Minimise Risks Through a Comprehensive Validation of the Existing Production Operation and Planning Strategy for the Largest Oilfield in Poland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siew Hiang Khor ◽  
Jacek Dudek ◽  
Piotr Wojcik ◽  
Krzysztof Pietrzyk ◽  
Daniel Podsobinski ◽  
...  

Abstract Integrated field management is a key initiative recognised by many operators that helps delivering the promise of digital to meet their business strategic objectives of increased hydrocarbon production, reduced exploration and appraisal costs, and sustained development and operation costs. This paper presents how an integrated asset model has been developed for the largest oilfield in Poland to enable a comprehensive validation of its current development plan and operating strategy to ensure safe operation; assessment of other feasible development scenarios to fully realise its potential and paving the path to digital oilfield. A proven integrated asset modeling approach has been adopted to bring a complex reservoir, multiple interdependent wells, pipelines networks, process models together into one single platform. The integrated modeling platform included both gas and water reinjection network models to provide a pore to process closed loop solution. Development of this integrated reservoir-wells-pipelines-network-process facility-water and gas reinjection network models focused to provide all the vital valuable inputs to better field management, fast and accurate decision-making, optimal safe operation in meeting the set seasonal sales contract. Assessments of production operation strategy and field development scenarios were conducted at full field level from reservoir to process plant, accounting wells, pipelines, process handling capacities, the complete system constraints and back pressure effects of all involved components. The availability of fully integrated asset model with pore to process solution enables engineers to better understand the current well performance and production potentials; to ensure a safe and optimal process plant operation. The model helped to identify bottlenecks imposed by the existing pipelines network and process facility; it also enabled the asset team to confirm the existing development plan was not optimal. Other feasible planning scenarios which could further enhance the overall asset productivity were identified, i.e. via determining location of infill wells and which unused idle producers to be converted to gas or water injectors. The study demonstrated a comprehensive validation of the existing development and operation strategy was achievable with the approach. The paper describes how the developed integrated asset model enables the asset team to validate the existing operating strategy and field development scenario of the studied onshore brownfield; to further enhance asset productivity and to achieve efficient field management by adjusting the operating condition in meeting the seasonal sales contract. The integrated asset model also helps to evaluate and to analyse forecasts of different development scenarios including infill drilling and adding new wells and other enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques to achieve an ultimate recovery and asset economics.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Yousef Alklih ◽  
Andi Ahmad Salahuddin ◽  
Karem Alejandra Khan ◽  
Nidhal Mohamed Aljneibi ◽  
Coriolan Rat ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper presents an integrated subsurface study that focuses on delivering field development planning of two reservoirs via comprehensive reservoir characterization workflows. The upper gas reservoir and lower oil reservoir are in communication across a major fault in the crest area of the structure. Gas from the upper reservoir, which is not under development, is being produced along with some oil producers from the oil reservoir as per acquired surveillance data. Pressure depletion is observed in observer wells of the upper reservoir, which substantiate both reservoirs communication. The oil reservoir is on production since 1994, under miscible hydrocarbon water alternating gas injection (HCWAG) and carbon dioxide (CO2) injection. The currently implemented development plan has been facing several complexities and challenges including, but not limited to, maintaining miscibility conditions, sustainability of production and injection in view of reservoirs communication, reservoir modeling challenges, suitability of monitoring strategy, associated operating costs and expansion of field development in newly appraised areas. In this study, an assessment of multiple alternative field development scenarios was conducted; with an aim to tackle field management and reservoir challenges. It commenced by a comprehensive synthesis of seismic, petrophysical (including extensive core characterizations), geological, production and reservoir engineering data to ensure data adequacy and effectiveness for development planning. The process was followed by evaluation of the historical reservoir management, HCWAG and CO2 injection practices using advanced analytics to identify areas for improvement and accelerate decision making process. The identified areas of improvement were incorporated into a dynamic model via diverse set of field management logics to screen wide range of scenarios. In the final step, the optimal scenarios were selected, in line of having strong economic indicators, honoring operational constraints, corporate business plan and strategic objectives. The comprehensive and flexible field management logic was set up to target different challenges and was used to extensively screen hundreds of different field development scenarios varying several parameters. Examples of such parameters are WAG ratio, injection pressures for both water/gas and CO2, cycle duration, well placement, reservoir production and injection guidelines, different co-development production schemes coupled with static and dynamic uncertainty properties against incremental oil production and discounted cash flow. The simulation results were analyzed using standardized approach where a number of key indicators was cross-referenced to produce optimal field development scenarios with regards to co-development effect of both reservoirs, miscibility conditions, balanced pressure depletion, harmonized sweep as well as robust discounted cash flow. Strong management support, multi-disciplinary data integration, agility of decision making and revisions in a controlled timeframe are considered as the key pillars for success of this study. The adopted workflow covers subsurface modeling aspects from A-Z and following reservoir characterization and modeling best practices. The methodology applied in this study uses an integrated subsurface structured approach to tackle reservoirs challenges and co-development, generate alternative development options leveraging on data analytics techniques and advanced field management strategies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khor Siew Hiang ◽  
Petrunyak Volodymyr ◽  
Yevgen A. Melnyk ◽  
Prykhodchenko Oleksii ◽  
Stefaniv Viktor ◽  
...  

