Strategic Remote Operation for Unmanned Wellhead Platforms: Balancing CAPEX and Flow Assurance Challenging Field

The Fenix project will drill three horizontal extended reach (ERD) wells in a shallow-water basin offshore Argentina targeting reservoirs forecasted to produce 10 million cubic meters of gas per day once online. This gas production will satisfy a significant proportion of Argentina's growing gas demand. Due to the high-profile nature the operator sought contemporary digital technologies and processes that could be employed during the well construction process to ensure that CAPEX spend remains within the budget. Due to the wellbore geometry complexity, hole cleaning, torque and drag above drill string limits, and stuck pipe incidents are some of the main hazards identified during the project planning phase. As a hazard mitigation plan, the deployment of a digital twin combined with the drilling automated advisory was defined in the action plan. The digital platform coupled with innovative product solutions, 24/7 monitored by a remote operations center, enabled early detection of hole condition issues. A pre-established communication protocol supported data driven decision taking to implement preventive measures that avoided non-productive time (NPT), resulting in a more efficient well construction process. A cloud platform integrating real time software and data from offset wells was also implemented, providing advanced analytics to benchmark against the pre-defined key performance indicators (KPIs). The results presented in the paper are a relevant case study for drilling automation in offshore applications. The combined capability of the digital twin, the automated advisory, the cloud platform, 24/7 remote operations monitoring has proved to be instrumental to avoid NPT and invisible lost time (ILT), boosting drilling efficiency. Through the instant message group defined in the communication protocol as the primary communication channel, drilling optimization and hazard mitigation advice were delivered by the real time monitoring team, operating from the remote operations center. A physics-based models from the digital twin enables the core automated device to support the remote operations team to early detect hole cleaning issues, provide the inputs to drilling supervisors (DSV) and directional drilling engineers in the rig site with comprehensive visualization displays. The main observations derived from the Torque and Drag (T&D) module, which automates the real time roadmap process, comparing the broomstick generated by the digital twin in the planning phase to the actual values are presented. The outcomes from the borehole pressure, the drilling optimization and trip speed modules as its impacts in the well construction efficiency are analyzed. This case study presents the first time ever application of the automated advisory and the cloud platform offshore Argentina. Due the relevance of project to the energy sector, the project results are a milestone for the operator and the service company. The collaborative approach adopted sets new standards for future projects in similar applications and drilling environments.

As drilling programs scale, achieving consistent performance across rigs and crew remains challenging due to variability in practices, competency, and operational environments. This manuscript describes the deployment of advanced process-control automation to standardize drilling execution, reduce nonproductive time, and improve slide-drilling performance across a multi-rig land fleet. The approach centered on capturing established best practices from subject matter experts and encoding them into repeatable operational ‘recipes’ that could be deployed through automation systems under Remote Operations Center (ROC) supervision. The automation model improved execution repeatability and performance. Slide rate of penetration (ROP) increased by 19% across comparable well sections, while slide count remained consistent across most sections, with an increase in the vertical driven by extended step-out tangents, indicating that improved ROP was not achieved by increasing slide frequency. In the lateral section slide count decreased, reflecting more stable toolface control and fewer corrective slide intervals. These operational improvements translated into measurable economic value including a leaner onsite crewing iteration with maintained situational oversight. Personnel related savings were realized as well as exposure reduction with less people on site. The operating model also provided the structure required to apply automation reliably, reducing dependence on individual driller technique and supporting a reduced on-site personnel configuration. The results presented here provide empirical evidence that integrating best-practice capture, advanced process control and remote operational oversight can improve consistency, efficiency and personnel safety exposure. These findings support that the scalability of drilling automation is driven not only by the control system, but by the operating model that governs how it is applied.

Standard directional surveying practices are subject to numerous error sources which can cause inaccurate placement of the wellbore. This is problematic because inaccurate wellbore placement increases collision risk, reduces reservoir drainage, and impacts subsurface models. Web-based software was developed to provide rig site personnel with a simple interface to transfer survey data in real-time to survey analysts in a remote operations center. The web interface is easily accessible via standard web browsers and enables users to upload data in any format without the need to manually configure or manipulate data fields. Independent survey quality analysis by remote operating centers is the most effective way to validate directional survey accuracy and to ensure it is free from gross or large systematic errors that exceed the assumptions of the positional error model. Furthermore, by applying multi-station analysis corrections and using in-field referencing geomagnetic models, the positional uncertainty of the wellbore trajectory can be reduced by 50 percent or greater. These methods improve wellbore placement substantially at a low operational cost, thus significantly increasing the value of the wellbore.

