Gulf Drilling International (Qatar)

Techbits This article highlights key knowledge that was shared at the SPE’s “Collision Avoidance and Well Interceptions Applied Technology Workshop” held in Inverness, United Kingdom, in September. It raised awareness of issues concerning wellbore collisions and interceptions. Planning to ensure that well collisions do not occur during drilling is a complex and demanding task that is often not given the high priority that it requires in drilling programs. Assumptions are made of the validity and accuracy of historical data that is unfounded. Conversely, planning well interceptions when required in operations such as relief wells/drainage intercept wells requires a sound working knowledge of wellbore-positioning technologies and techniques. Wellbore interceptions and proximity placement are becoming critical applications for the development of some reservoirs, specifically tar sands and coalbed methane. Wellbore collision avoidance is entering the daily skills requirement of drilling engineers as they plan more infill wells and more cluster (pad) drilling. Ultimately, demonstrating the knowledge of the borehole position during the drilling process is becoming a regulatory requirement that demands greater understanding by the drilling engineering community and drilling/asset managers. Are drilling engineers trained, competent, and adhering to procedures designed to manage the intricacies of wellbore surveying requirements as applied to collision avoidance and well interceptions? The workshop covered the topic under the headings: Survey-database integrity Collision-avoidance management Practical directional drilling Relief-well design Interception techniques The workshop emphasized that wellbore collisions must be treated as high-risk events that must be managed by systematic survey-management procedures. Borehole-position errors are a critical input to subsurface modeling and have a major effect on field economics. Several workshop committee members are also members of the SPE Wellbore Positioning Technical Section (SPE WPTS) that has published two SPE papers on the ellipse of uncertainty error models commonly referred to as the Industry Steering Committee on Wellbore Survey Accuracy (ISCWSA) models. Summary of the Workshop Workshop attendees shared and learned about current good practices of the complete management cycle of well-positioning activities. Planning, policies, data management, practical application, and technology were all addressed. This was accomplished during presentations, discussions, and breakout sessions with industry experts. Some in-depth presentations and insightful results were produced, including good practice in designing a survey program requirements for survey-database management managing anticollision risk practical insights into relief-well planning and drilling

The Next Major Challenge for Deep Water: Developing Marginal Fields Keith K. Millheim Keith K. Millheim Global Drilling Ltd Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, May 2008. Paper Number: OTC-19642-MS https://doi.org/10.4043/19642-MS Published: May 05 2008 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Millheim, Keith K. "The Next Major Challenge for Deep Water: Developing Marginal Fields." Paper presented at the Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA, May 2008. doi: https://doi.org/10.4043/19642-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAll ProceedingsOffshore Technology ConferenceOTC Offshore Technology Conference Search Advanced Search AbstractWorldwide, there are hundreds of deep water oil fields that have been discovered, and many hundreds yet to be discovered that are not commercial using existing conventional deep water approaches. A new paradigm based on production materiality is an alternate approach for deep water marginal oil field exploration and development. This new paradigm shows that first oil could be consistently achieved in one to two years from discovery to first oil with attractive economics if there are new ways to significantly reduce drilling costs, capital investment, and operational costs. This paper presents a paradigm of how these results might be possible in the foreseeable future with the innovation of what might be called the micro chip for deep water—the self standing riser.INTRODUCTIONHistory of the oil industry shows the early discoveries of oil and gas started with the shallow, easiest to find hydrocarbons, onshore. With innovations in seismic and drilling equipment and technology deeper discoveries were made. Later exploration was extended offshore to the shallow shelf areas. The North Sea and Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and offshore Brazil led the development of offshore technology which focused on drilling with jack-ups, drill ships, and semi submersibles with most of the production facilities based on compliant platform structures. However, as smaller fields were discovered and field extensions extended beyond the reach of the drilling/production platforms the subsea well became a viable option. Subsea wells near the platform were tied back via pipeline to the platform. However, in some cases, a floating production unit (FPU) was used to process the subsea well(s) production and tie back to the main production line. Other cases where the tie-back to the main pipeline was not feasible a floating production storage off-take vessel (FPSO) was used not only to process the reservoir fluids but also to store the oil for later pick up by an oil tanker. For most of the world (except for the Gulf of Mexico), especially the North Sea, Brazil and Australasia, the subsea well and FPU/FPSO became the normal development path for the smaller offshore fields. The FPU/FPSO offered more versatility, quicker construction, and in most cases better economics.The Gulf of Mexico was a unique case where there has always been enough offshore pipeline infra-structure where all the oil and gas production went into the main pipelines. Because of the pipeline network and some other perceived safety and environmental issues the use of FPSOs was non-existent. Only a few FPUs were commissioned in the GOM.In the middle of the '80s the exploration community, with the help of advanced seismic technology, showed the likelihood of finding large oil fields in deeper water with Brazil leading the way. Deeper water discoveries in the GOM and West Africa followed. Except for the Middle East few places held the potential for the discoveries of big fields like deep water. Keywords: drilling, ssr, buoyancy device, west africa, intervention, deep water, exploration, riser, drilling equipment, fpso Subjects: Drilling Equipment, Pipelines, Flowlines and Risers, Offshore Facilities and Subsea Systems, Risers This content is only available via PDF. 2008. Offshore Technology Conference You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.