Techbits: Workshop Explores Asset Revitalization Strategies
Authors: JPT staff _ 
Published: February 2015

Techbits

The Southeast Asian country of Brunei played host earlier this year to an SPE Applied Technology Workshop (ATW) aimed at sharing strategies for sustaining production from mature and declining oil and gas fields. Titled “Asset Revitalization Through Technology Innovations for Economically Valuable Solutions,” the 3-day ATW brought together more than 40 participants representing 14 companies from 7 countries to discuss the latest technologies and their deployment, best practices, and fit-for-purpose techniques focused upon asset revitalization or rejuvenation.

The program committee, headed by ATW Cochairs Aidiradiman Johan of Brunei Shell Petroleum Company and PHM Amiruddin PH Razali of Brunei National Petroleum Company, took a departure from the traditional format of the workshop sessions. Instead of individual 15-minute presentations followed by 15 minutes of discussion and questions, the committee doubled the length of presentations to 30 minutes to provide sufficient treatment to the highly technical topics being presented.

Energy Minister Address

The ATW opened with remarks from guest of honor and Brunei’s Minister of Energy, Y. B. Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (Rtd) Dato Seri Pahlawan Awang Hj. Mohammad bin Hj. Daud, who was pleased to see the growth of the oil industry in Brunei. He acknowledged that while his country is small, it is seen globally as pushing the frontiers of technology and innovation. This innovation does not come easily, but is a product of collaboration possible through these types of events. It is in workshops such as this that new ideas can be shared to make the whole industry more efficient, he said.

The first technical session of the ATW focused on a comprehensive and systematic overview for shaping the framework of asset revitalization. A case study was presented highlighting successful fish-hook drilling and completion concepts for both appraisal and development applications. The case study also stressed the need for standardization, uphill gravel-packing and cementing techniques, and better reservoir management by means of the smart-well field concept. The session illustrated the importance of integrated production-system optimization, and stressed the need for team integration, the importance of not overdoing modeling and automation, and the positive impact that frequent updates to the optimization system can have on the production system in the short and medium term.

The next session, titled “Preparing for Being Brown—Data Management and Integration,” provided an overview of the data-management tools currently available in the marketplace. The session reviewed the data requirements for brownfield operations, cost-effective data-gathering methods, and the importance of industry standards for applications and data systems. Other presenters discussed 4D seismic as a key enabling technology for brownfields, particularly in the northern hemisphere, but not necessarily in the local Asia Pacific region. Lean manufacturing concepts were introduced as a way to remove unnecessary waste in the current day-to-day routine activities and the process system.