bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
First Unconventional Onshore Proppant Fracturing Treatment in UAE – Not an Easy One
Authors: Pooniwala Shahvir A. , Franquet Javier A. , Onafowokan Adebayo O. , Erickson Daniel R. 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
UAE which has traditionally been an oil producing country is reassessing the nation's energy production strategy and are appraising alternate energy sources. A part of this strategy includes exploring and assessing the potential of their unconventional and tight gas reservoirs. In order produce gas at economic rates from these deep unconventional reservoirs hydraulic fracturing is a vital technology to unlock the reservoir potential and enable hydrocarbon flow to surface.
The first onshore hydraulic fracturing treatment in UAE was a challenging operation since the target formation was never successfully fractured previously. The expected breakdown pressure, insitu stresses and pore pressure regimes were unknown. A robust workflow was put into place using global and regional experience. An integrated formation evaluation was conducted during drilling and logging the vertical wellbore in order to select target zones and perforating intervals. Triaxial testing and ultrasonic measurements were conducted on core samples from the treatment well to calibrate the Geomechanical model before the hydraulic fracture treatment execution. Detailed lab testing was carried out to assist fracturing fluid and proppant selection. Multiple hydraulic fracturing simulations were conducted to define the final stimulation treatment program.
Evaluation of the target UAE unconventional gas reservoir during the drilling and evaluation phase indicated the formation possessed high static stiffness, highly laminated depositional environment, significant overpressure and high insitu horizontal stresses. These formation characteristics posed some challenges during the hydraulic fracturing design and execution. High fracturing treatment pressures and propellant based perforation charges were required to effectively breakdown the formation in order to place the proppant into the fracture during execution. The stimulated target zone showed good initial gas production post treatment execution, which met the primary objective of proving recoverable gas in place.
The hydraulic fracturing lessons learned from this first onshore unconventional well will be applied to future exploration and appraisal wells to ensure stimulation success and hydrocarbon deliverability. Unlocking the large quantity of gas from these organic rich carbonate reservoirs will play a significant role in UAE hydrocarbon production strategy.
Future for Ancient Sulphur Recovery Units SRUs at Habshan
Authors: Hassan Yasser , AlRaeesi Fatima 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Taking into consideration ADNOC's strategic areas on performance, profitability, efficiency and people, one of GASCO's focus is to optimize and improve the efficiency of the existing equipment, particularly to those of more than 20 years in operation. Among these equipment are two trains of 3-stage Claus Sulphur Recovery Units in Habshan-0 Plant, considered to be the oldest, in which a study was conducted to explore different possible upgrading options.
Units-50 and 51 are two units among eight other SRUs in Habshan Complex. These units are a 3-stage Claus SRUs in Habshan-0 Plant having a maximum recovery efficiency of around 97% and are a major source of excessive SO2 emissions.
A study was carried out to identify the units' requirement and to upgrade the recovery level to a minimum of 99.0% for future use. The study identified the required modifications (equipment, piping, instrumentation, etc.) and its impact on the existing equipment and facilities for the options considered: (1) Conversion of the third catalytic Claus stage in each SRU train to a Selective Oxidation Stage (2) Addition of a new Selective Oxidation Stage in each SRU and (3) Addition of a new Selective Oxidation Stage common for both SRU-50 & 51.
The three options were studied for revamping of SRUs-50 & 51 from Claus to SuperClaus. Several factors were considered in studying each option such as the plot space available in Habshan-0, operating capacity, complexity with respect to safeguarding and maintenance, utilities requirements inside SRU, additional equipment, required CAPEX, etc.
Due to a high CAPEX requirement, option 3 was not further evaluated and considered to be non- feasible. Options-1 and 2 were further evaluated; detailed investigation of option-1 resulted in a lower expected Sulphur Recovery Efficiency (SRE) in comparison with that of option 2, consequently it was withdrawn as it does not meet GASCO's requirement for a minimum 99.0% SRE.
Option-2 (Addition of a new Selective Oxidation Stage in each SRU) on the other hand provided the expected SRE of 99.15% (guarantee is 99.0%) Start of Run (SOR) / 98.94% (guarantee is 98.9.0%) End of Run (EOR) hence proved to be the best techno-economical feasible solution for upgrading the SRUs.
Heavy Oil Production Challenges and Solutions in North Kuwait Pilot Project Illustrated through Case Examples
Authors: Al-Marta Abduallah , Al-Basheer Yousef , Al-Mehri Mohamed , Al-Metlea Mubarak , Sierra Tomas , Ibrahim Assem M. , Fawzy Mohamed H. , Sobhy Mustafa S. 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Heavy oil production is becoming standard for the industry as demand continues to increase. The first pilot, in the South Ratqa area of North Kuwait, experienced challenges related to producing such low API production in 6 heavy oil production facilities. The manuscript will focus on the challenges faced during initial set up, solutions executed during the trial phase, and the preventive measures taken to assure smooth daily operations and production of heavy oil.
