Using innovation to lower gas gathering costs for unconventional projects

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 406
Author(s):  
Vishnu Nair
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Economic Transition ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Functional Requirements ◽  
Project Development ◽  
Field Development

Moving from conventional to unconventional gas project development requires a significant shift in approach. This presents challenges for operators making this transition, including standards and specifications being mis-matched to functional requirements, the need for robust surface and subsurface field development planning, lack of infrastructure, high construction and procurement costs and the scarcity of supply chain and logistics support. In their need to prove up sufficient reserves in time for downstream LNG plant operations, coal seam gas (CSG) players have neglected the development of appropriate standards, specifications and contracting and procurement strategies that consider how upstream costs can be minimised. This can impact project viability in a high-cost, low-productivity environment. The requirement of shale gas development for continual expansion also presents challenges compared to conventional project development. Adopting a factory approach can ensure a smooth and economic transition through the phase of continual shale gas production across the life of individual wells and through field expansion. Using case studies, this extended abstract describes how innovation can be applied across the gas-gathering development phase of unconventional projects to achieve significant cost savings. Key innovative opportunities include: Maximising modularise construction and operation to reduce the construction schedule and maximise onsite productivity Relocatable, interchangeable, standardised skid designs (design kit approach). Standard modules sized to maximise container volumes (and they minimise freight costs) Low-cost design Asian and Australian fabrication. Fit-for-purpose technology and packages to lower operating costs. Design and fabrication to minimise environmental impacts.

JOHN BROOKES GAS FIELD DEVELOPMENT

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
A.J. McDiarmid ◽  
P.T. Bingaman ◽  
S.T. Bingham ◽  
B. Kirk-Burnnand ◽  
D.P. Gilbert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Initial Development ◽  
North West ◽  
Field Development ◽  
The North ◽  
Production Wells ◽  
Development Approach

The John Brookes gas field was discovered by the drilling of John Brookes–1 in October 1998 and appraisal drilling was completed in 2003. The field is located about 40 km northwest of Barrow Island on the North West Shelf, offshore West Australia. The John Brookes structure is a large (>90 km2) anticline with >100 m closure mapped at the base of the regional seal. Recoverable sales gas in the John Brookes reservoir is about 1 Tcf.Joint venture approval to fast track the development was gained in January 2004 with a target of first gas production in June 2005. The short development time frame required parallel workflows and use of a flexible/low cost development approach proven by Apache in the area.The John Brookes development is sized for off-take rates up to 240 TJ/d of sales gas with the development costing A$229 million. The initial development will consist of three production wells tied into an unmanned, minimal facility wellhead platform. The platform will be connected to the existing East Spar gas processing facilities on Varanus Island by an 18-inch multi-phase trunkline. Increasing the output of the existing East Spar facility and installation of a new gas sweetening facility are required. From Varanus Island, the gas will be exported to the mainland by existing sales gas pipelines. Condensate will be exported from Varanus Island by tanker.

scholarly journals What Factors Control Shale-Gas Production and Production-Decline Trend in Fractured Systems: A Comprehensive Analysis and Investigation

SPE Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (02) ◽  
pp. 562-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
HanYi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Reservoir Model ◽  
Reservoir Properties ◽  
Gas Reservoir ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Shale Gas Reservoir ◽  
Decline Curve ◽  
Realistic Prediction

Summary One of the most-significant practical problems with the optimization of shale-gas-stimulation design is estimating post-fracture production rate, production decline, and ultimate recovery. Without a realistic prediction of the production-decline trend resulting from a given completion and given reservoir properties, it is impossible to evaluate the economic viability of producing natural gas from shale plays. Traditionally, decline-curve analysis (DCA) is commonly used to predict gas production and its decline trend to determine the estimated ultimate recovery (EUR), but its analysis cannot be used to analyze which factors influence the production-decline trend because of a lack of the underlying support of physics, which makes it difficult to guide completion designs or optimize field development. This study presents a unified shale-gas-reservoir model, which incorporates real-gas transport, nanoflow mechanisms, and geomechanics into a fractured-shale system. This model is used to predict shale-gas production under different reservoir scenarios and investigate which factors control its decline trend. The results and analysis presented in the article provide us with a better understanding of gas production and decline mechanisms in a shale-gas well with certain conditions of the reservoir characteristics. More-in-depth knowledge regarding the effects of factors controlling the behavior of the gas production can help us develop more-reliable models to forecast shale-gas-decline trend and ultimate recovery. This article also reveals that some commonly held beliefs may sound reasonable to infer the production-decline trend, but may not be true in a coupled reservoir system in reality.

