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org/jpt
APRIL 2013
A P R I L 2 0 1 3 VO LU M E 6 5 , N U M B E R 4
Proppant
innovation
April13_JPT_Cover.indd 1
3/15/13 7:40 AM
Volume 65 Number 4
The E&P industry must work with big data to meet future demand from
a growing global population.
A new rotary steerable system can deliver, in a single run, well profiles
previously possible only with motors.
Companies are trying new ways to produce more oil out of tight
formations by altering their completions, and proppant makers are
responding with an array of new options.
48 t
urning a scientific tool into an
engineeringmachine
A collaboration between an industry-backed lab and a maker of highpowered scanning electron microscopes aims to change how rocks are
tested by building upon the existing shale knowledge base.
54 M
iddle East unconventional gas conference
and exhibition review
Results from recent gas exploration and appraisal activities in the Middle
East and North Africa indicate that the region holds substantial resources
of unconventional gas, especially tight gas.
62 M
anagement Advancing Industry Technology:
A New Ecosystem for Innovation
6
Performance Indices
10
Regional Update
12
Company News
14
Presidents Column
16
Comments
22
Technology Applications
28
Technology Update
140
People
142
SPE News
143
Professional Services
147
Advertisers Index
148
SPE Events
ContentsApril.indd 1
3/15/13 6:40 AM
TECHNOLOGY
82 O
ffshore Drilling and Completion
Helio Santos, SPE, President, Safekick Limited
83
Post-Macondo Drilling in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Faces
AddedChallenges
88
First Barents Sea Oilfield Development Emphasizes Oil
SpillPreparedness
93
Taking a Fresh View of Riser Margin for Deepwater Wells
PotentiallyBoosts Safety
98
Natural Gas Processing and Handling
George Hobbs, SPE, Director, Strategic Chemistry
99
Floating Compressed-Natural-Gas System Provides Simpler Path
toMonetization
106
Proposed Cluster Liquefied-Natural-Gas Production System Raises
Tolerance of CO2
111
Offshore HP/HT Gas Well: Drilling and Well Testing
116
25,000-psi 500F Packer-Seal System
120
Integrating FPWD Measurements With Managed-Pressure Drilling
124 H
istory Matching and Forecasting
Alexandre Emerick, SPE, Reservoir Engineer, Petrobras
ResearchCenter
125
Sparse History Matching: Nonlinear-Orthogonal-Matching-Pursuit
Algorithm
132
Combined Uncertainty and History-Matching Study of a Deepwater
Turbidite Reservoir
136
First Norne Field Case on History Matching and Recovery
Optimization
The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
free to SPE members for two months at www.spe.org/jpt.
ContentsApril.indd 3
3/25/13 6:57 AM
ONLINE
JPT Online Is Changing
The new JPT Web page is
a one-stop place for SPE
members to access print
and digital editions. The
JPT website is optimized
for phones and tablets.
The site contains:
The latest issue of JPT
Archives of past issues
of the print edition back
to 1997
Full-length technical
papers summarized in
the magazine
Access the new site at
www.spe.org/jpt.
JPT
PRINT
ARCHIVE
Download past
issues of JPT
in PDF format
www.spe.org/jpt
JPT STAFF
ContentsApril.indd 5
3/25/13 6:58 AM
PERFORMANCE INDICES
world crude oil production+
THOUSAND BOPD
OP E C
2012 JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
Algeria
1544
1546
1548
1550
1482
1483
Angola
1790
1740
1840
1740
1790
1770
502
508
512
506
503
504
Iran
3350
3200
3100
3150
3000
3000
Iraq
2975
3075
3175
3275
3075
3225
Kuwait*
2630
2625
2625
2610
2610
2650
Libya
1400
1400
1450
1500
1500
1450
Nigeria
2580
2580
2640
2490
2390
2340
Qatar
1200
1200
1200
1200
1200
1200
10020
10015
10015
9800
9800
9540
UAE
2820
2820
2820
2820
2820
2820
Venezuela
2240
2240
2240
2240
2240
2240
33051
32949
33165
32881
32410
32222
2012 JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
Argentina
538
556
564
564
552
532
Australia
360
426
431
475
511
469
Ecuador
Saudi Arabia*
TOTAL
THOUSAND BOPD
Non-OPEC
Azerbaijan
945
939
905
850
942
940
Brazil
2033
2023
2004
1924
2011
2045
Canada
2994
3097
3058
3014
3160
3243
China
4015
4010
4128
4242
4217
4232
Colombia
935
935
911
956
961
970
Denmark
212
200
196
178
197
202
Egypt
556
554
554
553
553
552
Eq. Guinea
297
297
297
297
297
297
Gabon
242
242
242
241
241
240
India
785
785
778
780
772
774
Indonesia
Kazakhstan
Malaysia
847
840
839
838
829
832
1509
1509
1485
1482
1487
1564
486
499
516
510
509
507
Mexico
2584
2568
2596
2593
2581
2618
Norway
1517
1583
1553
1570
1309
1549
Oman
924
930
923
925
935
947
Russia
9861
9882
9907
9941
9984
10048
Sudan
Syria
UK
USA
Vietnam
95
95
95
95
95
95
191
131
131
136
131
131
949
954
742
609
688
865
6228
6351
6267
6528
6831
6893
336
338
348
347
332
342
Yemen
150
150
160
160
160
162
Other
2435
2508
2503
2441
2563
2420
Total
42090
42372
42150
41988
43088
43436
Total World
75080
75216
75205
74841
75344
75658
Perf_Indices_April.indd 6
3/25/13 7:28 AM
PERFORMANCE INDICES
US NATURAL GAS WELLHEAD PRICES
5
4
3
2
NOV
OCT
SEP
AUG
JUL
JUN
MAY
APR
MAR
FEB
2012
JAN
DEC
USD/Mcf
106.16
119.75
103.32
2012 MAR
102.62
APR
87.90
113.36
JUL
109.06
110.34
94.13
109.49
NOV
95.16
MAY
112.86
AUG
86.53
94.65
JUN
94.51
111.71
SEP
87.86
112.96
DEC
82.30
89.49
OCT
94.76
116.02
2013 JAN
95.31
FEB
Brent
WTI
2012
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
2013
JAN
FEB
US
1913
1859
1834
1809
1784
1757
1762
Canada
316
355
365
385
353
503
642
Latin America
417
411
412
398
414
414
427
Europe
118
124
124
127
136
134
135
Middle East
388
381
377
394
363
379
350
Africa
111
108
104
102
102
115
113
Asia Pacific
227
230
242
246
238
237
250
3490
3468
3458
3461
3390
3539
3679
TOTAL
2012
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
SUPPLY
88.97
88.95
89.07
89.13
DEMAND
88.80
88.72
89.11
89.86
INDICES KEY
+ Figures
Perf_Indices_April.indd 8
3/25/13 7:29 AM
REGIONAL UPDATE
AFRICA
Production began from the PSVM
development area of Block 31 offshore
Angola. Initial volumes come from three
wells in the Plutao field, targeting an initial
70,000 B/D of oil and a plateau rate of
150,000 B/D of oil this year. Sonangol
EP (25%) is the concessionaire of the
block operated by BP Exploration Angola
(27.67%) in partnership with Sonangol
P&P (20%), Statoil Angola (13.33%),
Marathon International Petroleum Angola
Block 31 (10%), and SSI 31 (5%).
Asia
Europe
Production has begun at the Valhall
North America
McMoRan Exploration set a production
liner at the Blackbeard West-2 ultradeep
well on Ship Shoal Block 188 in the Gulf
of Mexico. The well was drilled to a total
depth of 22,574 ft. Initial completion
efforts are targeting 50 net ft of laminated
sands in the Middle Miocene at 24,000 ft.
McMoRan holds a 69.4% working interest
in the block, partnered with EXXI (22.9%)
and Moncrief Offshore (7.7%).
South America
Australia
The Yulleroo 4 well in exploration
permit 436 of Western Australia was the
first drilled in the Buru EnergyMitsubishi
2013 drilling program, 80 km east of
Broome. It was cased to a measured depth
10
RegionalUpdateApril.indd 10
Middle East
The Kiyaktysai KN-E-201 well
discovered oil at the Zharkamys West1
Territory in Kazakhstan. The well
encountered a 136-m stacked sand-shale
interval while drilling to an intermediate
casing setting depth of 1408 m. Wireline
logs indicate the interval has 58 m of
nethydrocarbon pay with a continuous
41-m light-oil column and a separate
17-mgas column. Condor Petroleum
(100%) holds the exploration rights
atZharkamys.
3/14/13 12:59 PM
COMPANY NEWS
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
COMPANY MOVES
Gail India commissioned the 5-MTPA
Dabhol liquefied natural gas terminal at
Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. The terminal is
operated by Ratnagiri Gas and Power,
which is a joint venture between operator
Gail and the National Thermal Power
Corporation, with minority interests held
by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board
and financial institutions.
12
CompanyNewsApril.indd 12
CONTRACTS
Chinas Ministry of Land and Resources
awarded exploration rights for 19 shale
gas blocks to 16 companies. The winning
3/14/13 1:00 PM
INNOVATION
2013 President
Egbert Imomoh, Afren
2012 President
Ganesh Thakur,
Chevron Energy Technology Company
2014 President
Jeff Spath, Schlumberger
Vice President Finance
Janeen Judah, Chevron
REGION DIRECTORS
AFRICA
Anthony Ogunkoya,
TBFF Upstream Oil and Gas Consulting.
CANADA
Keith MacLeod, Sproule Associates
Eastern North America
John Cramer, Superior Well Services
Gulf Coast North America
Bryant Mueller, Aclaro Softworks
Mid-Continent North America
Mohan Kelkar, University of Tulsa
Middle East
Fareed Abdulla, Abu Dhabi Co. Onshore Oil Opn
North Sea
Lon Beugelsdijk, Shell International E&P
Northern Asia Pacific
Ron Morris, Roc Oil (Bohai)/Roc Oil (China)
Rocky Mountain North America
Mike Eberhard, Anadarko Petroleum
Russia and the Caspian
Andrey Gladkov, Modeltech
South America and Caribbean
Nestor Saavedra, EcopetrolICP
South, Central, and East Europe
Maurizio Rampoldi, Eni E&P
Southern Asia Pacific
John Boardman, RISC
Southwestern North America
Peter Schrenkel, Vision Natural Resources
Western North America
Tom Walsh, Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
Drilling and Completions
Joseph Ayoub, Schlumberger
Health, Safety, Security, Environment,
and Social Responsibility
Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil Upstream
Research Company
Management and Information
Cindy Reece, ExxonMobil Technical Computing
Company
Production and Operations
Shauna Noonan, ConocoPhillips
Projects, Facilities, and Construction
John Walsh, GHD
Reservoir Description and Dynamics
Olivier Houz, KAPPA Engineering
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
Sudhir Vasudeva, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation
14
PresColumnApril.indd 14
3/14/13 1:00 PM
COMMENTS
Awarding Excellence
andInnovation
John Donnelly, JPT Editor
The oil and gas industry, like many industries, awards its best
and brightest companies, technologies, and individuals with
annual or occasional awards, calling attention to excellence
and innovation. Among the most prestigious are awards handed out at the International Petroleum Technology Conference
(IPTC), held in late March in Beijing, and the upcoming Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in May.
IPTC singles out companies and major projects with its
Excellence in Project Integration Award. The honor highlights projects that have demonstrated distinction throughout the entire value chain, and are at least USD 500 million equivalent in value. Past winners have included both international and national
oil companies. Taken into account are projects that exemplify strong teamwork, solid
geoscience knowledge, reservoir and production engineering expertise, outstanding
facilities engineering practices, and a strong commitment to health, safety, and the
environment and advocate innovative and people-oriented human resource policies
and community programs.
This year, 16 nominations were submitted representing projects in 12 countries.
The IPTC Awards Committee selected three as finalists:
Efficient Development of the Large Tight Sandstone Gas Field in SuligeChina
National Petroleum Corp. and PetroChina Changqing Oilfield Co.
Jubilee Project in GhanaTullow Ghana Ltd.
Pazflor, a Technological Breakthrough in Deep Offshore DevelopmentsTotal
Full coverage of the conference and the projects will be included in the May issue
of JPT.
The OTC honors companies, individuals, and new technologies. At the annual
OTC Dinner in early May, the 2013 Distinguished Achievement Awards will be presented to Ken Arnold, senior technical advisor at Worley Parsons, who will receive the
award for individual achievement, and to Total Exploration and Production, for corporate achievement. The Heritage Award will be presented to E. Dendy Sloan Jr., professor emeritus of Colorado School of Mines, and James Brill, professor emeritus at the
University of Tulsa.
Arnold, who is a member of the editorial advisory board of SPEs Oil and Gas
Facilities magazine, is being recognized for his outstanding leadership and extensive contributions to the E&P industry. He has played a key role in the offshore industrys focus on safety through the development of recommended practices for offshore
design and safety management, and has been instrumental in helping establish oilfield
facilities engineering as a recognized technical engineering specialty.
Total is being honored for the Pazflor deep offshore development in Angola,
which has been producing for 18 months and is one of the worlds largest and most
sophisticated deep offshore developments to date. Pazflor represented the first use
of subsea separation and pumping on a wide scale and included construction of the
worlds largest FPSO.
OTCs annual Spotlight on New Technology Awards recognize innovative technologies that are advancing the industry into the future. A full list of the winners and their
technologies is contained in this issue.JPT
To contact JPTs editor, email jdonnelly@spe.org.