As project teams have become dispersed and communication technology has evolved, organizations have increasingly moved towards usage of synchronous communication technologies such as video/web/audio conferencing and instant messaging to facilitate collaboration among team members although usage of asynchronous communication technologies such as electronic mail, wikis, blogs, and social networks continue to play an important role in the exchange of information within teams. Little however is known about the relationships among a team member's task characteristics, the member's task outcomes, and extent of usage of such contemporary collaboration technologies. To explore this gap in literature, this paper draws upon media richness theory to understand the impacts of a project team member's task characteristics on the member's task outcomes and extent of usage of synchronous collaboration technologies. This paper also has practical implications that guide the adoption and use of collaboration technologies in organizations.

Artificial intelligence-based (AI) digital drilling technology was implemented in two mature fields of Ecuador, which represent 33% of the country's oil production and where it is essential to maximize the return on investment. The drilling campaign's main strategy included the deployment of a novel automation solution on two rigs, resulting in the optimization of the well construction process. In this paper we present the results of implementing a rig automation solution that we applied to 20 wells in 2022. The study primarily focuses on analyzing the results achieved during this period, with the aim of evaluating the solution's effectiveness, performance, and its impact on drilling operations. The rig automation system uses a goal-based approach to handle constantly changing drilling conditions like drilling dysfunctions, formation changes and repetitive tasks such as downlinking, and pre- and post-connection procedures, without having constantly rely on human intervention. The system sends command packages to the rig control system to direct the surface equipment including the drawworks, automated driller, topdrive, and mud pumps to operate within the constraints of standard operating procedures that are incorporated into the system configuration in the form of procedures, mitigation strategies, and operational limits. It uses powerful data analysis and learning systems to assist and enhance every task from optimizing the rate of penetration (ROP) to drilling a stand autonomously. Following the deployment of the rig automation solution on both rigs, the team entered into a hyper care phase, which consisted of monitoring the system and training the drillers at the rig-site over a period of at least 3 months. Once concluded, the team spent the next year leveraging the system and routinely reviewing and optimizing the procedures and configuration parameters to maximize value added. Overall, a total of 20 wells were drilled with the digital solution throughout 2022 including 214,000 feet drilled in automated mode, an on-bottom ROP improvement of 8.4% on average, with total time savings adding to 23.86 days, and pre- and post-connection time reductions of 54% on average, with latest wells achieving as little as 6 minutes as compared to the initial benchmark of 25 minutes. Additional collaborative features were implemented, such as the remote monitoring and execution of the directional drilling process, where the engineer located in the remote operations center was able to send a downlink request, and once accepted by the driller, the system would dynamically re-plan a new sequence to incorporate the new goal and execute the downlink procedure autonomously while drilling, while the driller monitored other variables to optimize and drive safer operations. In the oil and gas industry, automation is mostly associated with the control of heavy machinery that is operated through predefined sequence automation. This goal-based technology provides a significant advantage by minimizing the human interaction needed to deal with the uncertainty of dynamically changing operations and, ultimately, lower drilling times. This indirectly results in a reduction in the carbon emissions footprint, operational risks, and cost, optimizing efficiency and field development.

The "M" field is located offshore East Malaysia, with a major lateral fault separating the field into North and South. The south area main reservoirs are I, K and L with strong water drive and highly unconsolidated formations. These reservoirs contain approximately 200 MMSTB STOIIP with a current recovery factor of 24%. The major challenges in this field are (1) high well deviation, (2) sand production and (3) early water break-through. In order to dynamically mitigate these challenges, a pilot well with intelligent well technology was considered for one of the new highly deviated infill wells which targeted 3 producing zones. A combination of cased-hole gravel-packing and open- hole stand-alone screens (SAS) was installed at the reservoir sections. This Intelligent Completion IC system is equipped with innovative multi-drop hydraulic modules. The first IC system, successfully installed 2 years ago in 2 wells of an offset field pilot, has had a significant impact on production to date. These systems used the conventional control line configuration of an N+1 system, where N = the number of zones to be completed. However, the newly installed IC system provides an engineering solution to reduce the required number of control lines from 4 to only 2 to control 3 zones, i.e. an N-1 control line configuration. This innovative solution was essential to the project to avoid modifications to the wellhead due to the short lead-time before the installation. This solution also reduced the installation time compared to the first edition of the IC system. This paper highlights the screening process for candidate selection and the successful installation of IC system in multi stack reservoirs with gravel pack assembly and also the lessons learned from the full collaboration between the project team and service provider.

