bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of Topsides and Jacket Removal Programme for Miller Platform Decommissioning
Authors: Chan Hoi-Sang , Krachtoudi Christina , De Lorenzi Cavallari Luca , Carlile Gordon Clark
Published: April 2020

This paper presents an evaluation of the topsides and jacket removal programme for Miller Platform decommissioning, which was developed not only to fulfil the UK’s laws and regulations but also to minimise the risks in safety, environment, technical execution, society and economics associated with the removal activities. Retrospective conceptual comparative evaluations of different removal methods are presented for both topsides and jacket removals to achieve safe, effective and economical solutions. The removal methods evaluated include the piece-small removal method, the piece-large removal method with a heavy lift vessel (HLV) and a marine fleet, the piece-large removal method using a HLV with extended lift operations, and the single-piece removal method with a specialist single lift vessel (SLV). The piece-large removal method using the HLV with the extended lift operations was chosen for the Miller topsides and jacket removal. The selected removal method was the first of its kind for a large structure suspended above the waterline, with no damping effect from the water column. The Miller removal programme described in this paper was successfully delivered in summer 2018. An overview of the engineering and planning execution is given.
The Floating Production, Storage and Offloading System – Past, Present and Future
Authors: Duggal Arun , Minnebo Joerik
Published: April 2020

The paper focuses on the history of the development of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) system and its evolution to be the most adaptable and versatile of floating production systems. These facilities have been deployed in a variety of water depths and metocean conditions in almost every offshore oil producing basin in the world, with a large range of topsides throughput for both oil and gas. The paper has summarized the development of the FPSO system as a function of time, water depth, location, system, type and complexity to illustrate its adaptability to offshore producing basins worldwide. The paper also provides a brief historical description of the evolution of the system by decade, highlighting key projects and technologies and their development over the years. The paper also looks forward to the short-term future of FPSOs in the Oil and Gas industry based on trends and forecast, and the future development especially related to digitalization and carbon footprint reduction. The paper also speculates on the possible application of the system and component technologies to support alternative energy development in the future.
Automotivation: What we Can Learn from Cars
Authors: Mounir Abou-Assaad Amine , Steven Holmes John
Published: April 2020

"If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong."

Charles Kettering

Our history as an Oil & Gas industry is rife with technological firsts and innovative technologies. From the turn of the 20th century, the innovations in technology in this sector have been a driver for technology in multiple industries, from medical to aviation. Over time, the industry became reluctant to innovate in many areas since the technologies in the field were sufficient. The result has been that the Oil & Gas Industry is now falling behind other industries at introducing innovations and breaking the traditional ways of applying technology to products [13]. This is not to say that there are not some amazing new products and engineering feats coming out of different corners of our industry; or that there are not great minds still at work inventing and innovating to make our industry safer and more efficient. While most of the industry relies on custom products making each rig unique, the next big improvement in reliability and total cost of ownership will be standardized configured products.

This paper will explore case studies from other industries including the transportation industry and specifically automotive. This study will describe how those learnings can be applied to Oil & Gas (O&G) and provide specific cases in O&G new product development (NPD) that have implemented these learnings. The automotive industry has contributed methods of improved quality, just-in-time inventory, true vendor partnering and component standardization, to mention a few, to industry at large. Many of the learnings apply directly to the development of equipment for drilling rigs; but, due to the differences between a high-volume low mix market and a low-volume high mix market, some of the learnings may not apply. Through up and down cycles automotive manufacturers continue to be leaders in innovation both in their products, and the processes that bring us their products.

The paper will also take a deep dive look at the technological specifics that we as an industry can look at to enable the streamlining of our products from the design phases to manufacturing, through testing and validation and finally commissioning. The paper will examine engineering solutions that the industry can adopt and integrate into various designs. How OEM’s can leverage the competences of their very capable and willing vendors will also be examined. Specific examples of how these learnings can apply in Oil & Gas will be drawn from a recent Blow Out Preventer control system design. As technology and needs evolve, so must our approach to solving our challenges.
Condition Monitoring Without Machine or Field Data: Transforming Maintenance System Information to Measure Equipment Degradation
Authors: Pereira Paul Christopher
Published: April 2020

