Revista E&P - Marzo 2011

E P MAG.
C OM
Unconventional shale
development takes root
internationally
THE
MA R C H 2 0 1 1
Shale Gale
Operating Efficiency
Subsea Systems
Coiled Tubing
4-D Seismic
Stimulation
Technology
Drill Bit
Records
Operating Efficiency
Subsea Systems
Coiled Tubing
4-D Seismic
Stimulation
Technology
Drill Bit
Records
goes global
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OPERATING EFFICIENCY
Single-sweep methods offer efficiency gains
Small-diameter sonic logging tool opens
access to challenging wells
Improve frontline practice through risk
management
4-D SEISMIC
Its all acquisitions fault
Refraction monitoring shows promise in heavy
oil field
COILED TUBING
Hybrid CT rigs enter the unconventional market
DRILL BIT RECORDS
Bit performance is indicative of success
STIMULATION TECHNOLOGY
Less is more
Adjusting fluid properties maximizes
shale recovery
SUBSEA SYSTEMS
IO, IM position subsea system providers as
valuable partners
Subsea sampling delivers value
IndustryPULSE:
Technology transfer steps
up the pace of R&D
Partnership is key to rapidly accelerating safe and
reliable technologies to meet demand growth.
EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
W O R L D W I D E C O V E R A G E
MARCH 2011
VOLUME 84 I SSUE 3
A HART ENERGY PUBLI CATI ON www. EPmag. com
COVER STORY
32
International
Unconventional
Shale gas could soon be a
global resource.
6
WorldVIEW:
Survival of the fittest
After years of hearing, Who are these guys? tiny
ERHC is poised for growth in the Gulf of Guinea.
10
Unconventional: Barnett
Barnett provides
future returns
Why the Barnett might be a good investment.
40
42
46
49
52
57
61
66
68
77
80
89
REGIONAL REPORT: WEST AFRICA
71
01-4 TOC_MAR_01-4 TOC 2/18/11 11:36 AM Page 1
AS I SEE IT
Collaboration, innovation go hand in hand 5
MANAGEMENT REPORT
Five steps to turning the talent management tide 12
DIGITAL OIL FIELD
Cloud computing can be applied for reservoir modeling 17
Digital oil field creates real-time data fire hose 23
EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY
Silicon Valley meets the oil patch 27
WELL CONSTRUCTION
New solution for an old problem 29
PRODUCTION OPTIMIZATION
A perfect storm? 31
TECH WATCH
Low-frequency seismic illuminates shale plays 84
TECH TRENDS
Innovations and new releases 86
INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Operators display global reach 94
ON THE MOVE/INDEX TO ADVERTISERS 99
LAST WORD
Knowledge is power 100
E&P (ISSN 1527-4063) (PM40036185) is published monthly by Hart Energy Publishing, LP, 1616 S. Voss Road, Suite 1000, Houston, Texas 77057.
Periodicals postage paid at Houston, TX, and additional mailing offices. Subscription rates: 1 year (12 issues), US $149; 2 years (24 issues), US $279. Single
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DEPARTMENTS AND COMMENTARY
COMING NEXT MONTH Exploration is the buzzword for the April issue of E&P. Senior Exploration Editor
Rhonda Duey provides a round-up of recent exploration activity, presenting advances in both land and marine
seismic and identifying some of the technologies being used to improve exploration success. Other features in the
issue include riser and subsea technologies and developments in directional drilling. The Bakken shale takes cen-
ter stage in the Unconventional Report for April, and Australia/New Zealand is the focus of the Regional Report.
Between issues of the magazine, remember to visit www.epmag.com to read exclusive articles on industry events
and catch up on the latest oil and gas news.
ABOUT THE COVER Nabors Rig 520, now working in Irkutsk, Russia, is one of an
estimated 972 rigs active in the region in 2010, according to Douglas-Westwood. Although
Russia has considerable unconventional gas reserves, its vast conventional natural gas
resources (1,680 Tcf, according to the Energy Information Administration) will be the focus
of development in the near term. (Image courtesy of Nabors Drilling)
01-4 TOC_MAR_01-4 TOC 2/18/11 12:06 PM Page 2
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ONLINE CONTENT MARCH 2011
KazMunaiGas hits onshore oil
Kazakhstan state-owned KazMunaiGas
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PREMIUM CONTENT Subscribe @ EPmag.com/explorationhighlights
EOG ups Bakken production with Elm Coulee field
An EOG Resources Inc. horizontal well on the northeastern flank of
Elm Coulee field had flow-to-sales at a maximum gross rate of more
than 2,000 b/d of oil.
AVAILABLE ONLY ONLINE
Ernst & Young: Oil demand
spikes exiting 2010
By Rebecca Torrellas, Online Editor
According to Ernst & Youngs quarterly
report, strong global economic growth
at the close of 2010 created the sec-
ond biggest demand spike in the past
30 years.
Growing Hawkville
By Lauren Sjurseth, Online Editor
The team that discovered the Eagle
Ford shales Hawkville field tells how
they got ahead of the competition
and sowed the seeds of success.
Water management
is global issue
By Rhonda Duey, Senior Editor
Increased unconventional gas
production and coal degasification
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water use and disposal.
R
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deltaic sandstones at its #1-Badik prospect in
the Tarakan Basin of Indonesia.
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T
echnology advances cannot happen without innovation. And innovation happens
more rapidly when more resources can be brought to bear.
At the GE Oil & Gas annual meeting in Florence, Italy, a few weeks ago, Claudi Santi-
ago, company president and CEO, talked about the value of innovation and collabora-
tion, particularily in a world that is struggling to recover from a global recession.
The fact that we need to innovate is paramount, Santiago said, and to truly create
value, there has to be collaboration. It is absolutely critical. Partnering will be particu-
larly essential in the coming years as the industry works to develop equipment that is
more ecologically sound and to extend equipment life. We will continue to innovate
and deploy more and more technology that is eco-friendly, he said.
Those new technologies will include more monitoring equipment. And in the wake
of the Macondo incident, they also will include sensors for BOPs. We are extending
these capabilities to the subsea segment of the industry, Santiago said. We want to put
more software and more control in place.
The company invested US $200 million in plants and equipment in 2010 and
increased R&D spending by 10%. GE also deployed more than 700 more resources in
key regions. The objective in moving more resources into more places around the
world is to get closer to the customer, according to Sam Aquillano, vice president
drilling and production for GE Oil & Gas. Co-location allows technology transfer
even quicker, he said.
GE also has established new partnerships in China, India, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan,
and Russia.
As national oil companies (NOCs) pursue efficiencies in operation, partnering
becomes more and more significant, and this fact is not lost on the NOCs.
Ahmad A. Al-Saadi, vice president of gas operations for Saudi Aramco, explained at
the annual meeting that collaboration has become standard operating procedure for
Saudi Aramco.
Saudi Aramco is known to be the oil giant of the world, Al-Saadi said, but he noted
that oil is not the companys only focus. According to Al-Saadi, the countrys gas pro-
duction is expected to grow by 30% in the next 10 years. Producing gas reserves effi-
ciently will require new technologies, and Saudi Aramco intends to develop those
technologies in cooperation with companies like GE.
Some of the more practical goals of this collaboration, he said, are to work toward
meeting the demand for spare parts with local manufacturing, to allow access to a
large local young workforce, and to support new ventures with logistical and techni-
cal assistance as well as workforce development.
The world needs more energy as much as 20
MMboe/d in the next 10 years, Santiago said. Finding and
developing reserves on that scale is a daunting proposition.
For that ambitious goal to be achieved, he said, companies
will have to begin incubating the future together.
As I
SEE IT
EPmag.com | March 2011
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Collaboration, innovation
go hand in hand
5
Read more commentary at
EPmag.com
JUDY MURRAY
Editor
jmurray@hartenergy.com
Editor JUDY MURRAY
jmurray@hartenergy.com
Senior Editor RHONDA DUEY
rduey@hartenergy.com
Senior Editor TAYVIS DUNNAHOE
tdunnahoe@hartenergy.com
Senior Editor JO ANN DAVY
jdavy@hartenergy.com
Senior Editor RICHARD G. GHISELIN
dghiselin@hartenergy.com
Contributing Editor DON LYLE
dlyle@hartenergy.com
Associate Editor ASHLEY E. ORGAN
aorgan@hartenergy.com
Corporate
Art Director ALEXA SANDERS
asanders@hartenergy.com
Senior Graphic
Designer LAURA J. WILLIAMS
lwilliams@hartenergy.com
Production Director
& Reprint Sales JO LYNNE POOL
jpool@hartenergy.com
Manager,
Special Projects JO ANN DAVY
jdavy@hartenergy.com
Online Editor REBECCA TORRELLAS
rtorrellas@hartenergy.com
Director of
Business Development ERIC ROTH
eroth@hartenergy.com
Group Publisher RUSSELL LAAS
rlaas@hartenergy.com
Vice President, Digital Media
RONS DIXON
Senior Vice President, Consulting Group
E. KRISTINE KLAVERS
Executive Vice President and CFO
KEVIN F. HIGGINS
Executive Vice President
FREDERICK L. POTTER
President and Chief Executive Officer
RICHARD A. EICHLER
05 AsISeeIt_Layout 1 2/18/11 10:42 AM Page 5
HART ENERGY
T
he sheer scale and immediacy of the demand for
hydrocarbons to help spur global economic recovery
and growth cannot be underestimated.
Simply to offset the depletion of reserves and meet
forecast increases expected to 2020, additional resources
equivalent to approximately five times the oil capacity
currently produced by Saudi Arabia and four times the
gas capacity currently produced by Russia will be
required.
Opening up new E&P frontiers means that complex
technical issues must be tackled head-on.
Expediting progress
Visionary engineering expertise is needed to conceptu-
alize and swiftly introduce new technology systems
across the industrys complex value chain, and clearly,
there can be no compromise: new technologies must be
safe, reliable, and proven, enabling operators to miti-
gate the potential HSE, financial, and reputational risks
of being the early adopter.
Reliable innovation is integral to the GE Oil & Gas
business model. The company underpins deep domain
knowledge and commitment to R&D with a new product
introduction system of linear tollgate validation and pro-
totype testing to destruction so that to the greatest
extent possible there is an understanding of the limits of
technology prior to commercialization, installation, and
deployment.
Technology transfer or borrowing from GE sister
industries is a key competitive differentiator for the
company that has helped chart its progress over the last
decade.
Technology transfer within the company means it
applies experience within other industrial businesses
including aviation, healthcare, nuclear and the expert-
ise within GEs Global Research Centers very directly, for
example, exploiting aero-derivative gas turbines and
material science technologies, remote monitoring and
diagnostics capabilities, and also through people by
exchanging senior engineers with GE Aviation.
Like GE Oil & Gas, every original equipment manu-
facturer will lay claim to having world-class systems to
incubate new technologies, backed by Six Sigma, Lean,
and a range of proprietary approaches that underpin
operational business processes.
But, even for an industrial conglomerate with genuine
technology and scale differentiators, world-class systems
simply are not enough to be able to adequately serve
operator customers. More than any other factor, part-
nership is the key success in tomorrows global energy
industry.
The power of partnering
The oil and gas industry has shifted beyond pure-play
transactional order-supply relationships, to more mean-
ingful partnerships where longer term goals, and often
the associated risks, are shared.
Partnership which to be successful must be deep,
intimate, and consultative customer relationships have
been the critical factor determining GEs ability to con-
sistently transform engineering vision to solution reality.
The concrete proof of this is the number of innovative
products the company has been able to develop in a rel-
atively short time frame for the industry.
The new VetcoGray S-Series SVXT subsea tree is one
example. With a pressure rating up to 6,500 psi and a
March 2011 | EPmag.com
6
industry
PULSE
Technology transfer
steps up the pace of R&D
Partnership is key to rapidly accelerating safe and reliable technologies to meet demand growth.
The new S-Series SVXT subsea tree is the result of intense customer partnership
and consultation at the design engineering stage with many operators, includ-
ing Shell UK, which confirmed the first order for installation in 1Q 2011 in the
maturing Southern North Sea. (Images courtesy of GE Oil & Gas)
Sam Aquillano, GE Oil & Gas
06-9 IndPULSE-MAR_Laout 1 2/18/11 10:44 AM Page 6
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temperature range of between 0F and 250F (-18C to
121C), this tree is 20% lighter than conventional
designs and has many new safety features that also have
fundamental, repeat operational expenditure benefits,
including eliminating the need for both a separate tree
cap and the deployment of an ROV or diver for installa-
tion. The SVXT is the result of intense customer part-
nership and consultation at the design engineering
stage with many operators, including Shell UK, which
confirmed the first order for installation in 1Q 2011 in
the maturing Southern North Sea.
The company soon will supply Chevron with its new
Subsea MudLift Drilling pump system for deployment in
early 2012 in the first-ever commercial application of
dual gradient drilling (DGD) technology. DGD can
reduce the number of casing strings required for deep-
water drilling, enabling wells to be designed with larger
diameter completions and/or to reach deeper reservoir
depths previously inaccessible using conventional single
gradient drilling. The new pump can deliver up to 1,800
gal/minute at discharge pressures up to 6,600 psi and
can handle solids up to 1.5 in. in diameter. This product
is the result of long-term partnership and commitment
and follows rigorous prototype testing and a successful
field trial carried out in 2001.
A third example is the VetcoGray MR-6H SE marine
drilling riser system, which fully automates marine
drilling riser makeup, increasing safety by removing peo-
ple from a dangerous environment, while also helping
decrease nonproductive time by speeding up operations.
The riser design is simple, with very few parts, and
uses field-proven concepts and profiles that have
provided many years of exemplary service. With
todays ultra-deepwater wells, this 3.5 million pound
rated coupling automated riser system can help sig-
nificantly reduce the time needed to deploy and
retract the riser string while maintaining a highly
preloaded coupling. The VetcoGray MR-6H SE sys-
tem represents a safety and efficiency advancement
for deepwater drilling.
All of these solutions build on the companys
deep domain knowledge and expertise, which helps
in clearly defining and addressing technical, envi-
ronmental, schedule, and fiscal challenges.
Time and again, partnership is the single
critical factor in introducing the new and depend-
able technology that the oil and gas industry needs.
Partnership is the main ingredient that keeps this
industry vibrant and full of engineering possibilities.
The nature of partnerships
Partnership also takes the form of technology transfer
and licensing agreements in areas that are critical to the
future of global energy supply. In 2010, GE extended its
reach with strategic partnerships and technology trans-
fer agreements in China, Asia, India, the Middle East,
and Kazakhstan.
Partnering is critically important for companies that
want to push the boundaries of their limitations. It is the
foundation of GEs business-wide company to country
approach, which means localizing business to markets
where the company operates, building on local capabili-
ties, and developing local resources through skills devel-
opment and training.
Partnership also means expanding operational foot-
print to be closer to customers with field service engi-
neers and facilities. Next year, GE will open a new
Global Research Center in Rio de Janeiro, a US $100
million investment that reflects a long-term commit-
ment to Brazil.
Partnership requires companies to have the courage
to admit that no one player no single company has
all of the answers. Seeking out and developing meaning-
ful partnerships is the surest means of accelerating the
pace at which the
industry is able to
unlock tomorrows
hydrocarbons and
to reach the oil and
gas industrys fullest
potential.
The VetcoGray MR-6H SE marine drilling riser system fully
automates marine drilling riser makeup.
industry
PULSE
EPmag.com
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Survival of the fittest
After years of hearing, Who are these guys? tiny ERHC is poised for growth in the
Gulf of Guinea.
10
world
VIEW
T
here is an old saying that implies that the best sur-
prises often come in small packages.
Take, for instance, ERHC Energy Inc., a very small com-
pany that once had a very large concession in So Tom
and Prncipe. The company originally approached the
tiny nation to discuss environmental remediation. But the
location of So Tom and Prncipe nestled in waters
adjacent to huge oil fields offshore Nigeria and Gabon
quickly caused the company to reassess its interest.
There seemed to be an opportunity offshore, said
Peter Ntephe, president and CEO of ERHC. On the
western side, the waters abut Nigeria, and on the eastern
side, the waters abut Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Here is this country bang in the middle of these oil-pro-
ducing territories.
ERHC established an exclusivity agreement with the
government stating that the company would help the
country set up an oil industry in exchange for a large
percentage of the revenues accruing from any eventual
production. Then things started to go very badly.
Piquing interest
As a public US company, ERHC was bound to report this
agreement. Bigger players who formerly had shown no
interest in the region suddenly sat up
and took notice.
Off the top of my head I can think
of three or four countries where the
same thing has happened, Ntephe
said. Already ERHC had helped the
country set up a national petroleum
agency, but with other players inter-
ested, So Tom and Prncipe
decided to renegotiate the deal, even
going into arbitration at one point.
The company was in trouble.
Funds had been raised to do this
in the expectation that returns would
start at a particular time, he said.
Once the problems started, those
returns didnt come when expected,
and the progress needed to continue to have financing
lines open wasnt happening. Company officials also had
decided to abandon their other businesses to make So
Tom and Prncipe the companys sole focus, meaning
the company had no way to diversify its portfolio. Accord-
ing to Ntephe, the owner of the business began looking
for buyers with sufficient faith in the prospect and suffi-
cient financial power to turn the company around.
A West African businessman who runs the Chrome
Group took an interest, and that firm became a signifi-
cant shareholder in 2001. It immediately began working
with the So Tom and Prncipe government to renego-
tiate the terms of the original deal.
That necessarily involved giving up some of the rights
that the company already had, Ntephe said.
The JDZ
ERHC went from having exclusive rights to the entire
region to getting preferential rights in certain blocks.
But by then Nigeria had decided that some of the waters
in question actually belonged to it. Again, this is a story
youll find in many countries, he said. Where the two
waters meet, theres always a dispute, especially when
theres oil believed to be involved.
Eventually the two countries agreed to establish a
joint development zone (JDZ). Companies that already
had secured rights in the JDZ retained those rights
under the new agreement, including
ERHC. Additionally, So Tom and
Prncipe declared its remaining waters
an exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and
ERHC had preferential rights in some of
these blocks as well.
Licensing rounds
The Joint Development Authority for the
JDZ held two licensing rounds in 2003
and 2004, and ERHC exercised its rights
in the second round. However, its per-
centage in each block was no more than
25% of the total. Company officials deter-
mined that they could not grow the com-
pany quickly enough to make bids on
their own, so they sought partners with
Peter Ntephe
(Image courtesy: ERHC Energy Inc.)
Rhonda Duey, Senior Editor
10-11 WorldVie-MAR_La!out 1 2/18/11 10:44 AM Page 10
whom they could bid for extra percentages, hoping for
operatorship.
The chairman of the company at the time led a team
that virtually crisscrossed the globe looking for partners,
Ntephe said. It was difficult because we were selling some-
thing that wasnt certain, and we were selling it on behalf
of a very small company that little was known about.
Eventually the company found partners for three of the
blocks in the JDZ, resulting in the partnerships bidding
for and receiving additional rights and therefore operator-
ship on those blocks. And again the questions began the
JDZ has had a licensing round, and this little company is
the operator how did that happen?
We were saying, Where were all of you when we were
receiving rejections, when doors were closing in our faces
on several continents? he said. Where were all of you
when we brought in world-class partners and together with
them put in bids for the additional rights that made us
operator?
Despite the success of the strategy, the first three part-
ners subsequently pulled out. Eventually ERHC brought
in two new partners, Sinopec and Addax. There were
dark days when we were in trouble, Ntephe said. Our
business was cooked if we didnt get replacement opera-
tors. So it was more phone calls, cold calling, and working
all of our networks.
Under investigation
More bad news was to come. Barely a month after signing
production-sharing contracts with the two partners, ERHC
came under investigation due to its acreage holdings. No
charges were filed, but Ntephe said that fraud was investi-
gated. Having always been a public company, ERHC had a
significant number of documents that it
had to turn over to the investigators, even-
tually filling 106 boxes.
The investigators turned up nothing,
but the pressure affected the company
severely. This was at the point where we
had secured the rights, secured significant
positions in West Africa, and were ready to
build on it, he said. That was what was
expected. And then the investigations hit.
The company took a strategy of arresting
any retrogression that might have hap-
pened and maintaining its position. A lack
of rigs made drilling difficult in 2008, but
by 2009, ERHC and its partners began
drilling, spudding five wells between August
2009 and January 2010. Despite the signifi-
cant initial setbacks, it still was the first part-
nership to drill in any of the blocks of the JDZ awarded in
the 2004 licensing round. Natural gas shows were found in
three of the wells, and they continue to be evaluated.
The exploration phase of the contract has been
extended to March 2011 to take into account the fact that
rigs were obtained later than initially expected. Ntephe
said he hopes by then the partners will have enough infor-
mation from the first five wells to determine how to pro-
ceed. There is still a lot of acreage, a lot of interpretation,
and a lot of possibility, he said.
Meanwhile, in the EEZ, ERHC has 100% rights with no
signature bonus in two blocks and 15% rights with signa-
ture bonus in two more. It has exercised its 100% rights in
blocks 4 and 11. Once the bids are reviewed, the company
again will seek partners to help develop that acreage. It is
not likely to be as hard a sell this time.
We now have a track record because weve done this
successfully in the JDZ, he said.
The company also now has a more diversified portfolio
with acreage in two separate areas, and it will continue to
explore West African waters. With several West Africans in
positions of power at the company, Ntephe believes ERHC
has a bit of home-field advantage over other companies
that might not be as familiar with local customs.
When people ask how weve done it, its because we
know the terrain; we know the lay of the land, he said.
Even though we are an American company, when we
walk into the room, the people were visiting think, Those
guys sure look familiar.
But he also sees a uniquely American aspect to ERHC.
Where other people see constraints, we see opportunity,
he said. These are the fundamental facets of the Ameri-
can dream.
11
ERHC has acreage positions in So Tom and Prncipes EEZ as well as the JDZ that
the country shares with Nigeria. (Map courtesy of ERHC; source ANP-STP)
world
VIEW
10-11 WorldVie-MAR_La!out 1 2/18/11 10:45 AM Page 11
W
orkforce management issues have been a serious
concern among oil and gas companies for some
time. If not addressed, these issues potentially could have a
negative impact on a companys performance and growth.
First, there is the big crew change. Thousands of baby
boomers are becoming newly eligible for retirement on a
daily basis. With a significant age gap between these older,
skilled workers and the younger set which on average
fall between 24 and 35 years old there is concern as to
how best to capture and share boomers valuable knowl-
edge before they leave the company.
There also is a nuclear war for skilled workers. Demand
for people at all levels, particularly engineers, far exceeds
the supply. As a result, companies are fighting to recruit top
employees from competing firms and struggling to retain
their best people. Combine this talent void with other
human-capital management issues, such as succession
management, leadership development, and globalization,
and what might seem like a few organizational challenges
can spiral into a bigger business issue.
There are five key steps oil and gas companies can take
to turn their human resources (HR) strategies into a
competitive advantage.
A holistic approach to talent management
When talent-management strategies for learning and
development, employee performance management, and
succession planning are integrated and supported by the
right technology solution companies can get a clearer
picture of their workforce. This kind of intelligence allows
HR to make smarter decisions about their talent and more
quickly respond to changing business needs.
For oil and gas companies, there is real value in the
ability to identify high performers and future leaders to
track and evaluate employee performance and isolate and
address skill gaps with targeted training as well as to ensure
that the right people are in the right roles and at the right
time all within a centralized system. Even better, data col-
lected in the system now can be tracked and reported.
Other benefits, such as organizational efficiencies and
automation of key processes, mean HR leaders can spend
less time mired in paperwork and tactics and more time
developing strategies that can support current and future
business needs.
A holistic approach to people management can have a
positive impact on the bottom line. According to analyst
firm Bersin & Associates, companies with intermediate to
advanced levels of talent management performed better
financially during the recession and were able to generate
higher employee performance and lower overall volun-
tary turnover.
Transition to a development-driven
performance management culture
The ultimate goal for any company is to raise peoples
performance levels and achieve better business results.
Five steps to turning
the talent management tide
Putting the right processes and tools in place can lead to greater employee retention
and productivity.
Charles Coy, Cornerstone OnDemand
Individualized career path pages help employees track their
progress and improve their skills. (Images courtesy of Corner-
stone OnDemand)
12
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But simply identifying areas where an employee needs to
improve is not enough. Employees must be able to access
the tools they need for increased knowledge and
improved skills.
Incorporating learning as part of the performance
management process provides managers with the tools
needed to develop high-quality learning plans that pre-
pare high performers for leadership positions or address
competencies required for specific roles. This coaching
and development style of performance management can
result in increased productivity, higher employee engage-
ment, and improved retention.
The ability to manage performance can be challenging
when it comes to roles where employee performance is best
monitored in real time. Some talent management solutions
offer a performance observation checklist feature that
allows companies to assess and record an employees skills
and competencies while directly observing activities in the
field. Automating what once was an inefficient, paper-based
process makes it easier to track and validate proficiencies
or regulatory compliance with critical safety procedures.
When this capability is integrated with learning tools, man-
agers automatically can assign training when additional sup-
port is needed. Capturing and tracking this information in
a centralized system also helps HR leaders ensure regula-
tory reporting is accurate and timely.
Find the perfect learning blend
Changing demographics have increased the need for
learning management particularly technical training
and leadership development. The most effective way of
delivering consistent, cost-friendly training to global, geo-
graphically dispersed workforces is through blended
learning the combination of in-classroom training with
e-learning, virtual classrooms, and mobile learning
options. This allows learning initiatives to be aligned
more closely to the needs of busy employees, who now
have more options for accessing self-service training any-
time, anywhere.
A successful blended learning strategy requires
thoughtful planning, engaging content, and a robust
user-friendly learning management system. Some pro-
grams fail because they do not meet the actual learning
needs of employees or because they fail to take the com-
panys learning culture into account. Programs must be
developed based on what, how, why, and when employees
need to learn. This approach also requires employees to
become more engaged and take more responsibility for
their own training and development.
Rewrite the rules of succession planning
Smart companies are moving away from succession man-
agement as a top-down process that focuses on only a few
key executives. Rather, they are expanding succession
planning deeper into the ranks of the company and
directly engaging employees in career management.
Technology can facilitate this collaboration between man-
agers and employees in a way that supports both the
needs of the business (bench strength and talent mobil-
ity) and the needs of the individual (professional growth
and career path).
New to the succession mix, online career-management
tools empower employees to take ownership of their
careers within a company, helping to improve engage-
ment and retention. With these tools, employees can cre-
ate an online profile to market their skills, competencies,
and career preferences such as the willingness to relo-
cate, specific geographical preferences, and long-term
career goals. For HR, this also provides a searchable data-
base for internal recruiting.
When succession processes are integrated with learning
management, HR leaders can allocate targeted leader-
ship courses for employees in the succession pipeline and
can seamlessly assign training to employees to close readi-
ness gaps and align career paths with reviews and goals.
