Академический Документы
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PRODUCTION LIFE CYCLE
MANAGEMENT SERVICE
An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Printed in US. Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
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The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
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PERFORMANCE INDICES
WORLD CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION+‡ HENRY HUB GULF COAST NATURAL GAS SPOT PRICE‡
THOUSAND BOPD
6
O PEC SEP OCT NOV DEC
5 USD/million Btu
Algeria 1350 1350 1350 1350
Angola 1768 1618 1698 1668 4
2017
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
Kuwait1 2960 2960 2970 2970
Libya 310 550 580 620
Nigeria 1943 1988 2023 1888
Qatar 1477 1507 1527 1527
Saudi Arabia1 10600 10590 10640 10540 WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)‡
UAE 3216 3196 3226 3226
Venezuela 2200 2190 2180 2150
2017
TOTAL 35244 35456 35803 35608 AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR
THOUSAND BOPD WTI 44.72 45.18 49.78 45.71 51.97 52.50 53.47 49.33
INDICES KEY
TOTAL 1584 1620 1678 1772 1918 2027 1985
Numbers revised by EIA are given in italics.
+
Figures do not include natural gas plant liquids.
1
Includes approximately one-half of Neutral Zone production.
2
Additional annual and monthly international crude oil production statistics WORLD OIL SUPPLY AND DEMAND‡
are available at http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/.
† Source: Baker Hughes.
‡ Source: EIA.
MILLION BOPD 2016 2017
Quarter 2nd 3rd 4th 1st
AFRICA 4,500 B/D of oil. In DST 1b, a 27-ft zone was Preliminary estimates place the size of the
added and the well flowed at a maximum discovery between 36 Bscf and 180 Bscf of
Z Chevron has produced oil and gas rate of 4,200 B/D. The drillship used on the recoverable gas. Statoil, the operator with
from the main production facility at the well has been moved nearby for further an 85% interest in the wells, and DONG
Mafumeira Sul project offshore Angola. exploration and appraisal drilling. Cairn has Energy, which holds the remaining interest,
Situated 15 miles off Cabinda province a 40% working interest in the SNE-5 well will assess the discovery and other nearby
in 200 ft of water, Mafumeira Sul is with other interests held by ConocoPhillips discoveries and prospects regarding
the second-stage development of the (35%), FAR (15%), and Petrosen (10%). possible development.
Mafumeira field in Block 0. The new project
has a design capacity of 150,000 B/D of ASIA MIDDLE EAST
liquids and 350 MMcf/D of natural gas. Early
production began last October through a Z Cambodia was set to sign a revised Z Gazprom Neft has started up three
temporary production system. Ramp-up production-sharing contract with Kris new wells with overall oil production of
to full production is expected to continue Energy in late March for development 23,000 B/D at the company-operated
through 2018. The company is the project of an offshore field that would produce Badra field in Iraq. Field production has
operator with a 39.2% interest. Sonangol the country’s first oil. The company will reached 77,000 B/D, Gazprom Neft said.
(41%), Total (10%), and Eni (9.8%) hold the seek a partner in the investment before The company has a 30% interest in the
remaining stakes. proceeding with the project, which Kris field with other interests held by Kogas
expects will initially produce 8,000 B/D (22.5%), Petronas (15%), Turkish Petroleum
Z Total has started production from the of oil in the early 2020s. The company (7.5%), and the Iraqi Oil Exploration
Moho Nord deep project offshore the acquired its stake in the project in 2014 Company (25%).
Republic of the Congo. The company- from Chevron, which made a discovery
operated project has a production capacity 10 years ago but was unable to reach NORTH AMERICA
of 100,000 BOE/D. The field is being investment terms with the government.
developed through the tieback of 34 wells Kris later bought out the interests of Z Repsol and its partner Armstrong
to a new tension-leg platform, Total’s first Mitsui and GS Energy in the project. Energy announced that they have made the
in Africa, and to the new Likouf floating largest onshore conventional hydrocarbon
production unit, which holds oil processing discovery in the US in 30 years. The
EUROPE
facilities and is connected by pipeline to the Horseshoe-1 and -1A wells, drilled the winter
company’s Djeno onshore terminal. Total Z Statoil has made a discovery at of 2016–2017, confirm the Nanushuk play
has a 53.5% interest in Moho Nord with company-operated well 34/10-55 S in as a significant emerging play in Alaska’s
the remaining interests held by Chevron the North Sea, the Norwegian Petroleum North Slope, Repsol said. Contingent
(31.5%) and Société Nationale des Pétroles Directorate (NPD) said. Drilled from the resources in the two companies’ Nanushuk
du Congo (15%). Gullfaks C platform to a structure east blocks, identified from existing data, could
of the Gimle field, the well encountered amount to 1.2 billion bbl of recoverable
Z SDX Energy began drilling operations a total oil and gas column of 557 ft, of light oil, Repsol said. The company holds
in late March on the SD-1X well at its South which 196 ft are in sandstone with good to a 25% interest in the Horseshoe discovery
Disouq concession in Egypt’s Nile Delta very good reservoir properties and 32 ft and a 49% interest in the Pikka Unit, which
area. The well targets gas in the upper are in sandstone with moderate to good would be the play’s first producing field if
Abu Madi section and oil in the lower AEB properties, the NPD said. The discovery developed. Armstrong, the discovery and
and Abu Roash sections. Drilling operations holds an estimated 36 MMscf to 108 unit operator, holds the remaining interests
were expected to take 30 to 45 days. The MMscf of recoverable oil equivalents and in both.
company was granted a 6-month extension will be produced by a future Gullfaks C
to its initial exploration period, which will development well. Statoil has a 70% interest SOUTH AMERICA
run to 19 September. SDX said this would in the discovery, with the remaining share
allow adequate time to evaluate well results held by Petoro. Z President Energy reported that the
before deciding on additional exploration first workover of the previously producing
at the concession. Z Statoil also discovered gas at wildcat DP12 well at Argentina’s Dos Puntitas field
well 6507/3-12 and appraisal well has been completed on time and within
Z Cairn Energy said that oil and gas 6507/3-12 A about four miles east of the budget. The workover remedied a leak in
samples taken during logging and testing Alve field in the northern Norwegian Sea, the production packer and problems with
of the company-operated SNE-5 appraisal the NPD said. Well 6507/3-12 encountered a faulty jet pump bottomhole assembly.
well offshore Senegal indicate the presence a total gas column of 22 ft in Late In the process, the well received an acid
of oil of similar quality to that in previous Cretaceous sandstone with good reservoir stimulation and is achieving an initial
area wells. Drillstem test (DST) 1a flowed properties. Drilling on well 6507/3-12 A production of more than 120 B/D, which
from a 59-ft interval at a maximum rate of was halted because of technical issues. is in line with expectations. JPT
xactinc.com/JPT
APPLIED ACOUSTICS. DIFFERENT DECISIONS. RELIABLE RESULTS.
From 2007–2010, I was president of in service pending decommissioning. Following those massive
Chevron’s Environmental Management storms, US and state regulators stepped up monitoring of shut-
Company. We were responsible for man- in platforms and began pushing operators to decommission and
aging end-of-life activities and environ- remove idle iron before the next major hurricane.
mental liabilities for the entire corpora- So how big is the problem? The industry consultancy IHS
tion. We removed platforms and pipe- Markit released its Offshore Decommissioning Study Report in
lines in the Gulf of Mexico, remediated November 2016, and its estimates of future spend are stunning,
old industrial sites (including refineries, according to this graph. IHS estimates that USD 2.4 billion will
chemical plants, and service stations), and managed Chevron’s be spent on offshore decommissioning of over 600 installations
Superfund liabilities. Chevron spent several hundred million between now and 2020, over half of that in the North Sea and
dollars a year on these activities, all with zero return, which most of the rest in the Gulf of Mexico. Between 2021 and 2040,
made for uncomfortable discussions when it was time to pres- USD 13 billion will be spent to decommission more than 2,000
ent my budget. installations; that work will expand to other aging offshore
regions such as West Africa and Southeast Asia.
“Decommissioning yields no return on investment or reve- Not a penny of that generates revenue for the operators.
nue and carries significant environmental and regulatory As an additional data point, the latest decommissioning re-
liabilities. The effective decommissioning of offshore plat- port published by the industry cooperative Oil and Gas UK es-
forms, subsea wells and related assets is one of the most timates that—through 2025—GBP 17.6 billion will be spent on
important challenges facing the oil and gas industry today decommissioning along the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Last
and in the future. Decommissioning decisions can no longer year, GBP 2.1 billion was spent on offshore decommissioning in
be avoided by the operators and the industry as a whole.” the UK and Norway. Decommissioning is estimated to be 12% of
—IHS Markit Offshore Decommissioning Study Report total UKCS spend in 2017—and growing.
And that’s just offshore. These estimates don’t include on-
Decommissioning and abandonment. That was a Technology shore decommissioning, plugging and abandoning, facilities
Focus topic in the January JPT, and I loved the featured quote: removal and site remediation, including wells, pits, tanks, and
“Unlike a capital project, decommissioning is not something that pipelines and gathering systems. In longtime onshore produc-
you can choose to do or not to do.” Like death and taxes, decom- ing regions such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, the poten-
missioning eventually comes for every project. The question is: tial cleanup and removal liabilities are staggering. Cleanup and
Are we operationally and financially prepared for the inevitable? remediation of past production and drilling pits alone could
The offshore decommissioning problem is huge and gets big- measure in the billions of dollars. Most of our liabilities, espe-
ger every year as more platforms reach the end of their produc- cially onshore, preceded environmental regulations. It was just
tive life. North Sea decommissioning is leading the way as fields how things were done in the oil industry as well as in most in-
developed in the 1970s and 1980s reach their end of life. Created dustrial projects such as manufacturing and military operations.
7 years ago, Decom North Sea (www.decomnorthsea.com) is an So what can be done? It boils down to Risk and Reward, the
industry association that specifically addresses the decommis- theme for my columns. When people and companies are re-
sioning issues in the North Sea and works cooperatively among warded for short-term performance, there is little incentive to
operators, regulators, and decommissioning contractors. The deal with long-term risks such as decommissioning and envi-
North Sea regulators, especially UK and Norway, recognize the ronmental cleanup. It’s so much easier to leave it for the future;
growing liability. but increasingly, that future is now.
Decommissioning Gulf of Mexico facilities got much more ur- Here are some ideas on how to deal with that future.
gent following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005; they swept
right through the heart of the aging continental shelf fields Clean as You Go
of offshore Louisiana. Katrina and Rita destroyed more than The easiest mess to deal with is the one you never make. In
100 offshore platforms, many of which were “idle iron,” not one of those uncomfortable budget discussions with Chevron’s
USD million
party execution is not to leave all the dirty dishes and pots for 5,000
when the party is over, but to clean as you go, leaving little for 4,000
the end. We should do more cleaning as we go in our operations,
3,000
while we have income and infrastructure. Too often, opera-
tors hold off until the bitter end, then scramble for resources 2,000
Momentum is building for what is being called the “peak Alex Crabtree, Hess Corporation
demand” theory—that before too long global oil demand will Gunnar DeBruijn, Schlumberger
begin to fall as transportation efficiency, innovations such as Mark Egan, Retired
electric cars, and government climate change policies will quell Mark Elkins, Retired
the rising consumption of hydrocarbons that has marked the
Alexandre Emerick,
past several decades. What is getting attention is that this sen- Petrobras Research Center
timent is no longer coming from what could be termed anti-oil Niall Fleming, Statoil
interests but is coming from the likes of Shell’s chief executive
Ted Frankiewicz, SPEC Services
officer (CEO) and such organizations as the World Energy Council (WEC).
Speaking at an energy conference in Houston in March, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden Stephen Goodyear, Shell
predicted that world oil demand could peak in the late 2020s because of the growth Omer M. Gurpinar, Schlumberger
of renewable energy sources and natural gas. He noted that his company is moving A.G. Guzman-Garcia, Retired
toward a lower-carbon, long-term strategy. Shell recently divested most of its Cana- Greg Horton, Retired
dian oil sands position and is increasing its position in natural gas. Last year, it bought
John Hudson, Shell
the BG Group, which built up its natural gas portfolio. Van Beurden emphasized that
Morten Iversen, Karachaganak Petroleum
the industry must reduce carbon dioxide emissions to help countries meet the recent
Paris climate change accord goals. Leonard Kalfayan, Hess Corporation
The WEC has predicted that global energy consumption will begin declining in a lit- Thomas Knode, Contek Solutions
tle over a decade, and its eighth annual survey of energy executives around the world Sunil Kokal, Saudi Aramco
showed that growth in renewables and energy efficiency is requiring firms to revise Marc Kuck, Eni US Operating
their medium- and long-term outlooks.