Inventory planning and optimization are crucial components of effective supply chain management, playing a pivotal role in providing a balance between customer demand and operational efficiency. This research article investigates the current landscape of inventory optimization processes, their implementation, and their considerable impact on business performance in the context of recent global supply-chain disruptions and technological advancements. The study also proceeds to examine various characteristics of inventory management, including but not limited to demand forecasting, inventory strategy formulation, and stock replenishment methodologies. By analysis of data from multiple sources and case studies, the effectiveness of different optimization approaches, such as machine learning-based demand forecasting, multi-objective optimization, and advanced inventory models are investigated. The research also delves into the aspects of integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in developing inventory optimization processes, especially in the face of stochastic demand and supply chain disruptions. Our findings indicate that successful inventory optimization strategies contribute significantly reducing costs, improving customer satisfaction, and increasing overall supply chain resilience. The study reveals that companies implementing data-driven inventory optimization techniques experience a 15-20% reduction in inventory holding costs and a 10-15% improvement in service levels. Additionally, the research highlights the importance technology and human handshake of real-time data analysis, cross-functional collaboration, and adaptive strategies in achieving optimal inventory levels to avoid opportunity cost. The impact of recent global disruptive events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic that was unprecedented, on supply chain management practices is also examined, providing insights into the development of more resilient and flexible inventory systems. This comprehensive examination and evaluation of inventory planning and optimization provides valuable insights for supply chain professionals and researchers, offering a foundation for future advancements in this critical area of business operations in an increasingly volatile and interconnected global market.

This article discusses the modern pedagogical technology of collaborative education. Various educational institutions around the world, including Russia, starts using collaborative education. Learning in terms of this technology involves collaborative knowledge deepening by students in the scope of the studied disciplines. The relevance of collaborative education technology use is determined by the increasing project-based learning part and students' team projects in the implementation of which the issues of effective coordination of actions and deep knowledge acquisition need to be solved. The collaborative education concept, differences from similar learning formats, advantages, disadvantages, and factors of the successful collaborative education technologies implementation presented in foreign and national works were analyzed by the author. The study novelty consists in the collaborative education situation formation as formation stages of collaborative mental activity. students Learning activities in groups can be represented as their collaborative activities, but at the same time in-group education and collaborative education, it can only correspond to a mechanical combination of individual practical actions or collaborative practical activities, while the collaborative knowledge deepening with the immersion of students in the educational process and the interaction with each other, correspond to the full-fledged collaborative mental activity stage. In the second case, students' activities are characterized by a high degree integration actions and the general semantic fund formation. With co-education, presented as a collaborative mental activity, it becomes possible to identify specific aspects of students' semantic communication. As such aspects, the authors primarily consider semantic dialogue and the interpersonal meanings activity formation. It is concluded that understanding the collaborative education process as the students' collaborative mental activity formation and taking into account the semantic interaction aspects can increase the implementation effectiveness of this pedagogical technology.

Project Objective: The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) conducted a study of the feasibility of siting a renewable energy biomass-based installation on tribal lands. The purpose of the study was to determine whether such an installation can be economically sustainable, as well as consistent with the cultural, social, and economic goals of the Tribe. Scope: To achieve the goal of the feasibility study, the following tasks were carried out: (1) Resource availability assessment--The objective of this assessment was to determine the availability of both poultry litter and wood residues for use in the proposed facility. (2) Power utilization assessment--The objective of this assessment was to determine the potential market size for power produced, the existing infrastructure for delivering power to that market, and the costs and economic returns for doing so. (3) Technology review--The objective of this review was to identify one, or more, technical options for detailed economic and technical assessment. The study considered a range of feedstock and product mixtures of poultry litter; wood residues as feedstock; and electrical power and other ancillary products as outputs. Distributed power sources was also examined. Technologies ranging from gasification to systems that produce both power and value-added chemicals were considered. Technologies selected for detailed review were those that can be sized to process the amount of available feed (poultry litter, or poultry litter and wood residues), and that also appear to make economic sense in terms of the value of their inputs. The technology review leaned heavily on the experience from similar prior DOE projects, particularly those conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). NREL was involved in a consultative role, so that the project team could leverage their experience. (4) Systems Design(s)--Based on the technology review, a pre-conceptual design for an installation was developed. This included identification of unit operations and equipment, maintenance, manpower, feedstock requirements, and output (power and any other ancillary products). Energy and mass flows were identified. (5) Manpower development assessment--The objectives of this assessment was to identify training needs for the selected option(s), and determine how they can best be met. Using the manpower estimates from the pre-conceptual system design, skills and training needs were to be identified. A plan for providing the needed manpower was to be developed, and any associated costs determined. (6) Economic assessment--The objective of this assessment was to determine the economic viability and sustainability of the technology option(s) identified through the technical review option. The costs of bringing the feedstock to the proposed facility were combined with nominal operation costs and potential production distribution costs to identify total costs. Revenue from power distribution (and, possibly, from sale of ancillary products) were combined with any possible government credits or payments to identify gross revenue. Economic viability was determined by net revenue and return on investment. A business plan for the selected option was to be produced that would consider long-term sustainability of the project. (7) MBCI compatibility assessment--The objective of this assessment was to determine whether the renewable energy technology was compatible with the MBCI's cultural, social and economic values. As part of this assessment, the environmental impacts and benefits were to be determined (Environmental stewardship is an important part of the Choctaw culture.). The effects of a project on employment were projected. The compatibility of the renewable energy project with MBCI cultural and social values were determined. Most importantly, the compatibility of the renewable energy installation with the MBCIs economic development goals and directions were determined. A project team led by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) conducted the feasibility study. The team included the Mississippi Alternative Energy Enterprise (MAEE), the Mississippi State University Food and Fiber Center, Mississippi State University Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory (DIAL), and the Mississippi State University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. This report and its findings are based on the best available data existing during the covering period and the analysis reflects good faith estimates and assumptions of factors for a biomass-based renewable energy project for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and any conclusions or finding herein should not be extrapolated to other areas of the country.

