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CONTENTS
Volume 69 • Number 2

14 GUEST EDITORIAL • THE LOOMING MARKET FOR

ABANDONMENT AND DECOMMISSIONING
As the boom of the 1970s and 1980s makes way for the first tranche
of major decommissioning projects, the market for abandonment
and decommissioning has grown over the past 5 years. To deliver
these projects in a safe and economic way, decommissioning needs
to be accepted as a serious industry challenge.

28 NEW PERMIAN OIL PLAY REQUIRES PUMPING

AND PERSISTENCE
A new play in the Permian Basin is unconventional in an unexpected
way: There is a small group of independents producing from a
watery formation where oil production begins after they have
pumped only water for weeks. The payoff begins when the reservoir
pressure is lowered far enough to release gas into the liquid, which
begins to push the oil out.

32 US SHALE PRODUCTIVITY WILL OFFSET RISING Layers of rock beneath giant old
SERVICE COSTS fields, like the Yates field near Iraan,
Texas, shown here, are the focus of
A new industry study suggests that the improving productivity
the majority of current US drilling
of US shale wells will help many operators deal with the sting of activity. Photo by Jan Buchholtz.
rising oilfield service costs. The conclusions offer a decidedly more
positive financial outlook for this sector than what many other
analysts are predicting.

35 REBOUND TO TEST IF COST CUTS WILL LAST DEPARTMENTS

As drilling activity rises, the demand for all that is needed
to complete wells rises even faster. The wells are bigger, and 6 Performance Indices
more water and sand are used for each foot stimulated. As a 8 Regional Update
result, service company prices are expected to jump this year 10 President’s Column
and completion engineers are looking for efficiencies to offset 12 Comments
those increases. 16 Technology Applications
42 MEXICO AWARDS ITS FIRST DEEPWATER BLOCKS; 20 Technology Update
WHAT COMES NEXT? 22 E&P Notes
Mexico’s long awaited deepwater auction saw 8 out of 10 blocks 77 People
awarded but there remains plenty of work to be done before 78 Professional Services
activity ramps up, including finalizing regulatory rules, upgrading 79 Advertisers’ Index
ports, and optimizing the bid rules for future auctions. 80 SPE Events

An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Printed in US. Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
 Zonal Isolation

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
We give
you the
45 DRILLING TECHNOLOGY AND RIGS
Michael H. Weatherl, SPE, Engineering Consultant and President,
Well Integrity
superpowers
46 Deepwater Tieback-Cementing-Design Challenges and Engineering
Approach
you’ve
50 Remote Directional Drilling and Logging in the Arctic always
52 How To Develop a Well-Specific Capping-Stack Blowout Contingency Plan dreamed of.
54 OFFSHORE FACILITIES Introducing the world’s
Mark Elkins, SPE, Retired
first X-Ray technology
55 Passive-Fire-Protection Optimization in Offshore Topside Structures for oil wells.
58 In-Service Hull Inspections for Avoiding Dry Docking Safely VISURAY’s revolutionary VR90 ®
not only finds downhole blockages
60 Design of a Floating-Liquefied-Natural-Gas System for Severe
Metocean Conditions faster, it lets you see 2D and 3D
reconstructions of the obstruction.
62 WELL TESTING We’ll illuminate the problem, you’ll
Angel G. Guzmán-Garcia, SPE, Energy Consultant eliminate the problem. Better yet,
you’ll eliminate downtime and
63 Fieldwide Determination of Directional Permeabilities Through Transient
Well Testing increase profitability.

66 Novel Solutions for Transient Sandface Temperature in Dry-Gas- Contact us for a

Producing Wells demonstration
67 Case History: High-Pressure/High-Temperature Underbalanced visuray.com
Drillstem Testing

69 FORMATION DAMAGE
Niall Fleming, SPE, Leading Adviser, Well Productivity and Stimulation,
Statoil

70 Integrated Approach To Managing Formation Damage in Waterflooding

72 Formation Damage: A Novel Approach in Evaluating Zonal-
Productivity Loss

74 Removing Fines-Migration Formation Damage in the Putumayo Basin

in Colombia

VISURAY ION
X-RAY VIS

The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
free to SPE members for two months at www.spe.org/jpt.
 REDEFINING HOW OPERATORS
DRILL, COMPLETE,
AND PRODUCE WELLS
An integrated approach
that delivers the difference.
We’ve earned our position as a leading, multinational
oilfield services provider by continually adapting to meet
the challenges faced by our clients — whether they are
operational or economic. With a comprehensive portfolio of
innovative technologies and a focus on providing integrated
solutions that lower nonproductive time and increase
production, we are relentless in our mission to improve
efficiency and reliability.

See how our commitment to service quality delivers the

difference at weatherford.com
© 2016 Weatherford. All rights reserved.

DRILLING & FORMATION EVALUATION

WELL CONSTRUCTION
COMPLETION & STIMULATION
PRODUCTION

SPE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
2017 President
Janeen Judah, Chevron
2016 President
Nathan Meehan, Baker Hughes
2018 President
Darcy Spady, Broadview Energy
Vice President Finance
Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil Annuitant
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
AFRICA
Adeyemi Akinlawon, Adeb Konsult
CANADIAN
Cam Matthews, C-FER Technologies
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
Joe Frantz Jr., Range Resources
GULF COAST NORTH AMERICA
J. Roger Hite, Inwood Solutions
MID-CONTINENT NORTH AMERICA
Chris Jenkins, Independent Energy Standards
MIDDLE EAST
Khalid Zainalabedin, Saudi Aramco
NORTH SEA
Karl Ludvig Heskestad, Aker BP
NORTHERN ASIA PACIFIC
Phongsthorn Thavisin, PTTEP
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NORTH AMERICA
Erin McEvers, Clearbrook Consulting
RUSSIA AND THE CASPIAN
Anton Ablaev, Schlumberger
JPT STAFF
Glenda Smith, Publisher
John Donnelly, Editor
Pam Boschee, Senior Manager Magazines
Chris Carpenter, Technology Editor
Trent Jacobs, Senior Technology Writer
Anjana Sankara Narayanan, Editorial Manager
Joel Parshall, Features Editor
Stephen Rassenfoss, Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Stephen Whitfield, Staff Writer
Adam Wilson, Special Publications Editor
Craig Moritz, Assistant Director Americas Sales & Exhibits
Mary Jane Touchstone, Print Publishing Manager
David Grant, Digital Publishing Manager
Laurie Sailsbury, Composition Specialist
Dennis Scharnberg, Proofreader
archerwell.com/point
SOUTH AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Anelise Quintao Lara, Petrobras
SOUTH, CENTRAL, AND EAST EUROPE
Matthias Meister, Baker Hughes
SOUTH ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Salis Aprilian, PT Badak NGL
SOUTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Libby Einhorn, Concho Oil & Gas
Barrier
failure is
WESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Andrei Popa, Chevron
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
DRILLING
Jeff Moss, ExxonMobil
HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT,
certain.
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Trey Shaffer, ERM
MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION
J.C. Cunha
COMPLETIONS
Jennifer Miskimins, Colorado School of Mines
PRODUCTION AND FACILITIES
Well integrity
Hisham Saadawi, Ringstone Petroleum Consultants
RESERVOIR DESCRIPTION AND DYNAMICS
Tom Blasingame, Texas A&M University
DIRECTOR FOR ACADEMIA is at a tipping
Dan Hill, Texas A&M University
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS point.
Khaled Al-Buraik, Saudi Aramco
Helena Wu, Santos Ltd.
Most integrity surveys only
evaluate barrier condition.
Archer’s new Point® system
The Journal of Petroleum Technology® magazine is a
registered trademark of SPE.
evaluates barrier performance
SPE PUBLICATIONS: SPE is not responsible for any
statement made or opinions expressed in its publications. to locate leaks and flowpaths
EDITORIAL POLICY: SPE encourages open and objective
discussion of technical and professional subjects per-
efficiently, accurately and
tinent to the interests of the Society in its publications.
Society publications shall contain no judgmental remarks
comprehensively.
or opinions as to the technical competence, personal
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group. Any material which, in the publisher’s opinion,
does not meet the standards for objectivity, pertinence, improved profitability and
and professional tone will be returned to the contribu-
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It’s time to talk to Archer.
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 PERFORMANCE INDICES

WORLD CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION+‡ HENRY HUB GULF COAST NATURAL GAS SPOT PRICE‡

THOUSAND BOPD
6
O PEC JUN JUL AUG SPE
5 USD/million Btu
Algeria 1330 1350 1350 1350
Angola 1823 1829 1833 1768 4

Ecuador 550 545 550 559 3

Indonesia 833 833 830 830
2
Iran 4120 4130 4150 4170
Iraq 4405 4415 4460 4480 1

2016
JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC
Kuwait1 2570 2570 2570 2580
Libya 330 310 250 310
Nigeria 1938 1873 1913 1943
Qatar 1537 1537 1537 1517
Saudi Arabia1 10540 10670 10640 10580 WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)‡
UAE 3135 3156 3186 3216
Venezuela 2280 2220 2210 2200
MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
TOTAL2 35601 35648 35689 35713
Brent 46.74 48.25 44.95 45.84 46.57 49.52 44.73 53.32

WTI 46.71 48.76 44.65 44.72 45.18 49.78 45.71 51.97

THOUSAND BOPD
NON-OPEC JUN JUL AUG SEP
Canada 3112 3657 3854 3837
China 4034 3938 3874 3887 WORLD ROTARY RIG COUNT†
Egypt 495 494 493 493

Mexico 2213 2193 2180 2148

REGION JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Norway 1480 1762 1603 1430
US 417 449 481 509 544 580 634
Russia 10453 10254 10316 10729
Canada 63 94 129 141 156 173 209
UK 898 964 837 848
USA 8711 8691 8747 8580 Latin America 178 186 187 189 183 181 184
Other3 12542 12514 12340 12643 Europe 91 94 96 92 87 97 99
TOTAL 43938 44467 44244 44595
Middle East 389 390 379 386 391 380 376
Total World 79539 80115 79933 80308
Africa 87 82 81 77 77 79 78
Asia Pacific 182 186 194 190 182 188 192
INDICES KEY
+
Figures do not include natural gas plant liquids. TOTAL 1407 1481 1547 1584 1620 1678 1772
1
Includes approximately one-half of Neutral Zone production.
2
Includes all current OPEC members.
3
The “Other” line item also includes Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil,
Colombia, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia,
Oman, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, and Yemen. Monthly production from these WORLD OIL SUPPLY AND DEMAND‡
countries was listed individually in previous JPT issues. Ongoing work
on the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) website is disrupting
the regular updating of these countries’ production numbers. Additional MILLION BOPD 2016
annual and monthly international crude oil production statistics are
available at: Quarter 4th 1st 2nd 3rd
http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/.
† Source: Baker Hughes. SUPPLY 95.98 95.68 96.27 97.83
‡ Source: EIA.
Numbers revised by EIA are given in italics. DEMAND 94.27 95.43 96.78 95.80
Supply includes crude oil, lease condensates, natural gas plant liquids, biofuels, other liquids,
and refinery processing gains.

6 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

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 REGIONAL UPDATE
AFRICA
Z Africa Oil reported that the Erut-1 well
has been spudded on Kenya’s Block 13T.
Situated on a large structural feature in the
northern portion of the South Lokichar Basin,
Erut-1 follows the successful Etom-2 well that
discovered 334 ft of net pay. The latest well
is the first in a firm four-well program slated
for the first half of the year, the company
said. Contingently, four additional wells
could be drilled. Tullow is operator with
a 50% interest in the block. Africa Oil and
Maersk each hold 25% stakes.
Z Lekoil said that oil has flowed from
the Otakikpo Marginal field in Nigeria to
onshore storage tanks, from which it will
be transported when an offshore pipeline
is finished. All onshore facilities have been
commissioned and approved by regulators.
The pipeline connecting the storage tanks
with the tanker offloading manifold is 80%
complete, the company said. Upon the line’s
completion, shipments to an export terminal
will begin, and field production is expected
to ramp up gradually to 10,000 B/D. Lekoil is
the operator with a 40% interest in the field.
Green Energy holds the remaining interest.
ASIA
Z Soco announced that two infill
development wells in the Te Giac Trang field
on Block 16-1 offshore southeast Vietnam
have found hydrocarbons. The TGT-27P and
TGT-28P wells were drilled to total measured
depths of 13,008 ft and 14,468 ft, respectively.
Both wells encountered hydrocarbons
throughout the Miocene and Oligocene
reservoir horizons and are being analyzed
to evaluate the initial perforation strategy,
the company said. Soco (28.5% interest) is
the field operator with other participants
including PTTEP (28.5%), Petrovietnam (41%)
and OPECO Vietnam (2%).
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA
Z ExxonMobil reported a natural gas
discovery in the Papua New Guinea North
Highlands, 13 miles northwest of the Hides
gas field. The Muruk-1 well encountered high-
quality sandstone reservoirs similar to Hides
and was in line with predrill expectations,
the company said. Spudded on 2 November
2016, the well was drilled to a 10,630-ft
depth and is being evaluated to determine
the size of the discovery. Muruk-1 is located
8 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
on petroleum prospecting license 402, which
covers 126,000 acres. The company holds a
42.5% interest in the well, which is operated
by Oil Search (37.5%). Barracuda Limited, a
Santos subsidiary, has a 20% interest that is
subject to regulatory approval.
Z AWE said that well performance from
Stage 1A of the Waitsia gas project in the
North Perth Basin of Western Australia
has exceeded preproduction expectations
over the first 3 months of operations.
Stage 1A of the company-operated project
began production in August 2016 from the
Senecio-3 discovery well and the Waitsia-1
appraisal well. An independent review of
the well performance has determined that
preliminary results from the two zones under
test indicate an accessed gas-in-place volume
of 100 Bcf or more. AWE and Origin Energy
each hold 50% interests in the project.
EUROPE
Z Aker BP reported that the Ivar Aasen field
in the North Sea has produced first oil, with
the project coming in on time and within
budget. Situated 109 miles west of Karmøy,
Norway, the field contains an estimated 186
million BOE and, depending on oil prices
and development results, could have an
economic life of 20 years, the company said.
Aker BP was formed in September 2016 by
the merger of Det Norske Oljeselskap and
BP Norway.
Z Hurricane Energy announced that its
Lincoln well (205/26b-A) in the United
Kingdom North Sea, west of the Shetland
Islands, discovered a “significant” oil column.
The company recently completed drilling
and logging the well, which resulted in a
significant fractured basement discovery.
Gas chromatography and drilling data
indicated a hydrocarbon column of at least
2,165 ft that lies outside the structural
closure on Hurricane’s nearby Greater
Lancaster potential development acreage,
according to Robert Trice, chief executive
officer. Lincoln’s predrill assessment of
250 million recoverable bbl of oil “may be
conservative,” he said.
Z Engie’s Cygnus field has achieved first
gas and is on course this year to become
the largest producing gas field in the
United Kingdom North Sea. Discovered
in 1988, Cygnus went into development
only after the government introduced a
GBP 500-million (USD 810-million) tax
allowance for large shallow-water gas fields
in July 2012. Located 90 miles offshore
Lincolnshire, England, the field has estimated
gross 2P reserves of approximately 635 Bcf.
Engie has a 38.75% interest in Cygnus with
the remaining stakes held by Centrica
(48.75%) and Bayerngas (12.5%).
MIDDLE EAST
Z The Rumaila Operating Organization
(ROO) announced that Iraq’s Rumaila
field has produced 3 billion bbl of oil since
the ROO joint venture (JV) started up
in January 2010. Rumaila has increased
production from 1 million B/D in 2009 to
more than 1.45 million B/D today, said lead
JV contractor BP. Under ROO, the number of
producing wells at the mature field has risen
by about 50%. More than 240 new wells have
been drilled, and a well workover program
has countered the field’s natural decline rate.
The JV consists of BP (38%), China National
Petroleum Company (37%), and South Oil
Company of Iraq (25%).
NORTH AMERICA
Z TransCanada recently abandoned plans
to lower tolls on its cross-country gas
pipeline to eastern Canada, which industry
analysts believe creates an opening for
United States gas producers to expand into
Canada’s market. In the absence of additional
western-Canadian gas shipments eastward,
producers especially in Pennsylvania’s
Marcellus Basin could shift supplies to
Canadian population centers. Antero
Resources, Rice Energy, and Gulfport
Energy, which supply Marcellus gas to the
US Midwest, could benefit most from this
opportunity, said analysts Timm Schneider
and Stephen Richardson at Evercore ISI.
Proposed US-to-Canada pipeline projects
could also benefit, GMP FirstEnergy analyst
Martin King said.
SOUTH AMERICA
Z Petrobras has started production from
the pre-salt Lapa field in the offshore Santos
Basin. The floating production, storage, and
offloading vessel Caraguatatuba has the
capacity to process 100,000 B/D of oil at
the company-operated field, Petrobras said.
The company has a 45% interest in the field,
with the other stakes held by Shell’s BG unit
(30%) and Repsol Sinopec (25%). JPT
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 RISK AND REWARD
Partnerships
Janeen Judah, 2017 SPE President
Following my theme for the year on risk
and reward, this month’s column looks at
how partnerships affect the risk/reward
balance. Our industry is full of partner-
ships—it’s how we share the risk in a
very risky business. But when times are
hard, the partnerships can be strained—
as they are today. Can we adjust the busi-
ness models and partnership alliances so that both operators
and service providers can survive and thrive going forward? Can
partnerships be adjusted to benefit both parties? Is it time for
some new business models?
Whenever I speak to students and SPE’s Young Profession-
als, I remind them this is the oil business. As engineers and
SPE members, we love to focus on technology, but ultimately
oil companies thrive on dollars and barrels. Generally, interna-
tional oil companies (IOCs) make money from very long-term
investments while national oil companies (NOCs) are more fo-
cused on developing long-term, sustainable oil and gas fields
within their borders. NOCs also nurture their own citizens’ job
skills and support local industries.
The past 2 years for the service side of our business have
been a matter of survival. Or, in some cases, not. Everyone
agrees that the service sector has taken the strongest hit dur-
ing this downturn. Operators still have cash flow because of the
underlying producing assets. But when the operators stop in-
vesting, the service companies’ cash flow stops. The operators’
cash flow may be down by half, but at least they still have cash
flow. Many service companies’ cash flow has gone to almost
zero. These service companies have few options other than
to retire or mothball equipment, cut their staffs, and “hold
our breath and hope for better times soon.” See Schlumberger
CEO Paal Kibsgaard’s presentation at the Scotia Howard Weil
2016 Energy Conference, 21 March 2016 at http://www.slb.
com/news/presentations/2016/2016_0321_pkibsgaard_scotia_
howard_weil.aspx.
So, what’s at stake? Operators (both NOCs and IOCs) are
completely dependent on the service sector to execute our proj-
ects. They drill our wells, build our production and refining fa-
cilities, and, most importantly, provide us with innovative new
products. IOCs provide integration capability, the full value
chain, and usually a very long-term view for asset management.
IOCs have the capability and incentive to actually apply the new
technologies developed by the service companies—for cost
To contact the SPE President, email president@spe.org.
10
reduction, increased production and recovery, and long-term
asset management.
How did this symbiosis with service companies develop?
First, a little history. Early in the 20th century, IOCs expanded
into frontier areas and the concession agreements were tilted
strongly in their favor. These agreements were often charac-
terized by a long concession time frame and big scale, limited
oversight by the host government, and not much revenue flow-
ing back to the host government. These were bonanza times for
Big Oil. After WWII, oil demand increased in newly expanding
economies, and independence movements by many former col-
onies created new governments. Domestic political pressures
forced the new host governments to look at the IOCs different-
ly. Some countries, such as Iran, nationalized their oil industry.
Most negotiated new, often joint venture agreements where the
profits were shared more equally between the IOC and the host
government. But most countries still lacked the human capital
to exploit their oil resources themselves. So, the IOCs became
one-stop shops for all aspects of development—company-
owned rigs, large R&D centers, and full-service technical staff.
More revenue went to the host government, but not much was
accomplished for local human or industry development. Tech-
nologies were developed in IOC company laboratories, and ser-
vice companies stuck to their usual product lines.
In the 1970s, the oil embargoes and price increases changed
the partnership power structure yet again. Existing NOCs began
to push back and started looking and acting more like the IOCs.
NOCs, such as Saudi Aramco, wanted more than just a check
from the IOCs—they wanted to be full and equal partners.
Other countries that had never had an NOC, such as Thailand
and Malaysia, formed new enterprises to better manage their
national resources. The partnership power shifted as the NOCs
demanded more from the IOCs, including sourcing and devel-
oping both local human talent and service industries and sup-
pliers. NOCs began bringing in technology directly, including
setting up their own technology centers, and they began raising
their own capital in markets. The NOCs became more sophisti-
cated and continue to do so.
The long downward price cycle of the 1980s and 1990s
caused big changes in the IOC community. The late 1990s was
an era of big mergers; many of the smaller majors were ab-
sorbed by the larger ones. More importantly for the partner-
ship discussion, the IOCs reduced or eliminated their ability to
develop new technologies on their own by shutting down long-
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
 Procurement-Driven Commercial Model
Technical Design Procurement Process Project Execution

Operator Operator Operator

Procurement Procurement

Technical Scope Procurement Scope Project Delivery

Supplier
Supplier Supplier
Supplier
Supplier Supplier Supplier

Supplier
SupplierSupplier
Supplier Supplier
Supplier

Technical design done Work scope fragmented and Project execution with limited
exclusively by the operator procured based on lowest price integration and significant overlaps

Source: Presentation by Paal Kibsgaard at the Scotia Howard Weil 2016 Energy Conference, 21 March 2016.

standing US-based E&P research and development facilities:
Amoco in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Marathon in Littleton, Colorado;
ARCO in Plano, Texas; and Chevron in La Habra, California, to
name a few still-missed research centers. It may not have been
deliberate, but IOCs effectively outsourced technology develop-
ment to the service providers.
As projects became more complex, with rising costs and
stakes, both IOCs and NOCs needed more from the service com-
panies. The service sector, including the engineering, procure-
ment, and construction (EPC) community, created sophisticat-
ed supply chain organizations, sourcing not only commodities
like pipe and sand, but also sophisticated technology and soft-
ware, often with mixed results.
So, here we are. Not very good partners, yet dependent on
each other for survival. Operators are squeezing cost conces-
sions from service and EPC companies, while the service sector
is madly slashing capacity. NOCs are unhappy at losing market
share to the technology-driven US shale revolution. Host gov-
ernments are shell-shocked at the dramatic reduction in rev-
enue, which supports the entire government for most of them.
Fragile local companies have seen their business ebb away.
Yet, if the service sector is crippled, operators will not be able
to execute their plans. We are partners because we have to be—
we cannot survive without each other. At the November 2016
IPTC conference in Bangkok, John McCreery of Bain and Com-
pany led a plenary session on partnership in a new (lower for
longer) paradigm. How can IOCs, NOCs, and service companies
work better together so all can survive in a volatile market that
is healthy and sustainable for all?
Is there something we can do differently? In Bangkok, the pan-
elists all agreed that for new project sanctions, costs must con-
tinue to reduce. This requires all parties to work together on the
right type of technology solutions for each project. The key to un-
locking these sustainable reductions is the willingness to change
behaviors and mindsets to work together in a different way.
In this recent downturn, some service companies, especially
Schlumberger, have advocated for a move away from the cur-
rent procurement-led relationship between service and oper-
ating companies to a more collaborative relationship. Both risk
and reward would be shared, where the service providers would
share in upside if their solutions yield results. If operators could
plan their work on a longer time horizon, service companies
could staff and equip to meet their needs. I think long-term, col-
laborative relationships are more likely to emerge with NOCs,
which (by definition) take a long-term view of their own re-
source developments. IOCs are too often driven by market ana-
lysts and quarterly or annual shareholder demands. But there is
hope for a different partnership equation.
Of course, if it were easy, we would already have done it. Op-
erators and service companies should be more collaborative in
technology development and place less emphasis on low-bid,
procurement-driven solutions. These solutions work for pure
commodities such as pipe or sand but are not so applicable for
technology-driven solutions such as subsea kits or complex
completions. Operators could level-set their spending to lock in
long-term service contracts and avoid swings in costs and avail-
ability. Can we bring both sides to the table? Can we be more
open? Will the E&P industry learn the lesson that the laws of
economics still apply?
As we cut slack out of our system, the business cycles will
produce more big winners and big losers. Cutting capacity dur-
ing downturns leads to cost inflation during high oil prices and
activity upturns.
Always. JPT

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 11

 COMMENTS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Bernt Aadnøy, University of Stavanger

Syed Ali—Chairperson, Consultant

Tayfun Babadagli, University of Alberta

Tempered Optimism William Bailey, Schlumberger

Mike Berry, Mike Berry Consulting

John Donnelly, JPT Editor Maria Capello, Kuwait Oil Company

Frank Chang, Saudi Aramco

Simon Chipperfield, Santos

Numerous reports suggest that the worst of the oil industry Alex Crabtree, Hess Corporation
downturn is decidedly over, and that the outlook for renewed Gunnar DeBruijn, Schlumberger
capital spending this year is positive. Some firms are even hir- Mark Egan, Retired
ing again. But production is also rising, which will moderate Mark Elkins, Retired
oil price increases.
Alexandre Emerick,
Industry E&P spending is on the upswing but remains well Petrobras Research Center
short of spending levels reached 2-3 years ago. Oil and gas Niall Fleming, Statoil
firm upstream expenditures will increase 3% this year to Ted Frankiewicz, SPEC Services
USD 450 billion, reversing 2 years of steep decline, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Stephen Goodyear, Shell
latest global upstream outlook. Spending this year, however, will still be roughly
Omer M. Gurpinar, Schlumberger
40% below 2014 expenditures.
A.G. Guzman-Garcia, Retired
Most of the spending increase this year will be in US shale, according to Wood
Greg Horton, Retired
Mackenzie, because that resource is less expensive to produce and wells can quickly
John Hudson, Shell
come on line. US shale has emerged as the global market’s “swing producer” in the
past couple of years, as output quickly ramped up or declined based on oil prices. Morten Iversen, Karachaganak Petroleum

That role was formerly held by Saudi Arabia, which would increase or decrease oil Leonard Kalfayan, Hess Corporation

flows into the market to moderate prices. Thomas Knode, Statoil

The consultancy forecasts that oil prices will average USD 57/bbl this year, gradu- Sunil Kokal, Saudi Aramco
ally rising to USD 85/bbl in 2020. If oil prices stay higher than USD 50/bbl, indepen- Marc Kuck, Eni US Operating
dents could increase spending by as much as 25% this year, Wood Mackenzie says, Jesse C. Lee, Schlumberger
but spending by larger operators will be more conservative. Douglas Lehr, Baker Hughes
It also sees new life in new projects, predicting that more than 20 major develop- Silviu Livescu, Baker Hughes
ments will go forward this year, a third of them in deep waters. Several independents
Shouxiang (Mark) Ma, Saudi Aramco
have already signaled higher capital budgets this year, including Pioneer Natural
John Macpherson, Baker Hughes
Resources and Diamondback Energy.
Stéphane Menand, DrillScan
Other reports also are optimistic about an oil industry rebound. Rystad Energy
Graham Mensa-Wilmot, Chevron
predicts that new offshore production capacity of 15 billion bbl will be approved
this year, tripling last year’s total. And a Barclay’s survey of more than 100 E&P com- Badrul H. Mohamed Jan, University of Malaya

panies shows upstream capital spending could rise by an average of 7% this year. Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA), which earlier predicted a slight Eric Ringle, FMC Technologies

decline in US production this year, reversed its forecast last month. It now predicts Martin Rylance, BP plc
an increase in total US output from 8.9 million B/D in 2016 to 9 million B/D this year Robello Samuel, Halliburton
and 9.3 million B/D in 2018. The increase will come from increases in tight oil pro- Otto L. Santos, Retired
duction, drilling efficiency, and better well productivity. The EIA predicts that WTI Luigi A. Saputelli, Frontender Corporation
prices will average USD 52/bbl this year and USD 55/bbl in 2018, as the increased Sally A. Thomas, Retired
production keeps the global supply/demand in balance. JPT
Win Thornton, BP plc

Xiuli Wang, Baker Hughes

Mike Weatherl, Well Integrity

Rodney Wetzel, Chevron

Scott Wilson, Ryder Scott Company

Jonathan Wylde, Clariant Oil Services

Robert Ziegler, Weatherford

To contact JPT’s editor, email jdonnelly@spe.org.

12 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

 BEFORE AFTER

Fight the signs

of aging.

Don’t let old age affect your well’s performance. Remove skin damage that’s blocking your
production flow with Baker Hughes chemicals for near-wellbore damage (CND).

Apply directly down the well, requiring zero CAPEX or additional equipment.

Remove paraffin, asphaltenes, scale, and emulsion blocks in a single treatment.

Restore formation water-wettability and improve reservoir communication.

Enhance production rates and lower lifting costs.

Visit BakerHughes.com/CND to learn how we can help you remove years of

near-wellbore damage in hours.

Attending MEOS? Stop by Booth #331 to learn more about CND solutions.