16
CommentsApril.indd 16
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Syed AliChairperson, Technical Advisor,
Schlumberger
Francisco J. Alhanati, Director, Exploration &
Production, C-FER Technologies
Mohammed Azeemuddin, Research Scientist-Rock
Mechanics, Chevron
Baojun Bai, Associate Professor/Graduate Coordinate
Petroleum Engineering, Missouri University of Science
and Technology
Ian G. Ball, Technical Director, Intecsea (UK)
Luciane Bonet, Senior Reservoir Engineer,
Petrobras America
Paul D. Cameron, Senior Well Intervention Discipline
Advisor, BP plc
Robert B. Carpenter, Sr. AdvisorCementing,
Chevron
Simon Chipperfield, Team Leader Central Gas Team/
Gas Exploitation, Eastern Australia Development,
Santos
Gerald R. Coulter, President,
Coulter Energy International
Martin V. Crick, Chief Petroleum Engineer,
Tullow Oil plc
Jose C. Cunha, Drilling Manager, Ecopetrol America.
Alexandre Emerick, Petroleum Engineer,
Petrobras Research Center
Martyn J. Fear, General Manager Drilling &
Completions,Husky Energy
Niall Fleming, Leading Advisor Well Productivity &
Stimulation, Statoil
Emmanuel Garland, Special Advisor to the
HSE Vice President, Total
A.G. Guzman-Garcia, Engineer Advisor,
ExxonMobil
Robert Harrison, Global Technical Head of Reservoir
Engineering, Senergy Oil & Gas
Delores J. Hinkle, Director, Corporate Reserves,
Marathon
George W. Hobbs, Director, Strategic Chemistry
John Hudson, Senior Production Engineer, Shell
Gerd Kleemeyer, Head Integrated Geophysical
Services, Shell Global Solutions International BV
Gregory Kubala, Global Chemistry Metier Manager,
Schlumberger
Jesse C. Lee, Chemistry Technology Manager,
Schlumberger
Cam Matthews, Director, New Technology Ventures,
C-FER Technologies
Casey McDonough, Drilling Engineer,
Chesapeake Energy
Stephane Menand, Managing Director,
DrillScan US
John Misselbrook, Senior Advisor for Coiled Tubing,
Baker Hughes
Badrul H Mohamed Jan, Lecturer/Researcher,
University of Malaya
Alvaro F. Negrao, Senior Drilling Advisor,
Woodside Energy (USA)
Shauna G. Noonan, Staff Production Engineer,
ConocoPhillips
Karen E. Olson, Completion Expert,
Southwestern Energy
Michael L. Payne, Senior Advisor, BP plc
Mauricio P. Rebelo, Technical Services Manager,
Petrobras America
John D. Rogers, Vice President of Operations,
Fusion Petroleum Technologies
Jon Ruszka, Drilling Manager,
Baker Hughes (Africa Region)
Hisham N. Saadawi, VP Engineering,
ADCO (Abu Dhabi Co. Onshore Oil Opn.)
Jacques B. Salies, Drilling Manager,
Queiroz Galvo E&P
Helio M. Santos, President, Safekick
Otto L. Santos, Snior Consultor, Petrobras
Luigi A Saputelli, Senior Production Modeling
Advisor, Hess Corporation
Brian Skeels, Emerging Technologies Manager,
FMC Technologies
Sally A. Thomas, Principal Engineer, Production
Technology, ConocoPhillips
Win Thornton Global Projects Organization,
BP plc
Erik Vikane Manager Petroleum Technology, Statoil
Scott Wilson, Senior Vice President,
Ryder Scott Company
3/18/13 8:21 AM
GUEST EDITORIAL
Pradeep Anand
is president of
Houston, Texasbased Seeta
Resources (www.
seeta.com), a
business consulting
firm he founded in 1994. He also holds
an adjunct faculty position at Rice
Universitys Jones Graduate School of
Business, where he teaches Marketing
Management in the Energy Industry,
in its MBA program. Previously, Anand
was vice president, marketing, at
Landmark Graphics; manager, North
American Operations, at a division of
Baker Hughes; and the first marketing
and business development manager for
LWD/MWD at NL Sperry Sun. In 2009,
Anand was co-chairman of the SPE
Emerging Technology Workshop on
Delivering and Using New Technology
to Make Money in E&P.
Anand received a BS degree
in metallurgical engineering from
the Indian Institute of Technology,
Bombay, where he received a
Distinguished Service Award in 2001,
and an MBA from the University of
Houston. He serves on the advisory
boards of the University of Houstons
College of Technology and India
Studies program. He is the author of
the novel An Indian in Cowboy Country.
18
GuestEdApril.indd 18
The global population is forecast to grow to about 10 billion people by the middle of
this century. While this population growth will generate a growth in global GDP, it will
also create significant stresses on resources needed to feed the population and fuel its
economic growth, with the demand for food-water-energy creating a stress nexus.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that by
2030 demand for food will increase by 50%. The International Food Policy Research
Institute expects demand for water to increase by 30%. And the International Energy
Agency forecasts that energy demand will surge by 50%, despite projected progress
in improving consumption efficiencies.
Alternative fuels are forecast to find ready markets and increase their percentage
of the energy mix, yet oil and gas are still expected to deliver about 60% of the energy
needs of the future. For example, in 2040 the exploration and production (E&P) sector is projected to be faced with delivering about 30% more oil production liquids,
about 110 million b/d of oil equivalent, than it does today. The E&P industry is expected to find and develop new types of resources through innovations in technology used
in deep water, the Arctic, oil sands, tight oil, unconventional gas, biofuels, and other
areas. However, two major issues will mute and limit that success:
1.Manpower. As demand increases, the need for manpower increases and
manpower availability decreases. Simultaneously, experienced people will
retire and exit the industry in record numbers.
2.Data and knowledge. Our current knowledge of existing reservoirs and our
practices are based on partial data. It is a truism in the business world that
80% of business-relevant information originates in unstructured forms. In
the E&P industry, where natural data cannot be ordered and constricted to
the confines of manmade databases, the percentage of unstructured data
can be substantially higher.
In the domain of criminal justice, The Innocence Project has shown that partial data can lead to partial truths, in some cases leading to incarceration of innocent
people. In many of those cases, DNA evidence not considered in earlier jury trials has
exonerated innocent people who spent decades in prisons. Partial data can lead to
partial truths.
The E&P industry has had success working with partial data and partial truths
but it is imperative that it work with more and better data, or Big Data, to get closer to the whole truth, and to ensure greater success so vital to meet projected future
demand of a growing global population.
Both challenges mentioned above could be met by focusing attention on creating
a unified data store that is a ready platform to apply computational algorithms and
analytics to extract patterns from both structured and unstructured data. These patterns can then be used to create models with forecasting, anticipatory, or predictive
capabilities that reduce the cones of uncertainty or increase the probabilities of success of actions in the E&P industry.
Why patterns? The human brain is a pattern-recognition organism. Our brains
create meaning from patterns we see or at least think we see in nature. Humans,
3/15/13 8:36 AM
GUEST EDITORIAL
STEM Tools
Partial
All Data
Partial
ay
d
To
Whole
Patterns
Perceptions
Fig. 1By expanding the scope of data, existing and new STEM tools can be
applied over larger datasets.
especially in the high-risk E&P industry, are uneasy with chance, let alone
chaos, and have a tendency to see patterns everywhere. Patterns are important
when making decisions and judgments,
and in acquiringknowledge.
Often, patterns are real; sometimes
they are chance manifestations. However, it can be better to see patterns where
none exist than to miss them when they
do exist. This is especially true in the
area of safety. Throughout human history, our ability to recognize patterns
has helped us to survive and grow into a
moderncivilization.
This basic human facet of pattern
recognition has been used extensively in
E&P to drive decisions. Graphs and logs
are depictions that make visual pattern
recognition easier. About 25 years ago,
computing technologies enabled the creation of 3D seismic interpretation visualization systems, where palettes of colors were used to depict values of seismic
frequencies. The human eye and brain
could discern subtle changes in hues
that escaped the analytical left brain, to
reach more superior reservoir exploitation conclusions. That 3D visualization
also brought the unseen geologic world
20
GuestEdApril.indd 20
demand for hydrocarbons. This assemblage of patterns and models would partially compensate for the retirement of
deep experience from the industry. After
all, good experience is an agglomeration
and learning of human pattern recognition of the highest order.
Many farsighted companies in the
E&P industry have invested in business
intelligence, analytics, and informatics talent at their organizations. These
new resources are charged with discovering new routes in uncharted seas
and oceans. However, they are working
with partial data, which can deliver only
partial truths that may not help in discovering new continents of knowledge
and insight. The E&P industry needs to
embrace both structured and unstructured data, discover new perspectives of
reservoirs, and invent new processes to
drill, complete, and produce from them.
We should be seeking the whole truth
that, in all its complexity, lies buried in
the data.
So far, pattern seekers and model
builders have been challenged by the
immense velocity, volume, and variety
of data the industry produces and stores.
They have been limited by the availability of a unified data store, a pattern recognition platform that not only combines structured and unstructured data
but also addresses the varying complexity of data. Recent technologies have
made this unifying pattern recognition
platform a reality. It has been created in
many industries with the following steps:
1.Choose technologies that have
been used successfully in other
industries, such as open source
components for distributed file
storage systems andanalytics.
2.Though the repositories carry
the source data, mnemonic
normalization and unit
harmonization of collected data
are needed for analysis and crosscomparison. This will create an
environment for analytics.
3.Extract metadata and apply
analytics for pattern extraction to
enrich metadata.
3/15/13 8:36 AM
GuestEdApril.indd 21
these two dimensions in seeking projects to use recent but proven unifying pattern recognition platform technologies to improve critical facets of
their businessestechnical, operational, and business. The combination of
technologies could be a game changer. Closer to home, it can significantly improve the competitive advantage
of firms in the E&P industry. It can be
applied to improve safety, production,
success rates, performance, operations,
innovation, customer intimacy, document and records management, and a
host of other business focuses that suffer from the ill effects of decisions made
with partial data.
For starters, Big Data solutions can
be used to simply organize both structured and unstructured data to provide
simple static views of data and infor-
21
3/25/13 7:00 AM
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Dennis Denney, JPT Senior Technology Editor
Drilling-Control System
Slimhole Measurement
While Drilling
22
TechAppsApril.indd 22
Integrated Drilling Equipment Company launched its second-generation Centurion drilling-control system (Fig. 2).
The system was installed on a new,
1,500-hp Sparta rig. The system uses
an open-architecture software platform
to put real-time information and control in the hands of the drilling contractor, operator, and service companies.
The open-architecture software interface enables adding, swapping, and
upgrading controls. Use of this type of
platform enables service companies to
use specialized applications for control
of the autodriller and pressure-control
aspects of rigs. The use of customersupplied applications enables optimal
ROP while maintaining zone management and personnel and machinery
safety. The system does not use proprietary networks or software. Consequently, customers may spearhead
troubleshooting and the integration
of customized features while retaining
access to the manufacturers technical
support. The package for the Lewis Rig
38 will be fully loaded with all available
options. Options include an integrated
self-aligning satellite system with highspeed broadband; off-site access to all
systems; full communication systems
with Voice Over Internet Protocol telephone
and talkback service,
Internet Protocol
3/14/13 1:03 PM
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
camera, and digital-video-recording
system; fire and gas detection; real-time
logging; Coriolis meters for real-time
drilling-fluid density, mass-flow, and
temperature and pressure readings; and
off-site data collection and reporting.
For additional information, visit
www.ide-rig.com.
24
TechAppsApril.indd 24
3/14/13 1:03 PM
Fig. 5Moyno
HTD660
downhole
pump.
High-Temperature
Progressing-Cavity Pump
In fracture-stimulated wells, the process cleans the skin layer and removes
much of the water, protecting the productive layer from further damage. The
gases and compound traces released into
the Earth and air are all harmless. It
is also less expensive compared with
hydraulic-fracturing or steam-assistedgravity-drainage methods. The 60 test
wells were old and most were already
shut in and written off. In two large shutin Lukoil wells, an incremental 1400 t
of oil was extracted in the first 90 days.
After 1 year, the wells were still producing at higher-than-original levels. Currently they are training staff and preparing for widespread implementation.
For additional information, visit
www.tctm.eu.
Real-Time Monitoring
and Data Acquisition
esg.marketing@robn.com.
Thermal Technology
for Old Wells
TechAppsApril.indd 25
25
4/4/13 6:52 AM
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Fig. 8Micanti B.V.s Thorn-D antifouling foil applied to the Lady Rasha.
26
TechAppsApril.indd 26
Antifouling Film
3/14/13 1:03 PM
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Almost a century after its first oil discovery, Argentina is making headlines
again through reports of the potential
of the Vaca Muerta Shale in the Neuqun Basinthe most prolific basin in
Argentina (Fig. 1). The existence of Vaca
Muerta, which means dead cow, has
been known for years, but the formation
received little attention until the development of shale plays in North America. Vaca Muerta is virtually a virgin play
with only a few operators involved. Yet
with Argentinas need to increase production and reduce dependence on foreign oil and gas, change is clearly in
theair.
Expanding Reserves
andProduction
YPF has reported reserves and resources in the Vaca Muerta formation to be an
estimated 22.8 billion BOE (YPF 2012).
Encouraged by the estimate, YPF and
several other Argentinean operators are
continuing exploration activity to define
the extent and productivity of the Vaca
Muerta, particularly to identify the oil,
wet gas, and dry gas areas. Early results
suggest that Argentina has an opportunity to replicate the unconventional
resource revolution of the United States
and eventually meet domestic oil and gas
demand through internal production.
Argentina has the potential to
increase oil and gas production by 50%
in 10 years, which would reverse the
negative trend that turned the country
into a net importer in recent years. Yet
this potential does not come easily, as
preliminary estimates indicate the need
for more than 1,000 wells to be drilled
as a first step and 40 additional rigs to
accomplish the goal. Besides the investment challenge that the Vaca Muerta now
faces, there is an immediate challenge
that needs to be dealt with: What is the
best way to produce Vaca Muerta?
Maximizing Production in
Shale, Other Tight Plays
28
TechUpdateApril.indd 28
3/14/13 1:04 PM
TechUpdateApril.indd 29
29
3/15/13 8:57 AM
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
small to host the amount of heavy materials and related equipment required to
pump and fracture a well, which typically needs thousands of pounds of proppant as well as hundreds of barrels of
liquid. For unconventional development,
the space required is even greater. Millions of pounds of proppant are needed,
along with thousands of barrels of fluid.
