bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Combustion Assisted Gravity Drainage (CAGD) Appears Promising
Authors: Rahnema H. , Mamora D.
Published: February 2011

In-situ combustion (ISC) is an effective thermal recovery process that provides an important alternative to steam injection. However, the conventional ISC process has many apparent failures, which are mainly related to inappropriate reservoir application and instability of the process. Operational difficulties like gravity segregation, air channeling, unfavorable air to oil ratio and low sweep efficiency affect the performance of ISC. Horizontal well air injection is an interesting concept, which through positioning of horizontal wells attempts to overcome the problems that make ISC challenging.

Combustion Assisted Gravity Drainage (CAGD) is a new EOR process that use dual horizontal wells for injection of air and production of heavy oil. One important feature of this technique is that the properly oriented dual horizontal wells aid the development of combustion chamber and stabilized growth of the combustion front.

In this research, detailed reservoir simulations are conducted to examine the performance of the CAGD process in comparison to other practiced thermal recovery methods like Steam Assistance Gravity Drainage (SAGD) and Toe to Heel air injection (THAI). The results reveal that CAGD process has the lower cumulative energy to oil ratio in comparison to other two methods and its oil production rate is comparable to SAGD. The research identifies CAGD as a potential alternative to ISC method.
Safety and Operating Standards and Practices Used by Saudi Aramco To Conduct Critical Onshore Rigless Well Intervention Operations in Water, Oil, and Gas Wells
Authors: Al Jubran Hasan H. , Al Bu Hassan Shaker A. , Solares J. Ricardo
Published: February 2011

Saudi Aramco’s vision is to be the recognized industry leader in safety, and as such the company has applied high safety standards governing any well intervention work in all types of wells throughout its history. Moreover, detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Operating Instruction Manuals (OIM) for all well intervention operations are regularly used to ensure safety and best operating practices are consistently applied. These standards and operating procedures are continuously reviewed and revised as needed.

This paper discusses the most salient safety and operating standards regularly applied in Southern Area well intervention operations, which has helped Saudi Aramco accumulate a stellar record of successfully and safely completing a very large number of well intervention jobs. The paper also provides case histories of challenging procedures in which the strict application of existing procedures and standards resulted in a positive and successful outcome.
Improving Surface Hole Air-Foam Drilling Performance in Karstified Limestone (Papua New Guinea)
Authors: Zreik A. , Pinkstone H. , Ross A.
Published: February 2011

Drilling in The Highlands of Papua New Guinea is very challenging. The surface topography is extremely mountainous, with deep gorges and razoiback ridges. In addition, the Darai Limestone outcrops at surface and is karstified to a depth often in excess of 1,500 m, with the presence of underground rivers and caverns being common. The subsurface geology is even more complex with steeply dipping formations (at times near vertical), faults, and inverted sequences where the geological strata have been overturned by folding.

Well pads are constructed by flattening off the top of a mountain ridge or peak. Drilling from these elevated locations provides additional hydrostatic head to reduce the mud weight required in high-pressure formations encountered deeper in the well. Well pad construction is extremely costly but is more economic from peaks than from valley bottoms. Valley bottom locations often do not provide sufficient hydrostatic pressure head to maintain well control in deep, high-pressure formations without having to use excessively high mud weights.

The Darai Limestone is drilled with an air-foam mixture, as 100% lost circulation is typical. The karstification of this formation makes it unstable and prone to rubble collapse and mobile sediment packoffs.
An Overview of Completion Design for Vietnam Offshore Development Projects
Authors: Hay Bill , Lim Benjamin
Published: February 2011

The production completions in the Vietnam offshore arena are quite varied and most completion design philosophies are driven by the structure and the lithology of the production formation. This paper gives an overview of the various completion types in Vietnam offshore development projects, particularly those in the Cuu Long basin. Some variations of the completion philosophy are discussed in the paper such as the Miocene-type completions versus basement-type limestone completions. The completion design with respect to the production zones in the reservoir, the equipment selection criteria, and the other completion design mechanics will be reviewed in this paper.

The authors will also review some cased-hole completions design and discuss the functionality of the applications. The purpose of this paper is mainly to review the current applications. Additionally, completion design and philosophy would be examined as well as potential enhancements and future developments.
Lunskoye Offshore Gas Development—How Technology Made Development of This Large Gas Field Under Harsh Sub-Arctic Conditions Possible
Authors: van der Horst Juun , Webers Jeroen , Brown David , Zerbst Christoph , Muir Phil , Connon Bill , Purvis Travis
Published: February 2011