Get social
Most companies are not sure how to get started with
social networking and collaboration tools, and they will
not allocate resources toward implementing these tech-
nologies until the benefits are clear. There also is a mis-
perception of these tools being more for entertainment
14
management
REPORT
Companies that overcome negative attitudes about social network-
ing sites are discovering that an in-house site can encourage
greater communication, cooperation, and cross-discipline learning.
15
than for business purposes, resulting in lost productivity.
Social technologies can help to increase productivity
and drive innovation by connecting employees with the
right knowledge and people across a company. The easi-
est way to introduce these tools is to start small and focus
on wrapping social technologies around two areas.
Existing learning and development programs: It has been
observed that while 80% of training budgets are spent on
formal learning programs, 80% of what people actually
learn is informal, whether it is overheard at the water
cooler, passed down by a mentor, or shared in an email.
Building an online community around an existing train-
ing course helps to centralize and capture this informal
learning experience. Participants have a way to connect
with one another before, during, and after the course to
find commonalities and share knowledge. Employees are
better able to connect with their mentors and foster a
richer relationship.
Employee alumni networks: Aging workers leaving the
workforce possess large amounts of institutional knowl-
edge that is difficult or impossible to capture and share.
Alumni networks provide a social channel to engage
retirees so the business can continue to benefit from their
expertise even after they are no longer employed, easing
the brain drain.
Shifting to a more strategic, integrated talent-manage-
ment strategy takes time. It is wise to roll different HR ini-
tiatives out in phases and by geographical location. Since
field-based employees might not have a culture of remote
or self-service learning or performance management,
change-management initiatives are needed to persuade
those employees to access and use these tools.
Companies also should choose a technology solution
that is flexible, scalable, and configurable enough to sup-
port business needs; that can be implemented quickly and
easily; and that does not require additional IT resources or
constant version upgrades. But a technology solution is
only as good as the strategy it supports. HR leaders must
ensure talent processes are in line with business needs and
that they make sense for the company as a whole.
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hat do online shopping and fluvial geostatistics have
in common? The initial answer might be not a lot,
but the longer answer could be surprising. The rise of
cloud computing means that the worlds most famous
online retailer and reservoir modeling in the oil and gas
industry might have a considerable amount in common.
While the idea of taking datasets away from physical
servers and hard drives and placing them on multiple vir-
tual servers on the Internet (the cloud) already has been
implemented in sectors such as government and financial
services, there also are clear applications for the oil and
gas industry and, in particular, reservoir management.
The importance of uncertainty
There is an important need to reduce risk and better
quantify uncertainty in reservoir management today
something that is becoming more challenging as reser-
voirs become more geologically complex and difficult
to reach.
The reservoir modeler normally is confronted with
sparse data and a need to generate countless realizations
and stochastic models to generate a range of possibilities
of what appears in the subsurface to reduce uncertainty.
Such complex and intensive processes require immense
amounts of computer power and many man hours. And
while supercomputers today are very fast, they still are
struggling to scale up to the growing amounts of work and
data at the speeds a user requires.
Enter the cloud
This is where cloud computing comes into its own. Com-
puters have been scaled up about as far as current technol-
ogy allows within a central processing unit, so the next
best option, as many operators already have discovered,
is to scale out through multiple clusters of computers,
often termed distributed computing.
Multiple clusters, which are used regularly in seismic
processing and reservoir simulation, have their downside.
The cost of ownership is high, IT infrastructures can be
complex and often not well integrated, and smaller opera-
tors and other organizations such as universities and think
tanks likely will be left behind due to accessibility issues.
Cloud computing provides all of the scalability benefits
of clusters and distributed computing with none of the
downside. Through a thin client device such as an iPad or
laptop, users can enjoy an elastic capacity of on-demand
data and computer power, zero maintenance costs, and
significantly reduced capital expenditure requirements.
Cloud computing also can lead to a much more inte-
grated and seamless workflow. Gone are the days where
huge datasets need to be transferred to different sites and
time lags were common between different applications.
With cloud computing, reservoir modelers can enjoy real-
time collaboration across different projects and access
information from a single truly scalable system.
A transparent and structured reservoir modeling
workflow through cloud computing also can act as a
repository for years of expertise and modeling advances
(particularly important given the number of people leav-
ing the industry over the next few years), help publicize
and enforce best practices, and foster a uniform style and
standard of work across the operating company and
across physical locations. It also can ensure greater pro-
ductivity from reservoir asset teams, which is crucial in
todays environment.
digital
OIL FIELD
Cloud computing can be
applied for reservoir modeling
Modeling with Amazon? It is closer than ever.
Tyson Bridger, Emerson Process Management
Roxar RMS runs on the .rox database. (Images courtesy of
Emerson Process Management)
17
17-22 DOF-Roxar_Layout 1 2/18/11 10:47 AM Page 17
Chan
ge
Compact formation evaluation (FE) tools are half the size of most
conventional wireline equipment and offer eleven different
conveyance options. So now you can gain access to more hole
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Lost Time to
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You also can reduce nonproductive time and increase operational
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of FE data, including detailed imaging-with or without wireline.
D Resistivity 1
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Acoustics (X-dipole)
CO)
Porosity and lithology
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Formation imaging
Natural gamma ray
",>
Formation pressure
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Production
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Intervention
Cased-hole
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Openhole
Acoustics
Formation testing
Imaging
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Porest y hdogy
Resistivity
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We call it Tactical Technology."
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digital
OIL FIELD
If the benefits are so compelling, why have all operators not yet adopted cloud
computing? Security seems to be the number one barrier. To reach a level of
trust, it is helpful to distinguish between public and private clouds. Whereas a
public cloud entails the cloud being open to a largely unrestricted universe of
potential users, the cloud also can be restricted to a single company with the
same robust security as internal IT servers. In fact, while larger operators are
likely to be most concerned about security, they also have the resources and
expertise to put internal clouds in place.
Just as passing credit card details over the Internet was treated with great skep-
ticism a few years back, this is largely an issue of educating users.
Cloud computing in reservoir modeling today
Recent research from IT analysts at IDC Energy Insights indicates that there is
rapid growth in spending for virtual machines. A number of operators also are
starting to develop internal clouds, spurred by the appeal of an on-demand,
elastic environment, as Catherine Madden of IDC puts it.
Emersons portfolio of reservoir modeling, simulation, and history-matching
products is positioned to capitalize on the cloud-computing phenomenon.
There are several reasons for this. First, its software solutions run on the Linux
operating system, making the transition to the cloud more seamless. Today, of
the 500 fastest supercomputers in the world, 455 run on Linux, according to the
biannual Top 500 supercomputer list.
Emersons software architecture is focused on being flexible and agile with an
emphasis on thin clients, where computers are distributed over a network and
models can be built up quickly and accurately. Other reservoir management soft-
ware packages are more fat-client focused, where most resources are installed
locally, leading to more data at the desktop. The fat-client approach is less well-
suited to cloud computing today.
Emerson also has a number of cluster-enabled products that fit comfortably
with cloud computing. For example, the Roxar Tempest simulator deploys simu-
lations across multiple computer nodes, and the automated history-matching
tool, Roxar EnABLE, generates multiple realizations and multiple simulator
instances across computer nodes. Elastic cloud computing allows the reservoir
modeler to scale the cluster according to the size of the problem.
Cloud computing also needs a coherent management strategy. It is in this con-
text that Emerson has developed a common data management platform and
architecture that is designed for scalability, can integrate all of its software func-
tions, and help facilitate and navigate reservoir management tools as part of
cloud computing.
The new platform, known as .rox, will consist of:
Distributable applications, scripts, and plugins, enabling users to
access software;
A domain model of the subsurface that covers geophysics, geology, and reser-
voir engineering objects (reservoir.rox); and
An object database that exists for geological and production data
(source.rox).
The reservoir modeling software, Roxar RMS, already runs on this database.
Do not forget Amazon
So what do Amazon and fluvial geostatistics have in common? Amazon today is
much more than just an online book store. It also is one of the worlds leading
1W
Weatherford'
Tactical Technology
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in action:
Assure ' System
Conveyance Options
Thru-Dnllpipe Drilling
Compact"' logging tools
are vital in slim-well
completion for Saudi
Aramco. The 3 7/8-in. well
was safely logged by running
dual neutron, photodensity
and microimager tools on
drillpipe. Data was acquired
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Coiled Tubing
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Slickline and
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Compact tools maneuver
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a US operator US$50,000.
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by another service company,
Compact tools avoided
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Wireline-qualit y openhole
logs were obtained, saving
96 hours of rig time versus
pipe-conveyed logs.
Compact thru-tubing triple-
combo avoids workover
rig costs and saves
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in Middle East b
y
logging
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Compact tools on
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Logging whne Drilling
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well underbalanced
01
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}
and obtained formation
evaluation (FE) data where
Wireline previous attempts had failed.
Discover how our Assure conveyance
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results. Visit weatherford.com, or call
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0 O1 t titwmvdad An rgt av rein.
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providers of cloud computing space alongside companies
such as Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Rackspace. Accord-
ing to a recent Business Week article, Amazon predicts
that its cloud-computing efforts could one day surpass its
retailing revenues.
With Amazon, it takes just a few commands to boot up
new virtual machines in seconds. Capacity is available on
demand and payable on usage. It also is important to note
that the cost to carry out processing on its offering, Ama-
zon EC2 (Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud), is up to 10
times cheaper on Linux than it would be on Windows.
Emerson already has tested a number of its reservoir mod-
eling tools on Amazon. Using Roxar RMS on the .rox plat-
form, jobs can be distributed transparently to the cloud.
Data can be distributed using source.rox on Amazon S3,
Amazons storage service. Computations can be performed
on the correctly sized virtual cluster on Amazon EC2 with
control of the job taking place through Amazon Web Serv-
ices. Reservoir modelers also can choose to run the jobs
locally or in the cloud, depending on their need.
Cloud computing has the potential to usher in a revolu-
tion in how the industry handles reservoir models and the
data it generates. If a link can continue to be provided
between cloud computing and improved reservoir manage-
ment economics, the sky literally could be the limit.
digital
OIL FIELD
Emerson already has tested a number of its reservoir modeling
tools on Amazon to positive effect. A system that relies on Ama-
zons S3 and EC2 offerings has a distinct structure.
20
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he industrial revolution was about speed, scale, and
specialization. The information revolution is about
value, innovation, and collaboration. It all starts with
numbers and the art of making them speak.
Applying analytics
Businessdictionary.com defines analytics as the field of
data analysis. According to the website, Analytics often
involve studying past historical data to research potential
trends, to analyze the effects of certain decisions or events,
or to evaluate the performance of a given tool or scenario.
The goal of analytics is to improve the business by gaining
knowledge which can be used to make improvements or
changes. Leading companies understand that mining
data faster and better than their competitors yields a com-
petitive advantage. This understanding has made data ana-
lytics mainstream.
Many industries contend with the tsunami of data gener-
ated by networks, sensors, and computer processors, but
few face the additional challenge of data quality what to
do when the accuracy of the data feed is questionable or
the readings are considered unreliable. In the oil and gas
industry, this occurs regularly due to harsh environments
and difficult transmission conditions. Engineers have been
using their knowledge, common sense, and experience to
differentiate good from bad data, for instance identify-
ing meaningful spikes from insignificant blips. This was
marginally tenable when few data feeds where installed,
but the increased data volume and the decreased number
of petroleum engineers now render this exercise nearly
impossible. Today, heaps of data are gathered but cannot
be mined in real time. Instead, they are held in reserve
and used for after-the-fact forensic analysis when an inci-
dent happens. Real-time data capture (installed to enable
preventive analysis and actions) more often than not is
used for a much less attractive return on investment
a mere forensic tool to understand what went wrong.
Many attempts have been made to overcome this chal-
lenge. The two most common approaches revolve around
ruled-based and model-based technologies. Unfortunately,
while these methodologies work very well to solve other
challenges, the variability of data exceptions in upstream oil
and gas sensor readings render these techniques ineffective.
A different approach
Claude Shannons information theory handles these chal-
lenges and provides a novel solution to several oil and gas
data analytic problems. Classical information theory can
determine the bandwidth requirements for transmitting
messages of varying types. Information streams containing
rapid variations and complicated patterns (e.g., oil and gas
data streams) require greater bandwidth than streams con-
sisting of simple patterns with few variations. Shannon used
digital
OIL FIELD
Digital oil field creates
real-time data fire hose
The digital oil field allows an enormous amount of real-time data to be collected. The challenge
is to move from raw data to actionable information.
Philippe Flichy and Tom Lovell, IO-hub
23
The scan finds obvious and subtle anomalies using complexity
changes. A non-obvious anomaly is detected (red circle) near the
end of the data stream. (Images courtesy of IO-hub)
The zoomed view shows details of the non-obvious anomaly detected
near the end of the data stream.
23-26 DOF-firehose_La!ot 1 2/18/11 10:48 AM Page 23
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25
digital
OIL FIELD
the term entropy to describe his measure of information
content. The higher the entropy of an information stream,
the more bandwidth it requires to transmit, or when com-
pressed, the more disk space it requires to store. Perhaps
surprisingly, Shannons entropy relates directly to the
entropy of classical thermodynamics.
To help conceptualize this connection qualitatively
(and without arguing their truth or falsity), consider these
approximately equivalent statements: The universes
entropy is increasing, The universe is approaching per-
fect randomness, and The universe is approaching a
more complex ordering. The last, more nuanced state-
ment suggests entropy may be considered a direct measure
of complexity. Data streams can be compared by their
inherent complexity and their complexity relative to one
another. Some shifts in a data streams complexity signal
changes in the underlying well physics. Other shifts signal
normal responses to control actions. Still others reflect
erroneous sensor spikes and drift.
An analogy to some of Shannons less well-known work
may help. He used simple statistical data analytics for iden-
tifying the language used in a transmitted message. Simple
algorithms automatically built 2-D histograms of the occur-
rence frequency of letter pairs for typical messages sent
in several languages. For example, English language
messages very frequently contain th but not often cz
pairings. Every language analyzed has its own letter-pair
statistics. Information theory can characterize the com-
plexity of each languages letter-pair probability distribu-
tion and distinguish these distributions from one another.
New messages can be classified among the known lan-
guages. A message in an unknown language is not classi-
fied but is identified as unknown or anomalous.
Likewise, data streams from an oil well (e.g., pressure,
temperature, flow, choke valve travel, etc.) contain their
own typical complexity. The various data streams might be
scanned for complexity (information entropy) singly or in
combination. Analyzed during normal well operations, a
data stream metaphorically may be speaking French. Dur-
ing methanol injection, the well might start speaking Russ-
ian. Or, a new previously unseen condition may arise that
can be flagged as anomalous, perhaps requiring attention.
Using such methods, it is possible to detect precursor
events (predictive or not), major events, and data trends as
distinguished from erroneous sensor drift. The next step is
to accumulate data for massive real-time parallel correla-
tion of multiple events, offering and then exploiting a
holistic view of the data to better identify normal versus
abnormal operation. This allows the automated correlating
of data stream combinations neither presently done nor
considered feasible.
Applying algorithms
During the last year, IO-hub took a step in this direction,
receiving multiple high-frequency data streams for several
wells in the Gulf of Mexico. A typical well generated 15 to
20 data streams with new data readings every few seconds,
covering months of operation. Half of the streams moni-
tored well conditions (e.g., various downhole, annulus,
and wellhead pressures and temperatures); the remain-
ing data streams recorded actions taken (e.g., methanol
injection, choke valve travel, and master and crossover
valve settings). Most of the time, pressure and tempera-
ture streams showed steady stable behavior. All streams
showed a fair number of irregular and very noticeable
short duration fluctuations. Faced with reams of data
from multiple wells, all clearly exhibiting many intermit-
tent data events, the engineer wanted to know whether
the well was in good health. Being fire-hosed with data,
where should he spend his time?
IO-hub software scanned all data streams and
identified all anomalies (the intermittent data events
of unknown importance) in all data streams. When the
data were assembled into a time-based event table, it
quickly became clear that all anomalous events in the
pressure and temperature data were associated with at
least one causing action (e.g., methanol or chemical
injection, change in choke valve position, change in
crossover valve state, etc.). Learning this, the engineer
concluded the wells were behaving normally.
This solution while done quickly, with substantial
time savings over typical largely manual methods was
not fully automatic. Work continues toward automating
the process. When done, the software detects and classi-
fies data events, alerting the petroleum engineers only to
1) as yet unclassified anomalies or 2) event classes the
engineers have indicated they want flagged.
Rather than mining numbers after the fact to under-
stand what went wrong, this approach offers the ability to
anticipate and avoid potentially catastrophic and costly
events. Furthermore, the technology lends itself to smart
recording and transmission by prioritizing the essential
data from the mundane.
The information revolution is about a new approach
to data and determining its usefulness. This novel
approach automatically can clean and analyze data
to identify precursor
events in each data
stream, enhancing its
value by correlating this
analysis over multiple
concurrent real-time
data streams.
EPmag.com
READ MORE ONLINE
There is more
to the story
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ost geoscientists would agree that the more data
they can acquire and interpret, the more accu-
rate their reservoir model will be. But this often is eas-
ier said than done. Data acquisition is expensive and
time consuming, and often it is difficult to integrate
different datasets in a meaningful way.
A new company hopes to change that. Called NEOS
GeoSolutions, its goal is to integrate all geophysical
datasets gravity, magnetic, electromagnetic, radiomet-
ric, and hyperspectral with existing seismic, geologic,
and geochemical information to create a combined
and unique 3-D interpretation of the subsurface.
The value that we bring is fairly simple, said Jim Hol-
lis, president and CEO of NEOS. We apply and integrate
multiple geoscience methodologies. No one methodol-
ogy gives you the answer; it gives you an answer. By fusing
multiple methodologies, you get the answer.
This has long been the goal in geosciences, but it took
computers a while to catch up to the dream. Now the
company has developed the needed suite of technolo-
gies to acquire, manage, and integrate
these measurements, he said.
The company offers three solutions,
which vary depending on how the
data are acquired and what one is try-
ing to do. Its neoSCAN programs help
geoscientists develop an understand-
ing of the macro-geological features at
the basin scale, including the thick-
ness of the sediment column; the
depth and likely areal extent of target
areas within the geologic column; and
the impact of large-scale folding, faulting, and thrusting.
Next is the neoBASIN, in which NEOS flies an air-
plane over a large area of interest, acquiring gravity,
magnetic, and hyperspectral data to add to the inter-
pretation. These surveys typically are acquired under a
multiclient commercial model and are designed to
high-grade acreage and develop exploration leads.
Finally, there is the neoPROSPECTOR, which is
designed to identify drillable prospects. These projects
integrate high-resolution data acquired with a helicop-
ter with other available measurements and, in many
cases, identify look-alike prospects based on correlating
the measurements associated with known discoveries.
Data from all of these projects are integrated and
interpreted in a proprietary data management system
called the NeoSphere.
What does NEOS have that other companies do not?
In addition to a strong management team and highly
qualified geoscientists, it has connections to Silicon Val-
ley through two of its primary backers, the venture firm
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Bill Gates. Were
able to tap into the latest Silicon Valley technologies, like
cloud computing, social networking, crowd sourcing,
and intelligent search, Hollis said. For instance, one of
the relationships we have is with Google. They have put
a lot of effort into geospatial data man-
agement at Google Earth, and we have
access to those kinds of technologies as
we evolve our NeoSphere.
For now, NEOS confines its activities
to North and South America, where
programs are under way in California,
Colorado, and Argentina. However, it
recently got a new investor from the
Middle East that has a track record of
forging oil field services ventures with
Saudi Aramco and others in the region,
suggesting this might be the next area for expansion.
For Hollis, the excitement stems not only from addi-
tional opportunities in other parts of the world, but
also the step change his companys technology can pro-
vide for natural resource exploration.
If you want to introduce something new into this
business, you have to address the value equation on all
fronts, he said. We cant just deliver a better image or
be faster or be cheaper.
Weve got to deliver on all
three fronts simultane-
ously. And thats what I
believe we offer.
Silicon Valley meets the oil patch
A new company combines geoscience expertise with compute power.
EPmag.com
RHONDA DUEY
Senior Editor
rduey@hartenergy.com
27
exploration
TECHNOLOGY
No one
methodology gives
you the answer; it
gives you an answer.
By fusing multiple
methodologies,
you get the answer.
27-28 ExpCOL_Layout 1 2/18/11 10:49 AM Page 27
27-28 ExpCOL_Layout 1 2/18/11 10:50 AM Page 28
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well
CONSTRUCTION
S
tuck pipe can make or break a drilling project.
Lost time, equipment damage, and lower return
on investment are symptoms of this common problem.
Conventional fishing tool techniques have been in use
since the early 1800s. They still are the first choice for
many operators.
Since 1996, Vibration Technology Inc., a Layne Chris-
tensen company, has used resonant energy for stuck
pipe applications. The company applies acoustic theory
to transmit standing wave resonant energy over long
intervals of pipe in oil and gas wells. The companys
equipment and procedures have proven to be one of
the most cost-effective means of stuck pipe recovery cur-
rently available to the industry.
Even now, after a decade of use, vibration technology
is considered by many to be a last resort. That means
the companys procedure often is deployed after the
tubulars are stuck tighter than when the incident first
occurred. Even as a last resort, our success rates are
very good, said Ozzie Gonzalez, senior technology
development engineer.
Acoustic energy delivered at resonant frequencies can
reach extreme depths and provide billions of ft/lb of
energy in just three hours, even in highly deviated well
bores. Compared to jarring, which delivers a few tens of
millions of ft/lb of energy within a similar time frame,
vibration technology has proven to be somewhat more
effective in relieving stuck pipe. It is the energy not
the force that frees stuck tubulars, Gonzalez said.
One benefit Vibration Technology provides is a fast
turnaround. Rarely do we stay on location for more
than one day, Gonzalez said. In some cases, the pipe
comes free within a few minutes of resonant oscillation
or after just a couple of hours. For the most part, the
process takes less than a day. The exception would be
thousands of feet of mud stuck tubing or casing. That
usually takes more than one day, he said.
The deepest extraction to date is more than 18,000 ft
(5,486 m) in the Gulf of Mexico. The company rou-
tinely operates on horizontal wells where problems
occur from drilling out frac plugs or from stuck mud
motors. The company has deployed resonant acoustic
energy for the full gamut of stuck pipe scenarios includ-
ing sand stuck, junk or mechanical sticking, differential
sticking, key seats, swelling shales, and cave-ins, just to
name a few.
Financial benefits notwithstanding, the industry is
slow to deviate from what has always been done,
although several operators have experienced a substan-
tial cost savings from using surface resonant vibratory
techniques as a first resort. In the Alba field in Equato-
rial Guinea, an operator had 4,500 ft (1,372 m) of 4-
in. tubing stuck in a packer and seal assembly with
dehydrated mud on the backside. A sister well with mud
stuck tubing took more than 50 days to free up using
conventional methods, with a daily spread cost of US
$192,172. Vibration Technologys resonant acoustic
energy procedures freed the stuck pipe in less than one
day with a total vibration cost of $125,000, saving the
operators millions of dollars in nonproductive time.
The theory that underlies our technology was first
conceived more than fifty years ago, Gonzalez
explained. Vibration Technology has designed reliable
equipment that applies the technology to all manner of
stuck pipe from coiled tubing to casing conductor pipe.
The company has developed a range of effective and
practical tools on theoretical concepts that sat idle for
years due to the lack of available hardware.
Vibration Technology is building on its process and
equipment to supply resonant acoustic energy for a
number of advanced downhole applications. The com-
pany currently is working to expand
its presence and has taken its
service to Europe, Africa, the
Middle East, South America,
and Central America.
New solution for an old problem
Tools designed using acoustic theory can mitigate the costs and lost time
associated with stuck pipe.
EPmag.com
TAYVIS DUNNAHOE
Senior Editor
tdunnahoe@hartenergy.com
29
29-30 WellConstrction_La!ot 1 2/18/11 11:35 AM Page 29
29-30 WellConstrction_La!ot 1 2/18/11 11:35 AM Page 30
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OPTIMIZATION
A
s moviegoers will recall, the rare collision of two
massive weather systems in the North Atlantic
Ocean formed the premise of a thrilling tale titled,
The Perfect Storm. Although each meteorological
system was dangerous, it was the collision of the systems
that caused the problem and led to its terrible result.
Such a perfect storm could be brewing in the oil and
gas industry. There is little excess capacity anywhere in
the world, including Saudi Arabia, to mitigate a down-
spike in production; and demand growth, despite the
best efforts of conservationists and engineers develop-
ing more energy-efficient machines, continues apace.
The de facto unofficial moratorium on offshore
drilling will create a trough in the production wave
that could last for several years. The best offshore fields
average approximately 10 years between discovery and
first oil, and cutting off drilling in the
Gulf of Mexico and the Beaufort Sea
undoubtedly will create such a trough,
although its effects might not be appar-
ent for some time. Just like a tsunami,
the production ripple eventually will
hit the market.
It is unreasonable to think that
curtailing offshore drilling for an
extended period will not have a down-
stream effect. Even if the industry, once
authorized, could mitigate the shortage
with an all-out effort to catch up, that would, in itself,
create the kind of unsafe atmosphere legislators are try-
ing to prevent. Shortcuts to make up time can backfire,
ultimately costing more time and money.
The result will be a price spike as the haves exploit
their temporary advantage against the have-nots. The
spike will be particularly sharp and severe because the
haves lack the excess capacity to boost production vol-
ume during the crisis, and the only recourse is jacking
up the price on their current production.
Anyone watching the news cannot but wonder about
the potential extent and effect of the violence and civil
unrest that is sweeping the Middle East. Today it is Egypt,
Tunisia, and Yemen, but who will be swept into the
whirlpool tomorrow? Elsewhere, simmering issues con-
tinue to plague production in Nigeria and Venezuela.
Throughout history, the world has experienced
numerable disasters where mankind has had a role. The
sinking of the Titanic did not put an end to sea travel,
the horrific disaster at Chernobyl did not result in aban-
donment of nuclear power generation, and even the
conflagration that consumed the oil wells of Kuwait was
dealt with forthrightly. The affected industries simply
redoubled their efforts to improve the process or
develop safer, more secure alternatives.
So why does the US not recognize
that for more than 150 years the oil
and gas industry has had a remarkable
history of safe and environmentally
responsible operations with a mini-
mum of accidents? Put the Macondo
incident in its proper perspective and
engineer safeguards to prevent recur-
rence, but at the same time do not cut
off the lifeblood of America. Do not
create a market tsunami that will have
the effect of a perfect storm by deliberately creating a
shortage in a critical commodity at a time when the US
can least afford to experience one.
The industry has proven time and again that it has
the technology, equipment, and know-how to drill and
produce deepwater energy assets safely. What hap-
pened at Macondo was, by all accounts, a human fail-
ure, and as such was entirely preventable. Look at the
procedures that precipitated the Macondo disaster, cor-
rect them and the conditions that fostered them, and
the problem should not recur.
In the meantime, restore drilling and production.