Jesse C. Lee, Schlumberger
The peak demand theory undercuts the prevailing industry notion that a rising mid-
Douglas Lehr, Baker Hughes
dle class in developing countries will propel oil demand much higher. Just a few years
ago, the industry and many economists were fretting about a shortage of energy sup- Silviu Livescu, Baker Hughes
plies to meet this growing consumption. At the same conference where Shell’s CEO Shouxiang (Mark) Ma, Saudi Aramco
spoke, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, said that global John Macpherson, Baker Hughes
demand is not peaking and in fact will grow by 7.3 million B/D through 2022. He plead- Stéphane Menand, DrillScan
ed with oil companies to invest more, otherwise the world would face an oil shortage
Graham Mensa-Wilmot, Chevron
in the future and the prospect of huge price spikes. He noted that even though sales of
Badrul H. Mohamed Jan, University of Malaya
electric cars had risen to a record number of more than 1 million, this was still less than
1% of total global auto sales. The trucking, airline, and chemical sectors will continue Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco
industry as well as organizations such as the IEA have predicted that global hydrocar- Win Thornton, BP plc
bon use would decline this century and that natural gas would be the “bridge to the Xiuli Wang, Baker Hughes
future” of economies built more around renewable energy sources. The question is Mike Weatherl, Well Integrity
whether that will come in 15 years, 30 years, or even longer. JPT
Scott Wilson, Ryder Scott Company
Through the past 2-plus years, the that the industry may be headed for an lack of qualified new personnel, how can
petroleum industry has experienced its all-time low in the availability of quali- companies be ready to take advantage of
deepest downturn since the late 1980s. fied personnel. Midcareer profession- the turnaround?
It feels like, in the words of baseball als are in short supply, and few qualified Only by employing qualified person-
legend Yogi Berra, “It’s déjà vu all over candidates are left to replace the retir- nel can the oilfield services sector ensure
again.” Like other market cycle down- ing senior management. For the indus- high productivity, minimal safety and
turns, a dramatic drop in the price of oil try, this loss of expertise will be dif- service quality incidents, and increased
leading to sharp cuts in investment in ficult to replace when the next boom efficiencies for oil and gas producers.
exploration and production has affect- comes. At the same time, enrollment A lack of skilled staff could mean proj-
ed the entire industry and the people in petroleum engineering degree pro- ect delays, costly errors, and even safe-
who work in it. Also, as in past down- grams across the US is falling, making ty issues for companies. According to
turns, company after company laid off the talent shortage even more acute. some oilfield service experts, a shortage
high percentages of their employees of interested and qualified workers is
across the board and, in many cases, After Bust Comes Recovery actually slowing the recovery of US drill-
also enacted hiring freezes. If history is any guide, after every oil ing activity.
Since the steep drop in oil prices, bust comes a recovery. Currently, there When enduring season slumps, pro-
an estimated 250,000 workers directly is rising confidence in the industry that fessional baseball teams look for ways
involved in the petroleum industry have crude oil could strengthen and stabi- to improve their team roster. For oil and
lost their jobs. From field personnel to lize at higher levels later this year. While gas companies, it should be the same.
executives, the toll has been high. Many the recovery has been slow, the indus- Making sure you have the best, highly
of these laid off workers have moved try is seeing encouraging signs that the motivated people on your team is criti-
on to find employment in other indus- rebound has begun. Two indicators are cal to winning out in the field. C&J Ener-
tries, often with more comfortable and the increase in oil and natural gas drill- gy Services, along with much of the
predictable working conditions than is ing and production activity in Oklahoma industry, had to trim our workforce sig-
the norm in the oil field. It will be dif- and in the Permian Basin of west Texas nificantly during the recent downturn.
ficult for our industry to attract a large and southeast New Mexico. With activ- But, even while doing so, we focused on
percentage of these workers to return. ity picking up, the US oil industry will retaining key contributors and, in some
Add to this scenario “the great crew need to hire tens of thousands of new cases, even hired talented specialists as
change” created by the retirement of workers as oil prices recover and drill- they became available to position our
many senior level people who joined the ers stand up rigs. company for future growth.
industry in the boom of the late 1970s So the question is, with the difficulty Alongside the investment in person-
and early 1980s, and it is conceivable in rehiring laid off employees and the nel, we must invest in modernizing the
systems and processes we use to run our
businesses. We cannot afford to handi-
Don Gawick is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of C&J cap our organizations with outdated and
Energy Services, a position he has held since June 2016. He also inefficient business systems. Our peo-
served on the company’s Board of Directors since July 2016. ple must have the tools in place and the
Gawick joined C&J in 2012 with the company’s acquisition of its
training to utilize them effectively for
wireline business, Casedhole Solutions, and served as C&J’s chief
operating officer from 2012 until his appointment to CEO. He
our businesses to successfully compete
served as president and CEO of Casedhole Solutions from 2010 to in today’s marketplace.
2012. He began his career at Schlumberger and between 1979 and
2010 held numerous senior management positions, including oversight of all of Be Prepared
Schlumberger’s oilfield business segments. Gawick holds a BS degree in electrical Companies are now competing for the
engineering from the University of Manitoba. best and brightest already in the indus-
ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY
VALVE
ATV SpA Ph. +39 0341 932111
Via Ombriano, 2 Fax +39 0341 930785
Area Industriale info@atvspa.com
23823 COLICO (LC) Italy atvspa.com
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Acoustic-Technology Platform
Operating in virtually any drilling or com-
pletions environment, XACT’s acoustic-
technology platform is designed to give
operators access to real-time downhole
data throughout the well-construction
process (Fig. 1). The network of tools,
associated on-site equipment, and sup-
port offer a comprehensive virtual view
of the entire wellbore and drillstring by
transmitting measurements and other
downhole data in real time. Once the
acoustic signal reaches the surface, it
is captured and transmitted wirelessly
to an on-site computer by XACT’s pat-
ented electronic acoustic receiver (EAR).
The EAR is attached to the topdrive, frac
head, and cement head without any need
for modification. Repeater nodes along
the string not only act as signal boost-
ers, but also are capable of taking mea-
surements independently of one another.
XACT’s platform integrates into exist-
ing drilling and completion operations Fig. 1—XACT’s EAR technology is attached to the topdrive and is positioned to
and is independent of fluid type, cir- receive real-time downhole data.
culation rate, or high-resistivity forma-
tions. Data can be transmitted to the sur- ◗ For additional information, visit while-drilling (LWD) service reliably
face in real time or held in memory until www.xactinc.com. acquires gamma ray, resistivity, neu-
tripped out of the hole. Measurements tron porosity, and density data at tem-
of weight, torque, pressure, tempera- Ultrahigh-Temperature peratures up to 200°C (Fig. 2). The
ture, bending, and other physical con- Logging-While-Drilling Service service includes porosity, direction-
ditions are displayed. These are output The industry standards for high- al, gamma, and bore/annular pressure
onto the rig and client networks, allow- pressure, high-temperature (HP/HT) tools, as well as a full triple-combo LWD
ing for remote viewing of the data in a drilling have dramatically increased suite with resistivity and density mea-
matter of seconds. over the past 30 years as operators surements. These capabilities enable
have moved into deeper, more chal- operators to identify hydrocarbons
lenging fields. Weatherford’s Heat- and gather adequate formation evalu-
Wave Extreme (HEX) logging- ation data while drilling in ultrahigh-
temperature reservoirs without the
need for additional trips to cool the
bottomhole assembly. The HEX ser-
vice expands the spectrum of drillable
fields. By increasing the reliability of
data delivery and reducing drilling time,
the service mitigates the operational
and economic risks of HP/HT drilling.
It also removes the need for additional
wireline logging, further cutting rig time
Fig. 2—The Weatherford
HeatWave Extreme LWD service
and costs.
acquires triple-combo LWD data at ◗ For additional information, visit
temperatures up to 200°C. www.weatherford.com.
Plug Solution
Archer Oiltools introduced its Spartan
plugs to help operators deliver safer wells,
boost operational efficiency, and reduce
costs (Fig. 4). The Spartan plug family has
Fig. 4—Archer Oiltools’ line of plugs, includes its new Spartan plugs, which
been developed to ensure well integrity
deliver protection for short-, medium-, or long-term suspensions and rapid during operations, secure well suspen-
deployment and retrieval. sion, and safe plug-and-abandonment
(P&A) operations for all wells. The plugs
Rapid-Intervention Package ported on a Boeing 747-400F and lifted by deliver protection for short-, medium-, or
Boots & Coots Services, a Halliburton a 110-ton or lighter crane, allowing cus- long-term suspensions and rapid deploy-
business, introduced the Global Rapid tomers access to relief and containment ment and retrieval, which ensures safer
Intervention Package (GRIP), a suite of capabilities even in remote areas. wells and reduces operational time and
services to help reduce costs and deploy- ◗ For additional information, visit costs. In addition to the Spartan plug,
ment time in the event of subsea well- www.halliburton.com. Archer Oiltools’ plug portfolio includes
control events. GRIP provides well plan- the Vault, Hunter, and Spearhead lines.
ning and well-kill capabilities that include Proppant-Transport Technology The Vault dual-plug system enables two
an inventory of well-test packages, coiled Fairmount Santrol introduced an exten- Archer plugs to be installed in one run,
tubing units, and relief-well-ranging sion to Propel’s SSP proppant-transport streamlining plug operations. The Spear-
tools. In addition, GRIP features the new technology, which increases hydraulic head plug system is designed to with-
15,000-psi RapidCap Air-Mobile Capping fracturing efficiency, for plays where oper- stand increased hangoff loads or pull
Stack. Sourced from Trendsetter Engi- ators face high produced-water-disposal forces, which improves the efficiency of
neering, RapidCap incorporates a special- costs and limited freshwater availabil- P&A operations. The Hunter tandem-plug
ly designed gate-valve-based system. Cap- ity. This product line extension, Propel system allows a barrier plug to be run in
ping-stack systems currently available can SSP 350, leverages the characteristics of combination with other downhole tools,
be difficult to deploy because of their size Propel SSP technology into the realm of saving the number of trips and rig time.
and weight and are expensive to transport high-salinity water sources. In addition to The Spartan plug family is an addition to
and reassemble on a job site. RapidCap enabling delivery of any mesh-size prop- the existing Lock plug family of gas tight-
aims to reduce deployment time by up to pant to fracture networks, Propel SSP well-suspension plugs. JPT
40%. Rather than requiring specialized 350 now adds flexibility in water sourcing ◗ For additional information, visit
infrastructure, RapidCap can be air trans- (Fig. 3). Propel SSP 350 can use the most www.archerwell.com.
The conductor anchor node (CAN) tech- Well Design and Challenges (BOP) and riser could only be run from
nology was introduced as part of the The overall strategy for the well was to the main rig. To be ready to land the BOP
architecture for Centrica’s Ivory deep- perform as much work as possible before and riser on the wellhead, when surface
water exploration well in the Norwegian rig arrival, to reduce exposure to weather casing was cemented and the running
Sea to optimize efficient operations for and optimize operations in the riserless tool was disconnected, the main rig could
the well’s riserless section. sections of the well. not be occupied by the conductor.
