S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 9 • VO LU M E 7 1 , N U M B E R 9 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

CONTENTS
Volume 71 • Number 9

12 GUEST EDITORIAL • TECHNOLOGY DEPLOYMENT:

HOW TO GET IT DONE AND MAXIMIZE OUTCOMES
Technology is an enabler. But why do some technologies get deployed
while other seemingly superior technologies struggle to get traction?

26 Q&A WITH 2020 SPE PRESIDENT SHAUNA NOONAN

Shauna Noonan will take office as 2020 SPE President during the SPE
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in October in Calgary. In this
interview, she shares the key issues she will emphasize during her term,
the challenges facing SPE, and the growth plan for the Society.

30 DRILLING CHANGE REQUIRES CHANGING DRILLERS

Drilling change requires training drillers. Leadership matters, as does
motivation, engaging displays, and understanding office politics. Four
different looks at the human side of drilling productivity improvement.

38 TO “RIGHT SIZE” FRACTURES, PRODUCERS ADOPT ROBUST

MONITORING AND CUSTOM COMPLETIONS
If you can see it, then maybe you can control it. This sums up the latest
quest that the unconventional engineering community embarked upon A Corva data analyst monitors
to get a better understanding of proper well spacing and how fractures many wells at a time, using
really interact. programs tracking the status
of wells and sending alerts on
potential issues. The digital drilling
48 COLOMBIA’S NEW AMBITIONS INCLUDE CARIBBEAN
advisory company regularly releases
AND SHALE DEVELOPMENT, BUT ARE THEY ACHIEVABLE? new tools to automate that job.
Colombia is walking a thin line between becoming another fading petroleum Source: Corva.
province and Latin America’s next big success story. Its aces in the hole:
unleashing its nascent offshore and unconventional sectors.

54 SPE HONORS 2019 INTERNATIONAL AWARD RECIPIENTS

AT ANNUAL MEETING DEPARTMENTS
Recipients of SPE’s 2019 International Awards will be recognized on
1 October, during the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition
6 Performance Indices
in Calgary.
8 Regional Update
66 MANAGEMENT • ENHANCED RECOVERY TECHNOLOGIES 10 Comments
FOR UNCONVENTIONAL OIL RESERVOIRS 14 Technology Applications
A description of the role of effective reservoir management in increasing
the recovery factors for unconventional reservoirs, and a summary
16 E&P Notes
of the detailed review of the advances in IOR/EOR technologies for 88 SPE Events
unconventionals, as performed by the Energy Industry Partnership Team 100 SPE News
at the University of Houston. 101 Legion of Honor
102 People
103 Advertisers’ Index
104 Professional Services

An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Printed in US. Copyright 2019, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
 PULSE
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

70 RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE
Silviu Livescu, SPE, Chief Scientist, Baker Hughes, a GE Company

71 Improving Temperature-Logging Accuracy in Steamfloods

73 Integrating Fractional Flow Into Reservoir Surveillance Improves
GOM Production

75 Chemical Tracer Flowback Data Help Understanding of Fluid Distribution

77 FIELD DEVELOPMENT
Maria A. Capello, SPE, Executive Consultant, Kuwait Oil Company

78 Considering Time and Space in Drilling and Completion Can Reduce

Well Interference

81 Parallel Simulation and Cloud Computing Can Optimize Large-Scale

Field Development

83 Optimization Framework Improves Mariner Field Development

85 OFFSHORE FACILITIES What if you didn’t

Ardian Nengkoda, SPE, Facilities Development Lead, Saudi Aramco
have to accept
86 Innovative Design and Execution Lead to Successful Grand Banks
Platform Operations nonproductive time
89 Evaluation of a Riser After 10 Years of GOM Service Life of 20%?
91 Extra-Long Subsea Tiebacks Reduce Deepwater Development Costs
With the digital advantage
93 OILFIELD CHEMISTRY from Exebenus, each well
Jonathan Wylde, SPE, Head of Global Innovation, Clariant Oil Services project advances the next
94 Benefits of Low-Dosage Hydrate Inhibitors Talk to us about
96 Locally Sourced, Ecofriendly Hydrate Inhibitor Effective in Simulated Exebenus Pulse
Offshore Environment
Digitalization and
98 Study Evaluates Hydrate Antiagglomerants automation for drilling
and completions

Visit us at
The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
free to SPE members for 2 months at www.spe.org/jpt. SPE ATCE 2019
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www.exebenus.com
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 SPE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
2019 President
Sami Alnuaim, Saudi Aramco
2018 President
Darcy Spady, Independent Director
2020 President
Shauna Noonan, Occidental Petroleum

REGIONAL DIRECTORS
AFRICA NORTH SEA
Omowumi Iledare, University of Port Harcourt Karl Ludvig Heskestad, Aker BP
CANADIAN ASIA PACIFIC
Cam Matthews, C-FER Technologies Nasir Darman, Petronas
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA RUSSIA AND THE CASPIAN
Joe Frantz Jr., Range Resources Aizhana Jussupbekova, ExxonMobil
MID-CONTINENT NORTH AMERICA SOUTH AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Chris Jenkins, Chesapeake Energy Cesar Patino, Ecopetrol
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA SOUTH, CENTRAL AND EAST EUROPE
Faisal Al-Nughaimish, Saudi Aramco Jean-Marc Dumas, Aedes Energy International
NORTH AMERICA SOUTH ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Barry Hanson, Sproule Tapas Kumar Sengupta, ONGC (Ret.)
Steve Cheung, SteveIOR Consultants

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
DRILLING COMPLETIONS
Jeff Moss, ExxonMobil Terry Palisch, CARBO Ceramics
HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT PRODUCTION AND FACILITIES
Johana Dunlop, Sponsored by Schlumberger Hisham Saadawi, Baker Hughes, a GE Company
MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION RESERVOIR
Birol Dindoruk, Shell Erdal Ozkan, Colorado School of Mines

DIRECTOR FOR ACADEMIA

Ramona Graves, Colorado School of Mines
AT-LARGE DIRECTOR
Helena Wu, Santos Ltd.

JPT STAFF The Journal of Petroleum Technology® magazine is a

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 PERFORMANCE INDICES

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

THOUSAND BOPD
6
2019
O PEC JAN FEB MAR APR 5 USD/million Btu
Algeria 1190 1280 1290 1280
4
Angola 1594 1484 1494 1454
Rep. of Congo 326 341 331 340 3
Ecuador 524 533 530 529
2
Gabon 210 200 200 180
Iran 3401 3401 3351 3251 1

2018
AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

2019
JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL
Iraq 4865 4795 4635 4715
Kuwait1 2800 2800 2770 2770
Libya 920 950 1180 1260
Nigeria 1950 1980 2010 2080
WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)‡
Saudi Arabia1 10095 10145 9895 9895
UAE 3371 3421 3371 3371
Venezuela 1261 1131 885 875 2018 2019
DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL
TOTAL2 32653 32597 32098 32156
Brent 57.36 59.41 63.96 66.14 71.23 71.32 64.22 63.92

THOUSAND BOPD WTI 49.52 51.38 54.95 58.15 63.86 60.83 54.66 57.35

2019
NON-OPEC JAN FEB MAR APR
Canada 4121 4181 4222 4129
WORLD ROTARY RIG COUNT†
China 3812 3780 3895 3823
Egypt 638 632 619 626
Mexico 1647 1724 1714 1698 2019
REGION JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL
Norway 1487 1420 1420 1398
US 1065 1049 1023 1012 986 969 955
Russia 10973 10931 10895 10835
Canada 176 230 151 66 70 114 121
UK 1051 1130 1123 1082
USA 11860 11679 11916 12162 Latin America 195 182 188 190 179 189 201

Europe 86 94 95 98 186 193 200

TOTAL 82681 82400 82267 82012
Middle East 402 398 395 412 410 413 424

INDICES KEY
Africa 109 113 127 126 123 116 111
The EIA’s Monthly Energy Report no longer contains a separate section on Asia Pacific 232 240 234 236 228 227 226
­international petroleum data. All historical data starting in 1973 that were
­formerly presented in MER Section 11 are now available on EIA’s International
Energy Statistics browser: https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/data/browser/ TOTAL 2265 2306 2213 2140 2182 2221 2238
† Source: Baker Hughes.
+
Figures do not include natural gas plant liquids.
1
Includes
 approximately one-half of Neutral Zone production.
2
Countries are classified as “OPEC” or “non-OPEC” in all years based on
their status in the most current year. WORLD OIL SUPPLY AND DEMAND‡
‡ 
Source: EIA.

MILLION BOPD 2018 2019

Quarter 3rd 4th 1st 2nd

SUPPLY 101.45 102.24 100.02 100.33

DEMAND 100.47 100.41 99.79 100.29
Supply includes crude oil, lease condensates, natural gas plant liquids, biofuels, other liquids,
and refinery processing gains.

6 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

VISIT US AT
SPE ATCE
30th – 2nd October
BMO Centre at Stampede Park #1213
Calgary, Alberta
Canada

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YOUR GLOBAL
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 REGIONAL UPDATE
AFRICA
◗◗ BP and Kosmos Energy discovered
30 m of net gas pay in good-quality Albian
reservoir in the Greater Tortue development
area, offshore Senegal. The Greater Tortue
Ahmeyim-1 was drilled to a TD of 4884 m
in 2500 m of water on the eastern anticline
within the unit development area. Other
partners are SMPHM and Petrosen.
◗◗ SDX Energy discovered oil at its
Rabul‑7 development well in the
West Gharib concession in Egypt. The
well was drilled to TD of 5,323 ft and
encountered approximately 134 ft of
net heavy oil pay across the Yusr and
Bakr formations. Five‑day stabilized rate
was approximately 415 B/D. SDX is joint
operator with holds 50% working interest.
Dublin International Petroleum holds
the remaining 50% interest.
◗◗ Invictus Energy said results of
independent estimates strongly support
the possible existence of 1.3 billion BOE
at its Cahorra Bassa Basin project in the
Muzarabani prospective area of Zimbabwe.
Estimates are for total prospective resource
of 9.25 Tcf of gas plus 294 million bbl of
conventional gas and condensate.
◗◗ Eni confirmed 650 million bbl of oil in
place with its Agogo-2 appraisal well in
Block  5/06, offshore Angola. The well was
drilled to total depth of 3949 m in 1700 m
of water, where it encountered 58 m of
31 °API oil. The result confirms the extension
of the Agogo reservoir to the north of the
discovery well and below the salt diapirs.
The block JV is composed of Eni, asset
operator with 36.8% stake, Sonangol
P&P with 36.8%, and SSI Fifteen Limited
with 26.32%.
ASIA
◗◗ Lukoil commissioned the eighth and
ninth production wells at the V. Filanovsky
field Phase 2 development in the Russian
sector of the Caspian Sea, each with daily
flow rates of 1,000 metric tons.
◗◗ The Arcticgas joint venture U2802 well
in Urengoyskoye gas field in the northern
Tyumen region of Russia flowed more than
1 million m3/D of natural gas and 500 metric
tons per day of condensate through an
8-stage, hydraulically fractured, horizontal
8 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
well. Arcticgas is a joint venture of Novatek
and Gazprom-Neft.
◗◗ Novatek began commercial production
from its 1-billion m3/year South-
Khadyryakhinskoye natural gas field in the
Purovsky district of Russia’s Yamal-Nenets
autonomous region. The field is in the
South-Khadyryakhinskiy license area near
Novatek’s North-Khancheyskoye field.
◗◗ Hibiscus Petroleum drilled and
completed the first of three wells for the
St Joseph infill drilling project in the North
Sabah enhanced oil recovery production-
sharing contract offshore Malaysia. The
SJ-105A horizontal well had a 2,400-ft
horizontal section that encountered 1,000 ft
of oil in the targeted reservoirs. Production
stabilized at just over 1,000 B/D of oil.
EUROPE
◗◗ Equinor discovered oil at Oseberg
Vestflanken in the North Sea, with
recoverable resources estimated at
22 million bbl. The exploration extension
well proved a 112-m oil column in a segment
that had not been tested before. The
well will be put on stream via the new,
unmanned, remotely operated H platform
on the Oseberg field.
◗◗ Aker BP and LOTOS discovered between
80 and 200 million BOE in the Liatårnet
exploration well in license 442 in the North
of Alvheim and Krafla-Askja (NOAKA)
area of the Norwegian North Sea. Up to
700 million BOE are in place overall at the
discovery, which is claimed as Norway’s
largest this year. Aker BP is operator with
90.26%. Lotos Exploration & Production
Norge holds 9.74%.
◗◗ Production began from Equinor’s
Trestakk subsea field on Haltenbanken in
the Norwegian Sea on 16 July. The field
has estimated recoverable oil resources of
76 million bbl. A total of five wells will be
drilled: three for production, and two for
gas injection. Trestakk is tied back to the
Åsgard A floating production vessel. Equinor
operates Trestakk with 59.1% interest.
ExxonMobil has 33% and Vår Energi, 7.9%.
MIDDLE EAST
◗◗ The Haliba oil field in Abu Dhabi started
production, with plans to boost output to
40,000 B/D by the end of 2019, according
to ADNOC and Korea National Oil
Corporation (KNOC). The onshore field
is 60% owned by ADNOC, 30% by KNOC,
and 10% by South Korea’s GS Energy. Their
joint venture, Al Dhafra Petroleum, started
an extensive appraisal program in Haliba
that enabled it to discover 1.1 billion bbl
of original oil in place.
◗◗ SDX Energy encountered 134 ft of net
heavy oil pay across the Lower Miocene
Yusr and Bakr formations at the Rabul‑7
development well in the West Gharib
concession in Egypt. The well was drilled
to 5,323 ft TD and brought online at an
average stabilized rate of 415 B/D over
5 days. SDX and Dublin International
Petroleum serve as joint operators
and share equal working interest in
the operation.
NORTH AMERICA
◗◗ LLOG Exploration brought two
Buckskin oil wells on stream in the
deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Once fully
established, the project’s first phase is
expected to reach 30,000 B/D (gross) of
oil. Additional phases will fully develop
the field, which is estimated to contain
nearly 5 billion bbl of oil in place. LLOG
operates the field with 33.8% working
interest. Other partners are Repsol E&P
USA (22.5%), Beacon Offshore Energy
Buckskin (18.7%), Navitas Buckskin US
(7.5%), and Ridgewood Energy 1 (17.5%).
SOUTH AMERICA
◗◗ Canacol Energy discovered gas flowing
at a rate of 30.4 MMscf/D at the Ocarina 1
exploratory well in the Lower Magdalena
Valley Basin of Colombia, in the Ciénaga de
Oro (CDO) sandstone reservoir. The well
will be connected to the Jobo production
facilities through the flow lines of the
Pandereta field. Canacol Energy operates
the well with 100% working interest.
◗◗ Ecopetrol discovered 2,397 bbl of
23 °API crude at a well depth of 13,932 ft
at its Boranda-2 ST well in the Middle
Magdalena Basin, Rionegro, Colombia.
Initial tests produced on average 960 B/D
with a water cut of less than 2%. Ecopetrol
owns a 50% stake in the block. The
other 50% is owned by Parex, who is
the operator. JPT
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 COMMENTS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Barbara Pribyl—Chairperson, Santos
Bernt Aadnøy, University of Stavanger
Syed Ali, Consultant

Cautious Pessimism Tayfun Babadagli, University of Alberta

William Bailey, Schlumberger

John Donnelly, JPT Editor Maria Capello, Kuwait Oil Company

Frank Chang, Saudi Aramco
Simon Chipperfield, Santos
Alex Crabtree, Consultant
After the oil price downturn, operators placed renewed empha-
Gunnar DeBruijn, Schlumberger
sis on spending discipline, in drilling, project costs, and balance
sheets. For some, that was a different metric: return to share- Galen Dino, Dino Engineering

holders over production growth. During and after the prolonged Mark Egan, Retired
decline in oil prices, which bottomed in 2016, larger operators Alexandre Emerick,
did become more technologically proficient, increasing the effi- Petrobras Research Center

ciency of existing wells and learning to live with lower oil pric- Niall Fleming, Equinor
es. With anticipation that $40-60/bbl oil might be the norm for Ted Frankiewicz, SPEC Services
years to come, they had no choice. But this was easier for larger companies than small- Stephen Goodyear, Shell
er independents ramping up shale output in places like the Permian Basin. Omer M. Gurpinar, Schlumberger
This has put many independents in a tough spot. Bankruptcies are on the rise, Birger Velle Hanssen, OneSubsea
and the future of unconventional production in the US, while spectacular, has some
Greg Horton, Retired
unanswered questions going forward. The number of shale operators filing for Chap-
John Hudson, Shell
ter 11 bankruptcy protection continues to grow, the latest being Sanchez Energy and
Morten Iversen,
Halcón Resources, both of which filed for protection in mid-August. From the begin-
Karachaganak Petroleum Operating
ning of 2015 to May 2019, 172 North American operators filed for bankruptcy. Many
Leonard Kalfayan, Hess Corporation
of the bankruptcies occurred in 2015–2016, but there were more in 2018 than 2017.
Thomas Knode, Kirby Corporation
“After years of high growth, the US unconventionals sector has yet to deliver cash flow
or returns to investors across the full cycle. To achieve profitability, shale producers Sunil Kokal, Saudi Aramco

will need to transform their organizations and shift their strategic focus from growth Heejae Lee, ExxonMobil
to value creation,” consulting firm McKinsey said in a statement last month. Douglas Lehr, BHGE
During recent earnings calls, many independents in the unconventional sector Silviu Livescu, BHGE
sounded a note of pessimism about the current state of the business. US shale opera- Shouxiang (Mark) Ma, Saudi Aramco
tors need to tap the brakes on production growth and focus even more on capital dis- John Macpherson, BHGE
cipline in an oversupplied market, Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm said at a
R.V. Marathe, ONGC
recent industry conference. “Capital discipline is more important now than at any time
Stéphane Menand, DrillScan
I’ve seen it. We can oversupply the market, and we have,” Hamm said.
In August, the International Energy Agency reported that demand growth for oil Graham Mensa-Wilmot, Chevron

had hit its lowest level in more than a decade, going back to the recession of 2008. Rohit Mittal, BHGE
The demand slowdown was driven by fears of another global recession and the ongo- Badrul H. Mohamed Jan, University of Malaya
ing trade dispute between the US and China, which has hurt several industrial and Ehsaan Nasir, BHGE
manufacturing sectors. Oil prices have fallen steadily this year, about 20% since April. Ardian Nengkoda, Saudi Aramco
In a separate report, consultancy Rystad Energy said the oil market was going from Yagna Oruganti, BHGE
“gloomy to gloomier” and questioned whether OPEC and the other major producers Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco
that have been reigning in supply since the oil crash could do much more at this point.
Martin Rylance, BP plc
But there are bright spots in other parts of the industry. “High-impact” explora-
Robello Samuel, Halliburton
tion drilling activity increased significantly in the first half of 2019 with 51 explora-
tion wells completed, compared with just 36 in the same period last year, according to Otto L. Santos, Louisiana State University

Westwood Global Energy Group. Sixteen large discoveries have been made so far this Luigi A. Saputelli, Frontender Corporation
year, with the largest discoveries all being gas at Dinkov (∼14 Tcf) and Nyarmeyskoye Greg Stephenson, Occidental Petroleum
(4.3 Tcf) in the Kara Sea offshore Russia, and Glaucus (4.5 Tcf) in the Eastern Medi- Rosa Swartwout, BHGE
terranean offshore Cyprus. The largest oil discoveries were Yellowtail and Tilapia off- Xiuli Wang, Consultant
shore Guyana, according to Westwood. It expects that another 35–40 high-impact Mike Weatherl, Well Integrity
exploration wells will be completed by the end of 2019, resulting in more than 85 for
Scott Wilson, Ryder Scott Company
the year, a 35% increase from 2018. JPT
Jonathan Wylde, Clariant Oil Services
Robert Ziegler, Weatherford

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

10 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 Inspired By the Past. Leading Into the Future.
AN EVOLUTION IN UNCONVENTIONAL PERFORMANCE
Since our first fracturing job in 1949, we have stood by your side at the forefront of unconventional
development. Today, our experience and technical ingenuity continue to provide solutions that
optimize recovery more efficiently. From cutting-edge asset visualization and characterization, to
precisely placed wellbores and fracture completions, we can help you stimulate more production,
more consistently – well to well, asset to asset. For your next big play, take advantage of all we’ve
© 2019 Halliburton. All Rights Reserved.

achieved in the past to achieve even more in the future.

hal100.com
 GUEST EDITORIAL

Technology Deployment: How to Get it Done

and Maximize Outcomes
Erik Nijveld, Managing Partner, Deployment Matters

The oil and gas industry has truly pushed Simplifying Technology ities technologies). A technology has to
the boundaries over time, and delivered Selection be technically sound and fit-for-purpose.
projects that were considered unthink- As in daily life, we are far more confi- But eventually, the reason for users to
able not too long ago. Technology has dent about using technology if we know choose it—instead of one of the many
truly been an enabler. Yet, despite the about others that have successfully used other things that can be done to improve
undeniable role that technology has it. Also, it clearly helps in the decision-­ performance—is mostly driven by non-
played, it is also clear that there is sig- making process if we are aware of reviews technical factors.
nificant room to further accelerate the from a recognized expert or other user. With a stress test, technology is
speed of technology deployment. For these reasons, Deployment Mat- assessed against approximately 30 cri-
Although it is often believed that “risk ters launched the Technology Catalogue. teria grouped under seven themes. Only
averseness” is one of the main reasons The platform was developed based on one of the themes is technical, the other
for the lack of innovation in oil and first-hand experience because it is often six are nontechnical (Fig. 1). Based on a
gas, it is often due to other reasons, difficult for decision makers to stay up dialogue with key stakeholders around
such as: to date on available technology-­driven the table, a score is given in the range of
◗◗ End users are keen, but do not improvement opportunities for their 0–5 per theme based on the current sit-
know about available technologies business. The platform helps technol- uation. As part of the dialogue, actions
or do not know where to start. ogy providers create more visibility for are discussed and agreed such that the
As a result, they stick to their technologies. In a sense, it works chances of success can be increased.
conventional practices. similar to TripAdvisor and other sites For example, the test helps assess in
◗◗ End users do not have the time that we use in our daily life, although in a structured manner whether the risks
and/or expertise to assess the an industry like ours we would likely not and rewards are fairly distributed, not
available technologies and to rely on anonymous reviews, or reviews only between supplier and end-user com-
sustainably embed technologies from strangers. pany, but also between different teams
into the business. within the end-user company. If this is
◗◗ Suppliers have difficulties getting Positioning Technologies not the case, you can be sure that there
access to the right people in the for Success will be resistance, sometimes in a subtle
end-user company and/or struggle Why do some technologies get deployed manner. Often the reason why technolo-
to make a convincing case. while other seemingly superior technolo- gies are “stuck in the mud” is because of
By addressing these three aspects, gies struggle to get traction? A “technol- an unbalanced distribution of risks and
major hurdles for change are removed, ogy stress test” provides answers and rewards; technologies that make every-
such that the chances increase that end- gives key insights on what can be done one a winner are usually the easiest to
users are prepared to change their cur- to increase the chances of success. This get deployed.
rent ways of working, resulting in accel- stress test is based on more than 600 You must also assess the amount of
erated technology deployment. deployments (subsurface, wells and facil- change management that is required to
introduce the technology. Does the tech-
nology that you want to get deployed
make use of existing data and IT hard-
Erik Nijveld is managing partner and cofounder of Deployment
ware? Is the technology compatible with
Matters, supporting technology providers and oil and gas opera-
tors with getting technology deployed, including all related
current processes/ways of working?
change management aspects. Before starting Deployment These and other questions should be
Matters, he worked for 19 years at Shell. In his last role, he set up asked. If too much (perceived) change
Shell’s “Technology Replication Thrust for Production Excellence.” is required, then this may be a reason or
He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Twente excuse for end-users to stick to their cur-
and received an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management. rent practices.

12 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 Throughout the dialogue, it is impor- 1 – Perceived
tant to keep in mind that it is not the business impact
actual score that matters. What mat- A. Current
2 – Business
ters is the quality of the dialogue, and 7–
impact Status
the actions as a result of the dialogue Procurement
dimensions
that can be completed within the desired
timeline. It is our experience that three
to five well-defined, targeted actions 3–
6 – Technical Risk/Reward B. Status after
are often sufficient to get  technology doability balance actions have
deployment going. been taken
What if your technology does not pass
5– 4 – Change
the test? It could, for example, mean Deployment management
that it is better to first target other com- references requirements
panies, or other specific assets/projects
within the company, where the chanc- Fig. 1—Assessment of technology using the stress test tool with technologies
es of success are higher. Or, for a start- assessed against approximately 30 criteria grouped under seven themes.
up company working on a novel tech-
nology, it may mean that you need to I live. Little chance that I would have Technology deployment in the oil and
think early on about the right tactics. allowed a stranger to remove the existing gas industry is challenging, but it can
This can be illustrated with an example control system and replace it with some- be done. An easy-to-digest overview in
from daily life. I was among the first peo- thing new. The startup company that pro- combination with deployment refer-
ple in The Netherlands who could control vided the smart system realized that and ences and user/expert reviews aids the
my heating system from my smartphone. teamed up with a well-established con- selection process. That, combined with
This system was provided through the tractor. A similar tactic can sometimes applying insights from a technology
same contractor that had done a great be used to get novel technology accepted stress test, can help position technolo-
job refurbishing the old house in which in oil and gas. gies for success. JPT