The objective of this study was to accurately measure the degradation of equipment indirectly (without the use of sensor or machine data). This was done in a semi-autonomous manner by leveraging the bulk data in the organization's maintenance system and its underlying metadata relationships. This study included a novel combination of two traditional techniques for asset management: The P-F curve from Condition Based Maintenance (CBM), and the "Crow – United States Army Material Systems Analysis Activity (Crow-AMSAA)". The P-F curve is a widely accepted tool to represent the degradation and eventual failure of assets. It is used to approximate the lead time to a specific failure occurring, where "P" represents the point where a failure can first be detected, and "F" represents the point where the actual functional failure occurs. Traditionally this curve is derived in a CBM system using knowledge-based or data-driven approaches that depend heavily on field sensor data. This study instead uses a statistical based method (Crow-AMSAA) to approximate the curve based on properties of maintenance record data and the intensity of data generation within the maintenance system. As theorized in previous studies, we can indeed observe changes in maintenance record properties prior to rig stoppage events (equipment failures) and approximate the P-F curve. The underlying input variable from the maintenance system was shown to be the Mean Time Between Corrective Maintenance (MTBCM), which is derived from qualitative and quantitative properties of maintenance records (work orders or jobs). When this value is visually modelled over a period of time based on the Crow-AMSAA method, a visual representation of the P-F curve can be easily identified. It was also shown as possible to determine a threshold value for taking action prior to failure. To represent this, the Crow-AMSAA output graphics were augmented with additional metadata and features that underly the maintence records. With these proper visual aids and regression techniques implemented, it is possible to identify threshold values in units of MTBCM, as well as days (unit of time), for specific assets. This allows for actions to be implemented prior to imminent failures caused by degradation growth.
Design and Analysis of Stakeholder Oriented Critical Paths for Offshore Decommissioning Projects in the United Kingdom and Australian Landscape Using Mixed Methods
Authors: Tung Aaron
Published: April 2020

Each oil and gas region have their own unique decommissioning regulations, risks, and stakeholder landscapes. For example, in the United Kingdom, commercial fishermen takes up 75% of all statutory consultees for the Decommissioning Programme (OPRED, 2019). Whereas in the Australian landscape, remote areas such as the North-West Shelf are dominated by recreational fishermen organizations (Shaw, Seares, & Newman, 2018).

One way to gain an in-depth understanding of stakeholder landscapes of the different decommissioning regions is through the development and analysis of stakeholder oriented critical paths. In this paper, the development and analysis of stakeholder oriented critical paths for the United Kingdom and Australia will be discussed to show how variation in regulatory, technical, and stakeholder environment can influence decommissioning decisions and impact decommissioning projects.

The critical paths were designed using mixed-methods – a combination of case studies and semi-structured interviews in order to take into account the interdisciplinary nature of decommissioning. One critical path design was developed for the United Kingdom and the other one for Australia. Each of the critical path design consists of two versions – a simplified and a detailed version.

Analysis of the critical paths yielded that the work breakdown structure of decommissioning remains the same across different regions. However, the difference in technical challenges, regulations, and stakeholder landscape have an effect on the philosophy, strategies, cost, and schedule of the decommissioning project. It is therefore important for operators to thoroughly understand the decommissioning landscape that they are in prior to planning decommissioning projects.
Concept Design of Floating Substation for a 200 MW Wind Farm for the Northeast U.S.
Authors: Shelley Steffen Allan , Boo Sung Youn , Kim Daejun , Luyties William H.
Published: April 2020

Floating offshore wind turbine technology, much of it developed domestically, is rapidly advancing and is in the early implementation phase, while floating substation technology is still at an early development stage. This study presents novel floating wind power substation platform designs for deepwater wind farm applications. Two types of floating substations configurations are considered to compare technical and cost performance: a semi-type "X-WindStation" and a TLP-type "TX-WindStation". The floating substation platforms are considered for a 200 MW wind farm located in 100 m (328 ft) water depth off the Northeast coast of the United States. The floating substation supports a two-deck electrical power facility that provides sufficient electrical power equipment layout area and includes temporary quarters.

Both floating substation platforms are evaluated for global performance and mooring systems (catenary for semi-type and tendon for TLP-type) with the site design metocean conditions for the extreme and survival storm seas. The results are assessed in accordance with industry standards ABS and API, and offshore engineering practices.

Capital expenditure (CAPEX) of both substation platforms for a 200 MW farm is estimated by including the electrical substation, platform hull, mooring lines, anchors, integration, installation and commissioning costs. Installed CAPEX costs of the platforms show that the semi-type substation platform cost is lower than the TLP-type cost for the case where each tendon has a dedicated anchor, whereas the cost for the TLP-type with two tendons sharing an anchor is highly comparable to, if not less than, the semi-type platform.
Predicting Hydrate Plugging Risk in Oil Dominated Systems using a Transient Hydrate Film Growth Prediction Tool
Authors: Qin Hao , Qu Anqi , Wang Yan , Zerpa Luis , Koh Carolyn , Bodnar Scot , Daly Sean , Palermo Thierry , Mateen Khalid
Published: April 2020

