Genesis Development Project - Overview
Authors: Young W. Scott , May B. Craig , Varnado Billy R. 
Published: October 2008

GENESIS is the first deepwater development to utilize a spar configured for full drilling and production capabilities. This paper will provide an overview of the development including background, scope, organizational approach, project management tools utilized, and results achieved. This paper should be of interest to those involved with deepwater developments in general, and specifically those considering the application of the spar concept.

Introduction

The Genesis Project was conceived and executed to develop an oilfield also known as Green Canyon 205. It covers a three block unit made up of Blocks 205, 160, and 161 located 150 miles south of New Orleans, Louisiana (Fig 1). Genesis is a joint venture development among Chevron U.S.A. Production Company, the operators, holding a 56.67% interest, Exxon Company U.S.A. (38.38%) and Petro Fina Delaware, Inc. (4.95%).

The Genesis spar facility represents the world's first application of a spar for the combined services of full drilling and full production processing. The purpose designed and fabricated riser systems also represent first of a kind applications.

While this paper is intended to provide an overview of the Genesis Project, further details on specific subjects can be found in the companion papers listed in the Reference Section.

Historical Background and Concept Selection

The Green Canyon 205 field was discovered in 1988 with the 205 #1 well drilled by then-owners Tenneco and Exxon. Chevron acquired Tenneco's interest in 1989 along with other Gulf of Mexico properties. A team was assembled in 1990 to look at development options, however, the design basis reflected industry experience of shallow water reservoirs with large numbers of relatively low-productivity wells. During the evaluation, the reserve estimate was reduced when the 205 #2 well encountered wet sands and significantly reduced the aerial extent of the reservoirs. The combination of high well count and lower reserves yielded an economically marginal project resulting in activities being suspended.

In 1993, a new multi-discipline team was formed to evaluate asset development and disposition options. The team created development concepts that balanced hydrocarbon recovery with the limitations of the various facilities. In this way, the team was able to study concepts ranging from a fivewell remote subsea development to a large twenty-four well tension-leg platform with surface trees. Data from 3-D seismic, cores, electric logs and well tests was incorporated into a complete geologic model. A reservoir simulation model was created to assess the performance of the different development concepts. The technical feasibility of each concept was evaluated. Production forecasts and cost estimates covering a wide range of outcomes were combined to yield expected value economics. By the end of 1994, the field had been delineated with four wells and eight reservoir penetrations, as well as two 3-D seismic surveys. The field was found to have multiple sands and numerous faults, requiring over 25 take points in some scenarios. Oil samples showed risk of paraffin, therefore, surface intervention was an important consideration in final concept selection.