bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Surface-Controlled Digital Intelligent Gas Lift Valve Technology Deployed in North American Unconventional Producing Wells. Lessons Learned After Field Trials and the Path Ahead
Authors: Suarez S. A. , Shaw J. , Bastardo R. , Patterson G. 
Published: October 2023

Objectives/Scope
Several wells have now recently been completed with a novel digital intelligent surface-controlled gas lift technology with the goal of assessing their performance and their feasibility as an artificial lift solution for producing unconventional wells. These installs mark the first ever successful installations of this technology in North America land. As of recent years, gas lift has started to gain ground as the artificial lift option of choice for the operators in many Unconventional basins and the goal of this research aims to provide the complete details of the lessons learned during these projects and lay the ground for scaling-up in the near future.

Methods, Procedures, Process
The research followed closely actual field trial installations of Surface-controlled intelligent gas lift systems that were installed in the Bakken and Permian Basins with the premise of testing its performance prior to larger deployments. The totality of the field trials featured multiple digital intelligent gas lift mandrels that carry pressure and temperature gauges and electrical-actuated valves controlled from surface through a tubing encapsulated line. This can ensure that the optimum gas injection rate can be selected to achieve the maximum production throughout the life of the well over time as Bottom Hole Pressure declines, without the need for wireline intervention to change out a valve, which is required with conventional gas lift. Tailored well designs applications were done to each well candidate with the purpose to evaluate their behavior and agreed-upon KPI's during the trial period. A project closing document was produced for each well which details all the learnings the team was able to gather from real life testing and experience.

Results, Observations, Conclusions
In these applications, the surface-controlled intelligent gas lift system presents an opportunity for a data driven approach to ensure the optimum gas injection rate is achieved through surface operation and downhole multi-port functionality. While paving the way to other areas where the concept could prove useful as well. We present field unloading procedures, optimization options and well performance enhancements with the newly available data that was able to be gathered. Operational and design improvements were successfully implemented by the team and the operator from the documented lessons.

Novel/Additive Information
First wells successfully installed in the Unconventional plays in the US, proving that the technology can become a nice fit in the operator's toolbox when dealing with rapid changing conditions and steep declines in production rates coupled with higher Gas Liquid Ratios such as unconventional reservoirs.
Lessons Learned and Best Practices from Multiphase Flowmeters Implementations
Authors: Benlizidia Imed , Saeed Mubarak M 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Several E&P companies capitalize on the capabilities of multiphase flowmeters (MPFMs) and strategically use them as part of their digital transformation requirements. Different types of MPFM technologies have been implemented, operated and utilized for various wells operating conditions. This paper is intended to share the experience gained and the knowledge acquired during MPFM units’ deployments and use.
The approach is a result of extensive engagements with this technology across various stages from setting the requirements for appropriate MPFM technologies honoring large spectrum of field and wells operational conditions and production strategies, screening stages of potential metering techniques, flow loop testing in controlled environment, actual field implementations, approval of technologies for respective applications, and the implantation of adequate maintenance and training programs. Although, every stage is standalone and requires special attention and expertise, every stage complements the other stages and requires full comprehension of the whole ecosystems including but not limited to reservoir and production engineering and facilities and IT infrastructures.
Results have indicated that there are no "one-size-fits-all" multiphase flow metering technology. These technologies do vary in their capabilities, limitations, operational and installation costs, maintenance and best practices to ensure their continuous reliabilities and to meet operators’ expectations (NFOGM Handbook for multiphase metering 2005). In certain applications, the implementation requirements can be simple and inexpensive, yet it can be very complex and relatively costly in other applications. Possessing the necessary knowledge of the nature of the field, production strategies, operational constraints and deep understanding of the technology and its limitations can facilitate effective operation of these technologies to achieve maximum value for the entire asset.
This paper is based on implementation of different MPFM units across various operational oil and gas fields for almost two decades. It shall be used as educational resource for both operators and technology providers and persuader to all stakeholders to extend their collaboration to identify potential improvement opportunities in the existing systems and business models.
Nanobubbles Enhanced Flotation of Oily Produced Water at Large Natural Gas Platform
Authors: Colic M 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
During petroleum extraction at offshore platforms a large amount of so called "produced water" with emulsified oil is created. This manuscript will summarize our efforts from science behind centrifugal nanobubbles enhanced microbubbles flotation to results of the pilot studies on removal of emulsified oil from produced water. Full – scale installation of treatment system at large natural gas platform will then be briefly described. Flotation Systems need treatment chemicals, coagulants, and flocculants for the best oil removal efficiencies. The synergistic application of nanobubbles enhanced flotation with treatment chemicals will be described.