© 2017 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. 46541 01/2017

 GUEST EDITORIAL

The Looming Market for Abandonment

and Decommissioning
Michael Jardon, Chief Executive Officer, Expro

The market for abandonment and tal Enforcement (BSEE) says that, under
decommissioning has undoubtedly its Idle Iron Program, wells or plat-
grown over the past 5 years, as the boom forms no longer in use must be decom-
of the 1970s and 1980s makes way for missioned within 5 years. As of 2015,
the first tranche of major decommis- this amounted to 535 eligible platforms
sioning projects. From the smaller plug- and rising. While Europe’s legislation
and-abandonment campaigns in the Gulf is different, Oil and Gas UK’s recent
of Mexico to the mighty Brent field in the Decommissioning Insight 2016 report
UK North Sea, we have reached a mile- estimated that over the next decade,
stone in our industry that feels alien to 186 projects are forecast for decom-
many of us. missioning, including 1,800 wells.
Having spent the majority of my To deliver this in a safe and econom-
25-year career focused on exploration ic way, we need to accept and embrace
and appraisal, this has not been lost on decommissioning as a serious indus-
me. A large proportion of those years try challenge.
were committed to the complex chal- Many people still perceive or talk
lenges associated with high-production about decommissioning in a negative
land wells in the Middle East, offshore, way, as if it marks the immediate death
deep water, as well as subsea projects of our industry. Setting aside the fact
in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, Asia, and we are still making new discoveries, it
Australia. However, as we continue to has taken us many decades to explore
optimize recovery from mature fields, for oil and will take many more to aban-
it has opened my eyes to the prospect of don our wells and decommission infra-
decommissioning from a challenge that structure. A study from the late 1990s
was “on the horizon” to one that is quite estimated the cost of decommissioning
literally on our doorstep. the world’s 6,500 offshore platforms
Government legislation has played at between USD 29–40 billion over 30
a large part in this refocus, as recent years (Pittard 1997). However, this now
changes drive specific technical and seems a huge underestimation, given
time requirements. For example, the that the UK alone is forecasting a cost
US Bureau of Safety and Environmen- of nearly GBP  18 billion/USD 22 billion
Michael Jardon is chief executive officer of Expro, appointed in
April 2016 after serving 5 years as the company’s chief operating
officer. Before joining the company, he was vice president of well
testing and subsea responsible for North and South America at
Schlumberger and held senior roles in wireline, completions, well
testing, and subsea from 1992 to 2008. He held a variety of
assignments throughout North America, South America, and the
Middle East. He spent 3 years with Vallourec as president of North
America, leading the commercial activities across North America, directing global
research and development, and managing sales and strategy for the region. Jardon
holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering and mathematics from Colorado School
of Mines.
over 10 years (Oil and Gas UK 2016).
Either way, the figures are extreme-
ly compelling.
Prior to abandonment, it is vital that
we effectively plan late-life asset opera-
tions to ensure that we fully maximize
the asset potential. However, production
optimization is complex and requires a
strong understanding of each element—
from the reservoir to the near-wellbore
and surface facilities. For that reason,
it is important we start with a review of
well-performance data so we can under-
stand and identify inefficiencies in the
reservoir or production system. Tak-
ing into account the incremental pro-
duction gains, we can apply solutions
that overcome these challenges, ranging
from well intervention to gas lift optimi-
zation and debottlenecking of produc-
tion facilities.
In some instances, this requires more
innovative solutions, particularly in the
field of production surveillance. Expro,
for example, uses sonar clamp-on meter-
ing technology to realize the increased
potential from wells and fields through
improved production monitoring and
optimization of well performance. How-
ever, by contrast in one recent proj-
ect, the company had to resurrect lega-
cy tools to fit the specific low-pressure
application the customer was looking for.
Ultimately, it is about using the appro-
priate technology that is best suited to
the project.
Once all methods are exhausted and
we move toward the inevitable stage of
abandonment, innovation continues to
play a critical role. As an industry, we
pioneered in our approach to explora-
tion and appraisal, exploring increas-
ingly complex reservoirs, basins, and
frontiers, so why can’t we do the same

14 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

with abandonment? After all, aren’t we just reverse engineer-
ing the well? While I may be simplifying matters, there are
several ways in which we can do this.
Starting with the supply chain, we need to increase col-
laboration with other companies to deliver greater value to
clients. This represents a challenge for peer companies that
operate in a highly cost-competitive environment. Comple-
mentary joint ventures between different supply chain com-
panies can deliver the breadth of expertise required to aban-
don wells, decommission infrastructure, and dispose of assets
safely. This offers clear cost savings and efficiencies to the
Host Supported By
operators, while reducing any potential safety and/or envi-
ronmental risk in the process. Alternatively, technology part-
nerships can innovate without the need for high levels of
investment, often adapting existing products to deliver low-
cost solutions.
Likewise our relationships with clients are key to success,
although different during this phase. We cannot approach
2017 CALL FOR PAPERS
abandonment as a commodity, as operators are not looking
for the lowest-cost provider; they are looking for the low-
est cost to abandon the well(s). Alternative risk and reward
NOW OPEN
models between the service sector and operators can offer
the solution that customers need to minimize their exposure
FINAL DATE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS
and manage costs, something the supply chain is starting to MONDAY 1 MAY 2017
embrace. While this is not a new concept, some supply chain
companies and operators are becoming more flexible in their www.adipec.com/cfp
approach and open to nontraditional contracting strategies.
Even now, we are looking at the next evolution of the busi-
ness model. For example, is there a “partial abandonment”
approach, where we can continue to produce as topside
decommissioning begins? As we transition to the end-of-
life cycle, companies are undoubtedly willing to accept ideas
that prolong costly decommissioning while continuing to
add value.
However, we will not truly succeed until we embrace decom-
missioning and recognize it as a natural part of the life cycle.
We have a huge legacy of wells that need to be abandoned
and decommissioned and, while traditional methods still
dominate, we need to step up and innovate in our approach.
There is no better example of this than the aforementioned
Brent decommissioning project, which is revolutionizing by
using the heavy-lift vessel Pioneering Spirit to remove the
24,200-ton Brent Delta topside platform in one go. While
this is a goliath project that requires a bold approach, it is the
underlying passion that is driving it.
Let us hope this can act as inspiration for the rest of the
industry and pave the way for us to realize the fullest potential
that decommissioning has to offer. JPT
DON’T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AT ONE OF THE LEADING
References
OIL AND GAS CONFERENCES AND EXHIBITIONS IN
Oil and Gas UK. 2016. Decommissioning Insight 2016.
http://oilandgasuk.co.uk/decommissioninginsight.cfm. ASIA, AFRICA, EUROPE AND MENA REGIONS
Pittard, A. 1997. Technology Field Abandonment Costs
Vary Widely Worldwide. Oil and Gas Journal 95 (11). Host City Official Media Conference ADIPEC
Partner Organiser Organised By
http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/volume-95/issue-11/
in-this-issue/production/technology-field-abandonment-
costs-vary-widely-worldwide.html

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 15

 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Chris Carpenter, JPT Technology Editor
Damage-Remediation
Chemicals
Throughout a well’s lifetime, paraffin,
asphaltenes, inorganic scale and emul-
sion blockages can build up in the near-
wellbore area, causing formation dam-
ages that restrict the flow of fluids and
gases, resulting in decreased produc-
tion and increased lifting cost. Baker
Hughes introduced a series of chemi-
cals for near-wellbore damage (CNDs)
that help restore wells to a healthy,
productive state by removing multi-
ple skin-damage problems with a sin-
Fig. 1—Baker Hughes’ near-wellbore-
damage-remediation chemicals at
work. (1) Near-wellbore formation
damage slows or prevents oil flow
into the well. (2) CND treatments
penetrate and dissolve or disperse
the skin damage. (3) After a 24-hour
shut-in period, production is resumed
and deposits are removed. (4) The
formation is returned to a healthy
production state; surfaces are water-
wet with no organic deposits.
16
gle, time-saving treatment. The CND
remediation treatments are made from
specially-formulated multifunctional
microemulsions that remove existing
damage and leave the formation surface
water-wet for easier and faster hydrocar-
bon production (Fig.  1). The chemicals
are applied directly down the annulus
or production tubing, requiring no addi-
tional equipment so that major invest-
ment is avoided. The chemicals can be
used in conventional and unconvention-
al mature fields, gas-storage wells, pro-
duction and injection wells, and dispos-
al wells. Additionally, these products
can be combined with the acids used in
traditional stimulation methods to pro-
tect against common side effects such as
asphaltene destabilization and rigid film
emulsions that may lead to additional
formation damage.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.bakerhughes.com/CND.
Gap-Data System
Flange gaps are measured while pull-
ing or pushing rusty bolts through bolt
holes. This minimizes the likelihood
of jamming the bolts or studs inside
the holes. The ThinJackGAP is a real-
time gap-data system for all flange-
separation methods (Fig. 2). The system
displays the gap between the two parts
of the bolted flange during their separa-
tion. If this is not measured, there is a
risk that the flange is tilted and jammed
on its bolts. A small tilt and a strong
pull from a drillstring or crane jams the
flange, resulting in a long shift to release
it. ThinJackGAP reduces the likelihood
of this happening by displaying the real-
time gap measured around the flange
circumference. Other gap-measuring
systems require the measurer to move
around pipework and obstructions on a
crowded well deck to measure the gap.
This slows down the flange separation
and increases uncertainty regarding the
point at which the flange is to be freed.
The system displays the gap at several
points on the flange circumference next
Fig. 2—The ThinJackGAP gap-data
system allows accurate flange-
gap measurement, allowing even
separations of flanges while also
protecting the tubing hanger neck.
to the separation-system operator, who
may be 5 to 10 m from the flange.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.ThinJackGAP.com.
Hydraulically Actuated
Diaphragm-Metering Pumps
Pulsafeeder introduced the PULSA-
PRO series of hydraulically actuated
diaphragm-metering pumps. A vari-
ety of enhancements extend the meter-
ing pump’s pressure and flow rang-
es, improve accuracy, and simplify the
hydraulic-management system, all while
reducing the pump’s footprint. The
pumps combine the efficiency of a plung-
er pump with the sturdiness of a dia-
phragm seal to eliminate leakage. New
enhancements to the line of PULSAPRO
680, 880, and 7120 pumps meet the
needs of operators in the downstream
oil and gas, chemical-processing, and
water-treatment industries (Fig. 3).
These enhancements include increased
flow rates up to 270 gal/hr, pressure
up to 5,100 psi, operational tempera-
tures up to 275°F, and viscosity up to
1,000  cp. Leak-detection capabilities
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

Fig. 3—The PULSAPRO 7120, one of
Pulsafeeder’s line of hydraulically
actuated diaphragm-metering pumps.
provide pressurized leak detection by
monitoring the diaphragm integrity
and signaling alarms (or stopping the
pump) at the first sign of diaphragm fail-
ure. An expanded range of materials,
now including higher-grade alloys and
multiple diaphragm types, can handle a
diverse range of chemical solutions.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.pulsa.com/pulsapro.
Drilling-Waste-
Transportation Technology
CubeLink from Cubility safely and cost-
effectively transports drilling waste
directly from shale shakers or Cubil-
ity’s MudCube solids-control system to
a storage unit or final processing unit on
a drilling rig. The system is targeted at
onshore and offshore drilling contrac-
tors and oil companies seeking greater
rig efficiency in handling cuttings (par-
ticularly dry cutting), facilitating the
transportation of cuttings from their
drilling facilities, and reducing waste-
handling and drilling-fluid costs. The
system gives operators the ability to han-
dle dry and moist drilling waste hori-
18
Fig. 4—Cubility’s CubeLink drilling-
waste-transportation technology.
zontally and vertically, as well as access
real-time information on the weight,
volume, and degree of moisture in the
cuttings. CubeLink consists of a recur-
ring belt shaped in a drop-belt config-
uration (Fig.  4). The system opens up
in a U-shape in the feeding station to
receive drilling waste that is fed by grav-
ity from one or several shakers or Mud-
Cubes into the feeding station. The belt
is then closed and routed to the destina-
tion. The belt opens and returns flat over
a turning roller where the drilling waste
drops by gravity into a receptacle.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.cubility.com.
Remotely Actuated
Stimulation System
The Weatherford AutoFrac system
enables remote-controlled actuation
Fig. 5—The AutoFrac RFID-actuated stimulation system from Weatherford
allows remote-controlled actuation of lower-completion tools for efficient
stimulation of openhole sections in extended-reach wells.
of lower-completion tools for effi-
cient stimulation of openhole sections
in extended-reach wells. The system
provides options for tool communica-
tion that do not rely on control lines
or mechanical actuation: radio frequen-
cy identification (RFID) technology,
frequency-modulated pressure pulses,
ACTiFRAC pressure pulses, timers, or
a combination of these methods. RFID
actuation is the primary form of actua-
tion for most applications. When it is not
possible to drop RFID tags downhole, the
system can be actuated using a sequence
of pressure cycles developed specially for
use with this system. ACTiFRAC technol-
ogy leverages algorithms included in the
tool software to recognize pressure puls-
es during circulation. Remotely oper-
ated flapper valves and sleeves provide
selective zonal isolation and proppant
diversion (Fig. 5). By enabling users to
preset an actuation plan based on the
completion design, the system signifi-
cantly reduces the time between frac-
ture cycles. Operational logic can be
fully customized to specific well condi-
tions and operator requirements. Addi-
tionally, the AutoFrac system is the only
openhole-completion system that has
proven capable of functioning during a
full screenout. The technology has been
successfully deployed in challenging
North Sea environments.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.weatherford.com.
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
 Diversion-Stimulation Service
In acid stimulations, it is often chal-
lenging to achieve the wellbore cover-
age needed to optimize recovery. Often,
mechanical isolation is not a feasible
option because of operational con-
straints. Schlumberger’s OpenPath
Sequence diversion-stimulation service
sequentially diverts acid into additional
clusters or zones to maximize wellbore
coverage, resulting in more-precise
treatment placement and greater pro-
duction when compared with conven-
tional methods (Fig. 6). The service uses
degradable fibers to suspend multimod-
al particles that enable sequential stim-
ulation of intervals in acid stimulations. Fig. 6—Schlumberger’s OpenPath Sequence diversion-stimulation service
Suitable for both cased and openhole sequentially plugs perforations in the near-wellbore region to maximize
completions, the service can be used for wellbore coverage.
acid fracturing or matrix stimulations in
carbonate reservoirs. The service is also In the Middle East, a customer wanted In addition, the productivity index
suited for restimulation treatments in to stimulate two separate zones with improved by more than 300% with an
mature fields. It has been tested in res- multiple clusters in a vertical well. Effec- increase in production to 1,200 B/D
ervoirs in the Middle East and in North tive diversion using the service was indi- from 350 B/D. JPT
America, resulting in proven diversion cated by an increase in diversion pres- ◗ For additional information, visit
and significantly improved production. sure and confirmed by injection logs. www.slb.com/OpenPath.

Program Chair — Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University at Qatar

Texas A&M University at Qatar
Texas A&M’s branch campus in Qatar, part of the 2,500 acre multi-institutional campus known as Education City, formally opened on 7 Sept. 2003, offering undergraduate
degree programs in chemical, electrical, mechanical and petroleum engineering and one master program in chemical engineering. Each of these four undergraduate
programs is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org. The Texas A&M University engineering program is widely considered among
the best in the United States, and the curricula offered at the Qatar campus are materially identical to those offered at the main campus in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M
University at Qatar, fully funded by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, provides a unique opportunity for the University to expand its
international presence and to provide educational and research opportunities for faculty and students.
More than 700 Texas A&M engineering degrees have been awarded in Doha since December 2007. At the start of the 2016–2017 academic year, the Qatar campus had
a student body of more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students who study and conduct research in the Texas A&M Engineering Building, which was completed in
May 2007. This 55,000-square-meter facility was constructed at a cost of more than $150 million with vast wired and wireless connectivity. It features high-tech classrooms,
computer laboratories, well-equipped teaching laboratories, and a major research annex.
Program Overview
Texas A&M Qatar attracts some of the best high school graduates in the region. The Petroleum Engineering Program (https://pete.qatar.tamu.edu) has 10 full-time faculty
and three part-time faculty members, with supporting administrative and research staff. Faculty members have a strong commitment to teaching, research, and service. The
program benefits from state-of-the-art facilities and instrumentation in support of its key educational and research missions. The faculty have established strong educational
and research programs on a foundation of core engineering disciplines. The program continues to be refreshed in terms of its curriculum and research to meet local and global
needs. There is significant support in Qatar for research through funds from Qatar National Research Fund and Industry.
Job Summary
Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) (http://www.qatar.tamu.edu/) invites applications for the position of chair of the Petroleum Engineering Program at the rank
of full professor. The program chair is a senior leadership role in the Qatar campus. Duties include providing overall leadership and setting direction to the program, involving
defining and setting standards and expectations for curriculum, research and service. The job demands budget management, faculty and staff recruitment, development
and evaluation including outreach activities. A key part of the role involves collaboration and liaison with Texas A&M University, College Station for research, teaching, industry
contacts and others. The chair is expected to promote the development of the program and work with faculty across the campus, local industry, and the regional community,
to identify and pursue innovations in education, research, and service. Successful candidates are also expected to have a strong commitment to teaching excellence at under-
graduate and graduate levels, and a demonstrated research capability that will enable the candidate to develop an externally funded, independent research program and
publish in leading scholarly journals. Tangible evidence of industry experience will be an advantage. This position is a renewable appointment at the TAMUQ campus located
in the Education City in Doha, Qatar and the successful candidate must relocate to Qatar.
Salary and Benefits
TAMUQ offers a competitive salary package commensurate with rank and experience. The package includes overseas salary premium, accommodations, annual home leave
allowances, dependent education, local transportation allowance, medical insurance, plus appropriate relocation and repatriation expenses.
Required Education and Experience
Applicants must have an earned doctorate in petroleum engineering or a closely related field. Evidence of successful leadership experience is essential together with strong
organizational, written and verbal communication skills, as well as effective interpersonal skills.
Other Requirements
Candidates should submit applications electronically by applying for this position at: https://www.tamengineeringjobs.com/.
Texas A&M University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Veterans/Disability employers committed to diversity. It is the policy of these members to recruit, hire, train and promote without regard to
race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity.
 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Retrofitting MPD Systems to Deepwater Rigs
Aids Drilling, Efficiency, and Process Safety
Julmar Shaun Sadicon Toralde, SPE, Weatherford
The unique properties of deepwater
formations pose significant challenges
to the capabilities of conventional
drilling rigs. By retrofitting rigs with
automated drilling systems, includ-
ing managed-pressure drilling (MPD)
equipment, operators and contractors
in global deepwater basins can optimize
efficiency and economics while main-
taining the level of safety that the indus-
try and regulatory community have
mandated for this high-stakes arena.
MPD, an adaptive drilling process
that actively controls annular pressure
throughout the wellbore, is increas-
ingly being integrated into the ris-
ers of existing deepwater drilling ves-
sels (Fig.  1). It is the cornerstone of
an automated well-control strategy
Fig. 1—A riser joint is shown, which
is integrated into the automated
drilling system of a deepwater rig
for the application of managed-
pressure drilling techniques. Source:
Weatherford.
20
that augments and enhances standard
well-control protocols.
The technique provides distinct drill-
ability, efficiency, and process safety
benefits in deepwater environments. It
addresses the higher level of priority
that the industry has placed on process
safety, which largely involves the ability
to accurately and actively monitor and
control operations while drilling.
Long used in land and shallow-water
drilling, MPD-ready rigs are proving
their value in deepwater operations by
delivering a reliable level of automation
and process control when the risk of a
well-control incident is highest. Fluc-
tuations in wellbore pressure often
create drilling hazards that result in
lost circulation, kicks, and other prob-
lems that can significantly increase rig
time and cost, or lead to catastrophic
well-control incidents.
An automated MPD system installed
onto a deepwater semisubmersible rig
or drillship can effectively monitor and
maintain the annular hydraulic pressure
profile by applying common MPD vari-
ants, such as constant bottomhole pres-
sure (CBHP) and pressurized mud cap
drilling (PMCD).
The ability to continuously monitor
various wellbore parameters—particu-
larly those related to downhole pres-
sure—while drilling and making con-
nections also enhances personnel
preparedness by serving as an extra set
of eyes to supplement those of less-
experienced drillers.
While expanding the drilling enve-
lope and monitoring wellbore pressure
profiles, an MPD system that provides
automated advanced flow detection,
including early kick detection, also
reduces the risks of human interven-
tion by mitigating the possibility of gas
in the riser.
Characterized by presenting a high
level of uncertainty and technical dif-
ficulty, deepwater formations that have
settled in place often feature drill-
ing conditions in which the window
between the pore pressure and fracture
gradient is very narrow. The scenario
makes these formations highly sensitive
to, and less able to support, pressure.
Often, the only way to navigate the
drilling windows in a deepwater well is
to set multiple casing strings. The deep-
er the well, the more strings required,
with each pipe adding time, cost,
and risk.
By implementing an automated MPD
system, the operator can navigate nar-
row windows with fewer casing strings,
resulting in a larger hole size at the
desired depth to extract hydrocarbons.
An automated MPD system also reduc-
es formation damage, which improves
well productivity, prolongs bit life,
and reduces mud costs by minimizing
fluid losses.
Controlling Uncertainties
Unlike a conventional drilling rig sys-
tem, an MPD system installed on a rig
can easily accommodate the downhole
uncertainties that operators typically
face in deepwater reservoirs. This capa-
bility is especially important in pre-salt
plays where the degree of uncertainty
is additionally problematic because the
salt bodies can shield features from accu-
rate detection by seismic surveillance.
Using MPD, the driller can change
pressure on demand quickly and effi-
ciently, instead of having to alter the
mud weight. By detecting and reacting
to problems before they become diffi-
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
cult or impossible to control, MPD can
actively influence the safety and effi-
ciency of rig operations.
By enhancing drillability, efficiency,
and process safety, MPD is considered
the most readily available and proac-
tive way to meet heightened standards
for verifying deepwater drilling param-
eters and achieving safe drilling margins
between the well’s pressure profile and
the anticipated pore pressures.
Operators have required MPD-ready
rigs to help drill exploratory, apprais-
al, and development wells in pre-salt
areas. Real-time monitoring and early
kick detection provide the additional
assurance that deviations from normal
drilling operations can be managed as
efficiently as possible.
Rigs retrofitted with MPD systems
deliver multiple cost, environmental,
and safety benefits by enabling a num-
ber of applications, the most common
of which are CBHP drilling and PMCD.
The techniques reduce drilling hazards
such as differential sticking, kicks, and
losses, and significantly lower the risk
of well-control incidents.
In narrow pressure windows and
wellbore ballooning situations, CBHP
is maintained by applying surface back-
pressure (SBP) in a closed-loop process.
Operators can navigate narrow mud-
weight windows, maintaining a precise
balance between the pore-pressure and
fracture-pressure gradients even when
pumping stops.
The closed-loop system enables quick
adjustments to bottomhole pressure and
also diverts mud returns away from the
rig floor, which enhances wellsite safety.
In cases of severe circulation losses,
which are commonly encountered in
carbonate formations, the PMCD vari-
ant of MPD overcomes the limitations of
conventional drilling techniques. This
is crucial in deep carbonates that are
characterized by extensive fractures or
karsts, which are large holes that can
cause major circulation problems.
The PMCD method facilitates pump-
ing light mud into the annulus to cre-
ate a mud cap, which enables the use of
a less-costly drilling fluid such as sea-
water while drilling through the loss
zones. This “sacrificial” fluid and the
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
cuttings collected are accepted into the
lost-circulation zone.
When drilling in sour reservoirs,
PMCD enables operators to manip-
ulate annular pumping rate and SBP
in a manner that forces the toxic sour
gas downhole, where it can be pumped
into the formation with the drilling
fluid and cuttings and away from well-
site personnel.
Enabling MPD
Both MPD variants are made possible
by two primary components that leave
a small surface footprint. The first is the
rotating control device (RCD), which
closes in the well to enable the appli-
cation of SBP and provides rotation
to facilitate drilling with pressure in
the annulus.
As part of the mud-return system, the
RCD routes the fluids through an auto-
mated drilling choke manifold that is
equipped with sensors to extract impor-
tant fluid data. This is a marked dif-
ference from conventional drilling sys-
tems, in which the fluid return is open
to the atmosphere.
The second key component for CBHP
drilling and PMCD is the MPD mani-
fold. An automated manifold, including
drilling chokes and a high-resolution
mass flowmeter, enables operators to
make faster, better drilling decisions
that are based on surface and wellbore
data rather than predictions.
The flowmeter captures critical data
from annular fluid returns, such as
mass flow, density, and temperature, in
real time. Data are routed to an intelli-
gent control unit (ICU), which precisely
detects fluid influxes or losses in gallons
rather than barrels to capture events too
small for detection with a conventional
drilling system.
This enhanced sensitivity improves
reaction to kicks, losses, and the risk of
gas in the riser at depth. The flowmeter
is installed with drilling chokes that are
engineered to open and close to regulate
SBP, which is essential for actively man-
aging the annular pressure profile.
A second, redundant choke reduc-
es the potential for encountering non-
productive time (NPT). If an influx is
detected, the automatic choke can be
immediately closed to control the well,
which reinforces mass balance quickly
and safely. In the event of a fluid loss,
the choke can relieve surface pressure to
mitigate the losses.
The ICU is capable of distinguish-
ing actual kicks/losses from other, less
critical drilling events. When operat-
ing in automated mode, the ICU also
controls the drilling chokes to regu-
late backpressure as needed. By detect-
ing and confirming downhole pressure
events, the technique accurately and
efficiently manages minute fluid influx-
es and losses, which results in a safer
and more efficient operation through-
out the drilling process.
In addition to its obvious usefulness
in cases involving a predetermined risk
of kicks or fluid loss, or uncertainty
related to pore-pressure, fracture, or
hole-stability gradients, this capability
is a valuable safeguard against other, not
fully anticipated pressure events.
Enhancing Deepwater Drilling
The adoption of the MPD integration
on floating rigs is gaining widespread
acceptance, with many rigs operating in
deepwater fields worldwide now retro-
fitted with the necessary equipment.
While regulations do not explicitly
require MPD capabilities on deepwater
rigs, the benefits of MPD are recognized
as one of the key ways to meet the nec-
essary drilling parameters, protocols,
and classifications.
Globally, MPD-equipped deepwater
rigs have exhibited their power to
enhance  drillability by enabling rank
wildcat wells to reach and evaluate
target formations and helping devel-
opment wells to access the reservoir.
In terms of efficiency, deepwater MPD
operations have incurred minimal, if
any, NPT related to well-control inci-
dents and have enabled quick transi-
tions from one MPD mode to another.
From a process safety standpoint,
MPD operations, including advanced
flow detection, have consistently helped
to identify, detect, and control influxes
before they become unmanageable, and
have to date experienced no events in
which large volumes of gas have reached
the riser undetected. JPT
21
 E&P NOTES

Petroleum Engineering Schools

Begin To See Enrollment Declines
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

Enrollment in US petroleum engineer- survey,  does not think the current That will depend on the level of indus-
ing programs has peaked and is on the downturn “will be as bad” as the one try hiring in coming years, which he
downslide, matching the short-lived 3 decades ago. The big question is: said is impossible to reliably predict
surge in the 1980s, when a generation Will that long trough be repeated after because hiring plans are subject to sud-
of engineers were graduated. a decade where the industry stepped den changes.
Lloyd Heinze, the petroleum engi- up its recruiting to hire college gradu- But for those choosing majors, it is a
neering professor at Texas Tech Uni- ates in time for the many workers near- question that is a big concern.
versity who compiles this annual ing retirement? “Students and parents are astute about
watching the job market. They are much
US Petroleum Engineering Enrollment more selective than they were in the
14,000 1980s,” Heinze said.
13,000 Doctor Junior As of this school year, the total enroll-
12,000 Master Sophomore ment in US universities is down but is still
Number of Students

11,000 Senior Freshman high by historical standards.

10,000 A long-term chart of enrollment shows
9,000
how it boomed before the 1980s bust,
8,000
7,000 with a surge of engineers entering the job
6,000 market in a short period.
5,000 For those graduating during the 2017
4,000 academic year (2016–2017) and after-
3,000 ward, the job market looks nothing
2,000
1,000
like the one they saw when they chose
0 their major.
The oil price slump has resulted in
2

76

00

04

08

12

16
7

20

20
19
19

19

19

19

19

19

20

20

20

deep layoffs, with more than 300,000

Academic Year job cuts industrywide.
Less obvious has been the surge in the
9,000
number of petroleum engineering gradu-
100 ates seeking work, which far exceeds the
Number of Petroleum Engineering Graduates

8,000

BS 1956–2017
peak in the 1980s.
7,000 Undergrad Junior + Senior The number of graduates from the five
Inflation-adjusted oil price 80 biggest classes in the 1980s, from 1982 to
6,000

5,000
NUMBER OF PETROLEUM
60
ENGINEERING GRADUATES
4,000 1980s Recent

40 1982 1,280 2013 1,165

3,000
1983 1,529 2014 1,452
2,000 1984 1,375 2015 1,728
20
1985 1,420 2016 2,165
1,000
1986 1,417 2017 2,060
0 0 Total 7,021 8,570
1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020

22 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

1986, totaled 7,021 students, compared Petroleum Engineering Degrees Granted in USA
to 8,570 graduates from 2013 to 2017,
1983 BS 1,529 2016 BS 2,102
with another big class to come. 2,200
Cumulative Degrees Granted
Oil markets can react far more 2,000 BS 50,424
quickly than engineering students. 1,800
MS 11,054
PhD 1,783
The inflation-adjusted peak oil price

Number of Degrees
1,600
in the 1980s occurred more than year
1,400
before the enrollment peak, and that is BS PE
1,200
happening again. MS PE
The volatility of oil prices means com- 1,000
PhD PE
panies in this business are prone to make 800
quick changes in hiring plans. But stu- 600
dents who have made big, long-term 400
commitments to majoring in petroleum 200
engineering “are not going to switch 0
gears,” Heinze said.
6

0
64

68

72

76

80

84

88

92

96

00

04

08

12

16
5

20

20
19
19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

20

20

20
Evidence of that fact is the number of
juniors in the class of 2018 with about Academic Year
3,500 students, or about 40% of the
record total graduating the previous
5 years. Professional SPE Members by Age
One positive in the chart shows that the 25
Percentage of Membership

price of oil, based on the current value of

the dollar, peaked at a higher level in the 20
1980s boom than it did recently, and
back then it fell further. Heinze said that 15
may mean the current downtrend may
not be as severe. 10
Over the past decade, the surge in
graduates was readily absorbed by oil 5
companies faced with the prospect of the 2015 2005
mass retirements of an aging workforce. 0
The chart of SPE professional mem-
0

++
<2

–2

–2

–3

–3

–4

–4

–5

–5

–6

65
20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

bership shows that in 2005, the largest
group of engineers in exploration and
production was age 50 or older.
A survey done in late 2015 shows a
flip in the demographics with the largest
groups of members in their 20s and 30s.
60
Age
Last year’s big layoffs have added to Also, it is likely to have further reduced
the challenges faced by job seekers by the number of engineers in their late 50s
putting many experienced workers on in the workforce, reducing the need to
the market. hire future graduates.