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 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Chris Carpenter, JPT Technology Editor
Wellhead Fatigue
Mitigation System
Trendsetter Vulcan Offshore (TVO) has
contracted with Tamarind Resources
to provide its Wellhead Fatigue Mitiga-
tion System. The system alleviates the
effect of modern, large blowout pre-
venters (BOPs) on legacy wellheads by
arresting the motion of the BOP stack
by four tethers anchored to the seabed.
The lighter and less-expensive tethered
BOP enables reliable operations on new
exploration wells and simplifies re-entry
and plug-and-abandonment operations
on older wells (Fig. 1). The system sub-
stantially reduces wellhead cyclic stress-
es and enhances fatigue life. Depend-
ing on the specific riser and wellhead
configuration, fatigue life has been
improved by as much as 1,000 times the
original unmitigated wellhead fatigue.
An added benefit is the increased lim-
its to the rig watch circle, particular-
ly in shallow water, where watch cir-
cles can be restrictive. The system will
be combined with a wireless monitor-
ing system based on Sonardyne’s con-
Fig. 1—A tensioner component of the TVO Wellhead Fatigue Mitigation System
in the moonpool ready for installation.
14
figurable, low-power Subsea Monitor-
ing, Analysis, and Reporting Technology
(SMART). The complete system will be
used to alleviate wellhead fatigue dur-
ing a planned drilling program carried
out by the Prospector semisubmersible
in the coming months on the Tui oil field
in the Taranaki Basin offshore New Zea-
land. The SMART technology monitors
movement of the BOP and the bottom
of the drilling riser and provides in-situ
data-processing capabilities.
◗◗For more information, visit
www.trendsetterengineering.com.
Scalable Managed-
Pressure-Drilling System
Halliburton introduced the Flex
managed-pressure-drilling (MPD) sys-
tem, a scalable and mobile technology
that can be configured to address specif-
ic operator challenges and deliver greater
rig efficiency (Fig. 2). The tiered system
allows operators to select the right level
of service to help maximize the cost and
benefit of MPD services. The standard
MPD offering is a tablet-controlled solu-
tion with a single, straightforward dis-
play allowing the driller to control back-
pressure or choke position while drilling,
tripping, and making connections. When
additional control is required, Flex MPD
Pro incorporates rig data for a more-
intelligent automated response to adjust
backpressure based on flow rates and bit
depth. The system can also run as a full
MPD solution using real-time hydraulic
modeling to control downhole pressure;
limit formation fluids from entering the
wellbore; and help reduce lost circula-
tion that can cause wellbore instability,
stuck pipe, and formation damage. Each
tier uses a smaller footprint so operators
can reduce rig-up and rig-down time.
The system was recently deployed in an
unconventional field in South Ameri-
ca to help an operator manage down-
hole pressure while reducing the space
requirements on the rig for increased
surface efficiency.
◗◗For more information, visit
www.halliburton.com.
Digital Asset Inspection System
Oceaneering introduced the Inform
Inspect digital asset inspection sys-
tem to streamline nondestructive test-
ing (NDT) and inspection management.
The tablet-based technology equips
technicians, supervisors, and manag-
ers with the ability to deliver seamless,
end-to-end inspection—from planning
to review—with standardized data cap-
tured into a cloud-based system. Infor-
mation is available instantly for analysis,
enabling more-effective planning and
optimization of personnel time on-site.
Hardware is rated for onshore and off-
shore applications and is certified for
use in hazardous areas. Field trials have
demonstrated conservative productivity
gains of up to 30% in end-to-end inspec-
tion times, and the speed and scope of
the technology provides major safety
benefits, ultimately enabling personnel
to spend less time on-site in hazardous
environments. The software can also be
integrated with a computerized mainte-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Fig. 2—The Flex MPD system from Halliburton can be
configured to address specific operator challenges and
deliver greater rig efficiency.
nance management system and integrity-
management systems to increase effi-
ciencies. The technology will be avail-
able through Oceaneering’s Asset Integ-
rity business, which provides integrity,
management, analytics, maintenance
and risk management, convention-
al and advanced NDT, and specialist
inspection solutions.
◗◗For more information, visit
www.oceaneering.com.
Enhanced Subsea Response Kit
Wild Well Control announced a new con-
tract with Fugro for the provision of
blowout-preventer (BOP) intervention
skids and test units for inclusion in its
Subsea Response Kit (Fig. 3). As part of
the WellCONTAINED subsea capping-
stack program, the new 450/150 Mark
3 BOP intervention skids from Fugro
are an advance in both pumping capa-
bility and water-depth rating and will
replace the existing equipment in inven-
tory. This technology offers multiple
benefits to Wild Well, such as full skid
testing without the requirement of a
remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the
ability to interface to most work-class
ROV systems, and a custom-designed
self-contained storage and maintenance
transport container. Deployments of the
skid system to date have included full
functional testing on a Fugro ROV at a
3800-m water depth. The BOP system
is depth-rated to 4000 m. The capping-
stack-program inventory is staged in a
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Fig. 3—Wild Well Control has added Fugro intervention
skids to its Subsea Response Kit.
ready-to-deploy state in both Aber-
deen and Singapore. The equipment at
each location includes full subsea well-
intervention systems, including a subsea
capping stack, debris removal shears,
hardware kits for the subsea application
of dispersant and inhibition fluids, and
other ancillary equipment.
◗◗For more information, visit
www.wildwell.com.
Conductor Anchor Node
Neodrill’s CAN (Conductor Anchor
Node) is a combination of suction
anchor and guide pipe. The suction
anchor pushes the guide pipe into the
seabed, providing top support for the
conductor. The solution was created to
facilitate installation of conductors with
light vessels and subsea conductor driv-
ing, providing operational and commer-
Fig. 4—Neodrill’s CAN-ductor drilling
cial benefits by enabling the subsea well technology was reported to have a
foundation to be in place before the rig reduced environmental effect when
arrives on location (Fig. 4). A life-cycle- compared with conventional drilling
assessment (LCA) analysis by Asplan techniques.
Viak reported that Neodrill’s drilling
technology has an environmental effect categories, including climate change
between 21–44% less than that of a con- and human toxicity. The report found
ventionally drilled well. The reference that reduced rig time and need for mate-
well used was the Cambo Well in the UK, rials, such as cement and steel in well
which was drilled by Siccar Point Energy casings, were the main reasons for the
in 2018. The functional unit used for the reduced environmental effect of the
purpose of the study was the drilling and technology. In total, the rig time was 4
casing operations for one production days shorter compared with that of the
well. The processes for both CAN-ductor conventional technology. JPT
and conventional drilling were detailed ◗◗For more information, visit
and results were compared across eight www.neodrill.com.
15
 E&P NOTES
Pemex Unveils Plan To Undo
“Failure of Energy Reform”
Pemex will implement a plan intended as
“a rescue of the country’s energy industry
after the resounding failure of the energy
reform,” said Mexican President Andrés
Manuel López Obrador during a presen-
tation at the National Palace in Mexico
City on 16 July.
The latest 5-year plan for Mexico’s
state-owned oil and gas firm aims to bal-
ance its budget by 2021 and increase oil
production to almost 2.7 million B/D by
the end of 2024, the conclusion of Lopez
Obrador’s presidential term. Pemex has
more than $100 billion in debt and
has suffered production declines for 15
consecutive years. In May, it produced
just under 1.7 million B/D, according
to statistics available on the company’s
website, down from 3.4 million B/D
during 2004.
Octavio Romero Oropeza, Pemex chief
executive officer, blamed the declines on
a lack of investment by the company.
Pemex will receive “a gradual reduc-
tion of its fiscal burden” through tax
relief, said Lopez Obrador, in which
the government will present a pro-
posal to reform Mexico’s Hydrocar-
bons Revenue Law. This would reduce
the shared utility tax rate by 7% for
Eni Appraises Angola Discovery, Makes Another Off Vietnam
An appraisal well drilled by Eni offshore
Angola confirmed the extension of the
Agogo reservoir, while the Italian opera-
tor hit gas and condensate pay at its Ken
Bau prospect offshore Vietnam.
The Agogo-2 appraisal well on Block
15/06 encountered 58 m net of 31° grav-
ity oil in Miocene and Oligocene sand-
stones “with excellent petrophysical
characteristics,” the Italian operator
said. The results confirm the extension
of the Agogo reservoir to the north of
the Agogo-1 discovery well and below
the salt diapirs.
16
2020 and 4% for 2021. The current
rate is 65%.
The financial relief is meant to free
up investment by Pemex in new proj-
ects that will primarily come in estab-
lished areas onshore and near-shore
as opposed to more-expensive, less-­
familiar deepwater areas. Romero Oro-
peza said the government’s goal is to
support Pemex for the first 3 years of
Lopez Obrador’s administration to ready
the company to help fund Mexico’s eco-
nomic growth plans during the second
half of the administration.
Romero Oropeza added that “public
investment will be complemented by pri-
vate investment through long-term ser-
vice contracts for oil production.” He
said, “Pemex makes clear its openness to
business schemes with the private sec-
tor under strict observance of the com-
pany’s interests and with fair and trans-
parent agreements, leaving behind the
practices in which Pemex participated at
a disadvantage.”
Energy reforms were signed into law
in 2014 by former President Enrique
Peña Nieto, opening up the industry to
domestic and foreign private sector par-
ticipation. During 2015–2018, Mexico’s
Eni said Agogo-2 was drilled in a “high-
ly deviated” manner to reach sequenc-
es below the salt diapirs and prove the
existence of reservoir and oil charge in
the Agogo megastructure. Data acquired
from the well indicate a production
capacity of more than 15,000 B/D of oil.
The results confirm 650 million bbl of
oil in place at the Agogo field and indicate
further upside in its northern sector that
will be assessed with new appraisal wells,
the company said.
Agogo-2 was drilled by Transocean’s
Poseidon deepwater drillship, 3 km
Mexican President Andrés Manuel
López Obrador took office in
December 2018. Source: Getty Images.
National Hydrocarbons Commission
conducted several bid rounds for deep-
water, shallow-water, and onshore areas,
awarding more than 100 contracts to
numerous companies from both Mexico
and abroad. Those contracts will contin-
ue to be honored.
However, since taking office, the Lopez
Obrador administration has canceled
previously scheduled bid rounds and
Pemex farmouts in an effort to stop fur-
ther advancement of the reform.
northwest of Agogo-1, 180 km offshore
and 23 km from the N’Goma West Hub
floating production, storage, and offload-
ing (FPSO) vessel. The well reached a TD
of 3,949 m in 1,700 m of water.
Eni plans to start production from
Agogo before year end with a subsea tie-
back to the N’Goma FPSO, as the com-
pany continues its appraisal campaign to
assess the discovery’s full potential and
development size.
Eni is operator of Block 15/06 with
a 36.8421% stake. Partners are Sonan-
gol P&P with 36.8421% and SSI Fifteen
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
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 Limited with 26.3158%. Eni operates
both the West Hub and East Hub devel-
opments, which produce a combined
155,000 B/D of oil.
Off Vietnam, Eni’s Ken Bau 1X explora-
tion well on Block 114 intersected sever-
al intervals of gas and condensate sand-
stone interbedded with Miocene shale
with an estimated net reservoir thickness
Aramco Advances 550,000-B/D Expansion of Marjan,
Berri Fields
Saudi Aramco has awarded 34 contracts
worth a combined $18 billion for engi-
neering, procurement, and construction
work on the Marjan and Berri fields off-
shore Saudi Arabia. The agreements are
part of Aramco’s plans to increase pro-
duction capacity of the two fields by
550,000 B/D of crude oil and 2.5 bil-
lion Bscf/D of natural gas.
Saudi-based firms took 16 of the
contracts, while the rest of the con-
tracts went to firms including Saipem,
McDermott International, Subsea 7,
Tecnicas Reunidas, China Petroleum &
Chemical, Larsen & Toubro, and Hyun-
dai Engineering & Construction. More
than 90 entities were invited to bid on
the packages.
The Marjan project will boost the
field’s output by 300,000 B/D of Ara-
bian Medium crude and 2.5 Bscf/D of
Petrobras to Sell Shallow-Water Campos, Santos Basin Fields
Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras has
agreed to sell shallow-water assets in
the Campos and Santos Basins to two
companies for a combined $1.5 billion.
The moves are part of the company’s
multiyear divestment program.
In one deal, London-based Trident
Energy will acquire 100% interest in the
Pampo and Enchova clusters in the Cam-
pos Basin. In the other, Melbourne-based
Karoon Energy will buy 100% interest in
the Baúna field in the Santos Basin.
The Pampo and Enchova hubs off Rio
de Janeiro include the Enchova, Enchova
Oeste, Marimbá, Piraúna, Bicudo, Boni-
to, Pampo, Trilha, Linguado, and Bade-
18
of more than 100 m. The results repre-
sent “a breakthrough for evaluating the
exploration potential in the Song Hong
Basin,” Eni said.
The well was drilled 95 m of water,
reaching a TD of 3606 m, and was
plugged and abandoned early because of
technical issues, Eni said, before reach-
ing deeper levels that could hold signifi-
gas with the construction of an off-
shore gas-oil separation plant and
24 offshore oil, gas, and water injec-
tion platforms.
The company plans to expand its
Tanajib onshore oil facilities and build
a new gas plant to include gas treat-
ment and processing, natural gas liq-
uids recovery and fractionation, and gas
compression facilities. A cogeneration
facility, water desalination facility, and
transfer pipelines also will be built.
The Berri project will add 250,000 B/D
of Arabian Light crude from the off-
shore field. Planned facilities include
a gas-oil separation plant on Abu Ali
Island to process 500,000 B/D of Ara-
bian Light and additional gas processing
facilities at the Khursaniyah gas plant
to process 40,000 B/D of associated
hydrocarbon condensate.
The Cidade de Itajaí floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel
is located at the Baúna field in the shallow-water Santos Basin. The FPSO can
produce 80,000 B/D of oil and store 600 million bbl of oil. Source: Odebrecht.
cant additional resources. The company
plans a drilling campaign early next year
to fully assess the discovery’s potential.
Eni is operator of Block 114 in a 50-50
partnership with Essar E&P. Eni also
operates with 100% interest the neigh-
boring Block 116 and four blocks total in
the underexplored Song Hong and Phu
Khanh Basins.
The Berri program also includes a
water injection facility, two drilling
islands, 11 oil and water offshore plat-
forms, and nine onshore oil production
and water supply drill sites.
Saipem said it was awarded $3.5 bil-
lion in contracts covering the Abu Ali oil-
gas separation plant for Berri field and,
at Marjan field, the gas treatment plant
as well as another unit for the recovery
of acid gases for sulfur production.
The Marjan and Berri contractors
are required to prioritize material and
equipment procurement from local sup-
pliers and manufacturers in support
of Saudi Aramco’s goal to increase its
locally-sourced goods and services to
70% by 2021.
Aramco said its maximum sustained
oil production capacity remains at
12 million B/D.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
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 jo fields, which produce a combined
25,500  B/D via the PPM-1, PCE-1, P-8,
and P-65 platforms. The fields were
developed in the 1980s. Trident will pay
$851 million to Petrobras in two install-
ments and could pay up to $200 mil-
lion more depending on future crude
oil prices.
“During the evaluation phase, we
identified a large number of attractive
projects to increase the production and
extend the life of these fields,” Trident
said in a news release. Backed by New
PTTEP Discovers Giant Gas Deposit Offshore Malaysia
PTT Exploration and Production Com-
pany (PTTEP) encountered 252  m
of net gas pay while drilling the
shallow-water Lang Lebah-1RDR2
exploration well on Block SK410B off-
shore Sarawak, Malaysia.
The Thai operator drilled the well
to a TD of 3,810 m primarily target-
ing the Middle Miocene cycle IV/V car-
bonate reservoir. The well was tested
at a completion-constrained rate of
41.3  MMscf/D of gas and 246 B/D of
condensate through a 40/64-in. choke.
Lang Lebah-1RDR2, the first explora-
tion well in the 1,870-sq-km Sarawak
SK410B project 90 km off Sarawak,
is PTTEP’s largest-ever discovery, the
company said. Further drilling will con-
firm its potential.
Wood Mackenzie estimates the
find holds some 2 Tcf of gas, making
it this year’s seventh-largest discovery
worldwide. “It is in the deeper, [high-
pressure/high-temperature] reservoir
of the basin, and looks potentially to
Analytics Firm: Permian Fracturing Work Underreported
by 21% in 2018
Findings from analytics firm Kayrros
suggest the average well in the Permian
Basin of west Texas and southeastern
New Mexico is both less productive and
more expensive than reflected in pub-
lic data.
The firm, whose leadership includes
former Schlumberger executives and
20
York City private equity firm Warburg
Pincus, Trident is focused on explo-
ration and production in Africa and
Latin America.
The Baúna field off São Paulo state
produces 20,000 B/D via the Cidade
de Itajaí floating production, stor-
age, and offloading vessel. The field
consists of two producing oil reser-
voirs, Baúna and Piracaba, as well as
the undeveloped Patola discovery. Out-
put is expected to grow to 33,000 B/D
in 2022 through development of Pato-
have relatively clean gas qualities and
low impurity content,” said Huong
Tra Ho, a senior analyst at the ener-
gy consultancy, in a note following the
PTTEP announcement.
“The discovery is located in the gas-
rich Sarawak-Luconia-East Natuna
basin, which has enjoyed an explora-
tion success rate of 55% over the past
10 years, above the 37% global aver-
age,” she said. “The Miocene carbonate
play in particular has produced a num-
ber of high-profile finds over the years,
including Pegaga, B14, Kuang North,
and Kasawari. But issues around gas
impurities and contaminants have sty-
mied development plans for some of
the fields.”
Wood Mackenzie believes the Lang
Lebah discovery has “a high chance of
commercialization” via the Malaysia
LNG complex.
“The plant is in urgent need of new
supply as existing sources have only met
85% of its requirements in 2018,” she
founding group includes a former lead
economist at the US Energy Information
Administration (EIA), found that some
1,100 wells were completed in the Perm-
ian last year but not reported through
state agencies or FracFocus. Kayrros
made its assessment by pairing optical
and synthetic aperture radar imagery
la and well interventions, the com-
pany said.
The field has been flowing light,
sweet crude since 2013. Karoon will pay
$655 million in two installments.
Slated to close in first-half 2020, the
deal is “expected to deliver material
operational and logistical synergies for
the potential development of Karoon’s
existing southern Santos Basin assets,
Neon and Goiá,” Karoon said in a new
release. In addition to Brazil, the com-
pany has projects in Australia and Peru.
said. “Legacy fields have experienced
sand influx and water breakthroughs,
while many of the remaining undevel-
oped discoveries require advanced CO2
and H2S processing. Gas quality will
thus be crucial to determining the speed
and ease of future monetization plans
for Lang Lebah, which is also close to
existing infrastructure.”
PTTEP’s Malaysian subsidiary PTTEP
HK Offshore is operator of Block
SK410B with a 42.5% stake. Kuwait For-
eign Petroleum Exploration Company
also has 42.5%, and Malaysia’s state-
owned Petronas holds 15%.
PTTEP as of late has been expand-
ing its presence in Southeast Asia and
particularly Malaysia, where the com-
pany in March agreed to acquire Mur-
phy Oil’s assets in the country for more
than $2  billion. Also, earlier this week,
PTTEP reported that it’s acquiring Por-
tugal’s Partex Holding for $622 million.
Partex is primarily focused on opera-
tions in Oman and the UAE.
with proprietary algorithms to identify
rigs and frac crews.
Kayrros’ tally of 6,394 completed
wells for 2018 contrasts with the 5,272
wells counted by FracFocus, which is
a public repository for information on
chemicals used during fracturing. Indus-
try analysts typically rely on data sub-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
 mitted by operators to state agencies
and FracFocus.
Kayrros noted, however, that Permian
crude production is accurately measured
in monthly EIA statistics, meaning it took
many more wells to reach 2018 output
than were actually reported.
The underreported activity also means
the backlog of Permian drilled-but-
uncompleted (DUC) wells is much small-
er than commonly thought, Kayrros said.
“The prevalent view that shale operators
sit on a large backlog of DUCs that could
be quickly brought to production even
without further drilling is thus deeply
misleading,” it said. “There is just no
such inventory.”
In any given month, Kayrros calcu-
lates the Permian DUC inventory at just
around 1,000 wells. Most of this rolling
inventory results from regular drilling
and completions operations. Over time,
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the number of wells drilled generally
matches that of wells completed, leaving
DUC inventories relatively unchanged.
EIA estimated there were just more
than 4,000 DUCs in the Permian
in June.
“Misperceptions about shale oil in
general and the Permian in particular
have consequences, hence the impor-
tance of these measurements that
show Permian production per well has
been substantially overestimated,”
said Andrew Gould, Kayrros advisory
board chairman, former Schlumberg-
er chairman and CEO, and former BG
Group chairman.
“By the same token, average produc-
tion costs per well are understated,”
Gould said. “With far more wells con-
tributing to Permian and US oil pro-
duction than accounted for, current
shale oil production is substantially
Visit us at
SPE ATCE booth 136
more water- and sand-intensive than is
commonly believed.”
Assuming a cost of $5 million per
horizontal completion, operator capi-
tal expenditure is underestimated by
as much as $4.1 billion, the analysis
indicates. Sand and water intensity of
Permian tight oil production in 2018
was 23% higher than previously record-
ed, with sand demand underestimated
by 9.2 billion lb and water by 12.5 bil-
lion gal.
Kayrros was founded in 2016 by a
group including current President
Antoine Rostand, who previously served
as president and founder of Schlum-
berger Business Consulting, and Antoine
Halff, a former lead industry economist
at EIA and former chief oil analyst of the
International Energy Agency. The firm’s
advisory board also includes former BP
Chief Executive Lord Browne.
1-800-70-PILOT
 Shale Consolidation: Callon Acquiring Carrizo in $3.2 Billion
Stock Deal
Callon Petroleum Company is making a
move to acquire Carrizo Oil & Gas in an
all-stock deal that is worth $3.2 billion,
according to a release issued by the two
Houston-based companies.
Based on current share prices, the
equity value of the deal is about $1.2 bil-
lion. Callon shareholders will own about
54% of the combined company, while
Carrizo shareholders will own the rest.
“Together with Carrizo, we will accel-
erate our free cash flow, capital efficien-
cy, and deleveraging goals through an
optimized model of large-scale devel-
opment across the portfolio,” Callon’s
Chief Executive Officer Joe Gatto said in
a statement.
The combined company will produce
more than 102,000 BOE/D (71% oil). Its
land holdings will amount to approxi-
mately 200,000 acres in the Permian
Wood Mackenzie: Peak Oil Demand Is Coming, Will
Transform Exploration Sector
The global trend toward alternative
energy sources and shifting stakehold-
er sentiments could mark the demise
of the oil and gas exploration sector.
An offshore drilling platform in the Beaufort Sea. Not long ago, exploring for
hydrocarbons in such remote areas was considered critical to meeting growing
global demand. A new report argues that the outlook is now very different.
Source: Getty Images.
22
Basin and Eagle Ford Shale—the two
largest oil-rich basins in Texas. This
includes 90,000 acres in the Delaware
Basin side of the Permian, where Callon
estimates it will have about 2,500 hori-
zontal well locations upon the deal final-
izing late this year.
Callon also said it will have between
9-10 drilling rigs and 3-4 completion
crews working in 2020. Most of its focus
will be in the Permian acreage where the
acquisition will achieve “the critical mass
to realize supply chain savings and sus-
tain simultaneous operations initiatives.”
Corporate presentations detailing the
acquisition outline how the combined
entity will find new cost efficiencies,
including up to $45 million in general
and administrative costs.
Callon also hopes to find between
$65–80 million in savings through
It may also represent an opportunity
to transform.
This is according to a new report pub-
lished by Wood Mackenzie, a global
“operational synergies” that include
switching to “mega-pads” (or cube drill-
ing) to reduce impacts caused by the
well-to-well interactions known as frac
hits. This means the company will tran-
sition away from developing mostly on
single well pads and toward creating
pads where most of the wells are being
drilled and completed around the same
time, a tactic adopted to preserve res-
ervoir pressures and mitigate fracture
driven interactions.
Last month, Comstock Resourc-
es announced plans to purchase its
Haynesville Shale peer Covey Park
for $2.2 billion in cash and stock.
The year’s biggest blockbuster acqui-
sition, Occidental Petroleum’s take-
over of Anadarko, is expected to be
approved by Anadarko shareholders
in August.
research firm that has been analyzing
the oil and gas industry since 1973. The
report concluded that a number of driv-
ing forces indicate that peak oil demand
is likely to manifest within the next 20
years—removing the need to tap many
of the world’s undeveloped fields.
“But the pace and nature of the ener-
gy transition is highly uncertain,” noted
Andrew Latham, vice president of explo-
ration at Wood Mackenzie and author
of the report. “The world might move
more quickly to deeper decarboniza-
tion. Even if this happens, we still see
a chance for exploration to success-
fully re-invent itself and retain an im-
portant role.”
Wood Mackenzie projects two sce-
narios in the report. The most proba-
ble scenario, also the most positive one
for explorers, forecasts a supply gap of
16  million B/D by 2040. This base case
sees that the current industry spending
of about $40 billion per year is sustain-
able and enough to meet demand.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
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 The other model hinges on a more
aggressive outlook for global decar-
bonization. This scenario predicts that
rising adoption of electric vehicles,
new biofuel mandates, and a reduc-
tion in single-use plastics will slash oil
demand by as much as 10 million B/D
by 2040.
Under these conditions, all but 6 mil-
lion B/D of global demand would be met
by existing oil fields. Latham character-
ized the confluence of these factors as
an “existential threat to exploration.”
However, the report argues that the
clearest risk facing the exploration sec-
tor is coming from inside the house.
If production-boosting technologies in
existing fields were to yield only a 2%
uplift in recovery factors, the need to
find 6 million B/D of new reserves could
be canceled altogether.
“Given that we might be on the
cusp of a new digital technology rev-
olution—advanced seismic imaging,
data analytics, machine learning, and
artificial intelligence, the cloud and
supercomputing—such an improved
recovery scenario is hardly fanciful,”
Latham wrote.
Dominican Republic’s Offshore Future Begins With First
Bid Round
The Dominican Republic officially
kicked off its quest to become the central
Caribbean’s next oil and gas hub with its
first licensing round of 14 onshore and
offshore blocks.
The country announced the terms of
its historic auction in Houston where
many of the potential suitors have a
headquarters or a major presence. The
largest exploration companies in atten-
dance included Anadarko, Apache,
Exxon­ Mobil, Noble Energy, CNOOC,
Shell, and Repsol.
The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of
Energy and Mines will base the awards
on work commitments that include a
minimum investment of $2 million for
the onshore areas, and $4 million for the
offshore blocks.
Wood Mackenzie, which is helping
plan and evaluate the auction for the
24
Reacting To Change
The industry’s license to operate is also
under increased scrutiny, a trend that
shows no signs of letting up. On the
financial side, investors have started
their slow retreat from the upstream
business, pushing large oil com­
panies to redirect cash from explora-
tion budgets into shareholder divi-
dends or crowd-pleasing investments in
zero-carbon technologies.
Meanwhile, governments around the
world are considering stricter limits on
oil and gas activity, including potential
bans on future exploration.
Oil companies can attempt to miti-
gate such outcomes by adopting tech-
nologies or practices that lower the car-
bon footprint of operations. Examples
include using renewable energy to power
production equipment and taking steps
to reduce gas flaring. The industry’s
deep understanding of subsurface fluid
dynamics has also opened the door for
it to play a major role in future carbon
sequestration projects.
While acknowledging the uncertainty
of how fast the energy transformation
will unfold, the report determines that
Dominican government, described the
contract terms as “flexible” by high-
lighting that operators will have between
eight to 10 years to explore and drill for
at least one well in each of the areas they
are awarded.
Optimism has surged in the Carib-
bean in recent years after Exxon­
Mobil made  a series of major discov-
eries offshore Guyana. Earlier this
year, E ­xxonMobil and Repsol both
signed contracts with the Colombi-
an government to explore blocks in
its territorial waters of the  Carib-
bean Sea.
Wood Mackenzie said there are cur-
rently no exploration activities tak-
ing place in the Dominican Repub-
lic but pointed out that there is a
historical context for potential. “The
exploration performed in the coun-
the industry will never return to the level
of exploration activity seen during the
prior decade.
In light of these possibilities, the con-
sultancy’s report advises that conven-
tional exploration companies focus on
the highest-quality prospects, and those
with shorter cycle times. Following
this would place a priority on offshore
developments where infrastructure is in
place, allowing satellite fields to be cost-
effectively tied in, or in onshore fields
where phasing in new developments is
even easier.
Explorers will also increasingly turn
their attention to natural gas discover-
ies, despite the world’s abundant supply
of associated and stranded gas. Using
its more severe decarbonization model,
Wood Mackenzie still forecasts a 15%
increase in natural gas production over
the next 20 years.
If all these changes are realized,
the consultancy’s report predicts that
the exploration sector will relinquish
its role as the oil industry’s “prima-
ry engine of growth,” and take on the
new responsibility of improving exist-
ing portfolios.
try since the early 20th century indi-
cates the presence of a working petro-
leum system,” said Juan ­Agudelo, the
director of upstream consulting at 
Wood Mackenzie.
The government is making seismic
data available for the proposed blocks
while incentivizing further acquisi-
tion of geologic and geophysical data.
Companies participating in the auc-
tion may submit their own propos-
als to change the size or shape of the
blocks—a tactic that was previously
used by Mexico before its first licensing
auctions in 2015.
Winning bids are expected to be
announced in November and the gov-
ernment will consider the licens-
ing round a success if just two of
the blocks are awarded, according
to Reuters. JPT
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
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 John Donnelly, JPT Editor
What key issues will you emphasize during your
year as president?
I want to focus on strengthening five areas for SPE to remain
a trusted, unbiased source of technical information, be the
membership of choice for professionals in oil and gas, and to
be respected both within and outside of our industry. When
people see that SPE logo, it should be synonymous with excel-
lence in terms of all our offerings to our membership.
The theme of my presidency is “SPE strong,” strengthening
the core of our society. The five areas are:
◗ Strengthening the technical quality of our publications,
presentations, and events
◗ Strengthening the tools and methods by which we
disseminate knowledge to our members
◗ Strengthening our core functions, with an additional
focus on automation and digital science
◗ Strengthening knowledge transfer in unconventional
resources
26
◗ Strengthening the feedstock of incoming talent into the
industry.
How will you go about strengthening these areas?
For the past year in my role as incoming president, I have
been working with my fellow board members and SPE staff
to develop the various initiatives around my five focus areas.
I will share those details in each of my monthly JPT columns
along with updates on our progress.
In the latest SPE Strategic Plan, there is an
emphasis on instilling professional pride.
What should be the focus?
I am proud to be a petroleum engineer but I, like many of our
members, have not been adept at explaining what exactly our
industry does. We need to learn how to have an effective con-
versation with those outside of our industry on how we lift the
world out of poverty and improve the quality of life by providing
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
 2020 SPE President
Shauna Noonan
Shauna Noonan will take office as 2020 SPE President
during the SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition 30 September–2 October in Calgary.
She is the director of artificial lift engineering
for Occidental Petroleum Corporation, based in
Houston, where she directs the company’s efforts
in artificial lift system performance globally. Prior to
joining Oxy in late 2015, she worked worldwide on
artificial lift projects and technology development
at ConocoPhillips and Chevron for more than 22
years. She has authored or coauthored more than 25
technical publications on the subject of artificial lift
and is a frequent speaker at industry events.
affordable, sustainable energy while targeting carbon neutral-
ity. An effective conversation is an open dialogue, not a Power-
Point presentation or a factual document.
Our members have been looking to SPE for guidance on how
best to engage with those outside of our industry and we are
addressing our membership’s needs with a “conversation tool-
kit” to be launched very soon. These materials have made my
discussions stronger and more effective. Imagine the impact
our Society can make if every member can engage others and all
agree that we have the common goal of protecting the environ-
ment while sustaining/improving our quality of life.
What other trends or areas should SPE be
adapting to?
One gap we are working to bridge is with engaging the automa-
tion engineers along with the data scientists. We are creating
events, partnering with other associations, and finding ways
to expand our membership and technical content in this area.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
She has been an avid SPE volunteer in many roles
since first serving as a student section officer.
She served on the SPE International Board of
Directors as the Technical Director for Production
and Operations from 2012–2015. She has driven
the development of industry standards and
recommended practices for artificial lift systems
while serving as chair for ISO and API committees,
and has received industry awards for her
contributions to the discipline.
Noonan holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering
from the University of Alberta.
The success of our industry’s digital transformation depends
on having all disciplines working and collaborating together.
The industry has gone through many changes
in the past few years. Do our members want
something different out of their membership
than they did before?
While SPE has a wealth of technical content in various formats
(magazines, manuscripts, webinars, etc), it is not in an easily
consumable format favored by our younger members. Visual
and audio content needs to be accessible via mobile devices in
a short period of time. With the launch of the SPE International
app, we have a platform for providing new methods of knowl-
edge transfer, such as podcasts and short training videos. I also
believe that our members are not fully utilizing all of our tools
and realizing the total value of having an SPE membership. It
is like a gym membership. If you want to get physically fit, you
need to go to the gym and use the equipment. I want members
27

Noonan has held a variety of engineering jobs during
her career.
to understand how to get full value out of their membership but
we need to provide better digital tools to keep up with members’
needs as well.
How do you make the case that SPE membership
is relevant to someone’s development and his or
her career?
What I stress to other SPE members, especially the students
and young professionals, is that SPE opens doors of opportu-
nity. When I visit with corporate executives, we discuss how
SPE supplements their own employee technical development
programs and provides more opportunities to practice and
hone communication and leadership skills. Even as a young
member, you can take on leadership roles within SPE, such
as chairing program committees in preparation to qualify for
management roles within your company.
People always talk about diversity and the power of diversi-
ty. SPE is globally, geographically, and functionally diverse, and
there are great networking opportunities and learnings that
come from that. Nothing rivals what SPE offers its members.
How do you make this pitch to students?
I use my own story on how my involvement within SPE opened
doors of opportunity for me. SPE has helped to add rungs on
my career ladder and allow me to climb higher than I ever
thought possible.
28
When I joined the student chapter at the University of
Alberta, SPE was relatively new to Canada. It was through SPE
that we started integrating outside of our campus with various
companies in the region. That is when the bug hit me about
working globally, or at least coming to the US.
After attending a conference as a young engineer, I made
up my mind that I was going to write and present a technical
paper because just being in the audience does not necessarily
help expand your network or show people the value you bring
to the table. So I was determined to submit an abstract and
to be able to showcase my abilities at the podium. That paper
caught my management’s attention and resulted in a job trans-
fer to the US. After that, I continued to publish papers and
began to chair SPE program committees and that led to oppor-
tunities working on projects all over the world.
Did you always want to be a petroleum engineer?
I actually started out in pre-med in college. My mother wanted
me to be a doctor but I ended up switching while I was in college
from pre-med to engineering. What attracted me to engineering
was the teamwork, and petroleum engineering appealed to me
as I have always loved geology. The tipping point was a conver-
sation with a professor, Dr. Don Flock, who said that petroleum
engineering would provide more opportunities to work all over
the world. He was right.
How difficult is it to manage a family/work balance?
Finding balance with a career and family is hard, especially for
dual-career couples. It can even be harder if the employer is
not supportive of its employees who need that balance between
work and family. I have been fortunate to work for companies
that not only supported it, but promoted it as well. While I
raised my two daughters in a country where neither I nor my
husband had any family, we were also blessed to have family
members travel to the US to lend a hand when both of us had
business trips scheduled at the same time.
Digital technology makes it easier to keep up with my
daughters when I am traveling, whether it is FaceTime ses-
sions or getting grades via text as their teachers are enter-
ing them into the system. It makes being a working parent so
much easier.
Adding SPE involvement might seem to complicate work/
life balance, but I was always able to demonstrate to my man-
agement that it would bring value to them, allowing me to
incorporate most of my SPE obligations into my work hours.
Given that, I have spent countless hours reviewing SPE papers
while waiting for my daughters to finish their dance class-
es. I also learned that having a committee chair role allowed
me better control of meeting schedules, letting me fit my SPE
work in with my family and work obligations.
How has your career prepared you to be SPE
president?
My entire career and SPE involvement has been global. I am not
defined by a geographical region but by my technical ability and
vast experience. I have worked as a rig supervisor, field engi-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
 Supporters

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www.adipec.com/spe

Noonan believes her global experience combined with

engineering and management roles have prepared her
well for the presidency.

neer, completion engineer, production engineer, artificial lift

specialist, and I have worked in local assets, technology devel- 14 TECHNICAL CONFERENCE CATEGORIES
opment, engineering, and executive management. E&P Geoscience Unconventional Technical Conference Organised By
Within SPE, I have served in various parts of the globe Resources

as a student officer, technical and associate editor, author, Project Engineering Operational Field Drilling & Completion
program chair, and on international award and technical & Management Excellence Development Technology

advisory committees. People & Talent Offshore and Marine HSE Gas Technology
I have experienced the global business and culture of our
industry and SPE and that brings a very positive perspective to Petroleum Advanced Artificial Intelligence IOR/EOR Production Facilities
Analytics in Oil & Gas
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What are the biggest challenges facing the industry
and SPE in the short term?
There are two big challenges, in my opinion, that we face in the
short term.
The first challenge is attracting and maintaining the top 10,400+* 860 123 53
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The second and more important challenge is protecting
SPE’s technical reputation as an unbiased and trusted source
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 Requires Changing Drillers
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
T here is a lot of buzz about digital
data and analytics changing drill-
ing, and far less talk about teaching those
who drill the wells how to deliver on that
promise. That looks like a major over-
sight to Kevin Krausert, the chief execu-
tive officer of Beaver Drilling.
“Our industry is trying to figure out
how we can engineer the humans out of
this change. And we need to be thinking
about how we put the humans in charge of
engineering this change,” Krausert said.
His critique was delivered during a
panel discussion at this year’s SPE/IADC
Drilling Conference and Exhibition. The
head of the small Canadian drilling com-
pany argued that the value of digital-
and data-driven change will depend on
whether workers skilled at running a
mechanical system are prepared to lead
teams finding way to use digital tools to
drill more productively.
To try to back up that claim, Beaver
created a 2-year program in partnership
with the University of Calgary to cre-
ate the Avatar program to prepare stu-
30
dents ranging from roughnecks to drill-
ing managers for digital change.
The notion that an employee for a drill-
ing contractor who may never have gone
to college is the point person for drilling
innovation is counterintuitive. But expe-
rience with drilling improvement pro-
grams has found that the ones on the rigs
play a critical role.
“The fundamental shift has to be in
the  mindset of the guys who are right
there in the thick of it. They are the
ones affecting the change; they are the
ones who can lead the movement,” said
Jennifer Zieglgansberger, an executive
coach in Calgary who partnered with
Beaver to create Avatar.
People-Driven Change
Beaver’s story is one of four examples
of worker-centered innovation efforts in
the oil industry.
Occidental Petroleum has slashed
drilling costs using a flood of data from
wired drilling pipe. The key to doing so
was the teamwork on that rig, and others
nearby, to systematically improve perfor-
mance (SPE 194093).
Advanced technology provided an
unusually detailed picture for a crew
“systematically engaging the rig in iden-
tifying opportunities for improvement
and using engineering design to make
continuous improvements that can be
used anywhere,” said Molly Giltner, a
senior drilling engineering supervisor at
Occidental, who delivered a paper on the
project at the drilling conference.
“People can do it, they just need the
information,” said Giltner, the project
leader. “They need to be told they can
change things. Motivating people makes
a huge difference. We do not talk about
that a lot as engineers and they do not
talk about that in school.”
Corva has grown rapidly due to the
strong demand for its real-time data
and analysis system. In a year, it has
gone from a couple of rigs equipped with
its drilling advisory system to 250 rigs
and 35 clients by September, said Ryan
Dawson, chief executive officer of Corva.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
 Its future depends on whether drill-
ers use these tools to improve rig per-
formance. “There had been cycles of try-
ing, using, and failing. The tailwind of
digitalization led a lot of companies to
adopt. We have to prove tangible value,”
Dawson said.
Apache’s program to roll out its drill-
ing advisory program on rigs working in
the US focused on winning over the many
people affected by the change, and find-
ing ways to address their issues. A paper
describing its effort said failure to do that
has undercut many promising drilling
innovations (SPE 194184).
The paper included an anecdote about
curious drillers quickly adopting the
advisory program, but it also noted, “The
driller’s attitude would tend to reflect
the overall attitude of the leadership
on the rig.”
Drillers have often been wary of pro-
grams that record their every move and
grade it. They also do not want to stake
their reputation on something new that
seems unreliable. “When we pull out a
new technology, the feeling the guys have
is, when it hits road bumps the first incli-
nation is to turn it off,” Krausert said.
A key piece of the digital transfor-
mation has been the spread of drilling
advisory systems putting more data,
and responsibility, in the hands of the
driller. Instead, Krausert said the indus-
try has been asking for more but giv-
ing drillers less reason to risk trying
something different.
While drilling advisory technology is
designed to empower the driller, waves of
layoffs since the 2014 oil price crash sent
a signal that is the opposite of empower-
ing. Krausert said the industry is sending
a message: “You are highly disposable.
And by the way, be more collaborative
and drive down costs.”
Rig-Based
The process behind both the Apache and
Occidental programs owes a lot to an SPE
paper dating back to 2006.
Both Apache and Occidental cited
a paper about ExxonMobil’s drilling
improvement program written by Fred
Dupriest, now an engineering professor
at Texas A&M University. It described
how the company and its contractors
systematically improved performance
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
by identifying and attacking a series of
issues that were limiting performance
(SPE 102210). Initially those in charge
assumed the ideas would flow from engi-
neers in the office analyzing the data.
“It was believed the real-time interface
would allow the organization to bring
more engineering to the brake handle,”
the paper said. Instead it found: “Off-
site personnel cannot effectively inter- Society of Petroleum Engineers
pret the data without detailed knowledge
Annual Technical
of ongoing operations.”
That still rings true. The Occidental
Conference and
paper previously mentioned described a
step-by-step process. Teams defined spe-
Exhibition
cific factors limiting performance. That
set the agenda for engineers offsite work-
ing their way through the mountains of
data that are generated during drilling. 30 September–2 October 2019
Like ExxonMobil, Apache and Occiden- BMO Centre at Stampede Park
tal train rig leaders, including contrac- Calgary, Alberta, Canada
tors, in the physics of drilling so they can
anticipate the likely impact of changes
they are considering to deal with limiters. Register for ATCE 2019
Ultimately, the person at the controls
has to decide how to translate that into 300+ technical presentations
action. While Corva plays up the value of
real-time data, analysis, and support by Special sessions on
drilling veterans, it has a rule against tell- relevant industry topics
ing clients what they should do.
“At the end of the day, the client has to
200+ exhibiting companies
make the call based on all the data and
advice at hand. Real-time operations are
all about high-grading information from 30+ training courses
the rig and turning it into valuable knowl-
edge through human insight and experi-
ence,” Dawson said.
For Further Reading
SPE 194093 Performance Impact of
Downhole Data from Wired Drill
Pipe and Downhole Sensors by Molly
Giltner, Linsay Earle, John Willis, and
Diego Tellez, Randall Neel, Occidental
Petroleum Corporation.
SPE 102210 Comprehensive Drill Rate
Management Process To Maximize ROP,
by Fred E. Dupriest, ExxonMobil Register Today! Visit
SPE 194184 Change Management
go.atce.org/PlanFor19ATCE
Challenges Deploying a Rig-Based
Drilling Advisory System by Michael for more information.
Behounek, Blake Millican, Brian Nelson,
Apache Corp., et al
SPE 119570 Step-Change Improvements
With Wired-Pipe Telemetry by Chris
McCartney, Allen, Scott, Occidental
Petroleum Corp.; Maximo Hernandez,
Grant Prideco, et al.
 Beaver Drilling:
B eaver Drilling’s survival in the bru-
tally competitive oilfields of west-
ern Canada depends on the performance
of eight drilling rigs.
The strategy of its chief executive offi-
cer, Kevin Krausert, depends on effec-
tively using new drilling technology to
gain a performance edge on the compe-
tition. Executing that plan will require
drillers prepared to drive change.
“I was thinking about a lot of tech-
nology systems that we were already
using, process automation on our rigs,
surface optimization, drilling apps.
These are fundamentally new p­ieces
of technology and there was r­eally
very little training in the industry
that enables and empowers the drill-
er to actually use them confidently,”
Krausert said.
To give meaning to the easily mocked
phrase “really empowering drillers,”
Krausert decided to create a training
program in partnership with the arm
of the University of Calgary business
school that does executive training.
The oil business in Canada “has been
hammered by everything that has hap-
pened since 2014. You have got to be
a different kind of company is you’re a
Canadian company. You need a differ-
ent kind of worker. You need a different
approach,” said Derek Hassey, a profes-
sor at the University of Calgary business
school whose expertise in entrepreneur-
Paul Paziuk, a driller at Beaver Drilling, presents the results of a research
project at an industry gathering.
32
Drillers as Innovation Leaders
ial thinking was a critical element in the
training program created with Beaver,
known as Avatar.
It recently graduated 17 Beaver drill-
ers and rig mangers, plus one rough-
neck. The 2-year program designed
for working drillers included class-
room work, online studies, and proj-
ects. The university courses included
business basics, from finance to energy
economics. There was also networking
with executives, group evaluations of
new digital technology; and individual
research projects on topics from drill-
ing logistics to recruiting new rig hands.
Other companies offer drillers train-
ing that is directly related to the jobs,
such as the physics underlying drill-
ing performance. Krausert’s goal was to
turn technically competent drillers into
leaders of innovative business units who
understand the need for new technol-
ogy, and the resilience required to get in
working effectively.
A program that includes meeting the
artistic director of the Alberta Ballet
Company to learn about creative think-
ing may seem like an odd approach to
training skilled operators of power-
ful drilling machines. It was included
because a major goal was to teach them
how to identify promising ideas and give
them the confidence to pursue them and
evaluate which are valuable to the busi-
ness, said Jennifer Zieglgansberger, an
executive coach who also partnered with
Beaver in developing the program,
She explained, “With these guys, they
are naturally innovative. They almost
always have a business on the side, a
farm or something like that. They are
hands-on learners. What makes them
successful on the rig is that they are very
gifted at executing.
“But in the world we are living in
we want to leverage technology. Doing
things more efficiently and effectively
takes an innovative mindset. It is some-
thing you do every day and you find a
way to do it  better.”
Doing it better requires being in the
habit of looking for ideas that work,
which can be consistently repeated to
significantly improve results.
Class work covered how to evaluate
and research ideas to see which innova-
tions are potentially valuable, and use
that process to make a case to justify
the money and time required to make
a change. In a business, having a good
idea is worthless unless it can be sold to
those who control spending.
“You need to build a business case, do
some research, and talk to some people”
to make a financial case that the payoff
justifies the cost and effort required to
change, Hassey said.
To help the Avatars learn the ways of
management, they were each assigned
an executive sponsor at Beaver’s
Calgary headquarters.
Now that the first class is done, it
is hoping to do another. Oil operators
and service companies are interested
but it is a costly program, supported by
job training grants from the province
of Alberta.
A simple argument for the program’s
value is it has to keep Beaver rigs work-
ing at a time when oil and gas prices in
western Canada are depressed by lack
of pipeline capacity to faraway mar-
kets. The program’s focus on continu-
ous improvement helped forge a bond
with a Calgary-based operation, Birch-
cliff Energy.
“We never drilled for Birchcliff before
Avatar, and now we are their number
one driller,” Krausert said.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Corva: Selling the User Experience
C orva’s challenge is to change the
behavior of drillers who work for
somebody else. The fast-growing com-
pany has no shortage of users. Retaining
those customers will require convincing
oil companies that the real-time drilling
data and analysis is creating enough value
to justify the cost.
Getting workers at client companies to
use the system, much less use it effective-
ly, requires coaxing. It can hope that cli-
ent companies push workers to use what
it offers and builds its numbers into drill-
ing routines.
But Corva’s main levers are sharp
graphics highlighting insights from drill-
ing analysis that can be displayed on a
range of devices, backed up with personal
support from drilling veterans on staff.
“We do not publicize this but our secret
sauce is about the user experience,” said
Ryan Dawson, founder and chief execu-
tive officer of Corva. He defined the goal
as delivering “a product they want to use,
they love to use.”
Readers who concluded Dawson came
from the consumer technology sector are
correct. Previously he worked for a soft-
ware firm in Austin, Texas whose clients
included Netflix and Microsoft. And, yes,
he is trying to create a service that is as
intuitive and addictive as an iPhone.
It features 60 drilling apps. It is
expanding next into completions. It is
field-testing 20 apps built for real-time
monitoring and analysis of horizontal
well completions.
Corva has been investing in both
advanced analytics to aid decision making,
and experts to add the voice of experience.
Those providing support have experience
in directional drilling or measurement
while drilling and can connect with drill-
ers by talking their language, Dawson said.
The job is to “do whatever you can to
make someone happy,” short of telling a
customer what they should do, Dawson
said. Telling them what to do is against
the rules. Corva is working to provide
better information for decision makers,
but ultimately the conclusions will vary
depending on many factors.
Corva is competing with other real-
time drilling data services and com­panies
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
with their own systems. The starting
point for users is creating a dashboard
featuring a handful of apps relating to the
person’s specialty.
If a user’s focus is on drilling floor effi-
ciency, they will include the app monitor-
ing pipe connection times, which shows
when those rates are lagging compared
with high-performing wells. The time
saved per connection looks small, but in a
test it allowed a client to shave many days
of work, as can faster drilling.
A directional driller will likely want
to see the slide percentage—a measure
of how much sliding time is required to
drill a curve. A lower percentage is bet-
ter because progress slows during sliding.
An app analyzing hole quality based
on dogleg severity—the tightness of
bends—has attracted the interest of an
executive vice president with one big
independent, who has set up an alert, and
will send out a message to the rig when a
threshold level is crossed, said Dawson.
Human Decisions
A drilling advisor offers useful bits of
information, from the suggested weight
to put on the bit to warnings of leaks. It
is still up to human beings to put all these
variables together to solve the problem.
Beaver Drilling created a rig leadership
program for its drillers based on the obser-
vation that drillers need to be trained to
effectively use digital tools to lead efforts
to find ways to improve performance.
“We use Corva and other drilling ana-
lytics tools, and some from operators,”
said Kevin Krausert, chief executive offi-
cer for Beaver Drilling.
Corva offers customer support using drilling veterans with a range of
experience. A team of three drilling analysts are available around the clock
to monitor and analyze drilling. Source: Corva.
The initial reaction by drillers was often
wary because they worried that their
moves were recorded and graded based
on the machine’s standard. Beaver worked
to overcome that reluctance by making
it clear that “rigorous analysis empow-
ers the driller to understand what they’re
doing,” he said. In other words, their job
is to make use of the numbers to do better.
“I see these as really valuable tools. But
without the right culture and the right
training, they get lost,” Krausert said.
Corva cannot control the organization,
but its ability to track who is using the sys-
tem allows it to identify “super users” who
adopt the system early and use it often.
Dawson said Corva does “everything
it can to empower them.” They are influ-
encers in the office who can help win over
and train non-users, which typically rep-
resent 30% of the potential user base.
“We monitor what everyone is saying.
They like this app more than that. They
are not using these apps that are not add-
ing value,” Dawson said, adding, “Cus-
tomers come up with the best ideas.”
Users do not appear to be defined by
age, gender, or job title, said Cody Byrd,
operations team lead for Corva, who
described users as from the “C-suite to
the rig floor.”
While engineers took longer to start
using Corva than drillers, Dawson said
that engineers use its data to select
which components to put together
in the bottomhole assembly and track
performance indicators.
Ultimately, Dawson said, drillers and
others will use a drilling advisor if it helps
“them do what they know how to do better.”
33
 Apache: Averting Human Roadblocks
W hen Apache rolled out a digital
system delivering real-time drill-
ing data and advice, the reactions from
workers were strong, and conflicting.
“With the supervisors, what surprised
the field team the most was the vari-
ance in responses. Some wellsite super-
visors saw the system as an opportu-
nity to improve the performance on
their rig and expand upon their per-
sonal knowledge. Others saw the
tool as a test of their overall control
of the operation, making them resis-
tant to use the system,” according to
a technical paper describing the effort
(SPE 194184).
“Some drilling engineers embraced
the data-driven approach” while oth-
ers “felt the program would overshadow
their engineering effort and preferred
methods,” the paper said.
Others were curious. During the field
trial, drillers were initially told to ignore
the engineers testing the system, but
they soon started asking questions.
“Within days of the system being
installed on the rig, drillers were active-
ly participating in the trouble-shoot-
ing process, without being asked to
do so, working with the field engineer
and adjusting parameters according to
drilling suggestions” it provided, the
paper said.
Adding a real-time drilling display to the welter of screens in the driller’s
cabin required Apache to work with rig managers to ensure it was easy to see.
Source: SPE 194184.
34
One driller never tried the program.
The paper said that when asked why he
was not using it, he explained he was
afraid he would break something.
The experience of installing and train-
ing crews on seven rigs to use a sys-
tem that had performed well on a two-
rig pilot confirmed the need for a plan
to deal with “all the people it will affect
when it is time to scale up.”
Experience with other drilling innova-
tions showed that many good ideas failed
due to a “lack of consideration given to
how the project will be perceived by the
people it affects,” the paper said.
Scalability is a must. In this case,
Apache partnered with a software com-
pany, Intellicess, to build a drilling advi-
sor able to consolidate and display data
generated by differently equipped rigs to
ensure it could be used widely.
Selling something new can require “a
dialogue about their concerns and fears.”
After some reassurance and training, the
reluctant driller became a regular user.
Power and Influence
The study identified many people whose
concerns and fears could affect the effort.
The change management planning pro-
cess at Apache created a chart ranking
nine groups of people based on their level
of power and influence.
Those with high power and influence
but low interest “have to be kept satis-
fied to the extent they do not harm the
project.” The approach is different for
those with power, influence, and high
interest who “can accelerate the adop-
tion of change.”
Listening required a follow up. After
a rig supervisor said the system needed
to allow the driller to ignore mild lev-
els of drill bit stick and slip, they quickly
made that change. As a result, that per-
son “started seeing the advisory as more
of a support tool.”
Some engineers objected because the
system would take over jobs, such as
­creating daily drilling plans.
Other engineers appreciated the time
saved by having the drilling advisor cre-
ate a plan describing the next section
and providing drilling guidelines. Still,
they needed to offer unhappy engineers
something, because they had learned
that drilling advisory system use dropped
when engineers did not encourage drill-
ers to use it.
There was a limit to what they could
offer. The system was designed to
“empower drillers to make better data-
driven decisions in drilling parame-
ter selection with less input from well-
site supervisors and  engineers,” the
paper said.
They offered to keep engineers
involved in the process by allowing them
to determine the parameters of the com-
parable wells used by the advisory system
to help predict well conditions and deter-
mine optimal drilling performance.
Drillers were required to go through
training on the physics of drilling so they
were “equipped with the pertinent infor-
mation to make the most informed drill-
ing parameter choices.”
Over time, the rollout has grown to 20
US rigs, and drillers can be faster than
computers at pattern recognition.
The paper said those doing the one-
on-one training observed that after
using the system for a few days, when
they encountered drilling dysfunc-
tion “most drillers were able to pre-
dict what action the advisory system
would suggest.”
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
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 Occidental: Learning While Drilling Faster
M olly Giltner smiled when she saw a
text from a driller saying, “Reduced
WOB. Continued to drill to bottom.”
For the senior drilling engineer at Occi-
dental Petroleum, that cryptic note was
a sign that a rig-based program provid-
ing a flood of data from wired drilling
pipe installed on one rig could have a
lasting impact on other rigs drilling in
the Permian.
Specifically, it was shorthand for how
a driller dealt with a problem—the mud
motor was stalling while drilling hard,
interbedded rock near the bottom of a
horizontal well. Occidental drillers and
engineers had figured out that it is fast-
er and cheaper to reduce the weight on
bit (WOB) than speeding ahead, which
increased the risk of a breakdown and
time lost for repairs.
The text message arrived after Giltner
delivered a talk at the SPE/IADC Drilling
Conference and Exhibition in The Hague.
The paper topic was about improving
drilling performance using downhole
data from wired drill pipe and downhole
sensors (SPE 194093).
There was no mention of people in the
title, but the majority of the talk was on
the cooperative method used by teams on
drilling rigs to use high-resolution data
to figure out how to increase drilling pro-
ductivity and pass on what was learned.
Wired pipe sending nearly 58,000 bits
per second offers a lot clearer view of
subsurface reality than mud-pulse telem-
An Occidental rig drilled faster and reduced cost per
foot using a flood of downhole data from wired drilling
pipe and a systematic process to identify issues limiting
performance. Source: Occidental, SPE 194093.
36
etry sending 10 bits per second. To justify
the cost of that quality, significant perfor-
mance gains are required.
“If you do not translate that knowl-
edge to the person on the joystick, he
doesn’t do anything different, so what
have you accomplished?” Giltner said.
The data had to be part of a group effort,
starting on one drilling rig and spreading
to six others.
The hard part was developing and
maintaining “a simple and effective way
to capture that information and use it” to
redesign drilling, she said.
The methods used were not new or
unique. Occidental has a program to
teach the physics of drilling to key rig
personnel, including contractors. It built
that process into the industry practice of
creating a drilling parameters roadmap.
“It is nothing magic. It was knowledge
sharing and an understanding of what
you are drilling through,” Giltner said.
The potential value of that flood of data
provided “a perfect opportunity to dou-
ble down on the drilling improvement
system” she said.
­others,” she said.
Focus on the Driller
The payoff was a 25% reduction in
the drilling time through an interme-
diate hole section, and a 33% savings.
Those pro forma estimates are based on
reduced equipment costs and a lower
cost-per-foot calculation using assumed
hourly rates and equipment costs.
Another rig working nearby in the Permian for Occidental
delivered similar results based on what was learned
without the benefit of the wired pipe. Source: Occidental,
SPE 194093.
The focus of the system is on the drill-
er using the available information to find
a better way. “Rather than telling them
what to do, which means you will do only
as well as you did before, they describe
what the data means and how to use
it, allowing them to use their judgment.
They were empowered,” Giltner said.
She described the approach to dealing
with a drilling dysfunction: “We will go
one way and try the conventional thing
to do. Then we go the other way and we
understand a lot more quickly.”
For example, drillers had been taught
to react to torque oscillations by increas-
ing the revolutions per minute and
reducing the WOB. The Occidental rigs,
though, found that in a particular section,
increasing the WOB reduced the oscil-
lations without having to make chang-
es that slowed drilling. “It was better to
not back off from every dysfunction we
found,” she said.
The work began on the rig with wired
pipe. “What made a difference was start-
ing with a small group that was really
into the project and then we brought in
Others joined in without an invitation.
“They showcased a 10% rate of penetra-
tion gain and that got the attention of
others who asked, what you doing? What
is working? It snowballs,” Giltner said.
The number of rigs involved grew as they
saw the results when others learned to
“drill smarter.”
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
 Competition motivated others to
change. Drillers wanted to be fastest,
and company representatives do not
want to be associated with mangled
drill bits.
While other rig crews did not have the
data offered by wired pipe, what was
learned about the local problems and
how to adjust to deal with them, enabled
them in some cases to outperform the
wired rig after the data convinced them
that they needed to change their habits.
Those rigs had been drilling fast, but
stops for repairs added days to the time
it took to drill a well. Based on what
they learned, they made changes that
reduced the time lost and cost of replac-
ing damaged hardware.
The drilling roadmap was used to
communicate what was learned. It
evolved as they worked to create a con-
cise report documenting and transfer-
ring lessons learned as well as the usual
information covered in such a report,
such as what to expect in the rock ahead.
It also provided advice on the con-
trol settings and strategies based on
what had been learned, and informa-
tion related to the current drilling lim-
iter—the focus of the drilling improve-
ment effort.
The goal was to create a constant-
ly updated document used by drillers,
drill-site managers, and engineers to
identify and record what they observed
when drilling problems were encoun-
tered. It described the drilling char-
acteristics of intervals ahead allowing
drilling teams to focus on specific indi-
cators related to the limiter.
Engineers played an important role of
making “sense of all these piles of data
we were getting,” helping plan changes
for future wells.
“I think constant communication
between the rig and the office is key
to make sure all parties understand
the dysfunctions occurring, or in the
absence of dysfunction, opportunities to
improve,” Giltner said.
The roadmap is updated after each
well so lessons are documented for
future reference. Occidental is looking
for other ways to share what is learned.
“We are working on other systems to
efficiently share lessons learned and
successful practices and designs across
the global drilling community,” she said.
The paper reported on work done
a year ago within a group of rigs that
is still using wired pipe to go after
remaining limiters, Giltner said. “We
are targeting higher-hanging fruit,” She
explained that, “We are getting away
from avoiding failure and moving more
toward optimization.” JPT