The CAN (Fig. 1), developed by NeoDrill was contracted for prein- The conductor was made up in the
NeoDrill, is a large steel cylinder that stalling the CAN to facilitate safe jet- main rig and thus was landed off in the
is open at the bottom with an open ting operations and reduce the conduc- hang-off skid in a mid-position in the
guide pipe in its center. The device tor string length, which is made possible moonpool to keep the main rig available
sets into the seabed, working simi- for jetted or cemented conductors by the for running the BOP and riser.
larly to a suction anchor, and carries high axial load-bearing capacity of the The running of the BOP and riser
and secures a well’s conductor (top- CAN system. started offline in the main rig, while the
hole casing). Conductor analysis concluded that a auxiliary rig jetted the conductor and
The CAN is set in place by a dynami- 50-m CAN-supported conductor would drilled ahead for the 17½-in. section. The
cally positioned (DP) installation ves- suffice, compared with the 80- to 100-m BOP was ready to be landed a few hours
sel before the drilling rig arrives. The length required for a conventional con- before the 20×13⅜-in. surface casing
technology is designed to save rig time ductor. Conductor jetting is the quick- was cemented in place and the running
and expense, simplify logistics and rig est installation option, as it does not tool was disconnected.
operations, and expedite well startup require cementing operations, tripping
(https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article- for a new drilling bottomhole assembly CAN Installation
detail/?art=2641). (BHA), and drillout. The CAN, marker buoys, and transpon-
With the CAN, seabed marker buoys The conductor jetting operation was ders were installed in the seabed at a
and DP transponders were preinstalled performed using a special conductor run- water depth of 1444 m by the vessel Nor-
by a construction vessel in June 2014. ning and drillout tool, the Dril-Quip Cam mand Reach 4 months ahead of the drill-
The spud location was prepared for Activated Drill Ahead Tool (CADA tool), ship’s arrival. The final inclination of the
an efficient startup when the drillship which allows each new section to be CAN was 0.42°.
arrived in October of that year. drilled without tripping for a new BHA. The whole offshore CAN installation
A pilot hole was drilled 50 m off- The CAN allows the conductor to be operation, including mobilization and
set from the preinstalled CAN to inves- landed safely without waiting for soil to sailing, were completed in 4 to 5 days.
tigate for shallow hazards and record consolidate (soak) before the CADA tool The total CAN installation time from
useful drilling parameters to determine is released for drilling to resume. Thus, “touch-down” at seabed until full penetra-
soil strength. the risks of the conductor and wellhead tion took 4 hours. A separate set of tran-
The interpreted soil strength infor- housing sinking after the tool’s release sponders and marker buoys for the pilot
mation was used for selecting the are mitigated. hole were preinstalled at the seabed to
optimum conductor length for jet- To verify that jetting was feasible and save rig time.
ting it in and landing in the CAN. The to determine the optimum conductor jet-
conductor jetting method was cho- ting length, a penetration test was per- Pilot Hole
sen to optimize the dual-derrick formed in a pilot hole drilled about 50 m The pilot hole was drilled ±50 m south-
rig operations. offset from the CAN location. west of the main location, which was
All the riserless activities using the fixed by the CAN.
dual derricks were optimized to reduce Ivory Operational Summary A penetration test was conducted in
the rig time and maximize the parallel- The pilot hole had to be drilled from the the upper part of the pilot hole to assess
activities advantages. auxiliary rig as the blowout preventer the feasibility of jetting the conductor.
Very little weight on bit (WOB) was The pilot hole was thereafter drilled extension with crossover to a 30-in.
applied in the upper part of the pilot from 1505 m to a vertical section depth D-90 MT connector.
hole, and data collection was difficult of 2200 m. The total conductor was 49.8 m long
because of the 4- to 5-m rig heave. WOB of and was run with a (NeoDrill) conductor
5 tons was recorded between 1495 m and Conductor Jetting hanger to enable land-off into the CAN.
1505 m, indicating a more competent for- In the jetting operations, the conductor The CADA tool was made up as part
mation. A significant change in formation string consisted of of the drilling BHA. A remote-operated
strength was seen at 1501 m to 1502 m. ◗ One shoe joint (open cutoff without vehicle verified the correct space-out of
The section was thereafter logged to connector) the bit vs. the bottom of the 30×36-in.
confirm that a dominant clay sequence ◗ Two 30-in. conductor joints with a conductor. Thereafter, the assembly was
was present at the bottom part of the hole “slim” D-90/MT Dril-Quip connector to the top of the CAN.
to verify that the conductor jetting opera- ◗ One 36-in. Dril-Quip wellhead The BHA was spaced out with the bit
tion could be executed. housing—a 36×2-in. wellhead nozzles to be 6 cm inside the conduc-
8.00
in.
Top of 36-in. Low-Pressure Housing
8.00 8.00
0.33 m 0.07 m
in.
6⅝-in. Reg Box
1.00 m
in.
1.29 m Superior
7.25
0.20 m
Service and
in.
Seabed
7.5
Custom
in.
1.36 m
Fig. 2—The 36-in. conductor housing with the CADA tool landed inside the
Chemistry
CAN. Source: NeoDrill.
MAXIMIZE PRODUCTION AND
PROTECT THE INTEGRITY
tor, and the tip of the 17½-in. bit to be one full joint and was circulated clean
OF YOUR ASSETS
16 cm outside the conductor shoe. It with two 10 m3 high-viscosity sweeps to
was considered critical to have nozzles mitigate the risk of sticking. The connec- Multi-Chem® has the local
inside the conductor to avoid washing tion was performed without any issues service and technical support
out the formation. despite the 2- to 3-m rig heave. to help get the most out of your
The 30×36-in. conductor was stabbed Once the casing was landed, the CAN’s well and pipeline assets. Great
into the CAN, whereafter the 44-in. axial loading capacity allowed the release chemistry starts with great
CAN center-pipe was cleaned out at a of the CADA tool so that drilling opera- people. Learn how we can help
2500-L/min flow rate until no overpull tions in the 17½-in. hole section could you increase production and
was observed, to ensure safe landing of proceed immediately, without the con-
maximize results.
the 36-in. housing into the CAN. ductor needing to soak for (a normal
The flow rate was reduced to period of) several hours before the
1000 L/min for cleaning out the bottom tool’s release. Fig. 2 shows the conduc- halliburton.com/production
2 m of the center-pipe and jetting the first tor housing with the CADA tool landed
few meters below the CAN to avoid wash- inside the CAN.
ing out the formation below the CAN.
The conductor was worked upward Main Conclusions
every 2 to 3 m because of the impor- The Ivory drilling operations demonstrat-
tance of keeping the conductor mov- ed that combining the CAN with a short
ing while jetting. Slackoff weights and jetted conductor was a successful means
pickup weights developed in a relatively of achieving an effective dual-derrick
linear manner. operation in the riserless well section.
Good jetting practice is to prepare a Significant time efficiency was
slackoff curve as a road map and apply achieved in this part of the well. With
weight accordingly. The 80% of the BHA 4.6 rig days between well spudding
weight hanging in the CADA tool can inside the CAN and landing the BOP,
be applied in addition to the weight of 7.3 days were saved compared with the
the conductor. expected P50 time plan.
There was only one connection per- Upfront preparation of detailed opera-
formed while jetting, which was planned tional procedures, involving key opera-
at approximately 15 m above total depth. tional personnel, is critical for execut-
Before making the connection, the con- ing an efficient riserless operation with a
ductor was worked twice the length of dual-derrick rig. JPT
Multi-Chem
JPT • MAY 2017
E&P NOTES
Nanotechnology could have a big future Catalytic Conversion established methods of activated car-
as a tool for upstream oil and gas and Wong focused on progress that has been bon adsorption and air stripping that
other industries to use to clean up con- made in developing catalysis methods— are used to remove many contaminants
taminated water, Professor Michael S. catalytic conversion—for water pollu- from water. By changing the chemical
Wong of Rice University, Houston, told tion control, a prime area of his research composition of the contaminated water,
the SPE Gulf Coast Section’s R&D Study that involves the Catalysis and Nano- catalyzed reactions can break down and
Group recently. materials Laboratory at Rice. Within the eliminate the contaminating agent. With
Wong, chair of the university’s chem- oil industry, catalysis plays a major role the other processes, the contaminant
ical and biomolecular engineering in petroleum refining operations such is removed but disposal issues remain.
department, said that the multidisci- as cracking and reforming. In addition, Catalysis methods will also work much
plinary nanotechnology field has suf- Wong said, “An exciting new role for more quickly than the other techniques,
ficiently matured to enable research- catalysis is in the treatment of produced Wong said.
ers and practitioners to envision water for reuse.” He posed the example of treating water
real prospective solutions to water Introducing a catalyst into a chemi- contaminated with trichloroethylene
contamination problems. cal process can bring about or speed up (TCE) by traditional methods vs. a cata-
Water is by far the largest byproduct a chemical reaction, with the catalyst lytic technology that his research group
of the fossil fuel industry. Wong’s pre- remaining unconsumed in the reaction has developed. TCE, a chlorinated hydro-
sentation noted that in the US, oil indus- and thus able to act repeatedly. Only carbon and dense, nonaqueous phase liq-
try well operations produce in aggregate tiny amounts of catalyst are needed to uid, ranks high on the US government’s
approximately 10 times as much water as achieve these effects. priority list of hazardous substances, is
they do oil, and in Canada the water/oil Wong stressed the advantage of cat- present at most of the country’s toxic
ratio is 14 to 1. alytic conversion techniques over the waste disposal sites, and is difficult to
get rid of.
Activated carbon treatment can
remove it from water, but when the car-
bon becomes saturated with TCE, the
carbon must be disposed of or cleaned by
burning off the contaminant.
“That TCE is moving around, wheth-
er to a landfill or going back up into the
atmosphere,” Wong said. “Or if you are
really combusting it, you will turn the
TCE into dioxin [another priority hazard-
ous substance]. So that molecule remains
in the system.”
In air stripping, the contaminated
water is pumped through a series of baf-
fles while forced air volatilizes the con-
taminant to remove it, following which
it is collected and may receive additional
treatment. However, a contaminant, such
A catalyst made of nanoparticles of gold on alumina with palladium atoms
successfully treated chloroform-contaminated groundwater and is effective in
as TCE, will leave deposits that eventually
treating other water contaminants such as nitrates, nitrites, and nitrophenol. must be cleansed from the stripper. The
Source: Rice University. cleansed residue will then be sent to an
In trying to remove risk and uncertainty adapt to a changing data landscape and
from drilling and improve their overall optimize their operations.
drilling efficiency, operators are devel- At a presentation held by the SPE
oping more reliable analytic capabili- Drilling and Uncertainty Technical
ties and adopting novel sensor and data- Section, Eric van Oort discussed the
streaming technologies to help them issues involved in analyzing data for
process the massive amounts of data drilling optimization, and the work
coming from their wells. An industry being done at the University of Texas
expert said that workforce education at Austin to help ease the process. Van
will be critical to helping companies Oort is a professor of petroleum engi-
Digital image correlation (DIC) is rou- required,” he said, adding, “And from
tinely used in modern mechanical engi- an environmental point of view, we can
neering to analyze the strength of build- also say for sure what is going on inside
ing materials. Geologists have used the our reservoirs.”
technology for the same reason in the Mokhtari is underscoring the fact
study of mines. that there are missing pieces to the sci-
Now, researchers from the Universi-
ty of Louisiana at Lafayette are making
entific standard that the oil and gas
industry uses to predict how hydraulic
Increase
the case that DIC can also help petro-
leum engineers—specifically those in
fractures form or grow. These gaps are
often cited by those who view tradition- Production.
the business of hydraulic fracturing. al hydraulic fracturing models as unre-
The ultimate aim: an index of uncon-
ventional rock types based on a quanti-
liable when applied to unconvention-
al reservoirs.
Maximize
fication of their ability to be stimulated,
or what oil and gas producers simply More Data Points Results.
call “fracability.” One of the major advantages of the DIC
DIC technology has a few varia- approach is that it can collect hundreds THROUGHOUT THE
tions, but this application involved of data points per test vs. convention-
the coupling of a high-speed camera al strain gauges that yield only a single LIFE OF YOUR ASSETS
with commercial change-tracking soft- data point. DIC also stands apart in that Whatever your production
ware. This simple approach allowed it is a noncontact monitoring method, challenge, Halliburton offers
researchers to see frame-by-frame how while strain gauges must be physical- a full range of engineered
lines of strain building up inside com- ly attached to a test sample and there-
solutions. From real-time
pressed rock samples directly correlat- fore always represent a potential source
ed to where fractures would form a few of interference. diagnostic well interventions
seconds later. As the paper explains, initial testing to customized specialty
The work was first presented earli- involved two types of rock: a homoge- chemicals, reliable artificial
er this year in a technical paper at the neous sandstone (used as a baseline) and lift systems, and pipeline and
SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technol- a more complex and naturally fractured process pre-commissioning
ogy Conference. Buda Limestone rock from south Texas and maintenance solutions,
Mehdi Mokhtari, the lead researcher —a tight-rock found beneath the Eagle we’re ready to help keep your
and an assistant professor of petroleum Ford Shale.
production high and costs low.
engineering at the university, said the
project served as proof of concept for Contact us to learn more.
the technique that he hopes may explain
some of the unknown factors associ- halliburton.com/production
ated with fracture behavior.
“If we can better understand
these fractures, then we can
optimize the number of stag-
es needed in each well so we
don’t over-fracture a forma-
tion, or do less than what is
The laboratory setup for the digital image correlation strain test experiments
includes a pneumatic press (background), and a high-speed camera
(foreground). Source: University of Louisiana at Lafayette/SPE 184826.
