bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Optimization of Offshore Pipeline Routing Using DTM & FEA Tools
Authors: Singh Devinder , Selvam Rajendran , Qambar Najem A. , Shebli Adnan Al , Bufalah Salah Jebara , Ismail Jawed , Panambur Sandeep 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Pipeline routing being one of the crucial activities of pipeline design, significantly affects almost every other aspect of the design process. Seabed terrain at many locations in Arabian Peninsula and other parts of the world is revealed to be rough & undulating which sometimes presents a significant challenge in routing the pipeline. The common challenges for pipeline routing on the rough seabed terrain can be identified and evaluated using the advanced tools at early stage of the design to select an optimized route.
Figure 1 depicts the examples of pipeline routing on the rough seabed.
Figure 1 Examples of Digital Terrain Models showing a Typical Pipeline Route over a Rough Seabed
Intent of presenting this paper is to showcase the design process followed to identify the key challenges involved in the routing of offshore pipeline on a rough & undulating seabed terrain and the methodology adopted to successfully overcome / mitigate them while achieving an optimized result in terms of most techno-economically feasible route. In addition, new technique based on least geocost path is briefly touched upon for its future application.
ESP Data Analytics: Predicting Failures for Improved Production Performance
Authors: Abdelaziz Mohannad , Lastra Rafael , Xiao J. J. 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Failures of Electric Submersible Pumps (ESPs) are common occurrences in the oil industry. The random nature of these failures results in production disruption that amounts to hundreds of millions of barrels of lost or deferred oil production annually. Although important improvements have been made in the last fifteen years on ESP sensors, data collection and communications systems, the industry still lacks a system that can provide ESP health condition monitoring with the capability to accurately predict impending ESP failures. The intent of this study was to evaluate the value of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as a tool to detect developing ESP failures and predict remaining operating time before failure.
Complete historical data of five ESP installations was used. For each installation, a stable region was selected to construct a PCA-based model, which was later used to find projections for the whole data set on the principal component axes. Different techniques were used to correlate projected data with the original data and to draw the conclusions of the study.
The analysis showed that PCA data scattered away from the origin before the occurrence of each of the failures. But a more powerful observation was that PCA projections showed distinctive data clusters representing subtle changes in the system that are not apparent by directly examining the actual measured parameters.
This study concluded that PCA has potential to be used as a tool to identify dynamic changes in the ESP system and therefore to detect developing ESP problems. PCA can also be used as unsupervised Machine Learning (ML) technique to identify hidden patterns and as an essential pre-processing technique for other ML algorithms. PCA can be used as the foundation for the development of better tools for detection of developing ESP failures and prediction remaining ESP run time.
A Novel Efficient Solution to Isolate Cross Communicating Reservoirs and Delay Water Advance without Impacting Well's Workover/Drilling Duration: Case Studies from Giant Offshore Field in Abu Dhabi
Authors: Elfeky Mohamed Helmy , Al-Neaimi Ahmed , Yousef Omar , Al-Hosani Ibrahim , Iwama Hiroki , Farhan Salman , Seoud Abouel , Channa Zohaib , Khemissa Hocine , Khan Muhammad Navaid 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Facing a well control issue while drilling multi reservoirs with different reservoir pressure is very common in oil field worldwide, each and every engineer who is involved in the operations is dealing with this issue on daily basis. However, if the unexpected high pressure is observed while drilling a matured reservoir with known pressure, it is always a challenge to identify the source of the problem and to define the efficient remedial action plan, without compromising the well deliverables.
The case study presented in this paper is related to a workover of a well in a giant offshore field in Abu Dhabi, where abnormally high pressure encountered while drilling the reservoir section with little amount of flow into the wellbore. Identifying the source of discrepancy and to establish the mitigate plan without impacting Well's Workover/Drilling duration was a serious challenge. What made the situation more complicated was the high risk of water in the heel section of 6" horizontal drain, which was prone to shorten the well life significantly.
This paper will introduce an efficient novel solution to use 4 ½" casing liner in a certain configuration, consisting of the mechanical and the Swellable packers to cure the cross communicating reservoirs (source of abnormal high pressure); and isolate the risky heel section of the well, to extend well life without impacting the planned well duration.
This work will also describe the process of identifying the source of pressure, selecting the most suitable well completion strategy to meet the well objectives successfully. Moreover, it will also shed some light on the need of using reservoir simulation technique to assess different well completion options. Finally, the paper will be concluded with methodology on how to save time and cost whilst changing plans to cope with the unforeseen issues.