Abstract The adoption of an integrated asset modeling approach was explored to kick-start the corporate digital transformation strategy for its oil and gas section. Besides the integrated asset model, the digital initiatives included predictive maintenance, well performance optimization, and a flow assurance advisor aimed at daily production operations and maintenance, creating a pathway to the digital oilfield (DOF). The integrated asset model would be the main pillar of DOF realization and implementation, its offered technology aimed at short-term, medium-term, and long-term planning. The adopted well-proven integrated asset modeling methodology enabled a geological complex with a high-fidelity physics reservoir model, multiple interdependent wells, pipeline networks, process facility models to be integrated seamlessly on a single platform for validation of its existing production operation strategy and field development plan. The black-oil reservoir model was history matched, and the production network models had detailed wellbore and pipeline hydraulics calibrated with the latest well-test data. The compositional fluid modeling allowed the capture of any flow assurance issues that arose across the networks, which were mapped to the corresponding process facility models with physical specifications and operational constraints defined. A fully integrated asset model was developed for the studied asset, where liquid/vapor tables were prepared for black-oil delumping (Ghorayeb and Holmes, 2005) of the reservoir models to surface network models (Mora et al. 2015), while fluid models of both production network and process models were validated before mapping to ensure fluid fidelity. The availability of this integrated asset model with an embedded spreadsheet program incorporating some simple economic calculations allowed the flexibility of short-term production optimization and long-term asset planning, which was focused to provide all the vital valuable inputs to better field management, fast and accurate decision making, and optimum safe operation of process units in meeting the sales contract. The integrated asset model offered a platform for engineers from different domains to collaborate with aligned common operational and planning objectives. It empowered assessments of production operation strategy and field development scenarios conducted at full field level from pore to process. The customized reporting, the ability to connect to other tools, and to push results to dashboards helped to kick-start the corporate digital transformation strategy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-53
Author(s):  
Omar Salih ◽  
Mahmoud Tantawy ◽  
Sayed Elayouty ◽  
Atef Abd Hady

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung Vo Thanh ◽  
Kang-Kun Lee

Abstract Basement formation is known as the unique reservoir in the world. The fractured basement reservoir was contributed a large amount of oil and gas for Vietnam petroleum industry. However, the geological modelling and optimization of oil production is still a challenge for fractured basement reservoirs. Thus, this study aims to introduce the efficient workflow construction reservoir models for proposing the field development plan in a fractured crystalline reservoir. First, the Halo method was adapted for building the petrophysical model. Then, Drill stem history matching is conducted for adjusting the simulation results and pressure measurement. Next, the history-matched models are used to conduct the simulation scenarios to predict future reservoir performance. The possible potential design has four producers and three injectors in the fracture reservoir system. The field prediction results indicate that this scenario increases approximately 8 % oil recovery factor compared to the natural depletion production. This finding suggests that a suitable field development plan is necessary to improve sweep efficiency in the fractured oil formation. The critical contribution of this research is the proposed modelling and simulation with less data for the field development plan in fractured crystalline reservoir. This research's modelling and simulation findings provide a new solution for optimizing oil production that can be applied in Vietnam and other reservoirs in the world.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 17-32
Author(s):  
Guido Fava ◽  
Việt Anh Đinh