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To “Right Size” Fractures, Producers
Adopt Robust Monitoring and
Custom Completions
Trent Jacobs, JPT Digital Editor
A s the shale sector looks for ways to
improve well results, momentum
is building to take a much closer look at
how and where hydraulic fractures are
created while pressure pumping fluids
into tight, complex reservoirs.
The effort is being driven by un-
resolved questions over optimal well
spacing and fracturing techniques. They
are two closely related issues that dove-
tail into sector-wide production short-
falls associated to frac hits, a common
well-to-well effect that experts in the
technical community have recently
named fracture-driven interactions.
One of the biggest challenges in over-
coming these issues is to learn how to
control the size of hydraulic fractures
(the general emphasis is on reducing
their lateral and vertical extensions)
38
with a far finer degree of accuracy and
finesse than is realistic today. There is
an expanding array of diagnostic stud-
ies and new technologies working to this
end. Several of the latest examples were
highlighted at the recent Unconvention-
al Resources Technology Conference
(URTeC) in Denver.
Operators both large and small used
the conference as an opportunity to
express support for the broader use of
tools considered to be classic compo-
nents of petroleum and reservoir engi-
neering: wellhead and bottomhole pres-
sure gauges. These two technological
cousins are nothing new to the oil field,
but have only recently become viewed
as essential among those seeking afford-
able answers about how their fractures
behave during the treatment.
Source: Getty Images.
“The industry badly needs a low-cost,
stage-by-stage method that we can use
for assessing the reservoir quality, the
completion design, and fracture com-
plexities,” said Michael Sullivan, a res-
ervoir diagnostics advisor with Chev-
ron, during a technical session at URTeC.
“Unfortunately, the high-cost and oper-
ational complexity is a barrier to most
other stage-level assessments. What we
need is something we can afford to do.”
Sullivan was presenting a paper
(URTeC 970) that describes how Chev-
ron’s Canadian asset team in the Duver-
nay Shale recently began using “free”
wellhead pressure data to estimate each
fracturing stage’s performance. His hope
is that others follow the workflows as
Chevron looks at more than half-a-dozen
ways to use the data (including perfora-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
tion cluster efficiency analysis and frac
hit identification) to refine its comple-
tions approach.
Sullivan highlighted that the new
learnings are thanks to pressure gauges
it uses per standard procedure, meaning
they are on wellheads whether the data
is analyzed or not. To drive down costs
further, Sullivan advised other operators
to buy their own gauges vs. renting them
from service companies. “What I’ve been
emphasizing around our company is that
this is a measurement we can afford to
make—so let’s make sure we’re getting
the most out of it,” he added.
New Data Leads
to New Directions
In the Permian Basin in Texas, Discovery
Natural Resources is also paying close
attention to well pressures measured
during stimulations and documenting
well-to-well interactions. The small, pri-
vate oil company moved into a pure hor-
izontal drilling program in the Wolf-
camp Shale only 2 years ago and, not
long after, it decided to start using pres-
sure data from surface and bottomhole
gauges to constrain fracture models and
reservoir simulations.
The investment has delivered “some
of the best datasets we have in the com-
pany,” according to Bryan McDowell,
a technical advisor of asset develop-
ment at Discovery. In two new papers
(URTeC 125, URTeC 272), the opera-
tor describes how reservoir diagnos-
tics and subsequent modeling have
increased its understanding of fracture
interactions and led to new completion
designs based on landing zones for its
stacked development.
There is one note of caution for com-
panies just beginning to catalogue every
recordable fracture interaction through
pressure data: be prepared to take on
the data management chores. In just one
of Discovery’s recent fracturing opera-
tions, the pressure plots from the parent
and child wells amounted to 56 million
rows of data. “We’re a small company,”
said McDowell, “so to us, it’s a huge
amount of data.”
Neither Chevron’s Duvernay team nor
Discovery have plans to use their new
data to test completion designs that are
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
tailored on a stage-by-stage basis, often
called the “engineered” completion.
However, several companies at URTeC
revealed that they are in the hunt.
Despite various approaches, a uni-
versal objective of the engineered com-
pletion is to take into account the role
of nature and prior reservoir produc-
tion and then customize individual stage
treatments to avoid extensive fracture
overlap between wells.
Devon Energy is among those explor-
ing this concept. In fact, the company
is supporting research that aims to take
things one step further by adding the
“on-the-fly” element to the engineered
completion. A new technical paper
(URTeC 449) outlines its work with the
University of Texas at Austin (UT) on
near real-time fracture geometry esti-
mation—a key steppingstone to mak-
ing completion design changes during
the treatment.
“To make real-time changes, we have
to be able to make a real-time recom-
mendation—and to make a recommen-
dation, you have to understand what’s
happening in the subsurface second by
second,” explained Brendan Elliott. He
is a senior staff completions engineer at
Devon who is completing a PhD in real-
time completion strategies.
Thousands of petrotechnicals gathered in Denver for the annual Unconventional
Resources Technology Conference (URTeC) where several new papers on
advanced completion designs using new diagnostics were presented.
Source: URTeC.
The research team he works on at the
university is seeking to prove out a new
analytical model and a real-time inver-
sion process that makes it possible to
rapidly figure out where fractures are
moving through the rock. Details of this
model were shared earlier in the year
by its principal developer, Ripudaman
Manchanda, a research associate at UT,
at an American Rock Mechanics Associ-
ation symposium (ARMA 19-2071). The
software will eventually be available for
any company to license from UT.
The aim of the emerging toolset is to
process enough data from a fracturing
stage to inform changes on the subse-
quent stage. This could be done to opti-
mize hydraulic fracture growth from
a treatment well, or to prevent a frac-
ture from breaking its way into the low-
pressure zone of a produced well.
This would constitute the high-
est degree of fracture control ever
achieved—but it is not a reality.
In presenting the conference paper,
Elliott acknowledged such a vision of
real-time completions is at least couple
of years away. The evolutionary steps
begin with making well-to-well changes,
then stage-to-stage changes, and finally
there may be enough confidence to test
intra-stage changes.
39
 All of this will require more field work
to decipher which toggles are the biggest
influencers of fracture growth and com-
plexity—which could be treatment rates,
how fast the rate is ramped up, total sand
and fluid volumes, fluid rheology, clus-
ter spacing, and the number of perfora-
tions in a cluster. Experts believe there
are at least a dozen other factors, not
least of which are the landing zone and
near-field geomechanics.
Operators including Devon have
already figured out how to manage at
least one of these factors by adopting lim-
ited entry designs, also termed extreme-
limited entry, which use a small num-
ber of perforations in each fracturing
stage. Fewer perforations make it easier
to assess cluster efficiency, while at the
same time, those making the switch have
also found that too many perforations
can lead to fractures that are longer than
desired, increasing the risk of unwant-
ed frac hits.
A Preference for Pressure
As operators look for reservoir diag-
nostics, they are finding that the most
scalable tools are downhole and surface
pressure gauges. Petrotechnicals work-
ing at Chevron’s Duvernay Shale asset in
Frac Sequence
85
75
Pressure (MPa)
65 Initial Frac
55
Diverter
45
Frac10
Rate (m3/min)
10
5
0
ToD 15:00:00 16:00:00 17:00:00
An example of a typical fracturing sequence of a single stage in which a
diverter was used in the middle of the treatment. Such data are being studied
to learn what the behavior of the pressure decay signal reveals about stage
performance. The pressure decay is usually longer on pads that are being
zipper fractured with other wells. Source: URTeC 970.
40
Alberta are among those following this
emerging trend.
Measured during zipper fracturing,
the supermajor believes that analyzing
post-fracture pressure falloff data could
unlock a slew of valuable insights.
“The basic premise is that when a
fracture is connected to greater per-
meability—system permeability—the
pressure will decay at a higher rate,”
explained Sullivan while presenting the
company’s paper at URTeC. “So when we
can keep everything else constant, and
change only one variable at a time, such
as the fracturing fluid, geologic landing
zone, completion type, etc., we can use
this pressure fall-off rate as a compari-
son metric for optimization.”
As of the conference, Chevron had
recorded the data from about 1,800
stages in 58 wells, on 15 pads—but
only analyzed about half. The com-
pany is now working on automating
the signal analysis to speed the pro-
cess. While Sullivan stressed that Chev-
ron’s understanding of the fall-off data
is still “evolving,” and it has made no
changes to its completions yet based
on the “signal,” it has identified sev-
eral ways it could lead to new plans
and designs.
Final Frac
Analyzable
Pressure
Decay
Falloff10 (1.22536 hr)
1.25 hours
18:00:00 19:00:00
One finding Chevron shared was that
the pressure data can reveal cluster effi-
ciency—something shale producers
have struggled to determine over the
years. After validating with downhole
fiber optics, the key takeaway is that
when only a small number of perfora-
tions are taking fluid into the reservoir,
a smaller pressure decay is observed
after the stage is finished. Sullivan
advised using the signal as a proxy to
cluster efficiency “which then you could
use for improving by changing your perf
design, for example.”
In another experiment, Chevron ana-
lyzed the pressure data from five stages
in a well completed using single entry
point sleeves to eliminate the uncertain-
ty of cluster efficiency. The stages landed
in two types of rock: one was more brit-
tle as defined by Young’s modulus, and
the other was less brittle. Each saw sig-
nificantly different leak-off rates, with
the more brittle rock seeing the greatest
pressure decay.
Chevron was able to conclude that the
brittle rock stages saw more complex
fracturing due to the higher rate of pres-
sure leak-off. This was a major revelation
for the asset team since the landing zone
on these stages were all within 2–3  m
of each other’s vertical depth. Previous-
ly, such small variances had not been
seen as important factors for comple-
tions design.
“Actually, it’s a big deal,” emphasized
Sullivan. “The brittleness of the rock can
control the fracture initiation complex-
ity, so what is within a meter of the well-
bore may matter a lot.”
Chevron’s potential uses of pressure
decay signal:
◗ Fracture modeling: Chevron
is integrating the decay signal into
geomechanical simulations to better
understand its transient behavior.
◗ Frac hit verification: When zipper
fracturing on a multiwell pad with
a “plug and perf ” completion,
it may not be possible to know
when a frac hit has occurred if
the interval of the well being hit
has already been isolated with
a bridge plug. However, a frac
hit is recognizable in the well
being stimulated by observing an
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

Sh
10,500
9,800
9,200
8,600
8,000
BSGL 7,400
6,800
FBSG
6,200
SBSG 5,600
5,000
SBSG Shale
TBSG
WFMP A
WFMP B
WFMP C
This 3D cube accounts for about 30 square miles of the Delaware Basin and
was assembled by first putting together seven other 3D cubes that represent
each stress equation used by a mechanical Earth model. Each color here shows
the variations in minimum horizontal stress. Source: URTeC 208.
anomalously high rate of post-frac ing too much work on technical staff,
pressure decay. which in many cases is doing more work
◗◗ Geologic controls: Expectations with fewer resources. Most shale produc-
are that the pressure decay signal ers have shrunk considerably since the
correlates to rock brittleness and heady days of $100/bbl oil, and many
the presence of natural fractures. continue to downsize as the sector faces
Chevron also wants to map the ongoing financial hardship.
results spatially to understand And between the limited number of
regional geology. companies implementing or testing
◗◗ Proxy for production logging: engineered completions, recent indus-
If the rate of change in the signal try literature and conference-circuit dia-
indicates connected reservoir logue on the topic suggests that more
permeability, a stage-by-stage producers are comfortable with planned
comparison may also indicate changes than those that think they can
where the production is to flow make them during the treatment. Time
from—thus, potentially serving will tell if the current research results in
as a reasonable alternative to more converts.
using expensive production “Currently, industry does not see a
logging surveys. clear benefit to making changes to the
◗◗ Image log correlation: The decay pumping schedule on the fly, because we
rate might correlate with the density don’t really know how to do it,” explained
of natural fractures, however the Mukul Sharma, a petroleum engineering
analysis has not yet been run on professor at UT and proponent of on-
any wells that used image log data the-fly changes. He is also involved in the
along the lateral section. research project with Devon.
Despite the current state of readiness,
Why Real-Time Completions Sharma argues that with infill drilling
Won’t Happen representing an ever-growing share of
Customizing stages—whether planned the North American shale well invento-
or made during a treatment—is con- ry, real-time or near real-time fracture
sidered by many operators as impos- control will be an increasingly important
42
tool for avoiding negative fracture inter-
action. “As the technology develops and
we improve our ability to interpret inex-
pensive observations in adjacent monitor
wells, I believe we will see the benefits of
doing things this way.”
The opposing viewpoint is that on-
the-fly changes pose unnecessary chal-
lenges and that it is simply incompat-
ible with the industry’s adopted “factory
mode” approach.
One of those hurdles involves change
management. Shale producers are
famously rigid in how little flexibility
is given to the fracturing consultants
and company men tasked with carry-
ing out plans made weeks or months
prior. This bleeds into accounting issues
that would arise since final investment
decisions on new wells are also made
along the same timelines. Changing well
designs on the spot makes it difficult to
project costs.
David Cannon, the senior vice presi-
dent of geoscience and technology for
Diamondback Energy, was one of sev-
eral oil and gas executives at URTeC
who raised other concerns. His cen-
tered around how on-the-fly comple-
tions would expose delicate supply
chains that operators have spent years
establishing, along with the “safe and
efficient” work routines enjoyed by frac-
turing crews and those that pay their
day rates.
The gamble is that disrupting this
fine-tuned orchestra of capital and labor
risks negating any positive economic
benefits achieved in the reservoir.
“I think it’s an admirable goal,” Can-
non said of on-the-fly completions.
“However, at the same time, you always
have to think about the efficiency of the
operations at the surface. When you
can become repetitive, you can become
very efficient.”
Ready or Not, Here They Come
While engineered completions remain
a larger point of debate than they do an
industry practice, some operators are at
least testing the waters.
Callon Petroleum, a mid-sized Perm-
ian operator, is placing its bets around
a mechanical Earth model and seismic
inversion to predict how fractures will
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
propagate in different layers of rock.
The company’s paper (URTeC 208)
notes its motivation to experiment
with engineered completions stemmed
from concerns about the sustainabil-
ity of completions using “a repeated
sequence implementing identical geo-
metric stage placement and pump-
ing schedules.”
By characterizing rock stress with
logs, cores, and seismic data ahead of
time, Callon has found that in high-
stress zones, fracture growth is more
likely to be contained, resulting in less
well-to-well interference. In low-stress
zones, engineers and petrophysicist are
using a new “seismic-to-simulation”
workflow to avoid fracture asymmetry
and frac hits by using wider stage spac-
ing and less aggressive stimulations.
Callon says these learnings have enabled
it to high-grade its acreage based on
rock stress.
Equinor is also in the early stages of
studying rock stress for engineered com-
pletions at its Eagle Ford Shale asset, but
it is taking a different route than Callon.
Instead of using seismic interpretations,
the company presented a case study it
says validates the use of surface drill-
ing data—i.e., mechanical specific ener-
gy (MSE)—and a new modeling software
to infer pore pressure and stress states
(URTeC 511).
Low pressures and stresses are cor-
related to areas of reservoir depletion,
which as mentioned earlier, should affect
stage placement and treatment. Equi-
nor points out that since the MSE data
is already recorded during drilling, its
acquisition comes at no extra cost.
“A Direct Known Point
in Space”
As more operators realize that pressure
data is reflective of fracture geometry,
some want to get as close to the source of
that pressure as possible—the fractures
themselves. Devon is among those taking
pains to do just that.
One of the company’s URTeC papers
that it coauthored with researchers from
UT describes efforts to create a “new,
fast analytical method to estimate frac-
ture geometry, and the resulting stresses
around a propagating fracture” by iden-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
tifying poroelastic responses that are
the result of stress shadowing. Unlike
other recently established pressure-
based diagnostics, this innovation for-
goes using bridge plugs to isolate and
monitor a particular fracture stage in an
offset well.
Instead, the unique approach calls
for bottomhole pressure gauges to be
installed at various locations along
an offset well’s lateral section. These
gauges are “externally ported” to
the rock formation to measure pres-
sure in the reservoir and prevent pres-
sure communication with the inside of
the casing.
The closer each gauge is to a prop-
agating fracture correlates to higher-
observed pressures. The extra effort of
using downhole gauges this way is done
to enhance the certainty of the reservoir’s
3,000
2,500
2,000
Relative Northing Distance (ft)
1,500
1,000
500
0
–500
–1,000
The horizontal wellbore trajectories and distances between treatment stage
and monitoring points. Due to the azimuth of this fracture and wellbore
geometry, a fracture was observed passing the heel downhole gauge before
a response was seen in the mid-lateral gauge. URTeC 449.
pressure response data by attaching it to
“a direct known point in space.”
Analysis of the data is updated con-
tinuously as a stage is pumped, which
allows engineers to use it as a near real-
time method for visualizing the pressure
growing inside the formation as the frac-
tures move through the reservoir.
Devon has validated the new
model using more complex 3D- and
geomechanical-coupled numerical sim-
ulators, which are useful, but not in the
context of real-time decision making
since they take hours or days to run. The
new analytical model only takes seconds.
“I think this is incredibly powerful,”
said Elliott. “We really haven’t had this
before, and the ability of simple mod-
els to project this is quite impressive.”
He added that as the picture of fracture
behavior and reservoir pressure changes
Wellbore Paths in Horizontal Plane
Fracturing Well DH Gauge
Monitoring Well
1,313 ft
Fracturing Stage
623 ft
554 ft
818 ft DH Gauge
–800 –600 –400 –200 0 200 400
Relative Easting Distance (ft)
43
 1,500
1,400
1,300
Fracture Half-Length (ft)
1,200
1,100
1,000
900
800
700
600
100 200 300
This graph represents the combination of data from two pressure monitoring
locations inside the same well. It shows the most probable solution for fracture
geometry is the blue line, specifically the lower values to the left. White spaces
represent outcomes in which the calculations could not find a possible answer.
Source: URTeC 449.
becomes sharper, designed experiments
can be run to test different parameters of
the overall completion strategy.
The central job of the new model is to
help figure out the three key unknowns
of fracture geometry: net pressure, frac-
ture height, and fracture half-length. The
challenge is that for any given pressure
response, these three parameters can be
combined in a nearly infinite number of
ways to match the response. This means
a fracture could be close to the point of
measurement, or it could be farther away,
and of different sizes, while generating
the same observed pressure response.
To get closer to the true answer, the
UT research team has turned to an inver-
sion algorithm that Elliott said enables
the software to “calculate the full solu-
tion space” which is displayed as a curved
surface. Each downhole gauge provides
one of these curves. When three gaug-
es are used, the most likely solution
for net pressure and fracture geometry
is triangulated.
In the first pilot, Devon only used two
gauges. One gauge was placed in the heel
zone and one in the middle of an offset
44
7 frac hit workflow to diagnose the inter-
6 production effects. The reservoir simula-
5
4 this combined reservoir diagnostics pro-
3
2 daily production.
1 downhole and surface gauges that in
400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000
Fracture Height (ft)
monitoring wellbore. At 8 minutes into
the fracturing of an offset stage, the heel-
gauge recorded a pressure rise while the
mid-lateral gauge did not see a response
until 24 minutes into pumping. Knowing
where these points were in the well, and
how far apart those responses were in
time was all that was needed to reveal the
azimuth and behavior of the fractures.
The next set of goals for the Devon
and UT team will be to run more pilots,
validate the model against data sets
from other industry partners, integrate
the data with other diagnostic tech-
nologies, and move the process into
real-time mode.
Water Hits, Arrival Times,
and Pinballs
The work of detailed reservoir diagnos-
tics is not the sole domain of large com-
panies. There are ample case studies that
show how small producers have increased
their scrutiny of reservoir pressures and
adopted integrated modeling workflows
to engineer better well designs.
One of the latest comes from Discov-
ery, which has only about 200 employ-
ees. In just 4 months, a single person
in the company was able to develop a
actions it was observing by correlating
tion workflow, which incorporates some
of that data, took a year to build with
four staffers.
Among the most critical learnings of
gram is that frac hits in Discovery’s loca-
tion tend to have neutral effects on oil
production, enabling the company to
tolerate them with only slight delays in
This was realized using data from
some cases recorded pressure increas-
es in shut-in offset wells by as much as
2,000 or 3,000 psi during the treatment
of another well. These pressures were
often sustained for days and weeks.
Despite the magnitudes, pressures
often built up slowly, almost to the ini-
tial reservoir pressures recorded before
the first offset wells were hydraulical-
ly fractured. When production data
came in later, the engineering team saw
something they never expected: gas-
to-oil ratios (GOR) in the offset wells
went down.
“With frac hits, what we see is a bump
in water production and a drop in GOR—
every single time without fail,” said
McDowell at Discovery, explaining that
the working theory is that the fractur-
ing fluids are pushing the gas back into
solution, providing a stronger drive for
oil production once the well cleans up
from a few days or weeks of solid water
production. “It was pretty eye opening,”
he added. “We knew things were hap-
pening, but we never knew the extent of
the pressure.”
Others have seen similar responses in
the Permian and elsewhere, with one
theory being that a slow offset pressure
buildup indicates a complex fracture net-
work with many pathways for fracturing
fluids to travel. Some experts believe that
the tortuosity of these complex systems
is such that the proppant gets held up
somewhere in the near-field of the frac-
ture network, while the injected water is
able to flow much deeper into the forma-
tion and adjacent wellbores.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
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 All Horizontal Well Configurations (A–F) styles. However, many small and mid-
sized operators have shied away from
n=29 n=11 n=30 n=8 n=8 n=2
100 models and simulators due to their cost,
complexity, and uncertainty.
90 But with low-cost pressure data,
31%
operators have at least one constraint
80 36% 40% to make their models and simulations
50% more useful and believable. McDowell
FDI Types (normalized) (%)

70 and others still know that getting the

63%
7% exact prescription for well spacing
60 remains a difficult task. “But cutting
17% 13% down uncertainty is absolutely possi-
50 27% 100% ble,” he said. “And if you can cut down
uncertainty enough, then you’re eventu-
40 13% ally left with the answer, or at least a bet-
25%
ter answer than you started with.” JPT
30
31% 18%
20% 25% For Further Reading
20
URTeC 511 Estimation of 3D
25% Distribution of Pore Pressure from
10 18%
14% 13% 13%
Surface Drilling Data—Application
to Optimal Drilling and Frac Hit
0
x≤1,000 1,000<x≤2,000 2,000<x≤3,000 3,000<x≤4,000 4,000<x≤5,000 5,000<x Prevention in the Eagle Ford by James
Fracture Height (ft) Kalinec, Equinor, Mohit Paryani,
FracGeo, et al.
No FDI Oil banking Small water hit Moderate water hit Large water hit
URTeC 208 Frac Hit Prevention and
Engineered Treatment Design in
The type of fracture-driven interaction was documented for 88 horizontal
wells, showing that their frequency and intensity decreases with wider the Permian Basin Using In-Situ
distances between wells. Most of the events were recorded as “water hits” Stress From 3D Seismic by Michael
while a small share were impacted positively by what is known as “oil Shoemaker, James Hawkins, Callon
banking,” which causes oil production to spike after a fracture interaction. Petroleum Company, et al.
Source: URTeC 125.
URTeC 449 Interpreting Inter-Well
Poroelastic Pressure Transient Data:
Especially in water wet geologies, The team uses this data for enhanced An Analytical Approach Validated
which includes Discovery’s position in frac hit detection and well interference with Field Case Studies by Brendan
the Wolfcamp, this becomes a plausi- testing since it can learn the tendencies Elliott, Devon Energy, Ripudaman
ble explanation of why wells that take of its rocks by using the velocities to cal- Manchanda, The University of Texas
frac hits are spared from being sanded culate the “average arrival time” of each at Austin, et al.
in, meaning no proppant is observed. stage’s fractures. URTeC 970 Post-Fracture Decay:
Instead they produce a large volume of The case study proves that knowing A Novel (and Free) Stage-Level
water for several days or weeks before when a pumping stage begins, the dis- Assessment Method by Michael
returning to baseline oil production. tance between wells, and the moment Sullivan, Chevron, Behnam Zanganeh,
Accordingly, the company refers to when offset pressures rise, an operator University of Calgary, et al.
these events as “water hits.” of any size can see how fast fractures URTeC 272 Practical Reservoir
Discovery has inferred other inter- are propagating outward from the treat- Simulation for Small Development
esting fracture behaviors from pressure ment well. As these patterns are seen Teams—Customizing Stimulation
data, including how fracture interactions over and over in the same field, the data Designs by Landing Zone in the
seem to relay from one well to another becomes a hard-to-ignore diagnostic for Midland Basin by Tony Tran, Ryan
like a “pinball,” described McDowell. well spacing. Miller, Discovery Natural Resources,
Related to this, and in a fashion simi- One reason why all these nuances are et al.
lar to Devon’s (but relying on the tradi- so important to document is that Dis- URTeC 125 Production Effects From
tional application of gauges and com- covery needs them to make its invest- Frac-Driven Interactions in the
mercial software), Discovery has shared ment in reservoir models and hydrau- Southeastern Midland Basin, Regan
how it determines the average velocity of lic fracturing simulators worthwhile. County, Texas by Bryan McDowell,
fracture growth by measuring how fast These tools are seen as critical to mak- Alan Yoelin, Discovery Natural
the pressures move from well to well. ing informed changes to completion Resources, et al.

46 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 Getting the Most Out of Each Stage?
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If you want to drain the reservoir as completely and consistently as possible, then it’s time to get
even. The most effective completions improve recovery factors by distributing fluid and proppant
more evenly to maximize cluster efficiency across each and every stage. Learn how to get more
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halliburton.com/clusterefficiency
 Colombia’s New Ambitions Include
Caribbean and Shale Development,
But Are They Achievable?
Matt Zborowski, Technology Editor
A t some point during the first half of
this year, Colombia replaced polit-
ically and economically crippled Ven-
ezuela as Latin America’s third-largest
oil-producing country.
That put Colombia behind only Bra-
zil and Mexico in the hydrocarbons-rich
region, two nations on divergent paths
in terms of oil flow. Since Brazil ended
state-owned Petrobras’ monopoly and
opened up its industry to international
companies in the late 1990s, the coun-
try’s oil output has almost tripled as
it found and tapped into its giant off-
shore presalt fields. Output from Mex-
ico’s state-owned Pemex, meanwhile,
has fallen to its lowest level since at
least 1990, and President Andrés Man-
uel López Obrador is working to stymie
energy reforms implemented in 2013 to
rejuvenate industry in the country.
With the lessons of its resource-rich
neighbors in mind, Colombia finds itself
in a similar position where it must care-
fully choose a path forward for its indus-
try or risk squandering great poten-
tial, or worse, losing what took years to
build. The Andean country in the early
2000s overhauled its regulatory frame-
work, reduced government take, and
48
held licensing rounds with the intent of
attracting foreign investment. Oil pro-
duction subsequently rose to more than
1  million B/D before dropping amid the
global industry downturn. Output in
May averaged just short of 900,000 B/D.
The Colombian government is trying
to build on the foundation established by
those reforms by implementing a novel
permanent, continuously open bidding
process and exploring unconvention-
al development. The aim is to replen-
ish depleted oil and gas reserves and
increase production. Based on its 2018
output, the country’s crude reserves are
good for just 6.2 years, while its natural
gas reserves would last 9.8 years, fall-
ing below the 10-year mark for the first
time in decades, according to statistics
from Colombia’s National Hydrocarbons
Agency (ANH).
But Colombia has long been seen by the
global industry as a petroleum province
with upside that surpasses just incremen-
tal reserves and production gains. All of
its liquids and nearly all of its gas produc-
tion is extracted conventionally onshore,
meaning its offshore and unconvention-
al sectors are nascent. Colombia, which
shares a more than 2000-km border
Source: Getty Images.
with Venezuela, has proven petroleum
systems that have produced oil and gas
for a century, and the application of hori-
zontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing
offers huge promise.
María Fernanda Suárez, Colombia’s
minister of mines and energy, has said
that unconventional development could
triple the country’s oil and gas reserves.
Standing in the way, however, has been
public resistance to hydraulic fractur-
ing, and pilot projects that would dem-
onstrate its benefits are yet to get
environmental approval. There is “game-
changing potential—if the industry
can get going with development,” said
Ruaraidh Montgomery, research director
at oil and gas research firm  Welligence
Energy Analytics.
On the other side of Venezuela sits
Guyana, which has scored a bounty of
oil through more than a dozen offshore
discoveries by ExxonMobil since 2015.
Colombia’s offshore potential is less clear
given the presence of only one producing
field in the country’s history—Chevron’s
shallow-water Chuchupa field, which has
been flowing gas since 1979. But deeper
wells drilled and seismic data collect-
ed since the reforms of the early 2000s
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
have improved knowledge of the region’s
geology, leading to four gas discoveries
and suggesting liquids potential.
Reeling Back in the Majors
Advancing participation in its offshore
sector, ANH this year has awarded blocks
to ExxonMobil, Shell, Repsol, and Colom-
bia’s state-owned Ecopetrol, with Hous-
ton independent Noble Energy entering
the country via a subsequent farm-in to
Shell’s block. Among the longest-tenured
international firms operating in Colom-
bia, ExxonMobil has ramped up invest-
ment in South America as of late, with
major projects in Brazil, Guyana, and
Argentina. However, in recent years it
has scaled down its Colombia work.
Waning interest in the country from
foreign companies, particularly from the
majors, caused ANH to rethink how it
approached contracts, extending explo-
ration terms to give firms more leeway in
their commitments. ANH then rolled out
its new permanent licensing scheme in
which prequalified firms can bid on off-
shore and onshore blocks not formally
on offer in licensing rounds.
A benefit for the foreign firms target-
ing Colombia’s offshore is its low cost of
entry. “It’s not like Brazil where you’re
having to put down a lot of dollars to get
exposure to acreage,” said Montgomery.
“But Brazil is proven—the presalt is a
world-class resource, so you have to pay
to get access.”
Risk is mitigated through technical
evaluation agreements (TEAs) that allow
companies to carry out technical stud-
ies over large swaths of unexplored or
underexplored acreage without making
expensive work commitments. If those
firms wish to proceed with drilling, they
can negotiate the acreage into an explo-
ration and production (E&P) contract
with well commitments.
E&P contracts function under a
sliding-scale royalty that varies depend-
ing on oil price, crude gravity, and pro-
duction level. The royalty starts at 8%
and increases to 20% at a mid-sized
asset—for example, an asset that pro-
duces around 20,000 B/D—and tops off
at 25%. In the licensing rounds, the bid-
ding variable is usually additional work
commitment and sometimes an addi-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
tional royalty bid. Colombia’s corporate
income tax rate is 33%, which will gradu-
ally be reduced to 30% by 2022 under the
administration of President Iván Duque.
“In terms of a comparison with the
rest of the region, we consider the terms
appropriate for an established oil prov-
ince that offers moderate resource
potential and relatively low geological
risk onshore,” said Montgomery. “There
are better terms available elsewhere, but
those typically reflect the fact that the
exploration risk or cost is a lot higher.”
Alejandro Mesa, who leads Baker &
McKenzie’s energy law practice in Bogo-
ta, believes Colombia “could still do bet-
ter” when it comes to the corporate tax
rate. However, he noted the government
has not rescinded contracts with foreign
oil and gas companies and has taken fur-
ther measures to protect foreign invest-
ment. “I think that’s definitely one of
the drivers for companies to still look
at Colombia,” he said.
Caribbean’s Geologic Appeal
Colombia’s efforts to jumpstart its off-
shore sector beginning in the mid-2000s
first bore fruit in 2014 when Brazil’s
state-owned Petrobras made the deep-
water Orca gas discovery in the Guajira
Offshore Basin. Then, during 2015–2017,
Anadarko made the deepwater Kronos,
Gorgon, and Purple Angel gas discover-
ies in the Sinú Offshore Basin. Anadarko
has since relinquished its interests in
Colombian Oil Supply Disruptions by Year
thousand B/D
0 5 10 15
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Despite a peace accord between the government and rebel group FARC in
2016 that was to end a decades-long civil war, security remains a concern for
the industry in Colombia. Much of the instability has been at the border with
Venezuela, where the Caño Limón–Coveñas crude pipeline was bombed an
estimated 1,400 times during its first 32 years in operation. Source: US Energy
Information Administration.
those blocks, and Ecopetrol hopes
to farm out stakes as it moves toward
appraisal drilling and formation testing.
Petrobras plans to drill another well near
Orca in 2020.
Those discoveries confirmed a work-
ing petroleum system in Colombia’s deep
waters. Enticed by the presence of oil
seeps from the continental shelf and adja-
cent onshore basins, foreign operators in
the coming years are likely to turn their
attention to finding liquids deposits in
the region, including Noble, which is slat-
ed to drill an exploration well next year.
The Colombian Caribbean’s new-
found geologic appeal comes from “com-
pelling evidence” that the subduction
active margin model previously accept-
ed by petroleum geologists in the region
“might not be the best explanation for
the evolution of the Caribbean margin
and its prospectivity,” explained Rober-
to Aguilera, founder and president of RA
Geologia, a Bogota-based geological and
geophysical consultancy.
In the past, some operators accept-
ed that model and gave up on the area
“because of the risks associated with
trap integrity and reservoir quality,” said
Aguilera. “But other companies and peo-
ple studying the area started to propose
alternative interpretations for develop-
ment of the margin and its prospectivity
based on the new 3D seismic, geophysi-
cal, and geochemical data acquired dur-
ing TEA evaluations.”
20 25 30 35 40
49

Pa
nam
a
The Colombian Caribbean Margin reaches from Panama to Venezuela along 1600 km of coastline. It includes three
major basins that extend offshore and cover 95000 sq km: Sinú, Guajira, and Urabá (bottom left). Source: RA Geologia.
This new data suggest that the mar-
gin has more passive-like behavior, with
deformation in the southern basins
mainly caused by mud diapirs and exten-
sion associated with mud withdrawal and
gravity sliding, creating folds and mini-
basins similar to those found in the Gulf
of Mexico and Caspian Sea. This in turn
produced a deformation front toward the
continental slope of toe thrusts where
Anadarko and Ecopetrol made their
recent gas discoveries.
While the more established Gulf
of Mexico and Brazilian margins and
the freshly tapped Guyana margin are
each passive, there are key differences
between them and the one in the Colom-
bian Caribbean, he noted. Those differ-
ences include the Colombian Caribbean
margin’s extensive mud diapirs instead
of salt diapirs, uncertainty related to
its pre-Tertiary rock, and the apparent
gassy nature of its petroleum system vs.
the liquids discoveries of the other off-
shore basins—and even compared with
other mud-diapir basins such as the
Caspian Sea.
50
Colombia
There is still much to be learned
about the Colombian margin, however,
so comparing it with more-established
basins is currently difficult. “But it will
probably have the best of both worlds,”
Aguilera said.
Familiar Foreign Operators
With age comes wisdom for Colombia’s
onshore fields. Unlike offshore, there is
now a century’s worth of onshore E&P
knowledge dating back to the historic
La Cira and Infantas oil fields in the
Middle Magdalena Basin in the north-
central portion of the country. Most of
the country’s oil and gas production
since the industry’s inception there has
come in the Middle Magdalena.
One of Colombia’s most active for-
eign operators, Occidental Petroleum,
gained a stake in La Cira-Infantas
in 2006 and is operator of the Caño
Limón field, located in the northern
Llanos Basin, that started oil produc-
tion in 1985. Chevron since 1977 has
been producing gas from the onshore
Ballena field, which is near the shallow-
Venezuela
water Chuchupa field, in the onshore
Guajira Basin.
New onshore exploration and applica-
tion of new recovery methods are need-
ed to offset declines from these aging
fields. The good news for Colombia is
that its relative openness to participa-
tion from foreign operators over the past
5 decades has allowed capable, inno-
vative international producers such as
Chevron and Oxy to gain a better under-
standing of the country’s onshore geol-
ogy and sociopolitical environment that
includes decades of civil unrest.
Oxy in particular has been “gradu-
ally stepping up” work on its existing
assets as well as positioning itself “for
new growth opportunities,” said Mont-
gomery. The company has added several
blocks during the last couple of years and
in 2018, alongside Ecopetrol, sanctioned
a steamflood project for the mature
Teca heavy-oil field, where production
is expected to reach 30,000 BOE/D by
2025 and break even at West Texas Inter-
mediate oil prices of less than $40/bbl.
But how Oxy plans to proceed in Colom-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
bia following completion of the Anadar-
ko acquisition will remain to be seen.
Meanwhile, small-to-midcap inde-
pendents such as Canacol Energy, Gran
Tierra Energy, Parex Resources, Fron-
tera Energy, and GeoPark have success-
fully exploited conventional oil and gas
in Colombia in recent years and resem-
ble the nimble producers that fueled the
US shale revolution. “Colombia has been
very successful at bringing in invest-
ment from that type of company” since
maximize shale potential with a mini-
mal footprint.”
The Middle Magdalena Basin, which
lies in a river valley between the Andes’
central and eastern mountain ranges, is
not like the Permian Basin in the US or
Vaca Muerta Shale in Argentina, where
there are wide-open, relatively flat spac-
es. And, for unconventional develop-
ment, said Montgomery, “The infrastruc-
ture is just not there. Traffic is going to be
horrendous” due to the equipment, sup-
plies, and personnel needed once the ser-
vice sector finally builds up to capacity.
To encourage more transparency with
fracturing activity, the Duque admin-
istration last year established a com-
mission to carry out a comprehensive

ENGINEERED
the fiscal and contracting reforms of the
early 2000s, Montgomery said.