There is a perfect storm brewing
out there. America should act
now if it does not want to commit
energy suicide.
A perfect storm?
As commodity prices continue their upward creep, the regulators dithering
in Washington could be creating a monumental crisis of their own making.
EPmag.com
DICK GHISELIN, P.E.
Senior Editor
dghiselin@hartenergy.com
31
It is unreasonable
to think that
curtailing offshore
drilling for an
extended period
will not have a
downstream effect.
31 PRODcol_Layout 1 2/18/11 10:51 AM Page 31
32
COVER STORY: INTERNATIONAL
UNCONVENTIONAL SHALE
Laura Atkins
Hart Energy
Research
unconventional
shALe GAs
GLOBAL
resource
could soon be a
32-39 COVERstor!-mar_La!ot 1 2/18/11 11:01 AM Page 32
hale gas has been called a game
changer in the US. By the end of
2010, production reached 12 Bcf/d;
by the end of 2011 it could be 15 to 16
Bcf/d. LNG imports, once believed to
be a necessity, have all but halted. A
key question is, Can this success be
replicated outside of North America?
This abridgement of the Hart Energy Global Shale Gas
Study examines which countries are next, what market
and geopolitical factors could make shale gas a better
option than conventional gas, and what countries have
to do to make shale gas attractive to investors.
A world of resources
Shale gas is plentiful around the globe. Conservative
estimates place the total resource volume at about
20,000 Tcf. This volume is likely to increase as more
shale gas plays are identified and evaluated.
There are many compelling reasons to develop shale
gas outside North America, and these reasons vary
among regions and countries. First, conventional gas is
distributed unevenly; more than half of proven reserves
are located in just three countries Russia, Iran, and
Qatar. Some countries in Europe rely on gas imports
for nearly all of their needs. In Latin America and Asia,
increasing demand is requiring imports to be secured at
high prices. Growing reliance on imports creates energy
security concerns that can be alleviated by domestic
shale gas production. Another reason for growing inter-
est in unconventional gas is that natural gas is a clean
fuel that can be used for residences and industry.
Shale gas activities are under way all over the world,
with Europe leading the way. Exploration licenses have
been awarded in Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark,
Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, France, Spain,
Romania, and Ukraine. All of these countries except
for Denmark and the Netherlands rely on imports to
meet a substantial portion of their gas demand. Thus,
energy security is a major concern in Europe. Gas prices
generally are high, which will favor shale gas develop-
ment. Costs also will be higher because of the need to
import rigs, hydraulic fracture units, and personnel,
but with higher gas prices, shale gas could be an attrac-
tive investment.
Most activity to date has been confined to re-analysis
of existing well and seismic data, though a few wells have
been drilled in Poland and Germany, and one is drilling
in the UK.
s
EPmag.com | March 2011 33
The Wytowno #1 shale gas well (facing page and above) is being
drilled in the Baltic Basin of Poland. BNK Petroleum Inc. is manag-
ing Saponis Investments Sp Z o.o., which is the listed operator. The
wells primary targets are the Lower Silurian, Ordovician, and the
Cambrian shales. (Images courtesy of BNK Petroleum Inc.)
There are many compelling reasons
to develop shale gas outside of
North America.
International shale gas plays are going beyond Europe.
(Source: Reservoir IntelliLogic; Hart Energy)
Country Shale TOC% Thickness
(meters)
Argentina Los Molles and 1.6-5.0 up to 1,200
Vaca Muerta
Brazil Pimenteiras 2.5-6.0 400
Colombia La Luna Simiti 3.1 800
China Ordos Basin
Permian Basin 2.0-5.0 250
Indonesia Lahat 1.7-16.0 150
Australia Carynginia 2.0-11.0 15-350
Oman, UAE, Qusaiba Hot Shale
Saudi Arabia Rub Al Khali Basin 4.0-12.0 20-70
Jordan Mudawwara 4.0-7.0 50-1,500
Syria Tanf 2.0-8.0 up to 530
Algeria Frasnian Shale 8.0-14.0 120-200
South Africa & Botswana Ecca Formation 0.7-1.3 46
Turkey Hamitabat 1.0-7.0 50-350
Whatever your challenge, count on Baker Hughes to build dependable
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nd we're read
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35
Outside Europe, there are many interesting shale gas
plays. Some are under evaluation, and others exhibit sig-
nificant potential. Argentina is rapidly becoming a cen-
ter for shale gas exploration. Apache Corp. and YPF are
drilling wells to test the thick, high-quality Los Molles
and Vaca Muerta shales in the Neuqun Basin. Exxon-
Mobil and Total have acquired exploration licenses.
Other shales are present in the Cuyo and Nirihuau
basins and still others in the Chaco and Tarija basins
that extend into Bolivia and Paraguay.
Shales are found throughout Latin America. One
interesting prospect is located in northeast Brazil in a
populated area with a rapidly growing industrial base.
This region is far from the gas infrastructure in Rio de
Janeiro and So Paolo. Thus, even though Brazil could
face a gas glut once the high gas/oil-ratio presalt fields
come on production, it could be more cost-effective to
develop shale gas in the northeast than to build
pipelines to serve this region.
Further north, Colombia is planning a licensing
round within the next two years in its shale gas prospect.
Asia Pacific prospects
In the Asia Pacific region, shale gas activities are under
way in China, India, and Australia. China and India have
been importing increasing volumes of gas year on year
to meet rising demand. China is planning to offer shale
gas exploration rights in a licensing round in the near
future. Only Chinese companies have been prequalified
to bid, but international oil companies can partner with
them later.
Indonesia, which has been an exporter of LNG, soon
could begin developing its unconventional resources.
Indonesia already is evaluating coalbed methane
(CBM), so shale gas may be the next step. Gas prices
are relatively high, at about US $7/Mcf, making uncon-
ventional gas a potentially attractive investment.
China and Mongolia have numerous shale gas
prospects, and many are located far from gas pipelines.
Indias petroleum basins have potential shale gas forma-
International shale activity is centered in Europe. (Maps courtesy
of Rextag, a Hart Energy Mapping & Data Services company)
36
tions, but little is known about them at this time. ONGC,
Indias national oil company, and others are taking a
look at them.
Australias gas markets are segmented into three
regions, with domestic gas available only within each
market. This presents an opportunity for shale gas to
supply local needs and even for export where offshore
conventional gas is more costly than shale gas. Shale gas
development in Australia has been overshadowed largely
by the rapid commercialization of CBM in Queensland
and New South Wales, which is cheaper to produce.
In the west, however, shale gas has been attracting
increasing interest in recent months due to high local
gas prices. Australian operator AWE has been reviewing
the Carynginia shales of the Perth Basin, where it has
drilled and cored the Woodada Deep-1 well. Australian
shales are reportedly similar to commercially successful
shales in North America.
Massive Middle East, Africa reserves
The Middle East, with its vast conventional gas
resources, would seem an unlikely place for shale gas
to be viable. However, a large part of the conventional
reserves more than 50% in some countries are asso-
ciated gas. Most non-associated gas reserves are located
in Qatar and Iran. With a few notable exceptions, there
is no regional gas trade in the region. Gas demand is
increasing rapidly, and associated gas production cannot
keep up.
Conventional gas often is found in deep reservoirs
that contain sour gas, which is very costly to produce.
Thus, shale gas could present an excellent opportunity
to increase gas supplies in the region, particularly in
Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, and Jordan.
Oman has begun tight gas exploration, and shale gas
may not be far behind. The Silurian-age hot shale for-
mations have favorable shale gas properties and are
prevalent throughout the region. Major challenges
include low regulated gas prices and, in general, poor
fiscal terms.
Shale gas is found all over Africa, but so far only the
northern and far southern regions have infrastructure
and markets. North Africa has huge conventional gas
reserves and is a major gas exporting region. Even so,
Algeria is finding it difficult to replace
conventional reserves and may be
inclined to exploit shale gas in the not-
too-distant future. Tunisia, meanwhile,
has taken initial steps toward unconven-
tional gas development, contracting with
Cygam Energy of Calgary and Perenco
of France to test the potential of a well
in central Tunisia that could produce
shale gas.
Exploration activities already have
begun in South Africa home to the
Karoo shale and in Botswana. Both
countries would like to increase the use
of natural gas for power generation and
other uses.
Development challenges
There will be challenges in replicating
the North American shale gas success
story internationally.
Shale gas development is an intensive
process requiring large amounts of capi-
tal, labor, and logistical support. North
America has been able to deploy enor-
mous physical resources, mostly in
regions that are familiar and comfortable
with petroleum development. Hundreds
of rigs drill thousands of wells each year.
Shale gas is present
in petroleum basins
throughout South
America.
In shale,
differences
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characteristics
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Because every shale play presents unique
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you need them, providing proven technologies-along
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By contrast, Europe, for example, only has about 50
land drilling rigs operating at any one time, which
means only a relatively small number of wells are drilled
each year. This amount of drilling would not support
even one shale gas play. There is an order of magnitude
difference in scale, and scale is needed to advance the
technology, bring down costs, and maintain material lev-
els of production.
In North America, there is a deep pool of experienced
field personnel, engineers, and geoscientists working on
shale gas development. Other coun-
tries may have some expertise, but
currently they do not have the num-
bers of people that are needed. Still
other countries have no current oil
or gas production and no experience
with such operations. Most or all of
the equipment and personnel will
have to be imported until local oper-
ations can be built up.
Another significant difference
between North American and inter-
national shale gas development is
the number of potential operators.
There are hundreds of companies
in the US, many of which are small
independents that were the first to
try producing shale gas. The rapid
innovations that led to the shale gas
revolution would have been impossi-
ble without the experimentation and
adaptation carried out by hundreds
of such companies. Although other
countries will benefit from the gains
in North America, success will come
only from adaptation to each unique
set of circumstances.
In countries with high population
densities, such as those in Europe,
surface impacts, water rights, and
regulations will be major issues.
Though horizontal wells drilled from
a single pad can reduce the surface
footprint, there still is the problem
of land access, not to mention
increases in traffic congestion and
noise from equipment. Access to
water is another concern, and there
could be local resistance to using
water for shale gas operations. Tech-
niques developed in North America
to deal with these issues could be
adapted to the circumstances unique
to each country.
A fourth consideration is gas mar-
kets. The American gas market is
ason
`p
Discover
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RockMod
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Detai/ from ost stack seismic data
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Detai/ from RockMod prestack geostatistica/ inversion
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y
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large and liquid, allowing companies to sell gas easily
and to use the futures market to support drilling
programs that require constant reinvestment. Out-
side North America, most gas is purchased and dis-
tributed by the government at fixed regulated prices
or by a few large buyers that purchase gas under
long-term contracts. In many countries, regulated
gas prices are too low to support shale gas develop-
ment. If shale gas prices must be regulated, they
should be tied to gas import prices rather than to
low fixed domestic prices.
There are many attractive opportunities to develop
shale gas outside North America, but it will take a
concerted effort on the part of government officials
working with experienced operators to develop fiscal
terms and regulations that allow shale gas develop-
ment to proceed. The many economic and energy
security benefits to countries that develop their own
gas resources provide incentives for cooperation in
developing this important resource. Indonesia has shale gas on the island of Sumatra, close to markets.
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40
OPERATING
EFFICIENCY
I
n an increasingly aggressive industry, the seismic
acquisition business consistently must look for ways to
remain competitive. Only those companies that are able
to keep costs down and production high can compete.
Seismic crews must become efficient in every aspect of
the recording operation. Spurred by the quest for
more productivity, a number of Vibroseis techniques
have developed over the last 15 years. The most popu-
lar of these techniques include:
Slip sweep the second vibrator fleet shaking
after the first fleet has finished but while the
recorder still is recording. The recording system
can separate records based on start time and sweep
parameters. There always will be some level of inter-
ference from the harmonics of the second fleet of
vibrators in the first correlated record. Depending
on the level of harmonic interference relative to
the signal, some additional noise removal might
be necessary;
Distance-separated simultaneous recording simultane-
ous recording of two or more source points with
fleets separated by enough distance that the oppos-
ing fleet does not interfere with the data at the tar-
get horizon;
Random simultaneous recording multiple fleets all
shaking independently at random times with differ-
ent sweep parameters and positions. Because sev-
eral locations can be acquired at the same time, the
recording truck is unable to separate them, requir-
ing a complex separation and noise-removal
process to be run afterward; and
High-fidelity vibratory seismic using phase-rotated
sweeps to separate out multiple positions acquired
simultaneously.
The common principal in all of these Vibroseis tech-
niques is that more vibrator points (VPs) can be shaken
if two or more fleets are working simultaneously. This
certainly is true, but additional production usually
comes at the cost of some level of interference between
the vibrators.
A different methodology
One under-utilized method for getting higher production
without causing interference between vibrators is to use a
single long-duration sweep. In the 1990s, almost all 3-D
seismic data were acquired with four or more short
sweeps. This tradition goes back to 2-D acquisition geome-
tries, where multiple sweeps created a large source array.
Single-sweep methods
offer efficiency gains
Seismic acquisition using extended-duration single-sweep technology
provides comparable datasets in less time.
Bill Halverson, Global Geophysical Services
Fixed gain displays of the same location in South Texas are shown once
with four sweeps of 12 seconds each (left) and again with a single 48-
second sweep. Both records have a five-second listen time. (Images
courtesy of Global Geophysical Services)
The same records are displayed with an automatic gain control equal-
izer and top mute and show the same characteristics.
40-41 OpEff-Global_Laout 1 2/18/11 11:04 AM Page 40
41
With newer vibrators and vibrator control elec-
tronics, it is possible to shake the same amount of
time, putting the same amount of energy into the
earth, with a longer single sweep. This in turn
necessitates only one listen time, causing no
change in data quality. Vibrating with a single
long sweep has additional advantages:
A longer sweep reduces the effects of start-
time tapers, thereby adding to the very low-
frequency content. Very low frequencies can
help to both widen the bandwidth of the data
and improve deep imaging;
The shorter overall time allows less opportu-
nity for environmental noise such as vehicle
traffic to intrude on the data;
If something causes a bad record, it takes less
time to reacquire the single sweep than it does
for multiple sweeps; and
The output SEG-D record requires no special
processing to remove noise or harmonics
from other simultaneous sweeps as is neces-
sary with other simultaneous techniques.
Validation
Sweep tests on multiclient jobs acquired by Global
Geophysical Services have allowed the company to
verify that the data content is consistent with a sin-
gle long sweep when compared to multiple
shorter sweeps.
For faster production, the long single sweep is
the most efficient. Over a one-month period (23
days plus weather days) on a recent project using
a 36-second single sweep with a six-second listen
time, the single sweep approach cut approxi-
mately nine days off the multiple sweep format.
The average production was 455 VPs per day,
totaling 10,456 VPs. Disregarding line problems or
other delays and factoring in only the sweep and listen
times, this works out to 5.3 hours of production per day. If
the four- by nine-second sweeps had been used with the
same six-second listen time after each sweep, the same 5.3
hours per day would provide approximately 318 VPs per
day, with the same 10,456 VPs taking more than 32 days to
complete. Using the single sweep allowed the crew to fin-
ish 28% faster than if it had used four sweeps for the same
sweep effort.
Looking more in depth at the numbers, purely on total
time to shake a VP, the time savings varies inversely on
total sweep time directly with listen time. For long listen
times, the single-sweep method can increase productivity
by more than 40% with less total sweep time. For the
examples shown with a six-second listen time, efficiency
can be increased by 25% with a 48-second total sweep
effort, up to 37% when sweeping 24 seconds total.
Whatever the parameters for sweep and record length,
the single-sweep option will provide the data faster so
the vibrators can move to the next point and the crew
can move to the next project.
While there is bound to be an exception, so far single
sweeps of long duration and multisweep efforts have
produced comparable data. In conjunction with client
partners, Global has successfully used single-sweep
recording in the unconventional resource plays of Eagle
Ford, Haynesville, Niobrara, and Bakken, all with
excellent data quality results.
Spectral analysis on a four-sweep by 12-second dataset shows less response in
the 10- to 12-Hz range.
When compared to the spectral analysis on a four-sweep by 12-second dataset,
the single-sweep record shows improved response in the 10- to 12-Hz range.
40-41 OpEff-Global_Laout 1 2/18/11 11:04 AM Page 41
42
OPERATING
EFFICIENCY
H
igh-resolution real-time information can be hard to
obtain with conventional logging tools, which are
too large to maneuver in complex well geometries such
as slimholes and high dogleg-severity wells. In addition,
wireline the only conveyance option for these tools is
prone to bridging events that require hole-conditioning
trips, adding significant time and cost to the job.
Weatherford International Ltd.s Compact suite of
logging tools was designed to navigate around these
challenges. The tools can acquire the full spectrum
of formation evaluation data including resistivity,
porosity, gamma ray, and formation imaging in pack-
ages that are up to half the size of conventional tools.
Their 2
1
4-in. diameter profiles allow them to
more easily bypass restrictions or
well sections with high angular
build rates.
These tools are not limited to
wireline conveyance and can
be deployed by methods
that provide the flexibility
of logging data in memory
mode. This further
reduces acquisition risks
and extends the tools
operating range into for-
mations that previously
were considered inaccessi-
ble due to logistical or cost
hurdles.
Other conveyance
options include:
Well shuttle, which
conveys tools inside
the safety of a drillpipe garage;
Through-drillpipe logging, a
technique used when well restric-
tions caused by sloughing forma-
tions or ledges pose challenges
for openhole wireline conveyance. The technique
conveys open-ended drillpipe into the well below
the zone of restriction;
Coiled tubing, which is employed to convey small-
diameter logging tools into difficult-to-access wells;
Slickline, in which small-diameter tools are attached
directly to the end of the slickline for deployment in
memory mode;
Wireline tractor, a conveyance technique where log-
ging tools are deployed into highly deviated or hori-
zontal wells on wireline with the aid of tractors
powered by electricity transmitted through the wire-
line from the surface;
Through-the-bit, which conveys tools through spe-
cially designed drill bits with removable central
inserts, allowing logging to begin as quickly as possi-
ble after drilling or coring; and
Continuous rod (co-rod), which
employs specially designed strings
of continuous sucker rods to
convey logging tools in mem-
ory mode into highly devi-
ated and horizontal
wells. Log data are
acquired as the co-rod
is pulled from the
well.
Sonic logging
sharpens the
view
Geologists and geo-
physicists increasingly
have relied on sonic
logs to make more
informed exploration,
appraisal, and production
decisions. The compressional
and fast/slow shear velocities
obtained from cross-dipole sonic
logs have proven valuable in
applications including well
placement, wellbore stability,
Small-diameter sonic logging tool
opens access to challenging wells
For operators challenged with cost-effectively extracting hydrocarbons from complex reservoirs,
access to high-resolution, real-time reservoir information is essential.
Peter Williams, Peter Elkington, Terry Mayor, David Eccles,
and Dan Long, Weatherford International Ltd.
There are several options to deploy logging tools
in a wider range of hole sizes. (Images courtesy
of Weatherford International Ltd.)
42-45 OpEff-Weatherford_La!ot 1 2/18/11 11:06 AM Page 42
formation damage control, and completion and production optimization.
But as with other conventional logging tools, deployment of cross-dipole
sonic tools into challenging wells is limited by their size, physical durability,
and dependence on wireline.
In response, a small-diameter, wireline-style sonic logging technology
called the Compact Cross-Dipole Sonic (CXD) tool has been developed.
The tool retains the 2
1
4-in. diameter of the other Compact logging tools and
is made up of four sections with a total combined length of 26 ft (7.9 m).
The first section consists of three transmitters one monopole and two
directional high-output, wideband dipole transmitters which create flex-
ural waves in the X and Y directions that propagate at close-to-the-formation
shear velocity.
The second section houses the isolators. Acoustic isolators attenuate
energy traveling between the transmitters and receivers along the tool body.
These isolators were developed
with a new design based on a
sprung-mass principle to
ensure near-perfect acoustic
isolation with minimal loss of
mechanical strength.
A receiver section follows,
consisting of an array of eight
stations, each comprising four
gain-matched, highly sensitive
piezoelectric hydrophones
aligned with the dipole trans-
mitters to provide 64 dipole
waveforms plus 32 additional
waveforms associated with the
monopole transmitter.
The final component is a
memory section capable of
storing 16,500 ft (5,000 m) of
uncompressed waveform data,
which is recorded independ-
ently from the data sent via the
wireline when present. This
delivers data assurance during
wireline operations and
enables standalone memory
logging.
The design innovations
incorporated in the flexural
wave transmitter, acoustic
attenuator, and receiver assem-
blies allow compressional and
shear wave velocities, as well as
fast shear azimuth, to be deter-
mined from a small package
that is not constrained by wire-
line data transmission rates. As
The CXD tool
comprises four
main sections:
transmitter,
isolator, receiver,
and memory.
I
.
Coil Shooting
'
full-azimuth (FAZ) acquisition
and imaging delivers the most accurate sub-
surf ace images available today by recording
FAZ data while using only a single vessel . Coil
Shooting is enabled by the unique advantages
of the WesternGeco 0-Marine
'
point-receiver
acquisition system.
www.westerngeco.com/coil
We listen to your challenges.
We understand your needs.
We deliver value.
WesternGeco
V
.,?
i
ts
45
a result, the tool can be combined with a microresistivity
imager and other high-data density tools to provide
complementary evaluation techniques without compro-
mising logging speed.
Data always are recorded raw, which means the four
constituent single-sided waveforms per receiver station
always are included unlike with some tools that com-
bine the waveforms into X and Y prior to transmission.
Access to raw data provides flexibility in data reprocess-
ing, even if the original logging objective called only for
single-axis shear.
Additional deployment benefits of the small-diameter
sonic logging tool versus conventional-sized tools
include its ability to be run through the tubing into
existing cased or barefoot completion wells, which saves
the costs of pulling the tubing. The tool can be run in
small internal diameter cemented casing, which is risky
for conventional cross-dipole acoustic tools due to size
constraints.
Field experience
The small-diameter cross-dipole sonic logging tool
underwent an extensive field test program in 2009 in
North America and Europe. Three prototype tools were
used to log five test wells and 40 commercial wells using
deployment options that included two through-drillpipe
conveyance operations, six wireline operations in 4
1
2-in.
casing, one tractor conveyance operation in 4
1
2-in. cas-
ing, and a shuttle conveyance operation in a horizontal
test well.
One of the through-drillpipe operations on a 7
7
8-in.
openhole well in Texas required the Compact triple-
combo and cross-dipole tool to be run
together and acquire high-resolution
formation data that included lithology,
porosity, water saturation, and
mechanical rock properties. The tools
successfully logged 4,200 ft (1,280 m)
of the 11,300-ft (3,444-m) total depth
well, and the through-drillpipe deploy-
ment saved the client more than 16
hours of rig time per trip by eliminat-
ing drillpipe hole conditioning associ-
ated with failed wireline trips. The
data enabled the operator to make
quality decisions on the completion
based on the multimineral and rock
mechanical properties analysis.
In other field trials, the tool charac-
terized difficult-to-evaluate areas such
as unconsolidated or shallow sedi-
ments, washouts, and surface boreholes. During a trial
in Alberta, Canada, the tool characterized a formation
with shear slowness of 670 s/ft, even though the hole
was rugged and washed out to 15 in.
The Compact CXD tool now has successfully com-
pleted more than 200 commercial operations worldwide
in a range of borehole environments using the full
scope of conveyance options.
OPERATING
EFFICIENCY
The range of mineral analysis and rock mechanical properties obtained by running the
Compact CXD and triple-combo tools in tandem helped the operator complete its open-
hole well in less time and at a lower cost than using conventional wireline deployment.
An enlarged borehole interval example also shows slow shear
velocity.
46
OPERATING
EFFICIENCY
T
he current operating environment brings with it many
challenges. The challenge of effective risk management
and the prospect of tighter regulation have forced many
operators and service companies to review procedure and
practice, but it is the increase in the cost of doing business
that many companies identify as one of the most influen-
tial factors in the current operating climate.
Combining this with the growing demand for oil and
gas creates pressures throughout the supply chain, and
only the companies that manage this shift effectively will
gain in safety and efficiency.
Improving efficiency
Operational efficiency must be high on any companys
agenda, and a major contributing factor can be found in
the management of frontline work execution practices.
While many focus on planning and production efficacy
from maintenance and shutdowns to maximizing through-
put and plant availability work execution traditionally is
left to the plant units to organize, execute, and deliver,
often from outdated and cumbersome paper processes.
Frontline operations have changed very little in the past
40 years, with many systems still relying on manual forms
in triplicate. The result is that the efficiency of workers on
the front line typically is below 50%, which means workers
achieve less than half of the work that is planned.
It is evident that frontline work execution must be
exposed to the same levels of scrutiny and rigor as produc-
tion and planning. Petrotechnics Ltd. believes this short-
fall in operational efficiency can be overcome. Both safety
and efficiency benefits can be delivered by simplifying,
standardizing, and systemizing planning and by control-
ling hazardous work in operation units.
The companys Sentinel PRO system addresses this issue
by providing a software tool while simultaneously address-
ing process integration and frontline best practice crucial
elements for both performance improvement and safety
regulation. This integrated safe system of work is able to
match stakeholder needs to behaviors and actions, manag-
ing frontline operations from policy through to practice.
Not only does it bring together the processes and practices
included in the planning and production phases, it also
encourages a single common standard across an entire
plant, or throughout the whole organization. The introduc-
tion of global standards encourages knowledge sharing and
common practices that ultimately reduce overall costs.
It is important to recognize that the successful blend of
process integration, human behavior, local regulation, and
operational scale and complexity are the keys to technol-
ogy succeeding.
By combining effective, safe work control practices with
operations through Sentinel PRO, companies can realize
tangible benefits with a reduction in man-hours, a struc-
tured approach, and increased operational protection.
All of this ultimately leads to a reduction in cost.
The system recognizes and overcomes challenges in the
unstructured and dynamic nature of managing opera-
tions, maintenance, and associated activity through a uni-
fied business process that integrates permit to work, risk
assessment, and isolation management. This is delivered
to the user in an intuitive, graphical, real-time software
tool that has the ability to capture lessons learned and pro-
vides a framework for governance, audit, and assurance.
Increased efficiency is matched with accelerated mainte-
nance and remedial work, resulting in better plan attain-
ment and a corresponding improvement in plant integrity.
Improve frontline practice
through risk management
While many companies invest in planning and production, some have yet to realize
the enormous value that can be derived from improved work execution.
Iain Mackay, Petrotechnics Ltd.
Frontline work execution must be exposed to the same levels of
scrutiny and rigor as production and planning. (Images cour-
tesy of Petrotechnics Ltd.)
46-48 OpEff-Petro_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:06 AM Page 46
Sentinel PRO fundamentally shifts the approach to plan-
ning and integrating all aspects of frontline work to give a
clear overview, appropriate safe work control, and assur-
ance of intervention activities.
Risk assessment lies at the core, whether it is individual
or team based. For example, shutdowns can be planned
many months in advance with the flexibility to manage the
process either from the installation or from onshore.