Automated Field Development Planning for Unconventional Shale Gas or Oil

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Tilke ◽  
Wentao Zhou ◽  
Yinli Wang ◽  
Shalini Krishnamurthy ◽  
Mahesh Bhanushali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Field Development

scholarly journals Integrated Field Development Plans of Akkas Gas Field

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-122
Author(s):  
Dr. Jalal A. Al-Sudani ◽  
Eng. Adnan N. Sajet ◽  
Eng. Jalal Ahmed ◽  
Eng. Mohamed Enad ◽  
Dr. Abdul-Hussain H. Al-Shibly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Net Present Value ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Recovery Factor ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Discounted Cash Flow ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Development Plans

Akkas gas field is the biggest natural gas field in Iraq that is located in the western desert area. The field contains around (9 BSCF) of approved gas reserve from the conventional rock source. This paper presents field development planning process combined with economic analysis comprises, the number of wells that yields in maximum net present value (NPV), the recovery factor and raw gas production rates for the total number of suggested wells that have been estimated, as well as the cumulative gas produced with time. The development plans were elaborated concerning different types of well geometries and operational constraints. Full comparison analysis for all presented plans regarding NPV, recovery factor, discounted cash flow versus production time, forecasted production rate, as well as forecasted cumulative production with time have been presented. Sensitivity analysis has been made to determine well and reservoir controlling parameters that leads for best operating field development plans. The study shows the effectiveness of horizontal well type compared with vertical wells; as well as, the effect of reservoir permeability on field development plans, the results show that the field could be operated at target plateau rates of (250, 500 and 750 MMSCF/D). It also shows the superior effect of stimulation processes in increasing the NPV and field recovery factor using less number of wells

4D RESERVOIR GEOCHEMISTRY AS AN AID TO INTERPRETING PRODUCTION DYNAMICS, LEGENDRE FIELD, EASTERN DAMPIER SUB-BASIN

2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.C. Davis ◽  
K.R. Leischner ◽  
A.P. Murray ◽  
P.G. Ryles
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Fluid Composition ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Compositional Gradient ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Low Viscosity

Reservoir geochemistry is a low cost, field development/appraisal tool resting on the principle that fluids isolated by flow barriers show slight compositional and/or isotopic differences. Such differences reflect subtle variations in charge history related to the location of the source kitchen and the source rock maturity at the time of expulsion, as well as post fill processes such as water washing and leakage. High resolution gas chromatography (HRGC), multi-dimensional gas chromatography (MDGC) and compound specific liquid and gas isotope analysis (CSIA) were performed on a time series of fluids, comprising stored oil from two drill stem tests, and produced fluids from six points in the Legendre field, Dampier Sub-basin, to investigate changes in fluid composition as production proceeded. The Legendre field contains high gravity (46° API), low viscosity oil, hosted in two culminations (North and South) in a thin, high quality clastic reservoir of Berriasian age. Fluids from different wells within the Northern accumulation are indistinguishable, indicating the oil is in communication and no compositional gradient exists. By contrast, compositional and isotopic differences between fluids from the Northern and Southern accumulations demonstrate that these pools are not in communication, and should therefore be treated separately from a development planning perspective.The differences in initial fluid compositions have been successfully used in conjunction with operational parameters to explain the increase in gas/oil ratio (GOR) of oil from Legendre South–2H that occurred after only 13 months of production. Comparison of pristine, preproduction separator samples with fluids collected after the observed increase in GOR, revealed that solution gas injected at Legendre West–1 has migrated rapidly into the southern part of the field. Integration of geochemical data with regional petroleum system concepts and a full 3D charge model has greatly assisted our understanding of these observations.

Challenges and Achievements of Drilling Record MRC Wells for Appraising and Developing an Offshore Tight Carbonate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohand Ahmed Alyan ◽  
Jamie Scott Duguid ◽  
Atif Shahzad ◽  
Amna Ahmed Alobeidli ◽  
Alunood Khalifa Al Suwaidi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Planning Process ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Surveillance Program ◽  
Reservoir Properties ◽  
Landing Point ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Tight Carbonate