Ready To Frac, but When?

to PERFORM
But the bad news for those hoping for an
imminent and rapid launch of an uncon-
ventional revolution in Colombia is that
the hydraulic fracturing debate there
mirrors that in the US. Politicians have
seized the issue as a means to criticize CRAFTED FOR CONFIDENCE
the Duque administration, and some
citizens have developed a negative per-
ception of the practice before it has even
had a chance to be demonstrated for
unconventionals. “The government has
a lot of work to do to win the battle for
hearts and minds to really move forward
with this, because [it needs] the support
of local communities especially,” Mont-
gomery said.
Colombia’s identity is in its diverse
native population and environment,
Mesa explained, and preserving both is
paramount. Perception that either could
be negatively affected is often met with
fierce resistance—courts, for example,
are known as ardent protectors of com- ENGINEERING THE MOST ROBUST valve products and
munity rights. While companies may manifold systems in the industry isn’t something that
view this as an obstacle, Mesa said, “I just happens, it comes from a process decades in the
think right now everybody understands making, and it hinges on product design. With a refined
design process, CORTEC products are crafted to meet
this is part of the game—that you have
your specific needs and made to order with a faster
to engage with communities, you have turnaround time on project deliveries. Industry leading
to engage with groups that are affected expertise and approach allow our team to ensure every
by the oil and gas activities.” design meets or exceeds all industry standards and
“Overall, when looking at oil and gas, project requirements before production even begins.
even if it’s just conventional, there are
ongoing community tensions, there For more information on specific CORTEC product
are blockades that happen,” said Elena offerings, visit us at uscortec.com
Nikolova, Latin America upstream
analyst at research consultancy Wood
Mackenzie. “But unconventional pro-
duction also has a very different surface
footprint. And for Colombia, it’s real-
ly going to be key to figure out how to

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 51

 Guajira
Basin

elt

a
ldb

sin eri
asi
Fo

Ba anch
aB
nto

len

-R
aci

sar
da
PA

nJ

Ce
ag
NA

n
Sa
asi

rM
Catatumbo
MA

uB
Basin

we
Lo
Sin
VENEZUELA

n
asi
aB
len
Atra

da
to B

ag
Much of Colombia’s

M
asin

dle
unconventional potential

Mid
lies in the Middle
Magdalena Basin and
its Cretaceous La Luna
Llanos
formation. Big gas Basin
potential is seen on Coal Bed Methane
the western edge of Shale Oil & Gas
the Llanos Basin and
Heavy Oil–Tar Sands
its Cretaceous Gacheta
formation, with source Gas Field
Oil Field
rock shales that are Caguan Oil Seeps
similar to the La Luna. Basin
Country/Basin
Source: RA Geologia. Boundary

Putumayo
Basin
BRASIL
ECUADOR

review of the stimulation practice in
Colombia and make recommendations
as to whether it can be done with min­
imal interference to the environment
and local communities. Earlier this
year, the commission endorsed fractur­
ing pilots but said the projects must be
closely monitored.
However, Reuters reported in April
that an environmental application for a
pilot submitted by Ecopetrol had been
shelved. Late last year, partners Conoco­
Phillips and Canacol were denied envi­
ronmental approvals for two pilots on
separate blocks in the Middle Magdalena
Basin. Charle Gamba, Canacol president
and chief executive officer, said during
his company’s first­quarter earnings
call in May that if the partners were to
resubmit the permits, it would likely take
another year to get approval and then
another year­and­a­half to mobilize stim­
ulation equipment from the US.
Those pilots would have been cru­ volumes, provide the country’s only real
cial to proving that fracturing works near­term growth potential. “There’s a
technically and can be done without certain inevitability that they will have
negatively affecting its surroundings, to, at some point, produce from it,”
Mesa noted. said Nikolova.
If similar projects are to be approved,
“it’s probably going to be Ecopetrol How Colombia’s Unconventional
to lead the way in terms of large­scale Basins Compare
investments,” Montgomery said, as Most of Colombia’s unconventional
Colombia’s native oil and gas company focus is on the Middle Magdalena Basin.
would probably have an easier time Wood Mackenzie estimates the basin’s
carrying them out. Ecopetrol has been unconventional potential at 225  bil­
in the US studying its shale plays—it lion bbl of oil in place with 1.3 billion bbl
recently teamed with Oxy on a Perm­ recoverable, and 425 Tcf of gas in place
ian joint venture—and previously said with 3  Tcf recoverable. Both estimates
it was targeting a half­billion dollars assume a relatively low recovery factor
in spending on Colombian unconven­ of 2% that could increase if production
tional pilot projects during 2019–2021. ramps up.
“They’re ready to start testing what The Middle Magdalena contains the
they’ve got,” he said. Cretaceous La Luna formation, a deep
Colombia needs to replace production marine shale mixed with marl and lime­
soon, and unconventionals, though still stone like the Eagle Ford and Niobrara
possibly years from yielding significant Shale plays in the US.

52 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 The La Luna there has oil-prone Francis believes unconventional devel- ta interval is thinner and deeper than
marine source rock with a good-to- opment of Catatumbo will be “a little the La Luna in the Middle Magdalena,
excellent range of total organic carbon harder because the geologic structures with a 600-ft-thick organic-rich section
(TOC) found 9,000–10,000‑ft deep. are more complex but also because of around 13,000–16,000-ft deep, and
The TOC average across the entire inter- the security issues.” overpressure also is not as strong. The
val, which is close to 2,000-ft thick, The more gas-prone Llanos Basin most prospective portion of the Llanos
ranges 2–6%. But some individual beds contains the Cretaceous Gacheta for- is on its western edge near the moun-
reach 12–14%. mation with source rock shales that tains where there is more structur-
“It’s really a world-class source rock,” are similar to the La Luna. The Gache- al complexity. JPT
said Julie Francis, an analyst in Wood
Mackenzie’s unconventional upstream
research group. “It’s richer than what we
see in the Eagle Ford” and in the Perm-
ian’s Wolfcamp Shale, she said, add-
ing that “one of the great advantages is
that it’s very overpressured,” even in the
oil zone.
Decades of drilling and production in
the Middle Magdalena mean operators
benefit from having existing data and
cores while not having to prove up the
basin through exploration. This experi-
ence includes a few vertical wells flow-
ing back from fractured limestone and
shale in the La Luna before operators
began examining the Middle Magdale-
na’s unconventional potential.
However, there are several challeng-
es in unconventionally developing the
Middle Magdalena. First, fluid types
vary across the basin, and understand-
ing which fluid is where in the source
rock is not as easy as in the Eagle Ford,
where “the depths are on a nice slope
with a very simple oil, condensate, and
gas window,” Francis explained. Depos-
DST-TCP Extreme
its in the Middle Magdalena are found in Pressure Series
anticlines with “a fair amount of fault-
ing,” she said, which requires seismic
Engineered for high-cost,
imaging so the operator can determine challenging well applications.
how to orient the wellbore relative to Expro’s Extreme Pressure Series TCP gun systems utilise
the fault. super big hole shaped charge technology, optimised for
Another source of uncertainty heavy wall casing, to deliver the largest area-open-to-flow
revolves around possible stacked-pay (AOF) in extreme high pressure frac-packed wells.
potential. Beyond the La Luna, opera- Incorporating Expro’s 30K PSI rated DST tools and
tors will have to figure out whether the hydraulic firing heads, the system provides class-
Simití and Tablazo formations can be leading technology required to deliver safe and efficient
developed into a larger section. completions while optimising well performance.
Next to the Middle Magdalena is the
www.exprogroup.com/extreme
Catatumbo Basin, which is the south-
ern extension of Venezuela’s Maraca-
ibo Basin. The La Luna is also pres-
ent in this “really rich but really small”
basin, she said, where production is Visit us at ATCE 2019
“a bit quiet these days” given instabil- Booth 532

ity at the Colombia-Venezuela border.

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 53

 SPE AWARDS
SPE Honors 2019 International Award
Recipients at Annual Meeting
Each year during its Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE), SPE honors
members whose outstanding contributions to SPE and the petroleum industry merit
special distinction. Recipients of the 2019 International Awards will be recognized at
the Annual Reception and Awards Banquet held on Tuesday, 1 October, in Calgary.
Honorary Membership
Honorary Membership is the highest honor SPE confers upon
an individual. It is limited to 0.1% of SPE’s total membership
and is conferred on individuals for outstanding service to
SPE and/or in recognition of distinguished scientific or engi-
neering achievement in fields encompassed in SPE’s techni-
cal scope.
Maria Angela Capello is an energy leader
and author lauded for her expertise in res-
ervoir management, talent development,
and diversity and inclusion. She is an exec-
utive advisor at Kuwait Oil Company, cham-
pioning the standardization of reservoir
management practices across its director-
ates and managing key planning strategies for North Kuwait
Directorate. Additionally, she has been key in enhancing the
direction, coordination, and alignment of talent development
initiatives of the company and those related to the empower-
ment of women across the nine companies of the Kuwait
national oil sector.
Capello was the first woman to supervise geophysical field
operations in Venezuela, as field engineer, progressing in a
variety of roles including project leader, technology manager,
and reservoir manager, to become the youngest general man-
ager of an oil asset in PDVSA. She has authored more than 78
articles and webinars, is the lead author of the book, Learned
in the Trenches—Insights on Leadership and Resilience, and
has a recognized online presence focused on field develop-
ment, leadership, talent management, and women’s empow-
erment. She has chaired and served on numerous SPE com-
mittees and conferences, and was the recipient of the SPE
International Distinguished Service Award in 2017 and the SPE
Distinguished Membership Award in 2014. She holds an MS
degree from Colorado School of Mines and a degree in physics
from Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela.
54
Anuj Gupta is a senior petroleum engineer-
ing consultant at the Aramco Research
Center–Houston, where he conducts and
leads research on simulation modeling
workflows for unconventional reservoirs
and oversees other research activities relat-
ed to reservoir engineering for unconven-
tional reservoirs. He has more than 30 years of experience
across the United States, Middle East, and India. Prior to join-
ing Aramco in 2013, he served for 21 years as a member of the
petroleum engineering faculty at various institutions, includ-
ing the University of Oklahoma, Missouri University of Science
& Technology, Louisiana State University, ADNOC Petroleum
Institute, and Texas A&M University. His research has advanced
the disciplines of unconventional reservoirs, reservoir charac-
terization, enhanced oil and gas recovery, petrophysics,
and drilling.
Gupta is a coauthor of more than 100 technical papers, five
patents, and several pending and published patent applications.
He is the recipient of the SPE DeGolyer Distinguished Service
Medal and SPE Distinguished Service Award and is an SPE Dis-
tinguished Member. He holds a BEng in mechanical engineer-
ing from Delhi College of Engineering at Delhi University, India,
and MS and PhDs in petroleum engineering from the University
of Texas at Austin.
Franklin (Lynn) Orr is the Keleen and Carl-
ton Beal Professor of Petroleum Engineer-
ing Emeritus in the Department of Energy
Resources Engineering at Stanford Univer-
sity, where he served as chair of the Depart-
ment of Petroleum Engineering, dean of the
School of Earth Sciences, founding director
of the Global Climate and Energy Project, and founding director
of the Precourt Institute for Energy. He also served as a member
of a task force for California’s energy future and as a member of
a National Research Council Committee on America’s Energy
Future, and cochaired a DOE study of basic research needs in
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
the geosciences. Orr was the Under Secretary for Science and
Energy at the US Department of Energy from 2014 to 2017.
Orr was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer and served as a review
chairman for SPE Reservoir Engineering. He received the SPE
Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum Engineering
Faculty and Cedric Ferguson certificates for papers published
with students receiving the Ferguson Medal. He was elected to
the US National Academy of Engineering in 2000 and is a mem-
ber of the ClimateWords Foundation board of directors. Orr
holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota and a BS from
Stanford University, both in chemical engineering. He received
an honorary doctorate in engineering from Heriot-Watt Uni-
versity, the Robert S. Schechter Award from the University of
Texas, the Aurel Stodola Medal from Eidgenössische Tech-
nische Hochschule Zürich, and the Izatt Christensen Award
from Brigham Young University.
Jeffrey ( Jeff) Spath is a professor and
Stephen A. Holditch ’69 Department Head
Chair in the Harold Vance Department of
Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M Uni-
versity. Before joining Texas A&M, Spath
was chief executive officer of the University
of Texas’ Texas Oil and Gas Institute, a
research and consulting institute, where he led a team of engi-
neers and geoscientists to increase the production and reserves
on the 9,600 oil and gas wells on the state of Texas’ university
lands. Before joining the UT System, Spath was a member of
the executive management team for Schlumberger. After join-
ing the company in 1984, he held various global positions in
reservoir engineering, research, and management, including
vice president of industry affairs, president of the reservoir
management product group, and president of data and con-
sulting services.
Spath has served as Technical Director for Management &
Information on the SPE Board of Directors and was an SPE
Distinguished Lecturer on the subject of production enhance-
ment, and served as 2014 SPE President. He has published 26
technical papers and holds 14 patents in oil and gas produc-
tion. He earned BS and MS degrees in petroleum engineering
from Texas A&M and a PhD in reservoir engineering from Min-
ing University of Leoben, Austria.
Ganesh Thakur is director of energy indus-
try partnerships and Distinguished Profes-
sor of Petroleum Engineering at the Univer-
sity of Houston. He leads teams of scientists
in solving complex problems for the energy
industry, and develops research partner-
ships and promotes synergy in petroleum
reservoir management involving conventional and unconven-
tional reservoirs and carbon capture and sequestration. He also
advises Geo-Park, a leading independent E&P company in Latin
America, and various national oil companies. During a 37-year
career with Chevron, Thakur served in various roles including
vice president and global advisor and fellow.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Thakur served as SPE President in 2012. He has also been an
SPE Distinguished Lecturer and a member of the SPE Editorial
Review Committee, and was the first Technical Director of Res-
ervoir Description & Dynamics. He currently is a board member
of the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Sciences,
and Treasurer of the SPE Foundation. He is a member of the US
National Academy of Engineering, has published 70 papers and
patents, and is the author of three books. He received the SPE
Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award and is an SPE Dis-
tinguished Member. Thakur holds a PhD in petroleum and natu-
ral gas engineering, an MA in mathematics, and an MS in petro-
leum and natural gas engineering, all from Pennsylvania State
University. He also holds an MBA from Houston Baptist Uni-
versity and received his bachelor’s degree with honors in petro-
leum engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology–
School of Mines. He has received outstanding alumni awards
from both Penn State and the Indian Institute of Technology.
Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal
The Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal, established in 1932, recog-
nizes achievement in improving techniques and practices of
finding and producing petroleum.
Carlos Torres-Verdín is a professor in the
Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and
Geosystems Engineering of the University of
Texas at Austin, where he holds the Brian
James Jennings Memorial Endowed Chair in
Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering,
and conducts research on borehole geo-
physics, formation evaluation, well logging, and integrated res-
ervoir description. He is the founder and director of the
Research Consortium on Formation Evaluation at UT, which has
been in operation for 19 years. Before entering academia,
Torres-Verdín was a research scientist with Schlumberger-Doll
Research and a reservoir specialist and technology champion
with YPF. Torres-Verdín received the 2008 SPE Formation Eval-
uation Technical Award and is an SPE Distinguished Member.
He has published more than 200 journal papers and 235 confer-
ence papers, is the author of five patents, and has served as an
editor for SPE Journal. He has received awards and served in
editorial positions for SEG, SPWLA, and EAGE. He has super-
vised 34 PhD and 46 master’s degree students, conducted
numerous industry training courses, and chaired, cochaired, or
participated in several SPE committees, technical workshops,
and conference sessions. He holds a PhD in engineering geosci-
ence from the University of California at Berkeley.
John Franklin Carll Award
The John Franklin Carll Award recognizes contributions of tech-
nical application and professionalism in petroleum develop-
ment and recovery.
55
 George Moridis is a professor of petro-
leum engineering and holder of the George
and Joan Voneiff Professorship in Uncon-
ventional Resources at Texas A&M Univer-
sity. He is also a senior scientist/faculty
associate at the Lawrence Berkeley Nation-
al Laboratory, where he headed the Hydro-
carbon Resource Program in the laboratory’s Energy Geosci-
ences Division and research programs on unconventional
resources, and led the development of the new generation of
simulation codes of coupled flow, thermal, geomechanical,
and geophysical processes. He is ExxonMobil Visiting Profes-
sor Chair in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Department of the National University of Singapore, and a vis-
iting professor in the Guangzhou Center for Gas Hydrate
Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Moridis has
been an SPE Distinguished Lecturer and was named an SPE
Distinguished Member. He is a member of the US Secretary of
Energy’s Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee, and the
recipient of a 2011 Secretarial Honor Award—the highest
non-monetary award conferred by the US Department of
Energy—for work on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Flow
Rate Technical Group. Moridis holds BS and MEn degrees
from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece, and
MS and PhDs from Texas A&M.
DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal
The DeGolyer Distinguished Service Medal recognizes distin-
guished and outstanding service to SPE, to the professions of
engineering and/or geology, and to the petroleum industry.
Hemanta Sarma is a professor of oil and
gas engineering at the University of Cal-
gary. Formerly, he chaired the Petroleum
Engineering Department at the Petroleum
Institute, Abu Dhabi, and was the inaugural
Reg Sprigg Chair Professor at the Austra-
lian School of Petroleum of University of
Adelaide. Sarma received an Australian national citation for
“initiating students into the profession of petroleum engi-
neering while interacting with them to secure their welfare as
individuals and success as scholars.” He has held senior posi-
tions in the Alberta Research Council in Canada and Japan
National Oil Corporation. He has published extensively in the
areas of EOR and reservoir engineering, and offered in-house
training and consulting services to petroleum companies in
Asia Pacific and Middle East. Sarma has been an SPE member
for almost four decades, participating in numerous conferenc-
es, serving on technical and program committees, presenting
papers, and chairing or cochairing technical sessions. He
received the SPE Distinguished Service Award, was named
Outstanding Associate Editor for SPE Reservoir Evaluation &
Engineering Journal, and is an SPE Distinguished Member. He
holds a BTech in petroleum engineering from Indian School of
56
Mines, an MS in chemical engineering from the University of
Calgary, and a PhD in petroleum engineering from the Univer-
sity of Alberta.
Lester C. Uren Award
The Lester C. Uren Award recognizes distinguished achieve-
ment in petroleum engineering technology by a member who
made the contribution before age 45.
Olivier Houzé cofounded KAPPA Engineer-
ing, a petroleum engineering software and
training and consulting services company,
in 1987, and immediately began writing the
first versions of Saphir, the industry stan-
dard pressure transient analysis software
that is used today by major international
and national oil companies, independents, and oil and gas ser-
vice companies. Before starting KAPPA, Houzé spent four years
with Flopetrol-Johnston (Schlumberger), primarily as a well
test field engineer in the Middle East. He has been KAPPA’s
managing director since 1991. Houzé has been actively involved
in numerous SPE forums and workshops on well test interpreta-
tion and related topics. He was a coauthor of an SPE monograph
on pressure transient testing and one on unconventional
reserves. He was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2013, and he
served on the SPE Board of Directors as the Technical Director
for Reservoir Description and Dynamics during 2012–2015.
Houzé holds an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique
and an MS in petroleum engineering from Stanford University.
Robert Earll McConnell Award
The Robert Earll McConnell Award recognizes beneficial ser-
vice to humanity by engineers through significant contribu-
tions that tend to advance a nation’s standard of living or
replenish its natural resources base.
Ahmed Abou-Sayed, founder and CEO of
Advantek International Corporation and of
Informateks International Incorporated
Egypt, has developed best practices guide-
lines and operations assurance for E&P
waste management for the oil and gas indus-
try and regulatory bodies around the world.
He also developed produced-water-injection guidelines for the
OSPAR EEC Convention, the PWRI JIP. Abou-Sayed holds five US
patents and has authored more than 100 technical papers and
publications. He has served on the SPE Board of Directors as
Technical Director for Production and Operations. He has also
been an SPE Distinguished Lecturer, was named an SPE Distin-
guished Member, and is a recipient of the SPE Production Oper-
ations Award. He was a United Nations advisor in the Technical
Assistance Program for Unconventional Energy Recovery.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
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 Abou-Sayed holds a BS in mechanical engineering with highest
honors from Cairo University, an advanced diploma in informa-
tion sciences from Institute du Recherches D’Informatique et
D’Automatique, and an MS in applied mechanics and a PhD in
engineering mechanics, both from Brown University.
Charles F. Rand Memorial Award
The Charles F. Rand Memorial Award recognizes distinguished
achievement in mining administration, including metallurgy
and petroleum.
Kamel Ben-Naceur is the CEO of Nomadia
Energy Consulting, a company focused on
supporting countries in the sustainable
development of their energy sectors. He has
been the chief economist at ADNOC, and the
director of sustainability, technology, and
outlooks at the International Energy Agen-
cy, and spent more than 33 years with Schlumberger, including
in executive positions such as chief economist and technology
center president. In 2014, he was appointed Tunisian Minister
for Industry, Energy, and Mines, leading key energy reforms
that included renewable energy expansion and the reform of
energy subsidies. He also was a professor at the Political Scienc-
es University in Paris. Ben-Naceur has actively participated in
and chaired SPE conferences and has authored more than 120
articles and 16 books. He served on the SPE Board of Directors
as Technical Director for Management and Information.
Ben-Naceur has received several industry awards, including the
SPE Distinguished Member and Distinguished Service awards.
He holds a master’s degree from the French Ecole Polytech-
nique and an aggregation of mathematics from the Ecole Nor-
male Superieure.
Public Service Award
The SPE Public Service Award recognizes distinguished public
service to a country, state, community, or the public through
excellence in leadership, service, or humanitarianism, provided
the service is above the requirements of employment.
Pascal Breton is deputy vice president E&P
communications with Total and also in
charge of internal and external communica-
tions for the Total Technological and R&D
Nerve Center, located in Pau, France. He
joined Elf Aquitaine as a geophysicist and
developed expertise in borehole geophysics
and seismic characterization. He became head of seismic cali-
bration and characterization after the Elf-Total merger and later
moved from technology into human relations. As head of E&P
higher education relations, he developed strong collaborations
with academics. In 1998, Breton took a sabbatical year to
58
launch ANAK-Tnk, a Manila-based nongovernmental organiza-
tion (NGO) that supports the Philippines capital city’s most
impoverished children. He then created French and interna-
tional branches of the NGO and still serves as its president.
Breton served as vice president of the SPE France Section and
has been the recipient of SPE regional awards for voluntary
commitment and public service. He holds a master’s degree in
Earth sciences and a geophysical engineer degree, both from
Strasbourg Institute of Earth Physics.
Distinguished Service Award
The SPE Distinguished Service Award recognizes exceptional
devotion of time, effort, thought, and action to the society that
sets them apart from other contributions.
Saeed Al-Mubarak has spent his career
with Saudi Aramco, where he is the intelli-
gent fields focus area champion and has led
important teams, including the strategic
team managing the world’s largest intelli-
gent fields. He has also worked in reservoir,
production, drilling and completion, facili-
ties, and knowledge management positions. Al-Mubarak is a
founder or cofounder of several knowledge-sharing and educa-
tional programs, including the SPE Digital Energy Technical
Section (DETS) LinkedIn Discussion Group. He is currently
chairman of DETS, a member of the Management & Information
advisory and Awards advisory committees, a member of the
Data Science and Digital Engineering training curriculum, and
Texas A&M University SPE Student Chapter industry advisor.
Al-Mubarak has been an SPE Distinguished Lecturer and the
recipient of the SPE M&I Award and the Saudi section’s Commu-
nity Service Award. He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical
engineering and a master’s in petroleum engineering, both
from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
Mohammed Badri is managing director of
research and development and technology
advisor with Schlumberger, where he has
held management and technical positions
over the last 28 years. He is the inventor or
coinventor of 25 US patents and has pre-
sented more than 78 papers in geoscience
and petroleum engineering. He has helped organize and chair
many conferences, panels, workshops, symposia, and forums,
and was reviewer for SPE’s Reservoir Journal. Baldri is an SPE
Distinguished Member and received a regional service award.
He currently serves on the SPE Distinguished Lecturer selec-
tion, Research and Development, and Regional Training com-
mittees, and the Middle East Oil Show Executive and Program
Committee. He also is a board member of the International
Petroleum Technology Conference. Baldri holds a BS in geology
from Damascas University, and MS and PhD degrees in geo-
physics from the University of Minnesota.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
 David G. Kersey recently retired from
Saudi Aramco as senior petroleum engi-
neering consultant in the Upstream Profes-
sional Development Center. He previously
worked for the Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology, Robertson Research, Reser-
voirs, Inc., Core Laboratories, Schlumberg-
er, and Gulf Indonesia. He has authored or coauthored more
than 80 technical papers. Kersey has been chairman of the SPE
Java Indonesia and Saudi Arabia sections. He also initiated the
formation of a Hawaiian SPE section. He is an SPE Distin-
guished Member, has been recognized three times as an out-
standing technical editor, and received the Asia Pacific and
Middle East regional SPE service awards. Kersey holds a bach-
elor’s degree in geological sciences from the University of
Southern California and a graduate degree in geological scienc-
es from Harvard University.
Silviu Livescu is chief scientist in Baker
Hughes’ Coiled Tubing Research and Engi-
neering Center in Calgary, conducting
research and development, commercializa-
tion, and intellectual property work related
to production and completion operations.
Previously, he was a research engineer with
ExxonMobil and a post-doctoral research fellow at Stanford
University. He has authored or coauthored more than 30 US
patents and patent applications and more than 55 papers and
articles, and was involved in the peer review of more than
5,000 technical articles as an executive editor for Journal of
Petroleum Science and Engineering and an associate editor for
SPE Journal, reaching the “A Peer Apart” status and earning 13
Outstanding Editor and Reviewer awards. Livescu was an SPE
Distinguished Lecturer and currently serves on the SPE Pro-
duction and Facilities and M&I advisory committees, the JPT
Editorial Committee, the Calgary Section Board of Directors,
and various awards and technical conference and workshop
committees. Livescu holds BS and MS degrees from Politehnica
University of Bucharest and a PhD from the University of Dela-
ware, all in mechanical engineering.
Anthony Kunle Ogunkoya is technical
director of Petro Congo SA. He retired in
2010 as general manager of Schlumberger,
responsible for Republic of Congo, Gabon,
and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ogunkoya joined SPE as a student member
in 1978 and was a foundation member and
secretary of the Petroleum Training Institute, Warri Student
Chapter. He led efforts to rejuvenate the Angola and Congo sec-
tions. He is a Century Club and 25-Year Club member and served
on the SPE International Membership Standing Committee.
Ogunkoya visited all SPE sections in sub-Saharan Africa as Afri-
ca regional director and member of the SPE International
Board, and was chairperson of the SPE Board Membership Com-
mittee. He has served as trustee of the Nigeria Council since
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
2015. Ogunkoya’s SPE awards include the Africa Regional Ser-
vice and Recruitment awards and President’s Award for Section
Excellence. He led the organization of Africa’s first SPE HSE
Conference in Maputo, Mozambique. Ogunkoya holds an MS in
offshore engineering from Robert Gordon University and a
higher diploma in petroleum technology from the Petroleum
Training Institute in Warri.
Michael D. Zuber is a technical specialist in
reservoir engineering for Pioneer Natural
Resources. Before joining Pioneer, he was a
technical advisor for Schlumberger Asia
area and director of the Schlumberger Bris-
bane Technology Integration Centre. Zuber
has been actively involved in SPE for more
than 30 years. He has authored numerous publications relating
to evaluation of unconventional reservoirs. He taught the SPE
short course, “Coalbed Methane Engineering Methods,” was an
editor of the SPE Reprint on Coalbed Methane, and was a Dis-
tinguished Lecturer in 2014–15. He served on the Asia Regional
Technical Advisory Committee, the ATCE Reservoir Engineer-
ing Committee, the technical committee for the URTCE in Bris-
bane, and the IPTC Education Week Committee. He was techni-
cal program chairman for the SPE Eastern Regional Meeting in
1998. Additionally, he held every section office in the Pitts-
burgh Section and was chairman of the 2010 SPE Applied Tech-
nology Workshop on Coalbed Methane. Zuber holds a BS in
petroleum engineering from Marietta College, an MS in petro-
leum engineering from Texas A&M, and an MBA from the Uni-
versity of Pittsburgh.
Cedric K. Ferguson Medal
The Cedric K. Ferguson Medal is presented to young profes-
sional authors of an SPE peer-approved technical paper who
are members of SPE and age 35 and under on the date of peer
approval. Co­authors age 36 or over who were SPE members on
the date of peer approval receive the Cedric K. Ferguson Cer-
tificate. The 2019 medals and certificate are awarded for the
paper, “Diffusion-­Dominated Proxy Model for Solvent Injection
in Ultratight Oil Reservoirs,” published in SPE Journal in 2018.
Michael Cronin is a PhD candidate in ener-
gy and mineral engineering–petroleum and
natural gas engineering option–at Pennsyl-
vania State University. He has coauthored
four peer-reviewed journal articles and two
conference papers. He has volunteered with
The Way Ahead since 2016 and will be the
2019–2020 deputy managing editor after previous leadership
roles in the Academia and Business Benchmark sections. Cronin
earned a master’s degree in geological sciences from the Univer-
sity of Texas at Austin and dual bachelor’s degrees in petroleum
and natural gas engineering and geosciences (with honors) from
Penn State. Before starting his PhD, he worked as a geologist/
59
 reservoir modeler in Anadarko’s reservoir technology group,
where he also interned during his graduate studies at UT.
Hamid Emami-Meybodi is an assistant
professor of petroleum and natural gas engi-
neering at Pennsylvania State University. He
joined the university’s Department of Ener-
gy and Mineral Engineering in 2015 follow-
ing 10 years in academia as post-doctoral
and research assistant at the University of
Calgary, University of Regina, Canada, and Petroleum Universi-
ty of Technology in Iran. Emami-Meybodi’s research has cen-
tered on the study of fluid flow and transport phenomena in
porous media, spanning both applied and fundamental aspects.
He has authored and coauthored more than 30 technical publi-
cations and one patent. Emami-Meybodi is the faculty advisor
for Penn State’s SPE Student Chapter and is also a member of the
SPE International Scholarship and Fellowship Selection Com-
mittee. He holds BS and MS degrees in chemical and petroleum
engineering from Petroleum University of Technology in Iran,
and ME, MS, and PhD degrees in petroleum engineering from
University of Calgary.
Russell T. Johns is the recipient of the Ced-
ric K. Ferguson Certificate for 2019. Johns is
the George E. Trimble Chair of Energy and
Mineral Sciences in the Department of
Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn-
sylvania State University, and holds the
Energi Simulation Chair in Fluid Behavior
and Rock Interactions. He served on the petroleum engineer-
ing faculty at the University of Texas at Austin from 1995 to
2010, and was a petrophysical engineer with Shell Oil and a
consulting engineer for Colenco Power Consulting. He has
authored or coauthored more than 250 publications in
enhanced oil recovery, thermodynamics, and phase behavior,
unconventional gas engineering, multiphase flow in porous
media, and well testing. Johns holds a BS in electrical
engineering from Northwestern University and MS and PhD
degrees  in  petroleum engineering and water resources from
Stanford University.
Young Member Outstanding Service Awards
The Young Member Outstanding Service Award recognizes
contributions to and leadership in the public and community
arenas and SPE, the profession, and the industry, by a member
under the age of 36.
Patience Abia is a field production super-
intendent for Nigerian Petroleum Develop-
ment Company, where she oversees the
production of more than 30,000 B/D and
supervises the installation of gas-lift com-
pressors and associated piping at Jones
60
Creek field. She began her career with Welltec Oilfield Services
as a field engineer. Abia joined SPE as a student member in
2006 and became a full professional member in 2011. She has
served on numerous committees and subcommittees, includ-
ing cochairing the SPENC Young Professional Committee and
the Women’s Development Program. While serving as the
young professionals chairperson, her chapter was voted best
chapter for 3 consecutive years. She is currently the scholar-
ship chairperson of the Port Harcourt Section. Abia holds a
bachelor’s degree in applied geophysics from the University of
Calabar, Nigeria.
Victor Anochie is a senior engineering
technologist in the Department of Petro-
leum and Gas Engineering of Baze Univer-
sity, Abuja. He spent 5 years with Afe Baba-
lola University Ado Ekiti as an engineering
technologist. Anochie holds a BEng in
petroleum engineering from the University
of Benin, Nigeria, and a higher national diploma in chemical
engineering from the Institute of Management and Technolo-
gy (IMT), Enugu, Nigeria. He joined SPE in 2006 as an under-
graduate at IMT and became chapter president, organizing
several innovative programs in IMT and across secondary
schools in Enugu, which led to the chapter winning the SPE
Gold Standard Chapter Award in 2011. Anochie initiated and
coordinated the establishment of the SPE Afe Babalola Univer-
sity Ado Ekiti Chapter, where he was faculty advisor. He is a
board member of the Abuja Section and has served in various
committees in the SPE Nigeria Council. He is part of a team
that established an energy club at the Shephard School Abuja
to teach primary and secondary school students about clean
and sustainable use of energy.
Oluwabiyi “Biyi” Awotiku is a petroleum
engineer with Chevron Nigeria Limited.
Since joining Chevron in 2011, he has
worked in offshore and deepwater assets.
He has served at multiple levels within SPE
on the Lagos Section board and the SPE
Nigerian Annual International Conference
and Exhibition committees. As a Lagos section officer, he has
served as students affairs and young professionals chair and is
currently the membership chair. He has served as cochair of
the students programs and now serves as chair, young profes-
sionals program and advisor, students program on the Nige-
rian conference committees. He has been instrumental in con-
ducting the Nigeria Council PetroQuiz competition for the
past 5 years and has volunteered for the African regional
Petrobowl qualifiers. He has received several professional
awards and coauthored four SPE papers. Awotiku has a bach-
elor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria, Nigeria, and a master’s degree in petroleum
engineering from African University of Science and Technol-
ogy, Abuja. He is currently an executive MBA student at Lagos
Business School.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
 Volunteering looks good on you.
In the SPE League of Volunteers, giving back suits you well.
As a volunteer for SPE, you provide the energy that makes our Society work. Giving back
gives you the opportunity to enhance your leadership and collaborative skills, and expand your
professional profile as you showcase your knowledge and talents to the industry.

Engage. Support. Volunteer. Learn more and join us at www.spe.org/volunteer.

