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CONTENTS
Volume 69 • Number 3

14 GUEST EDITORIAL • LOWER FOR LONGER:

LEAN FOREVER
Lean thinking engages everyone in systematically solving problems.
Instead of using lean tools in isolated processes, applying lean
across the extended value stream can lead to oil and gas companies
thriving in low-price environments and expanding quicker when the
market rebounds.

20 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE • ELECTROKINETIC

DEPOSITION OF ASPHALTENES STUDIED UNDER
DYNAMIC CONDITIONS
Researchers are studying the electrokinetic deposition of crude oil
asphaltenes under dynamic conditions, with the goal of building a
device to remove asphaltenes near the production well.

28 TESTING TINY GRAINS SEEKING MORE OUTPUT

Early testing suggests that grains of proppant so small they need A magnified image of micron-scale
to be measured in microns can increase production by slowing the proppant, which may be able to
notoriously rapid declines in unconventional wells. significantly increase production by
holding open fractures that cannot
be reached by widely used grains
35 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING CONFERENCE OFFERS of sand or ceramic. Image courtesy
NEW INSIGHTS of Halliburton.
The SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition
held in January included 50 technical paper presentations
DEPARTMENTS
and 90 exhibitors, discussing and showcasing new hydraulic
fracturing technologies, various applications, and learnings from 6 Performance Indices
fracture-stimulated wells. This article covers the highlights from
8 Regional Update
the conference.
10 President’s Column
42 MANAGEMENT • SUCCEEDING IN THE SHALE 12 Comments
BUSINESS WITH A LEAN WELL MANUFACTURING 16 Technology Applications
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 24 E&P Notes
Lean management principles can reduce drilling and completion 58 SPE Events
costs by up to 50% for shale operators. Transitioning to a lean 78 People
system requires a fundamental change in the organizational 79 Professional Services
mindset, with every team member allowed to challenge any 80 Advertisers’ Index
decision in the way the company operates.

An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Printed in US. Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
We have the
45 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
Zillur Rahim, SPE, Senior Petroleum Engineering Consultant,
superpower
Saudi Aramco

46 A Comparison Between Seawater-Based and Freshwater-Based

to see inside
Fracturing Fluids
your well.
48 An Innovative Approach to Gel Breakers for Hydraulic Fracturing
52 Comparison of Multiphase-Flow Results in Transverse vs.
And like all good
Longitudinal Fracturing superheroes, we’ll be
55 PRODUCTION MONITORING/SURVEILLANCE
right there when you
Marc Kuck, SPE, Drilling and Completions Engineering Manager, Eni need us.
56 Real-Time Production Surveillance and Optimization in a Mature VISURAY’s revolutionary VR90®
Subsea Asset downhole X-ray diagnostic service is
now available in Europe, the Middle
59 Production Response in the Denver-Julesburg Basin
East, and North America. In the North
61 Cost-Effective Production Metering and Allocation in a Mature Offshore Sea, our groundbreaking technology
Oil Field has been qualified by a major operator.
Wherever your well and whatever its
63 HEAVY OIL condition, you can count on us to see
Tayfun Babadagli, SPE, Professor, University of Alberta
what’s happening and deliver quality
64 Key Learnings From First 2 Years of a Full-Field CSS Development images 100% of the time. A quick call
in Oman to us is all it takes to put your well
back into operation. You save time and
66 Nanoparticle Catalysts Upgrade Heavy Oil for Continuous-Steam- money, while VISURAY saves the day.
Injection Recovery

68 Radio-Frequency Heating Combined With Solvent Injection for visuray.com

Heavy-Oil Recovery

70 SEISMIC APPLICATIONS
Mark S. Egan, SPE, Consulting Geophysicist

71 3D Close-the-Loop Method Based on Probabilistic Seismic Inversion

73 High-Resolution Seismic Stochastic Inversion as a Direct Input for
Reservoir Modeling

75 Fracture Modeling Using a Constructed Discrete Fracture Network

From Seismic Data

VISURAY ION
X-RAY VIS

The complete SPE technical papers featured in this issue are available
free to SPE members for two months at www.spe.org/jpt.
 RELIABLE, REAL-TIME DATA
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DRILLING & FORMATION EVALUATION

WELL CONSTRUCTION
COMPLETION
PRODUCTION

SPE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
2017 President
Janeen Judah, Chevron
2016 President
Nathan Meehan, Baker Hughes
2018 President
Darcy Spady, Broadview Energy
Vice President Finance
Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil Annuitant
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
AFRICA
Adeyemi Akinlawon, Adeb Konsult
CANADIAN
Cam Matthews, C-FER Technologies
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
Joe Frantz Jr., Range Resources
GULF COAST NORTH AMERICA
J. Roger Hite, Inwood Solutions
MID-CONTINENT NORTH AMERICA
Chris Jenkins, Independent Energy Standards
MIDDLE EAST
Khalid Zainalabedin, Saudi Aramco
NORTH SEA
Karl Ludvig Heskestad, Aker BP
NORTHERN ASIA PACIFIC
Phongsthorn Thavisin, PTTEP
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NORTH AMERICA
Erin McEvers, Clearbrook Consulting
RUSSIA AND THE CASPIAN
Anton Ablaev, Schlumberger
JPT STAFF
Glenda Smith, Publisher
John Donnelly, Editor
Pam Boschee, Senior Manager Magazines
Chris Carpenter, Technology Editor
Trent Jacobs, Digital Editor
Anjana Sankara Narayanan, Editorial Manager
Joel Parshall, Features Editor
Stephen Rassenfoss, Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Stephen Whitfield, Senior Staff Writer
Adam Wilson, Special Publications Editor
Craig Moritz, Assistant Director Americas Sales & Exhibits
Mary Jane Touchstone, Print Publishing Manager
David Grant, Digital Publishing Manager
Laurie Sailsbury, Composition Specialist
Dennis Scharnberg, Proofreader
archerwell.com/point
SOUTH AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Anelise Quintao Lara, Petrobras
SOUTH, CENTRAL, AND EAST EUROPE
26
Matthias Meister, Baker Hughes
SOUTH ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Salis Aprilian, PT Badak NGL
SOUTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Libby Einhorn, Concho Oil & Gas
WESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Andrei Popa, Chevron
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
potential
DRILLING
Jeff Moss, ExxonMobil failure
HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT,
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Trey Shaffer, ERM
paths.
MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION
J.C. Cunha
COMPLETIONS
Jennifer Miskimins, Colorado School of Mines
PRODUCTION AND FACILITIES
Well integrity
Hisham Saadawi, Ringstone Petroleum Consultants
RESERVOIR DESCRIPTION AND DYNAMICS
Tom Blasingame, Texas A&M University
DIRECTOR FOR ACADEMIA is at a tipping
Dan Hill, Texas A&M University
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS point.
Khaled Al-Buraik, Saudi Aramco
Helena Wu, Santos Ltd.
Archer’s new Point® system
enables operators to
investigate and locate
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 PERFORMANCE INDICES

WORLD CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION+‡ HENRY HUB GULF COAST NATURAL GAS SPOT PRICE‡

THOUSAND BOPD
6
O PEC JUL AUG SEP OCT
5 USD/million Btu
Algeria 1350 1350 1350 1350
Angola 1829 1833 1768 1618 4

Ecuador 473 549 560 552 3

Indonesia 840 837 837 839
2
Iran 4130 4150 4170 4190
Iraq 4415 4460 4480 4565 1

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

2017
JAN
Kuwait1 2570 2570 2600 2650
Libya 310 250 310 550
Nigeria 1873 1913 1943 1988
Qatar 1537 1537 1477 1507
Saudi Arabia1 10670 10640 10600 10590 WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)‡
UAE 3156 3186 3216 3196
Venezuela 2220 2210 2200 2190
2017
TOTAL2 35583 35695 35721 35985 JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN

Brent 48.25 44.95 45.84 46.57 49.52 44.73 53.32 54.58

THOUSAND BOPD WTI 48.76 44.65 44.72 45.18 49.78 45.71 51.97 52.50

NON-OPEC JUL AUG SEP OCT

Canada 3657 3854 3837 3757
China 3938 3874 3887 3780 WORLD ROTARY RIG COUNT†
Egypt 494 493 493 492

Mexico 2193 2180 2148 2138

2017
Norway 1762 1603 1430 1766 REGION JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN
Russia 10254 10316 10729 10826 US 449 481 509 544 580 634 683
UK 979 837 821 751 Canada 94 129 141 156 173 209 302
USA 8691 8759 8575 8807
Latin America 186 187 189 183 181 184 176
Other3 12475 12108 12366 12580
Europe 94 96 92 87 97 99 98
TOTAL 44443 44024 44286 44897
Total World 80026 79719 80007 80882 Middle East 390 379 386 391 380 376 382

Africa 82 81 77 77 79 78 79
Asia Pacific 186 194 190 182 188 192 198
INDICES KEY
+
Figures do not include natural gas plant liquids.
1
Includes approximately one-half of Neutral Zone production. TOTAL 1481 1547 1584 1620 1678 1772 1918
2
Includes all current OPEC members.
3
The “Other” line item also includes Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil,
Colombia, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia,
Oman, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, and Yemen. Monthly production from these WORLD OIL SUPPLY AND DEMAND‡
countries was listed individually in previous JPT issues. Ongoing work
on the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) website is disrupting
the regular updating of these countries’ production numbers. Additional MILLION BOPD 2016
annual and monthly international crude oil production statistics are
available at: Quarter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/.
† Source: Baker Hughes. SUPPLY 96.82 96.49 97.04 98.50
‡ Source: EIA.
Numbers revised by EIA are given in italics. DEMAND 95.36 96.09 97.46 96.94
Supply includes crude oil, lease condensates, natural gas plant liquids, biofuels, other liquids,
and refinery processing gains.

6 JPT • MARCH 2017

 ANNIVERSARY

BENEFIT VISIT US
AT ICOTA
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HOUSTON, TX

OF RETROFIT

Interwell successfully delivered a water shut off

solution for a major North Sea Operator.
A client in the UK North Sea required a straddle capable of running Gas lift straddle
through a 3.812” minimum restriction in 4 ½” tubing. Interwell proposed Screen straddle
a 360–550 Multi-Run Custom Anchored Production Straddle (APS) utilizing Water-shut off straddle
the successfully proven High Expansion (HEX) technology. The straddle,
Tubing repair straddle
with an OD of 3.60”, was the ideal candidate for meeting the client’s
Insert safety valve straddle
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straddle module, in conjunction with Interwell’s unique stinger solution, Retrievable straddle
was successfully located into the latch system of the lower straddle
module. The upper straddle module was then set above the perforated
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 REGIONAL UPDATE
AFRICA
Z San Leon Energy reported encouraging
performance from its OML 18 field in
Nigeria. Reperforation of an oil well
increased gross field production to
approximately 61,000 B/D before
output was temporarily scaled back to
53,000 B/D for a shut-in, upgrade, and
workover of the well. A number of other
field wells will be reperforated in coming
months, the company said. San Leon
holds a 9.72% interest in the field, which
is operated by Eroton (35%). Nigerian
National Petroleum Corp. holds the
remaining stake.
Z FAR said that drilling has begun on the
SNE-5 appraisal well offshore Senegal.
The well and the following SNE-6 well will
evaluate the upper SNE reservoir units’
connectivity and deliverability by oil
flow testing that will include interference
tests. The new wells follow a four-well
appraisal program that the company
called “highly successful.” FAR has a
15% interest in the SNE field, which is
operated by Cairn Energy (40%). Other
participants are ConocoPhillips (35%)
and Petrosen (10%).
ASIA
Z China National Offshore Oil Corp.
(CNOOC) has begun production from the
Enping 23-1 oil fields in the Pearl River
Mouth Basin of the South China Sea.
The Enping 23-1 development program
will fully use the existing facilities of the
Enping 24-2 oil field and involves three
other Enping oil fields in a joint project.
Three wells are producing 5,600 B/D, and
the overall project is expected to reach
peak production of 24,800 B/D in 2018.
The company is the sole interest owner
in the fields.
Z CNOOC reported that the
Penglai 19-9 comprehensive
adjustment project in the Bohai Sea
has started oil production. Two wells
are currently producing approximately
750 B/D, and peak oil output of
13,000 B/D from 57 planned  wells is
expected in 2019. The company is the
operator with a 51% working interest.
ConocoPhillips holds the remaining
project interest.
8 JPT • MARCH 2017
EUROPE
Z Eni announced a discovery at well
6608/10-17S offshore Norway in the
PL128/128D licenses of the Norwegian Sea.
The well encountered 91 ft of oil and gas
with good reservoir properties in the
Cretaceous sandstones of the Cape Vulture
prospect. The size of the discovery has
been preliminarily estimated at 70 million
to 200 million bbl of oil in place, with
additional potential to be evaluated. The
company has an 11.5% interest in the well,
which is operated by Statoil (63.95%).
Petoro holds a 24.55% stake in the well.
Z Gazprom Neft, the oil unit of Gazprom,
has started up two more production wells
at the Prirazlomnoye field in the Pechora
Sea, Russia’s only offshore Arctic oil project.
Production at one of the new wells has
reached 12,900 B/D, and six of the field’s
planned 32 wells are now producing.
Z Hurricane Energy has spudded
well 205/23-A (the Halifax well) in the
UK North Sea. Results from the recent
Lancaster pilot well (205/21a-7) indicate
that its oil accumulation likely extends
beyond the Lancaster license, the
company said. Hurricane believes that if
the Halifax well can demonstrate mobile
oil outside of the local structural closure,
then the Lancaster field could extend
farther northeast.
MIDDLE EAST
Z DNO reported that the Peshkabir-2 well
has discovered oil in the southern flank of
the Peshkabir field in the Kurdistan region
of Iraq. The well flowed at a stable rate of
3,800 B/D of 28 °API oil from an openhole
test of a 557-ft interval. Pressure data
and oil shows from cuttings and sidewall
cores indicate a Cretaceous oil interval of
more than 984 ft, the company said. DNO
operates and has a 55% working interest
in the license that includes the field.
Genel Energy (25%) and the Kurdistan
Regional Government (20%) hold the
remaining stakes.
NORTH AMERICA
Z BP completed its Thunder Horse South
expansion project, which is expected to
boost production by a gross 50,000 BOE/D
at the deepwater Thunder Horse field in
the US Gulf of Mexico. A subsea production
system was added two miles south of the
Thunder Horse platform, and two 11,000-ft
seabed flowlines were installed to tie the
system into the platform. By using proven,
standardized equipment and technology
instead of building custom components,
BP was able to bring in the project
USD 150 million under budget and 11 months
early, the company said. BP is the field
operator with a 75% interest. ExxonMobil
holds the remaining interest.
Z W&T Offshore reported that it has logged
149 ft of net oil pay in five zones from the
Ship Shoal 359 A-18 well in the US Gulf of
Mexico and extended the size and depth
calculations of the Mahogany field. Drilled to
a 20,000-ft vertical depth in 372 ft of water,
the well confirmed that the T sand is present
and oil-bearing on the field’s west side, and
penetrated four other pay sands. By drilling
a subsequent exploratory tail about 950 ft
deeper, the company found another pay
interval in the U sand. W&T is the field’s
sole interest owner.
Z Foothills Exploration has begun drilling
its Labokay prospect well in Calcasieu
Parish, Louisiana. The prospect is an
amplitude-vs.-offset oil play that targets
the Frio Nododaria Blanpiedi sand. The
well will be drilled to a total measured
depth of 8,575 ft and true vertical depth
of 8,190 ft. The company will earn 100%
working interest before payout for drilling,
and Magna Operating will back in for a
20% interest after payout.
SOUTH AMERICA
Z ExxonMobil has made a deepwater
discovery at the Payara-1 well in the
Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, the
company’s second in the block over the
past 2 years. The latest well, drilled in
a new reservoir, found more than 95 ft
of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone.
Situated about 10 miles northwest
of ExxonMobil’s 2015 Liza discovery,
Payara-1 was drilled to 18,080 ft in 6,660 ft
of water. The company is drilling two
sidetrack wells to evaluate the discovery.
ExxonMobil is operator with a 45%
interest in the block, with Hess (30%)
and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum (25%)
holding the remaining stakes. JPT
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 RISK AND REWARD
Talent Everywhere
Janeen Judah, 2017 SPE President
The theme for my columns this year is
Risk and Reward because risk assess-
ment and decision making have fasci-
nated me for my entire career. The most
significant risks and rewards in our busi-
ness are created by the judgments of
the people who work here. People and
their talent create upstream value. How
then do we generate the talent pool to create value in the
next upturn?
If you ever doubt the impact that one person can make, let
me give two recent examples.
The biggest disaster in our industry—ever—was the Ma-
condo blowout in April 2010. Like the day of the 11 September
2001 attacks in the US, I’ll bet that most of you can remem-
ber when you first heard about the fire and crowded around
a computer or television in horrified silence. I remember ask-
ing: Why didn’t someone use Stop Work Authority? Why didn’t
someone say something?
In the recent movie depiction, Deepwater Horizon, actor
John Malkovich played the evil manager who pushed forward
despite signs of disaster. It was a cartoonish portrayal, but it
vividly illustrated the impact that a single individual can have
on our operations. The result was a disaster on every level, al-
most destroying one of the largest companies on Earth.
In contrast, on a positive note, there is the story of Steve
Keenan, the experienced explorationist who led the team that
discovered Alpine High in the Permian Basin, the largest sin-
gle discovery in the US in many years. Apache’s management
gave Keenan and his team the freedom to think differently,
and the results were spectacular. It’s ultimately people who
create (or destroy) value in our industry.
Talent will never be more important than in the next up-
turn. Companies have retired or laid off the most experienced
technical workforce in all parts of our industry: exploration
and production, oilfield services, and engineering, procure-
ment, and construction. Just a few years ago, projects all over
the world were delayed because of a lack of people, not capital
constraints. It won’t be long before that will happen again, and
we will be looking for talent everywhere.
The “Big Crew Change” has happened. We’ve been talk-
ing about it for years and, in my view, it is mostly over. Peo-
ple who, like me, came into the oil industry during the boom
To contact the SPE President, email president@spe.org.
10
years of the late 1970s and early 1980s retired in droves over
the past 2 years. I see it when I talk to companies, when I walk
around the halls at Chevron, and when I walk around down-
town Houston at lunch—there are far fewer gray heads in
our business. I’ll make an exception for management; many
company management are from that era, but in the techni-
cal workforce—mostly retired. So far, we have seen no conse-
quences because we are in a time of such low work activity. But
when the upturn occurs—and it will happen—are we ready to
move forward with a next-generation workforce?
Management may think that the aged 55+ workforce will
come back in an upturn. I disagree. They’ve been through five
downturns and worked especially hard over the past 10 years
of frenzied activity. They are enjoying their time off, and near-
ly everyone I have talked to has no desire to return to full-time
employment. A minority is interested in part-time or project
work, but only on their own terms.
A quick note to all of our valued SPE members who are en-
joying their retirement: Please don’t retire from being active
in SPE! We have thousands of Young Professionals and stu-
dents who need your expertise and counsel. Your contribu-
tions are vital to the health and longevity of SPE.
So, what will industry leaders do for this next upturn? We
need to be ready for the next-generation workforce. The
oil and gas industry is everywhere, so we need to find our
talent everywhere.
Our business is much more global than it was when I
joined. It’s no longer dominated by the “Seven Sisters” and
their mostly OECD-based workforce. National oil companies
have emerged in the past 40 years, and the top tier are ab-
solutely technically competitive with the old guard. The next
tier isn’t far behind. The oil business is also more regional
than it was when I joined. Smaller, regional, or niche play-
ers have emerged, especially in the last upturn. These players
are often technology-driven, but are almost universally more
nimble than the old guard. They focus on a regional or tech-
nology trend, like the US shale, Canada oil sands, or small-
er African basins, and they are successful doing a few things
very well.
These two trends—the Big Crew Change and the globaliza-
tion and regionalization of companies—create opportunities
for talent everywhere. First, the next-generation technical
workforce will run the show in this next upturn. They think
JPT • MARCH 2017
and work differently than my generation. They are “digital na-
tives” and expect to have data instantly available. The digital
mindset of the next generation will drive the Big Data revolu-
tion that I’ve already predicted, driving change from the bot-
tom up.
The next-generation workforce, both men and women, is
very concerned about work/life balance. Next-generation cou-
ples expect both men and women to work and have an active Host Supported By
role in family life. Dual-career issues make them less glob-
ally mobile, especially to transfer anytime, anywhere with a
multinational employer. They are less likely to stay with an
employer for their whole career, mostly because the indus-
try taught them that we were not loyal to their parents. They
also want to continually learn and grow and are not satisfied 2017 CALL FOR PAPERS
to just be happy that they have a job—they want to be fulfilled
and have meaning in their employment, which I think is a
NOW OPEN
great thing. FINAL DATE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS TUESDAY 2 MAY 2017
The next-generation workforce is also vastly more global www.adipec.com/cfp
than mine. In OECD countries, the oil industry is often not
viewed as an attractive employer; young people are attracted
to alternative energy companies or the tech industry. Howev-
er, that isn’t the case elsewhere; the oil industry is a preferred
employer in many developing countries. Oil employers offer
high-paying jobs and opportunities to work internationally.
Leading multinationals already source their workforce global-
ly, and this trend will accelerate as OECD countries don’t keep
up with demand for graduates proficient in science, technol-
ogy, engineering, and mathematics.
I see the beginning of optimism and the likely start of the ADIPEC CONFERENCE IN NUMBERS:
next cycle. Oil prices are stabilizing, and companies are be-
ginning to feel their feet under them. Activity is increasing
in low-cost regions like the Permian Basin and Middle East.
Capital expenditures are likely to increase across the board in
the 2018 budget cycle. Are we ready? Do we have the talent to
make good engineering, project, and investment decisions?
10,000+ 162 750
CONFERENCE CONFERENCE EXPERT
This new-generation workforce will have to be developed dif- DELEGATES SESSIONS SPEAKERS
ferently than my generation, and I don’t think current manag-
ers or management systems are ready for them. TECHNICAL CONFERENCE PROGRAMME CATEGORIES:
We can’t ever manage away human judgment risks, but
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JPT • MARCH 2017

 COMMENTS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Bernt Aadnøy, University of Stavanger

Syed Ali—Chairperson, Consultant

Tayfun Babadagli, University of Alberta

Turning a Corner William Bailey, Schlumberger

Mike Berry, Mike Berry Consulting

John Donnelly, JPT Editor Maria Capello, Kuwait Oil Company

Frank Chang, Saudi Aramco

Simon Chipperfield, Santos

The 2-year downturn in oil prices has been a challenge for oper- Alex Crabtree, Hess Corporation

ators and service companies alike, but operators appear to have Gunnar DeBruijn, Schlumberger
turned a corner, going by the most recent fourth-quarter earn- Mark Egan, Retired
ings. For the larger service providers, it may take longer to gain Mark Elkins, Retired
solid financial footing, but the chief executives of these firms are
Alexandre Emerick,
sounding more optimistic. Petrobras Research Center
After months of cost cutting and reassessment of projects, Niall Fleming, Statoil
earnings for the larger majors were positive. More stable oil pric-
Ted Frankiewicz, SPEC Services
es and OPEC’s recent production agreement point to a brighter year in 2017. Total boast-
ed a USD 548 million profit for the quarter, compared with a USD 1.6 billion loss in the Stephen Goodyear, Shell

fourth quarter of 2016. The company announced that it was ready to embark on new
projects, possible acquisition, and increased production. BP eked out a USD 72 million
profit compared with a USD 2.2 billion loss in the year-ago period. Shell also reported
New JPT Website
and Newsletter
JPT has launched a new website and
will debut an electronic newsletter this
month to keep members up to date
with the latest upstream technology
developments, trends, and news. The
website (www.spe.org/jpt) features
frequent updates and reports from
conferences, articles about technology
applications, and interviews, including
information not found in JPT’s print
edition. The new website is more user-
friendly than the previous one and also
has a mobile-friendly design.
The monthly print edition will continue
to be mailed to all SPE members and will
Omer M. Gurpinar, Schlumberger
A.G. Guzman-Garcia, Retired
Greg Horton, Retired
profits, although net revenue was down
John Hudson, Shell
from the previous year’s quarter. Shell
Morten Iversen, Karachaganak Petroleum
said it had “turned a corner” after paying
down debt and absorbing BG. Chevron Leonard Kalfayan, Hess Corporation
posted its second straight quarterly prof- Thomas Knode, Contek Solutions
it and sees production growth this year Sunil Kokal, Saudi Aramco
amid cautious spending and cost con- Marc Kuck, Eni US Operating
trol. ExxonMobil, meanwhile, recorded
Jesse C. Lee, Schlumberger
its lowest earnings in 2 decades and took
Douglas Lehr, Baker Hughes
a huge writedown on the value of some of
its upstream assets. Silviu Livescu, Baker Hughes
Smaller operators, particularly those Shouxiang (Mark) Ma, Saudi Aramco
involved in shale plays in west Texas, John Macpherson, Baker Hughes
New Mexico, and other promising areas, Stéphane Menand, DrillScan
plan more aggressive upstream spending
Graham Mensa-Wilmot, Chevron
this year. While many larger internation-
Badrul H. Mohamed Jan, University of Malaya
al plays still seem risky, activity in places
Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco
such as the Permian Basin is soaring.
Service companies are also seeing a Eric Ringle, FMC Technologies

continue to contain all of the features, better year compared with the previous Martin Rylance, BP plc

columns, and departments that members two, particularly for those involved in Robello Samuel, Halliburton
have come to read and rely on. North American operations, but still face
Otto L. Santos, Retired
The biweekly electronic newsletter some challenges. Many service providers
Luigi A. Saputelli, Frontender Corporation
will initially be sent to all members, but have begun renegotiating prices with cli-
ents, after slashing prices the past 2 years Sally A. Thomas, Retired
members must sign up for it on the JPT
website to continue receiving it. To ensure because of the steep fall in oil prices. “The Win Thornton, BP plc
that you continue to get the e-newsletter, direction [service companies] all need Xiuli Wang, Baker Hughes
please go to www.spe.org/jpt and enter to go is that we need to recover some of Mike Weatherl, Well Integrity
your name and email address in the Stay the pricing concessions that we’ve given,”
Rodney Wetzel, Chevron
Connected box on the right-hand side of Schlumberger Chief Executive Officer
the page. Scott Wilson, Ryder Scott Company
Paal Kibsgaard told the Wall Street Jour-
nal during an earnings presentation. JPT Jonathan Wylde, Clariant Oil Services

Robert Ziegler, Weatherford

To contact JPT’s editor, email jdonnelly@spe.org.

12 JPT • MARCH 2017

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 GUEST EDITORIAL

Lower for Longer: Lean Forever

Tom Knode, Contek Solutions, and Jeff Fuchs, Maryland World Class Consortia

Lean Thinking is a generic version of
the Toyota Production System, which
was cobbled together just after World
War II. The system was how a resource-
poor Toyota, staggering with broken
processes and a low-skilled workforce,
scrabbled through the harsh post-war
economy to become one of the most
successful and highly respected enter-
prises of the 20th century. The 1996
book, Lean Thinking, introduced lean to
mainstream business. Since then, lean
has propelled operational excellence in
construction, software development,
healthcare, financial services, state gov-
ernment, and more.
Lean Thinking is a philosophy that
engages everyone in systematically solv-
ing problems. However, like “eat right,
exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep,”
lean is a simple concept difficult to live
daily. Companies typically struggle
through distinct levels of understand-
ing and application of lean. Beginners
dabble with lean tools in superficial
ways that yield slim results. More devel-
oped users imbed lean more broadly
across value streams and deeper into
business systems to get greater returns.
Advanced lean thinkers go much fur-
ther and get dramatic results by build-
ing lean into their culture. Like safety,
lean for them is not another project to
be implemented; lean thinking is part of
how they do everything.
Oil and gas companies have begun
to use lean tools in isolated processes
aiming to increase business efficiency.
There have been measurable benefits in
improved drilling times and reducing
the cost of bringing a well into produc-
tion. But what are the benefits beyond
drilling and completions, and applying
lean across the extended value stream?
Put another way, think about your
corner McDonald’s: It fixes some glar-
ing problems at their moneymaker, the
drive-through window. But how com-
petitive is it if the orders are incorrect,
the assembly is sloppy, and it cannot get
ingredients to the right place at the right
time? Oil and gas is still in the lean tools
era: Lean tools used in the business’
most manufacturing-like processes. A
windfall of returns await those who can
expand their scope of application and
depth of understanding.