Improved Estimation of Net Pay and Gas to Oil Ratio Using Intuition AI with Limited PVT Data
Authors: Chakraborty R. N. , Elshahawi H. , Raghorte M. , Malik M. , Hanson S. A. , Samano L. , Dasgupta S. 
Published: October 2023

Summary
Efforts have been ongoing for decades to extract valuable reservoir insights by interpreting the mud-gas logging data in combination with drilling and other petrophysical parameters. Unlike dedicated wireline operations, mudlogging data are readily available during drilling, and if reliable, they can provide an alternate method for assessing fluid properties such as Gas-Oil Ratio (GOR) and reservoir quality indicators such as net pay thus reducing the need for costly wireline operations especially in situations resulting from high pressure, high temperature, wellbore instability, tar, low pay or high angle wells, where wireline operations can be difficult or too expensive to justify. Conventional mud gas interpretation techniques are mostly based on empirical cut-offs and formulae, and unless tuned very locally, these will generally produce unreliable and inaccurate results compared to the pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) measurements. There have been attempts to use machine learning (ML) models to improve accuracy, but these have also had limited success due to the limited size and range of data that is generally available for model training. Such models have inherent difficulty catering to the broad range of fluid property distributions that exist in nature.
Intuition artificial intelligence (AI) is a novel causation AI methodology that iterates experts’ hypotheses and creates a scientific fabric to model system behavior. It has the ability to interpret complex changes in the state of a system by converging multiple views and eliminating hard-to-detect situational fluctuations. Intuition AI was applied to enhance the mudlogging-based reservoir characterization, with highly encouraging results. Importantly, it is able to do so with limited data sets. In our case, based on the data processed from 5 wells containing 15 pay clusters, the estimation of GOR and net pay using intuition AI fell within the 10% deviation range when compared with the ground truth, the PVT results.
An Explainable Artificial Intelligence Model for Top of Cement Identification
Authors: Hou Tianjun , Jan Aymeric , Snovida Zoriana , Blyth Matthew 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
An explainable deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) model has been designed for instantaneous identification of the top of cement (TOC). Identifying TOC is a critical part for evaluating a well cementing operation and detecting unexpected fluid loss, cement contamination, hole enlargement, etc. The model's results are compared with TOC determined by human interpreter via manual review of acoustic waveform data - a time and resource-intensive interpretation technique, highly dependent on individual expertise.
In the AI model described, attention layers are applied to the neural network architecture. When the model outputs the TOC, these layers highlight the zone of interest on the waveform data. This zone indicates the area given higher weight by the model when making its interpretation; it is in effect, the "explanation" given by the model. Thus, the model simultaneously supplies the answer and indicates how it arrived at the answer. Reliability of results can be verified by comparing the zone of interest chosen manually by experts versus the model's selection. Experiments have confirmed a good match between the two.
The AI model was tested on 33 cementing job data collected from field. 26 jobs were used for training and 7 for testing. On the 7 testing jobs, experiment showed an average difference of just 4.7 ft between the TOC manually determined by human interpreters and the model's estimate. It outperforms the neural network architectures without applying attention layers, like CNN and UNET, proving the effectiveness of the attention layers in improving AI model accuracy. The experiment also demonstrated the increased efficiency and reduced cost of TOC identification achieved with the new technique, as it takes at maximum only 3 seconds for determining the TOC for each job. In addition, the zone of interest selected by the model highlights the range where the acoustic waveform changes abruptly along the depth dimension in each job, corresponding to the human interpreters’ cognitive process when determining the TOC. As reported by experts, the showing of the zone of interest makes the model and the results trustworthy, as the "explanation" is reasonable.
The proposed model shed light on making industrial deep learning neural networks explainable. Although neural networks were proposed decades ago, because of their black box nature their implementation is limited in the energy industry, where poor engineering or commercial decisions can have severe financial or HSE consequences. Explainable AI models enable users to understand how AI makes interpretations, whether results are reliable, and when they should take manual control of the AI system.