The formation of gas hydrates is considered a major flow assurance issue resulting from high pressure and low temperature conditions during petroleum production in deep water developments (Sloan and Koh 2007). Gas hydrates are solid crystalline compounds, which can be formed when the pressure and temperature reaches the thermodynamically stable hydrate zone. Hydrates can plug deepwater flowlines, which may lead to the rupture of flowlines and spill or leakage of oil and gas (Sloan 2010). As a result, production and economic losses may exist during operation.

illustrates the oil-dominated pipeline plugging mechanism caused by hydrates in an oil dominated pipeline. The process is fairly complex, with phenomena such as: (1) water entrainment or dispersion of water droplets in the continuous oil phase due to fluid shear and surface-active components in the oil; (2) hydrate formation, with hydrate growth at the water-oil/water-gas interface under a certain degree of thermal driving force; (3) hydrate agglomeration and deposition; (4) particle jamming and hydrate plugging. Among these mechanisms, film growth, deposition (bedding) can be categorized into hydrate deposition.

Traditionally, thermodynamic approaches are used to prevent the formation of hydrates in flowlines, including the injection of thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors (THIs), such as methanol or glycols. THIs work by shifting the hydrate phase equilibrium conditions to a lower temperature and higher pressure, which makes the condition unfavorable for hydrates to form (Sloan and Koh, 2007). However, for THIs, large amounts of chemicals are needed, which will introduce high OPEX and CAPEX (Creek, et al. 2011). Hydrate risk management methods have gained popularity, as they will largely reduce the cost. The latter more recent concept suggests that by injecting low dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHIs), including kinetic hydrate inhibitors (KHIs) and anti-agglomerants (AAs), the risk of flowline blockage can be controlled, even though the flowline may enter the hydrate stability zone. To support this concept, a comprehensive simulation tool is critical to predict the different hydrate plugging mechanisms mentioned above.
Performance of an Acoustic Sensing Array in an Energetic Tidal Channel
Authors: Raghukumar Kaustubha , Chang Grace , Spada Frank Wayne , Jones Craig Alexander
Published: April 2020

In support of environmental monitoring technologies to evaluate the acoustic impact of marine energy operations, a cost-effective compact array of acoustic sensors has been developed that characterizes, classifies, and provides accurate location information for anthropogenic and natural sounds in real time. The NoiseSpotter consists of a three-dimensional bottom-mounted array of three acoustic vector sensors cabled to a surface buoy for real-time telemetry. Each sensor measures acoustic pressure and three-dimensional particle velocity associated with the propagation of an acoustic wave.

The NoiseSpotter was deployed in an energetic tidal channel with a tidal oscillation that can approach 3 m. Performance characteristics in the presence of the resulting flow noise is quantified, and a flow noise suppression system is quantitatively shown to significantly improve performance, with flow noise suppression close to 15 dB. Performance is significantly improved when the sensors are housed in a flow noise removal shield, which provides acoustic transparency while reducing non-acoustic signal contamination. Long term durability of this flow-noise suppression shield is demonstrated using biofouling experiments. The real-time telemetry of data digests is demonstrated to allow rapid decision-making in response to measured sound intensity levels.
Offshore Field Experience with Non Chemical Oilfield Scale Prevention/Remediation Strategies in Brazil
Authors: Martins Andre Leibsohn , Castro Bruno Barbosa , Schluter Helga Elisabeth Pinheiro , Ferreira Marcus Vinicius Duarte , Achy Acbal Rucas Andrade , Pepe Iuri Muniz
Published: April 2020

Non-chemical scale prevention strategies are an important driver to reduce costs and minimize environmental impact on oilfield operations. Application interests includes both downhole and surface critical scenarios. Downhole use applies where chemical injection devices show low reliability or in the implementation of intelligent completion configurations which do not support chemical injection in the lower zones. This article summarizes both positive and non-conclusive experiences with different methods in onshore environment as a pilot for the implementation of massive offshore applications. The team tested electromagnetic and permanent magnet devices in different onshore and offshore applications, including downhole magnetic subs installed at a tubing string, surface electromagnetic/magnetic devices at production separation facilities and water and an ultrasonic assisted chemical remediation of an offshore hydrocyclonic separator. This article also discusses additional ongoing offshore tests. The use of several technology solutions employed so far showed promising results in order to enable subsea well construction employing completion designs with no downhole chemical injection.
Digital Twin for Operations - Present Applications and Future Digital Thread
Authors: Podskarbi Mat , Knezevic David J
Published: April 2020

We present a structural digital twin system based on component-based parametric reduced order modeling using Reduced Basis Finite Element Analysis (RB-FEA) framework. This enables fast, detailed, and holistic modeling of large-scale structures, such as floating and fixed production and drilling platforms, and crucially, the digital twin's parametric nature and fast solve time enables the system to be connected seamlessly with inspection and sensor data. We demonstrate RB-FEA based structural digital twins, and capabilities for connecting them to sensor data and data science methods to increase predictive power and engineering insight. We show how the digital twin is a key enabler for a Digital Thread – a data-driven architecture that links together information generated from across the product lifecycle.