Lean Across the Value Stream

Tom Knode, SPE, is a senior technical consultant for Contek
Solutions. He recently worked on contract for Statoil after retiring
from Halliburton with 25 years of service, primarily in health,
safety, and the environment (HSE). He has worked at both the
regional and global levels on HSE performance and compliance.
While at Halliburton he was certified as a Bronze Lean Leader
through the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. He has led and
participated in numerous lean events to improve business
processes. He was on the SPE Board of Directors from 2008 to 2011 as the technical
director for Health, Safety, Security, the Environment, and Social Responsibility, and
has cochaired five SPE conferences. He is the author or coauthor of more than 20
technical papers on a variety of HSE topics. Knode holds a BS degree in geology from
Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, and an MS degree in geology from the
University of Texas at Arlington.
Jeff Fuchs is executive director of the Maryland World Class
Consortia, a non-profit helping public and private organizations
achieve operational excellence. He is also the president of Neovista
Consulting, advising companies in creating cultures of continuous
improvement. Fuchs is an examiner for the AME Excellence Award
and the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. He serves on the
Oversight Committee of National Lean Certification, and is Lean
Silver Certified. He holds a BS degree in aerospace engineering
from West Point.
and the Enterprise
There is clearly business benefit to drill-
ing and completing a well faster. If a
land well costs USD 10 million and if
you can drill and complete 20% fast-
er (without sacrificing safety or envi-
ronmental performance), the company
could complete five wells for the cost of
four. But what about the rest of the value
stream and the rest of the cycle? We rec-
ognize the many variables in prospect
development time: The nature of the
well, wildcat vs. infield drilling, onshore
vs. deep water, unique company prac-
tices, and more. Nevertheless, we can
point to the huge potential that makes
this worth considering.
First, let’s define some lean terms. We
call activities that advance the product
or service in a way that the customer
is willing to pay for value-added work
(VA). Examples include development
of a prospect, or drilling and comple-

14 JPT • MARCH 2017

tion. Nonvalue-added (NVA) activities
are waste: They consume resources but
produce no value. Examples are redun-
dant approvals, or multiple identical
quality checks. Some waste is neces-
sary, meaning it is not immediately pos-
sible to remove it, but it still provides
no value. Examples of this “necessary
NVA” (NNVA) include acquiring per-
mits, mobilization of assets, or building
infrastructure such as roads, pipelines,
or tanks.
As a lean rule of thumb, across all
industries most processes are about
95% waste. If this holds even approxi-
mately true, then there are enormous
opportunities to deliver product to the
pipeline faster.
Let us assume it takes 365 days to
identify a prospect, gather data, plan
the well, mobilize, drill and complete,
then bring product to market. If we
shorten a 30-day time to drill and com-
plete to 25 days, that is a 17% short-
er drill-and-complete time, but only a
1.4% shorter total lead time. There is
still an enormous opportunity to short-
en the remaining cycle.
Some steps may not appear imme-
diately improvable, such as permitting
time. If it normally takes 5 days to file
and receive a permit, that may not look
like a big opportunity—unless it turns
out that half the permit applications are
delayed due to incomplete or inaccurate
information. Lean mistake-proofing
countermeasures could bring the per-
mit application closer to 100% com-
plete and accurate the first time.
Prospect development may take 2–3
months. Is this because the information
available to the geological and geophys-
ical group is incomplete, inaccurate,
poorly organized, hidden in excessive
information, or otherwise not fit for use?
Recollecting, reorganizing, and cleaning
up data are NVA slowdowns. Each step
along the way, from bit selection, casing
design, cement plan, rig selection, and
completion design, contains NVA steps
that extend the cycle, consume resourc-
es, and deliver no value.
Site preparation and mobilization are
NNVA, but what are the steps here that
delay the start and mean the bit starts
turning a week later than it could? The
question applies once the well is com-
JPT • MARCH 2017
plete. Is it immediately bringing prod- organization’s cultural DNA, can deliver
uct to market, or does it take addition- unmatchable competitive advantage and
al time to lay pipeline, set tanks, or the resilience to weather severe price
build and install a facility? The selec- fluctuations and market conditions.
tion of equipment or facilities for pro- Oil and gas companies that deeply
cessing and production may also delay embrace true lean thinking will be able
the project. An example of NVA may to thrive in low-price environments
be found in the variability of designs and expand quicker when the mar-
rather than standardization of packages ket rebounds. JPT
(Parshall 2016).
What advantages accrue to a com- References
pany using lean across the entire value Chappell, L. 2008. Toyota Asks Truck
stream? Imagine the competitive advan- Suppliers: No Layoffs. Automotive News.
tage of a company reducing cycle time 15 September. http://www.autonews.com/
from 365 days to 180. Undrilled pros- article/20080915/OEM01/309159919/
pects represent inventory that is not toyota-asks-truck-suppliers%3A-no-
generating cash; if a company could layoffs.
develop and drill prospects safely and Parshall, J. 2016. Standardization May
efficiently faster than anyone else, Hold Key to Future of Major Offshore
they could drill more wells with fewer Projects, J Pet Technol, 68 (11):
resources and capital per well. They 42–44. https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/
would be quicker to respond to and eval- jpt-article-detail/?art=2230
uate projects, and pay less for acreage Womack, J. and Jones, D. 1996. Lean
because they can process information Thinking. Banish Waste and Create
faster than others. Wealth in Your Corporation. Productivity
Overall, a lean oil and gas company Press.
has lower costs of inventory, rework,
and capital. Their bottom line can dra-
matically improve. Now imagine that
advantage year after year. Better mar-
gins in the same market environment
mean more profit directed to research
and development, customer satisfac-
tion, people development, equipment,
capital reserves, and everything else
that matters. Those investments trans-
late into better products and servic-
es, happier customers, and better top-
line growth. A lean company like this
can weather storms that would capsize
its competitors.
This was the scenario during the
2008–09 recession. While the Detroit
Three automakers were shutting fac-
tories, laying off tens of thousands of
workers, and taking government bail-
outs, Toyota did not. In San Antonio,
it maintained its full-time workforce
and focused on process improvement
(Autonews 2008). It recovered fast-
er, outpaced competitors, and capital-
ized on US market opportunities. The
same can be true for oil and gas com-
panies, now and in the future. Broaden-
ing lean thinking across value streams
and across the enterprise, and deepen-
ing lean into business systems and the
15
 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
Chris Carpenter, JPT Technology Editor
Enhanced-Measurement-
System Tool
National Oilwell Varco (NOV) introduced
the StreamThru variation of the Black-
Stream enhanced-measurement-system
(EMS) tool. This new technology sup-
ports drilling optimization and automa-
tion initiatives by adding an additional
IntelliServ coil on the tool’s bottom con-
nection (Fig. 1). Previous variants of the
BlackStream EMS tool had only a single
coil embedded within the tool’s box con-
nection, which connected to the string
of wired drillpipe to provide high-speed
data to surface crews and drilling appli-
cations. The StreamThru technology
builds on this by adding a second coil in
the tool’s pin connection, enabling com-
bined parallel telemetry of both Black-
Stream and secondary wired drillpipe-
enabled tools’ data packets to surface
for use by the rig crew or applications.
This breakthrough represents a major
step forward in allowing not only com-
binations of multiple BlackStream tools
to be run in series along wired drill-
pipe but also placements of other third-
Fig. 1—National Oilwell Varco’s StreamThru variant of the BlackStream EMS
tool. A second coil carries high-speed data bilaterally by both BlackStream
and other third-party wired drillpipe tools.
16
party wired drillpipe tools. Recently,
the StreamThru technology enabled a
third-party measurement-while-drilling
tool’s data to be streamed to surface by
the wired drillpipe network for more
than 300 hours on a North Sea proj-
ect. BlackStream EMS StreamThru tools
are currently available with an outer
diameter of 8¼ in., with a 6¾-in.
version in development for release
in early 2017.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.nov.com.
Dual-String Section Mill
The most effective way to prevent
hydrocarbon migration in wells that
have been plugged and abandoned is
to create a rock-to-rock, cement-to-
formation bond. The Weatherford
Endura dual-string section mill (DSSM)
accomplishes this with the use of spe-
cially designed blades and stabilizers
that enable through-casing milling of Fig. 2—Weatherford’s Endura DSSM.
the adjacent string of casing to access
the borehole quickly and efficiently blades provide two points of stabiliza-
(Fig. 2). Separate milling and stabilizer tion while creating finer, more manage-
able cuttings. First, the DSSM mills the
inner casing to provide access to the
outer casing. On the next trip, the DSSM
passes through the inner string and the
cutting blades expand to remove the
outer casing, thereby creating a casing-
exit window. The remainder of the cas-
ing is removed in a third run with the
DSSM using 17-in.-long milling blades.
By completely removing all casing, the
DSSM exposes the formation to prepare
wellbores for permanent rock-to-rock
cement plugging. The resulting hydrau-
lic seal mimics natural bedding, miti-
gates gas migration, and can be con-
firmed with a pressure test. The DSSM
halves the rig-time average for most
plug-and-abandonment operations and
results in a stable, permanent, and veri-
fiable seal, fulfilling some of the most
stringent regulatory requirements for
well abandonment.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.weatherford.com.
JPT • MARCH 2017
 Smarter Design Delivers
Superior Results
BETTER CONTROL. MORE ROCK REMOVAL.
LESS WEAR, LESS COST.
© 2017 Halliburton. All Rights Reserved.

Halliburton has taken drill bit design to a smarter level

with GeoTech™ fixed-cutter drill bits. These next-generation
PDC bits blend design science with application-specific
matrix-and-steel bodies that are custom engineered for
optimal efficiency and performance. And, with our unique
Design at the Customer Interface (DatCISM) process, we
can help you improve ROP and drilling intervals, all while
lowering your cost per foot. Want superior results?
Talk to us about smarter drill bit design.

halliburton.com/geotech

2016-MKTG-DBS-3780_GeoTech_JPT.indd 1 1/30/17 9:38 AM


Fig. 3—The TerrAdapt adaptive drill
bit from Baker Hughes.
Self-Adjusting Drill Bit
Baker Hughes introduced the TerrAdapt
adaptive drill bit, which can autono-
mously adjust depth-of-cut (DOC) con-
trol, to mitigate stick/slip and expand the
smooth drilling window with no interac-
tion from surface (Fig. 3). Managing the
DOC on a bit helps to optimize its per-
formance in a particular formation. With
conventional bits, operators are limit-
ed to a single DOC control setting. Con-
sequently, drilling through varying lay-
ers of rock notoriously causes torsional
vibrations and stick/slip. These torsion-
al oscillations typically result in erratic
rate of penetration (ROP) and footage,
damage to the bottomhole assembly/bit,
and costly nonproductive time (NPT).
Operators have traditionally resorted to
Fig. 4—The Flexi-Coil blockage-remediation system from Paradigm Flow Services.
18
manually controlled drilling techniques
implemented at surface to try to mitigate
downhole dysfunctions, but with limited
success and at the cost of reduced ROP
and drilling efficiency. The drill bit fea-
tures revolutionary adaptive DOC-con-
trol elements that automatically adjust
the bit’s aggressiveness on the basis of
the operating conditions, mitigating
stick/slip and enabling faster, more-con-
sistent performance regardless of vary-
ing lithology. When torsional vibrations
are detected, the bit’s elements extend
to maintain stable drilling. As vibrations
subside, the elements slowly retract,
enabling maximum ROP. The elements
have a tuned hydro-mechanical response
to loading conditions, preventing dynam-
ic instability and cutter damage.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.bakerhughes.com.
Blockage-Remediation System
Paradigm Flow Services introduced
Flexi-Coil, a blockage-remediation sys-
tem that has been developed to tackle
challenges to the productivity of an asset
throughout its life cycle. Remediation
of blockages and restrictions to process
flow can be costly. Such issues are par-
ticularly acute when systems are unpig-
gable or deadheaded. By use of ultra-
lightweight and flexible pipe, Flexi-Coil
is able to traverse multiple bends within
a riser and pipeline system and can be
deployed in tight spaces on a floating
production, storage, and offloading ves-
sel without the need for excessive engi-
neering. It offers a more cost-effective
solution than traditional diving-support-
vessel-supported remedial methods.
Flexi-Coil provides the ability to solve
extreme challenges such as the removal
of full or partial flow restrictions (par-
affin wax, sand, asphaltene, hydrates,
and scale) and the injection of chemi-
cal and production-enhancement fluids
(Fig. 4). It provides back-to-base-metal
precleaning for inline-inspection tools,
and facilitated artificial-lift operations by
gas injection. It can also be used for deoil-
ing, flushing, and line plugging before
decommissioning. Flexi-Coil has been
developed to tackle these challenges and
has already been successfully deployed
worldwide, enabling operators to restore
or maximize production at reduced cost
and downtime.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.paradigm.eu/flow/.
Packer Penetrator
ITT BIW Connector Systems announced
the Tri-Lok Ultra high-performance
packer-penetrator solution that helps
service companies operating in com-
plex, high-pressure well environments
to optimize production, extend operat-
ing lifetimes, and minimize overall costs.
Tri-Lok Ultra’s design supports faster
installation, ease of use, longer oper-
ating life, and the ability to withstand
JPT • MARCH 2017
 Fig. 5—ITT BIW ExxonMobil’s cMIST technology relies on ed natural gas. The water-rich glycol is
Connector Systems’ a proprietary droplet generator to break regenerated using a conventional system
Tri-Lok Ultra packer
penetrator.
up conventional solvent into tiny drop- and is sent back to the droplet genera-
lets that become well dispersed in the tor to be used again. ExxonMobil has
gas flow, thereby increasing the surface licensed cMIST technology to the Chem-
repeated decompression area for the absorption of water from the tech division of Sulzer to facilitate deploy-
cycles (Fig.  5). The packer gas. Then, an inline separator coalesces ment across the oil and gas industry. JPT
penetrator is specifically de- the water-rich glycol droplets and moves ◗ For additional information, visit
signed to improve electrical- them to the outside wall of the pipe for https://energyfactor.exxonmobil.com/
submersible-pump (ESP) effective separation from the dehydrat- news/cmist.
reliability in deep offshore
wells and other harsh envi-
ronments, where enhanced
product lifetimes and per-
formance are essential. The
penetrator achieves pres-
sure blocking and electri-
cal termination in a single-
phase construction. This
design enables it to fit into
packers as small as 6.5-in.
outside diameter. Rated
and tested to 6,000 psi and
400°F, it features ceramic
pressure blocks, metal-to-
metal seals, and pressure-
balanced cable termina-
tion. It is especially suitable
for installations where
extremely long life in high-
temperature or high-pressure environ-
ments is required, such as offshore in-
well ESP systems, seafloor caisson ESP
systems, high-temperature oil wells, and
wells with high intervention costs.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.ittbiw.com.

Natural-Gas Dehydrator
ExxonMobil introduced its cMIST tech- ;ম
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nology, which dehydrates natural gas ]oo7]b7-m1;-m7]oo7|;-louh
using a patented absorption system
inside pipes and replaces the need for
!b7;u_;Ѵrv1u;v-1_b;;|_;0;v|u;vѴ|v0vrrouঞm]|;-lvķ
conventional dehydration-tower tech-
nology. This inline technology could be 7;;Ѵorbm]bm7bb7-Ѵv-m7_;Ѵrbm]1olr-mb;v|ol;;|or;u-ঞom-Ѵ|-u];|v
deployed in both land-based and offshore
natural-gas-production operations. The !b7;uvrrou|vou;mঞu;or;u-ঞomѴ;-v;1om|-1|v|oCm7o|lou;
technology, developed and field-tested
by ExxonMobil, more efficiently removes
water vapor present during the produc-
www.ridercorp.com
tion of natural gas, a process that reduces
corrosion and equipment interference.
cMIST reduces the size, weight, and cost Never miss a critical step
of dehydration, resulting in reductions of Optimize efficiency and control over the process
surface footprint by 70% and the over-
all dehydration system’s weight by half.

JPT • MARCH 2017 19

 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Electrokinetic Deposition of Asphaltenes

Studied Under Dynamic Conditions
Konstantinos Kostarelos, SPE, Clint Martin, Kyo Tran, Jose Moreno, SPE, and Aaron Hubik, SPE,
University of Houston, and Shahab Ayatollahi, Sharif University of Technology

Asphaltenes represent the heaviest frac-
tion of crude oil, which are known to
precipitate when the crude is added to
aliphatic solvents such as n-pentane or
n-heptane and yet remain soluble in light
aromatic solvents such as benzene or tol-
uene (Gawrys et al. 2006; Borton et al.
2010). They are characterized by highly
complex structures that contain multiple
aromatic rings and have a large hetero-
atom content (e.g., nitrogen, oxygen, and
sulfur) and metal content (e.g., vanadium
and nickel) (Yarranton 2000; Hashmi
and Firoozabadi 2012).
Asphaltenes tend to self-associate on a
molecular level, depending on the com-
position, temperature, and pressure of
the system. Precipitation of the particles
out of solution results in flocculation,
where they begin to deposit on hydro-
phobic surfaces such as metal pipes and
surface equipment used for the produc-
tion and transportation of crude oils
(Khvostichenko and Andersen 2009).
These tendencies result in reduced flow
or complete blockage of producing wells
and surface equipment, including pumps,
pipelines, and separators.
Currently, the only methods of treat-
ment are through the use of chemical dis-
persants and inhibitors, which increase
the stability of asphaltenes to prevent
deposition. Once asphaltene deposition
has occurred, running a “pig” through
the pipeline is often the method used to
scrape the solids that accumulated on the
walls of the pipe. It is known that asphal-
tene molecules can be polarized, gain-
ing an electric charge by introducing an
electrostatic field (Hashmi and Firooz-
abadi 2012; Khvostichenko and Ander-
sen 2009; Khvostichenko and Andersen
2010; Hosseini et al. 2016). The polar-
ity of the asphaltene particles is direct-
ly related to its hetero-atom content,
with a higher hetero-atom content giving
increased levels of polarity and a higher
rate of aggregation (Hosseini et al. 2016).
Experimental Device
Our ultimate goal is to build a device
(Fig. 1a) that would remove asphaltenes
from crude oil near the point of pro-
duction, using electrokinetics. Thus, a
scaled-down device (Fig. 1b) was fab-
ricated and tested using a model oil to
prove the concept and study some of
the parameters that would influence the
design of a larger-scale device.
An annular chamber was conceived
where model oil flowed through the
annular space while applying a high volt-
age to create an electrostatic field so that
the asphaltene electrodeposition under
dynamic conditions could be investigat-
ed. A copper annulus was equipped as an

Motor
(a) (b)

Mixer

Voltage Unit

Valve 1
Splitter
Valve 3 Valve
Nitrogen Tank
Inner Copper Pipe Valve 2
Beaker

Outer Copper Annulus

Teflon Pipe

Fig. 1—(a) An artist’s rendering of a prototype device that would electrokinetically remove asphaltenes from crude
oil near the point of production. (b) A schematic of the experimental setup that was used to prove the concept. The
charged annulus was composed of two copper pipes and was gravity-fed the heptol-70 from an elevated tank that was
stirred to ensure uniform asphaltene distribution in the oil. A nitrogen blanket was used to minimize volatilization of the
heptol-70 for safety. Source: Petroleum Engineering Department, University of Houston.

20 JPT • MARCH 2017

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 (a)
(c)
Fig. 2—Deposition onto the anode (inner copper pipe) after a dynamic, electrokinetic flow test for flow rates of:
(a) 1.5 ml/s (HRT=6.7 min); (b) 4.0 ml/s (HRT=2.5 min), and; (c) 5.5 ml/s (HRT=1.8 min). (d) The deposition layer
thickness is shown while being scraped from the anode after the 5.5 ml/s flow test to enable the mass to be measured.
Source: Petroleum Engineering Department, University of Houston.
electrode pair with a high-voltage power
supply, and the model oil was gravity-fed
into the charged annulus under varying
flow rates. The model oil consisted of a
30:70 mixture of heptane and toluene
by volume, called “heptol-70,” to which
asphaltenes where added (2 wt%).
Saturates, aromatics, resins, and
asphaltenes (SARA) are all components of
crude oil that can be precipitated from it.
Our earlier work applied electrokinetics
under “static conditions” to the asphal-
tene fraction only, and concluded that the
asphaltene particles could be attracted to
the anode (Hosseini et al. 2016).
Work by Khvostichenko and Anderson
(2010) indicated that resins may neu-
tralize the asphaltene charge, affecting
the electrodeposition of asphaltenes.
To understand whether the other SARA
components found in crude oil would
interfere with the electrokinetic process
under “dynamic conditions,” saturates,
aromatics, and possibly resins were used
along with the asphaltene particles in the
heptol-70. While it is unlikely that the
precipitates used in our study contained
resins, because of the procedures that
were used, we cannot rule out the possi-
bility at this early stage of the work.
In addition, we conducted preliminary
tests to compare two procedures for pre-
paring the model oil, referred to as a
“dissolution” or “precipitation” meth-
od (Khvostichenko and Andersen 2010).
The dissolution approach involved add-
22
(b)
(d)
ing the solid asphaltenes to the hep-
tol, whereas the precipitation approach
involved dissolving the solid asphaltenes
in toluene and then adding heptane.
For the asphaltenes and heptol-70
used in our studies, our preliminary
tests showed no measurable difference
in the polarity of the particles when pre-
pared using the two methods, and we
used the precipitation method for all the
dynamic tests.
The small-scale device consisted
of a copper annulus and was charged
to create an electric field; the inner
pipe being charged negatively and the
outer positively.
Testing
With the heptol-70 containing a 2-wt%
concentration of asphaltenes in the ele-
vated reservoir and the desired flow rate
achieved, the power supply was turned
on for 5 minutes. The average flow rate
was measured while applying voltage.
Once completed, the anode was removed
and photographed, and the asphaltenes
were scraped from the anode and col-
lected so that the mass removed could
be weighed.
Three flow rates were used while keep-
ing the duration of the experimental run
and the voltage constant at 5 minutes and
5,000 V, respectively. Figs.  2a through
2c show the deposition of asphaltene
particles onto the inner copper pipe for
the three flow rates. It is clear from the
three figures that “the highest level of
deposition” on the negative electrode
corresponds with the highest flow rate,
or “the shortest hydraulic retention
time (HRT).” Fig. 2d shows the deposi-
tion layer being scraped from the anode,
and the gravimetric data confirmed the
qualitative results.
The dynamic tests were repeated
and confirmed an inverse relationship
between HRT and amount deposited
onto the negative electrode—i.e., higher
flow rates resulted in a higher degree of
deposition. These results imply that the
deposition of the asphaltenes is depen-
dent upon the amount of particles that
come in contact with the charged elec-
trode, and also indicates that the effi-
ciency of the electrokinetic process is
high for the range of flow rates tested. We
did observe some settlement of asphal-
tene particles at the bottom of the cham-
ber that we attribute to the design of the
device, where a small lip surrounding the
exit acts to trap some of the particles.
Data Gathered
The data gathered at this early stage of
research suggest that the particles, a mix-
ture of asphaltenes, saturates, aromat-
ics, and possibly resins, can be deposited
onto an electrode and removed from the
flow stream as a means of addressing a
critical flow-assurance problem.
Future experiments are planned to
explore the limitations of the process in
JPT • MARCH 2017
terms of applied voltage and asphaltene
loading. Our future research will include
a wider variety of solvents/solvent prop-
erties with the ultimate goal of develop-
ing a means of predicting the effect on the
asphaltene particles a priori. This will help
to guide an overall design for our device
before the scaleup to a prototype that will
be applicable to produced crude. We are
also considering a redesigned negative
electrode to increase the surface area for
the asphaltene particles to deposit.
The Reynolds number for these exper-
imental conditions was above 106, indi-
cating a turbulent flow regime within the
charged annulus. We believe that turbu-
lent flow is desirable because it would
induce greater particle movement with-
in the charged annulus, leading to more
asphaltenes coming in close contact with
the electrode, which would allow them
to deposit onto it. However, we have not
tested this assumption.
We noted that the experimental design
could not avoid some settlement of parti-
cles because of physical trapping near the
outlet of our annular device. As our stud-
ies are intended to examine the behav-
ior of the particles only, we will strive to
eliminate this phenomenon in our future
experiments. However, for future indus-
try applications, this phenomenon would
help to remove more particles from the
flow stream.
Acknowledgment
We would like to recognize Bionka
Edmundson and Pushpesh Sharma for
their help in the laboratory, and Profes-
sor Scott Randall for his guidance. JPT
References
Borton D., Pinkston D., Hurt M.R. et al. 2010.
Molecular Structures of Asphaltenes Based
on the Dissociation Reactions of Their
Ions in Mass Spectrometry. Energy & Fuels
24: 5548–5559. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/
ef1007819.
Gawrys K.L., Blankenship G.A., Kilpatrick
P.K. 2006. On the Distribution of Chemical
Properties and Aggregation of Solubility
Fractions in Asphaltenes. Energy & Fuels
20: 705–714. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/
ef0502002.
Hashmi S. and Firoozabadi, A. 2012.
Controlling Nonpolar Colloidal Asphaltene
Aggregation by Electrostatic Repulsion.
Energy & Fuels 26 (7): 4438–4444.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ef3005702.
Hosseini A., Zare E., Ayatollahi S. et al.
2016. Experimental Study and Analysis
of the Effects of Electrostatic Field on
Asphaltene Kinetic Behavior. Fuel 178:
234–242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
fuel.2016.03.051.
Khvostichenko D. and Andersen S. 2009.
Electrodeposition of Asphaltenes.
Preliminary Studies on Electrodeposition
from Oil-Heptane Mixtures. Energy
& Fuels 23 (2): 811–819. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1021/ef800722g.
Khvostichenko D. and Andersen S. 2010.
Electrodeposition of Asphaltenes. 2. Effect
of Resins and Additives. Energy & Fuels
24: 2327–2336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/
ef900970j.
Yarranton A.H. 2000. Asphaltene
Deposition. Presented at the Canadian
International Petroleum Conference,
Calgary, 4–8 June. PETSOC-2000-099-EA.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/2000-099-EA.
ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGY
VALVE
 E&P NOTES
Industry Finding Solutions Through Use
of Data Analytics
Trent Jacobs, JPT Digital Editor
As big data analytics becomes more inter-
twined with the operations of some of
the biggest names in upstream, this tech
space is beginning to deliver the industry
some compelling applications. The most
recent data were highlighted in a discus-
sion led by Satyam Priyadarshy, Hallibur-
ton’s chief data scientist, who declared
that big data analytics “will transform
the industry.”
That transforma-
tion is to be real-
ized by using ana-
lytics to identify
and eliminate hid-
den inefficiencies.
According to Priya-
Priyadarshy darshy, that means
that solving known
problems is not enough; to achieve a
higher order of innovation, oil and gas
companies must discover and answer
problems they never knew about in the
first place.
Speaking at the first meeting of the
SPE Gulf Coast Section’s Data Analyt-
ics Study Group in Houston, Priyadarshy
explained how Halliburton analyzed data
from 5,000 wells and found that a spe-
cific pump model was suffering from an
inordinate amount of downtime. Hidden
within the data was the simple fact that
the pump was not well-suited for one par-
ticular climate zone.
“Now we can actually predict that a
certain pump, of a certain manufactur-
er, should never be sent out to a certain
area,” said Priyadarshy, noting that the
cost of the analytics platform has already
been recovered by the revenue earned
from keeping the pumps running longer.
Priyadarshy described another ana-
lytics program that, when told a specific
cutter on a drill bit has failed, will show
24
the drilling crew which of the next cut-
ters is most likely to fail next. Presum-
ably, such information could influence a
driller to change tactics to extend the life
of the bit, and therefore reduce the num-
ber of time-consuming trips out of a well
to retool.
The company is also building an “earth
model” that will simulate the earth’s sub-
surface using industry data, and has 150
PhDs from the fields of geochemistry,
fossil research, and geology working on
this initiative.
Fixing Stuck Pipe
In regard to solving big problems, Halli-
burton may be close to solving the drill-
ing issue known as stuck pipe. Among
the oil field’s oldest sources of cost over-
runs, stuck pipe involves a situation in
which a drillstring cannot be pulled
from the borehole without leading
to damage.
Using a historical data set as an exam-
ple, Priyadarshy said analytics could
have saved an anonymized operator
USD  17  million out of the USD 22 mil-
lion it spent on stuck pipe issues during a
multiwell drilling campaign. “That is the
value of the data that was just sitting in
somebody’s warehouse,” he said, empha-
sizing a point that though the industry
collects big data, it rarely uses it.
Priyadarshy said the program took
only 6 weeks to train and works by
analyzing what he called “drilling lan-
guage.” This variation of natural language
machine learning takes the unstructured
text data found in the human-written
drilling reports and connects the dots in
a way that is seductively simple.
In this case, the dots are represent-
ed as three categories on a bar chart:
symptoms, actions, and the event—a
stuck pipe. “From that, we can calcu-
late how much money [the operator] lost
because of certain actions and symp-
toms,” said Priyadarshy.
The next phase of this project is to
build a predictive model that begins look-
ing for symptoms and actions before the
drilling report is even written up. Priya-
darshy said this will involve creating a
way for the drillers to input more mean-
ingful observations than are currently
included in a typical report.
Get Educated and Find Help
Priyadarshy also remarked on the factors
he sees holding back the industry from a
faster uptake of analytics. Of his biggest
concerns is that too many people in the
industry simply think of big data as “a lot
of data,” which he called a “fundamentally
flawed definition.”
His definition: “Big data is about all
the data of the business, which means
the historical, current, and future data
that you will generate.” This understand-
ing falls in line with a concept that might
be described as total-analytics, in which
companies allow the entirety of the their
data to be placed under the microscope
in order to drive out wasteful workflows
and unnoticed problems
“The reason [industry workflows]
are inefficient is because whatever
inefficiencies we knew about, we have
taken out, and beyond that, we can’t see
because we haven’t yet looked for them,”
he explained, before adding, “The only
way you can actually be innovative is by
looking holistically at the problems of the
industry through big data analytics and
by building new intelligence that is based
on the hidden inefficiencies.”
Aside from the steep learning curve,
the oil and gas business is facing a major
JPT • MARCH 2017
challenge with the talent gap. Priya-
darshy, who joined the industry only
3 years ago after spending most of his
career in the academic and software are-
nas, cited figures from a McKinsey Glob-
al Institute report that estimated the US
will face a shortage of 250,000 data sci-
entists by 2024.
Renewable Energy Tech is Now Priced To Reduce
Upstream Spending
Trent Jacobs, JPT Digital Editor
Could it be that the upstream industry
has an unlikely ally in renewable energy?
The two sectors are often framed as being
at odds—one is supposed to eventual-
ly replace the other, after all. But in the
meantime, the falling price of renewable
technologies has opened the door for oil
and gas companies to reduce the cost of
electrifying their fields, according to one
US energy expert.
“In many locations, solar and wind are
now cost-competitive with other forms
of electricity generation, so it just makes
economic sense to be incorporating them
into your industrial operations.” said Jill
Engel-Cox, the deputy director of the US
Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analy-
sis (JISEA).
Founded by five universities and the
US Department of Energy’s Nation-
al Renewable Energy Laboratory, JISEA
is tasked with researching transdisci-
plinary global energy issues, including
how to exploit synergies between renew-
ables and hydrocarbons.
The bad news for the champions of this
concept is that there is little momentum
within the industry to implement such
integration. The good news is that many
of the early failures were attributed to the
cost of renewables; a factor that is quick-
ly fading away.
Bloomberg data published in Janu-
ary showed that the cost of solar power
has dropped by 62% since 2009, mak-
ing new installations more affordable
than coal power in several countries. The
report also projected that solar power
could become cheaper than coal on a
global basis by 2025. In the US, wind
power generation is on a similar trajec-
JPT • MARCH 2017
In addition to the shortage, he noted
that the oil and gas industry is competing
for this talent with startups and large tech
firms in places such as California, New
York, Washington, DC, and Austin, Texas.
Priyadarshy, who is in the midst of
building the fourth data science team of
his career, strongly advised that when
tory, having seen installation prices drop
by 66% since 2010, according to the
American Wind Energy Association.
Several industry majors have attempt-
ed to fit renewable energy into their
portfolios, but as Engel-Cox pointed out,
none have made it past the pilot stage.
“A lot companies have been in the solar
business multiple times, a number are
looking at biofuels, and few at wind,” she
explained. “But in the past, these efforts
have been more about developing a new
product-side of the business—not neces-
sarily about integrating renewables into
their operations.”
Her conclusion is that more projects will
achieve commercial success if a simpler
approach is taken, such as one that focus-
es on using renewables simply as a power
source for energy-intensive machinery
such as pumps and compressors.
Among the few examples of field-inte-
grated renewable projects is Chevron’s
enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project in
California that used concentrated solar
power to generate steam for reservoir
injection. Though the solar-to-steam
project was seen as groundbreaking upon
startup, construction costs far exceeded
the budget and it was shut down in 2014
after 4 years of operation.
This same concept is being revived
half a world away in sunny Oman. Petro-
leum Development Oman, a government
majority-held production company, is
working with GlassPoint to build a solar
facility that will generate 6,000 tons of
steam per day for EOR injection. The proj-
ect calls for the construction of four glass-
house-solar facilities, the first of which is
to begin operating sometime this year.
upstream firms acquire data scientists,
they should not micromanage them. “If
you want to grow a team, you have to
really know how they think and give
them their space,” he said. “The moment
you encroach on that space, they will
move. That’s the simplest thing I can
tell  you.”
Renewables have also been discussed
as a way to lower offshore facility costs.
The Norwegian certification society DNV
GL presented a paper (OTC 25284) at
last year’s Offshore Technology Confer-
ence in Houston that showed wind tur-
bines could be used to power injection
operations of 45,000 B/D of water into
one of Norway’s remote offshore reser-
voirs. There are other ideas being tossed
around that include using wind or solar
power for natural gas pipeline compres-
sion and for water desalination.
Regardless of which type of renew-
able-integration project upstream opera-
tors decide upon, Engel-Cox said the first
step toward success will depend on the
quality of economic models and site-spe-
cific studies that tell them things such as
how long the sun shines or how hard the
wind blows.
“I don’t think we know what the most
profitable opportunities are yet,” she
emphasized. “But I think looking at a
variety of options is the best idea. They
will have to be looked at in the context of
each facility, the type of power demand it
has, and where it is physically located.”
For Further Reading
SPE 169745 Construction, Operations
and Performance of the First Enclosed
Trough Solar Steam Generation Pilot
for EOR Applications by Daniel Palmer,
and John O’Donnell, GlassPoint Solar.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/169745-MS.
OTC 25284 Wind-Powered Subsea Water
Injection Pumping: Technical and
Economic Feasibility by Johan Slätte
and John Sandberg, DNV GL, et al.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4043/25284-MS.
25
 Fossil Fuels Importance To Rise Under New
US Administration
Joel Parshall, JPT Features Editor
Fossil fuels will probably be at the fore-
front of energy and environmental policy
under the new Trump Administration,
said Charles D. McConnell, executive
director of Rice University’s Energy and
Environment Initiative, in a recent talk
hosted by the Norwegian Consulate Gen-
eral in Houston.
McConnell served 2 years as an assistant
Secretary of Energy in the Obama Admin-
istration before taking his current posi-
tion. He has spent 35 years in the energy
industry, which includes a 31-year career
at Praxair followed by serving as a vice
president at Battelle Energy Technology.
Notwithstanding new US President
Donald Trump’s famous unpredictabil-
ity, McConnell suggested that the admin-
istration would emphasize oil and gas
development; stress the continuing need
for oil, gas, and coal in the world’s devel-
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26
oping countries; encourage US fossil fuel
exports; and shift environmental policy
away from a central emphasis on carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions.
“The time I served in Washington, envi-
ronmental responsibility became equiva-
lent to a fixation, a singular focus, on
carbon dioxide,” McConnell said. “And I
have got to tell you, there is a lot more to
environmental responsibility than CO2
emissions. People need food, water, and
access to energy.”
Approximately 1.4 billion people are
without energy in the form of electrical
power, and this is in areas with the most
population growth and that are expect-
ed to produce 90% of global economic
expansion in coming decades, McConnell
said. For these populations, some of the
most critical needs are for energy sources
that can ensure clean water and eliminate
indoor air pollution from cooking over
poorly vented fires. Increasing the avail-
ability of fossil fuels to generate electrici-
ty will bring a major improvement to peo-
ples’ lives in these areas, he said.
Energy Links to Water, Food
“The connection of that energy/water
nexus, the energy/food nexus is incred-
ibly powerful,” McConnell said. “I believe
it will be at the top of the list of this
new administration.”
Elsewhere in the world, there are uncer-
tainties over transnational energy sup-
plies that could be curtailed or used as a
policy lever for political reasons, he said.
“It is all about energy security,”
McConnell said. “The rest of the world
needs to know that the United States is
going to continue to develop its resourc-
es. We have no reason not to be the lead-
er in the world for energy, and we are
becoming that.”
Commercial arrangements, how ener-
gy is traded, will probably be a focal
point of Trump Administration policy.
“Trump is likely to play to what he sees
as the advantage of the US,” McConnell
said. He characterized Trump as “a deal-
maker” and said that will be “really, real-
ly impactful from an energy standpoint.”
Trump has talked extensively about
renegotiating the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “When we
first did NAFTA, energy with Mexico was
not on the table—politically not on the
table, not allowed to be,” McConnell said.
“Could it be on the table? Sure, a huge
impact, not just for the US but also for
Mexico. So that is an example, I think,
of looking at the trade agreements and
looking at them in a different way.”
Technology investment is another area
where the Trump Administration is likely
to shift direction.
“If you look around the world in the
last 15 years, we have probably spent
over USD 20 trillion developing renew-
able technology,” McConnell said, refer-
ring to investment from global sources. “I
am not suggesting that is a bad thing, but
it is a stunning number, isn’t it?
“During that same period of time, we
have invested USD 20 billion in fossil
fuel technology,” he continued. “And yet
80% of our energy globally is fossil fuels.
And guess what the IEA [International
Energy Agency] projects by 2050? We
will double the world’s demand for ener-
gy, and it will still be 80% supplied by
fossil fuels. And yet we are spending all
our money on renewables. I don’t think
that is going to continue to happen in
this administration.”
McConnell said he did not believe that
the US would drop out of the COP 21
global agreement on reducing climate
change, as some people have speculated.
“Is Trump going to roll back every-
thing environmentally? No, he won’t,”
McConnell said. “That is not going to
happen, primarily because most of the
American companies—major American
companies—have a global footprint. You
can’t have requirements in the US that do
not meet global expectations. Rex Tiller-
son [the new US Secretary of State and
former ExxonMobil chief executive] will
tell him that in spades.” JPT
JPT • MARCH 2017
 TESTING
TINY
GRAINS
SEEKING
MORE
OUTPUT
Stephen Rassenfoss,
JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