Once extracted from a larger core With the naturally fractured samples,
sample, the side of each sample facing the induced fractures were far more
the high-speed camera was then sprayed complex and tended to branch off in
with a black-and-white speckled paint. different directions. Mokhtari said this
Each little speckle provided the software supports the idea that natural fracture
a reference point to watch for as stress orientation and the bonding material
was applied via a pneumatic press in a that fills those fractures are important
procedure known as the Brazilian test. drivers for fracture growth.
The paint is critical to this type of However, these conclusions are large-
Applied Multiphase Flow in Pipes experiment because the sole focus of ly qualitative and do not describe these
and Flow Assurance—Oil and Gas DIC technology is to compare the origi- drivers in great detail. On that front,
Production delivers in-depth nal image taken as the test begins with Mokhtari said more work will need to be
coverage of the most recent all subsequent images. Any deformation done to connect this experimental test-
or physical change to the face of the ing method to real-world hydraulic frac-
advancements in multiphase flow
sample is assigned a color code, reward- turing operations.
technology in an easy-to-read ing researchers with easy-to-interpret “I didn’t want to over-generalize the
format. Responding to the need for visual data. results” in the paper, he said. “But I
a more up-to-the-minute resource, As a test initiates, areas under low think at this point, we’ve shown that
this book presents applications on to no strain are shown in green. Where this technique works and has a lot of
the fundamentals with new material strain is intensifying, thin red lines good applications.”
quickly appear and then grow thicker. Mokhtari is currently seeking grants
on heat transfer in production
“And when the rock finally breaks, it will and industry partners to help carry on
system, flow assurance, transient do so along those lines,” said Mokhtari. this research. He added that with more
multiphase flow in pipes, and the In baseline tests, the homogenous study, it may be possible to discover what
TUFFP unified model. samples with no natural fractures tend- the laws of fracturing behavior are. That
ed to split vertically down the middle, as work would begin with simpler sand-
www.spe.org/go/AppliedMulti expected. The DIC data showed in these stones before tackling more complex
samples the point of maximum strain, or shale rocks. The data collected could be
where the rock failed, lined right up with used to strengthen numerical models
the direction of the applied load. and simulators. JPT
Russia’s Push R
ussia has shown a remarkable ability to add oil and gas
production in the face of daunting obstacles. It has aggres-
sively expanded in Asia, by rapidly adding production in east
Siberia, as it builds pipelines to China and a liquefied natural gas
Stunted by
at a panel session at the IHS Markit CERAWeek conference in
Houston. “Prices are becoming stable, more predictable,” he
said, but added “there is uncertainty about what comes next.”
As Novak was talking about how the oil-and-gas-driven
24
Others Growth Requirement
One sign of the times in Russia was the
*Production from independent oil companies in Russia has continued to rise as bigger operators have
Production from independent oil companies in Russia has continued to fact that Irkutsk Oil was responsible for
lowered production to reduce ther surplus. Source Rystad Energy.
rise as bigger operators have lowered production to reduce their surplus.
one-third of the production growth in
Source: Rystad Energy.
Russia last year, said Matthew Sagers,
duction from independents, particu- when gas supplies were tight, and Russia managing director in energy for IHS
larly by the biggest one in this group, was able to demand top prices. Markit, which organizes CERAWeek. It
Irkutsk Oil. “Those days are gone now” as the sup- did that by running 32 drilling rigs in
“We do not currently see any evidence ply gap changed to a supply glut, said eastern Siberia, even during the worst of
of Irkutsk Oil or other smaller producers Maxim Nechaev, director of consulting in the oil slump.
planning to comply with the reduction Russia for IHS Markit. The company was born at the start of
program targeted, and thus there exists To grow, Russia has turned to Asia. To the century and has been growing about
an upside risk to the overall agreement,” reach those markets, it is building pipe- 35% a year, with funding for its drilling
said Veronika Akulinitseva, an analyst for lines, expanding energy export facilities program coming from investors in Japan,
Rystad Energy. at Pacific ports, and constructing gas liq- Europe, and the US, said Nikolay Buynov,
Russia remains the biggest supplier of uefaction facilities as part of a program to chairman and president of Irkutsk. While
gas to Europe, but an oversupply of gas push its share of the global LNG market Russia’s independent producers get little
there means it is scrambling to retain from 5% to 15%. attention, Buynov noted that investor-
customers demanding lower prices. That Export routes run in “two directions owned Russian oil companies are “a nor-
is a big change from earlier this decade and none of them are more important mal part of the industry.”
Small is Big!
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The liquids-rich oil produced in eastern Siberia has led companies such as Irkutsk to build more processing plants to
produce feedstocks like ethane for domestic use and export. Source: Irkutsk Oil.
Independents are getting some notice development,” said Roman Panov, direc- like the skeleton of a fish, to effectively
now because, as a group, they added tor of the company, known as RosGeo. produce it.
24,000 B/D of production in February. “We are not pioneers” in the method,
The Rystad report said that if Russia hon- Greater Recovery said Vadim Yakovlev, deputy chairman
ors its promise to OPEC, the country’s top Russian producers have had to find ways of the management board, first deputy,
producers may have to cut deeper. to add production to offset declines chief executive officer, Upstream Gaz-
“It could be more challenging for in aging fields in east Siberia. Getting prom. “But what is special is how quickly
smaller operators to technically reduce what is left in those thick formations has we can go from testing to production.”
production, and also the impact from required adapting the tools used to pro-
such a reduction could hurt them more duce oil from ultratight unconventional Marketing Frontiers
than such producers as Rosneft, for formations for economical completions Russia remains the biggest single gas
example,” Akulinitseva said. in not-so-tight rock. supplier to Europe, and it is working
Reductions by Irkutsk would slow Russian production from “hard to to significantly expand its pipeline
development of Russia’s production fron- recover” reservoirs is now 1.3 million B/D delivery network.
tier in eastern Siberia, which offers both and is expected to rise to 2 million B/D, “Russia has more than enough gas sup-
huge potential and proximity to China. said Novak. ply to fill any gas supply gap in Europe,”
Rystad estimates that the company Since 2010, there has been a rapid said Reinhard Ontyd, chief commercial
added 30,000 B/D of production there rise in the use of horizontal drilling and officer for Nord Stream 2. Next year,
last year and could add up to 20,000 B/D multistage fracturing to stimulate tight a venture, whose western European
this year, with a breakeven price around Russian reservoirs with an average per- partners include Shell, hopes to get the
USD 30/bbl. meability of around 0.1 millidarcy or approvals needed to begin building an
Based on the oil in the ground in Rus- more, said Sergey Kudryashov, general offshore pipeline paralleling the route of
sia’s east, there is big room for growth. director of Zarubezhneft, a state-owned the Nord Steam 1 line, which it plans to
Last year, the Russian geology and oil company, with operations outside complete by 2020.
geophysics data company Rosgeologia of Russia. The problem for Russia is that Europe
acquired a record amount of seismic data When faced with unexpectedly com- is a slow- to no-growth market with
in eastern Siberia and the Russian Far plex rock, Russian firm Gazprom resort- ample supplies. More imported gas will be
East to meet the demand for explorers in ed to drilling horizontal wells in a fish- needed as the output declines from aging
a region that is “not covered by intense bone pattern, with branches of the lateral fields in the North Sea and the Nether-
afglobalcorp.com/drilling
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2019 SPE President Before joining Concord, Cantrell was chief executive officer
Sami Al-Neaim has been with Saudi of Kerns Petroleum in San Antonio. She previously held various
Aramco for 30 years, where he has worked engineering positions with Samson Resources in Tulsa and with
in reservoir engineering, production engi- Chevron in Houston and Midland, Texas.
neering, research and development, and at Cantrell is a registered professional engineer in Texas and
the upstream computer center. He currently has given many years of service to SPE. She received the Region-
serves as manager, Petroleum Engineering al Service Award in 2010 and is currently chair of the SPE
Application Services, where he has full Balcones Section. She has a BS degree in petroleum engineering
responsibility for providing technical information technology cum laude from Texas A&M University.
support to all upstream operations, including exploration, drill-
ing, production, reservoir engineering, and facility design. A Management and Information Technical Director
current area of focus is reservoir simulation of giga cells and Birol Dindoruk is a principal technical
giga models using Saudi Aramco’s GigaPOWERS simulator. expert and team leader in international res-
Al-Neaim has a long history of service to SPE and is cur- ervoir engineering for Shell. He is an adjunct
rently a member of the SPE Middle East Board of Directors. faculty member at the University of Hous-
He has won several local, regional, and international awards, ton department of petroleum engineering
including the SPE Regional Service Award for the Middle East and a consulting professor at the Stanford
in 2010 and the SPE Distinguished Service Award and SPE Dis- University energy resources engineering
tinguished Member in 2011. He currently serves on the society’s department. He is a global consultant for fluid properties (pres-
DeGolyer, Rand, and McConnell Awards Committee and the sure/volume/temperature) and miscible/immiscible gas injec-
2017 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition Execu- tion enhanced oil recovery and reservoir simulation.
tive Advisory Committee. Before joining Shell in 1997, Dindoruk worked at the Amoco
He has published a number of technical papers, holds sever- Tulsa Research Center on compositional simulator develop-
al patents related to well performance, and teaches petroleum ment projects.
engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Miner- Dindoruk is a recipient of the SPE Cedric K. Ferguson Medal
als (KFUPM). Al-Neaim serves on the petroleum engineering (1994) and Lester C. Uren Award (2014). He was selected
departments’ advisory boards at KFUPM and King Saud Univer- this year as a member of the National Academy of Engineers.
sity. He is a key figure in the Saudi and Middle Eastern energy Dindoruk has served SPE in various capacities, including as co-
and media sectors, having published more than 300 articles on Executive Editor of the Formation Evaluation/Reservoir Engi-
oil and gas and energy in Saudi newspapers. neering Journal (2004–2006) and as a Distinguished Lecturer
Al-Neaim obtained BS and MS degrees from KFUPM, and a for 2010–2011.
PhD degree from the University of Texas at Austin, all in petro- He holds a BS degree from Istanbul Technical University, an
leum engineering. He completed the Wharton Executive Man- MS degree from the University of Alabama, and a PhD degree
agement program at the University of Pennsylvania and the from Stanford, all in petroleum engineering, and an MBA
Advanced Asian Business and Culture Program from the Cen- degree from the University of Houston.
ter for Global Business Studies at Pennsylvania State University.
South, Central, and East Europe
Southwestern North America Regional Director Regional Director
Elizabeth J. Cantrell is executive vice presi- Jean-Marc Dumas is the founder of PCMC,
dent and chief operating officer at Concord an international consulting and engineering
Oil Company and affiliates in San Antonio, contractor in Paris, France, that has special-
Texas. She has held leadership positions ized in energy since 1998.
with independent and major companies, Dumas began working for Total in the
having managed projects in many United Middle East and then in Asia as a develop-
States basins and internationally. ment engineer. In 1983, he joined Coflexip
In recent years, sustainability has complicating problems such as depth us and the future. Through our syner-
emerged as perhaps the most critical and tight and thin formations; develop- gies, we can then transform from the cur-
imperative of this century. As our lives ment and application of leading-edge rent incremental pace into a fundamental
are being altered by advancing technol- technologies; and a multitude of envi- shift in the ways we incorporate sustain-
ogy in ways that we never imagined just ronmental considerations and regulato- ability into our operational framework.
a few short years ago, our awareness and ry issues. Our task is to extend the life of At first glance, the notion of sus-
understanding of the complexities in the industry by improving the success of tainability may seem intimidating. The
utilization of the nature and the impact finding new discoveries in frontier and petroleum industry, however, has been
of the footprint that we leave behind remote basins, increasing the ultimate focusing on the concept or its compo-
must lead us to a fundamental shift in recovery from existing fields, as well as nents for a long time, but under differ-
the way we manage our individual and the need to find ways to tap into uncon- ent descriptive terms such as optimiz-
professional lives. ventional resources. At the same time, ing production, maximizing reserves,
The petroleum industry in concert we must intensify our focus on sustain- reducing cost, cutting waste, increasing
with the rest of the world is finding ability, which calls for meeting human- efficiency, optimizing processes, min-
that sustainability presents both risks ity’s needs without harming future gen- imizing footprint, maximizing safety,
and opportunities for its business, thus erations. How are we to accomplish this reducing environmental impact, and
the need for incorporating sustainabil- goal of meeting energy demand in a sus- increasing corporate social responsibili-
ity as a business imperative and not a tainable way? Technology has always ty. We have spent considerable efforts—
moral sacrifice. been the enabler for our industry to heavy investments of time and capital or
Within the next 30 minutes as you meet demand for the last 150 years. But human resources—in achieving these
are reading this article, our planet will now more than ever, the need for quick goals. For our industry, the gap between
be travelling roughly 40,000 miles in development and rapid deployment of what we have been doing and what we
space around the sun, more than 8,000 technologies in the field is paramount. need to do is much narrower than what
babies will be born on this planet, and it is perceived to be.
