2017623 DevelopingthefieldOil&GasJournal

Developingthefield
04/01/2010
By

IllustrationcourtesyofFMCTechnologies

GreatWhite,SilvertipandTobagothePerdidodevelopmentsthreefieldscontainmanyproducingzones,largevolumesofhydrocarbonsin
place,andaconsiderableamountofuncertainty.

MuchoftheoilandgasfromPerdidowillcomefromthePaleogenegeologicalsystem,whichincludestheM.OligoceneFrioSds.,L.Eocene
WM12Sd.,andtheL.PaleoceneWM50Sds.Together,thesethreereservoirzonesareknownastheLowerTertiary,reservoirintervalsinthe
GulfofMexicothatnootheroperatingcompanyinthegulfhastappedbefore.SomeindustryanalystsarecallingtheEocenethemostsignificant
oiltrendsincethediscoveryofPrudhoeBay.

VernEikrem,PerdidoSubsurfaceTeamlead
Thisisafrontierdevelopment,whichisexciting,butrisky,saysVernEikrem,Perdidossubsurfaceteamleader.Wewantedas
muchflexibilityaspossible.Weneededadevelopmentplanthatwouldallowustolearnovertime.Thatinformationisimportantnot
onlyforus,butformanyotheroperatorsintheGulfofMexico.Whatwelearnherewilldeterminehowweandourcompetitorsgo
aftersimilarprospectsinthefuture.

Amajorpartofthecurrentplanistodrillasmanyofthewellsaspossiblefromthehostplatform,ratherthanfrommobiledeepwatervesselsthat
completethewells,thenleavethedrillinglocation.Thatofferstwomainadvantages.First,drillingfromyourownplatformislessexpensivethan
hiringadeepwaterrig.Second,havingaccesstothewellsfromthehostplatformallowspetroleumengineerstolearnmoreabouttheproducing
zonesandtomakeadjustmentsasneeded.Thedownsideofdrillingmostofthewellsfromacentrallocationisthatthewellsareoftenhighly
deviated,whichincreasestheircost.

Perdidosfirstsatellitewells,ofcourse,weredrilledfrommobileoffshoredrillingunits(MODUs),whichalloweddevelopmentofthefieldtostart
whilethesparwasbeingbuilt.InDecember2008,theNobleClydeBoudreauxsetaworldrecordbycompletingaproductionwellin9,356feet
(2,852meters)ofwater.TheBoudreauxalsopredrilled22wellstoabout2,500feetbelowthemudlineatthesparlocation.Twoofthesewells
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2017623 DevelopingthefieldOil&GasJournal
havebeendeepenedtotheWM12Sd.Theremaining20wellswillbedeepenedlatertotheirreservoirtargetsandthencompleted.TheMODU
wasreleasedfromthefieldinNovember2009aftercompletingsome2.2millionmanhourswithoutalosttimeincident.Developmentdrillingis
continuingnowfromthesparandfromNoblesnewestultradeepwaterrig,theDannyAdkins.

Achallengingenvironment

GreatWhite,thelargestofPerdidosthreefields,isoneofaseriesofverylarge,heavilyfaultedanticlinesknownasthePerdidoFoldBelt,which
isaverydifferentgeologicalenvironmentthanmostoftheGulfofMexico.Adeepsubmarinecanyoncutsacrossthefield,andoneescarpment
nearthesparisnearly1,500feet(457meters)high.Thereservoirsarealsofarfromotherareasofoilandgasproductioninthegulf.

ThisGreatWhiteamplitudeandstructuremapshowsthefirmdevelopmentwellsingreenandthecontingentwellsinyellow.Wells
highlightedwithbluecirclesarethesixpredrilledwells.

Thatischallengingformanyreasons,Eikremsays.Theruggedseafloormakesithardertoinstallsubseaequipmentandpipelines,andthe
extremewaterdepthmakesdrillingmoredifficult.Wealsohaveawiderangeofpermeabilityinourreservoirs,thereservoirpressureislow,and
therearesignificantdifferencesinthequalityoftheoil.

Ontheheavyside,theAPIgravityintheM.FrioatSilvertipFieldisaslowas16degrees.Thelightestoilrunsabout38degreesintheGreat
WhiteFieldsWM50ASd.