The development of the Lunskoye gas field is the centerpiece of the Sakhalin-2 project. The field is located offshore Sakhalin Island. The field was discovered in 1984 and was appraised by seven wells drilled from a mobile rig confirming a large gas accumulation. The Lunskoye-A (LUN-A) platform with limited offshore processing facilities was installed in 2006. Onshore Processing Facility (OPF) for the Lunskoye gas/condensate, offshore and onshore pipelines, a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant and oil and gas export terminals were completed and ready for operations in 2008 (Figure 1). Challenges that had to be overcome during the construction work were the lack of infrastructure, the seismically active area and the presence of rich onshore and offshore wildlife. Harsh, arctic like conditions such as temperatures as low as -40 degree C and long offshore ice periods from December till June, make it an extremely difficult environment to operate. Development drilling from LUN-A commenced in late 2007 and the first six gas producers were successfully completed on time to deliver the required contractual peak 2010 winter gas capacity of approximately 1.7 Bscf/d to the LNG plant. Lunskoye also produces up to 50,000 bbl of condensate per day. The fully integrated production system from the LUN-A wells to the LNG plant showed a smooth start up from early 2009 despite the many challenges and a very tight schedule.

Figure 1 Lunskoye Location map

After the completion of the 7th gas well in July 2010 the cumulative well capacity reached 2.3 Bscf/d or 330 MMscf /d per well on average. Two of the wells are 9 5/8 inch monobore gas completions with a world class potential deliverability of more than 500 MMscf/d. Development drilling is expected to continue uninterrupted until 2015 to maintain gas capacity and to develop the oil rim.
Modeling Miscible Injection in Fractured Porous Media using Non-classical Simulation Approaches
Authors: Stalgorova E. , Babadagli T.
Published: February 2011

The objective of this paper is to introduce an adaptation of a non-classical simulation method (random walk, RW) for simulation of fully miscible displacement in fractured porous media, and to validate this method using production and visual data obtained from an experimental work.

First, the limitations of classical (continuum models) modeling approach in the simulation of miscible displacement in fractured media were identified by matching the numerical and experimental results obtained earlier. Classical simulation yielded reasonable matches for low viscosity oil but failed to capture the flow patterns of heavy oil displacement, especially in the cases of vertical displacement. This was attributed to two reasons: (1) Numerical dispersion and grid size limitations and (2) the random nature of the phenomenon (mainly the viscous fingering process). Beyond that, the classical modeling scheme required the intensive use of "matrix-fracture pseudo transfer parameters" to achieve experimental matching.

To overcome these problems, a non-classical modeling approach, the Random Walk (RW) model was adapted. This technique deals with particles (walkers), each of which moves randomly, but the probability of the movement is defined considering the physics of the process. By tracing a large number of particles, one can model the process and have an idea about the transport of injected and displaced fluid in complex systems. The RW technique allows capturing micro heterogeneities, the random nature of the diffusion process and viscous fingering. It also requires less computational time compared to classical simulation methods.

The RW model introduced was validated using experimental -visual- data for different oil types, displacement directions (horizontal and vertical), and injection rates. This exercise showed that the model presented here captures the physics of the process and hence, can be extended and used for larger (field) scale processes of miscible displacement in complex fracture networks, which would not be possible with classical finite-difference models.
Real-Time Wellbore-Drilling Instability in Naturally Fractured Rock Formations with Field Applications
Authors: Nguyen Vinh X. , Abousleiman Younane N.
Published: February 2011

Overcoming wellbore drilling instability in fractured-rock formations always presents one of the major challenges to drilling engineers. Due to different fluid-diffusion rates and compressibility degrees between the rock’s matrix and fracture network, there are two distinct pore-pressure fields and subsequently different effective stresses developed in a saturated fractured formation. It is recognized that wellbore instabilities such as collapses are caused by excessive effective stress concentrations at or near the borehole wall, and mud losses are due to fracturing the rock formation. Because both the mud/rock fluid-pressure differential and fractures’ deformation modify the effective stresses in the wellbore wall, such intricate responses require a wellbore solution that accounts for the fracture network, intact rock matrix mechanics, and the balance of drilling mud density. In this work, the effects on real-time collapse and fracture gradients that dictate the safe mud weight window are evaluated analytically, incorporating the effects of natural fracture network via a simulated field case. Analyses reveal that neglecting the naturally fractured nature of the formation falls short in simulating the wellbore instability since it predicted a narrower mud weight window for the drilling operation.
Design of “Anti Surge” Methodology to Mitigate Severe Lost Circulation While Running Non Conventional Casing / Liner Sizes to Isolate Salt and Clay Domes in Deep Wells in Mexico South
Authors: Orellan Sael , May Richard , Bedino Henry , Atencio Nixklafe , Diaz Lenin , Martinez Alfonso , Tellez Carlos Perez
Published: February 2011

A typical well scheme for a deep well usually has five casing sections that can include a liner string. However the number of casing strings is given by the number of intermediate sections required to isolate unstable formations prior to reach the pay zone.

