bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the Importance of SCAL Integration with Key Geologic Controls for Better Field Performance Prediction: A Case Study from a Giant Carbonate Reservoir, Offshore Abu Dhabi
Authors: Selvam Balki , Al Harbi Manal , Herrmann Rolf , Dachang Li , Al Zawa Hesham , Ottinger Gary , Patterson Joe , Al Neyadi Abdulla
Published: November 2017

Accurate assessment of water movement is critical for reservoir performance predictions. It not only impacts the oil production rate and ultimate recovery but also has implication on the development cost and the facility designs, especially when the field is undergoing a major development expansion phase. The carbonate reservoir of interest is situated within a giant oil field in offshore Abu Dhabi. Consequently, robust, reliable application of SCAL (relative permeability and capillary pressure) data is increasingly important to accurately capture dynamic subsurface behavior ahead of field development/production.

The field has been active for 40+ years with early production data dominated by vertical/deviated wells while the late production data is dominated by horizontal wells. During the recent comprehensive SCAL program, high quality SCAL data have been obtained showing more capillary pressure contrast between dominant rock types than the existing data. With the old SCAL data, it was difficult to match the early and late life production data, since each phase showed distinct trends and different fluid displacement dynamics. History matching of the field using the new SCAL has offered new insights into the key geologic controls namely the high-permeability streaks (HKS) and stylolites. The horizontal and vertical spatial distribution and the geometrical dimensions of the high-permeability streaks are uncertain, while dynamic simulations demonstrate their impact on the fluid behavior. While specific zones tend to have a higher preponderance of high-permeability streaks, individual high-permeability streaks are not correlateable from well to well and are usually only a few inches thick. Understanding the distribution of these high-permeability streaks is essential in explaining production behavior especially at the pattern level. Another key uncertainty is the degree of stylolite competence with reduced vertical permeability (Kv), restricting the flow in horizontal zones and resulting in a complex multilayer sweep behavior.

The paper will provide an insight on the workflows that allowed to reduce the inherent uncertainties of the key geologic controls, responsible for delaying water movement from injectors to producers. The detailed understanding of the dynamic reservoir conditions associated with stylolites and high- permeability streaks enabled successful improvement of the historical water cut and pressure match of the reservoir model, leading to a reservoir model with reduced uncertainties in the prediction model and hence to a more reliable field development plan.
Achieving a Step Change in Well Duration and Cost in a HPHT Tight Gas Field
Authors: Smit Jeroen , Adawi Anwar , Hinai Faisal , Khayari Mustafa , Abri Mohammed , Kiyumi Hassan , Nakireddi Naidu , Yousef Hamada
Published: November 2017

This paper discusses the journey of drilling excellence in Khulud field, one of the most challenging fields in Sultanate of Oman and the Middle East. It highlights the changes in well design, drilling optimization and efficiency improvement which resulted in significant cost and time improvement in the development campaign.

Amin formation is the target reservoir, at about 5,000 meters in depth, with some of the hardest rock formations in the area in excess of 50 Ksi compressive strength. The reservoir pressure gradient is approximately 18 kPa/m (1.84 SG) and static downhole temperature is around 178 °C.

An integrated approach was taken to address the challenges as the field transitions from appraisal stage to development. This involved the selective deployment of technology along with improved operations, and implementation of several initiatives which resulted in a significant improvement in well durations and cost in excess of 40% within a year. The well design was altered from a five casing string design in the exploration and appraisal phase to a three string slim design with liner top completion. Additionally, a cemented completion design was introduced and executed successfully, involving the implementation of a specially designed degradable packer fluid to reduce the burst loads on the casing in the frac and production phase of the wells. The bit selection and drive type was changed from turbine drilling with an impreg bit to motor drilling with a PDC bit application specially designed for the field and its challenging conditions. The change led to major improvement in ROP (Rate of Penetration) and accordingly reduced time to drill the final 8 3/8" hole section. Furthermore, the implementation of Lean practices and following the well delivery process stages played a crucial role in aligning all parties involved together. A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) was developed and implemented to capture the different initiatives in well design and operational excellence and was used as a vehicle for continuous improvement.

The results show significant reduction in well cost and time by 40 % compared to well cost before implementing these changes. Recent wells have beaten the Best Composite Time (BCT) set in the field and reduced the overall duration from 260 days in the exploration stage to 55 days in the recent wells delivered in 2017.

The cemented completion with degradable mud was a first time application in PDO, requiring in-house development and testing. The PDC bit used in recent wells was specifically designed for Khulud to replace the impreg bit and enhance ROP.
Optimum Selection & Application of Hydraulic Jet Pump for Well-1A: A Case Study
Authors: Kalwar Shuaib Ahmed , Awan Abdul Quddos , Qureshi Fahad Aziz
Published: November 2017

In the current era, a major challenge facing the oil industry is to keep up production and maximize reserves especially in mature oil fields. The application of artificial lift systems to improve productivity, whilst ensuring the most effective use of existing reserves, should optimize the petroleum resources. However, the selection of the most feasible lift system plays a crucial role in restoring production rate to normal levels and to maximize ultimate recovery. The decision of which artificial lift method to use is very important to the long-term profitability of the field.

