Malo
Expanding Chevrons Reach
in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico
A SUPPLEMENT TO
Contents 17 The Production Hub
21 The Export Pipelines
2 The Project 25 First Oil
3 The Co-owners 26 Continuing Operations
4 Exploring the Lower Tertiary 32 Operational Excellence
8 Building the Fields 35 The View from Here
Jack/St. Malo
Expanding Chevrons Reach
in the Gulf of Mexico
Jack/St. Malo is the result of the collaboration of
hundreds of suppliers and contractors and many
thousands of people across nine countries over a
ten-year period. This project highlights our long-
term commitment to safely developing the natural
resources of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where Chevron
is one of the top leaseholders. For the life of the
fields, operating and maintaining Jack/St. Malo will
continue to contribute to the nations economy and
support hundreds of local jobs.
2 | JACK/ST. MALO
The Co-owners
Financial and technical strength
4 | JACK/ST. MALO
JACK/ST. MALO | 5
Steve Thurston, vice president of Deepwater Exploration and Projects Business Unit.
and West Africa. Through the end of to 8,000 feet (2,438 meters), and each
2015, Chevron had drilled more than well extends from 26,000 feet (7,925
30 percent of all the industrys new meters) to as much as 36,000 feet
wells in the Lower Tertiary. (10,973 meters), Thurston says. The
Our success rate for wildcat wells good news is the reservoir intervals
has been great, resulting in many fields are typically more than 1,000 feet (305
with commercial potential, says Steve meters) thick, which means there is a
Thurston, Chevrons vice president of tremendous amount of oil in place.
Deepwater Exploration and Projects The Jack-2 appraisal well reached
Business Unit (DWEP). These discov- a total depth of 28,175 feet (8,588
eries do not come easy. Overall, the meters) in the second quarter of
Lower Tertiary trend requires some of 2006. A subsequent production test,
the most challenging wells and devel- which delivered a sustained flow of
opment technologies in the world. more than 6,000 barrels of crude oil
Chevron was one of the early pio- per day, was the deepest ever per-
neers, Thurston notes. We started formed in the Gulf of Mexico. It was
buying leases in the late 1990s. By the also an industry milestone for under-
time we discovered the Jack field, we standing the potential of the Lower
knew we were on to something big. Tertiary, where Chevron is the largest
Two of Chevrons biggest deepwa- leaseholder.
ter discoveries, St. Malo and Jack, were Since the mid-2000s, with
made in 2003 and 2004 in the Lower Chevrons installation of major devel-
Tertiary Wilcox trend. At the time, the opments such as the Tahiti field in
technology to develop them didnt the Gulf of Mexico, key technologies
exist, and there are still significant have enabled our deepwater devel-
technical challenges. opments, Thurston explains. We are
Wells in the Lower Tertiary have also committed to project safety, and
to be drilled in water depths down Jack/St. Malo is a prime example.
6 | JACK/ST. MALO
The Chevron Way
Built on a philosophy developed in the 1990s, The Chevron Way gives every
employee and contractor a concise definition of the companys corporate
vision, values and strategies. It establishes a common understanding for all of
those who work for and interact with Chevron. It can be summed up in the
phrase: Get results the right way.
At the heart of The Chevron Way is the vision to be the global energy
company most admired for its people, partnership and performance. This
vision means that Chevron:
Safely provides energy products vital to sustainable economic progress and
human development throughout the world
Is an organization with superior capabilities and commitment
Is the partner of choice
Earns the admiration of their stakeholders their investors, customers,
host governments, local communities and employees not only for the
goals achieved but how the company achieves them
Delivers world-class performance
JACK/ST. MALO | 7
McDermotts North
Ocean 102 fast-transit
8 | JACK/ST. MALO
JACK/ST. MALO | 9
have the potential to substantially images up to a level where you feel seismic sensors on the ocean floor
increase incremental recovery from like you understand the field. We rather than towing them behind a
these fields. had to acquire multiple generations boat. That costs more initially, but
of seismic. Fortunately, the technol- the system is safer, more versatile, and
Picking the right target, first time ogy was advancing rapidly during it yields better results.
With the enormous cost of drilling this time, which ultimately worked to With ocean bottom node (OBN)
and completing wells in ultra-deep our benefit. technology, remotely operated vehi-
water, operators demand a high cles deploy a grid of 100-pound
degree of certainty before they com- Sensors on the seabed receivers (nodes) directly on the sea-
mit. One of the toughest challenges In conventional offshore seismic bed. Each autonomous suitcase-sized
is creating seismic images that are surveys, ships pull long streamers of devicewhich contains a battery,
sharp and accurate enough to make acoustical sensors that record the clock, geophone and other gearcan
good decisions. digital echoes of sound waves as remain on the bottom for as long as
At these depths, nearly 30,000 they penetrate subsea layers. The 120 days, allowing for survey acquisi-
feet, the seismic image is quite lim- deeper the water, the harder this tion over large areas. There are several
ited, says Matt Richards, subsurface process becomes, since seawater advantages. First, placing sensors
geoscience team leader for Jack/ itself muffles the signal. To improve on the seabed eliminates any sig-
St. Malo. Thats not abnormal, but chances of producing high quality nal degradation caused by the water
it takes a lot of work to bring those seismic models at JSM, the team put column above.