T he challenge of selling microproppant was obvious when

the first question asked after a recent presentation was:
“I thought 100 mesh [fine proppant] was dust. So what
is microproppant?”
Rather than repeat the explanation in his talk, the speak-
er James Calvin, a technical sales advisor at Halliburton,
responded, “It is even finer.”
The exchange drew a laugh from the audience at this
year’s SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference
and Exhibition in January, which had heard him explain
that proppant that is a fraction of the size of the smallest
now used—about 300 mesh—may be able to significantly
increase production by holding open fractures that cannot
be reached by widely used grains of sand or ceramic.
The question suggests that it is still hard for experts in
this field to conceive of how particles whose size is typically
measured in microns could offer meaningful benefits. And
even among those who see value, there are conflicting theo-
ries about what it does in the ground.

This series of increasingly magnified images of micron-

scale proppant from Halliburton shows the spheres on
the flat surface of a core that had been split in half. The
diameter of the grains is 1–130 microns with most in
the 20–30 range. The core is subjected to stresses that
simulate reservoir conditions in order to see how much
permeability is created by the bumps and ridges formed
by clusters of particulate. Source: Halliburton.

At this stage the only company report-
ing results is Halliburton, which pumps
microproppant as part of its MicroScout
service. “Field results for MicroScout
have shown a positive uplift of produc-
Production (BOE/1,000 ft)
tion in most of the wells that we have
field trialed,” said Philip Nguyen, the
chief technical advisor for Halliburton’s
production enhancement line. “To be
frank, there are lots of unknowns with
the application of microproppant as we
are only beginning to scratch the surface
of using this material in shales.”
That paper (SPE 184863) and others
from Halliburton dating back to 2015
offer examples of wells with double-digit
production gains when a relatively small
volume of these particles are pumped
early in each stage, and can reduce the
treating pressure required while pump-
ing a job.
“We have seen about a 15% uplift in
production over 12-month time frame,”
said Mark Parker, technology manager
for the Mid-Continent area at Hallibur-
ton, which includes the South Central
Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP) in Okla-
homa, where it has been used on nearly
20 wells.
In the Permian Basin, gains have
ranged from 15% to 30% where this has
been pumped during the early part of
each stage. “Theoretically, you are get-
ting secondary fractures [propped] and
getting added flow from reservoir to the
well,” said Dean Prather, area technolo-
gy manager for Halliburton’s production
enhancement business line.
In a sense this is the logical next
step. Over time operators have slowly
embraced the idea that using higher per-
centages of 100-mesh sand to prop early
in the job can open smaller fractures and
reduce the required pressure needed to
treat stages.
Calvin described the production gain
by saying: “We placed it in the secondary
fracture network and it can go where 100
mesh cannot go. It can keep the second-
ary fracture network open through pro-
duction and help minimize the produc-
tion loss.”
When cumulative production is chart-
ed between wells with equal amounts of
conventional proppant use, the ones with
microproppant added show little gains at
JPT • MARCH 2017
50,000
45,000
10% Uplift
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
0 50 100
Days
A chart showing how three wells treated with microproppant produced,
compared with the other wells on the three pads studied, showed a growing
gap over time. Source: Halliburton.
first, with a widening advantage as they
reach the 1-year mark.
Mesh to Microns
Microproppant pushes into unfamiliar
territory for those used to measuring
grain sizes based on the number of holes
per linear inch in the mesh of a sieve used
to sort particles by their maximum size.
Bill Strobel, market manager for Zeeo-
spheres Ceramics, which has sold its
micron-scale ceramic balls to Hallibur-
ton, said that when it comes to describ-
ing the diameter of the spheres, “the peo-
ple we are talking to do not refer to it in
mesh size.”
It also does not fit neatly into the cur-
rent industry focus on maximizing early
production as the testing suggests that
the benefits of microproppant become
apparent later in the life of a well.
Slower production declines could be a
sign that these ultrafine grains are creat-
ing a larger productive network by hold-
ing open fractures that otherwise would
have closed after pumping.
The rapid decline rate common in
unconventional formations is typical of
production from a limited area of wider,
propped fractures near the wellbore, said
Mukul Sharma, a petroleum engineering
professor at the University of Texas, who
is looking for ways to produce from more
of the fractured reservoir.
12% Uplift
13% Uplift
MicroScout – Pad A
MicroScout – Pad B
MicroScout – Pad C
Pad A – Comparable Offset Ave.
Pad B – Comparable Offset Ave.
Pad C – Offset
150 200 250 300
With industry backing, Sharma has
written a series of technical papers on
unlocking the potential of induced frac-
tures—secondary fractures opened but
not propped—which he estimated as
roughly 90% of the volume of the fracture
network, based on an analysis of where
the injected fluid goes during fracturing.
“The surface area of induced,
unpropped fractures can be at least an
order of magnitude more than that of
the main propped fracture,” according to
a paper by Sharma (SPE 174946). “This
implies that if it is possible to keep these
fractures open by some means we may be
able to achieve a significant increase in
well productivity.”
Ultrafine Proppant
Ultrafine proppant is not a new idea.
Fracturing consultants and suppliers
have seen signs of companies trying real-
ly fine-grain proppant before.
“Microproppant [research] has been
around and people have been chasing it,”
said Tim Leshchyshyn, who heads Frac-
Knowledge, a data and consulting firm.
“The big limit has been the availabil-
ity of it.”
Conventional fracture sand has been
a high-volume, low-cost product, where
the smallest grains available have been
100 mesh. Oilfield ceramics makers have
focused on making the larger grains for
29
 200,000
ronment officer at Halliburton. “This has
180,000 been a very successful product, but not
Gas Production (Mcf/1,000 ft

160,000 one that you ship in a box.”

Operators have not published techni-
140,000
cal papers on this topic, and suppliers can
120,000 only guess what happens to orders that
100,000 seem destined for microproppant testing.
Type I
Christopher LeBlanc, general sales
80,000
manager for national accounts in Uni-
60,000 MP min’s US unit, said the company has long
40,000 supplied ground grains of sand, known in
the oil industry as silica flour, with par-
20,000
ticles no bigger than 200 mesh or 300
0 mesh. Customers have used it as an addi-
0 50 100 150 200 250 tive for cement in high-temperature wells.
Days As for microproppant, what he knows
he heard during a presentation at the SPE
12,000
Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Con-
Condensate Production (bbl/1,000 ft

ference. Testing silica flour using the API

10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
0 50
Microproppant-treated wells added more gas liquids production over time
than gas output. The test reported by Halliburton compared wells on the same
pad in the SCOOP formation in Oklahoma, and the output was normalized to
remove the effect of differing well lengths. Source: Paper SPE 184863.
use in areas with the highest flow where
reward for using premium proppant is
greater. Because making smaller ceram-
ic grains costs more, sand has an even
wider cost advantage. Ultrafine ceramic
and sand particles, though, are mass pro-
duced for use in paint and industrial coat-
ings that resist abrasion and corrosion.
That has been the primary business
of Zeeospheres’ corporate parent, Val-
entine Chemicals. The private company
based south of New Orleans bought the
ball-making process from 3M Energy and
Advanced Materials in 2009. The com-
pany has been looking for an innovative
way to get into the proppant business.
Its biggest inroad has been selling micro-
proppant to Halliburton.
Type I
MP
100 150 200 250
Days
Hugh Caffery, president of Valentine
Chemicals, said Halliburton is a criti-
cal customer because it has the resourc-
es and connections to validate and sell a
new technology. But as for how the com-
pany’s product has been used, “We do not
know where they have used it in opera-
tions other than where they published in
an SPE paper.”
One hopeful sign was a comment dur-
ing a Halliburton investor conference call
mentioning its service using microprop-
pant in completions.
“After we first induce fractures,
MicroScout allows us to better connect
these fractures within the formation and
prop them open,” said Jeff Miller, presi-
dent and chief health, safety, and envi-
standard crush test for sand grains is
tricky, because it measures when sand
grains break up under pressure. The
milling used to turn sand into flour has
already done that.
Zeeospheres’ proppant is a regular
shape that when crush-tested can stand
up to pressures of 60,000 psi or more,
Caffery said, which is far higher than
the stress likely in even a high-stress
well. Crush resistance matters in prop-
pant because the pressure exerted in a
reservoir can break up weaker grains of
sand or ceramic into fine particles that
can block the flow.
Neither side is talking about the likely
price-per-ton for a line of business that
does not exist. But both point out they
are now able to sell for competitive prices
to coatings makers that have multiple
options to choose from.
Based on past uses, the amount of
microproppant required is relative-
ly low—tens of thousands of pounds
vs. millions of pounds for conventional
proppant—so the price per pound is not
as significant as it would be for the con-
ventional sizes that are still required.
Getting In
Microproppant grains are so small they
can get in tight fractures in large enough
volumes to prop them open, said Carl
Montgomery, a fracturing consultant for
NSI Technologies advising Zeeospheres.
Ultrafine proppant can also remain sus-
pended in widely used, less-viscous

30 JPT • MARCH 2017

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slickwater mixtures, allowing it to move
around corners where large grains would
likely settle out.
But it is not likely to work in every for-
mation. Montgomery said a critical vari-
able is the clay content. Too much clay
(which swells when exposed to fracturing
fluids) and the proppant will be embed-
ded in the rock rather than serving as a
pillar. The ideal reservoir rock has high
quartz and carbonate content.
Halliburton’s technical papers have not
discussed the effect of varying levels of
clay content, or specified the rock con-
ditions in which it is likely to become
embedded. But it has done laboratory
testing to see the grains perform inside
a thin fracture created by splitting a core
sample in half and subjecting it to the
pressure likely in a reservoir.
A paper by Weiwei Wu of the Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin presented at
the fracturing conference (SPE 184858)
found that adding proppant within an
extremely tight fracture, where clay
softening was an issue, still maintained
significant conductivity.
Laboratory tests of preserved samples
from the Eagle Ford and Utica shales
with high clay-content levels (40%)
were sawed in two to simulate a nar-
row secondary fracture under reservoir
pressure. The paper reported that the
conductivity dropped by 88%–98%
when 5,000 psi in stress was added.
There was only a 40% conductivity loss
when 1 lb/ft2 of proppant was placed
inside. The size of the proppant used
was not specified.
If microproppant works in these
extremely tight spaces, the percent-
age gains could be huge compared
with the otherwise negligible flow,
Montgomery said.
“Any proppant is better than no prop-
pant material,” said Montgomery, adding
that based on tests of the conductivity
in fractures propped with the ultrafine
ceramic grains, “despite its size it pro-
vides fairly good conductivity when com-
pared to the natural flow capacity of the
secondary fracture system.”
The Halliburton paper says the amount
of material used is small—about 0.1 lb of
material per gallon of fluid propped dur-
ing the first stage of pumping, known as
32
D
B C
A the stimulated rock
the pad stage, when roughly one-third of
the fluid is pumped to initiate fracturing.
One positive for microproppant is that
it can been be added without signifi-
cant changes in established routines. A
mix of ultrafine-grained proppant and
water is added by Halliburton during the
pad stage. Adding the ultrafine proppant,
which is mixed with water for delivery, is
“like running another liquid additive on
the fly,” Parker said.
Explanations Needed
It is easy enough to visualize microprop-
pant doing in small spaces what conven-
tional proppant does in larger ones.
But the questioning after the fracturing
conference talk got skeptical after Hal-
liburton reported that pumping micro-
proppant early on reduced the treating
pressure required to place all the prop-
pant in stages where there is a risk of
coming up short. That was first reported
in a 2015 paper covering a field test in the
Barnett shale for Devon (SPE 174060).
“It led to something we didn’t expect.
There was a reduction in near-wellbore
pressure” during fracturing due to a
reduction caused by pressure-dependent
leakoff, Prather said.
Leakoff occurs when the pressure in
the primary fracture rises high enough
to open up the secondary fractures, said
Montgomery. As a result, “as they pump
more, these secondary fractures take
more fluid.”
The symptoms of the condition, diag-
nosed using pressure trend charts, is
significantly higher treating pressure
Microseismic imaging,
such as this one of a
four-well pad in the
Eagle Ford, show that
goes far beyond the
propped fractures near
the wellbore. Source:
Paper SPE 174946.
and fracture networks that do not take
the planned amount of sand, leading
to screenouts.
As for why pumping ultrafine sand alle-
viates that problem, Calvin said it appears
the microproppant in the secondary frac-
tures is limiting access to them, like a
diverter, focusing the pressure on the
main fracture, but still allowing enough
permeability for production later.
When Calvin offered that explanation,
it led to questions. One of those was from
Montgomery, who said that limiting flow
into secondary fractures “would increase
the pressure, not decrease it,” and sug-
gested some other factor, such as the
polymer used to transport the proppant,
could explain it.
Others theories offered for the reduced
pressure: the abrasive high-pressure flow
might expand constricted places and
smooth sharp turns, or early propping
in secondary fractures may also alter the
pressure trend when conventional prop-
pant is pumped later.
That lively question-and-answer ses-
sion on the last day of the conference is
a rare example of public conversations
about microproppant.
But there are quiet signs of interest.
Zillur Rahim, a supervisor in the tech-
nical study unit of Saudi Aramco’s gas
reservoir management department, said
the company was beginning to evaluate
whether microproppant could be useful
in the hard rock of its formations. But
quick change is not likely.
“This is a change of philosophy. It is
hard to get anyone to do anything differ-
JPT • MARCH 2017
p opl
po d
The power of our resources means
nothing without the energy of our
people. Their focus and expertise make
our energy more dependable, more
sustainable, and more useful.

We are looking for experienced

petroleum engineers and geoscientists
to join our team.

Apply now.

www.aramco.jobs/jpt
 Bill Grieser, and Travis Bachman,
MESH REPRESENTS THE LARGEST-SIZE PARTICLE WITHIN A SAND GRADE, Halliburton. http://dx.doi.
WHICH INCLUDES SMALL ONES
org/10.2118/184863-MS.
SPE 174060 Application of Micro-
Mesh Microns Inches Millimeters
Proppant To Enhance Well Production
30 595 0.03 0.841
in Unconventional Reservoirs:
40 400 0.0165 0.4
Laboratory and Field Results
50 297 0.012 0.297
by Jeff Dahl, Devon Energy;
60 250 0.0098 0.25
Philip Nguyen, Ron Dusterhoft
70 210 0.0083 0.21
et al., Halliburton. http://dx.doi.
100 149 0.0059 0.149
org/10.2118/174060-MS.
270 53 0.0021 0.053
SPE 184858 An Experimental
325 44 0.0017 0.044
Investigation of the Conductivity
400 37 0.0015 0.037
of Unpropped Fractures in Shales
530 25 0.0009 0.025
by Weiwei Wu, Mukul Sharma et al.,
The University of Texas at Austin.
Source: Flocon Filters. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/184858-MS.
SPE 174946 The Role of Induced
Un-propped (IU) Fractures in
ent,” Parker said. Rapid drilling and com- For Further Reading Unconventional Oil and Gas
pletions are based on complex routines SPE 184863 Enhancement of Well Wells by Mukul Sharma and R.
that companies are reluctant to change, Production in the SCOOP Woodford Manchanda,  The University of
but he added, “Some operators are now Shale Through the Application of Texas at Austin. http://dx.doi.
looking at it seriously.” JPT Microproppant by James Calvin, org/10.2118/174946-MS.

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If you do, consider nominating one or more of them for the Society of Petroleum Engineers
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AIME, and companies that allow their professionals to serve as lecturers.

34 JPT • MARCH 2017

 H draulic Fracturing Conference
Offers New Insights
The SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition took place
24–26 January in The Woodlands, Texas. The event included more than 50 technical
paper presentations, as well as 90 exhibitors, discussing and showcasing new
hydraulic fracturing technologies, various applications, and learnings from
fracture-stimulated wells. Below are some of the highlights from the conference.

Initial Impressions of Wells Ma e Misleading

Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

he mostly widely reported production
T data proved to be a bad indicator of
future output.
A study presented at the confer-
ence considered whether the widely
reported 30-day production total is a
good way to evaluate a well compared
with less frequently offered longer-
term numbers.
“Production at 30 days tends to be an
unreliable estimate,” said Edward Ifejika,
a field operations engineer for Total who
did the research while he was a student
at Texas A&M University (SPE 184817).
The number after 90 days offers a much
better estimate of future gas produc-
tion and the improvement from there
is limited.
In comparison, the output of conden-
sate wells over 30 days is a useful indica-
tor, though 90 days offers a better fit with
the longer-term data.
The surprises in the study’s findings
include production data that were both
better and worse than expected, with a
significant number on the upside, he said.
The paper used data from more than
600 gas and condensate producing wells
in the Utica formation over a 2-year peri-
od. It used a linear regression analysis
to test whether there was a correlation
between actual production at earlier and
later time periods—30, 60, 90, 180, 360,
and 720 days.
The result of the calculation is called
R2, with a number greater than 0.85
being a good correlation, from 0.6 to
0.85 a moderate correlation, and below
that little correlation.
A short-term time frame is signifi-
cant because the presentation showed
that output over 30 days is the mea-
sure normally reported to investors and
the media. The impact those reports can
have on a company’s stock price puts a
premium on the importance of early well
performance, which can influence how
the wells are completed and operated in
ways that may alter later results. The first
month of production is also a time when
output may still be influenced by well
cleanup after fracturing.
While the 30-day number is a pret-
ty good fit for the 90-day results (R2 of

Wellhead Gas Cumulative Days Production Condensate Cumulative Days Production

R2 90 180 360 720 R2 90 180 360 720

Cumulative Days Production

Cumulative Days Production

30 0.91 0.82 0.71 0.53 30 0.93 0.88 0.87 0.86

90 0.95 0.84 0.80 90 0.98 0.95 0.94

180 0.96 0.93 180 0.99 0.98

360 0.99 360 0.99

Summary of the analyzed time intervals for wellhead gas and condensate. Source: Paper SPE 184817.

JPT • MARCH 2017 35

 0.91), the fit declines from there, drop-
ping to a poor correlation after 270 days
(R2 of 0.53) for gas. In comparison, after
90 days, the correlation with later pro-
duction was also a good fit, and wait-
ing until 180 days does not improve
it much.
When the wells are producing conden-
sate, correlations based on 30-day pro-
duction tend to be much better than with
gas wells, suggesting results are likely to
vary in other fields.
“It might be applicable to other plays,”
Ifejika said, adding that the low correla-
tion for gas wells in the Utica indicates
that “this analysis should be applied.”
A questioner from the audience sug-
gested that he consider whether his data-
base properly evaluated wells with spe-
cial circumstances, such as production
limited by tight pipeline capacity, which
might have altered the results.
One of those asking about the method-
ology was Jagan Seshadri, a project man-
ager for IHS, a major energy data provid-
er and consultant. When asked if he sees
the industry moving to longer-term pro-
duction reports, Ifejika said there will be
resistance, because of the appetite “for
quick feedback.”

Getting a Better Look at Propped Fractures

Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

CThearbo Ceramics is getting a clearer

look at where the proppant goes.
ceramic proppant maker showed
much-improved images at this year’s
conference (SPE 184880) compared with
the ones shown last year, as well as a new
set of images showing three stages of a
Marcellus gas well.
The presentation at the start of the
conference’s technical sessions drew a
large crowd. The method discussed uses
metallically coated ceramic proppant
that is activated by an electric current run
through the reservoir. The new method
promises a deep look that is not available
using alternatives such as radioactive
markers, which are visible only within a
couple feet of the wellbore.
A reprocessed image of the first test
using the proppant highlighted a chal-
lenge: processing the faint signals from
proppant grains deep in the ground.
“The key is how do you bring these all
together and create a proppant image,”

The image on the left from a well in the Bone Springs formation in west Texas was the first one created using
electromagnetic imaging, and the image on the right shows reprocessed data from that 8,000-ft deep lateral revealing
far more detail. Source: Paper SPE 184880.

The image from a well in the Marcellus shows two small

stages on the right side where proppant pumping had
to be halted before the planned amount of specially
coated ceramic particles (40–70 mesh) was delivered.
The large stage at the left received about four times as
much proppant after the treatment was altered to ease
pumping by lowering the concentration of solids in the
fluid, pumping finer-grained proppant (100 mesh) ahead
to ease the entry and a linear gel to transport more
proppant. Source: Paper SPE 184880.

36 JPT • MARCH 2017

 An electromagnetic image of the proppant
largely fits into an area, shown in green and
turquoise, where a model predicted the most
proppant would reside. It also shows significant
areas with lower concentrations. Source: Paper
SPE 184880.

said Terry Palisch, global engineering
director for Carbo, adding that, “the rest
is reasonably off-the-shelf technology.”
Carbo has spent years developing the
sophisticated mathematical formulas
required to interpret faint changes in
electrical and magnetic signals. In the
year since Carbo’s paper revealed its
work, the company has improved the
clarity with more data. It has learned to
better locate the receivers on the sur-
face to detect the faint electric and mag-
netic signatures created when it runs
a current from the well through the
magnetic-coated particles. Getting good
data requires identifying noise, which
can range from nearby power lines to
cows grazing in the area, and finding
ways to avoid, or remove it.
Based on what it learned from its first
test, Carbo increased the percentage of
receivers picking up electric and magnet-
ic signals. While the two sorts of electro-
magnetic waves offered similar pictures,
adding receivers to pick up magnetic data
may offer more volume and detail, per-
haps showing areas with lower concen-
trations of proppant.
“The model suggests there is a
threshold of proppant concentration”
imaged, Palisch said, adding, “The
propped area is larger.”
The company recently complet-
ed the field work for a third test of
the system and is now processing that
data, he said. It is working to increase
the power of the electric current used
to stimulate the proppant and use
more of the signal and find better
ways to reduce noise to create more
detailed pictures showing lower prop-
pant concentrations.