 Alejandro Antonio Lerza Durant is a
senior reservoir engineer with Chevron,
where he began his career as an intern in
2009. He currently focuses on leveraging
reservoir simulation techniques, rate tran-
sient analysis, and predictive and prescrip-
tive analytics to optimize unconventional
developments. Lerza received the SPE Gulf Coast Regional
Young Member Outstanding Service Award in 2018; is an
active technical committee member for the ATCE, URTeC, and
LACPEC conferences; and has served as session chair for mul-
tiple SPE technical conferences. He has been a board member
of SPE sections in Venezuela and Gulf Coast Section. He also
has volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, Houston Food
Bank, Hurricane Harvey relief, and local science fairs, and is
currently an SPE Ambassador Lecturer. He received his BA
in  petroleum engineering from Universidad Central de
Venezuela, an MBA in gas business management from Univer-
sidad Simon Bolivar in Venezuela, an MS in petroleum engi-
neering from University of Southern California, and an
MS  in  data analytics from Texas A&M, and is currently an
executive MBA candidate from IAE Business Schools in
Buenos Aires.
Nii Ahele Nunoo is a new technology
design engineer at National Oilwell Varco,
where he focuses on downhole tool devel-
opment. He earned his BS in electronic
engineering from Minnesota State Univer-
sity and an MBA from Duke University with
a concentration in energy finance. Nunoo
has served on the SPE Young Professionals board for the past
5 years. In 2018, he chaired a 26-member board that orga-
nized technical presentations and community, networking,
and social impact events for young oil and gas professionals in
the Gulf Coast Section. He also was chair of the Emerging
Engineers Symposium, a one-day conference focused on mid-
career engineers and professionals in the energy industry.
Nunoo regularly presents at Energy4Me events in Houston
schools and has served as the career management and con-
tinuing education chair on the SPE Gulf Coast Section board.
He has coauthored five publications in peer-reviewed jour-
nals, spearheaded events that raised more than $60,000 for
student scholarships, and participated in Petrobowl, and was
one of four founders of the GCS Innovate committee. He has
also organized workshops, including the technical writing soft
skill workshop for working professionals. Nunoo is currently
lead content creator for The Way Ahead and is incoming chair
of the YMEC Committee.
Rodrigo Rueda Terrazas is a production
metering and reporting engineer at Total
E&P Brazil, working on the Lapa field oper-
ations/mass balance team. He has more
than 7 years of experience in deepwater
projects and Brazilian presalt. Rueda
62
Terrazas is currently enrolled in Heriot-Watt University’s
petroleum engineering master’s program, and has studied
physics at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and
engineering/physics at Florida International University. He
joined SPE in 2011 as the Universidade Estácio de Sá SPE Stu-
dent Chapter president and cofounder, later assuming the YP
chair of the Brazil Section, while also acting as editor of
The Way Ahead. In 2015 he was appointed regional focal point
for the South America & Caribbean Region and received the
Regional Young Member Outstanding Service Award. In 2017
he was appointed communications chair for the international
SPE YMEC, and is now its incoming chair.
Distinguished Achievement Award for Petroleum
Engineering Faculty
This award recognizes superior teaching, excellence in
research, significant contributions to the petroleum engineer-
ing profession, and/or special effectiveness in advising and
guiding students.
Roberto Aguilera is professor of petro-
leum engineering and CNOOC Chair in
Tight Oil and Unconventional Gas in the
Schulich School of Engineering at the Uni-
versity of Calgary, and a principal of Servi-
petrol Ltd. He is the creator and principal
investigator of the GFREE Research Pro-
gram, an integrated multidisciplinary team researching geo-
science; formation evaluation; reservoir drilling, completion
and stimulation; reservoir engineering; and economics and
externalities. Aguilera is author of Naturally Fractured Reser-
voirs, coauthor of three other petroleum engineering books,
author and coauthor of more than 200 petroleum engineer-
ing  papers, and editor-in-chief and coauthor of the new
SPE monograph, Unconventional Gas and Tight Oil Exploita-
tion. He is a petroleum engineering graduate from the Uni-
versidad de America in Bogota, and holds MEng and PhD
degrees in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of
Mines. He has lectured, presented his course in naturally frac-
tured reservoirs, and consulted in more than 50 countries
throughout the world. He is past executive editor of the
Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology and current exec-
utive editor of SPE Journal. He is a member of the SPE Legion
of Honor, an SPE Lifetime Member, and a former  Dis-
tinguished  Lecturer.
SPE Technical Awards
These awards recognize outstanding achievement or con-
tributions to the advancement of petroleum engineering in
specific technical disciplines.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Completions Optimization and Technology Award
Jon E. Olson is a professor and chair of the
Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and
Geosystems Engineering at the University of
Texas at Austin, where he has been a mem-
ber of the petroleum engineering faculty for
24 years and holds the Lois K. and Richard
D. Folger Leadership Chair and the Frank W.
Jessen Professorship. He is codirector of the Fracture Research
and Application Consortium at UT-Austin, an interdisciplinary
group of engineers and geologists focusing on oil and gas pro-
duction from shales and other naturally fractured reservoirs.
His group is currently engaged in characterizing and optimizing
hydraulic fracture completions through numerical modeling
and laboratory experiments. He also works on induced seismic-
ity and naturally fractured reservoir problems. Olson has been
a local SPE section and student chapter leader and has served on
organizing committees for workshops on hydraulic fracturing
and workforce training. He is an SPE Distinguished Member
and past Distinguished Lecturer. He has published over 100
scholarly papers. He holds BS degrees in both civil engineering
and Earth sciences from the University of Notre Dame and a
PhD in applied Earth sciences from Stanford University.
Drilling Engineering Award
Steve Sawaryn is an independent drilling-
engineering consultant specializing in
drilling systems. He retired from BP in
2015 as a senior drilling advisor. During his
36 years’ service, he held a variety of posts
in drilling operations, consultancy, tech-
nology, and projects in Aberdeen, London,
Kuwait, Alaska, and Norway. Sawaryn has served on a number
of SPE drilling and digital energy committees and cochaired
the 2004 SPE Smart Drilling Forum, which addressed the
potential application of nanotechnology in drilling. He chaired
the Hits and Misses Applied Technical Workshop in 2014 on
behalf of the SPE Wellbore Positioning Technical Section
(WPTS) and currently serves as the chair for the WPTS Well
Collision Avoidance Subcommittee. Sawaryn is a past recipi-
ent of the SPE North Sea Region Technical Award for Drilling
Engineering and Technical Editor’s Award, and was a Distin-
guished Lecturer. He holds BA and MA degrees in chemical
engineering and a PhD in petroleum engineering from Cam-
bridge University, UK. He has authored more than 40 SPE
papers on drilling, completions, and drilling IT, and is a char-
tered engineer, chartered information technology profession-
al, and fellow of the British Computer Society.
Health, Safety, and Environment Award
Sally M. Benson, who joined Stanford Uni-
versity in 2007, is codirector of Stanford’s
Precourt Institute and a professor in the
Department of Energy Resources Engineer-
ing in the School of Earth, Energy & Envi-
ronmental Sciences. She studies technolo-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
gies and pathways to reducing greenhouse gas emissions includ-
ing geologic storage of CO2 in deep underground formations
and energy systems analysis for a low-carbon future. Prior to
joining Stanford, Benson was division director for Earth scienc-
es, associate laboratory director for energy sciences, and depu-
ty director at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She
serves on the board of directors of the National Renewable
Energy Laboratory and Climate Central. Currently she also
serves on the advisory boards of Argonne National Laboratory
and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Princeton’s Carbon
Mitigation Initiative, Princeton’s Adlinger Center, Japan’s Initia-
tive for the Cool Earth Forum, and the Lahore University of
Management Science in Pakistan. Over the past several years
she participated in a number of National Academy of Sciences,
Secretary of Energy, and National Petroleum Council research
needs assessments related to carbon management. She also is
on the editorial board for Energy and Environmental Science.
Benson holds a BA from Barnard College and MS and PhD
degrees in material science and mineral engineering from the
University of California, Berkeley.
Management and Information Award
Jim Crompton is director of Reflections
Data Consulting and an adjunct professor in
the Petroleum Engineering Department at
the Colorado School of Mines. He co-
authored The Future Belongs to the Digital
Engineer and The Digital Journey of the Oil
and Gas Industry, and has also coauthored
more than 20 papers and talks at SPE Digital Energy and other
industry data management, standards, and analytics confer-
ences. He has been the recipient of numerous SPE awards and
has been an SPE Distinguished Lecturer, member of the Digital
Energy Technical Section and Management and Information
Advisory Council and Digital Transformation Training Work-
group, and chair of the Digital Transformation Subcommittee.
He has also received numerous awards for career accomplish-
ments in data management, and was elected to chair the gen-
eral committee of the Petroleum Industry Data Exchange
(PIDX). Crompton had a 37-year career with Chevron in geosci-
ence, IT, and upstream positions. He holds a BSc in geophysical
engineering and MS in geophysics from Colorado School of
Mines and an MBA from Our Lady of the Lake University.
Production and Operations Award
Elisio Caetano is a senior consultant in
multiphase production technology for
Petrobras, where he has worked since 1977.
He is recognized for his contributions to
multiphase flow in annular configurations,
multiphase pumping and metering tech-
nologies, and for his coordination of the
conceptual design of an R&D center devoted to the integrated
operations of digital fields (presalt Santos Basin). He has
coauthored a US patent; authored, coauthored, or coordinat-
ed nearly 200 publications including technical papers, book
63
 chapters, a book revision, and the first Portuguese-language
petroleum dictionary; and has presented at various confer-
ences. He also has been a visiting or collaborating professor at
universities in Brazil, the US, and Mexico, where has taught,
lectured, advised post-graduates, and participated in examin-
ing committees. He is a former SPE Regional Award recipient
in Production and Operations in Brazil and the Latin Ameri-
can and Caribbean Region. Caetano holds a mechanical engi-
neer degree from Sao Paulo State University, a lato-sensu
post-graduation in pipeline and terminals engineering from
the corporate university of Petrobras, an MSc in nuclear engi-
neering and energy planning from Rio de Janeiro Federal Uni-
versity, and a PhD in petroleum engineering from the Univer-
sity of Tulsa.
Projects, Facilities, and Construction Award
Phaneendra Kondapi is interim assistant
dean of engineering programs and found-
ing director of engineering programs at the
University of Houston at Katy, and profes-
sor and director of subsea engineering at
the University of Houston. He is also a for-
mer professor of practice in subsea engi-
neering at Texas A&M University. He has more than 28 years of
experience as a manager, project manager, project lead, and
simulation engineer around the globe in upstream, offshore,
and process industries, including with ABB Simcon, MSi Kenny,
FMC, and KBR. Kondapi codeveloped the first subsea engineer-
ing program in the US and the first-in-the-world dual master’s
program in mechanical and subsea engineering. He has chaired
the SPE Flow Assurance Technical Section and the 2015 Flow
Assurance Forum and served on numerous technical and con-
ference subcommittees. He also has been the recipient of
numerous society awards and honors. He has organized or
chaired more than 45 technical sessions at various internation-
al conferences and authored or coauthored more than 25 arti-
cles in journals and magazines. Kondapi holds BS and MS
degrees in chemical engineering from Andhra University in
India, and a PhD in chemical engineering from Tennessee
Technological University.
Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award
William D. (Bill) McCain, Jr. is visiting pro-
fessor of petroleum engineering at Texas
A&M University. He began his engineering
career with Esso/Exxon, then joined the
petroleum engineering faculty at Mississip-
pi State University, serving as head of the
department for 11 years. He then joined S.A.
Holditch & Associates, retiring as senior vice president, chief
engineer, and member of the board of the directors. McCain
has been associated with the Petroleum Engineering Depart-
ment at Texas A&M in various full- and part-time roles since
1984. He has three US patents, has published 38 technical
papers, and has presented and otherwise participated in many
technical conferences. He has also published five books,
64
including three editions of Properties of Petroleum Fluids. He
is an SPE Distinguished Member and has served in numerous
leadership and committee positions in SPE, including chairing
the Education and Accreditation Committee and the Mississippi
Section, and serving as technical editor of SPE Reservoir Engi-
neering. McCain holds a BS degree from Mississippi State Col-
lege and MS and PhD degrees from the Georgia Institute of
Technology, all in chemical engineering.
Sustainability and Stewardship in the Oil and Gas
Industry Award
Karen Olson, who is currently director of
technology for Southwestern Energy Com-
pany (SWN), is the inaugural recipient of the
Sustainability and Stewardship in the Oil
and Gas Industry Award, which recognizes
the outstanding efforts of individuals in the
upstream oil and gas industry in promoting
and adopting the relatively new concepts of sustainable devel-
opment. Before being appointed to her current position, Olson
was director of the Strategic Solutions Team, accountable for
leading SWN’s Freshwater Neutral Initiative, and was the com-
pany’s corporate completion engineering chief. During her
30-year career in completion and reservoir engineering, she has
applied her expertise in design, modeling, and operational exe-
cution of hydraulic fracturing as Gulf of Mexico deepwater com-
pletion team leader and North Sea stimulation team leader for
BP and Mobil. Olson has been active with SPE for more than 30
years in local sections, workshops, and conferences, including
chairing the 2014–2016 SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology
Conferences. She has authored or coauthored 15 technical
papers and presented at numerous SPE events. She has been the
recipient of numerous SPE regional and international awards,
including SPE Distinguished Membership, and has been an SPE
Distinguished Lecturer, speaking on the topic, “Freshwater Neu-
tral: Managing Water Use and Giving Back to the Environment.”
She is a member of the SPE HSE Technical Director’s and Com-
pletions Technical Director’s advisory committees. Olson holds
a BS in petroleum engineering from Louisiana State University
and an MS in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M Univer-
sity, where she serves on the Industry Board for the Petroleum
Engineering Department.
Distinguished Members
The SPE Distinguished Membership recognizes SPE members
who achieve distinction deemed worthy of special recognition.
This award acknowledges members who have attained emi-
nence in the petroleum industry or the academic community, or
who have made significant contributions to SPE.
Dhafer Al-Shehri, King Fahd University of Petroleum
and Minerals
Vasile Badiu, Senior Researcher
Baojun Bai, Missouri University of Science and Technology
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 Al-Shehri Badiu Bai Batarseh Brinsden Chang Chopra

Cramer Delamaide Hashim Heidari Khasanov Kibodeaux Lakatos

Montgomery Peck Rijken Rui Spady Van Adrichem Van Domelen

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David Cramer, ConocoPhillips
Eric Delamaide, IFP Technologies (Canada) Hydraulic Pump
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Ray (Zhenhua) Rui, Massachusetts Institute www.eTensifier.com
of Technology
Darcy Spady, Independent Director and Advisor
Willem Van Adrichem, Schlumberger (Retired)
Mary Van Domelen, Well Data Labs
Claudio Virues, Alberta Energy Regulator
Xiangzeng Wang, Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group www.HighPressure.com • 800-289-7447
Tao Yang, Equinor

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 65

 MANAGEMENT
Enhanced Recovery Technologies
for Unconventional Oil Reservoirs
Ganesh Thakur, University of Houston
Unconventional resources have trans-
formed the landscape of the oil and gas
industry. The primary oil recovery fac-
tor ranges from 2–8% for the various
shale plays throughout the US. Hence, it
is imperative to develop the vast poten-
tial of unconventional reservoirs and
increase the recovery factors beyond pri-
mary depletion by implementing IOR/
EOR methods. This article describes the
role of effective reservoir management
and summarizes the detailed review of
the advances in IOR/EOR technologies
applied to unconventional oil reservoirs,
as performed by the Energy Industry
Partnership Team (EIP) at the Univer-
sity of Houston (Balasubramanian et al.
2018). That review included:
◗ A thorough review of the pertinent
published literature on IOR/EOR
◗ Results of EOR application to
unconventionals shared by
various operators in their investor
presentations and from press reports
◗ Classifying IOR/EOR studies as
laboratory experiments, numerical
modeling, and field laboratory
trials (pilots)
◗ Analysis of field trials based on the
representative shale plays.
Most studies performed for the appli-
cation of EOR technologies to uncon-
ventional oil reservoirs have been lim-
ited to experimental investigations
and numerical simulation studies. The
research revealed that miscible gas injec-
tion (produced field gases, CO2, etc.) is
the most promising method among the
EOR techniques, including miscible gas,
waterflooding, surfactant, chemical, and
polymer. Experimental studies showed
the following:
◗ CO2 injection had the highest
potential of improved recovery
66
in unconventionals followed by
produced gas injection. Surfactant
injection showed the next best
potential to increase oil recovery by
altering the wettability of rock in
laboratory experiments.
◗ The produced field gas injection
pilots showed that sufficient
injectivity was achieved mainly due
to the injection-induced fractures
and did not exhibit any significant
effect of diffusion.
◗ Conformance control remains a big
challenge due to the channeling of
the gas through the fractures.
◗ Produced field gas injection pilots
in the Eagle Ford formation have
demonstrated the greatest success
in increasing oil recovery.
◗ Many inconsistencies exist between
laboratory investigations and field
trials that need reconciliation and
further research to bridge the gap.
◗ This methodical study elicits the
learnings and challenges from the
application of different IOR/EOR
technologies to unconventionals at
various scales (micro to macro to
field scale). In addition, ideas for
future research are recommended
to improve the understanding of
the complex mechanisms of EOR in
unconventional oil reservoirs.
Unconventional resources have
changed the landscape of oil and gas
industry in the US and the world. Oil
production from unconventional tight
oil reservoirs have accounted for more
than 50% of total oil production in
the US in the recent years. Todd et al.
reported that unconventional oil reser-
voirs contributed to more than a 4 mil-
lion B/D increase in production between
2011 and 2014.
The primary recovery from uncon-
ventional oil reservoirs is predicted to
be less than 10%, ranging anywhere
from 2 to 8% for the various shale plays
throughout the US. It is well known that
individual well production has a steep
decline before leveling off at a low rate.
Infill drilling is a current practice to get
short-term increase in production. It is
not always economic to drill and com-
plete new wells with long laterals.
To date, understanding of EOR in
unconventional plays is in its embryon-
ic stage due to poor understanding of
the geological constraints on reservoir
performance. Definitions of key geolog-
ical parameters that influence primary
recovery are understood to some extent;
however, the same in relation to EOR or
secondary recovery has not been per-
formed successfully. As the mechanism
of EOR is better understood, geological
parameters that define the “sweet spot”
for a secondary recovery process will
simultaneously need to be established.
For EOR, industry is still chasing the sim-
ilar geological characteristics that makes
a primary recovery successful, e.g., frac-
tures and brittleness. These parameters
may be different for EOR. An integrated
field laboratory study will help advance
knowledge with practical  results.
Rigorous reservoir characterization is
necessary to provide realistic geomod-
els and perform more accurate dynam-
ic simulation of EOR processes. As in
conventional reservoirs, reservoir char-
acteristics, including fracture network
and fluid properties must be favorable
for EOR methods. Lab studies, along
with field production data analysis and
simulation work, suggest that fluid
mobilities within the reservoir are con-
trolled by fractures. Key concepts for
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
EOR applicability in unconventional
reservoirs include:
◗ Fault location, fracture networks,
complexity, and density that
dictate EOR fluid permeation and
hydrocarbon extraction
◗ Production logs providing insights
into fluid distribution
◗ A variety of log data (resistivity,
microimaging, ultrasonic) for
fracture characterization
◗ PNL assisting with mineralogy,
lithology, and fluid saturations
◗ Microseismic data helping induced
fracture network distribution and
stimulated reservoir volume
◗ Pressure monitoring, fluid
communication tests, stimulation
pressure tests, and pulse tests that
help identify fluid communication
paths between wells,
communication due to frac hits
◗ Use of tracer tests as a cost-effective
means of identifying fluid flow paths
◗ Containment of injection gas
◗ API gravity, gas-to-oil ratio, bubble
point pressure, first contact miscible
pressure, and fracturing pressure
◗ Well completions strategy also
plays an important part for an
EOR application:
o Design of the injection well
completions
o Completions being targeted to
the injection test and monitoring
plan to understand how fluids are
moving
o A detailed history of the
production and completions
of the subject well and the
surrounding wells
o A conformance control plan
considering the quality of the
completions
Status of EOR in
Unconventional Oil Reservoirs
EOR methods in unconventional reser-
voirs are quite different from those in con-
ventional reservoirs due to the complex
and poor quality properties of the plays.
Most studies have been limited to exper-
imental work, mathematical approach-
es, and numeric simulation. A few pilots
have been conducted in North Dakota and
Montana in the Bakken formation (Wood
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
TABLE 1A—DIFFERENT
FORMATIONS STUDIED
FOR IOR/EOR METHODS
(AFTER ALFARGE ET AL., 2017)
Basin Percent
Bakken 59
Eagle Ford 13
Permian Basin 6
(including Wolfcamp)
Others 22
et al. 2011; Schmidt et al. 2014; Todd et al.
2016). A range of conclusions has been
presented by the different researchers
on the applicability and understanding of
EOR to unconventional oil reservoirs. The
ultra-tight matrix and high conductivity
of the natural fractures are two impor-
tant factors that impair success of uncon-
ventional EOR methods. Table 1A shows
a snapshot of the different studies that
have been performed on the various shale
and tight oil formations. Table 1B shows
the different tools that have been used to
investigate IOR/EOR methods applicabili-
ty (Alfarge et al. 2017). Field trials for EOR
have been limited in the Permian Basin
Wolfcamp formation.
The EOR methods that have been
most investigated for applicability in the
unconventional reservoirs are summa-
rized in Table 2.
EOR Field Trials
Most of the field trials or pilots conduct-
ed using waterflood, miscible gas, CO2,
and natural gas have been performed
in the Canadian Bakken, Bakken, and
Eagle Ford formations. Field trials for
EOR have been limited in the Permian
Basin Wolfcamp formation. The field tri-
als in the Bakken are distributed between
Canada and US (Table 3).
Conventional/Unconventional
EOR Ratios
Note that for a conventional reservoir
(depletion drive, light/medium gravity
oil in the Permian Basin), often there
is a relationship between SR (second-
ary recovery due to water injection) and
PR (primary recovery), and TR (tertia-
ry or EOR recovery) and a sum total of
(PR+SR). The underlying causes for the
TABLE 1B—DIFFERENT
TOOLS USED TO INVESTIGATE
EOR APPLICABILITY
(FROM ALFARGE ET AL., 2017)
Basin Percent
Simulation 51
Experimental 41
Field Tests 3
Others 5
SR value for a reservoir are similar to
the ones for the PR process, e.g., reser-
voir and fluid properties, heterogeneity,
continuity, and well locations. Similar
observations are also made when com-
paring a TR value (for CO2 flooding) with
respect to its (PR+SR) value. Although it
would be incorrect to say that SR or TR
will always be higher if PR is greater, in
many cases in my opinion, this type of
relationship is true for the convention-
al reservoirs in the Permian Basin. If we
apply similar logic to an unconventional
reservoir, to maximize the total recovery,
we must not only focus on EOR but also
continue to stretch the envelope in terms
of increasing PR values.
Challenges/Limitations/
Lessons Learned
◗ Most investigations for EOR in
unconventional reservoirs have
been limited to experimental studies
and numerical simulation, resulting
in wide gaps between the micro
scale (lab scale) and macro scale
(field trials) studies for the different
EOR methods in unconventional
reservoirs.
◗ CO2 EOR ranked as the most suitable
method over natural gas in the
laboratory studies, but field trials
showed more success with natural
gas or enriched natural gas.
◗ Experimental studies concluded that
CO2 diffusion was the mechanism
for improved recovery, whereas
the pilot tests did not show a clear
indication on the field scale.
◗ Earlier studies concluded that
injecting miscible gas by huff-n-puff
protocol might be more beneficial
than continuous injection.
67
 TABLE 2—EOR METHODS FOR UNCONVENTIONAL RESERVOIRS

EOR Method Influencing Mechanisms Laboratory Validation Field Trials

Miscible gas injection • G
 as molecule diffusion
(CO2, N2, natural gas) • R
 eduction in capillary pressure
•Repressurization
• Extraction
• O
 il swelling and pressure
maintenance
•O il viscosity reduction
•H igh compressibility to displace
oil in matrix
•M iscible gas dissolves in
oil, swells the oil and lowers
viscosity
Low-salinity •C  lay swelling and shale cracking
waterflooding • Wettability alteration
• Water imbibition
Chemical methods • Wettability alteration
(surfactants, polymers, • Interfacial tension reduction
alkaline)
•M  ost widely studied and focused •D  iffusion is negligible;
more on CO2 Repressurization, oil swelling
•M  any experimental and may be important
numerical simulation studies • The key findings are still
reports in the literature. inconclusive
• CO2 shows better performance •H  uff-n-puff proves to be
than other gases successful in some shale
•D  iffusion is the dominant reservoirs
mechanism; Other mechanisms •C  ontinuous injection was tested
are also important
•H  uff-n-Puff injection tested to be
reasonably successful
•O  nly experimental investigation •N
 o field test has been reported
performed
•M  ost studies performed on the
core scale
• Incremental oil recovery
attributed to shale cracking by
clay swelling
•N  ot well understood or applied
in the field
•S
 urfactants has the most •C
 ouple of tests have been tried
promising potential •R
 esults have been inconclusive
•N
 onionic and anionic surfactants
have been used
•E
 xperimental work performed
on Bakken cores
•S
 caled up to field using
simulation

◗◗ Understanding the length of the
soak time (extent of diffusion) vs.
area of gas contacting the rocks
(stimulated rock volume) is critical
to EOR success.
◗◗ It is unclear if high intensity of
natural fractures played a role in the
conformance problems, although
this was not observed in the
Canadian Bakken.
◗◗ It is essential to conduct studies
to integrate all tools of detailed
reservoir characterization and
geomodeling, lab, dynamic
simulation, and pilot tests to
advance the understanding of
the applicability of each IOR/
EOR method to unconventional
reservoirs.
◗◗ Improved understanding of the
petrophysical, geological, and
geochemical conditions of the
reservoir rock help in designing
the best development strategy of
these tight resources.
◗◗ Horizontal wells with multistage
fractures are used for unconventional
development. The effective number
of wells and fracture stages are not
quite well understood.
◗◗ Horizontal wells are currently
placed in an equally spaced
fashion, which leads to variations
in total production per well.
Developing a standard/metric
to place fractures and wells has
always been challenging.
Conclusions
◗◗ The industry is optimistic about
the future of EOR in tight oil
formations. There are significant
opportunities for oil mobilization
and production using produced
field gas and CO2 injection under
appropriate conditions.
◗◗ IOR and EOR are essential to
improving the primary recovery
factor that ranges from 2% to 8%
in unconventional oil reservoirs.
◗◗ The research revealed that miscible
gas injection (produced field gases,
CO2, etc.) is the most promising
method among the EOR techniques
(miscible gas, water flooding,
surfactant, chemical, and polymer).
◗◗ Experimental studies showed
that CO2 injection had the highest
potential of improved recovery
in unconventionals followed by
produced gas injection followed
by surfactant injection.
◗◗ Produced gas injection pilots in
the Eagle Ford formation have
demonstrated the greatest success
in increasing oil recovery.
Further Research
Ideas to be considered for future field
­trials include:
◗◗ Advanced gas injection strategies
such as cyclic gas injection in
areas of better permeability and
huff-n-puff gas injection in regions
of very low permeability (Zuloaga
et al. 2017)
◗◗ Effective fracture placement
by utilizing technologies to
differentiate brittle vs. ductile rock
(Alzahabi et al., 2015, Bateman, R.
et al. 2016, Ozkan, E. et al. 2009).

68 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 TABLE 3—EOR FIELD TRIALS PERFORMED IN UNCONVENTIONAL RESERVOIRS

UCR Play EOR Method Results Findings

Bakken Canada Waterflood (toe-heel configuration) • Oil rate increased although water • Canadian Bakken has high
injection was sporadic porosity and permeability
• Well spacing – 200 ft.
• Needs validation
Miscible gas (natural gas) • Oil rate increased from nine • Conformance problems due to
offset producers better rock properties
• Improved after conformance
treatment
Bakken US CO2 miscible gas • Huff-n-puff schemes did not • CO2 cyclic injection in a vertical
show a clear increase in oil well. CO2 was observed in a well
recovery 900 ft away
Continuous water injection • No increment in oil production • Water breakthrough attributed to
• Water breakthrough in east west injection induced fractures
offset wells and not in north
south offsets
Continuous gas injection • Oil production increased from all • Frac hits could be a reason for
producers improved recovery
• Injectivity not reported to be an
issue due to induced fracture
Eagle Ford – Natural gas – Dry gas • A 30–70% increase in oil rate • Sequential procedure – Lab
EOG Resources (from produced gases; based on • EOG has indicated success from studies, single well, multiwell
investor reports) four field trials in 15 wells pilots, field scale
• Field trial extended to 32 wells • Well spacing – 200 ft
• Large scale (100 wells) planned • Dry gas picks heavy ends
• CAPEX < $1 million/well (without
drilling cost)
• EOR = 2 × NPV from primary
recovery

◗ Smart injection technologies G.C. (30 April–3 May 2018). Horizontal-Well Performance in

considering the variation in rock
properties and moving from equally
spaced wells and fractures to more
efficient well spacing and fracture
placement.
◗ Enough long-term data to ascertain
that the recovery factor is being
increased than just accelerating
production. JPT
Acknowledgments
I sincerely thank the research work per-
formed by the Energy Industry Partner-
ship Team at the University of Hous-
ton Petroleum Engineering Department.
The key members of the team included
S. Balasubramanian, P. Chen, S. Bose,
A. Alzahabi, and G. C. Thakur (direc-
tor). In particular, S. Balasubramanian
played the main role in documenting
OTC 28973, which served as the founda-
tion of the subject paper.
References
1. Balasubramanian, S., Chen, P.,
Bose, S., Alzahabi, A. and Thakur,
Recent Advances in Enhanced
Oil Recovery Technologies for
Unconventional Oil Reservoirs.
OTC-28973-MS
2. Alfarge, D., Wei, M., and Bai, B.
(23 April 2017). IOR Methods in
Unconventional Reservoirs of North
America: Comprehensive Review.
Society of Petroleum Engineers.
doi:10.2118/185640-MS
3. Alzahabi, A., Soliman, M., Al-Qahtani,
G, Bateman, R, and Asquith, G. (2015).
Fracturability Index Maps for Fracture
Placement in Shale Plays. Hydraulic
Fracturing Journal, Volume 2-Issue
No.1, pp. 8–18. ISSN 2373–8197.
4. Bateman, R., Alzahabi, A. M., and
Soliman, M. Y. (24 October 2016).
Resistivity Transform Indicates
‘Fracturability’. AOGR. http://www.
aogr.com/web-exclusives/exclusive-
story/resistivity-transform-indicates-
fracturability
5. Ozkan, E., Brown, M. L., Raghavan,
R. S., and Kazemi, H. (1 January
2009). Comparison of Fractured
Conventional and Unconventional
Reservoirs. Society of Petroleum
Engineers. doi:10.2118/121290-MS
6. Schmidt, M., and Sekar, B. K.
(1 January 2014). Innovative
Unconventional2 EOR-A Light EOR
an Unconventional Tertiary Recovery
Approach to an Unconventional
Bakken Reservoir in Southeast
Saskatchewan. World Petroleum
Congress.
7. Todd, H. B., and Evans, J. G.
(5 May 2016). Improved Oil Recovery
IOR Pilot Projects in the Bakken
Formation. Society of Petroleum
Engineers. doi:10.2118/180270-MS
8. Wood, T., and Milne, B. (2011).
Waterflood potential could unlock
billions of barrels: Crescent Point
Energy.
9. Zuloaga, P., Yu, W., Miao, J.,
Sepehrnoori, K. (2017). “Performance
evaluation of 〖CO2 Huff-n-Puff and
continuous injection〖CO2 injection
in tight oil reservoirs,” Energy, 134,
181–192.

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 69

 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Reservoir Performance
Silviu Livescu, SPE, Chief Scientist, Baker Hughes, a GE Company

Since the last Reservoir Performance fea- The current quest papers had first authors from academia,
ture in September 2018, complex supply- 63 had first authors from operating com-
and-demand challenges have con-
for production-cost savings panies, and 31 had first authors from oil-
tinued to shape our technology and cannot continue field service companies and consulting
business-innovation models. Under sig- without improvements firms. For comparison, the review for
nificant pressure from several angles, the 2018 feature included 62 papers with
operators around the world are focusing in both operational efficiency first authors from academia, 70 with first
on lowering their production costs for and recovery factors. authors from operating companies, and
both conventional and unconventional 25 with first authors from oilfield service
assets, while oilfield service companies companies and consulting firms.
are responding to customers’ cost-saving ments in both operational efficiency and The three primary papers select-
requests with incremental improvements recovery factors. ed and three alternative papers recom-
in technology, supply chains, automa- In the past 12 months, 133 technical mended as additional reading consti-
tion, and collaboration. While the cur- papers were presented at various con- tute a representative sample of the 133
rent trends in machine learning and arti- ferences and meetings with a reservoir- papers reviewed for this feature. They
ficial intelligence certainly can help lower performance focus and were reviewed for are a geographically diverse mix of fun-
the production costs, future reservoir- this feature, showcasing further advanc- damental research, industrial research
performance improvements still will es in reservoir-performance monitoring, and development, and field-application
have to rely on reservoir characteriza- analysis, and optimization. For compari- studies, reporting the latest reservoir-
tion, surveillance, and optimization. The son, 157 and 160 technical papers were performance advances. JPT
current quest for production-cost sav- reviewed for the 2018 and 2017 features,
ings cannot continue without improve- respectively. Interestingly, this year, 39
Recommended additional reading
Silviu Livescu, SPE, is the chief scientist in the global Coiled at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
Tubing Research and Engineering Centre of Baker Hughes, a GE SPE 192881 Reservoir Health Indicators
company, in Calgary, with fundamental and applied research, Driving Performance Through Data
industrial research and development, innovation, commercial- Analytics by Mohamed Al Marzouqi,
ization, and intellectual-property experience related to produc- ADNOC, et al.
tion engineering, completions, and reservoir engineering. He SPE 193701 Satellite INSAR Technology
holds BS and MS degrees from Politehnica University of for Caprock-Integrity Monitoring of Cyclic
Bucharest in Romania and a PhD degree from the University of Steam Stimulation and Steamflooding
Delaware, all in mechanical engineering. Livescu is an SPE Distinguished Lecturer for Heavy-Oil Production in Kuwait by Zu Biao
2018–2019 and is an executive editor for the Journal of Petroleum Science and Ren, Kuwait Oil Company, et al.
Engineering and an associate editor for SPE Journal. He serves on the SPE SPE 195366 Permeability and Porosity
Production and Facilities Advisory Committee, the SPE Management and Information Evolution of Organic-Rich Shales as a Result
Advisory  Committee, and the JPT Editorial Committee. Livescu can be reached at of Heating by Tae Wook Kim, Stanford
https://ca.linkedin.com/in/silviu-livescu-14a96735. University, et al.

70 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

Improving Temperature-Logging Accuracy
in Steamfloods

A robust reservoir surveillance

program is key to managing a
steamflooding operation successfully.
CCL Electronic Cartridge Temperature Sensor

Time-lapse temperature surveys are a

primary data type collected from the
observation wells to evaluate reservoir
heating and to monitor the steamchest. Fig. 1—Schematic of a temperature tool.
The objective of this study was to look at
factors that can affect a temperature log ward, therefore avoiding wellbore-fluid- step change can be an increase or de-
and steps that can be taken to improve churning issues. Additionally, depth con- crease in the parameter being measured,
temperature-measurement accuracy. trol is maintained by monitoring tension such as temperature. Response time is af-
Field data and analytical assessment on the line and by correlating to the CCL. fected by the type of sensor, the medium
show that several factors can affect the Temperature sensors in the logging in the wellbore (typically water), and the
accuracy of a temperature log, which can tool measure the temperature of the fluid change in temperature. Response time in
subsequently affect interpretation and in the wellbore, which is in thermal equi- air is much slower than in water, a state
operational decisions. librium with the adjacent formations. A that exists even for newer RTD sensors. If
resistance temperature detector (RTD) the logging speeds are too fast, the sen-
Temperature-Logging-Tool is the preferred sensor for temperature sor may not have sufficient time to equil-
Overview measurements. An RTD is a device that ibrate with the medium, resulting in an
Temperature-logging tools are among senses temperature by measuring the inaccurate temperature reading. How-
the most common used in thermal proj- change in resistance of a material in a ever, higher or varying logging speeds
ects. These tools are accurate, reliable, known and repeatable manner. Platinum often represent an operational decision
and relatively inexpensive. Fig. 1 shows a thermistors are also used as tempera- to save time.
schematic of a typical temperature tool. ture sensors; however, an RTD has bet-
It includes a casing-collar locator (CCL), ter repeatability, long-term stability, and Factors Affecting Temperature
a temperature sensor, and tool electron- accuracy, and features greater sensitiv- Measurement
ics. Temperature logs can also be ob- ity to small temperature changes than Factors that will affect temperature mea-
tained in conjunction with data from does a platinum thermistor. Additionally, surement include logging speed, sensor-
other logs such as the cement-bond, car- platinum thermistors have lower maxi- response time, and steamchest tempera-
bon/oxygen, pulse-neutron, and open- mum temperature limits typically and ture. In the complete paper, the authors
hole logs. However, it is recommend- require more-frequent calibration, al- present an analytical basis upon which
ed that temperature surveys from these though their response can be faster than the sensitivity of these parameters on
tools be used for quantitative analy- that of an RTD. temperature measurement may be evalu-
sis because the other logs are record- The sensor requires a certain mini- ated. The purpose of the analytical calcu-
ed normally by first lowering the log- mum time to reach thermal equilibrium lations primarily was to gain directional
ging tool to the bottom of the well and with the measured fluid, which is a func- insight on parameter sensitivity, and not
then logging up to the surface. These tion of its response time, defined as the for purposes of quantitative analysis.
log measurements may also be taken at time unit required for a sensor to reach Key observations from the analytical
a higher logging speed. But temperature 63.2% of the total output signal when calculations include:
tools, by comparison, are logged down- subjected to a step change in input. The ◗ The higher the logging speed,
the greater the error in measured
temperature.
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
◗ The higher the steamchest
of paper SPE 191539, “Temperature-Logging Guidelines and Factors That Affect temperature, the greater the error
Measurement Accuracy,” by Gede Adnyana (retired, former Chevron), Jyotsna in measured temperature.
Sharma, SPE, Don  Mims, SPE, David Barnes, and Ron Behrens, SPE, Chevron, ◗ The longer the sensor-response
prepared for the 2018 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, time, the greater the error in
24–26. The paper has not been peer reviewed. measured temperature.