The industry has defined the casing sizes following a standard well design of five casing string (Table 2) that can include liners depending on the well requirements. The clearance between casing string is based on a standard drift which is related to unobstructed tolerance through pipes that is associate to the casing geometry such us ovality and casing straightness, this design criteria does not take in account other phenomenons that can compromise the effectiveness of a well design such us the effect of surges forces while running casing strings.

In prescence of competent formations and shallow wells, the design citeria explained above does not represent risk in term of loss circulation during running casing or cementing operations. However in the Mezosoic fields at Souht of Mexico (Figure 1), the geological structures are domain by unstables clay domes and eventually salt domes (Figure 2) that are located between 3,200 m - 3,700m. Also the drilling environment is characterized by narrow mud windown. As a consequence the wells are completed with six casing string.

The wells drilled in this fields are classified as high risk wells due to the potential hole problems related that include massive lost circulation. The geometry of the wells is also an issue since the use of non conventional casing sizes to isolate unstable formations left low clearance between casing strings that induce lost circulation when running casing.

This paper describes the actions taken to reduce massive loss circulation and define an “Anti surge methodology to mitigate severe loss circulation” when running non-conventional casing sizes with reduced clearance between casing strings in some fields located at South of Mexico.
Methods of Multiple-Point Statistics in Geological Simulation Practice: Prospects for Application
Authors: Bezrukov A.V. , Davletova A.R.
Published: February 2011

The conventional methods of two-point statistics (TPS) applied in geological simulation have preserved histograms and variograms. However, they have serious limitations in creating complex reliable distributions of geological bodies. Multiplepoint statistics (MPS) methods enable solving a wider spectrum of geological simulation problems while also preserving the common statistical parameters. However, the application of these methods in practice is complicated by the requirement of reliable litho-facial models and the corresponding training images. A possible solution could be the development of a library of training images (TI) to cover the variety of sedimentation environments and a wide distribution of statistical parameters in geo models. The selection of training images and their scales for specific simulation tasks is based on matching statistical parameters; the simulation result in this case inherits these parameters. This approach ensures the match in general statistical parameters of the models created using TPS and MPS. However, the difference in higher-order distributions may affect flow model properties.

In this paper, we investigate some issues of implementing MPS methods, developing a training image library, as well as selecting and scaling TIs. Some comparison results between TPS and MPS models are presented.
Technological Solutions for Marginal Oil Fields Development
Authors: Ibatullin Ravil R. , Takhautdinov Shafagat F. , Ibragimov Nail G. , Khisamov Rais S.
Published: February 2011

The long-term oil development projects in the Volga-Ural region are associated with depleted reservoirs. TATNEFT fields with 80% reserves depletion level produce 16.2 million tons of oil; fields with 70-80 % reserves depletion produce 4.4 million tons out of 25.8 million tons of total production.

Profitable oil production of TATNEFT fields is challenged by highly depleted reservoirs of Romashkinskoye, Bavlinskoye, Sabanchinskoye, Novo-Elkhovskoye, Pervomayskoye, and Bonduzhskoye fields. TATNEFT has developed a suite of technological options for marginal oil field development. 1.Reservoir engineering management, efficient development of depleted fields.Based on the analysis data TATNEFT specialists have selected and approved screening criteria for up to 50 different EOR techniques.Annual incremental oil production due to water-flooding management and application of EOR techniques exceeds 11.6 mln tons, including 5.1 mln tons due to tertiary recovery (about 20% of total production) and 6.5 mln tons due to water-flooding (25%).2.Efficient oil production technologiesChain-drive pumping systems with 3-m and 6-m stroke length have been implemented in TATNEFT assets since 2002, and by the end of 2009, their number totaled to 1113. The systems show maximum efficiency in heavy oil wells and wells with emulsion-related problems, reducing specific energy consumption by up to 60%.Dual-completion systems find wide application in the development of new targets in marginal wells. This paper presents modified dual-completion systems deployed in 533 wells. Incremental oil production due to these systems has exceeded 1 million tons. A dual-injection technology was developed in 2007, and to date dual-injection systems have been deployed in 128 injectors. The new technology yielded 170 200 tons of cumulative incremental oil production.The overall operational benefit is the reduction of specific energy consumption per 1 ton of produced oil. In 2009 it made 119 kwh/ton, which is 4.7% lower as compared to 1998.
Increase of Oil Recovery Efficiency From Hard-to-Recover Oil Formations
Authors: Isaev . A. , Takhautdinov R.Sh. , Arkhipov . I.
Published: February 2011