Well surveillance, field development, and field operations teams met to agree on the operation structure and the daily resources, equipment, and facility requirements to run the field. Full time surveillance resulted in a complete picture of well performance and allowed a deeper understanding of the challenges in this unique formation. The main challenges were low API production, sand production, different gas production rates, the remote location, and thermal production issues that occurred after steaming.
Sand production is a major challenge to producing as it affects pump performance and flowline and production facility operation. Producing such low API oil, especially in harsh winter temperatures, resulted in plugging the flowline and made oil shipment more difficult. In order to handle high gas production rates, relieving and flaring systems were installed. This solution positively affected the down-hole pump performance and production facility tanks. Deploying the pilot in a remote area of Kuwait resulted in delayed support, equipment, diesel, water, and power supplies required for daily operations.
Using steam as an enhanced oil recovery method resulted in solving most of the above challenges while increasing oil productivity. Based on the challenges faced, data collected, researches executed and different solutionsapplied, the objective of the pilot to understand the reservoir behavior and operational requirements have been fulfilled.
This successful pilot is the main reference for heavy oil applications and field development in Kuwait. It is the first project applied to increasing production in the South Ratqa field. After the pilot's success, an additional 28 wells were successfully deployed. Another project, with over 1,000 sucker rod pump wells, has been planned for the same field.
A New Cost Effective and Reliable Water Shutoff System: Case Study in Kuwait
Authors: Al-Ebrahim Ahmed E. , Al-Houti Naser , Al-Othman Moahmmad , Hamad Al-Mehanna , Al-Mehanna Mohammad , Mubarak Abdullah , Al-Adwani Yousef , Mahmoud Wael , Hai Liu , Panga Mohan , Lafitte Valerie , Lee Jesse 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Increased water cut represents one of the biggest challenges to the oil industry, with more than 75% of the produced fluid being water that brings an increased cost per barrel of oil through water handling, scale deposition, corrosion, and mainly the bypassed oil reserve.
Water shut off solutions range from mechanical solutions like bridge plugs to chemical treatments that include cement, resins and polymer gels. Cement applied as a plug or a squeeze treatment is often the preferred option to the operating company for isolating unwanted production intervals near the wellbore, and crosslinked polymer systems are also commonly used when deeper penetration is required. However, the success of these treatments often suffers from mixed fluid quality, zonal isolation (cementing quality), proper placement, numerous downhole conditions and more importantly backflow of unset cement slurry or immature gels while cleaning up leftover slurries in the wellbore or pulling out the work string after the treatment. In this paper, a new system based on a single nano-additive is described to shut off a water zone in a South Kuwait regional oil producer. The new system, which does not require curing but acts rapidly in porous media, addresses the concern of backflow associated with unset cement or crosslinked polymer fluids.
The objective of this treatment was to seal off the upper zone that produces mostly water, reduce overall water cut from 90% to less than 10%, and test the productivity of the lower zone. The well configuration does not allow zonal isolation without a rig, so cement and other known chemical treatments were unsuitable for this application.
Eighteen barrels of the water shut-off treatment was pumped through coiled tubing (CT) and injected into a 34 ft zone resulting in nearly immediate response through increased wellhead pressure. The injection was resumed every three to four hours to ensure a complete sealing of the target interval. The fluid starts workingupon injection into porous media but always remains as liquid phase when kept in the wellbore or surface tanks, so there is no concern about sticking or plugging the coil. The operational time was reduced compared to normal water shut off jobs, and the single additive fluid is low viscosity making surface mixing simple.
The novelty of this water shut-off system is efficient sealing of a high permeability formation with minimal fluid and achieving a drastic water cut from 90% to1%. This new system, unlike polymer-based systems, doesn't degrade with temperature, water hardness or salinity, and plugging of the porous media works by acompletely different mechanism leading to a more robust barrier against water production with reduced interventional risk.
New Insights on Coiled Tubing Acid Tunneling Stimulation in Carbonate Reservoirs
Authors: Livescu Silviu , Craig Steven 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
A coiled tubing (CT) acid tunneling stimulation technique has been successfully applied in the last 15 years on limestone and dolomite reservoirs around the world (Middle East, South East Asia, North America, South America, and Europe). Several case histories were presented in the past showing that this technique brings significant benefits over other carbonate stimulation methods in open-hole wells. In this paper, the parameters influencing the predicted and achieved tunnel lengths are discussed.
