E&P Notes (January 2016)
Authors: Jacobs Trent , Boschee Pam , Rassenfoss Stephen 
Published: December 2016

E&P Notes

Saudi Aramco Moving Forward on Unconventionals

Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer

With the world’s fifth-largest estimated shale gas reserves, there is great potential for Saudi Arabia to replicate North America’s unconventional growth. Saudi Aramco’s unconventional program became operational in 2013 and the company has been working with major service companies, including Halliburton and Schlumberger, to develop the reserves.

The primary driver is the country’s pressing need to find new supplies of gas to replace the domestically produced crude oil used to generate most of its electric needs, demand that can reach as high as 900,000 B/D in summer. Another major aim is to use unconventional gas to bolster the country’s growing petrochemical industry.

Enhancing Sand Strength for Fracturing Applications

Pam Boschee, Senior Manager, Magazines

Sustaining the fast economic growth in Saudi Arabia requires a ramp up of the gas supply. A strategic objective of Saudi Aramco is exploring and developing deep and unconventional gas reservoirs, many of which are considered extremely tight. These formations need hydraulic fracturing to allow the hydrocarbons to be efficiently produced. Unlike in North America, the infrastructure to commoditize the drilling and production processes is immature in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, many cost-reduction measures have to be exhausted, especially on materials. Proppant is the main material used in fracturing and, therefore, reducing its cost affects greatly the economics of any fracturing operation.

Although the country has abundant natural sand resources, the strength of the sand is insufficient to withstand closure stress in most of the gas reservoirs. New technology can enhance the local sand strength to make it deployable in deep formations with closure stress greater than 10,000 psi.

Competing Companies Building Robots to Place Receivers

Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

Autonomous Robotics’ first offering is built around a rounded yellow device that looks like a little flying saucer. It is more of a seismic saucer because it is designed by the UK startup to “fly” from a drop-off point in the water to a designated spot on the seabed, where it will record seismic data until it is ordered to return.

The company was one of two firms displaying flying nodes under development at the recent Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) annual meeting in New Orleans. The other was Seabed Geosolutions, which has been working with Saudi Aramco since 2012 to develop a flying node called Spice Rack.

Flow Sensor Technology Seeks to Replace the Coriolis Meter

Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer

Australian technology developer MezurX is touting its newly introduced flow, density, and mud monitoring system as a significantly better alternative to the widely used Coriolis meter. Using an advanced set of sensors, the X-Omega provides real-time information that can be used on rigs for early kick detection and managed pressure drilling (MPD).

Bruce Henderson, president and CEO of MezurX, claims the technology involves “a completely different way of measuring density and flow” while offering more reliability and a smaller footprint than Coriolis-based systems.

And despite the current price environment, Henderson said several service companies and offshore operators are showing interest in the X-Omega system and work has already been awarded. “It’s an interesting time for us,” he said. “I think that during a downturn in the industry, new technology is always attractive to keep costs down and make things more efficient.