1 0 | JACK/ST. MALO
Equally important, these stable bottom line is that OBN data gives deployed in congested waters and
ocean bottom nodes catch reflected Chevron a clearer structural image fields where there is already a lot of
waves in an orderly grid, enabling without the noise of conventional equipment on the sea floor. In areas
the gathering of clean, high-fidelity data. It helps Chevron see past bar- where complex geological features
data without gaps in coverage. They riers of complex geology to better such as salt or volcanic layers hide oil
also improve the repeatability of 4-D estimate a reservoirs potential. and gas deposits, the source boat may
seismic, which compares surveys The Wilcox Reservoir is very thick sweep outside the boundaries of the
made years apart to see how reser- here, Richards adds. Its up to 1,400 field to collect wide and full azimuth
voir fluids have moved over time, feet thick in some places with a lot seismic data. OBN technology allows
during development. Over the life of of oil in place, suggesting very long them to safely pass closer to the fields
the field, this information helps us field lives. existing facilities than a conventional
decide where to place new wells and Yet another advantage of OBN streamer vessel could with its wide
how to optimize our facilities. The technology is that it can be carefully swath of receivers in tow.
JACK/ST. MALO | 1 1
1 2 | JACK/ST. MALO
Ocean bottom node technology the risk. Part of the expense was the At one well in the Jack field, Chev-
is one of several enabling tools that time it tookas much as five days to ron stimulated a record-breaking six
did not exist when the St. Malo and treat one zone. The risk came from zones and pumped more than 2 mil-
Jack fields were discovered in 2003 running miles of pipe in and out of lion pounds of proppant (sand) in just
and 2004. To help delineate Jack/ the hole over and over again. One a few days instead of several weeks.
St. Malo, 1,100 nodes were placed well, for example, had five zones to The first of the three wells tested at
on the seabed in each field in 2013. complete. With the technology that more than 13,000 barrels of oil per day.
The back-to-back surveys lasted 10 was available when Jack and St. Malo Chevron also successfully tested
months, involving 100 people and were first discovered, the job would the technology that Halliburton calls
two ships. The surveys broke several have required 14 trips in and out of the Extended Single-Trip Multizone
industry records, including the num- the well to plug, perforate and frac- (ESTMZ TM) Frac-Pack system.
ber of nodes, the longest acquisition ture. The cost was prohibitive. ESTMZ TM allows more reservoirs
schedule, the deepest water, and the Chevron and Halliburton engi- to be stimulated in a shorter amount
largest source area. Besides their use neers joined forces in 2007 to develop of time, says Ron Shuman, senior
at Jack/St. Malo, Chevron has com- a new single-trip, multi-zone system vice president of Halliburtons South-
pleted similar ocean bottom node that could stimulate multiple zones ern and GOM regions. This system
surveys in the North Sea, and off in one operation. Their goals were allows us to deliver a very aggressive
the coasts of West Africa, Brazil and to increase the maximum pump stimulation with rates up to 45 bar-
Northwest Australia. rate and pressure differential, and to rels per minute and volumes greater
boost the volume of proppant. They than 400,000 pounds of high-strength
Single-trip, multi-zone got it right. Instead of four or five proppant. We deliver this with 10,000
completions days, it now takes as little as 18 hours horsepower per interval for up to five
With low-permeability reservoirs like to stimulate each zone. One result intervals, providing a total cumula-
Jack and St. Malo, engineers typi- is a much safer work environment, tive proppant volume of more than
cally pump a high-pressure slurry of since crews now spend less time run- 2 million pounds per well with one
sand, water and treating chemicals ning pipe in and out of the well. The service tool.
into isolated zones to create fractures other benefit is a tremendous reduc- The multizone system was devel-
in the reservoir rock. Pressure drives tion in cost. oped for use in the Gulf of Mexico,
the sand deep into the newly formed This technology is really going to but has since been deployed in Indo-
cracks, and the sand grains (or similar help the development of deepwater nesia, Brunei and elsewhere.
manmade material) prop the cracks Gulf of Mexico, says Aaron Conte,
open once the pressure is released. senior drilling superintendent. With Subsea boosting
This process, called frac-packing, spread rates well over $1 million per The naturally high reservoir pres-
historically represented as much as day, every hour saved is significant. It sures driving Jack and St. Malo during
one-third the total cost of a deepwa- has delivered more than $200 million the early stages of development will
ter production well, and a good bit of in savings across the Gulf of Mexico. decrease over time as the fields are
JACK/ST. MALO | 1 3
produced. To compensate and main- processing systems for the com- boosting systems on the Norwegian
tain production levels, Chevron bined fields, OneSubsea also installed continental shelf, technical experts
called on OneSubsea (a Cameron and a dozen 15,000 psi subsea wellhead from StatoilChevrons co-owners
Schlumberger company) to install trees, the production controls, four in both fieldswere seconded to the
three powerful subsea pumps on the manifolds and their associated flow- Jack/St. Malo team.