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

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 71

 ◗ The error in measured temperature equilibrated water-filled
typically reduces over time. temperature-observation well
Four field examples are presented in (TOW) at a constant and optimal
the complete paper to illustrate errors in- logging speed from the surface to
troduced in temperature measurements bottom of the well.
caused by running at higher or nonuni- ◗ Compare the temperature-tool
form logging speeds, and the effect of reading at the surface with the
steamchest temperature on measure- surface temperature to identify
ment error. With respect to these field significant deviations from
observations, running at higher logging expected temperature behavior
speeds shows the following: that could be caused by tool issues.
◗ Lower magnitude of peak ◗ Compare the temperature gradient
temperature that can affect from the log with the geothermal
operational decisions gradient in the nonsteamflooded
◗ Temperature profile delayed or zones. A significant difference from
shifted downward the geothermal gradient could
◗ Higher error in peak temperature indicate poor tool calibration, tool
value at higher steamchest error, or out-of-zone heating.
temperature ◗ Depth QC is a necessary step in
◗ Disturbance of wellbore fluid when temperature-log QC. One way this
speed is not held constant from the can be achieved is by comparing
surface to bottom of the well the CCL from the temperature
survey with the CCL from previous
Temperature-Log Quality- temperature surveys.
Check (QC) Guidelines ◗ Compare time-lapse temperature
Some key guidelines for performing QC of surveys to identify significant
a temperature log include the following: deviations from expected
◗ Ensure that the log was run temperature behavior that could
downward into a stable and be caused by tool issues.
Several field examples are presented
in the complete paper to illustrate the ef-
fects of tool malfunction and poor cali-
bration. Guidance for the interpretation
of temperature signature in air, iden-
tification of liquid level in a TOW, and
the wellbore-reflux phenomenon are also
discussed through field examples.
Acquiring Temperature Data in
Steamflood TOWs
◗ Before surveying, identify
any safety issues such as high
temperature and pressure in
the wellbore owing to thermal
expansion or steam leak into the
casing, which can be hazardous
for those accessing the wellbore
for logging.
◗ Establish that the fluid level in the
well before surveying is close to
the surface in order to measure
temperature accurately throughout
the length of the well.
◗ Leave the well undisturbed before
taking a temperature survey to
minimize temperature-smearing
effects, and ensure that the
72
wellbore fluid has equilibrated
thermally with the adjacent
formation.
◗ Log the temperature tool going
downward from the surface to the
bottom of the well at a constant
optimal logging speed to achieve
necessary temperature accuracy.
◗ Ensure that the temperature tool
has a current calibration record.
◗ Verify the specification and type
of temperature sensor used in the
temperature tool; this has an effect
on the accuracy and repeatability
of the measurement
◗ Perform log QC to identify any
anomalous temperature reading
caused by tool malfunction,
improper calibration, or unsuitable
wellbore conditions.
◗ To prevent wellbore reflux, ensure
that sufficient hydrostatic pressure
in the water column exists to
prevent boiling.
Conclusions
◗ The assessment of field data, as
well as the analytical modeling
study presented in the complete
paper, suggests that the accuracy
of a temperature log can be
affected by factors such as the
logging speed, sensor type,
sensor-response time, steamchest
temperature, and wellbore fluid.
◗ Running temperature logs in a
downward direction at a constant,
optimal logging speed, in an
undisturbed, equilibrated water-
filled wellbore provides the most
favorable results.
◗ Temperature surveys in a water-
filled TOW minimize measurement
error and result in faster response
time, as compared with an air-
filled TOW.
◗ Field data and analytical
calculations suggest that higher
logging speeds introduce greater
error in measured temperature
data and that these errors are
greater at elevated steamchest
temperatures. Temperature tools
with longer sensor-response
times need to be run at slower
logging speeds to obtain accurate
measurements. JPT
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Integrating Fractional Flow Into Reservoir
Surveillance Improves GOM Production

I ntegration of well and reservoir

surveillance techniques—production
Rate

WBT
1,1000
CT Acid Mud
measurements, reservoir fluid Stimulation

Pressure (psi)
characterization, pressure transient

Intervention
9,000
analysis, production logging, relative

SSV
permeability, and fractional flow—are
critical to understanding well and

7,000
reservoir performance for effective well
and field management, particularly in 5,000
high-cost intervention environments. 0 20,000 40,000 PBU 60,000 PBU PBU
The complete paper presents a case and and
Rates (STB/D)
–10,000 20,000 40,000

PLT PLT
study in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico
(GOM) in which pressure transient
analysis (PTA), fractional flow (FF), and
production logging tools (PLT) were
integrated to identify correctly the cause 0 20,000 40,000 60,000
of, and execute an effective remedy for, Time (hours)
a well’s productivity deterioration.
Fig. 1—Deepwater GOM well history, including acid stimulation. PBU=pressure
buildup.
Background
The level of integration achieved in this has been recommended to determine 35,000 STB/D with no water production
study is not common practice because the potential production-optimization and a gas/oil ratio (GOR) of 1100 scf/STB.
most commercial software products do benefits of future intervention candi- The well was equipped with a downhole
not consider multiphase interpretations dates. The complete paper discusses the pressure gauge (DHPG) that worked for
in analytical PTA. These limitations leave geology and reservoir characterization only 90 days, during which it was pos-
out the actual effect of relative perme- of the well, its initial performance and sible to adequately establish a baseline
ability in the estimated transmissibil- subsequent deterioration, the surveil- well performance and accurate determi-
ity values. In this case, integrating frac- lance tools used to evaluate the well’s nation of formation damage (skin) and
tional flow analysis with a multilayer performance and determine the inter- transmissibility. In July 2013, the well
PTA curve and running a production- vention method and steps, a comparison was shut in because of a stuck-closed sub-
logging tool made it possible to sepa- between basic diagnostic PTA and multi- surface safety valve (SSV). The well was
rate relative-permeability effects from layer PTA, the building of the multilayer back on line in 2014 after replacement of
plugging effects. A coiled-tubing (CT) model, the execution of the stimulation the upper completion, which included a
mud acid-stimulation treatment then treatment, and the results and conclu- new SSV and DHPG. Fig. 1 shows aspects
enabled recovery of approximately 65% sions of the program. of the well history.
of the well’s lost transmissibility, de- The oil rate was sustained at approxi-
creased formation skin from 16 to 9, and Field Case mately 35,000 STB/D from 2009 until
instantaneously restored 7,000 STB/D A subsea deepwater GOM well began pro- 2013. The first well performance ques-
of production. This analysis approach duction in 2009 with an initial rate of tion arose after the well came back on-
line in 2014, when a production loss of
approximately 10,000 STB/D was ob-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of paper
served. Because of uncertainties in the
SPE 192843, “A Success Story of Production Improvement in a Deepwater GOM Field
estimation of downhole pressure be-
Based on Integration of Surveillance Techniques,” by Fabio Gonzalez, SPE, Doris tween 2009 and 2013, the point at which
Gonzalez, Steve Carmichael, SPE, Carlos Stewart, SPE, Marney Pietrobon, and the well began losing productivity was
Francisco Garzon, SPE, BP America, prepared for the 2018 Abu Dhabi International uncertain. Whether the well was oper-
Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, 12–15 November. The paper has not ated at a higher drawdown before the in-
been peer reviewed. tervention was not entirely clear. Efforts

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

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 73

 were made to fully understand this issue,
but some uncertainties remained. Ad-
ditional changes were introduced in the
well’s completion during the SSV inter-
Behind
vention in 2014.
The second well-performance investi-
gation began after an additional produc-
tion loss of approximately 15,000 STB/D
in 2016. This production loss occurred
every at approximately the same time as water
breakthrough (WBT), and it was hypoth-
esized that the effective permeability to
oil was the main reason for this addi-
recipient
tional loss. The potential to restore even
a percentage of these two large losses in-
spired a more-detailed evaluation of the
performance of this well.
is a
Performance Diagnostics
and Results
Well-productivity deterioration for the
great
well was identified on the basis of pro-
duction testing and well-performance
nodal analysis. The productivity dete-
rioration was then confirmed by means
of PTA. Standard diagnostic derivative
nomination analyses suggested that permeability
decrease was the main source of per-
formance detriment as the result of an
apparent transmissibility reduction of
60%. Because WBT took place before
productivity impairment was acknowl-
edged, the immediate reaction was to
establish the hypothesis that effective
permeability reduction caused by rela-
tive-permeability effects was the main
Excellent work should be reason for the impairment. A multilay-
er PTA-type curve model, together with
recognized everywhere. fractional-flow analysis, did not support
the relative-permeability premise as the
International Award primary cause, leaving the potential for
severe plugging of the reservoir rock as
deadline is 1 March.
the predominant hypothesis.
A PLT run confirmed that approxi-
Regional Award
mately 60% of the completed inter-
deadline is 15 March. val was not producing at the expect-
ed levels. It was possible to separate
Visit www.spe.org/awards the relative-permeability effects from
for more information. the plugging effects by integrating PTA,
FF, and PLT. On the basis of relative-
Nominate a colleague today. permeability and fractional-flow analy-
sis performed on data before the stimu-
lation, transmissibility was most likely
affected in an amount equivalent to 13 ft
of the total perforated interval of 114 ft.
On the basis of PLT interpretation,
water and oil were produced from the
lower 27 ft. This was the zone affected
by relative permeability that equates to
a maximum thickness loss of 16 ft. This
result is consistent with fractional-flow
analysis. Plugging effects contributed
to approximately 43 ft of 123 ft of effec-
tive thickness losses, as per PLT before
the stimulation. This result is very close
to multilayer-type curve-modeling PTA.
On the basis of the results of the
2016 intervention and observed post-
intervention performance, the most-
likely source of the formation damage
was fines migration from high-velocity
flow. This is believed to have been pri-
marily the result of screen plugging and
near-wellbore damage that occurred
during the 2014 workover to replace the
upper completion.
Conclusions
◗ Basic PTA diagnostic practice can
deliver misleading results. In this
study, it would have indicated
permeability reduction, when in
fact transmissibility reduction
occurred mainly as a result of
plugging (formation damage-skin)
and, to a much lesser degree,
a relative-permeability effect.
Common industry practice is to
overlay log-log plot and diagnose
accordingly. Unfortunately
this practice leaves behind
many production-optimization
opportunities.
◗ Approximately 7,000 STB/D
of production were added
because of the acid stimulation.
More importantly, a systematic
surveillance approach and data-
analysis technique has opened
additional scenarios to identify
production-optimization
opportunities.
◗ Multilayer PTA enables the
prediction of selective plugging in
a single-layer producing interval
when analyzed as multilayer.
◗ A PLT confirmed the results from
the revised PTA. There was very
close agreement between the PLT
and the revised PTA results. JPT
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Chemical Tracer Flowback Data
Help Understanding of Fluid Distribution

T his paper presents a data set

involving the pumping of multiple,
unique chemical tracers into a single
Horizontal Wellbore Formation

Wolfcamp B fracture stage. The

goal of the tracer test is to improve
understanding of the flowback
characteristics of individually tagged fluid
and sand segments by adding another
layer of granularity to a typical tracer-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
flowback report. The added intrastage-
Unique Tracers Fracture Half-Length
level detail can provide insights into
fracture behavior in shale-reservoir Fig. 1—Piston-like displacement. Each color represents a unique tracer.
stimulation by looking at individual
fluid-segment tracer recoveries. volume, also known as effective propped ◗ Does the order of injected fracturing
volume (EPV). fluid correspond with the order in
Introduction SRV, estimated usually from micro- which tracer is produced?
Operators have relied upon high- seismic mapping, is a rough estimate of ◗ Can the residence-time calculation
intensity completion designs that in- the volume of rock that is hydraulically for each tracer be used to infer the
clude a combination of high proppant fractured, and is sometimes defined as degree of fracture complexity?
volumes, increased perforation-cluster the product of gross stimulated area and As operators elect to enhance fracture
density, and smaller-mesh-size prop- pay-zone thickness. EPV is a fraction of complexity by increasing perforation-
pants. These designs aim to create a com- the total SRV that is supported by prop- cluster density, using lower-viscosity-
plex fracture network and increase the pant and is capable of flowing during de- fluid systems, and pumping smaller-mesh
contact area with shale rock. They have pletion. From a production perspective, proppants, the modeling of fracture ge-
helped operators achieve higher initial the surface-area contact of the fractional ometry has proved difficult. In addition,
productivity and larger estimated ulti- propped SRV is more important than the varying perforation-cluster efficiency
mate recovery while simultaneously en- gross SRV estimate. and sand-duning effects can cause fluid
abling the drilling of horizontal wells at In the past, chemical tracer data have and proppant to be distributed nonuni-
tighter well spacing. The traditional, bi- offered stage-level insights into load re- formly within the fracture network.
wing fracture model seems to be scru- covery and hydrocarbon contribution, Without these effects, a piston-like dis-
tinized increasingly for its lack of rele- but the data set presented in the com- placement of the fracturing fluid is ex-
vance when stimulating shale reservoirs. plete paper considers individual fluid- pected within a given fracture (Fig. 1). In
Operators have observed greater fracture segment data within a single fracturing the simplified illustration, the pad-stage
complexity when using enhanced com- stage. A few of the questions prompting fracturing fluid should flow furthest into
pletion designs. These designs aim to this study included: the formation. It is also possible that a
increase fracture surface area and com- ◗ Do certain fluid segments exhibit limited recovery of the pad stage is to
plexity, leading to a debate regarding the poor tracer recovery by being placed be observed if it is placed outside of the
merits of stimulated reservoir volume within the unpropped fraction of propped fracture network. By tagging
(SRV) and propped-stimulated reservoir the SRV? each fluid and sand segment of the frac-
ture stage, the residence-time distribu-
tion of each tracer should yield insight
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
into the fluid and proppant distribution
paper SPE 194362, “Understanding Fracturing-Fluid Distribution of an Individual
of the fracture network.
Fracturing Stage From Chemical Tracer Flowback Data,” by Wei Tian and Alex
Darnley, SPE, ResMetrics; Teddy Mohle, SPE, and Kyle Johns, Contango Oil and Gas; Overview of Chemical Tracers
and Chris Dempsey, ResMetrics, prepared for the 2019 SPE Hydraulic Fracturing During the past decade, chemical trac-
Technology Conference and Exhibition, The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 5–7 February. er usage for diagnosing fracture treat-
The paper has not been peer reviewed. ments in unconventional reservoirs has

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

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 75

 increased dramatically. Chemical trac-
ers are exclusively soluble in a single
target phase, which can be water, oil, or
gas. They can also be manufactured in
liquid or solid form. Liquid tracers are
pumped with fracturing fluid at a con-
stant concentration, which will scale
proportionately with the clean fluid
rate of the fracturing blender. Liquid
water tracers follow the aqueous phase,
whereas liquid hydrocarbon tracers dis-
solve into oil or gas upon contact with
reservoir fluids. A new addition to trac-
er technology results from adsorbing
chemical tracers onto a solid carrier.
Solid-tracer carriers have the benefit
of being placed with the proppant in
the fracture network; however, the spe-
cific mass of tracer absorbed onto each
carrier bead and the release rate of the
tracer from the solid carrier in the res-
ervoir is difficult to quantify. Solid trac-
ers also degrade during the fracturing
treatment when exposed to high treat-
ing pressures and do not have the crush
strength of sand or manufactured prop-
pant. Tracers can also come in polymer
strip form, wherein the tracer can be at-
tached to completion hardware such as
sand-control screens.
Typical deliverables from chemi-
cal tracer tests include analysis regard-
ing fracturing-fluid recovery, wellbore
cleanup, and stage inflow contribution.
Advanced research has led to use of
chemical tracer flowback data to inves-
tigate fracture geometry and fracture-
network complexity. Studies using
chemical tracers to evaluate fracturing-
fluid distribution within a single fracture
stage are limited.
Test-Site Description
This project was conducted in a hori-
zontal well drilled and completed in the
Wolfcamp B formation of the Delaware
Basin. The lateral length is approximate-
ly 10,000 ft with 48 fracture stages.
Each stage consisted of approximately
500,000 gal of water-based fracturing
fluid and 451,000 lbm of sand. Slick-
water and linear gel were used as the car-
rier fluids. 100-mesh sand was pumped
from 0.2 to 1 lbm/gal, and 40/70-mesh
followed from 1 to 2 lbm/gal. The entire
stage treatment was divided into 15 seg-
ments on the basis of the fracturing fluid,
proppant size, and concentration.
76
Tracer Application
Twelve unique water-phase tracers and
oil-phase tracers were injected into the
heel-most stage to tag individual fluid
and sand segments beginning with
the pad segment and ending with the
2-lbm/gal 40/70-mesh stage. Each fluid
and sand segment was allocated unique
tracers. The tracers were injected con-
tinuously along with the fracturing fluid
at a constant concentration throughout
each individual segment. The chemi-
cal tracers are conservative tracers, ex-
clusively soluble in their carrier fluid,
and will not decompose or react under
subsurface conditions.
After the well was brought on line for
flowback and production, water and oil
samples were collected at the wellhead.
One sample per day was taken for the
first 2 weeks, followed by a reduction in
sampling frequency. The entire sampling
process lasted approximately 80 days,
during which 21 water samples and 21 oil
samples were collected. All samples were
sent to a laboratory for analysis.
Results and Discussion
Raw Tracer Data. Tracers injected into
different fluid and sand segments were
commingled to some degree. Most of
the tracers pumped were detected
in each sample, including the earliest
flowback samples, showing that some
fluid pumped early in the treatment was
placed near the wellbore, indicating a de-
gree of fracture complexity. Significant
connectivity between primary and sec-
ondary fractures may result in sufficient
blending of fracturing-fluid segments.
In general, the tracer concentration
in each fluid sample declined over time
because of dilution from increasing
formation-water influx. However, the
tracer concentrations then increased
suddenly, suggesting that the water-
flow contribution from the heel stage in-
creased relative to the previous sample
date. This would normally be verified
by relative changes in tracer production
from other fracture stages if that data
were available. The other fracture stages
of this well were not traced.
Normalized Tracer Data. Normalizing
raw tracer data to their injected amount
accounts for the concentration variation
owing solely to the different segment
volumes. A segment for which 476 bbl of
fracturing fluid were pumped downhole
was selected as the standard, and cor-
responding normalization coefficients
were then applied to other tracers. The
earliest segments for both phases of
tracer display overall increasing concen-
tration, indicating that the earlier seg-
ments are more likely to partially flow
into up-propped SRV and are at a much
lower concentration relative to the other
tracers during flowback and production.
Differing magnitudes of concentra-
tion imply that the tracers are contact-
ing completely different pockets of hy-
drocarbon throughout the stage. This
further supports the idea of increased
fracture complexity with this style of
completion program.
The complete paper describes
the  methodology of residence-time-
distribution analysis.
Conclusions
Water-soluble and oil-soluble tracers
were injected into 12 segments within a
single heel stage. Flowback samples were
collected and analyzed to detect tracer
concentration. Application of chemical
tracers is an effective, nonintrusive tech-
nique that provides invaluable informa-
tion about the fracturing-fluid dynamic
inside fractures. The following conclu-
sions were reached:
◗ All tracers were detected in the
flowback samples, indicating that
no fluid segments existed that were
placed completely outside of the
propped fracture network.
◗ A high degree of fluid mixing
appears to take place during
stimulation, possibly an indication
of high fracture complexity.
◗ Residence-time-distribution
analysis should be used to
determine the transit time from
the fracture to the surface for each
traced segment.
◗ To calculate the average residence
time for each tracer, a complete
tracer production history curve is
needed.
◗ All tracers flowed back
simultaneously.
◗ Tracers pumped during the linear
gel fluid segments at higher sand
concentration flowed back faster
than the slickwater segments. JPT
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Field Development
Maria A. Capello, SPE, Executive Consultant, Kuwait Oil Company

Field developers are making bold step Current trends purpose and temporary working teams.
changes to form their optimization The investments of time and effort are
strategies on the crests of digital trans-
in field development focused to better understand and predict
formation, using massive data analyt- are to study, model, and how to reduce or avoid the interference
ics, machine learning, cloud computing, understand the time-lapse among child and parent wells in shale oil
and data-sharing strategies for oil and or to ensure the sustainable production
gas fields in all stages of development. effects in those fields from offshore heavy-oil developments.
This trend will only grow, following the where optimization of costs, Field development and field-operation
imperative to ensure the sustainability of optimization become joint efforts as the
new assets and extend the life of brown- environmental challenges, loops of production are shorter and the
fields of any size. and sustainability data are shared among several disci-
Current trends in field development
are key differentiators. plines, interconnecting and integrating
are to study, model, and understand the their goals.
time-lapse effects in those fields where The three selected papers provide an
optimization of costs, environmental and closed-loop reservoir management opportunity to catch up with the thrilling
challenges, and sustainability are key are the leading best-decision loops. step-change evolution in field develop-
differentiators. In onshore or offshore Operating companies of all sizes and ment. The industry continues its digital
heavy-oil developments, as well as in profiles—national oil companies, large transformation, and field development is
shale oil and gas, massive data analyt- international oil companies, and small leading the wave. JPT
ics and optimization techniques revolu- private investments—are migrating
tionize work flows in field development from structured, linear, and conven-
with great force and speed. Digital oil- tional approaches in field development Recommended additional reading
field frameworks, fast-track modeling, toward more-efficient and data-driven at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
genetic algorithms, particle-swarm opti- work flows, with activities executed in
mization, ensemble-based optimization, parallel to benefit all fronts, and fit-for- SPE 191799 Time-Dependent Depletion
of Parent Well and Effect on Well
Spacing in the Wolfcamp Delaware Basin
by Cyrille Defeu, Schlumberger, et al.
Maria A. Capello, SPE, is an executive consultant with the Kuwait
Oil Company. She is an award-winning author in energy and an SPE 193914 A Comprehensive Adaptive
Forecasting Framework for Optimum Field-
expert in reservoir management, talent management, and gender
Development Planning by Amir Salehi,
diversity. Capello has worked in Latin America, the United States, Quantum Reservoir Impact International,
and the Middle East. She holds a licentiate degree in physics from et al.
Simon Bolivar University and an MS degree in geophysics from the
Colorado School of Mines. Capello holds an honorary lifetime IPTC 19468 Modeling Interwell
Interference Caused by Complex Fracture
membership from the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and Hits in Eagle Ford Using an Embedded
has received its Distinguished Member and Regional Service awards. She also is a Discrete Fracture Model by Mauricio Xavier
Distinguished Member of SPE and a 2018–2019 SPE Distinguished Lecturer. Capello Fiallos, The University of Texas at Austin,
serves on the JPT Editorial Committee and can be reached at mcapello@kockw.com. et al.

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 77

 Considering Time and Space in Drilling and
Completion Can Reduce Well Interference

D evelopment of organic shale

reservoirs with large hydraulic-
fracture treatments not only poses
hydraulic fractures difficult to control.
In practice, fracture dimensions are not
constant along a lateral. Additionally,
area provided by the hydraulic fractures
of the child well.

challenges to the completion of a because limited contribution of the ma- Reservoir-Centric Vaca Muerta
single well, but also to interference trix is expected in a nano-Darcy envi- Work Flow
with surrounding wells. A direct ronment, the spacing between laterals The Vaca Muerta shale, located in Ar-
consequence of interference is tends to be smaller than the reach of gentina in the source rock of the Neu-
production loss. Therefore, the drilling the hydraulic fractures. This has been quén basin, ranks among the most-
and completion schedule for field evidenced by the increasing concern promising shale prospects outside the
development must be 4D in time and over fracture hits in the industry, and US. After the first exploratory well was
space to account for interaction in already has been experienced in the completed in 2010, development of
between wells. The complete paper Vaca Muerta. the play has continued at a constant
describes a physics-based model Interference can be caused by frac- pace. Still, only a few blocks have start-
of interference and a sensitivity ture hits while completing the well, ed their full field development, and
study to propose guidelines for well competition for drainage area during the total number of producing wells
spacing and a drilling timeline for production, or fracture-geometry de- remains an order of magnitude lower
multiple horizontal wells in the Vaca terioration caused by stress field varia- than that seen in most active shale plays
Muerta shale. tion when infill-drilling a child well near in the US.
a produced parent well. Even if some The Vaca Muerta faces a variety of
Introduction overlap between the hydraulic fractures challenges, including geology, opera-
Effective field development relies on the of two neighboring wells is advisable tions, production, planning, and com-
tradeoff between the capital expendi- to avoid leaving reserves behind, the mercial development. Accelerating the
ture (CAPEX) and the production profile tradeoff between well spacing, comple- learning curve is critical to ensuring suc-
generating cash flow. Both CAPEX and tion intensity, and production interfer- cess, and taking advantage of the learn-
the production profile are directly con- ence remains a delicate exercise. Hy- ings from other active shale plays—in-
trolled by the number of wells and the draulic fracturing should be considered cluding placing the well completion into
pace at which these wells are tied in to at the field level, rather than indepen- the space- and time-dependent context
the production facilities. With respect dently for each well, giving completion a of the field development—is key.
to tight rocks, the need for horizontal multiple-well spatial dimension. The paper presents a detailed discus-
drilling and hydraulic fracturing adds a As an additional complexity, child sion of a reservoir-centric, fracturing-
layer of geometrical complexity to un- wells completed later in the develop- to-production work flow that begins
lock such resources. ment of a lease tend to perform more with a detailed characterization of the
In very-low-permeability reservoirs, poorly than the parent wells. This per- reservoir that is input into a hydraulic-
the drainage area is controlled by the formance impairment might have sev- fracture simulator generating nonplanar
hydraulic-fracture geometry. However, eral different sources, but one of the geometries that are later explicitly grid-
the relatively large size of the fracturing most-accepted hypotheses is that the ded and fed into a reservoir simulator to
treatments performed in a multistage heterogeneous contrast in the stress evaluate the resulting production. The
manner across several different perfora- field generated by the depletion around high degree of integration of the work
tion clusters within a same stage makes the parent negatively affects the contact flow allows correlating the production
effect with reservoir properties or com-
pletion scenarios for both single- and
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of paper
multiple-well configurations.
SPE 191836, “When, Where, and How To Drill and Complete Pads of Multiple Wells?
The work flow integrates all steps
Four-Dimensional Considerations for Field Development in the Vaca Muerta Shale,”by from well construction to production,
Stephane Pichon, SPE, Federico Gaston Cafardi Orihuela, Emilio Lagarrigue, including reservoir petrophysics and
and Gustavo Cavazzoli, SPE, Schlumberger, prepared for presentation at the 2018 geomechanics, nonplanar hydraulic-
SPE Argentina Exploration and Production of Unconventional Resources Symposium, fracture geometry, and production sim-
held in Neuquén, Argentina, 14–16 August. The paper has not been peer reviewed. ulation with fit-for-purpose simulators.

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

78 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

A multiple-well model enables investi-
gating possible hydraulic-fracture over-
lap between laterals and competition for
drainage as a function of the well spac-
ing. Reservoir depletion can be tracked
effectively, and corresponding stress
field variations are estimated using a
3D geomechanical finite-element simu-
lator. The hydraulic-fracture geometry
and production of a child infill well is
simulated on the basis of this updated
stress field, in which a modified stress
contrast has been created by the deple-
tion of the parent well.
By running different scenarios, com-
petition for drainage between wells is
evaluated quantitatively to balance in-
economic model to determine
optimal well spacing to maximize
returns.
◗ Optimal well spacing depends on
both hydraulic-fracture geometry
and economic parameters. Varying
the lateral landing point, stress
containment, well cost, or oil
price might call for different well
spacing. Just as spacing should
A GasJack solution that
be considered horizontally,
the staggering of laterals in a
multiple-pay development in
thick formations such as the
Vaca Muerta might lead to a
reduction of individual well
performance. Stacking a larger
number of laterals per unit surface
in a multiple-pay scenario, even
at the cost of some individual
®

dividual well performance and field re-

covery. Factors affecting well spacing
such as lateral landing, stress profile,
adds value to your well.
hydraulic-fracture geometry, and num-
ber of pay intervals are investigated. An
example graph is provided in Fig. 1. Well
spacing acts as an additional geometri-
cal constraint during completion. Its
effect on the completion optimization
process when compared with that of a
standalone lateral is discussed. A time-
dependent relation between infill-drill-
ing of a child well and the production
loss caused by the effect of stress altera-
tion near a producing parent well is de-
rived. Recommendations for well spac- Gas Assisted Plunger Lift + Backside
ing and completion modifications are Auto Injection
provided to minimize the production
GasJack® delivers a Gas Assisted Plunger Lift/
loss of the child well at different stages
Backside Auto Injection System (BAIS) that
of the production of the parent well.
The proposed approach places the intermittently injects gas from your existing
completion of each well in the field- well to reduce wellbore tubing pressure, resulting
development context by considering a in increased reservoir production. And, it lowers
4D reservoir-depletion, geomechanics, the pressure on your production team through
and hydraulic-simulation coupling. The efficient well-cycling operation, higher reliability
methodology enables a quantitative ef- and fewer maintenance issues, resulting in lower
fect on production along with practical operating costs. Maximize production with the
drilling timeline and completion recom- most reliable name in gas compression.
mendations when planning for multiple
wells in a field development. Call Eric Boles at (403) 352-6875 to learn more.

Observations
◗ Multiple-well modeling, based
on reservoir characterization
and completion design, allows
™
establishing a correlation between ONE COMPANY. ONE COMMITMENT. ONE CALL.
the individual performance of csicompressco.com
a well and the spacing to its
neighbors. This correlation can
be upscaled to a multiple-well
© 2019 CSI Compressco. GasJack® is a registered trademark of CSI Compressco. All rights reserved.
scenario per area and fed into an

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 79

 ∆(10 Year Np) (% of base) NPV per Section (multiple wells)
0%
–10% Middle VM Optimum
–20%
–30%
–40% Middle VM
Lower VM
–50%
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
Wells Per Section Wells Per Section
10 Year Np per Section (multiple wells) NPV per Section (multiple wells)
Middle VM Lower VM Optimum
Lower VM
0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8 10
Wells Per Section Wells Per Section
Fig. 1—Comparison of well spacing for the different lateral landings of Middle and Lower Vaca Muerta (VM).
performance reduction, might should be considered in the
lead to higher return if the cost- completion design. Even if
benefit tradeoff is engineered increasing proppant and fluid
adequately. density might be beneficial
◗ Well spacing is an additional regardless of the constraint of
geometrical constraint that the spacing, perforation-cluster
spacing might differ if the lateral
is assumed to be standalone or
surrounded by neighbors at a
Now Available: ◗
fixed distance.
Depletion during producing
The SPE affects the stress field around
International App the well, particularly in the high
level of drawdown observed in
the highly overpressured Vaca
Muerta. This depletion-induced
stress reduction creates a pressure
and stress sink around the parent
well, negatively affecting the
hydraulic fractures created by the
completion of a child well drilled
later in its vicinity. Production
impairment of the child well
caused by its proximity to a
producing parent well might be
in excess of 40% reduction of the
parent well production after 1 year
Download the app and access
and 30% after 10 years.
SPE anytime, anywhere.
◗ The negative effect of the parent
go.spe.org/speiapp
depletion over the child production
might be notable even if the delay
between the parent tie-in and
child completion is on the order
of 1 year. Still, the early production
of a lateral in shale formation is
complex, and initial overpressure
80
Tip to Tip P50 Length (m) Hydraulic
400
Propped
300 274 214
182
168
200
100
0
Middle VM Lower VM
Average P50 Height (m) Hydraulic
125
Propped
100 86
65
75
44
50
25
25
0
Middle VM Lower VM
during flowback is commonly
observed but not considered in
the modeling, and might delay
the effect of the parent depletion
over the child completion and
production.
◗ A good assessment of the parent-
well hydraulic-fracture geometry is
necessary to estimate its drainage
area and possible remedial
measures that could be applicable
for the child-well completion.
Attempting to let the pressure build
up by shutting in the parent before
the completion of the child well to
reduce the depletion-induced stress
contrast seems to have little effect.
However, increasing the distance
between the parent and the child
wells might effectively reduce the
level of production impairment of
the child well.
◗ During the completion of the
child well, some of the hydraulic
fractures grow into the area of
influence of the parent well. Given
that a pressure gradient toward the
parent well is already established,
some of the new fracture surface
profits the parent well rather than
the child well and might enhance
the production of the parent. Still,
this production increase remains
marginal and does not offset the
loss of the child well, leaving the
pad balance negative. JPT
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Parallel Simulation and Cloud Computing Can
Optimize Large-Scale Field Development

F
1000
ield-development optimization is
challenging because of the large 800
number of control parameters, model

Net Present Value (MM $)

600
complexity, and subsurface uncertainties.
The complete paper discusses a study 400
in which the authors propose a joint
200
field-development and well-control-
optimization work flow using high- 0 GA:Samples
performance parallel simulation and PSO:Samples
commercial cloud computing, and –200
EnOpt:Samples
demonstrate its application through –400 GA:Best
an offshore oilfield development.
–600 PSO:Best
Introduction EnOpt:Best
–800
Designing a field-development plan to 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000
maximize the profitability of the asset in- Number of Simulations
volves accounting for many factors. Com- Fig. 1—Comparisons of optimization-technique performance with a P50 oil-in-
monly, a field-development plan follows a place simulation model.
staged process in which several alterna-
tives are appraised and the one with the ters. These processes are not single-step limited scalability in the cloud provides
best economics is selected. The selected but are executed iteratively during reser- opportunities for joint field-development
plan is then optimized while considering voir life. The focus of this paper is to de- optimization without reducing the num-
schedule and cost. Earth modeling and scribe the optimization process for max- ber of control parameters, enabling the
reservoir simulation are often used to imizing economical values by selecting developed work flow to be applicable to
provide probabilistic ranges of oil in place the best development plan under given various asset-development scenarios.
or net recovery for a given design at each ranges of subsurface uncertainties. The proposed work flow was applied to
phase of the process. This requires effec- The work flow proposed by the au- the Olympus field case, which is an opti-
tive cross-functional teamwork to achieve thors controls topside facilities, the num- mization benchmarking problem devel-
quality decisions by relying on knowledge ber of wells, their trajectories, the drill- oped by the Netherlands Organization
and skills spanning different disciplines. ing sequence, and completion strategy for Applied Scientific Research using a
simultaneously, while considering sub- synthetic North Sea-type reservoir. The
Proposed Work Flow surface uncertainties and constraints. study objective was to improve the net
Closed-loop or real-time reservoir man- The authors use a next-generation res- present value (NPV) after 20 years of op-
agement are terms often used to describe ervoir simulator and commercial cloud eration by controlling the number and
field-development optimization. These computing to explore the possibility of location of platforms and the number of
involve rapid data assimilation to define achieving an optimized development sce- injectors and producers as well as their
or update subsurface uncertainties and nario within reasonable time and cost trajectories and drilling sequence.
follow optimization processes to find the constraints. The combination of high- The large number of control param-
optimal combination of control parame- performance simulators and virtually un- eters and subsurface uncertainties make
the optimization process challenging.
Three optimization techniques—genetic
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of paper
algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimi-
SPE 191728, “Large-Scale Field Development Optimization Using High-Performance
zation (PSO), and ensemble-based opti-
Parallel Simulation and Cloud Computing Technology,” by Shusei Tanaka, SPE, mization (EnOpt)—were tested and their
Zhenzhen Wang, SPE, Kaveh Dehghani, SPE, Jincong He, SPE, Baskar Velusamy, performances compared. Best results, in
and Xian-Huan Wen, SPE, Chevron, prepared for the 2018 SPE Annual Technology terms of NPV improvement, were ob-
Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, 24–26 September. The paper has not been tained by using the mixed-integer genetic
peer reviewed. algorithm method.