our oil and natural gas industry will sup- Shared Responsibility The petroleum industry’s sustainabil-
ply nearly 2 million bbl of oil in response Today we are concerned about these ity mindset, however, was more formal-
to the increasing demand for energy. The challenges and, more importantly, we are ized after two critical events. The first
important question is how we can keep realizing that there is only a small win- was in 1988, when an explosion and
up with the many new and unique chal- dow of opportunity for us to act. How- fire destroyed an oil production plat-
lenges posed by this fast-paced change. ever, these are not a single industry chal- form in the North Sea killing 167 men
The oil and gas industry faces a very lenge. Regardless of who we are, where and resulting in a loss of USD 3.4 bil-
challenging future. Energy demand we live, and what we do, we are shar- lion. An ensuing report into the disaster
continues to grow, while our mature ing a ride on this beautiful planet in the made more than 100 recommendations
fields are declining. Out of the 1.2 tril- vast dimensions of time and space. And about how safety should be improved.
lion bbl of proved oil reserves, roughly because this is our only home, we all have The second event was a mid-1990s deci-
two-thirds are extremely challenging to to collaborate, share a responsibility to sion to decommission and dispose of an
develop and produce due to a variety of maintain its balance, and preserve it for oil storage platform in the deep waters
of the North Sea. Although permitted
by the British government, public and
Behrooz Fattahi retired from Aera Energy, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell and
political opposition caused a reconsid-
ExxonMobil, in 2014 after a 37-year career in the oil and gas industry. His last
eration and resulted in a more inno-
position at Aera was as learning advisor, where he taught several internal company
technical courses. Fattahi was president of SPE in 2010, and was president of the vative and sustainable approach of re-
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) in using much of the main structure in the
2014. He holds PhDs in aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering from construction of new harbor facilities
Iowa State. near Stavanger, Norway.
NPC Study
135,000 96,374 25
Gross sqm Attendees Country
Governments have also recognized sustainability as a key issue Pavilions
for future security. As the 2010 president of SPE, I served on
the US National Petroleum Council (NPC) from 2009 to 2012.
2,034 162 850+
Exhibiting Conference Expert
In September 2009, in a letter addressed to the NPC, US Sec- Companies Sessions Speakers
retary of Energy Steven Chu requested the NPC “to reassess
the North American resources production supply chain and 10,009 21 15
Delegates NOCs IOCs
infrastructure potential, and the contribution that natural
gas can make in a transition to a lower carbon fuel mix. Your
study should describe the operating practices and technolo-
gies that will be used to minimize environmental impacts, and WHY ADIPEC?
also describe the role of technology in expanding accessible Purchasing Power - Over US $9 billion of contracts were signed
resources. Of particular interest is the council’s advice on pol- during the 4 days of ADIPEC. With 81% of attendees either a
decision maker, purchaser or influencer, ADIPEC delivers real
icy options that would allow prudent development of North business opportunities.
American natural gas and oil resources consistent with gov-
Knowledge Exchange - With over 750 speakers from around
ernment objectives of environmental protection, economic the world and over 160 sessions, ADIPEC provides one of the
growth, and national security.” most comprehensive conference programmes in the world.
After a 2-year study involving more than 400 experts from International Perspective - 21 NOCs, 15 IOCs and 25
diverse backgrounds and organizations, of which about 60% international country pavilions along with 2,000+ exhibiting
were employed by organizations around the nation outside of companies make ADIPEC unrivalled.
natural gas and oil companies, the council prepared two major
reports, titled “Future Transportation Fuels” and “Prudent
Development of North American Natural Gas and Oil Resourc- BOOK YOUR STAND NOW
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following five core strategies for governments and companies.
1. Support prudent development and regulation of natural
gas and oil resources through such measures as councils Host City Official Media Partner Conference Organiser ADIPEC Organised By
Deepwater Projects
Morten Iversen, SPE, Well Integrity Section Head, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating
The oil-price downturn has domi- Despite near-term concerns, Eni’s Zohr gas discovery in the Medi-
nated the news cycle during the past terranean offshore Egypt and Exxon-
18 months and is expected to dictate the long-term fundamentals Mobil’s Liza discovery off Guyana, which
the fate of many deepwater develop- for deepwater activity are capital-intensive but provide large
ments. In addition, the prices have potential returns on investment.
challenged the economic viabili-
remain strong. In line with this growing trend, Royal
ty of many future deepwater proj- Dutch Shell has categorized deep water
ects, resulting in cancellations and de- technology, will continue to drive as one of its growth priorities for the
ferred sanctioning. deepwater expenditure. next 5 years.
Optimism about a possible recovery Deepwater exploration-and-production From now until 2020, growth in the
of oil prices has picked up recently in the activities are driven by a variety of deepwater market is expected to be con-
offshore energy industry, but I believe supply- and demand-side factors: strained as low oil prices increase pres-
that 2017 and 2018 are going to be com- ◗ The need to offset declining sure on project economics. Operators,
plicated and that this optimism may production from onshore and subsea manufacturers, and rig owners
be premature. shallow-water basins are likely to find the next few years to
Despite near-term concerns, the long- ◗ The potential discovery of large be difficult as project delays continue
term fundamentals for deepwater activ- hydrocarbon reserves, with East through the forecast period.
ity remain strong. Africa a clear example However, decreasing drilling and
The need to offset declining produc- ◗ Economic viability of deepwater equipment costs may provide a limited
tion from mature basins, as well as the developments upside for sanctioning. JPT
ability of international oil companies Despite the prolonged low oil prices,
to access larger reserves with the use there are some fast-track development
of new exploration-and-production plans for large deepwater fields such as Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
OTC 27161 Floater and SURF Combined
Morten Iversen, SPE, graduated from the University of Stavanger and Optimized Solutions by Blaise Seguin,
in 1981 and has worked throughout the world for different opera- Subsea 7, et al.
tors and for several service companies. He works as the Well
OTC 27260 Progress in the Development
Integrity Section head for Karachaganak Petroleum Operating. of Test Methods and Flexible Composite
Iversen holds several patents, including a patent for a tubing- Risers for 3000-m Water Depths
conveyed perforating-shot detection system and a deepwater- by T.A. Anderson, GE, et al.
blowout-preventer system for riserless light well intervention
SPE 179056 Deepwater Riserless
(RLWI). He has worked on implementing the RLWI technology Operations With Coiled Tubing in the Gulf
from its infancy in the late 1980s and later as a global subsea adviser for Welltec, of Mexico: An Innovative, Safe, and Efficient
optimizing the use of RLWI technology to increase well recovery in subsea wells. Plug-and-Abandonment Technique
Iversen serves on the JPT Editorial Committee and can be reached at ivermi@kpo.kz. by Renny Ottolina, Coil Tubing Services, et al.
CJENERGY.COM
CJENERGY.COM
icant undertaking because of the lack of Wire Storage DLS Mezzanine
availability of a suitably sized load that Reels Deck
could be used for this purpose.
To resolve this problem, the test Hydraulic-
Power Unit DLS Main Deck
weight used was a combination of 3-in.
chain (approximately 9 km in length)
and crane counterweights. To under-
take the load test, sheltered water at a
depth of approximately 60 m was locat-
ed off Batam, Indonesia. This depth pro-
vided minimal clearance to seabed below Traction
the crane counterweight when hanging Winches
on the DLB. The test weight was as-
sembled on a barge that was brought Upper Sheave
Blocks
alongside, then picked up by, the vessel
crane and transferred to the DLB. The Lower Sheave
applied test load was 975 t submerged Blocks DLB
(1114.6 t in air).
The DLS system was used safely and Outrigger
Platform Hang-Off
reliably to lower the Gorgon-project Connector
structures to the seabed in 1350-m water
depth. The transfer of the structures
from the main crane hook to the DLB
worked smoothly, with rigger interven-
tion limited to stripping out the head-
sling from the connector top shackle.
Following the transfer of the connector
to the DLB, there was no requirement for
rigger intervention.
PHC Operability. Although the PHC reducing the motion on the structures
was initially planned to be used only for liftoff, lowering through the splash
for structures that approached design- zone, and landout. There were no res-
landing-speed limitations, the PHC onance effects on the structure while
was ultimately used for all 20 struc- using the crane master.
tures. The effort placed on procuring a
purpose-built upending frame was nec- Orientation and Landing on Sea-
essary because of the size of the PHC bed. The installation aids used (PHC
units and rigging attached to each end for heave control and orientation clump
of the units. The pressure switch was weight for heading control) worked as
effective at increasing the accumula- planned and proved to be very reliable
tor volume from three to four cylin- throughout the installation campaign.
ders at the planned depth, with no asso- The use of dowel pins on all deepwa-
ciated downtime. ter mud-mat structural foundations
The time that it takes to charge and (Jansz-Io field) combined with the effect
bleed the PHC units with nitrogen is a of the PHC allowed the structure posi-
constraint and was taken into account. tion to be checked and confirmed before
If the installation sequence is changed, proceeding with the final landout. Ulti-
then additional nitrogen may be re- mately, all structures were installed well
quired. The PHC was very effective at within tolerances. JPT
Well-Treatment Operations
Low-pressure vessel-to-vessel fluid
transfer was selected as the means of
managing treatment fluids during the
project (Fig. 1). In the preferred so-
lution, high-pressure pumps were sta-
tioned on the MSV and were fed fluid
that had been transported to location
on the stimulation vessel. Transfer from
vessel to vessel was performed by a 4-in.
flexible hose, featuring attached buoy-
ancy modules to provide flotation of the
hose between vessels. Hose cradles were
fastened on both vessels to allow for
hose security during operations, reduc-
ing the chance of exceeding minimum-
bend-radius constraints.
Upon connection of the low-pressure
hose to the MSV components, the stim-
ulation vessel was positioned to suit the
weather conditions at the commence-
Fig. 1—Vessel-to-vessel configuration with the low-pressure transfer hose
deployed. ment of pumping operations. In prac-
tice, this typically meant an optimal
this campaign was a 340-ft-long, dynam- 10,000-ft water depth. Each flow side of standoff between both vessels of ap-
ically positioned vessel with a 130-ton the module houses a ball valve for flow proximately 400 ft, which ensured ad-
subsea crane. It offered two fully inte- isolation, and has the capability to be equate flexibility to withstand some
grated remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) completely ROV-operable. The acous- degree of changing conditions before
with a heave-compensated launch and tic (active) and deadman (passive) con- position adjustments were required. The
recovery system, a deck area of 8,000 ft2, trol features enable automatic shut-in by campaign was preplanned to move from
and an integrated moonpool. Four accumulator pressure activation under each of the five candidate wells sequen-
high-pressure pumps were installed on emergency-disconnect circumstances. tially and back-to-back, thus leveraging
the MSV. With the selected hybrid inter- a single instance of MSV mobilization/
While pressure-boosting capacity was vention system decoupling the riser demobilization efforts and cost.
provided from the MSV, the large treat- connection/stimulation module from The same, qualified acid-treatment
ment volume of each job warranted a the subsea production tree (SSPT), design was pumped on all five wells, this
separate stimulation vessel as the fluid- jumper hoses were required to span the being an organic-mud-acid system. On
inventory carrier. Premixed treatment distance from the suction-pile locations the basis of learnings and results from
fluids, for one well at a time, were trans- to the candidate trees. Two-inch flex- the sole prior acid stimulation in the
ferred at low pressure during treatment ible hoses with hotstab end connections field (that being the preceding year’s
operations through a 4-in. hose from the were used, with lengths on the order of rig-based job), two changes were made
stimulation vessel to the MSV. The trans- 100 to 200 ft depending on the well. The to enhance the acid effectiveness, those
fer hose was self-buoyant, allowing visual tree end of the jumper hose ultimately being an increase in the concentration
monitoring and management through- mated with the valve module that was of hydrofluoric acid (from 1 to 1.5%)
out each job, and a breakaway connec- landed on the choke at the SSPT. The and the addition of formic acid to the
tor was installed in a midline position. final retrievable components of the in- main treatment stage.
To ensure attainment of optimal treat- tervention system’s subsea-equipment Total volume pumped across the
ment rates, two independently deployed package were the enhanced choke in- entire campaign was approximately
coiled-tubing risers were used to deliver serts, which had been preinstalled in 30,000 bbl, and a consistent average of
treatment fluids to the subsea wells. the candidate trees by MSV before mo- approximately 4 bbl/min was achieved.
