Redefining Light Weight Structural Design for Gas Marginal Field Development Through Conductor Supported Platform CSP Concept

The rise of offshore marginal field development and low-cost CAPEX has given an impetus to O&G operators to challenge the common structural platform design especially for wellhead platform type. Demand to reduce the platform weight has been observed for the past 20 years. Typically, the challenge to meet this demand will be tremendous once the water depth exceed 50m. This paper will elaborate on how using an engineered design approach was implemented to obtain fast track onshore fabrication and offshore installation and meet the operator demand for minimal structural concept.

Innovative Method for Efficient Real Time Online Well Monitoring to Enhance Crew Respond Time in Marginal Field

Previously, well monitoring in Siak block relied on production crew scheduled tour that needed six hours to complete one cycle of all wells in Lindai field. This paper describes the utilization of digital technology to observe well parameters while sending notification if there is any anomaly regarding those parameters through smart phone application or website. Smart microcontroller was installed in wellhead panel and three sensors are mounted in desired point around wellhead to perform online Intelligent Well Monitoring (IWM) for well’s parameters. If abnormality occurs, real time notification would be sent to user’s smart phone application or website by using global mobile communication system (GSM) signal. The parameters monitored were pressure, temperature, and load because they are essential to be analyzed as initial diagnosis of well problem. Based on the readings, production team could quickly perform troubleshooting to prevent loss production opportunity (LPO). The programming of this smart microcontroller used C language as data compiler. This method was tested in one of the wells in Lindai field, which has the highest oil production. After three months of surveillance, in terms of data quality, the values shown by this tool had only five percent differences compared to manual survey using calibrated measurement tools. Additionally, the parameters could be monitored online, real time, and gave the notification directly to users should there be any issues. Moreover, this tool could reduce the response time of the field crew significantly from six hours following the conventional field tour to only in five minutes by relying on real time notification. In addition, the operational cost of this tool was 82% cheaper compared to other well-known online monitoring tool available in the market so it is considered economical. In the long term, this tool will be implemented on all wells in Siak block for integrated real time monitoring. Furthermore, the impact of field scale implementation will be much greater such as increasing data accuracy by eliminating human error from manual well checking and improving safety of the crew by reducing the possibility of fatigue. The utilization of smart microcontroller for online well monitoring is beneficial for marginal field with high number of wells and wide field coverage. Earlier, real time well monitoring is usually considered expensive investment that rarely become priority. However, the implementation of IoT (Internet of Things) by using this tool can be the game changer in marginal field and maximize the well’s production by reducing LPO.

Maximizing Co-Activity Operation and Mastering Drilling Practice as Effective Strategies for Marginal Field Development

A limited remaining reserve is one of the challenges commonly found in mature field development. Swamp fields in the Mahakam block is an example of mature field development which leads to a marginal operation. Delivering wells more economically is one of the key points to survive during those conditions. Rig operation with a significant daily expenditure could be a way for improvement to yield economic wells. In general, an efficient rig operation would deliver wells in a shorter duration and at a lower cost. In order to lessen the well duration, two aspects could be improved: performing co-activity operation to shorten the horizontal time (preparation) and mastering drilling practices to shorten the vertical time (drilling). In the co-activity operations aspect, various initiatives have been implemented, such as rigless operations, batch drilling, and offline or simultaneous activities. While in the drilling practices aspect, drilling parameters, bit design, connection practice, and team motivation were the areas that have been improved. This paper will elaborate further on those initiatives. Implementing massive co-activity operations and the best drilling practices have demonstrated a significant time saving of 24% for the shallow well (final depth around 1800 m) and 27% for the deep well (final depth around 4300 m) in the block. These practices have also made a new record of the fastest well completion in 2.17 days and the highest drilling ROP for 141 m/hour with drilling 2303 m in the first 24 hours. The record of most drilled length in 24 hours is the world best performance of RSS BHA as per Directional Driller Company worldwide record. As a result, the 2020 average cost of the shallow well was 2.6 MUSD while the deep well was 4.1 MUSD. Those massive co-activity operations and drilling practices have been properly executed since 2019 without any safety incident and related NPT. The positive results have helped the development project to survive in marginal conditions.