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

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 81

 More than 10,000 simulation runs
were required by the method to reach
optimal development of well location,
trajectory, drilling sequence, and other
aspects. The high-performance paral-
lel simulator and cloud computing made
this possible. The estimated cost of the
commercial cloud service is almost neg-
ligible compared with the improvement
in the economic value of the optimized
asset-development plan. The developed
work flow and parameterization tech-
nique are flexible in well-trajectory con-
figuration and completion design, allow-
ing application to primary depletion as
well as waterflooding.
The complete paper first describes the
optimization problem for an offshore
asset by defining control parameters, con-
straints, economic values, and objectives.
Next, the authors present the proposed
field-development optimization work
flow including base design setup, param-
eterization of the decision variables, and
feasibility of the joint optimization of all
development design and well-control pa-
rameters. Three optimizers were tested
and evaluated on the basis of their effi-
ciencies in solving the presented optimi-
zation problem. Finally, the authors sum-
marize their learnings by showing the
performance of the proposed work flow
to achieve the selected optimized design.
The application of the proposed work
flow under subsurface uncertainties en-
abled finding an optimized development
plan maximizing an NPV S-curve with
no risk of negative value. A final optimi-
zation test involving thousands of simu-
lation runs demonstrated the efficiency
of using computational power. Numer-
ous charts, plots, screen shots, and tables
are used to illustrate the objectives, con-
straints, work flow, and results.
Conclusions
◗ The topside facility, number of
injectors and producers, well
trajectory, completion type, drilling
sequence, and well control are
simultaneously optimized, resulting
in an improved NPV S-curve with
reasonable field-development design.
◗ The proposed work flow has
flexibility and generality to apply
varieties of asset-development
planning with customization in input
for economic values, well-location
pattern, completion design, and rig
scheduling.
◗ Sensitivity analysis was
demonstrated to find parameter
interactions to the objective
function, and identified parameters
that can be optimized sequentially.
◗ Performance and efficiencies of the
three optimizers were evaluated,
among which GA was shown to
be the most-effective and -robust
technique for this case study (Fig. 1).
◗ Effect of subsurface uncertainty in
field-development optimization has
been addressed, and a sequential
uncertainty refinement method was
proposed, resulting in a robust field-
development design that includes
the number of model realizations.
◗ The study demonstrated the viability
of solving a complex, large-scale
field-optimization problem using
commercially available computer
resources.
◗ The challenge remains to reduce
the computational load because
multimillion grids with complex
physics-simulation models require
significant machine resources. JPT

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Optimization Framework
Improves Mariner Field Development

T he growing popularity of model-

based optimization work flows
has resulted in an increase in their
application to field cases. In the
complete paper, the authors present
the challenges, results, and learnings
from a 2-year robust multiobjective
optimization application at the Mariner
heavy-oil asset in the UK sector of
the North Sea. The authors used the
efficient stochastic simplex approximate
gradient technique (StoSAG) to achieve
optimization incorporating geological
and petrophysical uncertainty.
Depending on the problems, significant
increases of between 5 and 20% in the
expected value of the objective function
were achieved. For the multiobjective
optimization cases, nontrivial optimal
strategies reduced gas production
by 40% with less than 1% loss in the
economic objective.
Introduction
To date, most studies of single- and
multiobjective optimization have fo-
cused on a single study with a specif-
ic purpose. Very few studies have used
these work flows in an operational set-
ting (i.e., during the field-development-
planning stage at an asset tackling a
variety of problems).
Including uncertainty is an important
step in decision making during field-
development planning, especially be-
cause uncertainty is so extensive at this
stage in the life cycle of a field. Consid-
ering a range of potential development
scenarios that will provide the neces-
sary tools to enable robust decisions is
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of paper
SPE 193883, “Robust Multiobjective Field Development Optimization for the Mariner
Asset,” by Remus Gabriel Hanea, SPE, Ole Petter Bjorlykke, Yastoor Hasmi, and
Tao Feng, Equinor, and Rahul Mark Fonseca, TNO, prepared for the 2019 SPE
Reservoir Simulation Conference, Galveston, Texas, USA, 10–11 April. The paper has
not been peer reviewed.
imperative. These scenarios should also
account for the fact that different ob-
jectives often conflict with one another.
Thus, there is a need for multiobjective
optimization under uncertainty, which
can be applied in an operational setting.
Adapting model-based optimization
work flows requires computational ef-
ficiency. While the adjoint-based gra-
dient method is computationally very
efficient, it is not suitably flexible to
incorporate different types of control
variables and requires access to the sim-
ulation source code as well as a signif-
icant implementation effort. Thus, in
this paper, the authors use the StoSAG
technique. They chose to use an approx-
imate gradient method for the optimi-
zation instead of a derivative-free tech-
nique because the computational costs
for derivative-free methods are usually
higher when uncertainty, in terms of dif-
ferent model realizations, is considered.
StoSAG is an approximate-gradient-
based approach that has proven practi-
cal for optimization under uncertainty.
A user must decide on the ratio of geo-
logical model realizations to control per-
turbations. The authors used a ratio of
1:1 for all experiments unless otherwise
specified, making the number of con-
trol perturbations equal to the number
of geological realizations. This is com-
putationally the most-efficient approach
for large-scale optimization under un-
certainty when using high-fidelity, full-
physics-simulation models. The objec-
tive function is the usual expression for
(simple) net present value as used in life-
cycle-optimization studies.
Multiobjective Optimization
For field-development planning, mul-
tiple objectives are usually defined as
long-term objectives from a reservoir-
engineering viewpoint, and short-term
objectives from a production-engineer-
ing viewpoint. However, it is important
for the methods to be independent of the
type of objectives to be able to account
for any type of objectives in an optimiza-
tion framework.
Controls
The authors use two main types of con-
trols: drilling order and well-trajectory
control. Each well is assigned a prior-
ity value. Wells are then drilled in order
of their priority, with the highest-value
wells drilled first. The drilling times for
the individual wells are also accounted
for, making the dates at which the wells
are drilled variable. Therefore, a change
in drilling order also leads to a change
in the times at which wells are opened in
the simulation.
A parameterization developed else-
where in the literature is used to optimize
a control vector that defines the positions
of an a priori defined number of target
points that define a well trajectory. The
choice of the number of target points to
be used within the optimization is user-
dependent, and the number provides the
optimization flexibility to find optimal
and nontrivial well paths. A minimum of
two target points (heel and toe, start and
end) are, however, necessary to optimize
the trajectory of a well. The first target
point is defined as the spatial coordinates
for the well, with three variables—x, y,
and z. Every other point following the
first point is defined in terms of an azi-
muth, angle, and measured depth with re-
spect to the previous target point. There-
fore, the second point will be defined with
respect to the first, and the third will be
defined with respect to the second. As an
example, for a choice of four well target

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

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 83

 Prod 1: Initial Strategy
Prod 1: Optimal Strategy
Total Oil Production
June 20 October 21 March 23
Fig. 1—Comparison of the total production of two wells between the initial
strategy (solid lines) and the optimal strategy (dashed lines) for one model
from the ensemble of model realizations.
points for a single well, the authors will
have defined 12 control variables.
The allowable changes in the target
points can be variable and controlled by
a user to ensure well drillability. Usually,
the first target point can move during the
optimization more than the other points
to avoid the generation of infeasible well
trajectories. Large changes to the angles
are permitted near the heel of the well,
but changes for subsequent points are
limited. With the target points defined
as described, the well trajectory is gen-
erated using root mean square, ensuring
that the well path passes through all se-
lected target points. An automated work
flow was developed wherein the well path
intersects the grid and the connection
transmissibility factors are calculated for
use in the dynamic flow simulation. Each
time the optimizer adapts the well target
points, new well paths are generated with
the corresponding well-connection trans-
missibility factors.
Mariner Heavy-Oil Field
The Mariner field, discovered in 1981, is
approximately 150 km east of the Shet-
land Islands. The producing reservoir
sections, with an estimated 2 billion bar-
rels of oil in place, are located at depths
of approximately 1200–1500 m, in ap-
proximately 100 m of water. The field was
planned to begin producing in 2017–2018.
The oil is heavy, ranging from
12–15  °API, and highly viscous (67 to
500 cp), depending on the reservoir for-
mations. Traditionally, such heavy-oil
reservoirs face production problems be-
cause of increased water production from
84
Prod 2: Initial Strategy
Prod 2: Optimal Strategy
July 24 December 25 April 27 September 28 January 30
Time
the aquifers below. This is especially true
when the viscosity of the oil is very high.
Additionally, produced-water reinjection
for pressure maintenance is the drainage
strategy being implemented in this field.
The field consists of upper and lower
reservoir zones. The lower reservoir
section consists of lower Paleocene,
delta-fed, sand-rich turbidite channels
interspersed with sand-rich turbiditic
sheet-lobes and mixed sand-mud turbi-
dites. The upper reservoir is believed to
consist of channel-like disconnected sand
bodies. It is estimated that the reserves of
the upper reservoir are larger than those
of the lower section. Both sections are
relatively faulted, adding to their geo-
logical complexity. Additionally, it is un-
certain at this stage whether there is any
communication between the two reser-
voir sections.
The lower section is approximately
1400 m beneath the seabed, with mar-
ginally lighter but much-less-viscous oil
properties than the upper section. Addi-
tionally, there are different gas/oil ratios
between the lower and upper reservoirs.
The field is being developed using
a two-stage approach, with the devel-
opment of the lower reservoir planned
first. More than 70 wells are planned
to be drilled over a 10-year develop-
ment campaign.
Simulation Models and
Numerical Experiments
The paper describes the simulation mod-
els for the lower and upper reservoirs and
then discusses a series of different nu-
merical optimization experiments linked
to drilling order; multiple objectives
(drilling order and gas production) for the
combined field model; and well-trajectory
optimization, including structural uncer-
tainties for a sector of the upper reservoir
model. Fig. 1 shows an oil-production
comparison from one model from the en-
semble of model realizations.
The initial strategy called for drilling
27 single-bore producers and 12 injectors,
with no multilaterals planned for the first
5-year time horizon. However, a detailed
analysis of the strategy revealed that it
would be better to drill four multilateral
wells within the first 5 years in combina-
tion with 8 injectors and 21 single-bore
producers, indicating that pressure sup-
port is an important mechanism to im-
prove long-term reservoir management.
Designing optimal well trajectories usu-
ally is performed one well at a time and
usually on a single model realization. This
practice might lead to relatively optimal
strategies for the single well on a single
model realization. When such a strategy
is tested against known sources of uncer-
tainty through an ensemble of models,
the strategy for each well may or may not
be optimal. Additionally, interaction be-
tween wells is not accounted for, which is
another drawback of the localized, single-
well, sequential approach to well place-
ment. This interaction between wells and
the aim for the overall project objective to
be achieved suggests the application of a
more-global approach, wherein the tra-
jectories of all wells being considered are
optimized simultaneously, instead of the
localized sequential approach.
Conclusions
◗ Well-trajectory optimization
under uncertainty can be used
efficiently in a multiobjective
optimization framework to obtain
nontrivial solutions of significant
practical value.
◗ Robust multiobjective optimization
work flows can achieve results of
significant practical value in an
operational asset.
◗ The multiobjective optimization
framework not only is able to handle
different objectives, but also can
provide asset engineers with multiple
scenarios for improving field-
development planning and decision
making under uncertainty. JPT
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Offshore Facilities
Ardian Nengkoda, SPE, Facilities Development Lead, Saudi Aramco

I had the pleasure of reviewing 322
offshore-facilities papers submitted to
SPE during the past year and selected
three for inclusion in this issue as well
as three for additional reading. This is
my first assignment as a member of JPT’s
Editorial Committee, and I am grateful.
During my summer family vacation, I
enjoyed reading all of the papers and con-
sidered a special theme related to today’s
disruption of our oil and gas industry
known as “Industry 4.0.” The first indus-
trial revolutions were related to the com-
mencement of electrification, followed by
machinery. The third is the computer era,
and the fourth (4.0) is the current age of
machine learning, artificial intelligence,
data analytics, and the Internet of things.
Therefore, to start our discussion, let us
ask the basic question: What is the defini-
tion of offshore-facilities project success
in the context of Industry 4.0? Generally,
cost (economic), time, and scope (quan-
tity and quality, including safety) are
the common project-success indicators.
However, I believe we can expand these
indicators to the social and environmen-
tal areas. So, for the oil and gas upstream
industry, Industry 4.0 is the strategic
positioning of technologies that can ben-
efit production assets, business, and sus-
tainability (social and environmental).
The development of new subsea and
offshore technologies, methods, pro-
cesses, and monitoring should consider
the tangible benefit of social and envi-
ronmental effects. The selection of inno-
vative subsea processing systems, plat-
forms, real-time monitoring applications,
automation, smart fields, intelligent
wells, data analytics, and well/reservoir/
facilities technologies and decommis-
sioning should reflect an initiative to
improve environmental performance.
For instance, when a stakeholder selects
a subsea processing and facilities tech-
nology scheme, it should optimize and
accelerate the recovery of hydrocarbon,
increasing its yield, extending the life of
the field, reducing the floating produc-
tion facilities while minimizing carbon
footprint, and creating a positive social
effect and low environmental impact.
Let us consider another offshore-
facilities project example. The world’s off-
shore liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) pro-
duction concepts began in the 1970s but
were only significantly enhanced in the
mid-1990s. I was a finalist in the SPE Stu-
dent Paper competition at the nation-
al level in 1997, and I wrote about the
concept of floating liquefied natural gas
(FLNG) facilities in Indonesia as a case
study. The FLNG concept has been used
because it has the capability to transport
the LNG to nearly any location. However,
we know that the design of FLNG facilities
has many challenges, including floating
design, process selection, equipment siz-
ing, process safety, wind effects, metocean
effects, and product transfer. Therefore,
for FLNG, bigger is not always better and
a sustainable business model is impor-
tant. It took almost 25 years for engineers
and experts to construct an FLNG facility.
Now, the Prelude FLNG is the world’s larg-
est FLNG facility as well as the largest off-
shore facility ever constructed. To derive
the greatest benefit from Industry 4.0,
we must develop strong and reliable data,
lessons learned, experiences, and knowl-
edge management.
The three papers and recommended
additional reading presented here reflect
support for the implementation of Indus-
try 4.0 such as innovation, digitalization
(automation), low-cost facilities develop-
ment, project flexibility, and facilities life
extension. I hope you enjoy reading these
papers as much as I did. JPT

Ardian Nengkoda, SPE, is a facilities development lead at Saudi

Aramco. He works as group leader for offshore-facilities develop- Recommended additional reading
ment, including in field development, facilities-concept selection, at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
flow assurance, production-chemistry risk, and project manage- OTC 28256 Standardization and
ment. Nengkoda is a member of the Saudi Aramco Petroleum Replication of Lean Wellhead Platform To
Engineering Technologist Development/Technical Review Accelerate Hydrocarbon Maturation From
Committee, Composition and Development Review for Field Exploration to Production for Marginal-
Development Committee, and Oil and Gas Process Engineering Field Development by H. Yong, Shell, et al.
Standards Committee. He has more than 22 years of experience in the upstream oil and OTC 28276 Cost-Effective Riser Solutions
gas industry, and, before joining Saudi Aramco in 2012, he worked for PDO, Shell, for Deepwater Gas Developments: Steel
Schlumberger, and Unocal. Nengkoda is a recipient of the 2015 SPE Regional Projects, Lazy Wave Riser and Tethered Catenary
Facilities, and Construction Award and the 2014 Gas Processors Association GCC Best Riser by Stéphan Eyssautier, Subsea 7, et al.
Paper Award. He holds a BS degree in gas engineering from the University of Indonesia OTC 28340 Pragmatic and Consistent
and MEng and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from Gadjah Mada University. Approach to Life Extension of Floating
Nengkoda is a member of JPT Editorial Committee and the SPE International Energy Structures by Cedric Morandini, Bureau
Information Committee. He can be reached at ardian.nengkoda@aramco.com. Veritas, et al.

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 85

 Innovative Design and Execution Lead to
Successful Grand Banks Platform Operations

T he Hebron platform was

successfully installed on the Grand
Banks offshore Newfoundland and
concept includes a single shaft support-
ing the topsides and encompasses all
wells in the initial development. It is de-
Design Considerations
Facility Optimization. Because the
platform is located in a sub-Arctic cli-
Labrador in June 2017. It consists of signed to withstand sea ice, icebergs, mate with less extreme temperatures
a single-shaft concrete gravity-based and other meteorological and oceano- than other true Arctic environments,
structure (GBS) supporting an integrated graphic conditions at the offshore He- the topsides was designed with open ar-
drilling and production topsides. The bron site. The GBS is designed for an in- chitecture and strategically placed blast
design of the platform was challenged service life of 50 or more years to support walls that maximize natural ventilation
by sub-Arctic and extreme metocean future developments. while providing fire and blast protection
conditions that required innovative The lower portion of the GBS up to an for key safety-critical components.
design and layout approaches for elevation of approximately 27 m was con- The single-shaft configuration drives
many elements considered routine structed in a drydock created by building the placement of all necessary fire-
for typical platforms. This complete a bund wall and dewatering the site be- water, seawater, and crude-oil boost-
paper highlights the underlying hind it. Subsequently, the dock was flood- er pumps in the same GBS shaft as the
technologies, analytical and design ed, the bund wall was removed, and the well bay. Thus, a pump system that is
methods, and capital-efficient execution GBS base was towed approximately 3 km mounted and retrievable from the top-
strategies employed. to a deepwater site. The floating GBS was sides is required. This, coupled with
held in place with mooring lines while the the required air gap height of 30.4 m
Introduction remaining construction was completed. between the underside of the topsides
The Hebron platform comprises a GBS All walls were constructed using the slip- and the mean sea level, drove the proj-
and topsides installed in 93-m water forming technique. ect to employ submersible seawater
depth. Produced crude oil is stored in The topsides structure was fabricat- pumps among the longest in the in-
storage cells and pumped to shuttle tank- ed in modules at various locations in dustry (46.8 m) and longest-in-industry
ers by an offshore loading system. Newfoundland and Labrador and South line-shaft crude booster pumps (47.4 m)
The topsides facilities (operating Korea. Two of the topsides modules, that lift crude from the GBS storage
weight 65,000 tonnes) include the fol- UPM and DES, were fabricated in South cells to topsides for offloading to a
lowing major modules: Korea using block/pancake construction shuttle tanker.
◗ Utilities and process module (UPM) methods (Fig. 1). After UPM and DES The project identified and employed
◗ Derrick equipment set (DES) fabrication was completed, the modules a passive exhaust plume cooling and
◗ Drilling support module (DSM) were loaded out separately to heavy ves- dilution system that contains no mov-
◗ Ancillaries (flare boom, east and sels for transportation to Bull Arm, New- ing parts and reduces the output ex-
west liftboat stations) foundland and Labrador. All other top- haust temperature by up to 50%. This
◗ Living quarters (LQ) designed to sides modules were integrated with the allows drilling to proceed unimpeded
accommodate 220 personnel during main UPM module at the finger pier in during unfavorable wind conditions
steady-state operations Bull Arm and the completed topsides without personnel limitations on the
The total height of the platform with structure was mated with the GBS while derrick during early field life. Addition-
GBS is approximately 235 m, topsides floating at the deepwater site. The mated ally, the design geometry of the cool-
length is approximately 183 m, and the platform then was towed offshore and ers allowed for reduced wall thickness
width is approximately 75 m. The GBS installed at the final offshore location. when compared with traditional ex-
haust stacks, resulting in a lighter sup-
porting structure.
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
A survey of icebergs indicated that a
of paper OTC 28803, “Hebron Platform: Innovative Design and Efficient Execution,”
significant percentage of icebergs in the
by Widianto, Justin Chichester, Adel Younan, and Jameel Khalifa, ExxonMobil; Grand Banks are drydock and pinnacle
Krishna Komperla, WorleyParsons; and Knut Bidne, Kvaerner, prepared for the icebergs, which tend to have high sail
2018 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 30 April–3 May. The paper has not heights that could collide with an over-
been peer reviewed. Copyright 2018 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced hanging deck of the topsides structure.
by permission. Unlike the case with the concrete GBS,

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

86 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

it is cost-prohibitive to design the top-
sides structure for iceberg-impact load.
Design codes require the use of an air
gap to achieve 10–5 probability of ice-
berg collision with topsides and permit
iceberg management (using supply ves-
sels to tow icebergs away) in determi-
nation of iceberg-to-topsides collision
probability. In order to meet the code
requirement of 10–5 annual probability
of impact, a 30.4-m air gap was selected
and the LQ module was raised vertically
an additional 10.8 m.
Integrated Seismic Soil Structure
Interaction (SSI). The implementa-
tion of an integrated seismic SSI proved
effective in performing seismic analy-
sis and design of all components of the
platform through consecutive project
phases and various contractor struc-
tural models.
This approach enabled contractors to
perform their own separate SSI analy-
ses using the same foundation proper-
ties developed by the geotechnical con-
tractor, resulting in a more-efficient
design process with different levels
of detail according to the component
of interest.
Foundation Optimization. The He-
bron GBS has a flat, circular base slab
with 500-mm-deep soil skirts. From a
constructability perspective, shorter
skirts are cost-effective because they
require shallower trenches in the dry-
dock construction site (less construc-
tion work), minimize the negative effect
of skirt length on the draft require-
ment during tow, and are subjected to
smaller stresses during soil penetra-
tion at installation. Analysis of environ-
mental and design conditions revealed
that both scour protection and under-
base grouting were unnecessary for
the platform.
Concrete Crack-Width Calculation.
A new method for calculating crack
width in thick elements with multiple
reinforcement layers was implement-
ed in the GBS design. This method ac-
counted for the crack-initiation effect
from several layers of transverse rein-
forcement not fixed or welded to the
main reinforcement, and was validat-
ed by a parametric study using nonlin-
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Pedestal Crane
Power Generators
Helideck
LQ
Load Spreader
Fig. 1—Hebron topsides block division for construction.
ear finite-element analysis, an approach
used at other points in the design pro-
cess for the platform. The new method
did not require any reinforcement be-
yond that needed for the ultimate limit
state, which improved constructability.
Execution Considerations
Comprehensive Weight Control. De-
veloping a robust and comprehensive
weight-control program based on the
stages of project execution was essen-
tial to maintaining cost and schedule.
Clear budgets for the phases were de-
veloped, and each module was weighed
before transport and the result input
into the weight-management program
and analytics. The project team then
leveraged the actual results to capture
additional weight opportunities as the
project progressed.
DES
DSM
UPM Upper Deck
UPM
Main Deck
Flare Boom
UPM
Lower Deck
UPM
Cellar Deck
East
Lifeboat Station
Stair Tower
Full UPM-Use Initiative. Considering
the importance of locating the Canadian
integration workforce as close as possible
to work fronts during the critical integra-
tion phases of all modules at Bull Arm,
most of the traditional storerooms, offic-
es, and workshop spaces in the topsides
were outfitted with temporary lunch and
breakroom spaces. As a result, during the
integration phases, breaks could be taken
topside, allowing reduced transit time.
Concrete Batch Plants. Two identi-
cal, independently operated, fully au-
tomatic batching plants were used for
concrete production at drydock and
deepwater-site locations. This 100% re-
dundancy execution strategy was im-
plemented to improve execution cer-
tainty during the most-demanding
concrete pour.
87
 Steel-Panel Bulkheads for Base-Slab-
Construction Joint. To optimize the
construction schedule for the GBS base
slab, cost-effective vertical steel-panel
bulkheads with horizontal corrugations
were used as formwork between the
various sections of base slab (poured
in four sections). The corrugated ver-
tical steel panels were designed to be
left in place and detailed to ensure leak-
tightness. Compared with conventional
formwork that would require stripping
and surface preparation after setting
of the concrete (very time-consuming
for thick base slab with many layers of
dense reinforcement), the use of left-
in-place formwork resulted in a shorter
construction time.
SPE EVENTS
WORKSHOPS
11–12 September ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE
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through Best Practices and Technologies
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& Gas Production Assets
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88
Slipforming of All GBS Walls. Slipform-
ing technique (i.e., formwork panels that
continuously move upward using hydrau-
lic pumps and yokes) allows uninterrupted
concrete placement, reinforcing-bar in-
stallation, and minor surface repair. Slip-
forming allowed cost-effective placement
of walls with high reinforcement density,
minimized the construction schedule, and
improved leak-tightness because most
construction joints were eliminated.
Full-Scale Mockups. Small parts of the
GBS were built as full-scale models using
the same procedures, equipment, and
materials planned for use in the actu-
al structure. In addition to regular and
early review of design drawings, full-scale
5–6 November ◗ San Antonio—SPE/ICoTA
Refracturing: A Valuable Technology for
Today’s Market
11–12 November ◗ Golden—SPE Enhancing
HSE Performance for Well Completions
11–12 November ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE Asia
Pacific Digital Week
CONFERENCES
11–12 September ◗ Odessa—SPE Liquids-
Rich Basins Conference—North America
17–19 September ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE
Reservoir Characterization and Simulation
Conference and Exhibition
30 September–2 October ◗ Calgary—
SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition (ATCE)
13–16 October ◗ Indianapolis—Engineering
Solutions for Sustainability: Materials and
Resources 4 Toward a Circular Economy
13–16 October ◗ Kuwait City—SPE Kuwait
Oil & Gas Show and Conference (KOGS)
16–18 October ◗ Baku—SPE Annual Caspian
Technical Conference and Exhibition
21–23 October ◗ Dubai—Gas & Oil
Technology Showcase and Conference
22–24 October ◗ Moscow—SPE Russian
Petroleum Technology Conference (RPTC)
29 October ◗ London—SPE Upstream
Finance and Investments
29–31 October ◗ Bali—SPE/IATMI Asia
Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and
Exhibition
29–31 October ◗ Rio de Janeiro—OTC Brasil
mockups of several complex elements of
the GBS were conducted, and lessons
learned were supplied to the design team.
The mockups also allowed the opportuni-
ty to train the workforce on these complex
operations before actual construction.
Solid Ballast. To improve floating sta-
bility during tow and to improve slid-
ing resistance after platform instal-
lation, 222,000 tonnes of solid ballast
with a specified density of 3500 kg/m3
(approximately 10-m thickness) was
placed at the bottom of the oil-storage and
annulus cells. All solid ballast was placed
at the deepwater site with concrete pumps.
This avoided extra costs associated with
offshore installation of solid ballast. JPT
SYMPOSIUMS
24–25 September ◗ Nur-Sultan—SPE
Caspian Health, Safety, Security,
Environment and Social Responsibility
15–17 October ◗ Charleston—SPE Eastern
Regional Meeting
FORUMS
21–25 October ◗ Phoenix—SPE
Understanding the Reservoir Beyond
the Wellbore
10–15 November ◗ Phoenix—SPE
Late Life Unconventionals—Unlocking
Incremental Value
CALL FOR PAPERS
The SPE Conference at Oman Petroleum
& Energy Show ◗ Muscat
Deadline: 5 September
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◗ Tulsa
Deadline: 16 September
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Deadline: 17 September
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Deadline: 4 October
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Deadline: 9 October
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Evaluation of a Riser
After 10 Years of GOM Service Life

A s part of an effort to evaluate

existing riser systems, an
operator launched an inspection and
testing program to investigate risers
retrieved following well abandonment
after a service life of nearly 10 years
in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). This
represented a rare opportunity to
evaluate the state of the threaded and
coupled risers after such a long service
life and assess the remaining longevity
of the riser system. Specifically, it was
a chance to observe and measure the
effects of actual service life as opposed
to calculated service conditions on the
pipe and connections. The findings
provided valuable insights into the
future viability of similar riser systems.
Fig. 1—Connection without box-seal galling, but with galling on threads.
Introduction
The Constitution truss spar was first
placed in service in 2005. The spar fea- testing, and first running; this synopsis little evaluation of the state of the ris-
tured six dry tree production risers with will concentrate on post-service testing ers was possible; however, photographs
two subsea tiebacks. It operates in the and assessment. of several of the connections were taken
Green Canyon region of the GOM in al- as they were pulled. Most notable was
most 5,000 ft of water. The production Riser Pulling, Evaluation, the lack of corrosion on the connection.
risers were run in 2006. In 2015, the de- and Testing
cision was made to abandon several of Pulling and Review. In late 2015, on Evaluation and Inspection of the
the production dry tree wells. There was the basis of internal evaluation, the op- Riser. Connection Observations. The
a high degree of interest in investigat- erator pulled several of the production first detailed evaluation of the connec-
ing the risers to assess remaining life. risers. In order to validate the remain- tions came after they were pulled and
Special attention was paid to evidence ing life of the risers and to help in- had been in a yard for several weeks.
of corrosion, cracking, or wear on the form future decisions on the longev- The results were not promising; rust
outer diameter (OD) or inner diameter ity of threaded and coupled risers, the was observed throughout the connec-
(ID) of the pipe, along with water in- operator then initiated a detailed re- tions along with galling on the internal
gress into the connection causing any view of the risers. The stress joints, ten- seal of the pin and threads. This trou-
corrosion from seawater on the bare sion joints, and first connectors after bling find led to an investigation to de-
metal of the connection. those joints were kept, along with sev- termine if connections might not be
The complete paper includes a de- eral of the risers from the middle of the suitable for continued use. Wet mag-
tailed discussion of the original design, string. During the pulling operations, netic particle inspection was also per-
formed on the connections to search for
indications beyond the rust and galling,
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
but no further indications were seen on
of paper OTC 28908, “Ten Years in the Water: Observation and Detailed Evaluation the connection.
of a Riser After Extensive Service Life,” by Mike Tricarico, Vallourec; Chris O’Neil, Connection Investigation. Rust. The
Anadarko; and Thomas Peter, Vallourec, prepared for the 2018 Offshore Technology first observation was the lack of protec-
Conference, Houston, 30 April–3 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed. tion on the connections. Very little stor-
Copyright 2018 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. age compound was present, especially

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

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 89

 on the pins (which were supplied with
“as-machined” end finish), and the little
that had been applied was mostly gone
because of the lack of thread protec-
tors. This pointed toward storage after
pulling as being the primary cause of
the rust.
In addition to review of the photos
taken during pulling, the “mill ends,”
or those ends with the coupling still at-
tached that were not broken out or re-
moved during pulling, were inspected.
The couplings were taken off as part
of the retesting process. The complete
connections showed no damage or signs
of rust. These connections would have
been subject to the same loading con-
ditions as those broken out on the spar
as part of the pulling, but without expo-
sure to storage or handling issues. Tak-
ing into account both the photos from
the rigsite as well as those broken out
on shore, it was concluded that the rust
observed was a result of storage after
breakout and was likely not present on
the in-service riser.
Galling. Inspection of the pin-end
connections pulled on the spar showed
galling on the internal seal as well as
heavy galling on the threads. This was a
point of high concern for threaded and
coupled risers still in service. Galling
on metal-to-metal seals usually leads
to leaking. The first step was to inspect
the corresponding coupling connec-
tions from which the galled pins were
taken. This could help determine if the
galling was a result of in-service dam-
age or was introduced as a result of han-
dling while being pulled. Review of the
box connections revealed no galling or
damage on the internal seal (Fig.  1).
The internal seal and shoulder is the
first area to disengage during breakout
of the connection. Because no galling
was observed on the box internal seal,
the conclusion was made that the gall-
ing was not present on the connection
while in service. Galling was most like-
ly introduced by rotating the connec-
tion while pulling against the threads
with the pin seal rubbing against the
box threads.
Pipe-Body Investigation. Along with
evaluation of the connection, a detailed
evaluation of the riser pipe was required.
Review of the pipe involved chemical
90
analysis of corrosion, visual inspection
by camera along the full pipe ID, ultra-
sonic inspection, and thickness evalua-
tion of the OD coating. As with the con-
nections, these investigations were vital
to understanding the remaining life of
similar in-service risers.
Corrosion Analysis and Coating
Thickness. The OD of the pipe exhib-
ited white spots. These seemed to fol-
low a helical pattern along the OD and
were more severe in some locations.
Chemical analysis of the spots showed
they were aluminum oxide, the prod-
uct of seawater corrosion of the ther-
mal sprayed aluminum (TSA) coating.
This led to an evaluation of the remain-
ing coating thickness. Review of the
thickness in several locations indicated,
on average, 15 mils of remaining TSA
coating—a positive indication for coat-
ing life.
Evaluation of the ID. Initial visu-
al inspection of the pipe ID revealed a
new layer of iron oxide. This was most
likely the result of open-air exposure
during pulling and transport before in-
spection. However, it was important to
evaluate if any corrosion or pitting could
be attributed to in-service conditions.
A power wash was performed along the
full pipe-body length to remove any re-
cent superficial corrosion and to check
for cracks or pitting. A camera system
was then used to visually inspect all sur-
faces of the pipe. Full review of the vid-
eos showed no visual evidence of pitting
or cracks along the pipe-body length.
Riser Post-Pulling Testing
Static Load Tests. The pulled pin ends
of the connections were in a state that
did not allow for further testing. To
overcome this challenge, one connec-
tion was made from two of the pulled
riser joints. This was achieved by re-
moving the coupling from half of the
pulled risers. The broken-out pin was
then made back up into one of the other
pipes and couplings. This not only al-
lowed further investigation of the pin
and box, but allowed the tested connec-
tion to involve both pins with a field ser-
vice life.
Following makeup of the connection,
a single sealability sample was run. Test-
ing was successful, with no leaking ob-
served in the tests with internal and
external pressure, internal tests with
bending, or mechanical and thermal
cycle tests. This was a positive indica-
tion of the viability of threaded and cou-
pled risers for continued in-service use.
Fatigue Tests. Another important step
was further fatigue testing to indicate
remaining expected life. The specimens
taken were from the middle of the riser,
but known factors can be used to esti-
mate the life at the top and bottom of the
riser. For that purpose, two fatigue spec-
imens were taken from the pulled risers
by breaking out some of the connections
and remaking them, as described previ-
ously. Those two specimens were then
subjected to fatigue cycles at low, me-
dium, and high stress. The fatigue cy-
cles, described in detail in the complete
paper, yielded a very positive indication
with regard to the continued service life
of threaded and coupled risers.
Conclusion
An extensive review of the pipe body
and connections was performed follow-
ing pulling of the riser. The inspection
methods included visual inspection, wet
magnetic particle, and ultrasonic in-
spection of the pipe and connections.
The nondestructive-evaluation (NDE)
inspections showed the pipe and con-
nection had performed very well in ser-
vice, with few signs of wear, excessive
corrosion, or cracking in the deepwater
environment. All of these evaluations
were positive, with strong evidence of
any such issues having been introduced
during pulling and storage.
In addition to the positive results of
the NDE inspections, the connection
evaluation for internal and external
sealability performance, as well as fa-
tigue testing, provided positive results.
The tested samples passed sealability
testing with no issues, and the fatigue
samples had a high number of cycles
before failure. In both cases, the re-
sults were consistent with testing per-
formed on similar pipe and connections
before service.
This level of review following a
10-year service life was the first for a
threaded and coupled riser. The results
provide positive data toward continued
long-term use of similar risers in off-
shore applications. JPT
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Extra-Long Subsea Tiebacks
Reduce Deepwater Development Costs

I t now appears possible to reduce

deepwater development costs by
increasing the distance between new
series of tiebacks was developed for a
range of up to 15 km from the hub. The
second series of tiebacks, ranging from
is connected to the hub through a con-
ventional wet insulated loop, which col-
lects production from all the field’s drill-
assets and existing production hubs 25–30 km from the hubs, is under de- ing centers. Flowline diameters have
and shallow-water areas, or even velopment. Architectures and technolo- usually been in the range of 10–12 in.
connecting those assets to shore. gies to develop these tiebacks have been Second-line fields ranging up to ap-
The complete paper presents and extensively studied, matured, and opti- proximately 25–30 km from the main
discusses the authors’ technology- mized, and some of those tiebacks are hub have been developed for both
development program regarding already in production. deeper and shallower waters through a
very-long oil-tieback architectures New infilling fields are currently service-production loop interconnect-
(50–100 km) and enabling being explored and discovered at dis- ed with the main field loop. The paper
technologies. The paper describes tances 30 to 100 km from production discusses the production loops, the use
how the new technological solutions hubs, with new extra-long tieback ar- of pipe-in-pipe technology, and subsea
compare with more-conventional chitectures now under study. Those tie- multiphase boosting stations located
development schemes in concept- backs will necessitate new technologies close to the production hubs that can be
selection phases and discusses how to enable managing the growing techni- adapted on the loops’ interconnection
the operator is preparing for potential cal and economic challenges of subsea for distant fields’ enhanced recovery.
implementation. The authors believe field developments. Long and very-long Gas-lift injection is also discussed.
that the capacity to invest in and tiebacks that allow expanding from a According to the authors, if a produc-
develop technologies required for brownfield perspective are likely to en- tion facility (including topside and sub-
long and very-long tiebacks will able today’s greenfield programs. sea systems) is designed appropriately
decide the future of the deepwater The paper reviews architectures and from the beginning as a hub to produce
subsea industry. operation features of the operator’s multiple fields with a progressive deep
currently installed short- and medium- and shallow infilling strategy, avail-
Introduction length tiebacks to introduce the drivers able, proven, conventional subsea and
Over the past few years, Eni and its part- and features of very-long tiebacks. The flowline technologies have fully dem-
ners installed more than 100 subsea paper addresses sizing, operation tar- onstrated their suitability to technically
trees, mainly on deepwater fields in var- gets, flow assurance, technologies, and and economically develop five fields, or
ious areas of the globe, in particular An- related maturity. even more, within a 25–30-km radius of
gola, Norway, Indonesia, Ghana, Egypt, the main hub.
and Libya. The growing trend in subsea Short- and Medium-Length
trees is guiding the operator’s needs and Tieback Review Extra-Long Tiebacks
ideas about how to develop fields pro- The operator’s initial deepwater fields It appears that the enabling technolo-
gressively around its production hubs. have been developed with the produc- gy for extra-long (30–100 km) tiebacks
In the evolution of deepwater oil tion hub typically a few kilometers from resides in combining heated pipe-in-
fields, production floaters have been lo- the first main reservoirs in the direction pipe solutions with subsea multiphase
cated close above the first fields to be of shallower water depth, allowing min- boosting, staggered subsea preser-
developed. To guarantee the progressive imum distances dictated by drilling and vation systems, and advanced subsea
infilling of the production hub, a first offloading requirements. The main field production systems. The production
flowline will be based on continuous,
high-performance, heated pipe in pipe
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of
with, typically, a 10–14-in. internal di-
paper OTC 28839, “Deepwater Innovations: Extra-Long Oil-Tieback Technologies,”
ameter, collecting all fields’ drilling cen-
by Michael Gassert, Gianluca De Molli, Vito Calabrese, Eniprogetti, and ters in a daisy-chain configuration.
Stefano Magi, Gianfederico Citi, and Fabrizio Rollo, Eni, prepared for the 2018 The paper continues the architec-
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 30 April–3 May. The paper has not ture discussion with descriptions of
been peer reviewed. Copyright 2018 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced the drilling center and branches, main
by permission. production flowline, subsea produc-

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

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 91


An SPE Bookstore
New Release
RESERVOIR
SIMULATION:
PROBLEMS AND
SOLUTIONS
by Turgay Ertekin, Qian Sun,
Jian Zhang
Built on the fundamental concepts
and solutions of the original exercises
found in Basic Applied Reservoir
Simulation (Ertekin, About-Kassem
and King), this new book provides an
additional 180 exercises and solutions
that fully illustrate the intricacies
of reservoir-simulation methodology.
Print and Digital
Versions Available
Preview and order your
book today at go.spe.org/
ResSimulation_JPT
tion system, subsea multiphase boost-
ing system, flowline heating system,
and powering and communication sys-
tems. Water-injection flowlines will be
replaced progressively by subsea water
treatment and injection systems.
Digitalization will be key for both
asset integrity and operations manage-
ment, with resident autonomous un-
derwater vehicles being deployed for
inspection and monitoring, digital data
recovery, and nonfrequent interven-
tions, allowing reduction in the extent
of offshore-vessel use and the number of
remote operable valves installed subsea.
Providing heat locally where needed
is the more-efficient and absolute way
of resolving nearly any thermal flow-
assurance issues, beginning with man-
aging wax and reducing hydrates. As
such, a wide range of functionalities
can be expected from heated flowlines,
even up to enabling production restart
after a long period of complete shut-
down where no system, including flow-
line heating, is available. The operator is
considering heated, high-performance
pipe-in-pipe solutions with low
U-values and optimized diameters for
efficient long-tieback development.
From the extensive design work per-
formed on case studies and tieback
configurations, it appears that high—
and possibly boosted—flows above
50,000 B/D are workable even without
heating over distances in the range of
40–50  km. For higher tieback lengths
or lower flow rate, full-pipeline heating
systems will remain the only technical
solutions for development.
An expandable subsea production
system is being considered to cover all
generations of tiebacks for both design
and supply. The system will be aimed at
meeting integrated drilling-center re-
quirements, expanding compact subsea
tree technology to other components,
and sharing control systems.
Powering and communication will
evolve to use high-potential telecom-
munication technology that allows mul-
tiple users (more than 80 subsea con-
trol modules per cable) as well as the
progressive conversion to all-electric
actuation of subsea valves and trees.
Subsea control modules should be de-
veloped to allow for additional function-
alities such as controlling machinery
and more-complex production systems,
and safety-critical functionalities.
Flowline and Installation
Major installation contractors are work-
ing already on heated, large-size, high-
performance pipe-in-pipe technologies
and verifying that their fleets of ves-
sels are able to install these lines cost-
effectively. Different technologies’ ma-
turity and qualification status can be
perceived across the market. Consider-
ing the significant lengths of this new
generation of tiebacks, some vessels
may be adapted to lay cables and/or um-
bilicals simultaneously to the main pro-
duction line, reducing installation time
and associated costs.
Conclusions
◗ Recent technology development,
qualification, and testing,
and the experience gained on
the most-recent deepwater
projects enable the possibility of
considering seriously a full-subsea-
development approach to long-
distance tiebacks from existing
hubs or from shore.
◗ For intermediate-case studies,
where both conventional and extra-
long architectures are possible, the
extra-long architectures appear to
be cost-effective, proving to some
extent their sustainability as a self-
standing offshore scope.
◗ Connecting to existing amortized
production hubs, projected
development economics of
midsize oil assets in a range up
to 80–100 km from existing or
planned hubs are encouraging.
◗ It is still unclear which contractor
category will eventually propose
these systems. Few subsea-
production-system or installation
contractors are proposing their
services as a supplier, or at least as
an integrator, of these extra-long-
subsea-tieback systems, forcing
operators to tender components
separately. JPT
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Oilfield Chemistry
Jonathan Wylde, SPE, Head of Global Innovation, Clariant Oil Services

The growth in deepwater production Deepwater formation conditions (or subcooling)

is apparent to anyone who works even
vaguely close to this section of the indus-
subsea flowlines
try. Deepwater production continues to offer an almost perfect
increase and is an important part of oil hydrate-formation
growth up to and beyond 2030, when
it may be as high as 12 million–13 mil- environment,
lion  BOPD. Deepwater production is and control measures
fueled by the Golden Triangle of Brazil,
the Gulf of Mexico, and West Africa. must be taken.
One of the more technologically chal-
lenging production-chemistry applica- Several methods exist for hydrate
tions in deep water is the control of gas control, and they can be classified
hydrates. Hydrates are a high-pressure/ broadly into mechanical (e.g., insula-
low-temperature phenomenon where, tion, hot-oil circulation) or chemical
under the correct conditions, produced solutions. The chemistry can be divid-
gas will complex with water and form ed into thermodynamic inhibitors (e.g.,
catastrophic ice-like blockages in subsea alcohols, glycols) and low-dose hydrate
infrastructure. Deepwater subsea flow- inhibitors (LDHIs). Antiagglomerates,
lines offer an almost perfect hydrate- or AAs, are a major class of LDHI and
formation environment, and control are exclusively used in deepwater envi-
measures must be taken. ronments because of the severe hydrate-
Jonathan Wylde, SPE, is the head of global innovation at Clariant
Oil Services in Houston and an honorary associate professor at
Heriot-Watt University. He holds a BS degree in geology and a
PhD degree in physical chemistry from the University of Bristol,
UK. Wylde is the author of more than 150 papers and holds sev-
eral patents. He serves on the JPT Editorial Committee and on
committees for the SPE International Conference and Exhibition
on Oilfield Scale, the SPE International Symposium on Oilfield
Chemistry, and the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. Wylde is also a
technical editor for SPE Production & Operations and SPE Journal. He can be reached
at jonathan.wylde@clariant.com.
that can exist.
The early commercial use of AA chem-
istry in the oil field goes back as far as
the 1990s. Since then, many advance-
ments have been made and reported in
the scientific, academic, and patent lit-
erature. In recent years, advancements
have occurred at a tremendous rate,
which is in line with the almost expo-
nential growth in deepwater activity.
The featured papers and recommend-
ed additional reading summarize the
state of the art for LDHI AA research
and development and have been select-
ed to give readers a broad indication
from both academia and industry around
the world. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
OTC 29660 Biodegradable
Antiagglomerant Chemistry for Hydrate-
Plug Prevention in Various Production
Conditions by Deepak Steven Monteiro,
Halliburton, et al.
OTC 28935 Early Project Low-Dose
Hydrate-Inhibitor Dosage Assumptions
vs.  an Extensive Laboratory Study
by P. Conrad, Assured Flow Solutions, et al.
BHR 2018 143 Measurements of
Dispersant Additive on Hydrate/
Ice Slurry Transport by A. Melchuna,
Colorado School of Mines, et al.

