bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Simulation of Single Well Chemical Tracer Tests Conducted in Carbonate Reservoir
Authors: Al-Mutairi Fahad , Tiwari Sanhita , Baroon Bodoor , AlAbdullah Mohammad , Pathak Ashok , Gammiero Alexis 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Successful implementations of Single Well Chemical Tracer (SWCT) Tests have opened up new opportunities for reserves growth in North Kuwait reservoirs with water flood and with use of Enhanced Oil Recovery methods (EOR). Series of SWCT Tests have been carried out with water flood and ASP (Alkaline Surfactant Polymer) as a part of the EOR project in Sabiriyah Mauddud (SAMA) reservoir to evaluate the efficiency of chemical EOR agent (ASP) in reducing the residual oil saturation. SAMA reservoir is very heterogeneous carbonate reservoir and results of SWCT tests reflect the reservoir complexity of SAMA. Produced tracer profiles do no show a sharp identifiable peak as seen in case of tests conducted in sandstone reservoir. Though these tests provided valuable information about residual oil saturation with water flood (Sorw) and residual oil saturation with ASP injection (Sorc), a need was felt to model these tests to have a better understanding of the controlling parameters affecting tracer concentration production profile. The SWCTT modeling will also help in reducing the impact of uncertainties in future planned tests.
Two single well models have been built using STARS simulator of CMG to simulate four SWCT tests conducted in two wells. This is considered as the first simulation study of SWCT tests conducted in North Kuwait Asset, KOC. Detailed sensitivity analysis has been carried out to match Tracers concentration profiles using (i) Single porosity and single permeability model, (ii) Dual porosity dual permeability model and (iii) Drift model. In addition to that, various history match parameters of dispersion, diffusion and dispersivity have been tried to get a reasonable match.
First, major emphasis was given to material balance tracer (IPA) and cover tracer (NPA) profiles during history match because these tracer profiles are not affected by reaction rate and there are no signs of dilution or drift effect observed. The perfect match in material balance tracer indicates that reservoir characterization of the model is good. After that, reactive and product tracers were matched using different magnitudes of Dispersivity and Reaction rate.
The paper brings out the findings of simulation studies performed and discusses the main controlling parameters affecting tracer concentration profiles during SWCT tests in such heterogeneous carbonate reservoir.
Implementation of Formation Pressure While Drilling for Cost Optimization and Efficient Operations in Complex Structural Geology Field: A Case Study From the UAE
Authors: Haggag Mostafa , Thakur Parmanand , Hammadi Djelloul , Edris Adib , Al Arfi SAIF , Akhtar Muhammad Javid , Molua Sammy , Qleibo Meretta 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe field under study is an elongated NE-SW faulted anticline which has a main axis length of around 25 km and a width of approximately 6km located onshore UAE. The main hydrocarbon accumulations occur in the Lower Cretaceous-Thamama Group. This group is comprised of a series of carbonate reservoirs with well-developed porosity, but low to moderate permeability.This paper discusses the implementation of acquiring Formation Pressure While-Drilling (FPWD) applied for better understanding and mitigating the geological structure uncertainties. The results were used to obtain accurate reservoir pressure measurements while drilling horizontal wells that intersected multiple fault blocks.Formation pressure measurements acquired while drilling (FPWD) have numerous applications including mud weight optimization to reduce drilling risk, control well placement in pay zones to maximize reservoir contact (MRC), and for better reservoir management by evaluating the connectivity between different fault blocks.This paper will discuss the theory and the operational sequences of the FPWD tool as well as the results of some case studies in the implementation of the FPWD runs in an onshore Abu Dhabi carbonate field.
Sprint to the Finish Line: Value of Agile Methodology in Digital Oilfields
Authors: Saied Imran 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Agile methodology (Agile) has become a revolutionary tool that continues to help IT companies today develop innovative products that are rated high in quality and customer satisfaction. The Agile model has proved successful in reducing defects, delivering valuable results quickly, and encouraging collaboration among teams. This paper will discuss some of the basic concepts of Agile to show the value of its application in digital oilfield projects.
The Agile methodology is based on concepts that have been extensively used in the software industry. Complete principles defined in The Agile Manifesto will be discussed in detail along with the different Agile methods and processes that are typically used in some IT companies today. This paper will also strive to provide details that will help readers relate the concepts of Agile methodology to the digital oilfield processes present today. This will help organizations that are implementing digital oilfields to decide whether Agile can help make their processes run more efficiently.