Inspection data, such as thickness measurements, can be directly mapped into the structural digital twin. Sensor data, such as motion and strain can be transformed into loading data, e.g. to estimate sea-states and calculate stress and fatigue accumulation based on actual conditions, or to "tune" model parameters to match data-based measurements, such as mode shapes and frequencies. This enables continuous tracking of the asset and assessment of its current state, based on quantitative and detailed structural analysis, at any time. Ultimately the structural digital twin provides an interpretation layer for integration of monitoring and inspection data, leading to a fully automated digital thread.

We present a framework, based on a cloud-based simulation platform and Python-based scripting, to automate the workflows listed above. Digital twin provides a single source of truth about asset condition and allows data driven communication and decision taking between multiple stakeholders – operators, contractors, regulators, etc.

We will show examples of real-world applications of RB-FEA digital twin for FPSO and Jacket platforms and development work for digital thread with emphasis on data driven value creation along the entire life cycle of the asset.

The Reduced Basis FEA based structural digital twin is a key enabler of data driven digital thread in addition to sensor frameworks and data science systems. RB-FEA provides fast, parametric, and physics-based analysis providing a transparent interpretation layer for data obtained from other systems. It provides a key element allowing knowledge management along asset lifecycle – from concept to decommissioning.

High fidelity, physics based global simulations, such as RB-FEA digital twins, are a key enabler for effective digital transformation of industrial operations. They enable real-time insights into asset performance that are otherwise unattainable, providing tools for Asset Integrity Management, Risk Based Inspection, Automation and Optimization of Operations as well as enabling full digital thread enhancing Safety and CAPEX and OPEX.
A Journey of Floating Production Systems in Brazil
Authors: Padua Macio Mattoso , Goulart Maiza Pimenta , Mastrangelo Carlos Ferraz , Loureiro Rodrigo Reis , Castro Gustavo A Villela , João Leonardo Vilain , Maddalena Marco Antonio
Published: April 2020

This paper describes the history, challenges, solutions and evolution of the Floating Production Units in Brazil. The first floating unit was on stream in 1977 at Campos Basin in Brazil. It produced from a single well with a drilling riser and dry-X-tmas tree to a MODU converted into a floating production unit and exporting to a spread-moored shuttle-tanker by a floating hose. Now, more than 40 years later, over 2,400 meters of water depth at Santos Basin are moored several floating production and storage units (FPSOs). It houses over 40 thousand metric tons of complex topsides exploiting ultra-deep wells from the pre-salt prospects. Along the evolution of the FPSOs, one major stepping-stone was the implementation of lessons learned as a feedback to create a strong foundation. This paper will depict field demands and solutions adopted to deal with the differing climates and environments as well as other particularities to develop FPSOs in Brazil. To face the technological challenges to efficiently and safely produce from ultra-deep water complex pre-salt reservoirs required the consolidated use of the expertise and experience from past projects.

Initially Petrobras was well known worldwide as a Semi-Submersible company, with a unique proficiency to develop converted Semi-submersibles and other new constructions. This expertise is still present to this day, but the company has since pioneered and consolidated the use of FPSOs worldwide, leading the industry in this concept.

Petrobras led the industry effort to approve FPSO international standards, local regulations with agencies and regulatory bodies by the end of ‘80s to early ‘90s. This paper will focus on the evolution of this industry, highlighting the achievements, and address the new developments and opportunities for the future.
State-of-the-Art Development of Offshore Water Deaeration Processes Utilizing High-Purity Nitrogen for Chemical Free Oxygen Removal
Authors: Isdahl Ole Morten , Seltveit Tor Olav
Published: April 2020

Conventional deaeration of seawater for water injection use expensive chemical scavengers and heavy vacuum towers, which occupy valuable space on offshore installations. The scope of this study is to investigate, compare, and further advance the development of two state-of-the-art deaeration technologies which solve the aforementioned issues. The first method, compressorless deaeration with the use of stripping gas is a newly developed modification of an already efficient, light, compact, and worldwide implemented technology. This technology uses pure nitrogen in a regeneration loop, together with static mixers which allow oxygen mass-transfer from seawater into the gas phase. The second method utilize the same proven nitrogen regeneration loop in combination with novel membrane deaeration technology.

Advanced dynamic process simulations, combined with field data, mechanical design and process calculations are utilized to quantify process parameters and design requirements for the two technologies. The results are presented and used for discussing advantages, disadvantages, possibilities and further development needs of both the stripping gas- and membrane technology.