This paper presents screening criteria on the different artificial lift techniques and discusses why the choice was confined to jet pumping as the most suitable technique applied in the well. Well–1A was spudded in November, 2008 and was drilled as a slanted well to the depth of 8665 ft. The well was completed with a sucker rod pumping unit and flowed initially at the rate of 130 BOPD. However, the well was optimized by changing the lift method from sucker rod to jet pump. The base development plan included hot crude injection with the help of water bath heaters, which made crude of 18 degree API and high wax content, heated up to 150°F used as power fluid for jet pumping. Both injection and return lines were insulated till the storage tank in order to maintain the temperature. The jet pump was run in hole with 11A Nozzle/Throat combination in freestyle after ensuring a sufficient liquid level within the wellbore.

The jet pump provided the required drawdown and helped in sustaining the deliverability of the well for such waxy crude, and produced an average of 270 BOPD. Jet pump performance was monitored continuously in order to enhance the production up to desired potential by considering all the parameters related to the lift system. In addition to this, the jet pump can easily be re-optimized by reversing it out to change the nozzle and/or throat without requiring a slick-line job.
Analysis of IOR Pilots in Bakken Formation by Using Numerical Simulation
Authors: Alfarge Dheiaa , Wei Mingzhen , Bai Baojun , Alsaba Mortadha
Published: November 2017

Bakken is the most productive formation among unconventional plays in North America. This formation has 7.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil. However, the primary oil recovery is still low as 5-10%. Miscible natural gas and carbon dioxide (CO2) might be the most two potential strategies to improve oil recovery in such complex play. In this study, some of the IOR pilots which have been conducted in Montana, North Dakota, and South Saskatchewan have been presented. The performance results of these pilots in US-Bakken versus Canadian-Bakken have been compared. Moreover, the reasons beyond the successful IOR pilots in Canadian-Bakken versus US-Bakken have been discussed. Then, numerical simulation models have been constructed to mimic the results of these pilots. Two different compositional models have been built for two different formation-oils. Furthermore, two different models, single porosity model and dual permeability model have been created to match the performance of some pilot-tests. Implementation of molecular diffusion mechanism has been conducted in both of single porosity and dual permeability model. Finally, continuous miscible gases injection versus huff-n-puff protocols have been compared and investigated.

The results showed that the performance of natural gases generally over-performed the CO2 injection technique's in Bakken formation. Although the diffusion flow is dominant, the diffusivity of the injected CO2 into formation oil is slow due to its large molecules as compared with the small pore throats of these porous media. Accordingly, miscible CO2-EOR might be not beneficial in huff-n-puff as compared to continuous flooding process. However, success of natural gases does not have that strong functionality of molar diffusivity. Therefore, their performance was much better than CO2 performance in the field scale of these tight formations. Furthermore, the numerical simulation of this study concluded that the spacing between the production wells and injection wells should be minimized, for the continuous flooding process of miscible-gases EOR, to enhance their performance. Although the permeability of Canadian-Bakken has permeability of 1-2 order higher than the permeability of US-Bakken, the spacing between injectors and producers in Canadian Bakken is interestingly much shorter than that for US-Bakken, which might be the reason beyond the EOR success in Canadian Bakken. Finally, the activation process for the highly intensive natural fractures might be the key to enhance the diffusivity of CO2-EOR. Otherwise, natural gases are highly recommended to be the most potential EOR in these types of reservoirs. This study explains how diffusion mechanism of miscible gases affects their performance to improve oil recovery in these plays since they are more complex and very different from conventional formations. Also, it suggests that CO2 flooding process would be a good practice to overcome the limitations of CO2-diffusion rate in these reservoirs.
Assessment of Petrol Filling Stations Hazards Risk in Abu Dhabi, UAE - GIS Applications
Authors: Periyasamy Punithat , Yagoub M M , Al Hader Mahmoud
Published: November 2017

In the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the transportation vehicle is growing at rapid rate every year which in turn increase the requirement of the petrol filling stations (PFS). This growth rate plays a major role in increasing the fire and explosion hazards risk than ever before. When the fuel is not handled safely, it has the potential to cause not only a serious fire and/or explosion hazard and also harmful to health which can cause damage to skin, eyes on contact, dizziness and respiratory problems, if it is inhaled. Hence, petrol storage and operation is controlled by legislation, guidelines and standards all over the world. With this in mind, an attempt has been made to identify the PFS hazards risk in the capital city of UAE using various international guidelines and standards. Land use and Land cover is prepared for Abu Dhabi using Landsat 8, 2017 data to demarcate the highly urbanized area within the emirate where Abu Dhabi city is chosen for the study. The planning criteria for location, guidance for establishment, planning policy, legislation, published reports from the regulatory reforms & association and literatures from various developed and developing countries are studied to identify the most important risk parameters associated with PFS for analysis and inference.