The Agile model is defined by a set of 12 principles that is readily available in a document called, The Agile Manifesto. Agile concepts, such as: Sprint, Scrum, Iterative Planning sessions, User stories, Backlogs, and other practices, will be defined to provide a clearer understanding as to how the Agile process works. Along with these concepts, the Agile process will also be illustrated and detailed in order to give the reader an understanding of how a product goes through a typical Agile workflow from beginning to end. With the current shift of utilizing IT technologies to support and develop digital oilfield operations, Agile concepts will be increasingly important as it encourages constant collaboration and interaction among teams over processes and tools, figuring out responses to change over simply "following a plan", and giving importance to working results over presenting documents in meetings.
The novelty of the Agile methodology is to provide a possible solution to making IT processes more efficient and value-driven in the petroleum industry, especially in the area of digital oilfields, as it aims to increase collaboration among team members and deliver high quality results quickly.
A Novel Technique for Reducing Uncertainties in Static Reservoir Modeling and Development Infill Well Placement
Authors: Mahmoud Salah El 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
The objective of this study is to find out a novel way of overcoming uncertainties associated with successfully locating best sites for drilling infill development wells. These uncertainties are usually associated with the non-uniqueness of responses from such petrophysical properties as porosity, permeability, and water saturation created through the static reservoir modeling process, leading, in many cases, to misleading allocation of proposed infill well locations.
In order to achieve this objective, a normalized combined super-property, composed of selected petrophysical properties, was created. This new property was calibrated using certain scalar factors that were given to each property in order to bring the real distribution and weightage of each of the component properties into effect.
The main observation from the present study is that the novel combined super-property has proven to give more realistic and accurate allocation of proposed infill well sites. This observation was documented through practical validation of negative (wet) wells, giving misleading positive responses from conventional petrophysical properties, while giving correct accurate negative response, and vice versa, using the novel combined super-property. Incorporating this novel technique into the high-resolution stratigraphic model resulted in maximizing property distribution accuracy per reservoir layer. More accurate prediction of lateral and vertical distribution of reservoir facies and petrophysical properties in three dimensions was then achieved and resulted in outlining a number of new well locations based on this technique.
The value of this novel technique lies in significantly reducing the risk of drilling negative boreholes based on static reservoir models. This is because each individual value of a property, such as water saturation, can be the result of a multitude of factors, including natural factors and/or data acquisition, processing, & interpretation pitfalls, therefore, not necessarily indicating presence of hydrocarbons. The present study reduces non-uniqueness of each individual property response using the scaled combined super-property.
A Comprehensive Review of Corrosion and its Inhibition in the Oil and Gas Industry
Authors: Amani Mahmood , Hjeij Dawood 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Corrosion is defined as the gradual degradation of materials as a result of reaction with their environment, and corrosion inhibition is the systematic procedure of preventing or treating the effects of corrosion on metals. Due to the continued growth in hydrocarbon demand, operators in the oil and gas industry are always looking to drill deeper wells in order to access previously unattainable hydrocarbons. High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT) wells are now broadly present in places like the Gulf of Mexico, the North Sea, and the Middle East. These extreme conditions bring new challenges for corrosion inhibition. This paper is a review of corrosion encountered in the oil and gas industry, its cost and impact, the mechanisms/types of corrosion faced, and the current methods used to minimize, control, and monitor corrosion.
Advanced Geophysical Techniques to Optimize Microseismic Imaging of Hydraulic Fractures in Saudi Arabian Unconventional Resources
Authors: Ghamdi Yasser , Al-Hawi Maan , Al-Hashem Hisham 
Published: October 2015

SUMMARY
Successful production from unconventional reservoirs requires expensive hydraulic fracturing operations that are not only costly but pose environmental and health risks if not managed properly. Optimized use of microseismic imaging is essential to control the hydraulic fracture operation, to minimize any possible environmental hazards introduced by fracturing, and to achieve cost efficiency.
An integrated workflow that incorporates advanced geophysical techniques is presented in this paper to enhance microseismic imaging of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional resources in Saudi Arabia. The use of surface seismic attributes is suggested to primarily minimize location uncertainties of microseismic events; whether downhole or surface receivers arrays were used. Secondly, coherence and edge attributes are used to highlight faults and seismic-scale fractures in seismic volumes, knowledge of which may favorably infer the "geomechanical" maximum horizontal stress direction; hence the main direction of fluid flow within targeted sediments and a preliminary conception of hydraulically induced fractures' direction of propagation. Moreover, knowledge of fault networks in reservoirs is vital to pinpoint potential barriers that may impact the growth of fractures, and their likely geometries.
Seismic attributes are combined with acoustic impedance inversion volumes, Vp/Vs and Poisson ratios to further enhance inferences to hydrocarbon bearing, and sediment brittleness. These methods can be used collectively to optimize multi-staged hydraulic fracturing of unconventional reservoirs, which will eventually lead to limiting stimulation to only selected "producible" sweet spots, thus minimizing the required number of "fracking" stages and associated environmental and financial concerns. These methods should also drive the use of more economic stimulation solutions using low-proppant, high-flow-rate, and water based treatments (Gale, et. al., 2007).
