm:ss)
in close proximity for comparison. The
Fig. 1Borate-crosslinked guar in 100% Bakken PW. wells treated with PW showed equivalent
or better production compared with the
tion of calcium and magnesium hydrox- thermodynamic equilibrium with the for- offsets, despite being choked back.
ide scales if the fluid is formulated in PW, mation. In principle, pumping fluid made
even if it is diluted. with 100% produced connate water back Conclusions
An example of a borate-crosslinked into the stratum that produced it should This paper presents a crosslinked
fluid formulated with 100% Three Forks not result in scaling because reinjection fracturing fluid that can be
PW is shown in Fig. 1. A fluid was pro- is the reverse of the pressure/volume/ formulated to give satisfactory
duced using adventitious boron in the temperature transition of production. rheological performance in
water by carefully adjusting pH to avoid This supposition was checked using a laboratory testing in 100%
syneresis and taking into account how scale-modeling tool and was confirmed untreated Bakken PW of salinity
fluid properties would change with tem- indirectly by satisfactory production re- from 24 to 32% TDS.
perature. Achieving fluid reliability in sults vs. offset wells. The water used in The fluid uses standard oilfield-
this manner is extremely difficult, and this study had reached equilibrium with chemical approaches to
the risk of service-quality issues on lo- the formation from which it was subse- crosslinking, buffering, breaking,
cation would be unacceptably high. quently produced. and pH control.
Not only is implementing a borate sys- The fluid is based on a simple
tem difficult in water such as this, large Field Trials and widely used polysaccharide
amounts of insoluble scale is formed in Initial testing was performed on the gelling agent that is inexpensive
the process. last three stages of two wells using Bak- vs. previous successes in similar
An alternative approach involves ken PW, with 1-m sock filtration only, conditions.
the use of a metallic crosslinker and a as a proof of concept and a demonstra- The fluid can be implemented
metal-crosslinkable gelling agent to pro- tion of service delivery. Despite chang- with high reliability in multistage
duce fluid stable at bottomhole condi- es in mix-water quality throughout the fracturing, using standard
tions and pH below 9 to avoid potential job, there were no fluid-related service- fracturing equipment.
scaling issues. In the first step, gelling quality incidents and all proppant was Observed treating pressures
agent is hydrated in 100% PW at a suit- placed as per design. Post-job treat- indicate that the new fluid offers
able pH to promote fast hydration. In the ing pressure was compared with the some advantages in near-wellbore
second step, a Group IV metal crosslinker borate-based fluid that had been used on proppant transport.
is added and pH is adjusted to achieve the previous stages. Treating pressure The system is highly tolerant of
optimum crosslinking rate. The result- showed a consistent decline as expected fluctuations in water quality during
ing fluid is stable at bottomhole-static- when proppant concentration was in- a stage.
temperature conditions and does not creased compared with the borate-based A special work flow executed in
contain any hydroxide or carbonate fluid, which showed increases in pressure advance in the laboratory ensures
scales that are observed in high-pH bo- as proppant reached the perforations. reliable delivery at the wellsite.
rate fluids in the same mix water. It can also be said that some bridging, Production in the Bakken and Three
One of the potential benefits of this either in the fracture or at the perfora- Forks completions is equivalent or
practice of reusing PW is that the connate tions, was observed using the borate- superior to that of offset wells of
water produced from the well has reached crosslinked fluid. similar design. JPT
Gallons
field operations to enhance overall 3.2 million
completions economics. This paper 3,000,000
details the experience of using new
stabilized crosslinked-fracturing-fluid 2,000,000
systems in the Permian Basin using
borated produced water. The new 0.7 million
1,000,000 0.5 million
fracturing-fluid systems are designed
to delay the crosslinking time when -
needed, using the boron already present Horizontal Gas Horizontal Oil Vertical Gas Vertical Oil
in the water. Fig. 1Average water use per well by type of production.
