2/11/16 3:11 PM

March16_JPT_Cover.indd 1
M A R C H 2 0 1 6 • VO LU M E 6 8 , N U M B E R 3 JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
 INTERSECT
HIGH-RESOLUTION
RESERVOIR SIMULATOR

Simulate your field development challenges

without compromising efficiency or accuracy.
The INTERSECT* simulator combines physics and performance to deliver reservoir simulation at the scale you need—
fast. The parallel architecture provides superior scalability that enables more realistic geological descriptions and
production forecasts with an improved assessment of uncertainties. Operating in terms of oilfield concepts, the
INTERSECT simulator’s intelligent logic stays consistent for efficiently optimizing your reservoir management strategy
with results you can trust.

Find out more at

slb.com/INTERSECT

*Mark of Schlumberger; the INTERSECT simulator is a joint product collaboration of Schlumberger, Chevron, and Total.
Copyright © 2016 Schlumberger. All rights reserved. 15-IS-89001
CONTENTS
Volume 68 • Number 3

14 GUEST EDITORIAL • HOW TO THRIVE IN A DOWNTURN

The industry is in one of its periodic downturns in which previous business
or career plans may no longer be viable. But there are still ways to go from
surviving to thriving in the current price environment.

20 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Gas-handling capability is one of the most complex and challenging issues
in artificial lift. When gas pockets enter the wellbore and cause system
interruptions, the effectiveness of an electrical submersible pump can be
undermined. A multiphase encapsulated production system mitigates gas
interference in the pump, stabilizes the production rate, and eliminates
downtime associated with pump cycling and gas-lock conditions.

32 ELECTROMAGNETIC IMAGING OFFERS FIRST LOOK

AT THE PROPPED ROCK
Understanding how much rock is being stimulated and propped is
critical for unconventional producers. New imaging methods using
electromagnetic energy or acoustic microemitters could represent a
milestone in understanding what is left behind after fracturing. Production platforms in Vietnam’s
Bach Ho (White Tiger) field, which
42 INDUSTRIAL-SIZED CYBER ATTACKS THREATEN has been a mainstay of the country’s
THE UPSTREAM SECTOR oil production since the late 1980s.
The oil and gas industry is experiencing a higher frequency of cyber Photo courtesy of Petrovietnam.
attacks than other industries, second only to the power and utilities sector.
As the sophistication of the attacks increases, the industry is working on
multiple fronts to address the vulnerabilities. But experts say it will be
years until adequate safeguards are in place.

52 VIETNAM STILL HOLDS MUCH E&P OPPORTUNITY

Vietnam holds substantial opportunities because of its resource potential,
expanding economy, surging internal energy demand, and the diverse DEPARTMENTS
group of oil operators active in the country. Petrovietnam’s interest in
expanding partnerships with international players will help in bringing in 6 Performance Indices
more investment and expertise to its fields. 8 Regional Update
56 MANAGEMENT • MANAGING PROJECT UNCERTAINTY: 10 President’s Column
THE DELPHI METHOD 12 Comments
Decision making in uncertain environments is key to the successful delivery 18 Technology Applications
of oil and gas projects. Identifying, understanding, and clearly articulating 22 SPE Events
project uncertainties so that appropriate management strategies can be
26 E&P Notes
put in place is important for the successful outcome of the project.
96 People
99 Professional Services
100 Advertisers’ Index

An Official Publication of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Printed in US. Copyright 2016, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
 Solutions for the Life Cycle
of Your Well
Completions Remedial
Drilling Abandonment
Production Stimulation

TAM has solutions:

For almost half a century, TAM has provided solutions for the countless challenges
operators encounter during the life cycle of a well. TAM’s proven EPIC® solutions for
drilling use our swellable packer, Casing Annulus Packer, and Port Collar for cement
integrity during primary and secondary cementing operations. The versatile TAMPlug
effectively isolates lost circulation zones.

Unique completions products include the PosiFrac HALO™ frac seat and PosiFrac
Toe Sleeve™. TAM’s extensive suite of swellable packers is available in multiple
elastomer compounds to fit the specific application.

We provide the exclusive TAM-J Multi-Set Inflatable Packer and the PosiFrac®
Straddle System tools for selective production testing, acid stimulation, and sand
fracturing placement. Our Single-Set Inflatable Packers can be used as production
Excellence at the Wellsite®
packers, bridge plugs, and scab liners. If P&A operations are needed, our Single-Set,
Cement Retainer, TIP, TAMPlug, and TAM-J packers present reliable solutions.

Whether companies are planning, drilling, completing, producing, remediating, or

abandoning wells, TAM solutions are effective, efficient, and flexible.
www.tamintl.com PosiFrac HALO™ is a HydraWell, Inc. technology licensed exclusively to TAM International.

WELL INTERVENTION DRILLING & COMPLETIONS UNCONVENTIONAL RESOURCES RESERVOIR OPTIMIZATION

TAM-195_SolutionsLifeCycle_rv3_0210.indd 1 2/10/16 3:20 PM

 Illuminate the Invisible ®

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
We give
you the
60 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
Zillur Rahim, SPE, Senior Petroleum Engineering Consultant,
Saudi Aramco
superpowers
61 An Improved Model for Predicting Hydraulic-Fracture-Height Migration you’ve
64 Novel Proppant Surface Treatment for Enhanced Performance and
Improved Cleanup always
66 New Stimulation Method Significantly Improves Hydrocarbon Recovery
70 Rod-Shaped-Proppant Fracturing Boosts Production and Adds Reserves
dreamed of.
Introducing the world’s
72 PRODUCTION MONITORING/SURVEILLANCE first X-Ray technology
Marc Kuck, SPE, Drilling and Completions Engineering Manager, Eni
for oil wells.
73 New Improvements to Deepwater Subsea Measurement VISURAY’s revolutionary VR90 ®
not only finds downhole blockages
75 Achieving Well-Performance Optimization Through Work-Flow
Automation faster, it lets you see 2D and 3D
reconstructions of the obstruction.
78 Distributed Acoustic Sensing for Downhole Production and Injection We’ll illuminate the problem, you’ll
Profiling
eliminate the problem. Better yet,
you’ll eliminate downtime and
80 HEAVY OIL
Tayfun Babadagli, SPE, Professor, University of Alberta increase profitability.

81 Chemical EOR for Heavy Oil: The Canadian Experience Contact us for a
84 Solvent-Enhanced Steamdrive: Experiences From the First Field Pilot demonstration
86 Pilot Tests of New Enhanced-Oil-Recovery Technologies for Heavy-Oil
visuray.com
Reservoirs Visit us at ICoTA Houston stand 908

88 SEISMIC APPLICATIONS
Mark Egan, SPE, Retired

89 Near-Surface Velocity Model To Enhance PSDM Seismic Imaging of

Dukhan Field

92 Broadband Seismic Acquisition: Implications for Interpretation and

Reservoir Models

94 High-Fidelity Microseismic-Data Acquisition in the Midland Basin

Wolfcamp Shale Play

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.
 Volunteering looks good on you.
In the new SPE League of Volunteers, giving back suits you well.
As a volunteer for SPE, you provide the energy that makes our Society work. Giving back
gives you the opportunity to enhance your leadership and collaborative skills, and expand your
professional profile as you showcase your knowledge and talents to the industry.

Engage. Support. Volunteer. Learn more and join us at www.spe.org/volunteer.

Share your story: #SPElov

 SPE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
2016 President
Nathan Meehan, Baker Hughes
2015 President
Helge Hove Haldorsen, Statoil
2017 President
Janeen Judah, Chevron
Vice President Finance
Roland Moreau, ExxonMobil Annuitant
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
AFRICA
Adeyemi Akinlawon,
Adeb Konsult
CANADIAN
Darcy Spady, Broadview Energy Asset Management
EASTERN NORTH AMERICA
Bob Garland, Silver Creek Services
GULF COAST NORTH AMERICA
J. Roger Hite, Inwood Solutions
MID-CONTINENT NORTH AMERICA
Michael Tunstall, Halliburton
MIDDLE EAST
Khalid Zainalabedin, Saudi Aramco
NORTH SEA
Carlos Chalbaud, ENGIE
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
Alex Asfar, Senior Manager Publishing Services
Pam Boschee, Senior Manager Magazines
Chris Carpenter, Technology Editor
Trent Jacobs, Senior Technology Writer
Anjana Sankara Narayanan, Editorial Manager
Joel Parshall, Features Editor
Stephen Rassenfoss, Emerging Technology Senior Editor
Adam Wilson, Special Publications Editor
Craig Moritz, Assistant Director Americas Sales & Exhibits
Mary Jane Touchstone, Print Publishing Manager
David Grant, Electronic Publishing Manager
Laurie Sailsbury, Composition Specialist Supervisor
Dennis Scharnberg, Proofreader
See Wells
SOUTH AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
Anelise Quintao Lara, Petrobras
SOUTH ASIA
John Hoppe, Shell
BETTER
with
SOUTH, CENTRAL, AND EAST EUROPE
Matthias Meister, Baker Hughes
SOUTHERN ASIA PACIFIC
Salis Aprilian, PT Badak NGL
SOUTHWESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Libby Einhorn, Concho Oil & Gas
WESTERN NORTH AMERICA
Andrei Popa, Chevron
TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
DRILLING AND COMPLETIONS
David Curry, Baker Hughes
HEALTH, SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENT,
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Trey Shaffer, ERM
MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION
J.C. Cunha
PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS
Jennifer Miskimins, Barree & Associates
PROJECTS, FACILITIES, AND CONSTRUCTION
Howard Duhon, GATE, Inc.
RESERVOIR DESCRIPTION AND DYNAMICS
Tom Blasingame, Texas A&M University
DIRECTOR FOR ACADEMIA
Dan Hill, Texas A&M University
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
Khaled Al-Buraik, Saudi Aramco
Liu Zhenwu, China National Petroleum Corporation
The Journal of Petroleum Technology® magazine is a
registered trademark of SPE.
SPE PUBLICATIONS: SPE is not responsible for any
statement made or opinions expressed in its publications.
EDITORIAL POLICY: SPE encourages open and objective
discussion of technical and professional subjects per-
tinent to the interests of the Society in its publications.
Society publications shall contain no judgmental remarks
or opinions as to the technical competence, personal
character, or motivations of any individual, company, or
group. Any material which, in the publisher’s opinion, Since 2003, MicroSeismic
does not meet the standards for objectivity, pertinence,
and professional tone will be returned to the contribu- has delivered the best image
tor with a request for revision before publication. SPE
accepts advertising (print and electronic) for goods and of what’s happening in the
services that, in the publisher’s judgment, address the
technical or professional interests of its readers. SPE subsurface to enhance reservoir
reserves the right to refuse to publish any advertising it
considers to be unacceptable.
performance and production.
COPYRIGHT AND USE: SPE grants permission to make
up to five copies of any article in this journal for personal
use. This permission is in addition to copying rights grant-
ed by law as fair use or library use. For copying beyond
that or the above permission: (1) libraries and other users Why trust anyone else?
dealing with the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) must
pay a base fee of USD 5 per article plus USD 0.50 per
page to CCC, 29 Congress St., Salem, Mass. 01970, USA
(ISSN0149-2136) or (2) other wise, contact SPE Librarian
at SPE Americas Office in Richardson, Texas, USA, or
e-mail service@spe.org to obtain permission to make
more than five copies or for any other special use of
copyrighted material in this journal. The above permis-
sion notwithstanding, SPE does not waive its right as
copyright holder under the US Copyright Act.
Canada Publications Agreement #40612608.
MICROSEISMIC.COM
 PERFORMANCE INDICES

WORLD CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION1+‡ HENRY HUB GULF COAST NATURAL GAS SPOT PRICE‡

THOUSAND BOPD
6
O PEC 2015 JUL AUG SEP OCT
Algeria 1370 1370 1370 1370 5 USD/million Btu
Angola 1890 1910 1800 1810 4
Ecuador 538 537 539 538
3
Iran 3300 3300 3300 3300
Iraq 4375 4275 4425 4275 2
Kuwait* 2550 2550 2550 2550
1
Libya 400 360 375 415

2015
FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

2016
JAN
Nigeria 2270 2320 2320 2370
Qatar 1537 1537 1537 1537
Saudi Arabia* 10290 10290 10190 10140
UAE 2820 2820 2820 2820 WORLD CRUDE OIL PRICES (USD/bbl)‡
Venezuela 2500 2500 2500 2500

TOTAL 33840 33769 33726 33625 2016

JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN
Brent 61.48 56.56 46.52 47.62 48.43 44.27 38.01 30.70
THOUSAND BOPD WTI 59.82 50.90 42.87 45.48 46.22 42.44 37.19 31.68
NON-OPEC 2015 JUL AUG SEP OCT
Argentina 532 529 529 535
Australia 361 360 335 330 WORLD ROTARY RIG COUNT†
Azerbaijan 867 867 867 872
Brazil 2466 2547 2395 2406 2016
REGION JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN
Canada 3821 3912 3412 3581
US 866 883 848 791 760 714 654
China 4263 4278 4317 4259
Canada 183 206 183 184 178 160 192
Colombia 947 968 1009 1030
Latin America 313 319 321 294 284 270 243
Denmark 154 157 154 157
Europe 108 109 109 108 108 114 108
Egypt 524 511 510 509
Middle East 391 393 396 403 419 422 407
Eq. Guinea 250 250 250 250
Africa 94 96 96 93 90 91 94
Gabon 215 215 215 215
Asia Pacific 212 220 218 213 208 198 193
India 754 768 757 758

Indonesia 801 777 800 801 TOTAL 2167 2226 2171 2086 2047 1969 1891

Kazakhstan 1592 1593 1594 1595

Malaysia 599 591 652 619
WORLD OIL SUPPLY AND DEMAND2‡
Mexico 2308 2291 2306 2314
Norway 1611 1599 1581 1685 MILLION BOPD 2015
Oman 1001 990 985 980 Quarter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Russia 10200 10180 10150 10140
SUPPLY 94.60 95.50 96.38 96.00
Sudan 257 254 255 257
DEMAND 92.74 93.19 94.90 94.24
Syria 30 30 30 30
UK 838 788 862 912
USA 9433 9407 9460 9347
INDICES KEY
Vietnam 343 307 348 333 + Figures do not include NGLs and oil from nonconventional sources.
Yemen 22 22 22 22 * Includes approximately one-half of Neutral Zone production.

Other 2496 2479 2517 2509 1 Latest available data on www.eia.gov.

2 Includes crude oil, lease condensates, natural gas plant liquids, other hydrocarbons for refinery feedstocks,
Total 46685 46670 46312 46446 refinery gains, alcohol, and liquids produced from nonconventional sources.

Total World 80525 80439 80038 80071 † Source: Baker Hughes.

‡ Source: US Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration.

6 JPT • MARCH 2016

 Manara
PRODUCTION AND RESERVOIR
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Water cut
Fluid flow rate
Pressure
Water cut Temperature
Fluid flow rate
Pressure
Temperature

Increase production and manage inflow with

real-time information and control in every zone.
With patented inductive coupler technology that provides power and telemetry, the Manara* production and reservoir
management system can be deployed in conventional or extended-reach wells, in two or more sections, or across any
number of lateral junctions—all with a single control line. Using the Manara system to monitor and control previously
unattainable zones, operators can now immediately identify problematic areas, pinpoint the cause, and make the
necessary adjustments to maintain the well at optimal production.

Find out more at

slb.com/manara

*Mark of Schlumberger. Copyright © 2016 Schlumberger. All rights reserved. 15-CO-87356

 REGIONAL UPDATE
AFRICA
Z Eni started production from the West
Hub development project’s Mpungi field
in Block 15/06 offshore Angola. The
startup follows the project’s first oil from
the Sangos field in November 2014 and
the Cinguvu field last April. Mpungi will
ramp up West Hub oil production to
100,000 B/D in the first quarter from a
previous level of 60,000 B/D. The project
also includes the future development
of the Mpungi North, Ochigufu, and
Vandumbu fields. Eni is the block
operator with a 36.84% stake. Sonangol
(36.84%) and SSI Fifteen (26.32%) hold
the other stakes.
Z Bowleven said that its extended flow test
program at the Moambe and Zingana wells
on the Bomono Permit onshore Cameroon
is complete. The company said that the
results to date continue to support its plans
for an initial supply of between 5 MMscf/D
and 6 MMscf/D of natural gas for power
generation, under a development program
established with partners Actis and Eneo.
The initial program focuses on production
from the shallower gas-prone sands on
the permit. Bowleven has a 100% equity
interest in the permit.
ASIA
Z Sinopec struck high yields of oil and
natural gas in a test well offshore Beibu
Bay in southwestern China. The Wei-4
well, 68 miles southwest of the city of
Beihai, identified oil-bearing layers almost
328 ft thick. The well tested a first layer
at rates of more than 9,200 B/D of oil
and 2.53 MMcf/D of gas and a second
layer at more than 8,600 B/D of oil and
2.68 MMcf/D of gas. The offshore discovery,
in which Sinopec has a 100% interest, is
rare for the company, which mainly drills
onshore prospects.
Z OGDCL found natural gas at Thal East
Well No. 01 in Block 2769-15 in the Sukkur
District of Sindh Province in Pakistan.
Drilled to a 14,659-ft depth, the well
found hydrocarbons in the Basal Sand of
the Lower Goru formation and produced
23.5 MMscf/D of gas through a 36/64-in.
choke at wellhead flowing pressure of
8 JPT • MARCH 2016
3,280 psig. OGDCL has a 100% interest in
the block.
Z Rosneft’s RN-Uvatneftegaz subsidiary
began commercial oil production at the
Zapadno-Epasskoye field, which is part
of the Uvat project in the Ust-Tegussky
license area of Russia’s Tyumen Region.
Hydraulic fracturing treatments at two of
the field’s seven wells have enabled the
production of more than 2,950 B/D of oil.
The field continues to produce a combined
16.6 Mcf/D of natural gas. Recoverable oil
reserves at the field amount to more than
121 million bbl, the company said.
Z Roxi Petroleum reported that Well
143 in the BNG Contract Area of western
Kazakhstan is “flowing strongly” after
encountering oil shows late last year.
Average daily flow rates were 520 BOPD
with a 3-mm choke, 675 BOPD with a 5-mm
choke, and 815 BOPD with a 7-mm choke.
The improved flow rates have resulted from
the perforation of five additional intervals.
The well, which lies in the Pre-Caspian Basin,
was drilled to a 9,022-ft total depth. Roxi
has a 58.41% interest in the contract area,
which is about 25 miles southeast of Tengiz.
AUSTRALIA/OCEANIA
Z Buru Energy found oil at the Ungani
Far West 1 well in production license L21
in Western Australia. An oil sample taken
at a 5,118-ft depth from the top of the
Anderson formation, and pressure data
interpretation, indicate that the well holds a
potential oil column of at least 45 ft and net
pay of about 16 ft. Buru, the operator, and
Diamond Resources (Fitzroy), a subsidiary
of Mitsubishi, each hold a 50% equity
interest in the well.
EUROPE
Z Total said on 21 January that first gas
production from Britain’s Laggan-Tormore
gas condensate fields off the Shetland
Islands in the North Sea was expected to
flow in the coming weeks. Peak production
of 494 MMcf/D is expected. Production had
been slated to start more than a year ago
but encountered delays. Total, the operator,
has a 60% stake in the project. Dong E&P
and SSE E&P each hold 20% stakes.
MIDDLE EAST
Z Gas Plus Khalakan (GPK) reported
that it had produced 65,000 bbl of oil
over 180 days from the Shewashan-1
discovery well in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region
before increased water production caused
it to be shut in. The discovery on the
Khalakan Block tested at a maximum rate
of 2,850 B/D of light oil in 2014. The well
will either be worked over, sidetracked, or
converted to water disposal if necessary,
the company said. GPK has spudded
the Shewashan-2 development well and
plans to drill a third development well
immediately afterward. GPK is the operator
of the Khalakan production sharing contract
with an 80% interest.
NORTH AMERICA
Z Anadarko produced first oil at the
Heidelberg field in Green Canyon Block
859 in the US Gulf of Mexico. The sister
spar project to Lucius, the Heidelberg
spar can produce 80,000 B/D of oil and
80 MMcf/D of natural gas and operate in
5,300 ft of water. Lucius, which started up
last year, and Heidelberg were constructed
with a “design one, build two” strategy
that streamlined and economized several
processes and enabled Heidelberg to come
on line 6 months sooner than otherwise.
Operator Anadarko has a 31.5% interest.
Other participants are Cobalt International
Energy (9.375%), Eni (12.5%), ExxonMobil
(9.375%), Freeport-McMoran (12.5%),
Marubeni (12.75%), and Statoil (12%).
SOUTH AMERICA
Z Premier Oil recently redrilled its
Isobel Deep well (No. 14/20-2) in the
North Falkland Basin and confirmed the
oil discovery made at the well last May.
New hydrocarbons were also found, the
company reported. Situated on license
PL004A, the redrilled well reached its
9,890-ft target depth and found oil-bearing
zones in several sandstone reservoirs
between 8,400 ft and 9,385 ft. The lower
depth is the base of the Isobel Deep sand.
Operator Premier has a 36% interest in the
license, with the remaining interest held
by Rockhopper Exploration (24%) and
Falkland Oil and Gas (40%). JPT
SUBSEA SERVICES ALLIANCE
Helix OneSubsea Schlumberger

YOUR
SINGLE SOURCE FOR
COST-EFFECTIVE

SUBSEA
INTERVENTIONS
 Well Construction
Con
onstr
tructtion
on
The Subsea Services Alliance integrates marine
support with well access and controls, as well
& Completion
Co
omplettion
on
as downhole services to deliver subsea well
intervention services to help clients increase  Installation & Well
production and recoverable reserves.
mm ss n n
Commissioning
The extensive track record and expertise of
the industry experts at Helix Energy Solutions, Int
 Intervention &
OneSubsea, and Schlumberger, provide our
client partners with uniquely integrated
L F d
Life-of-Field
solutions for deep- and ultradeepwater basins
and higher well pressure environments.  Brownfield
Partner with Subsea Services Alliance
D v pm nt
Development
today. Discover your unique solution at
www.subseaservicesalliance.com.  Decommissioning
AD01954SSA

© 2015 Helix, OneSubsea, Schlumberger. All rights reserved.

 IMPROVING PEOPLE’S LIVES
Social License To Operate
Nathan Meehan, 2016 SPE President
“You don’t get your social license by going
to a government ministry and making an
application for one, or simply paying a
fee. … It requires far more than money to
truly become part of the communities in
which you operate.”
Pierre Lassonde, President of
Newmont Mining Corp., 2003
There is widespread acceptance that extraction industries—
including oil and gas—improve people’s lives and enable the
economic growth of countries. However, at the project level,
this acceptance is neither automatic nor unconditional.
The concept of a social license to operate (SLO) has been ap-
plied to extraction industries and has been defined as “a commu-
nity’s perceptions of the acceptability of a company and its local
operations” by Thomson and Boutilier (2011). Community can
be very broadly defined to include stakeholders and interested
parties well outside the immediate areas of operations, or “any
group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achieve-
ment of the organization’s objectives” (Mitchell et al. 1997).
SLO is deemed to exist when a project has ongoing approval
of the community. For any project to have SLO, it is necessary
to earn and maintain the support—and ultimately trust—of
the community. We have seen ample evidence, including in our
own industry, that failure to do this can lead to conflict, de-
lays, added costs, or even prohibition of projects. Because it is
Psychological Trust
Identification Boundary
Approval
Credibility
Boundary
Acceptance
Legitimacy
Withheld/Withdrawn Boundary
Fig. 1—Measuring social license to operate. Source:
Thomson and Boutilier, 2011.
To contact the SPE President, email president@spe.org.
10
rooted in beliefs and perceptions, SLO is intangible. Beliefs and
perceptions are subject to change with new information; SLO
is nonpermanent. This presents challenges for companies who
want to know the status of their SLO and what they need to do
to maintain or improve it.
Thomson and Boutilier developed a framework to measure
beliefs, perceptions, and opinions that impact social license in
the mining industry and published quantitative assessments of
their framework. Fig. 1 represents their model and serves as a
useful starting point for a discussion of SLO in the upstream oil
and gas industry.
Measuring Social License
According to the Thomson and Boutilier framework, SLO exists
in a four-level hierarchy, with withholding or withdrawal at
the lowest level, followed by acceptance, approval, and co-
ownership, or psychological identification. To advance in the
hierarchy, the project must meet criteria of legitimacy, credibil-
ity, and trust.
At the lowest level, SLO does not exist, and projects cannot
proceed; the community perceives them as illegitimate. To be
considered legitimate, an extraction operation must contribute
to the well-being of the community, respect existing traditions
and lifestyles, and be conducted in a manner the community
considers fair. If the extraction project is not considered legiti-
mate, the community either withholds or withdraws access—
including legal license—to essential resources. Drilling permits
fall under this category, as do restrictions prohibiting hydraulic
fracturing imposed by a government. The social license to op-
erate also can be withheld or withdrawn by removing essential
financing, workforce availability, markets, etc. Examples of so-
cial licenses that have been withheld in our industry are the de-
velopment of the Marcellus Shale in New York and development
of unconventional resources in France. The driver for these li-
censes failing to rise to the level of acceptance is not primarily
the complaints of local residents who could be directly affected
by activity, but a larger concern at state or national levels aris-
ing from fears about hydraulic fracturing.
The next-higher level of social license is acceptance. This is
the most common level in the SLO hierarchy. It may be granted
grudgingly or reluctantly by parts of the community. Impor-
tantly, this level is just one level above the social license being
withdrawn. While acceptance implies tolerance, there may
be lingering or recurring issues, the presence of outside non-
governmental organizations, and watchful monitoring.
JPT • MARCH 2016
 While legitimacy and credibility lead to acceptance of a proj- Understanding the communities where we wish to work,
ect, it is important for operators to be perceived as credible by conveying factual information, communicating honestly and
the community at-large to rise to the level of approval. This level openly, and acting in ways that build credibility and trust will
of license requires that operators and their contractors commu- help our industry and the companies that comprise it strength-
nicate openly and honestly with the community, deliver on the en and maintain the quality of relationships to earn and main-
actions they promise, and provide benefits to the community. tain the highest level of social license—and the benefits that
The hallmarks of the approval level are support for the project accompany it. JPT
and participating companies, perception of the companies as
good neighbors, and pride in collaborative achievements. References
The highest level of social license—psychological identifi- Lassonde, P. 2003. What Shade of Green Are You? Presentation to
cation, or co-ownership—can only occur when a high level of the Melbourne Mining Club. https://www.ausimm.com.au/content/
trust is present throughout the community. Building that level docs/minclub130803.pdf.
of trust requires consistency in communications and execution. Thomson, I. and Boutilier, R.G. 2011. Social license to operate. In
Once it is established, project participants and the community SME Mining Engineering Handbook, ed. Darling, P., 1779–1796.
engage in real dialogue. A substantial portion of the community Colorado, US: Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration.
and other stakeholders incorporate the project into their collec- Mitchell, R.K., Agle, B.R. and Wood, D.J. 1997. Toward a Theory of
tive identity. The community often becomes an advocate or de- Stakeholder Identification and Salience: Defining the Principle of
fender of the project since its members consider themselves to Who and What Really Counts, The Acad Mgmt Rev, 22(4): 853–886.
be co-owners and emotionally vested in its future. This level of Uwiera-Gartner, M. 2013. Groundwater Considerations of Shale
social license should be industry’s objective. Gas Developments Using Hydraulic Fracturing: Examples,
Additional Study, and Social Responsibility. Presented at the
Gaining Social License SPE Unconventional Resources Conference, Calgary, Canada,
Because SLO is intangible and dynamic, conflicting ideas among 5–7 November. SPE 167233. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/167233-MS.
stakeholders can impact the level of license that is granted. Olawoyin, R., Wang, J.Y., and Oyewole, S.A. 2012. Environmental
Community members may have very low levels of trust for oper- Safety Assessment of Drilling Operations in the Marcellus-Shale
ators in general, yet be much more willing to believe individual Gas Development. SPE Drill & Compl 18(2): 212–220. SPE 163095.
employees whom they know and trust. Similarly, each commu- http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/163095-PA.
nity has specific issues and interests that form the basis for rela-
tionship building between it and the project operator. As a pre-
requisite for SLO, the operator should map and understand the
social structure, issues, and vision of the various individuals, A simple cost-effective
groups, and organizations that form the community. solution to the common
Confidence in the status of a social license requires measur- task of installing subs
ing it periodically and using the results to modify practice to into BHA assemblies on
improve the quality of the relationship between the project and the rig floor or pipe deck.
the community. Uwiera-Gartner (2013) discussed some of the
issues associated with communicating how hydraulic fracturing
operations can be used in a way that protects the environment.
Some early industry communication efforts emphasized point-
ing out flaws in public perception and media accounts instead of
addressing a variety of public concerns. Uwiera-Gartner dem-
onstrated that open and honest communication is essential to
maintaining the social license.
Olawoyin et al. (2012) quantitatively illustrated the increas-
ing number of potential violations of best practices that could
result in environmental impacts associated with increased drill-
ing activity. They emphasized the importance for operators to
implement mitigation practices and focus on flawless execu-
tion. An industry reputation can suffer enormous damage when
environmental damage or personnel injuries or fatalities occur.
Beliefs, opinions, and perceptions—and social license to op- the
erate—are subject to change as new information is acquired.
It is important for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
Sub-Ez
members to be familiar with the many facets of the industry www.subez.com.au
so they can communicate factual information. SPE’s website
energy4me.org is an excellent source of such information.

