The Petroleum Engineering Handbook

The Petroleum Engineering Handbook

Sustainable Operations

The Petroleum Engineering Handbook: Sustainable Operations Copyright 2007 by Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher. Gulf Publishing Company 2 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1020 Houston, TX 77046 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Khan, M. Ibrahim, 1968 The petroleum engineering handbook : sustainable operations / M. Ibrahim Khan and M. R. Islam. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-933762-12-8 (alk. paper) 1. Petroleum engineeringHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Islam, M. R. (M. Raq), 1959 II. Title. TN870.K475 2007 665.5dc22 2007020540 Printed in the United States of America Printed on acid-free paper.

Contents

Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Nomendature CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 Introduction The New Management Guidelines 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Current Practices of Petroleum Operations 2.3 Problems of Current Operations 2.4 Sustainability in Petroleum Operations 2.5 Tools Needed for Sustainable Petroleum Operations 2.6 How the Green Supply Chain Model Leads to Sustainability 2.7 Benets of the New Model Exploration Operations 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Current Practices of Exploration Operations 3.3 Exploration Techniques 3.4 Problems with Current Exploration Techniques 3.5 Sustainability of Current Exploration Techniques 3.6 Accuracy and Uncertainty of Explorations 3.7 Special Measures for Sustainable Exploration Technology Drilling and Production Operations 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Current Practices of Drilling and Production 4.3 Production 4.4 Problems with Current Practices 4.5 Operations in the Ecologically Sensitive Areas 4.6 Emerging Technologies and Future Potential 4.7 Sonic While Drilling 4.8 Knowledge-based Optimization of a Rotary Drilling System for the Oil and Gas Industry 4.9 Future research in production operations 4.10 Benets of Sustainable Drilling and Productions Sustainable Waste Management 5.1 Introduction

ix xi xv xvii 1 5 5 6 9 14 19 31 35 39 39 40 46 56 62 70 71 79 79 80 83 85 98 107 123 126 131 133 135 135

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

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Contents

5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 CHAPTER 6

Drilling and Production Wastes Waste Estimation Environmental Fate of Petroleum Wastes Current Practices of Waste Management Evaluation of Current Waste Management Technologies Alternative Waste Management Sustainability of Waste Management

135 140 147 156 161 173 183 189 189 189 202 208 226 243 243 248 249 254 257 258 263 264 268 272 280 286 295 295 296 309 338 350 357 361 365 365 365 366 368 370 376 379 385 387 389 395 398

Reservoir Engineering and Secondary Recovery 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Well Test Analysis 6.3 Current Practice in Well Logging 6.4 Current Practices of Core Analysis 6.5 Practical Guidelines Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Operations 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Contributions of Different Disciplines 7.3 Different EOR Techniques 7.4 Gas Injection 7.5 Chemical EOR 7.6 Microbial EOR 7.7 EOR in Marginal Reservoirs 7.8 Scaling of EOR Schemes 7.9 Environmental Consideration in EOR Operations 7.10 Alternative Technologies for EOR 7.11 CO2 EOR Technology 7.12 Electromagnetic Heating for EOR Transportation, Processing, and Rening Operations 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Pipelines and Risk Management 8.3 Natural Gas Supply and Processing 8.4 Oil Rening 8.5 Sustainable Oil Rening Model 8.6 Corrosion in Petroleum Structures 8.7 Hydrate Problems and Some Suggestions Decommissioning of Drilling and Production Facilities 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Historical Analysis 9.3 Type of Oil Platforms/Platform Structures 9.4 Environmental Issues in Decommissioning 9.5 Toxicity and Degradation of Waste Generation 9.6 Decommissioning Regulations 9.7 Current Practices of Decommissioning 9.8 Case Studies 9.9 Sustainability of Offshore Platform Decommissioning 9.10 Alternative Approaches 9.11 Guidelines for Sustainable Management 9.12 Ecological and Economic Benet of Articial Reefs from Oil Rigs

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

Contents

vii

CHAPTER 10 Summary and Conclusions 10.1 Summary 10.2 Fundamental Misconceptions in Technology Development 10.3 Understanding Nature and Sustainability 10.4 Solutions that would Turn an Implosive Process Around 10.5 Conclusions and Recommendations References Author Index Subject Index