Four Misconceptions That Lead to Drilling

Automation Failure
Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer

Drilling automation is one of the most
promising emerging technologies that
the oil and gas industry has to look for-
ward to. The potential benefits span
the spectrum from health and safety to
lower costs and repeatable well results.
But before this technology leaps
from pilot to center stage, early adopt-
ers will be challenged to create new
managerial strategies that improve
the interaction of human crews with Koederitz is a drilling automation pio-
automated rig systems, according to neer, having previously spent 20 years
one expert. at National Oilwell Varco, where he
“In all the projects that I have worked designed automated systems for weight-
on, what I have found is that the issues on-bit, real-time optimization, and drill-
involving people were much bigger than ing diagnostics.
the technical issues,” said Bill Koederitz, In his remarks, made on the final stop
chief technology officer at GK Plus Inno- of his SPE Distinguished Lecture Series
vations, during a presentation at a recent tour, titled “How NOT To Do Drilling
SPE Gulf Coast Section event. Automation,” he offered a pragmatic per-

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 23


A floorman making a pipe connection during a drilling operation.
Source: Getty Images.
spective of the technology: “Automation
is a tool to improve performance—it’s
just a tool, no more, no less.”
Some of the people problems he high-
lighted are rooted in the following mis-
conceptions, which portray automated
drilling technology as far more capable
than it really is. Holding onto these false
assumptions means companies are risk-
ing the poor execution of an automated
program, the results of which could slow
down uptake in general.
1. The Driller is No Longer Needed
If an automated drilling system is work-
ing optimally, then why is a human drill-
er needed on the rig? This seemingly fair
question reflects the most common false-
hood that Koederitz said he encounters.
Not only are drillers still needed,
Koederitz stressed that the only way to
achieve the highest performance from an
automated system is to make the human
driller its central component. “The drill-
er is the one person who really knows
what is going on out at the rig, and if he
is gone, automation will not work—even
if he is not required to do anything,”
he said.
Koederitz added that maintaining the
idea of the human driller as the core of
the operation gives that person more
ownership over his role (one that may
be perceived to be at risk) and makes
24
the driller feel as though he is the “key
enabler” for the technology. He said this
will involve allowing the driller some
degree of control over the system; exact-
ly how much depends on experience.
2. If the Data Were Good Enough
Before, They Will Be Good Enough
for Automation
Automated drilling systems are entire-
ly dependent on wire-drillpipe and an
array  of other sensors to provide the
real-time data needed to make second-
by-second adjustments. These data-
gathering systems are must-haves, yet
Koederitz said some companies have
been too overconfident that their non-
automated rigs could be converted with-
out  adding them.
“In my experience, once you first go
out to the rig to automate something, you
will find that the typical data on the rig is
never good enough for what you need,”
he said. “And if you look very close, you
may find that it is insufficient for what it
is currently used for.”
The solution is to conduct a rig survey
ahead of entering into an automated pro-
gram. This allows companies to compare
the available data with the requirements
of an automated system, and then make
necessary upgrades. Koederitz advised
companies that are unwilling or unable
to invest in the upgrades to take a pass
on automation altogether. Otherwise, he
said, their failures will only give the tech-
nology “a bad name.”
3. The Driller Only Needs To Know
How To Turn It On, Not How It Works
“The problem with this is that you don’t
really get much value out of automa-
tion because it is not effectively used
by the rig crew and, in the worst case,
this approach totally destroys rig-side
acceptance to the point where they want
it to fail,” said Koederitz. The fix for
this, again, is to teach the driller and
the crew that automation is a tool and
then show them how to make optimal
use of it.
Koederitz said companies can help
their cause by designing automated sys-
tems that inform the driller of how and
why it is working vs. installing it as a
black box device that offers little to no
feedback to the drill shack. Another way
to enhance the drillers’ comfort factor is
to run them through simulator exercises
that will give them familiarity with auto-
mation’s abilities and limitations prior to
using it in the field.
4. Let the System Do Everything
We Think They Need, Let the Crew
Sort It Out
Koederitz said the “we” here repre-
sents head office management, whose
ideas of how rig crews operate are
often very different from reality. He
went on to say that the assumption that
most crews would appreciate or make
good use of a “grab bag” of automat-
ed features is incorrect, and may invite
unintended consequences.
“The result of this is that the drillers
are overloaded, and they either misuse
the system or don’t use it,” he said, add-
ing that when it comes to automation,
nonuse is always better than misuse.
The better approach is to design the
automated package as a suite of tools,
and allow the driller to select the right
tool for the right job. Koederitz said the
design criteria for such a suite should
focus on simplicity and be modular. In
reference to the latter, he explained that
“the driller must be able to use different
automated systems in any combination
to provide flexibility.”
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
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 Commercial GTL Project Opens in Southeast Texas
Stephen Whitfield, Staff Writer
Infra Technology, a company specializ-
ing in the development of synthetic fuels
from natural gas, coal, and biomass,
opened the first completed small-scale
commercial gas-to-liquids (GTL) project
in the state of Texas. Located in Whar-
ton, a small town 60 miles southwest
of Houston, the plant will produce syn-
thetic crude oil from natural and associ-
ated gas.
The Wharton plant is Infra’s first plant
in the US. The company has been oper-
ating pilot plants in Russia for the past
7 years.
Modularly constructed, the plant
utilizes GTL technology based on the
Fischer-Tropsch process, where hydro-
carbons are created through a series
of chemical reactions. The plant will
operate in two stages. The first stage
involves the production of synthesis gas
(syngas) through a reformer that con-
verts solid fuel into gaseous reactants.
The technology processes feedgas with
varying density, from dry methane to
heavy gases.
The second stage of plant operation
involves the production of synthet-
ic crude through a series of Fischer-
Tropsch reactors. Infra uses proprie-
tary, pelletized cobalt-based catalyst in
Energy Policy Uncertain in the Wake of Brexit Referendum
Stephen Whitfield, Staff Writer
With an uncertain future spawning from
the Brexit referendum, the British gov-
ernment is seeking to maintain as much
consistency in its energy policy as pos-
sible. A representative from the British
Consulate of Houston said there will be
changes to the way goods, services, and
people move from the UK to the EU, and
while very few concrete statements can
be made about how Brexit will impact
the oil and gas industry, investment in
Britain’s offshore and onshore assets
will be critical for the country mov-
ing forward.
26
the reactors, causing a reaction between
carbon monoxide and hydrogen that
results in the formation of heavi-
er, mostly liquid, hydrocarbons. The
reaction is accompanied by cracking
and other processes, helping to create a
light synthetic oil consisting of gasoline
and diesel fractions. Dmitry Popov, vice
president of commercial at Infra, said
this makes the technology in the Whar-
ton plant unique.
“We are producing synthetic crude
oil in the Fischer-Tropsch step of the
process. Most other technologies are
producing solid or intermediate prod-
ucts like waxes, and that means they
need a third step [to produce synthet-
ic crude], which can be very expensive
when it comes to building a refinery. In
our case, our product can be immedi-
ately blended or put in the oil pipeline,”
Popov said.
Each reactor can produce approxi-
mately 300 g of liquid product per liter
of reactor volume per hour. A 3D reactor
model of transport phenomena in the
catalyst bed allows the integration of all
calculations of heat and mass transfer.
The company’s first pilot plant
allowed it to test Fischer-Tropsch syn-
thesis in different single-tube and
In a presentation hosted by the SPE
Gulf Coast Section’s International Study
Group, Cynthia Conner examined the
potential challenges and opportunities
facing the oil and gas industry in the
wake of Brexit. Conner is a senior policy
lead at the British Consulate of Hous-
ton and a member of the Global and
Economic Policy Group at the British
Embassy in Washington, DC.
Conner said the specific impacts of
Brexit on UK energy policy remain to
be seen, as the UK government deter-
mines which regulations from the EU it
multitube reactors, with tube length
ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 mm. After
selling the pilot plant to VNIIGAZ Gaz-
prom in 2013, Infra commissioned a
larger-scale full-cycle pilot plant with
a higher degree of automation and a
more extensive data-gathering sys-
tem. The company produces its
Fischer-Tropsch catalysts in its factory
in Moscow and is currently developing
new catalysts that will allow the gen-
eration of a higher proportion of the
diesel or kerosene fraction in the syn-
thetic oil.
The plant will require a staff of 20
people to operate and maintain. Popov
said the plant will begin operations in
2017, estimating a conservative time
frame of 3 weeks from startup to the
first production of synthetic crude.
The Wharton plant could be a notice-
able step in GTL development in the
US. Only six full-scale GTL plants are
operating globally: two in Africa, three
in the Middle East, and one in Asia.
In December 2013, Shell canceled its
plans to build a 140,000-B/D GTL proj-
ect in Louisiana because of high esti-
mated capital costs; the company
already operates GTL plants in Malaysia
and Qatar.
will retain and which ones it will seek
to replace. However, she said leaving
the EU will allow the country to bet-
ter address its “energy trilemma,” a
combination of sustainability, afford-
ability, and security concerns. Sus-
tainability likely will remain a govern-
ment priority—Conner said companies
should expect the UK to maintain its car-
bon emissions reduction policies—but
affordability of natural gas, and security
through energy independence are issues
that must be addressed in the post-
Brexit landscape.
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
 The steady decline of oil and gas pro-
duction in the UK North Sea has forced
the country to rely on outside sources to
meet its energy needs. The UK has been
a net importer of natural gas since 2004
and a net importer of crude oil since
2005. Last July, National Grid released
a report forecasting that the country
would import 80% of its gas supplies by
2030 and 93% by 2040 without strong
economic growth and steady investment
in domestic gas production.
Despite the drop in production, the
North Sea will be crucial to any energy
initiatives in the UK. Production from
the UK Continental Shelf increased from
2014 to 2015, the first such increase in
15 years. Production in the first half of
2016 was 5.7% higher than in the first
half of 2015.
Conner said the government is
focused on ensuring that its North Sea
assets are in the right hands, and that
it puts the right systems in place to pro-
vide operators with proper access to
infrastructure and capital.
“We would far prefer to be a net export-
er and meet our needs from domestic
sources,” Conner said. “We think that
there is still a strong place in a portfolio
certainly for North Sea production, par-
ticularly for the right producers. A lot
of assets in the North Sea right now are
owned by the supermajors, and so we’re
still having good success.”
Shale development will also be criti-
cal to bolstering UK production. Conner
cited Cuadrilla’s plans to drill explora-
tion wells at a site in Lancashire—the
first hydraulic fracturing activity in the
UK in 6 years—as a key milestone. Cua-
drilla received a drilling permit from the
UK Secretary of State for Communities
and Local Government in October 2016
following a lengthy negotiation, and it
began work on the site in January. The
company plans to drill a 3,500-m pilot
well along with two horizontal wells this
year, with the goal of determining the
economic viability of extracting shale
gas from the area. Gas production could
start in early 2018.
Conner said the UK may not see signif-
icant production from shale until “fur-
ther down the line” despite the progress
coming from Lancashire. She said it will
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
be difficult for the UK to become a net
exporter of shale gas given the low oil
price market and the ample supply cur- ®
rently available, but that difficulty will
not discourage the government from
promoting investment.
“The shale development is in much
earlier days, so that is further down the
line. But, it is something where we know
we have excellent resources if we are able
to economically get them off the ground.
e
Nr w
fo
It is certainly something we understand
is going to be challenging, particularly
as we have so much availability of sup-
ply and with prices being where they are
!
right now, but we want to do everything
we can to position ourselves to be in the
best place to take advantage when prices
rise,” Conner said.
The UK and the EU are currently in
the early stages of negotiating trade 20 1 7
agreements. The UK government has
yet to trigger Article 50, which would
formally notify the EU of Britain’s inten-
tion to withdraw, but UK Prime Minis-
ter Theresa May said the formal Brexit
negotiation process would begin no
later than the end of March. Trigger-
ing Article 50 would establish a 2-year
deadline for exiting the EU, meaning the
UK’s departure may be finalized by the
spring of 2019.
Conner said that companies should
expect an intensive intergovernmen-
tal negotiation process and that they
should closely monitor developments in
the negotiations as they occur. As Brexit
negotiations progress, the companies
with contracts to operate in UK territory
beyond 2019 should examine those con-
tracts for any potentially troublesome
Explore the
language, such as clauses that may con-
flict with changing UK trade law. They
should assess any potential impacts Online Home
of a new law across all disciplines and
directly engage with the government
should it find anything problematic.
“We want to know if we are mak-
for JPT
ing a decision that’s going to be nega-
tively impacting a company operating Mobile Friendly
in the UK,” Conner said. “It’s impor-
tant to us to have the right systems and
regulations in place in order to encour- Improved Navigation
age investment that will benefit the UK
economy. So, that’s something that we
want to be hearing.” JPT Exclusive Content
www.spe.org/jpt
 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
New Permian Oil Play
Requires Pumping and Persistence
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
S ometimes a new oil play is discov-
ered by an explorer doing “the right
thing for the wrong reason.”
That is how Ken Barbe, one of the
founders and managers Manzano LLC,
describes the decision to drill one of the
first successful wells into a Permian play
which is unconventional, but not in the
way he and his partner had expected.
The independent company drilled a
horizontal well thinking “we were deal-
ing with tight rock that produced limited
amounts from vertical wells,” he said. But
when they fractured their first horizon-
tal well they found more permeable rock
producing a lot of water.
That led to conversations with two
other companies pioneering this zone
that said it was to be expected.
“We had some conversation with Forge
Energy and Walsh Petroleum and they
encouraged us to be patient and that we
would start seeing an oil cut once we got
28
This well pad for Manzano Energy serves
the 16 tanks store produced water from
our pump intake pressure down,” Barbe
said. “They were exactly right and we had
to change our opinion on how and why
the reservoir would work economically.”
The three companies are among a
group of independents in West Texas that
have shown it is possible to consistently
drill and complete wells producing hun-
dreds of barrels a day of good-quality oil
from relatively shallow, horizontal wells
that require little fracturing.
The method requires a leap of faith
and some high-capacity injection wells
because those wells initially produce
only large quantities of water and con-
tinue to do so long enough to make a
strong case for plugging and abandoning
the hole.
“They always come in at 100% water
for a couple of weeks, then they start
making a little oil, 1 to 3 B/D, with a peak
usually of about 200 and 300 B/D,” said
Russell Hall, president of Russell K. Hall
two leases with about 8 wells. Most of
wells producing about 15% oil, before
it is sent via a company pipeline to its
disposal well. Source: Manzano LLC.
and Associates, an engineering consult-
ing firm in Midland, Texas, that is track-
ing this recent trend.
Unlike wells in high-profile plays such
as the Wolfcamp, oil production from
these wells declines more slowly so that
“a year later it will be 100 to 150 B/D. It
is not as steep as we see in shale plays,”
Hall said.
About 90% of the wells are successful,
but large-scale water-handling capacity
is required because the key to this meth-
od is reducing pressure in the reservoir
by disposing of the water elsewhere. Even
when oil production comes on line, about
80% of the output is saltwater.
He said there are about 12 small, pri-
vate companies now drilling in the resid-
ual oil zone (ROZ), which is found below
the oil/water contact level in conven-
tional reservoirs. The ROZ represents
an enormous target. Research work con-
ducted by a group in Midland and backed
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
by the Research Partnership to Secure
Energy for America (RPSEA), a non-
profit organization that supports new
energy technology, has shown that it
is hundreds of feet thick and underlies
much of the Permian in West Texas and
New Mexico.
While an ancient natural waterflood
swept out much of the oil—leaving about
as much as would be left after a year of
waterflooding in a producing field—that
was enough to attract many explorers
whose wells produced only water.
Name recognition remains a problem
for the play in part because the com-
panies involved are not well-known. At a
session on development strategies for the
ROZ, a featured topic at the 2016 CO2 and
ROZ Conference in Midland in December
2016, nearly all the companies making
presentations were small independents,
and some were startups, often backed by
private equity funds.
The companies involved also cannot
agree on a name for the play because
of different ideas about how it works.
Steve Melzer, a Midland consultant who
was the director of the conference, said The residual oil zone (light blue) in the Permian Basin is found beneath the
oil/water contact level in most of the major oil fields (darker blue) in the San
the name he uses “depends on who I
Andreas formation, but covers a far larger area. Source: Melzer Consulting.
am with.”
Some call it dewatering because the
water is removed by pumping and dis- to produce gas and gas liquids from the ger attraction to oil than normally
posed of in other formations, rather than Hunton formation in Oklahoma, said Ben assumed, allowing an oil saturation level
reinjected. Others call it a depressurizing Azar, whose father was a pioneer in the of approximately 35% with variations
play because the water removal stimu- play that dates back to the 1990s. that do not seem related to porosity, as is
lates production by reducing reservoir Azar, co-founder of ROZ Resourc- commonly thought.
pressure to below the bubblepoint—the es, said the depressurizing process can “We have talked to good technical peo-
level where the gas dissolved in the oil be compared to producing coal-seam ple who looked at us like, ‘You crazy
escapes from the solution and expands. gas, where dewatering is also required. idiots, that is not how the world works,’”
The escaping gas drives production and “When I have tried to explain the Hunton Melzer said.
increases the relative permeability of the in simple terms, I have described it as
oil within the tight rock, said Hall, who coalbed methane on steroids,” Azar said. Amazing Patience
has been running simulations to study “It is the same in that you have to move a The first horizontal ROZ well complet-
the process. lot of water to get the gas out.” ed in the Permian was drilled by Walsh
Others see horizontal drilling tapping The difference is that in coal-seam gas, Petroleum, Hall said, adding that Man-
pockets of oil, or say fracturing is need- reducing the pressure frees gas trapped zano Energy was close behind. After that
ed to stimulate production along later- in the coal—desorption—while in oil, well was drilled, Walsh waited more than
als that are typically about 5,000-ft long. the pressure reduction causes the gas in 30 days before it started getting signifi-
Hall has been closely following this solution to vaporize and expand, driving cant oil production. “The amazing thing
West Texas play since he was hired by liquids production. is they had the patience. They did not just
a pipeline company to study whether When it comes to the details of how abandon it after a week,” he said.
it will yield enough to justify installing the oil and gas got there and why it has Those explorers were learning from
lines to serve it. remained there, research has led to some experience like a similar group of inde-
Production data are limited. The old- unconventional theories. pendents in the Hunton formation.
est well was drilled 3 years ago. The best ROZ researchers have concluded In the late 1990s, Altex Resources
analogy is a play that used dewatering that the rock is oil-wet, with a stron- noticed the benefit of removing water

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 29


Removing water reduces the pressure within the reservoir, allowing natural gas to bubble out of solution. Gas expansion
drives oil out of pores, increasing production. Source: Melzer Consulting.
from a reservoir when a well it used to
reinject water into a producing formation
broke down, forcing the company to pay
to haul the water to a disposal well.
“The oil cut went up. That seemed
funny, but it was great. That’s no prob-
lem. Then they got the disposal well fixed
and the oil cut went down and a light bulb
goes on,” he said.
That suggested that removing water
promoted production, but when the com-
pany drilled wells into a nearby dolomite
formation, all it got was “a big splash of
water and a puff of gas,” Azar said.
Frustrated by those dry holes, his
father drilled a horizontal well and began
pumping thousands of barrels of water
a day and continued to do so for several
months until natural gas began showing
up in the flow, Azar said.
“We saw gas around the backside (in
the casing annulus), the water volumes
go down and gas volumes go up. It was
totally counterintuitive,” he said. “Over
time, the gas got richer and richer,” with
more than half in the form of natural gas
liquids, which then commanded a pre-
mium price.
Ultimately, the play stretched over
about five counties in Oklahoma, “but
even within the Hunton there was not a
whole lot of fanfare about it,” he said.
The plays were always limited to
small local operators, in part because
big companies had trouble explaining it
to investors.
“It is a complicated story to tell to the
public markets,” said Azar. There was the
awkward question: How does it work?
“Originally, we really did not know, but
we recognized it was working and con-
tinued to drill it.” Over time enough data
were gathered that led to a series of SPE
papers and a report for RPSEA explaining
how depressurizing worked.
30
Bubbles swell Oil seeps out of the pores
Permian Difference formation (the Arbuckle) can be linked to
Azer’s company was Brittany Energy, the high earthquake rate.”
which has since been sold to Hunton Two of Brittany’s old wells are now
Holdings. The play suffered when the being used by the state to observe pres-
value of gas liquids plummeted as pro- sure changes in that deep formation to
duction from shale plays glutted the mar- help study the issue.
ket and water disposal became a a point Texas looks like the next frontier. The
of contention after a surge in the number area covered by the ROZ in the Permian
of earthquakes in Oklahoma led to dis- is far larger than the Hunton, it produces
posal-well injection limits. quality crude (30 to 36 °API), and water
Now state officials are pointing to the disposal has not been an issue there.
dewatering play in the heart of the area Dewatering offers a lower-cost alterna-
hardest hit by earthquakes as one of the tive to using enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
causes of the trouble. to produce oil from the ROZ.
“Production from the Mississippi- Permian operators such as Occidental
an Limestone and Hunton dewatering and Hess have deepened carbon diox-
play operations within the 15,000-sq-mi ide (CO2) EOR projects to tap the ROZ
earthquake area of interest has result- beneath 16 conventional reservoirs.
ed in an unprecedented amount of salt- Kinder Morgan has taken this a step fur-
water” injected into deep disposal wells, ther with its Tall Cotton project that is
said Tim Baker, director of the Okla- the first greenfield ROZ project, using
homa Corporation Commission Oil CO2 to produce oil in a location with no
and Gas Conservation Division, adding production above it.
that “there is broad agreement among Using alternating carbon dioxide and
researchers that disposal of these large water injections can produce around
amounts of water into the state’s deepest 30% of the oil in place in the ROZ. That
Dewatering in the Hunton
An SPE paper (94347) based on using dewatering to produce oil in
the Hunton basin in Oklahoma observed:
1. Much of the original oil was displaced by natural water influx
in geological times, with a lot going to shallower formations.
2. The amount of trapped oil is a function of porosity, with more
remaining in less porous rock.
3. Producing and disposing of water releases gas from the oil,
ultimately driving oil production, which rises slowly over time.
4. As pressure depletes, oil and gas production rises and the ratio
of water to oil and gas goes down.
5. This lasts as long as gas continues to bubble out of the solution.
Less oil will be produced than in a conventional reservoir where
gas is driving production because so much energy is expended
to move water.
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
is several times more than dewater-
ing, which is around 7.5%, Melzer said.
Carbon dioxide is able to remove more
oil from the oil-wet rock, and works
in areas lacking the gassy oil required
for depressurization.
Still, dewatering is an attractive alter-
native because it opens the ROZ to com-
panies that do not have the money, skills,
or patience to make a large, long-term
commitment to CO2 EOR.
“What is nice about this is we do
not have to spend money to put CO2 in
ground. You can drill horizontal wells,
draw it (pressure) down, and make
money. It is not as large an upfront invest-
ment,” Hall said.
When talking about this method, Mel-
zer prefers to call it the DUROZ, for
“depressurizing the upper ROZ.”
“Upper” is specified because testing
has shown the gas content is higher in the
oil near the top of the zone, which can be
as much as 500-ft thick. That is essential,
because the gas coming out of the oil in
solution is critical to moving the oil and
ensuring that it flows.
The local geology also is important.
There are places that cannot be depres-
surized, because large fractures or high-
ly permeable rock allow large inflows of
new water to replace the water as fast as
it can be pumped.
There are also locations where well
logs show promising levels of oil, but fail
to show that the oil cannot be mobilized
due to fractures or impermeable areas in
the rock, said Mohan Kelkar, a petroleum
engineering professor at the Universi-
ty of Tulsa who has written extensively
about the Hunton play.
Horizontal drilling is thought to con-
tribute to production by tapping into
natural compartments containing oil.
Fracturing is commonly used, though
these jobs are small compared to the
hydraulic pressure applied to nearby
shale formations. Azar points out the
ROZ reservoirs are relatively permeable,
and even with fracturing, pumping is still
required to lower the pressure enough to
get the oil flowing.
Because of the large volume of water
produced, companies need leases covering
large contiguous areas to generate enough
production to justify the investment need-
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
This tank battery was used for oil/water separation and storage of water
produced from wells in the Hunton formation in Oklahoma. The water was then
sent to disposal wells by operators who had discovered that they could initiate
oil and gas production by lowering the bottomhole pressure. Source: Ben Azar.
ed in water processing and disposal equip- Melzer said. Research concluded that
ment. Azer said it is important to drill wells the rock became oil-wet late in the pro-
that allow pumps to be installed as deeply cess of being turned into dolomite, and
as possible to speed drainage, resulting in microbes may well play a key role.
more production sooner. Hall expects that the Permian operators
While the ROZ is hardly an ideal reser- chasing what looks like a big opportunity
voir, Hall described it as fair-quality rock. on small budgets will cooperate to figure
A paper on what made dewatering it out. “They are doing a great job of shar-
work by three researchers from the Uni- ing data among themselves. It is among
versity of Tulsa (SPE 94347) does not the most transparent projects I have ever
mention fracturing. It points out that seen,” he said, adding, “That certainly
productivity in the play varies widely improves the learning curve. If you can
based on a variety of reservoir factors learn from someone else’s mistakes, you
ranging from oil saturation levels to the do not make them yourself.” JPT
amount of gas in the oil.
Greater oil saturation was found in less For Further Reading
porous rock, which was less likely to have SPE 94347 Dewatering of Hunton Reservoir:
been swept out by an ancient waterflood What Makes It Work? by M. Gupta,
that removed much of the oil. Based on R. Joshi, and M. Kelkar, University of
data from many wells in a four-county Tulsa. doi:10.2118/94347-MS.
area, the paper concluded that conven- SPE 89462 Dewatering in Hunton
tional reservoir models did not adequate- Reservoir—Drill Vertical or Horizontal
ly explain things, such as the declining Well? by D. Zubarev, S. Patwardhan,
gas/oil ratio, so they created a model that M. Kelkar, University of Tulsa;
reflects how the pressure decline affects B. Keefer, Marjo Operating Co.
the output. doi:10.2118/89462-MS.
Some of those conclusions are chal- SPE 93963 Changes in Horizontal-
lenged by work in the Permian. Drilling Practices Improve Production
“The 20 years of work done character- From the Hunton Formation: Area
izing the ROZs beneath the San Andres Study Comparison by K.L. Booth, Altex
oil fields has surprisingly shown that the Resources Inc.; B. Varcoe, Precision
oil saturation of the rock is relatively Drilling; and P. Bryden, Altex Resources
independent of the porosity of the rock,” Inc. doi:10.2118/93963-MS.
31
 New Study
US Shale Productivity Will Offset
Rising Service Costs
Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer
T hough crude prices are rising, US
shale producers face questions over
whether their improving oil produc-
tion results and cost efficiencies will
last as increasing drilling activity drives
demand for oilfield services. Countering
a raft of negative outlooks, a new study
argues that the unconventional sector
has reason to be optimistic about the
months and years ahead.
Thanks to a greater understand-
ing of geology and improved technol-
ogy application, the new generation of
horizontal wells completed during the
downturn are outperforming their pre-
decessors by wide and growing margins,
according to the study published by the
Oxford Institute for Energy Studies in
November, “Unravelling the US Shale
Productivity Gains.”
The bottom line, as this study sees
it, is that the well productivity and effi-
600
500
400
B/D
300
200
100
0 to about 550 B/D in 2016. A look at the
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67
2011 2012
32
ciency benchmarks established over
the past 2 years represent sustainable
progress that cannot be wholly attrib-
uted to high-grading programs or ser-
vice sector price concessions. The
expectation is that many operators
will be able to offset the approach-
ing financial headwinds with higher-
producing wells.
These conclusions are based on the
performance of operators in several key
shale plays where not only are initial pro-
duction rates improving—an early mea-
sure of success—but so are two other
important performance indicators: high-
er cumulative production and slower
decline rates.
“This is extremely promising for long-
term US oil production and the overall
health of these operators,” said Trisha
Curtis, author of the study and president
of the Denver-based market research
Annual Permian Basin decline curves of
horizontal wells show that well productivity
improvements accelerated substantially during
the worst period of the industry downturn.
Source: PetroNerds/Drillinginfo data.
Months in Production
2013 2014 2015 2016
firm PetroNerds. “It means that once
they’ve sunk their costs in the begin-
ning, they will be getting more cash flow
out of the wells later on by flattening
out decline curve tails and lifting them
up a bit.”
Using aggregated well data from three
of the most active areas in the US—
the Permian, Williston, and Powder
River basins—the study shows that ini-
tial 12-month production totals soared
41% from 2014 to 2016. The combined
60-month estimated ultimate recovery
rates for that same span are up 22%.
The data also show that gains are
strongest in the first 2 years of produc-
tion, after which output begins to track
closer to historical baselines. But from a
reserves perspective, the trend lines Cur-
tis identified through her research may
signal that some unconventional produc-
ers are boosting ultimate recovery rates
of oil-in-place, often pegged in the single
digits for shale reservoirs. To put this in
perspective, a 1% increase in recovery
for the largest oil-rich shale plays would
translate into millions of extra barrels
produced each year.
Widespread Improvements
In terms of recent production growth, no
other shale play comes close to the Perm-
ian. Through the downturn, oil produc-
tion from horizontal wells in the Permian
has risen by nearly half a million barrels
to more than 1.2 million B/D.
Initial production rates there have
increased sharply from 300 B/D in 2013
decline curves shows that, on average,
Permian wells completed in 2016 gen-
erate about the same daily output after
8 months as a 2013 well’s peak daily pro-
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
duction rate, typically reached in its first
3 months. 600 Williston basin decline curves from
2011—2016.
Operators working in the Williston of 500
North Dakota, home to the Bakken and 400
Three Forks formations, are achieving

B/D
300
average initial production rates close to 200
500 B/D. That figure is up by almost
100
100 B/D in 2 years.
0
Unlike in the Permian, many operators
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67
in the Williston had acreage positions
Months in Production
held by production when the downturn
arrived, which contributed to the region’s 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
steep rig count drop. Despite this, in
2015 and 2016, Williston operators man-
aged to turn in the biggest production Powder River basin decline curves
600
improvements in several years. Curtis from 2011—2016.
500
predicted that production and overall
400
well performance will be on the rise for
B/D

at least the next couple of years as drill- 300

ing picks up steam. 200

Not mentioned in the study, but 100
worth noting, is that from September 0
to October of last year, Bakken produc- 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67

tion surged by 70,000 B/D—the largest Months in Production

month-to-month increase that play has 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
ever recorded.
The story is a little different in the
much smaller and less-talked-about Pow-
der River Basin of Wyoming where both 1,000 EOG Resources’ Eagle Ford Shale
decline curves from 2011—2016.
overall production and early output fig-
800
ures are on the decline. Wells complet-
ed in the Powder River in 2015 had early
600
production rates of about 550 B/D and
B/D

had significantly slower declines than 400

older wells.
For wells completed in 2016, initial
rates dropped to 400 B/D and decline
curves were only marginally better than
the years prior to 2015. Curtis noted that
with less than 100 wells drilled in 2016,
the sample size is much smaller than is
available in other plays.
Although well performance appears
to be trending down, the study empha-
sizes that Powder River production is
stabilizing and that the area holds a
lot of potential for an uplift in pro-
ductivity as higher oil prices encourage
more investment.
The study’s findings also highlight dra-
matic production improvements made in
the Eagle Ford Shale by the area’s larg-
est operator, EOG Resources. Wells com-
pleted by EOG in 2016 were delivering
more than 1,000 B/D of initial produc-
tion rates compared with about 800 B/D
200
0
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45 48 51 54 57 60 63 66
2011
the previous year. The company is among
a handful of operators that are publicly
discussing their attempts to grow pro-
duction and soften decline rates by care-
fully designing the completion strategy
for each new well.
Completion Design Changes
Curtis found that no single technolog-
ical advance has been responsible for
the recent progress. Desperation has
played a bigger role, handing operators
the motivation they need to make the
Months in Production
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
best use of existing technologies such as
microseismic, geomechanical modeling,
and rock core analysis.
By doing more of this geophysi-
cal homework, shale operators have
become adept at the optimal placement
of lateral sections inside tight pay zones.
They have also designed more effective
hydraulic fracturing treatments that
use double and triple dosages of sand
and water.
However, skeptical industry analysts
maintain that the affordability of these

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 33

 advances will evaporate when oilfield
service and supply costs normalize.
There is also doubt surrounding the
durability of higher production rates
since many operators are considered to
be high-grading their best acreage. This
line of thinking holds that as the number
of prime drilling locations dwindles, so
will the production rates of future wells.
Curtis is not convinced by these points
and believes instead that oil produc-
tion from new wells is on track to offset
increasing expenses. “Generally speak-
ing, I don’t think that many in the analyt-
ical community have a full grasp on how
these operators have changed the way
they are drilling and completing these
wells,” she said. “Service costs are cer-
tainly going to go up, and there will be
some problems with that, but operators
are in the very early innings of advancing
well productivity and they have a lot of
running room left.”
The biggest change operators have
made, and one Curtis said most ana-
lysts have missed, is that instead of try-
ing to punch through the rock with long
and extensive fracture networks, shale
producers are now focused on making
shorter fractures to “rubble-ize” the area
around the wellbore.
Curtis believes this completion tech-
nique will carry forward regardless of
cost increases because it allows operators
to use higher volumes of lower-cost sand
as proppant. This means they can forgo
the more sophisticated ceramic or resin-
coated proppants that were designed to
enhance conductivity and flow. For the
same reason, basic slickwater formulas
can be used to transport the sand vs. the
more expensive crosslink gels and hybrid
fracturing fluids needed to carry prop-
pant farther into the reservoir.
Another advantage that comes with
keeping the fractures more localized is
that operators can use tighter well spac-
ing to maximize reservoir drainage area,
Curtis said. Though this practice, called
downspacing, has sometimes led to the
occurrence of inter-well communica-
tion events known as frac hits, Curtis
said some companies are showing that
they can place their wells closer together
without production bleeding from one
well to another.
And when operators speak of high-
grading programs, she said it needs to be
understood that the definition of what is
considered a sweet spot or a core acre-
age position is expanding as a result of
the new learnings and techniques. In
other words, the reservoir rock being
drilled out today is not necessarily going
to be more productive than next years’
drilling targets. “As operators continue
to learn, their portfolio of sweet spots
and high-graded acreage has grown too,”
Curtis said. JPT

SPE Hydraulic Fracturing

rrin
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ncce
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Technology Conference
23–25 January 2018 | The Woodlands, Texas,
s, USA
US
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The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention
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Center
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Share your expertise, ideas, and technical knowledge.