The acid tunneling technique consists of pumping hydrochloric (HCl) acid through conventional CT and a bottom-hole assembly (BHA) with jetting nozzles to create (without drilling) stable drainage holes (tunnels) out into the reservoir pay zone. The BHA also includes a special kick off tool with two pressure-activated bending joints that controls the tunnel initiation direction. The acid that is not consumed during the main tunneling process leaks into the reservoir rock creating wormholes that improve the connectivity between the reservoir and the wellbore and positively impact well production. This acid tunneling technique can create as many tunnels as required at different depths. The optimization of the tunnel initiation depth selection is made by production software simulation using such critical information as the well parameters (trajectory, size, etc.) available logs (image, resistivity, caliper, drilling), past reservoir information, etc.
The CT acid tunneling technique on carbonate wells has yielded excellent results when compared to conventional acid jetting with CT, matrix acidizing and acid fracturing. Many case histories from regions around the world were presented before (Stanley et al. 2010). However, many questions are unanswered about what actually happens downhole in terms of tunnel initiation and creation. Most importantly, a detailed discussion regarding the acid tunneling modeling software is included. The parameters influencing the predicted tunnel lengths and the parameters that could be monitored or adjusted in order to protect the CT from any damage and to smoothly create the tunnels are discussed.
The paper describes the CT acid tunneling technology and discusses some of the most important questions regarding the downhole CT acid tunneling. The acid tunneling technique performance and benefits confirmed during the recent field operations are presented.
Crevice Corrosion Effect on Alloy 625 in Untreated Seawater Environment
Authors: Al-Abbadi Sara , Aoudi Hiba , AlShouly Wael , Saeed Waled , AlSafatli Khalifa , Toubar Ashraf 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
The main objective of this paper is to present the impact of crevice corrosion not only on ordinary metals but also on highly Corrosion Resistance Alloys. The paper highlights the failure of Inconel 625 in sea water service at an elevated temperature, in addition to the recommendation for alternative metals for such service conditions.
In order to examine the influence of temperature on crevice corrosion specifically for Alloy 625 (UNS N06625) in highly chlorinated environment such as untreated seawater, an intensive study was conducted with consideration of service corrosively, material composition, operating conditions, etc. The main driver of this study was the sever crevice corrosion pitting founded at PTFE, Polytetrafluoroethylene, coated Inconel gasket seating area. The failure occurred at the inlet gas coolers containing hydrocarbons in the shell side, and sea water on the tube side for one of the new offshore facilities. The incident resulted in a leakage of the sea water at flange joints for both ends of the channel and shell side. Although Inconel 625 is the world class Corrosion Resistant Alloy (CRA) which offers superior protection from corrosion and eliminates the need for expensive maintenance and repairs, it repeatedly failed to serve as expected.
The outcome of the investigation showed a direct relationship between the potential of crevice corrosion and service temperature in the system where Alloy 625 is being used. The study results showed that crevice corrosion can aggressively attack the surfaces of Alloy 625 when the service temperature exceeds 40°C.
As an action and a way forward to resolve this problem, a higher Molybdenum (Mo) containing alloy shall be utilized for flange face repairs and for the gaskets, accordingly Alloy 686 "Hastalloy" is the recommended alloy for this application. Unlike Inconel 625 CCT, Hastalloy is known for its excellent resistance to crevice corrosion and its Critical Crevice Temperature up to 85°C.
Application of a Fuzzy Expert System to Analyze and Anticipate ESP Failure Modes
Authors: Grassian David , Bahatem Mohammed , Scott Trevor , Olsen Daniel 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) are employed in a growing number of oil and gas developments. A high level of availability of the ESPs is essential to production assurance. The purpose of this research was to develop a basic ESP fuzzy expert system and to demonstrate its application. An ESP Fuzzy Expert system can provide a consistent means to analyze ESP operational data. The analysis can be used to either predict developing failure modes or to retroactively determine the causes of a prior failures. The main steps involved in the development of the ESP fuzzy expert system are as follows: identify input variables, develop membership functions, develop rule sets and develop output functions.
Input variables representing slopes were mapped to membership functions denoted by linguistic terms such as "increasing", "constant", and "decreasing". The input variables are also assigned a member value to indicate the Degree of Fulfilment (DOF) of the individual premise. The Degrees of Fulfilment (DOF) of all the premises are then combined to determine the overall DOF of the rules (Adesanwo et al. 2016), with each rule representing a distinct failure mode.
To validate the system, operational data from an offshore oil and gas field located in the Gulf of Thailand was collected and analyzed using the prototype ESP Fuzzy Expert System. This dataset consisted of nine ESP systems selected from a pool of more than 100 ESPs installed in the field. The nine ESP systems were composed of four ESP pumps which were running smoothly and five ESP systems that eventually failed. For the failed ESPs the operational data leading up to the failure was analyzed. Trends were analyzed for periods of 7 days, 30 days and 60 days for each ESP system.