Think-Tank Founder Touts Benefits of Fossil Fuels

Trent Jacobs, JPT Digital Editor

igher life expectancy, plentiful food,
H and soaring gross domestic prod-
uct are among the benefits that much
of the world’s population has enjoyed
since widespread use of fossil fuels began
more than a century ago. They are also
the central pillars to Alex Epstein’s the-
sis of why fossil fuel production, and
the engineering involved, equates to a
moral obligation.
Epstein, founder of the for-profit
think tank Center for Industrial Progress
and author of The Moral Case for Fossil
Fuels, was the featured speaker of this
year’s conference.
Addressing several hundred industry
professionals, Epstein used the rise of the
North American shale sector to highlight
how, despite making possible the many
advantages of living in the modern age,
the wider oil and gas industry is losing
the public relations battle.
“The shale energy industry could the-
oretically have made a very exciting case
about how ‘We are going to get all this
energy out of previously useless rocks,’”
he said. “But the industry did basically
none of that.”
As a consequence, opponents of
hydraulic fracturing filled an outsized
share of the information vacuum, exem-
plified by the controversial and popular
film Gasland—a documentary that the
industry has spent years trying to counter.
Epstein said that the oil and gas indus-
try’s challenge of gaining greater public
favor has been made even more difficult
by the emergence of renewable energy
technologies, which he views as imprac-
tical apart from hydroelectric power
generation. Among his problems with
renewables is that they are generally cast
as “good” while fossil fuels are framed by
many as “evil.”
“The moral goal that we accept with
green energy is based on the standard of
minimal human impact,” he said. “I want
to ask, ‘Is that a good standard; should
we be judging our actions by how little we
impact nature?’”
If the answer throughout humanity had
been a definitive yes, Epstein said, then
modern cities and most people over the
age of 30 would not exist. These points
are drawn from his philosophy of human
flourishment. In contrast to natural con-
servation, Epstein’s view on human flour-
ishment holds that the chief moral cause
of mankind is to achieve progress by alter-
ing the natural world to its own benefit.
For him, this is where common ground
may be found with industry detractors.
Epstein said that when people who dis-
agree on fossil fuel usage can agree on the
need to propel humans into the future,
“then we can have a discussion, because

38 JPT • MARCH 2017

everything will always be adding up to
what is best for human life.”
With regard to the issue of climate
change, Epstein categorized the role of
humans and fossil fuel consumption as
“trivial” and said he disagreed with glob-
al warming models.
While taking exception to the severity of
the most extreme forecasts, one concern
he does have is that global sea levels are on
the rise. “It matters how big it is,” he said.
“It matters whether it is 2 ft in 100 years,
which would be manageable, vs. 20 ft in a
couple of decades, which would be a huge
problem for a lot of people.”

Institute Seeks To Boost Knowledge in Permian Basin

Trent Jacobs, JPT Digital Editor

Fcanoronbeallindifficult
of the upstream activity going
the Permian Basin of Texas, it
to assess which horizon-
ates will also help boost daily production
and long-term recoveries, placing more
revenue into the University Land endow-
is a University Lands program, Spath said
it has the “intimate” geologic and local
surface data usually only held by oper-
tal well strategies are working best and ment—which collected USD 850  million ators along with the regional but less
why. The primary reason is operators in in oil and gas royalties last year. detailed data generally held only by con-
Texas are not required to share as much At the helm of sultants and service companies.
detailed drilling and completion infor- this new orga- “We think of ourselves as that cross-
mation as they are in other major oil-pro- nization is Chief section where we have access to all uni-
ducing states such as North Dakota, home Executive Officer versity lands’ operators and the funda-
to one of the shale sector’s most revered Jeff Spath, the mental, detailed geologic knowledge of
public databases. 2014 SPE Presi- the subsurface,” which will be used to
But with the recent formation of the dent and former identify which drilling and hydraulic
Texas Oil and Gas Institute (TOGI), it Spath executive advisor fracturing trends are the ones to follow,
is expected that the Permian will soon at Schlumberger. he said.
become a much more well understood Speaking at the conference, Spath While not all the data TOGI has access
shale play. TOGI was established in 2015 explained that TOGI has a unique posi- to are allowed to be shared publicly, such
by the regents of the University of Texas tion when it comes to visibility of the as proprietary seismic data, Spath said
(UT) system, which manages oil and gas oil field. his long-time participation with SPE has
mineral rights across 2 million acres of State law requires that operators work- inspired him to ensure that the program
land in west Texas. ing on University Lands share their well “publishes everything that is publishable”
A nonprofit organization, TOGI information with the state. Because TOGI in industry technical papers.
describes its mission as one focused on
improving the value of the university
lands for the benefit of both the UT system
and the Texas A&M University system—a
co-beneficiary of the lands program.
Known as University Lands, these non-
contiguous areas were granted to the two
universities through a series of legislative
acts that began in 1839, 6 years before
Texas would go from an independent
republic to the 28th US state. Today, there
are more than 280 companies that oper-
ate 9,600 wells on this land, the largest
of them being Pioneer Resources, Apache
Corporation, and Devon Energy. Output
from the fields within University Lands is
about 42,000 BOE/D.
One objective for TOGI is to help devel-
op undergraduate and graduate students
Highlighted in orange, University Lands manages both surface and mineral
into skilled petroleum engineers and geo- interests across more than 2 million acres of land in 19 counties. Oil and gas
scientists. However, if all goes according royalties represent the overwhelming majority of revenue from these lands,
to plan, the learnings that TOGI gener- which were tallied at USD 850 million last year. Source: University Lands.

JPT • MARCH 2017 39

 One of the projects TOGI is already
working on involves identifying how the
proper sequencing of different artificial
lift systems optimizes recovery. This is
an area shale producers have struggled
with because there are many uncertain-
ties regarding which type of lift system to
use, and when, on a well after its natural
flow period is over.
“There are a lot of operators in the
Permian who just use heuristic methods of
choosing [artificial lift systems] which is a
fancy way of saying ‘We’re doing it this way
because we’ve always done it this way,’” he
said. “Maybe that’s good and maybe that’s
bad, but now we’re adding science.”
Saudis Find Proppant Source in Their Own Back Yards
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
hen hydraulic fracturing arrived
W in Saudi Arabia, there was some-
thing lacking.
While the reserves of tight gas are
bountiful and sand covers the des-
ert, Saudi Aramco has had to import
ceramic proppant to hold open the frac-
tures created. Sand dunes in its des-
erts provide a seemingly endless sup-
ply of sand, but when the national oil
company studied those grains of sand,
it found that they were “nice and
round but not very strong,” said Kirk
Bartko, a senior petroleum engineer-
ing consultant for Saudi Aramco, dur-
ing a presentation at the conference
(SPE 184823).
It was a second-grade proppant,
which was not quite up to the demand
of wells typically 10,000 ft deep where
proppant faces closure pressures of
about 11,000 psi. The likely result would
be sand grains crushed into fine parti-
cles likely to block the flow of gas.
The technical paper reported a work-
around for that problem that includ-
ed pumping a mixture of 70% dune
sand and 30% ceramic proppant
and fibers developed by Schlumberg-
er. The sand was incorporated in the
service company’s channel-fractur-
ing method, which uses the fibers to
40
Other projects are looking at well spac-
ing, cluster spacing, proppant perfor-
mance, fracturing fluid systems, and over-
all completion design optimization. Spath
wanted to differentiate TOGI from other
academic programs, emphasizing that its
studies will not take years to complete.
The idea is to deliver projects on a com-
mercial time frame and, to help it do that,
TOGI is focusing its initial analysis efforts
on only 2,100 wells—all long horizontals
that were completed since the beginning
of 2010.
The groundwork is being laid by UT
and A&M student interns who are build-
ing and analyzing databases that will be
hold the parts together, forming pil-
lars that hold open channels for the
gas to flow.
These clumps are stronger than sand
alone, and when some of the grains break,
there is no evidence the fines escape.
The company compared the results
from 15 stages in a 4,500-ft lateral of
a well. When the three stage groups
were compared, the stages using the
local sand outperformed ceramic prop-
pant stages using a similar design,
and were not far behind the last four
stages near the heel of the well that
were fractured conventionally using
more proppant.
When production from the test well
was compared with another well 5 km
away fractured with ceramic proppant
only, the cumulative production after
110 days was within 3%. “There has not
been a loss in rate from the two wells.
The pillar structure is sustaining what we
hoped,” Bartko said.
For Saudi Aramco, this represents a
huge potential savings over importing
high-performance ceramic proppant for
the job.
“We have the large dunes and the cost
of our completions will go down tremen-
dously” if these test results lead to wide-
spread use of local sand, he said. Saudi
used in future projects. TOGI will be using
machine learning and other data analytics
technologies to accelerate these efforts.
And when the time comes to begin simu-
lating all the data and run sophisticated
models, TOGI will have access to what is
the world’s sixth most powerful super-
computer located on the campus of the
University of Texas at Austin.
“We’re not there yet,” Spath said. “But
there will be a day when we get enough
data and enough understanding of the
subsurface that we will integrate geolog-
ical models with petrophysical models
with geomechanical models, and we’re
going to require this supercomputer.”
Aramco is working through a long-term
program to determine the best meth-
ods for developing its unconventional
gas reserves.
But not all sand dunes will suffice.
While some sand has met ISO and API
requirements, some could not stand up
to the 8,000-psi closure pressure. The
sand described in the technical paper
came from three dunes that had eas-
ily accessible sand and high quartz
(95%) content. JPT
For Further Reading
SPE 184817 Optimum Production
Metrics To Predict Unconventional
Well’s Long-term Performance
by E. Ifejika, B. De Cumont,
N. Kashani, Total E&P. http://dx.doi.
org/10.2118/184817-MS.
SPE 184880 Far-Field Proppant
Detection Using Electromagnetic
Methods—Latest Field Results
by T. Palisch, W. Al-Tailji, L. Bartel,
Carbo Ceramics et al. http://dx.doi.
org/10.2118/184880-MS.
SPE 184823 From the Backyard Dune
to Fracturing a Highly Tectonically
Complex Formation in Saudi Arabia
by K.M. Bartko, I.H Arnaout,
K.S. Asiri, Saudi Aramco et al.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/184823-MS.
JPT • MARCH 2017
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 MANAGEMENT

Succeeding in the Shale Business With a Lean

Well Manufacturing Management System
Carlos Bossi, SPE, BHP Billiton

The current oil and gas commodity pric-

% D&C Cost Reducon

es have posed several challenges to oil 40
and gas companies operating in shale
plays trying to generate revenue or
even becoming cash neutral. Shale drill- 30
ing, as opposed to conventional drill-
ing, requires many more wells to pro-
20
duce similar volumes of oil or gas due
to the significantly smaller wellbore
drainage area and the tight nature of 10
the reservoir. For these projects to be
economically viable, a high volume of
low-cost and quickly drilled and com- 0
pleted wells is required, which cannot Permian 9% 9% 18% 30% 33% 50%
be achieved with a conventional oil and Eagle Ford 19% 21% 31% 39% 46% 49%
gas mindset.
By implementing a Lean Well Man- Fig. 1—Eagle Ford and Permian basins drilling and completion cost reduction.
ufacturing Management System and
by having a dedicated Productivity To be successful, this model requires using the resources (people), processes,
Improvement team embedded in the predictable and repeatable performance and technology available.
operations driving changes, BHP Billi- using highly dependable and fit-for- For effective implementation, the proj-
ton was able to reduce drilling and com- purpose equipment that is easy to oper- ect should meet certain characteristics.
pletion (D&C) costs by 49% in the Eagle ate and maintain. Value is maximized by Ideally, the project should be a long-
Ford Basin and 50% in the Permian addressing the technical specifications term field development with a continu-
Basin over an 18-month period (Fig. 1). from the customer and optimizing the ous drilling program and a large num-
These results are similar to those use of existing and new technology to ber of wells drilled and completed yearly.
reported by other operators in similar realize the lowest achievable well cost. The well design should be fit-for-purpose,
plays that also incorporated lean man- In turn, this translates into reduction of standardized, and rigs and their compo-
agement principles to their operations. the unit development costs, increase in nents should be specifically selected for
A Lean Well Manufacturing Manage- short-term production, and more effi- the project.
ment System can be defined as a system cient resource utilization. In addition, a dedicated supply orga-
to drill and complete a large number Waste can be encountered in many nization is required, which should be
of wells per year in a factory-like set- areas in the well delivery process, which tasked to resource low-cost and reliable
ting using a lean manufacturing mind- can increase D&C costs, jeopardizing the materials, equipment, and consumables,
set. The performance of the “factory” is project economics. For this reason, the and to make sure they are available “just
measured by the ability to deliver wells key objective for a lean organization is in time” as required by the operation.
at low capital costs while still perform- to identify areas where waste needs to be This framework should be supported
ing safely, reliably, and meeting local reduced and eliminated without compro- by a fit-for-purpose business model in
regulatory requirements. mising safety, quality, and performance which decisions are based on long-term
strategies even at the expense of short-
Carlos Bossi, SPE, joined BHP Billiton in 2013 and works as a senior drilling engineer term financial goals and the continuity
leading the productivity improvement transformation process for North America shale. of trained staff tasked to identify ways to
He holds an MSc degree in well design and engineering with distinction from Robert push the well delivery boundaries.
Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland, and a BSc degree in mechanical engineering Transitioning to a Lean Well Manufac-
from the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela. turing Management System requires a

42 JPT • MARCH 2017

fundamental change in the organization- Lean training
al mindset in which every team member
should be allowed to challenge any deci- Clear and
Benchmarking measurable
sion in the way the company operates.

C en
targets

ific ss

ro ga
n
io
This is especially difficult in hierarchi-

ss g
pl e
at
m oc

-fu em
si Pr
cal organizations where decisions and

nc en
tio t
processes usually cascade from the top.

na
l
However, this can be overcome by push-
ing decisions to the appropriate levels KPI Continuous Supply chain
and by simplifying the decision-making monitoring Improvement management
process to be able to fast-track decisions
in response to business needs.

ps
Si

hi
x

ns
Si

tio
gm
Implementing the System

la
a-

BHP Billiton’s unconventional basins
were ideal candidates to implement a
Lean Well Manufacturing System. For
this reason, by having full leadership sup-
port and adopting lean tools and pro-
cesses, it was possible to change the com-
pany mindset and become a continuous
improvement organization. Eight ele-
ments contributed to the transformation
(Fig. 2).
1. Lean training.
Educating and developing leaders, office,
and field personnel in lean methodology
was the starting point. Several dedicated
training sessions were performed with
participation of every key player involved
in the well delivery process and projects
assigned to put in practice the concepts
learned during these sessions.
Re
6σ
Cost reduction NPT
initiatives mitigation
Time and cost
variability
Fig. 2—The continuous improvement cycle. NPT: Nonproductive time; KPI: Key
performance indicator.
ed in renegotiating contracts and rates ner mindset in which these companies
as market conditions changed. In addi- became integral players in the opera-
tion, it engaged with vendors and tion and to identify new service pro-
suppliers to create an extended part- viders that could deliver services and
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acquisition, aggregation and visualization to processing, delivery and analytics.

2. Target definition.

By establishing clear and measurable tar-

gets, the D&C organization was able to
focus on what was expected in terms of
well delivery and quality and start iden-
tifying waste in the well delivery process.
Regular reviews were performed to track
cost reductions and to reset the targets
PetroDMZ PetroVault HD
if already met. This provided not only
broad understanding of the challenges to
overcome but assisted in stretching the
goals every time the team exceeded the Visit us at:
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3. Supply chain management.

A dedicated supply organization was

assigned to shale operations that assist-

JPT • MARCH 2017 43

 goods at lower costs while still meet-
ing the technical and health, safety, and
environmental standards required by
the business.
This helped raising the bar not only in
service or materials cost reduction but
also to identify technologies available
in the market to push the boundaries of
performance and created a win-win con-
dition for both companies. The operator
benefited from better services and pric-
ing and the service provider by acquir-
ing more market share based on perfor-
mance improvement.
4. Nonproductive time (NPT)
mitigation.
NPT was identified as a major waste con-
tributor in the well delivery process. The
expectation was to promote a culture
where the organization was capable of
identifying failures in the well manufac-
turing process before they occurred.
A series of tools and processes were
developed to prevent and minimize NPT.
For example, quality control and quality
assurance processes and field inspection
for all tools were sent to site to prevent
downhole failure, field investigations
were performed every time equipment
failed or performed inadequately, after-
action reviews were done every time an
unplanned event occurred, and backup
tools were available on site for all critical
rig components to minimize downtime.
Learnings associated with unplanned
events were captured and shared with
all team members across both basins to
accelerate the operational learning curve
and prevent similar failures.
5. Time and cost variability
reduction.
As wells were drilled in a factory-like set-
ting following a standardized design with
repetitive operational activities and phas-
es, time and cost variability was reduced.
Statistical tools were developed to pro-
mote discussions between field and office
personnel to identify time and cost varia-
tions in the well delivery process and to
take corrective actions as required.
The main objective for developing, pro-
moting, and having these tools accessible
44
to all team members was to have a sys-
tematic way to classify and display time
and cost data for several users simultane-
ously, and substantially reduce recurrent
data processing tasks so decisions could
be fast-tracked based on actual infor-
mation. In addition, these tools allowed
quality checks on data entered into the
database that could mislead decisions
if operations were improperly coded.
These applications were developed using
data visualization and analytics software
and were linked in real time to the daily
drilling reporting database.
6. Cost reduction initiatives and
projects.
An integral component of D&C cost
reduction was to develop a system that
allowed capturing and ranking every
single cost reduction idea and initia-
tives generated, and by adopting a
methodology that allowed achieving
stable and predictable results upon
project implementation.
From April 2015 to date, more than
1,000 ideas have been captured, many
of which came from the forefront of the
operation (e.g., roughnecks and derrick
hands). Although not all the ideas have
been implemented, all ideas were ana-
lyzed, ranked, and recorded for potential
future implementation.
At some work sites, a recognition sys-
tem was implemented where the best
ideas were announced and the con-
tributor rewarded, which helped boost
the number of additional ideas as well
as morale.
Six Sigma was the methodology adopt-
ed by the organization to create consis-
tency and sustainability in project imple-
mentation. Six Sigma is a set of techniques
and tools for process improvement that
eliminates defects and reduces variabil-
ity in the manufacturing process. When
combined with lean (Lean Six Sigma),
the organization benefited not only by
removing waste from the well manufac-
turing process but also achieved accurate
results by reducing variability.
Each project had a specific value driv-
er (e.g., reduce cycle time, reduce spend,
increase production) and followed a
defined sequence of steps (define, mea-
sure, analyze, improve, and control),
which assisted implementing the solu-
tion or process change. During project
execution, any changes that could devi-
ate from company standards or policies
were risk-assessed, approved, and com-
municated through a management of
change system so well integrity and safe-
ty were not compromised at the expense
of reducing well costs.
7. Key performance indicator (KPI)
monitoring.
To continuously evaluate performance
and to promote a learning organiza-
tion culture, a functional and visible sys-
tem was developed to monitor perfor-
mance improvements based on a group
of functional KPIs. This system analyzed
the entire operation at various levels of
granularity and provided visibility to the
entire D&C organization on how the team
was performing.
8. Benchmarking.
Lastly, an internal benchmark system
was adopted to compare performance
between rigs operating in different
basins and establish an external bench-
mark system to compare BHP Billiton’s
performance against competitors’.
Preparing for the Upturn
Regardless of market conditions, if a
Lean Well Manufacturing System is
implemented correctly, efficiency gains
can be sustained as waste is removed
and variability reduced from the well
manufacturing process, allowing for
delivery of predictable and repeatable
performance. This can only take place
if learnings from initiatives and pro-
cess changes are properly documented.
In addition, a mentoring system should
take place in which experienced per-
sonnel transfer operational knowledge
to new personnel so consistency and
performance continuity are assured.
The D&C organization has to be flex-
ible to adapt to new market conditions
and incorporate new tools or systems
to prevent performance slippage once
additional rigs are incorporated in
the operation. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2017
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Hydraulic Fracturing
Zillur Rahim, SPE, Senior Petroleum Engineering Consultant, Saudi Aramco

Hydraulic fracturing is widely used all creating longer and planar fractures for
over the world, and in the Middle East improved production.
in particular. Although superhigh-quality Diagnostics using production logging,
reservoirs do not need stimulation, the temperature logs, and injecting and mea-
current expansion of reserves is mostly suring nonradioactive tracers have shown
in newly found tight and unconventional expected production contribution and
resources that require extensive multi- increase from target intervals, in both
stage fracturing for commercial produc- acid- and proppant-fracturing treatments.
tion. Saudi Aramco embarked on stimula- The superiority of NDSs lies in their natu-
tion and fracturing of wells at the begin- ral formulation, simultaneous use in near-
ning of its nonassociated conventional well and far-field applications, robustness
gas development endeavor and has been in creating barriers and diversions, and
expanding and improving continuous- easily degradable nature and flowback.
ly in the areas of fracture design, use of Among other technology being devel-
novel materials, and field implementa- oped and adopted in Saudi Arabia is the
tion. With newly discovered fields and use of seawater-based fracturing fluids that
the extension of existing areas, the chal- will save the more-valuable fresh water.
lenges related to reservoir heterogene- The laboratory experiments and the few
ity, tight rock, layered systems, and field field applications to date have shown sta-
maturity have led to innovative ideas and bility at high temperatures and pressures,
to testing and application of technologies. compatibility with formation fluids and
The use of biodegradable novel diver- fracturing additives, and resilience against
sion systems (NDSs) has allowed fractur- scale formation. The use of seawater will
ing multiple intervals in a single-stage serve the environment tremendously and
operation, thereby reducing time and sig- will provide substantial economic bene-
nificantly cutting operational cost. On fits in remote areas where access to fresh
the basis of petrophysics and reservoir water is challenging and costly.
and geomechanical characteristics, mul- Saudi Aramco also has initiated the
tiple mesh sizes of an NDS are careful- use of local sand as proppants combined
ly designed and used to divert fluids in with the channel fracturing technique,
the wellbore, ensure simultaneous treat- where proppants serve as pillars support-
ment of lower-quality intervals, and con- ing and maintaining the induced frac-
trol excessive leakoff inside the fracture, tures, keeping them open while the actual
Zillur Rahim, SPE, is a senior petroleum engineering consultant
with Saudi Aramco’s Gas Reservoir Management Department.
With 30 years of industry experience, he heads the technical
team and is responsible for hydraulic fracturing, well comple-
tions, assessment and approval of new technologies, and train-
ing and development of local talent. An active member of SPE,
Rahim has authored more than 100 technical papers and has
participated as cochairperson, session chairperson, technical
committee member, discussion leader, forum coordinator, and workshop organizer
for various Middle East and international SPE events. He holds a BS degree from
L’Institut Algérien du Pétrole, Boumerdès, Algeria, and MS and PhD degrees from
Texas A&M University, all in petroleum engineering. Rahim serves on the JPT Editorial
Committee and can be reached at zillur.rahim@aramco.com.
fracture conductivity is provided by the
open areas within the system. The crush-
ing of pillars by high in-situ stress and the
friable quality of sand and consequent
release of fines are controlled and con-
tained by the use of resin during the treat-
ment. This technology is also designed
to reduce fracturing cost by eliminating
more-expensive intermediate-strength
proppant (ISP) or high-strength prop-
pant (HSP) during channel fracturing.
Sand cannot substitute for ISP or HSP in
conventional fracturing because of its low
compressive strength and friable nature.
The economic advantage achieved by
the use of new technologies will help
expansion, exploration, drilling, and frac-
turing in new frontiers and territories.
The world’s increasing energy demand,
which, for the most part, is hydrocarbon
dependent, requires growth and advance-
ment in the oil and gas industry, increas-
ingly environmentally friendly practices,
the use of more natural resources, and
the application of innovative ideas and
new technology that will reduce develop-
ment and management cost and increase
efficiency and effectiveness. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 180207 Effects of Hydraulic Fractures
on the Treatment of Condensate by Huff ’n’
Puff Gas Injection in Eagle Ford Shale
by S. Yang, University of Calgary, et al.
SPE 181353 Best Practices and Lessons
Learned From More Than 1,000 Treatments:
Revival of Mature Fields by Hydraulic
Fracturing in Khalda Ridge, Egypt’s
Western Desert by Mohamed Salah,
Khalda Petroleum Company, et al.
SPE 184840 Innovative Diversion
Technology Ensures Uniform Stimulation
Treatments and Enhances Gas Production:
Examples From Carbonate and Sandstone
Reservoirs by Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco,
et al.

JPT • MARCH 2017 45

 A Comparison Between Seawater-Based
and Freshwater-Based Fracturing Fluids

Ion Composition of Seawater

D espite the lack of freshwater
resources in the Arabian
peninsula, fresh water is still used in
The high concentration of sulfate in sea-
water affects ion pairings in seawater.
bilize the crosslinking in the targeted pH
range to develop high viscosity.
Dissolved solids in water can adverse-
unconventional-resource operations Sulfate can form ion pairings with stron- ly affect the fracturing-fluid properties
there. Seawater, however, is plentiful tium, calcium, and magnesium. Fifty such as polymer hydration and crosslink-
and could substitute for fresh water. percent of the sulfate present in sea- ing. Scaling tendency is another issue.
The high salinity of seawater raises water is free ions that can interact with When certain ions (e.g., sulfate and cal-
many chemical challenges in developing polymer chains. Mixing, evaporation, cium or magnesium) combine, they can
design criteria for fracturing fluids. and precipitation can change with ocean form insoluble salts.
This paper examines the chemistry of depth or location, which affects the sa-
developing seawater-based fracturing linity of seawater around the world and Hydration. Hydration is the process
fluids using two types of polymers as in stratification within a specific region. by which polymer chains absorb water
gelling agents and compares results to The major-ion composition in open to change their configuration from
existing fresh-water-based-fracturing- waters, however, is almost always the the compact state of coils into a more-
fluid data under different conditions. same because the oceans are well-mixed extended and -relaxed state. Two types
by currents. of guar were tested—HPG and CMHPG.
Introduction The seawater in the Arabian Gulf can High salinity and the presence of sulfate
The oil and gas industry faces many chal- have significant evaporation rates, lead- in seawater affected the hydration pro-
lenges, including the availability of fresh ing to hypersaline conditions; hence, the cess. HPG required only 5 minutes in fresh
water for making fracturing fluids, espe- Arabian Gulf’s major-ion content is very water to reach 100% hydration; how-
cially in the Arabian peninsula and other high. This is one of the major factors to ever, it required 50 minutes in seawater
arid regions. consider when designing seawater-based to reach 100% hydration. In comparison,
Using seawater to make fracturing fracturing fluids. Another challenge to CMHPG in fresh water required 5 minutes
fluid can help address several obsta- consider is variation of salinity through- to hydrate fully, while only 10 minutes was
cles and reduce costs. However, using out the year in the Arabian Gulf. necessary in seawater to reach 100%.
seawater to make fracturing fluids also The only concern for hydration is
poses several new challenges. The high Fracturing-Fluid Formulation time required, with all other variables
salinity of seawater and its propensity Preparing a base fluid requires hydra- held constant; seawater required slightly
for scaling, compared with fresh water, tion of the polymer in water to increase more time to reach 100% hydration than
make it crucial to consider different fac- viscosity. Guar gum and its derivatives, fresh water.
tors and chemical properties that influ- HPG and CMHPG, usually hydrate better
ence the process of developing fractur- in water under slightly acidic conditions. Crosslinking. Crosslinkers were added
ing fluid. Additives such as bactericides, gel stabi- to increase the viscosity of aqueous-
This paper presents issues that can lizers, or breakers can supplement the based polymer fluids, linking two or
arise when using seawater as a base to de- base gel, depending on the fracturing- more polymer chains and forming vis-
velop fracturing fluids with two different fluid design criteria. Buffering agents are coelastic fluids that are able to suspend
types of guar as the viscosifying agent— added to keep the pH within the required the proppant and transport it down the
hydroxypropyl guar (HPG) and carboxy- range, and, finally, a crosslinker is added wellbore and into the fracture. Factors
methylhydroxypropyl guar (CMHPG). with the appropriate pH additive to sta- such as pH and temperature can affect
the crosslinking behavior of zirconium-
based crosslinkers.
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
HPG and CMHPG crosslinking effi-
of paper SPE 182799, “Seawater-Fracturing-Fluid Development Challenges: A
ciency and fluid stability were studied at
Comparison Between Seawater-Based and Freshwater-Based Fracturing Fluids Using 300°F in seawater- and freshwater-based
Two Types of Guar Gum Polymers,” by Maryam Alohaly, Ahmed BinGhanim, and fracturing fluids.
Raed Rahal, Halliburton; and Sabiq Rahim, Texas Tech University, prepared for
the 2016 SPE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Annual Technical Symposium and Exhibition, HPG and CMHPG in Seawater and Fresh
Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 25–28 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Water. HPG was more stable in fresh