The thematic maps are prepared based on the minimum requirement mentioned in the guidelines & standards which are proximity to the road, sight distance, distance limitation between two stations, if the stations are located within the same cadastral unit & different cadastral areas, staggered length if the two stations are opposite to each other, distance to residential buildings and distance to vulnerable places such as prayer halls, libraries, markets, hospitals, schools, higher education, banks, shopping malls, post office, public play grounds, recreational areas and fire brigade. The potential hazards of each filling stations are estimated by assessing both refueling services and the other related internal hazardous activities such as availability of LPG storage area, cooking facility, oil change, car care (automatic and manual) car wash which is then categorized into 7 types.

ArcGIS 10.1 acts as a powerful spatial analysis tool to find out the hazards risk in the PFS by means of weighted overlay analysis. Each individual parameter of the thematic map is ranked and weighted in accordance with their compliance with the international legislation & regulations. The real risk associated with each station are classified viz., High, medium, low and no violation with its identification numbers respectively. The outcome of this research helps local authorities in terms of land management, so that necessary measures can be established around PFS which are operated under high risk.
Data Driven Analysis for Rapid and Credible Decision Making: Heavy Oil Case Study
Authors: Kaushik A. , Kumar V. , Mishra A. , Tummala P.
Published: November 2017

Having less data is challenging as it adds to the uncertainty around our understanding. On the contrary, huge volume of existing data with continuous additions poses challenges to incorporate them into subsurface models. Data analytics involving integration of large volume of geology, production and surveillance data at a single platform, analysis of data and data trends depicting a physical process can be used to come up at technically robust results in a short time.

Data driven analysis and forecasting is carried out for a mature steamflood. Firstly, all data including production, injection, pressure, well test, well, static models, petrophysical logs, GIS data are integrated on a single data analytics platform. Trends in data are established and visualized based on the production, injection and geology enabling production performance analysis at various aggregated levels. The established trends are studied to understand the effectiveness of steam injection recovery mechanism, interference and are then forecasted.

Data like PLT and static model information earlier analyzed in silos are integrated and now examined together with production data. Due to data integration at a single platform, connecting and visualizing time series data with spatial location to arrive at certain aggregation or cluster is now rapid and credible. Observations and outcomes from data driven analysis correlate well with the recent years of historical data for well groups with mature production and injection history. For well groups with new and upcoming wells, data driven method may get more biased towards existing but sparse performance thus not capturing the full uncertainty in forecast. Data driven analysis method becomes effective when sufficient data is available to infer trends and results that can be validated with alternate estimation or new data.

This technique finds wide application in brownfields with huge data that are either not analyzed or integrated with other information to develop a holistic understanding of subsurface uncertainties. Aided with effective visualization, this technique provides an alternative methodology to enable rapid decision making.
Multidimensional Evaluation for Safe and Efficient Killing Using Dynamic Kill Method: A Case Analysis in China
Authors: Zhou Yunjian , Li Xiangfang , Wojtanowicz Andrew K. , Miao Yanan , Chen Jingde
Published: November 2017

Well control in gas reservoirs with high pressure has been of growing interest in the industry in recent years. It has been widely recognized that challenges of well leakage and ground equipment damage will be faced in well-control work. Unfortunately, current well-control procedures do not allow us to kill with confidence and serious accidents occur sometimes. To ensure a safe and successful kill operation, before drilling, utilizing multiple well-control approaches to simulate the kill operation and after blowout, determining reasonable kill parameters to accomplish the kill should be of great significance. In this study, the Qing Xi 1 well was taken as an example to perform the first and second dynamic kill simulations by the Drillbench software to evaluate the effectivity of different kill operations with various choke pressures. The feasibility analysis of the dynamic kill was conducted by switching the displacement of mud pump, ascertaining the values of laminar coefficient A and turbulence coefficient B skillfully, and employing the known parameters of pump pressure, gas influx from formation and fracture pressure. The simulation results demonstrated that, under the limited geological conditions and the site environment of the Qing Xi 1 well, the second killing scenario will succeed when 40MPa choke pressure was employed in the dynamic kill operation, which differs dramatically from the realistic failure of the second killing scenario in the site of the Qing Xi 1 well. Accordingly, the maximum of choke pressure should be suggested in the future site operation of killing scenario when the equipment conditions are allowable. Although higher choke pressure may make the well leak-off, it will generate smaller losses compared with serious blowout out of control. In addition, a reliable pre-prevention and post-processing well-control procedure for implementation of our method was proposed, which is the most efficient and easy to apply. Our work in this paper should provide a basis for guiding field operations involving kill efficiency and should assist engineers in ensuring personal and property safety.
Reaping the Benefits of the Mega Water Flood Project in North Kuwait - Production Enhancement Opportunities Tracking & Implementing
Authors: Saleh Nada , Chetri Hom , Al-Twaitan Tasneem , Al-qenae Amna
Published: November 2017