One of the most important tendencies featuring modern oil production industry of Russia is the transformation of the structure of oil reserves for the worse. A growing number of oilfields with high viscous oil, non-Newtonian oil, low formation pressure and low-permeable layers are placed under production. At the same time oil recovery rate and layer coverage (under natural drive) stay low. To increase the operation efficiency of wells with hard-to-recover oil reserves it is suggested to apply the injection of working agent along with a dual production by screw pumping units with surface drive (hereinafter - SPU with SD), which have proven themselves to be good at extracting heavy oil, particularly on oilfields of the Republic of Tatarstan. For example, on 4 oilfields of OAO “Sheshmaoil” 29 assemblies of SPU with SD are in use (as of 01/01/2010), and since 2001 SPUs with SD have been operated on 73 well sites. Nevertheless it is necessary to point out that in the course of heavy oil production SPU with SD have not found widespread application on OAO “Sheshmaoil” facilities, as well as in OAO “Tatneft” due to negative experience of operation. The followings are the basic reasons for this: –wrong selection of elastomers and a cover of a rotor; the oil production is being performed from various horizons, for example, in OAO “Sheshmaoil” these are: Tournaisian, Bashkirian, Vereian, etc.; in OAO “Tatneft” - Kizilovskiy and Zavolzhskiy horizons. Formation conditions and physical and chemical properties of a well fluid obviously differ, but this fact has not been considered, and the same configuration of pump with chromium-plated rotor and HNBR-type elastomer was used in all cases;–non-observance of the rules of equipment mounting, and mainly mishandling of the equipment. For example, wrong adjustment of a rotor led to 3 repairs (1.6%), and 41 repairs (21.8%) were carried out due to saturation of elastomers’ material with corrosive gases as a result of operating the unit under the pressure at the pump's suction point lower than the saturation pressure. Decrease of the dynamic level lower than 0.8 Hdyn leads to wear of an elastomer, and a pump starts dry running. Such cases were registered on 101 of the installed SPUs with SD (59% of the total number).
An Integrated System for Improving Geotechnical Performances of Jackup Rig Installation
Authors: Quah M. , Cahyadi J. , Purwana O. A. , Krisdani H. , Randolph M. F.
Published: February 2011

Predictability and consequential safety of jackup rigs during installation and removal remain non-trivial issues for the industry despite larger deployment of jackup rigs and operations in emerging frontier regions with more complex soil conditions. Jackup foundation hazards such as unpredicted leg penetration, rapid leg penetration, punch-through, spudcan-footprint interaction and leg extraction difficulties continue to occur in spite of the industry stepping up efforts to better control of the risks. Apart from improvements of the installation guideline and practice within the industry as well as implementation of proper site specific assessments, safer performance of jackup rigs may be achieved through advancement in jackup instrumentation technology. In the present paper, a new instrumentation technology integrated with jackup rigs is proposed to assist the jackup operators in making decision and taking measures to prevent or mitigate potential geotechnical hazards, particularly punch-through.
Petrophysical Invariance Principle in Adaptive Well Log Interpretation
Authors: Kozhevnikov D. , Kovalenko K.
Published: February 2011

The adaptive interpretation technique developed which allows of significantly reducing the number of error sources and improving accuracy, reliability and informativmess of the well logging results.

The existing conventional interpretation technology of the well logging data in comparison with adaptive one has a lot of uncertainties because of the information deficit about petrophysical and petrochemical characteristics of the mineral components and other factors affecting measurements.

The well logging data interpretation is basically focused on definition of porosity in studying of oil and gas reservoirs. But for the complex reservoirs porosity has appeared to be a misinformation parameter: the reservoir rock with high porosity may fail to possess effective porosity that is it may not be a reservoir. It is necessary to consider a corresponding petrophysical model to substantiate effective (and dynamic) porosity as a direct interpretative parameter of the well logs.

It is possible to introduce an alternative adaptive interpretation for the effective porosity evaluation. The adaptive interpretation is based on the petrophysical invariance of the reservoir and is using the petrophysical invariant as the main interpretation parameter.

The way how the petrophysical invariant can be calculated directly from the well logging data established. It is shown that different well logs can be used for the effective porosity evaluation.

The adaptive technology advantages include: effective (dynamic) porosity can be calculated for the complex polymineral reservoirs in absolute units without “reference beds”; the technology provides adaptive tuning under lithological and petrochemical conditions of the particular reservoir in situ, including the wellbore construction influence; in contrast to the conventional interpretation the adaptive technology does not require any tools standardization; it can be used for the old data reinterpretation; the adaptive technology allows tuning in terms of particular tool metrological characteristics downhole.
Maintenance Service and Repair Chamber for Pipelines in Bogs and Under Water
Authors: Khasanov Ilmer
Published: February 2011

This work presents swamp and underwater oil pipeline maintenance and repair chambers. Assemblies of repair chambers are assigned for repairing of pipeline sections in the swamps, across the small lakes, former riverbeds and in the bottomland part of underwater passages without bringing them up to the surface. Demountable carrying structures are offered for transportation of technical equipment across swamps of all three types and delivering of repair chamber to the place of mounting. This design successfully passed field tests in the swamps of second type in Western Siberia.
New Coriolis Based Multiphase Flow Meter For Heavy Oil Mature Fields
Authors: Agar Jo
Published: February 2011

In many mature heavy-oil fields, production well-testing is limited by the ability of test separators to separate gas and water from heavy viscous oil. The new technology of multiphase metering addresses these issues through the use of a low cost, robust Multi-Phase Flow Meter (MPFM).