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

46 JPT • MARCH 2017

water than in seawater. Seawater-based
fracturing fluids were broken after ap-
proximately 30 minutes without an
additional breaker additive, whereas
freshwater-based fracturing fluid did not
break under identical test conditions.
CMHPG also showed better stability
in fresh water. Seawater-based CMHPG
fluid was broken down after approxi-
mately 50 minutes without an addi-
tional fluid breaker, whereas the fresh-
water fluid did not break under identical
test conditions.
The crosslinked CMHPG fluid in sea-
water provided more-long-term stabil-
ity at well conditions than a compara-
ble crosslinked HPG fluid in seawater.
Furthermore, the time difference be-
tween HPG and CMHPG stability was
approximately 20 minutes. As a result,
CMHPG showed more stability than HPG
in seawater.
Effects of Seawater Ion Composition
on Crosslinking Capability. The pri-
mary purpose of this study is to un-
derstand how the individual salt ions
found in seawater can affect the perfor-
mance of the fracturing fluid. These ions
can alter the crosslinking capabilities of
guar-derivative fracturing fluids through
the formation of solid precipitates, as
well as chemical interference with cross-
linking sites. Through rheological test-
ing, a synthetic seawater-based fractur-
ing fluid was built and tested.
Ion Effects on Crosslinking Capability.
In conventional applications, a borate-
crosslinking technique works strictly
under alkaline conditions. Such an en-
vironment can be accomplished through
the use of various pH buffers. In the case
of seawater-based fracturing fluids, high
alkalinity and the presence of hydrox-
ide ions from the buffers allow magne-
sium salts to form insoluble precipitates.
The presence of such a precipitate can
cause uncontrollable pH and, thus, failed
crosslinking. Calcium salts present in
seawater are taken into consideration
because there are some scaling issues re-
lated to the precipitation of calcium car-
bonate. Seawater also contains a large
amount of sulfate salts, which are ca-
pable of precipitating with strontium or
barium ions found in formation waters.
Barium sulfate is a particularly trouble-
JPT • MARCH 2017
some scale, which also has inhibiting ef-
fects on gel crosslinking.
Deionized (DI) water and synthetic
seawater (SSW) with added magnesium
were used to construct HPG fracturing-
fluid systems; the same case held for cal-
cium and sulfate.
Fluid samples were unable to stabi-
lize with HPG, both in DI water and in
SSW samples containing individual ions
such as magnesium, calcium, and sulfate
salt only. The ions appeared to have con-
stricted the crosslinking stability of the
gels despite high gel loading.
DI water containing individual ions
as well as SSW samples were used to
construct CMHPG fracturing-fluid sys-
tems. The fluid systems were subjected
to rheological testing under high tem-
peratures to observe crosslinking and
fluid stability.
In the CMHPG study, DI-water analy-
ses showed different behavior compared
with SSW samples containing individu-
al ions. In the case of magnesium, both
studies showed precipitation, and fluid
samples were unable to stabilize at high
temperatures. In the case of calcium, in
the SSW sample of CMHPG, the fluid sys-
tem indicated crosslinking stability of at
least 500 cp for less than 20 minutes at
high-temperature applications, whereas
DI-water samples showed stability for
more than 1 hour under the same condi-
tions. The same behavior was observed
for the sulfate; the fluid was stable for
more than 1 hour in DI water, whereas
stability did not last for 20 minutes when
using SSW.
Rheological-testing procedures clearly
indicate that the high concentration of
magnesium, calcium, and sulfate ions in
seawater depresses hydration of gelling
agents and restricts crosslinking viscos-
ity. In the study, where DI water and SSW
contained the individual ions by them-
selves, no fluid system was able to cross-
link successfully in the HPG fluid system.
Scaling Tendency. Scale is a precipita-
tion of mixed minerals in water result-
ing in the crystalline deposition of salts.
Fresh water used for fracturing-fluid
development does not pose scaling prob-
lems as much as seawater does. With sea-
water, scaling is a significant issue that
should be considered. Seawater contains
a large amount of sulfate ions that inter-
act with strontium and barium in con-
nate waters to form scale.
Because of the high content of sulfate
in seawater and high barium and calcium
concentration in connate water, the scal-
ing tendency of the resulting mixed aque-
ous fluid at high temperatures is predict-
ed to be high, particularly for barite scale.
Results obtained from acidizing-
design software showed that barium
sulfate is the major scale. Neat connate
water had a lower scaling tendency than
a 50:50 formation-water/seawater mix-
ture. This can result in significant un-
intended scale formation when using
seawater-based fracturing fluids.
Several types of scale inhibitors have
been used in the field to inhibit and mini-
mize scaling. Tests using a scale loop in-
strument showed a compatible seawater
fracturing fluid when using the proper
type and concentration of scale inhibitor
to control the sulfate scale. The pH must
be balanced for the borate equilibrium to
have proper borate-ion concentration in
the presence of scale inhibitors.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
After conducting tests on seawater
and fresh water, the following were
determined:
◗ The high salinity and total dissolved
solids of seawater, especially in the
Arabian Gulf, create issues with
fluid stability at high temperatures
as well as scale formation in the
development of seawater-based
fracturing fluid.
◗ Base gel viscosity was not affected
whether HPG or CMHPG polymers
were used to make seawater-based
fracturing fluid.
◗ Full hydration is slightly delayed
when using both polymers with
seawater.
◗ The crosslinking mechanism is
affected when seawater is used, and
the fluid is less stable than fresh
water with HPG or CMHPG.
◗ Optimizing the use and type of
crosslinker is recommended to
help avoid or reduce crosslinking
disturbance.
◗ Seawater-based fluid can meet
stability criteria, with CMHPG
showing more stability than
HPG. JPT
47
 An Innovative Approach to Gel Breakers
for Hydraulic Fracturing

R ecent studies have found that the

viscosities of borate gels at actual
downhole pressure conditions may be
80% less than those from standard high-
pressure/high-temperature rheometer
measurement (which uses 400-psi top
pressure). A proposed mechanism for
this phenomenon is a pressure-induced
shifting of the crosslink/temperature
stability near the “melt temperature”
of borate-crosslinked gels, leading to a
reversible thinning. This paper poses a
novel approach to exploit the pressure
effect by capturing the pressure-thinned
fluid in a thin state and irreversibly
breaking the gel viscosity.
Introduction
The chemistry of most crosslinked-gel
fracturing fluids has been optimized
carefully over the years, yielding a base
chemistry that has remained mostly con-
sistent for 20 years with incremental in-
novations. These fluids include either
metal-crosslinked polymer solutions or
borate-crosslinked guar, which is used
for the largest percentage of crosslinked-
gel fracturing treatments.
While widely used in both crosslinked
and hybrid fracture designs, several per-
formance issues have been noted in op-
timization and execution of these fluids.
Slow shear recovery has been identified
in many nondelayed borate-crosslinked
fluids, which varies on the basis of shear
rate, gel salinity, and additives.
In addition to unpredictable shear re-
covery, researchers have identified sur-
prising effects of downhole pressures on
the viscosity of borate-crosslinked-gel
fluids. While the pressure for testing of
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of
paper SPE 178991, “An Innovative Approach to Gel Breakers for Hydraulic Fracturing,”
by Michael J. Fuller, SPE, Chevron Energy Technology Company, prepared for the
2016 SPE International Conference and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control,
Lafayette, Louisiana, USA, 24–26 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
crosslinked fluids is 400 psi, according
to industry recommended practices, re-
alistic downhole pressures often exceed
5,000 psi during fracturing operations.
Borate-crosslinked fluids exhibit a sig-
nificant reduction in viscosity under real-
istic downhole pressures when qualified
in specialized ultrahigh-pressure rheo-
meters. Functionally, the findings of those
studies suggest that the actual downhole
viscosity may be more than 80% lower
than the optimized values measured with
standard methods for low-pressure gel
testing. This pressure-induced thinning
is demonstrated in Fig 1.
The nature of this pressure effect is
still under evaluation. The thinning phe-
nomenon demonstrated in Fig. 1b could
be mistakenly labeled as breaking of the
gel; however, that label would be inac-
curate because chemical breakers of any
nature cause an irreversible change to
the chemistry of the crosslinked polymer,
rendering it unable to regain viscosity.
Breakers for crosslinked gels fall into two
categories: enzyme breakers, comprising
a number of enzyme mixtures designed
to hydrolyze polysaccharide polymers
by cleavage of the polymer backbone,
and oxidative breakers. Oxidative break-
ers are the most commonly used type of
chemical breakers for crosslinked gels
because of their versatility and their ef-
fectiveness in breaking at low concentra-
tions. The effectiveness of low concentra-
tions of oxidizers is attributable to their
high reactivity, but this same reactivity
presents a number of hazards.
The disadvantages of oxidative break-
ers led to identification of the need to im-
prove breaker chemistry and delivery for
use in gelled fracturing fluids. The cur-
rent study proposes an alternative family
of breakers that could offer several ad-
vantages in crosslinked-gel breaking, in-
cluding enhanced retained conductivity
in crosslinked-gel/proppant packs. These
alternative breakers are proposed to take
advantage of the mechanism of the re-
versible thinning shown in Fig. 1b.
Experimental Methods
and Materials
A variety of fluid formulations was used
to validate the effects of ultrahigh pres-
sures on viscosity stability. An oilfield-
grade guar-gelling agent was used, as
were borax and solutions of sodium hy-
droxide, potassium chloride, and other
salts. Polymeric breakers, activated alu-
mina, and activated carbon were all pro-
vided as laboratory grade. Hydrocalu-
mite and ettringite were synthesized in
the laboratory.
Rheometers capable of applying tem-
peratures greater than 300°F and pres-
sures greater than 20,000 psi were used.
High pressure was applied to the test fluid
by use of a high-pressure hydraulic pump
to pressurize immiscible oil. The rheom-
eters were designed to ensure minimal
fluid contact between the pressurizing oil
and test fluid, to reduce mixing between
the fluids and reduce contamination.
Results and Discussion
Measurements were made to validate the
feasibility of a new family of breakers for
borate-crosslinked gels that uses a break
mechanism that deactivates the cross-
linking species. This proposed mecha-
nism contrasts with that of convention-
al oxidizers, which act by cleaving the
polysaccharide backbone of guar and
its derivatives. While previous studies
have presented breakers that inactivat-
ed metal crosslinkers in fracturing gels,
the current study takes advantage of the
reversible pressure-induced thinning

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

48 JPT • MARCH 2017

 25 lbm/1,000 gal Guar+1.75 lbm/1,000 gal Borax in

Viscosity (cp) at 100 sec−1 and Temperature (°F)

50 lbm/1,000 gal Guar; 10 sec−1 at 70 and 150°F
Viscosity (cp) at 10 sec−1 and Temperature (°F)
2% KCl; 10 sec−1 at 70 and 150°F
300 12,500 500 12,500
Viscosity Viscosity
Temperature 450 Temperature
250 Pressure Pressure
10,000 400 10,000

200 350

Pressure (psi)
Pressure (psi)
7,500 300 7,500
150 250
5,000 200 5,000
100
150

50 2,500 100 2,500

50
0 0 0 0
0 50 100 150 45 55 65 75 85 95
(a) Time (minutes) (b) Time (minutes)
Fig. 1—Ultrahigh-pressure rheology measurements for (a) uncrosslinked solution of 50 lbm/1,000 gal guar (70 and
150°F) and (b) 25 lbm/1,000 gal guar (crosslinked with borax) in 2% potassium chloride (150°F).

illustrated in Fig. 1b. The application finity for the released crosslinker. This to bind to the pressure-released cross-
of high pressure and temperature to breaking would allow the gel to main- linker. Those chemicals fall into three
borate-crosslinked polymers may alter tain the low viscosity and encourage im- categories that have known affinity for
the borate anion, inactivating the cross- provement in retained conductivity of boron: inorganic metal oxides (includ-
link and allowing the new form of boron the proppant pack. ing clays), activated solids, and polymer-
to undergo further reaction. The subse- ic solids.
quent proposed breaking reaction has Candidate-Material Screening. The The initial phase of the current qual-
the released crosslinker reacting irre- current work identified a number of ification gauged the feasibility of the
versibly with a chemical with a high af- chemicals with the established potential candidate breakers to react with the

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50 JPT • MARCH 2017

pressure-thinned borate gel. Each test
was conducted using a previously opti-
mized solution of 25 lbm/1,000 gal guar
with borax crosslinker in a base brine of
2% potassium chloride.
Metal Oxide and Clay Materials. For
the current study, ettringite and hydro-
calumite were selected for qualification
as potential pressure-reactive breakers
because of their documented high affin-
ity for boron compared with other metal
oxides. Results from feasibility screen-
borate bonds. The current study quali-
fied three polymeric materials for poten-
tial pressure-reactive breaking behavior.
The first material qualified in the cur-
rent study was PB2. At low temperature,
the gel/PB2 solution showed minimal
response to the pressure ramp; but, at
170°F, the fluid/breaker reversibly thins
below 50 cp.
Because of the reversibility of the re-
sponse, a follow-up measurement was
conducted with a higher loading of PB2
ing showed very different results with
-Ê9"1,
these two clay materials blended into the
25 lbm/1,000 gal guar/borate gel. At the
Ê-/

Ê1*¶
intermediate temperature, the fluid re-
mains largely stable near 350–400 cp,
even when exposed to the pressure ramp
to 10,000 psi. However, at 170°F, the
gel/hydrocalumite experiences pressure-
dependent thinning during the ramp to
10,000 psi similar to that demonstrat-
ed in Fig. 1b. The most notable aspect
of this behavior is the full reversibility
of this thinning, even in the presence of
the candidate breaker. This reversibility
indicates that, while the gel was stable
at intermediate conditions blended with
hydrocalumite, the latter was ultimately
unable to maintain the pressure-thinned
gel in the broken state.
Activated Solids. The current study
assessed the feasibility of activated car-
bon and activated alumina for use as po-
tential pressure-reactive breakers. The
performance of each material was quali-
fied using the borate/guar fluid with gel
loading of 25 lbm/1,000 gal. When test-
ed under ultrahigh-pressure conditions
at 100 and 170°F with activated carbon,
the gel demonstrates high stability at the
low temperature with no effect from the
pressure ramp to 10,000 psi. However,
when qualified at the elevated tempera-
ture, the fluid demonstrates reversible
thinning to less than 50 cp at 10,000 psi,
which recovers to greater than 200 cp
when the pressure is reduced to 500 psi.
This behavior negates the potential to use
activated carbon as a pressure-reactive
breaker for borate gels.
Polymeric Materials. Dissolved poly-
mers in crosslinked-gel fracturing fluids
are tightly bound to borate. Consequent-
ly, a new material designed as a pressure-
reactive breaker will need a strong bond-
ing affinity toward boron that is able to
exceed the stability of polysaccharide/
JPT • MARCH 2017
breaker. Several observations can be "7Ê"
made from the data in this test. Most no-
tably, the gel/PB2 system undergoes an 7
immediate thinning on heating to 170°F
that irreversibly breaks the gel viscosity
before the pressure ramp. The results il-
lustrate that PB2 may have some poten-
tial as a pressure-active breaker; how- 7ÌÊVÀÃiÃVL>Ãi`Ê
ever, excessive reactivity toward the gel V«iÌÃÊiÛ>Õ>Ì]Ê
at temperature indicates either that PB2 ÕÌ«iÀvÀÊÌiÊV«iÌÌ°Ê
is generally too active at these intermedi- iÌÊ>ʵÕ>ÌÌ>ÌÛiÊ>ÃÃiÃÃiÌÊv
ate temperatures or that the material was
ÌÀi>ÌiÌÊivvViVÞÊ>`ÊvÕÌÕÀiÊÜiÊ
highly sensitive to added concentration.
In additional tests, PB3 was qualified «À`ÕVÌÛÌÞÊÜÌÊÜiiÃÊ
under conditions similar to those of PB2. >vÌiÀÊV«iÌ}ÊÞÕÀÊvÀÃÌÊÜi°
Similar to the results for PB2, the gel/
PB3 combination remained stable at low
temperature but demonstrated revers-
ible pressure-induced thinning at 170°F.
To complete the feasibility assess-
ment of the polymeric materials, PB1
was examined in the optimized borate/
guar-fluid system under conditions
slightly varied from those of the previous
tests. PB1 demonstrated stable viscos-
ity in the gel/PB1 mixture for 2 hours at
each temperature.
Having demonstrated stable viscosi-
ty under standard low-pressure condi-
tions, testing further characterized the
performance of PB1 as a candidate break-
er at ultrahigh pressures. While the gel
experiences an increase in viscosity at
100°F, there is no apparent response to
the applied pressure ramp at the low
temperature. More remarkable, however,
is the response to the pressure ramp ºVÀ-iÃVÊi«i`ÊÕÃÊ«ÀÛiÊ
when heated further. At 170°F, the fluid ÕÀÊÌÞ«iÊVÕÀÛiÊÓx¯ÊLÞÊÀiVi`}Ê
shows high stability near 200 cp at initial
iÊV«iÌÊÌiV}Þ
pressure. However, application of 2,500-
ÛiÀÊ>ÌiÀ°»
and 5,000-psi pressure leads to sequen-
tial thinning of the gel viscosity. Upon Ê ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ*iÀ>Ê
ÃÃiÌÊ>>}iÀ]
reduction of applied pressure, the gel Ê ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ`-âi`Ê`i«i`iÌ
viscosity remains broken, the desired
ultimate performance of a pressure-
reactive breaker. JPT
 Comparison of Multiphase-Flow Results
in Transverse vs. Longitudinal Fracturing

T here is an ongoing debate about

whether the best practice is to
drill a horizontal well in the direction
Shale Gas

of minimum horizontal stress, which

would create a transversely fractured
well, or to drill the well in the direction
of maximum horizontal stress, which
would create a longitudinally fractured
well. This paper presents the results
of a comprehensive multiphase-flow
study that investigated the relationship
between the principal stresses and
lateral direction in hydraulically
fractured horizontal wells.

Introduction
Rock mechanics research has shown
that hydraulic fractures propagate per-
pendicular to the minimum horizontal
stress in a normal fault environment, Fig. 1—A horizontal well with 10 transverse fractures and 500 ft of fracture
creating transverse fractures. This oc- half-length.
curs if the perforations are aligned with
the preferred fracture plane, which, in were used. None of the previous work un- horizontal wells vs. longitudinally frac-
this case, is the maximum horizontal dertook extensive integrated completion tured horizontal wells in tight sands and
stress. However, the debate has centered and reservoir simulations that modeled unconventional reservoirs with stress-
on whether transversely fractured hori- multiphase flow in transversely fractured dependent permeability were conducted
zontal wells or longitudinally fractured vs. longitudinally fractured horizontal using three different reservoir-simulation
horizontal wells are appropriate and best wells. This study incorporated the effect models. The first reservoir-simulation
practice in a given area and for a given of non-Darcy flow, adsorption gas, the model was for a dry-gas reservoir (in
reservoir permeability. relative permeability effect on fluid flow contact with water) and produced only
The motivation for conducting this re- in the fracture, and the effect of stress- gas and water. The second reservoir-
search came out of the realization that dependent permeability on fracture con- simulation model was built for a black-oil-
all previous studies that looked into the ductivity, which were missing in previ- type reservoir (undersaturated), which
performance comparison of transverse- ous studies. honored accurate reservoir-fluid prop-
ly vs. longitudinally fractured horizontal erties for Permian Basin oil. The third
wells were limited in scope either by the Methodologies reservoir-simulation model was built for
range of reservoir permeability studied Multiphase-flow study and performance saturated reservoirs and used composi-
or by the single-phase-flow models that comparison of transversely fractured tional reservoir-simulation methods and
honored the reservoir-fluid properties of
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of Eagle Ford oil.
For each of the three reservoir-fluid
paper SPE 181813, “Multiphase-Flow Performance Comparison of Multiple-Fractured
types—dry gas, black oil, and composi-
Transverse Horizontal Wells vs. Longitudinal Wells in Tight and Unconventional
tional oil—72 static reservoir-simulation
Reservoirs With Stress-Dependent Permeability,” by Rashid S. Kassim, SPE, Missouri models were built to study the effect on
University of Science and Technology; Larry K. Britt, SPE, NSI Fracturing; and well performance of well azimuth, res-
Shari Dunn-Norman and Fen Yang, Missouri University of Science and Technology, ervoir permeability, and the number of
prepared for the 2016 SPE Asia Pacific Hydraulic Fracturing Conference, Beijing, fractures. This study investigated the ef-
24–26 August. The paper has not been peer reviewed. fect of stress-dependent permeability on

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

52 JPT • MARCH 2017

induced fractures, the effect of perme-
ability changes in the fracture from the
wellbore to the tip of the fracture, and the
effect of adsorbed gas on well productiv-
ity, estimated ultimate recovery (EUR),
and reserves.
Shale Gas
Fig. 2—A horizontal well with four
longitudinal fractures and 500 ft of
fracture half-length.

Principal Stresses
and Fracture Orientation
In a normal fault-stress environment, the
vertical stress is the primary principal
stress, the maximum horizontal stress is
the secondary principal stress, and the
minimum horizontal stress is least prin-
cipal stress. Fig. 1 shows a horizontal well
with 10 transverse fractures, which was
drilled in the direction of the minimum
horizontal stress. Fig. 2 shows a horizon-
tal well with four longitudinal fractures
that was drilled in the direction of the
maximum horizontal stress.
While this study compares the per-
formance of transversely fractured vs.
longitudinally fractured horizontal wells,
there is a well-documented uncertainty in able for low- and ultralow-permeability ervoir fluid used in the black-oil model
the direction and azimuth of the longitu- unconventional resources. was Permian Basin oil. There were two
dinal fracture configuration once it exits reasons for a black-oil reservoir simula-
the perforations. The direction of propa- Black-Oil-Type Reservoir (Three- tion to be selected and for Permian Basin
gation is dictated by the intermediate- Phase: Oil, Gas, and Water). The res- oil to be used. First, the Permian Basin
and far-field in-situ stresses. An earlier
study showed that deviation of more than
10° from the azimuth of the preferred
fracture plane would always create trans-
verse fractures as the fracture propagates
away from the wellbore.

Results and Discussion

Dry-Gas Reservoir (Two-Phase: Gas
and Water). The result from the dry-
gas reservoir modeling was a two-phase
(gas/water) simulation. Analysis reveals
three interesting findings. First, com-
parison of the gas recovery from the
single-phase simulator vs. the result of a
horizontal well with 40 transverse frac-
tures from this study were exactly the
same. Second, at permeabilities higher
than 1.0 md, all the transversely frac-
tured and longitudinally fractured hor-
izontal wells had similar well perfor-
mance. The number of stages/fractures
and well orientation or azimuth did not
make a difference in terms of well pro-
ductivity or recovery. Third, at lower
permeability, longitudinally fractured
horizontal wells performed worst among
all the wells studied. This means longi-
tudinally fractured wells are not suit-

JPT • MARCH 2017 53


® ervoir conditions, there was no free gas
e
Nr w
fo
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20 1 7
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oil’s saturation pressure was 2,000 psi
while initial reservoir pressure used in
the study was 4,000 psi. Hence, at res-
and only two fluid phases existed—oil
and water—which a black-oil reservoir
simulator can model fairly without sig-
nificant errors. Second, test models were
run to compare the results of a black-
oil model with those of a compositional
model using Permian Basin oil, and the
result showed that there was very little
difference in recovery (of oil and gas).
The cumulative-production results
from the black-oil reservoir simulator
compare oil recovery for transversely
fractured horizontal wells with those of
longitudinally fractured horizontal wells
across a permeability range from 10 nd
to 10 md. There were seven transverse-
ly fractured horizontal well cases and
two longitudinally fractured horizontal
well cases. The results show that, at low
reservoir permeabilities, longitudinal-
ly fractured horizontal wells performed
poorer among all cases studied. In fact,
a transversely fractured horizontal well
with only four fractures in a 4,000-ft
lateral length performed better than a
longitudinally fractured horizontal well
with four fractures. However, at high-
er reservoir permeabilities, longitudinal
fractures outperformed transverse frac-
tures. The result shows that a longitudi-
nally fractured horizontal well with only
two fractures had a higher cumulative
oil production than a transversely frac-
tured horizontal well with 40 fractures
at reservoir permeability of 2.0  md.
Therefore, at higher permeabilities, the
optimal well-completion method is to
drill longitudinally fractured horizon-
tal wells.
Compositional Reservoir (Three-
Phase: Oil, Gas, and Water). The com-
positional reservoir-simulation mod-
els had reservoir-fluid properties from
Eagle Ford oil. The study used a com-
positional reservoir simulator because
the reservoir was saturated (below bub-
blepoint pressure) and all three phases
(oil, gas, and water) existed at in-situ
reservoir conditions. In the study, the
reservoir pressure was 4,000 psi at a
reference depth of 8,000 ft. The study
investigated the effect of reservoir-oil
composition on the performance of
transversely fractured vs. longitudinally
fractured horizontal wells in tight sands
and unconventional reservoirs with
stress-dependent permeability.
Comparison of oil recovery vs. reser-
voir permeability for transversely frac-
tured vs. longitudinally fractured hori-
zontal wells using Eagle Ford oil in a
compositional reservoir simulator shows
three significant findings. First, less
oil but more gas was recovered (using
the Eagle Ford oil) compared with the
black-oil reservoir simulator, which used
Permian-oil fluid properties. In fact, only
3 million bbl of oil was recovered in the
Eagle Ford oil compositional modeling
compared with the 17 million bbl of cu-
mulative oil in the Permian Basin oil case.
Second, longitudinally fractured hori-
zontal wells outperformed transversely
fractured horizontal wells at moderate
and high permeability ranges. Third, the
reservoir-fluid composition affected the
critical permeability.
Stress-Dependent Permeability. The
effect of stress-dependent permeabili-
ty on well economics, productivity, and
reserves was investigated for the three
reservoir-fluid types studied using two
methods—porosity and permeability
multipliers and a total-compressibility
equation. Stress-dependent permea-
bility had no effect on gas EUR in the
dry-gas reservoir. The results from both
equations showed no effect on dry-
gas reservoirs. Similarly, there was no
stress-dependent-permeability effect in
the condensate reservoir, which used
Eagle Ford oil.
The black-oil simulations, which used
Permian Basin oil properties, showed
a  noticeable effect on oil recovery
from  stress-dependent-permeability ef-
fects on induced fractures. There was
−1.20% change in both oil recovery
and discounted recovery when stress-
dependent permeability was incorpo-
rated into the models vs. the model
without it. One important finding
is that the effect of stress-dependent
permeability occurred later in the life
of the wells. A second finding is that
reservoir-fluid type (gas, condensate,
or black oil), rock mechanics, and res-
ervoir depth can influence the effect
of stress-dependent permeability on
well recovery. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2017
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Production Monitoring/Surveillance
Marc Kuck, SPE, Drilling and Completions Engineering Manager, Eni

Industry trends in production moni- The industry is becoming
toring and surveillance continue to
demonstrate significant input from the more efficient and
academic and research fields, practi- knowledgeable in its data
cal applications, and new-technology
introduction. Market conditions simi-
gathering, evaluation
lar to those of the previous year are methods, and operations.
driving some of the same discussions
again this year. With the decline in new
drilling, our peers are focusing on opti- experiencing a broadened application
mization of existing fields and exam- as a more-cost-effective alternative.
ining past performance in prepara- The focus on existing assets also has
tion for new future developments. In increased discussion on well integri-
many cases, these efforts are being per- ty and how this should be monitored
formed with fewer personnel and limit- and maintained.
ed capital resources. As we look toward future improve-
Optimization of existing fields is ments, we are also taking advantage
inspiring new concepts for statisti- of the decline in new drilling activity
cal and predictive production model- to review performance from the past
ing, along with new views on decline several years. Specifically in regard
analysis. Virtual flow-measuring sys- to fracturing, we are investigating
tems, while not new technology, are the relationships between methods
Marc Kuck, SPE, is a drilling and completions engineering man-
ager with Eni US Operating Company in Anchorage. He has
worked with major operators and service companies in the oil and
gas industry for more than 20 years, specializing in well opera-
tions and completions technology. Kuck holds several patents
and has authored multiple publications. He has worked in Alaska
for the past 14 years and holds a BS degree in mechanical engi-
neering from the Colorado School of Mines. Kuck is a member of
the JPT Editorial Committee.
for drilling, fracturing, and comple-
tion design, along with their effect on
production performance.
The industry is becoming more effi-
cient and knowledgeable in its data gath-
ering, evaluation methods, and oper-
ations. We will be better equipped as
industry activity begins to increase,
because of our ability to operate more
efficiently at current market conditions
or because of market improvements
or both meeting on middle ground,
in the near future. The articles select-
ed for review demonstrate some of the
achievements of our peers from the
last year. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 183463 Well-Productivity Analysis
Integrating Ultrahigh-Resolution LWD
Images and PLT: A Data-Integration Case
Study by H.M. Al Shehhi, ADCO, et al.
SPE 179058 Well-Surveillance Operations
and Data Analysis in Thermal Viscous-
Crude Project in Kuwait—A Case Study
by Shaikha Al-Ballam, Kuwait Oil Company,
et al.
SPE 183535 Implementing Fiber-
Optics Distributed Sensing as a Key
Surveillance Tool by S. Al Shoaibi,
Petroleum Development, et al.

JPT • MARCH 2017 55

 Real-Time Production Surveillance and
Optimization in a Mature Subsea Asset

A real-time production-surveillance
and -optimization system has
been developed to integrate available
surveillance data with the objective
of driving routine production
optimization. The system aims to
streamline data capture, automate
data quality assurance, integrate high-
and low-frequency data to extract
maximum value, optimize the design
and analysis of commingled well tests,
and provide real-time multiphase
well-rate estimates for continuous
well-performance evaluation.
Introduction
The technology was piloted in an off-
shore field consisting of stacked deep-
water channel deposits developed with
five individual subsea drill centers, 15
active oil producers, one gas injector,
and five water injectors. Equipment
is controlled remotely, and produced
fluids are routed to surface by two 8-in.
risers from each drill center. Produced
gas is treated for use as fuel gas on
the surface and for gas lift by reinject-
ing into each production well. All wells
were originally deployed with a full suite
of instrumentation, as well as valve-
status sensors for each well flowline
and riser. The three-phase separators on
the surface use orifice plate meters for
rate measurement.
The approach taken was to integrate
real-time data and physical models for
real-time production surveillance and
optimization. The deployed system uses
software that incorporates in-house-
developed techniques for continuous
model tuning. First, a complete inte-
grated production model (IPM) of the
production system was built, spanning
reservoir inflow and wells on the one
hand and flowlines, risers, and topsides
on the other. The IPM is embedded in
a field management software platform
that houses several standard work flows
as well as proprietary algorithms. Calcu-
lation results and real-time data are vi-
sualized with a visualization application.
As with other digital-oilfield ap-
plications, the key is continuous cali-
bration of the physical models when
field producing conditions change. The
standard solution within the chosen
field-management software relies on
calibrating the well models with single-
producing-well tests. However, most of
the subsea wells in the asset have lost
the ability to flow alone, and only com-
mingled well tests are available. Opera-
tors thus resort to a test-by-difference
protocol to obtain periodic well rates
for allocation, which introduces sig-
nificant errors when test conditions
deviate largely from production con-
ditions. To overcome this issue, a cus-
tomized commingled well-test-analysis
(CWTA) work flow was developed to
analyze multisegment commingled well
tests simultaneously.
Calibrated models coupled with real-
time field sensor measurements allow
for virtual flowmetering (VFM). Well
rates can be calculated in multiple ways
using the same sensor data but with dif-
ferent well-performance models. How-
ever, conventional VFM implementa-
tions treat each well separately and only
use a limited number of sensors for any
given well. In addition, many current
VFM implementations require inputs
such as water cut and gas/oil ratio (GOR)
of the well from the last well test. The
flow-rate estimates therefore will be bi-
ased as these values change over time.
To overcome these issues, the chose
software provides a multiwell alloca-
tion (MWA) work flow. Although MWA
can close the overall material balance
of the field, it relies strongly on the ac-
curacy of the wellhead pressure (WHP)
for each well.
In cases where many of the WHP
sensors are either broken or have
drifted, and where some wells have
no working sensors at all, the VFM
work flows provided by the cho-
sen software cannot be used direct-
ly. To address this issue, a customized
daily-well-rate-estimation (DWRE)
work flow was developed, which, like
MWA, also expresses the well-rate-
estimation problem as a nonlinear least-
squares problem in which the produc-
tivity index (PI), water cut, and GOR
are unknowns for each well. However,
instead of using individual-well perfor-
mance models to predict sensor mea-
surements as in MWA, a network model
is used and the reservoir pressures and
separator pressures are set as bound-
ary conditions. This reduces the strong
dependence on individual-sensor data
such that the work flow continues func-
tioning even if sensors fail.