seabed to boost fluids from the wells lines. At the time the work was done Subsea boosting is not new, says
to the host platform. Each pump can in 2011, it included the deepest, lon- facilities engineer Chris Hey, but on
withstand pressures up to 13,000 gest and highest-pressure tieback in Jack/St. Malo, in terms of the water
pounds per square inch. The working the Gulf of Mexico. depth, the pressure rating and the
depths and power consumption Developing the subsea infrastruc- power of the pumps, theres nothing
some 3 megawatts eachrepresent ture and boosting system for Jack/ else like this in the industry.
a significant improvement over pre- St. Malo was one of the biggest chal- Many of the technical advances
vious subsea boosting systems. As lenges for the facilities team. Because were developed specifically for this
part of the subsea production and of their experience with subsea project. Some addressed the challenge
Photo courtesy of McDermott International, Inc.
of working in water more than a mile An extra level of safety 15,000 pounds per square inch.
deep. Others supported the building As the largest leaseholder in the U.S. With the assistance of experts
of JSMs complex infrastructure and Gulf of Mexico, Chevron is a principal from Chevron and other major
improved the recovery of its oil and sponsor of the Marine Well Con- energy producers, MWCC upgraded
natural gas. tainment Company LLC (MWCC), a its interim containment system in
McDermott International installed company which was established in 2015 to provide increased capacity
the jumpers, flying leads, subsea 2011 to respond to deepwater well and compatibility with a wider range
pumps and umbilicals. Much of the containment emergencies. Available of well designs, flow rates and envi-
heavy equipment, including three to all deepwater operators, MWCC ronmental conditions. The company
pump stations weighing 209 tons each, maintains a system that can stop or maintains two shore bases on the
was installed by McDermotts Derrick cap and flow a runaway well in water U.S. Gulf Coast. Regular training exer-
Barge 50. A second McDermott vessel, depths from 500 to 10,000 feet, tem- cises keep MWCCs equipment and
North Ocean 102, installed the control peratures as great as 350 degrees personnel ready to respond to a well
and power umbilicals. Fahrenheit, and pressures up to control emergency at any time.
1 6 | JACK/ST. MALO
The Production Hub
Largest in the Gulf of Mexico
JACK/ST. MALO | 1 7
GVA Consultants, a subsidiary of KBR, and commissioning of the mooring
worked exclusively on the hull con- piles was also completed before the
figuration. The deep draft hull design facility was towed to the field.
minimizes the motion of the vessel, The integrated semi-submersible
which in turn reduces stress on the platform left Ingleside in November,
vessels risers, umbilicals and more 2013, and was moored offshore and in
than 164,000 feet (50,000 meters) of place by early January, 2014. Offshore
polyester mooring lines. commissioning began while the hull
was being towed to the field, and the
Transporting the hull installation of the subsea infrastruc-
The hull was completed in February, ture continued through 2014.
2013. Soon after, it left South Korea
aboard the new Dockwise Vanguard Project economics
the worlds largest heavy lift transport Chevron holds a 50 percent inter-
vesselon the ships inaugural run. est in Jack, a 51 percent interest in
The Dockwise Vanguard took its St. Malo, and is the operator of both
56,000-ton cargo safely around South- fields. The company also has a 40.6
ern Africa and the Cape of Good percent interest in the production
Hope to arrive at Kiewit Offshore facility, which is designed to accom-
Services Ingleside yard near Corpus modate production from the Jack/St.
Christi, Texas, in mid-April. Malo development and third-party
tiebacks. Chevrons other co-own-
Topsides ers for the hub facility are Statoil,
The host topsides facilities were fabri- Maersk Oil, Petrobras, ExxonMobil
cated and assembled at Ingleside. There and Eni. The total daily production
are three main topsides modules for from the Jack and St. Malo fields in
production, power generation and gas 2015 averaged 61,000 barrels of liquids
compression. The completed modules and 10 million cubic feet of natural
were lifted onto the hull and deck box gas. Although the project delivered
in May 2013. Most of the integration first oil in December 2014, ramp-up
and commissioning was completed and development drilling for the first
before the facility was towed to the phase of the development contin-
field. Kiewit also fabricated the hosts ued into 2015. Production for the Julia
mooring piles. For efficiency and field, which is also serviced by the
worker safety, most of the integration host, began in April 2016.
1 8 | JACK/ST. MALO
The Export Pipelines
Planning for growth in the region
2 2 | JACK/ST. MALO
JACK/ST. MALO | 2 3
2 4 | JACK/ST. MALO
First Oil Theres nothing more exciting than the startup of a new oil field in the
deepwater, says Steve Thurston, vice president of Deepwater Explo-
ration and Projects. With the startup of the Jack and St. Malo fields, we
were finally able to see what these wells could produce.
The start Jack/St. Malo is a showcase of Chevrons focus on safety and opera-
of a long run tional excellence, yet for all of the exploration success so far, the Wilcox
remains a challenging reservoir. Many questions remain. In the next few
years, development drilling at Jack/St. Malo will teach the industry a great
deal. One thing that is known is that the Wilcox reservoir is very thick in
this area, as much as 1,400 feet (427 meters). There is a lot of oil in place in
both fields, which means they should be productive for a very long time.