Innovative Approach to Save Plant and People
Authors: Subramaniam K. , Sharma A. M. , Awadhi I. Al , Mashjari K. Al 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Hydrocarbons and Acid gases flares are common in Oil and gas processing plants. Main flame extinguishment is encountered as major concern in these flares due to the inability to re-ignite the main flame through pilots. This can result in serious HSE concern by release of toxic (H2S) and hazardous hydrocarbon into environment, causing harm to people and surrounding. This paper presents the approach followed in flare system design which will enhance reliability of flare system for safe plant operation.
Main issues in flares such as main flame extinguishment, failure of pilot, damage and burn of pilot, failure of thermocouples and blockage of pilot gas lines / fire ball lines were studied. All past inspection reports were reviewed to identify failure mechanism. Further aerial survey report were also reviewed. As flare pilots are exposed to severe operating temperature and service conditions, detail metallurgical study was performed to understand high temperature sulphidation corrosion. As existing flare were with old design, new technologies were explored and gap in current flare design were identified.
Material review concluded that existing Inconel material will prematurely fail in high temperature acidic environment. Hence new pilot assembly and flare tip of SS310S material were installed. To further enhance service life, Pilots were ceramic coated and thickness of pilot /FFG pipe were increased. Wind proof pilot design with weather hood and integral thermowell in single cast assembly were used to minimize welding. This approach avoided weld failures in the Pilot which have been observed earlier. Flare tip are provided with wind shields to minimize impact due to flame impingement which damages the Pilot Assembly. Instead of existing single ignition and monitoring system, Dual Ignition through High Energy ignition and FFG & dual monitoring System using ionization rod and thermocouple are provided to ensure availability in the event of a primary system failure.
Above new design improvements were successfully implemented in two of the existing flares. Continuous monitoring of the improvements confirmed reliable performance with no flare system failure in past 1.5 years. This will reduce cost by almost 50% due to decreased maintenance and increased life span. Further, it will optimize shutdowns and increase major maintenance cycles from 2 to 5 years.
Conventional approach of like to like replacement of flare system in case of failure do not address the issue and can affect people, plant and environment. However, implementation of the design improvements based on above approach will not only ensure reliable and safe plant operation but also reduce maintenance cost.
Journey of Developing the Transition Zone for a Giant Carbonate Reservoir from Subsurface Modeling to Execution – Case Study
Authors: Gazar Ashraf Lotfy , Alklih Mohamad Yousef , Al-Shabibi Tariq Ali , Latief Agus Izudin , Fauzi Tengku Mohd , Syofyan Syofvas , Hashimura Tadashi 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
This work presents a case study of developing the transition zone for a giant oil reservoir with significant gas cap and water aquifer, in Abu Dhabi-UAE, addressing geological and dynamic aspects, field development approach and present status. The reservoir lies within a relatively low relief heterogeneous carbonate structural trap and characterized by lateral and vertical variations in reservoir rock and fluid properties. Given the relatively low permeability of the mentioned reservoir, the transition zone contains a significant STOIIP; which called for this challenging development.
A number of parameters were addressed and optimized as part of the transition zone development plan. The dynamic modeling suggests that a full field ultimate recovery of 70% can be achieved by developing the transition zone. However, considering the complexity of the reservoir, thickness of the transition zone and current market conditions, the field development would be economically viable for a period of 50 years under miscible hydrocarbon WAG, provided the most effective development strategy in terms of the definition of transition zone, optimization of the number, location, orientation and horizontal reach of the proposed wells. Various development strategies for the transition zone were investigated during the study considering all possible uncertainties and economic drivers, all of which are discussed in details in this paper.
12 years of early production scheme (EPS, 1993 to 2005) and 12 years of phase-I development helped better understand the reservoir and characterize the transition zone. Total of +150 wells penetrated the reservoir with good data gathering (ROS, Core, SCAL, PVT, MDTs…etc.). PVT studies indicate a wide range of compositional variation areal and vertical, which further complicates the development plan considering the surrounding sensitive environment.
The transition zone is defined by rock types and the corresponding critical saturation. The amount of recoverable oil in the transition zone is depending on the distribution of oil saturation as a function of depth and the relationship between initial and residual oil saturation in the transition zone.
The reservoir is under EOR (Miscible HC GI at crest and WAG at flank) since commissioning of phase-I in 2005 and tracers were injected in 2012; adding challenges to the history matching and tracking of the flood front. Given the limitation on surface handling capacity of the current facilities, the transition zone development called for well placement in the upper part of the transition zone using 6 months WAG cycles. The first well of the transition zone development has been drilled; which has positively validated the definition of the transition zone, built confidence on the subsurface modeling approach and commended the planning strategy.