Sabiriyah Mauddud and Upper Burgan are two of the giant reservoirs in North Kuwait(NK) under active water flood since 2000. About 400 MBWPD of water is currently being injected to maintain the reservoir pressure & improve the production/recovery. A comprehensive workflow process was developed and implemented to understand the waterflood performance, pressure-production response trends and map the opportunities to encash the benefits in terms of quick oil gains. The paper discusses the best practices adopted to increase production from two of the water flooded reservoirs in NK.

Sound workflow process was created by integrating the technical inputs under collaborative environment from subsurface & surface teams. Series of segment reviews are conducted to understand the connectivity between producers & injectors, duly integrating all surveillance data. Analytical diagnostic tools have been used to distinguish between the good water and bad water and improve the VRR & sweep. Live ESP data is monitored and tracked at intelligent field collaboration centre to decide about the actions for the wells requiring ESP upsizing, downsizing and VSD/choke optimization. Wells with running ESPs were identified for VSD & choke optimization, using rationalized technical criteria. Wells with failed ESPs are reviewed for smart replacements with water shut off/ water flood conformance & ESP re-design. Simultaneous actions for the well model creation; running sensitivity and scheduling in the workover rig are taken up.

ESP upsize, along with VSD installation/ choke optimization, was implemented in number of wells with significant oil gain (about 11% enhancement within a short time frame). As a part of the process established, this activity has become a regular practice in NK. Such wells are under constant monitoring so that water injection actions in nearby injectors, if needed, could be taken up such as allowable management, arresting the declining trend etc. The benefit of mega water flood activities have been reaped in terms of production enhancement adhering to the best reservoir management practices.

Quick understanding of the Water flood response and relignment of actions on the associated wells via rigless and rig workovers is the key to the success for significant ramp of the NK production within a short time window of 6-7 months. Several work flow processes established during the campaign are now deeply imbeded within NK asset.
DFN Modeling Aided Reservoir Characterization
Authors: Karatalov N. , Stefaniak A. , Vaughan L.
Published: November 2017

Describing the dynamic performance of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs (NFR) is challenging. Numerous studies often cite sparse data with regard to the static description of fractures, and success of dynamic prediction often proves problematic. Discrete Fracture Network models (DFN) provide more robust prediction of flow characteristics but due to their complexity and size, DFN models are often unsuitable for field-scale predictions.

This paper describes sensitivity analysis on fracture effective properties aimed at bracketing the uncertainty in NFR modeling. We have developed over 200 realizations of a sector model that bracket variables associated with fracture characterization and representation of the fractured system in a 3D cellular model. The fracture characterization parameters include aperture, intensity, length and the impact of conjugate fractures. Reservoir modeling considerations include model cell size in XYZ dimension and different upscaling methodologies. Expectedly, a sensitivity study of the results indicates the top three most important variables in the following order: fracture aperture, upscaling method, and fracture intensity.

We propose a methodology that can be universally applied to any NFR. By constraining fracture intensity and aperture, the methodology provides bracketed effective properties which can be incorporated in more traditional reservoir models. The transition can be done effectively for quick and efficient reservoir characterization of NFRs without a need for resource-intensive efforts often associated with DFN models.
Drilling Safe Wells through Efficient, Rapid and Site Specific Planning to Manage Risks & Improve Performance
Authors: Tayab Muhammad R , Valappil Suhail Kunnath , Prieto Gerardo , Nuaimi Ammar Humaid
Published: November 2017

Well planning is one of the most demanding aspects of drilling engineering requiring integration of engineering principles, HSE philosophies and learnings from incidents. Although well planning methods and practices may vary but the key objective is a safely drilled well meeting operational requirements. As per Drilling HSE requirements, well development is subjected to Site Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) and the purpose of this Site Specific Safety Plan (SSSP) is manage risks associated with release of well bore gases or fluids and to ensure a quick and effective response to emergencies that can be implemented. A web based Electronic Well Delivery Process (e-WDP) was developed to facilitate generation of SSSP using QRA data base for efficient and fit for the purpose SSSP.
Carbonate Rocks: A Case Study of Rock Properties Evaluation Using Multi-Scale Digital Images
Authors: Sun Huafeng , Di Dejia , Tao Guo , Vega Sandra , Li Kesai , Liu Luofu , Belhaj Hadi
Published: November 2017

Three-dimensional (3D) information of rock microstructures is important for a better rock characterization at the micro-scale. The development of imaging technique makes this possible. For instance, in recent years, significant progress of digital rock physics (DRP) following the X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scan techniques has been made. This technique can be used to predict rock properties such as porosity, permeability, elastic moduli, and electrical conductivity. In most cases, the simulated results from rock images agree well with their lab measurements. However, some properties, such as the effective elastic moduli, strongly depend on the microstructural details of rock, which can lead to a dissatisfied comparison between numerical simulations and lab measurements. In addition, there is a clear trade-off between physical sample size and image resolution, which means that it is almost impossible to predict rock properties with single resolution image for heterogeneous carbonate rock sample.