Call for Papers Now Open
Submit a paper proposal by 14 August.
For topics and instructions, visit:
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Showcase your products and services. For exhibiting information,

visit www.spe.org/go/18HFTCexhibit.
Rebound To Test
If Cost Cuts Will Last
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

O
ne sign that things are getting
better for US onshore explora-
tion is the revival of talk about
looming shortages and bottlenecks.
By mid-year, sand to prop open frac-
tures and trucks to pump those jobs are
expected to be in short supply. Oilfield
hands are already a scarce commodity.
Those are solvable problems, but at a
price some companies may find uncom-
fortably high.
Surveys by branches of the US Federal
Reserve Bank done in the fourth quarter
of 2016 said that the break-even oil price
for companies in Texas and surround-
ing states varies widely, and is generally
greater than USD 50/bbl. The survey by
the bank’s Dallas branch found that nearly
60% of the 141 companies surveyed said
that it would take a price from USD 55/bbl
to USD 65/bbl to “substantially increase”
US crude oil drilling. And that was before
service costs began rising.
The smallest bar on the chart was for
companies that can make money drill-
ing when oil is USD 49/bbl or less. Some
analysts publish estimates of average oil
prices needed to profitably produce oil,
but those averages mask a wide range
of break-even levels. There are also dif-
ferences among analysts on what per-
centage of the cost reductions made in
the industry since 2014 will vaporize in
the face of the double-digit service price
increases that are expected this year in
the unconventional services sector.
“We hear every ratio possible,” said
Jackson Sandeen, a senior research ana-
lyst for Wood Mackenzie, who said the
savings are 40% from more efficient
operations and 60% due to service sec-
tor price concessions, which will shrink.
Bain & Company clients put it at 60% of
sustainable efficiencies and 40% from
price concessions, said Jorge Leis, a Bain
partner that leads its Americas Oil &
Gas Practice.
Rystad Energy said the average price
needed to profitably produce oil in the
US nonconventional sector has dropped
by 50% since the downturn hit in late
2014, but a lot of that is based on suppli-
er discounts. “Lower unit prices of ser-
vice companies are a major reason for
the drop,” said Jon Duesund, senior proj-
ect manager for Rystad, during a recent
briefing in Houston.

Delaware Basin Wolfcamp Oil Play—Efficiencies Lowering Completed Well Costs*

3/4 Savings From Efficiencies Sustainable Efficiency Improvements

+USD 0.4MM –USD 1.6MM

USD 8.3MM
Flowback Water
and Facilities Handling

–USD 0.6MM Efficiency Savings

USD 1.6MM Per Well
USD 6.5MM
Drilling Faster
Completion
Operations
Supervsion
and Labor

Flowback Pressure
and Facilities Pumping

Drilling
Price Savings
USD 0.6MM Per Well Wireline
Rentals and
1Q 2015 High- Efficiencies Pricing 2016 Equipment
Density Target
Completions

* CWC=Drilling, Completion, Well-Site Facilities and Flowback. Costs for 4,500 ft lateral well.

An EOG presentation breaks down how the company has reduced the cost of Permian Basin production, with more than
70% of its activities not affected by service company price increases. Source: EOG Resources.

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 35

 What WTI price do you think is necessary for cally affect our well cost but, at the same
35 time, we are making greater strides at
US crude oil drilling activity to substantially increase?
reducing our well costs.”
30
EOG and other low-cost firms have
made large investments in physical and
Percent Reporting

25
virtual assets that target the best rock,
20 control the cost of the sand and water
pumped on ever-bigger jobs, and effi-
15 ciently handle the water, oil, and gas in
their own facilities.
10 The best way to reduce the cost of a
barrel of oil is to produce more of it, and
5 do that consistently by using data and
analysis to pick the best targets.
0 “Targeting is having a larger role than
<49 50–54 55–59 60–64 65–69 70–74 >75
people think it would,” Helms said during
USD/bbl
a presentation last November.
One hundred forty-one oil and gas firms answered this question from 14–22 The impact of targeting over time at
September 2016. Respondents were asked to assume Henry Hub natural gas EOG is evident as it completes it back-
prices remain near current levels. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. log of drilled but uncompleted wells
(DUCs) built up over the past couple
Rystad concludes that 40% of the cuts The service sector price increases years. Helms said that “a lot of DUCs are
are unsustainable because they are based expected in 2017 are a fraction of the not premium wells. Because of targeting,
on supplier discounts, 40% are sustain- total concessions those companies made things drilled 2 years ago are not in that
able because they are based on greater over the past 2 years, Leis said. [high-margin] category.”
efficiency, and 20% are cost savings that But engineers on exploration teams
erode over time. will be feeling pressure to hold the line on Going Longer
At the top of its list of sustainable ways the price of production by finding ways The rising number of drilling rigs now
to save is high-grading. That covers every- to reduce costs to make up for lost dis- working understates the increase in
thing from hiring only the most efficient counts, such as fracturing methods that drilling because faster rigs are drilling
drilling rigs and crews to methods used require less horsepower to pump. longer laterals.
to target the most productive rock. The “About 1,000 horizontal rigs could
payoff from high-grading, though, will Pressure Differential be enough to get back to same num-
be lessened when rising demand forces Based on presentations from leading, ber of horizontal well spuds as seen in
companies to be less selective about the publicly traded producers in the Perm- 2014,” Duesund said. Three years ago,
equipment leased and the spots drilled, ian Basin, USD 50/bbl oil can be high- the Baker Hughes rig counts showed
Duesund said. ly profitable. EOG, which has a goal of more than 1,500 rigs drilling horizon-
“Some of the efficiencies we see dis- drilling what it calls premium wells, is tal or directional wells, less than half the
appearing,” he said. “We will not see the earning a 30% rate of return when oil current level.
[break-even cost] level in 2014, but it will is selling for USD 40/bbl and twice that Rising prices will push companies
be higher than current levels.” at USD 50/bbl. By 2018 its goal is to to speed the transition to drilling lon-
Richard Spears, managing partner move nearly all its wells into the pre- ger horizontal wells. In the past year,
for Spears & Associates, said discounts mium category. Richard Spears has seen a surge in the
from service companies could be as In 2016, EOG said 95% of its wells number of 10,000-ft and 12,000-ft lat-
much as 75% of the reduction in the earned a return of greater than 10% with erals drilled. He said, “10,000-ft later-
break-even cost of producing a barrel oil at USD 50/bbl, while it estimated that als used to be used just in North Dakota.
of oil. only 39% of the wells drilled industry- Now it is something we are seeing abso-
No one expects the price shock to stall wide reached that standard. lutely everywhere.” He predicts that, in
the rally in unconventional exploration “The things that are affected by service a couple of years, 15,000-ft laterals will
at a time when the OPEC deal to reduce cost increases [such as drilling, wireline, be standard.
production is pushing up oil prices, or and pumping services] represent maybe There are sustainable savings in these
at least reduce the risk of a repeat of the one-fourth of the total savings we have designs, which reduce the number of ver-
price plunge early last year, and billions achieved to date,” said Billy Helms, exec- tical wells and drilling pads needed to
of dollars in investor money are flow- utive vice president of exploration and drain a large area. A slide from EOG
ing into hot spots, mostly in the Perm- production for EOG. He added, “If those Resources showed that moving from a
ian Basin. go up 10% to 20%, that will not dramati- 4,500-ft lateral to a 7,200-ft one cut the

36 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

cost of developing a 19,200-acre lease
from USD 40.2 million to USD 31.6 mil-
lion, increasing the net present value of
the asset by more than 50%.
That is a sustainable gain as is fast-
er drilling, which has allowed EOG to
reduce the time it takes to drill a 7,000-ft
well from more than 38 days in 2014
to 21  days in late 2016. EOG and others
are also using their growing trove of data
from the Permian to target the most pro-
ductive rock, where they are using new
fracturing designs to better fracture
the rock.
Go Bigger
When it comes to fracturing, the trend
has always been toward pumping more
water and sand.
When Richard Spears started in the
service business more than 30 years ago
selling completion services for Hallibur-
ton, he jokes that when he would ask
whether to sell a big frac job or a little
one, the answer was always: “Richard,
sell them a big one.”
The industry has profited from that
advice. The average fracturing job now
is using volumes of sand that would have
been incomprehensible back then, and
are twice what was common 5 years ago.
Pioneer Natural Resources has gone
from pumping sand at 1,000 lb/ft of lat-
eral in 2014 to 1,700 lb/ft in its latest
completion designs. Stages have gone
from 240 ft apart to 100 ft apart, accord-
ing to a December 2016 presentation on
the company’s website.
conductivity. But studies by Rystad and
Bain & Company based on production
data from completions using greater vol-
umes of lower-grade sand, argue that the
reward for using far more sand outweigh
the gains from paying more for proppant
with higher technical specifications.
To control costs, some independents
such as EOG and Pioneer have invested in
sand mines, Sandeen said.
Ever-bigger fracturing jobs continue to
deliver greater production with no end
in sight. That adds cost, but by reduc-
ing expenses such as the number of days
required for drilling, EOG said it was able
to reduce the overall cost of drilling and
completing wells though the third quar-
ter of last year.
When it comes to pumping the job,
though, the work can only go so fast.
That  is by the design specifications
and the capacity of the well casing. As
Richard Spears put it, “A 100-bbl/min
frac job goes at 100 bbl/min.”
Partners Required
As prices rise, grinding out profits in
shale will require a greater focus on more
efficient completions, said Leis of Bain.
He sees a lot of potential to save money
by reducing the number of fracture stag-
Enhance Returns with Longer Laterals – Delaware Basin Wolfcamp
Short Laterals Long Laterals
640
Acres
Delaware Basin Wolfcamp Oil Play
15.4 –4
5%
9.8
8.5
7.8
2014 2015 2016 Target
*Normalized to 7,000-ft lateral.
EOG reported the time needed to drill
a 7,000-ft lateral fell rapidly in 2 years.
es that contribute little or nothing, using
the optimal amount of the most effi-
cient hardware in the well, and eventual-
ly using automation to reduce labor costs
and ensure that fracture designs are exe-
cuted as planned.
For many companies, the expertise
required and hours of work entailed to
target wells and design better comple-
tions is more than they can do with their
reduced staff and will require develop-
ing partnerships with service companies,
Leis said.
960
Acres

The industry is pushing beyond that

640
limit. Chesapeake Energy and Southwest- Acres
ern Energy have both reported fractur-
ing jobs using 5,000 pounds or more per 960
lateral foot, according to the Bloomberg 640 Acres NPV 54%
Acres Higher with
news service. Long Laterals
Rising prices in the face of greater
demand is likely to change habits, and Per Well Total Per Well Total
already has in the sand business. The Lateral, ft 4,500 27,000 7,200 28,800
enormous rise in proppant used per well CWC*, USD 6.7 MM 40.2 MM 7.9 MM 31.6 MM
helped push the industry away from Direct ATROR** 47% 47% 78% 78%
higher-cost ceramics and proppant, as it NPV10, USD 2.6 MM 15.6 MM 6.0 MM 24.0 MM
went first to white sand and more recent- NPV=Net Present Value
ly to lower-cost brown sand. * CWC=Drilling, Completion, Well-Site Facilities and Flowback.
** ATROR=After-Tax Real Rate of Return. See reconciliation schedules. Oil price USD 40,
This trend runs counter to studies con- natural gas price USD 2.50 per MMBtu.

cluding that proppants that are stron- This presentation from EOG Resources in November 2016 showed how drilling
ger and rounder perform better because longer horizontal wells allows it to use four wells to more efficiently cover
they offer greater crush resistance and an area requiring six shorter laterals, reducing its cost by more than 20%.

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 37

 Maximizing the value and trust with-
in these partnerships will require some
changes in habits. Service companies are
looking for ways to do more with less,
and clients may need to be willing to pay
a premium price if an innovative idea or
device adds significant value.
While developing an unconvention-
al play looks more like running a large
mine, where continuous gains in efficien-
cy are valued, the biggest profits are still
to be found by identifying the few spots
likely to be highly productive.
While the number of highly productive
places to drill, commonly known as sweet
spots, is limited by geology, EOG said the
number of premium wells is also a func-
tion of how they are drilled and complet-
ed in addition to the cost of that work.
A 10% increase in expected output or a
10% reduction in costs can significant-
ly add to an inventory of premium loca-
tions to drill.
Replicating the results of EOG and
other highly efficient producers will be
difficult because it is based on factors
such as low-cost leases, contiguous acre-
age allowing the building of efficient
facilities, and a costly accumulation of
years of data plus in-house expertise.
Looking Up, But Still Tough
Outlook Brightens for Unconventional Oil
U S drilling and completion com-
panies that were slashing work-
forces and cannibalizing pumping
trucks for parts 6 months ago are now
hiring crews and repairing equipment to
meet rising demand.
“Utilization of crews is already effec-
tively at 100% and that is driving our
prices up,” said Richard Spears, man-
aging partner for Spears & Associates,
during a recent presentation put on
by the SPE Gulf Coast Section and the
American Association of Drilling Engi-
neers. The firm that tracks oilfield ser-
vices is expecting that prices for pres-
sure pumping will rise 10 to 20% when
multiwell service contracts come up for
renewal early in 2017.
38
EOG Resources
High-Density vs. Old Completion Technology
2010 Completions
540 Events/1,000 ft
2015 Completions
4,030 Events/1,000 ft
Enhance Complexity to Contain Events Closer
Contact More Surface Area to Wellbore
Note: Microseismic dots represent well stimulation events during completions.
Fracturing jobs are designed to hit a compact area a lot harder and prop it
with far more sand than in the past.
The potential for sustainable gains Sandeen is watching how small E&P
appears to be there, but even some of the firms backed by private equity that
biggest oil companies have been unable have reported big productivity gains by
to replicate the results of the most effi- intensively fracturing the best rock will
cient unconventional producers. Over the fare over the long term. “When prices
next few years, it will become clear which recover, how repeatable is that well
companies have sustainably reduced as you start to ramp up to more rigs?”
their expenses. he said.
The sector, which was the first to
feel the pain of the downturn, began
to recover late last year and then got a
IHS is predicting a 25% rise in the
cost of services and supplies for fractur-
ing in 2017, said Samir Nangia, director
boost from OPEC, which agreed to cut of consulting in the IHS Energy Insight
production to push up oil prices. Group. That estimate is up from the
“Generally, across the Lower 48 even firm’s prediction made 3 months ago.
before the OPEC decision, there was Nangia said that oilfield “hiring has
a sense that 2017 would be a better picked up. And we are hearing it has
year for oilfield service companies,” said picked up pretty significantly.”
Jackson Sandeen, senior research ana- The comeback they are describing is
lyst for Wood Mackenzie. The oilfield still an anomaly within the global indus-
information firm predicts a 10% infla- try. Offshore exploration and oil sands
tion rate in the US drilling and comple- development will remain in a deep slump,
tion service sector. while onshore drilling in most countries
He and other analysts see increases in will grow sluggishly, if at all.
the cost of pressure pumping, sand, and Even large parts of the US unconven-
wireline services early in the year, and tional business are little affected by the
rising drilling rates later on. upturn that pushed the number of rigs
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
p opl
pow d

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Completion Optimization Program
Designing completions to allow more rock
to be contacted closer to the wellbore
Version 1.0 Version 2.0 Version 3.0
Initial Frac Design Current Frac Design Testing Underway
(2013–2014) (Q3 2015–Today) (Q1–Q4 2016)
• 1,000 lbs/ft proppant • 1,400 lbs/ft proppant • Up to 1,700 lbs/ft proppant
• 30 bbls/ft fluid • 36 bbls/ft fluid • Up to 50 bbls/ft fluid
• 60-ft cluster spacing • 30-ft cluster spacing • Down to 15-ft cluster spacing
• 240-ft stage spacing • 150-ft stage spacing • Down to ~100-ft stage spacing
• USD 0.5 MM per well • +USD 0.5–1.0 MM per well vs.
vs. initial frac design1 current frac design1
• ~100 well program (70 wells online)
1Assumes perforated lateral length of 9,000 ft.
Bigger completions drive demand. Pioneer Resources’ fracturing designs have
evolved in line with industry trends, pumping far more water and sand through
more closely spaced clusters of perforations with a goal of creating more
complex fracture networks in a tighter area. Source: Pioneer Resources.
working in the US from 404 rigs at the where they no longer had to buy sand
bottom of May 2016 to 658 at year’s end, and chemicals from service companies,
according to the Baker Hughes rig count. which had long benefitted from markups
This could simply be described as the on sales of supplies. As it gets harder to
Permian Basin rally, which is where more line up completion services, he predicts
than half of the US drilling rigs are work- the providers will use that leverage to try
ing—five times the second-most active to regain control.
play, the Eagle Ford. Such battles show this is still a tough
Demand for completion services out- business, but these are better problems
stripped the growth in drilling rigs work- to have than fighting for survival after oil
ing because much longer horizontal wells prices plunged last spring, and things hit
are being drilled faster and fractured bottom around mid-2016.
using far more water and sand per foot Last July, oil and gas companies
to create more productive fracture net- announced more than 40,000 job cuts,
works and prop them open. which helped push global industry losses
Demand began pushing up sand prices to more than 420,000 since the down-
first in 2016, and in 2017 the cost of prop- turn began in 2014, according to John
pant is expected to rise by 15%, Sandeen Graves, president of Graves & Co. He has
said. This is expected to lead to short sup- been doing fewer updates as the pace
plies in the lowest-priced sand—brown of layoffs has slowed, though he is still
sand, which has been used to limit the seeing cuts in some slumping sectors,
added cost of high-volume jobs—forcing such as shipyards supplying the offshore
users to buy higher-cost grades, he said. business. He can see things are pick-
ing up around Texas based on his com-
Tough Business pany’s work reviewing deals for clients,
Richard Spears sees growing backlogs for but hiring is hard to track because com-
pressure pumping equipment leading to panies generally do not announce plans
a struggle between operators and suppli- to add workers.
ers over who controls purchasing. The fact that the service business is
During the depths of the downturn, improving in the US also reflects how
he said operators insisted on deals much capacity has been lost in a sector
40
hit early and hard by the downturn. The
industry laid off more than 60% of the
nontechnical labor force, Nangia said.
The current capacity of pumper trucks
used for fracturing is 7 million horse-
power, about one-third of the late 2014
peak, Richard Spears said. The upside is
the industry should be able to push it to
12 to 14 million horsepower at a reason-
able cost, he said.
That added supply, though, will limit
the pace of price increases, as could oil
prices if they do not rise as hoped.
“For now, surplus capacity is weighing
on the market. The supply-demand bal-
ance is heading in the right direction. We
are still in an oversupplied market,” said
Jeffrey Miller, president of Halliburton,
during the company’s third-quarter 2016
earnings call, adding that “this equip-
ment has required substantial mainte-
nance, so price increases are needed.”
Many of their customers argue they
cannot afford rising costs. Oil prices in
the low USD 50/bbl are just reaching the
level where the majority of companies in
the unconventional business can profit-
ably drill and complete those wells, and
they are reluctant to assume that oil pric-
es will rise to cover a big jump in expenses.
At a client briefing shortly after OPEC,
John Spears, president of Spears & Asso-
ciates, predicted the deal will reduce sup-
plies by 1.5 million B/D by the second
quarter of this year, aiding prices. But the
payoff for the OPEC cuts will be capped
by production added as higher prices
bring more barrels on to the market out
of storage or from places not covered by
production limits.
“It’s not going back to USD 90[/bbl]
to USD 100[/bbl], but we do see prices
going up from where they are,” said
John Spears, who forecasts oil prices of
USD 55/bbl to USD 60/bbl by late 2017,
and going up from there to a peak level of
around USD 70/bbl.
Rising demand presents a new set of
problems for service providers, partic-
ularly smaller ones. While the biggest
companies can begin focusing on profits,
offering opportunities to smaller players,
they need to raise some money to do so.
Good experienced hands are hard to
find because many of those who were
laid off found other jobs and are not
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
coming back and the qualified locals in
West Texas who want to work are already
working, Richard Spears said.
An alternative is hiring newcomers
who are willing and able to get to well-
sites in remote spots in West Texas and
New Mexico. It can take a year of train-
ing and on-the-job experience to reach
the level of being a trusted hand, IHS said
in its PumpingIQ report. Another alter-
native is to persuade those who lost their
jobs to return to a business where sudden
layoffs are an occupational hazard. That
could be costly because they “may be
reluctant to return unless they get good
salaries,” Duesund said.
In the Bakken, some companies are
offering sign-on bonuses for truck drivers
and housing assistance to attract talent
that is scarce locally, according to a story
in The Bismarck Tribune newspaper.
Another cost of growth will be fix-
ing pumping equipment. Even modest
repairs can be a financial stretch for cash-
short companies that have kept crews
working by taking on jobs that often
resulted in a loss.
A year from now, the price of pressure
pumping is likely to spike as the industry
uses up the inventory of serviceable used
trucks. After that, the cost of fixing up the
remaining pumping trucks is around the
cost of buying new equipment, Richard
Spears said.
Opportunities will be there as the
strongest names—Schlumberger and
Halliburton—focus on increasing prof-
it margins, even if it means losing mar-
ket share.
“Oilfield service companies are going
to have to recapture margins to stay in
business,” Sandeen said.
But smaller players will not have a
lot of time to figure out how to finance
growth. Based on past recoveries, the
comeback in drilling and completions
will happen rapidly, rewarding those
with the cash to grow.
For those without credit, “the orders
are there but service companies have no
ability to buy the product they need to
deliver,” said Richard Spears.
Service companies are seeking long-
term contracts at the higher rates need-
ed to pay to add capacity, but operators
are pushing back. “We do not see anyone
willing to sign contracts,” Nangia said,
adding service companies are offering
lower rates for deals running 6 months
or more.
The prospect of rebuilding the busi-
ness can be an attractive trap for cash-
strapped service companies. Banks loans
are not an option for those companies.
The investors interested in the sector are
selective, and if they are willing to put up
money ask for a lot in return.
“It [growth] is a real challenge for com-
panies because that requires a substantial
amount of working capital to fix those
trucks up and hire crews for jobs that
they will not be paid for from 60 to 90
days,” after it is done, said John Spears.
As a result, industry upturns often lead to
more bankruptcies. JPT

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JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 41

 Mexico Awards Its First Deepwater Blocks;
What Comes Next?
Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer
M exico’s historic public tender for
its deepwater real estate resulted
in the awarding of eight out of 10 blocks
on offer. Held last December in Mexico
City, the event marked the fourth and
final auction of the country’s Round One,
which reopened doors to foreign oil and
gas investment for the first time since the
country’s energy sector was nationalized
almost 80 years ago.
The awarded blocks went to 13 com-
panies whose exploration and produc-
tion operations are expected to generate
around USD 34 billion over the next 15
years. The winning bids also committed
to drill at least eight deepwater wells.
All four blocks offered in the deep-
water Perdido area were awarded,
including two to Chinese Offshore Oil
Corporation (CNOOC) and one to a con-
sortium of Chevron, Pemex, and Inpex—
Japan’s largest oil company. An addition-
United States
5-year plan
Production Exploration
Round 1 Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4 Round 4
Production and
Exploration
Mexico’s 5-year plan is shown in block-by-block detail and is categorized
between exploration areas and those where oil and gas have been discovered.
Source: National Hydrocarbons Commission
42
al four blocks in the Salina Basin were
contracted to three different consor-
tiums, including one formed by Statoil,
BP, and Total.
Another block encompassing a deep-
water discovery known as the Trion
field was awarded as a farmout agree-
ment between BHP Billiton and Mexi-
co’s state-owned oil company Pemex.
BHP will acquire 60% of the project’s
interest under the terms of the contract,
which it won through a tie-breaking
offer of a USD 624 million cash bonus
to Mexico’s petroleum fund. BP was the
losing bidder.
Including the three previous onshore
and shallow-water auctions, Mexico has
awarded 39 exploration and production
contracts to companies from nine for-
eign countries.
In a press conference following the
auction, the government said it expects
Gulf of Mexico
to receive close to 60% of the combined
profits from the eight blocks and the lone
farmout. Mexican officials also said they
are hoping the deepwater contracts even-
tually will yield 900,000 B/D of crude, a
volume that would help stem the coun-
try’s declining production from existing
fields. Government officials added that
first production from Trion might be
reached within 6 years, while it is expect-
ed that the other areas will need up to a
decade to be developed.
What’s Next?
According to many observers, the pro-
duction potential that the deep water
holds for Mexico was the chief driver
behind the country’s sweeping energy
reforms that became law in 2013. But
now that a number of the prime blocks
have been allocated, what comes next?
For the companies that have already
signed offshore contracts, their next
steps are likely to include the expansion
of Mexico’s port facilities to accommo-
date the arrival of larger deepwater ves-
sels and rigs. Some expect the small port
town of Dos Bocas to become a deep-
water hub because of its proximity to the
southern Salina Basin blocks.
There are fewer port options to the
north where the Perdido blocks are
located. However, in the area along the
Mexico-US maritime border, operators
may have the benefit of accessing a sub-
sea pipeline on the US side known as
Great White. On the Mexican side of the
Gulf, there is no comparable deepwater
production infrastructure. That might
push operators with the most remote
fields to select floating, production,
storage, and offloading vessels as their
development strategy.
In the meantime, the Mexican gov-
ernment must fill a number of gaps in
the country’s health, safety, and envi-
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
ronmental rules before deepwater work
can move forward on solid regulatory
ground. Officials will be further chal-
lenged to do all they can to help beef up
Mexico’s supply chain capabilities since
all of the contracts have a minimum local
content rule attached.
There will also be a steep learning
curve involved for the regulators. Estab-
lished by the new reforms less than 3
years ago, Mexico’s National Hydrocar-
bons Commission has no track record in
overseeing exploration and production
operations and must balance this role
with the need to get production trending
upwards as soon as possible.
“The companies will have to walk step
by step with the regulator to have a clear
understanding of the day-to-day oper-
ations. That is the only way the win-
ning companies can achieve the levels
of efficiency required to have good prof-
it margins,” explained Gonzalo Mon-
roy, an economist and managing direc-
tor of the Mexico City-based energy
consultancy GMEC.
There are questions, too, regarding
whether the Mexican government will
stick with the weighting system it used to
select the winning bids. In both the first
shallow-water auction and the deepwater
auction, a number of winning bids were
decided by the royalty figure a company
or consortium was willing to add on to
the government’s minimum requirement.
In the deepwater auction, Statoil sub-
mitted a bid with 13% added royalty and
a commitment to drill two exploration
wells but lost out to a Petronas-led group
that bid 22.99% added royalty, with zero
well commitments.
Pablo Medina, a Latin American
upstream research analyst at Wood
Mackenzie, is among those who believe
that the government’s preference for roy-
alties runs the risk of awarding contracts
to companies that may never drill a well,
and therefore, never pay any taxes. “It is
not the best idea to worry about how big
your slice will be out of a cake that doesn’t
yet exist,” he said. “It is much better to
make sure that the cake is actually going
to be baked.”
After the onshore auction held early
last year, the Mexican government
announced it would re-tender six blocks
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, Mexico’s
secretary of energy, addresses
the media following December’s
deepwater auction. Source: National
Hydrocarbons Commission.
after the winning bidders failed to meet But for the rest, Pemex was told it
the financial requirements. Since the would have to get in line just like every-
fields were only expected to produce a one else and join the open market. In
couple of thousand barrels a day at most, Round One, the company chose to par-
the matter was considered to be a minor ticipate only in the deepwater auction,
wrinkle in an otherwise successful Round a move that surprised few as it reflected
One process. Pemex’s well-known desire to revive its
But to prevent overbidding in future languishing deepwater program.
rounds, the government will set a maxi- Speaking at an industry event in Hous-
mum for added royalty. Medina said plac- ton days after the deepwater auction,
ing a greater emphasis on well commit- Lourdes Melgar, a fellow at the Massachu-
ments would have a similar effect, but setts Institute for Technology and Mex-
noted that the government likely needs ico’s former deputy secretary of energy
to achieve critical mass in terms of the for hydrocarbons, said the auction would
number of awarded contracts before it is not have been considered a success by the
willing to take such a step. government without the deals that Pemex
Regardless of the royalty issue, Medi- struck with BHP and Chevron.
na is optimistic that the following rounds “One of the reasons why we needed
will attract competitive bids, especially the reform is because there were things
the next deepwater auction. Speaking on that Pemex couldn’t do and couldn’t hire
the Mexican half of the Gulf of Mexico, he anyone to do, such as in the deep water,”
said: “This is still an area where less than she said, adding that the partnerships are
50 exploration wells have been drilled, “good news because they mean Pemex
which is hardly a big number when you will be working with an international oil
compare it with the more than 1,200 company and learning how to be a com-
[wells] drilled on the US side.” petitive company.”
The reforms did not come soon
Reflections on Pemex enough, however, to help Pemex weather
The glare of the international spotlight its financial storm that has been exasper-
that came with Round One has partly ated by declining production, falling oil
obscured another important story, and prices, and steep debt. Last year, Pemex
that is what this all means for Pemex. saw its government-approved budget
After the reforms passed, Pemex was the slashed by 75% and had to issue more
sole participant in a pre-auction process than USD 4 billion in bonds as part of a
termed Round Zero, in which 83% of the new debt restructuring plan.
country’s proven reserves were allocated Melgar described the financial chal-
to the national oil company. lenges facing Pemex as “enormous” and
43
 The port of Dos Bocas, located along the coast of the Mexican
state of Tabasco, is used to support jackup rigs and supply vessels
but will need significant upgrades and expansion to become a
deepwater facility. The nearby town of Dos Bocas also lacks many
hotel rooms or an international airport. Source: Mexicoxport.

