IMPROVING FIELD PRODUCTION AND THE VALUE OF ASSETS THROUGH ENABLING REAL-TIME WORKFLOWS

Abstract

Reservoir and production management practices can benefit from the use of information obtained in real-time. This paper focusses specifically on the gains obtained from the continuous monitoring of naturally flowing and artificially lifted wells.

The deployment of real-time production workflows is an important enabler to improve the value of oil and gas assets. The impact is seen in areas such as:

the improvement of production (well productivity), through the reduction of deferred production and increased productivity;

reduction of operating costs (OPEX);

reduction of repair time;

reduction of capital expenses (CAPEX);

capture of best (and worst) practices;

increased operational flexibility; and

improved efficiency of workforce.

Field examples over a range of applications covering both artificially lifted wells to naturally flowing wells demonstrate the value of real-time monitoring and relevant-time surveillance and diagnostic applications. Examples of permanent monitoring systems installed at subsurface and/or at surface illustrate how operators can optimise the value of new and existing assets. Although much of the technology has been available for years, deployment in actual field operation is still a challenge. Several best practices are suggested to improve implementation success. The human component in this oil field revolution is important and cannot be under-estimated. The success of real-time enabled workflows can only occur if the workforce fully cooperates and buys-in to the solution. The inertia of legacy practices can derail the change management process if not considered early in the implementation.

This paper discusses several industry approaches to product and service delivery of real-time enabled production workflows, and the various possible implementations. The commercial and physical implementations of these production workflows can range from remotely hosted solutions with no footprint on the operator premises, to fully integrated solution using and integrating legacy system of the oil and gas company. A segmentation of these approaches facilitates the selection process depending on parameters such as the size of the asset, legal constraints, availability of expertise. The value of the benefits of each of these approaches also provides a better understanding of the probable gains that may be achieved in the short to long-term time frame.