Implementation Overview
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
The deployed real-time production-
paper SPE 181103, “Real-Time Production Surveillance and Optimization at a Mature
surveillance and -optimization sys-
Subsea Asset,” by Xiang Ma, Zachary Borden, Paul Porto, Damian Burch, Nancy tem consists of the standalone CWTA
Huang, Paul Benkendorfer, Lynne Bouquet, Peng Xu, Cassandra Swanberg, module and a software platform with
Lynne Hoefer, Daniel F. Barber, and Tom C. Ryan, ExxonMobil, prepared for the DWRE. After commingled well tests
2016 SPE Intelligent Energy Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen, 6–8 September. are performed, the engineer uses
The paper has not been peer reviewed. CWTA to analyze the captured data,

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

56 JPT • MARCH 2017

calibrate the model, and calculate
Oil Rate (1,000 STB/D) Liquid Rate (1,000 STB/D)
individual-well rates. DWRE, anchored
by the calibrated model, is embedded Conventional Allocation
Metered Rate
in the software as a scheduled work VFM Rate
flow. The visualization software col- DWRE
lects sensor data in real time and feeds
them to DWRE, which calculates the
individual-well rates with the model on
a daily basis. The model is automatically
recalibrated by DWRE whenever the cal-
culated total flow rates deviate signifi-
cantly from measured values.

CWTA 2006 2008 2010 2012 2006 2008 2010 2012

One crucial assumption that underlies
the test-by-difference protocol is that
Cumulative Oil Volume (million STB) Cumulative Liquid Volume (million STB)
the production rate of a well is constant
across all segments. However, a histori-
cal look at commingled tests in this spe-
cific asset reveals that the downhole
pressure of any given well can fluctu-
ate by as much as 150 psi from segment
to segment.
CWTA was developed to overcome
this difficulty and to improve the esti-
mates for the production rates of sub-
sea wells. CWTA attempts to obtain es-
timates for unknown quantities at an
asset by matching an integrated pro-
2006 2008 2010 2012 2006 2008 2010 2012
duction model to data obtained over
many segments of a commingled well
Fig. 1—Historical total production allocation results from DWRE for the pilot
test, the quantities in this deployment field from the last 10 years.
being the water cut, GOR, and PI of
each well.
A graphical interface exists for CWTA parameters change from the preceding- DWRE Historical
to allow an engineer to configure the well-test results. The DWRE work flow Production Allocation:
optimizer to analyze commingled well consists of three steps: Synthetic and Real Data
tests. Once a test is configured, it is 1. Data import and segmentation Because only limited sensor data were
fed into the optimizer to obtain an es- 2. Data-quality analysis/control available in the pilot field, synthetic
timate for each unknown parameter. 3. DWRE calculation data were used initially to verify the
CWTA generates a report with summa- DWRE is scheduled to run daily at DWRE algorithm. Synthetic well pa-
ry statistics indicating the quality of the the end of each allocation period to rameters PI, warter cut, and GOR were
match that allows the engineer to go calculate rates for each well. The generated from reservoir simulation;
back and adjust the settings if the results first step is to import real-time sen- then, the model was used to generate
are deemed unsatisfactory. Once a satis- sor data from the last 24 hours from 10 years of production data with the
factory result is obtained, the engineer PI through the IVM database. Togeth- synthetic well parameters and actual
chooses one final segment in the CWTA er with well parameters, these inputs field-operation conditions. With the
interface that is representative of nor- uniquely define the network model and true well parameters at well startup as
mal operating conditions (as opposed to field-operating conditions. the initial conditions, DWRE was used
test conditions). The second step is to post-process the to calculate the well flow rates for the
sensor data for each segment. Extreme next 10 years.
DWRE and unphysical values are removed, first After validating DWRE with synthet-
CWTA is used to analyze well-test re- on the basis of some simple rules. Then, ic data, real sensor data from the field
sults and establish a calibrated model a moving median filter is used to smooth were used. The results comparing the
for DWRE. Between well tests, DWRE all the data. The median value of the fil- raw metered data with a traditional
is then used to estimate multiphase- tered data is chosen as the one represen- daily allocation method and a conven-
flow rates for each well and automati- tative value for each segment and is used tional VFM implementation where the
cally recalibrate the model if the well as input to the model. model is anchored to well tests with

JPT • MARCH 2017 57

 SPE EVENTS
WORKSHOPS
6 March ◗ Manama—SPE Women in
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58
28–29 March ◗ Rio de Janeiro—
IADC/SPE Managed Pressure Drilling and
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CALL FOR PAPERS
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no model recalibrations in between are
plotted with DWRE results in Fig. 1.
Because of frequent single-well test-
ing performed to 2008, results from all
methodologies appear fairly consistent
and well parameters were not chang-
ing dramatically. After 2008, how-
ever, wells gradually lost their ability to
flow individually up the risers and test
frequency decreased.
As shown in the figure, both con-
ventional allocation and VFM methods
begin to deviate as conditions change
more frequently between well tests. On
the other hand, if DWRE is used to re-
calibrate the model between well tests,
the model prediction is almost the same
as the metered data, showing the bene-
fits of the DWRE work flow.
Post-Implementation
Benefits
A study of the historical production allo-
cation for each well was performed with
CWTA by reanalyzing past commingled
well tests.
Total field allocated volumes re-
mained constant, but production-rate
discrepancies on a well-by-well basis
were identified and corrected. Lever-
aging the new, more-representative
well rates, the reservoir team was able
to improve the quality of their simu-
lation models. Additionally, given the
increased frequency of (virtual) well
tests, the engineering team was able to
justify reducing the number of actual well
tests by 25%.
Automatic data streams were created
to take advantage of the newly available
high-frequency well rates and operat-
ing conditions being calculated in the
real-time system by the network solver.
Today, daily virtual well tests are submit-
ted to the well-rate database to be used
as historical production data for reser-
voir management.
More importantly, tuned production
models enable real-time production
optimization.
The engineering team leveraged the
built-in production-optimization work
flows in the digital-oilfield platform
to identify candidate wells. During a
2-week field trial, a 2% production up-
lift was realized after performing a sin-
gle well-routing change and reallocating
available lift gas between four wells. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2017
Production Response
in the Denver-Julesburg Basin

Petrophysical Work Flow

T he authors used a high-quality
digital-log data set to characterize
reservoir quality accurately in the
varied between 10 and 20 stages, with av-
erage stage intensity of 300 ft/stage. One
of the first horizontal wells in the basin
Production and completion parameters
are easily gathered and widely available
Niobrara and Codell Formations in started with five stages, after which stage for analysis for all horizontal wells across
the Denver-Julesberg (DJ) Basin. A count quickly jumped to 16 to 20 stages the DJ Basin. Less widely available, es-
petrophysical work flow was developed, in a short lateral. In recent years, stage pecially on a basin wide scale, are high-
and detailed mapping of the reservoir count has increased significantly, partly quality reservoir-quality parameters. To
attributes was completed. The log- because of longer extended-reach later- identify variability in reservoir quality,
derived parameters, along with an als and partly because of higher stage the authors undertook a project aimed at
aeromagnetic and vitrinite-reflectance intensity. Stage intensity has dropped gathering high-quality information per-
data set, provided excellent insight into below 200 ft/stage, with some operators taining to the overall bulk rock quality of
which geologic parameters could be now experimenting with 125 ft/stage. horizontal targets across the basin.
tied best to well-production response. Fluid and proppant volumes on a per- The bulk of the data for this exercise
lateral-foot basis have not changed as came from openhole wireline well logs
Introduction dramatically in the DJ Basin as they have across the DJ Basin. The data set con-
In 2013, the authors began to evaluate pro- in other major US shale plays. Rate and tained 562 wells with high-quality digital-
duction response in an area where near- rate per lateral foot show a similar lack log curves across the basin. This spread
ly 50 Niobrara wells were completed by a of change over the first few years of DJ of data allowed excellent coverage across
single operator with a similar completion horizontal-well development; average the extent of current horizontal-well ac-
design for all wells. There was a wide varia- rates are relatively low, most likely driven tivity. With all pertinent formation tops
tion in production results after 180 days by the early-stage limitations of sliding- picked, a work flow was developed to
of production, ranging from 4 to 16 BOE/ sleeve completions. Only recently have calculate and map all possible bulk-rock-
lateral ft. The amount of proppant pumped higher-rate jobs been seen. quality parameters. The parameters in-
per lateral foot changed very little and In response to the initial lack of DJ clude, but are not limited to, thickness,
ranged between 800 and approximately completion changes and the associated total vertical depth, HPV, water satura-
1,000 lbm/ft. The dramatic change in pro- apparent lack of effect on production tion, shale volume, original oil in place,
duction response in light of the absence of (resulting from production impact being and total organic carbon. Fig.  1 shows
major completion changes led to the early hidden by larger geological changes), the four examples of such properties for a se-
conclusion that geology is of great impor- authors developed a petrophysical work lect area of the DJ Basin in northeast Weld
tance in the the Niobrara and Codell. flow in an attempt to capture some of County. These parameters were chosen
In the early days of DJ production, these geological parameters and assign as examples to demonstrate how the
horizontal-well-development operators them to every horizontal well. This led to geologic/reservoir/petrophysical parame-
did not generally make radical changes to calculation of the hydrocarbon pore vol- ters change over a given area and how spa-
completion designs, making it harder to ume (HPV), a proxy for bulk rock qual- tially coincident they may or may not be
evaluate the effect of these changes. Only ity, for each of the wells. The conclusion with production results. The production
since 2014 has a significant change from was reached that any statistical model bubbles on each map represent 365-day
previous approaches been seen, with a built only on completion parameters will cumulative production in BOE/lateral ft,
new focus on a reduction in cost per BOE. be insufficient and will have to rely on a from the Niobrara Formation only. The
Starting in 2009, stage count for most- combination of completion and petro- authors understand that a limitation in
ly short (approximately 4,300-ft) laterals physical/geological parameters. this approach is the exclusion of other
critical geological and reservoir informa-
tion from the data set that may or may not
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
have a significant effect on production.
of paper SPE 180217, “The Impact of Petrophysical and Completion Parameters on The end goal of the petrophysical work
Production in the Denver-Julesberg Basin,” by Fred Miller, Carrizo Oil and Gas; flow was to assign to each horizontal
Jon Payne, Eureka Geological Consulting; and Howard Melcher, Jim Reagan, and well a value for each mapped parame-
Leen Weijers, Liberty Oilfield Services, prepared for the 2016 SPE Low Permeability ter. By incorporating such data, statisti-
Symposium, Denver, 5–6 May. The paper has not been peer reviewed. cal models would be stronger in terms

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • MARCH 2017 59

 (a) (b)
Fig. 1—Four examples of petrophysical/geological parameters projected on a grid along with 365-day BOE/ft bubbles:
(a) water-cut grid inferred from actual well production; (b) HPV grid; (c) average resistivity×net pay (Ω•m-ft);
(d) aeromagnetic anomaly. All data are for Niobrara only, except aeromagnetic data, which is not formation-specific.
of describing the variance in production,
which variables are most important, and
the relative influence of those parame-
ters on the production response. To this
end, each mapped variable was sampled
at a resolution of 1 sq mile (section level)
and assigned to any producing horizon-
tal well with a surface location within
that section.
Database Maintenance
and Limitations
The current DJ database contains com-
pletion, petrophysical, and production
data for nearly 4,000 horizontal wells.
For every well, this database contains
18 production parameters, 37 geologi-
cal and reservoir-engineering parame-
ters, and 59 completion parameters. The
authors recognize that this production
database is lacking in a few important re-
spects (missing completion parameters,
incomplete geological parameters, and
production interference), but it also has
significant strengths. For one, it is a very
quick tool to conduct comparisons and
a scoping analysis of trends to obtain an
initial understanding of what appears to
work in a specific area. It is very easy to
filter and compare wells by location, op-
erator, formation, vintage, and a range in
completion types.
Brief Multivariate-Analysis
Background
The purpose of multiple regression, or
more-general multivariate analysis, is to
determine the effect of completion and
petrophysical (geological) parameters
on production. In general, the following
steps are taken as part of an analysis:
◗ Define objective of study and
quality-control data.
◗ Perform exploratory data analysis
and check for outliers. Apply
transformation if necessary. Identify
60
(c)
the dependent and independent
variables.
◗ Run statistical diagnostics.
◗ Check residual plots to ensure that
regression assumptions are not
violated. Also examine the plot of
predicted vs. observed response.
◗ Assess the candidate-model-
prediction performance by running
sensitivities.
The goal of a typical multivariate
analysis is to understand as much about
the reservoir and stimulation as possible
and how each variable contributes to the
overall success of a well.
Finally, what the reader needs to un-
derstand is that this is a “dumb” analysis.
A multivariate-analysis model could pro-
duce potential correlations between pa-
rameters, but it follows no physical logic
to determine these correlations. A poten-
tial problem associated with the lack of
experimentation for DJ Basin fracturing
designs is that the multivariate analysis
does not excel at predicting beyond the
range of the data set; in other words, it
cannot predict what has not been done.
The authors recommend that, at the end
of the scoping analysis, a cross check
be conducted with a “smart” calibrated
fracture-growth model tied to a reser-
voir model.
Simple Well-Cost Model
To determine cost sensitivity to all com-
pletion parameters that might come out
of the multivariate analysis, the authors
broke down the cost of a fracture treat-
ment by the parameters used in the multi-
variate analysis. This can be straightfor-
ward for some parameters. However, if
the multivariate analysis uses lbm/ft, the
cost needs to be calculated in USD/lbm/ft
by dividing the total proppant cost
for a well by the proppant loading per
lateral foot. A similar logic applies to
(d)
fracturing cost as a function of bar-
rels of fluid pumped. This informa-
tion can simply be stripped from a
fracture-treatment-cost proposal.
Sensitivity to a few parameters that
sometimes are produced by the multi-
variate analysis is harder to obtain and
requires multiple cost proposals using a
fixed proppant volume.
Ultimately, these fracturing-cost
changes are compared relative to the
change in well cost, or the numerator
in the USD/BOE ratio. The approximate
well cost for different operators in the DJ
Basin is generally available through in-
vestor presentations.
The authors are interested in lowering
USD/BOE and in determining the effect
of a completion change in terms of how
it changes the total well cost and produc-
tion history.
A main assumption in the cost analysis
is that the uplifts observed in production
[within the time frame of the multivari-
ate analysis (i.e., 365 producing days in
this case)] are also the uplifts in the es-
timated ultimate recovery (EUR) of the
well. Therefore, if a 10% uplift in 365-day
cumulative production is observed, it can
be assumed that 10% uplift also applies
to the EUR of the well.
When incremental cost is compared
with incremental revenue after 365 pro-
ducing days for Niobrara and Codell wells,
it is seen that suggested fracture-design
changes aiming to increase produc-
tion by 10% will reduce USD/BOE
even on a 365-day production metric
and, in most areas, at a net oil price as
low as USD 20/bbl.
Incremental revenue gains will far out-
strip the incremental costs—spending
a few percent of well cost on the com-
pletion improvements generally reduces
USD/BOE by more than double the well-
cost increase. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2017
Cost-Effective Production Metering and
Allocation in a Mature Offshore Oil Field

◗
T his paper describes how the
use of production-modeling
tools, coupled with field pressure/
Kairi 2 (K2) WPP: nine producers
and three injectors
◗ Aripo (A) WPP: three producers
resentative well tests on all of the wells.
However, as the field entered its mature
phase, liquid rates of many wells fell out-
temperature-data-acquisition systems The production from the wells in each side the design range of the test-separator
and programming software, served as a WPP is commingled in each platform’s meters. Also, there were periods when is-
means to improve production allocation header and routed as follows: sues developed with the MPFM, affecting
and surveillance on a real-time basis ◗ Canteen 1 (C1) WPP: one subsea the accuracy of some well tests. Opera-
in the Greater Angostura Field. The production flowline to the low- tional constraints often affected the fre-
complete paper discusses a practical pressure gathering system quency of well tests available for use, and
approach to obtain accurate real-time ◗ Kairi (K1) WPP: two subsea operating conditions during well tests
well-production rates without the need production flowlines to either the may be different compared with normal
for purchasing costly flowmeters for low-pressure or the high-pressure operations for some wells.
each well. It also demonstrates how gathering system The combination of these issues
virtual metering can be used to identify ◗ Kairi (K2) WPP: two bridge- began to affect the allocation factor (AF)
production-optimization opportunities connected flowlines to either low- across the fields and reservoirs. AFs are
in the production system more readily. or high-pressure gathering system determined over time on the basis of a
◗ Aripo (A) WPP: one subsea comparison of the sums of test data of
Introduction production flowline to GEP oil, gas, and water production vs. the
The Greater Angostura Field is located 25 The oil produced from C1, K1, and K2 actual total production measured for fis-
miles offshore Trinidad and Tobago. The is processed on the CPP and pumped to cal and regulatory purposes. These com-
field was developed in three phases: Phase shore. The gas produced from these three parisons were normally conducted on a
1, which includes the Kairi, Canteen, and WPPs is distributed to export gas. The monthly basis.
Horsts fields; Phase 2, which includes production of the Aripo WPP is sent di-
the Aripo gas development; and Phase 3, rectly to the GEP for sales. Improved Methodology
which was scheduled to have been com- Accurate production allocation un-
pleted by the second half of 2016. Historical Well Testing derpins effective production and res-
At the time this paper was written, and Production Allocation ervoir surveillance, evaluation of in-
the Angostura development consisted of The historical allocation methodology fill and intervention opportunities, and
21 producers and seven gas injectors. was designed to allocate oil, gas, and production-optimization efforts. There-
The facilities and gathering system in- water production and gas injection to fore, in order to mitigate some of the un-
cluded one manned central-processing wells and reservoirs and to account for certainties associated with the allocation
platform (CPP), four unmanned well- well downtime. Wells are tested periodi- approach, a model-based methodology
protector platforms (WPPs), and one gas- cally in a test separator or a multiphase was developed to integrate periodic well
export platform (GEP). All wells have flowmeter (MPFM), depending upon the tests with ongoing gathering-system op-
dry production trees and are distributed well. The C1 wells can be tested only erating conditions.
as follows: through an MPFM, K1 wells through ei-
◗ Canteen 1 (C1) WPP: five producers ther an MPFM or a test separator, and K2 Production Model. The first step was
and two injectors wells only through a test separator. to build a robust production model
◗ Kairi 1 (K1) WPP: three producers The accuracy of this method of allo- capable of simulating the pressure/
and two injectors cation is dependent upon frequent, rep- temperature behavior of the wells and
gathering system, as well as honoring
the material balance for all three streams
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
of production. The model was built with
of paper SPE 180887, “A Cost-Effective Methodology for Production Metering and a bottom-up approach from the sandface
Allocation Using Real-Time Virtual Metering in a Mature Offshore Oil Field: A Case to the separator.
Study of the Greater Angostura Field,” by Italo Raffaele Acuna, BHP Billiton, prepared Individual-well models were built to
for the 2016 SPE Trinidad and Tobago Section Energy Resources Conference, Port of reflect deliverability on the basis of in-
Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 13–15 June. The paper has not been peer reviewed. flow and outflow relationships. To cap-

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • MARCH 2017 61

 ture the inflow performance, pressure/
volume/temperature data and reservoir
parameters were used. Such parameters
include pressure, temperature, comple-
tion interval, skin, and drainage area. A
tank model for the reservoir was suffi-
cient for this purpose.
The well-outflow modeling was
based on the well trajectory and
completion-equipment dimensions.
Each well model was calibrated with
known fluid-property data and pressure/
temperature responses obtained from
the downhole and wellhead gauges and
representative well tests. The model can
adjust well performance as system pres-
sure changes and can be updated as ad-
ditional well tests are obtained over time.
After creating models for each of the
wells, a model of the entire production-
gathering system was built. The network
model was constructed with the physical
dimensions of the flowlines using “as-
built” schematics. The model was cali-
brated to simulate flow, pressure, tem-
perature, and choke responses effectively
across the system.
When the well models are com-
bined with the network model, the re-
sult is a robust integrated model capa-
ble of capturing the physical response of
multiphase-flow behavior in the entire
production system. The predicted sys-
tem results can be compared with actual
real-time measurements at specific loca-
tions. The model is controlled by use of a
specific boundary condition for the oper-
ating pressure of each gathering system.
Redesigned Well-Testing and Alloca-
tion Methodology. After the integrated
production model was calibrated, a new
well-test methodology was implemented
as follows:
1. Well is routed to its well-test
stream.
2. The gas-rate measurement is
recorded. Note that the gas-
production rates and pressures are
within the accuracy range of the
well-test equipment.
3. Water cut is estimated with the
latest fluid sample collected at
the well’s production tree. Fluid
samples are taken regularly for
each well.
4. Pressure and temperature data at
the downhole and wellhead gauges
62
of the well are matched by use of
the input data from Steps 2 and 3.
5. The network model is run on the
basis of the boundary conditions of
the low-pressure-gathering-system/
high-pressure-gathering-system
and test-separator pressures at the
time of the test.
6. Simulated results of aggregate
production, pressures, and
temperatures are compared with
the actual production rates and
pressure/temperature readings at
different points throughout the
entire production network where
gauges are located. If the simulated
results do not match the system’s
measured data, the water cut and
gas/oil and gas/liquid ratios for the
tested well are re-evaluated.
7. Simulations can be run whenever
new well-test data are available. AFs
for the system are calculated with
each simulation.
A benefit derived from modeling all
wells and gathering systems as a single
unit is increased confidence in the updat-
ed individual-well predictions.
Virtual-Metering Application. C1,
K1, and K2 do not have dedicated flow-
meters for each well. Thus, the produc-
tion rate for a well at any given time is
dependent on well uptime and operat-
ing conditions downstream of the well.
Improved allocation can be achieved if
well performance can be modeled or
matched on an ongoing basis.
To accomplish this objective, an event-
driven application was coded by use of
programming software. The application
couples the production-network model
with the real-time data-acquisition sys-
tem; it continuously enters the bound-
ary conditions that control the model
(and affect well and system perfor-
mance). The model then exports user-
specified parameters, including produc-
tion rates, pressures, and temperatures,
at specific points in the system.
The application improves production-
surveillance capabilities because potential
issues can be identified more readily. A
graphical user interface was developed to
display the parameters calculated by the
production model as well as the values re-
trieved from the real-time data-acquisition
system. Discrepancies between model-
calculated and actual parameters alert the
engineer to focus on a specific area when
performing diagnostics.
Additionally, the virtual metering fa-
cilitates the identification of production-
optimization opportunities. The perfor-
mance of any well or the entire system
can be evaluated against potential chang-
es in well routing or system-configuration
changes. If an actual change is made, the
model prediction can be verified with
real-time system data.
Event Handling and Other Modeling
Considerations.
◗ Shut-ins: The virtual-metering
application recognizes when a
well is shut in by examining the
pressure readings extracted from
the manifold and wellhead gauges.
When the pressure differential
between these two gauges exceeds
a user-specified threshold, the
tool recognizes that the well is
shut in and stops performing the
calculations for that well.
◗ Wellhead choke position: The
application controls the choke size
in the model by taking the pressure
differential between the pressure
gauges upstream and downstream
of the wellhead choke and inserting
this pressure value in the model.
◗ Wells with no downhole gauges: For
wells that do not have downhole
gauges, pressures and rates are
estimated by performing gradient
calculations. The calculated rates
and pressures/temperatures must
tie in with the overall material and
pressure/temperature balance of the
entire production network.
◗ Reservoir pressure: The virtual-
metering application is not
currently used for production
forecasting. It is sufficient to
manually adjust the reservoir
pressure periodically on the basis
of data collected during shut-ins.
Results
The new well-testing methodology re-
sulted in significant improvements in
the allocated rates. The AFs for all three
streams of production are within ±10%.
Deviations are caused by nonsteady-state
conditions created by fluctuations in the
process equipment on the CPP and by
shutdown/startup events. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2017
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Heavy Oil
Tayfun Babadagli, SPE, Professor, University of Alberta

Over a 6-month time frame in 2016, I Low-interfacial-tension for additional reading and one experi-
was able to attend three SPE conferences mental work as a summary paper on this
on heavy oil in different countries span- (microemulsion) subject. Apparently, modeling efforts on
ning three continents (Canada, Peru, and and low-salinity injection advanced (but unconventional) technol-
Kuwait). Despite regional differences in ogies such as electromagnetic heating
the applications, potentials, problems,
in heavy oils in sands have continued. You will find a detailed
and technological needs, the common and carbonates mathematical analysis of the process in
theme in all conferences was “low cost.” and wettability alteration one of the papers summarized.
Cost optimization in heavy-oil produc- Despite the recent economic down-
tion was discussed from technical and in carbonates were common turn, we were able to hear the outcome
economic perspectives, not only in the topics at conferences of current field practices at pilot or dem-
technical sessions but also in numerous onstration scale. Papers detailing small-
panel discussions. held over the past year. scale cyclic-steam-injection applications
Such optimization can be achieved in Kuwait and Oman were worth reading,
through numerical modeling to suggest ing techniques as suggested reading in and one article on this specific subject is
general optimal strategies and develop- this issue. included here. Considering these activi-
ment plans or by using proper real-time Moreover, chemical and nanomate- ties in the Middle East, effective transfer
data acquisition (production optimiza- rial additives to water and steam have of technologies from North America to
tion) for prompt decisions while oper- received a great deal of attention. Low- that part of the world will become highly
ations are ongoing. This requires con- interfacial-tension (microemulsion) and critical in the near future. JPT
tinuous monitoring of the processes as low-salinity injection in heavy oils in
seen in many steam-assisted-gravity- sands and carbonates and wettabili-
drainage operations or other types of ty alteration in carbonates were com- Recommended additional reading
steam-injection applications. I selected mon topics at conferences held over the at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
two papers about advanced monitor- past year. I selected one review paper
SPE 181160 State-of-the-Art Review of
the Steam Foam Process by Eric Delamaide,
IFP Technologies Canada, et al.
Tayfun Babadagli, SPE, is a professor in the Civil and
SPE 180732 An Integrated Probabilistic
Environmental Engineering Department, School of Mining and
Work Flow for Primary and Thermal
Petroleum Engineering, at the University of Alberta, where he Performance Prediction of a Large
holds an NSERC-Industrial Research Chair in Unconventional Oil Extraheavy-Oil Field by Raushan Kumar,
Recovery. His areas of interest include modeling fluid and heat Chevron, et al.
flow in heterogeneous and fractured reservoirs, reservoir charac-
SPE 181431 Horizontal Steam-Injection
terization through stochastic and fractal methods, optimization Flow Profiling Using Fiber Optics
of oil/heavy-oil recovery by conventional/unconventional by Mahdy Shirdel, Chevron Energy
enhanced-oil-recovery methods, and carbon dioxide sequestration. Babadagli holds Technology Company, et al.
BS and MS degrees from Istanbul Technical University and MS and PhD degrees from
SPE 180726 SAGD Production
the University of Southern California, all in petroleum engineering. He was an execu- Observations Using Fiber-Optic
tive editor for SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering during 2010–13 and is a mem- Distributed Acoustic and Temperature
ber of the JPT Editorial Committee. Babadagli received SPE A Peer Apart status in Sensing: SAGD DAS—Listening to Wells
2013, was elected an SPE Distinguished Member in 2013, and was an SPE Distinguished To Improve Understanding of Inflow
Lecturer in 2013–14. by Warren MacPhail, Devon, et al.