3D geo-cellular modeling for Oligocene reservoirs: a marginal field in offshore Vietnam

This study focuses on constructing a 3D geo-cellular model by using well-log data and other geological information to enable a deep investigation of the reservoir characteristics and estimation of the hydrocarbon potential in the clastic reservoir of the marginal field in offshore Vietnam. In this study, Petrel software was adopted for geostatistical modeling. First, a sequential indicator simulation (SIS) was adopted for facies modeling. Next, sequential Gaussian simulation (SGS) and co-kriging approaches were utilized for petrophysical modeling. Furthermore, the results of the petrophysical models were verified by a quality control process before determining the in-place oil for each reservoir in the field. Multiple geological realizations were generated to reduce the geological uncertainty of the model assessment for the facies and porosity model. The most consistent one would then be the best candidate for further evaluation. The porosity distribution ranged from 9 to 22%. The original oil place of clastic reservoirs in the marginal field was 50.28 MMbbl. Ultimately, this research found that the marginal field could be considered a potential candidate for future oil and gas development in offshore Vietnam.

MPEP Scorecard: A New Quantitative Approach to Measure Project's Maturity in Medco EP Indonesia

Oil & gas companies in Indonesia continue to struggle in executing their projects due to highly volatile oil price, lower demand and marginal field developments. Consequently, these companies need to be as prudent as possible in investing their limited resources to the selected projects in their portfolio. In order to face this challenge, MedcoEnergi developed a tool called Medco Project Excellence Process (MPEP) Scorecard to effectively measure the maturity of all of its major projects using a quantitative approach. The application of this tool can greatly help MedcoEnergi in deciding which projects to execute or which projects to hold, and therefore enabled the company to maximize its returns from its oil and gas projects portfolio. The paper presents the design of the MPEP Scorecard and how the tool is applied. The application of the tool is integrated with the gate review which is held when the project wants to proceed to its next stage. The project assurance committee which is a specialized team consist of experts from engineering, subsurface, drilling, commercial, etc., will review the projects deliverables during this gate review and the tool will allow them to assign a “score” based on their assessment and their discussion with the project team. There will be an individual score for each discipline and these scores will be used as inputs to calculate a single (overall) score that can accurately represents the project’s maturity. Currently, MPEP Scorecard has already been applied to the major capital projects in MedcoEnergi and the results have been presented to the senior management. Based on their feedbacks, it is agreed that the tool can give a much clearer picture on the project’s current condition, significantly help them in making the go/no go decision and enables them to create the most optimum investment strategy.

Stress Distribution Analysis of DKDT Tubular Joint in a Minimum Offshore Structure

A marginal field defines as an oil and/or gas field that has a short production period, low proven reservoir, and could not be exploited using existing technology. As the demand for oil and gas keeps increasing, one of the solutions to tackle the issues is to build the modified platform which came to be more minimalist to conduct the oil and gas production in the marginal field. Naturally, the minimum offshore structures are cost less but low in redundancy, therefore, pose more risks. Although the study on the minimum structures is still uncommon, there are opportunities to find innovative systems that need to have a further analysis toward such invention. Therefore, this study took the modified jacket platform as a minimum structure, and local stresses analysis by using finite element method is applied for the most critical tubular joint with multiplanarity of the joint is taking into account. The analysis was carried out using the finite element program of Salome Meca with three-dimensional solid elements are used to model the multiplanar joint. Various loading types of axial force, in-plane bending moment, and out-of-plane bending moment are applied respectively to investigate the stress distribution along the brace-chord intersection line of the tubular joint. The results show that the hotspot stress occurred at a different point along each brace-chord intersection line for each loading type. Finally, as compared to the in-plane bending moment or out-of-plane bending moment loading types, the axial force loading state is thought to generate greater hotspot stress.