JACK/ST. MALO | 2 5
Continuing Operations
Innovation, safety and
efficiency are the keys
2 6 | JACK/ST. MALO
JACK/ST. MALO | 2 7
Equipment Decision Support Cen- early 2016, Chevron has an interest in maintains its own Gulf of Mexico heli-
ters (EDSC), experts remotely monitor 466 leases in the Gulf of Mexico, 347 copter fleet, for example, which gives
rotating equipment to evaluate its of which are located in water depths us greater flexibility if we need to evac-
performance and safety, ensure the greater than 1,000 feet. At the end uate a platform prior to a storm.
proper maintenance, and to avoid of 2015, Chevron was the Gulfs larg- Jack/St. Malo is also equipped with
unplanned shutdowns. est leaseholder. Over the decades, technology to track a storms prog-
Rather than waiting for equipment Chevron brought their people safely ress and trajectory, as well as detailed
to fail, the MPSC and EDSC teams through numerous tropical storms computerized crew manifests to
feed data into a model that gives and hurricanes, including mega-storm keep tabs on who is offshore and
advance notice of potential failures or Katrina, when the company evacu- where they are.
maintenance needs. ated more than 1,000 employees and Like other fields, Jack/St. Malo is
This process reduces unplanned contractors without a single injury. connected to our onshore Decision
downtime, couples work-orders and Offshore installation manager Tommy Support Center (DSC) in Covington,
identifies what spare parts are needed. Boepple knows the drill first hand. Louisiana, Boepple says. Coving-
Jack/St. Malo is more remote than ton serves as our mission control
Ready for the next big storm most of our offshore facilities, so we during severe weather. To make sure
Chevron and its legacy companies allow extra time to initiate the systems were ready, we conduct periodic
have been exploring for and develop- that will ensure the safety of our peo- drills that reinforce each individ-
ing oil and gas resources in the Gulf of ple and assets, Boepple says. We rely uals role and responsibilities in a
Mexico for more than 75 years. As of on a number of resources. Chevron weather emergency.
2 8 | JACK/ST. MALO
Chevrons tasks and timelines phases, based on the track of the The role of information
during severe weather are guided by storm and information provided technology
the companys hurricane action plan. by the National Weather Service, Chevron information technology (IT)
Storms are monitored as soon as they Boepple adds. The facilities clos- teams from around the world put
develop. If they have the potential to est to the tropical weathers most their stamp on Jack/St. Malo, provid-
impact the Gulf of Mexico, the hur- immediate path are cleared first. All ing the technical support that helped
ricane evacuation team is activated, available marine and aviation assets this major capital project achieve
and the DSC is staffed 24 hours a day. are directed and monitored by the first oil. Chevron IT experts deliv-
Assets in the Gulf are evacu- DSC throughout the entire evacua- ered telecommunications and the
ated and production is curtailed in tion and remobilization process. infrastructure needed to support
JACK/ST. MALO | 2 9
3 0 | JACK/ST. MALO
operations at Jack/St. Malo as well as operator workflows and Chevrons floor. The cable runs from Jack/St.
network connectivity on the floating Production Reliability and Effi- Malo to a high-performance network
production unit, the pipe-laying ves- ciency Program. connectivity system made available
sel, floating accommodation vessel These solutions helped the GOM by BP to oil and gas producers in the
and the drillships. business unit increase the reliability Gulf of Mexico. The host also boasts
One of the big wins was the great of the facility, reduce health, safety more than 137 miles (220 kilome-
collaboration we had, says Keith and environmental risks, and decrease ters) of telecommunications cabling
Breaux, Chevrons DWEP Information costs, says GOM Information Tech- onboard for fast, reliable access to
Technology manager. We were aligned nology manager Jennifer Scriabine. data and systems.
not only in transition from the project Real-Time Reservoir Management Design, construction and regula-
team to the Gulf of Mexico business is also providing engineers with the tory approval required the processing
unit, but on the facility itself. The IT information they need to make faster, of more than 200,000 documents
teams from Jack/St. Malo, DWEP and better decisions to bring wells on line and drawings, including regulatory
GOM business units were phenomenal. sooner, reduce downtime and maxi- and specifications documentation,
They worked together seamlessly. mize production. process safety, personal safety and
Over the course of the project Linking the facilities required 88 environmental management system
nine digital oil field solutions were miles (142 kilometers) of new network documentation, as well as operat-
also implemented, including new subsea fiber optic cable on the ocean ing and installation manuals. The
team migrated construction data to
a document management system for
use during handover and operations
and developed a central docu-
ment archive.
The IT challenge for a major cap-
ital project is staggering, explained
Eric Sirgo, DWEPs general manager of
Major Capital Projects. IT is integral
to all aspects of the project, including
document management, telecommu-
nications, security, operational data
gathering and control and reservoir
management. ITs role and contri-
bution were critical to the projects
Eric Sirgo, DWEPs general manager of Major Capital Projects. overall success.