The increase in efficiency the technology provides is com-
plemented by the level of control that is attained through-
out the risk assessment process as its transparent nature
means all users can view risk assessment, permit to work,
isolations, audit trails, and lessons learned within a fully
integrated and regulated system.
How work gets done
The proficiency of Sentinel PRO was demonstrated in a
recent project with a major North American operator
across 10 sites in the US and Canada. Petrotechnics was
asked to address a number of issues, including improving
work efficiency through less rework, greater reuse, and less
duplication and improving safety performance with
increased permit quality, audit capabili-
ties, and providing the ability to capture
learning with interlocking safe work per-
mitting and lock-out/tag-out (LOTO).
The operator required a single integrated
business process approach across all of
the sites with work categorization and
specific task practices to increase process
assurance and compliance.
As an initial step, Petrotechnics
reviewed the current work processes to
identify the scope and impact areas
where Sentinel PRO could add value.
This highlighted a large number of con-
ventional paper processes as well as a
move in some cases to simple electronic
systems, such as LOTO. It was clear that
these all were largely disparate. Consulta-
tion with the sites and central teams
allowed Petrotechnics to identify where a
single process integrating all aspects of
work would drastically increase effi-
ciency, providing substantial cost savings.
In line with the implementation of the
Sentinel PRO system, Petrotechnics also
had to manage the internal change
process, which required all 700 users to
be licensed and trained. The initial roll-
out process took less than a year.
The tangible implementation benefits
included better workplace management and control,
improving productivity, streamlining process, and assuring
all work hazards can be assessed to the appropriate level.
Process efficiency was achieved through more effective
communication, improved maintenance planning, and
greater schedule compliance. Plant availability was
improved by tasking supervisors and technicians more
appropriately and through complete standardization of
business processes. The result was improved safety per-
formance and activity planning combined with harmoniza-
tion across all 10 sites.
Since the implementation of this approach, a recent
turnaround was completed in only 21 days (40,000 man-
hours) with zero incidents. More broadly, the introduction
of Sentinel PRO has reduced the indirect cost of project
and maintenance activity by approximately 20%.
With six of the top 10 international oil and gas compa-
nies using this system, it is clear that operators see the
value of using technology to transform the safety and effi-
ciency of frontline work. The drive to reduce cost and
increase production in a safe and sustainable way is a pres-
sure that is here to stay.
47
EPmag.com
READ MORE ONLINE
There is more
to the story
Introducing Operations Management Suite''
Petris enables your company to access accurate and timel
y
production information, from field to office, allowing teams to
make better decisions and optimize their oil and gas assets.
PETRIS
www.Petris.com
PRECISION GEOPHYSICAL, INC
announces the purchase of
five Hemi-44 model vibrators
for your cross country or road
I
Designed for high quality geophysical prospecting,
these vibrators offer broad band output and a high
signal to noise ratio for the deepest surveys.
I
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State of the Art Phase and Force Control.
Linear, Non-Linear and Custom Sweep capabilities.
Post Sweep Report - Quality Control report at the end
of the sweep. Includes Phase Error, Force Output, GPS
and other QC information.
PRECISION GEOPHYSICAL INC 2695 SR 83 SOUTH MILLERSBURG , OH 44654 1 PHONE 330-674-2198 I SMCCROSSIN(&AOL.COM
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49
4-D SEISMIC
I
magine a world where time-lapse seismic surveys were
acquired identically from year to year, and the acquisi-
tion environment did not change. The time-lapse seis-
mic data processors job would be easy design a simple
and robust processing flow that images the seismic data
consistently from one survey to the next.
Unfortunately, the processors job is anything but sim-
ple. Many things, notably the environment, change from
survey to survey. These changes introduce data perturba-
tions that must be compensated for. Compensation
processes often rely on measurements made from the
seismic data themselves, and it can be a delicate and
time-consuming business to do this without modifying
the changes related to hydrocarbon production to
resolve.
So, in a sense, the long delay that frequently occurs
between end of acquisition and start of interpretation is
due to acquisition rather than processing.
Control what you can,
measure what you cannot
One approach to resolving this problem is to control the
variability of the acquisition. For example, one might
place a permanent seismic monitoring system over a
producing field so the locations and characteristics of
the receivers and instruments are fixed. This can be a
good solution, but in many cases the flexibility and cost-
effectiveness of marine streamer acquisition make it a
preferred technology.
WesternGeco has developed a technology to control
the variability of marine streamer acquisition, first by
introducing a steerable streamer that records the output
of individually calibrated hydrophones and then by
deploying a fully integrated system called Dynamic
Spread Control (DSC). This system monitors the envi-
ronment and automatically steers the vessel, sources,
and streamers to acquire the desired shot and receiver
locations. The first generation of DSC could steer the
streamers up to about three degrees against prevailing
currents, controlling cross-flow noise using digital noise
suppression algorithms applied to the point receiver
data. A new generation of steering devices, which can
achieve a feather differential up to six degrees, was
introduced in 2010.
However, seismic acquisition companies cannot con-
trol the waves. The acquisition environment changes
during and between surveys. The WesternGeco
approach is to measure these changes to enable deter-
ministic compensation rather than derive corrections
from the seismic data themselves. The result is more
accurate and is unaffected by survey-to-survey changes
caused by hydrocarbon production.
A wide range of information is measured. For every
shot, the Calibrated Marine Source (CMS) system meas-
ures the output of each airgun in the source array. These
are combined to create an individual farfield signature
for each shot, enabling compensation of shot-to-shot and
Its all acquisitions fault
Advanced time-lapse seismic acquisition improves quality and delivers results more quickly.
Paddy Smith, WesternGeco
Survey-averaged CMS signatures are shown for a pair of time-
lapse surveys acquired using identical source configurations
and parameters. The middle panel to the right shows the 4-D
difference that results when the zero-phasing operator com-
puted for the first survey is applied to both datasets. Low-fre-
quency residual energy is marked by arrows. (Images courtesy
of WesternGeco; data courtesy of Statoil)
49-51 4D-WesternGeco_Laout 1 2/18/11 11:07 AM Page 49
50
4-D SEISMIC
survey-to-survey variations in source output. GPS-based
measurements of actual tide heights are made and can be
significantly more accurate than those predicted from
tide tables. In addition, the 4-D CALM system measures
the effect of sea-surface waves on seismic data. The seis-
mic sources, being suspended from floats, tend to move
up and down with the waves. This movement is measured
by GPS and enables compensation of the effects of wave
motion on the source datum. The streamers, on the
other hand, tend to stay at the same level within the water
column, and the waves move up and down above them as
the seismic shot is recorded. This causes the streamer
ghost component of the seismic wavelet to vary with
acquisition record time and offset along the streamer.
The Q-Marine point-receiver marine seismic system digi-
tally records the output of each individually calibrated
hydrophone as a continuous full-bandwidth stream of
data, enabling the very low-frequency pressure informa-
tion associated with the wave motion to be captured and
inverted for wave heights. These are used to compute
time- and offset-variant filters that remove the effects of
wave motion on the streamer ghost.
Another technique acquires velocity information in
the water column. The system continuously records a
depth- and space-variant water column seismic velocity
profile as each line is being acquired. This enables
deterministic compensation of the effects of line-to-line
and survey-to-survey changes in water column velocity.
This is the most recently introduced component and
represents the last piece in the time-lapse seismic acqui-
sition puzzle. All corrections that are routinely applied
in time-lapse seismic processing now are handled by the
acquisition system.
In 2006 and 2008, survey-averaged CMS signatures for
a pair of time-lapse surveys were acquired using identical
source configurations and parameters. These wavelets
are the desired output of the shot-by-shot CMS signature
deconvolution procedure. The averaged signatures are
used to compute combined zero-phasing and debub-
bling operators that are applied to the seismic data.
The left panel compares source positioning differences for surveys acquired in 2003, 2006, and 2008 with identical acquisition configu-
rations. DSC reduces the source and receiver positioning errors to well below 164 ft (50 m) for most of the survey. (Data courtesy of
ConocoPhillips)
The use of DSC reduces the general normalized root-mean squared
difference levels to 8% to 12%. (Data courtesy of ConocoPhillips)
51
A 4-D difference resulted when the zero-phasing opera-
tor computed for the 2006 survey was applied to both the
2006 and 2008 datasets, as would be the case when pro-
cessing conventional 4-D seismic data. Low-frequency
residual energy can be seen on the survey. If each survey
is zero-phased using an operator derived from the appro-
priate signature for that survey, the low-frequency energy
is no longer present. The minor differences in residual
bubble train between the two signatures are genuine. At
first glance, this could appear to be a minor issue, but it
can significantly hamper 4-D seismic inversion.
Source positioning differences were compared for sur-
veys acquired in 2003, 2006, and 2008 with identical
acquisition configurations. The 2006 survey did not
attempt to duplicate the 2003 source and receiver loca-
tions, and the source positioning differences are, as a
result, large. The 2008 survey used DSC to duplicate the
2006 source locations, resulting in 95% of source loca-
tions being repeated to within 8.2 ft (2.5 m). The source
and receiver positioning difference maps can be seen
for the same comparisons, computed at an offset of
6,400 ft (1,950 m). DSC reduced source and receiver
positioning errors to well below 164 ft (50 m) for most
of the survey.
This has a direct impact on 4-D data quality. The use
of DSC reduces the general normalized root-mean
squared difference levels to 8% to 12%.
Simplified time-lapse seismic data processing
The Q-Marine acquisition system now can deliver accu-
rately repeated time-lapse seismic data with all necessary
environmental corrections applied. The data processors
job is confined to removing noise and multiples in a
robust manner and regularizing and imaging the time-
lapse seismic datasets. Each new survey can be processed
independently of the previous one, minimizing the like-
lihood that the time-lapse processing flow will modify
the time-lapse seismic signal.
In the past, WesternGeco has routinely delivered time-
lapse seismic datasets using predefined processing flows
with turnarounds between one and eight weeks. Turn-
arounds are expected to reduce further when multiple
vintages acquired with all of the components become
available.
Advanced time-lapse acquisition technology can accu-
rately represent changes in the subsurface and deliver
results within time frames previously associated with
quick-look volumes. This accuracy and efficient deliv-
ery directly benefits reservoir engineers who use the
data to monitor their reservoirs.
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he Peace River heavy oil field in northern Alberta is
one of the largest undeveloped hydrocarbon resources
in Canada. Shell has lease holdings of 147 sq miles (381 sq
km) and operates thermal enhanced oil recovery at sev-
eral pilot production pads to mature the technologies
needed for full-scale field development.
Efficient use of steam is critical for the economics of
this project, and geological heterogeneities inside the
reservoir that block or divert the passage of steam are a
key risk. Tracking steam as it moves from injector to pro-
ducer creates opportunities to mitigate this risk by con-
trolling injection intervals and rates, well by well, to
target bypassed oil, increase oil production, and improve
the oil-steam ratio.
New approach
A promising new seismic technique that could provide
low-cost on-demand information about steam confor-
mance has been developed and tested in a recent field
trial at Peace River. By measuring time shifts on first arrival
head waves from a refracting layer below the reservoir, the
method aims to produce high-resolution areal maps of
reservoir time shifts at a fraction of the cost of existing
time-lapse seismic techniques.
Conventional 4-D seismic in this area often is hampered
by ground roll and multiples that can be suppressed only
through expensive high-fold acquisitions and careful pro-
cessing efforts. The refraction method is less susceptible to
these common forms of noise and requires far fewer
sources to monitor a large area.
During a three-month field trial in the summer of 2009,
six refraction seismic surveys were acquired over a produc-
ing pad. Preliminary results show plausible one-way time-
lapse time shifts in the reservoir of the order of 2 ms.
However, while these time shifts are of similar magnitude
to modeled time shifts, their accuracy is not guaranteed
due to possible contamination by near-surface effects. New
data shot in December 2010 aim to reduce the impact of
this near-surface noise.
Refraction seismic surveillance methods previously have
been suggested for high-velocity carbonate reservoirs act-
ing as the refracting layer and for monitoring levees. The
method uses a fast formation underlying a lower velocity
reservoir and introduces a migration processing step criti-
cal for improving the lateral resolution.
52
4-D SEISMIC
Refraction monitoring shows
promise in heavy oil field
A new technique could provide on-demand information about steam conformance.
Fredrik Hansteen, Peter B. Wills, Kees Hornman,
and Long Jin, Shell International Exploration
& Production; and Stephen Bourne, Shell Canada
The time-lapse refraction method uses a seismic wave incident at the Debolt carbonate at the critical angle, which refracts along
this high-velocity layer. Locations where the downgoing and upgoing waves intersect the reservoir are denoted entry and exit
points, respectively. Debolt refractions can be seen as first arrivals in the offset range from approximately 5,544 to 13,044 ft (1,700 to
4,000 m). (Images courtesy of Shell)
52-56 4D-Shell_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:08 AM Page 52
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54
4-D SEISMIC
The method
The proposed time-lapse refraction method works by
measuring seismic time shifts on first arrival head waves
from the high-velocity Debolt carbonate formation imme-
diately beneath the Bluesky reservoir in Peace River.
These first arrivals essentially are free from interference
with surface waves and multiples, the most severe forms of
seismic noise in the area. The method assumes that the
dominant time-lapse effects are confined to the reservoir.
Travel time changes between a baseline and monitor sur-
vey then reflect changes in the reservoir at the locations
where the head wave intercepts the reservoir layer.
In general, time shifts are
composed of an entry-point
time shift and an exit-point time
shift that must be separated.
When recorded at the surface,
however, diffraction and wave
propagation degrade spatial res-
olution. This can be improved
by numerically redatuming the
wavefield recorded at surface to
a datum just above the reservoir.
Following this approach, excel-
lent resolution has been con-
firmed on synthetic data, both
for 2-D and 3-D geometries. An
implementation based on
Berryhills algorithm was used
for redatuming, and time
shifts were measured on the
imaged data using cross correlation. Ver-
tical resolution currently is not achiev-
able with the refraction method.
The Debolt refractions are visible as
first arrivals over a distance of more than
1.2 miles (2 km), starting approximately
one mile (1.7 km) away from the shot.
The area that can be probed with a sin-
gle source is more than 30 times larger
than that probed with conventional
reflection seismic methods, where only
offsets up to the critical angle are used.
This allows for use of far fewer sources
to monitor large areas, resulting in sub-
stantial cost reduction and a smaller
environmental footprint.
Well-repeated surveys and robust pro-
cessing methods to mitigate any time-
lapse effects originating outside of the
reservoir are essential for successful application of the
refraction method. Burying the receivers and using cased
shot holes or permanently installed seismic sources can
reduce the impact of near-surface seasonal variations.
Time shifts due to geomechanical effects in the overbur-
den can be significantly more challenging to mitigate but
are not expected at the pad chosen for the field trial.
Field trial
The production pad where the field trial took place com-
prises eight rows of horizontal wells being produced via
the mega-row steam injection process, whereby one row of
wells injects steam for one to two months while all other
Unmigrated (left) and migrated (right) synthetic refraction data were pulled from a model
based on the Peace River field trial geometry.
The geometry of the refraction seismic field trial in Peace River is shown on the left, and a shot
gather is shown on the right. The green points indicate the approximate location of entry and exit
points. A road, a stream, and the well pad create holes in the data.
55
rows are either soaking or producing. This pattern then
moves along one row until the cycle is complete. At the
start of the field trial, the pad was in its third cycle, and
some uncertainty was associated with the expected magni-
tude of time-lapse signals given the lack of a presteam
baseline survey.
During a three-month period, while steam was injected
in the northernmost row 7 and row 8 wells, a baseline and
five repeat refraction surveys were acquired. The acquisi-
tion geometry showed the nominal refraction entry and
exit points as determined by ray tracing through a veloc-
ity model derived from well logs. Each survey consisted of
205 dynamite charges fired in cased shot holes and
recorded into 782 buried receivers. The geophones were
encased in bentonite at 39 ft (12 m) and supported addi-
tional reflection seismic refer-
ence surveys and other
geophysical experiments.
Shot locations were chosen
along existing line cuts to
minimize environmental
impact.
Shot hole deterioration was
found to cause significant
changes in source wavelet
from survey to survey. If not
carefully handled, this effect
easily could overshadow time-
lapse signals of several mil-
liseconds. To compensate,
each shot record in each
monitor survey was matched
to the corresponding baseline
shot record prior to time shift
migration and measurement.
Matching filters were derived
on a strong direct arrival
propagating through the over-
burden and not affected by
reservoir changes. Matching
direct arrivals rather than
refracted arrivals can impact
results due to their differing
kinematic properties.
Results
Preliminary maps of reservoir time shifts relative to the
June 25 baseline showed two monitor surveys. When the
baseline was acquired, row 7 was near the end of its two-
month injection cycle. The July 23 monitor was acquired
three weeks after the injection had moved up to row 8 and
showed a faint pattern of positive one-way time shifts (i.e.,
seismic slowdown) emerging in the northwestern part of
the field. On Aug. 25, near the end of the row 8 injection
cycle, these one-way time shifts had grown to nearly 2 ms,
while negative time shifts indicative of increased reservoir
velocities dominated in the south and east.
A preliminary comparison with synthetic time shifts from
the reservoir model suggested the large-scale patterns
might be caused predominantly by changes in reservoir
pressure, while more localized effects are interpreted as
changes in gas saturation. A detailed interpretation of the
time shifts carried uncertainty due to near-surface effects.
New data have been acquired with receiver stations outside
of producing areas, and Shell hopes that an improved
matching can be performed with these new data.
Acknowledgments
We thank Michael Kiehn, William Westwood, Robert Lupton,
Charlie Trefanenko, Carlos Nieto, Gabriel Solano, and Gary
Deren in Shell Canada; Jorge Lopez and Paul Hatchell in SIEP;
and CGGVeritas for help acquiring the data. A patent is pending.
This article is based on a presentation given at the 2010 EAGE
annual meeting and is being reprinted with the authors permission.
Maps of imaged reservoir time shifts from the field trial and corresponding reservoir predictions show a
weak pattern of seismic slowdown emerging over an area in the northwest three weeks after injection
in row 8 (left panels). Significant slowdown is observed in the vicinity of row 8 (Aug. 25) near the end
of the row 8 injection cycle. Dark blue colors indicate speedup, perhaps due to pressure depletion rel-
ative to the baseline survey.
For more 4-D Seismic articles,
visit EPmag.com
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57
C
oiled tubing (CT) drilling is moving into the uncon-
ventional market. Several companies are combining
drillpipe to the process to provide a hybrid rig that can
drill conventionally while providing the benefits of CT in
a dual-purpose setup.
Calgary, Canada-based Xtreme Coil Drilling, which now
is headquartered in Houston, recently signed a multiyear
contract with a new customer for its XTC 500 Coil Over
Top Drive (COTD) model. This fit-for-purpose model fea-
tures the latest AC variable frequency drive equipment
designed to contend with deep horizontal resource plays.
When the rig is completed in 2Q 2011, it will bring the
companys fleet to 17 rigs and will be the second rig con-
tracted to work in North Dakotas Bakken formation.
The XTC 500 has a broad application in the horizontal
shale plays. The rig features two 1,600-hp mud pumps that
provide the pumping capacity needed for most horizontal
applications. The AC rig is rated at 500,000 lb hook load
capable of drilling to 21,500 ft (6,553 m) using 4-in.
drillpipe or 15,000 ft (4,572 m) with 5-in. drillpipe in hori-
zontal applications. It has an automated pipe handling sys-
tem capable of drilling with double stands of 45-ft (14-m)
joints. The biggest advantage with Range III drillpipe is that
it allows faster tripping out of hole with one-third fewer con-
nections, which means one-third fewer total joints to inspect.
The rigs are capable of drilling to 10,000 ft (3,048 m)
with 3-in. coil. With its 5,000-psi circulating system, the
XTC 500 provides adequate volume, pressure, and redun-
dancy for drilling with CT and in re-entry wells.
Setting its sights
Xtremes technology has been on the market for about
four years. According to Rod Uchytil, president and
CEO, Our focus has always been international. Based
in Canada, the company targeted the US first, then Mex-
ico, and Saudi Arabia. While the companys activity in
Mexico has slowed, its recent move into the unconven-
tional market is promising, and it continues to find a
great deal of success in Saudi Arabia. Weve got a joint
venture in Australia as well, which will be more of a
coalbed methane application, Uchytil said.
The goal for Xtreme is to parlay its success in shallow
drilling environments to extend its reach with large coil to
10,000 ft or more. Again, I think the automation weve
developed has really helped us to get there, he added.
Xtreme holds the record for the deepest well drilled with
3-in. OD coil at 9,954 ft (3,024 m).
According to Uchytil, the XTC 500 rigs operate well as
conventional rigs. The modular design allows the rig to
move quickly. In addition, its high level of automation
allows the operator to compete with tier one AC electric
rigs. And then you have coil as an add-on, Uchytil said.
The coil provides a dual purpose that allows for drilling
or for use in other well-servicing applications. The drilling
capacity depends on the well profile such as with under-
balanced needs, or if the well path intersects different
kinds of hard and soft formations. We have had good suc-
cess in both, Uchytil said. The driver for designing the
XTC 500 was to reduce time on the well and to reduce
operating costs.
For underbalanced operations, CT perhaps is one of the
best tools available due to its closed-loop status without the
need to make connections. If you are truly flowing the
well, that allows you to make a lot more progress, he said.
Tayvis Dunnahoe, Senior Editor
COILED
TUBING
The XTC 200DTRPlus Rig #1 drilled a
deep coil horizontal re-entry well in
Saudi Arabia. (Images courtesy of
Xtreme Coil Drilling)
Hybrid CT rigs
enter the unconventional market
CT technology is helping to push performance in field development.
57-60 CT-Xtreme_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:09 AM Page 57
58
You are drilling a faster and safer well.
For the unconventional market, Xtremes deeper
coil capabilities can be valuable when operating
through cleanouts after fracing. Xtreme currently is
not working in the Marcellus, but the company hopes
that will change due to a letter filed by the Pennsylva-
nia Department of Environmental Protection on July
13, 2010, suggesting the required use of either a snub-
bing unit or a CT rig for all post-completion works.
The ruling came as a reaction to a recent blowout that
occurred during the cleanout phase of a well in that
region. Once the well has been completed and frac-
tured, you have to use something that can control the
pressure better, Uchytil said.
In addition to the companys move into the Bakken,
it has one rig going into the Eagle Ford at present and
is looking to add more.
The company has plans to build up to four new XTC
500s, and is scoping the market for its XTC 750. The XTC
500 and the XTC 750 are similar rigs. The main difference
is the XTC 750s increased substructure height, which
allows it capacity to run 10,000-psi BOP equipment for
standard drilling operations. This is more for the conven-
tional application than the coil application, Uchytil said.
The upgraded equipment will allow us to get into deeper
prospects.
AC electric versus hydraulic
Xtreme has developed one advantage over similar hybrid
rigs and conventional rigs AC variable frequency drive
injectors. Traditional injectors are rated to a maximum of
120,000 lb. Xtremes XTC 500 uses a 200,000-lb injector.
Moving to AC from of hydraulic provides a finer control
that allows more functionality throughout the drilling
process.
One of the things that we have done is to develop an
automatic milling program for re-entry wells, Uchytil
said. The company developed a program that can mill
through casing more efficiently while leaving a smoother
window. We have realized up to a 50% time saving in that
application, and we are not experiencing any problems
coming in and out of the window, he added.
Using the PLC programming of the rig control system,
Xtreme has developed an algorithm that provides a time-
drilling approach as opposed to putting more weight on
the bit to mill the casing. We are using the analogy of a
lathe and how that tool is used to cut through steel,
Uchytil said. The companys AC injector offers more
control than one operating on a hydraulic system. If
you want to advance one-quarter inch per hour, you can
have that kind of control, he added.
While Xtremes unconventional activity in North Amer-
ica is promising, its XTC 200DTRPlus is setting the pace
for re-entry projects in Saudi Arabia. Since 2010, the com-
pany has used two COTD XTC 200DTRPlus rigs to drill
horizontal re-entry wells. The process uses coil to mill a
window through one or more sets of casing, build curve
sections, and drill the horizontal sections in underbal-
anced conditions. Patents are pending for the technology,
which was developed specifically for this project.
New horizons
The company is working for Baker Hughes through an
integrated project with Saudi Aramco. These re-entry
wells are a 100% coil application, Uchytil said. The wells
can have up to 6% to 8% H
2
S and require 10,000-lb well-
control equipment. The process is allowing Xtreme to
drill through and actually flow the sour environment. The
concept is unique based on the fact that the rigs are car-
rier mounted on a four-leg hydraulic jackup structure.
We took an offshore structure concept and applied it
on land, which allows us to jack up, skid in and out, jack
down, and move, he said.
The system is trailer mounted, so it can be moved as one
piece. It is making a huge difference. Our last equipment
move was performed in 24 hours over a 75-mile (120-km)
distance, he said. This rate is impressive considering that
rig moves prior to the XTC 200DTRPlus ranged from
seven to nine days, most of which was consumed by dis-
mantling/reforming a conventional rig substructure.
Xtreme developed its XTC 750 concept for this type of
project. Our customer needed a rig with the capacity to
drill to 14,000 ft (4,267 m) with drillpipe, which would
allow for setting larger casing strings and drilling larger
hole sizes, Uchytil said. The challenge was to drill hori-
zontally through the reservoir in underbalanced condi-
COILED
TUBING
COTD rigs feature an enclosed drillers console with fully automated
drilling capability.
59
tions. We had to be able to run coil as deep as 20,000 ft (6,096 m).
To date, the customer has seen a vast improvement in production from these
wells as a result of drilling underbalanced with coil. In addition, an ongoing
study is being performed to determine whether production could be improved
by drilling grassroots wells in the same fashion rather than reserving the tech-
nique for re-entry wells only.
CT technology was developed with live wells in mind. Before this technology
was combined with conventional rigs, it was used primarily in live-well interven-
tions. I think the industry has always been aware of these benefits; it was just
finding the right application, Uchytil said.
The driver behind the success of Xtremes underbalanced horizontal drilling
is its high-powered AC electric injector and automation systems. The company
currently uses 0.224-in. wall thickness on its 3-in. coil one of thickest in the
industry. Your injector has to be able to straighten and bend that pipe and
move it out of the hole, Uchytil said. Xtremes injector was designed in house
using outsourced companies. It was about a 17-month development time until
we had it in use in the field, he said. The injector is rated up to 200,000 lb,
which is nearly double what is conventionally available in the industry today.
Because the injector is AC electric, it provides much more control than a joy-
stick and hydraulics, which often can be jerkier. With hydraulic controls, pump
pressure differential increases can occur as the driller stacks weight on bit. With-
out the ability to release it fast enough, these instances can cause stalling and
can damage the motor.