Challenges in Contractor Financed, Built, Owned & Operated Oil & Gas Processing Facilities in Kuwait
Authors: Alam Maqsood , Al-Ghawas Mamoon 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
This paper presents authors upfront experiences on challenges faced by contractors in Kuwait in the project segment dealing with fast track oil and gas processing facilities designed, built, financed, operated and maintained by contractors.
Discovery of New Jurassic Reservoir and drilling of the Sabriya Structure (SA-153) prompted Kuwait Oil Company ("KOC") to have a fast track test plant as an Early Production Facility to process (18 MMCFD gas & 5 MBOPD crude oil). This was a contractor financed, built and operated facility commissioned in 2003 and had 3 years of operations. Encouraged by expedient project implementation and a short gestation period, KOC employed similar contracts for several crude oil and gas processing facilities of larger scale. In these contracts, during the 1st phase contractor finances project investments, builds and commissions facility, and in the 2nd phase contractor operates facility and earns revenue. All investments, incurred costs and financial gains are recouped through revenues spread over operations phase. After the end of contract, owner has an option to extend operation phase for an agreed period, or purchase facility, or discontinue.
Implementation of contractor financed, built and operated facilities in Kuwait abounds in challenges and has validated that financing can be key to success of such projects particularly in today's financial markets which is very volatile and operates under a cautious atmosphere. KOC's experience underlines that before implementing a new project it is important that contractors conduct a comprehensive appraisal of project, accurately ascertains costs, evaluate and address all risks, have in place a financing arrangement to cover all costs, inflations and contingencies and assurance of return through revenue. Corporate finance normally used for traditional EPC contracts, sustained by progress payment from owners, can be used for such projects to some extent if level of investment is low. With increase in projects cost and quantum of investment, corporate financing has fallen short to meet needs of such projects and project financing has emerged as the preferred alternative. Project finance is a method of raising long-term debt financing for major projects through "financial engineering," based on lending against the cash flow generated by the project alone; it depends on a detailed evaluation of a project's construction, operating and revenue risks, and their allocation between lenders and contractor /project sponsor through contractual and other arrangements.
Pore System Characterization of a Low Permeability Reservoir and its Related Development and Production Issues: A Case Study from Ratawi Limestone, Umm Gudair Field, Kuwait
Authors: Dutta Dipankar , Al-Muraikhi Haifa Rashed , Tiwary Asheshwar , Tiwari Brajesh Kumar , Abdul-Aziz Wejdan Jassem , Bardapukar Vilas , Al-Anezi Sawsan Nayef 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Ratawi Limestone is a fairly low permeability reservoir in the Umm Gudair field of Kuwait. Production history shows low liquid rate and fast pressure depletion around the wellbore. To understand the causatives for flow restriction, this study captures systematically different pore types, their relationship, distribution, connectivity and their impact on reservoir fluid flow behavior. It is observed that pores are not related to any depositional surface and are rather formed due to mesogenetic corrosion of highly micritized, tight carbonate rock bodies. Primary pores are almost completely destroyed during the process of shallow burial diagenesis. Separate vug pores are both fabric as well as nonfabric selective type and are the main contributor of pore volume within an overall pervasive (micritic) matrix pore dominated system of wackestone and packstone. Five porefacies are created on the basis of capillarity within a wider range of pore throat size variation. Type 1 is represented by macropores, Type 2 and 5 are mesopore and rests are micropore dominated. Each porefacies is assigned a linear equation on core calibrated porosity- permeability transform. The resultant permeability shows about 20% less value compared to permeabilities of corresponding intergranular Lucia class 2 pore type. This gap is specially pronounced within the reservoir rocks with high porosity and intermediate permeability values. Seven years of production history of this reservoir shows low rate of production with rapid pressure depletion around wellbore within a few months of production. Logical option to improve production is to increase the reservoir contact using horizontal multilaterals along with reduced well spacing and aggressive pressure support through water injection.
Improving Cold Heavy Oil Development at Peace River with the Understanding of Foamy-Oil Dynamics
Authors: Shen Chonghui , Hamm Mark L. , Bdair Mohammad 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Cold heavy oil production (CHOP) exploits the mechanism of enhanced solution gas (or foamy-oil) drive to achieve an economic oil rate and ultimate recovery. Understanding the foamy-oil dynamics and being able to simulate the process enable us to evaluate the cold production potential more realistically. This has led to the improved cold heavy oil recovery in Shell Canada's Cliffdale development in Peace River area.