JACK/ST. MALO | 3 1
Operational
Excellence
Chevrons values
and vision
3 2 | JACK/ST. MALO
JACK/ST. MALO | 3 3
3 4 | JACK/ST. MALO
The View from Here
A solid foundation for future
deepwater developments
JACK/ST. MALO | 3 5
COMPANY PROFILES
37 Schlumberger 48 JDR Cable Systems Ltd
40 Halliburton 49 KBR, Inc.
42 Enbridge Inc. 50 Oil States Industries, Inc.
44 Aker Solutions Inc. 51 OneSubsea
44 DNV GL 52 Ruths.ai
45 Bevel Tech Group Inc. 54 Technip
46 Danos 55 Wood Group Mustang
47 Heerema Marine Contractors 56 McDermott International, Inc.
3 6 | JACK/ST. MALO
COMPANY PROFILE SCHLUMBERGER
JACK/ST. MALO | 3 7
COMPANY PROFILE SCHLUMBERGER
WesternGeco imaging technologies to performance, efficiency, and trajectory be quickly adjusted via flow activation,
improve the seismic imaging, which then control, even when high shock and vibra- 48 hours of trip time was saved.
served as the foundation for a collabora- tion and other harsh drilling conditions Continuous measurements transmit-
tive uncertainty analysis study that inte- are present. ted in real time while drilling enabled
grated Chevrons knowledge of the Earth The system enabled accurately M-I SWACO, a Schlumberger company,
Model with the WesternGeco WAZ data. steering through the overlying strata to customize its drilling and comple-
Results from the study were integrated to hit reservoir targets and to achieve tion fluids as needed. Chevron drilling
into Chevrons static model for St. Malo Chevrons ambitious development plan engineers worked with Schlumberger
reservoir management and used for sce- while reducing shock and vibration fluids experts to model each sec-
nario testing and risk mitigation. issues that are anathema for bottomhole tion to minimize equivalent circu-
assemblies. The drilling system deliv- lating density (ECD) and reduce lost
Drilling technology evolution ered an unprecedented 24% improve- returns. Conventional fluid systems
The Jack/St. Malo project benefited ment in salt penetration rates, and 208% were compared with M-I SWACOs
from application of the industrys tech- improvement in the sediment. WARP* advanced fluids technology.
nology advancements. Drilling tools and This micronized-barite drilling fluid was
techniques, drilling fluid development, Compared with earlier St. Malo selected in consideration of its ability
and logging and well-testing technol- wells, Chevron saved 15.9 days to maintain ECD within a narrow band,
ogy were all evolving rapidly at this time of deepwater drilling vessel time, with a subsequently reduction in overall
to deliver higher efficiency, more precise which is equivalent to a 55% drop fluid losses to 144 bbl.
information, and greater safety. in estimated costs and savings of
For drilling at Jack/St. Malo, the more than USD 14 million. Reducing risk
PowerDrive Orbit* rotary steerable sys- Chevrons mission-critical objectives
tem (RSS) efficiently drilled up to 8,000 One application where innova- for wireline logging addressed reser-
ft (2,439 m) of complex, salt, shale and tion directly addressed Chevrons con- voir compartmentalization and commu-
abrasive sandstone strata that would cerns was underreaming while drilling. nication, relative position of reservoirs
have greatly affected the run-life of pre- Previously numerous trips were required for designing well paths, prospec-
vious-generation equipment. The highly to achieve desired hole diameter, with tive production potential, and, most
reliable push-the-bit pad actuation of the costs not in line with the marginal importantly, early identification of any
the PowerDrive Orbit RSS utilizes met- value. Because the Rhino XC* on-de- production impediments.
al-to-metal seals for enhanced drilling mand hydraulically actuated reamer can Although wireline logging tools pro-
vide the most accurate geological and
petrophysical information needed to
characterize the reservoir, the risk of
tool sticking with its subsequent fish-
ing costs concerned Chevron engineers.
Accordingly, Schlumberger deployed
the logging toolstrings on the MaxPull*
high-tension wireline conveyance sys-
tem using TuffLINE* torque-balanced
composite wireline cable to provide
40% greater pulling capacity than con-
ventional ultra-strength logging cable
Figure 2: The newly designed pad actuation system, combined with real-time three-axis shock-
and-vibration measurements, allows the PowerDrive Orbit RSS to withstand the most difficult
systems. The MaxPull system also deliv-
drilling conditions and operate at higher rotational speeds than conventional systems. ers higher bottomhole wattage to run
3 8 | JACK/ST. MALO
complex tool combinations that reduce technology. Chevron
the number of logging runs. used the technology
Workflows were developed to effi- to minimize debris fall-
ciently acquire and analyze the data out and manage the
needed to address Chevrons immediate dynamic underbal-
concerns, but Schlumberger understood ance effects in their HP
that more insight would be required as wells, enabling a best-
development progressed. Perhaps the fit completions design.