If space is insufficient, it may be hard to
optimize logistics because equipment is
placed farther from the wellsite.
The Argentine shale play is in its
early stages, and operators have identified the lack of sufficient proppant,
water, and space on location as the main
obstacles for ensuring optimal development. Full realization of the Vaca Muertas potential will require the development of several key areas. International
and local investment will be necessary
if the play is to reach the infrastructure capacity seen in areas such as the
Bakken. In Argentinas tight sandstone
formations, limitations exist but they
are less formidable because the volumes
and tons of material needed are lower.
30
TechUpdateApril.indd 30
Neuqun Basin are not publically available. However, as the experiences from
North American shale plays have proved,
cost reductions and production enhancements with openhole, multistage technology have been achieved. For example,
Snyder and Seale (2012) demonstrate in
a comparison of production data from
cemented and uncemented wells in the
two core areas of the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale that cumulative production
from wells completed with the openhole, multistage fracturing method was
as much as 84% higher than wells completed with the cemented liner plug and
perf method. In addition to achieving
better long-term recoveries, openhole,
multistage completions are a safer, more
efficient use of resources and intrinsically use good fracturing practices, such as
reduced proppant overdisplacement and
immediate flowback (Themig 2010).
An Argentinean operator recently indicated that its production results
have validated the theory and simulations that show that a vertical well with
four fractures can produce similarly to
a horizontal well with 25 fractures in
comparable fields in the US. One of the
biggest differences favoring the development of Vaca Muerta is formation
thickness. Fig. 3 shows that the Vaca
References
Snyder, D. and Seale, R. 2012. Comparison
of Production Results from Openhole and
Cemented Multistage Completions in the
Marcellus Shale. Paper SPE 155095-MS presented at the SPE Americas Unconventional Resources Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 57 June. doi: 10.2118/155095-MS.
Snyder, D.J. and Seale, R. 2011. Optimization
of Completions in Unconventional Reservoirs for Higher Ultimate Recovery. Paper
SPE 142729-MS presented at the SPE Middle East Unconventional Gas Conference
and Exhibition, Muscat, Oman, 31 January
2 February. doi: 10.2118/142729-MS.
Themig, D. 2010. Advances in OH Multistage
Fracturing SystemsA Return to Good
Frac-Treatment Practices? J. Pet. Tech, 62
(5): 2629.
YPF. 2012. Form 6-K, Sociedad AnonimaYPF,
8 February.
3/15/13 9:51 AM
Depth
Motor
PowerDrive Archer
Deeper
kick off
Days
12
Conventional RSS
Fig. 1By improving borehole quality and reducing tortuosity, the system
minimizes the risk of stuck pipe and facilitates the deployment of casing,
sleeves, and completion equipment.
32
YoungTechApril.indd 32
15
ficult formations, Schlumberger developed the PowerDrive Archer high buildrate RSS. In a single run, the technology can deliver well profiles previously possible only with motors. By
improving borehole quality and reducing tortuosity, it minimizes the risk of
stuck pipe and facilitates the deployment of casing, sleeves, and completion equipment (Fig. 1). It can perform
openhole sidetracks and drill deeper
before kickoff than other RSS, maximizing reservoir exposure and increasing
potentialproduction.
Description, Development,
and Deployment
3/18/13 1:25 PM
Universal joint
acts as pivot point
Fig. 2The new system is a hybrid, combining proven technology from pushthe-bit and point-the-bit RSS.
YoungTechApril.indd 33
the drillstring. In steering mode, electronics hold a rotary valve geostationary, diverting about 4% to 5% of the
mud flow to a set of internal pads, which
push on the inside of a stabilizer sleeve
instead of the borehole wall. The sleeve
is hinged on a universal joint, which
pivots and points the bit in the desired
direction. The degree of deflection is
controlled by a mechanical strike ring,
and held electronically in a constant
direction for as long as necessary.
Field trials began in 2008 and
underwent two stages of testing. Initially, field tests focused on delivering
higher build rates than before. However, subsequent testing was necessary
when it became clear that the hybrid
steering system required specialized
bits and fatigue management for BHAs
33
3/25/13 7:41 AM
34
YoungTechApril.indd 34
Future Plans
3/15/13 8:42 AM
In Search of
Bigger,
Stronger,
and Lighter
Proppant.indd 36
3/15/13 6:42 AM
Proppant.indd 37
Pumping Possibilities
At the 2011 SPE fracturing conference, when Mark Franki
was asked what was new in fracturing, he said he was once
again able to be particular about the proppant he used to
fracture wells.
Industry supplies of proppant became tight because
the surge in shale exploration transformed the proppant
business. The volume of sand and ceramics used now to prop
open fractures is 15 times what it was in 2005, said Terry
Palisch, director of petroleum engineering atCarbo.
Two years ago sand producers were catching up, but it
took longer for makers of ceramics to build the factories they
needed to meet the demand.
For small operatorsFranki is an engineer for a small
Texas company, Mentano Energyshort supplies meant
taking what was available, even if it meant mixing a variety of
sizes of sand to get enough to do the job. We overlooked a
lot of things that in the past would have been unacceptable,
said Franki.
37
3/15/13 6:43 AM
PROPPANT ADVANCES
Limited space on a drilling pad in northern New Mexico prompted Energen Resources to turn to ultralightweight
proppant. It reduced the number of transports needed to deliver the proppant to onecompared to 15 if sand had
beenused.
38
Proppant.indd 38
3/15/13 6:43 AM
PROPPANT ADVANCES
The trucks clustered around the Energen Resources well are nitrogen transports. By using proppant which is so light it
can float in water, Halliburton was able reduce the pumping pressure for the nitrogen foam job 25 bbl per minute, from
50 bbl per minute if sand was used.
40
Proppant.indd 40
3/15/13 6:43 AM
PROPPANT ADVANCES
Table 1PROPPANT TYPE AND ASSOCIATED SPECIFIC GRAVITY
Proppant
Natural sand
2.65
Lightweight ceramics
2.68 to 2.72
Intermediate-strength bauxite
~3.25
High-strength bauxite
~3.5
Walnut shells
~1.25
Porous ceramics
Plastics
TPA
1.08
Proppant.indd 41
In a Tight Zone
Ultralightweight proppant made it possible for Energen
Resources to complete four wells in a national forest in New
Mexico on drillsites so small the phrase frac spread was
not a good description.
The solution was a proppant developed by Halliburton
and produced by Sabic, called MonoProp made out of thermo
plastic alloy. It reduced the amount of proppant needed for
each well to an average of nearly 31,000 lb, compared to an
average of 296,000 lb for five comparable wells elsewhere in
the Pictured Cliffs tight gas formation, according to a paper
on the project.
If we had to do it the conventional way we would not
have been able to do the project, said Patricio Sanchez,
senior district engineer at Energen, which has operations
in the Black Warrior basin of Alabama, the Permian Basin
in west Texas, and the San Juan basin in New Mexico
andColorado.
Switching to lower-weight proppant reduced the
number of containers needed to deliver it from 15 to one, and
also reduced the pumping capacity needed for the nitrogen
foam job done by Halliburton. The proppant, whose density
is among the lowest in its class, can be pumped at 25 bbl per
minute, compared to 50 bbl per minute with sand. That helps
to control fracture height growth and to keep the job more in
the zone, Sanchez said.
A paper presented by Halliburton and Energen
Resources at this years fracturing conference concluded
that using the ultralightweight proppant may have added to
production as well.
The proppant was chosen after comparison test
with other competitors. It was able to stand up to the
closure pressure in the shallow formation, as well as to
41
4/3/13 10:57 AM
PROPPANT ADVANCES
the production chemicals the company planned to use,
Sanchezsaid.
The results of the four gas wells were compared to
fivewells drilled into the same formation and fractured
using20/40 mesh sand. By far the best producing well was
drilled by Energen, while the two worst were in the control
group fractured using conventional materials in what
he said was a better reservoir. The other six wells were
tightlybunched.
Sanchez was pleased because we compared it to wells
in a better reservoir, and actually ours performed better.
Proppant Placement?
There is more than 50 years of mathematical work on
how fluids and gases flow through fractures. But a lot of
questions remain for debate.
In a keynote speech at this years fracturing conference
on conductivity, Bruce Meyer of Meyer and Associates
offered an overview, running through a forest of formulas
dating back to the 1960s.
But there are still differences among experts on the
importance of proppant. His conclusion was: If you go out
and do not pump proppant, I do not think you will do as well.
Arguments about what proppant does are hard to
resolve because of uncertainty about where it goes. At the
fracturing conference booth for MicroSeismic, a company
named after the approach it uses to monitor fracturing work,
one the most-asked questions was: Where did my proppant
go downhole?
And there are theories that one reason fracture
performance varies so widely is because some spots get
more proppant than others.
To help shed light on the subject Halliburton did a
study simulating the flow of sand through a row of three
perforations along a wellbore using an above-ground flow
loop. The goal was to answer the question: Can differences
in the amount of proppant help explain wide production
differences observed within wells?
The answer was, the distribution varies. Heavier
sand and ceramics tended to flow into the last of the three
openings on the test loop, possibly because its momentum
carried it farther than the fluid. Smaller grains were more
likely to flow out the first. Adding gel to make the fluid more
viscous evened out the distribution.
And after the series of tests, the friction of the flow
had cut deeply into the hardware used to connect the three
42
Proppant.indd 42
diverter lines on the flow loop even though the pumping rate
usedup to 14 bbl per minutewas a fraction of what is
pumped in a well.
When asked about why the lower pressure was used,
the paper presenter, Freddy Crespo, an applications engineer
at the Halliburton Technology Center, said higher pressures
were not an option because of the limits of the test setup,
adding: If you go to higher flow rates it will explode.JPT
4/3/13 10:57 AM
44
Proppant.indd 44
3/15/13 6:44 AM
Proppant.indd 45
45
3/25/13 7:32 AM
46
Proppant.indd 46
3/15/13 6:44 AM
ROCK TESTER
These 3D digital images are incredibly detailed, but they are based on cubes
whose longest side is 1020 micrometersmillionths of a metermaking
them small enough to fit into the spaces
in porous sandstone. When it comes to
building reservoir models, it leaves engineers wanting more.
The real challenge is we are creating micron-sized images and dealing
with square miles of resources, said
48
RockTesterOU.indd 48
Carl Sondergeld, a professor at the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (OU). If we can transcend those
scales we can do a better job of characterizing reservoirs.
In the pursuit of more, he and Chandra Rai, professor and director of the
Mewbourne School, have built up one of
the largest unconventional rock research
laboratories, backed by 12 oil companies.
The focus has been on understanding
the workings of the nearly impermeable rocks, which has changed how some
properties are measured.
The large lab displays Sondergelds
constant hunt for improved tools for analyzing how rocks and reservoirs perform.
The laboratory recently added the latest
generation of scanning electron microscopes from one of the biggest makers of
these instruments, FEI.
One thing that sets this FIBSEM
machine apart is its ability to stitch
together thousands of micron-scale
images to create 2D pictures covering
rock surfaces measured in millimeters
rather than micrometers. These hyperdetailed pictures offer an overview of
an area, with the option of zooming in
for a closer look to see if low-resolution impressions are correct. They often
arenot.
Another plus is its ability to create
images using extremely low poweras
low as a 100 V compared with 30,000V
for older machinescreating images
that may offer better ways of measuring critical details, such as the amount of
kerogenthe organic material that is the
source of the oil and gas.
And then there is the deal that
brought that machine and two related
3/15/13 8:55 AM
Making It Quantitative
RockTesterOU.indd 49
A closer look at the lower right side of the image shows the organic
matter as solid, roughly parallel layers spaced by a mix of quartz, calcite,
and clay grains. The bright white particles are pyrite (iron sulfide) crystals
arranged in what is called a pyrite framboid.
49
3/15/13 8:55 AM
ROCK TESTER
rock are representative. Engineers want
data accuracy. They want to know if you
say 12% it is 12%, Bruce said. Engineers think in black and white. Geologists not so much.
Another of the 585 images shows solid organic matter through the middle
of the image, including a band of broken organic particles.
A closer look at the band of particles suggests it was the result of an event
that ground down the organics and minerals into fine particles. Other wells
nearby with rocks exhibiting this fabric are not productive. One explanation
is the natural gas once stored in the organic pores might have escaped
when that deformation destroyed the organic space in the rocks.
50
RockTesterOU.indd 50
The rise of unconventional oil exploration has created a hunger for greater magnification. Prior to the shale
boom FEI would sell a couple of electron microscopes a year to oil and gas
companies, and not the most powerful ones, said Herman Lemmens, oil
and gas market development manager
at FEI. A top-of-the-line machine was
not needed to see the details in porous,
conventionalreservoirs.
But in recent years, Lemmens said
sales have soared for its most powerful FIBSEMs to oil operators and service companies around the world trying
to better understand formations where
they are investing billions of dollars with
mixed results. The instrument maker is
trying to replicate what it did in the semiconductor business, where its machines
are part of the manufacturing process,
Lemmens said.
The new machine that will be
installed in the OU lab when building
upgrades are completed creates images so large they are measured in gigabytes1 billion bytesshowing details
measured in nanometers1 billionth
ofa meter.
An example of what it could do is
an intricately detailed mosaic combining
12,800 images that it stitched together in
the way some cameras can combine pictures. It is possible to zoom in and out
of the 150-GB computer file covering an
area the size of a thumbnail, like using
Google Earth.
The presentation by Lemmens of
that picture of a Marcellus shale starts
with an overview, which looks like a granite countertop. The background is a range
of grays that is spotted, streaked, and
flecked with black spots where organic
material is likely and the nearly white
ones with minerals.