This paper describes the fundamentals and field tests of this low-cost, portable multiphase meter. The meter utilizes a new coriolis flow meter technology combined with a microwave-based water cut meter that can measure 0-100% water-cut in the 0-100% Gas Void Fraction (GVF) range. The combination of these technologies provides a light-weight metering package that can be mounted onto trailers and/or pick-up trucks for portable well testing.

This multiphase meter can measure oil, water and gas without separation of the production stream at low & high GORs (Gas-to-Oil Ratio). These applications can be found in mature fields where the conventional test separators are inefficient or under-sized for heavy oil applications. In these types of applications, a low-cost, accurate multiphase flow meter offers many benefits – one of which is accurate well test data for production optimization.

The multiphase meter was subjected to qualifying tests prior to deployment in oil fields in the U.S., Alberta, Canada, Surinam, Venezuela, Romania and other locations where heavy oil rules out conventional "Sputniks" and other type of gravity separators. The paper describes the new fundamentals of the patented technology showing actual test results.
A Saskatchewan Field Trial to Better Understand Downhole Dynamics of PCP Systems
Authors: Noonan S. G. , Studer D.. , Skoczylas P..
Published: February 2011

This paper presents the results of a field trial conducted in Saskatchewan, Canada to investigate drive string dynamics between conventional and continuous rod and the impact of interference fit between rotor and stator in progressing cavity pumps (PCP).

In August 2009, a well was completed with a downhole monitoring system and a PCP driven by a continuous rod string. At the same time, a second well was completed with a downhole monitoring system and a PCP driven by a conventional rod string. The pumps were identical with the exception of the interference fit of the rotor in the elastomeric stator.

Thousands of data values were collected over a period of several months and evaluated to better understand rod stretch, torsion, and axial movement during start-up, shut-down and normal operating conditions and how these values change as a function of the interference fit of the pump itself. While the data evaluation did provide answers to help ConocoPhillips improve their PCP operations, there were even more questions generated that will prove thought-provoking to the industry and stir some great discussion.
Advances in Modeling of Passive Inflow Control Devices Help Optimizing Horizontal Well Completions
Authors: Ostrowski L. , Galimzyanov A. , Uelker E. B.
Published: February 2011

Passive Inflow Control Devices (PICD) has become a frequently used completion method for horizontal and close- to-horizontal wells over the past decade. There are several types of PICDs, but the working principle is similar for all of them: PICD restricts a flow by creating an additional pressure drop and therefore equalizing the wellbore pressure drop to accomplish a uniformly distributed flow along the horizontal well.

To evaluate performance and potential benefits of a PICD completion, a full-field simulation model is required. Simple near-wellbore simulators are often used to initially evaluate the applicability of the PICD-based completion. However, only full-field reservoir simulation can provide prediction for the completion/reservoir performance and thus allow for a full evaluation of the economics and feasibility of the project. A multi-segment well model can be used to represent the PICDs in the horizontal well. The multi-segment well model is an advanced well modeling that allows accurate modeling of multi-phase flow and pressure variations in wells with a reservoir simulation model.

This paper provides an example of the reservoir development study. PICD completion is designed and optimized to achieve the best possible economic results using in a commercial black oil simulator. The work is based both on a generic model. The methodology of implementing external pressure drop models is presented. Also, the process of optimization of the PICD-based horizontal well completions utilizing simulation is shown.
Drug Free Workplace-A New Approach to HSE
Authors: Khan Danish
Published: February 2011

Petroleum is essential component of our life but in spite of its great importance its recovery, transportation, processing and uses are all hazards to human health. Due to this reason and because of the very size and importance of petroleum industry, it is subjected to too much criticism. Therefore Health safety and environment has become an integral part of management policy of all the petroleum companies in order to implement corporate values and also to achieve business excellence.

In this regard the main philosophy and outlook pursued by the oil industry is aimed to not only minimize the harmful impacts of the industry on the human life and environment but also to maximize its beneficial aspects through the provision of comprehensive safety for its employees, facilities and equipments by the elimination of accidents and injuries through the removal of unsafe conditions and promotion of health and safety of individuals at all levels;and also the protection of environment as the greatest heritage of mankind.

In this paper a very important issue of health safety and environment is discussed which is given less importance but can cause serious accidents and fatalities. In this paper the management of a drug free work place is discussed along with its importance in creating healthy and safe working environment. It will also discuss that what type of steps are to be taken by the organization and the employees to help them remove the hazard which can be a source of great danger for them and environment.