The most advanced technique to evaluate different solutions proposed for a field development plan consists of building a numerical model to simulate the production performance of each alternative. Fields covering hundreds of square kilometres frequently require a large number of wells. There are studies and software concerning optimal planning of vertical wells for the development of a field. However, only few studies cover planning of a large number of horizontal wells seeking full population on a regular pattern. One of the criteria for horizontal well planning is selecting the well positions that have the best reservoir properties and certain standoffs from oil/water contact. The wells are then ranked according to their performances. Other criteria include the geometry and spacing of the wells. Placing hundreds of well individually according to these criteria is highly time consuming and can become impossible under time restraints. A method for planning a large number of horizontal wells in a regular pattern in a simulation model significantly reduces the time required for a reservoir production forecast using simulation software. The proposed method is implemented by a computer script and takes into account not only the aforementioned criteria, but also new well requirements concerning existing wells, development area boundaries, and reservoir geological structure features. Some of the conclusions drawn from a study on this method are (1) the new method saves a significant amount of working hours and avoids human errors, especially when many development scenarios need to be considered; (2) a large reservoir with hundreds of wells may have infinite possible solutions, and this approach has the aim of giving the most significant one; and (3) a horizontal well planning module would be a useful tool for commercial simulation software to ease engineers' tasks.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aamir Lokhandwala ◽  
Vaibhav Joshi ◽  
Ankit Dutt

Abstract Hydraulic fracturing is a widespread well stimulation treatment in the oil and gas industry. It is particularly prevalent in shale gas fields, where virtually all production can be attributed to the practice of fracturing. It is also used in the context of tight oil and gas reservoirs, for example in deep-water scenarios where the cost of drilling and completion is very high; well productivity, which is dictated by hydraulic fractures, is vital. The correct modeling in reservoir simulation can be critical in such settings because hydraulic fracturing can dramatically change the flow dynamics of a reservoir. What presents a challenge in flow simulation due to hydraulic fractures is that they introduce effects that operate on a different length and time scale than the usual dynamics of a reservoir. Capturing these effects and utilizing them to advantage can be critical for any operator in context of a field development plan for any unconventional or tight field. This paper focuses on a study that was undertaken to compare different methods of simulating hydraulic fractures to formulate a field development plan for a tight gas field. To maintaing the confidentiality of data and to showcase only the technical aspect of the workflow, we will refer to the asset as Field A in subsequent sections of this paper. Field A is a low permeability (0.01md-0.1md), tight (8% to 12% porosity) gas-condensate (API ~51deg and CGR~65 stb/mmscf) reservoir at ~3000m depth. Being structurally complex, it has a large number of erosional features and pinch-outs. The study involved comparing analytical fracture modeling, explicit modeling using local grid refinements, tartan gridding, pseudo-well connection approach and full-field unconventional fracture modeling. The result of the study was to use, for the first time for Field A, a system of generating pseudo well connections to simulate hydraulic fractures. The approach was found to be efficient both terms of replicating field data for a 10 year period while drastically reducing simulation runtime for the subsequent 10 year-period too. It helped the subsurface team to test multiple scenarios in a limited time-frame leading to improved project management.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Shaoqing Sun ◽  
David A. Pollitt

Summary Benchmarking the recovery factor and production performance of a given reservoir against applicable analogs is a key step in field development optimization and a prerequisite in understanding the necessary actions required to improve hydrocarbon recovery. Existing benchmarking methods are principally structured to solve specific problems in individual situations and, consequently, are difficult to apply widely and consistently. This study presents an alternative empirical analog benchmarking workflow that is based upon systematic analysis of more than 1,600 reservoirs from around the world. This workflow is designed for effective, practical, and repeatable application of analog analysis to all reservoir types, development scenarios, and production challenges. It comprises five key steps: (1) definition of problems and objectives; (2) parameterization of the target reservoir; (3) quantification of resource potential; (4) assessment of production performance; and (5) identification of best practices and lessons learned. Problems of differing nature and for different objectives require different sets of analogs. This workflow advocates starting with a broad set of parameters to find a wide range of analogs for quantification of resource potential, followed by a narrowly defined set of parameters to find relevant analogs for assessment of production performance. During subsequent analysis of the chosen analogs, the focus is on isolating specific critical issues and identifying a smaller number of applicable analogs that more closely match the target reservoir with the aim to document both best practices and lessons learned. This workflow aims to inform decisions by identifying the best-in-class performers and examining in detail what differentiates them. It has been successfully applied to improve hydrocarbon recovery for carbonate, clastic, and basement reservoirs globally. The case studies provided herein demonstrate that this workflow has real-world utility in the identification of upside recovery potential and specific actions that can be taken to optimize production and recovery.


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