401 401 402 404 406 407 411 453 459

Foreword
Sustainable Operations Handbook for Petroleum Engineers is a timely book, which not only provides a summary of various sustainable practices in petroleum engineering operations, but does it in a manner that raises a greater awareness of environmental sustainability. It is not the traditional technical handbook one relies upon to get technical information for nding solutions to an engineering problem. It is a book that provides a comprehensive coverage of the systems with a focus on managerial decision-making. In doing so, it shifts the focus from nding technical solutions, to managerial decisions leading towards sustainable practices. It provides step-by-step guidelines towards such practices in Chapter 2. Subsequent chapters carry forward a similar unifying theme in combining sustainable management decisions and operational practices to various segments of the petroleum sector including exploration, drilling and production, reservoir engineering, enhanced oil recovery, transportation and rening and waste management practices. Overall, this book examines current practices of an important industrial segment through the lenses of environmental sustainability and provides a valuable resource to those who will have to steer the petroleum industry from its current practices down the long road towards achieving true sustainability, not only from an environmental angle but also from an economic one. Professor Amit Chakma, Ph.D., P.Eng. Vice President Academic and Provost University of Waterloo Canada

ix

Preface

Nature is perfect, both in space and time. To understand this perfection, one must use the science of intangibles. The premise underlying such a concept is that Nature operates and Humanity detects the tangible effects and formulates a response. However, the response has to take into consideration the role of processes within Nature that have up to now remained inaccessible to our capabilities of detection or measurement and hence intangible either because of where we are looking, or because we become xated on only certain tangible aspects that can maximize a nancial return in the shortest possible time. The hubris of the contemporary scientic and engineering enterprise resides in its bedrock belief that we have dealt with everything of importance and done all the heavy lifting necessary once we have identied all tangible features. However, a little reection discloses that the tangible aspects of anything do not go beyond very small elements in space, i.e. s approaching zero; and even a smaller element in time, i.e. t = 0 (meaning, time = right now). Hence, the urgency for Humanity to elaborate the science of intangibles has never been greater. From the moment water, air, soil, and re were identied as ingredients essential for the sustainability of human life until very recently, human beings did not face, and were not compelled to reckon with, a crisis of unsustainability. The time-honored principle that nature is innite is now being challenged because, all of a sudden we discover that natural resources are depleting despite a decline in population in the industrialized world. We discover natural resources are not enough to sustain human civilization. Is this a perception or reality? Some blame seemingly innite corporate greed for the mess that we are in today. Not that corporate greed cannot be damaging, but, even if corporate greed is innite, so is the Universe, and we are thus still left with no answer to the question: why this sustainability crisis? There is enough water, air, soil and re to go around, each element being regenerated through natures ecosystem. Each element is recycled and in these processes of recycling, each element enriches itself to make it more suitable for some portion or aspect of natural existence, all of which eventually contributes to the welfare of mankind. This benecial endpoint derives not from humans being some superior species, or on top of the food chain, but only from the condition, and to the extent, that humans have the ability to think (Homo sapiens means thinking man) and make use of natural processes. This act of thinking, if driven by conscience (science of intangibles), should help us avoid harmful natural products. This awareness should at the same time invoke processes that enhance the natural processes, in order to achieve greater quality of life for all. Innovating science along this line, and engineering solutions to problems accordingly, opens some exciting and compelling prospects. Many of the obstacles built into present-day corporate arrangements could be countered and even shed in the most industrialized countries. Humanity generally would be enabled to counter and shed many other obstacles built into present-day systems of political and economic governance found throughout all countries on this planet. Let all those who remain skeptical about or lack condence in this overwhelming power realise that this is an idea whose time has come: from grasping reliable knowledge of scientic truth, consider what happened in the wake of Galileos insistence 350 years ago that the Earth revolves about the Sun. What everyone accepts today as science would not have come into existence without this afrmation and yet, no one, least of all Galileo himself, actually saw the Earth moving around the Sun. Even with modern-day space exploration, no one has been able yet to record the Earths actual 365-day transit around the Sun, but without accepting Galileos irrefutable conclusion, there would be no modern-day space exploration. xi