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 93

 Benefits of Low-Dosage Hydrate Inhibitors

T his paper summarizes historical

advancements in low-dosage
hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs) over
the past 2 decades, discusses their
advantages and limitations, and
their selection criteria. Historically,
hydrate risk has been managed by
keeping fluids warm, removing water,
or injecting thermodynamic hydrate
inhibitors (THIs), commonly methanol
(MeOH) or monoethylene glycol
(MEG). THIs require high dosage rates;
therefore, that technique can pose
limitations to production systems in the
form of supply, storage, and umbilical-
injection constraints. Additionally,
high dosages of MeOH can cause
crude contamination for downstream
refineries. LDHIs continue to offer
significant efficiency and cost benefits
over other techniques.
Introduction
THIs have long been used by the indus-
try because of their ability to shift the
hydrate-equilibrium curve toward high-
er pressures and lower temperatures by
changing the activity of water molecules.
MeOH and MEG have proved the most
popular types of THI because of their low
cost and widespread availability. Though
THIs are low-cost, the volume require-
ment per barrel offsets the cost benefit.
A group of chemicals developed later,
LDHIs, differ from THIs because they do
not shift the hydrate curve; rather, they
interfere with the process of hydrate for-
mation through different mechanisms.
The dosage requirement of these inhibi-
tors is much lower than that required
for THIs. LDHIs include two categories,
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
of paper OTC 28905, “Advances in LHDIs and Applications,” by Y.D. Chin and
A. Srivastava, Subsea Engineering Technologies, prepared for the 2018 Offshore
Technology Conference, Houston, 30 April–3 May. The paper has not been peer
reviewed. Copyright 2018 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission.
kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs) and
antiagglomerants (AAs).
KHIs increase the induction time for
hydrate formation by interfering with the
nucleation process or the crystal-growth
process. Special surfactants disperse hy-
drate particles as they form, reducing
the tendency of hydrates to stick to the
pipe’s inner surface, reducing the chance
of plug formation.
AAs modify the agglomeration of hy-
drate particles, decreasing hydrate-
crystal size by affecting hydrate mor-
phology. This leads to a hydrate slurry
flow, which decreases the chance of pipe-
line blockage. Inhibition mechanisms of
both KHIs and AAs are discussed in detail
in the complete paper, as is the historical
development of these LDHIs.
LDHI Applications
Performance Parameters. The two pri-
mary parameters for LDHI performance
measurement include the following:
Hold Time. This is defined as the time
between when a rapidly cooled fluid is
at a constant temperature below the
hydrate-equilibrium temperature and
when hydrates first appear. For KHIs, the
hold time decreases steeply with the in-
crease in subcooling.
Dosage Rates. To establish actual dos-
age rates for a LDHI in a specific fluid,
technical-feasibility testing would be re-
quired with the actual LDHI and fluid
under actual pressure and temperature
conditions. An approximate range of ex-
pected LDHI dosage rates can be given as
examples as follows.
Gas System. For a gas system operating
with condensed water, the dosage-rate
guideline is 5 gal LDHI/bbl of condensed
water. Breakthrough of formation water
with a saline content of at least 3 wt%
would reduce the rate to between 0.5 and
1.0 gal LDHI/bbl of formation water, al-
though it should be recognized that this
would be a different LDHI from the one
used with condensed water.
Oil System. For an oil system, the dos-
age rate guideline is 1–3 gal LDHI/bbl of
water, a guideline based upon a limited
number of oil tests in the Gulf of Mexi-
co. In a number of these tests, LDHIs had
to be combined with other chemicals to
ensure satisfactory performance, which
should be taken into consideration when
dealing with waxy, asphaltic crudes.
Temperature Limitations. Some LDHIs
will degrade at elevated temperatures
over time and will cease to be effective. If
temperature-performance data are not
available on the actual LDHI to be used,
it is recommended to consider 99°C as
an upper temperature limit. Any pro-
duction exposed to these temperatures
for an extended period of time should be
considered to be degraded. Therefore,
these sections will need to be purged of
degraded LDHIs before use in planned
shutdowns. Depending on the size and
length of downhole tubing, this could
amount to an extra 30 gal of LDHI for
each planned shutdown.
Viscosity. Because production systems
operate in wide pressure and temper-
ature ranges, LDHI viscosity is a key
performance parameter. In general, the
viscosity reduces with increasing tem-
perature and increases with increasing
pressure, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
LDHI Operations
KHIs. The physical properties of KHIs
are highly variable depending upon the
products used. Most KHIs are predom-
inantly water-soluble polyamides that

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

94 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 120
100
80
Viscosity (cp)
60
40
20
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Temperature (°F)
Fig. 1—LDHI viscosity change with temperature.
are formulated mostly in a solvent pack-
age having a high flash point. Typical
viscosities range between approximately
10 and 100 cp at a temperature of 60°F.
KHIs are only soluble sparingly in water
at temperatures above 104°F and care
must be taken that they do not precipi-
tate when injected in a hot production
stream in which the temperature is high-
er than the cloud point.
AAs. Operations with AAs are not dis-
tinctly different from operations with
THIs as long as the system is designed
for using AAs. However, for AAs to per-
form optimally, a liquid hydrocarbon
phase must be present to act as the car-
rier of the hydrate crystals. AAs can be
used in gas/condensate systems when
the volume fraction of hydrates is not
higher than 40% of the total liquid vol-
ume. For oil systems, this number may be
much lower (less than 20 vol%) because
the viscosity of the suspension increases
with increasing viscosity of the carrier
oil, whereas particles can also contrib-
ute to the total solid loading of the oil,
which may impair pipeline-flow capaci-
ty. AAs also have minimum ­requirements
for water salinity.
Because AAs are designed to keep hy-
drates dispersed in oil or condensate,
the hydrates separate exceedingly slowly
from the hydrocarbon liquid. The pro-
duced suspension must be heated before
the water can be separated from the oil;
thus, a topside heater for hydrate slurry
is required.
AAs are superior to KHIs with respect
to the maximum achievable subcooling.
In general, AAs have no limit to the maxi-
mum allowable shut-in time, which is an-
other major advantage of AAs over KHIs.
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
AA 1
AA 2
Viscosity (cp) at 40°F
AA 3
AA 4
KHI 1
KHI 2
KHI 3
KHI 4
120 140 160
Fig. 2—LDHI viscosity change with pressure.
LDHI Screening Considerations
KHIs. Although KHIs are applicable
under most producing scenarios, cer-
tain conditions must be considered
when evaluating a potential application.
At water salinity levels greater than ap-
proximately 17% sodium chloride, the
polymer may come out of the solu-
tion, thereby reducing KHI effective-
ness. A solution of KHI in water does
not provide protection from freezing or
icing conditions in the line being treat-
ed or in the KHI storage tank. A solu-
tion of KHI cannot be used for melting
ice or hydrate plugs. It is recommend-
ed to have other strategies in place,
such as a small quantity of THIs, for
remediation purposes in the event of
a blockage.
The delivery system for KHIs must
be designed to provide sufficient dos-
age to achieve a hold time greater than
the water residence time in the pipe-
line. If the gas is undersaturated with
respect to water, the water in the KHI
solution will evaporate and leave a high-
viscosity fluid. This can be addressed by
using more MEG.
AAs. As with KHIs, AAs are applicable
under most producing conditions, but
other factors must be taken into consid-
eration when evaluating a potential ap-
plication. Some AAs have a maximum
salinity criterion that is normally not
exceeded with produced water.
Because AAs disperse (i.e., emulsi-
fy) polar hydrate crystals in a nonpo-
lar oil or condensate phase (i.e., con-
tinuous phase), they may sometimes
require a demulsifier for oil and water
separation. Furthermore, the addition
of a heater upstream or heat coil inside
70
AA 1
60 AA 5
AA 6
AA 7
50
40
30
20
10
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000 18,000
Pressure (psig)
a separator may be required to melt the
hydrate crystals.
Another consideration for AAs is that
the water cut should be less than 50%.
Higher water cuts can invert the emul-
sion from water-in-oil to oil-in-water,
therefore making the AA ineffective.
Conclusions
LDHIs have provided considerable ben-
efits during the past 2 decades in com-
parison with THIs. Significantly lower
inhibitor concentrations (from 0.1 to
1.0  wt% polymer in the free-water
phase) result in lower dosage rates than
those required for MeOH.
The advantages of LDHIs also include
◗◗ Lowering of inhibitor loss caused
by partitioning into the gas phase,
particularly in comparison with
MeOH
◗◗ Reduction of capital expenses
through decreased chemical-storage
and injection-rate requirements
◗◗ No requirement for regeneration
because the chemicals are not
yet currently recoverable. This is
especially important for offshore
operations where payload and deck
space are critical.
LDHIs have been reducing o­ perating
expenses in many cases through de-
creased chemical consumption and de-
livery frequency and thus transporta-
tion and handling costs. Additionally,
production rates can increase wherever
­inhibitor-injection capacity or flowline
capacity is limited. LDHIs also lower the
maintenance of pump and delivery sys-
tems, eliminate MeOH in topside and
downstream operations, and reduce en-
vironmental and safety risks because of
lower toxicity. JPT
95
 Locally Sourced, Ecofriendly Hydrate Inhibitor
Effective in Simulated Offshore Environment

G as hydrates pose a serious flow-

assurance problem in offshore
environments where accessibility
low-dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs)
do not stop hydrate from forming com-
pletely because they do not cause a
They form a stable foam in aqueous solu-
tions such as soap. Chemically, saponins
as a group include compounds that are
is restricted. The complete paper hydrate-curve shift. Once hydrate forms, glycosylated steroids, hypernoids, and
investigates gas-hydrate inhibition in a it cannot be eliminated by LDHIs be- steroid alkaloids. Saponins also prevent
simulated offshore environment using cause the operating conditions cannot be agglomeration and are surface-acting
a plant extract (PE) as a local inhibitor. changed (lowering pressures or raising agents with bubbles and foams acting as
The work aims to identify an effective temperatures); thus, a well is still at risk barriers that provide good stability.
biodegradable gas-hydrate inhibitor when LDHIs are used. THIs must still be
from locally sourced materials and available on site, especially when shut- Materials
ascertain its effectiveness compared ting in or starting a well. The materials used include compressed
with the conventional hydrate The local inhibitor is a water-soluble PE natural gas (CNG) of a specific gravity
inhibitor monoethylene glycol (MEG). containing flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, of 0.5 and a makeup of mostly methane.
Experiments were conducted using a and saponins. Flavonoids act against in- A minihydrate mini-flow loop is used.
mini-flow loop, and involved mitigating flammation and are anticoagulants. They The stainless-steel loop is approximately
hydrate formation using varying weight are polyphenolic compounds found in 39.4 in. long, of 0.5-in. internal diameter
percentages of the inhibitor (1, 2, and vegetables, fruits, and beverages, acting encased in a skid-mounted, ArmaFlex-
3 wt%) and evaluating their effect on as powerful oxidants that protect against insulated 4-in. polyvinylchloride (PVC)
hydrate inhibition in the mini-flow reactive oxygen. Tannins are a hetero- pipe. A control panel houses the three
loop. Sensitivity charts for pressure, geneous group of high-molecular-weight switches that control the process, with
temperature, and time for both the PE polyphenolic compounds with the capac- a refrigerating unit used to simulate the
and MEG were made. In 1 and 2 wt% ity to form reversible and irreversible offshore environment. The setup con-
of the PE, better inhibitory capacity complexes. They are also found in fruits, tains three pumps, five pressure gaug-
than MEG was demonstrated, while legumes, and grasses. Polyphenolics are es, three temperature gauges with two
3 wt% of the PE and MEG had a close a class of chemical compounds consist- differential pressure gauges, including a
match. Because of its ecofriendly and ing of a hydroxyl group bonded directly manual pump, and seven valves. An in-
biodegradable nature, the PE is therefore to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. They hibitor/mixing vessel, a CNG bottle that
recommended for field trial. are otherwise called polyhydroxylphe- can withstand pressure up to 100 bar,
nols and are phytochemicals. They are a and a visual flowmeter are present in the
Introduction structural class of mainly natural prod- setup as well.
Kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs) are ucts. Condensed tannins are the most-
water-soluble polymeric compounds that abundant polyphenols and are found in Experimental Procedures
prevent or delay hydrate formation. Anti- virtually all families of plants. Alkaloids The control panel is connected to the
agglomerants (AAs) function as surfac- are natural products that contain het- power source; then, the system is flushed
tants and prevent hydrates from sticking erocyclic nitrogen atoms and are basic in with ordinary water to ensure that the
together and clumping. The hydrate still character. They are synthesized naturally loop is free of debris or rust. To achieve
forms, but the crystals do not plug and by a large number of organisms including this, water is poured into the inhibitor
can be transported through pipelines. animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi. Sa- vessel and Pump 3 is switched on from
Unlike thermodynamic hydrate inhibi- ponins are a group of secondary metabo- the control panel. Water is drawn into
tors (THIs) such as methanol or glycols, lites found widely distributed in plant life. the loop until a pressure of 25 psia is at-
tained. The valve is closed and Pump 3
switched off. The water is then vented out
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
through one of three other valves. The
of paper SPE 193439, “Gas-Hydrate Inhibition in a Simulated Offshore Environment process is repeated three or four times.
Using a Local Inhibitor,” by E.V. Urunwo, SPE, S.S. Ikiensikimama, J.A. Ajienka, SPE, After this process, approximately
O. Akaranta, M.O. Onyekonwu, SPE, T.O. Odutola, SPE, and E.O. Okon, University 2660 ml of water is measured into the
of Port Harcourt, prepared for the 2018 Nigeria Annual International Conference and inhibitor vessel, water is drawn into the
Exhibition, Lagos, 6–8 August. The paper has not been peer reviewed. loop to approximately 25 psia, and then

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

96 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 160
140
120
Pressure (psia)
100
80
60
40
20
0
0 20 40 60
Time (minutes)
Fig. 1—Plot of pressure and time for uninhibited, 1, 2, and 3 wt% of PE and MEG.
Valve 4 is closed. The CNG tank is turned
on with Valve 1, then an orifice and Valve
6 are opened to build the pressure up to
150 psia, after which the valves and ori-
fice are closed. Pump 2 is turned on to
draw water into the refrigerator and to
allow water to circulate in the PVC pipe
in order to lower the fluid temperature to
hydrate-formation temperature. Pump 1
is turned on after Pump 2 (that is, after
circulation is achieved through Pump 2)
and is set at 150 V or 250 ft3/hr to cause
agitation in the loop. Ice blocks are added
to the refrigerator (approximately 0.7 m
of the 0.5-in. pipe is a spiral loop im-
mersed in cold water in the refrigerator)
to facilitate the cooling process. This spi-
ral portion aids in retention time for in-
crements of the fluid under test in the
coldest part of the mini-flow loop where
hydrate is most likely to form. The dif-
ferent readings for temperature, differ-
ential pressure, and pressures are noted
at intervals of 5 minutes throughout the
duration of the experiment, which is
120 minutes in total.
For inhibition experiments, the same
procedure is followed, but instead of
water only, an inhibitor is added into the
inhibitor vessel. The inhibitor is added
on the basis of the weight percent in the
water phase to be used for the experi-
ment (i.e., 1, 2, or 3 wt% of inhibitor in
relation to the water used) and then the
experiment is commenced per usual.
Results and Discussions
In the uninhibited experiment, the dif-
ferential pressure dropped and then in-
creased gradually until the end of the ex-
periment. The temperature reduced from
30 to 27°C in 50 minutes, after which it
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
uninhibited
Motivate
1 wt% PE
1 wt% MEG
Inspire
2 wt% PE
2 wt% MEG
3 wt% PE
80
100 120 140
3 wt% MEG
Educate
began to rise to approximately 29.5°C
Nominate
for another 35 minutes. This is an indi-
cation that Type 1 or S1 hydrates have
begun forming. Pressure declined from
150 to 80 psia in 60 minutes, then de- Do you have colleagues who
clined steadily to 36 psia at the end of the are authorities in their fields and
experiment, indicating the formation of experienced public speakers?
hydrate in this system.
When 1 wt% of local inhibitor was If you do, consider nominating
used, the pressure reduced from 150 to one or more of them for the
132 psia in 2 hours. The temperature Society of Petroleum Engineers
reduced from 28 to 9.5°C in the first
85 minutes and then to 9°C for the rest of Distinguished Lecturer Program.
the experiment. The differential pressure
oscillated around 0.3 bar. This shows Learn more about the program
good inhibitory characteristics. Also, for
at www.spe.org/go/NomDL.
2 wt% of the PE, pressure reduced from
150 to 105 psia, and temperature reduced
from 30.5 to 6.6°C in 60 minutes and was Nominations are accepted
constant for another 25 minutes before until 15 March.
it decreased again to 6°C and remained
constant until the end of the experiment.
Differential pressure was relatively sta-
ble. No temperature increase was record-
ed, meaning that hydrate was inhibited.
For 3-wt% inhibitor addition, pressure
reduced from 150 to 120 psia over a du-
ration of 120 minutes, which shows very
good inhibitory capacity. Temperature
reduced from 31 to 22°C in 15 minutes
and to 16°C in another 10 minutes, and
then decreased to 10°C and then 7°C until
the end of the experiment. Differential
pressure was relatively steady. Hydrate
was inhibited.
Comparison of the PE and MEG is The SPE Distinguished Lecturer
shown in Fig. 1. For the various weight Program is funded by the
percentages compared, 1 wt% PE had SPE Foundation, Offshore Europe,
better inhibitory capacity than MEG. At
2  wt%, both inhibitors were close but AIME, and companies
were outperformed by PE at 1 wt%. At that allow their professionals
3 wt%, both were closely matched. JPT to serve as lecturers.
 Study Evaluates Hydrate Antiagglomerants

A common hydrate-management
strategy involves the use of
large volumes of thermodynamic
required to better understand how AAs
affect hydrate blockage.
High-Pressure Visual Autoclave. A vi-
sual high-pressure sapphire autoclave
was used to measure the resistance to
inhibitors (THIs) to operate outside the Experimental Procedure flow of a hydrate slurry in the presence
hydrate-stability region. However, this Micromechanical Hydrate Cohesive of AA. The experiment was conducted
strategy represents significant capital Force. A third-generation MMF appara- isochorically, where the autoclave cell
expenditure and operating costs. Low- tus was used to measure the cyclopen- temperature was controlled by a gly-
dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs), in tane hydrate interparticle cohesive force. col bath with constant cooling and in-
the form of kinetic hydrate inhibitors The MMF uses cyclopentane to create termittent heating. In this experiment,
(KHIs) and antiagglomerants (AAs), Structure II cyclopentane hydrates, the ultrahigh-purity methane was used
present an economical alternative same hydrate structure present in the to form hydrate, which forms Struc-
to THIs. In this study, a quantitative field. The cohesive-force-measurement ture I hydrates. While there are mild
micromechanical force (MMF) has been technique was adapted from previous re- thermophysical-property differences
deployed to study the performance search on hydrate cohesion and asphal- between Structures I and II, a single-
of seven industry AAs. The results tene cohesion. component gas was chosen to minimize
illustrate that an effective AA is one uncertainty in calculating hydrate vol-
that lowers the cohesive forces between Interfacial Tensiometry. An opti- ume fraction (HVF) caused by preferen-
hydrate particles. cal interfacial tensiometer was used to tial denuding of the gas phase.
measure the interfacial tension (IFT)
Introduction between water and oil phases at ambi- Results
AAs prevent hydrate agglomeration of ent pressure and room temperature. A In each MMF experiment, two hydrate
a steady-state hydrate slurry. Hydrate- hooked needle with the AA prepared in particles with radii between 100 and
philic AAs are surfactants that adsorb to paraffin oil was placed in a bulk phase of 350 µm were prepared and a hydrate/hy-
the hydrate/oil interface in preference to deionized water. The resolution of this drate baseline measurement was taken
the water/oil interface. Current operat- apparatus is typically ±1 mN/m and the (consisting of 40 individual pull-off
ing experience suggests that AAs may be threshold sensitivity is 1 mN/m. Typi- trials). To control for abnormal rough-
unsuited to the high water cuts that are cally, surfactant-free systems will rap- ness or morphological characteristics
characteristic of late field life. A success- idly reach equilibrium within 1 minute below the optical resolution of the mi-
ful hydrate AA lowers the cohesive force of creating an oil droplet in water. Con- croscope, the baseline measurement was
or surface free energy of hydrate parti- versely, the presence of a surfactant may compared with the baseline reported in
cles to prevent agglomeration. Rocking decrease the IFT as a function of time, the literature. If the experimental value
cells and high-pressure visual autoclaves asymptotically approaching a steady- was within ±30% of the baseline in
provide a semiquantitative assessment state value. Because the AAs studied con- the literature, the experiment proceeded
of hydrate blockage. However, a knowl- tain surfactant functionality, each IFT to AA trials. Hydrate/hydrate cohesive-
edge gap exists with regard to whether was measured for at least 20 minutes, force measurement at different mass
current industry AAs actually lower hy- after which point the IFT was not ob- fractions of AA-2 were compared with
drate interparticle cohesive and surface served to change with time. Each data oil/water IFT measurements of AA-2 at
free energy. Techniques to deconvolute point represents an average of at least varying mass fractions.
the mechanism of the action of AAs are four independent trials. The hydrate/hydrate cohesive-force
measurements are reduced by more than
80% from baseline at the highest con-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
centration reported. In the case of AA-2,
of paper OTC 28578, “Quantitative Ranking and Development of Hydrate
similar behavior is observed for the
Antiagglomerants,” by Shane A. Morrissy, Temiloluwa O. Kuteyi, Mike L. Johns, oil/water IFT measurements where the
Eric F. May, SPE, and Zachary M. Aman, SPE, University of Western Australia, and IFT exists at an order of magnitude of
Stuart F. McKay, SPE, Woodside Energy, prepared for the 2018 Offshore Technology higher concentration. It can be con-
Conference Asia, Kuala Lumpur, 20–23 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. cluded that AA-2 is a powerful surfac-
Copyright 2018 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. tant because it reduces the oil/water IFT

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

98 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 7 100
1st Gen AA 90
Radius Normalized Hydrate 6
(AA-5)

Hydrate Cohesive-Force
Cohesive Force (mN/m) 80
5 70

Reduction (%)
Hydrate Pull-Off Force
Baseline 4.3±0.4 mN/m 60
4
2nd Gen AA 50
3 (AA-6) 40
3rd Gen 30
2
AA (AA-7) 20
1 Current Gen 10
AA (AA-2)
0
0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
0.0001 0.01 1 Gen AA Gen AA Gen AA Gen AA
(a) Surfactant Mass Fraction (wt%) (AA-5) (AA-6) (AA-7) (AA-2)
7 100
90
6
Radius Normalized Hydrate

Hydrate Cohesive-Force
80
Cohesive Force (mN/m)

5 70

Reduction (%)
Hydrate Pull-Off Force
Baseline 4.3±0.4 mN/m 60
4
AA-1 50
3 40
AA-2
30
2
AA-4 20
1 10
AA-3
0
0 AA-2 AA-1 AA-3 AA-4
0.0001 0.01 1 4th/Current Current Current Current
(b)
Surfactant Mass Fraction (wt%) Gen AA Gen AA Gen AA Gen AA

Fig. 1—Comparison of how hydrate cohesive force changes with surfactant/AA mass fraction (left) and the final hydrate
cohesive-force reduction (right) for: (a) four successive generations of AA formulations for a particular vendor and
(b) four current AA formulations. Error bars are 95% confidence intervals for the 40 measurements.

by over an order of magnitude (to the
sensitivity limit of the apparatus, less
than 1 mN/m). This is suggestive of a
strongly emulsifying chemistry which
may produce downstream emulsifica-
tion problems in the flowline. The re-
duction in the hydrate/hydrate cohesive
force is observed at a lower concentra-
tion than the reduction in the oil/water
IFT. Strong reductions in the hydrate/
hydrate cohesive force and the oil/water
IFT likely imply that wettability changes
to the hydrate surface and water/oil in-
terface have taken place.
Without any AA in the system, hy-
drates are water-wet and a water droplet
will adhere favorably to the hydrate sur-
face. With the addition of enough AA-2
such that it is saturated in the system,
the hydrate surface was observed to be-
come oil-wet and rejected a water drop-
let with which it had come into contact.
This evidence supports the hypothesis
that surfactant adsorption reduces the
hydrate/oil surface free energy.
Using the MMF technique, a quantita-
tive ranking of AAs was deployed to mea-
sure how effective each AA was at reduc-
ing hydrate cohesive force. This ranking
is presented in Fig. 1, where two investi-
gations were conducted:
◗ Four generations of a vendor’s
chemistry (compared in Fig. 1a)
◗ Four current chemistries on the
market are compared (Fig. 1b). The
plots on the right side are generated
by taking the highest hydrate-
cohesive force reduction measured
at the highest concentration for
each AA and reporting the reduction
as a percentage reduction from
baseline.
The figure illustrates that all AAs re-
duce hydrate cohesive force, but not all
AA chemistries reduce hydrate cohesive
force equally. Later generations of AA
chemistries provide much stronger re-
ductions in the hydrate cohesive force,
and the produced effect is more consis-
tent. For all current-generation chemis-
tries, the hydrate cohesive-force reduc-
tions exceed 80%. This consistent result
can be used as a benchmark for the mini-
mum reduction of hydrate cohesive-force
for AA performance; that is, a current
commercial AA should be generating a
greater than 80% hydrate cohesive-force
reduction. The hydrate cohesive force
and oil/water IFTs were compared for
AA-2 using the MMF and IFT, respec-
tively. These results supported visual ob-
servations in the MMF about wettability
changes in the system prompted by the
AA. It is unclear, however, whether AAs
that strongly reduce hydrate cohesion
must also change wettability.
While AA-2 is an effective AA, provid-
ing a greater than 80% reduction in the
hydrate cohesive force, it also has over

JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019 99

 an order of magnitude reduction in the
oil/water IFT, modifying the system wet-
tability. However, other AAs produce a
similar reduction in the hydrate cohesive
force without the order of magnitude re-
duction in the oil/water IFT.
To compare the results from the MMF
with those of a more-traditional technique
for AA qualification, all seven AAs were
tested in a high-pressure visual sapphire
autoclave under the conditions outlined in
the methodology section of the complete
paper. In this work, the authors have used
a condensate from a field in northwest
Australia. An appreciable rise in relative
torque after 25% HVF is observed and an
erratic torque signal in the autoclave in-
dicates substantial hydrate growth and
agglomeration. All AAs produce a lower
relative torque than the one seen in the
blank system. In comparing systems at
the same HVF, it can be inferred that the
hydrates must be more dispersed relative
to the blank system, implying that all AAs
disperse hydrates to a degree. Secondary
observations can be made with respect
to AA-6, where a much lower rise in the
relative torque followed by a sharp spike
at approximately 36% HVF is observed.
This is indicative of jamming behavior, a
conclusion supported by observations of
wall deposition in the cell. For current-
generation AAs, low relative torques are
observed (within a factor of two of the rel-
ative torque before hydrate formation). In
developing ranking criteria, a metric that
a maximum relative torque of 1–2 for an
AA can be considered a “pass” is consis-
tent with the current data. Interestingly,
AA-2 (purple diamonds, Fig.  1) limited
the total conversion of hydrate to approx-
imately 20% HVF, suggesting that the
AA likely has secondary crystal-growth-
inhibition characteristics. These might be
slowing the growth such that full conver-
sion is not achieved in the duration of the
autoclave experiment, which is approxi-
mately 24 hours. For all AAs, visual obser-
vation is critical because significant depo-
sition or ejection of hydrate outside of the
liquid onto the walls in the gas overboard
can lead to an underestimation of the
relative torque required to drive a certain
HVF in the fluid.
Conclusions
In this work, the performance of seven
AAs in the MMF were compared and
the  maximum cohesive-force reduc-
tion obtained by each AA was reported.
These  results have been compared with
the maximum oil/water IFT reduction for
each AA. Of the seven AAs studied, four
were current-generation and three were
previous generations of AA chemistries.
A general improvement in the cohesive-
force reduction exists with successive
generations of AA chemistry. Current-
generation AAs reduce hydrate cohesive
force more than 80% from baseline. An
AA that strongly reduces hydrate cohe-
sive force does not necessarily reduce
oil/water IFT by the same amount. In
comparing these results with those of
AA performance in a high-pressure vi-
sual autoclave, it is evident that current-
generation AAs maintain the relative
torque of the system with hydrate within
twice the system torque before hydrate
formation, indicating a good correla-
tion between the results in the MMF and
the autoclave. JPT

SPE NEWS

SPE Sections Win Awards

Several SPE sections have received rec-
ognition for outstanding contributions Presidential Award for Outstanding Section
to the association. Nine SPE sections Aberdeen Brazil Macaé
have been awarded the 2019 SPE Presi- Abuja Chengdu Timan-Pechora
dential Award for Outstanding Section,
Benin City Nigeria Gulf Coast Warri Nigeria
the highest honor a section can receive.
These sections form the highest-ranked
Section Excellence Award
5% of SPE’s 203 sections around the
Astana Ghana Patagonia
world. Formerly known as the President’s
Award for Section Excellence, the award Azerbaijan Hassi Messaoud Permian Basin
scores the sections on their activities Balikpapan Ivano-Frankivsk Port Harcourt
for technical knowledge dissemination Bangalore Juba Qatar
(30%), section operations and sustain- Barmer Kingdom of Sabah
ability (30%), member benefits (20%), Calgary Saudi Arabia South Australian
outreach (10%), and innovation (10%). Colombian Lagos Suriname
The awards will be presented to sec- Croatian Lima Tashkent
tion officers at the 2019 SPE Annual Duliajan Mexico Tyumen
Technical Conference and Exhibition in Eastern Venezuela North India Ufa
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Edmonton Northeast Colombia Uganda
Thirty-seven SPE sections won the
Egyptian Northwest Russia Vietnam
SPE Section Excellence Award. Formerly
Erbil Oklahoma City
known as the Gold Standard, the Section
Excellence Award is given to 20% of eli-
gible sections. A certificate is emailed to
the award winners.

100 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

SPE HONOREES
Legion of Honor Inductees
SPE welcomes 86 members into the Legion of Honor, which observes 50 years of consecutive
membership in the Society. Each honoree becomes dues-exempt and receives a commemorative
plaque marking the milestone. The honorees are listed below under their respective sections.
Amarillo Petroleum Section Golden Gate Section
Robert D. Grace Hugo Vargas
Argentine Petroleum Section Gulf Coast Section
Benjamin Coca Paul N. Stanton
Donald L. Whitfill
Austin Section Edward J. Hrkel
Larry D. McVay James C. Erdle
Rex G. Howell Peter A. Behr
Archie Thompson Jr.
Brazil Section
Newton R. Monteiro James P. Noser
Prentice R. Owen
Chennai Section Robert N. Bradford
Braj Nandan Allan L. Drewa
Alok Jain
Colombian Section Ernest L. Grebe II
Florencio Hernandez Fred R. Holasek
Hal B. Fullerton IV
Dallas Section J. Michael Gatlin
Thomas R. Sifferman James A. Kishpaugh
Donald H. Burks John F. Greenip
Nelson N. Molina John L. Morgan
Philip J. Kreick Lamar E. Loyd
Larry J. Kinler
Delta Section
James E. Lockwood Larry Jay Jenkins
Roger D. Linder Michael D. Keyes
Ruel Toups Jr. Olin R. Holt
Richard G. Ghiselin
Denver Section Robert N. Tuttle
John D. Wright Samuel J. Byington
Fabian Oritsebemigho Iwere
James C. Howell Illinois Basin Section
Robert C. Herr III
East Texas Section
John A. Musselman London Section
Larry G. Wright David W. Garford
Eastern North America Region Los Angeles Basin Section
Mahmoodur Rahman
James S. Martin
John E. Peterson Jr.
Lou-Ark Section
Evangeline Section Randal Lewis
Jack C. Hisaw Warner T. Smith
Fort Worth Section Michigan Section
Glenn A. Picquet David W. Tongue
Leonard West
Franklin A. Hamisch Mid-Continent Section
Jon P. Stephenson Kenneth L. Haack
Larry O. Miller
Four Corners Petroleum Section Phillip W. Terry
Douglas W. Hilchie Walter M. Fast
JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019
Mississippi Section
Jeff Kirkwood
National Capital Section
James C. New
North Texas Section
Donald J. Hammerlindl
Kenneth C. Haggart Jr.
Paul T. West
William M. Kincaid
Oklahoma City Section
Ernest L. Buttross Jr.
Thomas G. Farrell
Pacific Northwest Section
Russell Harold Trimble
Patagonia Section
Eduardo H. Vila
Permian Basin Section
James F. Lea Jr.
Herbert F. Boles
Joe M. Mach
Joel E. Damron
Thomas E. Gentry
Pittsburgh Section
Robert S. Metcalfe
H.B. Whitehead
Salt Lake City Section
James W. Styler
San Joaquin Valley Section
Jim Hussey
Santa Maria Section
Ted J. Gilbert Sr.
Southwest Texas Section
John W. Norris
Southwestern North America
Region
Carmon H. Alexander
Vienna Basin Section
Fritz Boschitsch
101
 PEOPLE

In Memoriam

STEVE HOLDITCH, who served as SPE Presi-

dent in 2002 and was a fixture of the Texas
A&M University Department of Petroleum
Engineering, died 9 August. He was 72.
Holditch was born near Corsicana, Texas,
and moved several times in his youth as his
father pursued a career in the oil and gas
industry. After high school, he attended Texas A&M and became
a member of the Corp of Cadets there, an experience he said
taught him valuable lessons in leadership. That began a lifelong
association with the school.
“I felt like I needed to give back to the university that has been
so instrumental to my life and to my career,” he said about join-
ing the faculty there in a video taped by the school. “I have three Holditch was proud of his alma mater wherever he went
degrees from A&M, I love this place, and I’ve tried my best to and made a point to give back to the school whenever
he could.
help A&M every way that I can.”
Holditch earned a BS degree in 1969, an MS degree in 1970,
and PhD in 1975, all in petroleum engineering. He served on the ly missed,” said SPE CEO and Executive Vice President Mark
faculty at Texas A&M from 1976 until his retirement in 2013. Rubin. “He was a great leader who had a very positive impact
He was the head of the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum on SPE and the many people he worked with in the industry
Engineering from 2004 through 2012 and was former head of over the years. He epitomized a quote attributed to Harry Tru-
the Texas A&M Energy Institute. He taught both undergradu- man, ‘It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care
ate and graduate courses and supervised more than 100 MS who gets the credit.’”
and PhD students during his tenure there. Texas A&M named “Steve combined two very rare qualities: he was an incred-
Holditch a Distinguished Alumni in 2014 and created a posi- ibly smart man but was one of few words,” said Spath, 2014
tion in his honor, the Stephen A. Holditch ’69 Department Head SPE  President. “He could simplify the most complex of prob-
Chair in Petroleum Engineering, which is currently held by for- lems into everyday terms and normally managed to interject a
mer SPE President Jeff Spath. In 2016, he was inducted into the bit of humor. I had the utmost respect for him.”
Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor. Holditch held numerous leadership positions in SPE and
Known for his straightforward style, Holditch found success received many honors for his volunteerism with the Society as
in industry and made significant contributions to oil and gas well as his technical expertise. Besides being SPE President in
technology. In 1976, he founded his own consulting company, 2002, he served as vice president–finance, was a member of the
S.A. Holditch & Associates, which assisted with petroleum engi- SPE Board of Directors during 1998–2003, and was named an
neering projects throughout the globe. After selling the com- SPE Honorary Member, the Society’s highest honor, in 2006.
pany to Schlumberger 20 years after its founding, he became He received some of SPE’s highest technical awards, including
a Schlumberger Fellow for 5 years and the Lester C. Uren Award, John Franklin
traveled internationally as a consultant. Carll Award, and Anthony F. Lucas Medal.
Holditch was elected to the US Nation- “Steve was a great friend and mentor
al Academy of Engineering, the highest to many,” said Nathan Meehan, manag-
honor that can be given to an engineer, ing director at Gaffney, Cline, and Asso-
in 1995 at age 49. ciates and SPE President during 2016.
“A leader of character is someone who “When I went back to college to pursue
makes the right decision and is always my PhD, he spent a lot of time counsel-
straightforward and honest,” he said in ing me and providing practical advice. I
a video produced by A&M when he was first served on the SPE Board of Direc-
named a Distinguished Alumni. “I’ve tors when he was SPE President; it was
always tried to act that way. When I say easy to see how much he loved and cared
something, I mean it. I’m not trying to for the Society and our members. He was
finesse anybody. That’s who I am.” fun to be around and mixed advanced
He had many admirers throughout the Holditch cited his training with technical knowledge with homespun wit.
oil and gas industry, both as a colleague the A&M Corps of Cadets as a We will all miss him and cherish our
key to his success.
and as a person. “Steve will be deep- memories of him.”

102 JPT • SEPTEMBER 2019

 JUAN V. ROGER, SPE Distinguished Mem-
ber and the first SPE South America and
Caribbean Regional Director, died 5 August
in Caracas, Venezuela. He was 89.
Roger was instrumental in the growth
of SPE in the Latin America and Carib-
bean region through his active partici-
pation, both at the international and regional levels. He
became an SPE member in 1956 after graduating with a BS
degree in petroleum engineering from Oklahoma Universi-
ty. He was a member of the SPE Oil and Gas Reserves Com-
mittee in 1987, which produced the first version of what is
currently well known as the Petroleum Resources Manage-
ment System.
In 1989, Roger was elected the first SPE South America
regional director, a position he held from 1990 to 1993. Dur-
ing his tenure, he supported the move to adopt the word
“International” to the SPE title, as SPE is currently known.
He also promoted adding “Caribbean” to the name of the
South American region. Major SPE events were launched
in the region during his term, including the Latin Amer-
ican and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference
(LACPEC). Currently in its 17th edition, the first LACPEC
was held in Brazil in 1990, and the second one in Caracas
in 1992. Roger nurtured leadership participation from the
region in SPE. Among the SPE leaders he promoted was Gus-
tavo Inciarte, who was the South America regional direc-
tor from 1994 to 1996 and the first Latin American SPE
President in 1999.
Roger began his career at Creole Petroleum Corp., an affili-
ate of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and worked in east-
ern and western Venezuela oil fields before being transferred
to Caracas in 1971 as chief of reserves evaluation. He became
chief petroleum engineer of the company in 1975, and was
later in charge of the Lagoven production department in
Houston. He returned to Caracas in 1984 as corporate man-
ager of technology for drilling and exploitation for PDVSA and
retired from the company in 1993.
Roger was awarded the SPE Regional Service Award for the
South America and Caribbean in 1992 and 1995, and became
an SPE Distinguished Member in 1996.
Honored as a Century Club Member for recruiting more
than 100 new members to SPE, in recent years Roger was part
of the board of the SPE Caracas Petroleum Section, a strong
supporter of local student paper contests, and helped guide
other Venezuelan SPE sections. He was the Caracas Petro-
leum Section Scholarship Chairperson from 2008 to 2011,
and the treasurer of the section at the time of his death. He
was also a member of the SPE Young Member Outstanding
Service Award Committee and the Public Service Award Com-
mittee at various times. His plaque of acknowledgment from
the SPE Caracas Petroleum Section reads, “For his 60+ years
of unconditional, extraordinary dedication and leadership for
the SPE in Venezuela, and South America and the Caribbean.”

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