JPT • MARCH 2016 11

 COMMENTS EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Bernt Aadnøy, University of Stavanger
Syed Ali—Chairperson, Schlumberger
Tayfun Babadagli, University of Alberta
William Bailey, Schlumberger
Long vs. Short Term Ian G. Ball, Intecsea (UK) Ltd
Mike Berry, Mike Berry Consulting
John Donnelly, JPT Editor
Maria Capello, Kuwait Oil Company
Simon Chipperfield, Santos
Nicholas Clem, Baker Hughes
ExxonMobil’s latest long-term energy outlook paints a gener- Alex Crabtree, Hess Corporation
ally robust picture for oil and natural gas despite the steep fall Gunnar DeBruijn, Schlumberger
in hydrocarbon prices and cuts in capital spending. The out-
Alexandre Emerick,
look predicts that the oil and gas share of the energy market Petrobras Research Center
will grow and that renewable energy sources will remain only a Niall Fleming, Statoil
small share of the total picture. Ted Frankiewicz, SPEC Services
Oil will continue to be the world’s largest energy source, with
Emmanuel Garland, Total
demand for oil and other liquids growing by 20% from 2014 to
Stephen Goodyear, Shell
2040, according to ExxonMobil’s The Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040. Coal, which
Reid Grigg, New Mexico Petroleum Recovery
is currently the globe’s second-largest fuel, will decline from providing 25% to 20%
Research Center
of total energy demand as industry uses more fuels with lower CO2 emissions. Natural
Omer M. Gurpinar, Schlumberger
gas use will increase as it replaces coal as second in consumption.
A.G. Guzman-Garcia, ExxonMobil (retired)
The outlook belies shorter-term predictions for the oil and gas market, which con-
tinue to forecast a tough year ahead. IHS CERA believes North American independents Greg Horton, Consultant

will need further capital spending cuts to align spending with cash flow. An analysis John Hudson, Shell

of 44 North American E&P companies shows that those firms need to cut spending by Morten Iversen, BG Group
another USD 24 billion, or 30%, to maintain a healthy fiscal balance. E&P companies Leonard Kalfayan, Hess Corporation
cut their 2016 spending budgets sharply from the previous year, but the price of oil has Tom Kelly, FMC Technologies
fallen sharply since the fourth quarter of 2015. Gerd Kleemeyer, Shell Global Solutions
Consultancy Wood Mackenzie predicts “another volatile, uncertain, complex, and International BV
ambiguous year” with only the most robust or strategically important projects going Thomas Knode, Statoil
forward. It projects that exploration spending will be only half of its 2014 peak. The Marc Kuck, Eni US Operating
lack of new investment and aging, high-cost fields in some regions will be a challenge Jesse C. Lee, Schlumberger
for operators, but there are some bright spots for potential investment, especially off- Silviu Livescu, Baker Hughes
shore Mexico and Iran.
Shouxiang (Mark) Ma, Saudi Aramco
Wood Mackenzie offered several predictions and milestones to watch for during the
John Macpherson, Baker Hughes
rest of the year.
Casey McDonough, Chesapeake Energy
◗ “Meaningful” increases in production from Iran are not likely as the country
offers new contract terms for upstream projects. Crude exports should increase Stephane Menand, DrillScan

to about 400,000 B/D as shut-in wells are brought back on stream. Saudi Arabia Badrul H Mohamed Jan, University of Malaya
will maintain current production levels so as not to lose market share to Iran. Lee Morgenthaler, Shell
◗ Declines in spending will hit Africa hard. Output will stagnate in Angola and Michael L. Payne, BP plc
Nigeria due to its aging fields, high production costs, and lack of investment. Zillur Rahim, Saudi Aramco
North Sea activity also will decline because of lower spending. Rationalization Jon Ruszka, Baker Hughes
is likely as well as merger and acquisition interest. But production in Russia will Martin Rylance, GWO Completions
maintain current levels of 10.7 million B/D despite the drop in oil prices. Engineering
◗ In North America, the inventory of drilled but uncompleted wells is at an all-time Otto L. Santos, Petrobras
high. Wood Mackenzie predicts that the draw down on these wells will remain Luigi A. Saputelli, Hess Corporation
flat compared with 2015 through the first part of this year but will increase Sally A. Thomas, ConocoPhillips
significantly in the second half. US Gulf of Mexico deepwater production will
Win Thornton, BP plc
reach a new high with an additional 250,000 BOE/D coming on line. This reflects
Xiuli Wang, Minerva Engineering
projects that have been in development for years.
Mike Weatherl, Well Integrity, LLC
◗ Mexico’s deepwater bidding round of 10 blocks primarily in the Perdido fold belt
will be successful. The acreage prospectivity and favorable contract terms will Rodney Wetzel, Chevron ETC

contribute to its most successful bid round to date. JPT Scott Wilson, Ryder Scott Company
Jonathan Wylde, Clariant Oil Services
Pat York, Weatherford International
To contact JPT’s editor, email jdonnelly@spe.org.

12 JPT • MARCH 2016

Wellbarrier IIlustration Tool
Delivering high quality well barrier illustrations

Use our software solution to document the robustness of the

well design and let your peer confrm your well barriers by
using the verifcation function.

Make sure there is a common understanding by providing high

quality well barrier envelope illustrations. Provide a clear
description of the well barrier element verifcation and monitoring.

Collect your well barrier information in one shareable solution

that is easy to use and access. Be prepared – make well
barrier illustrations throughout the lifecycle of all types of wells.

www.wellbarrier.com
 GUEST EDITORIAL
How To Thrive in a Downturn
J. Roger Hite, Consultant, Inwood Solutions, and C. Susan Howes, Consultant
The industry is in one of its periodic ◗ In addition to your first choices,
downturns. Jobs are uncertain or scarce. also look for jobs in marketing,
Profitability is challenged. Bankruptcy finance, regulation, midstream,
looms. Projects are being canceled. Deals or downstream. Your expertise is
are dropped or delayed. It seems there in the petroleum industry, as well
is bad news everywhere. So how do we as in petroleum engineering. Your
survive in this environment? And, more skills are much broader than you
importantly, how do we go from surviv- might think.
ing to thriving? ◗ Extend your education by taking
The leadership of the SPE Gulf Coast advanced courses or by earning
Section (GCS) has launched a new initia- a new degree. This will be time
tive called “Members in Transition” with well spent preparing for the
the aim of providing support, advice, and future. Explore the educational
best practices for thriving in a downturn. opportunities available from your
The key principles are the following: SPE section.
◗ Start your own business. This
1. Be innovative. Plan A is often not could create a rewarding new
available these days. We have to look for career path. In partnership with
alternatives. As an individual, whether the Houston Technology Center,
you are a prospective graduate with an the SPE GCS is establishing an
ambition to work for a major producer or Ideas Launch Pad program to
a service provider, or have just lost your match members’ ideas with angel
job, consider all alternatives. investors. Entrepreneurs will need
J. Roger Hite is a petroleum engineering consultant with Inwood
Solutions in Houston and part owner of a production company
with property in Louisiana. He has published a number of papers
and articles, primarily on various aspects of enhanced oil recovery
management. Hite is an SPE Distinguished Member and a recipient
of the International Management and Information Award. He is
currently Regional Director for the Gulf Coast North America
Region. He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from
Tulane University and a PhD in chemical engineering from Princeton University.
C. Susan Howes is a reservoir management consultant in Houston.
She was formerly a reservoir management consultant at Chevron,
with a prior role as learning and organizational development
manager at Anadarko. She has coauthored several papers and
articles on the topics of uncertainty management, risk
management, and talent management for SPE conferences and
publications. Howes is chair of the SPE Soft Skills Committee,
previously served as Regional Director for the Gulf Coast North
America Region, is a recipient of the SPE Distinguished Service Award, and is an SPE
Distinguished Member. She holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from the
University of Texas.
14
realistic financial projections
and need to be able to tell the
business story in a convincing way
to potential investors. Employers
value entrepreneurial skills. These
business skills will serve you well
if you eventually decide to move to
a corporate role. Creating a great
business story (Fisher 2014) for
investors will help you develop
skills that are useful for moving
projects forward when you are
hired by a company in the future.
As a company, your previous busi-
ness plan may no longer be viable in
the current price environment. Take a
clean sheet of paper, throw out all past
preferences and prejudices, and start
afresh. Develop a new plan that works in
today’s environment.
Now is the time to explore new
technologies and new processes that
improve performance. In the January
issue of JPT (Rassenfoss 2016), the SPE
technical directors talked about inno-
vations needed for “Doing Better in
Bad Times.”
2. Be curious. To come up with new ways
of doing things, you need new ideas.
To get new ideas you need imagination.
This is a good time to look for ideas from
other industries.
3. Cut costs. When prices are low, it is
important to cut costs, whether you are
an individual or a company. Now is the
time to be diligent, even ruthless, with
cutting costs. In the end, you will be more
secure and better prepared when good
times return.
Lean Six Sigma techniques can be
applied to streamline workflows. Work
roles may need to be expanded or con-
JPT • MARCH 2016
NDF-10695.jpt.Global.Reach.Ad.indd 1 1/4/16 3:20 PM
 solidated. There may be opportuni-
ties to develop collaborative relation-
ships between and among companies.
Explore every avenue to cut costs and
improve performance.
4. Work hard. This is a bad time to be sit-
ting around waiting for something good
to happen. If you are employed, com-
mit yourself to being a valued employee.
Think like an owner—this keeps you
aligned with your employer and helps
you add value. Being the best performer
is a good thing.
Look for resources to find help. Many
SPE sections offer Distinguished Lec-
turer talks, monthly technical meetings,
short courses, and soft skills workshops
to upgrade your competencies. Addition-
al opportunities are offered by SPE at
regional and international conferences.
Individuals create more value by dis-
covering their strengths (Buckingham
and Clifton 2001) rather than trying to
address their weaknesses. Personality
profiles help users to categorize their
strengths, and then put their strengths to
work at three levels: for their own devel-
opment, for their success as a manager,
and for the success of their organization.
5. Keep your enthusiasm. Many of us
have been through downturns in the
business before. We know we can get
through them, just as we have done in
the past. A good spirit helps—doom and
gloom do not.
Remember, life does not move in
straight lines. There are good times and
bad times, sunshine and rain, whether
you are in this industry or any other. We
all have to manage our lives prudently in
the down times, confident that the good
times will return. In the meantime, avail
yourself of SPE resources and talk with
others in SPE.
Career transition experts tell us that
face-to-face engagement with profes-
sionals in our industry is the best way to
work through a transition, rather than
spending all our time at our computers.
Engagement in a professional society
such as SPE will improve your outlook on
the future, particularly if you take advan-
tage of the resources and networking
that SPE provides.
16
SPE Resources
SPE cares about each and every mem-
ber and is doing everything it can to
help. SPE Chief Executive Officer and
Executive Vice President Mark Rubin
(2015) listed SPE initiatives in an earlier
JPT article:
◗ SPE e-Mentoring Program
(www.spe.org/ementoring).
Finding the right mentor can make
a world of difference, particularly
for young professionals.
◗ SPE Job Board (www.spe.org/
industry/jobs). In partnership
with Oilpro, SPE has developed
a comprehensive jobs search
engine to help members find
the latest opportunities in their
field.
◗ SPE Web Events (webevents.spe.
org). SPE web events include live
webinars and on-demand online
training courses and videos.
◗ SPE Competency Management
Tool (www.spe.org/training/
cmt). The SPE Competency
Management Tool is a free
online member benefit that
allows you to assess your current
professional capabilities against
one of 41 key exploration and
production job competency
models.
◗ SPE Insurance (www.speinsurance.
com). The SPE Insurance Program
is a unique group insurance
program designed to meet the
specific needs of petroleum
engineering professionals. The
SPE plans offered can continue
to protect you even if you change
jobs or no longer have a corporate
insurance program.
Network To Build Relationships
If you are unemployed or want a change,
develop your networking skills. Jeffrey
Gitomer (2006) wrote in his book “All
things being equal, people want to do
business with their friends.” If you are
planning to start a business, your first
clients will likely be colleagues who
know you and trust you to get the job
done. Consider four connection ques-
tions to “unlock the answer to growth
and success:”
◗ Who do you know?
◗ How well are you connected?
◗ Do you know how to make a
connection?
◗ Who knows you?
The skills that you develop during
your job search, i.e., networking, find-
ing leads, making phone calls, and get-
ting meetings, translate well to becoming
a successful rainmaker for your business
(Fox 2006). The most important of the
various job search techniques is network-
ing—“just plain talking to people” will
always help in a job search. Use network-
ing to tap into the “hidden” job market,
those jobs that are not posted online.
The majority of the job market falls into
the hidden category. There is less com-
petition in applying for hidden jobs than
when applying for “open” posted posi-
tions online.
The best ways to thrive in a downturn
include being innovative, cutting costs,
working hard, keeping your enthusiasm,
and networking to build relationships.
Increasing your engagement in SPE will
provide you with numerous opportuni-
ties to accomplish these objectives. JPT
References
Buckingham, M. and Clifton, D. 2001.
Now, Discover Your Strengths. New York:
The Free Press.
Fisher, B. 2014. The Six Secrets of
Raising Capital: An Insider’s Guide
for Entrepreneurs. San Francisco:
Berrett-Koehler.
Fox, J.J. 2006. Secrets of Great Rainmakers:
The Keys to Success and Wealth. New
York: Hyperion.
Gitomer, J. 2006. Jeffrey Gitomer’s
Little Black Book of Connections:
6.5 Assets for Networking Your
Way to Rich Relationships. Austin,
Texas: Bard Press.
Pierson, O. 2006. The Unwritten
Rules of the Highly Effective Job
Search: The Proven Program Used
by the World’s Leading Career
Services Company. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Rassenfoss, S. 2016. Doing Better in Bad
Times, J Pet Technol, 68(1): 38–41.
Rubin, M. 2015. SPE Provides Support
During Industry Downturn, J Pet Technol,
67(5):22.
JPT • MARCH 2016
 ur
rg
ur
oppor i

Oil and Gas Professionals

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 oil and gas professionals in Upstream, Downstream, Human Resources,
Treasury, and Safety and Loss Prevention.

Apply now.

www.aramco.jobs/jpt
 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS

Chris Carpenter, JPT Technology Editor

Mechanized Stabbing Guide

The new Weatherford mechanized stab-
bing guide remotely guides tubulars to
facilitate hands-free stab-in. The guide
incorporates four axes of motion that
are run by remote control in an auto-
matic sequence, which removes the need
for a rig hand to enter the red zone at
the rotary table. It can be installed on
platform, jackup, and semisubmersible
rigs in any environment (Fig. 1). Bolt-
ed directly onto a flush-mounted spider,
the guide moves from horizontal to ver-
tical while the spider base remains sta-
tionary. The mechanized guide aligns to
the pipe and adjusts to accommodate
different pipe thicknesses and thread-
ed-box heights. Operational flexibility is
further increased by the guide’s compat-
ibility with a wide range of casing and
coupling sizes. The tool also includes
polyurethane clamping elements that
eliminate metal-to-metal contact dur-
ing stabbing, to protect sealing surfaces.
When used in conjunction with Weath-
erford’s OverDrive casing-running and Fig. 1—Weatherford’s mechanized stabbing guide enables automated stab-in of
drilling system, the mechanized stabbing tubulars, which removes personnel from high-risk zones on the rig floor.
guide enables the entire casing-running
process to be executed without manual
handling. The full system removes per-
sonnel from high-risk zones on the rig
floor, thereby enhancing safety.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.weatherford.com.

Pipeline Connector
Spirax Sarco introduced the PC3000
and PC4000 pipeline-connector range.
This range has been developed to satisfy
the needs of modern process industries,
significantly simplifying installation
and reducing maintenance time. Tradi-
tional steam-trapping assemblies often
require the plant to be shut down for new
traps to be installed, taking significant
time and reducing production output.
The PC3000 and PC4000 pipeline con-
nectors, with single or double isolation,
allow steam traps to be installed with-
out need for process shutdown (Fig. 2). Fig. 2—The PC3000 and PC4000 pipeline-connector range from Spirax Sarco
These pipeline connectors are ideal for is designed to allow steam-trap installation with minimal process interruption.

18 JPT • MARCH 2016

Fig. 3—10% active solution of PQ
Corporation’s EcoDrill S45 without
setting agent (left) vs. 10% active
solution of EcoDrill S45 with setting
agent and set for 4 hours at room
temperature (right).
the oil and specialty-chemical industries
and are suitable for manifold applica-
tions where steam traps are used on trac-
ing and main-line drainage. Some of the
range’s features and benefits include an
American Society of Mechanical Engi-
neers 600-rated forged body suitable for
use on lines up to 800°F, a fully shroud-
ed piston-valve stem that reduces the
potential of corrosion, and a standard fit-
ted strainer that protects the steam trap
from debris entrained in the condensate.
A universal steam-trap connection allows
the safe fitting of the complete range
of steam traps without interruption to
existing processes.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.spiraxsarco.com.
Water-Shutoff Chemical
PQ Corporation introduced the EcoDrill
S45, an environmentally friendly chemi-
cal treatment for water control and pro-
file modification. EcoDrill S45 uses new
technology that enhances traditional
benefits associated with sodium silicate
chemistry. EcoDrill S45 is an alkaline,
low-viscosity, aqueous solution consist-
ing of nanosized presilica-sols. The silica
species are converted into a highly dura-
ble silica gel with the addition of a set-
ting agent. The choice and concentration
of setting agent allow for flexible gela-
tion times ranging from seconds to days
within the reservoir. These silica species
in solution are produced with a lower
charge density that allows for more-
controlled gelation times while using sig-
JPT • MARCH 2016
Fig. 4—Two units of the HY-OPTIMA 2700 Series hydrogen-specific process
analyzer from H2scan.
nificantly less setting agent (Fig. 3). Once
set, the silica gel shows much greater
dimensional stability. EcoDrill S45 can be
formulated to suit a wide range of water-
control and carbon dioxide problems. It
effectively treats near-wellbore challeng-
es such as fractures, or it can be placed
deeper in the reservoir to combat high
water/oil ratios, fingering, coning, and
early breakthrough during waterflood-
ing. Excellent safety and environmen-
tal characteristics provide the option for
use across freshwater zones. Operational
temperatures range from 10 to 250°C.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.pqcorp.com/pc.
Hydrogen-Specific
Process Analyzer
The HY-OPTIMA 2700 Series hydrogen-
specific process analyzer from H2scan
uses a solid-state, nonconsumable sen-
sor. H2scan’s proprietary thin-film tech-
nology provides a direct hydrogen mea-
surement that is not cross sensitive to
virtually every other gas. The analyzer
is ideal for use anywhere hydrogen is
produced or consumed, such as refin-
ery, natural-gas, petrochemical, and
industrial-gas applications, where real-
time measurements can enhance process-
plant efficiencies, improve diagnostics,
and reduce maintenance requirements
(Fig.  4). The analyzer is easy to install
and use, providing analog and serial out-
puts for accurate, real-time hydrogen
measurement in multicomponent or even
varying process streams.
◗ For additional information, visit
www.h2scan.com.
Fiber-Optic
Data-Management Service
Combining fiber-optic distributed-
temperature-sensing (DTS) data with
other surface and downhole informa-
tion can provide the insight oil and gas
operators need to enhance production
and make more-informed operation-
al decisions. But current practices to
manage this information are complex,
costly, and time-consuming, making it
difficult to extract the full value of the
data. The Baker Hughes AMBIT fiber-
optic data-management service helps
operators simplify data integration and
improve productivity and performance.
The secure, cloud-based AMBIT service
is designed to reduce the workload and
cost of data management compared with
traditional services that require costly
and complicated systems, programs, and
licenses. Deployed through a software-
as-a-service model, the AMBIT service
enables users to access their data in real
time through a web interface, to make
more-efficient and -effective operational
decisions. The management of large vol-
umes of data is simplified by incorporat-
ing production mark-up-language DTS
standards, enabling easy integration with
applications and devices across multiple
vendors. This allows transmission of data
in a common format, enabling users to
share the data quickly and easily with the
capability of tracking metadata and sav-
ing multiple versions of processed data
without compromising any raw data in
the process. JPT
◗ For additional information, visit
www.bakerhughes.com.
19
 TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Encapsulated ESP Handles Multiphase Flows

To Extend Run Life and Boost Oil Recovery
Jonathan Nichols and Nathan Holland, Baker Hughes

Electrical submersible pump (ESP) sys-
tems are critical to achieving the max-
imum production rates and reservoir
pressure drawdown that improve ulti-
mate recovery. But when gas pockets
enter the wellbore and cause system
interruptions, the effectiveness of a tra-
ditional ESP can be undermined.
Gas-handling capability is one of the
most complex and challenging issues in
artificial lift. Production in unconven-
tional wells varies significantly, depend-
ing on the evolution of the reservoir. In
a typical scenario, the well begins pro-
ducing with high liquid rates and some
gas. Over a period of a few months, oil
production rates fall and gas produc-
tion rises.
While many wells can produce with
small quantities of gas, the presence of
large gas volumes precludes the use of
conventional pumping equipment. The
gas-handling challenges are exacerbated
by the long horizontals and multiphase
flow of oil and gas that are common in
unconventional oil plays.
Most horizontal wells are not perfect-
ly horizontal. The wells’ lateral portions
have undulations that cause the accumu-
lation of water in the low spots and gas
in the high spots. During the produc-
tion phase in unconventional plays,
higher levels of natural
gas are usually
released from the pay zone as reser-
voir pressure depletes. This gas typi-
cally enters the horizontal wellbore and
accumulates in the high side of the lat-
eral, creating large gas slugs that cause
low-flow or no-flow conditions in an ESP
system as they move up the wellbore.
The resulting cycling and gas-lock condi-
tions affect system reliability, which can
interrupt production and limit ultimate
reserves recovery.
In challenging downhole conditions,
operators often choose to install an ESP
system below the perforations. This sce-
nario is particularly useful in wells with
high gas content in the fluid stream and
in highly productive wells, where oper-
ators want to maximize the pressure
drawdown to release additional reserves
from the reservoir. Placing the ESP below
the perforations separates the gas from
the fluid, eliminating issues associated
with gas entering the ESP.
However, reliability becomes a con-
cern because fluid does not flow past
the motor at the appropriate veloci-
ty to  ensure motor cooling. To over-
come this issue, the ESP motor
can be encased in a
shroud,
but using a shroud can limit the size of
the ESP system and, therefore, produc-
tion rates.
Encapsulated System
To mitigate these problems, Baker
Hughes developed the Cenesis Phase
multiphase production system (Fig. 1)
that encapsulates the entire ESP in a
shroud to separate gas naturally from the
production stream before it can enter the
pump. The multiphase encapsulated pro-
duction system includes the FlexPumpER
extended-range pump, which enables
production over a wide flow range and
eliminates costly system changeouts as
production declines. Wide vane openings
in the pumps’ mixed-flow pump stage
designs help mitigate the impact of natu-
ral gas on the system.
The shroud provides a reservoir of
fluid that allows the lighter natural gas to
rise up the annulus while the heavier
liquids enter the shroud
to be produced

Fig. 1—The Cenesis Phase multiphase production

system overcomes multiphase flow challenges in
unconventional wells by encapsulating the entire electrical
submersible pump (ESP) system in a shroud to separate
gas naturally from the production stream before it can enter the
pump. Graphics courtesy of Baker Hughes.

20 JPT • MARCH 2016

through the ESP system. It also enables the ESP system to con-
tinue operating when gas slugs displace fluid in the wellbore to
create low-flow or no-flow conditions.
Mitigating gas interference in the pump stabilizes produc-
tion rates, im-proves efficiency, and eliminates reliability issues
and downtime associated with pump cycling and gas-lock con-
ditions. The shrouded system design is also beneficial during
the installation, protecting the ESP components as they pass
through the deviated sections of a horizontal wellbore.

Recirculation Extends Reliability

The system design features a patented, integrated recirculation
system that extends ESP longevity and reliability by ensuring
adequate motor cooling. The recirculation system continuous-
ly redirects fluid flow past the motor to prevent overheating.
Thus, it provides mechanical protection for the motor lead
extension during installation in deviated or horizontal well-
bores and from downhole pressure changes.
Additionally, the recirculation system can be used to deliver a
chemical treatment to the area directly below the ESP motor to
treat the entire ESP in wells where there are scale or corrosion
concerns. The chemical treatment is pumped through the recir-
culation pump, which mixes the chemicals with well fluid before
they come in contact with the ESP system metallurgy. This pre-
mixing minimizes any impact on the equipment.
In wells with sand production issues, sand management
devices can be incorporated to keep sand from entering the ESP
or falling back into it during a shutdown.

Case Study: Kansas

Deploying the multiphase encapsulated production system
recently helped an operator in Kansas increase production
by 346% compared with a gas lift system, and improved ESP
system run life by 440% vs. a traditional ESP design (Fig. 2).
The operator had completed a well using 7-in. casing, and dur-
ing the first year of production installed two separate standard
ESP systems and a gas lift system in an attempt to maximize
production. However, each system produced disappoint-
ing results.
Gas lift was unable to draw down the bottomhole pressure,
which limited production. The standard ESPs experienced fre-
quent shutdowns and high motor temperatures, resulting in
deferred production and reliability problems.
Each conventional ESP system produced for several months
but began to have gas interference when the pressure in the
wells declined, which led to an increased number of gas slug-
ging incidents. The increased gas volume in the wellbore caused
frequent gas locking of the ESP, which resulted in little to no
liquid flowing past the motor and through the pump. Fluid flow
is necessary to maintain an adequate operating temperature.
Gas-locking events ultimately led to short runs of 144 days and
102 days, respectively, for the two original ESPs. Following the
short runs, the operator tried gas lift. The gas lift system elimi-
nated shutdowns caused by gas interference. However, produc-
tion was extremely constrained, never exceeding 4 BOPD vs. an
average of 66 BOPD and 59 BOPD for the two ESP systems. The

JPT • MARCH 2016

 2012
Free ESP Gas Lift ESP
Flowing 144-Day Run 113-Day Run 102-Day Run
Oil Gas
Fig. 2—Using a multiphase encapsulated production system, an operator in Kansas increased production by 346%,
compared with a gas lift system, and improved ESP run life by 440% vs. a traditional ESP.
limited oil production achievable with gas
lift made the well uneconomic.
After evaluating the performance of
the previous artificial lift methods, a
5½-in. multiphase encapsulated produc-
SPE EVENTS
WORKSHOPS
8–9 March ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE Petroleum
Economics—Optimising Value Throughout
the Asset Life Cycle
9–10 March ◗ Harstad—SPE Norwegian
Arctic Subsurface and Drilling Challenges
13–16 March ◗ Penang—SPE Complex
Reservoir Fluid Characterisation—Impact
on Hydrocarbon Recovery and Production
14–15 March ◗ Aberdeen—Brownfields
Redevelopment—A Meeting of Minds to
Meet the Challenges
15–16 March ◗ Calgary—SPE Thermal
Completions and Workover Operations
21–22 March ◗ London—SPE Petroleum
Economics and Valuation
28–30 March ◗ Fort Worth—SPE/SEG
Injection Induced Seismicity—Engineering
Integration, Evaluation, and Mitigation
29–30 March ◗ San Antonio—SPE
Production Chemistry and Chemical
Systems
29–30 March ◗ Doha—SPE Reservoir
Characterisation
Find complete listings of upcoming SPE workshops, conferences, symposiums, and forums at www.spe.org/events.
22
2013
Cenesis Phase
780-Day Run
Water Water + Oil Gas-to-Liquid Ratio
tion system for 7-in. casing was used
to decrease nonproductive time and
increase the reliability and run life of the
ESP system. The encapsulated system
eliminated temperature-related shut-
6–7 April ◗ Comodoro Rivadavia—SPE
Mature Field Management as the Key for
Production Optimization
CONFERENCES
21–23 March ◗ Muscat—SPE EOR
Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia
22–23 March ◗ Houston—SPE/ICoTA Coiled
Tubing and Well Intervention Conference
and Exhibition
22–25 March ◗ Kuala Lumpur—OTC Asia
9–13 April ◗ Tulsa—SPE Improved Oil
Recovery Conference
SYMPOSIUMS
8–9 March ◗ Abu Dhabi—SPE Women in
Leadership: Exceeding Expectations
9–10 March ◗ Amman—SPE Iraq—The
Petroleum Potentiality and Future of Energy
29–31 March ◗ Dubai—SPE Cyber Security
and Business Resilience for the Oil and Gas
Industry
2014 2015
Pump Intake Pressure
downs and maximized production and
run life. At case history publication time,
the system had run 790 days, compared
with 144 days for the the longest-run-
ning ESP that it replaced. JPT
30–31 March ◗ Mexico City—SPE Mexico
Health, Safety, Environment, and
Sustainability
5 April ◗ Calgary—SPE/CHOA Slugging It
Out Conference
FORUMS
22–25 May ◗ Kuala Lumpur—SPE: The Role
of Geomechanics in Conventional and
Unconventional Reservoir Performance
and Management
CALL FOR PAPERS
SPE Russian Petroleum Technology
Conference and Exhibition ◗ Moscow
Deadline: 18 March
SPE Liquids-Rich Basins Conference-
North America ◗ Midland
Deadline: 21 March
SPE International Heavy Oil Conference
and Exhibition ◗ Kuwait City
Deadline: 3 May
JPT • MARCH 2016
A trusted partner in
challenging times.