A much closer look at the dark spots
reveal some looking like fractured lumps
3/15/13 8:55 AM
ROCK TESTER
These three images show a sample of shale and closeups of two areas within it holding organic matter. The
differences in those close ups point to the challenge of determining if organic matter is productive or not in a
low-resolution image.
52
RockTesterOU.indd 52
Multiple Sources
3/15/13 8:55 AM
RockTesterOU.indd 53
An Element of Surprise
The near-term goal for the OU-FEI collaboration is well defined: create easier-to-use machines that are able to consistently produce better images and
quickeranalysis.
FEI will be sending an employee to observe how things are done at
OUwhere Lemmens said the quality is consistently goodwith an eye
toward incorporating those techniques
into algorithms that automate the process of creating multiple images, perhaps
prompting the FIBSEM operator to adjust
the settings for improved results in later
shots. FEI will also be offering regular
training programs for users on how to
better use the devices.
In the longer term, the expectations
are not as defined. They will be looking
53
3/25/13 7:35 AM
CONFERENCE REVIEW
With this background, the SPE Middle East Unconventional Gas Conference and Exhibition (UGAS) was held
in Oman to address the best practices and techniques used for the development of unconventional resources in
the region. Under the theme Unconventional and Tight Gas: Bridging the
Gap for Sustainable Economic Development, the conference highlighted the
latest developments related to tight gas
and shared success stories about the
development of tight wells from regions
all over the world. The 3-day conference highlighted the criteria, challenges,
and environment required for successful unconventional gas production and
how it implicates the long-term global supply of natural gas. Thirteen technical sessions along with poster and
e-poster stations offered 90 presentations from more than 35 companies and
18 countries.
Delivering the keynote speech, Zaid
bin Khamis al Siyabi, director general
of oil and gas exploration and production at the Ministry of Oil and Gas in the
Sultanate of Oman, said the Sultanate
recently began searching for and exploring unconventional gas resources, and
needs to make more natural gas available
to local industries. The importance of
unconventional resources for the sultanate is really huge, al Siyabi said.
Egbert Imomoh, 2013 SPE president, meets with delegates at the conference.
54
UGAS_Review.indd 54
3/14/13 1:32 PM
UGAS_Review.indd 55
55
3/14/13 3:44 PM
CONFERENCE REVIEW
Larry Ryan, Business Director of Dow Oil & Gas, says tough environmental
conditions are dictating technology requirements in the Middle East and North Africa
56
UGAS_Review.indd 56
a good knowledge of reservoir quality and deliverability, and the well productivity, its type, and spacing. A good
water-management plan, knowledge of
the completion needs and the gathering and processing needs, as well as the
development-staging plans and pace are
also needed.
The right plan also necessitates
knowledge of the location, and whether it requires single or multiwell pads,
and well design, which could be vertical
or horizontal, a single lateral or multilateral, in addition to the lateral length.
Knowing the completions requirements
also is essential, he said, including flowback and testing, artificial lift, and water
management. Several completion techniques can be used, he said, such as plug
and perf, openhole multistage, or abra-
3/14/13 1:32 PM
Zaid bin Khamis al Siyabi, director of oil and gas for the Oman Ministry of Oil
and Gas, toured the exhibition area and met with exhibitors.
Because of the different nature of exploration risk, the requirement of a sustained investment profile, and the (need
for) operational efficiency, it is important
to have a new approach when developing
unconventional gas, he said.
In the US, the development of
unconventional gas was done mainly by
independents rather than major oil companies. US independents were the pacesetters, Davies said.
Davies also compared the US unconventional gas success with the Middle
Easts potential. While there are several similarities between the two regions,
Middle East countries need to work more
on the subsurface, economics, and regulatory factors, said Davies.
Regarding the subsurface, new
workflows are required to test low datadensity plays at low cost. For economics, Davies said that innovative policies
will likely emerge in the Middle East, and
the regions existing regulatory structure
may need updating. JPT
UGAS_Review.indd 57
3/25/13 7:39 AM
Helge Haldorsen
is vice president
strategy and
portfolio for
Statoil
Development and
Production North
America, based in
HALDORSEN
Houston, Texas.
He worked for Norsk Hydro in various
roles, including chief reservoir
engineer, vice presidenttechnology
and competence, vice president
exploration and research, senior
vicepresidentinternational
exploration and production, and
presidentHydro Gulf of Mexico.
Haldorsen has also held various
engineering positions at British
Petroleum, Standard Oil of Ohio
(Sohio), and ExxonMobil (Esso). He
wasa second lieutenant in the Royal
Norwegian Navy and professor of
industrial mathematics at the
University of Oslo.
Haldorsen earned an MS in
petroleum engineering from the
Norwegian Institute of Technology
and a PhD in reservoir engineering
from The University of Texas at Austin.
He currently serves on the Offshore
Technology Conference board of
directors and the external advisory
board for the Cockrell School of
Engineering at The University of Texas
at Austin.
58
BoardNoms.indd 58
David Curry is a
Baker Hughes
technology fellow,
based in London,
UK. Prior
positions with
Baker Hughes
include director of
CURRY
drill bit research
and technical manager of drilling
optimization. He has more than 25 years
experience in drilling research and
technology development, primarily
related to drill bits and bit/rock
interactions, and to drilling performance
improvement. Before joining the oil
industry he worked on nuclear power
plant integrity.
Curry was named an SPE
Distinguished Member in 2010.
He is chair of SPEs Research and
Development (R&D) Advisory
Committee, past chair of SPEs R&D
Technical Section, and has served
on SPEs Drilling and Completions
Advisory Committee, Drilling and
Completions Award Committee, and
Books Development Committee. He
was executive editor of SPE Drilling
and Completion, and in 2007 was
named A Peer Apart for peer reviewing
more than 100 SPE papers. Curry has
published more than 40 papers, been
awarded eight patents, and coauthored
one book. He earned an MA in
Howard Duhon
works as systems
engineering
manager and
principal for
Gibson Applied
Technology &
Engineering
DUHON
(known as GATE),
based in Houston, Texas. He has 38
years experience in the petrochemical
and oil and gas industries, mainly in
process design and project engineering
roles. For the past 15 years that work
has mainly involved deepwater
developments and has been focused
onmanaging the interfaces between
topsides and other disciplines. He has
worked on offshore projects for Noble
Energy, BHP Billiton, Shell, Unocal/
Chevron, Anadarko, Helix, and
BritishPetroleum.
Duhon earned a BS degree
in chemical engineering from the
University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Throughout his career he has had
a particular interest in the study of
decision theory and in the application
of that knowledge to improve
projectexecution.
3/14/13 1:22 PM
Bob Garland is a
senior technical
advisor for
Universal Well
Services, based
inMeadville,
Pennsylvania. He
has more than 30
GARLAND
years experience
in many aspects of the oil and gas
industry, including well logging and
perforating, as an engineer and
operations manager. Garland has also
worked in the cementing and hydraulic
fracturing phases as a consultative
salesengineer.
He has served as board member
of SPEs Pittsburgh Section and is a
member of the Pittsburgh Association
of Petroleum Geologists. Garland is a
veteran of the US Navy. He earned a BS
in civil engineering from Michigan State
University and an MBA from Robert
Morris University.
Director, Mid-Continent
North America Region
Michael Tunstall
is Halliburtons
North American
region manager
Easywell
technology. He
hasbeen with
Halliburton for 31
TUNSTALL
years, serving in a
variety of roles including operations,
knowledge management, procurement,
business development, and account
leadership. Tunstall has worked in North
and South America land, Gulf of Mexico,
and China.
Tunstall earned an associate in
artsdegree, with high honors from
Houston Community College. He has
served as SPE Dallas Section education
chair and SPE Denver Section chair, and
serves on the SPE International Section
Activities Committee. Texas Monthly
Magazine and the Texas Independent
Producers and Royalty Owners
Association recognized Tunstall in
60
BoardNoms.indd 60
Darcy Spady
serves as director
of client solutions
for Sanjel
Corporations
Canadian business
unit. Before this,
he was vice
SPADY
president and
managing director of Saint Brendans
Exploration, focusing on the Canadian
Maritimes and Europe. Spady also
chairs the board of directors of Green
Imaging Technologies of Fredericton,
New Brunswick, Canada. He has
previously held executive positions with
Contact Exploration and Petroglobe
Inc. Spady has also been based in
Charleston, West Virginia, USA, and
Fredericton, New Brunswick, as part of
the Columbia Natural Resources/ Triana
Energy team, in various management
positions. He has an extensive
background in the natural gas and oil
industry throughout the US and
Canada, having worked for
Schlumberger in western Canada,
Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada
offshore, as well as the Illinois and the
Appalachian basins.
Spady earned a BS in petroleum
engineering from the University of
Alberta and is a registered petroleum
engineer in the Canadian provinces of
Alberta and New Brunswick. He is a past
chair of the SPE Calgary Section.
Carlos A.
Chalbaud is a
senior reservoir
engineer at GDF
Suez Exploration
and Production
UK, working on
operated assets in
CHALBAUD
the southern
North Sea and nonoperated highpressure/high-temperature assets in
Director, At-Large
Liu Zhenwu is
senior advisor at
the Advisory
Center, China
National
Petroleum
Corporation
(CNPC). He has
LIU
more than 30
years experience as a professional in
Chinas oil and gas industry, particularly
in R&D management and technology
innovation. From 1976 to 1994, he held
various positions in the Xinjiang
Petroleum Administration, including
petroleum engineer, chief engineer, and
3/14/13 1:22 PM
Anyone can nominate a candidate for a Board position. The nomination period
opens in September each year, and runs through 1 December for the position of
president, and through 15 December for other open Board positions.
Next years list of open positions, nominee qualifications, and nomination
forms, as well as further submission guidelines, will be available sometime during
September at this location: http://www.spe.org/about/nominate.php. The process
involves filling out an online nomination form and attaching supporting documents
that include a CV, rsum, and letters of support.
Submissions made using the online process are reviewed by the Nominating
Committee. This committee is chaired by the immediate past president and meets
in January to make recommendations for the available positions. The 12-member
2013 Nominating Committee Roster can be viewed at http://www.spe.org/about/
docs/nominatingroster.pdf.
Nominating Committee recommendations are submitted to the Board of
Directors for ratification at its March meeting. Members can consider the Boardapproved nominees through biographical information provided via www.spe.org
and through the article you are reading, which is mandated to appear in the April
issue of the Journal of Petroleum Technology.
The SPE Constitution provides for these nominees to stand as elected unless
SPE members nominate additional candidates by 1 June. Additional nominations
require a petition from at least 1% of SPE membership or, for regional director
nominees, 1% of the regions membership (with no more than 75% of the
petitioners from any one section). The Constitution also specifies provisions for a
ballot election if any qualified petitions are received by 1 June.
If the Board slate is elected, the person nominated president would take
officeas president-elect at the close of the societys Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition (held this year in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 30 September
2 October). The other nominees would begin 3-year terms at this time as well.
BoardNoms.indd 61
61
3/25/13 7:44 AM
MANAGEMENT
90
BOPD, millions
85
80
75
Supply
Demand
70
65
2001
2002
2003
2004
2009
2010
2011
Fig. 1Historically, global oil production has not kept up with demand, in part
because of the slow transfer and uptake of new technologies. Source: Energy
Information Administration
62
ManagementApril.indd 62
cent markets such as the military, medical, optics, and information technology
sectors. For example, military technology developed during World War II played
a large part in modernizing the upstream
industry in the 1950s and later years.
Some of the innovations that migrated from military technology include
shaped charges, gravity-based structures, and reeled pipelines and umbilicals. Shaped charges were adopted by the
industry for use in tubular perforation
and separation. Towed by the Allied forces from Britain, concrete gravity-based
structures were flooded in place off the
coast of France to serve as breakwaters
during the Invasion of Normandy. Later,
similar structures were used in the design
of offshore oil production facilities.
Reeled pipelines and umbilicals, used to
supply fuel across the English Channel
to Allied troops landing in Normandy,
became the basis for the coiled tubing
and umbilical techniques now used in oilfield operations.
More recently, nuclear magnetic
resonance and digital core analysis developed in the medical and chemical fields
respectively, have fostered technological
advances in exploration and production.
However, as significant as past technology transfer has been, it has occurred
haphazardly. What is now needed is a
more aggressive, organized system for
the transfer of external technology into
our industry. To create the ecosystem
necessary to accomplish this, we first
must honestly address a number of issues
that impede technology transfer.
Not on My Watch
3/14/13 1:34 PM
Quarterly Performance
Managed Chaos
ManagementApril.indd 63
A Proprietary World
A Way Ahead
63
3/25/13 7:25 AM
CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Technical Program
and Special Events
66
OTCPreviewApril.indd 66
breakfasts, The Next Wave daylong program for young professionals, and Energy Education Institute sessions for teachers and high school students.
Ethical questions are encountered
daily by offshore companies and their
employees, and they can be challenging
in certain environments. An ethics breakfast on Monday, Ethics in the Dynamic
Offshore Industry, will be given by Barbara Thompson, senior vice president
at Aker Solutions, and Dan Tearpock,
chief executive of Subsurface Consultants
andAssociates.
Panel Sessions
Nine panel sessions will take place during the conference. The Monday morning panel is Agile Project Management, moderated by Dick Westney,
founder and director of Westney Consulting Group. The panel will discuss
how operators and contractors adapting
to the volatile environments of todays
offshore projects can adopt approaches that allow them to quickly react to
changing circumstances and economic drivers during project definition and
execution. The panel will feature operator and contractor organizations that
successfully implemented such agile
project-management strategies. Panelists are Stuart Wheaton, group development and operations manager,
Tullow Oil; Sandeep Khurana, manager
of development, major projects group,
Noble Energy; and Erik Namtvedt, president ofFloaTEC.