In this paper, we present a case study of rock properties evaluation using multi-scale CT images of two heterogeneous carbonate rock samples. Different image resolutions, including 40.00μm/voxel, 4.00μm/voxel, 2.00μm/voxel, 1.00μm/voxel, and 0.50μm/voxel, are used to obtain the CT images of whole core samples and their corresponding subsamples. For each resolution image of subsample, eight sub-volumes are selected to do the simulations. The rock properties including porosity, permeability and elastic properties are calculated by some effective methods such as voxel-based method (VBM), parallel lattice Boltzmann method (PLBM) and rotated staggered grid finite difference method (RSG-FDM). The results show that: 1) the simulated porosity and permeability agree well with the lab measurements; 2) the simulated P- and S-wave velocities and their lab measurements have a relatively big difference with maximum value of 62.43%; 3) the unresolved phase can reduce P- and S-wave velocities in the rocks; 4) the rock properties are well evaluated by rock images, lab measurements and numerical simulations.
Simultaneous Multiple Plane to Plane Waterflooding in Fractured Tight Reservoirs
Authors: Bhargav Bhaskar J. , Economides Christine Ehlig.
Published: November 2017

Waterflooding is common in conventional reservoirs, but efforts to apply waterflooding to unconventional tight oil formations have not met much success. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of a novel 3-well pattern using horizontal wells (one injector and two producers, or one producer and two injectors) with multiple transverse hydraulic fractures nested to create arrays of plane-to-plane injector-producer waterflood displacements between propped hydraulic fractures.

The model for each plane-to-plane displacement uses pseudorelative permeability functions to account for conductive secondary fracture networks induced by hydraulic fracturing of the horizontal wells. Each pseudorelative permeability function is computed using inputs for the matrix and secondary fracture porosity and absolute permeability values, and matrix and secondary fracture relative permeability curves generated from Corey functions. To represent heterogeneity, input parameters are randomly generated, and the computed pseudorelative permeability functions are fit using Corey function parameters. Then we apply the Buckley-Leverett model for each displacement using the pseudorelative permeability curves. Finally, the pattern waterflood model accounts for the simultaneous multiple displacements using constant pressure well conditions and assuming minimal pressure losses along the wells and in the created hydraulic fractures.

Sensitivity studies have been carried out on a sample pattern with a smaller number of waterflood units undergoing plane to plane displacement, while full-scale simulation of a pattern with 408 waterflood units has been carried out to study the effectiveness of waterflooding in an unconventional reservoir using the proposed pattern. The study showed that pattern recovery factors increased for reduced secondary fracture porosity, and decreasing the hydraulic fracture spacing accelerated recovery. Further, rapid water breakthrough through in any individual displacement could short-circuit the displacement, and multiple short-circuits can cause poor pattern recovery efficiency. The proposed 3-well pattern offers a way to avoid well to well short-circuiting through propped fractures and enables a large number of simultaneous displacements. This work evaluates both the potential recovery efficiency increase and the potential risk and uncertainty related to the presence of induced secondary fractures.
Design of a Cyclic Steam Stimulation Pilot Test for the Orinoco Oil Belt. A New Vision About Steam Injection Flow Rates
Authors: Rodriguez Hilario Martin , Souraki Yaser , León Mª Fernanda , Bezerra Ricardo , Peña Gilberto , Guitian José , Escobar Elena
Published: November 2017

In some of the giant extra-heavy oil fields from the Orinoco Oil Belt (OOB), the challenge is to increase recovery over primary production by about 10%, to meet its ambitious development plan. To get this, it is necessary to apply EOR processes.

It is visualized the integral design of a cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) pilot test, using a high steam injection rate. It is identified and quantified the main variables and operational parameters affecting the performance of CSS, for an oil field at OOB.

The design of this pilot test covers the location of the area, visualization of thermal well, identification and quantification of the variables that potentially influence to a greater extent the performance of this technology, conceptual design of EOR surface facilities and a complete monitoring plan.

A cluster with 10 long horizontal wells of different lengths is evaluated. The variables studied are: specific steam flowrate per unit length of well, well length, and well thermal insulation. We apply design of experiments to select the combinations of the values taken for the different variables. The duration of the different stages in every cycle is given by previous results applying optimization of CSS to sector modeling.