MWV Specialty Chemicals is now Ingevity—

the global leader in emulsifiers.
New name. New Look. Same trust.

ingevity.com
TTS Drilling Solution’s

Casing XRV
The Missing Piece To
Efficiently Completing Your Well.

Save Rig Costs.

The Casing XRV’s ability to break static friction allows operators to run casing
to TD without excessive force, thus protecting the string from unnecessary stress
and high friction. Minimizing casing stress during installation
safeguards the operator from costly remedial operations in the future.
In addition, the friction breaking technology increases run speed
which results in decreased rig time, providing immediate cost
savings for the operator.

Cost Saving Advantages:

Save Rig Time Reduce Mud Costs
Improve Cement Bond Reach TD In One Run
Eliminate High Torque Threads

Visit our website to watch the Casing XRV in action.

 On an eight well pad comparison ...
Casing Run Times (Hrs)
60
50
40
30
20
10 48% Decrease
0
Without Casing XRV With Casing XRV In Rig Time
Casing Run Speeds (ft/hr)
350
300
94% Increase
250
200
In Run Speed
150
100
50
0
Without Casing XRV With Casing XRV

The average casing run time, utilizing the Casing XRV, was 19 hours; saving the operator an
average of 18 hours, signifying a 48% decrease in rig time. This directly correlates to a 94%
increase in run speed when utilizing a Casing XRV; proving the friction breaking technology
of the Casing XRV is significantly reducing operators rig costs.

www.ttsdrilling.com • info@ttsdrilling.com
 E&P NOTES
Hess Pilots Automated Drilling Rig
in the Bakken
Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior Technology Writer
A pilot project carried out by Hess Corp.
demonstrates just how quickly automat-
ed drilling technology is able to take a rig
from the bottom of the pack and push it
to the top.
In November 2014, the company
selected a rig from its Bakken Shale fleet
that had been in the bottom quartile
in terms of performance for more than
2 years. But over the course of a 16-well
program, the rig became the second fast-
est Hess had working at the time. Year-to-
year comparisons showed the automated
rig had improved its drilling footage per
day by 24% compared with the fleet aver-
age of 17% over the same period.
Despite the apparent success of the
project, the industry downturn forced
the company to lay down the rig last year.
Details of the pilot were discussed at a
meeting of the SPE Gulf Coast Section in
January in Houston. The technical paper
summarizing the results will be present-
ed at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference
and Exhibition this month in Fort Worth,
Texas (SPE 178870).
The system, supplied by National Oil-
well Varco, used a downhole automation
system that controlled the auto-driller
system on the rig. Wired pipe delivered
high-speed data between these systems
and tools that measured key parame-
ters, including downhole weight-on-bit,
torque, and vibration. Matthew Isbell,
Payoff Still Possible in Refracturing Conventional Wells
Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor
There has been a lot of talk about refrac-
turing recently, but the percentage of wells
fractured more than once is a small fraction
of the 35% rate from the 1950s to 1970s.
26
a drilling optimization adviser at Hess,
noted that the wired pipe delivered so
much information that it was a challenge
to handle it all.
“The data fire hose overwhelmed us,
both in terms of analyzing the run as it
was happening as well as at the end of
each well and trying to figure out what
we should modify on the system for the
next well.” He added that one of the goals
of any future automated pilot is to come
up with a way to better visualize the data
to make the process of understanding it
more efficient.
Keith Trichel, a drilling engineering
adviser at Hess, said the original plan for
the pilot was to simply turn the system on
and observe how it functioned without
asking the rig crew to take action on the
real-time data streaming out of the well.
“But to our surprise, the rig crew and the
folks involved in the drilling process real-
ly quickly grasped what they were seeing
and started reacting to it,” he said.
With the ability to see what was taking
place downhole, the rig crew began using
the automated equipment as a learning
tool. This enabled them to use the data
to run on-the-fly experiments to achieve
performance improvements and see
problems sooner.
One key discovery the crew made
was that they could speed up the rota-
tion from the standard 45–50 rev/min to
That statistic came from a recent
presentation by Anton Babani-
yazov, a staff production engineer for
ConocoPhillips, who used it to begin
90 rev/min. By speeding up the rotation,
the drillstring became more stable and
allowed the vertical section to be drilled
in one run vs. the usual two. Other Hess-
operated rigs in the area followed their
lead and made similar performance gains.
The pilot also showed that as certain
gains are made, unexpected problems
may be introduced. The major issues
Hess faced involved increased wear on
the bits due to the rate of penetration
and the bottomhole assembly’s tendency
to “drop,” which occurs when bit force is
placed on the low side of the well while
drilling the curve.
The pilot had aimed to generate enough
time savings to break even on the cost of
the automated system but achieved this
on only six of the wells drilled while six
other wells missed the target by less than
USD 100,000. The overruns on the other
four wells were chalked up to “trouble
time” in the curved sections and time lost
trying out different bottomhole assembly
units to address dropping issues.
The downturn had other unexpected
effects on the project. Isbell said the drill-
ing team had wanted to limit variables as
much as possible. But because of “indus-
try unrest” and turnover, the automated
rig had three different drilling superinten-
dents, four different drilling engineers,
and six different company men come and
go over the course of the project.
a talk for the SPE Gulf Coast Section’s
Permian Basin Study Group about
a successful fracturing campaign in
west Texas.
JPT • MARCH 2016
 The wells were in conventional reser-
voirs in the Permian Basin, some dating
back to the mid-century years he referred
to as when far fewer wells were fractured
but a significant number were refrac-
tured, often multiple times. The point
was that there is money to be made on
the oil left behind in reservoir rock that
is of far higher quality than the uncon-
ventional rock layers, which have got-
ten far more attention and investment in
recent years.
“With the growing numbers of aging
wellbores, rework in the existing zones
such as refracturing helps to reduce tem-
porarily abandoned well counts, increase
production rates, and often reserves,”
he said, adding, “the ‘rework inventory’
remains high and economically attrac-
tive for Permian Basin operators.”
A campaign in 2010 and 2012 cov-
ering more than 70 wells yielded an
80% success rate, which Babani-
yazov defined as a production gain that
allowed payback on the investment with-
in 6 months to a year. The cost varied
because the nature of the work ranges
from acidizing to refracturing or deep-
ening the well. While the latter options
cost more, they also offer higher poten-
tial gains.
The price collapse has put the pro-
gram on hold at a time when spend-
ing has been slashed, and the outlook
is uncertain because prices for oil and
services are so hard to predict. “When
Drawdown Management Critical to Mitigating EUR Losses
in Shale Wells
Stephen Whitfield, Staff Writer
The increase in production from hydrau-
lic fracturing operations in recent years
has had a dramatic effect on the oil and
gas industry. However, as shale plays
have taken up a larger percentage of the
overall market, annual decreases in esti-
mated ultimate recovery (EUR) values
for shale wells is now a major concern
for operators.
At a presentation hosted by the SPE
Gulf Coast Section, Ibrahim Abou-Sayed
discussed how the adoption of draw-
down management strategies have
JPT • MARCH 2016
I was involved, it was USD 50/bbl and
now it is what, 29 a barrel?” he said
during a presentation in mid-Jan-
uary. “USD 30/bbl is not the same as
USD 50 bbl.”
ConocoPhillips’ campaign was start-
ed because it had a significant number
of wells dating back as far as the 1960s,
when production had dwindled to the
level at which the company needed to
spend to increase the output or plug and
abandon the wells.
A way was lacking to identify which
of the wells would be candidates, and
rank which offered the greatest poten-
tial payoff. There was limited indus-
try experience to draw on. Industry
reports on refracturing tend to focus
on successes, with little data avail-
able about the ones that had failed and
the causes.
The answer to the question was com-
plicated. Based on the slides shown dur-
ing Babaniyazov’s presentation, screen-
ing required answering many questions.
At the top of the list: Are there sig-
nificant volumes of good quality res-
ervoir that have not been tapped. He
said a study showed wells in the Perm-
ian in which 30% of the reserves had
been bypassed.
The condition of the steel casing
and cement around it is also critical. A
cement bond log estimating that 95% of
the cement is sound leaves enough room
for a channel that can divert fluid and
helped mitigate and reduce these losses.
Abou-Sayed, the founder and president
of i-Stimulation Solutions, also spoke
about the elements of drawdown man-
agement that have been found to have
the most significant impact on shale
well productivity.
In the presentation, titled “Shale Well
Drawdown Management and Surveil-
lance to Avoid EUR Loss and Impact on
Refracturing,” Abou-Sayed listed several
parameters that affect production man-
agement strategies. Among them were
undercut the effectiveness of the fractur-
ing work.
The targets were a mix of new and
old. Some aimed at hitting newer res-
ervoir rock in higher-pressure zones,
others were designed to improve the
output from older reservoir sections in
which flow assurance was often a prob-
lem. Refracturing could open produc-
tion pathways where there has been
“degradation of fracture conductivity
over time.”
The success of the program required
cooperation among a wide range of
exploration professionals, from geolo-
gists seeking out untapped rock to frac-
turing engineers considering the best
way to divert fluid so it reached the
targeted areas. Success also depend-
ed on training the field staff to gather
the critical information, such as doing
mini-frac tests to measure localized
pressure levels, which are needed to
evaluate the local formation pressure
levels required to assess the potential
refracturing yield.
The system may still be of use in what
will be a period of extended low prices,
but that will have to be verified.
“You have time to go back to the draw-
ing board,” Babaniyazov said. Technical
and economic success will require using
this analysis to determine the risks and
rewards of refracturing, ensure the well
is sound, and identify which diversion
techniques are the best options.
the permeability of the formation and
various types of pressures, such as the
initial reservoir pressure, the pressure
at the safety relief valve, and the closure
pressures on the hydraulic fracturing
proppant and unpropped fracture sur-
faces. Abou-Sayed said downhole flow
pressure, reservoir pressure, and choke
size are the parameters over which oper-
ators can exert the greatest control.
“When you are locating the reservoir
or reducing the downhole pressure, you
are putting more closure pressure on the
27
 proppant, and you are closing the non-
propped fracture,” he said. “You have to
take all of that into consideration, oth-
erwise you will see your productivity go
way down very quickly.”
Abou-Sayed discussed the Haynesville
Shale Development Program. Launched
by Exco Resources in March 2008, the
program sought to increase production
in the Haynesville Shale reservoir locat-
ed in east Texas and northern Louisiana.
The Haynesville shale was deter-
mined to be soft and friable, potential-
ly supporting proppant embedment and
negatively impacting production. As a
result, the company implemented a con-
trolled drawdown strategy in the wells’
early lives. The methodology involved
the development of a maximum draw-
down limit based on well depth, reser-
voir pressure, bottomhole flowing pres-
sure, and critical closure stress on the
proppant pack.
After initial testing on some of its ver-
tical wells, Exco applied a finalized draw-
down method to every vertical well and
an additional horizontal well, which was
produced with increasing choke sizes
to help maximize early water recovery
while maintaining the drawdown below
the maximum limit. Production from the
horizontal well was shown to be similar
DNV GL Launches Initiatives To Reduce Cost of Qualifying
Composite Materials
Stephen Whitfield, Staff Writer
As offshore projects continue to grow
in size and scope, the oil and gas indus-
try is looking for new ways to lower
costs. To help in that effort, DNV GL has
launched a pair of initiatives focused
on the use of composite components in
offshore applications.
Last September, it announced the
formation of a joint industry project
(JIP) to investigate affordable compos-
ite components in the subsea sector.
In December, the company released a
recommended practice on thermoplas-
tic composite pipes (TCP) that allows
companies to use TCPs in place of
steel or traditional flexible material in
offshore operations.
28
to the vertical wells, but the horizontal
well’s pressure profile was significant-
ly higher and declined at a slower rate.
Exco concluded that this was because it
could maintain sufficient backpressure.
Abou-Sayed said it is important, but
not critical, to find an accurate bottom-
hole pressure when determining the
maximum drawdown level.
“It’s not going to kill you immediately,”
he said. “What we have seen with many
companies is that they’ll have different
drawdown criteria from the first week to
the second week, and from the second
week to the third week.”
As shale formations are fractured
under local conditions, the maximum
drawdown level is not measured from the
initial reservoir pressure. Abou-Sayed
said operators should observe reservoir
pressure at three times: at the time of
perforation, on the day the well is opened
up to fracture, and during the first stage
of production. Tighter formations often
create higher pressures.
Abou-Sayed said the drop in EUR val-
ues is in part due to low effective system
permeability and the design and imple-
mentation of ineffective completion
and stimulation strategies. In addition,
he said physical deformations some-
times cause excessive fracture conduc-
The JIP aims to replace large-scale
testing of composite components for
subsea activities with a process it calls
certification by simulation. The idea
behind the process is to use the results
from numerical simulations during qual-
ification and certification. The JIP will
attempt to validate advanced material
models by experimentation, focusing
primarily on predicting chemical aging.
Jan Weitzenböck, a principal engineer
at DNV GL, said certification by simu-
lation has several benefits. Operators
can lower costs by reducing long-term
testing. DNV GL estimated that a typi-
cal qualification campaign for a subsea
composite component can cost between
tivity loss. This leads to a lost connec-
tion between the well, the fracture, and
the formation.
Another physical deformation that
is of particular concern for operators
is the gradual downslope movement of
shale formations under the direct influ-
ence of gravity and the weight of wells
and other facilities. This downslope
movement, known as rock creep, can
ultimately lead to a reduction in frac-
ture conductivity.
Abou-Sayed said that creep is an
important factor to consider in devis-
ing production management strategies
because it is an inevitable consequence of
shale operations.
“Creep will happen irrespective of
what you do,” Abou-Sayed said. “You
cannot stop it, but you have to live with
it. The lower the pressure, or the lower
the load you put into your well, the lon-
ger the creep will take before it actually
hits your fracture. It’s a learning pro-
cess. It’s a continuing stage.”
For Further Reading
SPE 144425 Haynesville Shale Development
Program—From Vertical to Horizontal by
I.S. Abou-Sayed, i-Stimulation Solutions;
M.A. Sorrell, R.A. Foster, E.L. Atwood et al.,
Exco Resources.
NOK  10  million and NOK 100 million
(approximately USD 1.17–11.7 million).
By adopting certification by simu-
lation, operators can potentially save
40–50% on the certification and qualifi-
cation of subsea composite components,
along with an extra NOK 16 million
(USD  18.9  million) in savings for the
recertification of existing components.
In addition, Weitzenböck said the pro-
cess can help save time requalifying and
recertifying previously qualified compo-
nents for new applications. It will also
allow for a faster transfer of information
between projects.
“Information and test results can
more easily be reused in other projects,
JPT • MARCH 2016
WE DELIVER
WHAT OTHERS CAN’T.
Precisely engineered completions with
no added data acquisition cost.

Only C&J’s LateralScience™ completion process

efficiently and effectively delivers the
information necessary to successfully engineer
completions on every well. Whether it’s for a
new well or refracture operation, the scalable
and cost effective LateralScience process
uses existing drilling data to evaluate your
lateral. There is no data acquisition cost,
and no additional rig time, processes or
equipment needed. And the resulting
completion can increase production in both
new wells and refracturing operations.

To learn more,
contact your C&J representative.
Or contact us at inquiries@cjenergy.com.

EXCELLENCE DELIVERED.

CJENERGY.COM
 Fig. 1—A joint industry project led by DNV GL is investigating the use of composite components on subsea equipment
such as a subsea processing unit.
and the modeling approaches may also
be applied in early design to select mate-
rials,” he said.
The JIP consists of seven companies
in addition to DNV GL: Statoil, Petro-
bras, Petronas, Nexans, GE, Aker Subsea,
and Airborne Oil and Gas. The Research
Council of Norway is also funding two
PhD scholarships at the Norweigan Uni-
versity of Science and Technology in
Trondheim on this topic. Weitzenböck
said the JIP members met twice in 2015
and work is well under way to delivering
the first draft procedures by this summer.
DNV GL also plans to develop process-
es to accept mathematical material mod-
els in the certification process, which
will be documented in a revised edition
of the DNV GL offshore standard for
composite components.
The recommended practice for TCP,
DNVGL-RP-F119, was developed through
an 18-company JIP led by DNV GL that
included polymer producers, TCP man-
ufacturers, and operating companies.
Intended to target operators, contrac-
30
tors, and other entities seeking accep-
tance to use TCP, it provides technical
provisions and recommended accep-
tance criteria to prevent failure in
response to combinations of cross-sec-
tional forces, internal pressures, and
external pressures. It accounts for case-
specific issues related to use and inte-
gration when the TCP is part of a larger
system and requires that a system risk
assessment is performed.
Per Anker Hassel, a principal engi-
neer of polymers, fibers, and compos-
ites at DNV GL, said TCP is a cost-effec-
tive option because it is lightweight and
spoolable. This could allow operators to
use smaller vessels during the installa-
tion of a pipeline or a riser and during
the decommissioning phase of an off-
shore project.
However, companies looking to use
TCP face some barriers, most of them
coming from a lack of familiarity with the
product and its qualification. Hassel said
a barrier is that there was previously no
standard to qualify TCP for offshore use.
Also, despite the increased use of TCP in
the last decade, the in-service experience
from offshore application and installa-
tion is limited.
Hassel said traditional riser configura-
tions might not be an optimal application
for TCP risers and, because it is a more
recently developed technology, compa-
nies are not used to working with it.
“As with all new technology, there is
a barrier due to a lack of experience
with the new technology. For exam-
ple, the [TCP’s] low weight in water is a
huge benefit, but it is also a challenge for
deepwater riser systems with respect to
dynamic behavior due to floater motions,
wave, and current loading.” JPT
For Further Reading
Torp, C. 2015. New RP on Thermoplastic
Composite Pipes Offers Cost Savings.
DNV GL Oil and Gas News, 14 December
2015, https://www.dnvgl.com/news/new-
rp-on-thermoplastic-composite-pipes-
offers-cost-savings-51433 (accessed
08 February 2016).
JPT • MARCH 2016
Do you know where
your treatments
(and money) are going?

The OptiStriker™ straddle packer system helps you target and deliver efficient
restimulation treatments for maximum effect and ROI.

Two mechanically set packers create a straddle system that handles positive and
negative differential pressures reliably.

„ Reduce waste and increase certainty with pre- and post-frac testing
„ Enhance treatment effectiveness with high pump rates and a large flush ID
„ Ensure reliability with field-proven mechanically set packers and self-recovery
options to handle screenout conditions

Visit BakerHughes.com/thinkunconventional and learn how the OptiStriker system

can maximize your restimulation treatments and investments.

© 2016 Baker Hughes Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. 43869 01/2016

 Electromagnetic
Imaging Offers
First Look at the
Propped Rock
Stephen Rassenfoss,
JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor

Carbo Ceramics created this image of a propped fracture

using specially coated proppant stimulated by electromagnetic
energy. This image of the heel stage of a ConocoPhillips well in
the Delaware Basin is the first use of this method in a working
well. Proppant injected: 230,000 lb; maximum length, height,
and width: 440 ft, 330 ft, and 240 ft, respectively; propped
reservoir volume: 1.4 MMcf. Images courtesy of Carbo Ceramics.

A
series of images that look like
yellow lumps on a line are the
first-ever images of the area
around the wellbore where fractures have
been propped open using specially coat-
ed proppant stimulated by electromag-
netic (EM) energy.
The images created by Carbo Ceramics
could represent a milestone on the jour-
ney to find an answer to a critical ques-
tion facing unconventional producers—
how much rock is being stimulated and
propped with grains of sand or ceramic
for maximum production?
“People see the value in this area; they
are starved for this,” said Terry Palisch,
global engineering adviser for Carbo,
who described what is seen in the images
as the propped reservoir volume.
Four groups of researchers are seek-
ing a direct way to visualize what is left
behind after fracturing. Three of the
projects involve getting images by using
proppant specially treated to be visible
when stimulated by EM energy.
Microseismic images currently used in
the industry to show fracturing results
are based on the popping sounds of
rocks rubbing against each other, like
fingers snapping, but not the quiet, pro-
ductive work of opening fractures and
pumping in proppant to ensure they
stay open.

32 JPT • MARCH 2016

Cutaway views of the first (left) and last (right) perforation cluster show a gap in the earlier one, and a lighter area
indicating lower proppant density at the edge of the later stage. Source: SPE 179161. Image courtesy of Carbo Ceramics.
“Microseismic doesn’t really tell us
where the proppant has gone. It shows
where failure events are occurring,” said
Mukul Sharma, a petroleum engineering
professor at the University of Texas (UT)
at Austin. He heads the Hydraulic Frac-
turing and Sand Control Joint Industry
Project (UT Fracturing JIP) at UT, which
is leading one of the projects mentioned
earlier. “What matters is where the prop-
pant is. In many rocks, the propped part
of the fracture is the primary contribu-
tor to well productivity. That is the main
advantage of electromagnetic (visualiza-
tion) over microseismic.”
Imaging the area that has propped
fractures is a starting point for multi-
ple investigations into how to efficient-
ly extract more than 10% of the oil in
unconventional plays. It can define the
length and height of propped fractures,
offer more accurate measures of the pro-
ductive rock for modeling, and tell engi-
neers how to space wells to effectively
stimulate the reservoir without hitting
nearby wells.
“There are several E&P (companies)
that are very interested in that because
finally we will be able to tell, ‘Are we effec-
tively stimulating these rocks and should
we have our well spacing at X, Y, or Z,
or in between?’” Gary Kolstad, president
and chief executive officer of Carbo, said
in a recent call with stock analysts. “Now
you can take a look and say, ‘Am I really
spending my capital how I should?’”
A fourth project for visualizing fractur-
ing is aimed at adding proppant location
JPT • MARCH 2016
information to microseismic imaging by
pumping in tiny sound emitters, which
produce a distinct noise when the micro-
devices are lodged in a fracture.
Depressed oil and gas prices, which
have made most unconventional develop-
ment unprofitable, add pressure to find
tools to understand why so many frac-
tures are not productive. Björn Paulsson,
chief executive officer of Paulsson Inc.,
which is developing the in-well receiv-
ers, pointed out that “80% of production
comes from 20% of fractures, wasting a
vast majority of the fracturing cost.”
Electromagnetic Testing
The microseismic approach is aimed
at creating a 3D array showing points
where proppant is present, but it will be
years before the partners on that project
have built the equipment needed for its
first test. EM-based methods are already
being tried in the ground.
A technical paper by Palisch et al.
(SPE 179161) presented at the 2016 SPE
Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Con-
ference was a first look at what is pos-
sible in a producing well. The imaging
involved using 230,000 lb of proppant
covered with an electrically conduc-
tive coating, which made it visible when
stimulated by electromagnetic ener-
gy from the well casing in an 8,000-ft
deep well.
Multiple new technologies were
required for this method, including
development of the conductive coating,
a transmission method to send out a
strong EM field using the steel casing,
and new algorithms for processing.
When Carbo did the test last summer
in the ConocoPhillips well in the Dela-
ware Basin, it was not sure what, if any-
thing, it would get. “When we did the first
test the number 1 goal was, ‘Can we pick
out an EM signal from all the noise?’”
Palisch said. “We were looking at a needle
in a haystack.”
The test was the product of years of
development work aimed at creating the
strongest possible signal and the most
effective way to record and process the
data. “We removed as much hay as we
could, and did what we could to make the
needle as big as possible,” Palisch said.
The system worked in a shallow test,
and when an opportunity arose to try it
again, they took a larger-than-expected
next step.
The result was an image, and a long list
of things to work on. In January, Carbo
was still working though the large body
of data gathered to reduce the noise in
hopes of improving the image. After the
injection of the 180,000 lb of white sand,
230,000 lb of treated ceramic prop-
pant was injected through four perfo-
rations in the last stage fractured. One
unknown is what the propped area would
have looked like if all the proppant had
been conductive.
The company has been refining its
image-processing method to sharpen the
resolution from 25-m grid blocks to a
fraction of that measure. Over the next
year, the largest maker of ceramic prop-
33
 Seeing Where the Proppant Goes
Three projects are developing ways to use specially
treated proppant and electromagnetic (EM) energy
to create images of where proppant is concentrated
in fractures, and a fourth is working on a microseismic
alternative.
First Test in Well
Funding: Carbo Ceramics
Involves: ConocoPhillips, Sandia National Laboratories,
GroundMetrics, Weatherford
Method: A proppant coating containing a metal that is
an electric conductor is stimulated using an EM device
in the well. The activated proppant is monitored by
an array of surface receivers, and data processing and
imaging are done by Carbo Ceramics.
Status: A successful test in a west Texas well showed it is
able to observe where the proppant has gone.
Next: More tests are planned this year to image larger
areas and increase the ability to observe smaller details.
For more information:
SPE 179161 Recent Advancements in Far-Field Proppant
Detection by Terry Palisch, Wadhah Al-Tailji, Carbo
Ceramics, et al.
Models Verified in the Ground
Funding: Advanced Energy Consortium at the University
of Texas at Austin
Involves: Multi-Phase Technologies, FRx, Clemson
University, Duke University, and University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill
Method: EM energy is used to stimulate conductive
proppant to image it in the ground. Physical evidence is
gathered to verify testing results.
Status: Early testing using EM imaging to observe the
location of grains made of steel shot or petroleum coke
showed it could accurately image fractures in six shallow
test plots, each covering a 10 m×10 m area.
Next: Seeking to do a test in a 100-m deep well.
For more information:
SPE 179170 Remote Imaging of Proppants in Hydraulic
Fracture Networks Using Electromagnetic Methods:
Results of Small-Scale Field Experiments by Douglas La
Brecque, Russell Brigham, Multi-Phase Technologies, et al.
Logging Tools and Electrodes
Funding: Hydraulic Fracturing and Sand Control JIP at
the University of Texas at Austin and the US Department
of Energy
Involves: University of Texas, Gearhart Companies, and
an unnamed electronics maker
Method: A proppant made of electrically conductive
material that can be stimulated using EM energy from
34
Electric transmission lines and a saltwater disposal
site at this location are examples of noise that can
interfere with electromagnetic proppant imaging.
Photo courtesy of Carbo Ceramics.
either a logging tool in an uncased hole or electrodes
installed inside the casing.
Status: Tool components, software, and processing
systems are being built and verified.
Next: In-ground testing outside of Austin later this year
and, if that is successful, in a commercial well in the
Marcellus Shale.
For more information:
SPE-168606 A New Method for Fracture Diagnostics
Using Low Frequency Electromagnetic Induction by
Saptaswa Basu and Mukul M. Sharma, University of Texas
at Austin.
Search online for:
Fracture Diagnostics Using Low Frequency
Electromagnetic Induction and Electrically Conductive
Proppants. DE-FE0024271
Microseismic and Micropoppers
Funding: US Department of Energy, Research
Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA)
Involves: Paulsson Inc., Fluidion, Southwestern Energy,
RPSEA.
Method: Sound created by the collapse of tiny devices
called acoustic microemitters is recorded by an
ultrasensitive fiber-optic seismic sensor array inside a
nearby wellbore for mapping fractures and propped
areas.
Status: The equipment and method are being built and
tested.
Next: Testing when equipment is ready in a couple years.
Search online:
Injection and Tracking of Microseismic Emitters
To Optimize Unconventional Oil and Gas (UOG)
Development. DE-FE0024360
JPT • MARCH 2016
Ambient_Seismic-JPT-FINAL.pdf 3 2/11/16 2:46 PM
 ated production estimates—there is a
9

limit to what operators will pay and how

much time and effort they will commit
to answering these questions.
The US Department of Energy
summed those limits up in a state-
ment of goals for its proppant imaging
research when it said it is seeking a new
method that “will have a very signifi-
Electrode
4.5

cant impact on fracture diagnostics, as

Core Location it is cheap, repeatable, and fairly simple
(Fracture Present)
to run.”
Core Location At this early stage, the cost of EM
(Fracture Not Present)
proppant imaging is comparable to
Injection Well
another widely used diagnostic test:
Vertical Electrode collecting and analyzing core samples.
0 meters

Array Palisch said the next step is to reduce

the cost so that it is comparable to
2m microseismic, and reduce it from there.
4.5 9
“Ultimately, I would like the price of
0 meters
EM proppant detection to be like log-
ging,” which is low enough to be done on
0.1 Conductivity Difference 50
nearly every well, he said.
A A’
Depth of Observed Visible Grains
Fracture within the
cross-section Microseismic interpretation of fractur-
ing requires judgment calls. It is com-
4 meters

2m mon to detect seismic events thousands

of feet from the wellbore the moment
pumping begins to increase the pore
pressure, said Mark Wilkinson, who
worked for a microseismic compa-
9.58 meters ny before becoming the vice president
of unconventionals and geophysics at
0.1 Conductivity Difference 50 GroundMetrics, an EM-based company
that worked on the Carbo test.
Two images show a fracture propped with conductive grains of coke breeze. “No one interpreting that initial dis-
Top image: The colors show the level of conductivity, with the red zone around tant event would relate it to the frac-
the well having the strongest response, which declines toward the end of the
saucer-shaped fracture. Bottom image: A cross-section of the test which is
ture, but where do you draw the line?”
1.5 m below ground. Source: SPE 179170. he said, adding “more direct measure
should create a better understanding.”
The company has provided surface
pant will be doing more well tests. It is els provide “useful information of the monitoring services for Carbo, and is
seeking to expand the number of stages extent and basic properties of fractures,” working on a research project for the
covered, and to significantly reduce the which can be relied on, said Douglas La US  Department of Energy to track the
cost and effort required for testing. Brecque, chief scientist for Multi-Phase flow of a high-contrast formulated frac-
Those working on EM proppant imag- Technologies. The company is providing turing fluid—highly conductive brine—
ing methods need to convince skepti- the EM technology for the effort by the during fracturing.
cal reservoir engineers that these images AEC, which is part of the Bureau of Eco- Imaging fluid or proppant requires
created using methods based on esoteric nomic Geology at UT. The project also a chemical makeup that creates a
physics and mathematics represent real- involves other universities and institu- sharp contrast to the background rock.
ity in the ground. tions (SPE 179170). Because reservoirs are also somewhat
A priority for the EM proppant imag- While there is value in knowing the conductive, a good target must be really
ing project put together by the Advanced height and length of the propped frac- conductive, on the order of 1,000 times
Energy Consortium (AEC) is gather- tures—frequently measures of fracture to 10,000 times more than the sur-
ing physical evidence to see if its mod- lengths are too high, leading to exagger- rounding rock, La Brecque said.

