From Technical Evolution to Production Performance: A Technical Review of 700 Wells Over 8 Years in the South Sulige Tight Gas Field

Unlike many unconventional resources that demonstrate a high level of heterogeneity, conventional tight gas formations often perform consistently according to reservoir quality and the applied completion technology. Technical review over a long period may reveal the proper correlation between reservoir quality, completion technology, and well performance. For many parts of the world where conventional tight gas resources still dominate, the learnings from a review can be adapted to improve the performance of reservoirs with similar features. South Sulige Operating Company (SSOC), a joint venture between PetroChina and Total, has been operating in the Ordos basin for tight gas since 2011. The reservoir is known to have low porosity, low permeability, and low reservoir pressure, and requires multistage completion and fracturing to achieve economic production. Over the last 8 years, there has been a clear technical evolution in South Sulige field, as a better understanding of the reservoir, improvement of the completion deployment, optimized fracturing design, and upgraded flowback strategy have led to the continuous improvement of results in this field. Pad drilling of deviated boreholes, multistage completions with sliding sleeve systems, hybrid gel-fracturing, and immediate flowback practices, gradually proved to be the most effective way to deliver the reservoir's potential. Using the absolute open-flow (AOF) during testing phase for comparative assessment from South Sulige field, we can see that in 2012 this number was 126 thousand std m3/d in 2012, and by 2018 this number had increased to 304 thousand std m3/d, representing a 143% incremental increase. Thus, technical evolution has been proved to bring production improvement over time. Currently, South Sulige field not only outperforms offset blocks but also remains the top performer among the fields in the Ordos basin. The drilling and completion practices from SSOC may be well suited to similar reservoirs and fields in the future.

Enabling and Shaping Decommissioning Alternatives in Malaysia

This paper is to demonstrate the significance of structured planning, holistic assessment and synergies, as key value drivers in enabling and shaping decommissioning alternatives leading to sustainable decommissioning and circular economy. PETRONAS as the regulator of Malaysia's Upstream activities manage decommissioning obligations through Production Sharing Contracts, internal guidelines and other relevant procedures and standards. The Decommissioning Options Assessment (DOA) is the process used to land on the most feasible option. Throughout PETRONAS’ 18-year decommissioning journey thus far, decommissioning projects were successfully executed using various alternatives. The valuable learnings gained are applied to further strengthen our decommissioning processes in regulating, enabling and shaping future executions at the lowest cost with safety of life and protection of the environment as our utmost priority. Upon a decision to proceed with decommissioning, a gated technical review process is used as the governing process to ensure safety, protection to the environment and cost efficiency. It is during this gated technical review that DOA is conducted. The output from the DOA is deliberated within the ambit of five (5) key criteria, i.e. Health, Safety & Security, Environment, Society, Technical & Operational, and Economy. Upon completion of execution, lessons learnt coupled with findings from post-decommissioning surveys are analyzed and applied to future projects. Synergies and collaborations are key drivers in shaping sustainable and replicable alternative decommissioning solutions. PETRONAS continuously pursues strategic collaborations with all stakeholders, including but not limited to, government ministries/agencies, academia, and industry players to tap into global decommissioning solutions, scientific researches, technologies, and best practices. This key lever will be discussed in the paper. From actual experiences, supported by studies, it is evident that decommissioning alternatives, including Rigs-to-Reef, add value in terms of marine habitat protection, biodiversity enhancement, fish aggregation, etc. It has also contributed positively to the livelihoods and well-being of society. Re-using platforms for new field development maximizes value by extending the platform's useful life. In addition, PETRONAS also advocates the ‘design for decommissioning’ mindset during a field's development phase in achieving a robust life cycle cost. PETRONAS further believes the values gained from these decommissioning alternatives will contribute to the decommissioning ecosystem in Malaysia. Moving forward, PETRONAS aspires to elevate the sustainable decommissioning model with the mindset that, ‘no single piece of an abandoned structure goes to waste’. There is a need to mature studies, collaborations and supply chain readiness in realizing more options on the 3Rs (Reduce, Re-use and Recycle).

Key points of technical review for the registration of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests in China

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, in accordance with the principles of ‘unified command, early involvement, prompt review and scientific approval’ as well as the requirements of ensuring product safety, effectiveness and controllable quality, the Center for Medical Device Evaluation (CMDE) has issued Key Points of Technical Review for the Registration of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleic Acid Tests ( Key Points) to provide the requirements of tests. Because of the sustainability of the pandemic, more efforts and attempts are needed for SARS-CoV-2 detection and control. This article interprets the Key Points issued by the CMDE and provides certain refinements to wider audiences.