ButevenwithPerdidoschallenges,Eikremsays,thereisrealgrowthpotentialoutherebecauseofthesizeofourasset.Thevolumeinplace
isphenomenal.Ifwecanaccessiteconomically,thisprojectwillgoonformanyyears.

Earlydrillingprogram

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GreatWhitewasdiscoveredin2002,andallofPerdidosexplorationandappraisalwellswerecompletedbytheendof2004.

EdShumilak,WellTeamlead
Fromthatpointon,wehadallofthepredrillappraisalinformationweweregoingtoget,saysEdShumilak,WellTeamleadforthe
spar.Onebigquestionwas,wheretoputthespar.Wedidntwantitmooredinaplacewherewehadtodealwithalotofshallow
hazardsandsubsurfaceanomalies,sowepickedalikelyspot,thenbroughtinafloatingrigtodrillabout1,000feetbelowthe
mudlinetoevaluatetheshallowhazards.

Bytheendof2009theprojecthadelevenexplorationandappraisalwellsincludingtwosidetracks.Inaddition,eightdevelopmentwellshadbeen
drilledandsixhadbeencompleted.Thecurrentplancallsforasmanyas35wells,withabouttwothirdsofthemdrilledfromthespar.Themost
distantsatellitewellsofarisontheseabedabouteightmilesfromthehost.Developmentdrillingisscheduledtocontinuebeyond2016.

Riggingupthespar

WhenIfirststartedonthisprojectinJanuary2003,itwaswideopen,Shumilaksays.Wewerestilltryingtofigureoutwhatthereservoirswere
like,andhowintheworldweweregoingtodevelopsomethingin8,000feetofwater.

ShumilaksgroupmovedfromsupportingtheSubsurfaceteamtodesigningthewells,thenturneditsattentiontothesparsdrillingrig.Weightwas
alwaysanissue.Puttingwellheadsandmuchoftheseparationequipmentontheseabedmadethesparitselfsmallerandlighter,butthedrilling
rigwasgoingtoaddalotofweightthathadtobesupportedbythebuoyancyofthespar.

ErikSorgard,WellDeliveryTeamlead,PerdidoFloaterOperations

Oncewedecidedweweregoingtoputasparoutthere,ourteambeganworkingonspecificationsfortherigandourinterfacewiththespar,
Shumilaksays.Weneededarigpowerfulenoughtodrilllong,complicatedwells,andasparthatcouldsupportit.Therewasalotofgiveand

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2017623 DevelopingthefieldOil&GasJournal
take,tryingtomarrytherigtothespar.Weworkedextensivelywiththesparandmooringteamandwiththetopsidesteam.

Buildinganewrigforthesparwouldbeexpensive,andasitturnedout,unnecessary.Until2007,theHelmerich&Payne(H&P)205hadbeenon
ShellsRamPowelldeepwaterplatformintheGulfofMexico.Therighadagoodworkinghistoryandsafetyperformance,anditwasnolonger
neededonRamPowell.

TwohorizontalwellsintheSilvertipfieldsetnewworldwaterdepthrecords.

WedemobilizedtheH&P205rigfromRamPowellandtookittotheKiewitOffshoreServicesyardinCorpusChristiinFebruaryof2007,
Shumilaksays.Therewemadesomeupgrades,becausetherighadbeenworkingonaTLP.Themotionsandstressesaredifferentonaspar,
soweneededtomodifytherig.

Atensionlegplatform,forexample,hasverylittlepitchandroll,butitwilldriftonitsmooringlinesinaslowfigureeight.Sparsdontdriftasmuch,
buttheywillpitchmorethanaTLP.Tocompensate,theH&P205rigsskidbeamsandskidbaseweremodified.Therewerealsostructural
upgradestotherigfloorandderrick.

Bytheendof2009,Shellemployeesandcontractorshadworkedmorethan10millionhourswithoutalosttimeinjury.

TheH&P205wasintheKiewityardatthesametimetheywerebuildingourtopsides,Shumilaksays.Thatwasconvenient,becausewecould
easilygofromonetotheother.Therewasalotofinterfacemanagement.

TheworkontherigwascompletedinDecember2008,butitwasnottakenoffshoreuntilJuly2009.TheH&P205installationwascompletedthe
followingmonthandtherigwasimmediatelyputtoworkinstallingPerdidosfirsttwosubseaseparatorcaissons.Mostoftheexperiencedcrew
thathadoperatedtheH&P205onRamPowellstayedwiththerigandarenowonthePerdidospar.