In the end of the paper recommendations are given for having a drug free work place for contributing towards a sustainable development by having a clean and safe environment with a precautionary attitude by exercising responsible care.
Health Safety & Environment - Obligation, Responsibility and Care
Authors: Kikbayev Maxat T. , Hinton J. Jack , Brooke-Lander Melanie C.
Published: February 2011

When it comes to health and safety in the workplace, oftentimes organizations make a substantial effort to only meet their legal obligations by producing the required paperwork to demonstrate they are in compliance. This "ticking the box" approach not only causes a potential misrepresentation of compliance, but generally fails to meet the right "duty of care" for the health and safety of employees. Regulations and the activities of regulators is good as it generates a minimum level of focus on health and safety, but reliance solely on norms or compliance with norms may give organizations a false sense of security that they are adequately caring for their employees, when they in fact, may not be. And, limiting health and safety to this kind of approach leaves no room for an organization to take the time to realize what a truly "HSE-Driven" organization should be doing to implement the right Duty of Care.

This is about right motivation. Managers should not be closing gaps only in fear of legalities. Both a corporate and personal moral responsibility, as well as genuine care for employees, takes its roots from the belief that each and every employee is doing things safely, on an unconditional basis. By doing right (safe) things at the right time an organization can efficiently get to the point where it is simultaneously in good standing with the law and genuinely protects the health and safety of each employee and the community.

The paper provides examples as to how Baker Hughes naturally lives according to globally accepted health and safety standards and practices, to not only meet its compliance requirement, but to simultaneously maintain its status of a fair and conscientious employer that can demonstrate its responsibility and care to its employees, customers, and the society.
Air Injection at Mordovo-Karmalskoye Field: Simulation and IOR Evaluation
Authors: Druganova E. V. , Surguchev L. M. , Ibatullin R. R.
Published: February 2011

During last decades the air injection or the in situ combustion has found a wide application as a heavy oil IOR process in the world. The idea of the in-situ coal gasification process was initially suggested by Academician D.I. Mendeleev in 1888. In the 1930s Soviet scientists A.B. Sheinman and K.K. Dubrovai performed first attempts to initiate in-situ oxidation of oil in one of the Krasnodar region heavy oil fields. In the USSR successful heavy oil in-situ combustion (ISC) applications have been implemented at the Pavlova Gora field in Krasnodar and at Shodnitza field in Ukraine in the sixties. A review of the ISC heavy oil field application experience in the USSR will be given in this paper.

The Republic of Tatarstan has the largest in the Russian Federation resources of natural bitumen, ranging from 4 to 7 billion tons. Today the air injection process is conducted by the operator "Tatneft" on two field projects at Ashalchinskoye and Mordovo-Karmalskoye (MK) fields. Natural bitumen has been produced at MK field since 1978.

In this paper we will present results of our simulation study of the MK's ISC project. The simulation model of the pilot area including combustion and pyrolysis reactions, oxidation parameters was calibrated using available experimental data to match the production history of the field. The advanced dynamic gridding numerical solutions were used for modeling and history matching of the ISC process. Dynamic gridding allows achieving the accurate modeling and material balance calculations of the complex physical and chemical processes taking place at the combustion and displacement fronts in the reservoir under air injection. It allows the saving computer time required for the process modeling. Automatic history matching routines were used to properly calibrate matching parameters and to adjust the reservoir and the reaction characteristics of the simulation model.

The established simulation model can be used as a tool for the ISC process monitoring at the field. The model allows also to interpret and to evaluate the pilot results, to optimize its application and to predict the IOR potential.
First Successful Selective Tight Gas Reservoir Completion and Fracture Stimulation in Sarah Formation, Rub Al-Khali Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia
Authors: Bukhamseen Raid , Khakimov Ayrat , Sierra Leopoldo , Young Dustin , Machala Mark
Published: February 2011

Lukoil Saudi Arabia started a tight gas exploration campaign in the Rub Al-Khali Empty Quarter in 2006 and nine wildcat exploration wells have been drilled and evaluated. These prospective tight gas discoveries in the Empty Quarter have occurred in High Pressure and High Temperature (HPHT) horizons at depths between 12,000 and 20,000 feet, where the stress and temperature are extremely high in addition to micro-Darcy levels of reservoir permeability. This has made the exploration activity more challenging.

To overcome the extreme challenges and to help assure the success of the exploration activity, a new drilling, completion, and fracturing strategy was implemented in one of the most recent wells. The synergy of the new strategy steps resulted in the first successful discovery in the Sarah formation.