Digital agility is a critical dynamic capability that is becoming increasingly important in the context of collaborative product development processes (PDPs). This paper aims to address the complexity of today's PDPs by considering various quality aspects including safety, environment, and the entire lifecycle, along with diverse dynamic capabilities such as digital agility and circular economy. The authors employed a semantic web methodology and created an ontology-based knowledge model. The proposed ontology uses Design for X techniques, circular economy, digital agility, and the semantic web under the PDP perspective to increase performance and cooperation between designers and the project team. To validate the ontology, measures for domain ontology evaluation have been used. The paper presents a detailed guide for ontology engineering and evaluation for collaborative smart PDP, which incorporates digital agility as a critical dynamic capability. The proposed ontology can help boost PDP performance and increase customer satisfaction.

The rapid growth of the healthy food products market is one of main indicators of the changing trend in food and beverage industry. People nowadays aware and more selective about their health and healthy eating habit related to healthy life style. This global awareness make influence in their decision and preference of food and beverage consumptions, finally give impact in global market for healthy food products. The trend should become main focus of the food and beverage industry to make decisions about managerial strategies for the purpose of long term and competitiveness advantage. The purpose of this research is to develop an effective managerial strategy model to support the development of healthy food products regarding of the changing trend. The methods of this research using qualitative descriptive approach which examines from the articles, global data about trend and healthy food products market, and practitioners which have experiences in developing healthy food products. Results and discussions show that integration of food science and health in developing of healthy food products is a strategic step that must be taken by food companies which can be able to meet the demand of consumers to remain relevant in competitive market. Product innovation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and marketing strategies that emphasize consumer education have also proven to provide a significant competitive advantage.

The dynamics and challenges of managing geographically dispersed project teams is examined in a field investigation of 72 multinational product developments, observed and studied between 2008 and 2012. The findings provide insight into the business processes and leadership style most conducive to cross-functional collaboration and effective project integration throughout the enterprise and its partners. The results show that many of the problems that surface on the technical side can be traced to social, psychological and organizational issues. In fact, people issues have the strongest impact on project performance. People are an intricate part of the work process. Issues affecting people, eventually impact the broader enterprise. On the positive side, the study shows that certain conditions, such as personal interest, pride and satisfaction with the work, professional work challenge, accomplishments and recognition, serve as catalysts toward unifying culturally diverse project teams and their work processes. These conditions act as bridging mechanisms between organizational goals and personal interests, between central control and local management norms, and between following a project plan and adaptive problem solving. However, working seamless across borders and cultures requires more than just issuing work orders, project summary plans or management guidelines. Emphasis must be on common values and goals to focus and unify the team. By recognizing the greater autonomy of all international partners as well as their cultural differences, management can build a true partnership among all the contributing organizations with strong linkages for communication, decision making and technology transfer that is sustainable over the project lifecycle. The paper suggests a framework for managerial actions and leadership for building high-performance multinational project teams.