Invited organization DeepStar, an
operator-funded global research and
development group, will provide perspective about its current program in
3/14/13 1:35 PM
another Monday panel. The organizations mission is to facilitate a cooperative, globally aligned effort to
identify and develop economically viable deepwater methods to drill, produce, and transport oil and gas. Panelists are Kevin Kennelly, vice president
of engineering and technology, Global Projects Organization, BP; Stephen
Thurston, vice president of deepwater
exploration and projects, Chevron; Ram
Shenoy, chief technology officer, ConocoPhillips; Alain Goulois, vice president of research and development,
Total E&P; John Gremp, chairman and
chief executive, FMC Technologies; and
Occo Roelofsen, director of global oil
and gas practice, McKinsey and Company. The moderator is Greg Kusinski
of Chevron.
A Monday afternoon panel, State
and Federal Coordination on Offshore
Regulation Policy, chaired by Gamal
Hassan of ADH International Group,
and moderated by David Holt, president of Consumer Energy Alliance,
will discuss the appropriate role of US
coastal states and the US federal government in making decisions about US
offshoredevelopment.
A Tuesday morning panel, Global
Energy Outlook: Shaping the Future,
will be chaired by Gamal Hassan of ADH
International Group.
A Tuesday afternoon panel, Active
ArenaChina: Energy, Technology, and
Industry, will be cochaired by Joseph
M. Reilly of ExxonMobil and Doreen
Chin of Shell International E&P. The session will present the perspectives of several major Chinese corporations. Topics
involve Chinas domestic demand and
energy source transition, its role as a
global explorer and producer and as
a major global service and technology
supplier. Panelists are Xu Erwen, Chinese consul general in Houston; Dwayne
Breaux, president and chief executive,
Wison Offshore and Marine USA, and
executive vice president, Wison Offshore
and Marine; Yan Cunzhang, president,
PetroChina CCAD; Yang Yun, executive
president, China Offshore Oil Engineer-
OTCPreviewApril.indd 67
FRYKLUND
MORRIS
KNOBLOCH
KAVANAGH
Topical Breakfasts
67
3/18/13 1:34 PM
CONFERENCE PREVIEW
MORALES-GIL
ABBAS
Industry Breakfasts
68
OTCPreviewApril.indd 68
WATSON
Topical Luncheons
HALDORSEN
3/14/13 1:35 PM
CONFERENCE AWARDS
he Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) announced the 15 technologies it has selected for its 2013 Spotlight on New
Technology Awards. The annual awards program showcases the latest in advanced technologies in offshore exploration
and production (E&P). The awards are applicable for hardware or software technologies. The criteria are as follows:
NewThe technology must be less than 2 years
old, dating to the first time it was introduced to the
marketplace, or was announced or advertised in a
conference, press release, or trade journal.
InnovativeIt must be original, groundbreaking,
and capable of revolutionizing the offshore E&P
industry.
ProvenIt must be proven either by full-scale
application or successful prototype testing. For
AWARD RECIPIENTS
ABB
Onboard DC-Grid
The Onboard DC-Grid uses direct current
(DC) as a means of transporting power
and energy to different clients on seaborne vessels, enabling variable speed
operation of the generator sets.
Compared with alternating current (AC) distribution systems on vessels, the DC system gives advantages
The ABB Onboard DC-Grid, right, can be retrofitted on existing vessel configurations or integrated with next-generation
equipment such as new propulsion systems or renewable energy sources.
70
OTCSpotlightApril.indd 70
3/14/13 1:38 PM
The Baker Hughes FASTrak Logging-While-Drilling system combines realtime in-situ fluid measurement, downhole capture and retrieval, and real-time
formation pressure tests.
Baker Hughes
OTCSpotlightApril.indd 71
nomics. Pressure-volume-temperature
properties, such as bubble-point pressure, gas/oil ratio, viscosity, oil formation volume factor, and detailed composition are important for various reasons,
including analysis of well performance,
71
3/14/13 1:38 PM
CONFERENCE AWARDS
FMC Technologies Condition and Performance Monitoring combines continuous monitoring with a historic database for
the identification of trends and deviations.
Neptune subsea flow assurance insulation over Neptune Fusion Bonded Epoxy
(for line pipe and field joint only) eliminates the need for multiple and adhesive tie layers, contributes to a thinner
coating profile, and maintains a consistent low K-factor from tree to line pipe to
field joint, thus reducing potential risks
associated with bonding dissimilar and
potentially incompatible materials.
FMC Technologies
72
OTCSpotlightApril.indd 72
fault may be difficult and costly to rectify. Also, subsea systems provide much
information through instrumentation,
flow, and response during operation. The
CPM system presents an opportunity to
monitor and assess component health
throughout the life of the field.
The CPM combines continuous
monitoring of the system with a historic
database that will enable trends and deviations to be identified. It provides the
operator with early warning when components start to deteriorate, enabling
fault-finding, proactive response, and
the ability to plan required maintenance resulting in minimal disruption
toproduction.
3/14/13 1:38 PM
CONFERENCE AWARDS
74
OTCSpotlightApril.indd 74
Reelwell
3/14/13 1:38 PM
The Reelwell Riserless Drilling Method includes dual drillpipe, and a top drive adapter, flow control unit, and dual float
valve.
SBM Offshore
OTCSpotlightApril.indd 75
ShawCor
75
3/14/13 1:38 PM
CONFERENCE AWARDS
Statoil
76
OTCSpotlightApril.indd 76
3/14/13 1:38 PM
CONFERENCE AWARDS
Superior Energy Services Complete Automated Technology System uses remotely operated or preprogrammed robotics
to control completion components.
Wrtsil
Wrtsil GasReformer
Associated gas or volatile organic compounds (VOC) cannot normally be used
as flexible and efficient sources of energy
because of variations and inadequacies in
gas quality.
Gas quality involves uniformity
and the ability to withstand compression
in an engine (methane number, MN).
All combustion engines based on the
Otto cycle, including Wrtsils Dual Fuel
(DF) engines, need fuel gas of a high MN
(>80) to operate at full performance.
Complete Automated
Technology System
Complete Automated Technology System (CATS) is an onshore and offshore
completion services rig that uses remotely operated or preprogrammed robotics
to control various completion compo-
78
OTCSpotlightApril.indd 78
3/14/13 1:38 PM
CONFERENCE AWARDS
The Welltec Well Cutter uses a rotating head to remove pipe incrementally,
preventing fine debris shavings from the cutting operation that could impede
well completion and hardware.
debris from the cutting operation cannot therefore cause any issues with completion or wellbore hardware. Also, the
resulting cut is a smooth surface that
could preclude the need for a polishing trip with drillpipe. It is conveyed on
electric line for accurate depth control
and incorporates a fail safe mechanism
that prevents the tool from getting stuck
in case of powerfailure.
As an important health, safety,
and environmental improvement, the
tool eliminates the need for explosives
required by most industry alternatives.
Explosives can pose an operational risk,
especially when simultaneous operations are being conducted. Transfer of
explosives may also cause additional
logistical requirements and significant
operational delays. Considering the cost
of rigs, complex logistics, and exposure
of workers, the Well Cutter offers a safer,
faster, reliable, and more cost-effective
approach to cutting drillpipe and casing.
Welltec
Well Cutter
The Well Cutter is a tool that enables
efficient and safe drillpipe and casing
recovery operations without the need
for explosives. It is self-centralizing and
removes pipe incrementally so no shavings are generated, and a smooth, polished surface remains after the bevelcut.
The tool uses a rotating head to
remove pipe incrementally, and the fine
80
OTCSpotlightApril.indd 80
3/14/13 1:39 PM
TECHNOLOGY
Helio Santos,
SPE, holds BS and
MS degrees in
civil engineering
from the Catholic
University in Rio
de Janeiro and a
PhD degree in geological engineering
from the University of Oklahoma. He
joined Petrobras as a drilling engineer
in 1983, having worked onshore and
offshore, and led several projects
on underbalanced drilling, wellbore
instability, deepwater drilling, and
drilling optimization in the research
and development center. In 2001,
Santos joined Impact Engineering
Solutions as vice president of
technology. In 2004, he became
president of Impact Solutions Group,
and, in 2007, he was also appointed
president of the Secure Drilling JV,
which was sold in June 2009. Santos
is currently president of Safekick
Limited, focusing on well control,
safety, and drilling optimization. He
has authored several papers, holds
two patents, and has served on several
industry committees, including the JPT
EditorialCommittee.
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 152861 A Solution to the Problems
Associated With Tight-Clearance
Boreholes: The Close-Tolerance Press-Fit
Stop Collar by J.A. Wimberg, Chevron,
etal.
SPE/IADC 151182 Blowout Preventer
Health Monitoring by Jim McKay, BP, et al.
OFFSHORE DRILLING
AND COMPLETION
We all know that things have changed significantly for offshore drilling and completion in the last 3 years. Regulations have been reviewed, and operational procedures
and requirements have changed. Requirements for the well design to be reviewed by
independent parties and new equipment testing procedures and certification were just
a few additions that regulators brought to the scene. Several initiatives were launched
to develop equipment to cap flowing wells offshore, new ways to record and control
testing of critical equipment, and new systems to assess and monitor the barriers
present in the well more effectively.
The industry has shown a significant creativity, as usual, to demonstrate to society in general that we can continue to drill and produce hydrocarbons offshore in a
responsible manner. And, by offshore, we now mean wells located in waters as deep
as 10,000 ft. In the industrys move toward these challenging environments, most of
the time we use technology known and proved for shallow waters and just resize the
equipment. However, the challenges are not restricted to a deeper column of water.
Many wells are facing additional challenging situations such as being subsalt or presalt, having high-pressure/high-temperature prospects, and having total depths in
excess of 25,000 ft. Many specific conditions must be addressed in these new environments, and simply extending the envelope of current solutions to more challenging
conditions may not be enough or suitable anymore. The lack of riser margin and the
challenges posed by a long chokeline during well control operations are just two examples of the new conditions that did not exist 30 years ago and, therefore, require a shift
in the thinking process to allow wells to be drilled and completed more economically
in these new challenging environments.
After a period of uncertainty for offshore operations, wells are now being
drilled again, albeit under more strict rules and guidelines. Most of the new rules
and guidelines have been applied to well design and the preoperational phase. It is
important also that operations be conducted under proper conditions, providing
people on the job with all the means and tools necessary for them to conduct their
jobssuccessfully.JPT
82
1ODCFocusApril.indd 82
3/14/13 10:35 AM
Introduction
Fourchon, Louisiana (Fig. 1). The purpose of this exploration well was to evaluate the potential resource of the subsalt
Pleistocene, Pliocene, and Miocene formations. On the basis of seismic data,
there were no shallow hazards and no
hydrocarbons above the salt structure.
The Hadrian-5 well had an approved
permit and a rig on location at the time
of the moratorium, but the work was suspended and the rig was released to work
on the Macondo spill response. The drill
team, in conjunction with the geoscience
and regulatory organizations, revised the
exploration plan and the application for
permit to drill (APD) beginning in July
2010 to meet the new regulatory require-
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper
SPE 154928, Challenges Associated With Drilling a Deepwater, Subsalt Exploration
Well in the Gulf of Mexico: Hadrian Prospect, by Mark C. Moyer, SPE, Scott B.
Lewis, SPE, Mike T. Cotton, SPE, and L. Miles Peroyea, SPE, ExxonMobil, prepared
for the 2012 SPE Deepwater Drilling and Completions Conference, Galveston, Texas,
2021June. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.
JPT APRIL 2013
OD154928.indd 83
83
3/14/13 10:29 AM
OD154928.indd 84
3/25/13 7:49 AM
k_Dril
OD154928.indd 85
pore pressure as measured with connection gas units (pumps off), shale resistivity decrease, and the LWD formation
pressure tool. A 7-in. liner was run and
cemented at 18,249 ft.
A 6-in. hole section was drilled
to total depth of 19,631 ft. The drillstring consisted of three sizes: 5, 5,
and 4in. The 5-in. drillpipe was run
inside the riser and 13-in. casing, the
5-in. drillpipe was run inside the 11-in.
liner, and the 4-in. drillpipe was run
inside the 9-in. liner and the 7-in. liner
(as well as the open hole).
Challenges
3/25/13 7:48 AM
Corrosion Cap
Seawater
Water Depth=6,941 ft
Subsurface/7,047 ft
Derrick Floor (DF)
Surface Plug
7,1507,450 ft
13.4-lbm/gal NAF
22-in. Casing
at 9,646-ft DF
13.4-lbm/gal NAF
13.4-lbm/gal NAF
13.4-lbm/gal
NAF
Isolation Plug
17,54018,080 ft
Tested to 2,178 psi
7-in. Safety Valve
at 18,080 ft
Tested to 2,150 psi
OH Plug #4
18,09918,263 ft
OH Plug #3
18,26318,539 ft
OH Plug #2
18,53919,068 ft
OH Plug #1
19,06819,631 ft
Legend:
Rafted Carbonate
Salt
Sand
OD154928.indd 86
3/25/13 7:48 AM
OD154928.indd 87
Conclusions
87
3/25/13 7:49 AM
The Goliat field is an oil and gas discovery in the southwestern Barents Sea. Goliat contains two main oil-bearing reservoirs (Realgrunnen and Kobbe) with
28106std m3 of recoverable oil reserves.
In addition, the field contains 8.8109
std m3 of gas. The field is approximately
85km from the city of Hammerfest in the
county of Finnmark and approximately
50 km southeast of the Snhvit offshore
gas field (Fig. 1). The water depth in the
license area is between 248 and 436 m.
The Goliat field is to be developed by
22 subsea wells drilled from eight templates linked to a circular floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO)
facility (Fig. 2).
The Goliat development represents
one of the largest industrial projects ever
The Goliat oil spill contingency requirements are based on environmental risk
assessments and oil spill contingency
analyses conducted according to prevailing industry guidelines in Norway.
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper
SPE 156773, Implementation of the Oil Spill Preparedness for the Goliat Offshore
Oilfield DevelopmentThe First Oilfield Development in the Barents Sea, by Erik
Bjrnbom and Ole Hansen, Eni Norge; Frode Engen, Statoil; and Sjur W. Knudsen,
Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies, prepared for the 2012
SPE/APPEA International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment in Oil and
Gas Exploration and Production, Perth, Australia, 1113 September. The paper has
not been peer reviewed.