JPT • MARCH 2017 63

 Key Learnings From First 2 Years
of a Full-Field CSS Development in Oman

T he A East Haradh formation

contains a 200-m-thick oil column
of highly viscous oil, with viscosity
400

A. Injection
350
ranging from 200 to 400,000 cp.
Because of the high viscosity, first
300
production was considered possible B. Soaking

Wellhead Temperature (°C)

only by the use of thermal enhanced-oil-
recovery techniques, starting with cyclic 250
steam stimulation (CSS). This paper C. Free Flow
presents key learnings derived during 200
this initial-operations phase of CSS
D. Prepare for Production
in the A East Field, including key trial 150 F. Cycle End
results on different well completions
and artificial-lift systems.
100 E. Beam-Pump Production
Overview of Field Startup
In light of the results of a new geochem- 50
ical characterization study of the crude
extracted from a core, cold produc- 0
tion was deemed feasible in the crest- 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250
al area of the field. Viscosities at the Days
top of the Haradh were estimated at
200 cp, lower than previously thought, Fig. 1—Typical CSS cycle phases in an A East well.
and progressing cavity pumps (PCPs)
were installed in 32 wells to start a in a few months, was ramped up to 70% the end of the production cycle, the well
cold-production phase. of the targeted CSS field peak oil rates. is stopped on the basis of end-of-cycle
Cold production started in March criteria and intervened again to prepare
2013 and lasted until the end of 2014, Overview of CSS Performance the well for steam injection for the sub-
when all wells in the field were convert- A typical CSS cycle in an A East well is sequent cycle. The overall cycle dura-
ed to CSS. The cold-production period shown in Fig. 1, using the wellhead tem- tion is typically between 100 and 300
allowed early depletion of the reservoir perature sensor as an indicator. The days and is dependent on the perfor-
and later improvement in steam injec- cycle starts with the injection phase for mance of the well with respect to preset
tion. A pressure drop of up to 20 bar was several weeks (initially 4 to 6). After operating envelopes.
observed, and fluid-level measurement that, the well is closed for a soaking pe- Wellhead temperature in the produc-
in the wells and PCP performance sug- riod of a few days and then opened for tion phase starts high in the beginning
gested good pressure communication be- free flow, which lasts for up to 3 weeks. of the CSS cycle and then declines with
tween the wells. The well is intervened with a flush-by time. From actual valid well-test data,
Despite some early challenges, first unit (FBU) to prepare for production, there is a clear declining trend of the
CSS production was promising and, with- followed by starting the beam pump. At liquid and oil rates associated with and
linked to the drop of the wellhead tem-
perature. This is mainly because of the
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains
cooling effect after back producing the
highlights of paper SPE 179833, “Key Learnings From First 2 Years of a Full-
injected fluid. Hence, the pump effi-
Field CSS Development in Oman,” by Solenn Bettembourg, Steve Holyoak, ciency deteriorates at lower tempera-
Abdullah Alwazeer, Mohammed Manhali, Mohammed Rawahi, and Amur tures because of the high oil viscosity,
Habsi, Petroleum Development Oman, prepared for the 2016 SPE EOR Conference and this is observed in the reduction of
at Oil and Gas West Asia, Muscat, Oman, 21–23 March. The paper has not been liquid/oil with time in the production-
peer reviewed. test data.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

64 JPT • MARCH 2017

Operating the CSS
in A East Field
Artificial Lift Challenges and Mitiga-
tions. The initial plan for A East Field
was for development with steam by-
pass pumps (SBPPs). However, design
constraints led the team to operate the
wells as dedicated steaming through tub-
ing without the use of the SBPPs, fol-
lowed by reinstalling rods and pumps
for the production phase. The new ap-
proach increased the demand for re-
sources. The selected artificial lift cov-
ers a reasonable production range but
has some limitations, especially in the
high-viscosity range.
SBPP—Management of Change and
Effect on CSS Operation. In the initial
plan, all CSS operations were planned
to use the SBPP. Because of the signifi-
cant depth of the reservoir and the need
for minimal steam-quality loss down-
hole, the proposed efficient approach
using the SBPP was changed. The change
involved using vacuum-insulated tub-
ing (VIT), which provided better steam-
quality preservation. The thermal ex-
pansion of the VIT did not match the rod
strings, and the added length needed
to pull out the rods at surface made the
SBPP less favorable for this application.
An alternative plan was implemented
to make use of the VIT benefits and op-
erate CSS with dedicated injection- and
production-mode completions. The early
conversion took significant time. All op-
erating procedures for hoist and FBU had
to be adjusted for the changes of opera-
tion, including a new standardized kill-
ing procedure.
Beam-Pump Operating Envelope for
Highly Viscous Oil. Beam pumps in A
East Field can operate with oil viscos-
ity up to 5,000 cp. This limitation be-
comes an issue during two periods of the
cycle—pump startup after conversion
when the well is killed and end of pro-
duction in a cycle.
Start of production was challenging
for some wells, and a typical dyno card
confirms the pump’s inability to close
both standing and traveling, likely relat-
ed to viscosity.
To mitigate the challenges of starting
up the pumps, the following methodolo-
gies were tested:
JPT • MARCH 2017
◗ Solvent injection (light-crude
injection)
◗ Hot-water circulation in the annulus
◗ Prolonged shut-in time after killing
the wells, to allow the hot fluids
from the near-wellbore region to
warm the well
◗ Slow startup of the wells
The most reliable method was start-
ing at very low speeds for 24 hours. Al-
though the low speeds are not recom-
mended because of gearbox-lubrication
concerns, it is set for a maximum of 24
hours until the fluid temperatures rise
and viscosity decreases for improved fill-
age and pump performance. For wells
that were extremely difficult to start even
at lower speeds, annulus steam injec-
tion at low temperature and pressure was
deemed effective (approximately 200°C
and 3000 kPa).
The end of the production cycle also
presented a challenge as the well cools
down and viscosity increases. This vis-
cosity increase affected pump perfor-
mance. A review on artificial-lift selec-
tion for future development is planned,
to address the current limitations.
Well- and Reservoir-
Management Challenges
of CSS Operations
CSS operations require a high level of
planning and managing of interfaces. In
the A East Field, the wells are fully con-
verted. The full production completion
is pulled out, stored, and reinstalled later
after steam injection has occurred. To
maximize the efficiency of a CSS cycle,
the full process was mapped, the inter-
faces between teams were defined, and
roles and responsibilities were assigned.
That included the redefinition of cus-
todianship for the material by the well-
intervention units and the reinforcement
of tracking pump tear down and reports.
The change had to be made to accommo-
date the operational shift from SBPP to
dedicated modes.
Some challenges were experienced
during surveillance activities. The activi-
ties were affected by the high column of
viscous fluids in the well, made worse by
the well-killing procedure. This problem
was mitigated by changing the interven-
tion times to be approximately 3 days
after the injection-termination date. This
allowed for logging while the well was hot
and at much lower viscosity and for stan-
dardizing the acquisition of the logs for
time-lapse analysis.
Optimization:
Future of CSS in A East
Optimization in a CSS field is extremely
challenging because it requires the in-
tegration of different parameters and is
highly dependent on where the well is in
the cycle. The team successfully managed
more than 700 optimization changes in A
East in 2015, requiring significant analy-
sis time and decision making in a dynam-
ic system.
In order to minimize the time spent
on optimization and reduce reaction
times, all wells in the A East Field were
equipped with variable-speed drives.
The wells can self-optimize. In addition,
there is an ongoing trial in four wells
known as the Beam Lift Automated Deliv-
ery Evolution (BLADE) project. The pro-
grammable logic looks at the preset dead
band variable and increases or decreases
strokes per minute, depending on chang-
ing conditions. The typical duration to
review and execute an optimization re-
quest is approximately 1 week; however,
the BLADE well can achieve the change in
minutes. Implementation of the BLADE
project is anticipated on all the wells in A
East in 2016. The project team is looking
into linking the optimization signal to the
well-test fieldware, to ensure the capture
of the optimized volumes.
Conclusions
The CSS development in A East Field has
been in operation for almost 2 years, and
significant learning has been achieved
and modifications have been taken on
board to optimize ongoing performance.
A number of challenges are still being
faced, but, within this short period of
time, the team has achieved a steep pro-
duction increase and has streamlined the
overall CSS well-conversion process to
maximize the efficiency of the CSS plan-
ning and operations. New technologies
are supporting the management of the
wells and the integration of production
data with new geological and structural
insights from the latest seismic interpre-
tation. Taken together, these efforts are
paving the way to continued success and
providing the confidence to mature plans
for further field expansion. JPT
65
 Nanoparticle Catalysts Upgrade Heavy Oil
for Continuous-Steam-Injection Recovery

Materials
T he production of heavy and
extraheavy oil is difficult because
of its rheological properties caused by
fined sandpack in steam-injection sce-
narios in the absence and presence of a
water-based nanofluid. A displacement
Fumed silica nanoparticles functional-
ized with 1 wt% nickel and palladium ox-
high asphaltene content. Upgrading test was conducted by (1) construct- ides (SNi1Pd1) were used as a catalyst in
these unconventional oils requires ing the base curves, (2) estimating the the steamflooding process. Distilled water
large amounts of energy, decreasing oil recovery by continuous injection of and salt precursors of Ni(NO3)2•6H2O and
the production’s cost-effectiveness. vapor in the absence of the nanofluid, Pd(NO3)2 were used for nanoparticle func-
Nanoparticulated catalysts have and (3) identifying the influence of the tionalization. Deionized water was used
been shown to improve enhanced nanoparticles on the enhanced recov- for steam generation and for brine and
recovery of these oils by altering ery of oil. nanofluid preparation. A synthetic brine
their physicochemical properties, Results suggested that functional- of 2000 mg/L NaCl was also used for injec-
including asphaltene content. This ized nanoparticles lead to higher ad- tion into the porous media and for nano-
paper presents an investigation into sorption of asphaltenes, higher degrees fluid preparation.
the effect of catalytic nanoparticles of asphaltene self-association, and low-
on the efficiency of recovery from ered temperature of n-C7 asphaltene Porous Media. Before use, the prepared
continuous steam injection. steam gasification. Oil recovery in- porous bed was initially cleaned with a
creased to 46% for the system assisted 1:1 solution of toluene and methanol at
Introduction by nanoparticles in comparison with 10 mL per 5 g of sand. The sand then was
Several in-situ techniques have been that from vapor injection without the washed with deionized water and hydro-
used to enhance heavy- and extraheavy- nanoparticles. The °API value of the oil chloric acid to remove any dust or sur-
oil recovery with the objective of up- increased from 7.2 to 12.1 °API. A reduc- face impurities. Further, the sand was
grading the oil and improving its vis- tion of 59% in oil apparent viscosity placed in a vacuum oven at 120°C for 12
cosity and mobility. These techniques was also observed. Additionally, analy- hours to evaporate any remaining sol-
include thermal processes, such as sis of n-C7 asphaltene and residue con- vent. Approximately 100 g of the sand
steam-assisted gravity drainage, and tent demonstrated that nanoparticles was transferred to a stainless-steel slim-
cold techniques, such as treatments are an excellent alternative for heavy- tube. The absolute permeability of the
with diluents. Cold processes improve and extraheavy oil upgrading in pro- porous media was measured by injecting
the crude oil by dilution or destabiliza- cesses involving vapor injection. n-C7 brine after sand packing.
tion and deposition of asphaltene com- asphaltene content decreased by 5.2
ponents in the reservoir with solvents percentile points after vapor injection Preparation of Nanofluid. The nano-
that have a direct effect on viscosity. in the presence of nanoparticles com- fluid was prepared by mixing 1 wt%
This paper evaluates the use of nanopar- pared with the unaltered extraheavy oil. of polysorbate 80 with distilled water
ticulated catalysts in steamflooding. Also, residue content decreased 47%. and dispersing 500 mg/L of bimetallic
The nanoparticles were selected Improved oil recovery by nanoparticle nanoparticles. The mean size of the bi-
through batch-adsorption experiments. injection could be attributed to three metallic nanoparticles in the aqueous so-
A methodology was developed for eval- main reasons: (1) wettability altera- lution was approximately 61 nm, as mea-
uating the effect of the nanoparticu- tion of the porous media, (2) viscosity sured by dynamic light scattering.
lated catalyst in continuous vapor in- reduction because of reduction of the
jection. Oil recovery was evaluated by asphaltene aggregate, and (3) crude- Methods
use of a slimtube filled with a noncon- oil upgrading. Adsorption Experiments. Bath-mode
adsorption experiments were conducted
by adding a fixed amount of nanopar-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
ticles to the heavy-oil model solutions
of paper SPE 179699, “Heavy-Oil Upgrading and Enhanced Recovery in a Continuous and mixing. Then, nanoparticles with
Steam-Injection Process Assisted by Nanoparticulated Catalysts,” by C.A. Franco, adsorbed asphaltenes were separat-
L.  Cardona, S.H. Lopera, J.M. Mejía, and F.B. Cortés, National University of ed from the mixture by centrifugation.
Colombia at Medellín, prepared for the 2016 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference, After that, the nanoparticles contain-
Tulsa, 11–13 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed. ing adsorbed asphaltenes were dried to

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

66 JPT • MARCH 2017

remove any traces of toluene. At this
stage, the nanoparticles containing ad-
sorbed asphaltenes were ready for ther-
mal analysis.
Thermogravimetric Analysis of n-C7
Asphaltenes. In order to evaluate
the catalytic behavior of the select-
ed nanoparticles, catalytic steam gas-
ification of adsorbed asphaltenes over
nanoparticles was conducted and stud-
ied by use of simultaneous thermogravi-
metric analysis.
Fluid-Injection Test. Nanofluid mix-
tures were injected into the porous
media with a positive-displacement
pump. A leak test was performed by
pressurizing the packed-bed reactor.
The main objective of this displacement
test was to evaluate the effectiveness of
the nanoparticles in changing the physi-
cochemical properties of the extraheavy
oil and in enhancing the effectiveness
of continuous vapor injection. The dis-
placement test was conducted by (1)
constructing the base curves, (2) es-
timating the oil recovery by continu-
ous injection of vapor in the absence
of nanofluid, and (3) identifying the in-
fluence of the nanoparticles on the en-
hanced recovery of oil.
Analytical Methods. Changes in grav-
ity, oil viscosity, and n-C7 asphaltene
and residue content were determined to
measure the effect of the nanoparticles
on upgrading the extraheavy oil before
and after recovery with vapor injection.
Results and Discussion
n-C7 Asphaltene Adsorption. A num-
ber of factors can influence the adsorp-
tion of asphaltene onto nanoparticles,
including adsorbent surface chemis-
try, heterogeneity of adsorbent surface,
particle size, and asphaltene chemical
structure. Asphaltene adsorption was
higher for SNi1Pd1 than for fumed sili-
ca, indicating that supported nanoparti-
cles favored asphaltene adsorption. This
could be because of the synergistic ef-
fect of the compounds that enhances the
adsorption through multiple selectivity
of the adsorbent. In addition, bimetal-
lic compounds have synergistic effects
in avoiding sintering processes, which
would lead to a less-heterogeneous sur-
JPT • MARCH 2017
100
80
Recovery (%)
60
40
20
0
0 10,000 20,000
Vapor PVI
Vapor after nanofluid
Fig. 1—Oil-recovery curves for vapor injection with and without nanoparticles.
face. Hence, a heterogeneous adsor-
bent with multiple selectivity toward as-
phaltenes would be more efficient than
that with single selectivity.
Catalytic Steam Gasification of n-C7
Asphaltenes. For catalysis to occur, the
asphaltenes first must migrate from the
bulk phase to the nanoparticles. The ve-
locity with which asphaltenes are ad-
sorbed on the active sites would depend
on the adsorption potential of the se-
lected nanoparticles. This is also de-
pendent on their structure and chemi-
cal nature. While asphaltenes migrate
to the adsorbent surface, a disaggrega-
tion of the asphaltene aggregate could
occur. Once asphaltenes are adsorbed,
they could be present in the active sites
as monomers, dimers, i-mers, or aggre-
gates, depending on the uptake and the
crowding of the available active sites.
Then, as the temperature increases, the
adsorbed species would be cracked and
free radicals will react with the H2 or
O2 from the H2O(g) that was previous-
ly adsorbed and disseminated from the
nanoparticle matrix to the active sites. It
is expected that the catalytic activity of
the nanoparticles would affect the way
both asphaltenes and water adsorb on
the active sites, leading to a less expen-
sive process in energetic terms.
Continuous Steam Injection Assisted
by Nanoparticulated Catalysts. Fig.  1
shows oil-recovery curves from con-
30,000 40,000 50,000
Vapor
tinuous vapor injection with and with-
out nanoparticle assistance. The oil re-
covery from vapor injection without
nanoparticles stopped after approxi-
mately 12,000 pore volumes injected
(PVI) of vapor, reaching a recovery of
34%. After 43,000 PVI, the recovery
was 36%. Oil recovery is enhanced by
vapor injection because of volatilization
of light hydrocarbons, viscosity reduc-
tion, thermal expansion, variation of
relative permeability and capillary pres-
sure, and gravitational segregation.
Recovery using vapor with nanopar-
ticles is enhanced over that of using
vapor without nanoparticles for sev-
eral reasons. Nanoparticles may alter
the system’s wettability toward being
more water-wet. In addition to wetta-
bility changes, asphaltene adsorption
onto the injected nanoparticles also
leads to an increase in oil recovery. Once
nanoparticles interact with crude oil, as-
phaltenes are increasingly attracted to
being adsorbed. Because the asphaltene/
asphaltene interactions are lower than
those of asphaltene/nanoparticles, as-
phaltenes would be removed from the
aggregation system in the oil matrix
and diffuse through the bulk phase to
the nanoparticle surface until maximum
adsorption capacity is reached. As-
phaltenes remaining in the bulk phase
would form smaller aggregates, and
reduction in the asphaltene aggregate
directly leads to a decrease in crude-
oil viscosity. JPT
67
 Radio-Frequency Heating Combined With
Solvent Injection for Heavy-Oil Recovery

T he most popular technology for

producing heavy oil (HO) and
bitumen is reservoir heating, mainly
by steam injection. Electromagnetic
(EM) heating is a capable alternative.
Radio-frequency heating (RFH) results
from the microwave effect and has
the advantage of avoiding problems
associated with water supply and
treatment. The advantages of RFH
technology can be strengthened with
solvent injection. After a period of
preheating, solvent injection may lead
to improved oil recovery because of
additional decrease in oil viscosity.
Introduction
The complexity of HO recovery has in-
spired profound modifications in pro-
duction technology. To find a success-
ful technology, combinations of known
mechanisms are considered frequent-
ly. Many of these modifications use
solvent coinjection.
No single commercial reservoir simu-
lator is able to compute the interaction
of an RF antenna with a reservoir. De-
spite this, field-scale RFH simulations
have been performed with coupled simu-
lators, which separately model reservoir
dynamics and in-situ EM-field distribu-
tion. Although limited in computational
performance, this approach can be used
successfully for field-scale simulations.
The principal object of the numeri-
cal study presented in this paper is the
solvent/HO mixture under RFH con-
ditions in an HO reservoir. The study
has attempted to shed light on whether
solvent-assisted RFH technology is capa-
ble of improving oil-recovery efficiency
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
of paper SPE 180709, “Heavy-Oil Recovery by a Combination of Radio-Frequency
Heating With Solvent Injection,” by I. Bogdanov, SPE, S. Cambon, and M. Mujica,
CHLOE, and A. Brisset, SPE, Total, prepared for the 2016 SPE Canada Heavy Oil
Technical Conference, Calgary, 7–9 June. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
and to specify its advantages and draw-
backs in a typical Athabasca deposit.
Simulation Model
Large-scale RFH models have numerical-
ly simulated realistic oil recovery, provid-
ing a technical basis for critical analysis
of oil-recovery processes. The numeri-
cal methodology based on loose cou-
pling of reservoir and EM-field simu-
lators has been developed recently. A
coupling code has been built that simul-
taneously launches two simulators and
initializes problem geometries and grids.
The strong point of this approach is that
the thermal multicomponent flow and
the EM-field calculations can be present-
ed on different grids adapted to their spe-
cific solutions.
Main Results and Discussion
Preheating. Preheating is necessary to
enhance well connectivity and allow sol-
vent injection. This period is common
in thermal recovery for highly viscous
oils. Two important advantages of RFH-
based oil recovery during the preheat-
ing phase are that (1) well-injectivity
problems do not exist for EM fields and
that (2) the EM heating field is volumet-
ric, spread over a certain distance in the
reservoir, and, hence, may be more ef-
ficient than standard steam-circulation
options. It should be noted, however,
that other factors such as heating geom-
etry related to well configuration can af-
fect the efficiency of this process and
should not be neglected.
Principal Production Mechanisms
and Model Parameters. One of the
main benefits of solvent injection dur-
ing RFH is a potential decrease in en-
ergy expense for production. Note that
significantly greater heating power is
required to provide the necessary drive
with pure RFH without supplementary
gas injection.
With pure RFH, the main produc-
tion mechanisms are gravity drainage
and the RFH drive. Within the chosen
power range for initially mobile HO, the
region of RFH drive influence is lim-
ited by the gas-chamber (GC) volume.
Increased power results in faster ex-
pansion of the GC, stimulates the RFH
drive, and contributes to a higher oil-
production rate, which leads to improved
energy efficiency.
In the case of solvent injection, despite
the lower temperature of the GC com-
pared with pure RFH, oil mobility will
remain high enough and oil production
may even increase because of the solvent
effect on oleic-phase viscosity. It is ex-
pected that the solvent-mixing effect will
keep the oil viscosity low, in turn keeping
production rate high.
The principal production mechanisms,
however, remain the same with or with-
out solvent injection. The GC appearance
and expansion ensure that gravity drain-
age remains the dominant production
mechanism inside the volume and at the
edge of the chamber. While the thermal
expansion of oil does contribute to oil
recovery, it decreases slightly at reduced
temperature, and most oil production is
driven by gravity flow.
Solvent Mixing and Diffusion. The
success of the hybrid process is based
on how the oil and solvent mix at the
local reservoir temperature and pres-
sure. Recognizing the importance of sol-
vent mass transfer to HO, several dif-
ferent experimental techniques have
been used to measure diffusion coeffi-
cients for light hydrocarbon solvents.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

68 JPT • MARCH 2017

This solvent-diffusion process is gener-
ally concentration-, temperature-, and
pressure-dependent, the latter being im-
portant mainly for gaseous solvents. A
systematic study of diffusion coefficients
in bitumen indicates that, in many cases,
the coefficient remains nearly constant
up to a certain solvent concentration and
then changes rapidly to a significantly
higher value.
Dynamics of GC Expansion. The typical
shape of the GC for RFH-assisted recov-
ery appears to be independent of pro-
cess geometry and to relate more to (1)
the way the EM energy is propagated,
captured, and converted to the heating
field in the reservoir and (2) the effect
of solvent mixing. A desiccated (water-
less) region may be seen near the anten-
na, where the reservoir water was evap-
orated and the steam was swept by the
injected solvent. This region is followed
by a saturated steam zone where reser-
voir water remains liquid. Outside of the
saturated steam zone, only solvent and
a small amount of methane constitute
the gas phase. This is called the solvent
blanket zone. At the edge of this zone,
the solvent condenses and mixes with oil
at temperatures close to saturated bitu-
men conditions.
Solvent is injected in a gaseous state
and flows upward from the well. Sol-
vent circulation is maintained by con-
tinuous energy release and terminates
by condensation close to the GC edge.
Similarly, the temperature in the GC is
sustained by the EM power generating
steam outside the dry zone and steam
condensation at the limit of the solvent
blanket zone. It follows that the steam
travel distance from evaporation to con-
densation is less than that of the solvent,
which bypasses the saturated steam re-
gion and condenses at a lower tempera-
ture at the GC edge. The liquid solvent
sweeps and penetrates the oil-saturated
zone, optimally creating a balance be-
tween the rate of solvent condensation
at the GC edge and the rate of solvent
penetration to original oil beyond the
edge. The total solvent flux leaving the
GC is a key factor in hybrid oil recovery
and is controlled by effective diffusion,
consisting of molecular diffusion and
mechanical dispersion.
JPT • MARCH 2017
The EM power from the antenna is
captured outside of the dry zone, con-
verted to heat, and transferred by sol-
vent flow and heat conduction to the ex-
ternal oil-saturated volume. As a result,
the temperature in the GC is nearly con-
stant inside the dry zone, may increase
slightly because of EM-power-assisted
steam generation, and finally decreases
toward the initial temperature across the
solvent blanket zone and oil-saturated
region. Thus, the expansion of the GC is
caused by solvent diffusion in and mixing
with HO and heating by conduction out-
side the GC.
Recovery Efficiency. Analysis of the
GC-expansion dynamics indicates a de-
gree of flexibility in the hybrid recovery
technology. The efficiency of thermal
and chemical recovery can be estimated
independently by use of steam/oil and
energy/oil ratios.
In theory, there exists a lowest critical
EM power that should not be less than
the total heat loss from the reservoir.
Note that this limit progressively grows
with time approximately proportionally
to the contact surface area between the
GC and over- and underburden. In pure
RFH recovery, energy efficiency may in-
crease at greater EM power. The hybrid
recovery technology does not demon-
strate this behavior. Comparing pure
RFH with hybrid technology reveals that
significantly greater EM energy has been
used in the former, which resulted in
greater RFH drive and, subsequently, a
better production rate. A similar limit ex-
ists for the solvent-injection rate, which
should not be less than the total solvent
flux to original oil controlled by effective
diffusion. This also is roughly propor-
tional to the GC surface area and normal-
ly increases with time.
Within some limits, production in-
creases with solvent-injection volume
and output EM power. Results show that
this increase is not uniform and that
production curves may demonstrate a
saturation behavior. Similar behavior
is seen in cases of fixed EM energy and
variable solvent injection. The satura-
tion effect is more visible at greater en-
ergy, while, at less energy, the same
effect is seen at smaller volumes of
solvent injection.
Conclusions
Simulator coupling has been used to
study hybrid HO recovery with a combi-
nation of RFH and solvent injection. Con-
ventional models of RFH and rock and
fluid properties were used.
The solvent and steam streamlines are
nearly independent, and the distance the
steam travels from evaporation to con-
densation is considerably shorter than
that of the solvent. The solvent bypass-
es the steam evaporation zones. GC ex-
pansion may be anisotropic and tends to
move faster horizontally.
The solvent/HO mixing mechanisms
(molecular diffusion and mechanical
dispersion) should not be overestimat-
ed or underestimated. Results show a
significant variation of oil recovery
(on the order of 10%) if these data are
not reliable.
Although preliminary, oil-recovery
analysis has shown that the energy/oil
and solvent/oil ratios of 2.5 GJ/m3 and
1.4  m3/m3, respectively, may be used as
references for HO recovery in typical
Athabasca deposits. JPT
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69
 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Seismic Applications
Mark S. Egan, SPE, Consulting Geophysicist

My career in the oil and gas indus- Indeed, this tighter
try started in 1975. Shortly thereafter,
a theme that became wildly popular in integration of seismic
conferences, workshops, and internal with geomechanics
boardrooms was better integration of
seismic with other oilfield disciplines.
energized the rise of the
Initial progress was slow, but, if we fast- microseismic technique.
forward to today, we see that significant
strides indeed have been made. A good
representation of integration papers reservoir modeling. For example, in the
appeared this past year, so that is the 1980s, a commonly used vibrator sweep
theme we will use. in land surveys was 12–48 Hz. Today,
Advancement of the integration of sweeps start as low as 2 Hz and often
seismic with other oilfield disciplines has go up to more than 100 Hz. The ben-
been fueled by two factors. First, evolu- efits to resolution and derisking have
tionary advances in seismic technologies been striking.
naturally led to more-powerful integra- Second, several developments in seis-
tion. A simple example is the progress mic were motivated in direct response
made in bandwidth. In this regard, to the needs of interpreters and engi-
advances in seismic sources, field record- neers. For instance, the appearance of
ing equipment, and data processing all creative, new, high-channel-count survey
benefited interpretation, inversion, and designs provided full-azimuth, densely
Mark S. Egan, SPE, is a consulting geophysicist. He worked for
Schlumberger and its heritage companies from 1975 to 2016, at
which time he retired. Egan’s last position at Schlumberger was as
global chief area geophysicist in the Land Unconventionals Group
within the WesternGeco segment. His previous postings included
chief geophysicist positions in North America, Saudi Arabia,
Dubai, and London. Egan holds a PhD degree in geophysics, an
MS degree in acoustics, and a BS degree in physics and mathe-
matics. He is a member of SPE, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the European
Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, and various local societies. Egan is a mem-
ber of the JPT Editorial Committee and can be reached at egan9@hotmail.com.
sampled data that led to striking advanc-
es in imaging complex structures (espe-
cially in subsalt settings) and provided
the wherewithal for characterizing natu-
ral fractures and stress in both conven-
tional and unconventional plays. Indeed,
this tighter integration of seismic with
geomechanics energized the rise of the
microseismic technique.
Six integration papers were select-
ed. Three are presented here in sum-
mary format, and three are listed for
additional reading. They come from all
over the world, cover a range of reser-
voir lithologies, and deal with a suite
of geologic settings. Let’s keep the
progress moving. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 183289 Seismic Reservoir
Characterization of Carbonate Reservoirs—
Case Study of the Mishrif Formation,
Zubair Field, Iraq by J.M. Rodrigues, Eni,
et al.
IPTC 18956 Seismic-Driven Lithofacies
for Geological-Model Infilling in a Deep
Offshore Turbiditic Field—Case Study
by Victoriano Da Silva, Total E&P, et al.
SPE 181872 Microseismic Mapping
Improves Understanding of a Complex
Reservoir: A Case Study in a Southern
Sichuan Shale Gas Field by Yang Wang,
Halliburton, et al.