Bhagyam is the second largest oilfield discovered to date in the Barmer Basin, India with more than 400mmb of viscous, waxy crude in place. This paper describes the evaluation, design and selection process for the use of the latest generation ICD in non-horizontal wells.Sandface completions comprise sand screens coupled with an ICD. Inflow control was highly desirable due to the oil viscosity variation, high permeability, heterogeneity and adverse mobility ratio and the fact the completions could not be easily accessed below a PCP. Oil viscosity ranges from 20 to 250cp varying with depth. The variation in reservoir thickness, produced fluid viscosity and well productivity required a field adjustable pressure drop capability in the ICD. The ICD had to perform at high viscosity and needed to be tolerant to wax and sand production. The operator's experience in nearby fields observed the benefits of ICDs for providing efficient sandface cleanup in horizontal wells. It was vital to model this system accurately however there were significant challenges as no previous examples of using these devices in non-horizontal wells could be found and the ICD completion had not been modeled in a dynamic simulator for this scale of field development.A dynamic simulation model which included the ICD completion was used to evaluate various completion options. A significant amount of work was performed to ensure the ICD was accurately modeled in the simulator. The simulations showed a long term benefit from using the ICD. To date 22 production wells have been completed with the ICD screen systems.This is one of the first applications of the latest generation ICD in non-horizontal wells particularly on a full field scale. It is also a case study of modeling the ICD completion with a dynamic simulator.

Since 1984, Peninsular Malaysia's gas fields have followed a distinct operational philosophy. In the initial field development, sand production was not considered a concern, resulting in wells and facilities without designs for sand management. Consequently, wells are confined to their maximum sand-free rate. Conversely, with reservoir pressure depletion, wells are beaned up to enhance drawdown, inadvertently introducing sand into the wellbore. This necessitates a delicate balance between sustaining production and managing sand effectively. This paper delves into how a highly sand-sensitive asset in Peninsular Malaysia's gas field navigates this challenge through the adoption of risk-based approach to sand management. The adoption of PETRONAS Carigali management guideline, aims to transition assets to a risk-based strategy, avoiding well shut-ins upon surface sand detection. Sand severity matrix was mapped as the initial analysis to assess sand erosion and transportation risks. Addressing sand issues starts with downhole management in wells lacking primary control. Remedial measures such as through tubing erosion-resistant sand screens, are installed. Following installations, monitoring enhancements involve acoustic sand sensors and online sampling, facilitate swift responses to sand surges, especially in satellite platforms. Acknowledging that sand controls may not entirely filter sand downhole; fines are managed through a closed loop online sampling. To identify flowline defects from sand erosion, radiographic and ultrasonic testing, especially at hotspots, is employed. Notably, routine pigging ensures a comprehensive approach to sand management within the platform. Field A led the way as the initial field in Peninsular Malaysia to pilot the adoption. With downhole sand control in wells producing sand, along with acoustic sensors and an online sand sampler, Field A saw 30% production increment, matching peak production in 2019. Despite success, one well continued producing fines below 45 microns. Sand erosion analysis tool indicated minimal erosional rate within limits, further confirming with ultrasonic and radiographic testing, UT/RT done previously, allowing the well to flow with risk assessment. This served as a pivotal milestone, where wells were previously restricted even with insignificant sand presence. Post-sand screen installations, pigging operations showed minimal sand accumulation in pipelines. Planned UT/RT inspections at each flowline will provide further insights. In mature fields, the occurrence of sand production becomes inevitable. By incorporating downhole sand control, real-time sensors, online sand sampling, continuous flowline integrity monitoring, and regular pigging, operators can proactively manage sand production in the long run. This strategy enables the optimization of production while mitigating the risk of equipment damage or operational disruptions stemming from sand-related challenges. A field that, for the past decade, maintained zero tolerance for sand is now transitioning to an acceptable level of sand production. Addressing sand management solely downhole is insufficient; comprehensive measures on the surface are required, fostering accountability across all parties to facilitate the transformation of a sand-sensitive asset.

This paper explores whether economic viability is the key to achieve deep decarbonization or net zero emissions. The hypothesis tested is that popular support for decarbonization policies is conditional upon most people’s belief that their economic well-being will improve, or at least not suffer with these policies. While GDP growth is the typical metric for economic health, a more useful socio-economic indicator for gauging the political viability of climate policies may be job creation. Specifically, the paper reviews the existing evidence about whether climate policies are more successful in achieving deep decarbonization in the long run if policy-makers include job creation as well as emissions reductions when designing and implementing climate policies, because, to date, climate policy-makers have often focused on emissions reductions as the primary criterion for policy choice. While empirical evidence remains thin, we find that job creation in low-carbon industries appears to lead to greater political support for the climate policies that contribute to decarbonization, but employment factors are not always the most salient factor in a voter’s decision. We also find empirical evidence that clean energy deployment policies, such as feed-in tariffs, have led to significant net gains in employment in the countries that have been studied. The review points to several policy implications, including the need to assess competitive advantage, develop plans, design and execute industrial policy, and develop a low-carbon workforce.