For the Goliat exploration and production drilling, the dimensioning scenario is a surface spill of oil from the Realgrunnen formation, with a weighted
discharge rate of 4594 m3/d and weighted
duration of 7 days.
The oil spill contingency in Norway is
divided into four consequence-reducing
barriers (Fig. 3) in addition to riskreducing barriers, which are mainly
well and process barriers. Norwegian
consequence-reducing barriers for an oil
spill are
Barrier 1Combating oil spills in
the open sea close to the source
of the discharge
Barrier 2Recovery of oil along
the drift trajectory of the spill
(between the source and the
coast)
Barrier 3Combat measures
in coastal areas and near the
shoreline
Barrier 4Measures for cleaning
the beaches
The barriers in the open sea will be
made up by NOFO systems consisting of
oil-recovery vessels with tank capacity
of 10002000 m3, 400 m of heavy offshore boom, and skimmers with capacity of up to 10,000 B/D. The coastal barrier will be based on the use of smaller
vessels, including a pool of fishing vessels and equipment suited for coastal
waters. On the beaches, the regional intermunicipal contingency organizations
will have a key role, assisted by regional, national, and international resources.
The Goliat oil spill contingency will also
include the capability to use ship-based
dispersantsystems.
The aim for Goliat oil spill preparedness is to be robust, effective, and well
adapted to local conditions. The aim will
be realized through the following three
specific initiatives new to Norwegian oil
fields, in addition to other initiatives:
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.
88
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3/14/13 10:32 AM
Goliat
For a number of years, Norwegian authorities have focused on early detection and monitoring of acute pollution.
Goliat has focused on this issue since the
field was identified, and leak detection
90
OD156773.indd 90
3/14/13 10:32 AM
the safety standby vessel will have a remotely operated observation vehicle
that, among other tasks, will inspect the
field internal pipelines at regular intervals. The Goliat risers will be equipped
with sensors that can detect inflow of hydrocarbons into the annulus.
The Goliat FPSO, safety standby vessel, and supply vessels will be equipped
with oil-detecting radar and nitrogencooled infrared cameras that can be used
to detect, measure relative thickness of,
and track oil on the sea surface. The ves-
TEAM 2
TEAM 3
2 Coast/fjord systems
6 fishing vessels
2 high-speed booms
2 skimmers
2 storage units
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION
2 Coast/fjord systems
6 fishing vessels
2 high-speed booms
2 skimmers
2 storage units
3 Coast/fjord systems
6 fishing vessels
3 coastal booms
3 skimmers
3 storage units
TRANSPORT TEAMS
Fig. 4Example of setup for the use of the fishing vessel pool in coastal areas.
OD156773.indd 91
3/25/13 7:47 AM
Traditionally, this barrier has been organized with one-sided focus on beach
cleaning after the acute phase is over.
Experience from oil spill response oper-
OD156773.indd 92
3/25/13 7:47 AM
Status Quo
The solutions that the industry has embarked on to address these challenges
have often been overly complex evolutionary developments instead of cleansheet designs, leading to high costs and
an unavoidable increase of mechanical
failure modes. The best example for this
approach is the current generation of
subsea BOPs. In their functionality, these
devices remain close to the original patent in 1929; but, today, they are very
large, complex, and heavy (350 tons) devices that require an enormous amount
of maintenance and testing.
Even if a BOP is closed on an inflow
in time so the flow is entirely contained
below the BOP, circulating out this kick
by an established drillers method very
often proves to be difficult if not impossible. This is mainly related to two factors.
One is the risk of hydrate formation. The
moment gas and free water are mixed
in the BOP area, hydrates will form. The
second factor is the narrow margin between fracture gradient and pore pressure. Very often, the formation is not
able to support the backpressure created
by the choke line friction, and circulation
without losses can never be established.
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper
OTC 22889, A Step Change in Safety: Drilling Deepwater Wells With Riser Margin, by
Robert Ziegler, SPE, Petronas, prepared for the 2012 Offshore Technology Conference,
Houston, 30 April3 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Copyright 2012 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission.
Dual-Gradient Drilling
Riser Margin
OD22889.indd 93
93
3/14/13 10:34 AM
A Simple Low-Complexity
Retrofit Dual-Gradient System
Water Depth
up to 10,000 ft
Conventional
Marine Riser
94
OD22889.indd 94
3/14/13 10:34 AM
500
Kill line
partially
displaced
with
jelled
water
KB to WL=48 ft
WL to flowline=43 ft
DP positioned 15 ft
above RKB
Choke for
air injection
Riser
1817 in.
13.2-lbm/gal
Closed
annular
3,118 ft RKB
Mudline 3,118 ft
3,160 ft RKB
Bottom of air
before released
10 bbl 3,160 ft RKB
20 bbl 3,366 ft RKB
30 bbl 3,581 ft RKB
50 bbl 4,012 ft RKB
5-in. drillpipe
to 4,650 ft
KB=Kelly bushing
WL=Water line
9 in.53.5 lbm/ft
P-110 casing
DP=Drillpipe
RKB=Rig kelly
bushing
OD22889.indd 95
3/25/13 7:50 AM
s eparator. With the fluid level at the maximum of 3,000ft, the void volume of the
riser is approximately 1,000 bbl. This
feature can be used to develop some new
well-controlprocedures.
The overarching objective of these
proposed well-control procedures is to
maintain or immediately regain primary
well control through overbalance exerted
by the mud column without ever having
to resort to secondary well-control methods unless set limits are exceeded.
If a positive (inflow) flow anomaly is
detected, the following measures should
be taken:
Stop mud return pumps and
maximize riser boost to increase
the fluid level in the riser quickly.
Leave the drilling pump rate as it
is. Stop drilling and space out.
Monitor both the flow intensity
indicator and the volume
totalizer to ensure that a set
maximum inflow intensity is not
exceeded, the inflow is actually
decreasing, and a set maximum
allowable gain is not exceeded.
The method of raising the fluid
level in the riser with full boost
pump rate and normal pump
rate on the drilling pumps allows
a gain in overpressure of close
to 100 psi/min (depending on
mud weight in the riser) above
ECD because the rig pumps are
not shut down. So, any typical
deepwater inflow should stop in a
minute or two.
Now, the decision must be made
about how to treat the inflow in the
wellbore. In a series of full-scale experiments conducted in 1986, defined quantities of air were injected
below the closed subsea BOP on a floating rig in 3,000 ft of water. The BOP
then was opened, and the behavior of
the riser filled with 13.2-lbm/gal waterbased mud was observed. Fig. 3 shows
the setup used for these experiments. The
effect of smaller quantities of air (10 or
20 bbl at depths yielding the equivalent
of up to 5,000-bbl surface gas volume)
was a stringing out in the riser and only
foaming and bubbles at the riser top, with
no unloading of the full riser or any slugs.
The observed limited effect of small
quantities of gas at depth is applicable
OD22889.indd 96
3/25/13 7:49 AM
TECHNOLOGY
George Hobbs,
SPE, is director at
Strategic Chemistry,
an independent oil
and gas production
consulting group.
Previously, he was
with Nalco/Exxon, Exxon Chemical
Energy Chemicals, NL Treating
Chemicals, Baroid, British Gas, Kemira
Oy, and Blue Circle Cement. Hobbs
has 36 years of experience in solving
oil and gas and geothermal drilling
and production problems in Europe,
the US, North Africa, the Middle East,
the Far East, and Australasia. He
studied at the University of Glasgow,
Brunel University, and the University
of Adelaide and holds a bachelors
degree in applied chemistry and a
graduate diploma in business. Hobbs
is a National Association of Corrosion
Engineers certified corrosion specialist
and chemical treatment specialist.
He is a past chairman of the SPE Gas
Technology TIG and served on the SPE
TIG Advisory Committee. Hobbs serves
on the SPE Production and Operations
Advisory Committee and the JPT
Editorial Committee.
98
2NGFocusApril.indd 98
NATURAL GAS
PROCESSING
AND HANDLING
On the 201st anniversary of the founding of the first commercial gas operation, the
Gas, Light and Coke Company (later British Gas), the future for natural gas has never
looked better.
In 2011, global natural gas reserves increased to the equivalent of approximately 80% of oil reserves. Unconventional gas sources are now a large proportion of US
natural gas supply, particularly tight and shale gas (30%) and coalbed methane (CBM)
(6%). Natural gas in 2011 contributed 24% of worldwide energy consumption, compared with 33% for oil and 30% for coal. CBM is also an important source of energy,
particularly in eastern Australia, where three CBM liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants
are under construction and a fourth and possibly a fifth are proposed. CBM and Western Australian conventional gas are set to make Australia the largest LNG exporter in
the world within 5 years.
Gas is likely to dominate energy supply because of improved available reserves,
lower carbon intensity, lesser environmental footprint, and long-term zero-carbon
goals involving CO2 capture and sequestration. In addition, removal of contaminants
such as water, hydrogen sulfide, and mercury has been improved through nano and
smart technologies. Safety improvement research and development is another key
objective of the industry.
Underground gas storage is now in greater usage for supply security, with smart
wireless technology becoming increasingly involved in its management.
Six floating LNG offshore production facilities are expected to come on stream
within this decade, five in Australasia and the other in offshore Malaysia.
The potential is for very remote deep small offshore gas reserves to be economically exploited using floating compressed natural gas (FCNG) technology. Because of
the massive effect of US unconventional gas production on LNG imports, gas producers such as Trinidad are reportedly reviewing their future gas export strategies and
considering FCNG.
Commercial exploitation of the known massive methane hydrate reserves is still
some time off. However, research in hydrate control is advancing the understanding
of hydrate physical chemistry. This research also has helped conventional deepwater
gas production where subsea/downhole heating now is used to prevent hydrate blockages. Early last year, the US and Japan successfully completed a field trial of methane
production from hydrates on the Alaska North Slope.
To find out more, attend the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston,
36May 2013. JPT
3/14/13 10:35 AM
Introduction
operation today treat and compress natural gas, either to reinject associated gas
or to export it by pipeline. This is the
same technology required to produce
CNG offshore.
An FCNG production vessel is a traditional gas floating production and offloading (FPO) unit with a high-pressure gas
transfer system to load Coselle CNG shuttle ships instead of a subsea pipeline.
CNG is transferred at near-ambient temperatures, so the hoses and transfer systems are the same as those used to transfer high-pressure gas and well fluids onto
an FPO unit.
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper
OTC 23615, Floating CNG: A Simpler Way To Monetize Offshore Gas, by David
Stenning, SPE, John Fitzpatrick, and Mark Trebble, Sea NG, prepared for the 2012
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 30 April3 May. The paper has not been
peer reviewed.
Copyright 2012 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission.
FCNG Advantages
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Conclusion
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Upstream Challenges
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper
SPE 154452, Challenges in Sour-Gas Handling for Kuwait Jurassic Sour Gas, by
Bader Nasser Al Qaoud, SPE, Kuwait Oil Company, prepared for the 2012 SPE Middle
East Unconventional Gas Conference and Exhibition, Abu Dhabi, 2325 January. The
paper has not been peer reviewed.
Downstream Challenges
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.
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Long-Term Projects
Conclusions
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3/25/13 7:51 AM
60
50
Liquid + Vapor
40
Pressure, bara
30-bara liquefaction
30
Vapor
Liquid
20
20-bara liquefaction
(solid formed)
Solid + Liquid
10
0
140
Solid + Vapor
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
Temperature, C
This article, written by Editorial Manager Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper
OTC 23261, Development of CO2-Tolerant LNG-Production System, by JungHan
Lee, Jeheon Jung, and Kyeongmin Kim, SPE, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine
Engineering, prepared for the 2012 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston,
20April3 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Copyright 2012 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission.
NG23261.indd 106
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Cluster LNG
0.1 barg
20 barg
Liquefaction temperature
161C
105C
50 ppm
10,000 ppm
0.3%
2%
0.57
1.2
504.2 kJ/kg
252.7 kJ/kg
* Based on 60 bar, 35C feed gas condition, refrigeration index at 35C ambient temperature, integral sum
of 1/(coefficient of performance) from ambient to liquefaction enthalpy ranges.
Cluster Concept
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Applications
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3/15/13 9:20 AM
TECHNOLOGY
HIGH-PRESSURE/
HIGH-TEMPERATURE
CHALLENGES
High-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) operations are projected to double in well
count over the next 6 years. In addition to this steady increase in activity, the conditions in these extreme wells will also become more severe as well depths, pressures,
and temperatures also trend higher.
In the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, one of the most extreme HP/HT wells
in that region has been drilled. As a means of addressing the challenges posed by tight
pore-pressure/fracture-gradient windows, managed-pressure-drilling (MPD) technologies were applied to minimize the effects of pressure fluctuations that occur in
standard drilling. The MPD technology, the so-called backpressure technique, uses
the controlled application of surface backpressure when mud circulation stops to
replace the incremental equivalent-circulating-density effects present when mud circulation is active. In addition to precise management of the pressure profiles imposed
on the formations, this active circulation and pressurization technology increases the
accuracy with which unwanted influxes can be detected. Influxes as small as 0.25 bbl
can be identified, thereby improving kick-detection capability.
In south Louisiana, the largest onshore drilling rig in the world has been drilling the deepest well ever drilled in that state, an accolade that is impressive given the
long heritage that Louisiana boasts with regard to HP/HT wells. Several operators
are active in this area, with a new state depth record being set by one well reaching a
depth of 25,500 ft. Another HP/HT prospect in this area is permitted for a total depth
of 29,000 ft. In another part of the world, Malaysia, operators are planning ultraHP/HT operations with bottomhole static temperatures above 430F. This includes
more than a dozen prospects in peninsular and east Malaysia. This region may prove
to be one of the most active areas for HP/HT operations in the near future.