The main constrains dictated for the thermal well are identified and taken into account to define the maximum steam injection and production rates for this test.

The pilot test is simulated for three complete cycles, with two approaches: High (2.2 – 3 bbl/day*ft) and Low (1.5 bbl/day*ft) specific steam flowrates. Important production variables as drawdown, bottom-hole pressure, field average pressure, gas oil ratio and water cut have been evaluated.

Results for the main operating parameters (High/Low approaches), and the economic evaluation, are shown. These results show once again that higher specific steam flow rates get higher recovery and are even more profitable.

The study encourages a review of the paradigm that limits steam injection rates in high-productivity projects currently underway at OOB. Additionally, it is identified that at present is the thermal well and not the surface facilities, which limit the application of CSS at higher rates, needing an urgent improvement in its concept.

The steam injection rate is conventionally expressed as daily rates (bbl/day), absolute amounts per unit thickness of formation (bbl/ft), etc. This practice creates misunderstandings, especially in the case of horizontal wells. The variable proposed in this study (specific steam flow rate per unit length of well) is valid for any type of well, and it has a physical significance related to well injectivity.

Another novelty introduced in this study is a higher specific steam flow rate (2.2-3 bbl/day*ft), between 50% and 100% higher than references found in the literature (1.5-2 bbl/day*ft).
M-9 Zawtika Marginal Field Development Study
Authors: Chaowarit L. , Pongpat H. , Korakote P. , Pariyachat O. , Pithak H. , Sirawat B.
Published: November 2017

M-9 Zawtika Project is a gas field development project located in the Gulf of Moattama offshore, Myanmar. The field lies approximately 300 km south of Yangon and 290 km west of Tavoy on the Myanmar coast. PTTEPI has operated under Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and gas production was commenced since year 2014. The characteristic of future prospects is expected to be small volume and scatter. The marginal field development study is then conducted to support the future development for maintaining production plateau after conventional wellhead platform cannot be developed. The study aims to identify and assess other development options to commercialize marginal and scatter prospects in M-9 Zawtika Field apart from conventional wellhead platform design.

The marginal field development study is based on three (3) development options comprised of MMFP (Myanmar Minimized Facilities Platform), Subsea Production Facilities and Reused wellhead platforms topside. The method of the selected development option is to identify the prospect with suitable development option based on prospect volume, number of development well requirement and economic justification.

The keys of each facility development optimization option are as below.

Myanmar Minimized Facilities Platform (MMFP) is to minimize/optimize the excessive equipment e.g. well slot number, flow line combination, and remove booster compressor unit/area, material design life, structure minimization. Subsea production facilities are planned to produce hydrocarbon with 1 - 4 wells and tie back to nearby existing wellhead platform. Reused wellhead platform topside in Zawtika field is planned to utilize the existing topside from non-productive location in order to minimize cost of topside facilities, however, this option is still have the cost and installation of jacket. This option is considered as long term plan when the existing production platforms are depleted and not economical to continue operate.

The study shows that these three development options are expected to apply for the marginal prospects and can provide longer production plateau comparing with development by conventional wellhead platform only. With these three (3) initiative development options, CAPEX is expected to reduce up to 15% compared with developed by conventional wellhead platform. Some marginal prospects are expected to be commercial and can be developed in the future. The novelty of this study is to identify the suitable development option for long term field development plan. The study will help optimizing CAPEX and improving the value of marginal prospects. Thus, the production plateau can be prolonged until the end of PSC.
Variable In-Field Geomagnetic Referencing for Improved Wellbore Positioning in Directional Drilling
Authors: Kabirzadeh Hojjat , Rangelova Elena , Lee Gyoo Ho , Jeong Jaehoon , Woo Ik , Zhang Yu , Kim Jeong Woo
Published: November 2017

Safe and economical determination of wellbore trajectory in directional drilling is traditionally achieved by measurement-while-drilling (MWD) methods which implement magnetic north-seeking sensor packages. However, inaccuracies in determination of well path rise because of random and systematic errors in measurements of the sensors. Multi-station analysis (MSA) and magnetic in-field referencing (IFR) have already demonstrated the potential to decrease the effects of errors due to magnetization of drillstring components along with variable errors due to irregularities in magnetization of crustal rocks in the vicinity of wells. Advanced MSA methodologies divide a bore-hole into build and lateral sections and utilize average reference values of total magnetic field, declination, and dip angle at only two levels (surface and lateral depth) for analysis of errors in each section. Our investigations indicate that the variable-reference MSA (VR-MSA) can lead to a better determination of errors, specifically in areas of high magnetization. In this methodology, magnetic reference values are estimated at each station using a series of forward and inverse modelling of surface magnetic observations from IFR surveys. The fixed errors in magnetometer components are then calculated by minimizing the variance of the difference between the measured and unique estimated reference values at each station. A Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm is adapted to solve the non-linear optimization problem. Examination of this methodology using MWD data confirms improvements in well path determination by comparing the results with gyro surveys.
Novel Environmentally Benign Hydrogel: Nano-Silica Hybrid Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide/ Polyethyleneimine Gel System for Conformance Improvement in High Temperature High Salinity Reservoir
Authors: Ma Liping , Wang Shitou , Long Yifu , Zhu Changqian , Yang Hongbin , Yang Tangying , Liu Xiaochun , Li Xiaorong , Bai Baojun , Kang Wanli
Published: November 2017