A Hands-on Introductory Course to Increase Interest in the Petroleum Engineering Workforce: A Case Study
Authors: Enab K. A. , Elmasry Y. O. , Nath F. , Khasawneh M. T. , Pena J. D. 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
This study highlights the benefits of a four-day hands-on course on recruitment of high school students for petroleum engineering programs. This course sought to inform students of different areas in the oil and gas sector, highlight the importance of petroleum engineering in today's efforts toward energy sustainability, and stimulate their interest in petroleum engineering as a potential career direction. The first three days of the course lasted four hours, and the final day lasted two hours. The first day outlined the course's activities, the history of petroleum engineering, reasons for considering petroleum engineering as a career choice, and the available STEM scholarships students can use to support their college studies. The second and third day covered technical content and their application in group based hands-on experimental activities. The fourth day covered the remaining technical content and their application, in addition to a general summary of what was learned throughout the course. Twenty-six students participated in the course, of which 95% were of Hispanic origin and 27% were female. The course, via a pre- and post-survey analysis, proved successful in increasing awareness and interest in petroleum engineering at a critical point when students are trying to determine what career to pursue. Moreover, the results reflect the effectiveness of the course in leveraging their understanding of the oil and gas sector and its importance for future energy sustainability. This course represents a potentially viable approach to bridge STEM education and workforce needs in the U.S oil and gas sector. What follows in this paper is a detailed outline of the course, and its results, for easy replication and future research. The novelty of this study is the use of a pre- and post-survey evaluation method on a course that provides an overview of the three aspects of petroleum engineering.
A Practical Production Solution for Multilateral Horizontal Well in Natural Gas Hydrate: Superposition Principle and Reciprocity
Authors: Ma Tianbi , Chu Hongyang , Li Jiawei , Zhang Jingxuan , Gao Yubao , Zhu Weiyao , Lee W. John 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Due to high energy density, clean combustion products and abundant resources, natural gas hydrates (NGHs) have been regarded as an important clean energy source with the potential for large-scale development and utilization. However, pilot tests in NGHs show that their production rates are far below commercial needs. Multilateral well technology may lead to a solution to this problem because it can dramatically expand the drainage area of production wells. This paper presents a practical production model for multilateral horizontal wells in NGHs. In developing our solution to the diffusivity equation to model this process, we applied the superposition principle and reciprocity. We wrote the governing equation in cylindrical coordinates to describe the natural gas hydrate flow process. We used moving boundaries and dissociation coefficients to model the solid-to-gas transition process in hydrates. We used Laplace transforms and the Stehfest numerical inversion method to obtain solutions for flow in hydrate reservoirs. We applied the superposition principle and Gaussian elimination to obtain the desired solution for multilateral horizontal wells. We validated our proposed model with a commercial numerical simulator. We also performed sensitivity analyses to determine the effects on production behavior of the number of branches, dissociation coefficient, radius of the region with dissociated hydrate, and dispersion ratio. We used properties from the Nankai Trough as inputs in a case study we conducted.
A Novel Method to Measure the Phase Behavior of Black Oils: Saturation Pressure and Liquid-Vapor Fractions
Authors: Ahitan S. , Abedini A. , Latorre T. , Wanat E. , Li Z. , Velasquez M. , Alboudwarej H. , Burger J. , Ungar F. , Yang T. 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Building a robust PVT model critically relies on accurate phase behavior data which has been traditionally obtained using PVT cells. While the PVT cell can provide accurate data, it requires a large volume of downhole or recombined samples which are usually expensive to collect. A novel microfluidic chip design and method is presented in this work to rapidly measure bubble point and liquid-vapor volume fractions of black oil systems at multiple pressures and temperatures. The chip was initially charged with a representative single-phase live oil at a reservoir temperature. Afterward, the pressure was lowered to subsequent pressure steps to measure the saturation pressure, and liquid and vapor volumes. The waiting time at each pressure step was adjusted to ensure that the equilibrium condition was achieved. The aforementioned procedure was performed at multiple temperatures to measure corresponding saturation pressures and L-V fractions, ultimately generating a partial phase envelope of the test oil sample. The measurements were conducted for various oil samples with a wide range of API gravity. The high-resolution optical access along with an in-house developed automated image analysis algorithm were used to detect the saturation pressures and quantify the L-V fractions. The saturation pressures for each of the tested crude oils were compared with those obtained from conventional Constant Composition Expansion method, showing a tight agreement between the data (i.e., within less than 5% deviation). The measured microfluidic L-V fractions of each sample are also in strong agreement with those obtained by conventional methods, where available. Given the very small volume of oil sample, easier control on operating parameters, and faster run-time and analysis time required for this microfluidic approach, the phase envelope of a testing oil can be determined in a day. The microfluidic platform developed in this work can be an alternative approach to some of the conventional PVT tests with an order of magnitude higher lab throughput. This makes PVT data accessible by reducing cost, and sample size requirements, and potentially moves the energy industry to a data-on-demand model. With a much smaller physical size inherent to microfluidic devices, this platform can be deployed to operations sites, alleviating the sample handling and shipment challenges that industry currently struggles with.