36 JPT • MARCH 2016

GEOSCIENCE AT ITS BEST

We boost your E&P projects

Consulting and Software Solutions in
Exploration & Field Development

www.beicip.com
EXPERTISE • EXTENSIVE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE • INDEPENDENCE • INNOVATION

Exploration: Select the right block and make faster and more accurate oil & gas
discoveries for onshore, ofshore, deep-ofshore, unconventional, mature basins.

Field development: Increase your production and exploit the maximum potential of your
reserves cost efectively. Use our Expertise in the smaller reservoirs to super giant felds,
complex felds, carbonate-fracture felds, using innovated technology in I.O.R and E.O.R.

Technology transfer, mentoring, coaching: Develop and enhance the technical

capacity of your geoscience teams through the dedication of our experts experience,
knowledge and tools.

www.beicip.com
info@beicip.com

An illustration of the area covered by an inductive logging tool being built by
Gearhart Companies. The tool will transmit and receive an EM signal used to
create a 3D image of proppant in fractures around a wellbore. Image courtesy
of the Hydraulic Fracturing and Sand Control JIP, University of Texas at Austin.
Multiple electric and magnetic re-
actions happen when an EM field stim-
ulates a conductive proppant. Re-
search teams are looking for which
of those effects offers the best signal
for imaging.
The sand and ceramic normally used
for propping is a poor conductor, so the
three groups are all looking for alter-
natives. A durable, cheap material is
required because large quantities of con-
ductive proppant are required to create
a strong enough signal to be detected at
a distance.
The only EM project that has dis-
closed what materials it is using is the
AEC-backed group, which tested grains
of steel shot and a conductive form of
carbon known as Loresco coke breeze.
Both were used to create images of shal-
low tests in South Carolina, where frac-
tures were created in 10 m×10 m plots.
The unconsolidated rocky soil allowed
them to use hand tools to observe the
fractures created.
Later this year, the coke will be used
on the next test in a well that is 100 m
deep. But in a producing well, a stron-
ger material will be required to stand up
to the pressures at greater depths, said
38
Mohsen Ahmadian, a project manager
for the Bureau of Economic Geology.
Carbo and the UT fracturing con-
sortium group did not disclose what
materials they are using to create con-
ductive proppant. When Palisch was
asked, he referred to Carbo’s patent
application, which covers a wide range
of possibilities.
Sharma said the UT fracturing consor-
tium plans to make proppant from a com-
monly available material that costs more
than sand but less than the bauxite used
to make ceramic grains. Lab tests indi-
cate this unnamed substance is strong
enough to ensure “good fracture conduc-
tivity even at high stresses,” he said.
While Carbo’s initial test was com-
parable to the high cost of core test-
ing, Palisch sees savings ahead because
it will not have the one-time expenses
associated with a first use.
GroundMetrics, which has been using
EM for tracking carbon dioxide (CO2)
flows for enhanced oil recovery, has
reduced its cost to less than the level
common for microseismic by applying
what it has learned from CO2 tracking to
cut the time required to do the jobs by
50%, Wilkinson said.
In this brutal business environment,
Palisch is wary of the price rising as the
technology is developed. Even a seem-
ingly small increase in the cost per ton
can be a significant negative because the
proppant is such a large part of the com-
pletion cost, he said.
Distant Sensing
The idea of searching for oil by identi-
fying differences in electrical resistiv-
ity goes back to first use of the meth-
od for subsurface mapping by the
Schlumberger brothers 100 years ago.
“The electromagnetic method is one of
the earliest forms of geophysics. It has
been around forever,” Wilkinson said.
What is new are the ways electromag-
netic energy is injected into the reser-
voir and the receiver technology used to
observe its impact.
In the Carbo test, power was sent
down a cable to a point at the heel of a
horizontal well where it was put in con-
tact with the well casing, making the
steel pipe a source of electric and mag-
netic fields that stimulated the specially
prepared proppant.
Using casing as an antenna for EM
has not been around long. It is used
widely by GroundMetrics, which was
hired to deploy 20 of its EM receiv-
ers for the Carbo test to gather data
from the stimulated proppant. The
image was created by comparing the
difference between the data gathered
during 30-minute periods before and
after fracturing.
The new-generation receivers, devel-
oped with support from the US mili-
tary, measure changes in the electri-
cal potential in the ground. Wilkinson
said they are more reliable than gal-
vanic devices, whose readings fluctu-
ate significantly, and the older receiv-
er designs are more difficult to install
and maintain.
At this early stage, no one is wedded
to any particular combination of EM
source and receiver. Multiple projects
are likely to yield a variety of options
that may be mixed and matched by
future users based on the requirements
of the job.
The UT fracturing JIP’s technolo-
gy program, which is funded by the US
JPT • MARCH 2016
 New Technology Seeks To Give Voice to Proppant
A pair of inventive companies are working on a way to
allow microseismic tests to visualize the otherwise silent
process of propping fractures.
The project brings together a French creator of a micro-
device designed to create a distinct sound when the hol-
low structure collapses after reaching its destination—
Fluidion—and an inventor in California who created an
ultrasensitive in-well seismic receiver array, which is the
only one capable of recording and locating that faint
pop—Björn Paulsson.
“We believe that with our sensor…we can more precisely
locate where microfracturing is happening and where the
proppant is going,” said Paulsson, founder and chief exec-
utive officer of Paulsson Inc.
The joint effort is one of several research efforts backed
by the US Department of Energy to develop improved
ways of measuring the impact of fracturing. While others
are working on using electromagnetic imaging to show
the volume of propped rock, this project is aimed at map-
ping fracturing by locating points of sound from tiny
devices collapsed by natural pressure, like squeezing the
bubbles in a protective wrap.
The microdevices, which Fluidion calls acoustic micro-
emitters, will be mass-produced using 3D printing tech-
niques in large sheets, which are then cut into tiny bits.
Each emitter has a hollow core and includes a tiny ver-
sion of a water clock that is activated when the device has
been exposed to reservoir pressure. The microelectrome-
chanical device delays the collapse long enough to ensure
it reaches its destination in the ground before imploding.
Testing verified that the vast majority of the emitters could
survive a trip through a pump, Paulsson said.
The plan is to create emitters in two sizes: about 2 mm
across or 4 mm across, each of which will produce a differ-
ent sound. The number to be used per test is under con-
sideration, but a working estimate is about 1,000 acous-
tic microemitters per stage, he said. That would create
40/70 Proppant vs. Acoustic Microemitters
40/70 Proppant
aka
Arkansas River Sand
4 mm 2 mm
(cm)
The black squares are acoustic microemitters, which
come in two sizes. At reservoir pressures, the hollow
structures collapse, making a distinct sound that
can be monitored to track where they travel in the
ground. Photo courtesy of Paulsson Inc.
“a cloud of these microemitters and we could listen to
them and locate where they are in space,” Paulsson said.
The different sounds of the large and small microemitters
could help identify the fracture size, as well as their extent
and orientation.
If all components meet specifications, the plan is to
place the receiver in an idle well in the middle of a six-
well pad, and observe the sounds in the other five as they
are fractured.
A couple of years of work are expected before in-
ground tests are possible, he said. The time is required
for building a protective steel shell for the 2,500 ft-long
string that will house the 100-level receiver array, and to
develop the system needed to dependably mass-produce
the microemitters.

Department of Energy, is working on two
approaches that work within the well.
One is a low-frequency induction logging
tool for openhole completions, and the
other is permanent contact electrodes
that serve as EM transmitters and receiv-
ers for cased wells.
Its partner on the induction logging
tool is Gearhart Companies, which is
applying EM experience gained develop-
ing directional survey tools. The UT frac-
turing JIP is working with E-Spectrum
Technologies for the hardware for cased
holes, Sharma said.
The electrodes can cover an area that
is “a few hundred feet,” he said. This
installed series of coils for transmitting
and receiving could also be used to mea-
sure other geological features, such as
fractures, and how they change. The tool
from Gearhart has undergone labora-
tory testing and Sharma said they are
aiming for a field test in a shallow well
this summer.
Long Term
Carbo has seen the power of a picture.
Its first image of the propped reser-
voir generated support, ranging from
permissions from ConocoPhillips to
add its name to the SPE paper, to com-
panies interested in backing future in-
well imaging tests.
While the fracturing business is in a
deep funk, these projects are moving
forward. “There is a good bit of interest
in it. I think in the next 4 or 5 years there

JPT • MARCH 2016 39

 In this test for the
Advanced Energy
Consortium, a fracture
filled with sand
and coke breeze
was excavated
to determine the
accuracy of the
software used to
predict where it
traveled based on EM
imaging. A close-up
(left) shows how the
coke was concentrated
along the walls. Photo
courtesy of AEC.
will be some kind of commercial deploy-
ment,” Sharma said.
While Palisch said Carbo wants to
reach the market much sooner, there
will be plenty of room for future devel-
opment work. The process draws on
advances in a range of disciplines
from material science to geophys-
ics. When Carbo began looking for a
way to image where proppant goes, it
sought help from a government research
lab, Sandia National Laboratories,
Palisch said.
It chose one of their suggestions,
which coincided with work done by
a Carbo researcher Lew Bartel. Since
then, David Aldridge, a research geo-
physicist at Sandia National Laborato-
ries, has advised Carbo on issues, such
as how to interpret EM data over a long
wellbore where it will be affected by
the irregular and unpredictable geolog-
ic conditions.
In a presentation made at the Society of
Exploration Geophysicists annual meet-
ing last fall, he described that his proj-
ect was adapting equations used by elec-
trical engineers to model such things as
the electromagnetic fields around power
40
lines to predict the energy fields created
when the steel casing within a vertical
borehole is used as an antenna. Since
then, he has been working on adapt-
ing these equations to model horizon-
tal wells surrounded by irregular rock
and fluids.
One of the most difficult aspects of
proppant imaging is developing the
inversion methods used to isolate and
image that needle of useful EM data,
and remove the noise added by electric
fields around the wellsite. While seismic
is based on a different sort of signal—
sound waves—both methods require
sophisticated algorithms to turn huge
amounts of data into a useful image.
“Seismic inversion has occupied geo-
physicists for the past 50 years,” Sharma
said. “We are just starting out. Our work
is just scratching the surface. We are at
the beginning of this road.”
The pace of onshore fracturing
work requires quick, low-cost pro-
cessing. A progress report filed late
last year by the UT fracturing JIP said
that its “method used to solve the
equations is computationally inten-
sive and efforts are under way to
speed up the simulations by an order
of magnitude.”
For the AEC project, the processing
side of things is a priority. “One of the
deliverables is the best inversion soft-
ware validated” by physical evidence,
Ahmadian said.
To validate the code, the team care-
fully excavated the area fractured in its
first test. “The site was shallow enough
to excavate to test our prediction,” he
said, adding they were happy to see,
“our code was very good.”
The next step will be a UT test well,
where coring will be used to observe
if the imaging matched the fractures
found at a much deeper depth than its
initial test.
Over time the goal of these teams will
be to find a lower-cost way to observe
the propped fractured area in much
greater detail.
“We know we can get the length and
the orientation,” of the fractured area,
Sharma said. “We think we can get the
distribution. A test of how good we are
is whether we can model the geometry of
the fracture. It is a nontrivial problem tell-
ing where the proppant is located.” JPT
JPT • MARCH 2016
 EN_AFENav_ad_JPT_Marionette_2015_09_c01New.pdf 1 2016-02-11 10:50 AM

CONTROL COSTS
AND SPENDING.
BEFORE THEY
CONTROL YOU.

Now is the time to optimize

Authorization for Expenditure
processes in order to drive
efficiency, manage spending,
and protect your margins.

Budgets today are tight with extra scrutiny on

C every expenditure. You need a process that can
M
withstand that scrutiny, justify your spending and
Y
provide visibility. AFE Navigator® is that process.
CM
Eliminate lost AFEs. Drastically speed up approvals.
MY
Cut waste so you can capitalize on more
opportunities. Take control with a secure, all-in-one,
CY

mobile-friendly AFE workflow and capital tracking

CMY

system used by more than 100 upstream and

K

midstream oil and gas companies.

Protect your margins

with AFE Nav.
Visit
energynavigator.com/optimize
or call Lynn Babec at
1-866-856-9544.
 Industrial-sized Cyber Attacks
Threaten the
Upstream
Sector
T
he oil and gas
industry is coming to terms with a cyber threat land-
scape that has expanded beyond data breaches and the
theft of intellectual property. The latest battlefront is in the field
where critical drilling and production assets are at risk of being
disrupted or destroyed, thanks to their highly vulnerable con-
trol systems.
The industry has experienced only a few cases of these so-
called cyber-to-physical attacks but the US Department of
Homeland Security predicts that by 2018 cyber attacks against
oil and gas infrastructure around the world will cost almost
Trent Jacobs, JPT Senior
Technology Writer
Malware designed
to infect operational
networks that control
oilfield machinery is on
the rise, and security
flaws make addressing
the situation difficult.
Image courtesy ElbPresse.
USD 1.9 billion. One of the most
dire warnings comes from the mul-
tinational risk adviser and insurance
firm Willis Group, which in 2014 report-
ed that “a major energy catastrophe, on the
same scale as Piper Alpha, Phillips Pasadena,
Exxon Valdez, or Deepwater Horizon, could indeed be
caused by a cyber attack.” The company noted in its report
that insurance providers generally will not cover such events.
The concern over control systems has come to the forefront
because of the widespread use of digital oilfield technology
that began about 2 decades ago. Driven by significant gains in
efficiency and production, companies eagerly moved to teth-
er nearly every facet of operational networks to the Internet,
either directly or through corporate networks. On the plus side,
the industry gained invaluable real-time data, various opera-
tions became automated, and engineers working in office build-
ings could remotely control offshore operations.
But the computer hardware that makes all of this possible
was never designed to be connected to the Internet. Known col-
lectively as Industrial Control Systems (ICS), they were built
to run in isolation and thus have no security measures that
guard against run-of-the-mill malware, let alone a targeted
cyber attack launched by a sophisticated hacker.
“Security was not important for anyone; what was impor-
tant was to have those systems operational,” said Ayman Al
Issa, chief technologist and senior adviser of industrial cyber
security at Booz Allen Hamilton. He added, “Based on our
experience, it is easy to attack those systems—it is easy to
attack thousands of them.”
Al Issa explained that the control systems are used not
only in the oil and gas industry but in nearly every industry
and utility sector around the world. Recent attacks on con-
trol systems in Europe prove that the digital oil field is at risk.
The long list of assets using these exposed control systems
includes drilling rigs, subsea wellheads, flowmeters, produc-
tion facilities, pipelines, and artificial lift installations.
The industry is working on multiple fronts to address vul-
nerabilities, but cybersecurity experts working in the indus-
try say it will be years before adequate safeguards are in place.
Until then, oil and gas companies must face the reality that
the hacker community has the advantage.
Drilling Standards Coming
Siv Hilde Houmb, chief technology officer of the oil and gas
cybersecurity firm Secure-NOK, confirmed that a hacker with
remote access to a rig would have little difficulty manipulating
its drilling controls or the dynamic positioning systems used
to keep the rig directly above a subsea well.
“Since there isn’t any protection on the control systems,
it’s sort of wide open and probably the biggest challenge the
industry is facing over the next 5 years,” in terms of advancing
automation in the oil field, she said. “In addition to that, you
have a lot of people coming and going on the helicopters, a lot
of engineers with laptops that are not necessarily completely
updated with antivirus and malware protection. So it’s a little
messy to be honest.”
To prevent attacks, the industry is moving to secure remote
connections, she said. But it is the above-mentioned scenario
with employees and contractors unwittingly initiating a non-
targeted attack on a rig’s network that she and other cyberse-
curity experts say represents the highest risk and easiest way
to harm a rig. There are a few known instances that highlight
how crippling these events can be.
One highly publicized case involved a newbuild rig head-
ing from South Korea to Brazil in 2010. It is believed that mal-
ware was introduced from a worker’s laptop and then spread
throughout the rig’s various networks and control systems,
including the blowout preventer computer. The rig was forced
to shut down for 19 days until cybersecurity personnel, who
had to be flown in, repaired the networks. There are other
similar reports, including a drilling rig working offshore West
Africa that found itself tilting to one side after being infected
with malware.
In 2013, another offshore drilling rig operating in the Gulf
of Mexico lost control of its dynamic positioning systems,
WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
◗ Facility sabotage/shutdown
◗ Equipment damage
◗ Production disruption
◗ Product quality (poor oil and gas separation)
◗ Undetected spills and compliance violations
(i.e., pollution)
◗ Safety violations (death or injury)
Source: ERPScan
forcing it to shut in the well and move off station. “What hap-
pened was that various operators on that [mobile offshore
drilling unit] were using the very same systems to plug in
their smart phones and other devices to access other mate-
rials on the Internet, which introduced malware and that
resulted in a drive off,” said Paul Zukunft, a US Coast Guard
commandant admiral.
To help drillers understand the wide spectrum of risks,
Houmb is serving as the Cybersecurity Subcommittee Lead-
er (part of the Advanced Rig Technology Committee) of the
International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC),
where she and a committee of nearly 50 others have created
the first set of cybersecurity guidelines for drilling assets. The
guidelines focus on risk assessment and are expected to be
published this month after more than a year of work. Houmb
said with much of the research and analysis on best practic-
es now complete, subsequent guidelines on how drillers can
build more secure networks will come sooner. As guidelines
and standards become available, it will be up to individual
companies to incorporate them into their operations.
Obsolete Systems
What makes control systems difficult to work with is that
they were built to survive beyond 20 or 30 years, and many
systems in place may have memory capacities of less than
2 MB. However, “You might find that the security solution
needs 2 GB or 3 GB of memory, so you cannot bring the secu-
rity solutions of today and install it in those old systems,”
said Al Issa.
They are also running obsolete operating systems such as
Windows XP. Microsoft stopped supporting and issuing mal-
ware patches for Windows XP in 2014, leaving it open to new
attacks or even simple bugs that may cause a software failure.
There are companies that will continue to provide technical
support and custom security patches for Windows XP, but it is
expensive and even this option brings new challenges. Replac-
ing outdated control systems with newer ones built with more
security features might seem like a good idea, but Al Issa said
such a project would probably take most oil and gas com-
panies 2 to 3 years to complete.
To work around these limitations, cybersecurity experts
have proposed a number of ideas. Some are telling com-
panies to establish cybersecurity centers to monitor per-
43
 senior manager of cybersecurity engi-
neering and analysis at the American
SPE Cybersecurity Efforts Bureau of Shipping, said on a modern
offshore drilling rig there are likely to be
This month, SPE will be hosting a symposium on Cybersecurity and Busi-
as many as 500 devices that manage up
ness Resilience for the Oil and Gas Industry. To be held in Dubai from 29–31
to 7,000 different sensors or data points.
March, the symposium will address the range of cyber challenges facing
This network of systems is responsible
oil and gas companies and how different organizations are managing their
for controlling everything from power
efforts. Additionally, the SPE Digital Energy Technical Section (DETS) has
management and propulsion to drilling
established a Cyber Security Committee to further the industry’s ability to
and well control.
protect intellectual property and assets. The committee serves as a collab-
Taking the most critical systems
orative forum for the following areas:
offline every time a new software patch
◗ Promote the education and expand the skills of members in is released would represent a major safe-
intellectual property and information security ty risk. DeWitt explained that companies
◗ Serve as a sounding board and forum for exchange of security must consider if the introduction of a
techniques, approaches, and problem solving patch creates more problems with the
◗ Keep members abreast of emerging technologies and current events system than the vulnerability it is seek-
in cybersecurity ing to address.
◗ Promote information technology and digital systems thought Aside from the power management
leadership through workshops and conferences systems, he added that the lack of suffi-
◗ Sponsor projects involving expert resources to identify and create cient redundancy in a typical control sys-
value through information technology tem does not allow for one to be taken out
of service for an update. “The reason is
that these systems were built to be unbe-
formance anomalies in control system to abandon off-the-shelf operating sys- lievably reliable,” he said. “We talk about
networks and detect when an unauthor- tems altogether and design specialized rebooting our computer every week, but
ized intruder might be affecting their ones to address the unique needs of there are [control] systems out there that
stability. These centers could use low- control systems. haven’t been rebooted in years.”
cost devices called smart taps that would Even as updates and patches become
allow them to monitor traffic and install available for older control systems, The Arrival of Stuxnet
security devices without interrupting companies must be selective in choos- In 2010, the cybersecurity community
the control network. Another idea is ing which ones to accept. Cris DeWitt, a woke up to the news of a new type of mal-

To protect control systems, cybersecurity experts say companies should invest more in operations centers that can
watch for anomalies and signs that they may be under an attack. Photo courtesy US Department of Homeland Security.