Abstract This paper describes the field development planning strategy for appraising and developing an offshore reservoir area via extended reach extra-long maximum reservoir contact laterals drilled from an artificial island. These single production and injection laterals are completed in excess of 20,000 ft on top of tens of thousands feet of drilled well path to reach the drain landing point. These laterals have a dual purpose, as in addition to reservoir appraisal, is to maximize the productivity and injectivity in an on-going development of a tight carbonate reservoir. The well planning process starts from a careful selection of reservoir target coordinates to maximize the oil in place being developed from the artificial island and to enable reservoir testing and appraisal. From this data, initial 3D well designs are generated based on island location and rig capability to ensure ability to drill and run completion to total depth. The generated well tracks are used in a reservoir model to forecast production uplifts and inflow/outflow profiling along laterals. A strategic drilling step-out program has been implemented to extend drilling reach and completion deployment incrementally along with a reservoir surveillance program. The program was designed with built-in risk mitigations for any potential drilling and completion issues. The implemented program has enabled drilling into new areas and testing the reservoir properties at a small incremental cost of extending horizontal laterals. This has led to huge cost savings versus a very expensive appraisal program from a wellhead platform that included drilling a new well in addition to topside facility changes and pipelines conversions along with associated maintenance costs. The data gathered from these wells have enabled reduction of geologic uncertainty and de-risking of future developments. As a result, the field development footprint of developed oil resources was extended by additional 20% without the requirement of building additional drilling structures. Additionally, there is a well count reduction via lateral extension thus leading to capital costs saving. There were initial challenges encountered during lower completion deployment but they were resolved successfully in subsequent wells. An outcome of this strategy was the successful drilling of maximum reservoir contact wells with tens of thousands feet of drilled well path to reach the drain landing point and then with single horizontal drains exceeding 20,000 ft. The drilled wells resulted in unprecedented records in UAE and globally in terms of well total length, horizontal drain length and completion deployment.

Automated Field Development Planning for Unconventional Shale Gas and Tight Oil

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Tilke ◽  
Wentao Zhou ◽  
Yinli Wang ◽  
Shalini Krishnamurthy ◽  
Mahesh Bhanushali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Tight Oil ◽  
Field Development

scholarly journals Integrated gas field development: The Anjum story

2001 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-102
Author(s):  
F.J. Hollman
Keyword(s):  
Development Planning ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Well Performance ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Extensive Experience ◽  
Modeling Tools ◽  
Gas Treatment ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Development Plans

AbstractIn contrast to oil field development, gas field development requires tight integration of subsurface, surface and economic issues due to the difficulty of storing surplus produced gas and the large effect of the back-pressures in a surface network on the individual well performance. As a major gas supplier the Shell Group, and in particular NAM, has extensive experience in this field.The gas production from onshore fields in the North Friesland area is a recent NAM development. A 10 million cubic meter per day LTS gas treatment installation located near the village of Anjum came on stream in 1997. Production initially started from 3 wells in 2 fields to deliver gas to the Gasunie grid at Grijpskerk. The total area comprises 10 fields and 4 remaining prospects and is planned to be fully developed by the year 2001, using wet gas pipelines to route the production to either the Anjum LTS installation or the Grijpskerk SilicaGel installation.The Rotliegend reservoirs in this part of the Netherlands are very heterogeneous and require a more detailed subsurface simulation than feasible with the standard NAM tool for gas field development (GENREM). In addition, the area is close to the Waddenzee and based on extensive ecological research, NAM uses a stringent, self-imposed ecological constraint, whilst evaluating the development plans for this area. Detailed subsidence studies have been run using subsidence-modeling tools, which run under a software user-interface called FrontEnd, an in-house development by the Shell Group. Also running under this interface is an application for gas field development called Gas Field Planning Tool (GFPT). GFPT combines a detailed subsurface simulator with a surface simulator using a development planning module, which handles economic and operational aspects of the integrated model. Lastly, the interface gives access to a powerful command language and a mathematical toolbox, which can be used to define almost any missing functionality.Making use of the flexibility offered by the FrontEnd interface and with help from available expertise in RTS (Shell Rijswijk), an integrated GFPT model was built, which not only incorporates operational and economic constraints, but also does optimization and subsidence analysis. The model is used to evaluate all development options and scenarios for this area in a consistent manner. Therefore, all proposed development plans are optimized within all applied constraints whether they are related to surface, subsurface, economic, or environmental aspects.Production history and well performance are very close to those predicted by these detailed models, which will allow accurate prediction of future field performance and subsidence.

scholarly journals Review of metering and gas measurements in high-volume shale gas wells

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiming Zhang ◽  
John Wang
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Measurement Accuracy ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Volumetric Measurement ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
Gas Measurements

AbstractCoriolis, turbine, V-cone, and orifice meters have been used in measurement of gas production in shale wells. Flange-tapped concentric orifice meters are commonly used in measurement of shale gas production volumes due to their low cost, accuracy, and ease of maintenance compared to other types of meters. However, shale gas wells are producing at high flow rates, high pressure, and possibly gas compositions change, which might affect volumetric measurement accuracy that was developed for conventional gas wells. Thus, it is critical to investigate the metering and measurements technologies that are being applied in shale gas wells to further understand and improve the accuracy of gas volumetric measurements. This paper provides a comprehensive review and analysis of background information, design, measurement, and uncertainties associated with Coriolis meters, turbine meters, V-cone meters, and orifice meters. We also discussed the lessons learned through our field experiences in computing gas volumes using SCADA information in shale gas and conventional gas production.

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