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2017623 DevelopingthefieldOil&GasJournal

AnumberofH&PsrotatingcrewsalsoworkexclusivelyforShell,andthatenhancesoursafetyprogram,Shumilakadds.Eventhoughthey
movefromonefacilitytoanother,theyknowoursafetyculture.Theyknowthewayweworkandoperate,andtheyknowourforemenand
superintendents.

Onepopularandeffectivesafetyprogramwithrigconstructionworkersstressedthehazardsofdroppedobjects.

AstherignearedcompletionintheKiewityard,forexample,newcrewmemberswerebroughtintoworkwiththeexperiencedhands.Asoneof
theforemensaid,Werebuildingthesafetycultureherethatweregoingtotakeoffshorewithus.

Onepopularsafetyprogramiscalled,Istoppedadrop!Onadrillingrigthatis15storiestall,droppedobjectsareaserioushazard.Aforgotten
toolinthederrickoranysmallitemthatvibratesloosecanbedeadly.Asonerighandexplained,Aonepoundboltfallingfrom100feetupmakes
quiteadent.

Workerswhopointoutsuchhazardsarerewarded,andtheyhavethesatisfactionofknowingthattheymayhavekeptsomeoneelsefromgetting
hurt.

Safetyoffshore

Workingoffshoreisinherentlydangerous.Theworkisnonstop.Peoplearemovingequipmentthatweighstons,yettheoffshoresafetyrecordfor
thePerdidodevelopmenthasbeenoutstanding.

Igivealotofcredittotheonsiteleadership,Shumilaksays.Dayinanddayout,theShellforemenandallthesiteleadsstressedsafety.They
focusedonitintheirpretourmeetingsinthemorningandinalloftheirprejobplanning.Theytalkedaboutsafetyagainattheendoftheirshift.
Safetyhasbeenacontinualthemeoffshore,anditreallypaysoff.

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2017623 DevelopingthefieldOil&GasJournal
Becauseoftheextremewaterdepth,remotelyoperatedvehicles(ROVs)likethisonewereusedtocompletemuchofthesubseawork.

Thewaycontractorsmanagedtheirexperiencedpeopleisagoodexample.Anyonewhowasnewtoaparticularjobregardlessofhisorher
timeinthefieldwascalledashortserviceemployee.Thenumberofshortserviceemployeeswaskepttoaminimum,butwhenanyonedidfall
intothatcategory,mentorswerealwaysnearby.

Anintegratedteam

Fromthebeginningoftheprojectthroughtheendof2009,PerdidoscontractorsandShellemployeesloggedmorethan10millionmanhours
withoutalosttimeinjury.ThatisjustonemeasureofPerdidossuccess.Shumilakcreditsastrongintegratedteamandgoodmanagement.

OnethingImmostproudofistheintegratedteamwehadthroughoutthisproject,andthefreedomthatmanagementgaveustoexplorenew
ideas,hesays.Webeganwithawholerangeofpossibilitiesandsolutions,sowegatheredanexperiencedteamofcivilengineers,rigfolks,
subseaengineersandproductionspecialists.Theinterfaceandcommunicationwasoutstanding.Withoutthat,wecouldnthavepulledthisoff.

YvonneGonzalez,reservoirengineer,wasresponsableforsurveillanceplanning.

Fromthebeginning,theteamhadfewconstraints.IfaprojectasboldasPerdidowasgoingtobesuccessful,creativityandflexibilitywerethe
keys.

Thesolutionwehaverightnowdidntevencomeupuntilthreemonthsbeforewewenttodecisiongatethree,whichisSystemSelection,
Shumilaksays.WehaddecidedtobuildasparwithDVAdrytrees,butartificialliftandflowassurancewerestillproblemareas.ThatswhenG.T.
Ju,ourSubsealead,suggestedthatwecombinethetwointoawettreeDVAsysteminstead.

Thedesignteamthoughtitover.Managementgavethemtwomonthstoevaluatetheideaandmakeaproposal.

Weroundedupalltheprojectleads,explainedtheideaandstartedworking,Shumilakrecalls.Wecameback,pitchedourcase,and
managementboughtin.Theabilitytodothatwasfantastic.Withoutit,Imsurethatourfinalsolutionwouldnothavebeenasgood.

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