70 JPT • MARCH 2017

3D Close-the-Loop Method
Based on Probabilistic Seismic Inversion

Qualitative 3D CTL
T he paper discusses an approach
for predicting the lateral variation
of net to gross (NTG) by use of 3D
ed from the seismic data, where the
static model predicts the presence of
the reservoir.
The objective of the qualitative 3D CTL
is to find obvious mismatches between
probabilistic seismic inversion. The the synthetic data generated from
goal is to define and understand the Field the model and the actual seismic. The
distribution of sands and shales on the The field is located in the Carnarvon sources of these mismatches have to be
basis of seismic reflection data. The Basin. The discovery was appraised by identified, and first-pass ideas for pos-
modeling and inversion are supported one well, which penetrated a thin sand sible corrections to the model to obtain
by the good quality of seismic data. layer of interdistributary bay reservoir a better match need to be made. Be-
This study underpins the benefits facies (referred to as Sand 1) and a thick- cause this is merely a qualitative check
of seismically constrained reservoir er distributary channel facies (referred before inversion, the loop is not yet
modeling. The use of probabilistic to as Sand 2). The overburden comprises closed with any model updates; this will
inversion to map geological features basinal shales and marls. be achieved later in the quantitative
is a new insight in the applicability The main steps in the 3D close-the- CTL step by use of model-based seis-
of this methodology. loop work flow are mic inversion.
1. The rock-property-trend models A static model with an initial 3D NTG
Introduction are derived using the available grid was available for the field. The first-
The study field is located in the Carnar- vertical wells in or near the field. pass static model designed to estimate
von Basin offshore western Australia. A “rock model” is a set of equations the gas initially in place is a simple
The field was appraised with one well, that honors well data and links constant-average-properties model de-
which has added incremental volumes the petrophysical properties such rived from the well. It is expected that
to existing nearby discoveries. Seis- as NTG and porosity with rock the seismic will give better control on
mically constrained reservoir-model acoustic properties. the properties away from the well. The
building creates models that are con- 2. A qualitative 3D check-the-loop regional rock models were used to pre-
strained by, and matched to, geolog- (CTL) step is carried out. This dict the elastic properties in the res-
ical concepts and seismic amplitudes involves the initial fit of the ervoir zone, in the overburden, and in
and travel times.  The complete paper static model with the seismic the underburden shales. Fluid models
shows an approach using 3D probabi- data by forward modeling the for each fluid type (gas and water) were
listic seismic inversion to predict the synthetic seismic computed from built with the input from the pressure/
lateral variation in NTG over a proven the initial static model before volume/temperature report. Forward-
discovery. This, in turn, can be used to inversion. The quality-control modeled prior synthetics were generat-
update the static-model properties, im- step that follows aims to detect ed with a deterministic wavelet (derived
proving on the first-pass static-model mismatches between seismic and from the seismic) and compared with
build. Additionally, the inversion will synthetic data. the given seismic.
aid in the understanding of some poor- 3. Finally, constrain the reservoir
ly understood seismic expressions, es- model by use of the seismic data Prior Synthetic vs. Seismic. Fig. 1
pecially in the south of the field. In this by carrying out 3D probabilistic shows the comparison of the root-mean-
area, the authors noticed dim ampli- inversion of the key uncertain square (RMS) amplitude maps extracted
tudes on the amplitude maps extract- rock property. at Top Sand 2 reservoir (in a window of
−5 to +10 milliseconds) for the near
and far stack seismic and near and far
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
prior synthetics, respectively. The RMS
of  paper IPTC 18913, “3D Close the Loop Using Probabilistic Seismic Inversion
amplitude levels of the two maps show
for a Gas  Field in the Carnarvon Basin, Australia,” by Shilpi Srivastava, Jeroen significant differences. Hence, there is
Goudswaard, Sito Busman, and Justin Ugbo, Shell, prepared for the 2016 a need to update the reservoir model
International Petroleum Technology Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, 14–16 November. properties, mainly the NTG. This will be
The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2016 International Petroleum achieved with a probabilistic seismic in-
Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. version in order to close the loop.

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • MARCH 2017 71

 722926 730000 740000 722926 730000 740000 ning from the north to the south of the

7780000 7787119
7780000 7787119
1300
field. It is crucial to model the over-
1300
1219 1219 burden correctly such that it does not
1138 1138
1056 1056 influence the NTG estimation in the
975 975 channel sands below. Promise inver-
894 894
812 812 sion was carried out on multiple sce-
731 731 narios in order to model and capture
650 650
569 569 the overburden response correctly and

7770000
7770000

488 488 understand the effect on the reservoir

406 406
325 325 sands below.
244 244
162 162 Amplitude maps are extracted in the

7759957
7759957

81 81 reservoir zone from the posterior syn-

0 0
thetics of the best-fit model and com-
Near Stack Seismic Prior Near Synthetic pared with the seismic. The amplitude
722926 730000 740000
match has improved significantly after
722926 730000 740000
inversion compared with the prior syn-

7780000 7787119
7780000 7787119

1300 1300
1219 1219 thetic match, as shown in Fig. 1. The
1138 1138 average NTG produced by the probabi-
1056 1056
975 975 listic inversion is used to update the res-
894 894
812 812 ervoir model and finally close the loop.
731 731 The results of the probabilistic inversion
650 650
do provide a number of model realiza-
7770000
7770000

569 569
488 488 tions; the standard deviations of these
406 406
325 325 models can be used as a measure to
244 244 build confidence regarding the inverted
7759957
7759957

162
81
0 0
Far Stack Seismic
Fig. 1—Comparison of RMS amplitude map between the near and far stack
seismic and prior near and far synthetic at Top Sand 2.
3D Probabilistic
Seismic Inversion
The qualitative analysis described in
the complete paper highlights some
key differences between modeled and
measured data in terms of amplitude
differences. The current model pre-
dicts high amplitudes in the south of
the fault block, which is not support-
ed by the seismic amplitudes. In the
next step, the reservoir model is con-
strained with seismic data by carrying
out a 3D probabilistic seismic inversion
for NTG with a proprietary stochas-
tic model-based elastic inversion algo-
rithm. This technology directly inverts
for static-model parameters, which
sets it apart from traditional inversions
for impedances.
The inversion takes a geological
model with the prior reservoir proper-
ties (NTG or porosity) and the given un-
certainties for a specific rock with a set
of defined fluid properties and perturbs
162
81
Prior Far Synthetic
it iteratively until a realization is found
that describes a good fit with the given
seismic. The forward-modeled poste-
rior synthetics need to fit the actual
seismic character well enough within
the specified signal/noise ratio as de-
fined. Any model that does not satisfy
the specified noise level is rejected, and
a new realization is tested. The average
uncertain property from the final mod-
els can be accepted as the most like-
ly solution that gives the best fit with
the seismic.
The acoustic properties in the input
static model are derived using the rock-
property trends. Regional rock models
were available that related the p-velocity
and density to the porosity and shear
velocity to p-velocity in the field. The
main property for uncertainty was NTG
in Sand 1 and Sand 2 of the reservoir.
In the current static model, the over-
burden comprises a wedge comprised
of marl, which shows significant thin-
results and how well the uncertain pa-
rameter has been constrained by seis-
mic inversion.
3D Inversion Results
The inversion results clearly showed the
distribution of good sands and reduced
the reserves in both north and south,
immediately affecting developmental
decisions. Additionally, a channelized
feature can be recognized from the in-
version, which could not be interpret-
ed from seismic amplitudes alone. This
helped in additional volume bookings.
Conclusions
The use of probabilistic inversion to
delineate geological features such as
higher-NTG channels is a new insight
in the use of this methodology. It is
accomplished by using the probabilis-
tic inversion to predict the main static
reservoir property (NTG) in a geologi-
cally constrained manner and then up-
dating the existing static model with
this information. The results of the
probabilistic inversion helped to in-
terpret an additional channelized fea-
ture that was included in the volumet-
ric estimation and helped in additional
volume bookings. JPT

72 JPT • MARCH 2017

High-Resolution Seismic Stochastic Inversion
as a Direct Input for Reservoir Modeling

T hree-dimensional reservoir
models are best created with a
combination of well logs and 3D-seismic
conversion, the high-resolution 3D data
from seismic stochastic inversion and
well-log data were used as a direct input.
if they satisfy the criteria in the
process. These criteria measure
the degradation percentage of
data. However, the effective integration the synthetic trace related to
of these results is not easy because of Target Processing. In the first step, a the original trace. Thus, even
limited seismic resolution. With the wavelet-transform method was applied if degraded, some traces that
increasing quality of seismic data and to achieve noise elimination and resolu- somehow meet the criteria will
wide application of new methods, high- tion improvement. The principle of this be accepted.
resolution seismic-stochastic-inversion method includes the Hilbert spectrum 7. If accepted, the trace is considered
volume was used as a direct input to for nonlinear and nonstationary time- to be the solution to the inversion,
reduce the uncertainty of the reservoir series analysis. and it is incorporated into data;
model. Used as a direct input for then, a new trace is visited and
reservoir modeling, this method reduces Seismic Stochastic Inversion. The al- simulated.
the uncertainty of the model greatly. gorithm of seismic stochastic inver- 8. If the trace is not accepted, the
sion used in this study has the follow- same trace is resimulated until it
Introduction ing stages: satisfies the acceptance criteria.
A common method of reservoir model- 1. Initially, a sequential Gaussian The inversion process continues
ing is the stochastic modeling method. simulation is performed on the well until all the points of the grid are
The deficiency of this method is that it data of acoustic impedance, aimed simulated and all the resulting
can be difficult to determine the changes at filling the volume to be inverted. realizations are consistent with the
between wells. In order to describe the 2. The vertical and horizontal seismic data and with well data,
reservoir changes between wells better, variograms are generated and in addition to having minimum
sedimentary facies and 2D-seismic attri- modeled. residual with the seismic data.
bute tendencies were used as constraints 3. Each knot of the grid is revisited
in the process of modeling. However, be- randomly and resimulated. Time/Depth Conversion and Modeling.
cause every location has only one tenden- 4. For each knot, a synthetic trace is The algorithm of time/depth conversion
cy value, it is difficult to describe the res- calculated; for this, knowledge of in this study has the following stages:
ervoir overlay. the wavelet is needed. 1. Velocity modeling on the basis of
5. The synthetic trace is generated and the time/depth-relationship curve of
Method compared with the original trace, wells and seismic velocity data.
The work flows of this method, described where the residuals are calculated 2. Time/depth conversion for seismic
in greater detail in the complete paper, on the basis of the squares sum of stochastic inversion volume on the
essentially include three steps. The first the difference between the original basis of the velocity model.
step is target processing. Wavelet trans- trace and the synthetic trace. 3. Reservoir modeling on the basis of
form is applied to achieve noise elimina- 6. These residuals are then submitted depth seismic stochastic inversion
tion and resolution improvement. On the to an acceptance/rejection test. For volume and well data.
basis of the high-resolution seismic data, this, the optimization process by
the second step is seismic stochastic in- means of simulation annealing is Application
version. After the process of time/depth used. The residuals are accepted This method was used in H oil field in the
Middle East. H oil field is located in the
south of Mesopotamia Basin. The target,
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
Formation N, was a structural-lithology
paper OTC 26404, “High-Resolution Seismic Stochastic Inversion as a Direct Input for
complex reservoir that was developed in
Reservoir Modeling,” by Chen Xin, Wei Xiao-Dong, Li Yan-Jing, Cui Yi, Ma Yingzhe, a long-axis anticline. The sedimentary
Yan Xiao-Huan, and Xia Yaliang, CNPC, and Wang Guan and Wang Xiaotian, environment is that of a barrier island;
China University of Petroleum, prepared for the 2016 Offshore Technology Conference the complicated reservoir is controlled
Asia, Kuala Lumpur, 22–25 March. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright by barrier-island migration and tidal-
2016 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. channel reconstitution. The formation

The complete paper is available for purchase at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.

JPT • MARCH 2017 73

 Old-Porosity-Model Result Based on Seismic Attribution Map and Well Logs
3152
3208
top-N
3265
base-N
New-Porosity-Model Result Based on 3D High-Resolution Seismic Stochastic Inversion and Well Logs
3152
3208
top-N
3265
base-N
Fig. 1—New Well 2 confirmed that the new model, which is based on 3D high-resolution seismic stochastic inversion and
well logs, is more reliable. Black well-log curve is GR.
thickness is 53 to 65 m, and the single-
sand-body thickness is 3 to 13 m.
Target Processing for Formation N. To
improve the ability of seismic data for res-
ervoir identification, a wavelet-transform
method was applied to target processing
for Formation N. After the target process-
ing, the seismic response of the reser-
voir sand in the high-resolution-seismic
section becomes clearer than the seis-
mic data before target processing, and it
matched the well-log interpretation.
Seismic Stochastic Inversion for For-
mation N. Good reservoir is mainly de-
veloped as moderate- to fine-grained
sandstone, poor reservoir is mainly de-
veloped as argillaceous sandstone, and
nonreservoir is mainly developed as
mudstone and sandy mudstone. Three
types of petrophysical analysis corre-
sponding to these categories are dis-
cussed in this study.
The analysis reveals that gamma ray
(GR) can distinguish lithologies well, be-
cause the reservoir is mainly the sand-
stone with low GR (less than 45). The
acoustic log can distinguish reservoir and
74
Well 1 New Well 02
Well 1 New Well 02
nonreservoir intervals, while the densi-
ty log can roughly distinguish reservoir
and nonreservoir, but cannot distinguish
good reservoir and poor reservoir. Wave
impedance can better distinguish reser-
voir, poor reservoir, and nonreservoir.
Given such reservoir petrophysical
features, to obtain practical inversion
results, seismic impedance inversion
can be selected to invert the overall dis-
tribution trend because the formation
thickness is approximately 60 m, which
can achieve seismic-identification re-
quirements. For the sand-body distri-
bution features of sublayers, under con-
straints of seismic impedance inversion,
the GR-based seismic stochastic inver-
sion is obtained to portray the reser-
voir accurately. First, the probability-
density statistics and analysis of the GR
curve and wave-impedance data are per-
formed, followed by the variogram es-
timation for the target interval. Then,
seismic stochastic inversion can be
carried out.
Because the seismic-stochastic-
inversion process is controlled not only
by the acoustic impedance features, vario-
graphic model, and histogram but also by
Well 2
N059
N060
Well 2
N059
N060
the high-resolution seismic data, the pos-
sible number of solutions is reduced, thus
decreasing the nonuniqueness of the so-
lution. The seismic-stochastic-inversion
results were multiple 3D volumes with the
same vertical resolution as well-logging
data and good lateral-variation regularity
according to seismic attributes.
Time/Depth Conversion and Model-
ing for Formation N. To obtain accurate
time/depth relationships, 40 wells were
calibrated again by seismic-stochastic-
inversion data. Then, velocity modeling
was established by accurate time/depth-
relationship-curve and seismic-velocity
data. Seismic-stochastic-inversion vol-
ume was converted from the time do-
main to the depth domain on the basis
of velocity modeling. Finally, reservoir
modeling was performed on the basis of
depth seismic-stochastic-inversion vol-
ume and well data. The reservoir model
based on the high-resolution 3D data
from seismic stochastic inversion and
well-log data will reduce the uncertain-
ty greatly, especially in the area of very
strong reservoir heterogeneity. A post-
mortem is presented in Fig. 1. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2017
Fracture Modeling Using a Constructed
Discrete Fracture Network From Seismic Data

T he objective of this study is to

validate the concept of using
a seismically derived discrete
log or from core in the same or a near-
by well. However, because the hydraulic
fractures created during a stimulation
of carbonates, which is associated with
bad reservoir quality. The upper Avalon
shale is the most exploited because of
fracture network (DFN) calibrated treatment usually extend hundreds of its good reservoir quality, with poros-
with borehole measurements, for feet away from the wellbore, it is impor- ity between 4 and 15%, a gross thick-
complex-hydraulic-fracture modeling. tant to characterize and understand the ness between 50 and 380 ft, and total
This study was applied successfully natural fractures away from the well- organic carbon ranging from 2 to 6%.
on a two-well horizontal pad in bore. Therefore, a more-accurate DFN True vertical depth ranges from 4,000
the Avalon Shale located in the model than the simple conventional to 9,000 ft.
Delaware Basin, New Mexico. The model is crucial in unconventional plays
work flow presented in this paper for optimizing well spacing and stimula- Seismic Data and Interpretation. The
shows the successful application tion design to ultimately achieve maxi- available narrow azimuth 3D-seismic
of seismic data in creating DFNs mum effective drainage while maximiz- data were first depth-converted with a
required to model hydraulic fractures ing returns. velocity model created from multiple
in unconventional reservoirs. In this study, the authors use an estab- well ties made across the study area. Be-
lished work flow for extracting seismic- cause of the possibility of multiples and
Introduction scale fracture networks and extending other seismic artifacts, the data were
In the past, hydraulic-fracture modeling their population properties to model checked visually against well data to en-
was limited to planar models for con- corresponding subseismic fractures sure the absence of such artifacts within
ventional reservoirs, with the absence that are critical to understanding and the zone of interest. All the major for-
of natural fractures. In unconvention- calibrating complex-hydraulic-fracture mation tops, including the top and base
al reservoirs, planar models are highly geometry created during stimulation. of the Avalon shale, were then interpret-
limited in properly simulating complex ed manually from the depth-converted
fracture geometries. In recent years, Geology seismic data.
a state-of-the-art complex-fracture- The Avalon unconventional shale play
network model, also known as an un- consists of siltstone, limestone, clay, Geological and Geomechanical Model.
conventional fracture model (UFM), chert, and organics. It can be subdivid- Stress barriers and hydraulic-fracture
was developed. The model simulates the ed into three zones: upper, middle, and geometry are determined by the geo-
fracture propagation, rock deformation, lower. In the past, the Avalon shale has mechanical properties of the formation.
and fluid flow in the complex fracture been exploited by vertical drilling, but Therefore, a detailed geomechanical
network created during a treatment. A recently, horizontal drilling has been model was essential for completing this
key difference between the UFM and the trend to fully exploit this unconven- work flow successfully.
the conventional planar-fracture model tional play. As the first step, a 3D structural model
is the ability to simulate the interaction Siliciclastic mudstones in the upper was built by use of interpreted surfaces
of hydraulic fractures with pre-existing and lower Avalon are considered to be from seismic data and well tops over the
natural fractures. of good reservoir quality and are high- focus area and was populated with pet-
In shale plays, conventional DFN ly productive, whereas the carbonate- rophysical, geomechanical, and stress
models are built out of 1D fracture-dip rich middle Avalon is considered unpro- properties. The geological model con-
interpretation from a borehole-image ductive because of the high percentage sisted of 130 layers, with cell dimen-
sions of 100×100×100 ft and a total of
5.1 million cells. Two vertical wells had
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights
high-tier logging suites that were ex-
of paper SPE 179130, “Calibrated Complex Fracture Modeling Using a Constructed
amined to identify the lateral variability
Discrete Fracture Network From Seismic Data in the Avalon Shale, New Mexico,” by of rock properties. Both wells showed
Foluke Ajisafe, Manoj Thachaparambil, Donald Lee, Ben Flack, Kim Hemsley, similar log and rock properties through
Efe Ejofodomi, and Christopher Taylor, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2016 the zone of interest (Avalon Shale), in-
SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, USA, dicating its lateral continuity, but with
9–11 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed. minor local heterogeneity. Basic log

For a limited time, the complete paper is free to SPE members at www.spe.org/jpt.

JPT • MARCH 2017 75


Get the chemist’s view,
and forge strategic
relationships with
the oilfield chemistry
community.
SPE International
Conference on
Oilfield
Chemistry
3–5 April 2017
Conference Center at La Torretta
Montgomery, Texas
www.spe.org/go/networkoilfield
Register early and
save up to USD 300!
(a) Well A Well B
600 ft
Fig. 1—(a) Map of the two-well pad, with wells 600 ft apart with seismic-built
DFN calibrated with offset borehole-image logs. (b) Map of microseismic data
with DFN overlain in background.
properties were upscaled to the 3D
geological model and propagated with
geological surfaces. After the propaga-
tion, elastic and stress properties were
calculated, accounting for structur-
al variations.
DFN Model. The depth-converted seis-
mic data were used for generating three
different seismic discontinuity attri-
butes: most-negative curvature, spec-
tral edge, and orthogonal decomposi-
tion. These attributes were enhanced
further using the ant-track attribute.
In the next stage, seismic discontinuity
planes (SDPs) from all three attribute
cubes were extracted and overall popu-
lation statistics were assessed.
Among the three SDP sets, the
curvature-based SDP set was not used
further, because it showed poor orien-
tation statistics with respect to the dip
and azimuth of natural fractures known
from the area. After removing SDPs that
represent the acquisition footprints,
local SDP dips from the orthogonal com-
ponent and spectral-edge-based ant-
track attributes were extracted along
selected wells and plotted with the frac-
ture dips from borehole-image logs of
those wells. In addition to the compar-
ison of overall orientation of SDP and
fracture dips per well, their detailed cor-
(b) Well A Well B
relation along well trajectories was also
carried out.
After the blind tests against four wells
from different parts of the seismic sur-
vey, the spectral-edge-based SDP was
confirmed to be the best-matching seis-
mic representation of discrete fractures
in the subsurface. Then, the SDP set was
classified as an extracted fracture net-
work and its overall population char-
acteristics were studied, and the 3D
fracture network was converted into a
standard DFN model.
By use of the extracted seismic-
scale fracture sets and their statisti-
cal properties, the subseismic por-
tions of each of those fracture sets
were modeled within a selected area,
where hydraulic-fracture data and the
geomechanical model are available for
validation of the survey. Orientations,
density distributions, and length dis-
tributions were used directly to model
fractures with lengths ranging from 20
to 1,000 ft.
Hydraulic-Fracture Modeling and
Calibration. The UFM was used
in this study to model and calibrate
the hydraulic-fracture profiles in the
Avalon Shale. Key inputs for proper
hydraulic-fracture calibration are geo-
mechanical model, a DFN, lamination
JPT • MARCH 2017
density, horizontal-stress anisotropy,
maximum-stress azimuth, and leakoff
coefficient. The horizontal-stress an-
isotropy and maximum-stress azimuth
are the most sensitive inputs that in-
fluence the propagation of the complex
fracture networks. The horizontal-stress
anisotropy was inferred from advanced
sonic-tool measurements in the forma-
tion. The maximum-stress azimuth was
identified from borehole-image logs.
The UFM work flow was applied to
a single horizontal well on a two-well
pad. The horizontal well was landed in
the Avalon Shale and was hydraulically
stimulated with 11 stages along the lat-
eral section with a conventional plug-
and-perforation technique. Microseis-
mic data were acquired for target Well
A across all the stimulated intervals,
with geophones located in an observa-
tion well.
Fig. 1a shows the DFN built from seis-
mic data overlain on the lateral section
of the horizontal wells. The DFN con-
sists of extracted seismic-scale natu-
ral fractures and modeled subseismic
natural fractures, with varying natural-
fracture orientations and lengths. Well
A is the stimulated well, and Well B is
the observation well for microseismic
events and also the well with borehole-
image logs along the lateral. The DFN
shows variability in the intensity and
network properties of natural fractures
along each wellbore and away from the
wellbore. This example shows that sim-
ple extrapolation of local fracture dips
from borehole-image logs in Well B can-
not capture the natural-fracture distri-
bution in Well A adequately. Also, with-
out understanding the fracture-length
and -density relationship per frac-
ture set, it is impossible to adequately
model subseismic fractures only with
a seismic-attributes cube and 1D bore-
hole fracture data. However, a seismi-
cally generated DFN that gives scale-
independent fracture characteristics can
provide a meaningful look at the multi-
scale natural-fracture network for de-
termining the completion and stimula-
tion strategy before the stimulation job
is executed.
In multiwall-pad scenarios, this can
be very helpful in customizing the well
spacing and stimulation design per
stage in each well to avoid negative ef-
JPT • MARCH 2017
fects such as sudden production loss-
es caused by well interference. Fig. 1b
shows the independent DFN overlain
with the microseismic events per stage.
From the microseismic data, it is evi-
dent that the stages with more natural-
fracture intensity tend to have a higher
degree of complexity. Conversely, stages
with less natural-fracture intensity ex-
hibited a lower degree of complexity, re-
sulting in a greater extent of microseis-
mic events away from the wellbore. In
this case, a positive correlation between
the observed microseismic events and
the independently built seismic DFN
characteristics provided good confi-
dence in the work flow to proceed with
UFM modeling.
Two scenarios based on the vary-
ing DFN intensity (high-natural- 2 017 O F F S H O R E T E C H N O L O G Y C O N F E R E N C E
fracture and low-natural-fracture) 1–4 May 2017 \\ Houston, Texas, USA \\ NRG Park
along the lateral section are described 2017.otcnet.org
in the complete paper, demonstrat-
ing how the seismically generated ex-
treme local DFN profiles affect the
hydraulic-fracture propagation.
Conclusions
REGISTRATION
◗ The seismic DFN work flow for
complex fracture modeling can
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shale plays. This work flow (OTC) is where energy professionals
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short time frame that is typical
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◗ The UFM with pressure-history
environmental matters.
match demonstrates that the
hybrid DFN modeled out of seismic
OTC is sponsored by 13 nonprofit
data represents the natural-
fracture distribution better than organizations in the energy industry,
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fracture intensity in the hybrid of these societies.
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correspondingly modeled
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shows consistency with the
distribution of microseismic
events.
◗ The hybrid DFN model can be
used as a predictive tool for
designing drilling, completion,
and production strategy in
unconventional reservoirs. JPT
 PEOPLE
REX TILLERSON, SPE, was ap-
pointed US Secretary of State
and took the oath of office on
1 February. His predecessor to
this position was John Kerry.
After being nominated to the
position, Tillerson retired as
chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of
Exxon Mobil Corp. at the end of 2016 after a
4-decade career at the company, advancing his
planned retirement from the company in March
2017. He also severed all ties with the company to
comply with the conflict-of-interest requirements
associated with his nomination. Tillerson joined
Exxon Company USA as a production engineer in
1975 and held various senior roles in the corpora-
tion, including executive vice president of Exxon-
Mobil Development Company. He was named se-
nior vice president of Exxon Mobil Corp. in 2001
and was elected president and member of the
board of directors in 2004. Tillerson was elected
chairman and CEO in 2006. Following Tillerson’s
retirement, Darren W. Woods, president of Exxon
Mobil Corp., was elected chairman and CEO effec-
tive 1 January.
TERRI KING, SPE, has joined
the board of directors at Oil &
Gas UK, a trade association.
King is president of UK Cono-
coPhillips and will represent
the company on the Oil & Gas
UK’s board. She has interna-
tional industry experience in leading upstream
project teams in Norway and US. King joined Con-
ocoPhillips in 1991 and has held management po-
sitions at the company, including operating unit
manager in Norway, business unit manager for
Gulf Unit, and vice president of the San Juan busi-
ness unit. Greta Lydecker, managing director of
Chevron Upstream Europe, also joined the Oil &
Gas UK board representing her company.
The book Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources:
Exploitation and Development received the 2017
PROSE Award for Engineering and Technology.
Edited by NATHAN MEEHAN, 2016 SPE president,
and Usman Ahmed, the book discusses the latest
advances in unconventional resources. Standing
for Professional and Scholarly Excellence, PROSE
Awards are presented annually by the Association
of American Publishers and recognize the best in
professional and scholarly publishing in books,
journal, and electronic content.
78
In Memoriam
This section lists with regret SPE members who recently passed away.
If you would like to report the passing of a family member who was
an SPE member, please write to service@spe.org.
Dennis R. Bicknell, Loveland, Colorado, USA
Jack David Coursey, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, USA
John L. Fitch, Dallas, Texas, USA
Thomas J. Golden, Graham, Texas, USA
K.C. Hong, Irvine, California, USA
Thomas Jeffrey, Richardson, Texas, USA
Grady Parrish, Houma, Louisiana, USA
Jeffery S. Stocker, Houston, Texas, USA
James D. Vaught, Edmond, Oklahoma, USA
John C. Vicic, Katy, Texas, USA
LAWRENCE BUCK CURTIS, SPE, died 25 January.
He was the SPE president in 1971 and a trustee of
the SPE Foundation. Curtis joined Conoco in 1949
and spent his career of more than 40 years with
the company. He held several management posi-
tions there, including chief engineer and manager
of international operations and general manager
for production engineering services, and retired
as vice president production engineering services. He worked on sev-
eral international assignments such as the Dubai Khazzan submers-
ible storage tank and the Hutton deepwater tension-leg platform. As
SPE president, he was among those who led the initial efforts toward
SPE becoming an international organization. In the SPE 50th Anni-
versary issue of JPT in 2007, Curtis reminisced how in the 1970s, with
demand for petroleum increasing by 10% per year and the US becom-
ing a mature oil province, several American companies were moving
into the international upstream arena and SPE members were already
engaged in international operations and were stationed overseas. “In
this industry environment, we knew we had to do something to main-
tain and grow a strong SPE that could help solve world energy prob-
lems,” he said. His efforts to expand SPE internationally included at-
tending the World Petroleum Congress in Moscow in 1971 and visiting
the director of l’Institut Français du Pétrole and discussing forming a
local section in Paris. Following additional efforts in the following
years, SPE became an independently incorporated entity in 1985 and
currently has 207 sections in 144 countries.
Curtis was an Honorary Member of SPE and the American Institute
of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers. He received the
SPE Distinguished Service Award in 1976, the SPE De Golyer Distin-
guished Service Medal in 1985, and was an SPE Distinguished Mem-
ber. During his career, Curtis was deeply involved in the technical
leadership and motivation of the early development and application
of digital computers in monitoring and controlling production func-
tions in oilfield automation systems. For his exceptional and innova-
tive foresight in the concepts for and design of offshore structures,
his professional commitment to open exchange of technical informa-
tion on global oil and gas operations, and for significant influence in
the evolution of the worldwide SPE, he was awarded the Anthony F.
Lucas Gold Medal in 1994. Curtis authored several articles and papers
in JPT and other industry publications. He was also a member of the
National Academy of Engineering. Curtis held a petroleum engineer
degree from the Colorado School of Mines.
JPT • MARCH 2017
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Improve your fracturing operations with automation

for precise control and equipment reliability.  
A redesign of the hydraulic fracturing process lets you automate operations, increase efficiency, and minimize HSE risk—all while
meeting the industry’s growing requirement for proppant delivered per stage, with more stages per day.
The new automated, electrically powered platform
■ controls fluid mixing and proppant delivery to best match the job design
■ monitors equipment performance for maximum reliability and uninterrupted operations
■ minimizes dust and human intervention for reduced HSE risk.

Find out more at

slb.com/automation

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