Limitations and Fallacies of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Impact on Oil and Gas Production
Authors: Farouq Ali S. M. , Soliman Mohamed Y. 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) euphoria is turning the oil and gas operations upside down, without having any perceptible impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) that continues to increase. It is intended to show that the current CCS regimen has serious technical and fiscal constraints, and questionable validity. Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization (CCUS) is also discussed briefly.
There is ample data to show that the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is unrelentingly increasing, and the annual global CCS is about 0.1% of the 40 billion tonnes emitted. As much as 30% of the carbon dioxide captured is injected/re-injected into oil reservoirs for oil production and is not CCS at all. Several CCS methods are being tested, and some are implemented in dedicated plants in the world. A number of impediments to CO2 capture are identified and limited remedies are offered. It is shown that the problem is so gigantic and has so many dimensions that limited solutions have little efficacy. For example, about one-half of the world's population lives at less than $5 a day and has no recourse to CCS technologies.
Major facets of the CCS problem are: (1) Validity of the future atmospheric CO2 concentrations based on the 100+ climate models for global warming. This is not the main discussion but is touched upon. (2) Impact of the desired CO2 concentrations on coal, oil, and gas production. (3) Principal CCS methodologies, including Direct Air Capture. (4) CCS vis-à-vis carbon tax, carbon credits, and carbon trading. (5) CCS subsidies – Is CSS workable without subsidies? At this time, No. The current tax credits for CCUS do not make sense. Finally, attention is given to CCS on a world scale – showing that so long as the great disparities in the living standards exist, CCS cannot be achieved to any significant level. All of the above is seen against the backdrop of oil and gas production and achieving Net Zero.
It is shown that globally CCS has not increased beyond ∼0.1% of the global CO2 emissions in the past 20 years. The problem is that in CCS, there is injection only, no production! The paper offers partial solutions and concludes that oil and gas will continue to be energy sources far beyond the foreseeable future, and oil companies will accomplish the needed CSS.
Increase of CO2 Storage in High-Salinity Carbonate Reservoirs by Foam Injection
Authors: Pang Jieqiong , Mohanty Kishore 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Oil and gas reservoirs are being considered for CO2 storage for reducing greenhouse gas emission from industrial activities. CO2 flooding in carbonate reservoirs often suffers from poor sweep efficiency due to unfavorable mobility ratio, gravity segregation, and reservoir heterogeneity. This study aims to evaluate foam flooding as a method to improve CO2 storage in a high temperature, high salinity carbonate reservoir. Several surfactants and nanoparticles were examined to identify the most effective foam formulation. Foam stability at the reservoir temperature and ambient pressure was used first to screen suitable foaming agents. The chosen foaming agents were then foamed at the reservoir temperature and pressure and their stability was observed in both the absence and presence of crude oil. Next, the foam mobility was measured through a core at 80% quality with selected foaming agents. Finally, CO2 flood and CO2-foam flood experiments were performed in carbonate reservoir cores under reservoir conditions. Many surfactants and nanoparticles exhibited instability at the high salinity and temperature conditions of this study. Based on the results of foam stability tests at the ambient pressure, a nonionic surfactant and two zwitterionic surfactants were chosen for further study. Through foam stability tests and rheology tests at the reservoir pressure, the most effective foam formulation was identified to be a combination of the nonionic surfactant Aspiro S 2410 and the nanoparticle EOR 12-V3. The addition of nanoparticles significantly increased the half-life of the foam at reservoir pressure. The presence of crude oil had a detrimental effect on CO2-foam stability. The apparent viscosity of the CO2-foam decreased as the flow rate increased, and the surfactant-nanoparticle foam exhibited higher apparent viscosity compared to the foam generated by the surfactant alone. Furthermore, core flood experiments demonstrated that foam flooding with surfactant-nanoparticle solution achieved higher incremental oil recovery and CO2 storage capacity compared to both CO−2 flooding and foam flooding with surfactant alone. In conclusion, the surfactant-nanoparticle formulation developed in this study shows promise as a CO2 foaming agent for use in high-salinity, carbonate reservoirs.