HP/HT drilling and completions require careful planning, attention to detail,
robust testing and qualification programs, strong quality control, and thorough contingency planning. The ongoing industry successes addressing HP/HT challenges
globally are testament to the focus that our industry brings to bear as these challenges
are met and addressed. JPT
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HP/HT-hc
260C
500
Ultra-HP/HT
205C
400
HP/HT
150C
300
100
0
0
Introduction
In the exploration campaign in the Krishna Godavari basin off the east coast of
India, four wells were drilled, discovering
a very tight gas reservoir with an average
pressure of 12,000 psi and an average recorded temperature of 360F and classified as an HP/HT reservoir, as shown in
Fig. 1. This paper discusses the experience drilling four wells with a jackup rig
in average water depth of 60 m.
Well-A was the first well. Well-B discovered and flowed gas from stratigraphy
below the section encountered in WellA. Well-C encountered the same sands
found in Well-A, and additional shallower sands not encountered in WellA
or WellB were discovered. The reservoir section is overlain by shale. WellA was drilled in six sections because it
was the first exploratory well; the other
three wells were drilled in five sections.
All wells had sections of 36-, 26-, 17-,
12-, and 8-in. hole and Well-A had
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
241 MPa
200
138 MPa
Krisna
Godavari
wells
69 MPa
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
an additional 6-in. section. These sections were cased with 30-, 20-, 13-,
9-, and 7-in. liner casings, respectively,
and Well-A included a 5-in. liner. The reservoir section expected in 8-in. hole
from seismic and log data was proved
while drilling Well-A and was appraised
in Well-B, Well-C, and Well-D. Well-A and
Well-B were drilled to total depth with
water-based mud (WBM). The 12-in.
section of Well-C was drilled with WBM,
while the 8-in. section was drilled with
synthetic-oil-based mud (SOBM). The
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
of paper SPE 155320, Offshore Drilling and Well Testing of an HP/HT Gas Well: A Case
Study, by Prerak H. Shah, SPE, Harsh T. Pandya, SPE, Harsh Sharma, and Arpit
Saxena, SPE, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, prepared for the 2012 SPE Oil and
Gas India Conference and Exhibition, Mumbai, 2830 March. The paper has not been
peer reviewed.
ing were the result of unexpected variations in high pressure and temperature.
To mitigate problems associated with the
HP/HT environment, it was highly important that extensive planning be performed before any drilling, testing, or
stimulation operation. Seven drillstem
tests (DSTs) were performed in the four
wells, with bottomhole pressure and
temperature as high as 12,600 psi and
410F, respectively. HP/HT tools were
used during these DSTs, stressing the
selection of elastomer. The selection of
proper-grade tubing, HP/HT-rated seal
packer, gauges, and explosives was considered to be of great importance. The
surface-equipment package was selected
to meet the HP/HT requirement of these
wells because of the H2S, CO2, and sandproduction problems. Health, safety, and
environmental issues needed special care
to eliminate any loss of life or damage to
property without compromising the objectives of the operation.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.
JPT APRIL 2013
HP155320.indd 111
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1000
Offset Well 1 FG
Offset Well 2 LOT
Well A Pore Pressure
Well A LOT
Well B LOT Prediction
Well B LOT Prediction
2000
3000
4000
6000
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
lenging safety concern. All activities, including drilling, completion, and well
testing, expose equipment to the harsh
operating environment. Operating conditions approach the upper limit of hardware parameters, thus increasing the
chances of tool failure or metal fatigue
that could lead to lost rig time, cost overruns, and high replacement costs. To ensure safe and efficient operations, standard operating procedures should be
set and followed strictly. Quality-control
procedures for all materials and equipment should be established to ensure
that temperature and pressure operating
limits are not exceeded.
Drilling Fluid. During exploration, a significant understanding of the lithology,
formation tops, and associated drilling
risks and operational hazards must be acquired. High temperatures have a strong
influence on mud rheology, which has a direct relationship with drilling efficiency by
affecting well hydraulics and the suspension of cuttings. A well-designed mud program is essential, and a good mud program
preserves desirable rheological properties
at high temperature. It also balances the
mud weight to contain formation pressure
with minimum invasion to achieve a satisfactory rate of penetration in the wells.
During development, all intervals above
the reservoir sections were drilled with
WBM. Before entering the reservoir sec-
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HP155320.indd 113
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600
315
260
HNS
400
204
Temperature F
500
300
HMX
149
200
RDX
93
100
10
100
1,000
37
10,000
Time, hours
Fig. 3Temperature rating of explosives systems.
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HP155320.indd 115
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3/25/13 7:59 AM
Run-in position
Run-in position
Set in casing
Set in casing
Fig. 1System-A packer element in the run-in and set positions.
HP159182.indd 116
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Run-in position
Run-in position
Set in casing
Set in casing
Fig. 2System-B packer element in the run-in and set positions.
Material Characterization
Run-in position
Run-in position
Set in casing
Set in casing
Fig. 3New packer-seal system in the run-in and set positions.
118
Seal Manufacture
Test Qualification
Belclene
Belgard
lacide
HP159182.indd 118
3/14/13 11:04 AM
Rating-envelope Point
2425,000-lbf tension at 500F
Rating-envelope Point
325,000-psi pressure above
the seal with 490,000-lbf tension
at 500F
Rating-envelope Point
425,000-psi pressure above
the seal with 240,000-lbf tension
at 500F
Rating-envelope Point
5425,000-lbf compression at
500F
Temperature cycled from 500 to
250F with 25,000-psi pressure
below the seal and held for 1
hour, then heated back to 500F
Rating-envelope Point
625,000-psi pressure below
the seal with 365,000-lbf
compression at 500F
The pressure and load were held on
the packer for 1 hour. The bubble tank
was monitored for bubbles during the
final 15 minutes. Fig. 4 shows the packer
after testing. There was no damage to any
of the packer components.
HP159182.indd 119
Conclusions
3/25/13 7:55 AM
high-pressure/high-temperature
(HP/HT) exploration field in
Block PM on the northern side of the
Malay basin, Malaysia, is notorious for
a steeply rising pressure ramp, narrow
drilling-operation window (only 0.5
to 0.6 lbm/gal in the 14 and 9-in.
sections), and interbedded sand/coal
and shale formations. Block PM is
still in the exploration-and-appraisal
stage; therefore, petrophysical
information is limited. Well SBD-2
was the second attempt to reach and
cross the F and H sands. Formationpressure-while-drilling (FPWD) and
managed-pressure-drilling (MPD)
technologies were applied to drill this
well. FPWD provided a direct pressure
measurement while drilling to set
the lower boundary, and formationintegrity tests (FITs) with MPD
provided the upper boundary.
Introduction
The SB field has a relatively high temperature gradient and abnormal-pressure regimes. Challenges in this HP/HT
environment include a reduced kick tolerance, narrow drilling margin, higher
drilling-fluid densities, high temperature (limitations in formation-evaluation
equipment), wellbore ballooning, and
availability of personnel experienced in
HP/HT drilling.
Well SBD-2 had been considered undrillable because of its very narrow safedrilling margin. The previous attempt
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
of paper SPE 156888, Demonstrating the Value of Integrating FPWD Measurements
With Managed-Pressure Drilling To Drill Narrow Mud-Weight Windows Safely in an
HP/HT Environment, by L. Umar, SPE, I. Azian, N. Azree, and A.R.M. Ali, Petronas,
and A. Waguih, SPE, F. Rojas, SPE, S. Fey, SPE, B. Subroto, SPE, B. Dow, and
G. Garcia, SPE, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2012 SPE/IADC Managed Pressure
Drilling and Underbalanced Operations Conference and Exhibition, Milan, Italy,
2021 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
MPD Overview
The International Association of Drilling Contractors Subcommittee on Underbalanced and Managed Pressure
Drilling has made the following formal
definition of MPD. MPD is an adaptive
drilling process used to control the annular pressure profile precisely throughout the wellbore. The objectives are to
ascertain the downhole-pressure environmental limits and to manage the
annular hydraulic-pressure profile accordingly. MPD is intended to avoid continuous influx of formation fluids to the
surface. Any flow incidental to the operation will be contained safely by use of an
appropriateprocess.
The MPD process uses a
collection of tools and techniques
that may mitigate the risks and
costs associated with drilling
wells that have narrow downholeenvironmental limits by
managing the annular hydraulicpressure profile proactively.
MPD may include control of
backpressure, fluid density,
fluid rheology, annular-fluid
level, circulating friction, and
hole geometry or combinations
thereof.
MPD may enable faster corrective
action to deal with observed
pressure variations. The ability
to control annular pressures
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.
120
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Not in the formal definition but implied is that this drilling method uses a
single-phase drilling fluid treated to produce minimal flowing frictional pressure
losses. MPD helps manage the problems
of massive losses associated with drilling
fractured and karstic carbonate reservoirs. It also manages ECD when drilling
extended-reach wells and wells with narrow margins between formation breakdown and well kicks.
The MPD system used in Well SBD-2 FPWD Overview
included an automated-control-and- The FPWD tool provides direct real-time
data-acquisition system that monitored measurement of formation pressure and
HP156888.indd 121
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3/25/13 7:58 AM
to the FPWD tool. This command carries instructions regarding which pretest sequence to carry out. Depending
on the sequence called for, the parameters of the pretest may be either fixed
or downhole variable. Fixed pretests will
adjust the rate, volume, and time for the
pretest sequence and are chosen on the
basis of anticipated formation mobility. Uncertainties in formation mobility can provide a risk to the use of fixedmode pretests, but the ability to control
the rate and volume directly can be useful in difficult testing conditions. Timeoptimized pretests (downhole variable)
will vary rate and volume intelligently
downhole, independent of surface control, to achieve a stable pressure within
the 5 minutes allotted for measurement.
This pretest type is designed to overcome limitations of mud-pulse telemetry
used to control logging-while-drilling
(LWD) tools. Time-optimized pretests
provide a much better chance of obtaining a valid measurement on the first pretest attempt, given their ability to vary
the rate and volume; however, the flexibility to control rate and volume directly with a fixed-mode pretest can bring
value. In Well SBD-2, a combination of
Pressure, psia
8150
8100
8050
8000
7950
7900
85
135
185
235
285
335
385
435
485
Time, seconds
Test 13 Flowline Pressure
Fig. 4Overlaid results from Pretests 13 and 21, taken 30 hours apart. Pretest 21 was a repeat of Pretest 13 at the same
depth to confirm the higher-than-expected pore pressure.
122
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ters and outflow with a Coriolis flowmeter. Small deviations were identified
through an alarm system to alert the
team to any changes beyond noise, to
prevent false alarms. In total, the system
identified two kick events and five loss
events throughout the drilling of Well
SBD-2. An unexpected high pressure was
recorded at test point X590 m. Therefore, the test was repeated 30 hours later
with a pressure recorded within 1.5 psi
of the original measured pressure, providing further confidence in the FPWD
result (Fig. 4). With knowledge of this
high pore pressure, the MPD fingerprint
tests proceeded without going below
18.2 lbm/gal, eliminating any chance of
formation-fluid influx.
Pore-Pressure Prediction
HP156888.indd 123
Conclusions
123
3/25/13 7:56 AM
TECHNOLOGY
Alexandre
Emerick, SPE, has
been a reservoir
engineer at
Petrobras Research
Center since 2004.
His research
interests include reservoir simulation,
history matching, uncertainty
quantification, and optimization.
At Petrobras, Emerick worked as a
researcher and coordinator of projects
on time-lapse seismic, smart fields,
optimal well placement, and assisted
history matching. He holds BS and
MS degrees in civil engineering from
the University of Brasilia, Brazil, and a
PhD degree in petroleum engineering
from The University of Tulsa. Emerick
has published six papers in peerreviewed journals and 12 papers in SPE
conference proceedings, most in history
matching. He is a member of the JPT
Editorial Committee.
124
4HMFocusApril.indd 124
history matching
and forecasting
Reservoir simulation is essential in the decision-making process for the development
and management of petroleum reservoirs. A simulation model can predict the reservoir behavior under various operating conditions. Hence, engineers can test different locations for infill-drilling wells or investigate the performance of an enhanced oil
recovery process, for example. However, the actual properties of a reservoir are poorly
known. Therefore, it is essential to incorporate all relevant (and consistent) information about the reservoir in the models. The process of incorporating dynamic data into
reservoir models is known in the petroleum literature as history matching.
History matching has been the subject of intense investigation and development
in the last 4 decades. However, in practice, we still observe a significant number of
engineers manually history matching their models in an arduous and tedious process
of trial and error. Moreover, the need for uncertainty quantification demands that
engineers provide multiple history-matched models, which does not make life easier.
Fortunately, this scenario is gradually changing. First, advances in computer hardware and software allow engineers to run multiple reservoir simulations in a reasonable time. Second, computer-aided history-matching tools assist the process, reducing the human time spent on repetitive activities, which results in more time for analyzing results and making decisions. Nevertheless, this tale is far from the happy end.
Even though we have faster computers and sophisticated assisted-history-matching
methods, we always want (need) more. We want more geological realism. We want
more integration among disciplines. We want to incorporate different (and sometime
exotic) types of data. We want better uncertainty quantification. We want to close the
loop and make decisions in real time. This makes history matching a fascinating, challenging, and prolific research area.
Perhaps it is fair to state that the concept of history matching is evolving from the
idea of finding the best model (i.e., the model that best reproduces the field observations) to the idea of a process of uncertainties mitigation. In this sense, the modern
interpretation of history matching is better defined as a sampling problem rather than
an optimization (minimization) problem. In this interpretation, the goal is to explore
the uncertainty space searching for solutions (samples) that are consistent with the
geological information and able to reproduce the observations within the confidence
level of the data. Interpreting the history matching as a sampling problem does not
diminish the importance of optimization methods though. In this concept, optimization becomes a mathematical tool for solving the sampling problem efficiently.