lamented that the company remains
overstaffed compared with other nation-
al oil companies with similar output.
Highlighting the ongoing cultural tran-
sition that is happening at Pemex, she
added that it took quite an effort by
corporate leadership to obtain internal
acceptance for the farmout of Trion, a
deepwater discovery the company made
in 2012.
“When you have always been a monop-
oly, and when you have always made
the decisions yourself, there is a certain
resistance to sharing the decision making
with other people,” she said, adding that
the hardest part for Pemex has been in
convincing its staff “that we are not going
back to the past.” JPT

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44 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Drilling Technology and Rigs

Michael H. Weatherl, SPE, Engineering Consultant and President, Well Integrity

Sustaining innovation and well perfor- Once again, there are and further insight into specific solutions
mance during economic downcycles is on the most urgent drilling challenges,
a hot topic right now, familiar in many a number of common including safety, environmental protec-
ways to those of us privileged enough to threads revealed in the tion, operational efficiency, reliability,
have been involved in upstream opera- and well integrity.
tions for 3 decades or more. However,
paths to success: dedicated Once again, there are a number of
the severity of this downturn has result- leaders with clear vision common threads revealed in the paths
ed in an unprecedented purging of exist- beyond near-term economic to success: dedicated leaders with clear
ing paradigms. In parallel with a pro- vision beyond near-term economic
longed period of depressed commodi- and organizational hurdles; and organizational hurdles; retention
ty pricing, geopolitical upheaval, budget retention of competent, of competent, highly motivated tech-
constraints, and loss of experienced per- nical teams; and the courage to push
sonnel all contributed to challenges in highly motivated technical new ideas and persevere through early
delivering performance and technology teams; and the courage trial-and-error phases.
through 2016 and into the new year. The wisdom of history continues to
In this context, it is particular-
to push new ideas and teach us that complex-well solutions can
ly important to reveal and highlight persevere through early be discovered and captured best when
new initiatives and success stories. As trial-and-error phases. the essential elements are present: ade-
will be shown in this feature, across quate levels of time and talent, front-end
operator/service companies and geo- loading, and continuity of key personnel.
graphical boundaries, breakthroughs in well-control/blowout contingency plan- The featured papers reinforce these prin-
safer and more-innovative and -efficient ning, new remote-operations concepts ciples, and the common threads in the
well-construction strategies continue to for extreme Arctic landscapes, break- paths to success are evident for us to con-
occur. Highlighted papers include topics through steerable-liner drilling, and tinue to recognize and apply. JPT
with particular relevance: recent deepwa- improved drilling fluids for long hori-
ter casing and cement design, improved zontal onshore wells. Beyond these head-
understanding of rig-control systems, lines, the reader will find valuable content Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
Michael H. Weatherl, SPE, is an engineering consultant and presi- IADC/SPE 178883 Improved Drilling
dent of Well Integrity in Houston. He holds a BS degree in petro- Performance in Extended Horizontals
leum engineering from The University of Tulsa and has been a Using Clean Brines in the Williston Basin
registered petroleum engineer in Texas since 1993. Before starting by J. Davidson, QEP Energy, et al.
Well Integrity in August 2014, Weatherl worked as a drilling and SPE 181415 Drill-Rig Control Systems:
completion team leader for Hess’ New Ventures Unit in Houston Debugging, Tuning, and Long-Term Needs
following assignments in Norway and Offshore Americas. Before by Paul Pastusek, ExxonMobil Development,
Hess, he worked for 25 years for Chevron, including in a number of et al.
positions in production and drilling in Louisiana and Texas. Weatherl is a member of the IADC/SPE 178811 World Record Using
JPT Editorial Committee and serves on the SPE Deepwater Drilling and Completion Steerable-Drilling-Liner Technology To
Conference Committee. He is a 30-year SPE member, has authored several papers, and Secure a Previously Nondrillable Section
served as a technical editor for SPE Drilling and Completion from 1991 to 2013. Weatherl in Unstable Shale by Vincent Bossis, Statoil,
can be reached at weatherlsr@yahoo.com. et al.

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 45

 Deepwater Tieback-Cementing-Design
Challenges and Engineering Approach
MD (ft) MD (ft)

T
92 92
he conventional design configuration
of nested liners does not always
allow for meeting the Bureau of Ocean 19½-in. Riser 19½-in. Riser
Energy Management, Regulation, and 36-in. Casing 36-in. Casing
36-in. Casing 36-in. Casing
Enforcement’s worst-case-discharge 22-in. Casing 22-in. Casing
(WCD) criteria, and the long-string 6,830 36-in. Casing 6,830 36-in. Casing
configuration presents operational 7,832 22-in. Casing 7,832 22-in. Casing
8,618 22-in. Casing 8,618 22-in. Casing
limitations. Tieback casings and liners, on 18-in. Liner
9,694 9,694 18-in. Liner
the other hand, enable reaching the well 16-in. Liner 16-in. Liner
objective while meeting the WCD criteria. 17⅞-in. Liner 17⅞-in. Liner
However, tieback casings and liners
12,997 12,997
present several operational challenges
during the well-construction phase.
This paper focuses on cementing-design
challenges and discusses the engineering 16-in. Liner 16-in. Liner
techniques used to approach them. 18,750 18,450 11⅞-in. Liner
19,500 13⅝-in. Liner 19,500 13⅝-in. Liner
14-in. Liner 20,000 14-in. Liner
Well-Construction 21,328 21,328
Design Changes 22,334 13⅝-in. Liner 22,334 13⅝-in. Liner
To meet WCD criteria, existing well-
24,047
construction designs for the deepwater 24,347
25,422 25,422
Gulf of Mexico must be modified signifi- 11⅞-in. Liner 11⅞-in. Liner
cantly. Deepwater wells must survive an
uncontrolled blowout at the mudline, and 28,000 28,000
the well must survive shutting in the blow- 29,309
Open Hole
29,309
Open Hole
30,302 (a) (b)
out, leaving the well fully evacuated to oil 30,737
30,302
30,737
from the wellhead to the flowing zone.
Fig. 1—(a) Original predrill casing design. (b) Altered casing design with
These two WCD scenarios impose
additional 11⅞-in. scab liner. MD=measured depth.
severe casing-collapse-pressure and
axial-compression conditions. The se- transfer of the uncontrolled hydrocarbon- greater than 15,000 ft is mostly limited
vere casing-collapse pressure comes fluid flow to the wellhead and from a cas- by static hookload capacity of the current
from a reduction of casing internal ing deballooning effect of the severe- fleet of deepwater drilling rigs. Tieback
pressure because of an uncontrolled collapse-pressure condition under WCD. strings are normally included in the cas-
hydrocarbon-fluid flow to the wellhead Several casing-design options are ana- ing design, with the objective of repair-
and possible external-pressure increase lyzed for advantages and disadvantages ing damaged, worn, and corroded existing
because of annulus pressure buildup (APB) with the consideration of meeting WCD liner or casing and providing addition-
of trapped annulus fluid. The severe cas- criteria. The nested-liners option is sus- al protection against troublesome inter-
ing axial compression load comes from ceptible to both collapse and axial failure vals. Tieback liners, which are also called
casing thermal compression load because along the liner body and at the hanger dur- “scab” liners, extend existing liners far-
of casing-temperature elevation from heat ing WCD. Running long strings to depths ther uphole and are hung inside a previous
casing, whereas tieback casings are run to
the mudline and seated at the wellhead.
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
Several factors must be considered in
of paper SPE 178884, “Deepwater Tieback-Cementing-Design Challenges and tieback-string design. These include an-
Engineering Approach—Gulf of Mexico Case Study,” by Anouar Elhancha and nular clearance, burst and collapse rat-
Mohammed Dooply, SPE, Schlumberger, and Brian Koons, SPE, and Muhammad ing, hold-down capacity, and equipment
Saleh, Chevron, prepared for the 2016 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, performance against pressure and tem-
Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 1–3 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. perature conditions.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

46 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

 Sometimes,
lighter is heavier.
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Tubular Running Solutions
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 The first case study discussed in the
complete paper, an exploration well in
the Gulf of Mexico, involved altering the
casing plan. The original casing plan after
setting the 13⅝-in. liner, which was hung
inside the 16-in. drilling liner, was to set
the 11⅞-in. drilling liner before reaching
well total depth, with a contingency of
setting 9⅜-in. liner if required (Fig. 1).
Analyzing the mudline blowout sce-
nario, the weakest point is the col-
lapse rating of the 13⅝-in.-liner-hanger
polished-bore receptacle and the tie-
back seal mandrel. Subsequently, this
also introduced a severe collapse load
on the 16-in. liner behind it. After finite-
element analysis was conducted to miti-
gate this potential casing failure during a
WCD scenario, an additional 11⅞-in. scab
liner was included in the casing configu-
ration after running the 11⅞-in. drilling
liner (Fig. 1b). The existing 13⅝-in. liner
was also tied back to the wellhead with
13⅝×14-in. combination casing to en-
sure that the 16-in. casing would be iso-
lated and the well would have enough col-
lapse resistance from salt formations.
Tieback-Cementing-Design
Challenges
APB Mitigation. APB is the pressure
generated within a sealed annulus by
thermal expansion of trapped wellbore
fluids as they are heated, typically during
production. For a well to experience APB,
two conditions must present: a sealed an-
nulus and temperature increase.
APB-mitigation techniques can be cat-
egorized into two methods. The first
method is aimed at reducing lateral heat
transfer from the production tubing by
lowering differential temperature and
volume changes, resulting in lower an-
nular pressure.
The second method of mitigation is
based on the technique of increasing the
flexibility of the annulus by managing
the rate of APB with respect to the rate of
temperature differential in the annulus.
To mitigate APB in a trapped cased an-
nulus, the following approaches are con-
sidered in tieback-string designs:
◗ Higher top of cement (TOC) in the
annulus reduces the amount of
fluids prone to expansion in the
noncemented annular space.
◗ Displacing most of or all of the
nonaqueous drilling fluid from the
48
annulus with water-based spacers
ahead of the cement also helps to
lessen the fluid expansion.
◗ Reducing the mud weight before
running the tieback string lowers
the pressure differential on
the hanger by trapping a lower
hydrostatic pressure below the
hanger at the moment it is set.
Cementing Hydraulics. The higher the
TOC in the annulus and the higher the vis-
cosity of the spacer and cement slurry, the
higher the circulating pressure toward
the end of displacement. Design limita-
tions, such as burst and collapse limits,
hookload, axial forces, and liner-hanger-
setting pressure limits, restrict how much
circulating pressure can be experienced
and, therefore, how far the slurry can be
lifted in the annulus and the level of rheo-
logical hierarchy that can be achieved for
the purpose of effective mud removal.
Burst and Collapse Limits. Similar to
a conventional primary-cementing op-
eration in which the cementing-design
engineer would ensure that hydrostat-
ic pressure is kept above pore pressure
and circulating pressure is kept below
the fracture pressure, pressure integri-
ty in tieback-cementing design, where
no open hole exists, addresses the burst
and collapse of the previous casing and
liner hangers behind and below the tie-
back string.
Hookload and Axial Forces. Prediction of
hookload during the casing-design phase,
along with monitoring during casing/
liner running and cement placement, is
very important to the success of the op-
eration. The centralizer program must le-
verage casing standoff and running forc-
es. This becomes even more challenging
in the unusually tight tieback annuli. Fur-
thermore, in the case of short tieback lin-
ers, the high circulating pressures tend
to cancel the buoyant weight of the liner.
Currently, no known and reliable sim-
ulators are capable of calculating the
change in axial forces under dynam-
ic pumping conditions. Therefore, the
cementing-design engineer would need
to calculate such forces manually.
Hydraulic Activation of Liner-Running
Tool. During the cement job, the differ-
ential pressure across the liner-running
tool must be kept below a safe limit ad-
vised by the liner manufacturer. In prac-
tice, for simplification, this translates to a
maximum surface pressure seen through-
out the job. If this maximum surface
pressure is exceeded during the job, the
liner-hanger-setting mechanism could be
activated prematurely. This could result in
the burst failure of the preceding casing.
Mud-Displacement Efficiency. Fric-
tion pressure is predominant in a tight
annulus, which means having a friction
pressure hierarchy with a 10 to 20%
margin between displaced and displac-
ing fluid in the annulus is the main driv-
er for achieving effective mud removal in
tieback-string cement jobs.
Casing Centralization. Running forc-
es are usually high in tieback strings.
The choice of centralizers, therefore, is
limited to small-tolerance rigid stand-
off bands and bow-spring subs. Casing
standoff is critical to achieving the re-
quired top of hydraulic isolation for APB
mitigation. Bow-spring subs normally
provide better standoff because of their
restoring force; however, the tradeoff
is increased drag and excessive start-
ing force. A combination of rigid cen-
tralizers on the lower part of the string
and bow-spring centralizers on the upper
part of the cemented annulus is usually a
good trade-off.
Density and Rheological Hierarchy.
Mud-displacement simulations showed
that rheological hierarchy has a much
bigger effect on displacement efficiency
in tieback annuli than density hierarchy
has, which is different from what is seen
in large-clearance annuli. This is mainly
because frictional forces tend to cancel
gravitational forces in tight annuli.
Pump Rates and Flow Regimes.
Pump rates are usually limited in ce-
menting tieback strings because of the
high circulating pressures. The flow re-
gime in the tight annulus is predomi-
nantly laminar except when using New-
tonian preflush where turbulent flow can
be achieved in the 3- to 5-bbl/min pump-
rate window. Considering the challenges
of achieving effective casing standoff and
meeting density and rheological hierar-
chy, pumping Newtonian preflush ahead
of the viscous spacers and cement slur-
ries is recommended when possible. JPT
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
 Remote Directional Drilling
and Logging in the Arctic

F ew locations present as many

challenges for drilling as the
Arctic. It is one of the most hostile
ces; emergency response plans; remote-
operation standards; and remote-
operation implementation guidelines.
Because of the increase in the num-
ber of rigs with connectivity, a new
operations-support center (OSC) to cover
environments in the world, with some all the active drilling jobs in Russia and
of the most remote locations, the Challenges of the Arctic central Asia was commissioned.
toughest logistics challenges, and the Drilling at high latitudes presents unique The first wave of remote operations
largest gaps in infrastructure on the challenges. First, some personnel are re- in Russia occurred in 2009, with at-
planet. One solution to reduce risk to luctant to work in such an extreme envi- tempts to use remote operations as part
personnel and the environment and ronment. Temperature is only one of the of the OSC on high-volume projects to
to optimize cost was to use directional reasons these environments are seen as improve service quality and personnel
drilling and to log the well remotely. harsh. These environments also experi- optimization. Fig. 1 shows the ROC in
Advances in data, communication, and ence cyclic opportunities for operations. Tyumen, Russia, which supports Russia’s
transmission technology have made An example of this is seen in Alaska, land operations. The first measurement-
this possible. where, in summer, there is less drilling while-drilling (MWD) and logging-while-
at high latitudes because the required in- drilling (LWD) remote jobs were conduct-
Challenges frastructure changes when the ice roads ed at the beginning of 2009, and, by the
of Remote Operations melt, preventing machinery and equip- end of the year, two centers were set up
Implementing remote operations is not ment from being transported. in Tyumen and Irkutsk, Russia, support-
simple and definitely cannot be accom- The environment also is isolated from ing five western Siberian and four eastern
plished without thorough planning. proper infrastructure, and it can take Siberian remote jobs, respectively. Even-
Three key elements are required: people, twice as many employees to perform a tually, these two ROCs were combined to
infrastructure, and processes. given task because most employees will form the first unique centralized ROC for
First, the right profiles and compe- work on rotation. This doubles the health, all Russian land operations.
tency levels to staff both field crews and safety, and environment (HSE) risk.
remote operations centers (ROCs) must Other reasons make these locations The Evolution of Remote
be identified. less attractive from a business perspec- Operations in the Arctic
Second, infrastructure must be con- tive. These include the cost of special Historically, there has been an indus-
sidered. Every remotely operated rig and equipment, the cost of transport, and try acceptance for two MWD and two
ROC should be equipped with a standard the cost of infrastructure. All of these directional-drilling engineers at the rig-
kit that provides a reliable fit-for-purpose are challenges that every operator must site covering operations constantly. The
communication channel, ensuring con- consider before beginning operations in tasks performed by these individuals
tinuous remote control. the Arctic. Other risks are the health and were divided into two types—tasks that
Finally, processes must be determined, safety of employees and the environment. are physical or mechanical and those that
reviewed, and implemented. Develop- involve deskwork. For example, when
ing global baselines that will be adopted Remote-Operations History downhole tools are made up and sen-
and adapted by the business units will in Russia sors are installed on the rig floor, the
provide consistency. This includes haz- In 2008, the connectivity coverage on- main tasks for engineers are in the log-
ard analysis and risk-control documents; shore Russia improved dramatically with ging unit, monitoring drilling parame-
responsible, accountable, consulted, an increase in communication from the ters, making logs, generating reports,
and informed charts; escalation matri- rigs, from just a few to almost all rigs. and controlling trajectory. The physical
actions required for engineers are neces-
sary only when downhole tools are above
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains
the rotary table, which is only a small part
highlights of paper SPE 178873, “Remote Directional-Drilling and Logging-While- of the time of the overall drilling process.
Drilling Operations in the Arctic,” by Crispin Chatar, SPE, Alexey Stepnov, Anton Improvements in technology have
Mardyashov, and Juan Raul Elizondo Gonzalez, Schlumberger, prepared for made it possible to relocate paperwork
the 2016 IADC/SPE Drilling Conference and Exhibition, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, and monitoring operations far away from
1–3 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. harsh environments to a city office with-

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

50 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

Fig. 1—Russian land ROC.
out any losses in speed of data process-
ing or quality of provided services. As a
result, workload in the field decreased
because only physical tasks are now re-
quired there. That means the crew size at
the rig could be reduced to two engineers,
one for the day shift and one for the night
shift. These engineers would be in touch
with the office continuously and provide
a physical presence only when necessary.
This also means that the remote engineer
no longer needs to spend time on the rig
floor, which provides the engineer with
the ability to monitor operations remote-
ly and control the operations for more
than one rig at the same time. This relo-
cation reduced HSE exposure and the cost
of personnel transportation but increased
the risk of miscommunication because
parts of the field team are now thousands
of kilometers apart. To manage the risk,
operations were moved to the office from
the rigsite in distinct steps.
The first step consisted of moving
MWD operations. The roles of the well-
site engineer and remote-operations en-
gineer were split. The protocol mandated
that the MWD engineer at the rigsite was
now responsible for physical equipment
preparations, surface equipment instal-
lation, and the weekly inventory check.
Once the equipment is set up and the
necessary connections to program the
tools are ready, the remote-operations
engineer begins working from the office.
By using a remote administration appli-
cation, the engineer is able to control the
rigsite work station from the office.
After the bottomhole assembly (BHA)
is made up and run below the rotary table,
there will be no further physical tasks. At
this point, the MWD remote-operations
engineer takes complete control of MWD
service by use of network communica-
tion. The engineer monitors data quality
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
and tool performance, reviews and ac- site for fear of liability claims. However,
cepts surveys from downhole telemetry the engineer actually may have a higher
tools, and generates real-time logs to be chance of success while sitting in a room
sent to the client. The rigsite engineer filled with other like-minded experts with
can monitor surface equipment and help a wealth of knowledge and experience. A
troubleshoot issues when necessary. At change in mentality will be necessary to
this initial stage, it is important to keep at take the required steps forward.
least one person at the wellsite. In Russia’s land drilling environment,
To prove the feasibility of the direc- the first steps were taken to cement re-
tional remote operations, six directional- mote operations as part of the acceptable
drilling jobs were conducted in 2014 processes and procedures. The industry
in remote-operation shadow mode, already uses remote operations in many
which means the remote-operations locations around the world. Finally, re-
directional-drilling infrastructure was mote operations are being pursued as
set up and the directional-drilling en- a reliable alternative in one of the envi-
gineer was running the jobs but the full ronments where it has huge potential to
directional-drilling and MWD/LWD crew bring value—the Arctic. JPT
was in place on the rig. This allowed the
team to test the remote-operations func-
tionality while ensuring that the wells
were steered properly. After proving that
the shadow-mode directional service for
remote operations was a success, one
of the directional-drilling engineers was
removed from the rig and the job was run
in full-remote mode.
For both MWD and directional-drilling
remote operations, connectivity is of par-
amount importance and quality should
be consistently high. For that purpose,
an additional secondary network pro-
vider is always present on remotely oper-
ated jobs. Both sides, in the office and at
the rig, have a master-network line and a
backup-network line to which the system
is automatically switched in case of a fail-
ure of the first network.
Final Thoughts
Most operators require oversight of the
directional-drilling engineer. In fact, if
the directional driller is not at the rig floor
and a volatile situation such as a stuck
pipe leads to a lost BHA, the appropriate
accepted reaction in the industry is to lay
the liability on the missing directional-
drilling engineer. Because of this, many
companies keep personnel at the rig-
51
 How To Develop a Well-Specific
Capping-Stack Blowout Contingency Plan

T he planning process for developing

a well-specific subsea-capping
contingency plan involves assessing the
ple understand and can manage risks,
thus ensuring safe and sustainable oper-
ations at all times.
ping stack from a floating vessel, the
weight and stability of the capping stack
to overcome the force of the blowout jet,
feasibility of deploying a capping stack All blowouts are inherently different; and dynamic-flow simulations of closing
from a floating vessel, determining the thus, it would be both impractical and the capping-stack outlets without loss of
weight and stability of the capping stack impossible to attempt to cover every pos- well integrity.
to overcome the force of the blowout sible blowout scenario in a contingency
jet, and performing dynamic-flow plan. For source-control planning, an op- Computational-Fluid-Dynamics
simulations of closing the capping stack erator should, at a minimum, address a (CFD) Analysis of
outlets without loss of well integrity. worst credible scenario to demonstrate Capping-Stack Landing
This process not only assesses the how the well will be brought under con- The weight of capping stacks can vary
feasibility, complexity, and risk exposure trol. This scenario may be different from from 30 to 170 t with connectors, but,
of the capping operation but also the worst-case discharge, which is used typically, the stacks with higher pressure
may justify further planning, studies, to estimate spill potential and necessary and temperature ratings will be heavi-
or expenditure. resources for containment and cleanup. er. When a stack is lowered onto the
As an example, if there is uncertainty jet from a prolific blowout, the effective
Introduction about the gas/oil ratio (GOR), a low-case weight and stability of the stack must be
Blowout-kill techniques can be classified GOR may cause more oil spill, while a sufficient to overcome the upward hy-
as either surface-intervention or relief- high-case GOR may make source control drodynamic forces from the flow stream
well methods. Relief wells aim to kill a more challenging. exiting the wellbore. Depending on the
blowout from the bottom by injecting Relief-well contingency planning has worst-credible-blowout scenario and the
fluid into the wellbore until the influx of been standard practice in parts of the stack that has been identified as likely to
formation fluid is stopped and the well world for decades, and there are many be mobilized, it may be necessary to con-
is static when pumping stops. In many available guidelines detailing a plan- duct CFD modeling to determine the fea-
cases, a relief well will be the safest inter- ning process. In comparison, the post- sibility of landing and installing the cap-
vention and have the highest likelihood Macondo subsea-capping stacks are a ping stack successfully.
of success, and often it is considered the relatively new technology and source- For the CFD modeling, a simplified
last line of defense against a blowout. control plans that cover the associated computer-aided-drafting geometry is
Surface interventions are kill attempts equipment and operations are a recent prepared to represent the capping stack.
aimed at controlling the discharge at the requirement. Industry standards and The geometry must be of sufficient de-
wellhead or at the fluid-exit point. An guidelines cover a lot of general informa- tail to ensure that the results are not dis-
example is to install a capping stack on tion on the equipment, connections, and torted but also simple enough to keep
top of the wellhead and close its open- interfaces needed for capping and con- computational time to a minimum. The
ings, which can be gate valves, chokes, taining a blowing subsea well. However, model has an open bore through the
or rams. there is little or no information available center, which reduces the hydrodynamic
on how to develop a well-specific cap- forces significantly because it allows the
Blowout Contingency Planning. Blow- ping plan that covers engineering analy- jet to pass through the stack without ob-
out contingency plans ensure that peo- sis of the feasibility of deploying a cap- struction as the stack is moved close to
the casing. The stationary capping stack
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights will be placed with a vertical offset with
respect to the well before one end of the
of paper SPE 181393, “How To Develop a Well-Specific Blowout Contingency Plan That
cable is lowered toward the well. During
Covers Engineering Analysis of the Deployment, Installation, and Soft Shut-In of a
this process, the capping stack is allowed
Subsea Capping Operation,” by Ray T. Oskarsen, SPE, Morten H. Emilsen, SPE, and to move in all six degrees of freedom
Amir S. Paknejad, Add Energy; Mike Cargol, Trendsetter Engineering; and Kwee (three rotations and three translations)
Choong See, SPE, Shell International Exploration and Production, prepared for the in response to hydrodynamic forces. The
2016 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dubai, 26–28 September. The capping stack is then landed on the fluid-
paper has not been peer reviewed. exit point, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

52 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017


Fig. 1—In the CFD model, the capping stack is lowered onto the jet of the
blowout, in this case for a partially bent wellhead.
CFD simulations may be used to deter-
mine if a capping stack can be landed and
installed for a specific well and blowout
scenario. They may also be run for a wide
range of blowout scenarios to identify
an acceptable operating envelope, which
will be unique for every subsea capping
stack, depending on its weight and con-
figuration. If it is found that a capping-
stack landing may be challenging, it may
be possible to use devices such as funnels
and guide wires to aid in centering the
stack and keeping it stable.
Cap-and-Contain Analysis
After assessing the feasibility of subsea-
capping-stack deployment and landing,
analysis of the well-flow situation and
development of a safe shut-in procedure
are necessary. All subsea capping stacks
will be designed with several indepen-
dent outlets that can be opened or closed
by use of rams, gate valves, or chokes.
The stack will also have a pressure sen-
sor directly below the stack outlets that
is used to monitor the pressure in the
wellbore. During the closing sequence,
the pressure readings, in combination
with multiphase-flow simulations, will
be used to diagnose downhole condi-
tions. If the pressure response indicates
a potential for loss of well integrity, the
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
closing sequence will be halted and, in
some cases, the stack will be opened up
again to relieve pressure. This reduces
the risk of a potential broach scenario,
which often is considered a worst-case
scenario because it would reduce or com-
pletely eliminate any further chance of a
surface intervention.
A hard shut-in, where all capping-
stack openings are closed instantly, may,
in some cases, result in unnecessary
liquid-hammer effects. Furthermore, it
reduces the ability to conduct downhole
diagnostics while closing the capping
stack. For these reasons, a hard shut-
in will not be recommended for most
scenarios. Instead, the capping stack
should be closed in a carefully planned
sequence—a soft shut-in—while using a
multiphase-flow-simulation tool to esti-
mate downhole conditions.
If well-integrity analysis supports the
feasibility of capping the well, then the
decision will likely be to attempt a cap-
and-contain operation. In this operation,
all the openings of the stack will be closed
in sequence until the well is completely
shut in. The expected pressure-response
ranges should be developed and a safe
soft-shut-in procedure made to ensure
that the stack openings can be closed
without risking loss of well integrity.
Cap-and-Flow Analysis
On the basis of the risk of losing well-
bore integrity or broaching to the sea-
bed, the blowout task force may decide
to initiate a cap-and-flow operation in-
stead of cap and contain. That is, the
capping stack will be partially or com-
pletely open and the flow from the cap-
ping stack will be diverted through a
riser system and coflex hoses to a float-
ing production, storage, and offload-
ing unit or a flowback vessel that would
house the well-test kit. The main chal-
lenge will be to investigate the effect of
the hose length and inner diameter that
are required to achieve the rated capac-
ity of the well-test kit, which will require
computation of the required backpres-
sure for choking the well back and stay-
ing within the rate limit of the line or
surface equipment. The main goal is to
confirm that the well would have suffi-
cient integrity to handle the backpres-
sure for controlled flowback.
Well-Kill Intervention
After a capping stack has been used to
cap and contain or cap and flow, a well-
kill technique to bring the well to static
conditions must be performed. For cap
and contain, the choice may be to bull-
head or wait for a relief well to inter-
sect. For cap and flow, a relief well may
be the only practical kill solution be-
cause the blowout well likely cannot be
shut in.
Bullheading may increase pressures at
the wellhead above the shut-in pressure
and increase risk of a burst failure. Fur-
thermore, the condition of the blowout
wellbore may be unknown after days of
flowing hydrocarbons that could include
gas and sand at high velocities.
Unlike in bullheading, the wellhead
pressure will likely never exceed the shut-
in pressure for a relief-well intervention.
Although a relief well may take a long
time before making connection with the
blowout well, it is considered a safer ap-
proach than bullheading. With a cap-
ping stack installed, a slow circulation
of kill mud can be pumped from the re-
lief well into the blowout wellbore and up
through the capping stack. By control-
ling the choke opening on the capping
stack, a constant bottomhole pressure
can be maintained above the formation
pore pressure. JPT
53
 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Offshore Facilities
Mark Elkins, SPE, Retired

Welcome to the Offshore Facilities fea- The first paper describes The third paper covers work performed
ture in this month’s JPT. I had the plea- by the Hull Inspection Techniques and
sure of screening 207 papers submitted a design case study Strategy joint-industry project to devel-
to SPE in this field during the past year for split-process floating op new floating production, storage, and
to come up with the three papers select- offloading vessel hull-inspection meth-
ed for this issue that cover elements of
liquefied natural gas, ods that minimize or eliminate diving.
offshore facilities design and inspection. in which the primary This has been achieved by conducting
The first paper describes a design case production and many of the inspections from inside the
study for split-process floating lique- hull, using advanced methods to inspect
fied natural gas, in which the primary gas-treatment functions critical isolation valves and marine pip-
production and gas-treatment functions are provided ing, and inspecting the hull appendag-
are provided on a host platform while es with miniature remotely operated
liquefaction occurs on separate vessels on a host platform vehicles. The alternative method deliv-
that serve also for storage and trans- while liquefaction occurs ers improved inspection data as well as
port. Splitting the services results in significant reductions in cost and peo-
advantages that include facilitating stan-
on separate vessels … . ple on board and minimal weather/
dardization of the liquefaction design sea-state downtime.
and eliminating the need for liquefied- ture. Principles of this unified risk- I hope you enjoy reading these
natural-gas-offloading systems designed based approach for accidental load- papers. JPT
for open-water conditions. ings and its application to fire-response
The next paper describes a risk-based analysis and PFP are explained, and
approach for application of passive fire the method is compared against the Recommended additional reading
protection (PFP) on an offshore struc- conventional approach. at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
IPTC 18373 Adapting the Caspian Factor
Mark Elkins, SPE, holds a BS degree in chemical engineering for the Installation of Petronas’ First
from Louisiana State University. He has worked in the oil and gas Gravity-Based Structure by Khairil Raezwan
industry for 37 years in various capacities as a process engineer, Rashdi, Petronas, et al.
process engineering lead, and project engineer with Arco and OTC 26481 Development of a Novel
ConocoPhillips. Elkins’ work included offshore experience in the Hybrid AUV System for Pipeline Inspection
US Gulf of Mexico, Indonesia, and Tunisia, and he served as the in Gulf of Thailand by Phakhachon
company representative in the contractor shop for ConocoPhillips’ Hoonsuwan, PTTEP, et al.
Floating Liquefied Natural Gas Technology Development Project. OTC 27068 Fuel Efficiency on Floating
Elkins’ most recent assignment was as gas-treating-plant process lead for the Production Systems by Jos Bronneberg,
Alaska liquefied-natural-gas project. He retired in 2016 and is a member of the JPT SBM Offshore USA
Editorial Committee.