Comparison of Erosion Resistance of Iron Carbonate Protective Layer with Calcium Carbonate Particles Versus Sand
Authors: Nassef Anass S. , Banazadeh-Neishabouri Nafiseh , Keller Michael W. , Roberts Kenneth P. , Rybicki Edmund F. , Iski Erin V. , Shirazi Siamack A. 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
In oil and gas production, solid particles can be entrained in the produced fluid. While sand is widely considered as the most common source of solid particles, calcium carbonate particles can also be entrained in the flow, especially in carbonate formations. These entrained solid particlescan erode steel pipe surfaces and protective corrosion products, such as iron carbonate (FeCO3) scale that forms on the steel surface as a result ofthe CO2 corrosion process. The removal of protective layers can lead to high corrosion rates. Extensive research has previously been conducted to study the effect of sand erosion on removing protective iron carbonate scales. However, little is known about the erosion resistance of iron carbonate scale for calcium carbonate particles. The goal of the research presented in this paper is to study the erosion resistance of iron carbonate scale when eroded by calcium carbonate particles, and compare this erosion behavior with scale eroded by sand. Additionally, this research reports data and modeling that describe under what conditions removal of iron carbonate scale and the resulting erosion-corrosion are anticipated by solid particles such as sand or calcium carbonate.
Results, for the conditions considered in this study, show that CaCO3 particles can cause considerable damage to iron carbonate scale leading to severe corrosion. For these conditions, sand was found to be more erosive than CaCO3 particles. Results from the erosion model developed in this study showed good agreement with current and previous experimental data.
First Successful Application of Ceramic Sand Screen in Maturing Oil Field, Offshore East Malaysia
Authors: Sidek Sulaiman , Hui Lian Kellen Goh , Ching Yap Bee , Trjangganung Kukuh , Madon Bahrom , Yusop Zainuddin , Gundemoni Bhargava Ram , Jackson Richard , Barth Peter 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
This paper will present the first successful application of ceramic sand screen in Malaysia. Oil production from the field has a long history beginning with the first production in 1972. A great number of sand control methods have been tested and applied in the field. Production history has showed instances of sand production contributed by factors such as in-situ stress changes, increase in water production and cascading effect from production operation activities.
A few wells completed with primary sand control equipment have failed and remedial action by metallic through tubing sand screen experiencing rapid wear, forcing the operator to control sand production by beaning down the wells and closely monitoring sand production at surface overtime. Worse still, some of the wells had to be closed-in. Hence ceramic sand screen was considered as remedial sand control due to its superior durability and resistance compared to metallic sand screen.
This paper incorporates sand retention tests conducted using actual core samples to customize the slot opening/size, impact test conducted using actual ceramic sand screen assemblies in a training well to look closely at the installation mode and tool assemblies, newly-developedinstallationand well unloading procedure as guidance for offshore personnel and actual field result of the wells installed with the ceramic sand screen.
Through tubing remedial sand control using ceramic sand screen has successfully revived the idle wells back to production at a lower total cost, oil gain beyond the initial target and higher Return OfInvestment (ROI). It has proven to be a great new technique which enables the effective sand control in highly erosive environment and would openup bigger opportunities to unleash locked-in potential of wells with sand production problem throughout PETRONAS’ operation.
Value of LEAN Mentality with Trailer Mounted Well Test Unit in the Sultanate of Oman
Authors: Castiblanco Rafael 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
LEAN originated with Toyota in Japan as a means of driving efficiency across the value chain by making often small-scale changes and has since been further refined into a system used by businesses across the world aiming to do more for less. PDO first piloted the LEAN approach in 2009 and has since rolled it out across all aspects of the business, streamlining work procedures, reducing bureaucracy, eradicating inefficiency, avoiding duplication of activities and eliminating waste.
To facilitate the adoption of the LEAN culture, PDO developed a training program for the workforce. Relevant training courses such as LEAN Basics, LEAN Manager and LEAN Practitioner were launched. Most of the company received LEAN Basics training. Managers attended the LEAN Manager course, while selected candidates that had an identified high value LEAN project that could be implemented, attended the LEAN Practitioner course.
The training courses reached all levels of the company facilitating implementation of the LEAN projects, but most importantly, the upskill of the workforce empowered them to actively look for ideas on how to work in a LEAN way. In addition to the main LEAN projects that required a certified LEAN practitioner for implementation, PDO encouraged people to come forward with LEAN ideas through a Continuous Improvement platform. Some of the Continuous Improvement ideas could be very easily implemented by the same people that came up with the idea while others would require involvement from higher management for implementation.
The Continuous Improvement ideas are tracked by department. The cost saving and/or time liberation of each idea is recorded and monitored monthly, which has helped make it visible to all levels of the organization how everyone can contribute in a very critical time of the Oil and Gas industry.
This paper describes the step change in operating costs for Well Testing Operations by adoption of the LEAN way of thinking in the Well Engineering department of PDO in the Sultanate of Oman.