This paper presents the open hole compartmentalized completion steps, as well as the selective fracture stimulation strategy and challenges that have lead to the first successful tight gas discovery in the Sarah formation.
Petrophysical Modeling of the Granular and Fractured Reservoirs
Authors: Kozhevnikov D. , Kovalenko K. , Arsibekov A.
Published: February 2011

One of petrophysics basic challenges is to proceed from empirical dependences studying to construction and studying of reservoir theoretical petrophysical models for their subsequent association with well log analysis and petrophysical models of well logs. However petrophysical analysis results are often used for empirical regression calculations and very rarely as a starting point for analytical description of reservoirs.

The described approach tends to move petrophysical interpretation from the empirical level to the level where petrophysical models describe common effects on the regular basis. First of all such models could be introduced for granular reservoirs. Petrophysical models that are analytically describing basic properties of a granular reservoir reduce the number of influencing parameters to only four synthetic characteristic parameters, namely: water- and oil-holding capacity of the framework, waterholding capacity of the cement and porosity of the framework. However, there is no information loss, and completeness of all specific reservoir properties variety description is kept as well. All used parameters could be directly measured or established in analysis of the total porosity - residual saturation dependence.

Established granular model could be considered as a background model. If fractures presented in core sample then petrophysical dependences behavior will be different from granular ones. It is possible to show theoretically that such difference could be used for the quantitative analysis of the fractured porosity. Several core collections from the Eastern Siberian reservoirs were analyzed and such possibility was proved.

The developed approach shows that deficit of the information in studying of complex reservoirs can be compensated by strictly proved petrophysical models instead of building empirical multidimensional petrophysical dependencies.
Integrated Approach to Hydraulic Fracturing of Achimov Formation in Western Siberia
Authors: Marino S. , Volokitin Y. , Khabarov A. , Mauth K. D. , Ishmeev T. , Mullen K. T. , Butula K. K.
Published: February 2011

Since its introduction in the petroleum industry, hydraulic fracturing has been one of the primary engineering tools for reservoir stimulation and well productivity enhancement. Creating a conductive channel in a reservoir to increase hydrocarbon recovery is a complex operation involving a variety of aspects including geology, petrophysics, production engineering, geomechanics, and fluid mechanics. Designing a treatment to achieve the desired fracture dimensions and orientation is intimately connected with rock mechanics.

A mechanical earth model was built in support of a hydraulic fracturing treatment performed on the Achimov formation in the West Salym oil field, Western Siberia, operated by Salym Petroleum Development. This deep and laminated formation is suspected to lie above water-bearing layers, which makes its stimulation technically challenging.

The study involved various petrotechnical skills. First, the modeling of the rock mechanical properties required standard wellbore measurements and acoustic logging. The calibration of the minimum horizontal stress profile was achieved by post-closure analysis of the minifracture performed before the main fracturing treatment, and by interpretation of temperature logs. Then, the fracture growth was simulated using hydraulic fracturing software. Analysis of the main treatment was augmented with bottomhole pressure (BHP) recorded by a memory gauge installed in the wellbore. The simulated BHP could thus be compared with and matched to the measured BHP in order to calibrate the fracture model. Finally, fracture mapping by the differential cased hole sonic anisotropy technique allowed for verification of the obtained geometry and the suspected orientation. This unique combination of measurements and analyses enabled a thorough evaluation of fracture parameters that can be extended to neighboring wells.

Geomechanics modeling has proven to be an invaluable tool in the struggle to understand and predict fracture growth, as well as to optimize fracturing treatments. The accuracy of the preliminary fracture design helped to define the best solution very early. By employing the described approach, remarkable knowledge was gained on the local state of stress, which will have a positive impact on reservoir management and field development planning.
Development of a New Logging While Drilling Resistivity Tool for Slimhole Applications in Russia
Authors: Lee Jonathan , Macune Don
Published: February 2011

With the increase in slimhole wellbores ranging from 93.2 mm to 123.8 mm being drilled, specifically within Russia, comes the need for logging while drilling (LWD) technology to provide real-time formation evaluation data to better analyze the reservoir and enable improved well placement. The authors describe the development of a 79.4 mm propagation wave resistivity system designed to facilitate the low cost drilling of small, shallow boreholes using coiled tubing drilling (CTD) technology, from which an 88.9 mm system was developed to address the Russian slimhole market. The technology described is available to all service companies, including those without the internal product development capabilities who previously relied on third party equipment to provide services.

The paper details the design and development of the LWD system which provides borehole compensated resistivity measurements from three sensor spacings. A description of the environmental testing performed on the tools to verify the design, along with the results of field tests in the United States are provided.

Logs acquired during the field test show how borehole compensated resistivity measurements can be calculated and presented without the need for the transmitter antennae to be positioned symmetrically either side of the receiver antennae. This unique antenna spacing design reduces the length of the collar when compared to other resistivity offerings in the industry, potentially enabling measurements to be positioned closer to the bit.

