The oil and gas fields of the Exmouth Sub-basin, offshore WA, have presented a number of significant challenges to their exploitation since the first discoveries of heavy oil and lean gas were made in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Presently, some 20 oil and gas fields have been discovered in a variety of Late Jurassic to Cretaceous clastic reservoirs from slope turbidites to deltaic sands. Discovered oils are typically heavily biodegraded with densities ranging from 14–23° API and moderate viscosity. Seismic imaging is challenging across some areas due to pervasive multiples and gas escape features, while in other areas resolution is excellent. Most reservoirs are poorly cemented to unconsolidated and thus require sand control. Modest oil columns, most with gas caps, and variable permeability, present challenges for both maximising oil recovery and minimising the influx of water and gas. Oil-water emulsions also present difficulties for both maximising oil rate and metering production.
To date, more than 300 MMbbls have been produced from five developments (Enfield, Stybarrow, Vincent, Van Gogh and Pyrenees), and in 2013 the Macedon gasfield began production. This peer-reviewed paper focuses on the variety of technologies—geoscience, reservoir, drilling and production—that have underpinned the development of these challenging fields and in doing so, transformed the Exmouth into Australia’s premier oil producing basin.
Hydrophobization method and "Ramksis-2" material for the flow rate in crease in the watered oil wells