With AC electric and our software algorithm, youve basically got an auto-
drilling program, Uchytil said. The additional level of automation allows
drillers to enter parameters for upper and lower limits in the PLC system. In
addition, the computer has much faster reaction than a human operator when
regulating how much weight is applied. The injector is designed to run pipe
into the hole, and by setting it with specific parameters, the driller tricks the unit
to behave more like a conventional rig where the operator holds back weight
and just slacks off enough to get it to drill, he explained.
As the XTC 500 moves into deeper basins, the AC injector can improve per-
formance in harder formations. In these harder formations, youll go from 100
ft/hr to 10 ft/hr and then back to 100 ft/hr (30 m/hr to 3 m/hr), and the com-
puter automation is able to react fast enough to allow you to continue to drill
and to drill efficiently through these harder and more interbedded forma-
tions, Uchytil said.
According to Xtreme, furthering the levels of automation in the drilling
process is the most important step for advancement. Based on its Saudi Arabia
experience, the company can drill in the hard carbonates in this region at a
rate of up to 1,000 ft/day (305 m/day) with an auto-drilling technology. That
is basically without having a person on the brake; its an automated process,
Uchytil said. AC electric provides an interface with the computer, which in turn
allows infinite control and the ability to distribute the power amongst the rigs
components.
With the improvements made on the coil side
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61
DRILL BIT
RECORDS
D
rilling performance requires attention to a variety of
key indicators. Improved bottomhole assemblies and
a wide array of advanced downhole tools contribute to
the vast improvement in drilling efficiency the industry
has seen within the last decade. Since 1996, E&P has
tracked improvements in bit performance, and 2010 has
shown to be a year of advancement for what remains as
the most aggressive part of any drillstring.
For 2010, the full records have been updated with
76 new records added for both ROP and Single Run
Footage. Cumulative Footage records saw 56 landmark
achievements for bits run in multiple wells.This years
updates span the globe from Alaskas Prudhoe Bay east
to Sakhalin Island in Russia. Even with the amount of
innovation in tools and drilling processes, tracking the
reach of specific types of bits can benefit field opera-
tions by adding an additional level of indication to over-
all performance.
Bit performance
is indicative of success
The results are in, and E&Ps Drill Bit Records updates for 2011 show a wide range
of performance improvements across the globe.
Tayvis Dunnahoe, Senior Editor
SINGLE-RUN FOOTAGE
SIZE, IN. BIT STYLE TYPE FOOTAGE ROP, FT/HR LOCATION YEAR FIELD OPERATOR MANUFACTURER
3 BiCenter SRRE3408M-B1 2,622 79 Beechy Point, Alaska 2010 Kuparuk River ConocoPhillips Reed Hycalog
3.375 BiCenter SRRE3208S-B1 387 39 Beechy Point, Alaska 2009 Prudhoe Bay BP Exploration (Alaska) Reed Hycalog
3.625 PDC DSR611S-A1 2,511 17 Saudi Arabia 2010 Hawiyah Saudi Aramco Reed Hycalog
3.75 Milled Tooth OFM 1,302 68.6 Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2008 Giroux Ville Breaker Energy Smith Bits*
3.75 Nat. Diamond K505BPX 551 6.5 Algeria 2007 Hassi Messaoud Weatherford CT Smith Bits
3.875 Insert XR30YPS 2,021 51.2 Harding County, SD 2006 Buffalo Continental Smith Bits
4.625 PDC M609PX 4,067 39.7 Lea County, N.M. 2010 Cimarex Energy Smith Bits
4.75 PDC DSX111HGJ 9,380 105 Limestone, Texas 2010 Wildcat/Freestone Stroud Petroleum Reed Hycalog
4.75 Milled Tooth ETD4 3,187 796.75 Webb, Texas 2006 Blackbrush Oil & Gas Varel International
4.75 BiCenter CSDRE3311S-A1-Z 1,775 24 Samotlorskoe, Russia 2010 Samotlorskoe SNGDU-2/TNK 13P Reed Hycalog
4.875 Insert SL62FP 5,171 154 Listvenskoe, Russia 2010 Listvenskoe UDMURTNEFTBURENIE Reed Hycalog
4.875 PDC MSR513S-A1A-Z 2,595 52 Samotlorskoe, Russia 2010 Samotlorskoe TNK-BP Reed Hycalog
5.25 PDC M09PX 840 8.5 Atyrau, Kazakhstan 2002 Tengiz TCO Smith Bits
5.375 BiCenter CSDRE3311S-A1-Z 4,265 Russia 2009 TNK-BP Reed Hycalog
5.375 Nat. Diamond K505TBPXXC 562 6.3 Fremont, Wyo. 2008 Madden Burlington Resources Smith Bits
5.5 PDC RSR613MA1 5,304 74 Saudi Arabia 2010 Shaybah Saudi Aramco Reed Hycalog
5.625 BiCenter BM09QPX 4,285 Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela 1997 Bloque I PDVSA Smith Bits
5.625 Insert XR30T 1,462 33.8 Khanty Mansisk, Russian Federation 2004 V-Kolik Eganskaya TNK-BP Smith Bits
5.875 PDC FX64 10,194 67.78 Mountrail County, ND 2010 HESS Halliburton
5.875 Insert SL63DGKPR 4,874 238 Saudi Arabia 2010 NJYN Saudi Aramco Reed Hycalog
5.875 Insert SL63DGKPR 4,874 238 Saudi Arabia 2010 Njyn Saudi Aramco Reed Hycalog
6 BiCenter QDM22CQPX 287 4.5 Ahmadi, Kuwait 2009 Mutriba Kuwait Oil Company Smith Bits
6 Milled Tooth SL12TP 8,314 North Sumatera, Indonesia Kambuna Serica Reed Hycalog
6.125 Nat. Diamond K705STBPXC 4,540 16.3 Washita County, Okla. 2010 Clinton So Chesapeake Energy Corp. Smith Bits
6.125 BiCenter SR544 1,936 37 Espirito Santo, Brazil Corrego Grande Petrobras Reed Hycalog
6.25 Hammer H1008D 6,112 87.3 Lycoming, Pa. 2009 Wildcat Seneca Resources Smith Bits
6.5 BiCenter QDM25YPX 4,625 35 Mountrail County, N.D. 2006 Wildcat Amerada Hess Smith Bits
6.75 Nat. Diamond K703TBPXC 3,165 11.2 Rio Blanco County, Colo. 2007 Piceance C XTO Energy Inc. Smith Bits
6.75 Hammer H1006D 4,980 99.6 Greene, Pa. 2009 Wildcat EQT Production Smith Bits
7.125 Nat. Diamond KER20573PX 159 6.1 Leon, Texas 2005 Bald Prairie Burlington Resources Smith Bits
7.5 Milled Tooth FDT 3,626 46.5 Navarro, Texas 2004 Corsicana Rife Oil Smith Bits
7.625 Nat. Diamond K505ZTBPXXC 1,077 7.3 Fremont, Wyo. 2008 Madden Burlington Resources Smith Bits
7.75 PDC FX65M 3,462 94.85 Rio Arriba Co., NM, USA 2010 ConocoPhillips Halliburton
7.875 PDC VMR233 10,448 48.2 Reagan, Texas 2010 Parsley Varel International
8.375 Milled Tooth CH2GMRS 8,825 4,412 2005 Brayton Operating Varel International
8.375 Hammer H46R8R3PD 1,662 68.52 Sultanate of Oman 2004 Zalzala PDO Smith Bits
*A Schlumberger company
61-65 DRILLbirecords_La"o! 1 2/18/11 11:10 AM Page 61
Shale
- C? Limestone
- _ - -
-
-
_
-
__
-
- -
?
---
Sandstone
za-
- -- ------------ -
---- ---- ---------
VZZ
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-----
- - - - - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - -
- - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - -------
-
- - - - - - - - - --
-
Navigator
SERIES
DRILLING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
performance and maneuverabi I ity, go with a true Navigator the trajectory
Ò
63
DRILL BIT
RECORDS
SINGLE-RUN FOOTAGE (continued)
8.625 PDC FMX653Z 7,398 5,173.63 Ust-Teguss 2010 Ural District, TNK-UVAT Halliburton
Tyumen, Russia
8.625 Nat. Diamond K503NBPX 796 3.2 Grady County, Okla. 2008 Golden Tre Chesapeake Energy Corp. Smith Bits
8.75 Nat. Diamond DD4540-A1 1,874 10 Caddo County, Okla. 2010 Undesignated Highland Oil and Gas Reed Hycalog
8.875 Hammer H1209D 4,582 59.5 Susquehanna, Pa. 2010 Wildcat Alta Operating Smith Bits
9 Milled Tooth QHC1RC 2,070 197.5 Alberta, Canada 2010 Imperial Oil Resources Halliburton
9.25 PDC DSR516M-A 8,811 275 Raudhatain, Kuwait 2010 Raudhatain Kuwait Oil Company Reed Hycalog
9.5 BiCenter QDMSI4216UPX 4,155 80.7 Colombia 2009 Tight Hole OXY Smith Bits
9.625 Hammer H1509D 2,800 103.7 White County, Ark. 2010 Fayetteville Chesapeake Energy Corp. Smith Bits
9.625 Insert FG15 3,202 66 Khanty Mansisk, Russian Federation 2004 Priobskaya Uganskneftegaz Smith Bits
9.875 Nat. Diamond K705TBPXC 3,238 7.7 Caddo County, Okla. 2007 Wildcat Crawley Petroleum Corp. Smith Bits
11 Hammer H42N1R3 4,303 52.5 Broome, N.Y. 2004 Wildcat Belden & Blake Smith Bits
11.625 PDC m516lhpx 7,218 54.3 Yamalo-Nenets, Russian Federation 2006 Achimov Achimgaz Smith Bits
11.625 Milled Tooth XR+ 4,281 19.7 Orenburgskaya Oblast, 2006 Vostochnaya Stimul Smith Bits
Russian Federation Zona ONGKM
12.25 Nat. Diamond KH813TBPXC 4,140 17.1 Gulf of Mexico, Fla. 2008 Fredericksburg Shell Smith Bits
13.25 BiCenter QDR75PX 4,531 32.1 Atyrau, Kazakhstan 2003 Tengiz TCO Smith Bits
13.5 PDC MRS89PX 6,680 153.6 Queens Park Savannah, POS, Trinidad 2003 Kapok BP Trinidad Smith Bits
15.5 Milled Tooth XR+VC 2,802 14.6 Astrakhanskaya Oblast, 2008 AGKM Astrakhan Gazprom Smith Bits
Russian Federation
16.5 Milled Tooth XR+C 2,047 72.34 Amazon, Brazil 2004 Algodoal BP Smith Bits
16.5 PDC MDI813LSBPX 11,392 105 Gulf of Mexico, La. 2009 Ligurian Cobalt Smith Bits
17.5 BiCenter QDS75PX 7,546 45.4 Punta de Mata, Monagas, Venezuela 2004 Mulata PDVSA Smith Bits
17.5 PDC MRS816VGEBPX 10,495 131.2 Sakhalin, Russian Federation 2007 Chayvo ExxonMobil Smith Bits
18.125 Milled Tooth XR+C 3,182 159.1 Amazon, Brazil 2004 Algodoal BP Smith Bits
18.125 PDC MSRE616 5,115 74.7 DW Gulf of Mexico 2010 Green Canyon Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Reed Hycalog
18.25 PDC M716 8,739 73 DW Gulf of Mexico 2010 Mississippi Canyon BP Reed Hycalog
19.25 Milled Tooth DSJC 148 36.9 Samaraskaya Oblast, 2010 Smorodinskaya Samara-Nafta Smith Bits
Russian Federation
20.75 Milled Tooth XR+C 1,857 34.5 Balikpapan, Indonesia 2010 Trekulu TOTAL E&P Indonsie Smith Bits
22 Insert T42 4,956 30.5 Kuwait 2007 Umm Gudair Kuwait Oilfield Company Reed Hycalog
22 PDC TFF816S-A1 2,747 14 Mutriba, Kuwait 2010 Mutriba Kuwait Oil Company Reed Hycalog
22.375 Insert GS12BC 2,145 30.3 Oatar 2007 North Field QG 3&4 Smith Bits
24 Insert GS18B 4,652 60 North Sea, Norway 2004 Oseberg Norsk Hydro Smith Bits
24 PDC E1019 4,645 107 DW Gulf of Mexico 2009 Mississippi Canyon Confidential Reed Hycalog
25 Milled Tooth XN1GC 187 11.1 Azerbaijan 2010 BP Halliburton
26 Insert GS04B 3,914 75.6 Norway 2009 Volve StatoilHydro Smith Bits
26 PDC E1019S 3,304 144 Perth, Western Australia 2010 Northwest Shelf Woodside Reed Hycalog
27 Milled Tooth XR+C 927 16.8 Saudi Arabia 2006 Manifa Saudi Aramco Smith Bits
28 Milled Tooth MSDGHC 3,028 69.6 Makassar Strait, Indonesia 2009 Offshore West Sulawesi ExxonMobil Smith Bits
30 Insert G04BDodVE 791 11.9 Santa Cruz, Bolivia 2010 Ipati Total Smith Bits
32 Insert GS18B 99 0.5 Iceland 2004 Jardboranir Smith Bits
33 Milled Tooth MSDSSVEJ3C 689 57.4 Balikpapan, Indonesia 2010 Trekulu TOTAL E&P Indonsie Smith Bits
RATE OF PENETRATION
3.375 BiCenter SRRE3208S-B1 387 39 Beechey Point, AK, USA 2010 Prudhoe Bay BP Exploration (Alaska) Reed Hycalog
3.75 Milled Tooth OFM 1,302 68.6 Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2008 Giroux Ville Breaker Energy Smith Bits
3.75 PDC DSRE413M-A2 1,840 130 Beechey Point, AK, USA 2010 Prudhoe Bay BP Exploration (Alaska) Reed Hycalog
3.875 Insert XR30YPS 2,021 51.2 Harding Co., SD, USA 2006 Buffalo Continental Resources Smith Bits
3.875 PDC M09BQPX 1,191 317.6 Alberta, Canada 2008 Bittern Lake Nexen Petroleum Smith Bits
4.875 PDC MSR513S-A1A-Z 1,355 68 Samotlorskoe, Russia 2010 Samotlorskoe TNK-BP Reed Hycalog
5.25 Nat. Diamond XTG48CTPX 157 1.9 Atyrau, Kazakhstan 2001 Tengiz TCO Smith Bits
5.25 PDC M09PX 840 8.5 Atyrau, Kazakhstan 2002 Tengiz TCO Smith Bits
5.375 BiCenter CSDRE3311S-A1-Z 594 17 Listvenskoe, Russia 2010 Listvenskoe Udmurtneftburenie Reed Hycalog
5.375 Nat. Diamond K505TBPXXC 562 6.3 Fremont, WY, USA 2008 Madden Burlington Resources Smith Bits
5.625 BiCenter QDS3209PX 1,335 25.5 Yamalo-Nenets, Russia 2007 Pagranichnoe Sibneft Smith Bits
5.625 PDC MSRE513S-A1B-Z 1,706 85 Samotlorskoe, Russia 2010 Samotlorskoe TNK-BP Reed Hycalog
5.875 PDC FM3643Z 1,909 347 Mountrail Co., ND, USA 2010 Hess Halliburton
5.875 Insert SL63DGKPR 4,874 238 Saudi Arabia 2010 NJYN Saudi Aramco Reed Hycalog
6 BiCenter QDM22CQPX 287 4.5 Ahmadi, Kuwait 2009 Mutriba Kuwait Oil Company Smith Bits
64
DRILL BIT
RECORDS
RATE OF PENETRATION (continued)
6.125 Nat. Diamond K705STBPXC 2,456 29.6 Custer Co., OK, USA Moorewood Chesapeake Energy Smith Bits
6.25 Insert ETD45A 3,150 315 Harrison, OH, USA 2008 Cadiz Strata Varel International
7.125 Nat. Diamond KER20573PX 159 6.1 Leon, TX, USA 2005 Bald Prarie Burlington Resources Smith Bits
7.5 Milled Tooth FDT 3,626 46.5 Navarro, TX, USA 2004 Corsicana Rife Oil Smith Bits
7.625 Nat. Diamond K505ZTBPXXC 1,077 7.3 Fremont, WY, USA 2008 Madden Burlington Resources Smith Bits
7.875 PDC FM3543Z 1,864 745.4 Alberta, Canada 2010 EnCana Corporation Halliburton
8.375 Hammer H46R8R3PD 1,662 68.5 Sultinate of Oman 2004 Zalzala PDO Smith Bits
8.375 Nat. Diamond DDR4539-B5 974 74 Tamaulipas, Mexico 2010 Nejo PEMEX Reed Hycalog
8.625 PDC FMX653Z 2,671 277.6 Ural District, Tyumen, Russia 2010 Muravlenkevskoe OAO Gazpromneft NNG Halliburton
8.75 Hammer H1206D 3,864 276 Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA 2010 Cookport EQT Production Smith Bits
8.75 Nat. Diamond D51 509 18.2 British Columbia, Canada 2006 Sextet Encana Corporation Smith Bits
8.75 Insert SL62 1,898 475 Ohio, USA 2010 Undesignated Lakewood Operating Reed Hycalog
8.75 PDC FX65M 1,329 886 Wheeler Co., TX, USA 2010 GW Questar Pipeline Company Halliburton
8.875 Insert F50YAOD 1,068 356 Cleburne Co., AR, USA 2010 Fayetteville Southwestern Energy Smith Bits
9 Milled Tooth FDS+ 2,028 440.8 Alberta, Canada 2004 Cold Lake Imperial Oil Smith Bits
9.5 BiCenter CSDR4319S-A1 3,148 233 La Cira East, Colombia 2010 La Cira East OXY Andina Reed Hycalog
9.5 Hammer H1509D 1,260 360 White Co., AR, USA 2009 Chesapeake Energy Smith Bits
9.625 Hammer H1209D 1,245 249 White Co., AR, USA 2010 Fayetteville Chesapeake Energy Smith Bits
9.625 Insert FG15 1,348 96.3 Khanty Mansisk, Russia 2004 Priobskaya Uganskneftegaz Smith Bits
9.625 PDC DSX104HG 1,161 318 Veracruz, Mexico 2007 Coapechaca Pemex Reed Hycalog
9.75 Hammer H1509D 2,726 389.4 Cleburne Co., AR, USA 2009 Cove Creek Chesapeake Energy Smith Bits
9.875 Hammer H1209D 2,985 351.2 Faulkner Co., AR, USA 2009 Cove Creek Chesapeake Energy Smith Bits
10.5 PDC S91HPX 2,199 733 Gulf of Thailand 2007 Tantawan Chevron Offshore Thailand Smith Bits
10.625 Hammer H1209D 1,349 74.9 Randolph, West Virginia, USA 2008 Cassity Chesapeake Operating, Inc. Smith Bits
10.625 PDC FMHX653ZZ 3,195 245.7 Panola Co. Texas, USA 2010 Carthage/Joaquin Classic Operating Co. LLC Halliburton
10.75 BiCenter CSDX5313S-B1 2,680 199 Kern County, Oklahoma 2010 Elk Hills Occidental of Elk Hills Reed Hycalog
11 PDC MI616MSPX 1,551 443 Carbon, WY, USA 2010 Standard Draw Anadarko Smith Bits
11.625 Insert GF20PS 1,558 82 Samaraskaya Oblast, Russia 2010 Smorodinskoe Samara-Nafta Smith Bits
11.625 PDC DSR619S-B2 2,635 589 Koshil'skoe, Russia 2010 Koshil'skoe TNK-BP Reed Hycalog
12.25 Hammer H1209D 922 131.7 Gilmer, West Virginia, USA 2009 Dekalb EQT Production Smith Bits
12.25 BiCenter SHO519BPX 5,397 524 Sarawak, Malaysia 2005 F13W Sarawak Shell Berhad Smith Bits
12.25 Milled Tooth XR+C 1,260 1340.3 Khanty Mansisk, Russia 2006 West Salym Salym Petroleum Devlpmnt. Smith Bits
12.25 Nat. Diamond KGR730TBPXXC 1,110 28.1 Aktobe, Kazakhstan 2006 South Alibekmola Caspineft TME Smith Bits
12.375 Hammer H1509D 1,868 249.1 Doddridge, West Virginia, USA 2010 Wildcat EQT Production Smith Bits
13.25 BiCenter SB4219S-A1 2,868 99 Denmark 2005 Maersk Reed Hycalog
14.75 Hammer H1812G2 1,005 125.6 Faulkner Co., AR, USA 2010 Fayetteville Chesapeake Energy Smith Bits
15.5 PDC DSX519S-A1 1,184 194 Sugmutskoe, Russia 2010 Sugmutskoe Gazpromneft Reed Hycalog
15.5 Milled Tooth DSJC 1,191 446 Yamalo-Nenets, Russia 2010 Sugmutskoe Gazpromneft Smith Bits
16 Nat. Diamond XTG48TPX 358 4.9 Atyrau, Kazakhstan 2002 Tengiz TCO Smith Bits
16 Insert ETR04JMRS 5,918 348 Holland Brayton Operating Varel International
16.5 Milled Tooth XR+C 2,047 72.3 Amazon - (BM-FZA-1), Brazil 2004 Algodoal BP Smith Bits
17 PDC S985BPX 1,178 261.8 Eastern Offshore Block 3 (A), Trinidad 2003 E. Offshore, Block 3 (A) BHP Billiton Smith Bits
17.25 Hole Opener SHO91BPX 7,929 191.3 Sarawak, Malaysia 2005 Jintan Sarawak Shell Berhad Smith Bits
17.5 Hammer H1809D 1,280 93.1 Lewis, West Virginia, USA 2010 Wildcat EQT Production Smith Bits
18.125 Milled Tooth XR+C 3,182 159.1 Amazon - (BM-FZA-1) 2004 Algodoal BP Smith Bits
18.5 Insert GS03BV 336 29.2 Washington, Pennsylvania, USA 2010 Wildcat Chesapeake Operating, Inc. Smith Bits
18.5 PDC RSX816S-A1 2,690 76 Veracruz, Mexico 2010 Ezequiel Ordoa'ez PEMEX Reed Hycalog
20 Insert 15JSCPS 2,539 99.6 Espirito Santo Basin 2009 Golfinho Petrobras Smith Bits
20 Milled Tooth MSDGHCPS 2,209 225.4 Eastern Offshore Block 2, Trinidad 2004 Kapok BP Trinidad (BPTTLLC) Smith Bits
20.75 Milled Tooth XR+C 1,857 34.5 Balikpapan, Indonesia 2010 Trekulu TOTAL E&P Indonesie Smith Bits
22.375 Insert GS12B 1,305 40.5 Qatar 2007 North Field QG 3&4 Smith Bits
23 Rock Bit MSDGHC 2,419 366.5 Sarawak, Malaysia 2007 B11 Sarawak Shell Berhad Smith Bits
24 PDC RSRE816 3,948 114 Gulf of Mexico 209 Mississippi Canyon Reed Hycalog
26 Milled Tooth Y11C 5,741 328 ANG 2010 ESSO Reed Hycalog
26 PDC E1019S 3,304 144 Perth, Western Australia 2010 Northwest Shelf Woodside Reed Hycalog
27 Milled Tooth XR+C 927 16.8 Saudi Arabia 2006 Manifa Aramco Smith Bits
28 Milled Tooth DSJ 2,119 176.6 Santos Basin (BM-S-58) 2010 Aracaju OGX Petroleo E Gas Smith Bits
30 Insert G04BDodVE 302 16.8 Santa Cruz, Bolivia 2010 Ipati Total Smith Bits
32 Insert GS18 99 0.5 Iceland 2004 Jardboranir Smith Bits
33 Milled MSDSSVEJ3C 689 57.4 Balikpapan, Indonesia 2010 Trekulu TOTAL E&P Indonesie Smith Bits
36 Milled Tooth XR+C 476 90.3 Paraiso, Tabasco 2008 IXTAL PEMEX Smith Bits
65
DRILL BIT
RECORDS
CUMULATIVE FOOTAGE
3.375 Nat. Diamond K505BPX 396 4 Algeria 2006 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
3.625 PDC M609 7,183 7 Saudi Arabia 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
4.5 Nat. Diamond D53BH 1,779 3 Gulf Coast, TX/LA, USA 2006 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
4.625 PDC M20 8,271 5 Gulf Coast, TX/LA, USA 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
4.75 PDC M20PX 100,000 41 Northeastern US 2008 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
5.25 Nat. Diamond XTG48CTPX 449 3 Kazakhstan 2001 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
5.25 PDC MO9CTPX 1,715 3 Kazakhstan 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
5.5 PDC MA74PX 10,351 3 Saudi Arabia 2007 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
5.625 Insert XR30T 1,538 5 Russia 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
5.75 BiCenter QDS3209YQPX 2,486 3 Russia 2006 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
5.75 Nat. Diamond KGR70BCTPX 1,889 2 Pointe Coupe, LA, USA 2005 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
6 PDC MSI613QSBPX 55,467 13 Mountrail Co., ND, USA 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
6.125 Nat. Diamond K505TBPXXC 9,140 4 Alberta, Canada 2008 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
6.375 BiCenter QDS59PX 1,866 2 Tunisia 2002 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
6.375 Insert XR40YA 931 2 Anderson Co., TX, USA 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
6.5 Nat. Diamond KGR55PX 10,182 8 Sublette Co., TX, USA 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
7.375 BiCenter QDG54PX 5,275 4 Gulf Coast, TX, USA 2003 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
7.875 Hammer H1209D 16,702 2 Crockett Co., TX, USA 2008 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
8.375 BiCenter BC75PX 7,808 4 Oman 2001 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
8.375 PDC MA89PX 14,842 9 Oman 2003 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
9 Milled Tooth FDS+CPS 6,978 4 Alberta, Canada 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
9.5 PDC MDI519MHPXC 33,979 18 Veracruz, Mexico 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
9.625 Insert FG15 5,068 6 Russia 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
9.875 Milled Tooth FGXIC 15,465 6 Australia 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
11 PDC M716VPX 57,986 38 USA 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
11.625 Milled Tooth XR+ 5,000 5 Russia 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
13.5 Milled Tooth XR+I 28,660 10 Gulf Coast, TX, USA 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
13.5 PDC S519VPX 65,201 36 Gulf Coast, TX, USA 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
13.75 Insert G04BV 1,584 3 Saskatchewan, Canada 2006 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
13.75 PDC S91 23,117 19 Garfield Co., CO, USA 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
14.5 Milled Tooth XR+ 9,217 2 Gulf Coast, LA, USA 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
14.75 BiCenter BC27PX 26,541 8 Argentina 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
14.75 PDC S91HPX 45,737 9 Ecuador 2008 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
15.5 Milled Tooth DSJ 6,687 5 Russia 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
15.5 PDC SI519HPX 6,049 4 Russia 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
16 Insert GS12BVQ 12,055 6 Kuwait 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
16.375 PDC MDI619HSPX 20,537 4 Gulf of Mexico 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
17 Milled Tooth XR+ 6,569 2 Angola 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
17.375 Milled Tooth SDGH 211 2 Yemen 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
17.5 Milled Tooth MGSSH+ 23,182 14 Malaysia 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
18 PDC MGR89VPX 5,035 2 Gulf of Mexico 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
18.125 Milled Tooth GSSH 533 2 Gulf of Mexico 2008 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
18.25 Milled Tooth XR 3,855 2 DeSoto Parish, LA, USA 2008 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
19 BiCenter QDR89PX 4,045 2 Malaysia 2004 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
19.25 Milled Tooth DSJ 416 3 Russia 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
20 Milled Tooth MSDGHC 10,357 5 Gulf of Mexico 2005 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
22.25 Insert GS12BVE 6,770 4 Qatar 2007 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
23 Milled Tooth MSDGH 10,065 6 Congo 2007 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
23 PDC S819VPX 1,899 4 Tunisia 2008 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
24 Milled Tooth MSDSSH 11,453 4 Matagorda Co., TX, USA 2008 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
26 PDC S83PX 5,095 6 UAE 2003 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
27.75 Milled Tooth XR+PS 2,822 3 Malaysia 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
30 Milled Tooth XR+VE 5,737 6 Gulf of Mexico 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
32.375 Milled Tooth XR+C 620 3 Vietnam 2009 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
33 Milled Tooth XR+C 2,644 6 Malaysia 2010 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
34 Milled Tooth MGGC 2,375 3 Saudi Arabia 2005 Multiple Multiple Smith Bits
C
onformance control has been a perennial chal-
lenge facing oil producers. Unwanted water pro-
duction has plagued oil companies since the beginning
of the petroleum era, except that in the early days oil
companies simply walked away from wells with high
water cuts and looked for easier pickings.