most valuable information was derived The development of
from measurements acquired with the Jack/St. Malo remains
MDT* modular formation dynamics tes- on target due to the
ter equipped with Quicksilver Probe* continuous collabora-
focused fluid extraction and the InSitu tion between Chevron
Fluid Analyzer* real-time downhole and Schlumberger. As
fluid analysis (DFA) system because it the program contin-
enabled real-time decision making by ues, knowledge of the
Chevron engineers. The previously men- reservoirfrom data
tioned asphaltenes threshold is but one integration and man-
Figure 3: Engineers discuss the Quicksilver Probe focused extraction
of the critical parameters revealed by agement by Chevron
which drains off contaminated filtrate from the outer ring while
DFA conducted with specialized sensors sampling uncontaminated formation fluid from the center port. experts in the 3D
on the fluid at reservoir conditions. dynamic reservoir
As its name implies, Quicksilver well test, a temporary completion of the modelwill benefit future decisions
Probe extraction speeds the acquisition well achieved by a string of downhole as well as provide backbone informa-
of uncontaminated formation fluid. In test tools. Pressure transients, measured tion for completion and production
addition to the real-time insights pro- by precise downhole gauges, are used engineers, extending all the way to final
vided by DFA, fluid samples can be by reservoir engineers to calculate abandonment.
retrieved for laboratory analysis. Both reservoir volume and connectivity Perhaps the ultimate achievement
the shorter station time for Quicksilver and place boundaries. These data give is that the development of the Jack/
Probe extraction and the critical reser- critical input to Chevrons 3D reservoir St. Malo blueprint will guide geosci-
voir information obtained enable reduc- model for economic decisions. entists and engineers as they tackle
ing the risk of sticking to save valuable future challenges.
rig time. Where closely spaced fluid Well testing at Jack/St. Malo *Mark of Schlumberger
samples are not required, the MDT tool determined that commercial
is augmented with PressureXpress* res- production rates were indeed
ervoir pressure while logging service to achievable and, in the process, set
determine pressure gradients that iden- a world record for well test depth
tify gas/oil and oil/water contacts, which at more than 28,000 ft (8,537 m).
is vital knowledge for completions spe-
cialists and reservoir engineers. As part of the dynamic underbal-
ance management program, wells were
The gold standard prepared for optimal flow using the lat-
Recognized by petroleum engineers as est-generation innovation in HP high-
the gold standard of reservoir data, the shot-density gun systemsthe INsidr* 5599 San Felipe, 17th Floor
Houston, Texas 77056
final step in the well evaluation is the perforating shock and debris reduction www.slb.com
JACK/ST. MALO | 3 9
COMPANY PROFILE HALLIBURTON
Enhanced completions
For optimum results in the Lower
Tertiary, Halliburton developed
the ESTMZ Enhanced Single-Trip
Multizone system in 2007, based on its The Stim Star IV has the frac fluid and proppant storage capacity, blending on the fly and
high-volume pressure pumping capabilities needed for Lower Tertiary wells in deepwater
highly successful single-trip multizone Gulf of Mexico.
system. Chevron depended on the
ESTMZ systems full 10,000 psi differen-
tial pressure rating, which increases the The industrys highest frac and saving 14 trips. Compared to conven-
operating envelope for deeper wells proppant ratings enabled pres- tional completions, Chevron estimates
and allows frac design optimization. sure pumping to be increased to the ESTMZ system saved up to 25 days
45 bbl/min. The vol- on average and approximately $22 mil-
ume for 16/30 high- lion per well.
strength proppant
increased from 300,000 State-of-the-art stimulation
lb to 3.75 million lb During the first completions for the
per well with the use Jack/St. Malo fields, Halliburton used
of special alloys that two stimulation vessels in order to meet
have greater erosion the high volume stimulation require-
resistance. These capa- ments. Through innovative solutions,
bilities enabled the such as the Offshore Proppant Transfer
Chevron-Halliburton System, and through the launching of
team to perform sin- the Stim Star IV in 2015; Halliburton can
Halliburtons Integrated Completions Center in New Iberia,
gle-trip completions accomplish these same tasks with just
Louisiana, provides comprehensive resources for deepwater
completions throughout the Gulf of Mexico region. on a six-zone well, one stimulation vessel.
4 0 | JACK/ST. MALO
The Offshore Proppant Transfer string and the service tool by simulat- St. Malo project have made deepwater
System has blown proppant offshore, ing the job using the proposed opera- economics more favorable by reducing
vessel to vessel, at 1,000 lb/min. The tional steps. As the job is underway, it is the number of trips needed to complete
Stim Star IV has storage capacity for possible to track, in real time, the service a well from Lower Tertiary formations.
14,374 bbls of frac fluid and 4 million lb tools movement, position and status.
of proppant. With 21,500 hhp of high For post-job analysis, the crew is able Advancing the industry frontier
pressure pumps, redundant 75 bpm to use the visualization tools to review Halliburton is committed to working
blenders, redundant power units, and all or portions of the job data using the with Chevron to reduce completion and
redundant proppant movers, the Stim replay feature or log plots. production costs for successive phases
Star IV is capable of providing more Wellbore assurance, provided of the Jack/St. Malo project and apply
quality assurances than any vessel to through various critical operations such the efficiency gains to other deepwa-
date. These technological advances as wellbore cleanout, completion ser- ter and ultra-deepwater E&P projects in
make it possible to place over 4 million vices, pumping and fluids, also contrib- the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the
lb of proppant in a single trip. utes to the success of the wells. This world. In fact, Halliburton has worked
integrated approach in planning and on more than 90% of deepwater opera-
Real-time visualization execution mitigates risks, while promot- tions worldwide, including every project
service (RTVS) ing efficiency, and providing an optimal in the Lower Tertiary.