The papers summarized in this feature and the ones indicated in the additionalreading list are good examples of recent developments and field applications of
historymatching.JPT
3/14/13 10:36 AM
nonlinear orthogonal-matching
pursuit (NOMP) for sparse
calibration of reservoir models has
been proposed. Sparse calibration is
a challenging problem because the
unknowns are the nonzero components
of the solution and their associated
weights. NOMP is a greedy algorithm
that, at each iteration, discovers
components of the basis functions that
are most correlated with the residual.
The proposed algorithm relies on
approximate-gradient estimation by
use of an iterative-stochastic-ensemble
method (ISEM). ISEM uses an ensemble
of directional derivatives to approximate
gradients efficiently.
Introduction
gradient-based-optimization methods,
and ensemble-Kalman-filtermethods.
An important step in the automaticcalibration process is to define a proper parameterization of these unknown
fields. Most of the parameterization
methods depend on a previous models
assumptions that define the spatial correlations of the unknown fields implicitly with a parameter-covariance matrix. Karhunen-Love expansion (KLE)
can be used for parameterizing spatially distributed fields. KLE, also known
as proper orthogonal decomposition
or principal-component analysis in the
finite-dimensional case, is widely used
for parameterizing the permeability
field in subsurface-flow models. KLE is
an effective method that is simple to
implement; however, it preserves only
the second-order moments of the distribution. For complex continuous geological structures such as a channelized
domain, KLE fails to preserve higherorder moments.
Sparse calibration and compressed
sensing are active research areas in the
signal-processing community. Standard
reconstruction methods rely on defining a set of basis functions that are orthogonal, as in KLE methods, and then
an attempt is made to find the optimal
set of weights to reconstruct the measurements. This reconstruction problem
is an ill-posed problem, and regularization techniques (i.e., Tikhonov regularization) that constrain the 2 norm
of the solution are applied commonly.
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
of paper SPE 163582, An Ensemble-Based Nonlinear-Orthogonal-Matching-Pursuit
Algorithm for Sparse History Matching of Reservoir Models, by Ahmed H. Fsheikh,
University of Texas at Austin, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology;
Mary F. Wheeler, SPE, University of Texas at Austin; and Ibrahim Hoteit, King
Abdullah University of Science and Technology, prepared for the 2013 SPE Reservoir
Simulation Symposium, The Woodlands, Texas, 1820 February. The paper has not
been peer reviewed.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.
JPT APRIL 2013
HM163582.indd 125
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Parameter-Estimation
Algorithm
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0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
(a)
the approximate nature of the estimated derivatives. Also, the problem is ill
posed and may admit different solutions. Fig. 3 shows the corresponding
weights of the basis functions selected
from the dictionary for ensembles of 5,
10, and 20 members. For an ensemble of
5 members, the inferred support has 73
nonzero bases, as shown in Fig.3a. The
initial root-mean-square error (RMSE)
for the initial permeability field of log
(k)=0 is 0.0691. The number of nonlinear iterations is set to 40, 20, and 10 for
the ensemble size of 5, 10, and 20, respectively. This corresponds to the same
number of 200 forward runs. It was observed that smaller ensembles produced
solutions with larger support because of
the increased number of nonlinear iterations. This was reflected in the final
RMSE that is smaller for smaller ensembles compared with larger ensembles after 200 forward runs. The optimized permeability fields for injection
(b)
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 2Calibrated log-permeability field for different ensemble sizes for the waterflooding test case under injection/
production Pattern 1. (a) n=5, (b)n=10, and (c) n=20.
5
0.5
0
1
Weight
Weight
Weight
1
2
0.5
2
3
3
4
5
100
200
300
Basis Index
(a)
400
500
100
200
300
Basis Index
(b)
400
500
1.5
100
200
300
400
500
Basis Index
(c)
Fig. 3Stem graphs of the weights of the calibrated permeability fields for the waterflooding test case under injection/
production Pattern 1. (a) n=5, (b)n=10, and (c) n=20.
128
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0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
(a)
(b)
(c)
Fig. 4Calibrated log-permeability field for different ensemble sizes for the waterflooding test case under injection/
production Pattern 2. (a) n=5, (b)n=10, and (c) n=20.
6
4
4
2
3
Weight
Weight
Weight
1
0
1
2
4
2
3
100
200
300
400
500
Basis Index
100
200
300
400
500
100
Basis Index
(a)
200
300
400
500
Basis Index
(b)
(c)
Fig. 5Stem graphs of the weights of the calibrated permeability fields for the waterflooding test case under injection/
production Pattern 2. (a) n=5, (b)n=10, and (c) n=20.
1.2
10
1.3
10
Ensemble size = 5
Ensemble size = 10
Ensemble size = 20
0
50
1.2
10
1.3
10
1.4
10
Ensemble size = 5
Ensemble size = 10
Ensemble size = 20
1.5
10
100
150
(a)
200
50
100
150
200
(b)
Fig. 6Average RMSE in water-cut curve vs. the total number of forward runs for different ensemble sizes with different
injection/production patterns, (a)injection/production Pattern 1 and (b) injection/production Pattern 2.
130
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Pattern 2 are shown in Fig. 4 for ensembles of 5, 10, and 20 members. The
stem graph of the discovered weights is
shown in Fig.5. The initial RMSE for the
initial permeability field of log (k)=0
was 0.0729. The number of nonlinear
iterations was set to 40, 20, and 10 for
the ensemble size of 5, 10, and 20, respectively. Again, it was observed that
smaller ensembles were more effective
in matching the data because the number of nonlinear iterations was larger
for the same number of forward runs.
Convergence Study. A complete convergence study was performed for the test
cases. The stochastic nature of the estimated gradients resulted in different
solution paths for each run. The average
of 50 runs showed the ensemble-size effect on the error-reduction rates. Fig. 6
shows the average RMSE in water cut vs.
the total number of forward runs under
injection/production Pattern 1 (left) and
Pattern 2 (right). Smaller ensembles
were more effective for sparse calibration in terms of error reduction and sup-
HM163582.indd 131
forward-stagewise-selection algorithms
(such as the OMP algorithm) and as
optimization-based algorithms (such as
the IRLS algorithm).
The calibrated models using the
NOMP algorithm did not show extreme values in the inferred permeability fields. This was attributed to applying 2 regularization at each iteration
once the solution support was discovered. The 2 regularization has the advantage of penalizing large weights that
Conclusions
produce realizations with extreme perThe solution of the nonlinear-sparse- meability values. This was evident from
calibration problem is challenging. The the stem plots showing the weights of
algorithm must find the optimal weights the different dictionary atoms. This is
to reproduce the measured values, and a clear advantage of NOMP over difit must select the basis functions that ferent sparse-reconstruction algoare included in the solution support. A rithms that penalize only the 1-norm
complete combinatorial exploration by of the solution. Another advantage of
running standard parameter-estimation the proposed algorithm is in the effialgorithms on a subset of the basis func- cient use of an ensemble-based approxtions led to a huge combinatorial prob- imate derivative using ISEM. The prolem that was impossible to solve. In the posed algorithm combining ISEM and
linear setting, different algorithms for NOMP facilitates sparse calibration for
sparse reconstruction can be used. These numerical-
simulation packages when
algorithms can be classified simply as the adjoint code is notavailable. JPT
131
3/25/13 8:02 AM
Introduction
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
of paper SPE 160171, Combined Uncertainty and History-Matching Study of a
Deepwater Turbidite Reservoir, by Akshay Aggarwal*, SPE, Song Du, SPE, and
Michael J. King, SPE, Texas A&M University, prepared for the 2012 SPE Annual
Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 810 October. The paper
has not been peer reviewed.
*Now with Schlumberger.
Methodology
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.
132
HM160171.indd 132
3/14/13 12:10 PM
Field Description
HM160171.indd 133
Done?
Yes
Performance Prediction
Based on Calibrated Subset
of Geologic Models
has a stratigraphic pinchout on the eastern and northeastern flanks, and it has a
salt dome on the western edge. The oil/
water contact is at 14,300 ft. The reservoir consists of sand, silt, and shale
laminations. Well-log and core data indicate that reservoir facies can be divided into two main subcategories: clean
channel-fill sands and low-quality overbank deposits. The low-quality overbank deposits can be subdivided further
into proximal-levee and distal-levee facies, which have increasing shale con-
tent. Fig.2 shows the seismic root-meansquared (RMS) amplitude map. The
bright regions correspond to hydrocarbon presence, which is linked to high
net-/gross-pay ratio. Although the amplitude will dim, channel sands are expected to continue into the aquifer.
The field is in 5,000-ft water depth.
It is developed with nine dry-tree wells, of
which seven are M-Sand producers and
two are M-Sand injectors. The M-Sand is
subdivided into three intervals (M1, M2,
and M3), with most of the production
RMS Amplitude
2244
1895
1547
1198
850
133
3/15/13 11:01 AM
Channel Architecture
Areal NTG Trends
Dynamic Sensitivities
Fault Transmissibility
Sealed / Partial / Open
No Trend
4000:4000
East/West
Trend
1500:10000
Aquifer Strength
Size
800:10000
Permeability Multiplier
By Facies
Geologic Trend
(No Seismic)
Seismic Trend
Permeability Heterogeneity
Deterministic or Stochastic
Channel Architecture
Permeability Trend
Deterministic
Rock Compressibility
Vertical Resolution
No
Reduction
Stochastic
Cloud
Transform
Reduction
Off Channel
NTG@5 layers
NTG@22 layers
Fig. 3Geologic scenarios and dynamic sensitivities included in the uncertainty study. NTG=net-/gross-pay ratio.
coming from the M2 sand. Field production began in November 2002, and water
injection began in September2003.
There is no evidence of compartmentalization, except for Well A9, the
easternmost well in the field. A massbalance drive-mechanism analysis
was performed with pressure and production data. It showed that the single largest source of reservoir energy
is aquifer influx, followed by water injection and a combination of rock and
fluidcompressibility.
Additional information on water
influx was obtained from a 4D-seismic
survey taken after several years of production, which showed regions with
increased water saturation. This information was not used in the historymatch procedures, although it did contribute to the geologic interpretation of
multiplechannels.
Uncertainty Study
134
HM160171.indd 134
History Match
3/14/13 12:10 PM
Conclusions
HM160171.indd 135
135
3/25/13 8:02 AM
Introduction
This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights
of paper SPE 157112, Results of the First Norne Field Case on History Matching
and Recovery Optimization Using Production and 4D-Seismic Data, by Richard
Rwechungura, SPE, NTNU; Eric Bhark, SPE, Texas A&M University; Ola T. Miljeteig,
SPE, NTNU; Amit Suman, SPE, and Drosos Kourounis, Stanford University; Bjarne
Foss, SPE, NTNU; Lars Hoier, Statoil; and Jon Kleppe, SPE, NTNU, prepared for
the 2012 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas,
810October. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
Norne Field
The exercise was defined 6 months before the workshop. This benchmark case
covered 1997 to 2004 for history matching and 2005 to 2008 for recovery optimization. The 2004 simulation model
containing all information and properties was provided. Production and injection data from 1997 to the end of 2004
and 4D-seismic data for the same period were provided. These data were the
basis for the history match performed
by participants. The defined workflow
was asfollows.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.jptonline.org.
136
HM157112.indd 136
3/14/13 12:14 PM
History-Match Methods
Optimization/EOR
Strategies
Stanford University
Dimensionality reduction
using PCA
Derivative-free
optimizationHJDS
Particle-swarm
optimization
Texas A&M University
Multiscale
reparameterization of
permeability field using
GCT
Gradient-based
integration of production
dataquasi-Newton
method
Streamline-based
integration of 4Dseismic data
NTNU
Delft University of
Technology
Oil-pocket drainage
through sidetracking
Streamline-based
arrival time of fluidphase fronts at
producers
Acceleration strategy
Sequential quadratic
programming
Manual history-match
approach and qualitative
use of 4D-seismic
dataoil/water-contact
match from production
to seismic data
Oil-pocket drainage
through different well
targets and new wells
Not available
Low-salinity
waterflooding
138
HM157112.indd 138
Incremental NPV,
USD millions
Recovery Factor, %
435
344
303
50.70
49.24
52.20
48.80
Economic parameters
Oil price=USD 75/bbl.
Discount rate=10% at the
reference time of January
2005.
Cost of water handling and
injection=USD 6/bbl.
Cost of gas injection=
USD 1.2/Mscf.
Cost of a new sidetracked well
=USD 65 million.
Participants could assume their
own parameters related to EOR
methods (e.g., surfactants,
polymers, and low-salinity
waterflooding).
Discuss and compare results of
the achieved recovery factor.
General Methods
3/14/13 12:14 PM
PEOPLE
Member Deaths
Robert S. Ashworth, Houston, Texas, USA
Bert O. Brown, Blum, Texas, USA
Peter M. Dranchuk, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Uruj A. Kirmani, Rockville, Maryland, USA
Leroy M. Williams, Houston, Texas, USA
140
PeopleApril.indd 140
3/18/13 6:46 AM
Francisco Suarez, SPE, was appointed vice president of the Western Hemisphere at TAM International, overseeing
Latin America and Canada. He has more
than 29 years industry experience, predominantly in international markets. In his previous role at TAM as director of Latin America, Suarez established the companys presence in Mexicos market and also moved the Latin American headquarters to Bogot,
Colombia. Suarez earned a bachelors degree in petroleum engineering from Universidad Industrial de Santander in Colombia
and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He is also a member of the Colombian Association of PetroleumEngineers.
INNOVATION
(Continued from page 14)
References
Docherty, M. 2001. Intelligent Completions:
Potential, but Some Hurdles. Drilling
Contractor March/April 2001: 4041.
http://www.drillingcontractor.org/
dcpi/2001/dc-marapr01/m-expro.pdf
Results
PeopleApril.indd 141
Conclusions
The workshop provided an opportunity to address state-of-the-art technologies within the area of optimization, focusing on production history and
4D-seismic data and on the interplay
between these diverse types of data.
The workshop enjoyed active discussion
141
3/15/13 9:18 AM
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