44 JPT • MARCH 2016


Programmable logic controllers (PLC) like this Siemens S7-300 system were
specifically targeted in the Stuxnet attack. PLCs allow industrial processes to
be automated but because they have gaping security holes, they are especially
vulnerable to being taken over by malware. Photo courtesy of Palatinatian/
Wikimedia.
ware called Stuxnet, the most sophis-
ticated malware code ever seen at that
time. Developed as a cyberweapon by the
US and Israel, Stuxnet successfully dis-
rupted Iran’s uranium enrichment pro-
gram at its Natanz nuclear facility.
Stuxnet is thought to have been intro-
duced into the nuclear facility’s net-
work through a USB drive brought in by
a worker. It then gained access to sev-
eral thousand of the control systems
running the enrichment centrifuges
and commanded them to operate out-
side of their normal parameters, even-
tually destroying them. All the while,
the displays on the operator’s comput-
er screens showed that the centrifuges
were performing normally. The malware
even “phoned home” to tell its creators
how it was doing.
Stuxnet has since been found to be
lurking inside computer networks all
across the world, including those belong-
ing to oil and gas companies. Chevron
announced that it found the malware on
its systems but that it had not caused any
harm. But when the code was made pub-
lic, it became clear to everyone that the
security technology for control systems
was at least a decade behind what is used
to protect corporate networks.
“The attack community paid a lot of
attention to that code and learned a lot
46
He added that with this newfound
ability to infect industrial systems, hack-
ers started a concerted research effort
to understand how control systems can
be manipulated. One of their most use-
ful tools in this quest is a search engine
called Shodan that lists almost every
type of Internet-connected control sys-
tem from traffic lights to the program-
mable logic controllers (PLCs) found on
offshore rigs. The search engine also
revealed that many control systems rely
on easily defeated default passwords
(e.g., 1234) and are accessible by anyone
using a web browser.
While working at Symantec a cou-
ple of years ago, Witter reviewed the
company’s annual war game that test-
ed the vulnerability of control systems
used in various oilfield applications. The
exercise showed these control systems
were using obsolete protocols no lon-
ger used in the corporate network space,
of lessons from it, and you are starting he said.
to see some of those techniques pop up “We were amazed at how little thought
in other places,” said Franklin Witter, a was put into the security of those devic-
principal industry consultant for cyber- es,” he said. “I think there was just this
security at the software analytics com- assumption that these things will be put
pany SAS. in an environment where an attacker
Study Reveals Risks Besides
Control Systems
Last November, researchers from ERPScan, a firm specializing in SAP and
Oracle systems, issued a report that analyzed risks not directly related to
control systems that could disrupt an oil and gas company’s entire business.
The researchers noted that 70 million B/D of oil is produced by companies
using SAP technology, equivalent to about 75% of the world’s total output.
Their findings focused on two specific examples of how hackers could
infiltrate oilfield operations: fiscal metering and burner management sys-
tems. For burner systems, used for separation on offshore production facil-
ities and in refineries, the researchers demonstrated how hackers could
easily send operators false temperature or pressure data through an asset’s
management software to cause an explosion.
The metering exploits they described would allow hackers to launch a
fraud attack that would involve sending out false information about the
amount of oil a company is storing and transferring to a buyer. It suggest-
ed that a large enough attack would result in a global scandal and financial
losses that could result in a company’s bankruptcy. “Imagine what would
happen if a cyber criminal uploads a malware that dynamically changes oil
stock figures for all oil and gas companies where SAP is implemented,” the
researchers said. “In case of a successful attack, cyber criminals can control
about 75% of total oil production.”
JPT • MARCH 2016
 Reduce flat time
and increase drilling
performance
where never before
thought possible
Learn how IntelliServ™ wired
drill pipe saved 4.3 rig days on a
recent project in the North Sea at
nov.com/drillfaster

© 2016 National Oilwell Varco | All rights reserved


Hackers targeting the Ukrainian power sector last December used Microsoft
Word in a Trojan horse attack to move through various networks and cause
a blackout. When the document file was opened it asked the user to enable
macros to view it, which released the malware. Image courtesy of SecureList.
could never get to them, and then all
of a sudden people started connecting
their SCADA [supervisory control and
data acquisition] infrastructure and
control infrastructures to the Inter-
net, or into networks that were con-
nected to the Internet, and not properly
securing them.”
Before news of Stuxnet broke, what
may be the first major control system
attack caused an explosion of a crude oil
pipeline owned and operated by a con-
sortium of shareholders led by BP and
the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan. The
event took place in the Republic of Geor-
gia in 2008 and was initially reported as
a temporary disruption. Later, details
emerged that indicated hackers gained
access through an Internet connected
security camera and then disabled safety
measures before intentionally over-pres-
surizing the pipeline.
The most recent control system attack
happened in December in Ukraine. Offi-
cials said a highly sophisticated attack
caused a blackout that affected an esti-
mated 800,000 people. Barak Perel-
man, cofounder and chief executive
officer of the control system-security
firm Indegy, said upstream companies
48
should be paying close attention to the
Ukraine event.
“The industrial controllers, the ones
that are managing drillers, are the same
industrial controllers that also manage
the turbines in a refinery and genera-
tors in a power plant,” he said. “It is the
same equipment, so the same hacking
technology—the same malware technol-
ogy—is needed in order to hack into the
upstream industry.”
It is believed that the attack began
when a utility employee opened an email
containing a Microsoft Word file that
appeared to be sent from a Ukrainian
political party. The malware, named
Black Energy, then moved laterally
through the utility’s corporate network
and into the control system and opera-
tional network. Once it found its targets,
a series of ICS units used to run turbines,
it allowed the hackers to cause circuit
breakers to trip.
The hackers also flooded customer
service phone lines using a distribut-
ed denial of service attack to delay any
realization by the operators that their
systems were down. Both the Georgian
pipeline explosion and the Ukrainian
blackout have been linked to Russian
hackers who may have been acting upon
the country’s geopolitical interests.
Raising Awareness
As awareness of cyber threats builds
throughout the industry, major oil and
gas companies are bringing more secu-
rity and information technology analysts
into the board room. Perelman said he
has seen this change take place among
his clients over the past year and that it
demonstrates how exectuives are start-
ing to fall into line.
“If no one in the organization is in a
position that both cares about cyberse-
curity and can tell or ask industrial engi-
neers to do something, then there is no
way to move forward with securing the
[control system] networks. It is a neces-
sity,” he said.
Many still say that oil and gas
companies need to step up efforts to
work together and share information,
especially regarding the threat of con-
trol system attacks. “Collaboration is a
difficult problem,” said Philip Hurlston,
the leader of the oil and gas special inter-
est group at InfraGard in Houston, a
not-for-profit organization funded by the
US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The group bills itself as a “partner-
ship for protection” that opens the lines
of communication between the agency
and industries the government consid-
ers to be responsible for the country’s
critical infrastructure.
Hurlston said oil and gas companies
are reluctant to disclose cyber attacks
because it would likely invite negative
attention from the media, investors, and
regulators. “Very little of it makes the
news in terms of hearing about attacks
in the industry, but these companies are
constantly targeted and really do strug-
gle to stay ahead of the game,” he said.
To encourage industry stakeholders
to provide threat intelligence, InfraGard
members can report attacks anonymous-
ly, which then allows the FBI to warn other
companies that may suffer from the same
attacks. So far, this concept appears to
be taking hold. Membership in the orga-
nization’s Houston oil and gas group has
grown from about 20 to almost 350 in just
over 2 years and there are several other oil
and gas groups across the country.
JPT • MARCH 2016
As Attacks Rise, Prime Target Remains IT Networks
Second only to the power and utility sec-
tor, the oil and gas industry is experienc-
ing a higher frequency of cyber attacks
than any other industry. The vast major-
ity of penetrations are in the information
technology (IT) networks that run a com-
pany’s daily business.
Timothy Nguyen, the chief informa-
tion security officer of BHP Billiton’s
petroleum division, said there is no ques-
tion that the industry is facing a “tremen-
dous amount of cybersecurity attacks”
these days. He pointed to a study by
PricewaterhouseCoopers that showed
that the number of reported industry
cyber attacks in 2013 topped 6,500—an
increase of 179% from the previous year.
Similar figures for 2015 are unavail-
able; however, a survey carried out last
November indicates that the rate of
attacks remains on an upward trajec-
tory. Commissioned by cybersecurity
firm Tripwire, the survey polled IT pro-
fessionals working in the energy sector
across the US.
More than 80% of those working for
oil and gas companies said the number
of attacks continues to increase year over
year. About half said the rate had jumped
by 50% to 100% in just the past month
alone. Highlighting the sophistication
of recent attacks, most of those polled
also said that they were “not confident”
in their company’s ability to detect all
the cyber attacks.
Tim Erlin, director of security and IT
risk strategy at Tripwire, said the sur-
vey results show that as the number of
successful attacks increases, detection
rates keep falling. “That’s a combination
that is particularly dangerous,” he said.
“When you feel like you can’t see what
is going on in your network—that you
don’t have the tools to gather data—you
clearly can’t protect everything like you
would like to.”
What the survey did not explain are
the number of unique challenges facing
the industry when it comes to cybersecu-
rity. Philippe Flichy, senior digital oilfield
adviser at Baker Hughes, pointed out that
unlike other global industries, in each
oil and gas project there may be a very
JPT • MARCH 2016
“When you feel like you
can’t see what is going
on in your network—that
you don’t have the tools to
gather data—you clearly
can’t protect everything like
you would like to.”
large number of companies and vendors
working together and sharing confiden-
tial information.
Making sure every company is secur-
ing their piece of the data pie has become
a complex task. And because cyberse-
curity is an expensive operation, small-
er firms tend to be at a disadvantage.
The current downturn has also seen a
fair number of IT professionals leave the
industry which has increased the work-
load of those who remain. “I am quite
optimistic that the oil and gas industry
is moving in the right direction,” Flichy
said. “At the same time, it’s tough because
there are less people on deck.”
More than double
Less
than 10%
10%–20%
50%–100%
20%–50%
An industry survey showed there was
a sharp increase in successful attacks
from October to November 2015.
Source: Tripwire
What They Want
Estimates range between an average of
200 to 220 days from when a company’s
system is breached to when it becomes
aware of the breach. This gives attack-
ers more than enough time to move
through a network and carry out their
objectives, which vary depending on
their motives.
Starting at the lowest end of the risk
profile are the relatively unskilled indi-
viduals called “script kiddies” who take
publicly available bits and pieces of mal-
ware code from other hackers and launch
them against companies to test their
own abilities.
Then there are more skilled criminal
hackers who have tailored their skills
for financial thievery and the extortion
of companies and employees. Some are
looking to suck up thousands of person-
nel files containing financial informa-
tion that can be sold on the black market.
Criminal hackers are also fond of hold-
ing data or access to personal computers
hostage by using malware to encrypt files
until a ransom is paid.
The so-called hacktivists groups
involve a collective of hackers focused
on making political or social statements.
The most popular such group is known
the world over as Anonymous, which
has for the past few years launched an
annual attack against various oil com-
panies called “Operation Petrol.” There
are growing fears that cyber terrorism
may use similar strategies to cause wide-
spread disruptions.
“Then you have the nation state,”
Nguyen said. “They want to know what
oil and gas companies are up to and what
companies are doing.” He explained that
state-sponsored efforts are after intel-
lectual property and gathering intelli-
gence for future cyber attacks against
critical infrastructure. “Attacks are now
politically motivated and between two
countries rather than directly against the
company,” he said.
Companies are able to deduce that the
cyber espionage is state-sponsored part-
ly because of how the codes are writ-
ten and partly due to their sophisticated
49

A snippet of the Shamoon malware code that wiped the hard drives of an
estimated 35,000 computers at Saudi Aramco in August 2012. Image courtesy
of SecureList.
nature that suggest they took a lot of time
and resources to create.
The security community has identi-
fied several sophisticated cyber espio-
nage campaigns in recent years that have
targeted hundreds of oil and gas compa-
nies worldwide. The malware involved in
these cases have been given names such
as EnergeticBear, DragonFly, DUQU, and
Flame. Each iteration is more evolved
than the next.
To strengthen its defenses, Nguyen
noted that BHP Billiton has developed
several strategies that include invest-
ing in new network monitoring tools
and mandatory “cyber safety” train-
ing programs for employees—who are
often considered a firm’s biggest cyber
risk factor.
BHP Billiton has joined efforts start-
ed by the American Petroleum Insti-
tute and SPE to collaborate with others
when sensitive information is involved.
The framework is modeled after what
the financial and insurance industries
have adopted. The company is also
sharing threat intelligence information
with the US Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation and the Department of Home-
land Security. Many other oil companies
have taken similar steps to protect
their networks.
Many Wake-Up Calls
On its website, ExxonMobil reports,
“On average, our cybersecurity screen-
ing programs block more than 70 mil-
lion emails, 140 million internet access
attempts, and 150,000 other potential-
ly malicious actions each month.” That
amounts to more than 2.5 billion blocked
actions a year.
50
Unfortunately, it only takes one mali-
cious email to get through and there is
no shortage of examples of what can
happen next. Headlines were made in
2008 when servers at ExxonMobil, BP,
Shell, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil, and
Baker Hughes were accessed by hack-
ers reportedly acting on behalf of China.
According to various reports, the hack-
ers accessed seismic data, bid and lease
information, and intellectual property
that took years to aquire and was worth
millions of dollars.
A few years later, Saudi Aramco was hit
hard by one of the most infamous mal-
ware codes called Shamoon. The 2012
attack infiltrated and deleted data from
at least 35,000 computers, estimated to
be 75% of the company’s total. Sham-
oon effectively halted business opera-
tions for days.
Weeks later, the same malware infect-
ed the IT networks at Qatar’s RasGas.
The security community attributed these
attacks to actors in Iran. And in 2014,
hackers hit at least 250 companies in
Norway, including Statoil and about 50
other oil and energy related organiza-
tions. That attack is considered the worst
of its kind in the nation’s history.
Lessons To Learn
Chris Kubecka, a cybersecurity consul-
tant and researcher who helped lead the
recovery efforts of Saudi Aramco’s Sham-
oon attack, has spent the last few years
speaking about what companies should
learn from the event.
What has tied together so many of the
attacks against the industry, including
Shamoon, is the fact that they were ini-
tiated when an employee clicked open
a malicious email. The tactic is known
as spear phishing and increasingly, the
spam filters meant to protect against
such a threat are being beaten.
Kubecka said hackers have become
proficient at testing the limits of the fil-
ters and are finding their way past them
by customizing emails to meet the intend-
ed victim’s personal or business inter-
ests, a practice called social engineering.
“Social engineering in and of itself is a
really hard thing to combat because the
emails are written in such a way that they
look real. You want to open that email, or
click that link,” she said. “It is a very, very
big problem and it amazes me to this day
why more companies do not have, at bare
minimum, phishing exercises.”
Spear phishing campaigns often use
Trojan horse viruses contained in Micro-
soft Excel or PDF files. One phishing
strategy that oil and gas professionals
should be particularly aware of involves
malicious emails that appear to be sent
by a legitimate conference organizer.
Kubecka said oil and gas companies
should not only train their employees to
be on the lookout for these threats, but
teach them to forward suspicious emails
to their IT teams so they can be exam-
ined rather than just deleting them upon
receipt. She also advises oil and gas com-
panies to come up with a playbook to fol-
low when one slips through and they are
facing a cyber attack.
“One of the things that completely
failed with the attack of Shamoon was
that they were not prepared at all—abso-
lutely not prepared,” she said, adding
that cyber-related threats need to be
treated much in the same way the indus-
try has come to address health and safe-
ty matters. Companies are also being
warned against letting cybersecurity fall
off the radar once they have recovered
from a serious episode.
“You might have a lot of focus just after
an attack, but a year or two later sud-
denly it’s just not viewed with the same
type of importance anymore,” she said.
“The staff that may have been hired on
just after the attack starts dwindling in
numbers because the perceived necessity
is no longer there. Unfortunately, attacks
against the industry are increasing every
single year.” JPT
JPT • MARCH 2016
Introducing a new controlled optimization
process for multistage completions
ĮĞůĚůĞǀĞůƉƌŽŐƌĂŵďĂƐĞĚŽŶĐŽŶƐŝƐƚĞŶƚĨƌĂĐƉůĂĐĞŵĞŶƚ
ĂŶĚŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚĚŽǁŶŚŽůĞƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐĂŶĚƚĞŵƉĞƌĂƚƵƌĞƐ

ŽŶƚƌŽůůŝŶŐŬĞLJǀĂƌŝĂďůĞƐĞŶĂďůĞƐƚƌƵĞŽƉƟŵŝnjĂƟŽŶ
zŽƵĐĂŶƚƚƌƵůLJŽƉƟŵŝnjĞƉůƵŐĂŶĚƉĞƌĨĐŽŵƉůĞƟŽŶƐ
ďĞĐĂƵƐĞĨƌĂĐ
ƐƉĂĐŝŶŐĂŶĚƉƌŽƉƉĞĚǀŽůƵŵĞĂƌĞƵŶĐŽŶƚƌŽůůĞĚǀĂƌŝĂďůĞƐdŚĞƐĂŵĞŝƐ
ƚƌƵĞĨŽƌŽƉĞŶŚŽůĞƉĂĐŬĞƌďĂůůƐůĞĞǀĞĐŽŵƉůĞƟŽŶƐǀĞŶǁŚĞŶĂĐŽŵ
ƉůĞƟŽŶŝƐĞĐŽŶŽŵŝĐĂůůLJĂĐĐĞƉƚĂďůĞ
ƚŚĞƌĞŝƐŶŽŵĞƚŚŽĚŝĐĂůǁĂLJƚŽ
ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞƚŚĞĚĞƐŝŐŶĨƌŽŵǁĞůůƚŽǁĞůů
ďĞĐĂƵƐĞƚŚĞŶƵŵďĞƌŽĨĨƌĂĐƐ

ĨƌĂĐƐƉĂĐŝŶŐ
ĂŶĚĨƌĂĐƐŝnjĞĂƌĞŶŽƚĐŽŶƚƌŽůůĂďůĞŽƌƌĞƉĞĂƚĂďůĞ
tŝƚŚƚŚĞDƵůƟƐƚĂŐĞhŶůŝŵŝƚĞĚΠƉŝŶƉŽŝŶƚĨƌĂĐƐLJƐƚĞŵ
LJŽƵŬŶŽǁ
WƌĞĚŝĐƚĂďůĞǀĞƌŝĮĂďůĞĂŶĚƌĞƉĞĂƚĂďůĞĨƌĂĐƐƉĂĐŝŶŐĂŶĚƉƌŽƉƉĞĚ
ǁŚĞƌĞĨƌĂĐƐŝŶŝƟĂƚĞĂŶĚĞdžĂĐƚůLJŚŽǁŵƵĐŚƉƌŽƉƉĂŶƚLJŽƵƉƵƚŝŶĞĂĐŚ ǀŽůƵŵĞĞůŝŵŝŶĂƚĞŬĞLJƵŶŬŶŽǁŶƐƚŽĨĂĐŝůŝƚĂƚĞĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶƐƉĞĐŝĮĐ
ŽŶĞEŽŵĂƩĞƌǁŚĂƚĞůƐĞLJŽƵǀĂƌLJĨƌĂĐƐƉĂĐŝŶŐ
ĨƌĂĐĚŝŵĞŶƐŝŽŶƐ
 ǁĞůůƚŽǁĞůůŽƉƟŵŝnjĂƟŽŶĂĐƌŽƐƐĞŶƟƌĞĮĞůĚƐ
ƉƌŽƉƉĂŶƚƚLJƉĞ
ĨƌĂĐŇƵŝĚ
ŝŶũĞĐƟŽŶƌĂƚĞƐ
ƉƌŽƉƉĂŶƚĐŽŶĐĞŶƚƌĂƟŽŶ
ĨƌĂĐƉůĂĐĞŵĞŶƚƌĞŵĂŝŶƐƉƌĞĚŝĐƚĂďůĞĂŶĚƌĞƉĞĂƚĂďůĞ
ƐŽLJŽƵĐĂŶ
ĞǀĂůƵĂƚĞƚŚĞĞīĞĐƚƐŽĨƚŚĞĐŚĂŶŐĞƐLJŽƵŵĂŬĞ
Recorded downhole data describes every frac
ƚĞǀĞƌLJƐƚĂŐĞ
ŽƵƌƐƚĂŶĚĂƌĚDƵůƟƐƚĂŐĞhŶůŝŵŝƚĞĚĨƌĂĐŝƐŽůĂƟŽŶ
ĂƐƐĞŵďůLJƌĞĐŽƌĚƐĂĐƚƵĂůƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞƐĂŶĚƚĞŵƉĞƌĂƚƵƌĞƐĂƚƚŚĞĨƌĂĐnjŽŶĞ
ĂŶĚŝŶƚŚĞǁĞůůďŽƌĞďĞůŽǁ;ƐĞĞĐŚĂƌƚĂƚƌŝŐŚƚ€dŚĞĚĂƚĂƌĞǀĞĂůƐďŽƚŚ
ƚŚĞƉƌĞƐĞŶĐĞĂŶĚƚLJƉĞŽĨĂŶLJŝŶƚĞƌnjŽŶĞĐŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƟŽŶ;ŶĂƚƵƌĂů
ĨƌĂĐƚƵƌĞƐ
ĐĞŵĞŶƚĨĂŝůƵƌĞ
ůŽŶŐŝƚƵĚŝŶĂůĨƌĂЀ
ƐŽLJŽƵĐĂŶĞƐƚĂďůŝƐŚ
ŵŝŶŝŵƵŵĨƌĂĐƐƉĂĐŝŶŐŝŶĂŐŝǀĞŶĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶdŚĞĚĂƚĂĂůƐŽŝĚĞŶƟĮĞƐ
ƚŚĞƉƌĞƐĞŶĐĞĂŶĚƐŽƵƌĐĞŽĨŶĞĂƌǁĞůůďŽƌĞƌĞƐƚƌŝĐƟŽŶƐ
ĂƐǁĞůůĂƐ
ƉƌŽƉƉĂŶƚďƌŝĚŐŝŶŐ
ŝĨŝƚŽĐĐƵƌƐ^ƚĂŐĞďLJƐƚĂŐĞĚĞƚĂŝůƐŐŝǀĞLJŽƵŝŶƐŝŐŚƚƐ
LJŽƵĚŽŶƚŐĞƚǁŝƚŚŽƚŚĞƌŵƵůƟƐƚĂŐĞĐŽŵƉůĞƟŽŶŵĞƚŚŽĚƐ
ƵŶůĞƐƐLJŽƵ
ƉĂLJĨŽƌƐĞƉĂƌĂƚĞĂŶĚĐŽƐƚůLJŵŽŶŝƚŽƌŝŶŐƐLJƐƚĞŵƐ
dŚĞĐŽŵďŝŶĂƟŽŶŽĨĐŽŶƐŝƐƚĞŶƚĨƌĂĐƉůĂĐĞŵĞŶƚĂŶĚĚŽǁŶŚŽůĞĚĂƚĂ
ŝƐLJŽƵƌďĞƐƚĂŶĚĨĂƐƚĞƐƚƌŽƵƚĞƚŽƚƌƵůLJŽƉƟŵŝnjĞĚĐŽŵƉůĞƟŽŶƐĂŶĚ dŚĞƐĞĐŚĂƌƚƐƐŚŽǁƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞĂŶĚƚĞŵƉĞƌĂƚƵƌĞĂďŽǀĞĂŶĚďĞůŽǁƚŚĞ
ĮĞůĚĚĞǀĞůŽƉŵĞŶƚƐƚƌĂƚĞŐŝĞƐ>ĞĂƌŶŵŽƌĞĂƚŶĐƐŵƵůƟƐƚĂŐĞĐŽŵ ŝƐŽůĂƟŽŶĂƐƐĞŵďůLJĨŽƌƚĞŶƐƚĂŐĞƐdŚĞĚĂƚĂƌĞǀĞĂůƐĂŶĚĚĞƐĐƌŝďĞƐ
ĂŶLJŝŶƚĞƌƐƚĂŐĞĐŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƟŽŶĂŶĚŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶƚĨƌĂĐĂŶĚĨŽƌŵĂƟŽŶ
ĐŚĂƌĂĐƚĞƌŝƐƟĐƐ

dŚĞDƵůƟƐƚĂŐĞhŶůŝŵŝƚĞĚĨƌĂĐŝƐŽůĂƟŽŶƐLJƐƚĞŵŝƐƚŚĞǁŽƌůĚ
ƐůĞĂĚŝŶŐĐŽŝůĞĚƚƵďŝŶŐĨƌĂĐƚĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐLJǁŝƚŚŵŽƌĞƚŚĂŶϭϮဓϬϬϬƐƚĂŐĞƐĐŽŵƉůĞƚĞĚ

Visit us at
SPE ICoTA,
TM
booth 803
Learn from every frac.

ŶĐƐŵƵůƟƐƚĂŐĞĐŽŵ

©2015, NCS Multistage, LLC. All rights reserved. Multistage Unlimited and “Learn from every frac.” are trademarks of NCS Multistage, LLC.

Still Holds Much E&P Opportunity
Gas and condensate production facilities in
the Hai Thach-Moc Tinh field of the Nam Con
Son Basin. Photos courtesy of Petrovietnam.
A
s oil companies struggle with
the collapse in crude prices
and industry upheaval, assess-
ing the future of exploration and produc-
tion (E&P) in specific countries requires
a longer term vision of a market in which
prices will have stabilized and rebounded
to a level yet undetermined. Seen in this
lengthier view, Vietnam holds substantial
E&P opportunity because of its resource
potential, its expanding economy and
surging internal energy demand, the
diverse group of global operators active in
the country, and the interest of national oil
company Petrovietnam in expanding part-
nerships with international E&P players.
At the same time, a limitation on this
upside lies in the dispute between Vietnam
and China over territorial waters, which
is affecting international investment in
some E&P prospects. While sporadic ten-
sions have arisen between the countries,
Vietnam and China remain in discussions
over the disputed areas. A peaceful reso-
lution could benefit both countries and
the oil and gas industry. Notably, well to
the north of the disputed waters, Petro-
vietnam and China National Offshore Oil
52
Vietnam
Company have a joint exploration agree-
ment covering the Gulf of Tonkin.
In the decades since the end of the Viet-
nam War, exploration and development in
Vietnam have grown by leaps and bounds.
With 4.4 billion bbl of oil reserves, the
country now ranks No. 3 in the Asia-Pacific
region, trailing only China and India.
Always an Interest
“Vietnam has always been an interest
among international oil and gas com-
panies,” said Suraya Tulot, Vietnam EP
upstream researcher at IHS. “It is an
opportunity that companies are looking
at, especially the independents.”
Almost all of Petrovietnam’s domestic
upstream activity has been offshore in
shallow water. From the beginning, the
Cuu Long Basin has been the center of
Vietnamese E&P. However, activity has
spread to the Nom Con Son, Song Hong,
Phu Khanh, Phu Quoc, and Malay-Tho
Chu basins, as well as others, and deep-
water development is getting under way.
“Vietnam is relatively underexplored,”
Tulot said. “While the focus has been on
Cuu Long, there are opportunities in the
Joel Parshall, JPT Features Editor
Nam Con Son and Song Hong basins and
elsewhere.” Petrovietnam’s Ky Lan 1X gas
discovery in the Song Hong Basin late
last year is one example. That success
has piqued interest among other com-
panies. Eni and KrisEnergy have recently
acquired exploration blocks in the vicinity.
Bach Ho Proves a Tiger
Oil and gas E&P activity in Vietnam began
in the 1960s in the onshore Hanoi Trough
formation. Attention later shifted to off-
shore prospects. The first major success
occurred in 1986 with the discovery of
oil at the Bach Ho (White Tiger) field in
the Cuu Long Basin by Vietsovpetro, a
joint venture (JV) formed in 1981 between
Zarubezhneft of the former Soviet Union
and Petrovietnam. Initial production
flowed from a Lower Miocene structure.
However, deeper drilling into fractured
granite basement rock yielded a much
larger discovery, which was brought into
production in 1988.
Granite basement rock is nonsedimen-
tary and usually not associated with oil
and gas accumulations. However, in some
cases this rock can hold hydrocarbons
JPT • MARCH 2016
 Day or night
We keep your equipment up and running.
We understand that uptime is imperative to your success. Our family of field-proven
products and 24/7 global service will keep your operations running at maximum
efficiency day and night. To ensure your assets continue operating at full, profitable
capacity we also refurbish, rebuild and recertify equipment back to original
manufacturer specifications — no matter who built it. Our complete portfolio of
OEM spare parts allows you to avoid third party replacement risks and extend the
lifecycle of your equipment. For 24/7 support go to nov.com/iseaftermarket.