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Preface

Nature is innite within a closed system. It is innite as well because it is a closed, i.e. complete, system. Because of this innite dimension, Nature is also perfect (balanced). So, what is the origin of the imbalance and unsustainability that seems to manifest itself so ubiquitously, in the atmosphere, the soil and the oceans? As the most intelligent creation of nature, men were expected to at least stay out of the natural ecosystem. Einstein might have had doubts about human intelligence or the innite nature of the Universe (as evidenced in his often-quoted remark that there are two things that are innite, human stupidity and the Universe, and I am not so sure about the Universe), but human history tells us human beings always managed to go with the innite nature of Nature. From central American Mayans to Egyptian Pharaohs, from Chinese Hans to the Mannaeans of Persia, the Edomites of the Petra Valley to the Indus Valley civilization of the Asian subcontinent, all managed to remain in harmony with nature. They were not necessarily righteous people nor were they free from practices that we would no longer countenance (Pharaohs sacriced humans to accompany the dead royal for the resurrection day), but they did not produce a single gram of inherently anti-nature product, such as DDT. In the modern age, we managed to give a Nobel Prize (in medicine) for that invention. What becomes clear is this: whatever it was that our ancestors did in terms of technology remains something to be desired today. Consider the marvels of the people who carved rocks in the crystal valley of Petra. What did these people use to cut rock? It surely was not lasers, or nucleo-thermal devices, or even TNT. What did the builders of pyramids use to calculate precisely the shapes that dees todays mathematicians, computer designers, and architectures combined? It surely was not linear algebra, nite elements, or even numbercrunching supercomputers. What did the makers of the Taj Mahal use to ensure continuous waterjets owing through fountains, air conditioning inside the building, and the evergreen lushness of the trees? It was not electric pumps, freon, or synthetic fertilizers. What did the chemical engineers of Egypt use to preserve the mummies for thousands of years? It was not formalin, bezoate, and numerous other toxins that we call preservatives. Today, we brag about how we do things better, faster, and cheaper. Yet, we took longer to carve out four faces in Mount Rushmore than the stone-carvers of the Petra Valley took in making those stunning crystal valleys out of solid rocks. We took longer to carve out the monument of Crazy Horse than did the makers of the Taj Mahal. Not only did we take longer, we made an immeasurable mess by using TNT and other inherently anti-nature explosives. Today, we brag about a quantum leap in all branches of sciences, yet we only recently discovered our knowledge is nowhere close to what our ancestors had many years ago. We have to ponder what was the basis for Harrapan mathematics, Jain and Tamil mathematics, or Babylonian and Sumerian mathematics. Only recently we discovered Islamic scholars were doing mathematics some 1,000 years ago of the same order that we think we discovered in the 1970s1 the difference being that our mathematics can only track symmetry, something that does not exist in nature. Recently, a three-dimensional PET-scan of a relic known as the Antikythera Mechanism has demonstrated that it was actually a universal navigational computing device with the difference being that our current-day versions rely on GPS, tracked and maintained by satellite.2 We would also be shocked to nd out what Ibn Sina (Avicenna) said regarding nature being the source of all cures still holds true3 with the proviso that not a single quality given by nature in the originating source material of, for example, some of the most advanced pharmaceuticals used to treat cancer remains intact after being subject to mass production and accordingly stripped of its powers actually to cure and not merely treat, i.e. delay, the onset or progress of symptoms. What are we missing? This book recognizes that civilization is driven by energy needs and uses the modern-day supplier of energy needs, viz., petroleum engineering, as the case study. The book challenges readers with the pointed question, If we have progressed as a human race, why has our efciency in sustaining human civilization regressed? For every phase of petroleum operations, ranging from exploration to rening, the authors investigate the root cause of the failure in sustainability. Once the cause is identied, it becomes quite simple to recommend practices that are sustainable. Once sustainable practices are in place, never again should petroleum operations be synonymous with polluting the environment. This book could be a textbook on fundamentals of sustainable energy management, yet it is called a handbook. It is so because it gets beyond the smokescreen

Preface xiii

of blue sky, i.e. fundamental, science, tackling the justications for various engineering practices to show exactly which practices are responsible for which effects and thus how simple it would be to remedy those practices to come up with solutions that are starkly different from the ones previously being practiced. This book is not meant to frighten the reader. It does not lecture; it does not indoctrinate. It elucidates some of the fundamental principles of sustainability that made it possible for nature to continuously improve the environment, while making comfort available to all. The book shows comfort in lifestyle doesnt have to come at the cost of long-term unsustainability. In fact, the book argues the best lifestyle even in the shortterm can only be assured with a long-term approach. It is heartening to see the authors, with very distinct track records in developing sustainable technologies, have taken up this task of greening petroleum operations. A back-to-nature approach is long overdue. The authors propose that approach in a convincing manner. They start with the denition of sustainability. With this denition, zero-waste production strategies are in place. Such schemes are inherently sustainable. However, with their denition, it is also necessary that every practice and additive also meet the sustainability requirement. There lies the recipe for reversing global warming. Overall, this book represents what can be considered as the cookbook for evergreen petroleum operations. They do that with fundamental science but without the rhetoric of scientists. They introduce the rst premise, Nature is perfect, without the rhetoric of philosophy or even religious dogma. Who could argue with that? Hans Vaziri (BP America), Houston, USA Gary Zatzman (EEC Research Org.), Halifax, Canada M. Raqul Islam (Dalhousie University, on sabbatical in Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman) Notes
1. Lu, P.J. and Steinhardt, P.J. (2007) Decagonal and Quasicrystalline Tilings in Medieval Islamic Architecture, Science 315 [27 Feb], 1106. 2. Freeth, T. et al. (2006) Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism, Nature 444 [30 Nov], 58791; and also John Noble Wilford, (2006) An Ancient Computer Surprises Scientists, The New York Times [29 Nov], which discusses some interesting aspects of this technologys likely context. There are not a few among those who have been more than ready to grant the wisdom of the ancients but who also nevertheless persist in believing that some ancients, especially in Europe, just had to be smarter than the ancients in, say, Muslim regions of central and west Asia. Discussion sparked around the results of the PET-scan of the Antikythera Mechanism has renewed questions about precisely this long-assumed hierarchy and sequence of ancient genius. In this regard, Wilford notes the remarks of Franois Charette, from the University of Mnich, in a separate article elsewhere in the same edition of Nature, that more than 1,000 years elapsed before instruments of such complexity are known to have reemerged. A few artifacts and some Arabic texts suggest that simpler geared calendrical devices had existed, particularly in Baghdad around A.D. 900. It seems clear . . . that much of the mind-boggling technological sophistication available in some parts of the Hellenistic and Greco-Roman world was simply not transmitted further, [and that] the gearwheel, in this case, had to be re-invented. 3. Steenhuysen, J. (2007) Mother Nature Still a Rich Source of New Drugs, Reuters [20 Mar].