Results show that it is possible to further increase the robustness of the stripping gas-technology by eliminating the compressor. A clever ejector system with turn-down capabilities ensures the technology's advantage of positive operating pressure and utilizes energy from the seawater flow to compress the nitrogen. Power calculations, turn-down possibilities and oxygen removal efficiency at various operating conditions are presented. A suggested design for membrane deaeration is also presented, along with calculations and comparisons to the stripping gas technology, especially regarding flow rate capacity and the economies of scale. The main advantage of the proposed membrane technique compared to existing membrane concepts is the high-purity nitrogen regeneration loop, which offers improved mass-transfer capabilities across the membrane.

The novelty of this work the feasibility of successfully operating a compressor-less, efficient, compact deaeration system on positive pressure. Additionally, the stripping gas technology requires no chemical scavengers in order to obtain an oxygen concentration lower than 10 ppb. The membrane deaeration process can also achieve low oxygen concentrations without chemical scavengers and it is further found that the technology might be economically viable compared to stripping gas for low flow rates.
Virtual Sensors for Mooring Line Tension Monitoring
Authors: Jaiswal Vivek , Brown Aaron Austin , Yu Mengxi
Published: April 2020

Mooring line tension monitoring is required for permanently moored floating offshore platforms by some regional regulators and classification societies. This requirement is typically satisfied by installing physical sensors that directly measure the line tension. Experience shows these sensors have relatively short life compared to the platform operational life and consequently they need to be changed several times thereby increasing the operational expenses. It is also possible that changing the sensors in the field may not be feasible due to access and safety issues or it may be prohibitively expensive, which could lead to the platform operating without meeting the regulations.

This paper presents a machine learning based model, which we call ‘virtual sensor’, for predicting the mooring line tensions based on the platform’s heading, horizontal position and six-degrees-of-freedom (6-dof) rigid body motions. The model’s development and testing are demonstrated with the help of data generated through numerical simulations of a permanently moored semi-submersible. When deployed in field, the inputs to the virtual sensor would be obtained from the global position system (GPS) and accelerometers. Both the GPS and accelerometer are cheaper to install and maintain, reliable and easy to replace.

The neural network model is pre-trained using a dataset of 5000 static simulations and further fine-tuned with 48 dynamic simulation cases. Model performance on four mooring lines are presented in the study. The accuracy of the model was assessed by determining the percentage of predictions with errors within ±5% of the simulated mooring line tensions. Three of the mooring lines achieved accuracy greater than 90% and one mooring line achieved 77% accuracy. The relevant limitations of the study and future work are discussed in the paper.
You can Plan the Most Productive Well Path and Drill it, too
Authors: Hoeink Tobias , Cotrell David , Ghorpade Sachin
Published: April 2020

The significant capital investment of constructing a well, in combination with its ex ante uncertain performance, creates one of the most difficult choice sets for the exploitation of hydrocarbon reservoirs. A fundamental component is planning the well trajectory. Currently, well trajectories are planned with isolated, manual processes and numerous revisions involving geoscientists, geomechanics specialists, drilling engineers, and asset managers. The planning process can take days, weeks, or months, but even then, the truly optimal well might not be identified, because not all possible well trajectories can be evaluated by humans in reasonable time.

We present a novel, integrated method of finding the optimal wellbore path in a given reservoir that considers distributed reservoir properties such as porosity, permeability, saturation and satisfies constraints such as pipe bend curvature limits, wellbore stability considerations, anti-collision assurance, and avoids obstructions and no-go zones within the reservoir. The selection of the optimal wellbore path can be posed as a constrained optimization problem, which we solve with a novel methodology. Starting at either the wellhead or a particular survey location along an existing well, we automatically create multiple possible well path trajectories. As each path is progressively constructed, we enforce drilling constraints, wellbore stability constraints, and anti-collision constraints. Each successfully created wellbore path is scored with an objective function based on reservoir properties, e.g., the length of the well exposed to reservoir rock that exceeds thresholds on porosity, permeability and hydrocarbon content.

Early applications of this method suggest significant time savings when planning well trajectories in heterogeneous formations. We find excellent coverage of solution space for formations in a range of geological complexity, from simple reservoirs to dipping formations with strong compartmentalization due to faulting.

