Management of Production Operations at the Akal C Complex in the Cantarell Field
Authors: Zapotitla Jorge Sandoval , Castro Jesús Cruz , Angel Francisco Montes 
Published: October 2008

Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is undertaking a major upgrade and expansion of the Cantarell oil field in the Gulf of Mexico in order to increase the reserves, increase crude oil production, utilize all the gas by adding sufficient compression and process capacity, and modernize the existing facilities to improve operational safety and efficiency.

Managing the operation of the sixth largest oil reservoir in the world, while conducting this major upgrade and increasing production, has required extraordinary managerial capability. This article describes the management of the Akal C production operations.

Included is an overview of the scope of operations conducted at Akal C to extract and treat the oil and gas, along with a description of the managerial organization methodology and work processes. Oil production, gas production, and maintenance activities are described.

Introduction to Pemex and Cantarell

Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is one of the five largest oilproducing companies in the world considering oil reserves and the ability to extract and refine oil and gas. Pemex is an entity of the national government of Mexico with responsibility for exploration, exploitation, refining, transport, and distribution of raw and refined oil and natural gas.

The Pemex Exploración Y Producción (PEP) Region Marina Noreste is responsible for the long-term maximization of assets in the Progreso and Bay of Campeche, including three major oil fields: Cantarell, Ku-Maloob-Zaap, and Ek-Balam. As of January 2000, Region Marina Noreste employed approximately 2,500 onshore workers and 3,100 offshore workers.

The Region Marina Noreste covers 166,000 square kilometers (km2) (see Figure 1: Location of Cantarell Oil Field) with over 20,525 million barrels equivalent in hydrocarbons reserves. The exploitation of seven fields of heavy crude and three fields of light crude, including 205 production wells and 1,700 kilometers (km) of pipelines, allows PEP currently to produce approximately 1.4 million barrels per day (mbpd) of crude oil and approximately 680 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of natural gas.

The Cantarell field is Region Marina Noreste's most important asset, representing 25 percent of Mexico's total reserves and 37 percent of Mexico's hydrocarbon production. Approximately 1,860 technical and administrative workers support production at Cantarell, including 1,530 onshore and 330 offshore. The administrative organization of Activo Cantarell is shown in Figure 2: PEP Cantarell Management Organization.

Cantarell field is the sixth largest oil reservoir in the world, producing approximately 1,400 mbpd of oil and 540 mmscf/d of gas from four fields: Akal, Nohoch, Kutz, and Chac. A fifth field, Sihil, was recently discovered.

The oil and gas is processed on four production complexes: Akal C, Akal J, Akal N, and Nohoch A. Within the Cantarell field, the Akal C complex is the largest, both in its oil and gas production and in the number of workers. This technical paper describes the organization and management of oil and gas production at Akal C.