In order to address the conformance problem in high temperature and high salinity/hardness reservoir, an environmentally benign in-situ gel was developed based on hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and polyethyleneimine (PEI). Moreover, silica nanoparticle (SNP) was embedded to improve the performance of HPAM/PEI gel. To achieve the optimum formulation of HPAM/PEI-SNP gel, a comprehensive investigation was first conducted with the respect of gelation time, gel strength, and thermal stability. In addition, the particle size of SNP was determined by Dynamic Light Scatter (DLS) and the microstructure of HPAM/PEI-SNP gel was characterized via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

The optimum formulation, containing the polymer/crosslinker ratio of 10,000-2,000 using high molecular weight HPAM (10-15 million Dalton) with a low hydrolysis degree of 3-7%, was obtained. Given the compatibility of comparability of SNP and formation water, LS nano silica with an SNP concentration of 30 wt% was selected as hybrid resource. The results indicated that the gelation time of novel gel system was prolonged to 132 hours attributed to the introducing of nanomaterial. Taking advantage of nano-composite, the strength of HPAM/PEI-SNP gel maintained as Grade G for 312 h. Furthermore, the HPAM/PEI-SNP gel exhibited an excellent thermal stability at 85 °C for 660 hours without syneresis. Subsequently, SEM images confirmed the successful incorporation of SNP in the 3-dimentional network of hydrogel, supporting an effective surface modification.

This work demonstrated that the novel environmentally benign HPAM/PEI-SNP gel system can be used as a potential plugging agent for the conformance improvement in high temperature high salinity reservoirs.
An Integrated Approach to the Integrity Diagnostics of Underground Gas Storage Wells
Authors: Kantyukov R. , Grishin D. , Nikitin R. , Aslanyan A. , Aslanyan I. , Minakhmetova R. , Soroka S.
Published: November 2017

The objective of this paper is to show the effectiveness of a modern integrated logging suite in well integrity diagnostics, or, particularly, in identification of channelling and location of potential leaks in casing and other downhole equipment in underground gas storage (UGS) reservoirs of different types: an aquifer, salt dome, or depleted gas reservoir.

To check the integrity of UGS wells, a conventional integrated downhole logging suite supplemented with High-Defenition Spectral Noise Logging Tool (SNL-HD) was run. The Spectral Noise Logging survey was performed using a new generation SNL-HD tool which is capable of recording acoustic data in a wide range of amplitudes (90 dB) and frequencies (8-58,600 Hz). In addition to the SNL-HD, High-Precision Temperature (HPT) survey was run to identify and study thermal anomalies caused by fluid flows in the reservoir and the wellbore. Pulsed Neutron logging (PNL) method was used to determine gas and water content in the reservoir and microannuli between casing and cement sheath.

The SNL-HD was found highly informative in assessing the integrity of operating wells in all UGS types, especially when used in combination with HPT tool and pressure gauges. For example, the SNL-HD successfully identified and distinguished noises generated by gas flows through the reservoir and behind casing in an UGS located in an aquifer. PNL tool detected gas in cement sheath fractures and microannuli. For the UGS located in a salt dome with a partially washed-out cavern, SNL-HD identified the cause of sustained annulus pressure (SAP). Pulsed electromagnetic defectoscope (EmPulse) detected leaks which coincided with casing collar locations. HPT survey proved to be uninformative because of low-rate casing and annular flows.

In the UGS located in a depleted gas field, the primary objective was to identify the source of increased water cut, which was successfully done using SNL-HD and then confirmed by other logging techniques. Based on the survey results, workovers were carried out in the surveyed wells.
Overcoming the Challenge of Forecasting EOR in Giant Extra-Heavy Oil Fields
Authors: Escobar E. , Coll R. , Leon_Carrera M. F. , Pérez S.
Published: November 2017

The development of giant fields of extra-heavy crude oil (XHO), through the massive application of thermal EOR processes, involves investments of several millions of dollars.

It is a technical challenge to evaluate, by means of numerical simulation, and in a reasonable period of time, the behavior of EOR processes in giant fields. This paper describes a semi-analytical methodology to evaluate thermal processes of EOR and to provide, in a suitable time, the input data required by the investment decision makers.