This approach can accelerate well trajectory planning by orders of magnitude compared to existing workflows and provide a systematic coverage of parameter space. One key benefit of this method over existing manual workflows and processes, and over other computational schemes, is the possibility of near-perfect parallelization, because each possible wellbore path is independent from any other wellbore path. In addition, the proposed solution is guaranteed to find a solution, even when the valid solution space is miniscule. Furthermore, the technique can easily consider additional constraints and can readily be expanded to include the optimal placement of multiple wells.
Digital Twin for Well Integrity with Real Time Surveillance
Authors: Anjos Jorel Lopes , Aranha Pedro Esteves , Martins André Leibsohn , Oliveira Felipe Lima , Gonçalves Clemente José , Silva Douglas Ribeiro , Dudek Cesar Luis , Lima Claudio Benevenuto
Published: April 2020

During the production phase of the PW1 well, an unintentional operation depressurized the annulus A below its design limit, causing a progressive casing collapse from the surface casing to the tubing string, resulting in a well failure and a subsequent an abandonment operation. This event was detailed in a previous publication (Campos et al., 2019). After a detailed investigation of the events that drove the well failure and using casing design software to simulate the well behavior with the historical time series data, it was possible to identify the exact moment of the casings collapse through mathematical modelling.

Based on that, considering innovation as critical success factor (Rocha, 2012), PETROBRAS started an R&D project to evaluate, in real time, critical integrity events during production phase. The approach proposed consists on the integration of a transient fluid flow model (Bonizzi, 2003) and (Bonizzi, Andreussi and Banerjee, 2009) with a structural model (AraÚjo et al., 2019) of the well and loads being calculúated in real time as a function of the production data (PDG’s, X-TREE and Topside). The process described was named as Well Integrity Surveillance (WIS) and its being designed to work 24/7 in a collaborative environment, integrating well handover information, inspections and intervention reports, production data and flow modeling.

The objective of this paper is to present the well integrity case study of a deep-water field in the Brazilian coast, through a real time digital twin approach, highlighting the main technological solutions, developed to ensure the assets operational envelope, during its lifetime.

With the well integrity surveillance digital twin, PETROBRAS successfully implemented a pilot project on three offshore production units in Brazil, increasing the knowledge of the well structural behavior and consequentially the assets operational safety during its lifetime.
Using “Digital Twin” Of Coriolis Meters For Multiphase Flow Measurement
Authors: Mahalingam Sakethraman , Arsalan Muhammad
Published: April 2020

Multiphase flow meters are often built based on one or many single-phase flow metering technologies. Following the trend, Coriolis meters are being increasingly used in upstream applications in conjunction with an independent water cut meter to measure multiphase flow. Coriolis meters are well-known for fiscal metering applications as they offer unparalleled accuracy without having to input detailed information on the fluid being metered. They offer two distinct measurements: density, and mass flow rate, which is often not possible with other metering technologies. Subsequently, under multiphase flow, the biggest problem with liquid Coriolis meters is their tendency to stall when large amounts of gas flows through them. Many manufacturers over the last 10 years have developed techniques to adjust the drive gain to enhance the ability of these meters to handle increasing amounts of gas. There have also been several developments in using advanced signal processing and machine learning methods to help the meters to self-calibrate and correct for the presence of gas. These methods range from a simple error analysis on certain raw measurements to more sophisticated "Digital Twin" based concepts to simulate the behavior of the Coriolis meter internally. The paper describes the concept of "Digital Twin" in detail and outlines the reasons for the superiority of such an approach.
A New Automated Cutting Volumes Model Enhances Drilling Efficiency
Authors: Al Rubaii Mohammed Murif , Gajbhiye Rahul N. , Alyami Abdullah S. , Glatz Gunther , Haq Bashirul , Aljohar Abdulwahab S. , AlDogail Ala S.
Published: April 2020

Cuttings concentration in annulus that are generated while drilling due to the rate of penetration have several problems if it is high and has exceeded the maximum limit. Cuttings accumulation in annulus can lead to hole problems such as lost circulation coincident, stuck pipe incidents, and slow drilling rate which still a difficult challenge once it comes to plan, design and drill wells. If a proper hole cleaning efficiency can be achieved, that ultimately will enable the drilling team to have satisfied well drilling performance. To empower hole-cleaning performance, it must be engineered. In this paper, a new real time model of cuttings concentration in annulus (CCA) enhances drilling performance that will ensure optimized improvement and avoid stuck pipe problems. Knowledge from this paper will help in modeling and monitoring cuttings concentration in annulus while drilling precisely and therefore facilitate improving ROP without jeopardizing the well drilling performance. In addition, the paper spoke about the environment impact, drilling waste management and economics and wellbore instability related to cuttings concentration in annulus.