54 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

Passive-Fire-Protection Optimization
in Offshore Topside Structures

A pplying sufficient passive fire

protection (PFP) on topside
structural-steel members is critical.
specified period of time, depending on
the rating of the PFP material (proper-
ties and thickness). On the other hand,
members that result in progressive col-
lapse of the structure are identified.
These critical members are then select-
Simplified and conservative approaches if PFP is used excessively, a considerable ed for developing a PFP scheme.
are available to estimate the extent and amount of cost will be imposed relat- The redundancy-analysis method may
amount of PFP necessary. The main ed to PFP material, installation, inspec- result in an unconservative amount of re-
concern with simplified approaches is tion, and maintenance and a consider- quired PFP. First, topside structures are
that they can lead to overapplication of able amount of dead load will be added to designed to be highly redundant to with-
the PFP, resulting in substantial increase the structure. Therefore, investigations stand different loading conditions dur-
in topside weight. These methods also on the optimal application (e.g., choos- ing construction, installation, and op-
may result in underestimation of the ing the right places—members, joints, eration. Therefore, it is likely that the
required amount of PFP, which can vessels, and pipes—along with the right topside structure can survive the opera-
compromise structural integrity. This material in the appropriate thickness) tional loading with some members re-
paper presents a risk-based approach in offshore platforms can result in cost- moved. Second, in an actual fire, by the
for PFP-scheme development. effective use of PFP while still achieving time a member or several members fail
the purpose of the PFP application. because of fire exposure, the strength of
Introduction remaining members (yield strength and
The structural-integrity assessment and Existing PFP-Optimization Young’s modulus) is already degraded.
fire-response analysis of offshore plat- Approaches Therefore, the capacity of the topside
forms in fire focus on providing safe es- Global Fire (Individual-Member Fail- structure may be overestimated in the re-
cape routes for personnel for a specified ure). The global fire analysis method dundancy analysis.
period of time and minimizing the prob- for identifying PFP application on a top-
ability of damage and fracture in primary side structure requires analysis of the Conventional PFP-Optimization
structural steel, hydrocarbon-equipment whole structure when entirely exposed Methods Using Ductility-Level Analy-
supports, secondary steel along the pri- to the most severe fire loading. The PFP sis. A ductility-level analysis (DLA) is a
mary escape routes, and pressurized hy- scheme is then developed on the basis of nonlinear, progressive collapse time his-
drocarbon pipes and vessels. the structure’s response. This method is tory analysis. It allows redistribution of
In order to achieve this, PFP is used ex- very conservative and results in an exces- structural loads from overused members
tensively in offshore topside structures. sive amount of required PFP to resist the and can indicate failure of the structure
A PFP material is a good thermal insu- fire loading. after which no further load distribution
lator, and application of PFP on steel is possible. Ductility-level fire-response
components of the topside structure re- Redundancy Analysis. In the analysis accounts for material and geo-
sults in a delay of the heat transfer to the redundancy-analysis method, in a re- metric nonlinear behavior of steel.
protected members. Therefore, material petitive process, a topside structure is
degradation and thermal expansion are analyzed against operational loads with Risk-Based Approach
postponed in protected members. Con- one or several members of the structure for PFP Optimization
sequently, structural integrity of the es- being removed in each repetition. In this Nonlinear structural-response analysis is
cape routes and safety of hydrocarbon method, no fire loading is defined on best suited for fire response assessment
pipes and vessels can be retained for a the structure. In each repetition, failed and PFP optimization because it serves
to minimize conservatism and identify
failure mechanisms with good precision.
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
PFP optimization based on DLAs and risk
of paper OTC 26579, “Passive-Fire-Protection Optimization in Offshore Topside
assessment (e.g., individuals, asset, envi-
Structures,” by Ali Sari, Genesis Oil and Gas; Ekkirala Ramana, Technip Malaysia; ronment) may reduce PFP requirements
and Sepehr Dara and Umid Azimov, Genesis Oil and Gas, prepared for the 2016 significantly when compared with results
Offshore Technology Conference Asia, Kuala Lumpur, 22–25 March. The paper has obtained in conjunction with traditional
not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2016 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced linear screening analyses or based only
by permission. on deterministic DLA.

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 55

REGISTER NOW
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George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas, USA
21–22 March 2017
This joint SPE/ICoTA conference
will cover innovative solutions,
case histories, and performance
improvements. Register now and
learn via:
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www.icota.com
(a)
Fig. 1—PFP schemes developed for a topside structure using the conventional
(a) and risk-based (b) approaches.
Unified Risk-Based Approach for Ac-
cidental Loadings. The unified risk-
based approach is a method to quantify
the risk of accidental loads such as fire,
blast, ship impact, and dropped objects,
in terms of both probability/frequency
and consequence. It takes into account
the consequence of human loss as well
as asset loss. In the frequency analysis,
technical-safety and process-safety in-
puts such as hazard curves, frequency-
exceedance curves, and return periods
are used to determine how frequently
an event is expected to happen. Outputs
of the frequency analysis can include a
fragility curve, damage-frequency ma-
trix, and individual-risk matrix. In the
consequence analysis, severity levels re-
sulting from an event are determined
on the basis of the risk associated with
that event. On the basis of the frequency
and consequence analyses, a risk rank-
ing is identified by use of a risk matrix.
If the risk is not acceptable, mitigation,
repair, or strengthening options may
be considered.
Risk-Based Fire-Response Analysis
and PFP Optimization. In a risk-based
fire-structural-response analysis and
PFP optimization using DLA, the fire-
response analysis starts with an iden-
tification of a target zone of interest.
For the identified target zone, time-
dependent exceedance-frequency curves
are developed by a technical safety team.
Then, for each event frequency, a time-
dependent fire load, which can be re-
garded as an individual fire case, is de-
veloped for a heat-transfer-simulation
(b)
exercise. Thermal-stress analysis is per-
formed for each fire case, on the basis
of heat-transfer-simulation results, ac-
cording to DLA. On the basis of the
consequence-analysis results for each
fire case, damage probabilities for each
damage level are computed.
Damage probabilities for each case,
along with the associated fire-event fre-
quencies, are used to develop a damage-
frequency matrix. Occupant-presence
probability, occupant vulnerability,
and the damage-frequency matrix are
then combined to form the individual
risk matrix for all damage levels. Using
two variables, such as individual risk
for different damage levels and differ-
ent consequence-severity levels, risk is
identified on the risk matrix. If the risk
is found to be not tolerable, then an opti-
mal PFP scheme is developed in an itera-
tive process to shift the risk to a tolerable
region in the risk matrix.
Examples of optimized PFP schemes
developed for a topside structure using
both conventional and risk-based meth-
ods are presented in Fig. 1. In both cases,
the structural integrity of the topside
structure is maintained against acciden-
tal fire. Additionally, the excess amount
of the PFP is removed while, at the same
time, eliminating or minimizing the as-
sociated risks. Members with PFP are
highlighted in the figures. It can be seen
that using the risk-based approach can
result in a significant savings on the re-
quired amount of PFP. This will further
decrease the weight of the structure,
construction costs, and maintenance of
the PFP. JPT
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
 In-Service Hull Inspections
for Avoiding Dry Docking Safely

C urrent methods for external

inspection of floating assets on
station use divers or remotely operated
ulators, oil majors, class societies, lease
operators, service companies, and edu-
cational bodies representing all sectors
◗

◗
Ability to accurately plan schedules
vs. weather dependency
POB reduction
vehicles (ROVs), but these methods incur of the industry. ◗ Compliance with operator, class,
high safety, people-on-board (POB), and The HITS JIP drew opinion from the flag, and client acceptance
cost penalties. The data produced by industry and concluded that there are ◗ Quality and value of inspection
these methods are restricted by marine principally four challenges that should information
growth and limited access to isolation be addressed:
valves. The Hull Inspection Techniques ◗ Minimizing diving operations for Inspecting the Hull Envelope—
and Strategy (HITS) joint-industry hull in-water inspections From Inside the Hull
project (JIP) called for new methods to ◗ Minimizing man entry for An inspection plan was developed in
be developed that minimize or eliminate inspection of confined spaces which advanced nondestructive-testing
diving. This has been achieved by ◗ Developing a capability to inspect (NDT) methods would be used to inspect
carrying out many of the inspections cargo oil tanks with minimal the outer surface of hull plating and criti-
from inside the hull. cleaning requirements cal welds with equivalent or better cov-
◗ Developing competency standards erage and data quality than provided by
Introduction for hull inspectors divers or ROVs.
The exploration and production of deep- The HITS JIP does not carry out any The methods used did not require re-
water hydrocarbon reserves requires ever- developments itself but encourages in- moval of marine growth from the areas
more-complex and high-capital-value dustry to develop or adapt technology to inspected. Various methods were tested
floating assets. There are a number of key improve hull-inspection techniques and and validated independently to demon-
drivers required to optimize profitable evaluates the results. strate their effectiveness. However, ac-
operations, including managing the integ- An industrywide survey concluded that cess to inspect tanks, especially cargo oil
rity of the topside and hull while reducing the first priority should be given to mini- tanks, was challenging for operators.
cost and POB and complying with client, mizing diving operations for hull inspec- A concept of aligning the in-water scope
corporate, and regulatory requirements. tion, and, accordingly, three of the HITS with the requirement for entry into tanks
Floating production units can be de- member organizations cooperated in the was developed to align with the Continu-
signed for 25 years or more on station, development of an alternative method. ous Hull Survey program. This meant that
and the new-generation ultradeepwater This paper describes the new method- no additional tank entry was required and
(UDW) drilling units also need to plan ology; details how it has been applied to the in-water scope could be spread over
their integrity-management strategies floating production, storage, and offload- a 5-year period. In fact, inspection plans
without dry docking for extended peri- ing vessels (FPSOs) and UDW drillships; have been developed that cover anything
ods (Fig. 1). and presents the lessons learned through between 5 and 20 years, so operators and
These requirements have driven the site implementation. regulators have more certainty about
development of innovative methods for workload and budgets and can plan better.
inspecting, testing, and maintaining In-Water Hull Inspections
pressure systems as well as hull struc- The HITS JIP participants defined the ob- Inspecting the Sea Chest and
tures, the latter sometimes not getting jectives of the hull in-water inspection as Overboard-Discharge Valves
the integrity attention it deserves. ◗ Safety risk reduction It became clear when reviewing diver and
The HITS JIP was formed to address ◗ Cost optimization and budget ROV videos of isolation-valve inspections
these issues, with membership from reg- certainty that the data gathered were not adequate
to confirm either the functionality or
the condition of the valves. Good integ-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of rity of critical isolation valves requires
paper OTC 26750, “In-Service Hull Inspections for Avoiding Dry Docking Safely,” by D. the valves to be inspected internally such
Constantinis and P. Davies, EM&I Group, prepared for the 2016 Offshore Technology that the sealing faces can be clearly seen
Conference Asia, Kuala Lumpur, 22–25 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. and correct valve function and leak integ-
Copyright 2016 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. rity can be verified.

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

58 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

Fig. 1—Drilling (left) and production (right) assets.
In a dry-dock environment, the valve
can be readily stripped down, carefully
inspected, function tested, and reassem-
bled. On station, this would require a team
of divers or a work-class ROV to fit blank-
ing plates so that the valve can be removed
and inspected by a maintenance team, an
expensive and hazardous operation.
The technique eventually developed
borrowed expertise from the gas industry
(hot tapping) and the nuclear industry
(high-performance miniature cameras
with integral lighting). These techniques
were adapted so that the camera could be
inserted into the piping adjacent to the
valve and manipulated so that a detailed
visual inspection and function test could
be performed.
These inspections could be carried out
during normal operations and showed
the valve condition and sealing faces in
detail and the valve functionality in situ
and under operating conditions. This
provided a level of assurance better than
that of any previous method.
Cleaning Requirements
The new method does not require marine
growth to be removed from surfaces such
as shell plating or weld cruciforms that
are part of the hull envelope because the
NDT methods used from within the hull
do not require this. Cleaning of various
appendages such as bilge-keel ends, sea-
chest inlet grids, and moonpool welds on
drillships was considered a potential re-
quirement before inspection, depending
on individual environmental conditions
and subsequent levels of marine growth.
An examination of the requirements
for cleaning valves internally revealed
that inlet valves were more prone to ma-
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
rine fouling than valves on discharge
lines. This led to the discovery that ma-
rine fouling on the internal faces of the
valves could be dealt with by cycling the
valves before inspection. This dislodged
the marine growth, and a camera manip-
ulator was able to get close to the valve
and inspect the sealing faces.
The next challenge was addressing the
question of marine growth on hull ap-
pendages such as bilge-keel connections
and sea-chest inlet grids.
Various options were tested includ-
ing crawlers and ROVs equipped with a
variety of cleaning methods (mechani-
cal, water jetting, and cavitation blast
equipment). All of these systems have
their positive and negative points, but
a simple mechanical cleaning head de-
ployed on a specially modified portable
maintenance-and-observation-class ROV
was effective in most cases.
When the reasons for cleaning marine
fouling of the sea-chest inlet grids were
analyzed, it was discovered that there was
no clear requirement to perform this task
other than the potential for the fouling to
diminish the flow rate below a required
performance standard. The decision was
made, therefore, to use flowmeters to
check for adequate flow and to trend
any reductions in flow rate, thus provid-
ing reliable data for determining if (and
when) cleaning is required.
Apart from the typical scope associat-
ed with FPSO hulls, drillships have moon-
pools that have critical welds underwater.
The water in moonpools can be too tur-
bulent for divers or ROVs, and the weld-
inspection challenge was solved by using
high-performance cameras remotely de-
ployed on carbon-fiber manipulators.
Site Testing
Site testing was executed on the Espirito
Santo FPSO.
To confirm that the new method was
at least equivalent to a diving survey, div-
ers inspected some of the indications
found by the new method. A good cor-
relation was discovered between the
two methods.
Lessons Learned
◗ POB used was four, which is a
reduction from the 15 typically used
for diving operations. The system is
insensitive to weather and sea state,
unlike diving operations.
◗ Access to tanks for internal
inspection was an issue. This has
now been solved by use of a long-
term continuous inspection plan in
which tank entry is aligned with the
Continuous Hull Survey program.
◗ Internal fouling of isolation
valves was a potential issue. It
was discovered that inlet valves
were more susceptible to fouling
than discharge valves and that
cycling the valves before inspection
dislodged marine growth on the
sealing faces, allowing the camera
system to carry out close visual
inspection and function testing of
the valve.
◗ External fouling of the inlet grids
was also a concern. The solution
developed was to measure and trend
the flow rate so that the cost of
unnecessary cleaning is avoided.
◗ Inspection of drillship moonpool
critical welds is now conducted
using high-performance cameras on
carbon-fiber manipulators. JPT
59
 Design of a Floating-Liquefied-Natural-Gas
System for Severe Metocean Conditions

I n the past few years, several

floating-liquefied-natural-gas
(FLNG) projects have become
concepts on the market involve an in-
tegrated FLNG vessel that incorpo-
rates all functions into a single ves-
◗ An overall reduction in complexity
and cost
◗ An increase in design flexibility and
commercial. However, most FLNG sel: primary processing, gas treatment, residual value for redeployment
systems designed to date remain natural-gas-liquids (NGL) fractionation, Design features of the split system
complex, costly, and operationally liquefaction, storage of condensate/ include
limited to areas with benign-to- NGL/LNG, and offloading of each prod- ◗ Standard, proven, off-the-shelf hull
moderate metocean conditions that uct from storage. This approach leads designs for both host facility and
allow side-by-side offloading of the to very large and complex purpose- liquefaction vessel
liquefied natural gas (LNG). This paper built vessels. ◗ Segregation of functions between
describes a split-process FLNG design Processing requirements for treating floating production, storage,
where primary production and gas- wellhead gas to LNG inlet quality vary and offloading (FPSO) vessel and
treatment functions are provided on a considerably from field to field. liquefaction
host platform while liquefaction occurs It is not practical to design a single ◗ Dual nitrogen expander
on a separate vessel. The arrangement generic topside-process scheme to deal liquefaction process with
works in moderate-to-severe with the range of conditions that may carbon dioxide precool cycle for
metocean conditions. be encountered if the FLNG vessel has compactness, safety, and simplicity
to produce two, three, or more fields ◗ Dual-fuel diesel electric (DFDE)
Introduction over its useful life. However, once the prime movers for liquefaction for
Today, FLNG is generally accepted in the gas is rendered suitable for liquefaction, improved efficiency
industry as feasible. The focus is now on with water, acid gas, contaminants, ◗ Wider selection of yards, multiple
technology selection, liquefaction and and heavier hydrocarbons removed, parallel construction paths, and
storage capacity, and safe operational the facility requirements for liquefac- modularized and repetitive design
considerations, particularly with regard tion, storage, and offloading of the LNG and build
to LNG offloading. are the same from one field to another, Segregating the FLNG functions be-
Concerns typically raised with pro- varying only according to capacity. tween different vessels provides several
posed FLNG schemes include benefits for cost, safety, project sched-
◗ Size, weight, and complexity of FLNG-System Configuration—Segre- ule, and operations.
topside gated Arrangement. The FLNG con-
◗ Topside hydrocarbon inventory cept described in this paper was de- Discussion
and effect on safety design signed to circumvent many of the cost Selection and Function of Host Plat-
◗ LNG-offloading method and sea- and design concerns of the convention- form. For the segregated FLNG concept,
state limitations al integrated FLNG concepts. The pri- the host facility is selected on the basis
◗ Overall project cost, schedule, and mary assumption is that deintegrat- of site-specific field-development con-
uncertainty ing, or splitting, the system between ditions just like any other offshore field
◗ Design for generic application and a field-specific host facility to provide development. Functionally, the host pro-
residual value primary processing, liquid handling, vides primary separation, depletion com-
and gas treatment and a generic LNG pression, gas dehydration, condensate/
FLNG-System Configuration—In- liquefaction/storage/offloading ves- oil treatment and stabilization, and, in
tegrated Arrangement. Most FLNG sel provides some cases, drilling platform or well bay.
Modifications to the host facili-
ty for FLNG involve replacing or add-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
ing the following equipment to the gas
of paper OTC 27074, “Design Case Study for a 4-Mt/a FLNG System for Severe Metocean process system:
Conditions,” by Robert M. Shivers III, SPE, and Richard P. Michel, LoneStar ◗ Mole sieve dehydration (replaces
FLNG; and Norman P. Kolb, Strategy Engineering, prepared for the 2016 Offshore glycol gas dehydration)
Technology Conference, Houston, 2–5 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed. ◗ Mercury absorption beds
Copyright 2016 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. ◗ Amine unit for acid-gas removal

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

60 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

 ◗ Hydrocarbon dewpoint system for
removal of C5+ components
◗ Heat integration for export-gas
precooling
Host facilities considered in general
include fixed or self-installing platforms
in shallow water; concrete gravity-base
platforms for ice-prone waters; tension-
leg platforms for moderately deep water
subject to tropical cyclonic storms;
FPSOs (circular spread moored or ship-
shaped turret moored); production
semisubmersibles for deep water; or
mobile-offshore-drilling-unit (MODU)
semisubmersibles for small-scale, mo-
bile systems.
An example FPSO-type host facility
for moderately deep water in noncyclon-
ic areas is shown in Fig 1. The FPSO is
based on a Sevan 650 hull. Several hulls
of this type have been built for MODU
and FPSO service. The circular hull can
be spread moored, eliminating the cost
and complexity of a large turret. The
FPSO topside consists of two parallel pro-
cess trains of 300-million-scf/D capac-
ity each. The 600-million-scf/D capac-
ity is sufficient to feed the 4 Mt/a of LNG
liquefaction capacity.
Design of LNG Liquefaction Vessel.
The liquefaction vessel is based on a
Moss-type LNG carrier of 155 000- to
170 000-m3 capacity and is equipped
with DFDE propulsion. The contain-
ment system eliminates risk of dam-
age from sloshing in slack tanks dur-
ing filling.
A standard LNG carrier with a DFDE
power plant will have 25–30 MW of in-
Standard Moss LNG Carrier
DFDE Drive
Fig. 2—Bow extension.
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
Fig. 1—Spread-moored FLNG host FPSO.
stalled power. This is increased to
108  MW of installed power by using six
V18 engines in two engine rooms.
At the bow, a 42-ft-long sandwich sec-
tion (Fig. 2) is spliced in just forward of
the cargo compartment to house
◗ Disconnectable turret, turret trunk,
and auxiliaries
◗ Switch gear including transformers,
variable-frequency drives, and
magnetic bearing controls
◗ Seawater/freshwater heat
exchangers and cooling-water
pumps
The turret contains a 10-in.-nominal-
bore gas swivel to deliver precooled gas
to the liquefaction vessel from the host
platform. The turret contains an addi-
tional swivel for a deep seawater intake
hose to provide cold seawater for pro-
cess cooling. The turret is designed for
quick connect and disconnect (less than
8 hours).
The sandwich piece provides a foot-
print for the liquefaction module. The
liquefaction module contains two 1-Mt/a
liquefaction trains arranged port and
starboard. Each train consists of
◗ One cold box containing five
braised-aluminum heat-exchanger
cores
◗ One warm-loop and one cold-loop
turbo expander/compressors
◗ Three integral, sealed, nitrogen
compressors (ISCs)
◗ Printed-circuit heat-exchanger
interstage coolers
◗ One boil-off-gas compressor
◗ One liquid expander
The ISCs are driven directly by a high-
speed electric motor that is housed in
the compressor body. The motor and im-
pellers are installed on a common shaft
supported on magnetic bearings and are
cooled by a slip stream of the gas being
compressed. The entire assembly is her-
metically sealed within the compressor
body, with no external shaft seals.
ISCs were originally developed for re-
mote, unmanned pipeline booster sta-
tions. In recent years, they have been se-
lected for seabed compression. The use of
(Continued on page 76)
61
 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Well Testing
Angel G. Guzmán-Garcia, SPE, Energy Consultant

2016 was another slow year in the oil Continued enthusiasm
industry as the price of oil remained low.
Despite the ongoing downturn, the 18th in the well-testing segment
meeting of the Win Cubed Well Test Net- of the oil industry
work (WTN) was hosted by Tetra Tech-
nologies in Houston in April. There were
is also apparent.
37 attendees present plus 11 others who
participated by telephone. Delegates rep- mation was shared with the group. Plans
resented a broad spectrum of operators are already under way for the WTN 2017
and service companies, as well as a few meeting in Houston. For those interest-
independent consultants. Fourteen pre- ed, further information about the meet-
sentations covered success stories and ing as well as steps to join the network
innovations developed and implemented can be found at www.wincubed.co.uk.
in the industry. During the 2-day meet- Continued enthusiasm in the well-
ing, an enthusiastic and open-minded testing segment of the oil industry is
participation was commonplace. A sig- also apparent. Even though there was
nificant portion of participants contrib- a smaller number of articles and pre-
uted to the discussion and, on the basis sentations among various conferences
of experience, helped build on the pre- related to well testing during 2016, there
sentations to ensure that relevant infor- are articles that contribute significant-
Angel G. Guzmán-Garcia, SPE, is an independent energy con-
sultant. He holds a PhD degree in chemical engineering from
Tulane University. Guzmán-Garcia spent more than 23 years
with ExxonMobil, where he held a variety of positions: conduct-
ing research on the response of resistivity tools in shaly sands;
investigating nuclear-magnetic-resonance petrophysical appli-
cations; conducting and interpreting production logging;
designing fluid-sampling collection and pressure/volume/
temperature analyses; and designing, executing, and interpreting well tests in both
siliciclastic and carbonate environments. He is an instructor in well testing, produc-
tion logging, and petrophysics and is a member of the JPT Editorial Committee.
Guzmán-Garcia can be reached at catrachon@msn.com.
ly not only for the experts but also for
the upcoming generation. The papers for
this issue of JPT were selected to cover
field applications as well as value added
by consultants and academics. As dif-
ficult as it is to narrow down the list
to three manuscripts, I have confidence
that, in the end, these three manuscripts
show insightful use of well-test data. The
additional-reading articles selected offer
many insights that are of value to the
practitioner. Most certainly, the interest-
ed reader should seek further articles on
this topic in the OnePetro library. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 177785 Successful Delivery of
Downhole Measurements From Abu Dhabi
Giant Offshore Field by Daniel Newton,
Zakum Development Company, et al.
SPE 179008 Applied Buildup-Well-
Test Interpretation: Field Testing of
Conventional and Deconvolution Methods
by Omar Rosario, PDVSA, et al.
SPE 181352 Consistent Integration of
Drillstem-Test Data Into Reservoir Models
on a Giant Field Offshore Norway
by Jon Sætrom, Resoptima, et al.
SPE 181546 Temperature Transients
Affect Reservoir-Pressure Estimation
During Well Tests—Case Study and Model
by Pierre-David Maizeret, Schlumberger, et al.