Intervention and Stimulation Equipment (ISE)

APPCO | Enerflow | Pressure Performance Systems (PPS) | Rolligon | CTES | Devin | Hydra Rig | Quality Tubing | Texas Oil Tools | Elmar

© 2016 National Oilwell Varco | All rights reserved

ISE Aftermarket support ad 021216 JPT.indd 1 2/12/2016 12:59:14 PM


A producing platform operating in
the Dai Hung oil and gas field of the
Nam Con Son Basin.
that have migrated from nearby source
rock. While fractured granite basement
reservoirs have low permeability, migrat-
ed hydrocarbons can accumulate in the
natural fracture networks. But these res-
ervoirs are challenging to understand
because of their heterogeneity, and drill-
ers in the past had typically avoided them
in favor of less-complicated targets.
The success at Bach Ho put the Viet-
namese oil industry in the position of
learning how to produce from a frac-
tured granite basement, and the Cuu
Long Basin has an abundance of these
reservoirs. Bach Ho became a prolific
field, peaking at more than 260,000 B/D
of production in 2001, and it is still pro-
ducing 75,000 B/D.
The Vietnamese industry has become
the global authority on producing oil
from fractured granite basement rock,
and more than 1.7 billion bbl of oil have
been produced from the country’s gran-
ite basement reservoirs through last year.
Although basement production will not
contribute as much in Vietnam’s future,
it will still play an important role in the
country’s E&P activities for years to come.
Since the early success at Bach Ho,
Vietnamese production has greatly
expanded. Petrovietnam, including JVs,
now produces oil and/or gas from almost
40 fields in granite basement and sedi-
mentary reservoirs. That number takes
in several international fields in Malay-
sia, Russia, Algeria, Peru, and Venezuela
54
in which Petrovietnam holds interests. By
itself, the company generates about 25%
of Vietnam’s gross domestic product.
Many Global Companies
Approximately 30 operating companies
from all parts of the world are active in
Vietnam, with companies representing
the United States, Spain, Italy, the Unit-
ed Kingdom, France, Russia, Australia,
Japan, Malaysia, and other East Asian
and Middle Eastern countries. Among
the companies are ExxonMobil, Murphy,
Repsol (through its recent acquisition of
Talisman), Soco, Gazprom, Rosneft, San-
tos, Mitsui, and Petronas.
In a number of cases, Petrovietnam
has formed JVs with international E&P
firms to operate certain projects. The old-
est and largest of the JVs is Vietsovpetro.
More than 25 international service com-
panies and equipment suppliers are also
active in the country.
“Vietnam has become very welcom-
ing of international partners to help
with upstream opportunities,” said Joe
Knierien, executive director at Globalinx
Group, a business development firm that
is very active in Vietnam. “The Vietnam-
ese are very interested in the latest tech-
nology to help them achieve their goals,
and experience such as that of the US
companies in deepwater development
will be especially beneficial as Vietnam
moves into some of those projects.”
Production Increases
Vietnam’s oil production (including con-
densate) has increased modestly over the
past 3 years to 339,800 B/D in 2015.
However, with an expanding and indus-
trializing economy that grew by nearly
7% last year, refined product demand
was the equivalent of 476,800 B/D of
crude oil. The country made up the dif-
ference by importing products. Although
Vietnam exports some oil, it is a net
importer because its exports are more
than offset by the imported product bar-
rels. The excess of product demand over
oil production is expected to continue.
Natural gas production in Vietnam has
been rising over the past 4 years and
last year amounted to 1.03 Bcf/D. The
country’s reserves of 23.9 Tcf are ranked
fourth in East Asia behind China, Indo-
nesia, and Malaysia. Vietnamese produc-
tion is expected to increase in the next
5 years as major field developments come
on line. All of the country’s gas produc-
tion goes to domestic consumption.
Petrovietnam has signed a memoran-
dum of understanding (MOU) and front-
end engineering and design contract
with Tokyo Gas for the construction of a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) import termi-
nal at Thi Vai near Ho Chi Minh City and
is considering building additional LNG
import facilities.
The country’s oil production is project-
ed to decrease slightly this year and next
because of declines at some major fields
and the effects of reduced exploration,
according to Petrovietnam Vice President
Nguyen Quoc Thap. There were five explo-
ration wells drilled last year (not includ-
ing appraisal wells), compared with 12 in
2014. However, with planned output from
the Ca Rong Do (Red Emperor) deepwater
project, the Su Tu Trang (White Lion)
field, and potentially some smaller fields,
production is expected to resume growth
in 2018 and 2019, Thap said.
Assessing the Variables
After 2019, more variables come into
play if Vietnam is to be able to sustain
or increase current levels of production.
Prices will play a major role and prob-
ably already have had an impact by scal-
ing back the exploration activity typi-
cally needed to offset depleting reserves
from producing fields. Only two explora-
tion blocks were awarded by Vietnam in
last year’s offshore licensing round, well
below awards in previous rounds during
recent years.
Vietnam’s deepwater prospects repre-
sent a small part of the country’s offshore
acreage but could hold the key to sustain-
ing production. The prospects lie mainly
in the Phu Khanh and Tu Chin-Vung May
basins and parts of Nam Con Son.
Oil prices will be critical to future
investment. Industry analysts estimate
that Vietnam has a breakeven oil price
of about USD 55/bbl for new small-to-
medium projects in shallow water. New
deepwater oil projects would target much
larger reserves but likely require a higher
price forecast to justify a final investment
decision (FID).
JPT • MARCH 2016
Moving Forward
Looking ahead, operator Repsol is devel-
oping the Ca Rong Do oil and gas con-
densate field in Block 07/03 of the Nam
Con Son Basin. In more than 1,100 ft of
water, it will be Vietnam’s first deepwater
project and feature the country’s first
tension-leg platform.
First production from Ca Rong Do is
slated for October 2018. At its peak, the
field will produce 30,000 B/D of oil and
50 MMcf/D of sales gas. Estimated recov-
erable reserves are 50 million bbl of oil
and 2 million to 4 million bbl of conden-
sate. In addition to Petrovietnam, Pearl
Oil (a unit of Mubadala Petroleum), and
Pan Pacific are participating in the project.
Other projects in progress are:
◗ First-phase expansion of the Su
Tu Trang gas condensate field in
Block 15-1 of the Cuu Long Basin,
scheduled for completion in the
fourth quarter. Gas production of
50 MMcf/D will be increased to
150 MMcf/D, with 100 MMcf/D
injected into the reservoir to boost
current condensate production of
7,000 B/D to 20,000 B/D. Operated
by the Cuu Long Joint Operating
Company, Su Tu Trang’s participants
are Petrovietnam, Perenco, ONGC
Videsh, and Korea National Oil
Corporation.
◗ The Thien Ung gas development
in Block 04-3 of the Nam Con Son
Basin. First gas is expected in the
third quarter, with production to
peak at 65 MMcf/D of sales gas.
Operated by Vietsovpetro, the
participants are Petrovietnam and
Zarubezhneft.
◗ The Southwest Gas development
in Block B, 48/95 and 52/97, of
the Malay-Tho Chu Basin, with
estimated probable recoverable
reserves of 3.8 Tcf. Production is
expected to start in 2020 and peak
at 575 MMcf/D of sales gas. Operated
by Phu Quoc Petroleum Operating
Company, the participants are
Petrovietnam, PTTEP, and Mitsui.
◗ The Ca Voi Xanh (Blue Whale) gas
project on Blocks 117–119 of the
Song Hong Basin. Estimated to hold
between 5.67 Tcf and 12.57 Tcf of
natural gas in place (with estimated
JPT • MARCH 2016
A Petrovietnam jackup rig drilling in the Dai Hung field.
recoverable reserves of 3 Tcf to
8 Tcf), Ca Voi Xanh represents
the biggest gas discovery in
Vietnam’s history. ExxonMobil
and Petrovietnam are partners in
the project, with ExxonMobil the
operator. The two companies signed
an MOU July of last year to move
forward with development plans
but an FID has not been made. If
sanctioned, the project would be
anticipated to produce first gas
in 2023.
New marginal developments will also
be important to Vietnam’s oil and gas
future, as a number of potential proj-
ects exist. Vietnam may need to enhance
development incentives, possibly through
changing project tax treatment and/or
adopting new models for production
sharing contracts.
Petrovietnam is also investigating the
potential of shale and coalbed methane
development in the Hanoi Trough. Joint
exploration studies with Eni, Arrow, Keep-
er, and other companies are in progress.
A Lot Going for Vietnam
Despite some question marks, Vietnam’s
oil and gas industry has a lot going for it
because of its strong technical capabil-
ity and the country’s prospects for robust
economic growth and hunger for energy.
On a net basis, Vietnam will continue to
need every barrel of oil and cubic  foot
of gas that it can produce. Petroviet-
nam will likely approach that goal with
vigor, as its willingness to boost pro-
duction by participating in foreign E&P
projects attests.
The company also is building a refining
and petrochemical complex at Nghi Son,
which will be the country’s largest. A joint
investment of Petrovietnam, Kuwait Oil,
Idemitsu, and Mitsui, the USD 9 billion
facility will start up in 2018. With a crude
oil processing capacity of 200,000 B/D,
the complex will supply 40% of Viet-
nam’s refined product demand. While
the combined output of Nghi Son and
Vietnam’s sole other refinery at Dung
Quat will fall well short of meeting the
country’s surging product demand, the
new complex will facilitate the further
industrialization and modernization
of© Vietnam.
“What’s driving the need for more
energy right now is the upcoming Trans-
Pacific Partnership agreement between
12 countries (including Vietnam) that is
expected to be signed this year,” Knierien
said. “So there is a tremendous amount
of growth in anticipation of the new trade
agreement. Looking farther ahead, the
country needs more power, more ener-
gy, and more fuel to provide electricity,
to develop more manufacturing capacity,
the roadways, the pipelines, and all the
infrastructure it needs.”
In short, oil and gas will continue to
be a top priority for Vietnam, and global
companies seeking to invest their funds
and expertise in the country’s E&P oppor-
tunities will be most welcome. JPT
55
 MANAGEMENT

Managing Project Uncertainty:

The Delphi Method
Lakshan Saldin, Matthew Healey, and Kate Parker, Agilis KLM

Decision making in uncertain environ- “There are known knowns; These problems can be effectively
ments is key to the successful deliv- addressed using a Delphi-based work-
ery of oil and gas projects. By defini- there are things we know shop methodology. The process present-
tion, however, uncertainty is ambiguous we know. We also know ed in this article discusses how to work
and unpredictable. collaboratively to develop a common
Uncertainty does not necessarily there are known unknowns; understanding of a project and achieve
imply risk; the two are separate con- that is to say, we know alignment on issues and uncertainties.
cepts. Economist Frank Knight made a This allows managers to gain a better
clear distinction between the two as far there are some things we understanding of the critical uncertain-
back as 1921. Risk can be measured and do not know. But there are ties running through the project and
quantified and is well suited to the ana- implement appropriate strategies.
lytical techniques used in project risk also unknown unknowns;
management; uncertainty defies quan- the ones we don’t know we Delphi Methods
titative expression. Items with the qual- Delphi is a structured communication
ity of uncertainty often surface during don’t know.” technique that was developed as part
risk-assessment exercises but tend to be of the United States’ response to glob-
categorized as “issues” and are neither US Secretary of Defense al uncertainty during the Cold War.
captured nor addressed by traditional Donald Rumsfeld, 2003 Since then, the process has been used
risk-management processes. across many different industries world-
Donald Rumsfeld’s infamous quote wide (Linstone and Turoff 2002). Delphi-
highlights the difficulty of articulating “unknown knowns”—those things that based methods are able to draw out the
uncertainty. However, the statement is we intentionally refuse to acknowledge tacit knowledge held by project members
rooted in sound cognitive and sociologi- due to, for example, the social stigma and assess it in a structured manner.
cal theory and makes an important point around dissent. While we may feel confi- Delphi methods allow a diverse group
about the perils of taking our individual dent dealing with “known knowns” and of individuals to work as a whole when
and shared perceptions for reality. The “known unknowns,” how can we hope to dealing with complex problems and
philosopher Slavoj Žižek (2006) suggests discover the “unknown unknowns” and include these features:
that there may also be a fourth category of uncover the “unknown knowns”? ◗ Individual contributions of
information and knowledge
◗ Assessment of the group judgment
Lakshan Saldin is a founder and director of Agilis KLM, a consultancy specializing in or view
helping clients execute projects and programs in uncertain environments. He has 20 ◗ Opportunity for individuals to
years of experience in engineering and oil and gas projects. He has spent the last 10 revise views
years in a variety of senior operational and project management positions. Saldin is ◗ A degree of anonymity for the
a chartered engineer and a fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, and holds individual response
degrees in chemical engineering and project management.
Delphi methods are particularly ben-
Matthew Healey is a founder and director of Agilis KLM and has 20 years of eficial when one or more of the follow-
experience in oil and gas and large infrastructure projects. He has worked in several ing apply:
management and advisory roles in Australia and Western Europe, with a focus on ◗ The problem does not lend itself to
commercial and technical risk. precise analytical techniques (e.g.,
Kate Parker, SPE, is a founder and director of Agilis KLM and has 20 years of due to complexity) but can benefit
experience across a wide range of oil and gas projects including technical, from subjective judgments.
management, and consultancy roles on a number of projects and industry firsts. She ◗ The individuals who need to
is a chartered engineer and a member of the Institution of Chemical Engineers. contribute to the examination of

56 JPT • MARCH 2016

Serving
Every
Well
Entering the Matrix –
First Global Installation
MATRIX (MPL) bridge plug is the latest
edition providing our clients with
even more flexibility solving your
well needs and challenges

www.interwell.com
Please contact Interwell sales representative
in your area for more information.

Well Completion Reservoir Plug and

Intervention Products & Flow Abandonment
Assurance

www.interwell.com

Introduction Issues Evaluation Outcomes
Keyword Knowledge Sharing
Introduction by Scoring
Project Leader Understanding of
Issues
Discussion
Overview of
Workshop Process Alignment
Consensus
Summary
(15 minutes)
Next Keyword (prepared by leader
or facilitator,
(2 hours)
6 working hours)
Fig. 1—The Delphi workshop method.
a broad or complex problem do The purpose of the workshop is to
not have a shared history; may identify, understand, and clearly articu-
not have had time to establish late important project uncertainties so
adequate communication; and may that appropriate management strate-
represent diverse backgrounds gies can be put in place. The outcome is
with respect to culture, experience, an integrated overview of the project,
or expertise. a summary of its key risks and issues,
◗ More individuals are needed and alignment across all disciplines. The
than can effectively interact in basic workshop procedure is described
an unstructured face-to-face in Fig. 1.
exchange. A comprehensive keyword list of more
◗ Long-term group co-location is than 300 prompts has been developed.
infeasible. Within the groupings, the keywords are
◗ Disagreements among individuals arranged alphabetically. This dissociates
are potentially severe or a keyword from the preceding one and
politically fraught requiring the allows each keyword to create its unique
communication process to be discussion space. The list is designed
refereed and/or anonymous. to cover all areas, and can be adapted,
◗ The heterogeneity of the shortened, or lengthened to best fit the
participants must be preserved project at hand. Participants receive no
to assure validity of the results, further guidance as to the meaning of
i.e., avoidance of domination by a keyword and are free to make their
majority opinion or by strength own associations.
of personality. Participants are issued scorecards
The authors have adapted Delphi- with numbers from the Fibonacci
based approaches to complement and sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.) As each
enhance typical engineering and oil and keyword is read out, participants “play”
gas management processes. A Delphi their cards simultaneously based on
workshop takes the form of a facilitat- their view of the magnitude of issues
ed, guideword-led meeting. The work- associated with that keyword. No guid-
shop typically takes 1–3 hours, does ance is given on which criteria constitute
not require any preparation work from a high value vs. a low value. Participants
participants, and the full results can be are free to determine their own internal
made available within 24 hours. It is view of what the numbers mean.
appropriate for groups from 3 to up to If all participants award identical or
20 participants. similar low scores, the group may agree
58
to quickly move on to the next keyword.
If there is a wider spread of scores, or an
outlier score, then the participant with
the highest score begins a discussion on
that subject. The discussion is contin-
ued until a consensus is reached. Par-
ticipants are not required to score items
outside their area of expertise.
The choice of a nonlinear scoring
sequence reflects the increasing uncer-
tainty associated with larger scores
(Cohn 2006). It forces participants to
rank issues in accordance with the dif-
ference in scoring magnitudes, while
freeing them from getting hung up on
assigning an exact number to each one.
Notes taken of the discussion are dis-
played on a large screen during the meet-
ing as a means of focusing the discussion
and verifying agreement. This ensures
issues are articulated fully, clearly, and to
the satisfaction of all participants. This
also has the added benefit of integrat-
ing the first review cycle into the meet-
ing. Participants are able to take the raw
workshop output with them at the end
of the meeting ahead of the issue of the
formal report, which is typically deliv-
ered one day after the workshop. Only
the discussion relating to the keyword
is recorded. The scores assigned by the
participants are deliberately not record-
ed to avoid the potential for an anchor-
ing cognitive bias developing for either
the participants or for onward readers
of the report.
Benefits of the Approach
To date, the authors have applied this
process on several projects. The meth-
od provides the following bene-
fits in comparison to traditional risk-
management methods:
Knowledge sharing. The process was
able to take advantage of private infor-
mation held by each of the participants.
Participants’ diverse knowledge, experi-
ence, opinions, and eccentric perspec-
tives allowed the collaborative discovery
and articulation of areas of concern not
being consciously addressed by the proj-
ect as a whole.
Challenging held assumptions. The
introduction of additional perspectives
JPT • MARCH 2016
to project issues led to the downgrad-
ing of certain interesting but ultimate-
ly trivial issues that had until then been
receiving significant attention. This was
largely through the introduction of mit-
igating information provided by par-
ticipants who had not been involved
in the initial prioritization and subse-
quent management of these issues. Con-
versely, the introduction of these new
perspectives also led to the escalation
of a number of issues that had previ-
ously been seen as of low criticality or
low priority.
Sense making. Open-ended and unguid-
ed input was successful in uncovering
and aggregating information, enabling
the discovery or crystallization of issues
only partly understood by project par-
ticipants. The process gave participants
freedom to express concern with respect
to “nagging doubts” and “gut feelings.”
The flexibility of the process allowed
subjective issues/risks to be expressed in
a rich, contextualized form. This led to
the emergence of patterns and a deeper
understanding of project issues and their
potential mitigations.
Consensus building and alignment.
The process drove consensus within
the group. This set the basis for future
collaborative efforts in resolving the
issues raised.
Conclusions
The Delphi-based approach allows a
group of individuals with varying per-
spectives and expertise to develop
a robust understanding of a complex
problem. The collaborative process
addresses many of the shortcomings of
traditional risk-management approach-
es applied to industry projects and
allows discovery of complex project risks
and uncertainties that might otherwise
remain unexpressed.
This approach provides management
with an integrated and in-depth proj-
ect understanding that enables them to
react early and confidently to unfolding
situations. The method provides an effi-
cient means of running a workshop, has
the ability to reinvigorate existing issue-
and risk-management frameworks, and
ensures project resources are focused on
the most relevant risks and issues. JPT
References
BBC. 2003. Rum Remark Wins Rumsfeld
an Award. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/
hi/3254852.stm (accessed 25 June 2015).
Cohn, M. 2006. Agile Estimating and
Planning. Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey, USA: Pearson Education.
Knight, F. 1921. Risk, Uncertainty, and
Profit, Boston, Massachusetts, USA:
Houghton Mifflin Co.
Linstone, H.A. and Turoff, M. (Eds.) 2002.
The Delphi Method: Techniques and
Applications. Newark, New Jersey, USA:
New Jersey Institute of Technology.
http://is.njit.edu/pubs/delphibook/
(accessed 19 June 2015).
Žižek, S. 2006. Philosophy, the “Unknown
Knowns,” and the Public Use of Reason.
Topoi, 25(1): 137–142. http://www.
egs.edu/faculty/slavoj-zizek/articles/
philosophy-the-unknown-knowns-and-
the-public-use-of-reason/ (accessed
25 June 2015).

Time effectiveness. The meeting

was fast and easy to organize. A typi-
cal workshop lasts 2 to 3 hours and
international participants are able to
arrive on a morning flight and depart in
the evening.

Collaborative fixation/participant in-

dependence. The tendency to provide
input that conforms to ideas suggested
by other participants was largely elimi-
nated. This led to an increase in the qual-
ity and quantity of issues raised during
the meeting.

Attention and personality man-

agement. The short duration and the
planned pace kept the participants
engaged throughout the workshop. The
scorecards created independence in par-
ticipants’ engagement, and the keywords
introduced an element of gamification.
Nonverbal scoring helped in managing
the effect of dominant personalities and
ensured everyone’s views were integrat-
ed into the consensus.

JPT • MARCH 2016 59

 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Hydraulic Fracturing
Zillur Rahim, SPE, Senior Petroleum Engineering Consultant, Saudi Aramco
With the significant drop in oil price sand flowback; and disintegrating drop-
and slowing down of the world econo- down isolation balls and in-tubing plugs,
my, one might think many petroleum- all of which have contributed to fractur-
related technology items will stall ing efficiency and cost-effectiveness. A
or fade out. Although it may be true stimulation item worth mentioning is the
for those technologies that are “good energized fracturing processes with liq-
to have but not essential,” the oil- uid carbon dioxide (CO2). If the econom-
economy downturn will not affect the ics works out, the technology is particu-
areas where research, development, larly helpful in treating partially depleted
and application of novel technologies reservoirs where natural flowback after
are absolutely necessary for the com- fracturing is difficult. For such reservoirs,
mercialization of hydrocarbon. When we when fractured with conventional fluids,
look at world statistics, we find hydrau- nitrogen (N2) -assisted lift is needed for
lic fracturing being used as a key oper- the initial startup, resulting in additional
ational technique and enabler in the time and expense. Liquid CO2 can elimi-
majority of oil and gas wells to produce nate or curtail the use of water and simul-
them economically with long-term sta- taneously provide both the hydrostatic
bilized rates. Any major cut in fracturing head and the energy to clean and lift the
or stimulation technology will severe- well without N2 intervention.
ly affect world production outlook and, One main challenge faced in the devel-
consequently, world energy and there- opment of tight and ultratight reservoirs
fore is unlikely to happen. is the ability to fracture the formation
Because of the success achieved and produce at commercial rates. The
through hydraulic fracturing, the indus- challenge occurs particularly in deep res-
try strives relentlessly to maintain the ervoirs exhibiting high fracture gradi-
cutting edge in development of novel and ents. In openhole MSF, the placement of
innovative technologies and their field isolation packers and fracturing ports
applications. Major progress has been is important to pump a successful treat-
made in well completions to accommo- ment. In plug-and-perforate MSF, the
date well-stimulation treatments. These proper location of perforations and clus-
include multistage-fracturing (MSF) ters is important. In either completion
completions, both openhole and cased; system, if the induced fractures are not
screen tubulars to prevent proppant and initiated in the right place, very high
Zillur Rahim, SPE, is a senior petroleum engineering consultant
with Saudi Aramco’s Gas Reservoir Management Department. He
is responsible for hydraulic-fracturing and well-completions tech-
nologies in the Saudi Arabian nonassociated-gas reservoirs. An
active member of SPE, Rahim has authored more than 90 techni-
cal papers and has participated as cochairperson, session chair-
person, technical committee member, discussion leader, and
workshop coordinator for various international SPE events. He
also serves on the JPT Editorial Committee. Rahim holds a BS degree from the Institut
Algérien du Pétrole, Boumerdes, Algeria, and MS and PhD degrees from Texas A&M
University, all in petroleum engineering.
60
breakdown pressures may be encoun-
tered that can exceed completion limita-
tions. On the other hand, when perfora-
tions are placed in nonsweet intervals,
the production may suffer even when
fractures can be induced. Industry statis-
tics have shown that, many times, more
than 50% of the perforation clusters are
nonproductive because of poor place-
ment of perforations, thereby reduc-
ing production efficiency significantly.
Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to
perform a complete assessment and eval-
uation—from drilling to production—
to ensure well placement; landing point;
azimuth; trajectory; and, most impor-
tantly, packer and perforation/port loca-
tions. A model that fully integrates drill-
ing dynamics, real-time geomechanics,
geosteering, completion placement, pro-
duction forecast, and rate sustainability
is an essential tool for successful fractur-
ing operations. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 174026 Impact of Remaining
Water in Hydraulic Fractures on Well
Productivity—Field Examples From Saudi
Arabian Sandstone Reservoirs by Zillur
Rahim, Saudi Aramco, et al.
SPE 174060 Application of
Microproppant To Enhance Well
Production in Unconventional Reservoirs:
Laboratory and Field Results by Jeff Dahl,
Devon Energy, et al.
SPE 177953 How To USE Hydraulic-
Fracture Interference To Improve
Unconventional Development by Basak
Kurtoglu, Citibank Global Energy, et al.
IPTC 17731 A Rigorous Correlation for
Quantification of Skin in Preanalysis of
Hydraulic Fracturing by Rizwan Ahmed
Khan, King Fahd University of Petroleum
and Minerals, et al.
JPT • MARCH 2016
An Improved Model for Predicting
Hydraulic-Fracture-Height Migration

W hile many factors may influence

fracture-height evolution in
multilayer formations, the consensus
is that the so-called “equilibrium
height belonging to a certain treating
pressure” provides an upper limit,
at least for nonnaturally fractured
media. The authors have revisited
the “equilibrium-height problem,”
and their theoretical and numerical
investigations led to a new model that
fully characterizes height evolution
amid various formation properties.
Introduction
Solutions for the equilibrium-height
problem have been known since the
1970s, and several models have been
developed for calculating hydraulic-
fracture height. However, because of the
complexity of the algebra involved, the
equations used in these early models
were overly simplified and gave unreli-
able results.
The authors developed an improved,
mathematically rigorous model that,
for the first time, solves the equilib-
rium height under various formation-
property conditions and fluid prop-
erties. The authors started from the
definition of fracture toughness, incor-
porated the effects of hydrostatic pres-
sure, and considered nonsymmetric
variations of layered formation proper-
ties. The model was applied to the clas-
sic three-layer problem and then ex-
tended up to six layers.
With the new model, the effects of
fracture toughness, in-situ stress, fluid
density, and their interactive effects on
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
paper SPE 173335, “An Improved Equilibrium-Height Model for Predicting Hydraulic-
Fracture-Height Migration in Multilayer Formations,” by Songxia Liu, SPE, and
Peter P. Valkó, SPE, Texas A&M University, prepared for the 2015 SPE Hydraulic
Fracturing Technology Conference, The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 3–5 February. The
paper has not been peer reviewed.
fracture-height growth were investigat-
ed. The full height profile with very
large top and bottom formation thick-
nesses showed the ultimate trend of
fracture-height migration. Two three-
layer pseudoproblems were construct-
ed to create an outer and inner height
envelope for any multilayer-formation
problem, to assess the potential effects
of reservoir-parameter uncertainties on
height profile. The occurrence of a sec-
ond solution pair and its analytical solu-
tions were presented, to avoid mislead-
ing results in the 3D models.
An Improved
Equilibrium-Height Model
Derivation of the Model. By use of
an established algebra software, the
authors modeled hydraulic fractures
in a multilayer formation. They started
with the integration form of the stress-
intensity factor—KI+ and KI– (as lower-
and upper-tip stress-intensity factor)—
taking hydrostatic fracturing-fluid
pressure into consideration.
For each layer, the integration for KI+
was applied. First, the normalized form
of KI+ was calculated. Then, the authors
added the results and multiplied the
sum by the square root of fracture half-
length to obtain KI+. Equations neces-
sary for this methodology are provided
in the complete paper.
After integration of KI+ and KI–, the
authors equated them to KICi in the lay-
ers where the fracture tips are located.
That is the criteria/definition of equi-
librium height. Then, the team implic-
itly solved for the locations of fracture
lower and upper tips with the soft-
ware. The tip locations are functions of
formation properties.
This methodology was applied to
three- to six-layer, asymmetric forma-
tion problems with varying formation
properties, especially abruptly higher or
lower in-situ stress and fracture tough-
ness in the underlying and overlying
layers than what is found in the perfo-
rated layer. By this derived new model,
the effect of these properties on the
fracture-height profile was shown. The
improved model can detect and stop
the calculation if tips touch the top or
bottom boundary, or if tip-growth sen-
sitivity to pressure is infinite. This new
model can rapidly and reliably calculate
the theoretical maximum equilibrium
fracture height in layered formations
with various rock and fluid properties in
a few seconds. The equilibrium height
can be used to provide input data for
2D models, to improve 3D-model gov-
erning equations, and to determine the
net pressure needed to achieve a certain
height growth.
Height Profile for Base Case
On the basis of the five-layer input data
to accommodate a general situation,
the top layer was split into two. The
equilibrium-height profile (i.e., fracture
upper- and lower-tip locations vs. net
pressure) was calculated. The reference
depth was set at 9,255 ft and the specific
gravity of fracturing fluid as 1.1.
For any multilayer problem, when the
thickness of the top and bottom lay-
ers is extended to large enough values
of the input data, the full height-profile
trend is apparent until the sensitivi-
ty of either tip’s growth with respect
to net pressure is infinite. The calcula-
tion stops because the lower tip drops
very quickly because of a small pres-
sure increase. In other reservoir condi-
tions with small upper barrier forces, it

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

JPT • MARCH 2016 61


8,600
Original problem
8,800 Outer envelope
Inner envelope
9,000
Depth (ft)
9,200
9,400
9,600
9,800
10,000
0 500
Fig. 1—Outer and inner height-profile envelopes for a specific multilayer
formation.
may be the upper tip that loses stabil-
ity. The lower tip drops abruptly from
the fourth layer through the sixth layer
near 800 psi, because the fifth layer has
much lower in-situ stress—5,800 psi—
compared with 7,350 and 8,200 psi in
the neighboring layers.
For a detailed discussion of the influ-
ence of rock and fluid properties (i.e.,
in-situ stress, fracture toughness, and
fluid density) on equilibrium-height
migration and their interactive ef-
fects on height growth, please see the
complete paper.
Outer and Inner
Height-Profile Envelopes
It is advantageous to know the outer and
inner envelopes of the height profile of a
specific multilayer formation. The outer
envelope is determined by selecting
the minimum in-situ stress, and frac-
ture toughness, in each of the overly-
ing and underlying layers to establish a
pseudothree-layer problem. Similarly,
the inner envelope is determined by se-
lecting the maximum in-situ stress, and
fracture toughness, to establish another
pseudothree-layer problem (Fig. 1).
From Fig. 1, it is apparent that the
outer envelope stopped calculation at
55-psi net pressure, because the lower
tip drops down in an unlimited man-
62
1,000 1,500
Pnet (psi)
ner; the inner envelope stopped calcula-
tion at 1,610-psi net pressure, because
the upper tip reached the boundary; and
the original six-layer problem stopped
calculation at 1,000-psi net pressure,
because the upper tip lost stability. The
inner envelope gives the maximum net
pressure that may be needed to fracture
the formation, and the outer envelope
provides the minimum net pressure that
may be needed. The difference between
them can be hundreds of psi; therefore,
the reservoir properties should be de-
termined as precisely as possible, to
avoid an invalid design.
Second Solution Pair
Mathematically, there is a second solu-
tion pair of the tip locations above a cer-
tain net pressure. To avoid confusion to
the design job from this mathematical
but impractical solution pair (discussed
in detail in the complete paper), one
must determine when it will occur.
The two solution pairs join when the
lower tip of the second solution meets
the condition
∂Pnet
=0, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1)
∂hd
whose terms are defined in the com-
plete paper. This is the situation for the
simplified three-layer formation. More
work will be performed in the future
to find the conditions in which the sec-
ond solution pair will occur for general-
ized multilayer models. In the numeri-
cal simulation, the constraints can be
set to avoid this second solution pair
by using the solution from the previ-
ous solution pair under the previous
net pressure.
Conclusions
The authors developed an improved
model for calculating the equilibrium
height that rapidly (in seconds) and rig-
orously solves for equilibrium height
under various formation properties and
fluid densities.
Decreasing in-situ stress will in-
duce tip jump/instability at the bound-
ary, whereas decreasing fracture tough-
ness will not cause tip jump, but rather
smooth growth. Increasing these will
hinder the fracture growth, or even keep
tips stable at the layer boundary. There-
fore, tip jump is caused by low in-situ
stress; stability is imposed by high frac-
ture toughness or high in-situ stress.
For the base case, when fluid den-
sity is not considered [specific gravity
(SG)=0], the upper tip starts to grow in
an unlimited manner first; when SG=1
and 2, the lower tip grows in an unlim-
ited manner first. Fluid density should
not be ignored.
A full height profile with very large
top and bottom formation thick-
nesses shows the ultimate trend of
fracture-height profile when the sensi-
tivity of fracture-tip growth to net pres-
sure is infinite.
The improved model will detect the
phenomenon and stop the calculation,
if tips touch the top or bottom bound-
ary, or if tip-growth sensitivity to pres-
sure is infinite.
The outer and inner envelopes of
the height profile can be useful tools
to assess the potential effects of
parameter uncertainties.
A second solution pair in the three-
layer problem was investigated numeri-
cally and analytically, to determine the
start and endpoints of this second solu-
tion pair, thus avoiding misleading re-
sults in the 3D models. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2016
 Proppant-delivered production
assurance technologies

A breakthrough in
production assurance performance

The longest lasting production assurance treatment by far

The unique GUARD™ family of proppant-delivered production assurance

technologies provides a highly cost-effective way to assure long-term production
and maximize recovery.
A single treatment can be designed to address multiple production issues and last
the life of the well, due to our proprietary controlled chemical release technology.
As a result, well maintenance requirements and LOE are significantly reduced.
By utilizing ceramic proppant as the chemical-delivery mechanism, the treatment
safeguards the entire production system without impairing fracture conductivity.
Make the break from expensive and short-lived treatments.

carboceramics.com/guard
 Novel Proppant Surface Treatment for
Enhanced Performance and Improved Cleanup

T his paper describes the

development and testing of a
new proppant designed to exhibit a
neutrally wet surface. The modified
surface does not have a preferential
affinity for oil, gas, or water and
therefore will not promote the
preferential entrapment of any phase
within the proppant pack. This
proppant technology and the results
described in this paper should be useful
for completions, production, and the
work of reservoir engineers dealing
with hydraulically fractured wells,
particularly in oil- and condensate-
rich reservoirs that are particularly
challenged by multiphase flow.

