|
As noted in
several articles in which Mr. Severns is referenced and quoted (Wall Street Journal,
Financial Times,
Offshore
Engineer,
Associated
Press), the exploration and production industry is looking to
change the way it produces oil and gas. Operators are increasing
their investments in a concept we call the Intelligent Oil Field (IOF), and
others describe as the Digital Oil Field, i-field, integrated
operations, and Smart fields. But whatever the nomenclature, the
basics of the concept are similar in that firms are seeking to take
advantage of a variety of digital technologies that are reaching a
critical mass of capability and interactivity. Their goal is to
realize total asset
awareness starting from deep in the reservoir, going across the sandface, up
the well, through the processing facilities and out to the export
line.
What is interesting is that
with the shale revolution, the locus of the intelligent oil field, at least in
North America, has shifted away from optmizing production and recovery from
large, often inaccessible fields, (think deepwater), to more of a focus on real
time drilling management in resource plays, especially in areas with complex
geologically complex settings. Such applications often take advantage of
measurement while drilling technology, as well as reasonably priced, real time,
downhole directional steering technologies, to optimize well bore placement to
maximize initial rates,
which are important in the economics of a resource
play.
When I first brought the
concept of the Intelligent Oil Field (then called the Digital Oil Field of the
Future), into
Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), in the 2001-2002 time frame, I noted that I
expected seismic to grow in importance as a tool for production monitoring in
the oil and gas E&P industry. The reasoning was quite simple, it is the
only tool that the industry has that can "see" through miles of solid rock to
give us some hint as to what is happening in and around the reservoir. As
noted below in the discussion of time lapse seismic (also sometimes called 4D
seismic), this has indeed been happening with large fields that can afford the
cost of doing repeated seismic shoots over time. However, another
production related use has become quite prominent over the past few years, and
is used extensively to help optimize operations and production in the hottest
areas of the oil patch. I am, of course, talking about microseismic real
time monitoring technology, which is used to monitor the efficiacy of fracing in
shale gas and shale oil plays.
Articles include:
Real Time Microseismic: Frackings Newest Revolution
and
Reservoir and Hydraulic Fracking Monitoring from Surface and Borehole
Sensors
My favorite example of how powerful this
technology can be in practice is what Continental Oil Resources has been doing
with their Bakken technology demonstration project.
Digital Oil Field Example: Application of Real
Time Microseismic: Hawkinson Technology Demonstration Project - Bakken Oil
Field
As proof of the growing
importance of the Intelligent Oil Field concept, we note that as
recently as the mid-noughts there were still many questions about the importance
of using real time digital information and
control technologies to optimize operations. Now, the concept has become, if not
routine, as least broadyl accepted as an important tool for optimizing
operations, and maximizing profit. There is also a chance that over the medium
to long term that the technology and expertise that goes with it may reapportion
the share of the barrel that goes to producers, service firms and
the owners of reserves.
Prominent and
leading technologies typically associated with the large field, IOF concepts
include:
-
Time lapse
seismic
-
Real time, integrated
system wide simulation and modeling
-
Enhanced SCADA
(supervisory control and data acquisition) and DCS (distributed
control systems)
-
Intelligent
completions - downhole control valves and advanced
sensors
-
Remote operations and
visualization facilities
However, a different form of the intelligent oil field has
emerged over the past 5 years, and that is the "just-in-time, manufacturing
model. This approach is particularly applicable to resource plays, with
their emphasis on drilling, completion and surface equipment production
optimization, and less so on long term reservoir management. In the
manufacturing model, repeatability, efficiency, and just-in-time process
management are the dominant goals versus minimizing field production costs and
maximizing life cycle reservoir management across the primary, secondary and
tertiary stages of a more conventional field.
Resource play example- Horizontal Drilling with measurement
while drilling (MWD) and rotary steerable system (RSS)
It needs to be
emphasized that the intelligent field goes far beyond the simple
application of new technology and will likely require
sweeping changes in work processes; new organizational
forms; and rapid and significant evolution in the relationships
between operators and service firms. This people and
process element is often overlooked, but is essential for the
concept to achieve its full potential. This is best illustrated in large,
conventioal fields with complex field operations, and large, multifunctional
support organizations.
Interesting
large field, production optimization examples:
Mature Field Applications
Return to
Energy Consulting Group home
page
|