Sharing Examples Of Successful Applications Improves Recovery

(Tech Connections Column, July 2003, American Oil and Gas Reporter)

Two PTTC-developed sessions, part of “Independents’ Day” at LA Basin 2003, a joint meeting of the SPE Western Region and AAPG Pacific Section on May 22 in Long Beach, Ca., focused on presenting examples of technology applications that are working. The focus was on encouraging participants to learn from experiences across the United States.

Dr. Iraj Ershaghi, PTTC’s West Coast Region director, challenged independents to become familiar with and to apply “smart well” technologies. Technology improvements are bringing cost and complexity down. The goal is to change from reactive (after the fact) management to near-real-time proactive management. This allows one to see early warning signs and make changes to preclude adverse events.

One mindset that operators must overcome is “pay me or invest now” versus “pay me much more later.” This applies to basic operations like managing power consumption, as Mark Reedy described about a California program, or to well-bore management in West Texas. Bob Kiker, PTTC Permian Basin, described how operators in West Texas were reducing their well failures by as much as a factor of 10, by changing their ways. Operators have found that a structured team effort with defined accountability reaps great results.

Modern reservoir simulation technology is user friendly, PC-based, powerful (quick run times) and robust (can handle complex problems). This enables companies to get results quickly, resulting in more reservoirs being modeled and simulation results being used to aid in near-real-time decisions. Jim Erdle, Computer Modelling Group, made the point that companies are now modeling more than just their “core” assets, since it can be done quickly. He noted that an engineer in a major company modeled 25 percent of the profit center’s reservoirs in just one year, realizing significant reserve additions from the effort. He presented another example of how simulation helped an independent make a timely decision about the amount of steam (cut back or discontinue completely) that should be injected during California’s energy crisis in 2000-01. With a proven simulation model, “what if” scenarios were quickly evaluated and changes were made with confidence that long-term adverse effects were being minimized.

Old plays can have new life with new technologies. Rodney Reynolds, PTTC’s North Mid-Continent Region director, described how two technologies–larger volume gel polymer treatments using MARCIT^sm technology and Gas Gun^sm solid propellant treatments–were stimulating production in Kansas’ mature Arbuckle. Since early 2001, more than 150 production wells had received large volume gel polymer treatments. Similarly, more than 50 operators had stimulated nearly 150 wells with GasGun^sm treatments, many of those being Arbuckle completions. Results from both technologies have been very positive.

New plays, like the Trenton-Black River in Appalachia, thrive on new information and data. Doug Patchen, PTTC’s Appalachian Region director, has organized several workshops, drawing more than 600 attendees. Free flow of information and interplay among participants has favorably influenced the evolution of exploration, drilling and completion concepts. There is consensus on future research and development, and technology needs, and a multidisciplinary study involving several regional organizations and private industry partners has been submitted to the Department of Energy. DOE’s oil and gas R&D program through the National Energy Technology Laboratory often plays a role in developing and demonstrating technology.

Providing evidence of the impact of DOE support, Gary Walker from the National Petroleum Technology Office in Tulsa shared case studies from DOE programs. DOE was involved in one way or another in the following examples about through-casing resistivity logging (early R&D) and horizontal drilling in Michigan (key demonstration well).

In California’s geology of alternating oil and water zones, or zones where current oil saturations may be different from the original, having current resistivity data is critical. Early success with greatly needed through-casing resistivity logging (Schlumberger’s cased hole formation resistivity [CHFR] log) led to rapid adoption in California. Bill Heiam, Schlumberger, noted that more than 250 CHFR jobs had been performed in California.

At least partially fueled by a DOE-supported demonstration project, horizontal activity in Michigan increased significantly after 1995. Early 2003 data indicate that levels remain strong. Half of Michigan’s horizontals have been for redevelopment in known oil and gas fields. Exploration and gas storage account for another 20 percent each. The Niagaran Reef is by far the most common target, representing 59 percent of horizontal wells.

Sada Joshi, Joshi Technologies Inc., noted that the current commercial success rate for U.S. horizontals was 65 percent, although he did note that success rates generally improved as familiarity was gained in an area. Although they require more initial investment, finding and operating costs are generally much lower with horizontal wells.

Editors Note: PTTC acknowledges and greatly appreciates the support of the “Independent’s Day” presenters.