The MSV-deployed stimulation mod- bilization of the MSV-based interven- Surface pump pressures throughout
ule was rated for 10,000 psi and a tion spread. the campaign ranged from 4,500 to
Building Blocks
Advantages of Building Blocks. The use
of conceptual “building blocks” during
concept definition and concept selection
is not new; they have been used in field-
development planning for more than 3
decades. The field-development build-
ing blocks are a very versatile and pow-
erful tool and are relatively simple to de-
fine and to use. They may be tailored to Fig. 1—Schematics of typical arrangements of subsea wells.
the case under investigation, providing
a higher-level view or more-detailed in- the semisubmersible; the spar; the building block. In some geographical
sight, and can enable rapid generation tension-leg platform; and other fixed or areas, the FPSO would necessarily have
of several development options. They floating platforms. to be disconnectable; this requirement
also offer the possibility of producing Even a limited number of initial build- would affect the definition of the build-
simplified sketches representing field- ing blocks can generate a remarkable ing blocks to be used.
development options (Fig. 1). number of field-development options.
The key components of a future off- To manage the potential complexity of Potential Limitations of Building
shore field development are repre- the building-block approach, the quan- Blocks. The building-block approach
sented by predefined, project-specific tity and type of building blocks to be does have potential limitations that
building blocks that are combined in a used are generally defined in an early are worthy of mention. The field-
methodical way (often automated) to stage of the project. Specific building development-planning building blocks
generate multiple development options blocks may be added to ensure that proj- offer a static snapshot of the techni-
to be further ranked and screened. A ect challenges are addressed properly. cal and nontechnical aspects consid-
typical building block is the type of host Building blocks may be purely quali- ered by the project team at a given time
required in an offshore-field develop- tative or may provide some quantitative and may not take into account the sorts
ment. Multiple alternatives are possi- information. In some cases, there might of changes sometimes seen during the
ble, such as the floating production, be multiple combinations of technical course of such projects (i.e., tophole lo-
storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel; and nontechnical features for a single cations or length of flowlines). In addi-
tion, the building-block approach may
not be able to adequately represent the
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
technical feasibility of certain field-
of paper SPE 181707, “Truly Sustainable Building Blocks for Deepwater-Field development options. Another pos-
Development: Need for Strategy Redefinition in a Persistently Low-Oil-Price sible limitation of field-development-
Scenario?,” by Francesco Beltrami, Energo Engineering, and Kevin Hansen, planning building blocks is the unclear
Granherne, prepared for the 2016 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, definition of the readiness level of some
Dubai, 26–28 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed. technologies. Finally, building blocks
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Baker Hughes
EXPERT HOUR
Eliminating Stick-Slip and Other Costly Drilling
Dysfunctions with Innovative Bit Technology
Live and Free | 17 May | 0900 (CDT, GMT-6)
Join us 17 May as a Baker Hughes expert discusses new
mitigation technologies to increase bit life and improve drilling
efficiencies. A selection of field case histories will also be shared,
demonstrating the value of reducing downhole vibrations on
overall bit performance and time to complete wells.
e
Nr w engineering work will likely require
changes in orders and rework owing to
modifications to the project scope, in-
terfaces not properly defined, and as-
ideal containers for key lessons learned.
For example, the smart building block
for the subsea tree might provide a
warning about the subsea-well accessi-
fo
sumptions made during early stages of bility by an anchored MODU. The build-
the project that have proved incorrect. ing blocks for flowlines and umbilicals
!
Use of more-detailed, information- should also provide a similar warning to
selection may be a debatable step. How- sible to determine what has to be done
ever, the deepwater industry is changing on the seabed and what on the topside.
because of the persistent low-oil-price Flow rates, pressures, and temperatures
scenario. If the earlier involvement of will be tracked and recorded constantly.
an installation contractor may be ben- Possible changes to the process will be
eficial to a deepwater project, earlier documented. The effect of possible al-
engineering work and longer pre-FEED ternative decisions will be assessed im-
The Journal of Petroleum and FEED stages also may be beneficial. mediately. For example, it will be rel-
Technology® (JPT) website atively simple to discuss whether gas
Design Optimization lift is compatible with subsea boosting.
has a new look and feel. The Smart building blocks might be used Smart building blocks can also simpli-
redesigned site is mobile- during the optimization of the design of fy the comparison of different compo-
a subsea production system and other nents proposed for the same service.
friendly and offers exclusive offshore facilities. These building blocks There are multiple configurations for
can improve visualization of some rela- the electrical submersible pumps used
online-only content. JPT
tionships among components that are for subsea boosting; different types
will continue to provide not immediately evident. of rotoaxial pumps are also possible.
Smart building blocks might also Smart building blocks containing in-
authoritative briefs and store key information generated by dif- formation on the technical features of
features on E&P technology ferent disciplines and required to make these pumps, as well as pump charts,
decisions about the development stag- technology-readiness reporting, and
advancements, oil and gas es of a project and the related sizing similar data, will ensure that only com-
industry issues, and news of the facilities; this is a critical task ponents fully qualified for the intended
that often determines the outcome of a service are selected.
about SPE and its members. project. Designing only to produce the The complete paper describes several
first-phase wells may be a conservative specific examples that clarify how smart
assumption that can limit future pro- building blocks may be beneficial to a
duction; at the same time, designing for better definition of the project scope
Check out the new website all the present and future wells since the and to the consequent allocation of in-
and sign up for the initial production stage might be too vestment funding. JPT
eNewsletter today at
www.spe.org/go/JPTOnline JPT • MAY 2017
RFID-ENABLED TOOLS
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In the early days of intelligent fields, As with most industries, which might seem threatening if you
we tended to see the game as more are a Kasparov. Unlike chess players,
data, more control, more models, and the oil industry is ripe we have a much larger endgame, and
more integration. All these aspects, of for automation of the type our effective mastery of these technolo-
course, are still key components to the gies can help us sustain and deliver in
system solutions that are now emerg-
that is likely to trivialize an environment of intense competitive
ing. However, the most-competitive much of what consumes pressures. The body of knowledge and
emerging systems blend artificial intel- our days as engineers … . practice in this area is large and growing
ligence to bring better efficiency to the quickly, and some of the recommended
human work that results in good busi- articles in this section are examples of
ness decisions. As a result, we waste event was the only surprise. That a com- the current state of the art. JPT
less time and fewer resources find- puter could beat the best human chess
ing and manipulating data and focus player at some point was certain long
more on complex engineering judgment before it happened. Recommended additional reading
and building richness into the bases of As with most industries, the oil indus- at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
our decisions. try is ripe for automation of the type
When Deep Blue beat Kasparov, it was that is likely to trivialize much of what OTC 26509 Limitations of Using
Smart Wells To Achieve Waterflood
a watershed event, but the timing of the consumes our days as engineers today— Conformance in Stacked Heterogeneous
Reservoirs: Case Study From Piltun Field
by Harsimran Khural, Shell, et al.
John Hudson, SPE, has more than 25 years of experience in flow SPE 180165 DAS/DTS/DSS/DPS/DxS—
assurance, production-system design, and technology develop- Do We Measure What Adds Value?
ment. He has held technical and managerial positions in Shell at by Kousha Gohari, Baker Hughes, et al.
locations in Europe and North America, providing consultancy to SPE 181110 Optimal Field Development
a diverse set of assets globally. His activities have included the and Control Yield Accelerated, More-
development of a model-based, cloud-computing solution that Reliable Production: A North Sea Case
was deployed to gas-production systems with combined capac- Study by M. Haghighat Sefat, Heriot-Watt
ity in excess of 10 Bcf/D. He is currently a principal production University, et al.
engineer at Shell and the product manager for Shell’s PetroSigns Flow simulator and SPE 181435 Machine-Learning
integrated reservoir and asset simulation platform. Hudson holds a PhD in chemical Approach for Irregularity Detection
engineering from the University of Illinois. He serves on the JPT Editorial Committee in Dynamic Operating Conditions
and can be reached at www.linkedin.com/in/hudsonjohnd. by Mohamed Sidahmed, BP, et al.
T he challenges of reservoir
characterization can be overcome
accurately and efficiently by the use of
obtained from density logs. In this
study, a three-step approach was pro-
duced. First, the authors apply prepro-
singular-value decomposition. PCA al-
lows the reduction of the dimensionality
(number of the columns) of the well-log
computer-based intelligence methods cessing of the log data by use of stan- data but retains most of the variability
such as neural networks, fuzzy logic, dardization and dimension reduction of those data.
and genetic algorithms. This paper [principal-component analysis (PCA)].
will describe how one integrates Second, they apply clustering [model- Well-Log-Data Mining
a comprehensive methodology of based clustering (MBC)] to recognize Though well logs are a record of rock
data-mining techniques and artificial specific patterns and interpret strati- and formation properties vs. depth, they
neural networks (ANNs) in reservoir- graphic information. Finally, a simi- are not a straightforward representa-
petrophysical-properties prediction lar pattern is chosen as input to gen- tion of the formation, and the amount of
and regeneration. erate a target pseudodensity log by well-log data is usually extremely large.
use of ANNs. In addition, stratigraphic interpreta-
Introduction tion and classification are necessary to
ANNs—machine-learning models that Well-Log-Data Preprocessing select appropriate wells for data post-
provide the potential to establish multi- Normalization. Well-log data are con- processing. Data mining is the computa-
dimensional, nonlinear, and complex structed in a matrix form whereby each tional process of discovering patterns in
models—can be powerful tools with row represents the depth record and large data sets, and it involves methods
which to analyze experimental, indus- each column is the different type of well at the intersection of artificial intelli-
trial, and field data. log. Each well constructs one well-log gence, machine learning, statistics, and
It is crucial to find the optimal data matrix, and one field that has multiple database systems.
from one well to build the model with wells constructs a big data set. The ini-
ANNs for pseudowell-log generation of tial step in the first stage is to normalize Lithofacies and Electrofacies. A litho-
a target well. Manual stratigraphic in- well-log data. This normalization is nec- facies is a body of rock with specified
terpretation, though labor-intensive, is essary because different types of well- characteristics. Different types of litho-
regarded as one approach. Data-mining log data have different units. For in- facies have an internally different sig-
techniques are another applicable ap- stance, the spontaneous-potential log is nal response on well logs. For example,
proach, involving the automatic pro- given in millivolts, whereas the gamma a gamma ray log of sandstone can re-
cessing of data associated with non- ray log is given in an API unit. flect the clay content. If a gamma ray log
linearity by use of a statistical method of sandstone is used to build a model,
to discover data patterns. One applica- PCA. This is a statistical procedure that and subsequently that model is used to
tion in petrophysics is facies (or electro- uses an orthogonal transformation to predict the gamma ray log of shale, se-
facies) classification, which is widely convert a set of well-log vectors (attri- vere mismatch problems arise that will
used to divide well-log data to obtain butes) of possibly correlated variables ensure prediction failure. It is there-
target information. Clustering analysis, into a set of values of linearly uncor- fore of paramount importance to have
an adjunct to artificial intelligence, can related variables called principal com- correct lithofacies. Lithofacies iden-
determine electrofacies and categorize ponents. Then, principal components tification is classified into three gen-
lithological profiles quite efficiently. construct a new matrix, which has much eral approaches:
Porosity, one of the more impor- lower dimensions than the original. In ◗ Core-data analysis
tant petrophysical properties, can be this paper, the authors propose to use ◗ Knowledge-based well-log analysis
by the expert system
◗ Electrofacies
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
Compared with the first and second
of paper SPE 180439, “Pseudodensity-Log Generation by Use of Artificial Neural methods, electrofacies analysis is rela-
Networks,” by Wennan Long, University of Southern California; Di Chai, University tively inexpensive and more efficient.
of Kansas; and Fred Aminzadeh, University of Southern California, prepared for
the 2016 SPE Western Regional Meeting, Anchorage, 23–26 May. The paper has not Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM). It
been peer reviewed. is assumed that one well-log matrix is
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
25
0.2 0.2
Gas Volume Fraction
20
0.4 0.4
15
0.6 0.6
10
0.8 0.8
5
1 1 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
(a) Water Cut (b) Water Cut
0 0 5
4.5
0.2 0.2 4
3.5
Gas Volume Fraction
0.4 0.4 3
2.5
0.6 0.6 2
1.5
0.8 0.8 1
0.5
1 1 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
(c) Water Cut (d) Water Cut
Fig. 1—(a) Gas- and (b) oil-holdup errors when solving the nonlinear system of equations using a least-squares
optimization problem. Parts (c) and (d) show improvement in results when an informed initial solution is specified.