Challenges of Developing Marginal Fields in the Current Climate of Oil and Gas Industry

Marginal field development has gained relevance in oil producing countries because of the huge potential economic benefits it offers. The Federal Government of Nigeria commenced a Marginal Fields program in 2001 as part of her policy to improve the nation’s strategic oil and gas reserves and promote indigenous participation in the upstream sector. Twenty years after the award of marginal fields to indigenous companies to develop, 50% have developed and in production, 13% have made some progress with their acquisition while 37% remain undeveloped. The poor performance of the marginal field operators is due to certain challenges which have impeded their progress. A review of challenges of developing marginal fields in the current industry climate was conducted on marginal fields in Nigeria to identify keys issues. These were identified as: funding, technical, and public policy. Considering the complex, competitive and dynamic environment in which these oil and gas companies operate, with competition from renewables, pressure to reduce carbon footprint, low oil price and investors expectation of a good return, companies must maintain tight financial plan, minimize emissions from their operations and focus on efficiency through innovation. The study identifies the need for a decision-making approach that takes into consideration multi criteria such as cost, regulation, quality, technology, security, stakeholders, safety and environment, as important criteria based on which to evaluate the selection of appropriate development option for marginal fields.

Enhanced Method of Estimating Crude Oil Losses in a Unitized Pipeline Supply and Trunk Facilities

Most unitized Pipelines in Nigeria are Trunk lines which take crude oil from flow stations to the Terminals. Very few International Oil and Gas Companies own and operate trunk lines in Nigeria. As a result, marginal field owners, independent producers, and some JV partners share the trunk line for the sale of their crude. But because of the use of wide range of non-compliant meters by the injectors into the trunk lines a lot of line losses due to measurement errors are introduced. Another major feature is that trunk lines are exposed to leakages due to sabotage, aged pipeline and valve failures. The issue here is how does the owner of the trunk line back allocate these losses to their respective injectors. The Reverse Mass Balanced Methodology (RMBM) is currently in use having replaced Interim Methodology (IM) in 2017. In RMBM, the crude trunk line losses have been found to be unaccountable and it's proportionate rule for distribution of the losses to the producers are inequitable as the field owners expressed dissatisfaction with unfair deduction from trunk line operators. This study developed a procedure and an algorithm for estimation of crude contributions from each producer at the Terminal and equitable distribution of crude trunk line losses to the producers irrespective of the type of meters, meter factor and leakages and sporadic theft on the trunk lines. This study also identified two alternatives to the RMBM, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Flow based models. The results showed that flow-based model accounts for both individual and group losses, not accounted for in the RMBM, and allocates and corrects for leak volumes at the point of leak instead of at the terminal. This is a significant improvement from the RMBM.

Hydrocarbon Volume Estimate Using Pseudo Steady-State/Pressure-Transient Principles in a Faulted Reservoir

The application of pseudo-steady-state and pressure transient response techniques to assist in hydrocarbon volume estimate is presented for a reservoir isolated from its main by a non-sealing fault. The techniques discussed in this paper utilized the pseudo steady state principle to determine the fault boundary behavior dominated flow regime of an oil well which has produced for over eight years in a marginal field of the Niger Delta environment. The material balance technique which utilized accountability of fluid withdrawn/injected and energy conservation principles within the pseudo steady state boundary dominated flow was used alongside with the pressure transient analysis to validate this oil in place number. Seismic attributes was also used to predict the geometry and distribution of the sand based on the conventional seismic interpretation. The seismic attribute analyses clearly show the geometry and spatial distribution of the reservoir sand bodies. Hence, understanding a pseudo steady state dominated regional flow time in a faulted reservoir plays a key role in the management and development of reserves in a marginal field operation.