Halliburtons completion crews can conduit for the reservoir to flow.
access the InSite system for real-time Integrated completion resources
visualization of the entire sandface Collaboration success In February 2015, Halliburton opened
assembly, including the service string. The Jack/St. Malo project is a remarkable its new Integrated Completions
This helps save significant time and example of how collaboration between Center (ICC) in New Iberia, Louisiana.
money, while increasing the reliability an operator and a service company can Located on 103 acres, the 275,000-sq-
of service tool positioning. During pre- achieve step-change advances in oilfield ft climate-controlled facility includes a
job analysis, the crews can validate the technologies. The technical innovations 30,000-sq-ft administration building,
interaction between the completion and lessons learned during the Jack/ an operations command center and
several learning auditoriums for train-
ing. The ICC will increase the companys
resources for deepwater completions,
align services, ease equipment mainte-
nance, preparation and job execution
for its Gulf of Mexico area customers, all
aimed at delivering the highest level of
service quality.
JACK/ST. MALO | 4 1
COMPANY PROFILE ENBRIDGE INC.
4 2 | JACK/ST. MALO
The Jack/St. Malo FPU was designed up to 33 miles of 10-inch diameter pipe comply with the requirement, Enbridge
to be powered by natural gas, so the in a single voyage, were selected to per- acquired and tested a complete EPRS
WRGS pipeline had to be bi-directional, form the work. package, including lifting frames,
providing import gas for FPU startup The WRGS was constructed during clamps, connectors and remotely oper-
operations, and for times when pro- peak activity in the Gulf of Mexico. At ated vehicle tools for coating removal,
duced gas became insufficient to meet the time, pipeline contractors were cutting and beveling.
fuel needs during the life of the plat- working at full capacity, and Enbridge At Ship Shoal 332, Technips Uncle
form. In order to provide suitable pres- had to coordinate with suppliers and John vessel was used for spool and
sure and quality for gas riser installation in 435
used during import oper- feet of water. For redun-
ations, a compressor and dant protection, instal-
dehydration station were lation included a subsea
installed at the Ship Shoal safety shutdown system
332 platform. for the high pressure gas
The WRGS design also line in addition to the stan-
had to accommodate the dard surface emergency
subsequent tie-in of gas shutdown system.
production from other At Jack/St. Malo, the
deepwater fields, so the gas export line was suc-
project included installa- cessfully connected to the
tion of several large subsea FPU through a steel cate-
sled structures with Y con- nary riser, and during initial
nection points. startup, Enbridge deliv-
In addition, by terminating at Ship several producing groups to schedule ered gas to the platform, demonstrat-
Shoal 332, the WRGS gave the Jack/St. WRGS construction and keep the proj- ing the bi-directional operation of the
Malo owners an alternate route to ship ect on schedule. Work proceeded with- pipeline system.
gas to market. In the unlikely event of out weather delays, completing the The WRGS delivered first gas from
problems on Enbridges Nautilus pipe- 170 miles of the gas pipeline system in Jack/St. Malo in December 2014.
line, gas from WGRS could be directed five segments. Enbridge completed the project on time
to the nearby Kinetica Energy Express As the pipeline was installed, the and under budget.
pipeline, assuring reliable gas delivery. project team focused on equipment The WRGS system is designed for
During the front-end engineering inspection and quality control of system reliable operation, and provides options
and design (FEED) process, the team components. Extensive pigging tests for Chevron and its project co-own-
developed a comprehensive design were performed on the bi-directional ers to keep oil flowing and deliver
for the WRGS to address all of these Y connections (provided by Quality gas to market.
requirements. Connector Systems, now part of Oil
States International), and additional tests
WRGS Implementation were performed to assure pig-ability of
While the Jack/St. Malo FPU was being the entire system.
assembled in Ingleside, Texas, Enbridge Chevron and other project co-own-
began construction of the WRGS, with ers required the WRGS to have a very
Technip as the pipelay contractor. robust emergency pipeline repair sys- ENBRIDGE (U.S.) INC.
Technips Deep Blue and Deep Energy tem (EPRS) in place to minimize down- 1100 Louisiana, suite 3300
Houston, TX 77002
vessels, which are capable of installing time in the event of pipeline damage. To www.enbridge.com
JACK/ST. MALO | 4 3
COMPANY PROFILE AKER SOLUTIONS INC.
4 4 | JACK/ST. MALO
COMPANY PROFILE BEVEL TECH GROUP INC.
JACK/ST. MALO | 4 5
COMPANY PROFILE DANOS
4 6 | JACK/ST. MALO
COMPANY PROFILE HEEREMA MARINE CONTRACTORS
JACK/ST. MALO | 4 7
COMPANY PROFILE JDR CABLE SYSTEMS LTD
4 8 | JACK/ST. MALO
COMPANY PROFILE KBR, INC.
KBR, INC.
Jack/St. Malo is the largest semi-submersible in the Gulf of Mexico based on displacement. With a 601 Jefferson Street
planned production life of more than 30 years, current technologies are anticipated to recover in Houston, TX 77002
excess of 500 million oil-equivalent barrels www.KBR.com
JACK/ST. MALO | 4 9
COMPANY PROFILE OIL STATES INDUSTRIES, INC.