Acknowledgements

This book has been in the works for quite a few years. The initial work started as early as 1999, when R. Islam was inspired by the mission statement of Canadas then NRCan Minister, Hon. Ralph Goodale, who often talked about developing technologies that are innovative, economically attractive, environmentally appealing and socially responsible. Not too long ago that statement would be considered to be absurd, worthy of a mention within blue sky category. This statement formed the basis of our research group for last seven years and this book personies that statement in the topic of petroleum engineering. The book is a result of a number of government/industry funded research grants, worth some $4 million over the last seven years. During this time we also received invaluable advices from many researchers and industry personnel. Dr. Hans Vaziri of BP America always kept in touch and provided useful comments in numerous occasions throughout the research period of the book, spanning over six years. Dr. Scott Wellington of Shell was truly an inspiration during the early period of the writing of this book. Maj. Gen. Parvez Akmal, the former Managing Director of Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) of Pakistan mentored a number of ideas that pursued in this research. Dr. Jadoon, Chief Engineer of OGDC, was a true believer of the science that has been included in this book. His comments and suggestions were most helpful. Professor Lakhal of the University of Moncton gave us the idea that greening of any operation is possible, including the most difcult one, namely, petroleum engineering operations. Gary Zatzman of EEC Research Organization has been most helpful in providing critical comments on many fundamental topics, forming the core of this book. Professor Mysore Satish made many useful comments and gave many valuable tips for proposing techniques that would eventually render oil production operations sustainable. Professor Farouq Ali continued to mentor the progress of our research group and played a vital role by visiting us in several occasions and sending his colleague, Dr. Sara Thomas, who herself was very helpful. David Prior of Veridity Environmental Technology helped us develop numerous ideas into usable tools. Our research group also beneted from researchers from Canada and around the world. Dr. Omar Chaalal, Mr. Ronal Moberg, Ms. Serperi Sevgur, Mr. Frank Proto, Dr. David Bernard, Dr. Amit Chakma, and many others made a difference in the line of thinking that was needed to write such a book. The entire research group that had at times nearly 40 members contributed to this endeavor. In particular the contributions of M. E. Hossain, A. B. Chhetri, Dr. Ketata, Dr. Agha, Y. Mehedi, S. Rahman, E. Smit, Dr. Belhaj, Dr. Basu, Dr. Tango, Dr. Satish, and Dr. Butt are noteworthy.

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Nomenclature
Cp Cg Co Cr Ct Cw D Ee Er H h Is K Kr k Lw M N p pc pg pw po q qlaser R Rwi r SSL SLV Swi Sor t tF ts T Tm Tsat td VF VEP : Heat capacity : Gas compressibility : Oil compressibility : Rock compressibility : Total (rock + uid) compressibility : Water compressibility : Well diameter : Effective total energy : Effective total energy : Thickness : Enthalpy : Instability number : Permeability : Relative permeability : Thermal diffusivity : Well depth or length : Mobility ratio : Rotary speed : Pressure : Capillary pressure : Pressure in the gas phase : Pressure in the water phase : Pressure in the oil phase : ow rate : laser source energy : Rate of rock penetration :Relative weight of an indicator, j : radius : Solid/liquid energy transfer : Liquid/vapor energy transfer : Initial water saturation : Residual oil saturation : Time interval : Time interval in uid : Time interval in solid : Temperature : Mean temperature : Saturation temperature : drilling time : Total pore volume : Effective pore volume xvii

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Nomenclature

VNP Vp Vs VT W x,y,z Greek E e

: Non-effective pore volume : Total pore volume : Solid volume : Bulk volume : Weight of a drilling bit : Coordinates

: Thermal penetration depth : Porosity : interfacial tension : dynamic viscosity : Mechanical energy efciency : density : surface tension : pseudo-effective surface tension

Subscripts: D : Dimensionless g : gas o : oil w : water