Commodity prices have changed dramatically since the
late 20th century. Now, in some fields, water cuts as high
as 90% are accepted, mainly because the remaining 10%
of the fluid produced still is valuable. Nevertheless, even
if water production cannot be shut off completely, it
would be beneficial to have a way to reduce the percent-
age and accompanying disposal expense.
The trick is to reduce the fraction of water produced,
thus increasing the oil fraction. Historically, this was
achieved by treating formations with low-viscosity rela-
tive permeability modifiers (RPMs), also called dispro-
portionate permeability modifiers. Essentially, these
polymers increase the irreducible water in pore spaces,
which in turn decreases the effective permeability of the
formation to water. For the past 20 years or so, this was
accomplished by performing matrix treatments where
polymer containing RPM was injected into the forma-
tion to a depth of 5 to 10 ft (1.5 to 3 m) radially around
the borehole. The polymer adsorbed onto the pore sur-
faces, tying up mobile water. This increased the residual
water saturation and decreased the relative permeability
to water without affecting the relative permeability to
oil. While this approach was reasonably effective in
matrix treatments, the results were less than optimal
when applied in hydraulic fracturing applications.
A better solution
The addition of RPM to oilfield brine used in fracturing
treatments results in a fluid of relative low viscosity,
unable to suspend proppant or create adequate fracture
geometry due to high fluid leakoff. Accordingly, a vis-
cous disproportionate permeability modifier (VDPM)
has been developed using a viscosity enhancer package.
The biggest advantage of VDPM is that it has sufficient
viscosity to create the required fracture geometry in for-
mations with permeability ranging from 2 mD to more
than 2 D. Through the use of proprietary chemistry, the
non-crosslinked viscous fluid does not interfere with
RPM adsorption onto pore surfaces. In addition, the
RPM is unaffected by the high shear stress the fluid is
subjected to while being pumped at high rates down
tubing in the well bore.
By adjusting the concentration and ratio of the RPM
polymer to the viscosity enhancer, it is possible to opti-
mize the viscosity of the VDPM for any application. It is
the perfect mixture.
Proven versatility
The VDPM has been used successfully in a number of
fracturing applications. The most common application
has been as a pre-pad to limit water production when
fracturing layered reservoirs with widely different water
saturations or formations with a known oil/water contact.
However, more recently the VDPM fluid has been used
as the main fracturing fluid in frac-pack completions in
highly permeable formations with known water contacts.
These treatments are not a silver bullet, but rather a
combination of a rigorous candidate selection process
and the use of an innovative fluid.
Less is more
A new approach to hydraulic fracturing using relative permeability modifiers
increases oil production while holding water in check.
Ricardo Romero, Petrobras; Fernando Armirola, Cepsa;
Gerson Perez, Ecopetrol; Art Milne, Manuel Lastre,
and Alexis Ortega, Schlumberger
When VDPM treatments are used, all wells treated show dramati-
cally improved Magdalena oil production with little change in
water cut. (Charts, Source: SPE138926)
66
STIMULATION
TECHNOLOGY
66-67 Stim-SLB_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:12 AM Page 66
67
STIMULATION
TECHNOLOGY
VDPM in the field
With 83 MMbbl of original oil in place, Colombias Cabal-
los formations two producing units are in a faulted anti-
cline structural trap. The field is divided into three blocks
with differing petrophysical properties and pressure
regimes. The Upper Caballos is the principle producer,
accounting for 90% of production from its 82 ft (25 m) of
net pay. Drive is a combination of gas-cap expansion and
a limited water drive. Today the field produces 2,000 b/d
of oil with a 74% water cut.
Historically, fracturing was not considered to enhance
production due to the proximity of the water contact.
However, with production declining and water cut
increasing, a five-well pilot project was performed using
VDPM as a pre-pad.
A typical treatment consisted of four steps:
1. A step-rate test with an organic solvent pumped
above fracturing pressure.
2. A step-down test with bottomhole sensors pumping
VDPM at maximum rate.
3. Calibration test pumping crosslinked guar.
4. Main fracture treatment.
Dramatic results were achieved. The productivity index
(PI) of the wells treated with VDPM fluid increased 3.5
times on average. Water cut decreased by as much as
13%, and average oil production increased by 10%.
A second brownfield application was carried out in
the Magdalena Upper Valley Basin in the State of Huila,
Colombia, also in the Caballos formation. The field is
under waterflood and presently has 76 producers and 32
injectors. Average water cut exceeds 80%. Average gross
pay in the field is 400 ft (122 m), while net pay averages
100 ft (30 m).
Each sand lens has a different permeability and poros-
ity, varying from 0.2 to 514 mD permeability and 4.3% to
14.1% porosity. Meanwhile, the sand barriers are poorly
defined. Any fracturing treatment will intersect more
than one barrier and can communicate with several
sands. This results in greatly increased water/oil ratio
following treatment.
By incorporating VDPM as a pre-pad in the fracture
treatments, it was possible to consistently boost oil pro-
duction while reducing the water/oil ratio.
In a third application, two offset wells had been com-
pleted in shallower intervals, bypassing a lower interval
known to be close to the water contact. There was virtu-
ally no chance that a fracture treatment of either well
could avoid penetrating the oil/water contact in the
lower interval.
Before and after treatment, both wells were produced,
commingling production from all producing intervals.
The first well was treated conventionally. The result was
disappointing, with a dramatic increase in the water/oil
ratio from 22% to 66% and a decrease in oil production.
The second well was treated using a VDPM fluid as a
pre-pad. Oil production increased by 300 b/d, and water
cut increased only 20%, even though it was known at the
outset that the oil/water contact could not be avoided in
either well.
A different situation was encountered in the CaraCara
field in Colombias Llanos Basin. The field produces
from the Carbonera formation, a zone of alternating
high-permeability sands and shales. Pays range from 4 to
20 ft (1.2 to 6.1 m) in thickness, and both sanding and
water production are known issues.
Typical completions consisted of gravel packs, but high
water production affected the economic life of the wells.
When stacked frac-pack completions were initiated using
low-viscosity VDPM fluid with a geomechanical model to
limit fracture height growth into the aquifers, water pro-
duction was greatly reduced compared to conventional
completions.
VDPM fluids prove their worth
The use of VDPM fluid in fracturing treatments dramati-
cally improved production results in each case by decreas-
ing the effective permeability to water production in the
fracture faces. It can be used as a pre-pad or as the main
treatment fluid. In high-permeability reservoirs, the
reduction in the effective permeability to water due to the
VDPM decreases fluid
leakoff during the treat-
ments, resulting in
improved propped frac-
ture geometry.
In the CaraCara field, water and oil production are compared
between wells frac-packed with VDPM and those treated con-
ventionally at three-month and six-month intervals.
EPmag.com
READ MORE ONLINE
There is more
to the story
66-67 Stim-SLB_Layout 1 2/18/11 2:19 PM Page 67
68
STIMULATION
TECHNOLOGY
A
lthough slickwater is considered the fluid of choice
for shale fracture stimulation, it is far from ideal for
that purpose. Its low viscosity creates narrow fractures
thought to be ideal for creating the complex fracture net-
works required to stimulate economic gas production
from shales. However, its proppant-carrying capability is
minimal, which allows settling in surface equipment and
long horizontal well bores.
In addition to wasting proppant that should be prop-
ping open created fractures, this settling can create signifi-
cant erosion problems. The resulting damage to surface
equipment can lead to higher treatment costs and non-
productive time and can reduce stimulation effectiveness
if a job must be shut down mid-treatment.
The new BJ ShaleXcel fluid from Baker Hughes Inc. sig-
nificantly improves proppant transport through surface
equipment and long horizontals without affecting com-
plex fracturing performance. The result is a more efficient
use of both fluid and proppants and a more effective stim-
ulation treatment.
Avoiding proppant settling
Surface equipment and downhole problems have been
common when using high-rate slickwater systems, presum-
ably due to both the abrasive nature of proppants and the
propensity of dense proppants to settle rapidly in low-vis-
cosity slickwater fluid systems.
Slickwater is a near-Newtonian fluid that does not effec-
tively suspend and transport the proppant or support
proppant placement within the fractured formation
unless injected at high rates. Cross-sectional flow areas
vary in the fluid path from the frac blender through the
perforations and into the created hydraulic fracture,
resulting in varying fluid velocities and flow regimes within
the surface equipment and tubular goods.
In addition, excessive proppant settling in the lateral
section of the well bore can result in higher surface treat-
ing pressures due to the occluded cross-sectional flow area
and, ultimately, loss of continued access to the perfora-
tions followed by premature treatment termination.
Within the hydraulic fracture, inadequate transport mani-
fests as proppant duning at the bottom of the fracture,
resulting in smaller-than-expected effective (propped)
fracture height and length.
For conventional, non-densified fluids and sand prop-
pants, the settling rate is determined largely by the size of
the proppant particle, proppant density, fluid velocity, and
fluid viscosity. Settling rate is proportional to the square
of the proppant diameter, so smaller grains settle less
than larger ones. However, the proppants most commonly
used in shale fracturing are approaching the smallest
mesh size that can provide useful fracture conductivity;
thus, further proppant size reduction is not considered
practical. Ceramic proppants, typically required in high-
stress environments such as the Haynesville shale, settle
up to 40% more rapidly than similarly sized sands due to
higher particle density, necessitating much higher slurry
velocities for comparable transport.
Settling rate is directly proportional to the reciprocal of
fluid-apparent viscosity, so a proppant particle will fall 10
times slower in a 20-cp fluid such as a linear gel than in a
2-cp fluid such as slickwater. Similarly, to use flow velocity
instead of viscosity to maintain proppant transport, veloc-
ity must be 10 times higher for the slickwater than for the
linear gel fluid.
Ultimately, the ideal fluid for tight gas applications
would combine the simplicity of slickwater with the prop-
pant-carrying capability of a more viscous fluid without sig-
nificant impact on economics or formation permeability.
A frac as two operations
To achieve this best of both worlds scenario, engineers
decoupled a conventional shale fracture treatment into
two operations. The first carries proppant to the forma-
tion; the second creates, extends, and props open the frac-
ture in the formation. Considered as two operations, the
ideal fluid for a fracture stimulation treatment would be
viscous at the surface and in the horizontal lateral and
nearly linear in the formation. This higher initial viscosity
Adjusting fluid properties
maximizes shale recovery
New fluid starts with high viscosity to carry proppant through surface equipment
and long horizontal sections, then breaks in the formation to maximize the complexity
of the created fracture network.
Chuck Bell and Harold Brannon, Baker Hughes Inc.
68-70 Sim-BakerH!ghes_La"o! 1 2/18/11 11:16 AM Page 68
69
STIMULATION
TECHNOLOGY
and lower viscosity at the perfora-
tions turns conventional frac
design on its head but is impera-
tive to the success of the treatment.
The result of this new paradigm
of shale fracturing is ShaleXcel
fluid, an aqueous-based fluid with
a high-efficiency hydratable poly-
mer, such as a guar gum, and a
suitable agent for crosslinking the
polymer to form a viscous fluid.
On surface and in the horizon-
tal lateral, the new fluid has
enough viscosity to transport prop-
pant at rates ranging from very low
to high. As the fluid enters the
perforations and formation, tem-
perature and breaker technology
degrade the crosslinks until the
fluid recovers a base fluid viscosity.
The efficient natural (guar-
based) polymer is added at load-
ings of 8 to 16 lb/1,000 gal and
hydrates quickly. Adding an
instant borate surface crosslinker
creates a fluid more like a linear
gel system than a crosslinked
system. The system can be modi-
fied to achieve wellhead viscosity
between 10 and 120 cp with pro-
grammed viscosity degradation
by exposure to breakers and tem-
perature. The system is compatible with freshwater,
salts and KCl, and KCl substitutes, with only slight
viscosity degradation.
Engineers have approached this solution previously
using linear gel, crosslinked pads, and slickwater prop-
pant stages, and they even increased the friction reducer
ratio to achieve surface viscosity. These solutions typically
resulted in formation damage in the nanodarcy rock due
to the high polymer and chemical loadings required to
achieve the necessary viscosity and limited fracture cre-
ation because the viscosity does not break early enough
downhole. For example, a treatment with a 20-lb/1,000
gal linear gel loading yields a surface viscosity of 14 cp at
surface temperatures and retains viscosity at the perfora-
tions between 6 and 10 cp.
Independent laboratory testing on Haynesville shale
cores indicated the regained conductivity of the new fluid
system compares favorably with slickwater systems cur-
rently used in shale treatments.
New fluid is a
model of efficiency
To compare the new fluid with con-
ventional crosslinked and hybrid
(slickwater followed by linear gel and
crosslinked fluid) fluid designs on a
typical Haynesville shale well, three
jobs were modeled. Modeling used
conventional bi-wing geometry for
simplicity (the industry believes that
shale fracturing creates a complex
grid rather than a conventional
shape). Without better modeling
technology available in the industry,
these plots are nevertheless instruc-
tive for comparing fluid and prop-
pant performance.
The fluid and proppant control
of the crosslink job focuses the treat-
ment on limited fluid and proppant
placement by creating width in a
contained frac. The hybrid treat-
ment is less effective in transporting
proppant, but the low viscosity and
larger volume of treatment fluid
accesses more of the formation area
(but leaves it largely unpropped) as
there is less fracture growth control.
Identifying and exploiting the
best aspects of these treatments in
ShaleXcel fluid provides a mecha-
nism for proper proppant transport and a near-base fluid
viscosity fluid to create and develop the discreet fracture
network. Because the fluid is designed to be unstable at
formation temperatures, engineers can ensure that the
fracture network is established while ensuring the frac-
tures are propped.
The transport viscosity of the fluid from the surface
through the perforations assists in the proppant trans-
port, similar to the function of the crosslink treatment at
approximately the same fluid volumes (without the excess
fluid used in the hybrid system because of the expected
leakoff). Hydraulic horsepower requirements generally
are lower as the
ShaleXcel system has
similar friction reduc-
tion qualities as the
slickwater and linear
gel stages of the
hybrid treatment.
Fracture width and closure models are com-
pared for three fluids in a typical Haynesville
shale well. The new fluid (middle) combines
the best aspects of a typical crosslinked fluid
(top) and slickwater (bottom).
(Image courtesy of Baker Hughes Inc.)
XL
ULPXLS
HYBRID
EPmag.com
READ MORE ONLINE
There is more
to the story
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T
he Barnett shale has been the centerpiece for pioneer-
ing in American shale gas plays and the development
of horizontal unconventional drilling technologies. Origi-
nally thought to hold an estimated 327 Tcf of gas in place,
44 Tcf of which was deemed recoverable, the play has a
long production future. Just how this future will look,
however, is subject to the economics for natural gas and
especially the returns that the Barnett shale can offer in
comparison with its peers. An examination of the future
of the Barnett from the vantage of an investor reveals why
it might be a good investment in the future.
Barnett economics
The Barnett is in the Forth Worth Basin in Central
Texas, spanning 10 counties for an area of approxi-
mately 5,000 sq miles (12,950 sq km). The Barnett shale
currently produces 5 Bcf/d, based on data from the
Railroad Commission of Texas, above its peak of 4.45
Bcf/d in October 2008. As a result of the 59% decline in
natural gas prices, the rig count has declined to 82 cur-
rently from its peak of 174 in 2Q 2008. The rig count
was 67 at the beginning of the year and has risen, largely
due to focus on liquids-rich parts of the play.
The core area (where economics of wells are the most
rewarding) now is believed to be in Johnson and Tarrant
counties, with some areas of Denton and Wise counties
believed to have similar economics. Tier 1, which lies to
the south and west of the core areas, is somewhat less
economic (gas-price sensitive) and generally lacks the
Viola limestone that separates the Barnett from the
underlying water-bearing formations that can present
more challenges.
The Mississippian-age shale lies between the Marble
Falls limestone (6,500 ft or 1,981 m depth) and the
Chapel limestone (8,500 ft or 2,591 m depth), ranging
in thickness from 100 to 600 ft (30 to 183 m). Within
the formation, the Barnett has one of the highest gas
contents, ranging from 300 to 350 cf/ton of rock.
The best economics to be found in the play lie in
the core, followed by the Tier 1 area, and then Tier 2
(which is not expected to be developed in the next five
years to a material degree). Tier 2 acreage primarily is
in Erath, Jack, and Palo Pinto counties. Well spacing
ranges from 60 to 160 acres per well. Nearly 11,000 wells
currently are producing from an average depth of 7,500
ft (2,286 m). This accounts for more than 7% of total
domestic gas production.
Barnett wells start being economic at US $5.50/Mbtu
gas prices. At $6 gas, core horizontal wells generate
returns of 43%, and verticals show returns of 19%. In
Tier 1, horizontals can generate a return of 34%. Even
71
Barnett provides future returns
Why the Barnett might be a good investment.
Raymond J. Deacon, CFA, Pritchard Capital Partners
UNCONVENTIONAL:
BARNETT
BARNETT SHALE
Basin & Location Information
Basin Fort Worth
Location Texas
Est. basin area 5,000 sq miles
(12,950 sq km)
Reservoir Characteristics
Depth 6,500 to 8,500 ft
(1,981 to 2,591 m)
Net thickness 100 to 600 ft (30 to 183 m)
Depth to base of treatable water ~1,200 ft (~ 366 m)
Rock column thickness 5,300 to 7,300 ft
(1,615 to 2,225 m)
Total organic carbon
(TOC), %Ro 3.5
Total porosity (%) 4 to 5
Gas content, cf/ton 300 to 350
Water production, b/d N/A
Economic Data
Well spacing (acres) 60 to 160
Original gas-in-place (Tcf) 327
Technically recoverable (Tcf) 44
Gross EUR (Bcfe) 2.1 Bcfe
Gross well cost (USD) $3.5 million
Net EUR (Mboe) N/A
F&D cost $2.22/Mcfe
2009 production 1.8 Bcfe/d
Source: UGcenter.com
Updated 10/04/2010
71-76 Uncon-Barnett_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:17 AM Page 71
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73
UNCONVENTIONAL:
BARNETT
at $5, returns come to 17%. What this means is that the
Barnett can be a major player.
A North American shale giant
Key to making the economics of the play work was the
introduction of large-scale hydraulic fracturing, a process
that developed in Texas in the 1950s and was first used in
the Barnett in 1986. The first Barnett horizontal well was
drilled in 1992. Through continued
improvements in the techniques and
technology of hydraulic fracturing,
development of the Barnett shale
has accelerated. In the ensuing two
decades, the science of shale gas extrac-
tion has matured into a sophisticated
process that uses horizontal drilling
and sequenced multistage hydraulic
fracturing technologies. The combina-
tion of sequenced hydraulic fracture
treatments and horizontal well comple-
tions has been crucial in facilitating the
expansion of the Barnett.
Prior to the successful application of
these two technologies in the Barnett
shale, shale gas resources in many
basins had been overlooked because
production was not viewed as economi-
cally feasible. The low natural perme-
ability of shale has been the limiting
factor to the production of shale gas
resources because it only allows minor
volumes of gas to flow naturally to a
well bore. The characteristic of low
matrix permeability represents a key
difference between shale and other gas
reservoirs. For gas shales to be econom-
ically produced, these restrictions must
be overcome. The combination of chal-
lenging economics and low permeabil-
ity of gas shale formations historically
caused operators to bypass these forma-
tions and focus on other resources.
The economics of the Barnett has
lured bigger operators to invest. One
recent development of interest is the
increase in mergers and acquisitions
activity as Eni Spa, EOG Resources Inc.,
and others have sold properties in the
play for between $14,000 and
$70,000/acre, illustrating the differ-
ence between core and non-core
acreage as well as the value of the optionality underlying
the basin once prices recover.
Key players
The Barnetts key competitive advantage as prices rise
is its infrastructure in place and the high visibility of
E&P companies in the play. Unlike the Marcellus shale,
where gas-on-gas competition likely will keep some
The Barnett shale formation underlies the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth in Texas
and covers 5,000 sq miles (12,950 sq km) and at least 17 counties. (Source: US
Geological Survey)
Q:
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75
players from expanding their footprint, the Barnett
is locked and loaded for production.
With more than 100 operators in the play, production
will flow seemingly overnight
when gas prices rebound.
Likewise, there is less to
worry about in older plays
like the Barnett than in the
relatively new Haynesville
and Marcellus, as operators
have both data points and
drilling experience to guide
their development.
So which operators give
the best upside exposure to
the Barnett? Devon Energy
Corp., following its purchase
of Mitchell Energy, drove the
play forward more than any-
body else and has more than
80% of its gas coming out of
the play covered under firm
transportation contracts.
Devon holds acreage with
approximately 5,750
undrilled risked locations,
amounting to an approxi-
mate 8.4 Tcf of probable and
possible risked resources
and 41 Tcf of unrisked
resources.
What really puts Devon ahead of the game, though, is
its gathering system, as it owns 3,100 miles (4,989 km) of
pipeline and seven gas processing plants in the area.
Combined with Devons improved economics (drilling
days down to 15.8 in 2008 from 33.4 in 2004), the gath-
ering system makes Devon a top pick for exposure to the
Barnett. Its high net revenue interest (an average 81%)
allows the company to drill at lower gas prices relative to
newcomers to the play. With current low gas prices
Devon is not increasing its activity despite its 7,000
drilling locations. Nearly 40% of those locations are esti-
mated to have high-value liquids. The company has ten-
tative plans to expand its liquids processing capacity at
Bridgeport. Its low average lease cost, increased focus on
completion efficiencies, and pad drilling provide
another boost to its economics.
Updated from Future Returns in Hart Energys Barnett Play-
book, December 2009.
UNCONVENTIONAL:
BARNETT
Stratigraphically, the Barnett lies
between two prominent lime-
stone units: the underlying
Ordovician-age Viola limestone
formation and the overlying
Pennsylvanian-age Marble Falls
limestone formation. (Image
courtesy of the American Associ-
ation of Petroleum Geologists)
2010 Statistics
13,902 gas wells
3,333 more permitted
locations
Gas production
graph, 1993-2009
1993: 11 Bcf
2000: 79 Bcf
2001: 135 Bcf
2005: 503 Bcf
2007: 1.1 Tcf
2009: 1.77 Tcf
Drilling permits issued
graph, 1993-2010
1993: 36
2000: 273
2005: 1,629
2008: 4,145
2009: 1,755
2010: 3,112
The Barnett shale is the most
productive gas field in Texas
in terms of daily production.
Extensive experience in the DJ Basin
Knowledge of permitting requirements
tobile
1635 Foxtrait Dr., Ste. 325 1 Loveland , CO 80538 I (970) 776-3321
. ( Oi l
P R O F E S S I O N A L
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iUUI YY- I I SCcai ni l 15 cnpci a iUi
the Niobrara play
Responsive
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SPE is where
y
ou are.
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Our membership combines the brightest minds in the E&P
industry, giving you access to new people, new places, and new
ideas from all over the world.
And when you join SPE, you also join your local section. So, you
can meet regularl y with other members in your area to exchange
ideas and discuss common issues.
SPE has something
for
everyone working in the upstream oil
and gas industry, no matter where on the globe you may be.
Join our worldwide membership today at www.spe.org.
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International
77
R
ecent years have illustrated that the concepts and
practices of integrated operations (IO) and integrity
management (IM) are growing in importance to operat-
ing companies. The primary goal and benefit of IO and
IM program implementation is to better understand the
subsea asset. To best understand why these programs are
important to the success of an operation, it is important to
recognize the strengths of both programs and how they
are applied in concert to extend the life of the field.
Program application
IO programs focus on recognizing problems, providing
solutions, and facilitating actions. IO implementation that
achieves maximum benefit can be characterized by the
incorporation of key elements, including:
Real-time, condition/performance monitoring systems;
24/7 online, global response;
Rapid response coordination; and
Well-defined work processes.
Real-time raw process data are gathered from subsea con-
trol system(s) and imported into the condition monitoring
system, where they are loaded into algorithms precisely
designed for specific key performance indicators (KPIs).
Each resultant performance index is compared against
established operating parameters and its historical trend
analyzed over time all of this is performed autonomously
and in a matter of milliseconds. The result is a system
health indication that helps the operator recognize subopti-
mal performance conditions and address them early to
minimize the severity of monetary and operational impacts.
Complete subsea system design and integration, data
retrieval, and a deep understanding of performance life
and failure modes make the subsea system provider the
most knowledgeable resource on subsea systems. Participa-
tion by the subsea system provider in this process is inte-
gral to the success of the program.
Oftentimes, IM accompanies IO. IM aims at sustaining
safe productive operations by managing risk for the off-
shore and subsea assets. Program implementation includes
risk identification, establishing mitigation plans, develop-
ing and trending KPI, and interpreting the resultant per-
formance data within the context of system operations.
It is important to understand that two distinct opportu-
nities exist in IM. The first is that real-time data can be
analyzed to determine short-term responses to degrading
conditions. The second is that offline data can be used to
justify changes in operation to increase efficiency. The key
is to have an environment in which new learnings and
insights into system performance can be recycled to con-
tinuously improve the assets designs, maintenance and
inspection philosophies, analysis, and performance evalua-
tion. Typically, IM efforts focus on risk impacts to sched-
ules and the bottom line. However, by shifting this focus to
the health of the asset and its operations and invoking
intelligent operationally justified preventive maintenance
programs, an IM program becomes a best business prac-
tice with respect to safety, operations, and operating
expenditures.