Huge number of models, techniques, charts, chemicals, tools, methods, and designs, experimental studies and to enhance the hole cleaning, but these things are just based on theory, lack proper experimental data, not compatible with drilling scenarios and operations. Cutting Concentration in Annulus (CCA) can provide a clue or a knowledge for maximum ROP that is save and compatible with rig equipment limitations such as the knowledge about maximum amount of cuttings generated while drilling that can be transported to surface and that the shale shakers can handle without causing hole troubles. The size of hole sections (OH), ROP, flow rate of mud pump (GPM), annular Velocity, Critical velocity (Vc), Drill pipe size (OD), cuttings rise velocity (Vcr), slip cuttings velocity (Vsc) and transport ratio (TR) properties in certain hole sections were collected and analyzed first to determine the effect of them on hole cleaning and ROP performance. The data selected are from the same hole size, formation type and mud type.

The relationships between the collected properties and CCA were t evaluated to determine how strong it is and demonstrate the significance of properties on estimating CCA. CCA was monitored controlled and evaluated to be able to have improved hole cleaning performance to enhancement of the drilling operations and decrease well drilling time. This is the first time to for hole cleaning optimization to lead for ROP improvement by using real time CCA model. The developed model has been validated using field data during drilling hole sections. It has shown high drilling rate performance in the hole sections tested and helped mitigate stuck pipe incidents, increased ROP by more than 52%.
Effective Use of Real-Time Remote Monitoring System in Offshore Oil Wells Optimization, Case Study from Gulf of Suez - July Field
Authors: Sayed Raed Ahmed Fouad , Hashim Sameh Mohamed , Shahin Eman Sayed , Abd-Elmaksoud Mohamed Hammam
Published: April 2020

The objective of this paper is to show the value of using real time remote monitoring system (Automation) in offshore wells and to show a case study from Company for how we successfully used the system to detect well anomalies in real time and perform the suitable corrective action to optimize the well production and maximize well recovery with minimum man-hours.

Our company is a leading Egyptian petroleum company with + 200 oil producers on 70 offshore platform; 27 % of platforms include automation system, in platforms without automation system we detect wells problems by performing periodic site visits and check the operating parameters per well., normally it take weeks between two successive platform visits. For platforms with automation system, we install pressure sensors on WH, Manifold, and casing head and temperature sensor on WH., The data being transferred from sensors to office instantaneously, which we successfully made use of, to respond quickly to the problems and achieved maximum well recovery.

The offshore oil producer well J-100 was drilled and put on production on Nov. 2015, the well was producing naturally from the attic of the reservoir, it was a mandatory to control the production rate to keep the well producing beyond the calculated critical production rate to avoid water coning. After a while of putting the well on production, well sensors showed several successive abnormal changes in readings which had been captured in real time with the help of automation system, and with data analyzing we found the causes of each phenomena every time (like loading up, a problem in the production choke, etc.) and we succeeded to prepare the action plan, and perform the scope of work as soon as possible. Without the automation system, it would take weeks to detect the problem based on the site visits plan. However, installing the automation system will enhance the response efficiency by saving the time required for problem detection, and improving the quality, density and accuracy of well data. In addition, it will decrease the losses in production rate, and maximize the recovery by optimizing the production rate based on the field depletion plan.

In summary, this paper discussing a case study for the value of using real time remote monitoring systems in offshore fields and we used this case to highlight the need to expand the system to include more wells in our field to maximize the field recovery and add considerable benefit to the business.
Improving Drilling Geohazards Assessments of the Overburden Section by Performing Seismic Multi-Attribute Analysis
Authors: Sanchez Yosmel , Kucera Michael , Zhang Zijian
Published: April 2020

We propose a more robust procedure than the traditional 3D seismic maximum negative amplitude volume extraction analysis to improve shallow gas assessments for sites on the North Slope, Alaska. 3D seismic maximum negative amplitude volume extractions have proven unreliable for prediction of shallow gas accumulations for sites on the North Slope (e.g. Qugruk-2 and Cirque-1 wells uncontrolled fluid release to the environment, and Kookpuk #1 gas influx to the wellbore). The incorporation of seismic multi-attributes to the traditional maximum negative amplitude analysis has improved the geohazards assessment within the overburden section for more than 40 wells in the North Slope of Alaska. This study uses a publicly available 3D seismic data set to reproduce and share the procedures applied over proprietary data for identification of gas-related amplitude anomalies with a focus on an evaluation of seismic amplitudes, relative acoustic impedance, sweetness and automatic gain control. The results reveal that when multiple seismic attributes are correlated and show a consistent response, they appear to be significantly better predictors than maximum negative amplitude analysis alone or other individual attributes as revealed by reported drilling results. This study contributes an improved 3D seismic method for predicting gas accumulations within the reservoir overburden section at proposed drilling sites on the North Slope.
Stepping Through the 3D Printing Workflow for Production Part Qualification
Authors: Vasquez Mike
Published: April 2020

As more organizations incorporate additive manufacturing systems to produce production parts, it is becoming clear that successfully moving beyond prototyping requires a more advanced and thoughtful qualification strategy. To achieve the desired outcomes, organizations in the oil and gas sector now need to learn how to build a methodical and scalable system for measuring and characterizing materials, processes, and parts. This paper will discuss best practices and standards for developing and executing a successful strategy for both metals and polymers -- from benchmarking properties, to creating appropriate operating/storage instructions, to testing and then ultimately digitally tracking the lifecycle of materials throughout a production workflow.