Optimizing Data Acquisition and Data Utilization to Maximize the Value of Reservoir Surveillance: Case Studies
Authors: Zhao Wenyang , Al-Neaimi Ahmed Khalifa , Saif Omar Yousef , Murad Ahmed Mohamed 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Data acquisition is one of the most critical parts to a sound reservoir management across the whole petroleum industry history. There are more challenges in brown fields, especially offshore fields. With the pace of moving to digital oil field (DOF), more surveillance equipment and methods are becoming available. Hence oil recovery could be improved with more accurate reservoir management. Maximizing the utilization of testing equipment and acquired data are becoming more fundamental than ever.
This paper presents two field cases from one of the biggest offshore fields. The first case is to maximize the value of available testing equipment through optimizing data acquisition plans. The second case shows a trial of maximizing utilization of the acquired data.
As one of the steps moving toward digital oil field, MultiPhase Flow Meter (MPFM) has been installed for more frequent flow tests. In addition to normal flow tests, this paper presents a new role for MPFM, which is to identify communication between strings in dual-string wells. Communication between strings is a high potential risk in this giant offshore field, because majority of the wells are dual strings. Wells with communication between strings have been identified during routine flow tests with no extra cost. In order to assure the feasibility of this approach, conventional communication test through downhole pressure measurement has been performed. Using MPFM to do communication test can save a considerable amount of expenditure comparing to the conventional method. Early actions can also be ensured to avoid reservoir cross-flow. Besides, the volume of communication can also be measured, which could help decide the optimum rate and optimize back allocation.
The flow test results are fundamental data for reservoir management and field development. The widely used results are the fluid flow rates. However, the value of temperature data was not fully revealed. The paper presents an empirical correlation derived from measurements. The empirical correlations between WHFT (Well Head Flow Temperature) and flow rate have been generated for each oil production string based on flow test data. The high quality correlations have been utilized to optimize back allocation with conditions. The value of the empirical correlation is more prominent when there are unseen obstructions in the production system. The temperature data in daily operation also indicates abnormal well performance (e.g. DHSV malfunction, scale deposition). Early actions can be planned and taken to avoid further production loss and improve operation efficiency.
The two field cases in such a brown field happened in a pre-DOF age, which also shed light on the bright future of digital oil field and better reservoir management.
Assessment of Formation Damage Potential of Novel Drilling Fluids via Integration of Fluid Loss Data with Filter Cake Quality and Filtrate Core Penetration Depth from NMR and MRI
Authors: Vryzas Zisis , Matenoglou Grigorios , Kelessidis Vassilios C. 
Published: November 2017

Abstract
Appropriate drilling fluid additives which can build effective filter cakes are key components to minimize formation damage. Today there exists no effective and quantitative technique which can assess the formation damage minimization potential of any novel drilling fluid. This study provides the methodology for such a technique, by integrating HP/HT fluid loss data, derived from standard API HP/HT filter press, with filter cake quality and filtrate penetration depth, derived by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques.
Novel nano-based drilling fluidwas made of de-ionized water, 7 wt% commercial Na-bentonite, and addition of custom made iron oxide (CM Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NP) at 0.5 wt%. Its excellent filtration characteristics were determined at elevated pressures and temperatures using a HP/HT filter press (500 psi/350°F) with ceramic discs, mimicking the formation, as filter media of k=775 mD. NMR T2 relaxation time measurements provided the pore size distribution of the ceramic discs, and a newly developed MRI technique by our team allowed direct visualization on the core-ceramic disc of the produced filter cake and filtrate penetration depth, providing insights on filtration characteristics.
Addition of 0.5 wt% Fe3O4 NP resulted in a decrease of fluid loss by 47% compared to that obtained from the base fluid (BF) without the nanoparticles. The excellent filtration characteristics were attributed to the synergistic interaction of NP with bentonite platelets producing a strong microstructure network leading to rigid and very low permeability filter cakes. Spin-spin relaxation time (T2) NMR measurements revealed different pore size distribution of the nano-enhanced drilling fluid showing its tendency to occupy the smallest pores of the filter medium (ceramic disc). MRI T2 measurements revealed the saturation profiles of the drilling fluids inside the ceramic discs, in 3-D space. This allowed the visual representation of the penetration depth of the filtrate produced in the ceramic discs of the different tested drilling fluids.
Our integrated characterization approach, gives us tools to analyze inter-particle interactions in the filter cakes at HP/HT conditions in order to explain the significant improvement in fluid loss performance of novel drilling fluids. The information gained in this study is considered to be extremely significant for deriving an effective methodology for assessing formation damage potential of any newly developed drilling fluid which can lead to more efficient and cost-effective drilling activities.