zontal. After accounting for flow from those provided by the fiber and ICV, reached by looking solely at the reservoir
the three ICVs, the total flow rate from respectively. To ensure that this setup and well pressures, which makes it diffi-
DAS was largely consistent with results is functional, the Joule-Thomson coeffi- cult to detect gas breakthrough by moni-
from the surface flowmeter. cient was calculated for all three single- toring only reservoir and well pressures.
phase fluids. For the three cases, the co- With the presumed availability of res-
Integrating DTS Analysis efficient from the two methods matched ervoir and well temperatures and pres-
With DAS within 1%. sures, the gas holdup is calculated. The
A simple radial reservoir-simulation To test if the qualification holds for outcome from this exercise can be com-
model was constructed to test this two-phase flow, a gas cap was placed pared with the simulator gas-holdup
inflow-profiling methodology. Diam- above the reservoir and the simulation values (representing surface-flowmeter
eter of the first ring was set to 0.1 ft was run for 1 year. This provides a wide measurement) from this production seg-
higher than the wellbore diameter to range of gas volume fractions, starting ment. It can be seen that the gas hold-
read the sandface temperature. The well from dry-oil production and then reach- up resulting from this approach follows
was defined as a multisegment well to ing a gas-dominated flow by the end of simulated values closely. The biggest ab-
track temperature variation along the the run. Reservoir and well temperatures solute difference between the two values
wellbore. The model contains 40 1-ft behave as expected. The effect is gradual- at any timestep is 5%. The difference is
layers to provide temperatures with a ly reduced as more gas is produced, and mainly caused by neglecting the casing
resolution similar to that of DTS. With reservoir temperature becomes higher thermal conductivity in the derivation.
this setup, simulation temperature and than that of the wellbore by the end of Both of the inflow-profiling approach-
pressure values would be considered as the run. The same conclusion cannot be es discussed were capable of characteriz-
Recompletions Solutions
Efficient Optimization Strategies for
Developing Intelligent-Well Business Cases
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Multilateral/Extended-Reach Wells
Bernt S. Aadnøy, SPE, Professor of Petroleum Engineering, University of Stavanger
In a previous issue of JPT, I read an inter- During the last decade, mous systems are being developed with
esting comment. A petroleum engi- more-precise control functions. A related
neering department had visitors. One wells such as horizontal group of tools includes water-stop mech-
of them was asked to draw a well on wells, long-reach wells, anisms. Water production is a consider-
the chalkboard, and she instinctive- able challenge for the oil industry, from
ly drew a horizontal well. She obvious-
and multilateral wells production, cost, and disposal perspec-
ly considered horizontal wells as com- came to be considered tives. At present, there exist many useful
mon. This illustrates that, during the last mature technologies. completion technologies for inflow con-
decade, wells such as horizontal wells, trol and for workovers and stimulation
long-reach wells, and multilateral wells purposes. New and improved function-
came to be considered mature technolo- alities open up for more-detailed reser-
gies. Another aspect is that the techni- field recovery. Multilateral wells expose voir analyses that ultimately will result
cal level has increased significantly dur- more reservoir and improve reservoir in higher field recovery.
ing this development. Currently, in well drainage, whereas long-reach wells The featured papers all show improved
engineering, there are also many activi- often increase drainage from existing solutions for constructing multilateral
ties designed to stretch limits, improve platforms. Up to 80% of long horizon- and long-reach wells. They show the
processes, and make solutions more tal wells may have inflow-control tools. dynamics of a continuous striving for
competitive economically. The most common is the inflow-control- improvements. These well types are very
The main objective of multilateral device orifice to control the water/oil important tools in the search to maximize
and extended-reach wells is improved contact, but more-advanced autono- recovery from petroleum fields. JPT
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
tire well, so all the laterals are produced Multilateral-Well-Test Design dependent skin, wellbore storage, frac-
at the same time and then, afterward, Work Flow ture geometries, and interference from
each lateral is tested separately to de- To identify oil, gas, and water produc- the other laterals can be accomplished.
termine the specific productivity and tion properly under different operational
fluid behavior of each lateral. Both conditions for each lateral under com- Well Model. Generating a well model
total-well and lateral-by-lateral produc- mingled production, four steps need to before the production well test is per-
tion tests are produced typically under be followed in order to obtain the best- formed will give the engineer the tools
several different operational conditions quality data and results: to have a better understanding of the
(i.e., choke sizes). ◗ Well-test planning and coordination results and to analyze, validate, and
The total production the well produces ◗ Well-test design optimize them in real time or during
from all laterals is typically less than the ◗ Well model the well-test period. Generating a well
sum of the individual-lateral production ◗ Well-test program model with previous well-test data will
rates. This is because of the interference help the engineer to understand the well
effect between the laterals. Well-Test Planning and Coordination. productivity for each lateral and the in-
An IF was generated to match the re- During the well-test period, pressure, teraction of each lateral during commin-
duction in production observed from the temperature, and rates need to be ob- gled production.
total well and match the model under tained on a real-time basis under the
different operational conditions. same operational conditions. For this Well-Test Program. The well test is pro-
The IF is still under study and needs reason, it is very important to have close posed in these types of wells to be di-
more technical and testing development. coordination during the test operation vided into three different stages—low
The actual proposal is simple in that it in order to ensure that the required in- drawdown, high drawdown, and build-
is related only to the productivity index formation is obtained during the test. up. The program for the well test will be
of each well, although other parameters In order to calculate productivity index, defined mainly to obtain the following
(e.g., well distance, distance between drawdown, GOR, and water cut under information about the well:
laterals, lateral length and diameter, stable and representative conditions, all ◗ Reservoir pressure
drainage-area shapes) will have different the previous variables, rates, and pres- ◗ Productivity index of each lateral
effects on the productivity index. sures need to be obtained and analyzed ◗ GOR and water-cut rate
in real time. dependencies for individual laterals
Production Optimization. The main and commingled
objective of production optimization Well-Test Design. The main objec- ◗ Operational conditions (inflow
in this study is to identify the optimal tives of the well-test design through a and outflow curves) for individual
oil and gas rates on a well and field pressure-transient-analysis application laterals and commingled
basis. On a well basis, the objective is are to define and optimize the flow-after- A well-test program designed to obtain
to obtain optimal production to avoid flow and shut-in periods in order to ob- this information for multilateral wells
high water cut or high GOR. On a field tain representative data from the system. can be defined as a number of flow-after-
basis, the objective is to identify the op- With the combination of an analytical flow stages (depending on the number of
timal field rate that satisfies operational and a numerical model, a better un- laterals) at a low and high drawdown fol-
well constraints. derstanding of productivity index, rate- lowed by a buildup test. JPT
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Campaign Wells
needed to be rotated and worked to its 00-A
Development-
2000 to 2010
final depth. Liner connections and down- 00-B
00-C 62.3%
hole completion tools have limited ro- Success Rate
00-D Actual
bustness, and the operator performed Plan
modeling to determine maximum allow- 00-E
Development-Campaign Wells
Rotated Completion
liner top provided valuable input to refine 10-C
2010 to 2016
to rotate the liner and work it to bottom. 10-E
10-F Attempted to Rotate—No Go
Packer-Setting Signature. In this proj- 10-G
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Unmanned Systems
Technical Section
SPE has formed a Technical Section for members This section seeks to:
to promote the exchange of information and • Develop capability through workshops and
technology, as well as develop understanding of and conferences
competence in the area of unmanned systems.
• Transfer knowledge through meetings,
This new technical area covers remotely operated and communication, and PetroWiki®
autonomous vehicle systems, software solutions, and
power systems for marine, air, and land environments • Promote safety, professionalism, and social
such as ROVs and drones. responsibility through ethics, certification, and
HSSE-SR
Deepen your learning and share your insights with
other SPE members on the subject both virtually and • Provide public education through STEM
face-to-face. volunteering and student competition engagement
Cementing/Zonal Isolation
Gunnar DeBruijn, SPE, Principal Instructor, Schlumberger
The terms “cement” and “isolation” are Enhancing performance ing zonal isolation in increasingly chal-
used interchangeably in the oil field. Stat- lenging environments, including deeper
ing the obvious, cement is a material in cementing is a necessary water, long-reach wells, and wells sub-
that is mixed as a slurry, pumped into component of challenging, jected to large temperature and pres-
place, and then predictably turns into sure cycles throughout the life of the
an impermeable (very low permeability)
and improving, the costs well. Every geographic location presents
solid. Despite cement’s remarkable prop- of drilling a well. unique challenges.
erties, the search continues for enhance- As engineers in the drilling industry,
ments in the areas of cost and isolation we also continue to look for verifica-
performance. Several themes are evi- especially related to strength and flex- tion that isolation has been achieved.
dent throughout the sessions and papers ibility. However, we have yet to find a sys- Programs, laboratory tests, real-time
that were presented at SPE events this tem that exceeds both the economic and monitoring, and post-job documentation
year. Efficiencies and enhancements have the technical performance of cement in all contribute to a holistic approach to
been explored even to the point of replac- today’s wells for zonal isolation. As we cementing and barrier verification. The
ing cement with other materials. Along continue to search for new isolation sys- featured papers, along with the addi-
with each improvement, verification of tems, we also continue to enhance our tional reading, explore new materials,
zonal isolation has been investigated. existing processes and materials. improved techniques, and optimized
Replacements for cement systems, Enhancing performance in cementing performance for zonal isolation. JPT
such as geopolymers and resins, are inves- is a necessary component of challeng-
tigated in a number of papers. Geopoly- ing, and improving, the costs of drill-
mers have promising long-term strength ing a well. New components, updates Recommended additional reading
and bonding properties. Resins also have to additives, and specifically designed at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
desirable performance characteristics, cement systems are enablers to provid-
SPE/IADC 184672 High Assurance
on Barrier Placement and Evaluation for
Deepwater Wells in Brazil by V. Reveth,
Gunnar DeBruijn, SPE, is a principal instructor for Schlumberger Schlumberger, et al.
Well Integrity (Cementing). He has 27 years of experience work- SPE 180344 Relating Cement-Additive
ing in the oil industry, mostly in cementing. DeBruijn has worked Performance to Mix-Water Composition
across North America and in deep water around the world, sup- for Deepwater and Salt-Zone Applications
porting cementing and well-integrity initiatives. His current by B.R. Reddy, Aramco, et al.
focus is on training and competency development for the world- SPE/IADC 184675 True Self-Healing
wide cementing population. DeBruijn also regularly contributes Geopolymer Cements for Improved
to industry standards. He holds a BS degree in mechanical engi- Zonal Isolation and Well Abandonment
neering from the University of Alberta. DeBruijn serves on the JPT Editorial by Xiangyu Liu, The University of Texas at
Committee and can be reached at gunnar1@slb.com. Austin, et al.
drilling mud and smart cement and the rheology, corrosion resistance, shrink-
hardening of the cement in place. A new age, thermal conductivity, specific heat,
method has been developed to measure electrical conductivity, and absorption
Higher-Swelling Clay
the electrical resistivity of the materials (heat and energy) properties of cement.
with the two-probe method. Using the A smart cement has been developed Strain
new concept, it has been proved that that can sense any changes going on in- Gauge
resistivity dominated the behavior of side the borehole during cementing and
drilling fluid and smart cement. during curing after the cementing job.
The smart cement can sense the changes Probes
Introduction in the water/cement ratio, different addi-
Elevation
With reported failures and growing in- tives, and any pressure applied to the ce-
terest in environmental and economic ment sheath in terms of piezoresistivity. Water Table
concerns in the oil and gas industry, in- The failure compressive strain for the
Lower-Swelling Clay
tegrity of the cement sheath is of major smart cement was 0.2% at peak compres-
importance. Oilwell cement serves many sive stress, and the resistivity change is on
purposes in cemented oil and gas wells. the order of several hundreds, making it
Foremost among these is to form a seal- more than 500 times more sensitive.
ing layer between the well casing and the
geological formation. Theory and Concept Thermocouple
In order to characterize the cement Impedance Model. Equivalent Circuit.
and cement concrete in various appli- It is important to identify the most ap- Elevation
cations, electrical-resistivity measure- propriate equivalent circuit to represent
Smart
ment has been used by many researchers. the electrical properties of a material to Cement
Studies have also examined the piezo- characterize its performance with time. Instrumentation
Casing
resistive behavior of modified cement- In this study, different possible equiva- 0.8-in.-
based and polymer composites. One con- lent circuits were analyzed to find an ap- Diameter
clusion is that the change in resistivity propriate equivalent circuit to represent Plain View Tube
has the potential to be used to determine smart cement and drilling fluid. Strain
the integrity of the materials. Thermocouple Probes
Gauges
Resistance and Resistivity. After years
Smart Oilwell Cement of studies and on the basis of the current Fig. 1—Schematic of the field well
with instrumentation.