Introduction
In the US, nearly half of the wells hydrau- up to 1 million B/D of water over the next deep-zone fracturing at moderate ap-
lically fractured since 2011 were in re- 10 years. This goes a long way toward se- plied pressures. Using produced water
gions with high or extremely high water curing water sources that are not fresh, for crosslinked-gel-based hydraulic frac-
stress and more than 55% were in areas more than 75% over the next several turing not only can expand the beneficial
experiencing drought. In Colorado and years. The Texas Railroad Commission, use of produced water in the oil and gas
California, 97 and 96% of the wells, re- the states oil and gas regulator, reported industry but also may mitigate the effect
spectively, were in regions with high a current collective water-recycling ca- on the freshwater supply.
or extremely high water stress. In New pacity of 1.5 million B/D. Proper rheological characteristics of
Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, the major- Hydraulic fracturing may use as little fracturing fluids are crucial to the success
ity of wells were in high- or extremely- as 500,000 gal of water in a convention- of the stimulation treatment. A signifi-
high-water-stress regions. In Texas, al vertical-well treatment, but multiple- cant amount of produced water with total
which currently has the highest concen- interval fracturing in horizontal wells dissolved solids between 30 000 and
tration of hydraulic-fracturing activity in may require 4 million to 6 million 120 000 mg/L, boron content as high as
the US, more than half of the wells exam- gal/well. Fig. 1 shows the average use per 100 mg/L, and hardness levels below and
ined (52%) were in high- or extremely- well by type of production. Slickwater- above 2000 mg/L is used as base fluid
high-water-stress regions. The World fracturing systems use inertial force to in crosslinked-fracturing-fluid systems.
Resources Institute defines high water minimize the settling of proppants and, Stable rheological profiles are reported
stress as more than 80% of available therefore, are not suitable for deep-zone with use of 100% produced water, saving
surface and groundwater being allocat- fracturing because of the excessive ap- more than 25 million gal of fresh water in
ed for municipal, industrial, and agricul- plied pressure required at the surface. the completion of more than 400 stages
tural uses. Crosslinked-gel systems, on the other with crosslinked-gel systems in the Wolf-
In the Permian Basin of west Texas, hand, with high apparent viscosities, can camp shale.
one oil company already expects to use carry a wide range of sand loading for
Methods and Results
Hydration Curve of Linear-Gel System
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
and Rheological Profile of Crosslinked
of paper SPE 172811, Permian Fracturing Systems Using Produced Water, by Fracturing Fluid at Steady Shear. Hy-
Sarkis Kakadjian, SPE, Joseph Thompson, SPE, Robert Torres, Antonio Pontifes, dration tests of guar and guar derivatives
Amanda Rodriguez, and Yahia Ait Hamlat, Trican Well Service, prepared for were monitored by recording the chang-
the 2015 SPE Middle East Oil and Gas Show and Conference, Manama, Bahrain, es in the viscosity of the linear-gel sys-
811March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. tems. This was performed by mixing the
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.
NIGEL McKIM, SPE, has been appointed nonexecutive director velopment and production geology at the University of Man-
of the board for MX Oil. He was most recently the chief opera- chester. He remains a visiting professor there. His areas of ex-
tions officer of Nobel Upstream, responsible for building a port- pertise are clastic reservoir systems for conventional and
folio of assets in Texas, the UK, and Azerbaijan. McKim started unconventional resources, subsurface uncertainty and risk
his career as a reservoir engineer at Shell in Oman and has sev- management, and field development and production. Bowman
eral years of experience in field development planning and pro- holds a BSc in geology from the University of Leeds and a PhD
duction. He was the West Africa asset manager at Vitol Servic- in geology from the University of Sheffield.
es, director of predevelopment at Hess Services, and subsurface
manager for business development activities and the Liverpool
Bay project at BHP Billiton. McKim holds a BSc in civil engineer-
ing from the University of Bristol and an MSc in petroleum engi- Member Deaths
neering from Imperial College London.