62 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

Fieldwide Determination of Directional
Permeabilities Through Transient Well Testing

K nowledge of the maximum-

and minimum-permeability
directions in anisotropic reservoirs
helps to optimize injector and
producer locations and is important
for reservoir management, especially
under secondary or enhanced recovery
of hydrocarbons. The complete paper
describes a method using transient-test
data rich with dynamic information
aiming to provide fieldwide permeability
distribution in well-spacing scale,
which is relevant for estimating fluid
movement and recovery.
Introduction
The knowledge of flow communica-
tion between wells is key information
for reservoir management, especially
in secondary or tertiary recovery. The
surveillance methods to collect dynam-
ic data to gain such knowledge include
multiple-well pressure-transient tests
and tracer tests. The measurements of
tracer agents arriving at producing wells
provide direct confirmation of flow com-
munication. Interwell transient tests
derive similar information through the
measurement of pressure responses (at
observation wells) to the production- or
injection-rate changes at an active well,
and the time required to conduct such
tests is much shorter than the time re-
quired to conduct tracer tests. For aniso-
tropic reservoirs, such as naturally frac-
tured fields or channel systems, knowing
the permeability tensor directions and
the ratios of the maximum to the mini-
mum permeability in various locations in
the field provides better opportunities to
make optimal operational decisions.
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
of paper SPE 181437, “Fieldwide Determination of Directional Permeabilities Using
Transient Well Testing,” by Yan Pan, Medhat Kamal, and Wayne Narr, Chevron,
prepared for the 2016 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dubai,
26–28 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
All previously proposed methods in
the literature require three sets of inter-
ference or pulse tests among wells offset
at different azimuths, and the pressure-
response data are analyzed simultane-
ously using type-curve matching to cal-
culate permeability tensors. In practice,
there is limited opportunity to conduct
all three sets of interference tests through
the same well at one time and to analyze
them simultaneously to derive a perme-
ability tensor. In the complete paper, a
new method is proposed that uses pre-
vious test-analysis results directly to es-
timate the permeability tensor. The
analysis results (the permeability and po-
rosity of the fast path linking two wells)
from a single set interwell (interference
or pulse) test could be obtained using
any modern techniques with analyti-
cal, semianalytical, or numerical models
and would not be limited to conventional
type-curve matching. The algorithm uses
mathematical matrix operations, and all
analysis results can be integrated to gen-
erate the field permeability-tensor map.
Mathematical aspects of the method, as
well as method validation, are discussed
in the complete paper.
Field Application
The proposed method is applied in
Field C (a carbonate). Fractures are com-
mon and significantly enhance produc-
tivity. Because the operator is seeking
potential opportunities for additional
oil recovery, efforts are made to under-
stand the flow communication among
wells and fracture orientation in the field.
Extensive interwell transient data have
been collected from carefully designed
and conducted tests among all the wells
in Field C. Each pair of interwell tests is
analyzed with dual-porosity models with
techniques described in the literature.
The obtained diffusivity ranges over four
orders of difference and conforms with
the heterogeneous nature of the carbon-
ate field.
As an example, one pulse test was con-
ducted between two wells in the west
of Field C. Four-day pulses were sent
out from Well P-1, and the pressure at
Well P-2 responded within hours. The
pressure derivative identifies the cor-
respondence much more clearly than
the pressure curve. The buildup tests at
Wells P-1 and at P-2 show distinguishable
matrix-to-fracture interporosity tran-
sient flow behavior (the trough on
pressure-derivative curves). Therefore, a
dual-porosity model is selected to match
the pulse-test data in both the history
plot and the log-log diagnosis plot of one
pulse period, and the fast-path proper-
ties—permeability, porosity, storativity
ratio, and the interporosity flow coeffi-
cient—are estimated. The flow-capacity
value obtained from the pulse test is five
times larger than those from the individ-
ual buildup tests at the wells, a phenom-
enon that is not uncommon in natural-
ly fractured reservoirs. It indicates that
there is a conductive facture network
linking the two wells. The flow-capacity
value from a single-well test is the effec-
tive average of the tested reservoir vol-
ume including both fracture and matrix
systems near the well, while the pulse-
test response is dominated by the most
conductive path linking between wells.
The flow-capacity values from both in-
terwell and single-well tests being similar
implies that the fracture distribution, or
the lack of it, around the wells is the same
as that existing between the wells.
Another interference-test example in-
volves an operation needed to reduce
production at Well P-3 in the north.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 63

 The nearby Well P-4 with a permanent
downhole gauge collected the pressure
responses to the rate change at Well
P-3. The flow communication between
Wells P-3 and P-4 was confirmed. When
analyzing the interference test with a
dual-porosity model, the log-log plot of
the pulse period is more sensitive to the
fracture-storativity ratio and the inter-
porosity flow coefficient than the histo-
ry plot and can be used to fine tune their
values. Comparing the results, the fast-
path matrix/fracture-system properties
(fracture-storativity ratio and the inter-
porosity flow coefficient) tend to be big-
ger than the effective average values ob-
tained from single-well buildup tests.
All interwell tests in the field are an-
alyzed following the same procedure,
using the single-well buildup-test results
as reference to seek clues concerning
fracture distribution. The majority of the
wells have had interwell tests conducted
at different directions, and the permea-
bility tensors at those well locations can
be calculated using the proposed method
from previous interference- or pulse-test-
analysis results. Then, a field map is gen-
Technical Papers
The complete SPE technical
papers synopsized in this
issue are available free to
SPE members for 2 months
at www.spe.org/jpt.
Subscriptions
Address Change:
Contact Customer Services
at 1.972.952.9393 to notify
of address change or
make changes online at
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per year (members).
64
erated showing the maximum and mini-
mum permeabilities and their directions
derived from the permeability tensors.
From geological information and static
data, the dominant fracture trend and the
orientations of effective fractures at each
well location are also mapped. Rose dia-
grams show the strike of effective frac-
tures, which were measured with a bore-
hole image log. Effective fractures are
interpreted to be those with the potential
to affect flow to a well, or within a reser-
voir. On the basis of their visual charac-
ter, the fractures include small-aperture
cracks, solution-enlarged fractures, and
caverns/vugs that are an extreme devel-
opment of solution enlargement. The
dominant trend of fractures is based on
the authors’ interpretive model of frac-
tures parallel and perpendicular to the
strike of the depositional margin of this
carbonate buildup.
In most areas of the field, the domi-
nant permeability directions from inter-
well transient data are consistent with
those from static data. Fracture orien-
tations vary substantially throughout
the field, suggesting high variability in
fracture-system character. In the areas
where the derived dominant permeabil-
ity directions align with the fracture ori-
entations based on the geological model,
the ratio of maximum to minimum per-
meability is relatively high. In the areas
where the fracture orientation is diffi-
cult to predict, some wells show strong
anisotropic ratios; the others are close to
isotropic. These permeability tensors ob-
tained from dynamic data in well-spacing
scale help to determine fracture distribu-
tions and orientations and their effects
on flow communication among various
wells in the field and are key informa-
tion for making reservoir-development
plans, especially with secondary- and
tertiary-recovery strategies.
Conclusions
◗ A practical method of estimating
directional permeabilities is
developed to use well coordinates
and analysis results of individual
interwell transient tests directly in
heterogeneous reservoirs through
mathematical-matrix operations.
◗ Each individual interwell test can be
analyzed using any conventional or
modern method.
◗ Comparing the fast-path properties
derived from interwell-test analysis
with the corresponding effective
average values obtained from
individual buildup tests at the
wells could provide information
of highly conductive paths in the
reservoir. The formation properties
from these two different types
of tests being similar implies
that the distribution of the high-
conductivity medium, if it exists,
is relatively uniform. The flow
capacity of the fast path from the
interwell test being much higher
than the average value from the
buildup test indicates that there is
a highly conductive path linking
the wells.
◗ The method of calculating
directional permeabilities requires
at least three sets of interference or
pulse tests at different directions
through the same well at each
location. If more than three sets of
interwell tests are available, select
the most representative directions
on the basis of reservoir structure,
geological features, and those with
high-quality data.
◗ Comparing the formation
properties of the fast path linking
two wells derived from an interwell
test with the effective average
values from a single-well buildup
test provides information about the
distribution of high-conductivity
paths.
◗ With enough interwell transient
data, a fieldwide permeability-
tensor map can be generated
easily. The information can
be compared with that from
geological information and static
data. The permeability tensors
from dynamic transient data are
in well-spacing scale. The static
data are from the wellbore, and
the scale is usually small (inches).
Integrating the interpretation
results from both types of data
reduces uncertainty in reservoir
characterization.
◗ The application of the proposed
method in a large carbonate
reservoir demonstrates its
practicality even in fields with
complex varying anisotropy. JPT
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
 Novel Solutions for Transient Sandface
Temperature in Dry-Gas-Producing Wells

T he application of high-precision
downhole temperature sensors has
resulted in pressure-transient analysis
mation of zonal reservoir properties and
flow rates from a single transient event.
However, this will be realized only when
able. In the complete paper, the authors
assume Darcy’s law because it can be
shown that the non-Darcy effect on the
(PTA) being complemented or replaced a comprehensive set of TTA solutions is rate of change of temperature with time,
by temperature-transient analysis (TTA). available for the heat- and mass-transfer the parameter used in TTA, is small
However, the derivation and use of TTA models in porous media required to cover (even in high-rate gas wells).
solutions is challenging because of the all the downhole scenarios frequently en- Equations of state describing the den-
small value of the measured temperature countered during well production. sity as a function of pressure are avail-
change and the more-complex nature of Most of the work performed in the area able. They can also be used to obtain the
the governing physics and equations. In of transient-sandface-temperature mod- real-pressure solution from the pseudo-
particular, analysis work flows for wells eling has been limited to slightly com- pressure solution for a gas.
producing gas or gas/liquid mixtures pressible fluids (liquids), a limitation that
are still lacking because most published allowed the introduction of simplifying The Thermal Model. The numerical
liquid TTA solutions cannot be applied assumptions to the thermal models. In thermal model used in this work in-
in the presence of gas. The complete contrast, the essential step of extending cludes temperature changes in porous
paper addresses a work flow for a dry- TTA to compressible fluids (gases) results media caused by transient fluid and rock
gas-producing well. in a highly nonlinear mathematical prob- expansion, the Joule-Thomson effect,
lem that is more difficult to solve. conduction, and convection.
Introduction The complete paper develops analyti-
Applications of downhole temperature cal models for predicting transient sand- Numerical Modeling
measurements can be divided into two face temperature in gas-producing wells Radial fluid flow was modeled in a cy-
broad classes based on the type of tem- and illustrates their use for reservoir lindrical reservoir system with a verti-
perature models used and the reservoir- monitoring and flow-rate allocation. As cal well located at the center. Heat ex-
flow regimes analyzed. The first class such, it represents a major contribution change with the under- and overlying
uses semisteady-state models, usually in to the development of a comprehensive formations was not included because of
conjunction with measurements made TTA work flow. its negligible effect at early times.
at a single point in time by distributed- The described model was set up and
temperature sensors (DTSs). The second Underlying Physical Processes solved numerically with a numerical
class of models uses TTA with both point Full details of all equations, assump- solver. The pressure from the numerical
and distributed measurements made tions, derivations, and work flows re- simulation was compared with an ana-
over a period of time. garding related phenomena are provid- lytical line-source pseudopressure solu-
TTA is relatively tolerant to measure- ed in the complete paper. tion developed for gas flow.
ment accuracy. It essentially requires data When the numerical and analytical
on the rate of temperature change, which The Pressure Model. Flow in porous solutions for the modeled parameters
is normally measured one or two orders media related to conventional produc- are compared, a close match is observed
of magnitude better than the absolute val- tion is described by combining the em- for both the radial pressure distribution
ues (i.e., the difference between the sen- pirical Darcy’s-law equation with the and the transient wellbore pressures.
sor’s resolution and the sensor accuracy). mass-balance continuity equation to
The combination of TTA and PTA po- give the diffusivity equation, whose an- Analytical Solutions
tentially allows the comprehensive esti- alytical solutions are generally avail- Knowledge of the pressure distribution in
the zone of interest is required to develop
an analytical temperature solution. An
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
analytical pseudopressure solution was
of paper SPE 181057, “Novel Solutions and Interpretation Methods for Transient used to find the pressure derivatives by
Sandface Temperature in Vertical Dry-Gas-Producing Wells,” by Akindolu O. Dada, use of two fitting parameters. The method
Khafiz M. Muradov, and David R. Davies, Heriot-Watt University, prepared for of characteristics was used to derive the
the 2016 SPE Intelligent Energy International Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen,
6–8 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed. (Continued on page 80)

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

66 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

Case History: High-Pressure/High-Temperature
Underbalanced Drillstem Testing

T his paper describes the

method developed to achieve
underbalanced drillstem testing (DST)
in a deepwater field offshore India. DST
x x
tools rated to 450°F and 15,000-psi
differential pressure were configured
to maintain integrity and successfully
evaluate the well potential. By use of a
multicycle DST tool string, the reservoir
potential was tested safely and
effectively with an underbalanced test
fluid in two deepwater wells, achieving
the desired test objectives.

Introduction
An operator in India needed to con-
duct high-pressure/high-temperature
x x 9⅝-in. casing
(HP/HT) drillstem testing on a deep-
water well with low-density clear brine 7-in. liner
in the annulus. Performing DST was nec- x x
essary to assess hydrocarbon poten- 5-in. liner
tial in the deepwater block for further
field-development plans. The DST tools
Fig. 1—Well schematic.
performed satisfactorily for approxi-
mately 18 days during the test on a semi-
submersible rig. Before lowering the DST tools, a well- and solid settlement could have result-
The well was completed in a 6-in. hole, integrity test was performed by conduct- ed in the retrievable packer sticking and
which resulted in a 5-in. casing program, ing an inflow test for a 5-in.-liner shoe, a could have presented challenges for an-
thereby creating a significant challenge. 5-in.-liner-hanger top, and a 7-in.-liner- nulus pressure transmission to operate
The retrievable packer suitable for the hanger top. Hermetic tests were per- DST tools. The kill-mud weight required
7-in. casing was set above the 5-in.-liner- formed to ensure that casings sustained was in the range of 15.8 to 16.8 lbm/gal,
hanger top, resulting in a tail pipe of ap- the required annulus pressure for opera- compared with the available brine weight
proximately 350 m. Well killing at the tion of the DST tools. of 11.4 to 13.8 lbm/gal. The bottomhole
end of the DST with such a long tail pipe temperature was in the range of 365
was a challenge. Need for HP/HT to 370°F.
The method of operating DST tools Underbalanced Testing
in both underbalanced brine and kill- The anticipated pore pressure was sig- Slimhole DST Tools
weight mud was developed along with a nificantly higher than the available brine The option of deploying slimhole
meticulously designed well-test program weight. The use of kill-weight mud for the DST tools suitable for a 5-in. liner was
and a well-kill procedure with a long tail DST operation was considered, but high- planned but was not possible because
pipe below the 7-in. retrievable packer. temperature conditions, barite sagging, of the available time frame. Slimhole
DST tools would have limited opera-
tions such as wireline correlation and
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights slickline sampling.
of paper SPE 178089, “Case History: HP/HT Underbalanced Drillstem Testing,
Deepwater KG Offshore,” by Mahesh Sarode and Milind Khati, Halliburton, Planning and Execution
prepared for the 2015 SPE Oil and Gas India Conference and Exhibition, Mumbai, The objectives and challenges of this DST
24–26 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed. job were defined as follows:

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 67

 ◗ Determine the initial reservoir
pressure and temperature.
◗ Gather the bottomhole fluid sample.
◗ Verify well integrity.
◗ Perform underbalanced DST with
reservoir pressure of 15.8 lbm/
gal and temperature of 370°F at
4300-m depth.
◗ Conduct underbalanced DST of
reservoir objects behind a 5-in. liner
using a 7-in. retrievable packer and
DST tools with a long tail pipe.
◗ Execute the well-kill plan.
Equipment Preparation
After completing the logging activities,
reservoir data such as bottomhole pres-
sure and temperature were received. This
information is very important for equip-
ment preparation. Because the DST tools
operate with a dual-fluid system at 370°F,
all the tools were stripped and were reas-
sembled with special HP/HT redress kits.
Equipment reassembling, function test-
ing, and pressure testing were carried out
by a highly experienced DST team.
Multicycle circulating valves and multi-
cycle downhole tester valves require ni-
trogen precharge. Because the tools were
expected to operate in both underbal-
anced brine and kill-weight mud, a ni-
trogen precharge suitable to both fluid
systems was performed. The single-shot
rupture-disk-operated tools were also
designed to operate in both fluid sys-
tems. The function test of equipment is
important because the tools are required
to operate in the wellbore in HP/HT con-
ditions. The equipment-function test and
pressure test were witnessed by an on-
site DST engineer and the operator’s on-
site well-test engineer.
Well-Test-Program Preparation
and Contingency Plan
A detailed well-test program and DST-
tool operating-pressure calculation were
prepared by the service company’s well-
test engineer and were reviewed with the
operator’s well-test engineer. A detailed
discussion and review were held with all
involved teams to explain the detailed
well-test program. The well-test program
served as the reference document for
every step. It covered aspects of the op-
eration such as well information, approv-
al for expenditure, sequence of opera-
tions, contingency plans in case of tubing
68
leaks, leaks in the riser, string diagrams,
operating-pressure calculations, risk
analysis, roles and responsibilities, and
lines of communication.
Well Preparation and Testing
Operation: Detailed Steps
The detailed steps performed after com-
pleting drilling, lowering a 5-in. liner, and
cementing are listed here. Fig. 1 provides
the well schematic. The steps to complete
the well preparation are provided in the
complete paper.
Completing all the steps in well prep-
aration is critical before beginning
an underbalanced tubing-conveyed-
perforation (TCP) and DST bottomhole-
assembly deployment.
The following steps were taken to per-
form the underbalanced DST:
1. Make up and run in hole the TCP
assembly.
2. Make up and run in hole the 2⅞-in.
tubing to serve as tail pipe in the
5-in.-liner section.
3. Make up and run in hole the 7-in.
retrievable packer and HP/HT DST
tools.
4. Make up and run in hole the
3½-in. tubing up to seabed. The
tubing was hydraulically pressure
tested at very high pressures while
running in hole considering the
TCP hydraulic firing-head pressure
and reservoir pressure.
5. The fluted hanger assembly was
made up on string and run in hole
on drillpipe as a landing string.
6. Wireline correlation was
conducted to space out guns
on depth.
7. The fluted hanger with drillpipe
was pulled out of hole and laid
down.
8. The subsea safety system was
made up; the latch/unlatch
mechanism was function tested
and run in hole.
9. The flowhead was connected after
running in hole all the assemblies.
10. The retrievable packer was set by
rotation, the rupture-disk/pipe-
tester valve was activated, and the
circulating valve was cycled for
cushion spotting.
11. After cushion spotting, the
circulating valve was cycled to the
well-test position, and TCP guns
were activated hydraulically while
the downhole tester valve was kept
in fail-safe open mode.
12. A reservoir study program was
completed. Pressure, volume, and
temperature samples were also
captured, and a gradient survey
was performed.
13. The well-kill operation
commenced. The circulating valve
was cycled to circulating position
to displace annulus brine by kill-
weight mud.
14. After completing the kill-weight-
mud displacement, the circulating
valve was cycled to the well-test
position. At this stage, the well
volume above the circulating valve
had kill-weight brine in annulus
and tubing.
15. The next step in the operation
was to bullhead kill mud to the
formation. Bullheading gas
trapped below the 7-in. packer
was challenging, so, in the string
diagram, one circulating sub was
strategically placed immediately
below the 7-in. packer.
16. The placement of the circulating
sub enabled bullheading below the
7-in. packer into the formation.
17. The contingency plan in case
the formation did not allow
bullheading was also prepared,
which required increasing the kill-
weight mud above 16.5 lbm/gal at
the depth of the circulating valve
(approximately 3800 m) to balance
the hydrostatic head against the
formation pressure at a depth of
4300 m, which was approximately
18.0 lbm/gal.
18. A flow check was conducted,
and the packer was unseated
afterward.
19. The TCP-DST string was pulled out
of hole after the successful job.
Conclusion
By use of the multicycle DST tool string,
the operator was able to test the reser-
voir potential safely and effectively with
an underbalanced test fluid in two deep-
water wells, achieving the desired test
objectives. This project set a record for a
service company performing HP/HT un-
derbalanced DST in a deepwater environ-
ment in India. JPT
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Formation Damage
Niall Fleming, SPE, Leading Adviser, Well Productivity and Stimulation, Statoil

In a corresponding article from 2015, It is permeability that is for the reduced productivity because we
I quoted the title of Brant Bennion’s cannot see downhole what type of dam-
1999 article “Formation Damage—The often the most difficult age has occurred and where. Production
Impairment of the Invisible, by the Inevi- to quantify; therefore, engineers can use significant amounts of
table and Uncontrollable, Resulting in an time in attempting to identify a cause for
Indeterminate Reduction of the Unquan-
focusing on permeabilities poor productivity. This process involves
tifiable.” I would like to think that, in coreflooding to cover evaluating all that has happened in the
given the considerable effort spent on the span of those likely to be well, which includes the fluids used, loss-
drilling- and completion-fluid develop- es during drilling and completion, lower-
ment since the article was written, we encountered can improve completion type and potential for plug-
have a much better control of the “inevi- our understanding of the ging, and how effective well cleanup was.
table and uncontrollable.” Likewise, with Consideration of all data available can
respect to a “reduction in the unquan- potential formation damage eventually point toward one factor that
tifiable,” much of the uncertainty can that could be expected. could explain productivity decline. Core-
be minimized by performing represen- flooding can also be used to simulate
tative corefloods using plugs of different the sequences performed in the well, to
permeability value to reflect the values In this short article, I would like to try to identify the damaging mechanism.
expected downhole. It is permeability focus on “the impairment of the invisible” Regardless of those factors, the key take-
that is often the most difficult to quanti- because it is here that the greatest uncer- home message is that prevention is much
fy; therefore, focusing on permeabilities tainty exists with regard to formation- better than cure. JPT
in coreflooding to cover the span of those damage evaluation. One of the challeng-
likely to be encountered can improve our es for those involved with understanding
understanding of the potential formation an unexpected decline in well perfor- Recommended additional reading
damage that could be expected. mance is identifying the exact causes at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 178963 Laboratory Simulation and
Niall Fleming, SPE, is the leading adviser for well productivity Damage in Openhole Water Injectors
and stimulation with Statoil in Bergen, Norway. He has worked by Michael Byrne, LR Senergy, et al.
previously as a production geologist, chemist, and engineer. SPE 178018 Evaluation of Damage
Fleming’s main interest is within the area of formation damage Mechanisms in Tight Gas Reservoirs: Field
from drilling and completion fluids and in wells under produc- Example From Perth Basin by Nick Bahrami,
tion. He holds a PhD degree in geology from Imperial College SGS Netherlands, et al.
London. Fleming has authored several SPE papers, is an associ- SPE 179007 Ability of a Filter-Cake
ate editor for SPE Production & Operations, serves on the JPT Breaker To Diffuse Into Completion Brine
Editorial Committee, and has been a member of the organizing committees for and Packed Gravel by Clotaire-Marie Eyaa
several SPE conferences and workshops. He can be reached at nfle@statoil.com. Allogo, Schlumberger, et al.

JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 69

 Integrated Approach To Managing
Formation Damage in Waterflooding

U nderstanding of formation
damage is a key theme in a
waterflood project. An integrated
multidisciplinary approach is required
to determine an optimal design and
strategy. An operator has developed
a suite of tools to tackle these issues
and help in adequate design and
optimization of waterfloods.
Introduction
Many waterfloods in the operating phase
do not perform as expected. Often this is
because of well-injectivity issues where
the required water quality for the inject-
ed water is either not properly defined
(i.e., by the subsurface disciplines) or not
properly managed (i.e., at the surface fa-
cilities). A rapid decline in well injectivity
can result when injecting under matrix
conditions, and a loss in reservoir con-
tainment caused by out-of-zone injection
(OOZI) or a short-circuiting injector and
producer can occur when injecting under
fractured conditions, all negatively af-
fecting reservoir sweep.
Subsurface and Subsurface-
Modeling Work Flows
To determine an optimal waterflooding
concept, it is important for the integrat-
ed work flow that the outcome of the sub-
surface assessment be a range of techni-
cally feasible scenarios. These scenarios
should incorporate the ranges in subsur-
face uncertainties combined with sub-
surface concept options. The objective
for the subsurface work flow is to define
for each of these scenarios the produc-
tion profile for the field, injection vol-
ume, quality of injected water, number of
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
of paper SPE 174174, “Integrated Approach To Managing Formation Damage in
Waterflooding,” by Sergey Aristov, Paul van den Hoek, and Eddie Pun, Shell,
prepared for the 2015 SPE European Formation Damage Conference, Budapest,
Hungary, 3–5 June. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
injection wells, subsurface targets, risk,
and mitigations.
The subsurface work flow is illustrated
in Fig. 1 of the compete paper. The follow-
ing main steps are identified:
1. Identification of potential water
sources. All available water sources need
to be identified, and a screening should
be performed by assessing the compat-
ibility of the injected water with the clays
in the reservoir (i.e., risk of clay swelling).
2. Injection targets for field develop-
ment. On the basis of the expected res-
ervoir performance for waterflooding in
a field development, the targets for the
total water-injection volume for the (full)
field should be defined.
3. Subsurface assessment. The ef-
fect of the quality of the injected water
is assessed for both matrix and frac-
tured injection. This assessment is per-
formed in the subsurface-modeling work
flow, where the required water quali-
ty specifications in relation to injection
rates are evaluated. For matrix injec-
tion, the output of the subsurface-
modeling work flow is the decline in well
injectivity over time as a function of
water quality and injection rate. This
will determine the well-stimulation
frequency that is required for restor-
ing the injectivity, which will affect the
operating-expense profile and well up-
time. The subsurface-modeling work
flow can also be used to define the filter-
size requirements of the water-treatment
surface facilities for matrix injection.
For fractured injection, the output
of the subsurface modeling work flow is
to predict the induced-fracture growth
over the entire injection time of the well
and determine if this potentially can re-
sult in OOZI or in short-circuiting of the
injector and producer. The deliverable
is a limit diagram or operating envelope
of required water quality vs. injection
rates that helps to prevent “unaccept-
able” fracture growth over the lifetime
of an injection well. For both matrix and
fractured injection, sensitivity runs need
to be performed to address subsurface
uncertainties. The output from the sub-
surface assessment for both injection
modes, in terms of water quality and in-
jection rate, needs to be validated against
the injection targets for the field develop-
ment. When the injection targets are met,
this is called a technically feasible sub-
surface scenario.
4. Deliverables for subsurface scenar-
ios. For each scenario, the production
profiles, sustainable injection rate per
well, injection volumes, quality of inject-
ed water, number of injection wells, sub-
surface targets, risk, and mitigations are
defined and will be used as input in the
facilities and wells work flow.
The subsurface-modeling work flow
(Fig. 2 of the complete paper) describes
how the required water-quality speci-
fications can be defined for both ma-
trix and fractured injection. On-site
core-flush tests or rock-impairment
simulation models can be used to de-
termine injectivity-decline rate and
half-life time for injectors under matrix-
injection conditions.
ASCET
The actual and simulated coreflood eval-
uation tool (ASCET) is a high-pressure
on-site core-flush testing rig. It was de-
veloped with the objective of measuring
the permeability decline over time as a
function of water quality. These data are
used to determine injector half-life time,
the filter-cake properties (permeability
and thickness) for a certain water qual-
ity, and the causes of permeability losses.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

70 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

The ASCET rig is capable of monitoring
continuously the permeability declines in
three separate core plugs simultaneously.
The different water qualities are achieved
through a series of built-in filters (media
and cartridge filters). The main features
of the tool are
◗ In-field flooding of reservoir plugs
with actual injection water at
representative pressure differentials
◗ Measuring of injectivity decline
against water quality in real time
◗ All basic parameters can be varied
individually
◗ Fully automated design—with
digital signal transmission,
processing, and storage—allows for
virtually unlimited test duration
FORDAM
It is often necessary to provide estimates
on formation plugging and water-quality
requirements at the early stages of the
project. In this case, and also when no
ASCET measurements can be performed,
modeled predictions of the injectivity de-
cline over time can be made with the
rock-impairment-simulation software
called FORDAM. This tool models the ex-
tent of formation damage under matrix
injection caused by contaminated solids
in the injected water. It does not model
the effect of formation damage caused
by dispersed oil droplets in the inject-
ed water. The tool has the following two
functionalities:
◗ Predict injectivity decline over time
as a function of solids type and
associated concentration in the
injected water. This can be used
to assess whether the prognosed
injectivity decline is economically
acceptable in view of the required
stimulation frequency.
◗ Define filter-size requirements
in water-treatment facilities. On
the basis of the pore-throat-size
distribution (PTSD) of the reservoir
rock, it can be determined what
the maximum allowable solids
size is for preventing more than
90% of the pore throats from
being plugged by the formation
of an external filter cake (Fig. 1).
Because the tool cannot model the
injectivity decline caused by the
formation of an internal filter cake,
this option is not applicable to oil-
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
100
90
80
Matrix Damage (%)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40
Maximum Solids Size (µm)
Fig. 1—Formation damage as a function of solids size (FORDAM).
coated solids for produced-water
reinjection.
The procedure to predict injectivity
decline over time under matrix condi-
tions using the tool is as follows:
1. Select representative wells for mod-
eling (or prognosed wells).
2. Commence construction of an indi-
vidual model for each well.
3. Execute mercury-injection capillary
pressure experiments in the laboratory
for establishing the PTSD of the reser-
voir rock.
4. Provide input on reservoir data.
5. Incorporate solids in injected water.
6. Determine injectivity decline over
time and estimate half-life time of injec-
tor for injected-water quality, followed
by running sensitivities on different
water qualities.
7. Determine maximum solids size for
attaining maximum formation damage of
the matrix rock.
Fractured-Injection Tools
When injection occurs under fractured
conditions, the rock matrix will be frac-
tured, thus increasing the surface area for
the injection water to leak off into the sur-
rounding reservoir. As a result, the injec-
tivity will increase and higher injection
rates per well can be achieved. In addi-
tion, the required water quality can often
be more relaxed, which can result in lower
water-treatment costs. For injection under
(managed) fracturing conditions, there
are some key requirements that need to be
addressed for each specific situation:
60 80 100
◗ Reservoir containment. This
involves the minimum requirements
to enable sustained injectivity over
project life while not affecting
reservoir containment caused by
fracture-height growth.
◗ Reservoir sweep. This involves the
minimum requirements to ensure
that fracture-length growth does
not adversely affect reservoir sweep
and ultimate recovery. This will be
a balance of well placement, water
quality, and fracture orientation.
◗ Near-wellbore plugging. This
involves the minimum requirements
to ensure that injectivity for
fractured injection does not decline
owing to severe near-wellbore
plugging.
These requirements for fractured in-
jection can be defined with two modeling
tools that simulate the induced-fracture
growth over time (PWRI-FRAC and
FRAC-IT). The objective of both models
is to predict the induced-fracture growth
over the entire injection time of the well
and determine if this potentially can re-
sult in OOZI or affect reservoir sweep
and ultimate recovery. Before starting to
construct the simulation models, a num-
ber of key parameters must be known
through direct measurements, through
laboratory testing, or by using appropri-
ate analogs. In essence, FRAC-IT is simi-
lar to the PWRI-FRAC tool, with the dif-
ference being that the fracture-growth
simulator is fully coupled to a standard
reservoir simulator. JPT
71
 Formation Damage: A Novel Approach
in Evaluating Zonal-Productivity Loss

T he paper describes a novel

methodology to construct
distributed formation damage
(PI) of a horizontal well, is included in the
complete paper.
used to account for the geometrical skin
created by acid-induced washouts.