Introduction
A new proppant technology has been de-
veloped whereby a thin chemical coat-
ing is permanently applied to the ce-
ramic proppant surface. The coating is
very thin, approximately 0.13 µm, or
less than 1% of the thickness of the
resin on a standard resin-coated prop- Fig. 1—Visual capillary demonstration test. When a tube of standard 40/80
pant grain. The coating is applied to LDC proppant is submerged in blue-dyed water (left), water is drawn into the
every grain, after the manufacture of the tube by capillary forces. When the same proppant, with the neutral-wettability
base substrate. It can be applied to any coating, is submerged, no water is drawn into the tube (right).
size and type of ceramic proppant, in-
cluding low-, intermediate-, and high- 90°. For this contact angle, the capillary containing uncoated standard proppant
density ceramic proppant. pressure in the proppant pack is elimi- was placed in the water, the capillary
The key attribute of the coating is its nated. A visual test was performed to il- forces in the proppant pack caused the
ability to modify the surface wettabil- lustrate the impact of eliminating cap- water to be drawn up into the tube. How-
ity of the proppant grain to a neutral illary forces in the presence of the new ever, when the same process was re-
state. Because the coating is applied to coating (Fig. 1). Tubes of the 40/80 low- peated with surface-modified proppant,
every proppant grain, the entire prop- density ceramic (LDC) proppant were as- the water level was not drawn up inside
pant pack exhibits a neutral-wettability sembled with screens at the bottom that the tube.
surface. When a surface is neutrally wet, would allow water to enter while keep- The coating also has been tested and
the contact angle of the wetting fluid is ing the proppant in place. When the tube exhibits several additional attributes.
The coating itself has been qualified at
up to 400°F. In addition, testing has
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
been performed to ensure that the coat-
paper SPE 175537, “Novel Proppant Surface Treatment Yields Enhanced Multiphase- ing is both durable and permanent.
Flow Performance and Improved Hydraulic-Fracture Cleanup,” by Terry Palisch, Surface-modified LDC proppant was
Mark Chapman, and Joshua Leasure, SPE, Carbo Ceramics, prepared for the placed in a roller oven at 65, 100, and
2015 SPE Liquids-Rich Basins Conference—North America, Midland, Texas, USA, 200°F along with various fluids, includ-
2–3 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed. ing fresh water, 2% potassium chloride

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

64 JPT • MARCH 2016

(KCl), 10% hydrochloric acid (HCl), and
10% sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The
roller oven was allowed to tumble, and
the coating effectiveness for each tem-
perature and in the presence of each of
the fluids was observed after 24 hours,
72 hours, and 1 week. No loss of coating
was observed for any fluid or any length
of time at 65 or 100°F. At 200°F, no coat-
ing loss was observed, except in the case
of the NaOH and HCl, where less than
15% coating loss was observed at 1 week.
No coating loss was detected for these
fluids at 24 or 72 hours, however. Final-
ly, fluid-compatibility testing was per-
formed in a standard 40-lbm/1,000  gal
guar borate-crosslinked system at vari-
ous shear rates, and no impact on the
fluid performance was observed. To
date, the coated proppant has been used
in the field on many stimulation treat-
ments with various pumping companies
and fluid systems, with no noticeable im-
pact on the fluid properties.
New-Proppant Performance
Before first placement in the field, labo-
ratory testing was performed to demon-
strate the benefits of placing a neutral-
wettability surface on ceramic proppant.
The first test consisted of a
multiphase-flow test performed at a
third-party laboratory. In this test,
both coated and uncoated 20/40 LDC
proppant were loaded in a Cooke con-
ductivity cell between Ohio-sandstone
cores at 2 lbm/ft2. In this test, a 2%
KCl, silica-saturated solution was circu-
lated at 50  mL/min while nitrogen was
pumped at various rates. Testing was
performed at 2,000-psi stress and at
180°F, and 300-psi backpressure was
held on the system. The pressure drop
was measured across the conductivity
cell at each nitrogen rate tested. The
proppant with the neutral-wettability
coating exhibited a 20 to 50% reduction
in pressure drop depending on nitrogen
rate when compared with standard un-
coated ceramic proppant.
Another test was conducted at the
same laboratory in which “wet” nitrogen
gas was circulated at various rates. In this
test, a conductivity cell was loaded that
was similar to the previous one: 2 lbm/ft2,
180°F, and 300-psi backpressure, while
2,000-psi stress was placed on the cell.
A constant gas/liquid ratio was main-
JPT • MARCH 2016
tained throughout the test. In this test,
the neutral-wettability ceramic proppant
exhibited a 35–55% increase in system
permeability over the standard uncoated
ceramic proppant.
Finally, a standard permeabili-
ty test was performed to measure the
permeability difference to oil. In this
test, a 30/50 uncoated LDC proppant
and a 30/50 LDC proppant with the
neutral-wettability coating were load-
ed into a Cooke conductivity cell at
2 lbm/ft2. The stress was increased to
2,000 psi, and the proppant pack was
saturated with silica-saturated 2% KCl.
The cells were then circulated with min-
eral oil, and after 24 hours, a standard
conductivity/permeability measurement
was performed. At 2,000 psi, the coated
LDC proppant exhibited a 25% increase
in oil permeability. The stress was in-
creased to 8,000 psi, and another test
was performed with the mineral oil. At
this higher stress, the oil-permeability
benefit of the coated LDC proppant in-
creased to 45% over standard uncoated
ceramic proppant, confirming that, as
the pore throats decrease (and capillary
pressure increases), the benefit of this
technology increases. It also suggests
minimal breakage of the ceramic prop-
pant, indicating that the application of
this technology to lesser-strength par-
ticles may be problematic.
Field Results
This new proppant technology has been
used in several locations, including
north Louisiana, south Texas, and the
Permian Basin.
One of the first trials was implement-
ed in two wells located in DeSoto Par-
ish, Louisiana. These wells were part of
a recompletion program in which exist-
ing wells were being reperforated in an
uphole zone and then hydraulically frac-
tured to access additional reserves. The
two wells were chosen because they were
in close proximity to each other, had sim-
ilar depth and net pay in the recompleted
zones, and had similar producing charac-
teristics before the recompletion.
Additionally, both wells were recom-
pleted at similar times and were planned
for similar recompletions. The con-
trol well was planned for four stages vs.
three stages for the coated proppant test
well; however, both wells were sched-
uled to receive a similar mass of prop-
pant. Upon implementation, the control
well screened out early on the second
stage, leading to the control well receiv-
ing 20% less proppant placed compared
with the test well. Both wells exhibit-
ed similar fracture gradients, further
suggesting that the recompleted zones
were similar.
Both wells were flowed back at the
same time and in a similar flowback/
choke program and were monitored
daily. After more than a year, several
positive observations were made from
the well production. First gas was pro-
duced from the well containing treated
proppant after just 38 hours, as com-
pared to the well containing untreat-
ed proppant, which took 60 hours—an
80% improvement. This is likely be-
cause of the higher permeability relative
to hydrocarbons caused by the neutral-
wettability surface.
After 6 days, the treated well had pro-
duced 5.6 MMcf, 80% more than the un-
treated well (3.1 MMcf). After 13 months,
the treated well has produced more than
40 MMcf of incremental gas (+13%)
and nearly 1,000 bbl of incremental oil
(+45%) compared with the untreated
well, generating nearly USD 200,000 in
incremental revenue. In addition, results
indicate that the condensate yield of the
treated well is nearly 30% higher, sug-
gesting that the neutral-wettability sur-
face is affecting the relative permeability
to hydrocarbons positively.
Conclusions
Laboratory testing at various stresses
and flowing conditions in a standard
Cooke conductivity cell has shown the
coated proppant to
◗ Reduce the multiphase-flow
pressure losses in the proppant pack
by 20 to 50%
◗ Increase the wet-gas permeability of
the proppant pack by 35 to 55%
◗ Increase the permeability to oil in
the proppant pack by 25 to 45%
The critical benefit, however, will be
realized in the long-term increase in re-
covery. Increasing load recovery as well
as decreasing the flowing-pressure loss-
es in the proppant pack will increase the
effective drainage area of the fracture.
This is expected to lead to an effective
increase in hydrocarbon recovery. JPT
65
 New Stimulation Method Significantly
Improves Hydrocarbon Recovery

A s a result of the creation of a

hydraulic fracture, transient
geomechanics forces are exerted on
the formation, which modify the stress
landscape near the wellbore and the
fracture plane. It has been observed
that the potential exists for temporary
reversal in the minimum-stress
direction, enabling a brief time interval
in which a second hydraulic fracture
can be created in a completely different
direction. This provides hydraulic-
fracturing connectivity to previously
unattainable locations in the formation.
This paper presents a computational
validation of this multioriented
hydraulic-fracturing (MOHF) process.
Overview of Pinpoint-
Fracturing Techniques
Pinpoint fracturing, also known as pin-
point stimulation, is a general term used
in the industry to refer to fracturing
processes that specifically target indi-
vidual treatment intervals in a multiple-
interval completion. More than 20 differ-
ent pinpoint-stimulation techniques have
been developed for coiled-tubing- (CT)
or drillpipe-deployed jetting tools. Al-
though several mechanically actuated or
explosive-perforation pinpoint methods
have been developed, the most widely
used pinpoint methods are hydrajet cou-
pled stimulation procedures. This paper
focuses only on the hydrajet methods and
discusses how pinpoint fracturing can be
applied to achieve an MOHF stimulation.
The length of the wellbore being treated
per stage of the operation is usually much
smaller than it is with conventional stim-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of
paper SPE 177061, “A New Stimulation Method To Significantly Improve Hydrocarbon
Recovery by Use of Temporary Beneficial Changes in Stress Anisotropy,” by B.J. Lewis
and J.B. Surjaatmadja, Halliburton, prepared for the 2015 SPE Latin American and
Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, Quito, Ecuador, 18–20 November. The
paper has not been peer reviewed.
ulation techniques. Conventional meth-
ods, either sliding-sleeve or plug-and-
perforate, generally treat 15 m to more
than 60 m of the wellbore at a time. In
contrast, with pinpoint methods, only one
fracture is being initiated by the hydrajets
per treatment stage; therefore, more stag-
es are generally used than with the plug-
and-perforate method. The spacing be-
tween fractures is designed to be directly
related to the expected drainage poten-
tial of each fracture and may also be influ-
enced by the unique geological features in
the area. This allows for a significant flex-
ibility in terms of the treatment design. A
summary of operational benefits of pin-
point stimulation is provided in the com-
plete paper, but they include the following:
◗ Large number of treatment intervals
with only one trip into the well
◗ Reduced time to complete each
treatment interval
◗ Reduced downtime between
treatment intervals
◗ Fracture placement designed for
each individual fracture, rather than
in large treatment intervals
◗ Optimized stimulation-fluid system,
pressure, and rate for every fracture
As with other processes, there are
some drawbacks with pinpoint stimula-
tion compared with conventional meth-
ods. If the stimulation treatment will
be tubing-conveyed, a rig or hydraulic-
workover (HWO) unit would be required
on location. Most pinpoint methods also
require two separate pumping sources to
be available (one for the tubing flow and
one for the annulus flow). Therefore, ad-
ditional surface flow piping and valves
are necessary; however, both pumping
sources contribute to the total-treatment
fluid-flow rate.
Hydrajet-Assisted Fracturing (HJAF).
The pinpoint hydraulic-fracturing pro-
cess most likely to be successful in terms
of accomplishing an MOHF stimulation is
the HJAF process. HJAF relies on the Ber-
noulli principle to provide dynamic-fluid
isolation of the treatment intervals during
stimulation rather than mechanical sepa-
ration, such as fracturing plugs. Accord-
ing to the Bernoulli principle, the high
velocity of the jet exiting the hydrajetting
tool creates a low-pressure region that
draws fluid from the annulus toward the
jet (e.g., a jet pump). In this way, the hy-
drajet first perforates the casing and for-
mation, and then provides the additional
localized pressure condition to help en-
sure that the treatment fluid enters the
perforation currently being stimulated.
To create the dynamic isolation suc-
cessfully, relatively high flow rates are
necessary from the hydrajets. The stan-
dard CT diameters available in most re-
gions are insufficient for such flow rates,
or larger CT sizes may not have adequate
length on the reel to reach an extend-
ed wellbore depth. Therefore, larger-
diameter tubing or drillpipe must be
used, which requires an HWO unit or
drilling rig to manipulate.
As in any hydraulic-fracturing treat-
ments, the bottomhole pressure
must be maintained above the local
formation-closure stress to open a frac-
ture and allow it to extend. The dynamic
pressure at the stagnation point of the jet
is significantly higher than the annulus
pressure, which expressly aids fracture
initiation and early extension. However,
once a fracture begins to extend from
the jet tip, the annulus pressure and flow
rate must supply the necessary energy
to maintain fracture growth. Therefore,
because the perforating phase is often

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

66 JPT • MARCH 2016

From
evolution to
revolution
Cut
Cut more,
more,
weigh
weigh less,
less,
last
last longer.
longer.
Find
Find out
out how
how at
at
nov.com/beyond20K
nov.com/beyond20K

To learn more about NOV 20K, download GO NOV

To learn
from themore aboutorNOV
App Store 20K,Play.
Google download GO NOV
from the App Store or Google Play.
© 2016 | National Oilwell Varco | All rights reserved
© 2016 | National Oilwell Varco | All rights reserved
 performed in circulation, the casing per-
foration and fracture initiation can some-
times be achieved by simply choking the
annulus flowback to maintain the bot-
tomhole annulus pressure above the frac-
ture gradient, but then fracture growth
must be supported by additional fluid
from annulus injection. As such, a second
high-pressure pumping source is neces-
sary at the surface to supply fluid to the
annulus, although the annulus-pumping
pressure will be significantly less than the
tubing-pumping pressure supporting the
large pressure drop across the hydrajets.
The HJAF process is the only stimula-
tion method with the ability to perform
hydraulic-fracturing operations reli-
ably in linerless-openhole, uncemented-
liner, and slotted/perforated-liner com-
pletions. All other hydraulic-stimulation
methods, either conventional or pin-
point, require a solid casing or liner com-
pletion. This ability is arguably one of the
most economically and operationally ad-
vantageous aspects of the HJAF method.
Hydrajet-Assisted Fracturing With
Hydrajet Anchor (HJAF-HJA). In the
case where the dynamic-fluid isolation
from the hydrajet velocity is insufficient
to support the variance in bottomhole
treating pressure between various treat-
ment intervals, a hydrajet-anchor (HJA)
bottomhole assembly (BHA) can be
added to the tool string below the jetting
sub. The HJA acts as a mechanical isola-
tion device to assist zonal fluid isolation.
HJAF, HJAF-HJA, or any other
pinpoint-stimulation process can also
be coupled with chemical- or polymer-
additive diverting-fluid systems such
as those used in traditional hydraulic-
fracturing services. For the MOHF pro-
cess, use of an HJA or a diverting agent
could be highly beneficial. Geomechan-
ics simulations show that a higher break-
down pressure is likely in the second
hydraulic fracture because of the extra
transient compression on the formation
from the first hydraulic fracture and that
the second fracture will be placed in very
close proximity to the first fracture.
Proposed
Operational Procedure
for the MOHF Treatment
The procedure for performing an MOHF
treatment with the HJAF method will
68
vary slightly between vertical and hori-
zontal wells. In a vertical well, or devi-
ated well, the stimulation plan will be
designed on the basis of the height of
the formation layer being stimulated.
If one assumes a producing formation
layer that is relatively thin (i.e., only one
hydraulic-fracturing stage would nor-
mally be used to treat it), then the hy-
drajet tool will first be placed a short
distance below the centerline of the for-
mation layer. The first hydraulic frac-
ture will be placed by use of the normal
HJAF procedure. After completing the
first fracture, the hydrajet tool will be
pulled up a short distance to the other
side of the formation-layer centerline.
The second fracture will then be placed
per the normal HJAF procedure, with
the dynamic pressure isolation from the
hydrajet acting to divert the treatment
fluid to the second fracture. If the two
fracture-initiation points are too close
to one another, it will be challenging to
achieve dynamic-fluid isolation. As a re-
sult of the transient local stress modifi-
cation from the first hydraulic fracture,
the second hydraulic fracture will be
reoriented into a new direction, ideally
perpendicular to the first fracture. If ad-
ditional formation layers are to be treat-
ed, the tool will then be repositioned at
the next zone, and the process repeated.
For a horizontal well, the procedure is
slightly more complicated. The expect-
ed fracture length and height must be
computed for each hydraulic fracture be-
cause this information will be necessary
to place the next fracture properly. The
hydrajetting tool will be repositioned fol-
lowing each treatment stage such that the
next fracture-initiation point is within
the stress-reoriented zone, and the frac-
ture to be extended from that point, with
its new orientation, must also remain in
the stress-reoriented zone. In the case of
MOHF, fracture crossing, at the extents
of the fractures, would be considered
ideal fracture placement.
Exploratory field experience, as well as
the transient hydraulic-fracturing simu-
lations, has shown that the time interval
between treatment stages for a success-
ful MOHF stimulation must be less than
30 minutes. When stimulating with lon-
ger time intervals, the transient stresses
in the rock that make MOHF possible will
decline quickly.
Expected Post-MOHF-
Stimulation Production Results
As a result of the MOHF process, the
total stimulated reservoir volume con-
nected to the wellbore will increase sig-
nificantly. This is not only a result of plac-
ing more hydraulic fractures in the well,
but, because of the multiple orientations
of the fractures, previously unconnected
and unstimulated portions of the forma-
tion have now been reached. Therefore,
it would be reasonable to assume that a
substantial increase in production would
be observed over that expected from a
traditional stimulation treatment.
In the case of an exceptional MOHF
success, reliable formation simulators
show that a production increase of more
than a factor of four is not unreasonable
in certain circumstances. Because of the
extensive depth and lateral reach of mod-
ern hydrocarbon wells, it is improbable
that the wellbore will intersect with the
best-producing, high-permeability sec-
tion of the formation. If the wellbore
is drilled in the lower-permeability sec-
tion of the formation near a permeable
channel, then the well will likely require
hydraulic fracturing to achieve an eco-
nomic rate of hydrocarbon return. It is
commonly believed that the hydraulic
fractures will then connect the wellbore
with these permeable channels where
the hydrocarbons are more abundant-
ly stored and more easily extracted.
However, the physics of the hydraulic-
fracturing process disagrees with this
assumption. Because of the differences
in rock properties between the perme-
able channel and the surrounding area,
the local minimum-horizontal-stress
direction will be toward the channel.
The lower compressive strength of the
higher-permeability rock will ensure that
this is the case. Therefore, the hydrau-
lic fracture will propagate parallel to the
permeable channel. However, the MOHF
process has the potential to temporarily
compress the rock between the wellbore
and the permeable channel, thus modify-
ing the local stress landscape such that
the second fracture might propagate per-
pendicular to the channel and intersect
the hydrocarbon-rich high-permeability
zone. Such a scenario would easily result
in a fourfold increase over the produc-
tion observed from only the first hydrau-
lic fracture. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2016
Register Now
www.spe.org/events/ctwi/2016/

NEW LOCATION!
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas, USA
22–23 March 2016

www.icota.com
 Rod-Shaped-Proppant Fracturing Boosts
Production and Adds Reserves

I n a fracturing campaign of three wells

at Field X, a new unconventional
proppant technology—a rod-shaped
From 2006 to mid-2008, 21 fracturing
jobs were performed to stimulate the X1
B sand; the jobs resulted in an average oil-
proppant—was used. The rod-shaped production gain of 80 BOPD per well, and
proppant is a high-strength ceramic the overall success rate was 71%. Since
proppant with an unconventional rod that time, the operator has performed Rod -Shaped ISP
shape that has the unique benefit of approximately 20 hydraulic fractures per Proppant
delivering increased proppant-pack year in Field X. Fig. 1—Shape comparison between
conductivities, higher and cleaner rod-shaped proppant and ISP.
fracture length, and improved proppant- Fracturing Challenges
flowback control. After 6 months of and Treatment Evolution need of chemical surface modification to
production, all fractured wells in which One of the main challenges while fractur- foster adhesion.
the rod-shaped proppant was used ing in Field X, Formation X1, is achieving
delivered, on average, 25% higher oil enough fracture half-length to increase Rod-Shaped-Proppant
per net pay compared with offset wells the reservoir contact. As a typical low- Technology
fractured with conventional proppant. permeability formation, its post-fracture A novel rod-shaped proppant was devel-
productivity is driven by the effective oped to improve fracture conductivity.
Introduction fracture length created during the frac- The shape difference between rod-shaped
Field X is a mature-waterflood field in the turing job. Post-treatment evaluations proppant and ISP is shown in Fig 1. The
Central Sumatra basin. Currently, pro- from several of the wells indicated that theory that proppant packs with cylindri-
duction is approximately 17,000 BOPD; the lack of stress contrast between the cal pellets have larger pores and higher
most production comes from Forma- target zone and the adjacent barriers has porosity than packs with conventional
tion Y, and a much smaller contribution led to the creation of short fractures. spherical ones was confirmed by exten-
comes from the shallower, but tighter, The rod-shaped proppant increased sive laboratory testing that showed that
Formation X1 (reservoir characteristics the conductivity of the proppant pack, the retained conductivity of the rod-
are provided in the complete paper). A which led to a better post-treatment frac- shaped proppant packs was significantly
reservoir study for further field develop- ture cleanup. Having better and earli- higher when compared with an ISP pack
ment of Formation X1 in Field X was con- er fracture cleanup increases the effec- of the same mesh size (12/20 or 12/18).
ducted in 1999. On the basis of this study, tive fracture length, which is essential In addition to the higher retained con-
it was determined that the recovery fac- when fracturing low-permeability for- ductivity, laboratory tests using nuclear-
tor of Formation X1 was low (single-digit mations. Besides providing much higher magnetic-resonance imaging showed the
recovery). Given this low recovery factor, conductivity than intermediate-strength initial cleanup in the rod-shaped packs
several options were considered to de- proppants (ISPs), the packing of rod- to be significantly higher compared with
velop the remaining reserves better. The shaped proppant causes the rods to that of the spherical packs.
implementation of hydraulic fracturing mechanically interlock to form a well-
was evaluated as one of the options to in- consolidated proppant pack that limits Field Trials
crease the oil recovery of the reservoir. the proppant-flowback tendency without The field trial of the top three candidate
wells in Field X was initiated through
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of three steps: treatment design, treatment
paper IPTC 18086, “Novel Rod-Shaped-Proppant Fracturing Boosts Production and execution, and treatment evaluation.
Adds Recoverable Reserves in Indonesia During Hydraulic-Fracturing Field-Revival
Treatment Design. The perforation ge-
Campaign,” by L. Soetikno and P. Artola, Schlumberger, and C. Guimaraes, Chevron,
ometry had to be customized for the
prepared for the 2014 International Petroleum Technology Conference, Kuala Lumpur, three field-trial wells. Different perfo-
10–12 December. The paper has not been peer reviewed. rating guns available were assessed, and
finally a 4½-in. casing gun with deep
Copyright 2014 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced by penetration, 5 shots/ft, and 72° phasing
permission. was selected. These were the first treat-

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

70 JPT • MARCH 2016

ments pumped worldwide through perforations with diameter
less than 0.6 in.
When using rod-shaped proppant, it is necessary that the hy-
draulic-fracture width be greater than 6 mm to be able to place
high concentrations of proppant and avoid any bridging. To as-
sess this, a hydraulic-fracture-width simulation was run for each
of the well designs in which fracturing with rod-shaped proppant
was planned; the hydraulic-fracture width was calculated for each
fracture-treatment stage. By the time that the first rod-shaped
proppant reached the fracture, the hydraulic width was greater
than 8 mm.
The fracture treatments were designed to achieve approxi-
mately 250 ft of propped-fracture half-length for each well; this
is the same fracture length for which the conventional-proppant
wells were designed. Typically, conventional-proppant-fracture
designs included an average use of 160,000 lbm of 12/18 ISP.
The wells planned with rod-shaped proppant were designed
with average use of 135,000 lbm of proppant, 15% less prop-
pant than was used in the conventional wells. The higher con-
ductivity of the rod-shaped proppant allowed using less prop-
pant to achieve much-higher-conductivity proppant packs and
the same fracture length.