The methodology follows 4 main steps. 1) The field is divided in sectors using a special defined EOR-Quality Index. 2) Six representative Model-sectors are selected in each reservoir and used to perform numerical simulations of all EOR processes to be evaluated in the field. 3) Extrapolation of simulation results to all the individual sectors of the field (Field-sectors), by using a defined extrapolation function. 4) Synchronization of injection and production profiles for each EOR technology, in each individual Field-sector following the field development plan.

The methodology was successfully applied to a giant-XHO field, in the Orinoco Oil Belt, where primary production followed by combinations of different sequences of Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), Steam Flooding, Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage and Horizontal Alternate Steam Drive were evaluated at fullfield scale. The proposed methodology allows analyzing many more production strategies without losing the vision of the global impact of EOR operations in the whole field.

Two validation tests were performed to check the robustness of the method. The first test checked the extrapolation function. A set of random selected Field-sectors in which EOR recovery performances were evaluated through both numerical simulation, and also with the extrapolation function. Comparable results were obtained by both methods.

A final validation test was done performing a fullfield simulation study for a CSS application. The simulation model had 23MM active blocks, about 1000 horizontal wells, thermal PVT formulation, and 40 years of production. Comparable results in terms of production potential and plateau duration were obtained, which validates the proposed methodology. The numerical fullfield test took around one week, and it was also expensive in resources.

The presented semi-analytical methodology overcomes the challenges of expensive and long numerical simulations, by an innovative way to characterize the dynamic response of Model-sectors and to extrapolate it into the all Field-sectors. The methodology is flexible enough to consider different kind of EOR processes configuration sequences, as well as, the evaluation of the processes at different scales as: sector, reservoir units and fullfield.
Lattice Boltzmann Analysis of Orifice Plates with Slotted Rim for Improved Wet Gas Metering
Authors: Noui-Mehidi Mohamed N. , Ahmad Talha J , Jindan Jana
Published: November 2017

In industrial applications, especially in oil and gas, orifice meters are the most widely used either upstream or downstream in the processing lines. Over many decades, the used of orifice meters was satisfactory to the users, however, particularly for wet gas applications, orifice plates suffers a few problems when it comes to the mechanical reliability of the system when liquid surges hit the plates and risk to damage them. In the present paper, a design modification to the orifice plate is proposed to overcome the liquid surge effect. The system is investigated numerically by the use of a Lattice Boltzmann approach. The numerical results obtained in the modified system are compared to the classical orifice plate arrangement for different β values and Reynolds numbers. The study has demonstrated that adding a rim to the upper part of the orifice plate helps bleeding the excess of liquid during a liquid surge without compromising the quality of the differential pressure measurements.
Happiness Affecting the Workplace Environment and Employees Wellbeing
Authors: Qubaisi Hamda Sanad
Published: November 2017

The objective of this paper is to establish why it is favorable to prioritize happiness at work. The paper focuses on the means as well as the outcomes of establishing and cultivating a happiness culture. It also helps us in focusing on maintaining happiness at work due to intensified competition and economic uncertainties. Also, its guides us with maintaining happiness at work through different perspectives.

Organizations should focus on implementing a culture that takes into consideration the employees' happiness as well as the employees' satisfaction (Frederickson & Branigan, 2005). Management should create efficient communication systems and

Job autonomy is another factor that influences job happiness. Institutions with minimum external supervision through democratic leadership, and teamwork increase the self-motivation, and are translated in to happiness at work.

Job security is also a factor that influences happiness at work. The job with a longer duration is considered a job with better or higher security, and this enhances the employee's happiness at work (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005).

Happiness at work is the chief cause of exemplary job performance. Employees who are happy at work deliver their best. This is mainly portrayed through the absenteeism from work which seems to be minimal among happy employees. A good number of institutions have a happiness human resource manager whose main duty is to ensure that the employees enjoy doing their work (Cropanzano & Wright, 2001)…

Notably, happiness at work ensures emotional stability among the employees. Emotional stability is principal to the employees' health since it ensures that they do not acquire diseases due to stress (Cropanzano & Wright, 2001). Finally, happiness at work influences employee turnover. To some extent, even the unhappy employees seem to conduct their jobs properly because they have no other alternative. Happy employees will often maintain their jobs since their experience at work is pleasant. Happiness at work saves excessive expenditure due to employee retention.

It is important for institutions to embrace the virtue of happiness at work. It enhances productivity as well as the employee's well-being. If possible, employers should create departments that focus on employee happiness, thereby raising employee satisfaction for the organization's benefit as well as the employee's well-being.

Most of the existing literature work focuses on the problems and barriers at job, while this paper is a unique set of knowledges which enlighten a totally different perspective of increasing efficiency and productivity at work through highlighting the element of Happiness or happy culture at work.