Meeting ADNOC CoP CO & SO2 Emission Limits, at What Cost? Case Study
Authors: Nagwani Dheeraj , Hassan Yasser 
Published: November 2017

Abstract

Objective / Scope
Over the past several decades, ADNOC has adopted increasingly strict clean air regulations. ADNOC Code of Practice (CoP) stipulates that the Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions limits from Sulphur Recovery Units (SRU) (categorized as material producing industry) is restricted to 2000 mg/Nm3 (700 ppmv) and 500 mg/Nm3 (400 ppmv) respectively.
GASCO Habshan plant existing SRUs are not designed to meet the current ADNOC CoP emissions requirements.
This paper explores all possible options for SO2 and CO emission reduction from Habshan complex SRUs along with cost associated with each option.

Methods/Procedure
Habshan Complex SRU's Licensors (B&V and Jacobs) and an independent third party consultant were approached to identify the all possible options for SO2 and CO emission reduction.

Results, Observations and Conclusions
Sulphur Recovery Efficiency (SRE) of above 99.5% is required to achieve SO2 emission of 2000 mg/Nm3 (700 ppmv). This can be achieved only by installation of either Amine based TGTU or Caustic Scrubbing Unit. Estimated Capital Cost for installation of such units is approx. US$ 230 MM for all the SRU's in Habshan i.e. U-52/53/54/57/58/59/152/153 (except U-50/51). Also, as sulphur recovery efficiency increases, the energy required to remove each additional kilogram of sulphur escalates. As energy consumption increases, so too do CO2 emissions, which is an undesirable outcome.
Similarly, CO emission levels can be achieved by 1) Operating the incinerator at higher temperature or 2) by Installation of hydrogenation reactor upstream of incinerator for tail gas treatment or 3) by Incinerator modification/replacement.
Operating Incinerator at higher temperature will lead to increase in fuel gas consumption and consequently increased CO2 release from stack. Estimated increase in operating cost for incinerator operation at Higher Temperature is approx. US$ 3 MM/yr (at current capacity).
Installation of Hydrogenation rector will incur significant capital cost. Estimated Capital Cost for installation of hydrogenation reactor is approx. US$ 45 MM for all the SRU's in Habshan i.e. U-52/53/54/57/58/59/152/153 (except U-50/51).
Incinerator modification / replacement will cost approx. US$ 4-5 MM for each incinerator.
While endeavoring for lower SO2 and CO emissions may be beneficial from environmental point of view, it does not come free of cost. In fact, it comes with substantial increase in cost.
This paper explores all possible options for SO2 and CO emission reduction from Habshan complex SRUs along with cost associated with each option. It also investigates energy consumption and associated CO2 footprint with each option.
Integrity of LNG Flare Systems
Authors: Sabry Houssam 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
ADGAS is a leading LNG producer. It is the pioneer LNG supplier in the region. LNG trains are operated since 1977. Through those years of experience, ADGAS has been following a stringent Asset Integrity Management System for all its plants. Among these plants are the flare and relief systems. Flare systems are considered safety critical. Maintaining the integrity of these systems is a challenge. This paper shares ADGAS best practices in maintaining the asset integrity of these plants. The paper also highlights the latest development in the area of flare systems inspection and shares same case histories.
The world of Asset Integrity Management has advanced over the few decades to a great deal. Inspection has progressed from being time based to condition based then to being Risk Based. ADGAS Asset Integrity Management has passed through all these developments. For instance inspection of flare systems and plants was first time based. Then based on the performance of some of its plant systems it became condition based. Afterwards more optimization was added and it became Risk based. Technology has also advanced across the years, for instance, flare tips replacement was a strictly time based program. Then became condition based, then now we can inspect the flare tips systems online using special Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAV's). This enabled ADGAS to truly optimize on maintenance and replacements of the flare tips. These examples will be shared in the paper. Furthermore at few instances failure of some flare systems provided great experience to avoid recurrence, flashback case, flare piping systems ageing and repair are all cases that are to be shared in the presentation.
Utilization of latest inspection technology, latest repair technology and monitoring enabled ADGAS to optimise its inspection and maintenance costs. The last savings on flare systems maintenance were estimated at a value of USD MM 3.5. Some old flow control measures were proven to possible create problems, for example restriction orifices to control the flow of purge gas can get blocked if not maintained. Restriction orifices can be changed for other means of control to avoid possible restriction of purge gas flow which is essential for the integrity of flare systems.
Latest UAV inspection technology has added towards the inspection and maintenance of flare systems. Utilization of more advanced monitoring and flow control of flare purge gases is of high importance. Usage of novel techniques in piping repair represented an important aspect in optimizing the maintenance cost of flare systems.