When properly employed, these two programs become
quite integral to, and support, one another in their
IO, IM position subsea system
providers as valuable partners
When IO and IM programs are implemented appropriately, they help operators increase recov-
ery, reduce operating expenses, increase efficiency in execution, and optimize asset availability.
Tayo Akinkunmi, Kevin R. Knight, and
Ingvar Koppervik, FMC Technologies
SUBSEA
SYSTEMS
IO implementation achieves maximum benefits in part through
real-time, condition/performance monitoring systems and 24/7
online global rapid response coordination. (Images courtesy of
FMC Technologies)
77-79 Subsea-FMC_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:18 AM Page 77
78
administration and execution. Free and timely data
exchange and the development of carefully planned event
responses are absolutely vital to their individual and col-
laborative successes.
Reaping the rewards
The benefits of IO and IM programs are very real and
worthwhile. The implementation challenges that are pres-
ent can vary depending upon whether the programs are
being developed for a brownfield or greenfield operation.
Brownfield implementations rely heavily on comprehen-
sive collection and analysis of as-built documentation, a
complete understanding of the systems operational base-
line, a firm grasp on the existing data gaps, and the return
on investment. Achieving this requires a complete, top-
side-to-subsea audit of the asset, which can be an arduous
task for any program administrator. This process can be
especially arduous if the administrator is seeing the asset
and systems for the first time and is not experienced in the
design and integration of subsea systems.
When a subsea systems provider couples its knowledge
and experience with optimized work processes and strate-
gic asset planning, the company can work closely with the
operator to extract the most benefit from appropriately
timed equipment pullbacks (i.e., for maintenance,
upgrade, etc.) to effectively fill gaps and gain additional
value from the monitoring system. Making the most of
these opportunities and employing gradual but progres-
sive disbursement of technological advances allows the
asset to remain current, safe, and reliable. These efforts
support boosts in field production that otherwise could
not be realized.
Additionally, the softer revenue (i.e., collected perform-
ance data, lessons learned, system insight, etc.) can provide
operators with advantages when planning new projects.
Greenfield implementation of IO and IM can be incor-
porated as early on as the concept and front-end engineer-
ing and design stages of the development to aid in the full
and successful realization of these valuable systems.
Operators are able to make decisions based on lessons
learned through other assets operations concerning criti-
cal performance characteristics. Fit-for-purpose data and
communication systems that adequately support the tech-
nologies and processes that help make IO and IM pro-
grams so effective are integrated seamlessly into the
planned architecture. Technology and system design are
not the only areas affected, however. Operations and cul-
ture are affected as well. Establishing an environment inte-
grating all operations in the fetal stages of the project
promotes early collaborative communication and develop-
ment across all stakeholders including vendors, service
providers, project personnel, operators, engineers, and
asset owners. This positively impacts the efficiency and
effectiveness of operations. The engaged, full-service sub-
sea system provider interacts with the operators organiza-
tion in all of these capacities, making it a fitting and
valuable partner in greenfield and brownfield projects
when making IO and IM programs a reality.
Properly implementing and reaping maximum benefit
from IO and IM can be a rather complex process that
requires a commitment to continuous learning and
improvement for the benefit of the asset involved and for
future assets. The associated continuous learning cycle
takes the form of four distinct phases that repeat through-
out the life of the field. These phases are:
1. Design and build.
2. Install.
3. Monitor/predict/resolve.
4. Improve.
The subsea system and service provider is an invaluable
resource in traversing the learning curve and maintaining
excellence in production operations. Its aftermarket divi-
sions (i.e., customer support and service) provide engi-
neering and technical experience in a variety of areas
including installation, commissioning, interventions and
workovers, maintenance, refurbishment, preservation,
storage, and technology deployment.
SUBSEA
SYSTEMS
Real-time raw process data are gathered from subsea control sys-
tem(s) and imported into the condition monitoring system, where
they are loaded into algorithms precisely designed for KPIs.
79
The successful implementation of these programs is
dependent upon four main areas of support:
1. Properly identifying the risks associated with
the field.
2. Developing KPI to be used for risk-based inspections
and real-time condition monitoring systems.
3. The ability to respond to trouble notifications
through a structured rapid response program that
plans and executes short- and long-term solutions
prior to complete failure.
4. A culture of continuous improvement where analysis
changes as the knowledge of the asset changes.
Operators need not look any further than their estab-
lished relationship with the subsea provider to find
expertise in all of these areas. Its knowledge base spans
the full history of the operators installed base, making a
partnership an advantageous and key element for the suc-
cessful structuring, implementation, and administration
of IO and IM programs for both greenfield and brown-
field assets.
The subsea system provider becomes an effective part-
ner to the asset owner by providing services that go
beyond simply manufacturing and selling equipment.
This partnership is a vital element in an operators suc-
cessful implementation of IO and IM programs. Because
operators ultimately are responsible for providing the
rationalization of new programs, the subsea providers
breadth of knowledge and experience base is paramount
in the process. A clear set of criteria by which to evaluate
potential subsea system suppliers is used to determine the
best partner to develop the intelligence to drive the IO
and IM programs. Many providers, in fact, already supply
several aspects of the IO and IM programs to customers,
but only upon request. Integrating all of the offered serv-
ices into an effective and successful IO/IM program
allows the subsea system suppliers knowledge, skills, and
expertise to combine to benefit the operator. Choosing
the subsea system provider is essential to success and
ensures continuous and reliable production operations
over the life of the field.
SUBSEA
SYSTEMS
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80
SUBSEA
SYSTEMS
G
etting reliable well data has become a serious chal-
lenge. Deepwater production facilities require meas-
urement capabilities beyond what current technologies
can provide. Furthermore, with many deepwater fields
consisting of complex commingled streams and royalty
allocations, inefficient measurement and allocation could
end up costing operators significant sums of money.
Identifying the problem
The deepwater measurement challenge was recognized in
2006 by the US Department of Energy, which established
the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America
(RPSEA) in the same year. The partnership recognized
deepwater measurement as a critical need in developing
reserves and set a task of developing and standardizing
deepwater sampling as well as looking at the means of
installing measurement systems on deepwater wells via
ROV.
A key way of making subsea measurements today is to
use multiphase and wet gas meters that provide crucial
real-time information on flow conditions in the reservoir.
Aligned to this and just as important, however, is the
process of subsea sampling. It is accurate subsea sampling
that leads to the precise calibration, accuracy over time,
and effectiveness of these metering systems.
Subsea sampling, which can provide high-quality, volu-
metric sampling for the lifetime of the field, is key to the
role multiphase meters play in many important reservoir
management areas today. These include reservoir simula-
tion and field economics, virtual metering systems, system
integrity such as erosion and corrosion, the allocation of
revenue from tied-in fields, flow assurance (scaling and
hydrate clogging), and production optimization.
Yet, todays subsea sampling technologies are falling
short of growing operator requirements.
System limitations
There are several subsea sampling techniques in use. The
hot stab method a technique that is used to move fluid
from one device to another tends to be the most popu-
lar, although other sampling methods, such as extraction
by differential pressure or flowing the well to a surface test
facility that captures samples, also are used. These sam-
pling technologies primarily are developed and used top-
side with multiple samples taken.
Such techniques have limitations. Samples often are
taken randomly without consideration to the flow dynam-
ics of the fluids being sampled and fail to maintain the
original pressure conditions of the fluid sample when in
the laboratory. One set of differential pressures is used to
sample, and then other differential pressures are used to
transport the samples, which introduces inaccuracy.
The hot stab technique, for example, tends to be very
sensitive to the specific flow regime and is incapable of
making the phases of the sample more representative of
the phases of the process flow. There also is little means
of achieving a volumetric representative sample or being
assured that the sample contains fluids from all of the
phases. The result is low-quality samples, no volumetric
representation, and low repeatability.
The uncertainty of metering systems tends to grow over
time so much so that above a certain threshold, the val-
ues that are represented are so uncertain that they deliver
little or no value in terms of production optimization.
Confidence in such real-time production data often tends
to diminish over time as field conditions change and the
verification of input data becomes both cumbersome to
obtain and unreliable. In addition, meter calibration often
Subsea sampling delivers value
Accurate and reliable well data are critical in meeting the challenge of
maximizing production from geologically complex and remote fields.
Eivind Gransaether, Mirmorax
The uncertainty of metering systems tends to grow over time.
Above a certain threshold, the values that are represented are
so uncertain that they deliver little or no value in terms of pro-
duction optimization. (Images courtesy of Mirmorax)
80-83 Subsea-mirmorax_Laout 1 2/18/11 11:19 AM Page 80
81
SUBSEA
SYSTEMS
requires production to be stopped, costing the operator
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
By adding a subsea process sampling system, operators
can generate fractional data on oil; gas; water; salinity;
pressure, volume, and temperature (PVT); and other
information for which meters need to be calibrated.
This not only allows operators to calibrate the fractional
values of the meters by adding new property and frac-
tional input data, but it also allows old data to be re-
processed by applying the updated parameters to the
metering systems data processing software.
Subsea sampling needs to deliver true volumetric sam-
pling on oil, gas, and water in the well without interrupt-
ing production so the operator can accurately capture
fluid properties throughout the lifetime of the field, con-
duct comprehensive PVT and chemical analysis, calibrate
multiphase and wet gas meters, deliver optimized well pro-
duction, and increase recovery from the reservoir.
Developing a new system
These limitations needed to be addressed to achieve true
volumetric sampling without interrupting production.
It was clear that any system developed needed to work
subsea. It is only through sampling at or near the well-
head that samples that are representative of the fluid
flowing through the meter can be generated, yielding
more accurate fluid properties and more accurate multi-
phase measurements.
Mirmorax decided that an important means of achiev-
ing this would be through a design that is compatible
with subsea ROV operations. The system developed also
needed to represent a seamless process from sample col-
lection to final analysis topside from extracting a repre-
sentative sample, taking it to the surface, and storing and
transporting it to the laboratory facility. And all of this
needed to take place while maintaining the sample at its
original pressure through to the laboratory. Maintaining
the pressure condition and the true representation of the
process is vital to providing accurate PVT analyses.
One of the two main components of the new system is an
ROV-operated docking sampling unit (DSU), consisting of
a docking unit, a hydraulic sample extraction system, and
sampling bottles. The tool extracts and transports the sam-
ple(s) into sampling bottles under isobaric conditions and
transports the samples to the surface. The sampling unit
itself is based on standard subsea engineering principles
and is a combination of field-proven technologies, such as
the hydraulic actuator, collet connector, and system for
testing sealing integrity.
The second key element essential in taking samples sub-
sea and isolating the sample from the process is a station-
ary subsea sampling interface (SSI). The ROV transports
the sampling device from the surface vessel and docks
onto the stationary SSI through a standard hydraulics and
manipulator system. The two parts are connected with a
connector and barriers tested to verify pressure integrity.
The operation is repeated multiple times on the same
well to secure samples over a certain time period. This
ensures sample accuracy in case of unstable flow and pro-
vides the volume needed to perform analysis topside.
The system has been designed for HP/HT applications
of up to 1,000 bar/15,000 psi and 350F (180C) and a
design depth of 11,500 ft (3,500 m). Testing also has
shown the system to be in compliance with design codes
even when it is tested at 22,500 psi.
The result is a system that not only provides a high-qual-
ity representation of the hydrocarbons, but also an accu-
rate split and representation of all phases, solids, and
chemical content.
The new system is undergoing qualification testing.
Once operational, it will provide a vital source for calibrat-
ing multiphase meters and ensuring that they operate at
their full potential.
The system is shown in
sampling mode after the
DSU has been docked
onto the SSI. The DSU is
inserted into the funnel.
When it is fully inserted
and connected, the
operator can extract
representative samples
without interrupting pro-
duction. The operation
can be repeated for mul-
tiple sample points on a
single ROV operation.
80-83 Subsea-mirmorax_Laout 1 2/18/11 11:19 AM Page 81
80-83 Subsea-mirmorax_Laout 1 2/18/11 11:19 AM Page 82 80-83 Subsea-mirmorax_Laout 1 2/18/11 11:19 AM Page 83
Eagle Ford Update Global Shales NGLs Permian Basin 2011 Forecasts
I.ddlk
6th
Annual Conference and Exhibition
April 18-20, 2011 Fort Wort h Convention Center Fort Wort h, Texas
DEVELOPINGUNCONVENTIONALGAS
Chesapeake
E N E R G Y
Weatherford`
NEWPARK
DRILLING FLUIDS
TUDORPICKERING
HOLT&Co
Sponsored by:
HALLIBURTON
NE I ANO , S IELL
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GE Oil & Gas
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L
ow-frequency (LF) 3-D surveys take surface measure-
ments of changes in the earths ambient wavefield that
can be related to properties of hydrocarbon reservoirs.
This variability has been observed consistently in oil, gas,
and tight gas reservoirs through surface measurements.
There are many benefits of LF seismic compared to
other E&P monitoring technologies. LF seismic is influ-
enced directly by the reservoir fluid system and not struc-
tural variations and is low cost and environmentally
friendly with a light environmental footprint through
the use of standalone recording stations.
Testing for variations or anomalies in LF attributes has
significant applications in unconventional reservoirs. This
is achieved through LF seismics ability to potentially iden-
tify sweet spots with higher concentrations of hydrocar-
bons, decrease costs through improved fracture planning,
and reduce the risk of uneconomic wells. LF seismic has
the potential to be particularly effective in shale plays.
Predrilling stage
The cost of failure is high, particularly in fields where
hydraulic fracturing is an integral part of the production
process. For example, a conventional well with a budget of
US $10 million can be plugged and abandoned if, while
drilling down to the zone of interest, it is deemed to be
uneconomic. The operator then has the option of cutting
its losses, limiting cost to $2 million and saving the remain-
ing $8 million for another drilling program.
However, with unconventional resources such as shale
gas, operators do not have the luxury of cutting their
losses at an interim evaluation point. They normally are
not sure of the economics of the well until they have com-
pleted the costly fracturing operation and brought the
well on production. This makes a failure rate of only 20%
to 30% in shale gas (where wells can cost between $10 mil-
lion and $15 million) prohibitively more expensive than a
failure rate of even 60% in conventional wells.
By helping to identify higher accumulations of gas prior
to drilling, LF seismic can help operators reduce the risk
of uneconomic wells and costly fracture stimulation pro-
grams. More than $30 billion was invested in 2010 by the
industry in acquiring shale gas assets, and it is vital that
these assets are made economically viable from the pre-
drilling stage onward.
Fracture monitoring
The working hypothesis in unconventional reservoirs
today is that the reservoir fluid flows into the fractures
created. Most or all of the effort in shale E&P focuses on
engineering fractures and monitoring the fracture net-
work through the use of microseismic techniques.
Whereas microseismic techniques are intuitive and
might give the operator an indication of the fracture net-
work distribution as well as fracture growth
characteristics, such techniques cannot tell
the operator whether the reservoir fluids are
behaving in the way expected.
If LF can monitor the reservoir gas plume
directly before, during, and after fracturing,
then over time valuable information on the
fluid can be used to calibrate the reservoir
and production models. Reservoir monitor-
ing and time-lapse techniques provide critical
information on the reservoir fluids behavior
in these non-homogeneous reservoir systems.
Crews lay out equipment to shoot a survey in
Wyoming. (Images courtesy of Spectraseis)
Low-frequency seismic
illuminates shale plays
LF seismic has the potential to provide valuable information before drilling
and fracturing.
Andrew Poon, Spectraseis
84
tech
WATCH
84-85 TechWatch_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:20 AM Page 84
When integrated with other reservoir data, LF signals
directly affected by the fluid in the reservoir could provide
important information on (a) conditions affecting the
reservoir fluid flow, (b) fracture performance, and (c)
decline curve analysis. LF fluid measurements are, there-
fore, complementary to conventional 3-D seismic and
microseismic measurements.
Environmental implications of shale reservoirs
LF seismic also has potential applications to help shale
reservoirs meet environmental requirements. The last few
months have seen considerable controversy in the US
about the fact that hydraulic fracturing is exempt from the
Clean Water Act. There is an ongoing debate in the indus-
try as to the environmental impact, if any, of the fracturing
process, from the frac fluid itself to the gas released as a
result of the process.
Through direct monitoring of the multiphase fluids
integrated with knowledge of the fracture network, LF
seismic would provide the data that might help to resolve
the debate and provide the means to catch problems
before they occur. Testing this concept would be required
and could involve a multiphase fracturing fluid with an
additive that provides an LF signal (e.g., diesel in water).
Testing the hypothesis
Spectraseis is planning a test over a shale gas field in the
US where it will be running a traditional 2-D LF seismic
profile over a large area to determine if there are any vari-
ations and to see if the gas sweet spots can be mapped.
Many geoscientists believe good shale reservoirs have
better porosity and less clay minerals than the less-produc-
tive shale zones, with a compressional-to-shear wave veloc-
ity (Vp/Vs) contrast and porosity similar to a tight sand
reservoir. The natural permeability is expected to be low,
but the best zones might show evidence of some overpres-
suring. It is possible that 3-D seismic and other geophysical
methods could identify areas of Vp/Vs contrast, but reser-
voir fluid measurements are needed to better qualify reser-
voir potential and reduce economic risk.
Results obtained from a tight gas field project in
Wyoming suggest that low permeability and porosity
combined with overpressuring generate an LF signal.
These varying effects also could be
observable in shale reservoirs. One
should expect to see changes in
the LF attributes if a large enough
area (covering poor to good) is
surveyed. Long 2-D profiles or 3-D
grids should be used, depending
upon the nature of the reservoir
targets.
With operators needing to (a)
reduce risk at the predrilling stage
before committing to expensive
drilling and fracturing programs,
(b) generate more information
during fracturing for input into
the reservoir and production mod-
els, and (c) meet environmental
concerns, the LF seismic measure-
ment of the fluid locations in the
reservoir is a technology with sig-
nificant applicability to shale plays
today and in the future.
85
This EUR map over the Jonah and Pinedale tight gas fields
in Wyoming highlights the fault systems that control reser-
voir productivity.
The LF attribute PSD-IZ (shown in red) correlates well with the measurements of the reservoir
in the field.
84-85 TechWatch_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:20 AM Page 85
86
New range of products
brings EOR without intervention
Apollo, Camcon Oils first product based on BAT tech-
nology, is part of a new range of products to support dig-
ital intelligent artificial lift solutions that allow enhanced
oil recovery (EOR) without intervention.
The suite enables operators to vary injection rates in
real time without production interruption or well inter-
vention and generate pressure and temperature infor-
mation throughout the gas injection process features
that current artificial gas lift solutions cannot provide.
It also provides accurate gas injection control and flex-
ibility from a single asset through a series of digitally
operated valves, enabling the real-time setting of injec-
tion rates. The actuators are multiplexed and use
extremely low power to switch, keeping cabling require-
ments to the surface to a minimum and all control sig-
nals at low voltage. www.camcon-oil.com
Customizable valve allows
quick, easy maintenance
Camerons redesigned Entech DRV-BN Nozzle Check
Valve combines a modular approach with an improved
casting quality that allows for customized solutions, in-
field reconfiguration, and a consistent spring-force
mechanism for quick and easy maintenance.
The single-coil
spring is a simple
maintenance solu-
tion, and the disc is
shaft-supported for
disc-to-seat alignment
in all installation con-
ditions. The valve
incorporates a weight-
saving annular design
that aids in response
time to flow fluctua-
tions and wear resist-
ance. The DRV-BN
also features high
flow coefficients and
quality axial design to
help reduce operat-
ing costs.
As a complete offer-
ing, the Entech DRV-BN and the smaller bore DRV-Z
represent a technically flexible and economical solution
for backflow prevention and protection of critical equip-
ment. www.c-a-m.com
New RSS delivers high build rates
Schlumberger has introduced the PowerDrive Archer
high build-rate rotary steerable system (RSS). According
to the company, the new system has delivered high build
rates in many formations from any inclination and in a
single shoe-to-shoe run with no flat time for trips to
change the bottomhole assembly. High build rates allow
deep kickoffs to place more of the well bore in the reser-
voir, maximizing drainage capability.
The new system can maintain verticality even in high-
dipping formations. In horizontal sections, it can drill
through hard, interbedded formations at high angles of
incidence. The hybrid steering system allows sidetrack-
ing from an open hole at any point. All external parts
on the RSS rotate a feature that reduces the risk of
mechanical or differential sticking and improves well-
bore quality for easier well completion.
The PowerDrive Archer RSS delivers well profiles pre-
viously possible only with motors yet with the ROP and
wellbore quality of a fully rotating RSS. The system does
more than execute complex 3-D wells in one run it
also increases potential for hydrocarbon production.
www.slb.com/archer
tech
TRENDS
The DRV-BN features high flow coeffi-
cients and quality axial design to help
reduce operating costs. (Image courtesy
of Cameron)
The PowerDrive Archer hybrid steering system has internal pads
that push against a stabilizer sleeve pivoted on an articulated
joint to point the bit in the desired direction. (Image courtesy of
Schlumberger)
86-88 TechTrends_Laout 1 2/18/11 11:21 AM Page 86
87
Family of frac fluids, additives
minimizes environmental risks
The Baker Hughes BJ SmartCare family of products pro-
vides complete flexible frac systems and additives that
meet technical performance and environmental compli-
ance requirements. The qualification process identifies
the products and systems that meet or exceed existing
regulatory requirements and provides a scientific proto-
col for evaluating and selecting products for use in areas
where regulations are limited or absent.
To optimize well productivity, you have to match the
fracturing technology to the reservoir, said Lindsay
Link, president of Baker Hughes pressure pumping
business segment. The SmartCare family gives us the
flexibility to combine environmentally preferred fluids,
additives, and specialty chemicals and create a fit-for-
purpose optimized solution for each well.
To date, products have been qualified in four fractur-
ing systems: slickwater, linear gel, crosslinked, and vis-
coelastic. www.bakerhughes.com
Environmentally friendly biocide
aids slickwater fracs
Cudd Energy Services and Bio-Cide International have
introduced Petro-Flo, an innovative new fracturing addi-
tive registered by the Environmental Protection Agency
as an oilfield biocide. It is a safer, more effective, and
environmentally friendly biocide for use in slickwater
fracturing operations.
Petro-Flo does not combine with organics to form car-
cinogens or other harmful decomposition byproducts; it
actually degrades to simple table salt. The biocide also
rapidly kills a wide range of microorganisms. According
to the companies, the chemistry has been laboratory-
and field-proven to control sulfate-reducing, acid-pro-
ducing, and slime-forming bacteria. In addition, it effec-
tively penetrates and breaks down biofilm from within
and prevents the formation of new biofilm.
The active ingredient in Petro-Flo is safe enough that
it is used directly on food, is an ingredient in mouth-
wash and eye drops and is used to disinfect food process-
ing plants and hospital operating rooms. It also is used
to treat billions of gallons of drinking water every day.
www.cudd.com
Vessel targets complex
deepwater installations
Aker Solutions has designed the AMC Connector, a new-
build subsea installation and construction vessel targeting
deepwater. The AMC Connector previously called Aker
Connector will be equipped with two turntables for high-
voltage power cables or subsea umbilicals: one with 6,000
tonnes of capacity on deck and another 3,000 tonnes of
capacity below deck. With a total product payload of 9,000
tonnes, the AMC Connector will be able to take on highly
complex and sizeable installation projects. At full payload,
the 515 ft by 105 ft (157 m by 32 m) ship will have a transit
speed of 16 knots. This makes the vessel a highly competi-
tive alternative for installation jobs in remote locations.
In addition, the vessels design allows for safe and effi-
cient operation in higher waves than most other high-end
construction vessels, the company says. It will be equipped
with two heave-compensated offshore cranes that can oper-
ate in 10,000 ft (3,000 m) water depth. The vessel also fea-
tures deck flexibility so on-deck modules can be removed
within two days, freeing up approximately 16,146 sq ft
(1,500 sq m) of space, allowing transport and installation
of large spools and jumpers as well as subsea structures and
manifolds. www.akersolutions.com
Reaming tool aids
initial placements at target depth
Deep Casing Tools has launched the 5-in. Turborunner
completion reaming tool, an independently powered
high-speed tool that aids initial placement of the com-
pletion or liners at target depth. The tool is suitable for
all rigs and is easy to deploy. It reduces time, cost, and
risk at depth.
The Turborunner is designed to support smaller open-
hole completion placement, combines optimized washing
with a rotational reaming capability, and avoids rotation of
the completion string itself. www.deepcasingtools.com
Ashley E. Organ, Associate Editor
tech
TRENDS
The Turborunner was deployed successfully in a horizontal appli-
cation in the UK Central North Sea. (Image courtesy of Deep
Casing Tools)
Society of Exploration Geophysicists International Exposition and 81st Annual Meeting
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center 18-23 September 2011 San Antonio, Texas USA
Photo courtesy of Stuart Dee, SACVB
-
1
rr
? f
89
W
est Africa has long promised to be a key region for
future oil and gas supply diversification. Now, with
US $108 billion predicted to be invested in new offshore
infrastructure in Africa over the next five years, large-
scale developments are expected not only among West
Africas established producers, but also in the regions
emerging countries.
Offshore activity in West Africa will continue to be
dominated by Nigeria and Angola, with deepwater proj-
ects at the forefront of both exploration and produc-
tion. However, the new and exciting plays that are being
discovered along the West African Transform Margin
which runs from Ghana through Ivory Coast and Liberia
to Sierra Leone are beginning to capture the indus-
trys attention. It seems probable that Sierra Leone,
Liberia, and the Ivory Coast countries whose oil poten-
tial was not long ago considered bleak will follow their
neighbor Ghana into the deepwater offshore market,
creating a new and potentially important oil province.
It is tough on top
Nigeria continues to be one of worlds primary oil pro-
ducers despite the political unrest and logistical prob-
lems that have hindered the industrys development
over the last few years. Its prolific deepwater projects
continue to deliver opportunities for growth with pro-
duction being enhanced by brownfield projects, includ-
ing capturing gas previously flared in shallow-water
fields. Between 2011 and 2015, a potential of 1.8
MMboe/d production will come onstream.
One of the latest projects offshore Nigeria is the Ebok
field, located in the productive southeastern area, which
is being developed by UK-based independent Afren.
The company recently announced that from February
2011 it is expecting to produce more than 15,000 b/d
from this field and that the reserves are estimated at 116
MMbbl. Further development could follow shortly after
on the nearby Okwok field.
The unrest affecting Nigerias offshore market is due
largely to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). This legisla-
tion, which is yet to be passed, would restructure the
Nigerian oil industry with the aim of improving the role
and efficiency of the national oil company. The delay in
doing this so far has meant that potential investment
from foreign investors has been put on hold due to
uncertainties over the implications and timetable of the
proposed legislation. One of the bills proposals that has
stirred up particular concern among international oil
companies (IOCs) is the plan to increase the government
take on deep offshore projects, an area that is expected to
see a great deal of growth in the coming years.
Gulf of Guinea to get second wind
in the next five years
Due to a reallocation of assets and a redirection of policy, the West African offshore market
will diversify more in the next five years than it has ever done before.