Cement-slurry flow and stability are the study on well cements and drilling muds,
major requirements in well cementing. electrical resistivity was selected as the evaluate the performance of cement and
Oil- and gas-well cements are usually sensing property for both cements and drilling muds. Hence, two parameters (re-
made from Portland cement clinker or drilling muds. This is unique in that the sistivity and change in resistivity) will be
from blended hydraulic cements. When same monitoring system can be used to used to quantify the sensing properties.
Resistivity of the materials to the
changes (composition, curing, stress,
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
fluid loss, and temperature) have been
of paper OTC 27060, “Field Test for Real-Time Monitoring of Piezoresistive Smart
quantified. Correlating the changes, such
Cement To Verify Cementing Operations,” by C. Vipulanandan, M. Ali, B. Basirat, as composition, curing, stress, cracking,
A. Reddy, N. Amin, and A. Mohammed, University of Houston; S. Dighe, SPE, fluid loss, and temperature, to the resis-
Baker Hughes; and H. Farzam, Cemex, prepared for the 2016 Offshore Technology tivity and change in resistivity will sup-
Conference, Houston, 2–5 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2016 port the monitoring of the materials’ (ce-
Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. ment and drilling fluid) behavior.
Saltel ECP Ad for JPT May 2017 17-CO-275548 AD.indd 1 4/12/17 11:26 AM
Investigating the Benefits of Rotating-Liner
Cementing and Impact Factors
Liner-Hanger System
The ELH system incorporates bonded
elastomeric sections. The elastomeric ele-
ment provides the hanging capacity for Cement Displace Expand Expansion— Drill Out
the liner and a gas-tight seal. The liner- Liner Plug Liner Complete Release
hanger/packer body contains no setting Hanger From Liner
mechanism or external components, such
as slips, hydraulic cylinders, or pistons. Fig. 1—Cementing and ELH-installation sequence.
The hydraulic setting mechanism is con-
tained in the setting-tool assembly and Liner-Hanger Operation cementing. No liner reciprocation during
is retrieved, eliminating potential leak The key to a successful liner deploy- the cementing operation was planned be-
paths in the flow stream. This running/ ment is prejob planning. As part of the cause of rig limitations. In addition, ro-
setting-tool-assembly system provides preplanning, several iterations of the tation was preferred over reciprocation
the necessary expansion mechanics, ce- torque-and-drag analysis are simulated because the liner must be in the position
menting pack-off seals, a collet assem- with software to determine the ideal run- across the zones of interest at all times
bly to carry the liner weight and transfer in-hole solution. and prevent any potential operational
the liner weight to the drillstring, and an The ELH system is run much like con- risk (e.g., stuck pipe or liner set high). The
end-of-expansion indicator assembly. As ventional liner-hanger systems, with min- ELH standard setting/running tool has a
required, the liner system can be rotated imal differences. The key difference is torque rating limitation of 15,000 lbf-ft.
and reciprocated when incorporated with that the liner with the ELH system is ce- Consequently, it was deployed as a non-
an ELH high-torque running/setting tool mented before setting the hanger because rotational liner hanger. The ELH high-
and high-torque liner connections. The the hanger provides hydraulic isolation torque running/setting tool, with a torque
liner system can be rotated and recipro- when it is set. Cementing before setting rating of 39,071 lbf-ft, was used with the
cated while running in the hole or during the liner hanger enables rotation and re- rotational liner-hanger system. During
cementing operations (Fig. 1). ciprocation, which should improve the the cementing operation, the liner string
was rotated at 10 to 20 rev/min. The next
step is to set the hanger, which is per-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
formed hydraulically after releasing a set-
of paper SPE 180578, “Investigating the Benefits of Rotating-Liner Cementing and ting ball. After the hanger is set, the liner
Impact Factors,” by Quek Khang Song, SPE, Hao Wang, and Weicun Dong, top can be washed using conventional or
Halliburton, and Roger Bradshaw, SPE, Wei Cui, and Johnson Njoku, ConocoPhillips, reverse-circulation techniques. The tools
prepared for the 2016 IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference and are then retrieved from the wellbore, and
Exhibition, Singapore, 22–24 August. The paper has not been peer reviewed. the well is ready for completion.
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Take control of your professional development. The SPE Competency Management Tool is a
free online member benefit that allows you to assess your current capabilities.
REGISTER NOW
For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.
Discussion
Figs. 1 and 2 show that the lack of tub-
ing centralization does not prevent
cement placement in the annulus. They
also show that the cement is well-placed
around the control lines. In other words,
the experiments show that it is possi-
ble to obtain good cement placement
Fig. 1—Cut test assemblies with conventional cement. Without control lines outside tubing when the tubing is left
(left) and with control lines (right). in hole. Although the results for mea-
sured flow and calculated microannu-
which allowed the expandable cement Results li show that there are leakages through
time to expand. Tests With Conventional Cement. The the assemblies, the measured flow rates
Flow tests were performed with cement had cured for only 8 to 9 days are relatively low and should not have
injection-pump pressures at approxi- when the flow tests were performed. significant practical consequences in a
mately 70 and 120 bar. After the pres- After a few more weeks, the cement could real well with several hundred meters of
sure tests, Assemblies A and B were cut have shrunk more and larger micro- cemented annulus.
open for visual inspection of cement- annulus gaps could have been seen. Measured flow results also show
placement quality. Assembly C was left After finishing the flow tests, the as- that the test assemblies with expand-
uncut to enable further tests. After the semblies were cut through crosswise at able cement provided better sealing
water-flow tests on Assembly C, flow tests different places at the ends and mid- than the test assemblies with conven-
were continued with light oil to determine dle of the assemblies. Fig. 1 shows that tional cement. This is probably caused
the effect of fluid type on sealing ability. there seems to be complete cement dis- by the expanding nature of the expand-
placement, including around the control able cement, as opposed to conventional
Calculation of Effective Microannuli. lines. Similar results were observed for cement, and the authors conclude that
During the pressure tests, the fluid flow Assembly B. expandable cement provides better seal-
through the assemblies was measured ing than conventional cement.
at different pressures and any result- Tests With Expandable Cement. After It should be noted, however, that the
ing microannuli were calculated from finishing the flow tests on Assem- use of the expanding agent is not the
these measurements. This calculated blies A and B, the assemblies were cut only difference between the test setups
“effective microannulus” is defined as crosswise through at different places for these two cases. The assemblies with
the concentric, uniform microannu- at the ends and middle of the assem- expandable cement were heated exter-
lus that would give the measured pres- blies. Fig. 2 shows that there seems nally and kept at a temperature of 90°C,
sure drop at the measured flow rate. It to be perfect cement displacement, whereas the assemblies with convention-
translates pressure-drop and leakage- including around the control lines. al cement were not heated and, thus,
rate measurements into a coarse geo- Similar results were observed for all were exposed to the ambient tempera-
metric measure for the space available three assemblies. ture of approximately 10°C during cur-
for leakage between the cement and Assembly C was also tested with light ing. Comparing the temperature devel-
the steel wall. oil as the leak fluid. The flow was substan- opment in the samples shows that the
assemblies with conventional cement
experienced an internal temperature
difference of approximately 60°C dur-
ing cement curing, whereas the assem-
blies with expandable cement experi-
enced a temperature difference of only
approximately 20°C. It is possible that
this large temperature difference for the
conventional-cement assemblies result-
ed in casing expansion during cement
curing, thereby contributing to micro-
annuli formation at the cement/casing
interface. The observed differences be-
tween the assemblies, therefore, should
Fig. 2—Cut test assemblies with expandable cement. Without control lines not be attributed solely to the use of
(left) and with control lines (right). expandable cement. JPT
CLAUDIO DESCALZI, SPE, was nominated 2014. Descalzi was the COO of Eni’s E&P division during 2008–
as chief executive officer (CEO) at Eni for a 2014 and held the position of the chairman of Eni UK from
second 3-year term by the Italian govern- 2010 to 2014. He was awarded the Charles F. Rand Memorial
ment. The nomination was to be confirmed Gold Medal in 2012 by SPE and the American Institute of Min-
by shareholders in a meeting in April. Des- ing, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers for distinguished
calzi has been Eni’s CEO since May 2014. He achievement in mining administration. Descalzi is a Visiting
joined Eni in 1981 as an oil and gas field pe- Fellow at the University of Oxford. In 2015, he was made a
troleum engineer and became project manager for the develop- member of the Global Board of Advisors of the Council on For-
ment of North Sea, Libya, Nigeria, and Congo. In 1990, he was eign Relations. Descalzi graduated in physics from the Univer-
appointed head of reservoir and operating activities for Italy. sity of Milan.
Descalzi then held several managerial positions at Eni, includ-
ing managing director of Eni’s subsidiary in Congo; vice presi- PHANEENDRA KONDAPI, SPE, was ap-
dent and managing director of Nigerian Agip Oil Company, an pointed founding director of engineering
Eni subsidiary; executive vice president for Africa, Middle programs and professor of subsea engi-
East, and China; and executive vice president for Italy, Africa, neering at the University of Houston Cullen
and Middle East. In 2005, he was the deputy chief operating of- College of Engineering Katy Campus.
ficer (COO) of the exploration and production (E&P) division of Kondapi was previously director of subsea
Eni and was the president of Assomineraria from 2006 to engineering and professor of practice at
In Memoriam
This section lists with regret SPE members who recently passed away. If you would like to report the passing of a family
member who was an SPE member, please write to service@spe.org.
James G. Ballard, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA Robert R. Polk, Santa Fe, Texas, USA
Titus J. Colaco, Spring, Texas, USA Harvey Lee Ratliff Jr., Amarillo, Texas, USA
Jesse B. Graner, Signal Hill, California, USA James Scott, Ponca City, Oklahoma, USA
Gore Kemp, Kilgore, Texas, USA Derry D. Sparlin, Springfield, Virginia, USA
John W. Kenneday, Houston, Texas, USA O.E. Trechter Jr., Tampa, Florida, USA
Eduardo G. Loreto Mendoza, Mexico City, Mexico
NOEL D. RIETMAN, SPE, died 4 March. Rietman had a long career with Maxus Energy Corp., for-
He was 83. Rietman was the SPE Presi- merly known as Diamond Shamrock Corp. He joined the
dent in 1987 and the president of the company in 1957 and advanced to supervisory positions
American Institute of Mining, Metallurgi- within the company, being named chief production engi-
cal, and Petroleum Engineers in 1994. neer, manager of production operations, general manag-
Much like the current year, Rietman’s er of production, vice president and general manager of
year of SPE presidency saw the industry the company’s northern region, and staff vice president of
go through a downturn, with oil prices dropping steeply in property acquisitions. He was elected senior vice president,
1986. In the May 2016 JPT issue, 2016 SPE President Nathan North American exploration and production in 1987 and re-
Meehan said, “Taking a trip down memory lane, I reviewed tired from Maxus in 1991 as senior vice president production
copies of JPT from the downturn in the late 1980s. Noel and continued to work as a consultant.
Rietman, 1987 SPE president, focused on how SPE was re- A recipient of the SPE Distinguished Service Award, Riet-
sponding, member benefits, company support, and the rel- man was involved with SPE committee activities through-
evance of SPE to members who had been laid off—all very out his career and held section officer positions in Denver
familiar topics from the past year of SPE Board of Directors and Amarillo sections early on. He authored and presented
discussions.” Under Rietman’s leadership, SPE formed an technical papers at conferences and wrote articles in indus-
ad hoc committee that provided SPE with guidelines to cut try publications. One of his legacies was being a mentor
costs while minimizing the reduction of member services to young professionals both from his company and other
and the impact on the reserve fund. Over the years, leader- organizations, with many of his mentees reaching senior
ship such as his has helped SPE sustain and thrive through management positions later. Rietman held BA and BS de-
the decades, both in good times and in downturns, and grees in petroleum engineering and geology, respective-
continue to serve its members. ly, from Texas Tech University, and an MS in mathematics
from West Texas State University. He was also a member of
American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
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In the new SPE League
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Among the attendees at the meeting between the advisory council and the
join and give back, you are SPE Board of Directors were front row, left to right: Nathan Meehan, 2016 SPE
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