This will include a review of industry best practices that could be used to determine accuracy, part yield, and cost efficiencies of the additive manufacturing processes. The manuscript will summarize key findings illustrating the significance of process variables within the entire additive manufacturing workflow. This includes elements of the design, material inputs, process parameters, post processing, and inspection. The critical nature of this information for building a scalable Additive Manufacturing process for production will be discussed. Additionally, the importance of ensuring the process is robust will be reviewed in the context of setting up an Additive Manufacturing facility incorporating key elements such as safety standards and operating procedures that empower teams to deliver on production requirements. Finally, a detailed framework will be presented to assist engineers in oilfield applications build a specification list for Additive Manufactured parts. The literature for quality management in the additive manufacturing is very limited in scope. This makes it difficult for organizations to assess the usefulness of the technology for their operations beyond an R&D capacity. The information provided in this paper shows the critical considerations and approaches that should be applied in oilfield applications.
Prescriptive Analytics for Real-Time Optimization of Deepwater Casing Exits
Authors: Popp Timothy , Broussard Grant
Published: April 2020

Casing exits provide operators with an additional wellbore path in which subsequent well operations may be performed. In many instances, a casing exit operation provides an operator with an economic method for accessing a known reservoir zone from an existing wellbore. This is especially true in deepwater settings, which have higher baseline costs. However, milling casing in a deepwater application is often cumbersome and unreliable. The downhole environment is complex, the nature of the formation is often unknown, and directional steering capability is ineffective in casing. Therefore, optimizing casing exits is essential to minimize costs of rig operation, especially in high-cost and high-risk deepwater settings like the Gulf of Mexico. This paper presents a real-time optimization solution using data analytics to improve casing exit efficiency, quality, and consistency. In this respect, a prescribed milling schedule is developed using advanced analytics on historical job data. Further, the use of downhole data and telemetry tools enables the collection and transmission of real-time downhole measurements. Finally, a surface acquisition system provides real-time readouts of the downhole measurements to ensure BHA parameters are optimized in real-time.

This optimization methodology was successfully employed in the Gulf of Mexico in collaboration with an operator. Using prescriptive analytics, a milling schedule was provided before a casing exit. During operation, the schedule for downhole weight-on-bit (WOB) and surface rotary speed (RPM) was followed and adjustments were made using real-time downhole measurements. The 13 5/8-in casing exit was successfully performed in a single run and resulted in a high-quality window. Vibration and window drag were minimal, and the milling time was reduced by 10% compared to the average for similar casing exits.
On the Modelling of Long Heating Cables for Electrically Trace Heated Pipe-in-Pipe ETH-PiP Systems
Authors: Jez Radoslaw , Ejma-Multanski Jakub , Vivet Romain
Published: April 2020

Active heating technologies can be applied to subsea pipelines to tackle challenging reservoir flow assurance constraints that could take place during production shut down and normal subsea field operation (i.e. hydrate, gelling, wax and/or high oil viscosity). Implementation of active heating to subsea pipelines enables i) field architecture simplification and ii) long subsea tie-backs. The Electrically Trace Heated Pipe-in-Pipe (ETH-PIP) is a standard reelable PIP system enhanced with up to 4-off trace heating cables and 2-off fiber optic (FO) cables, for temperature monitoring purposes, spiraled against the inner pipe and covered by high thermal performance insulation allowing a high thermal system efficiency. The high thermal efficiency combined with a primarily resistive electrical system makes the ETH-PIP the most energy efficient active heating technology.

Long power heating/transmission line can be described by the fundamental parameters resistance/inductance of conductor and capacitance/conductance of insulation. The analysis of the overall heating system can be assessed using three alternative models: i) the most simple and compact RL model where only total resistance and total inductance of line is included, ii) more advanced RLC model where the total capacitance of insulation is additionally included and iii) the most advanced distributed RLGC (resistance, inductance, conductance, capacitance) model where total length of line is modelled as a chain of shorter RLGC segment lengths. The accuracy of each model depends on multiple aspects such as: heating/transmission line parameters, required heating power, total length of line, mode of operation, environmental conditions, etc. The proper and careful selection of the appropriate model to ensure effective computation and results accuracy is paramount.

The paper includes the detailed description of each heating/transmission line model. Additionally, each model is illustrated on a set of theoretical examples.