across openhole wells in carbonate Evaluation Methodology Case Study

reservoirs and to evaluate the effects On the basis of the equations provided in The proposed methodology was applied
of damage on zonal productivity. This the complete paper, a well model was built for an openhole horizontal well drilled
methodology improves the prediction to evaluate the PI of a horizontal well. recently in an oil-wet carbonate reser-
of well productivity by identifying the The proposed method requires two voir. The studied well was drilled with
contribution of various types of damage steps. The first step is to evaluate the well water-based mud with an overbalance
to zonal productivity. This is critical for damage after drilling. To do so, a pro- of approximately 300 psi. The drilling
efficient decision making concerning duction test should be performed and mud was displaced to lighter brine mud
well-completion and field-development bottomhole flowing pressure recorded. after reaching total depth. After drilling
options, particularly at the early stages By analyzing the bottomhole pressure- and before acidizing, the bottomhole
of greenfield development. transient behavior, the flow regime can pressure-transient analysis (PTA) indi-
be identified. Then, the average dam- cated the presence of high skin. After
Introduction age skin around the wellbore can be ob- 1  month of oil production, acid treat-
Numerous papers have investigated near- tained, depending on the flow regime. ment was carried out to remove the
wellbore damage caused by drilling and Also, a production-logging-tool (PLT) ac- damage. The acid was pumped down-
acid, but the majority of these studies quisition should be performed across the hole with coiled tubing from the toe of
assume a homogeneous anisotropic res- entire drain in order to estimate zonal the well to the heel with constant rate.
ervoir and a perfectly horizontal well productivity. The model is then matched This technique ensures an effective dis-
with constant diameter. In practice, these with PLT data by iteration over the tribution of acid treatment along the
assumptions are unrealistic, especially damaged-zone permeability. With drain and thus a successful removal of
when dealing with multilayered carbon- the distributed damage permeabili- damage skin. Nevertheless, the resid-
ate reservoirs. The proposed methodol- ty per zone obtained from the model, ual skin after acid treatment is expect-
ogy in this paper relies on more-realistic the skin can be calculated. Here, it ed to vary per zone, depending on per-
assumptions made on the basis of actual should be noted that the caliper data meability and reservoir lithology. The
well and reservoir data. after drilling should be used to account bottomhole pressure-transient analysis
The case presented in this study in- for the geometrical skin created by performed after acid treatment shows
volves a horizontal openhole well drilled drilling-induced washouts. no skin presence, thus indicating a suc-
across a multilayered oil-wet carbonate The second step is to evaluate the well cessful acid-job operation. The produc-
reservoir of a greenfield, with baffles damage after acidizing. The same ap- tion test showed an increment of ap-
and barriers present between reservoir proach used in the first step should be proximately 2,000 BOPD compared
layers. The study evaluates the damage used here, except for the skin input. In with the production test before acid.
types experienced by the formation and this step, the skin is introduced as an ad- Subsequently, the production logging
their effect on productivity. ditional skin. The model is matched with was performed, and bottomhole pres-
A discussion of formation damage, in- PLT data by iteration over additional skin sure and rates are used as a reference to
cluding the mathematical bases of the per zone. After matching the model, the history match the well model.
skin concept, geometrical skin, drilling- distributed skin across the drain is deter-
induced skin, and the productivity index mined. Caliper data after acid should be Reservoir Characteristics. The well
was drilled in an oil-wet layer-cake car-
bonate reservoir with six productive lay-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
ers interbedded with five baffles. Pro-
of paper SPE 177533, “Formation Damage: A Novel Approach To Evaluate Zonal- ductive layers are approximately 10 ft
Productivity Loss in Horizontal Wells,” by C.B. Maalouf, I. Baca Espinoza, S.M. thick, whereas baffles are approximate-
Al-Jaberi, J.Y. Marrauld, and M. Amer, Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company, ly 2 ft thick. These layers are homoge-
prepared for the 2015 Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, neous laterally, with a good porosity-to-
Abu Dhabi, 9–12 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed. permeability relationship.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

72 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017


The oil is light (30 °API), with viscosity
of approximately 1.5 cp. The total com-
pressibility is 1.13×10–5 psi–1. The res-
ervoir pressure per layer was measured
with pressure-while-drilling methods.
This allows calculating the PI across the
zones more confidently. These reservoir
parameters are key inputs for the well-
productivity evaluation.
The wellbore inclination (90°) plays
an important role in borehole-fluid dy-
namic movements, when more than one
phase is present. Fortunately, the well
is producing a single oil phase. There is
only a small section of stagnant water
present in the well close to the toe,
which should have a negligible effect on
bottom-zone productivity.
Zonal Permeability. As the drain cross-
es several reservoir layers with different
properties, large variations in permea-
bility are seen across the drain. Ideally,
production is expected to be linked di-
rectly to permeability, but this is not true
in reality as observed in PLT data. Be-
cause the objective was to study the ef-
fect of damage on productivity, the per-
meability input per layer was examined
carefully by analyzing static and dynamic
data. Core data from nearby wells show a
good porosity-vs.-permeability correla-
tion for reservoir layers. The logging data
acquired while drilling and from wireline
were used to predict and estimate the
most-probable distribution of permeabil-
ity. Interpreted PTA average permeabil-
ity shows higher permeability compared
with formation-testing permeability (de-
rived from mobility) and cores. Never-
theless, PTA interpretation assumes a
single-layer homogeneous reservoir and
does not represent the complex reality of
a multilayered reservoir. Therefore, PTA-
interpretation results should be consid-
ered qualitatively rather than quantita-
tively. As a result, core permeability data
from offset wells were used as input to
PI Ideal:
PI Before Acid PI After Acid No Damage
(STB/D/psi) (STB/D/psi) (STB/D/psi)
17.4 22.2
–26.7% –6.4%
Table 1—Comparison of PI after different well stages and operations.
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
Oil Productivity Index
0.0175
0.0170
0.0165
0.0160 PIo (Ideal)
0.0155
0.0150
0.0145 PIo (After Drilling and Acid)
0.0140
0.0135 PIo (After Drilling)
0.0130
0.0125
0.0120
0.0115
PIo (STB/D/psi/ft)
0.0110
0.0105
0.0100
0.0095
0.0090
0.0085
0.0080
0.0075
0.0070
0.0065
0.0060
0.0055
0.0050
0.0045
0.0040
0.0035
0.0030
0.0025
0.0020 A B C D
0.0015
0.0010
0.0005
9,800 10,000 10,200 10,400 10,600 10,800 11,000 11,200 11,400 11,600 11,800 12,000 12,200 12,400 12,600 12,800
MD (ft)
Fig. 1—PI comparison between ideal case (blue) of 6-in. wellbore without
drilling and acid damage showing the highest PI for most of the permeable
zones and actual case after drilling and acid (purple). Acid is very effective for
high-permeability zones but has less effect for low-permeability zones. The
productivity without acid stimulation (red) is the lowest.
inflow zones. Baffle zones were not pro- Because of the permeability con-
ducing in the PLT run, and their per- trast between zones, formation dam-
meability was considered as zero in the age is expected to vary between zones
well model. Consequently, only produc- as is the case with the drilling-fluid-
ing zones were taken into account for in- invasion profile.
flow simulation. A discussion of drilling- and acid-
Pressure-while-drilling data showed induced skin for this case study is pre-
that Layer 2 was not acting as a baffle and sented in the complete paper.
was allowing strong communication be-
tween Layers 1 and 3. Therefore, these Effect of Damage
layers were merged as Zone A. Layer 5 on Zonal-Productivity PI
has lower permeability and is renamed Once the well model was matched with
as Zone B. Layer 7 has slightly better per- PLT data, it was used for a skin sensitiv-
meability compared with Layer 5 and ity study on well productivity for various
is renamed as Zone C. Layer 9 does not formation-damage stages. The ideal well
show any production and thus was not productivity was compared with produc-
considered as a producing zone. Layer 11 tivity after drilling and with productiv-
has high permeability (similar to Zone A) ity after acid. Because there were no PLT
and is renamed as Zone D. The vertical- data acquired before acid, the PI after
to horizontal-permeability ratio shows drilling was simulated by use of caliper
good consistency for permeable zones data after drilling and by removing addi-
and is taken as approximately 0.8 for all tional skin caused by acid. The ideal case
producing zones. was simulated using the 6-in. ideal well-
bore with no drilling skin and no acid
Effect of Washout on PI
skin. Constant surface rate is considered
for this evaluation. The effect of washout
Washout Washout on the well productivity is also evaluated
Before Acid After Acid by applying different calipers for ideal
(STB/D/psi) (STB/D/psi)
conditions (no skin from drilling or acid).
23.7 0.7 0.2 When simulating the results before
0.0% 0.3% 0.7% acid (acid skin is removed), the pressure
(Continued on page 76)
73
 Removing Fines-Migration Formation
Damage in the Putumayo Basin in Colombia

T o date, more than 100 sandstone-

acidizing treatments have been
performed in several Colombian oil Caribbean Sea Barranquilla
Cartagena
fields, targeting the Villeta and Caballos
Formations in the Putumayo Basin. Panama
Fines migration has been the main
Venezuela
damage mechanism treated with this
type of chemical stimulation. This paper
summarizes a wide variety of sandstone-
acid-stimulation case histories,
highlighting aspects such as mechanical
Pacific Ocean
conditions and operational practices.

Introduction Bogota
The Putumayo Basin is located in south-
ern Colombia. The Putumayo Basin shows
Port of Colombia
a stratigraphic sequence containing Early Tumaco
Cretaceous (marine) to Miocene/Plio- Port of
cene sediments (fluvial). Fig. 1 illustrates Esmeraldas
Putumayo
the location of the Putumayo Basin. Basin

Sand Villeta Formation Brazil

The T Sand samples examined are fine- Ecuador
to medium-grained sandstones. They
are composed primarily of quartz
grains  cemented primarily with quartz Peru
overgrowths and authigenic clays. Rare-
to-minor cements include solid hydro- Fig. 1—Location of Putumayo Basin.
carbon, pyrite, and dolomite. X-ray-
diffraction (XRD) analyses show that all photographs show authigenic kaolinite inated by quartz. The grains are cement-
of the sandstone samples are composed filling intergranular zones and possibly ed primarily by quartz overgrowths and
primarily of quartz and clay minerals. replacing grains. authigenic clays. XRD determined that
Feldspars are absent from all but one all of the samples are composed primar-
sample. Given that virtually all of the Caballos Formation ily of quartz and clay minerals. Feld-
framework grains are quartz, with pos- Samples in this formation are all sand- spars are rare to absent from these sand-
sibly minor argillaceous grains, the sand- stones. Estimated average grain size stones, confirming that virtually all of
stone is classified as quartzarenites. ranges from very fine sand to medium the framework grains are quartz and
Scanning-electron-microscope (SEM) sand. The framework grain suite is dom- the sandstones should be classified as
quartzarenites. Clay-mineral content
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights averages 7.8%, with illite and mixed-
layer illite/smectite more common than
of paper SPE 178996, “Removing Formation Damage From Fines Migration in
kaolinite. SEM photos show that these
the Putumayo Basin in Colombia: Challenges, Results, Lessons Learned, and New
clays are authigenic.
Opportunities After More Than 100 Sandstone-Acidizing Treatments,” by Wildiman
Reinoso, Fredy Torres, and Manuel Aldana, Grantierra, and Pablo Campo, Emilce Designing
Alvarez, and Erika Tovar, Halliburton, prepared for the 2015 SPE International an Effective Treatment
Conference and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA, To determine appropriate fluids, acid
24–26 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed. types, concentrations, and treatment

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

74 JPT • FEBRUARY 2017

volumes, a software simulator with a log-
ical process was used. The structured
process consisted of two phases.
Candidate Selection and Skin Analy-
sis. A formation-damage-adviser tool
ranked potential damage mechanisms.
Fines migration was confirmed as the
primary damage mechanism. This result
agrees with the mineralogy and the de-
tailed surveillance of skin by pressure-
transient analysis (PTA), which indicated
a progressive increase in formation dam-
age with production rate.
PTA identified Well 1 and Well 2 as hav-
ing a total skin prejob value of 32 and
60, respectively. These wells were select-
ed as candidates because they showed
potential for improved productivity on
the basis of general information about
the (undamaged) reservoir quality, such
as permeability, thickness, porosity,
and saturation.
Fluid Selection. For this stage, the soft-
ware has two applications—an acid ex-
pert and a geochemical simulator. The
acid expert provides acid-formulation
recommendations for a matrix-acidizing
treatment. The geochemical simulator
confirms that there are no issues with
the formation of precipitates during the
progression of the secondary reaction.
The recommended treatment consist-
ed of the following stages: organic pre-
flush, brine conditioner, acid preflush,
retarded hydrofluoric acid (RHF), and
a fines-stabilizer system. Conventional
matrix acidizing with HF is effective only
for removing shallow clay damage 1 or
2 in. from the wellbore. RHF is a system
designed for treating sandstone forma-
tions that have been damaged from the
migration or swelling of silica, feldspars,
and clays up to 2 to 6 in. from the well-
bore. The primary advantages of using
RHF include the following:
◗ Deeper penetration of live HF into
the formation.
◗ Retarded reaction with quartz sand
and silica to promote deep-damage
removal and improve compatibility
with feldspar-containing
formations.
◗ Minimized damage to formation
consolidation. RHF reacts less with
the quartz cementation that holds
the formation grains together.
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
◗ Acts as a clay stabilizer to control
fines migration during and
following the treatment.
Stimulation Treatment
Three steps are necessary when acidiz-
ing sandstone reservoirs: preflush,
main flush, and post-flush. The stimula-
tion trend was designed for these steps
as follows:
◗ Tubing pickling. This was performed
with hydrochloric acid (HCl) or
acetic/formic acid, depending
on the logistics at the location.
The treatment was pumped to a
circulating sleeve (not into the
formation) before pumping the
stimulation fluid sequences.
◗ Organic preflush. A low-interfacial-
tension aromatic/aliphatic solvent
mixture was used as a preflush and
was allowed a 2-hour soaking period
to dissolve asphaltenes covering the
target fines.
◗ Brine conditioner. 5% ammonium
chloride allowed the establishment
of chemical equilibrium.
◗ Acid preflush. A mixture of organic
acids (acetic and formic) was used
as a preflush to dissolve calcium
carbonate before the RHF main
treatment.
◗ RHF (main treatment fluid). An
RHF (15 wt% HCl, 1.5 wt% HF, and
5 wt% AlCl3•6H2O) system that has
proved to be successful was used as
the main treatment.
◗ Fines-stabilizer brine. 5%
ammonium chloride with a
stabilizer was used to help minimize
the tendency to disperse or
deflocculate naturally occurring
fines within the formation matrix.
Well Mechanical Conditions
Well completions are performed with
tubing-conveyed perforating (TCP) using
4½- to 4⅝-in. perforating guns with
5 shots/ft in 7-in. casing. Both produc-
ers and injectors use 3½-in., 9.3-lbm/ft
tubing. For formation isolation, 7-in. hy-
draulic packers are used, followed by
sliding sleeves that allow communication
with the formation by being opened and
closed with a shifting tool and a slickline
unit as necessary. For injection wells in
the Caballos Formation, sliding sleeves
are used. For the T Sand formation, these
are not required because injection is per-
formed through the annulus.
Jet pumps are used as the lifting system
for producing wells; these are fished be-
fore the stimulation treatment and then
reinstalled to perform post-stimulation
flowback for each stage when the condi-
tions stabilize.
In the case of injection wells, produced
water is treated to adjust injection param-
eters and then is pumped through two in-
jection systems at 2,600 or 3,000 psi.
Treatment Execution
and Records
In addition to the two case histories pre-
sented here, a third case history, involv-
ing acid stimulation and scale inhibition,
is presented in the complete paper.
Case History 1: Typical Acid Stimula-
tion in T Sand. After the integrity of the
downhole equipment had been tested, a
pickling treatment was performed. Be-
fore stimulation, 70 bbl of 5% ammo-
nium chloride was circulated down the
production tubing through the circulat-
ing sliding sleeve. The circulating sleeve
was closed, and an injectivity test using
50 bbl of 5% ammonium chloride was
performed, reaching 1.4 bbl/min with
1,948 psi of pressure at the surface. A
total of 12 bbl of organic-solvent pre-
flush was pumped and displaced with
71 bbl of 5% ammonium chloride, thus
forcing the solvent preflush into the for-
mation. During this stage of the treat-
ment, a slight increase in pressure was
observed, followed by a pressure drop at
the end of the treatment stage. The treat-
ment was allowed to soak for 2 hours to
enable a reaction between the solvent
preflush and the organic material in the
formation. After this time, 25 bbl of acid
preflush was pumped and displaced with
71  bbl of 5% ammonium chloride to
force the acid preflush into the forma-
tion. After displacing the acid preflush,
64 bbl of RHF treatment—followed by
64 bbl of post-flush treatment (fines-
stabilizer brine)—was pumped and dis-
placed into the formation with 71 bbl
of 5% ammonium chloride. Before the
treatment entered the formation, the
pump rate was 1.6 bbl/min at 391 psi at
the surface. When the treatment plus
7 bbl of post-flush entered the formation,
the flow rate increased to 1.8 bbl/min
75
 at 391 psi at the surface. At the end of the
RHF stage, the pump rate stabilized at
1.75 bbl/min and 595 psi. Finally, 100 bbl
of 5% ammonium chloride brine was
overflushed to remove reaction residues
from the well.
After stimulation, the T sand was open
to production, showing a change in oil
rate from 1,272 to 2,307 BOPD, which
represented an increase of 81%.
Case History 2: Acid Stimulation and
Conformance. This well was drilled and
completed to 5,724-ft measured depth.
Previous successful acidizing treat-
ments had been performed on sim-
ilar wells with the following dosages:
20 gal/ft of organic treatment, 80 gal/ft of
organic-acid preflush, 100 gal/ft of RHF,
100  gal/ft of fines-stabilizer brine, and
70 gal/ft of 5% ammonium chloride as
an overflush. In October 2012, a stimu-
lation treatment for the T sand was per-
formed. The skin factor dropped from
32 to −2.9, representing a productivity
regain of 2.17.
Recently, high water production was
identified in this well, and it became
necessary to assist the acid-stimulation
treatment with a relative permeability
modifier (RPM). The RPM was used to de-
crease permeability to water in the treat-
ed zone. It was also desirable that the
treatment not significantly affect hydro-
carbon production because of increased
water cut. The recommended treatment
was applied successfully in this well, pro-
viding more than a twofold improvement
in oil productivity. Also, a reduction in
water cut of 10% was evidenced.
Conclusions
◗ The acid-stimulation treatment
was designed to remove formation
damage caused by fines migration
and focused on enhancing the
production capacity, and it was
applied successfully in these fields.
◗ A suitable design of the stimulation
treatment yielded an effective
dissolution of the main damage
mechanism, even in the presence of
calcite scale and asphaltenes.
◗ Acid stimulation combined with use
of RPMs and scale inhibitors proved
to be a successful field application
for recovering oil-production rates
and reducing water cut. JPT
76
Design of a Floating-
Liquefied-Natural-Gas
System for Severe
Metocean Conditions
(Continued from page 61)
ISCs and the elimination of nearly all hy-
drocarbon inventory in the liquefaction
system enable the liquefaction module to
be extremely compact and lightweight.
In contrast to most FLNG vessels, be-
cause the liquefaction vessel described
here is simply a modified ship, it re-
mains classed, flagged, and crewed as a
ship and it would periodically dry dock
for repair and maintenance. This op-
erating philosophy is expected to re-
duce capital and operational expen-
ditures significantly compared with
a liquefaction vessel that must be de-
signed to remain on station indefinite-
ly and that must be crewed as a produc-
tion unit.
For a 4-Mt/a system in a severe met-
ocean environment, there are three liq-
uefaction vessels and three disconnect-
able buoys in the system. At any time,
there are two vessels on station in the
field liquefying gas, with one vessel in
transit to a discharge point in sheltered
water. Thus, the offshore transfer of LNG
cargo from the FLNG vessel to an LNG
carrier is avoided. The liquefaction vessel
remains mobile by disconnecting the tur-
ret and transiting to a safe, sheltered lo-
cation for ship-to-ship transfer of cargo
in the conventional manner at a transfer
jetty or existing LNG-storage terminal.
System Arrangement and Application.
The split-FLNG concept can be adapted
to a wide range of applications by select-
ing a host facility suitable for the site-
specific gas composition, water depth,
metocean conditions, well-drilling and
-intervention method, and condensate
storage and handling. Host facilities
that have been considered for various
cases include
◗ Circular, spread-moored FPSO
◗ Ship-shaped, turret-moored FPSO
◗ Conventional or self-installing
fixed platform
◗ Concrete gravity-base platform
◗ Tension-leg platform
◗ Production semisubmersible
◗ MODU semisubmersible JPT
Formation Damage:
A Novel Approach
in Evaluating Zonal-
Productivity Loss
(Continued from page 73)
shows a significant drop compared with
original reservoir pressure. The simulat-
ed pressure drop (approximately 40 psi)
shows a consistent match with actual
pressure drop during well testing.
The results show that the current
formation-damage conditions are very
close to ideal, when there is no skin
presence in the wellbore without wash-
out (Fig. 1). For the zones next to the
heel of the well (Zones A and B) that
were exposed to longer drilling times
and therefore to more mud invasion,
the productivity is lower compared with
nondamaged zones.
The positive effect of acid treatment on
productivity is clearly observed by com-
parison of PI before and after acid. In the
bottomhole PI distribution, the produc-
tivity is much less than ideal hole produc-
tivity in every zone, even though the well
is producing at a high rate.
Table 1 shows the effect of drilling
damage and acid treatment on well pro-
ductivity. The results show that the well
can produce without acid treatments
with 26.7% less productivity compared
with its full potential (ideal hole). Acid
treatment helped to remove the damage
caused by drilling and almost restored
the full well-productivity potential (re-
sulted in −6.4%).
Conclusions
The methodology shows that permeable
zones near the heel were more affect-
ed than permeable zones near the toe.
Acidizing is more effective in recover-
ing the damages in high-permeability
zones than in lower-permeability zones.
On the basis of these conclusions, it can
be seen that acid jobs can be optimized
by spending more time when pump-
ing acid across the lower-permeability
layers. Longer exposure to acid in
these zones should help to remove the
drilling-induced skin. Finally, the model
developed for this study allows the evalu-
ation of zonal productivity along the hor-
izontal well, which is essential to proper
reservoir management. JPT
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
PEOPLE
WILLIAM B. BARKER, SPE, was appointed
vice president of analysis at MicroSeismic
and will be responsible for performance and
delivery of data analysis services worldwide.
He spent the past 11 years at MicroSeismic
holding various positions on the analysis
team, most recently as manager of analysis.
Before MicroSeismic, he worked in electromagnetics at NAEVA
Geophysics as a field geophysicist mapping unexploded ord-
nance at sites throughout the US. Barker holds a BS in geophys-
ics from the University of Kansas and is also a member of the
Society of Exploration Geophysicists.
CHRISTINA KARAPATAKI, SPE, and SAM
(YINGLIN) XU, SPE, are recognized in Forbes’
2017 list of 30 Under 30 in Energy. Karapata-
ki is a principal at Schlumberger and makes
venture capital investments on behalf of the
company. In recent years she has deployed
Karapataki USD 9 million in ten financings of com-
panies, including Nantero, Onapsis, 908 De-
vices, and Naturafrac. She holds BA (Hons)
and MEng degrees from Cambridge Univer-
sity and an MS degree from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. Xu is the head of oil
and gas investment banking at CohnReznick
Capital Markets Securities. She has been in-
Xu
volved in more than USD 2 billion in debt and
equity financings and merger and acquisition transactions. Xu
previously worked as a petroleum engineer for BP Americas fo-
cused on unconventional resource plays. She holds a BS degree
in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University.
CURTIS W. MEWBOURNE, SPE, was induct-
ed into the Petroleum Hall of Fame by The
Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Mid-
land, Texas. Instituted in 1967, the Petro-
leum Hall of Fame honors persons and firms
who have made outstanding contributions
to the development of the petroleum indus-
try or have served as worthy examples to those in the industry.
Mewbourne founded the Mewbourne Oil Company in 1965,
which has drilled more than 1,000 wells in the Permian Basin
and 1,400 wells in the Anadarko Basin. Mewbourne funded the
Mewbourne Hall of Mathematics and Science at All Saints Epis-
copal School in Tyler, Texas, and St. John’s School in Houston.
Mewbourne Oil Company is the largest supporter of student
scholarships and internships over the past 25 years at the Uni-
versity of Oklahoma, and Mewbourne has endowed seven Mew-
bourne Chairs in Petroleum Engineering and the Mewbourne
Professorship in Petroleum Engineering at the university. He
holds a BS in petroleum engineering from the University of
Oklahoma and was granted the honorary degree of Doctor of
Humane Letters by the university in 2002.
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
DERRICK O’KEEFFE, SPE, was appointed
head of division for safety and integrity at
the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and
Environment Management Authority (NOP-
SEMA), Australia’s independent regulator
for offshore petroleum facilities and activi-
ties in Commonwealth waters. In this role,
he will ensure regulatory requirements around the occupational
health and safety of the offshore oil and gas workforce are met.
O’Keeffe previously worked as country manager at Murphy Oil,
chief operating officer at Strike Energy, and business manager
at Woodside. He also has international experience, having
worked in the UK, US, Asia, and the Middle East at companies
such as Blade Petroleum, British Gas, Schlumberger, and Mara-
thon Oil. Through his consultancy work, he recently provided
his offshore oil and gas expertise to the National Energy Re-
sources Australia, part of the Australian government’s Industry
Growth Centres Initiative. O’Keeffe holds a BS from Loughbor-
ough University of Technology and an MBA from Cranfield
University, both in the UK.
JAMES (JIMMY) SMITH, SPE, was appointed to the board of di-
rectors at Wavefront Technology Solutions. Smith has more
than 35 years of domestic and international experience with
major and independent oil and gas producers. Previously, he
was the chief operating officer and board member of Great
Plains Operating (GPO). Before GPO, Smith was an equity part-
ner and vice president operations at Grayhawk Energy, vice
president operations at Cortez Oil and Gas, and held opera-
tional and engineering positions with ARCO and Burlington
Resources/Meridian Oil. Smith holds a BS degree in petroleum
engineering from the University of Wyoming.
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.
Jimmy Lee Broussard, Cypress, Texas, USA
David W. Chenot, Bakersfield, California, USA
I. Ted B. Cranmer, Butler, Pennsylvania, USA
C.E. Daugherty, Pointblank, Texas, USA
Robert L. Gatliff, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
William W. Kelly Jr., Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Robert I. Peters, Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA
Laurence E. Roberts, Dallas, Texas, USA
Frank W. Robl, Fairview, Texas, USA
Steven P. Tischer, Midland, Texas, USA
Jon R. Withrow, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
77
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JPT • FEBRUARY 2017 79

 SPE EVENTS
WORKSHOPS
13–14 February ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Mature Field Redevelopments—How to Stay
Relevant for the Foreseeable Future
20–21 February ◗ Aberdeen—SPE
Brownfields Redevelopment—A Meeting of
Minds To Meet the Challenges
20–21 February ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Improve Well Control and Drilling
Performance with the Advances in Managed
Pressure Drilling Technology
21 February ◗ The Woodlands—SPE Can
Technology Save Deepwater?
28 February–1 March ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE
Better Well Control—Staying Focused in a
Changing Environment
28 February–2 March ◗ Dubai—SPE Well
Testing—Technology, Operations, Sampling,
and Reservoir Characterisation in the
Current Price Environment
6 March ◗ Manama—SPE Women in
Leadership—Invest, Initiate, Innovate
6–7 March ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE Optimising
Flow Assurance in a Challenging Cost
Environment
13–14 March ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE
Maximising Well Performance Through
Drilling Fluids, Cementing, and Waste
Management Optimisation
20–21 March ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE Floating
LNG—Weathering the Challenges
21–22 March ◗ San Diego—SPE/GRC High-
Temperature and Corrosion in Drilling and
Production—Exploring Geothermal and Oil
and Gas Synergies
Novel Solutions for
Transient Sandface
Temperature in Dry-Gas-
Producing Wells
(Continued from page 66)
asymptotic early-time temperature solu-
tion by applying reasonable assumptions
to simplify the coupled temperature and
analytical pressure models.
The analytical model used the volu-
metrically averaged gas properties. It
80
21–22 March ◗ Rio de Janeiro—SPE Offshore
Fields Life Extension
22–23 March ◗ Dubai—SPE Multiphase
Metering and Fiber Optics Monitoring—
Recent Developments and Challenges
27–28 March ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE New
Approach in Horizontal Wells Drilling—
Cost Efficiency, Higher Productivity, and
Unconventional Solutions
27–28 March ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE Rigless
Well Intervention—How to Get More for Less
27–29 March ◗ Muscat—SPE/AAPG E&P
Data Management and Analytics—Enabling
Capital Efficiency
3–4 April ◗ San Antonio—SPE High-Density
Drilling and Completions
CONFERENCES
15–16 February ◗ Calgary—SPE Canada
Heavy Oil Technical Conference
15–16 February ◗ Calgary—SPE Canada
Unconventional Resources Conference
20–22 February ◗ Montgomery—SPE
Reservoir Simulation Conference
6–9 March ◗ Manama—SPE Middle East Oil
and Gas Show and Conference (MEOS)
14–16 March ◗ The Hague—SPE/IADC
Drilling Conference and Exhibition
21–22 March ◗ Houston—SPE/ICoTA Coiled
Tubing and Well Intervention Conference
and Exhibition
28–29 March ◗ Rio de Janeiro—IADC/
SPE Managed Pressure Drilling and
Underbalanced Operations Conference
and Exhibition
was confirmed that this approach result-
ed in the closest match to the numeric-
al solution.
Conclusions
High-resolution temperature sensors are
now being installed in many modern well
completions. Real-time temperature data
can be used for reservoir monitoring and
flow-rate allocation only when analysis
work flows that are both robust and ac-
curate have been developed.
The complete paper reports work car-
ried out on the development of an analyt-
3–5 April ◗ Montgomery—SPE International
Conference on Oilfield Chemistry
4–6 April ◗ Mumbai—SPE Oil and Gas India
Conference and Exhibition
SYMPOSIUMS
15–16 March ◗ Salvador—SPE Latin
American and Caribbean Mature Fields
15–16 March ◗ Amman—SPE Iraq—The
Petroleum Potentiality and Future of Energy
27–31 March ◗ Oklahoma City—Oklahoma
City Oil and Gas Symposium
FORUMS
5–9 November ◗ San Antonio—SPE:
“Waterless Fracturing”—Reducing Fresh
Water Use for Reservoir Stimulation in a
Future Water-Constrained World
CALL FOR PAPERS
SPE Liquids-Rich Basins Conference—
North America ◗ Midland
Deadline: 1 March
OTC Brasil ◗ Rio de Janeiro
Deadline: 8 March
SPE 3rd Kuwait Oil & Gas Show and
Conference ◗ Kuwait City
Deadline: 13 March
Find complete listings of upcoming
SPE workshops, conferences,
symposiums, and forums at
www.spe.org/events.
ical TTA work flow for a dry-gas well. It is
shown to be capable of characterizing a
producing layer or zone or of estimating
the production rate of both synthetic and
real-field case studies. Model case studies
are provided in the complete paper.
This work represents a significant con-
tribution to the development of a com-
prehensive set of fast TTA work flows for
well testing and monitoring. It is a major
step in the development of multiphase
(gas/liquid) TTA methods in the longer-
term objective of developing a full spec-
trum of TTA methods. JPT
JPT • FEBRUARY 2017
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