The introduction of the LWD technology for slimhole applications, including horizontal drilling and sidetracking, which contribute a significant proportion of wells drilled within Russia, significantly increases the ability to provide formation evaluation data in real time, enabling optimal well placement within the production zone. In addition, the ability to store resistivity data in memory can potentially reduce the dependency on wireline logging after the well has been drilled.
Justification of Applying Multilateral Wells in Samotlor Field
Authors: Sunagatullin A. F. , Arzhilovskiy A. V. , Manapov T. F. , Mikheev Y. V.
Published: February 2011

In this paper the authors are providing a feasibility study of drilling multilateral wells (MLT) in Samotlor field. The main objective of MLT in Samotlor is to increase reservoir sweep and improve drilling economic effectiveness. To select priority targets a ranking was made through expert evaluation. The feasibility study was conducted for development targets based on sector dynamic models. Minimal required levels of MLT design complexity were chosen for MLT economic evaluation.

Work results allow taking a decision on the expediency of implementing MLT technology in the pilot block of Samotlor field, and also a range of additional efficiency of MLT wells versus horizontals wells (HW), depending on reservoir parameters.

The article provides a comparative analysis of HW and MLT performance efficiency. The paper includes conclusions on MLT technology efficiency, as well as MLT applicability limits for the Samotlor targets depending on reservoir parameters.

The criteria and approach used when appraising MLT can be applied to other fields.
Express Method of Oil Recovery Ratio Estimation on the Basis of Oil Reservoir Statistical Characteristics
Authors: Roschektayev A. P. , Yakasov A. V. , Krasnov V. A. , Toropov K. V.
Published: February 2011

In present work we propose a rapid method of estimation the oil recovery factor in the condition of waterflooding, depending on the well spacing. This method takes into account the statistical information on lateral and vertical heterogeneity of the reservoir according to the exploratory well and reservoir analogs data, well placement scheme, methods of well completion (vertical, horizontal bore hole, hydraulic fracture), presence of complicating factors (gas cap, aquifer).

An optimal well spacing determination is a crucial problem of the field development design. Under a small amount of well data the using of the approach based on geological and hydrodynamic modeling may be ineffective because of the model's accuracy increase due to utilizing physically meaningful models can be fully decreased by the uncertainty of the interwell area structure.

The method proposed is based on the approximate correlations built by generalizing of the numerical experiments with the hydrodynamic reservoir model results. The heterogeneity of a pay zone distribution and properties is taken into account through the geostatistical simulation. Presented method has been tested on several oil fields.
Model of Present Development in Oil & Gas R & D Block
Authors: Ismagilov A. F. , Belkina E. Yu. , Volovetskaya D. V.
Published: February 2011

The presented paper provides the analysis of international and Russian experience in organizing the Research and Design (R & D) support in oil and gas production processes, the systematized approach to management and development of Corporate oil and gas R & D institutions (referred to as R & D Co.), original methods and tools of management and development, matrix of decision making while choosing the model of R & D Co. development in oil and gas industry.

The objective to build a Comprehensive model of R & D Co. development is based upon a set of issues: Definition of industrial stage, at which the decisions of R & D Co. are finally necessary to increase the production efficiency and to decrease the risks;Definition of R & D Co. rate of influence upon the industrial parameters of oil and gas companies;Definition of approaches to organize scientific and design support in oil and gas companies (dependent and independent R & D Co.);Choice of principles in organizing corporate R & D Co. (regionally distributed, centralized, mixed);Choice of organizational set-up of R & D Co., depending on a stage of its development;Definition of pricing procedures for the services of R & D Co.;Definition of stimulation procedures for the personnel of R & D Co.;Choice of the most effective tools to manage the operation of R & D Co.

The solution of the given problem is concentrated around the development and description of separate models, each of which corresponds to an independent topic from the total number of common issues related to development of R & D Co. in oil and gas industry: Industrial model;Organizational model;Economic model;Personnel model;Resource model;Model of management.

While choosing a model of development for R & D Co. it is necessary to take the following features into account: strategy and stage of development, natural features of regional activity, technological features (presence of various competences), and complexity of performed projects R & D projects.

The given paper provides the recommendations in decision making in choosing a development model for R & D Co. in oil and gas industry depending on various factors. The practical application of results is considered at the basis of OC «ROSNEFT» operation.
Instruction Films are an Effective Component of Personnel Training System
Authors: Rogal Ilya A.
Published: February 2011

Presently, TNK-BP subsidiaries receive a great number of HSE documents (information letters, incident notifications, safety alerts, incident investigation reports, and lessons learned reports).

There are different methods used to bring information to notice of the Subsidiary's employees and contractors: Communication (issue and distribution of information letters; placing of Lessons Learned reports and presentations on servers and information stands; and safety meetings).Training: safety briefings; certification (check of personnel knowledge; seminars).Safety promotion (issue and distribution of safety alerts, brochures, multimedia presentations and instruction films).

Employees, however, have difficulties to perceive that much information in spite of ongoing safety assurance efforts.