Edward Francis and Dr. Roger Knight, Infield Systems
REGIONAL REPORT:
WEST AFRICA
Nigeria has the most offshore fields expected to come onstream in
West Africa between 2011 and 2015. (Source: Regional Perspec-
tives Offshore West Africa Oil & Gas Market Report, Infield Systems)
89-93 RegionalRepor-WAfrica_La"o! 1 2/18/11 11:23 AM Page 89
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REGIONAL REPORT:
WEST AFRICA
Although there have been significant delays, the pas-
sage of the legislation might have taken a big step
toward completion in November 2010. A Joint Senate
Committee, which had been considering the bill over
the past year, completed its work and presented the bill
to the upper house of Parliament, which now can begin
voting on the legislation clause by clause. Once the legis-
lation is passed, one can expect a major new licensing
round where domestic companies and foreign compa-
nies some new to Nigeria could be presented with
the opportunity to gain a foothold in the Nigerian off-
shore market. Recently both Chinese and Russian com-
panies have shown great interest in investing in Nigeria.
Totals Egina field development is one of the latest
examples of conflict between IOCs and the Nigerian
government. The Egina field, located off the Niger
Delta, is scheduled to come onstream in 2014 with
reserves estimated at a healthy 550 MMbbl. Unfortu-
nately for Total, development of this project has been
restricted by the government, which refuses to budge
over the local content it has demanded for the newbuild
deepwater floating production, storage, and offloading
(FPSO) unit. Technical bids to provide Total with a mas-
sive FPSO vessel started in October 2010, but Nigeria is
insisting that 17,000 metric tons of the topsides must be
built by indigenous companies. Total faced similar prob-
lems for its Usan project, which is scheduled to come
onstream in 2012, but in this instance the operator was
able to negotiate some flexibility into the nature of the
local content provisions. It now seems that with the PIB
on the horizon, Nigeria could want companies to start
facing up to its stringent demands to do more of the
actual construction work in local yards.
Angola
Over the 2011-2015 period, West Africa is expected
to witness a significant increase in the number of
offshore fields coming onstream, increasing from
32 fields during the 2005-2010 period, to 181 fields
going forward to 2015. Angola will hold a signifi-
cant share of these new fields with 58 expected to
come onstream between 2011 and 2015, represent-
ing 32% of West Africas total field prospects in
this period. These projections are based on the
excellent exploration and drilling results that
Angola continues to produce.
According to the US Energy Information
Administration, Angola production could peak in
2015 at 2.5 to 3 MMbbl/d, but at the moment it
must abide by its OPEC quota of less than 2
MMbbl/d.
Last year Eni Angola Exploration continued to pro-
duce compelling exploration results from its drilling
campaign in offshore Block 15/06. The latest commer-
cial discovery was the Mpungi-1 well, which hit oil pay in
October 2010. Block 15/06 discoveries tallied at five last
year, and of the eight exploration wells Eni has drilled in
this area, seven have been successful. Eni hopes to start
exploiting these discoveries from 2013 with plans to use
SBMs Xikomba FPSO when it is released from a nearby
field by ExxonMobil.
West Africas new oil province
Anadarko Petroleum Corp.s discovery of the Mercury
field at the end of 2011 was yet another event highlight-
ing the true potential of the West African Transform
Margin. This is Anadarkos second discovery offshore
Sierra Leone, the first being the Venus field discovered
in 2009, which could come onstream from 2015 if all
goes well.
Approximately 621 miles (1,000 km) to the east of
these discoveries, along the transform fault zone, is Tul-
low Oils renowned Jubilee field, which recently turned
Ghana into the worlds latest deepwater oil producer.
Tullows success relating to this massive geological struc-
ture has continued with the uncovering of the Cobalt
prospect offshore Liberia. The characteristics of this
field have been likened to the Jubilee field, and Tullow
has publicly spoken about possible gross contingent
reserves of 1.2 Bboe. These discoveries obviously are
raising a lot of hope for the countries in this region, and
further discoveries in areas adjacent to the transform
margin are highly probable. This creates a huge poten-
tial to bring prosperity to areas that have long been
deprived of it.
Global perspectives on the West Africa region show the additional potential
of oil and gas production onstream by country between 2011 and 2015.
(Source: Regional Perspectives Offshore West Africa Oil & Gas Market
Report, Infield Systems)
Country 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011-15
Angola 33,000 611,839 304,556 256,278 526,496 1,732,170
Congo
(Brazzaville) 19,000 13,000 54,578 128,986 81,755 297,319
Equatorial
Guinea 0 76,735 20,000 0 154,257 250,992
Ghana 100,000 0 47,052 0 125,741 272,793
Ivory Coast 0 0 7,302 52,527 3,676 63,506
Nigeria 51,645 352,586 395,177 444,653 618,385 1,862,445
Mauritania 0 0 0 20,000 0 20,000
Grand Total 203,645 1,054,160 828,665 902,444 1,510,309 4,499,224
92
Sierra Lione is an extremely poor country that could
benefit significantly from the type of revenue achievable
from oil production. The country still is recovering from
a grueling 11-year civil war, and therefore, the correct
handling of the new revenue potential will be essential
to bringing sustainable growth and improving the pub-
lics standard of living.
Tullows Jubilee project already has raised concerns in
Ghana regarding whether the profits will appropriately
benefit the public. To help mitigate these anxieties, the
Ghanaian government recently received a loan from the
World Bank for $38 million to be invested in a new oil
and gas capacity project. This program aims to improve
public management and to install transparency in the
sector, thus helping to develop an efficient regulatory
system. With IOCs now looking to invest heavily in West
Africas latest frontier oil province, it is important that
the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone take similar
steps to those that Ghana hopes to take.
One of the companies looking to become a big player
in this province is Russias Lukoil, which plans to invest
$900 million in drilling 11 exploration and appraisal
wells offshore Ghana and the Ivory Coast during 2011
and 2012. Of course, the attractiveness of this province
in West Africa is amplified at the moment by the politi-
cal unrest in Nigeria, historically the regions primary
producer.
Deepwater Ghana The new kid on the block
With the Jubilee field project now in full flow and
achieving a production rate of 55,000 b/d during its first
phase of development, Ghana finally has arrived as an
oil exporting country. It is projected that
Ghana could become the third-largest
producing country in West Africa over
the next four to five years, lagging only
behind OPEC members Nigeria and
Angola.
Tullow has continued to have great
success subsequent to the discovery of the
Jubilee field both in exploration and in
appraisal drilling. The Greater Tweneboa
Area has revealed real prospects for new
large oil deposits with the Tweneboa,
Ntomme, and Enyenra (Owo) fields.
Tullow recently finished drilling another
appraisal well in its deepwater Tweneboa
discovery with results indicating excellent
quality reservoirs containing a gross
potential of 1.4 Bboe. The appraisal
well, Tweneboa-3, was drilled by the
Transocean drillship Deepwater Millennium
to a total depth of 12,815 ft (3,906 m)
and has created a real aura of optimism
among the companies involved. The rig
is remaining on the block to drill the
Tweneboa-4 appraisal well before moving
to drill an appraisal well on the Enyenra oil discovery.
Tullow exploration director Angus McCoss has
been delighted with the results and has expressed
the view that Tullow now can move forward with confi-
dence to assess development options in the Greater
Tweneboa Area.
Australian independent Tap Oil is one of the latest
companies to actively seek new oil along the West
African Transform Fault zone. In early January 2011,
the company began a 463 sq-mile (1,200 sq-km) 3-D seis-
mic survey over Ghanas Accra Contract Area using the
Polarcus Naila survey vessel. The Offshore Accra contract
area lies southeast of Ghanas capital Accra and covers
an area of 772 sq miles (2,000 sq km) with water depths
ranging from 165 ft (50 m) to more than 8,200 ft (2,500
m). Tap Oil obviously was very encouraged when it
found out the existing original 2-D data for this area had
identified similar geological features to the structures
found at Tullows Jubilee and Tweneboa area discover-
REGIONAL REPORT:
WEST AFRICA
There are significant undeveloped discoveries in Angola offshore Block 15.
(Source: The Infield Offshore Energy Gateway)
ies. This caused the company to accelerate
evaluation by implementing a 3-D survey,
which should provide potential drilling
targets for a campaign expected to start
next year.
Much to look forward to
While the offshore markets of Nigeria and
Angola now are well established, it is the
emerging markets that are displaying a real
potential for growth. Significant interest
has been generated by the offshore prospects being
uncovered in countries like Ghana. These are attracting
major firms, and both Russian and Chinese companies
are looking to capitalize on these new opportunities
with huge potential investments being proposed. If
Western IOCs want to maintain their positions in the
region, they will need to be prepared to work harder in
the future than they have in the past.
93
The West Africa Transform Margin runs from Ghana
through Ivory Coast and Liberia to Sierra Leone.
(Source: The Infield Offshore Energy Gateway)
EAGE
EUROPEAN
ASSOCIATION OF
GEOSCEEMISTS
ENGINEERS
.I
.
The World's Largest
Geoscience Event
Unconventional Resources and the Role of Technology
OMV 0
www.eage.org
EJf(onMobil
I.Wr
i
94
international
HIGHLIGHTS
Africa
Anadarko makes major Mozambique discovery
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has made a major deepwater
gas discovery approximately 18 miles (29 km) offshore
Mozambique with the Tubarao well, which encountered
more than 110 net ft (34 net m) of natural gas pay and no
water in a high-quality Eocene-age reservoir that is sepa-
rate and distinct from the hydrocarbon accumulations in
the companys three previous discoveries in the Offshore
Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin. The Tubarao discovery well
was drilled to a total depth of approximately 13,900 ft
(4,237 m) in approximately 2,950 ft (899 m) water depth.
Gas discovered offshore Mauritania
Dana Petroleum has discovered gas in Block 7 offshore
Mauritania. The Maersk Deliverer semisubmersible drilled
the #1 Cormoran exploration well to a total depth of
15,404 ft (4,695 m) below sea level in approximately 5,348
ft (1,630 m) water depth. The well flowed between 22 and
24 MMcf/d of gas from one of the four columns encoun-
tered by the well.
Tullow hits Ghana gas
Tullow Oil has found gas in the Deepwater Tano license
offshore Ghana. The Deepwater Millennium drilled the #3
Tweneboa appraisal well to a total depth of 12,815 ft
(3,906 m) in 5,253 ft (1,601 m) water depth.
The first leg encountered thin reservoir sands and
approximately 30 ft (9 m) of gas condensate pay. The well
was sidetracked 1,804 ft (550 m) west, targeting the
Ntomme anomaly. This leg encountered a gross vertical
reservoir interval of approximately 213 ft (65 m) contain-
ing 112 ft (34 m) of net gas condensate pay.
More gas onshore Algeria
Petroceltic International plc has encountered a 509-ft
(155-m) gas column with the AT-4 vertical appraisal well in
the Isarene permit in the Illizi Basin in southeastern Alge-
ria, approximately six miles (10 km) east of AT-2. The well
was drilled to a total depth of 7,028 ft (2,142 m) in the
objective Ordovician Unit IV reservoir sequence.
Chevron hits double offshore Congo
Chevron Corp. has hit oil with the Bilondo Marine 2 and
3 wells in the central part of the Moho-Bilondo license,
approximately 40 miles (64 km) offshore the Republic of
Congo in 2,600 ft (792 m) water depth. The wells were
drilled to approximately 6,000 ft (1,829 m) total depth.
The Bilondo Marine 2 found 253 ft (77 m) of gross reser-
voir, and the Bilondo Marine 3 found 144 ft (44 m).
RWE makes Egypt gas discovery
RWE Dea Egypt has made a gas discovery in the North
El Amriya concession offshore Egypt. The NEA 3x well
was drilled to a total depth of 10,023 ft (3,055 m) and
encountered gas in a lower Pliocene sand in the Kafr El
Sheik formation.
The well was sidetracked to a total depth of 8,668 ft
(2,642 m) and encountered a conventional gas-filled
sand channel. A drillstem test confirmed a flow rate of
14 MMcf/d of gas.
Europe
Valiant hits pay at Don
Valiant Petroleum plcs Don Southwest E Panel explo-
ration well 211/18a-S7 in the UK North Sea has reached
The 211/18a-S7 well will be brought onstream in the second half
of 2011. (Image courtesy of Valiant Petroleum plc)
EPmag.com
READ MORE ONLINE
For additional
information on
these projects
and other global
developments:
94-98 Highlights_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:25 AM Page 94
95
11,540 ft (3,517 m) total vertical depth subsea and has
encountered a hydrocarbon-bearing Brent sand formation
indicating a gross recoverable accumulation of 5 to 7
MMbbl of oil.
Catcher yields more pay
EnCore Oil plcs Catcher North appraisal well 28/9-3 in
UK Central North Sea Block 28/9 was drilled to a total
depth of 5,265 ft (1,605 m) and encountered hydrocar-
bons in both the Tay and Cromarty sandstone intervals.
The well, which encountered 20 ft (6 m) of net gas-bear-
ing pay within the Eocene Tay interval and 14 ft (4 m) of
net oil-bearing pay within the Paleocene Cromarty section,
has extended the gross total hydrocarbon column in the
Catcher area to 410 ft (125 m), comprising a gas column
of 75 ft (23 m) and an oil column of 335 ft (102 m).
Lundin spuds Tellus well
Lundin Petroleum AB has begun drilling exploration well
16/1-15 in PL 338 to target the Tellus field offshore Nor-
way. The Bredford Dolphin semisubmersible will drill the
well to approximately 8,202 ft (2,500 m) below sea level to
test Jurassic/Triassic-age sandstones and conglomerates in
a separate fault segment.
The company estimates the Tellus field contains gross
unrisked prospective resources of 40 MMboe.
Survey begins offshore France
Melrose Resources has kicked off a 4,660-ft (7,500-km) 2-D
seismic survey in the Rhone Maritime concession offshore
France. The survey will evaluate a number of exploration
plays that have been successful elsewhere in the Mediter-
ranean region, including a shallow Pliocene channel sand
system and structural Miocene plays beneath the Messin-
ian salt layer.
Pacific Rim
Vietnam gas discovery
Nippon Oil Exploration Ltd. (NOEX) has made a gas con-
densate discovery in Block 16-2 offshore Vietnam with the
HMX-1X exploration well. NOEX and its joint venture
partners in the block Petrovietnam Exploration Produc-
tion Corp. Ltd. and Vietsovpetro have been carrying out
exploration activities and plan to implement further
exploration and appraisal programs.
Appraisal well spudded in northeast Thailand
Salamander Energy plc has spun the bit on the Dao
Ruang-2 appraisal well in Block L15/50 onshore northeast
Thailand. According to the company, Dao Ruang has
potential gross mean resources of 500 Bcf of gas. The MB
Century 26 rig will drill the well to approximately 5,479 ft
(1,670 m) to target a fracture network in the Pha Nok
Khao Permian carbonate reservoir on the eastern flank of
the structure.
Chevron hits Aussie gas
Chevron Corp. has had drilling success in the Carnarvon
Basin offshore Western Australia. The Orthrus-2 well
was drilled to a total depth of 14,098 ft (4,297 m) in the
WA-24-R permit area, approximately 60 miles (97 km)
northwest of Barrow Island. Combining appraisal and
exploration objectives, the well encountered 243 ft (74 m)
of net gas pay, of which 102 ft (31 m) of net gas pay was
encountered in a deeper, previously unexplored target
interval in the Orthrus field.
Middle East
Heritage hits Iraq gas
Heritage Oil plc has made a major gas discovery in the
Kurdistan region of Iraq. The Miran West-2 well was
drilled to a total depth of 14,521 ft (4,426 m) and has
confirmed three additional pay zones within Lower Cre-
taceous and Jurassic formations. The company estimates
The Miran West-2 well has confirmed three additional pay zones
in Iraq. (Image courtesy of Heritage Oil plc)
international
HIGHLIGHTS
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international
HIGHLIGHTS
that the Miran West structure has gross in-place volumes
between 6.8 and 9.1 Tcf of gas with 42 to 71 MMbbl of
condensate and 53 to 75 MMbbl of oil.
North America
Eni begins Alaska production
Eni has started oil production at Nikaitchuq field off-
shore the North Slope of Alaska. The field holds recov-
erable reserves estimated at 220 MMbbl of oil and is
expected to produce for more than 30 years with peak
production of 28,000 b/d of oil. Its full development will
be through 52 wells (26 oil producers, 21 water injec-
tors, and five water source/disposal wells), of which 22
are onshore and 30 offshore, with the offshore wells
drilled from an artificial island.
Texas oil, gas find for Maverick
Maverick Minerals Corp. has hit more than 40 ft (12 m)
of net oil and gas pay in the Lankford Trust 1 initial test
well in Ford Bend County, Texas. The well reached a
total depth of 13,500 ft (4,115 m) and encountered a
35- to 40-ft (11- to 12-m) gas-bearing zone within a
Miocene-aged rock as well as additional oil and gas
zones in the Yegua sands.
Horn River horizontal completed
Storm Resources Ltd. has completed the D-9-D/
94-P-12 horizontal well in the Horn River Basin in
British Columbia. The well was drilled to 14,108 ft
(4,300 m) with a 5,741-ft (1,750-m) horizontal section
in the Muskwa and Otter Park shales. After a 12-stage
fracture treatment, gas initially flowed at an average
(restricted) rate of 8.8 MMcf/d during a cleanup
period. The company reported a recent gas flow rate
of 9.1 MMcf/d.
South America
Light oil discovered in Santos Basin
BG Group has encountered a 656-ft (200-m) light oil
reservoir in Block BM-S-9 in the Santos Basin offshore
Brazil. The discovery well 3-BRSA-861-SPS, informally
known as Carioca North-East, is approximately 171 miles
(275 km) off the coast of So Paulo state in 7,057 ft
(2,151 m) water depth.
Ecopetrol Colombia find
Ecopetrol SA has proven the presence of hydrocarbons
in the Tinkhana-1 exploratory well in the Western Area
(Area Occidental) in Putumayo, Colombia. The well
reached a final depth of 6,812 ft (2,076 m), and initial
testing on the Lower Caballos formation, which, with
original discovery pressure at a thickness of 16 ft (5 m),
indicates it is producing an average 140 b/d of 25 API
gravity oil.
Central Asia
Shale gas flows in India
Indias state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp. has discov-
ered gas in the Barren Measure shale near Durgapur at
Icchapur in West Bengal, eastern India. The RNSG-1
well was drilled to approximately 6,562 ft (2,000 m); gas
flowed at a depth of 5,577 ft (1,700 m). The Barren
Measure shale was encountered between 3,232 and
6,047 ft (985 to 1,843 m).
Gulf of Mexico
Hydrocarbon potential at Davy Jones
McMoRan Exploration Co.s offset appraisal well Davy
Jones #2 is drilling below a true vertical depth of 27,900
ft (8,504 m) in 20 ft (6 m) water depth in South Marsh
Island Block 234 in the Gulf of Mexico. Preliminary
data from wireline logs over the interval from 25,400 to
27,300 ft (7,742 to 8,321 m) indicated more than 200 ft
(61 m) of gross sand and approximately 100 net feet (30
net m) of sand in multiple Wilcox zones that appear to
be hydrocarbon-bearing.
Nikaitchuq holds recoverable reserves estimated at 220 MMbbl
of oil. (Image courtesy of Eni)
ALASKA
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April 18-20
, 2011
Fort Worth
May 23-25,2011
Denver
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October 10-12, 2011 November 15-17, 2011
San Antonio Pittsburgh
The World of DW
Population: 7,701 and Growing
Nearly 8,
000 people attended DUG7' Series conferences in 2010 alone. Now in their sixth year, DUG Series conferences have become the
industry standard for everything unconventional.
Whether it's topical coverage of U.S. unconventionals (DUG The Original), oil in the Bakken and Niobrara (DUO Resenroirs), Eagle Ford and
Permian shales (DUG Eagle Ford), or the Marcellus and Appalachian Basin (DUG East), only the DUG Series delivers this much information
you need to know. Creators of the DUG Series know how to get people talking. And with nearly 600 exhibits, there was plenty of buzz. (Not
to mention the endless buffets, networking happy hours, charitable
projects and optimal conference locations.)
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're seeking a better way to get the information you need, the ideal place to network with peers, or just a reason to get away from the
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After all
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www.HARTENERGYCONFERENCES.com
H A R T E N E R G Y
1
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ADVERTISER INDEX
on the
MOVE
99
Ikon Science Ltd. has appointed
Prof. Richard Swarbrick to the board
of directors and as global director of
Geopressure and named Murray
Christie president of Ikon Science
Americas.
Fabio de Oliveira Barbosa has joined the
board of directors at BG Group as CFO,
effective March 31, 2011.
Sparrows Group has appointed
Leigh Howarth to its board of
directors as CFO.
Dale W. Wilhelmhas been appointed
CFO at Xtreme Coil.
Emily Farquhar has been
named president of Fugro
Gravity & Magnetic Services.
Mustang has appointed
Gordon Stirling (left)
regional director for
Europe, North Africa, Middle East, India,
and Russia and Chet Nelson (right)
regional director for Asia-Pacific.
W&T Offshore Inc. has appointed Jesus
G. Melendrez senior vice president and
chief commercial officer.
Todd Grove has been appointed chief
technology officer at ABS.
The Houston Technology Center has
promoted Maryanne Maldonado to vice
president and managing director of
Energy Acceleration.
Steven Bernard has been named vice
president of Riser Delivery at MCS Kenny.
Baker Hughes Incorporated . . . . . . . .34
BCCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
CGGVeritas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
China National Logging Co. . . . . . . . . .26
Compressor Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Cudd Energy Services . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Dragon Products, Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
EAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
E&P . . . . . . . . . .IBC, 82, 83, 88, 90, 96, 98
Emerson Process Management . . . . . . .7
Escondido Resources II . . . . . . . . . . . .79
FMC Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Frontier Energy Group, Inc. . . . . . . . . .39
Fugro Jason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Halliburton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4, 22, 60
Halliburton Landmark
Software and Services . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Lat40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Lufkin Industries Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
McJunkin Red Man Corporation . . . . .IFC
M-I Swaco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Momentive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
National Oilwell Varco . . . . . . . . . .13, 24
Newpark Drilling Fluids . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Oilfield Improvements, Inc. . . . . . . . . .59
P2 Energy Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Petris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
PGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Precision Geophysical, Inc. . . . . . . . . .48
Schlumberger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC, 3
Society of Petroleum Engineers . . .20, 76
The Gas Gun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
V&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Varel International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Weatherford International Ltd. . . . .18, 19
WesternGeco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
World Heavy Oil Congress . . . . . . . . . .90
Group Publisher
RUSSELL LAAS
Tel: 713-260-6447
rlaas@hartenergy.com
Associate Publisher
DARRIN WEST
Tel: 713-260-6449
dwest@hartenergy.com
United States
Canada / Latin America
1616 S. Voss Road, Suite 1000
Houston, Texas 77057 USA
Tel: 713-260-6400
Toll Free: 800-874-2544
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Tel: 713-260-6454
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Advertising Sales Representative
HENRY TINNE
Tel: 713-260-6478
htinne@hartenergy.com
Sales Manager
Eastern Hemisphere
DAVID HOGGARTH
Tel: 44 (0) 7930 380782
Fax: 44 (0) 1276 482806
dhoggarth@hartenergy.com
Advertising Coordinator
CAROL NUNEZ
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MARKETING | SALES | CIRCULATION
99 Onthemove_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:27 AM Page 99
E",
100
W
hether driven purposefully by ideological opponents
or simply from lack of good information, mispercep-
tions permeate the average persons view of the oil and gas
industry. The result is a negative perception of the industry.
And while the industry has one of the best safety records
in the world, there still is a reflex assumption from the
mere sight of a drilling platform that a Macondo moment
is just waiting to happen.
The Gulf of Mexico blowout was brought under con-
trol, but at significant cost to the environment. This event
because it was uncontrolled for some time prompted
governments and people around the
world to question regulations and guide-
lines governing offshore oil and gas oper-
ations. In the US, government officials
are overhauling these regulations and are
debating a new statutory framework. The
need for such a review is apparent. But
despite some potential benefits from an
overhaul, the likely consequences of
wholesale regulatory revisions are not all
positive. They include further delays, fur-
ther restrictions on operations, and
increased costs.
Making a change
The oil and gas industry remains vital to the global econ-
omy and represents one of the largest employment sec-
tors. In the US alone, the oil and gas industry supports 9.2
million jobs and accounts for more than US $1 trillion of
its annual national economic activity.
Today, there is a largely untold story of how the geo-
science community already successfully addresses many of
the sensitive issues about oil and gas operations that worry
people and governments around the world.
In response, the International Association of Geophysi-
cal Contractors (IAGC) has elected to undertake an exten-
sive communications initiative. The goal of this initiative is
to remind governments and other key constituencies of
the importance of oil and gas in everyday lives and to illus-
trate how the industry already eliminates and can further
reduce environmental risk by using geophysical technolo-
gies throughout the E&P cycle.
This is a critical time for the industry, and there is an
urgent need to highlight the E&P technologies already in
daily use by geophysicists, geologists, and others that
enable E&P companies around the world to drill fewer,
safer, and more productive wells. There is particular con-
cern that governments considering revisions to oil and gas
operating regulations will stifle further development of
solutions that substantially reduce the human safety and
environmental risks associated with E&P activities.
As part of its initiative, IAGC, along with its members,
intends to increase communication with governments,
including the US Congress. IAGC already has reached out
to editors of major media outlets and will
collaborate with various grassroots organi-
zations. The organization has launched a
website, www.geophysicsrocks.comto educate
audiences not only on the vital role oil and
gas plays in the global economy, but also
how geophysical technologies already play
a significant role in risk reduction.
IAGC seeks to point out where geophys-
ical contractors and their E&P clients have
contributed to some of the most remark-
able game-changing oil industry technol-
ogy developed in the last 25 years based on the use of
seismic and other geophysical survey methods to image the
subsurface of the earth both on land and offshore. By way
of example, Chevron estimated that in 2009, seismic imag-
ing technology helped the company achieve an exploration
discovery rate of 57%; this is an exceptional figure for the
industry given the unknowns when drilling.
As governments around the world contemplate revisions
to existing regulations, they should not lose sight of the
overall importance of oil and gas in todays society. Like-
wise, as they redefine the regulatory framework for the
future, officials should be mindful and take full advantage
of the risk reduction role geophysical technologies play in
the global oil and gas industry today. The geophysical
industry seeks to help the oil and gas industry regain the
publics trust, and educating key stakeholders about the
role geophysical technologies play in reducing E&P risks is
one way of doing that.
Knowledge is power
Educating stakeholders about the role geophysical technologies play
in reducing E&P risks will help change the negative perception of the oil
and gas industry.
Chip Gill, IAGC
last
WORD
The oil and gas
industry remains
vital to the
global economy
and represents
one of the largest
employment sectors.
100 LastWord_Layout 1 2/18/11 11:27 AM Page 100
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