A recently developed foamy-oil dynamic model has been employed to evaluate the effects of well spacing and patterns on oil recovery. The results revealed that under the foamy-oil drive, the oil recovery improves as the well spacing decreases, because of decreasing well spacing leads to faster reservoir pressure depletion and stronger foamy-oil drive. In contrast, with a conventional black-oil model, the estimated ultimate oil recovery stays constant irrespective of the well spacing, and the only benefits of down spacing would be the production acceleration.
The benefits of capturing foamy oil dynamics for the evaluation of CHOP development has been demonstrated with an example of a high level economic screening approach for the search of optimal well spacing and the number of laterals. The evolution of typical well spacing and the number of well laterals with time in the Peace River CHOP development has resulted from both the ever-increasing field operation experience and the improved understanding of foamy-oil drive dynamics.
Mitigating Water Recycling in a Heterogeneous Carbonate Reservoir
Authors: Majhi Somnath , Al-Otaibi Basel , Al-Omair Shahad , AlAbdullah Mohammad Bader 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Water injection is the most commonly used method for pressure maintenance in depletion drive reservoirs worldwide and there are numerous examples where the recovery has been enhanced significantly. However early breakthrough of injected water due to high permeability zones or thief zones mostly in heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs causes water recycling resulting in poor volumetric sweep and in turn adversely affects the oil recovery from the reservoir. A judicious mixture of proper reservoir management and development strategy may reduce the water recycling to a significant level.
Sabiriyah Mauddud is a giant carbonate reservoir in North Kuwait and has been under production since last 57 years. Historical performance indicated very little aquifer support for the reservoir with no water production. A water flood pilot was initiated in 1997 when the reservoir had produced only 1% of its oil in place and pressure declined from its initial value of 3700 psi to the level of 2600 psi. Currently, the reservoir is under water flood with inverted 9 spot patterns in the crestal part and peripheral injection mainly in the western flank area. The water cut has gone up to the level of 42% after only low current oil recovery. High water cut is attributed to poor sweep efficiency due to preferential movement of water from conventional injector to producer through high permeability streaks/thief zones in the crestal area.
As short term measure, a conformance plan to shut off the water contributing layers was prepared and has been introduced in the wells worked over during the period. Simulation run shows reduction in water cut by 5% by adopting the conformance plan. The new development strategy formulated for the field is to inject low and produce high from the reservoir and shifting the focus from crestal to peripheral injection. All the producers are planned to be completed with inflow control device to control the water production through the wells.
The recently drilled producers are showing positive results and it is expected that the measures taken will help to maximize the benefits of water injection. The learning and the water flooding experience gained will be a valuable input for other reservoirs under water flooding.
A Study on Bicarbonate Production by Boiler's Flue Gases CO2 Condensation for Algae Culturing and Biofuels Production
Authors: Mohamed Essam Kabbary , Hassouna Salah El-Din 
Published: October 2015

Abstract
Reduction of green house gases (GHGs) emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum products and natural gas is a big Challenge. Especially, CO2 due to its role in global climate change. Industrial boilers are considered to be one of the largest stationary sources of CO2 emissions in oil and gas (O&G) industries(J.C.M. Pires.et al., 2012). These emissions from boiler's stack represent the highest ratio of the boiler losses because of the heat carried out by hot combustion products (nitrogen, carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide and excess oxygen). The high amount of energy wasted by dry flue gases depends on the amount of water vapor loss. The amount of wasted energy depends on final boiler exhaust temperature and mainly the hydrogen content of the fuel which ranges from 4 to 11%, depending on the type of fuel.One potential way to reduce this emission is to capture, transport and store CO2 either in geologic or oceanic formations. In addition, storage of CO2 in geologic formations could lead to new environmental issues such as threat of CO2 leakage, or potential contamination of ground water(Dennis Y.C.Leunga.et al., 2014). Biomitigation is an ideal and sustainable alternative solution for CO2 capture and recycle (CCR) by using microalgae. Using algae, as a source of biofuels offers many advantages over traditional biofuel crops including the potential to be grown on the marginal land, use of water sources which is not suitable for agriculture because algae can tolerate high salt content. Meanwhile, they sustain high growth rates, and relatively high lipid content. In fact, using captured CO2 to grow microalgae is limited by the high cost of CO2 capture technologies and utilization(Liam Brennan.et al.,2010). Moreover, algae grow poorly at night, as CO2 cannot be temporarily stored until sunrise. Therefore, the condensation of CO2 from flue gasses in the form of bicarbonate (HCO-3) solution would provide a superior alternative for CO2 delivery as feedstock for algae culture system (Van Den Hende et al., 2012.)Furthermore, it reduces CO2 emissions significantly up to 80%, and reduces the use of fossil fuels by improving the efficiency of boilers. In addition, transport and storage of the aqueous bicarbonate solution costs less than for that of compressed CO2.