Lee A. Adams Jr., Houston, Texas, USA
NISHANT DIGHE, SPE, departed from his S.C. (Sam) Berry, The Woodlands, Texas, USA
position as Panoro Energys president and Tommy D. Bolin, Katy, Texas, USA
chief operating officer at the end of Novem- Jack E. Brown, Midland, Texas, USA
ber. He will continue as an adviser for a tran- Birto R. Brumby, Houston, Texas, USA
sitional period. In 2007, Dighe cofounded Robert A. Cohan, Bakersfield, California, USA
Pan-Petroleum, which led to the creation of Bruno Dangler, Voorburg, The Netherlands
Panoro. He has held several senior manage- Mike C. Dillingham, Bryan, Texas, USA
ment positions, including chief executive officer (CEO) of Afri- Robert L. Dekle, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
can Energy Equity Resources and president Africa and CEO of Freelin D. (Darrell) Hamilton, Tyler, Texas, USA
Panoro. He has also worked at ExxonMobil, Marakon Associ- Louis Eliphalet Harlan, Dallas, Texas, USA
ates, and Sasol. Dighe holds masters degrees in chemical engi- J.D. Hicks, Farmington, New Mexico, USA
neering and petroleum engineering from Imperial College Lon- C.P. Hopcraft, Jenks, Oklahoma, USA
don and an MBA from the University of Warwick. Fredrick V. Jones, Pinehurst, Texas, USA
William F. Kelldorf Jr., Tyler, Texas, USA
MATT McINTOSH, SPE, has been appoint- Bruce A. Kilgore, The Woodlands, Texas, USA
ed a key account manager at Greenes Ener- Thijs R. Kleinenberg, Houston, Texas, USA
gy Group. In his new role, he will establish L.F. (Len) Maier, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
and maintain relationships with the key cli- Ira A. Marshall Jr., Huntington Beach, California, USA
ents of the company. Before this, he was the Jack Marshall, Montgomery, Texas, USA
Chevron key account manager at FMC Tech- Leland E. Moore, Washington DC, USA
nologies, responsible for developing and ex- James D. Murdoch Jr., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
ecuting account strategies, managing regional account teams, Alan Nickson, The Hague, The Netherlands
and leading sales. McIntosh holds a BA in political science from Oistein Nyberg, Los Gatos, California, USA
Texas A&M University. Frank Perkins Jr., Westlake, Louisiana, USA
Ronald J. Robinson, College Station, Texas, USA
MIKE BOWMAN, SPE, was appointed the William H. Silcox, Incline Village, Nevada, USA
chair of the petroleum engineering program John E. Stein, Denver, Colorado, USA
at Texas A&M University at Qatar. In 2011, Shigeru Taguchi, Tokyo, Japan
Bowman retired from BP as vice president of B.H. Waychoff Jr., Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
geoscience and subsurface description and Joseph Zemanek Jr., Duncanville, Texas, USA
became part-time professorial chair in de- Lida M. Ziegler, Stevenson Ranch, California, USA
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challenges they face will positively help Conventional technology has recov- Egyptian reservoirs are technical-
improve the national economy, he said. ered approximately 50% of the original ly good candidates for EOR techniques.
oil in place. However, ongoing research Among the techniques that can be
Improving Oil Recovery projects are set to boost this level to more deployed in reservoirs in Egypt is immis-
During the EOR/improved oil recovery than 75%, as was the case at one of the cible gas injection. Steam injection is fea-
session, panelists said that the region reservoirs operated by Total in the Abu Al sible in some of the Gulf of Suez res-
requires cutting-edge technological solu- Bukhoosh field in Abu Dhabi. ervoirs, while chemical methods are
tions to improve oil recovery factors, Panelists said that the development of feasible in most of the Western Desert
which are low compared with neighbor- EOR projects may take up to 10 years. In reservoirs, he said.
ing countries in the Middle East. Egypt, a number of oil fields are expect- Wave stimulation and microbial EOR
Most of the easy oil has already ed to undergo one or more of the EOR technology may also be introduced in
been extracted, leaving a non-negligible methods in the near future. However, the the fields.
quantity of oil in the reservoirs, Helmy implementation of any of the EOR meth- The identification of applicable EOR
Sayyouh, a professor at Cairo University, ods involves high capital expenditure. methods and determination of their suit-
said. But the important question is how These processes are difficult and high- ability to candidate oil fields in Egypt
much oil is recoverable and what tech- risk operations, Sayyouh said. must also include the assessment of tech-
niques could be applied. In spite of the research programs and nical and economic criteria.
The oil recovery factor in Egypt stands pilot projects in Egypt over the past decade, This problem presents a real chal-
at 34%, according to Shaheen El-Sayed, the industry has limited experience in large lenge as you need experts to help sort,
vice chairman of production for Middle field development. Scarcity of field experi- process, analyze, and cross-reference
East and North Africa at IPR Egypt. Alge- ences have prompted the current develop- the acquired reservoir data, coupled
rias reservoirs, which require the deploy- ment of a knowledge-based expert system with other information, to be able to
ment of EOR techniques, have a recov- that can facilitate the reservoir engineers achieve the most feasible selection of
ery factor of less than 20%, said Salah task of selecting the most appropriate EOR techniques in an efficient and profitable
Khebri, the energy minister of Algeria. method, Sayyouh said. way, Sayyouh said. JPT
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