5 0 | JACK/ST. MALO
COMPANY PROFILE ONESUBSEA
JACK/ST. MALO | 5 1
COMPANY PROFILE RUTHS.AI
5 2 | JACK/ST. MALO
point for their Spotfire analysis. The data feeds from the JSM
templates are designed to solve com- wells as well as to dis-
mon oil and gas workflows. Extensions cern how parameters,
provide new functionality to Spotfire such as the productivity
by adding visualizations, data connec- index (PI) and reservoir
tors, and tools. pressure, for the wells
Ruths.ai provides modular templates compare with simulation
and extensions that can be combined data as they were ramp-
to make powerful workflows. Some of ing them up, explained
the Ruths.ai products, available through Troy Ruths. We were
Exchange.ai, include: able to bring up the sim-
3D Subsurface Visualization an A visual, interactive experience enables scientists and engineers ulation data side-by-side
to discover new and actionable insights into their oil and fields to
extension for visualizing 3D surfaces, increase production and reduce costs. with the field data for a
well paths, variables on well paths, real-time comparison.
wellbore features, geobodies, and relevant, oilfield-related data sources to We also ran predictive
seismic within Spotfire, improve the efficiency and quality of well integrity models against PI degra-
Basic Type Curve Analysis an decision-making, communication, and dation and pressure loss. The JSM stage
extension for aggregating well data mining in a friendly, visual analytics 1 producing wells data will be utilized
declines to determine typical behav- environment. The application is stable, in the analysis to provide insights and
ior of a well ensemble, tested, and deployed across Chevrons information to support future JSM wells.
Workover Candidate Analysis global assets.
a workflow for identifying potential Analyst Recognition
workover candidates using past field Startup monitoring Gartner has named Ruths.ai as one
performance, for JSM wells of the Cool Vendors in Oil and Gas,
Well Log Visualization an exten- Ruths.ai delivered several analytics tools 2016 for its custom developed data
sion to create, visualize, and interact that provided advanced Spotfire capa- science solutions.
with log data. bility for the JSM engineering team.
Specifically, these tools enabled the JSM
Data analysis partnership team to build dynamic plots necessary
with Chevron for startup monitoring. This extension
Ruths.ai and Chevron have had an improved the existing toolset for the
enduring data analytics collaboration. JSM startup workbench in terms of per-
A recent example is a reservoir man- formance and content, built additional
agement application that Troy Ruths analyses that target tactical workflows,
and John Pederson, production man- and is supporting ongoing reporting RUTHS.AI
ager of a Chevron asset, designed to requirements. 708 Main Street, Suite 820
Houston, TX 77002 USA
analyze and monitor oil fields. The soft- Our application enabled the +1 (832) 255-5100
wares goal is to integrate and expose Chevron engineers to monitor real-time info@ruths.ai
Gartner, Cool Vendors in Oil and Gas, 2016, May 5, 2016. The Gartner Cool Vendor Logo is a trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc., and/or its
affiliates, and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research
publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research
publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
JACK/ST. MALO | 5 3
COMPANY PROFILE TECHNIP
Jack/St. Malo (JSM) The Deep Blue is one of the most advanced pipelay and construction vessels of the subsea industry
and the flagship of the Technip fleet.
subsea project
Technip was responsible for subsea
installation services, using the Deep Blue, were fabricated to initiate flowlines, and HSE milestones
one of the worlds largest ultra-deep- two gravity-base, second-end PLETs Consistent with our HSE Pulse program,
water pipelay and subsea construction were supplied for terminations. All stab the health and safety of our employ-
vessels, to install 55 miles of flowlines and hinge-over PLETS were stabbed ees is a core value and an absolute com-
and SCRs, eight PLETS, and eight heavy- into pre-installed piles and hinged over mitment for Technip. The JSM project
lift structures over four, continuous off- to land on the pile top. completed over one million man-hours
shore campaigns. The Technip-designed stab and without a recordable injury (LTIR=0.00
Stalk fabrication for the flowlines hinge over PLETS were the first of their and TRIR=0.00).
and SCRs took place at Technips spool- kind for rigid pipelay applications with
base in Theodore, Alabama, which also the Deep Blue. The heavy-lift structures,
served as the mobilization site for the four manifolds and four tie-in skids,
Deep Blue. Fatigue-sensitive flowline were free-issued by Chevron and loaded
sections required buoyancy modules. out by inland barge, transferred to an
Strakes and anodes were also part of offshore barge and transported to the
the flowlines installation. The Technip- field for offshore installation. All struc- TECHNIP
designed pipeline end terminations tures were installed onto pre-existing 11740 Katy Freeway, Suite 100
(PLETs) were fabricated in Houston, piles. The heaviest of the manifold struc- Houston, Texas 77079, USA
1 281 870 1111
Texas. Six stab and hinge-over PLETS tures installed weighed 200 tonnes. www.technip.com
5 4 | JACK/ST. MALO
COMPANY PROFILE WOOD GROUP MUSTANG
JACK/ST. MALO | 5 5
COMPANY PROFILE McDERMOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC.
5
5 66 || JACK/ST.
Jack/St. MALO
Malo