Treatment Execution. Three types of injection test were exe-

cuted before the main fracturing treatment in each well. They
were a mini-falloff test, step-rate and step-down tests, and a
mini-fracturing procedure. Results from these three special-
ized injection tests were used to update and refine the initial
fracturing designs.
The mini-falloff test was performed by injecting approxi-
mately 50 bbl of 2% KCl at a pumping rate of 5 to 6 bbl/min.
Pressure decline was monitored until pressure reached zero at
the surface. The main purpose for the mini-falloff test was to de-
termine reservoir transmissibility and reservoir pressure.
The mini-falloff test was followed by step-rate and step-down
tests with 2% KCl. From the step-rate test, fracture-extension
rate and fracture-extension pressure can be obtained. Mean-
while, the step-down test helped to identify and quantify near-
wellbore tortuosity and perforation friction.
The mini-fracturing treatment was performed before execut-
ing the main fracture treatment, using the same fracturing fluid
that was planned for the main job: 40 lbm of high-temperature-
delayed borate-crosslinked fluid. The pumping rates were be-
tween 18 and 20 bbl/min. Then, the treatment was shut in and
the pressure decline was monitored. The objective of the mini-
fracturing test was to obtain estimated closure pressure, identify
the fluid-leakoff coefficient, and recognize any nonideal behavior.
Mini-fracturing interpretation indicated that there was signifi-
cant fracture-height growth because of the lack of strong barriers,
which is a typical behavior when fracturing in the X1 formation.
The main fractures were pumped using high-temperature
delayed borate-crosslinked fluid with pumping rates of 18 to
20 bbl/min. The average surface treating pressure was 2,100 psi,
and the average bottomhole fracturing pressure was 3,400 psi.
Rod-shaped proppant was pumped as tail-in after 12/18 ISP from
5 to 7 lbm of proppant added per gallon. During the main fractur-
ing job, the surface pressure decreased as rod-shaped proppant
(Continued on page 98)

JPT • MARCH 2016 71

 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

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

Despite the market conditions during
Case studies
the last year, our industry continued to
demonstrate further advances in the are now being presented
monitoring and surveillance field and for practical applications
to attest to the added value provided.
General trends from past years are still of advanced technology and
being pursued to further our knowledge optimization methodology
related to the issues seen as most impor-
tant for production optimization and
that were considered
field management. Studies and methods only visions not that
were shared regarding unconventional many years ago.
development such as fracturing perfor-
mance and analysis. New developments
for multiphase-flow-metering evalua- still being discussed, although some
tion and verification continue to be a interesting practical applications incor-
leading topic. Additional studies were porating multiple data streams managed
shared in understanding flow regimes in simultaneously in real-time scenarios
long horizontal wells using new methods were shared during the past year.
and combined data gathering. Down- Newer trends indicate further coop-
hole solutions providing data in hori- eration across the industry. Results
zontal and difficult wellbore trajectories from multiple collaboration efforts were
without intervention were further devel- released and discussed that involved
oped with tracers and other technolo- partners from government agencies,
gy. New and novel methods for the use operators, service providers, and vari-
of fiber optics continue to come forth ous third parties working together to
with advancements in strain and acous- solve problems for the future. Case stud-
tic measurements that have been shown ies are now being presented for practi-
to add value. Challenges regarding the cal applications of advanced technology
management of large data streams are and optimization methodology that were
Marc Kuck, SPE, is a drilling and completions engineering manager
with Eni US Operating Company in Anchorage. He has worked
with major operators and service companies in the oil and gas
industry for 20 years, specializing in well operations and comple-
tions 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 engineering from
the Colorado School of Mines. Kuck is a member of the JPT
Editorial Committee.
considered only visions not that many
years ago. It is very exciting for us to see
the results from the efforts that have
taken place over the past several years.
Success cases for fieldwide implemen-
tation of real-time data gathering com-
bined with work flows, modeling, and
predictive analysis are becoming more
prevalent. Subsurface monitoring appli-
cations relating to kick detection and
managed-pressure drilling are gaining
more attention as we also push the lim-
its on the drilling side of the surveillance
field. The technology initially developed
for production monitoring may be forg-
ing the way for wide applications across
oilfield operations.
The following is a selection of articles
to demonstrate the accomplishments
shared by the exceptional peers who
chose to publish their knowledge from
the last year. Additional reading sugges-
tions are also provided. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 173452 Lessons Learned From
Worldwide Deployments of Model-Based
Real-Time Production-Optimization
Solutions by Amol Bakshi, Chevron, et al.
IPTC 17773 Real-Time Calculation of
Fluid Level Using Dynamometer Card of
Sucker-Rod-Pump Well by Yang Haitao,
PetroChina, et al.
SPE 172593 Combining Horizontal
Production-Logging and Distributed-
Temperature Interpretations To Diagnose
Annular Flow in Slotted-Liner Completions
by T. Ben Haoua, Schlumberger, et al.

72 JPT • MARCH 2016

New Improvements to
Deepwater Subsea Measurement

I n an effort to develop new
measurement technologies
for ultradeepwater oil and gas
production, the US Department
of Energy’s National Energy
Technology Laboratory under the
Research Partnership To Secure
Energy for America (RPSEA) has
initiated a new project. This project,
titled More Improvements to
Deepwater Subsea Measurement,
has addressed those gaps that were
identified by an earlier RPSEA project
as the most pressing for multiphase-
flow measurement.
Introduction
Approximately 15 years ago, as offshore
production in the Gulf of Mexico and
elsewhere moved off the continental
shelf and into truly deep water, it be-
came apparent that methods of mea-
suring the flow of oil and gas would
have to change in a significant man-
ner. Not only did formidable techni-
cal challenges exist in performing pro-
duction tests on wells that were many
miles away in 1000  m or more of
water, but the economics of installing
test lines to perform such tests simply
was not acceptable. Production from
many wells would be commingled, and
one of two alternatives would have to
be chosen: Either a clever way of test-
ing well rates from the combined flow
would be developed, or each well’s rate
of production would be measured be-
fore commingling.
Discussion
History. Past efforts of RPSEA and
others to research improving deep-
water exploration-and-production op-
erations are detailed in the complete
paper. At the conclusion of one such
RPSEA project, running from 2008 to
2011, several leaders in a joint-industry
project (JIP) that had supported that ef-
fort expressed an interest in a followup
RPSEA project to refine certain results
from the first project, and to investigate
those areas where it was felt there were
still questions needing answers. Conse-
quently, a new proposal was submitted
for RPSEA’s consideration, resulting in
the new RPSEA project: 10121-4304-01,
More Improvements to Deepwater Sub-
sea Measurement. The following topics
were identified:
◗ Deepwater fluid sampling
◗ Deepwater meter-verification
technology Fig. 1—Conceptual drawing of
◗ Early kick detection an ROV-conveyed apparatus
◗ Downhole differential-pressure- for sampling at a deepwater
sensor development measurement point.
◗ Virtual-flowmeter evaluation
◗ Detection of meter fouling This JIP was organized somewhat dif-
Each of these topics could have quali- ferently from that formed in support of
fied as a project on its own, but the fact Project 1301. Chevron, ConocoPhillips,
that the common thread of measure- Statoil, and Total were retained from the
ment ran through all, requiring the same 1301 JIP, and General Electric was added
kind of expertise in investigators, sug- as a fifth member. Each agreed to con-
gested that grouping the various parts tribute a proportionate share of the cost-
under a single RPSEA project, managed sharing portion required, totaling 20%
by those experienced in measurement, of USD 4.057 million, or approximate-
made good sense. Therefore, this was the ly USD 810,000. Project 10121-4304-01
approach taken once again. will conclude on 2 July 2015.

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights Overview of Results. Subsea Sam-
pling and Sensor-Insertion Systems.
of paper OTC 25686, “More Improvements to Deepwater Subsea Measurement:
Two parts of the new RPSEA project
Overview,” by W. Letton, Letton Hall Group; J.M. Pappas, Research Partnership
addressed the issue of fluid-properties
To Secure Energy for America; and J. Shen, Chevron, prepared for the 2015 monitoring during the life of a subsea
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, 4–7 May. The paper has not been well. In the first part, the RPSEA Task
peer reviewed. 5 effort, a system was developed to col-
lect a fluid sample from a subsea flow
Copyright 2015 Offshore Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission. point, typically on the production tree,

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

JPT • MARCH 2016 73

 for the purpose of capturing the fluid-
properties information required by the
multiphase meter. In earlier days, these
data could be collected topside from the
separator, but they are generally unavail-
able in deepwater systems because of
the extensive commingling of wells that
takes place. The new sampling system is
conveyed by a remotely operated vehicle
(ROV) to the receiving point.
In the sample-system development of
RPSEA Project 4304, considerable at-
tention was paid to lessons learned from
testing of the 1301 equipment, especially
in addressing ROV operator-handling is-
sues. This resulted in a smaller and con-
siderably more maneuverable unit. Tests
for both sampling capability in the field
and ROV-operator handling in a large-
volume tank were made to assess the
unit’s operability and its ability to per-
form the sampling functions. In Fig. 1, a
conceptual drawing of an ROV-conveyed
apparatus for sampling at a deepwater
measurement point is shown.
In the second part of the fluid-
monitoring effort, a methodology for
safely inserting or removing a probe sen-
sor in a live production flowline was de-
veloped and tested. With few constraints
other than dimensional considerations,
individual sensors of one’s choosing can
be inserted through a sophisticated se-
ries of valves by ROV, either horizontally
or vertically.
Clamp-on Subsea Multiphase
Meter. In RPSEA Project 1301, a first
attempt was made at using an ROV to
clamp another meter to a section of the
subsea pipework. Although the mechan-
ical aspects of the clamping and sensor
orientation were demonstrated to work
well, the measurement technique select-
ed was not sufficiently robust to be con-
sidered seriously for meter verification.
To find a multiphase measurement
robust enough to work in a clamp-on
mode, an unusual approach was taken.
Because the approach taken was to clamp
on to normal steel pipe, and because
the only known clamp-on metering sen-
sors were those able to measure through
the steel, certain kinds of sensors were
ruled out, in particular those using elec-
tromagnetic (EM) methods for sens-
ing the flowing fluid in the pipe. How-
74
ever, it was known that high-strength
nonmetallic tubulars were being devel-
oped and were in test, and thus con-
sideration was given to EM methods.
A method of multiphase measurement
based on electrical-capacitance tomog-
raphy (ECT) was chosen for development
here, with the goal of a laboratory dem-
onstration of a clamp-on ECT meter op-
erating around an EM-transparent pipe
in a saltwater environment.
New Measurement Techniques for
Kick Detection at the Mudline. One
goal of RPSEA Project 4304 from the out-
set was to develop new methods for de-
tecting a kick during drilling operations.
To this end, two different methods were
prototyped and evaluated experimen-
tally. Incorporating a mud-density sen-
sor at the mudline allows the monitor-
ing of changes that could be caused by
oil and gas inflow, and allows the detec-
tion of such an event long before it can be
sensed topside—perhaps several hours
in advance of its arrival at the surface for
ultradeepwater wells.
The two techniques selected were (1)
observation of various ultrasonic propa-
gation properties and (2) measurement
of the density of the mud using precision
differential-pressure (DP) sensing.
True Downhole Measurement of DP.
Measurement of downhole DP, in both
drilling and production applications, has
been an elusive goal for many years. The
primary problem is the difficulty one en-
counters in measuring a very small dif-
ference in pressure in the presence of
a very large background pressure. Bot-
tomhole temperatures may be greater
than 200°C, which presents a problem
for most DP gauges. Consequently, at-
tempts to use the difference between
two absolute-pressure sensors have been
completely unsuccessful.
In this Project 4304 task, the micro-
machined silicon sensor developed for
RPSEA Project 1301 has been repack-
aged to meet the requirements for use in
a downhole gauge. It is designed to oper-
ate with a precision of 0.1% of full scale
at 15,000 psi and 250°C, and there is not
another comparable gauge commercially
available. The overall measured uncer-
tainty at 10,000 psi was well within the
specification of 0.1% of full-scale DP.
The packaged unit measures 0.95 in.
in diameter and is 1.13 in. in length. Sub-
sequent to assessment at room tempera-
ture, calibrations were performed first at
250°C and then at 10,000 psi; separate
calibrations for high temperature and
high pressure were necessary, because
there is no known facility that concur-
rently is capable of providing both.
In-Situ Detection of Subsea Meter
Fouling. When production meters are
subjected to contamination or fouling
as they are used, the effects on the qual-
ity of measurement can be disastrous.
These kinds of inaccuracies are possi-
ble as scale is deposited on the interior
meter surfaces. Similar effects in creat-
ing systematic errors in discharge coef-
ficient, but in the opposite direction, are
observed when the fouling is attributable
to erosion rather than scaling.
Systematic errors from deepwater me-
ters as significant as those described here
can be harmful in reservoir-management
applications but can be catastrophic in
those cases where meter outputs are
used for fiscal purposes (e.g., in pro-
duction allocation). Given the possible
consequences of making such errors in
measurement, an obvious question is
whether one can detect the fouling con-
ditions that are the root cause. This was
the goal of another dedicated RPSEA
Project 4304 task.
Seven possible directions to address
the problem were considered initially.
From this list, three were chosen as most
promising, one of which was eliminat-
ed because it required access to diag-
nostic parameters generated by today’s
commercial multiphase meters, a need
that was not likely to be fulfilled for
these proprietary devices. The two re-
maining techniques were selected for
in-depth studies.
The first was a look at innovative
ways to use DP to indicate the pres-
ence of fouling. The second implement-
ed the method known as data valida-
tion and reconciliation, wherein certain
systems that are overspecified—which
have more measurements than indepen-
dent measurands—can be used to sug-
gest which of the measurement devices is
most likely to be the source of any errors
in the measurement. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2016
Achieving Well-Performance Optimization
Through Work-Flow Automation

T he Samarang field is located

offshore Sabah, Malaysia.
The field is undergoing a major
tificial lift, with more than 80% of
wells and strings being gas lifted. It
was necessary to find a better way to
The complete paper covers the first
two stages of IO implementation for
Samarang, in which the first five work
redevelopment project with manage this production flow stream flows are designed, developed, tested,
integrated operations (IO). In order efficiently with an improved asset- and implemented. The work flows are
to overcome a variety of challenges management strategy. selected in a way that involves real-time,
and to improve field awareness, data-driven well-level decision process-
several work flows were designed Solution Overview es with fast-loop decision cycles, com-
and deployed in order to achieve an For Samarang, the IO solution is de- prising activities with a decision span of
early milestone of providing real- signed in such a way that work flows 0–1 days (e.g., well status and uptime,
time well-performance monitoring, process data into actionable informa- well-test validation, and rate estima-
surveillance, and optimization. tion, improve decision processes by le- tion). The IO implementation also cov-
The paper discusses how these veraging technology, and equip people ers data- and model-driven work flows
work flows were implemented in an with systems and tools enabling en- in the optimization and artificial-lift
integrated way to provide a modern hanced decision support. An IO field domain that cover medium-loop deci-
decision-support system for the creates value through enhanced asset sion cycles typically involving activi-
Samarang field. management by focusing on decisions ties with a decision span of 1–90 days
to improve reservoir drainage, pro- (e.g., gas-lift surveillance, diagnostics,
Introduction duction, and operations. As part of and optimization).
Samarang is an old oil field and thus Samarang’s overall IO development
exhibits the characteristics of many strategy, the wells and facilities were Solution Implementation
mature fields, including declining pro- equipped with  the required instrumen- For the data-driven work flows, the
duction. It has been in production for tation to support approximately 25 most critical process is to ensure the
more than 35 years from multiple, now work flows. quality, reliability, and accuracy of data.
aging, platforms with insufficient me- Oil and gas asset activities and de- Real-time, high-frequency well and fa-
tering and monitoring processes. Given cisions  span a range of time scales; cility data are automatically transmit-
this situation, well status and uptime therefore, the work flows are divid- ted from a remote-terminal unit (RTU)
is unknown for many days, causing de- ed mainly into three main categories: to data-history systems and all the way
lays in mitigation and rectification of fast-loop, medium-loop, and slow- up to the production-platform database.
production issues. Most of the instru- loop decision cycles. These are then Per the “garbage-in, garbage-out” con-
ment measurements have been carried subdivided into seven different sub- cept, for automating the process and
out on an ad hoc basis; various facil- domain categories covering flow- logic, process-unintended, even non-
ity readings were measured manually, assurance, well-performance, facilities- sensical, input data (“garbage in”) can
which subsequently deferred field re- monitoring, artificial-lift, production- produce undesired, often nonsensical,
view, causing loss of production. The planning, enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) output (“garbage out”). Therefore, it
main technique implemented for pro- - surveillance, and optimization was deemed necessary to implement
duction optimization has been ar- work flows. a thorough quality-check process for
data acquisition, aggregation, and vali-
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of dation. The data-quality funnel is de-
paper SPE 173578, “Samarang Integrated Operations: Achieving Well-Performance picted in Fig. 1.
Because data are the foundation of
Monitoring, Surveillance, and Optimization Through Data- and Model-Driven Work-
these well-performance work flows,
Flow Automation,” by M. Zul Izzi Ahmad and Colinus Lajim Sayung, Petronas,
to ensure data quality, data are traced
and Muzahidin M. Salim, M. Kasim Som, Lee Hin Wong, Shripad Biniwale, directly from their sources. Data tie-
Nur Erziyati, Kenneth Soh, Roland Hermann, Vo Tri Nghia, Lau Chong Ee, and in and commissioning begins after
Muhammad Firdaus Hassan, Schlumberger, prepared for the 2015 SPE Digital instrumentation-testing, precommis-
Energy Conference and Exhibition, The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 3–5 March. The sioning, startup, and hand-over pro-
paper has not been peer reviewed. cesses are completed successfully. Once

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

JPT • MARCH 2016 75


Measurements Calibration, Loop Check,
and Control Functional Test
RTU Loop Check,
RTU
Functional Check
Historian Data Aggregation, Loop Check,
Database Functional Check, Site-Acceptance Test
Operational Second-Level Aggregation,
Database and Quality Rules, Outlier Removal,
Work-Flow Engine Point-to-Point Test
Work-Flow Operational Quality Test,
End Users Application Awareness Test
Fig. 1—Data-quality funnel for Samarang IO data-driven work flows.
transmitters are installed, calibration
and testing are performed for all mea-
surements by filling up the required
check sheets. RTU and data-historian
site-acceptance tests are performed,
and the first level of data aggregation
and quality check is performed. Dur-
ing later stages, some basic data-quality
rules and logic are applied to the raw
data and they are validated and ap-
proved. For this, a point-to-point check
procedure was applied as a part of the
commissioning process before ag-
gregating the values for the engineer-
ing work flows. The confidence level
of data quality improves from 20 to
100% as data go through the quality
funnel. Swim-lane diagrams, together
with responsibility-assignment-matrix
charts, are used for clarity in defining
role and responsibility.
The data-acquisition process is auto-
mated and is executed before the rele-
vant work flows are executed. The data
here are not only referred to as the
physical-data types or parameters, but
are also used later as information, after
going through the work-flow cycle, and
are finally used as knowledge for the end
users. Because the work flows are inter-
connected and dependent on one other,
the data are processed and flow through
the series of work flows in the follow-
ing sequence: well status, well-test val-
idation, rate estimation, gas lift sur-
veillance, diagnostics and optimization,
and operational back allocation (these
76
Real-Time and High-Frequency Data
(Raw, Tag-Based Data)
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Aggregated, Reliable, Quality Data
(Relational Processed Data)
work flows are described in detail in the
complete paper).
Work-Flow Application
and Results
The work flows are implemented at the
Samarang Operations office in Kota
Kinabalu (KK). The main access to
these work flows is from the “Sama-
rang Smart View” screens as a common
asset-decision-support system shared
by everyone.
By having fully integrated work flows
in Samarang, engineers are able to ac-
knowledge exact well status and accu-
rate uptime continuously and perform
mitigation actions proactively. This also
assists in managing unplanned events
and prevents production and injec-
tion deferment by improving well up-
time. Production trends are estimated
for active wells instantly when there
are changes in operating conditions.
Estimated production is also used in
operational back allocation and res-
ervoir modeling, leading to better
field management.
Because most of the wells in Sama-
rang are gas lifted, continuous real-time
surveillance of gas lift systems provides
an excellent insight to determine if the
well is operating close to optimum con-
ditions. The entire process is integrat-
ed and automated, from data collec-
tion to final outputs of visualization,
allowing management by exception by
means of warning and alarm notifica-
Instrumentation faults
detected and resolved
Historian data-quality and -reliability
issues detected and resolved
Data mapping, work-flow functional
issues detected and resolved
Sustaining data quality by continuous
monitoring and collaboration with operations
tion. The work flows are interrelated
and integrated, such that the results
and key performance indicators (KPIs)
of each work flow are analyzed in a
way that allows engineers from differ-
ent domains to collaborate for better
field management.
Work-Flow Operational Guidelines.
Operational guidelines (OGs) are a re-
sult of the process of work-flow op-
eration after the work flow is imple-
mented and commissioned. These
guidelines describe the details of vari-
ous IO work flows, which include who
will be involved, how the work flow will
be used in day-to-day operations, and
how it can be useful for operational
decision making.
These processes were implemented
by using visual representations of swim-
lane diagrams. OGs act as a guide to il-
lustrate the use of the “To-Be” work
flow by the actors in day-to-day op-
erations and do not represent the IO
system logic but rather the logic of
how people should be using the work
flow. This includes who should be in-
volved (actors) for each phase of the
work-flow life cycle; the roles, guide-
lines, and boundaries of each actor; tar-
geted Smart View screens for analysis;
and how the work flow can be used
more effectively.
(Continued on page 82)
JPT • MARCH 2016
PROPEL SSP:
THE PROPPANT + FLUID SYSTEM THAT

PAYS OUT
IN LESS THAN
4 MONTHS
REDUCING COST PER BOE.
READ THE WHOLE STORY AT FMSA.COM/4MONTHS3
 Distributed Acoustic Sensing for Downhole
Production and Injection Profiling

I n the past decade, fiber-optic (FO)

-based sensing has opened up
opportunities for in-well reservoir
Double-ended
1/4-in. control line

surveillance in the oil and gas industry.

Distributed-temperature sensing
(DTS) has been used in applications
such as steam-front monitoring in
thermal enhanced oil recovery and
injection-conformance monitoring
FCV 4 FCV 3 FCV 2 FCV 1 Fiber schematic
in waterflood projects. FO-based
pressure gauges are deployed
commonly. Significant progress also
has been made in maturing other new
FO-based surveillance methods such Zone 4 Zone 3 Zone 2 Zone 1
as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS).
In this paper, the authors present a Fig. 1—Schematic of the smart injector well with four isolated injection zones
recent example of single-phase-flow with FCVs and a double-ended FO cable inside the ¼-in. control line attached
profiling with DAS. to the outside of the tubing string.

Introduction (PLT) survey for a number of flow re- duction inflow at the perforations and
FO-based surveillance allows for a com- gimes and well types. different flow regimes developing along
plete, instantaneous data set from the top Because the same FO cable can be the well trajectory. Because the DAS in-
to the bottom of the well vs. traditional used for different measurements by con- terrogator has the ability to read out
logging methods that can consume many necting the appropriate interrogation the different channels in the FO cable at
hours to collect a single trace of a limit- unit to the cable, it is, for instance, pos- a very high sampling rate, it can iden-
ed interval of the well. A recent develop- sible to use DAS for first monitoring tify the dynamics of both low and high-
ment is the use of DAS, which converts the HF treatment during the initial well frequency acoustic events ranging from
a standard fiber deployed over an entire completion, followed by time-lapse pro- less than 1 Hz up to several kHz. Depend-
wellbore into a permanent array of mi- duction profiling surveys to assess the ing on the choice of frequency band, one
crophones. DAS has proved its utility for (change in) flow behavior for optimiz- can then zoom in on different types of
monitoring of hydraulic-fracturing (HF) ing well inflow/outflow performance flow phenomena.
operations and for acquisition of vertical- or improving the completion design of The example presented here involves
seismic-profile (VSP) surveys and micro- future producers. the combined application of DAS and
seismic. A third promising application DTS for injection profiling in a long hor-
under development is that of measuring FO-Based Injection Monitoring izontal smart polymer injector. In this
downhole production or injection-flow DAS has the unique capability of visu- example, a polymer-injection pilot was
performance, where DAS can replace the alizing, in real time, flow phenomena started to prove the concept of polymer
conventional production-logging-tool along the entire wellbore, such as pro- flooding in high-permeability heavy-
oil reservoirs with strong bottomwater
This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of drive before application in a full-field
development. The objective of the pilot
paper SPE 175211, “Latest Developments Using Fiber-Optic-Based Well Surveillance
is to derisk various uncertainties associ-
Such as Distributed Acoustic Sensing for Downhole Production and Injection Profiling,”
ated with polymer flooding in this par-
by Juun van der Horst and Peter in ’t Panhuis, Shell; Nabil Al-Bulushi, Saudi ticular type of reservoir. The particu-
Aramco; Greg Deitrick, Daria Mustafina, Gijs Hemink, Lex Groen, and Hans lar smart injector well (Fig. 1) in this
Potters, Shell; and Rifaat Mjeni, Kamran Awan, Salma Rajhi, and Goos Bakker, pilot is divided into four isolated injec-
Petroleum Development Oman, prepared for the 2015 SPE Kuwait Oil and Gas Show tion zones, each equipped with a flow-
and Conference, Mishref, Kuwait, 11–14 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. control valve (FCV). The smart comple-

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

78 JPT • MARCH 2016

tion includes a permanently installed
pumped-down double-ended optical
fiber in a ¼-in. control line clamped to
the outside of the tubing string. Inflow
and conformance along the horizontal
injectors are two of the key uncertainties
to be derisked. DAS and DTS are consid-
ered to be the primary tools required for
continuous and real-time surveillance in
this project because a production log is
not feasible owing to the behavior of the
polymer and the difficulty of deploying
the tool in the horizontal section of the
well. Therefore, one of the key objectives
was to investigate the applicability of
DAS and DTS to determine injection con-
formance along the horizontal reservoir
section of the wells.
Four DAS/DTS surveys were performed
between July 2013 and June 2014 to mon-
itor changes in injection conformance
of water and polymer (with various vis-
cosities) over a prolonged period of time.
A single (multimode) fiber was shared
by the DAS and DTS surveys, and there-
fore no simultaneous measurement could
be acquired.
The different periods of water and
polymer injection and the types of data
acquired were:
◗ I—water injection
o July 2013: DAS
o August–September 2013: DTS
◗ II—polymer injection with different
viscosities
o September–October 2013: DAS
o November 2013: DTS
◗ III—polymer injection
o January–February 2014: DTS
o March 2014: DAS
◗ IV—water injection, including
single-zone tests
o May 2014: DAS
o May–June 2014: DTS
Three different methodologies were
used to extract information about the in-
jection profile from DAS and DTS data:
1. DTS: warm-back testing
2. DAS: thermal-slug tracking
3. DAS: inflow-noise modeling
A warm-back test consists of a rela-
tively short period (typically a couple of
hours, depending on the type of well and
reservoir) of water injection that is pre-
ceded by and followed by a longer (typi-
cally 1 to several days) period of shut-in
while monitoring the temperature dis-
tribution in the well. From the amount of
JPT • MARCH 2016
time after injection that it takes for the
temperature to return to the temperature
before injection, the total injected vol-
ume and injection profile can be deter-
mined. For this purpose, a newly devel-
oped and improved method is used that
uses a finite-element model of fluid flow
and heat transfer. The warm-back test
that was performed in Period I (August
2013) indicates a relatively uniform injec-
tion profile, with all zones taking more or
less equal volumes of injection water per
unit length of injection zone.
The second method, the slug-tracking
technique, requires a sudden rate change
that creates a thermal disturbance in
the well that is manifested as a “ther-
mal” DAS slug that travels down the well
into, or sometimes also across, the in-
jection zones and that can be tracked.
The changes in the slug velocities when
propagating deeper in the well can, with
information about the cross-sectional
area, be converted to injected volumes
through the FCVs. This method was ap-
plied successfully during polymer injec-
tion in Period II (September 2013) and
Period III (March 2014), and the data
suggest that all zones are taking poly-
mer. However, most polymer is enter-
ing Zone 4.
The inflow-noise modeling approach
converts the acoustic signal excited by
the flow through a restriction (in this
case, the FCVs) to the flow rate across the
restriction by use of the total surface in-
jection rate for calibration. This gives the
zonal injection rates (through the FCVs)
as a function of time. This method was
applied to all DAS surveys conducted.
During polymer injection in Period III
(March 2014), which was the first data
acquisition after the loss of injectivity
that was observed in December 2013, a
mixture of polymer and water was in-
jected at two different rates. After cali-
bration of the DAS signal with the surface
data, a good match was obtained. The
relative DAS signals indicate that the ma-
jority of the injected liquids are flowing
through FCV 2 and FCV 4.
During Period IV, only water was in-
jected, either through a single FCV or
through all FCVs and at different injec-
tion rates, which provided sufficient data
to calibrate the DAS inflow-noise model.
An increased signal was evident at FCV 2
and FCV 4, but much less so at FCVs 1 and
3, which matches the trend seen in the
previous DAS acquisition in March 2014.
After calibration with the surface
injection rate, a very good match was
found. Furthermore, the calibrated coef-
ficients also could be applied to predict
the downhole contributions of FCVs 1
through 4. It is interesting to see that ini-
tially most of the injected water goes to
FCV 4, but later to FCV 3 and to a lesser
degree to FCV 1. When these contribu-
tions are averaged over the full time in-
terval, a relative-inflow profile can be
derived. It shows that FCV 2 and FCV 4
each take between 30 and 40% of the in-
jected water, FCV 1 takes approximately
20%, and FCV 3 takes the least, approxi-
mately 8%.
When the methods are applied to the
data sets in all four periods, then the DAS
and DTS data acquired before (Periods
I and II) and after (Periods III and IV)
show a change in conformance. Initially,
there was a relatively homogeneous in-
jection profile, but after November 2013,
FCV 4 and FCV 2 show increased injec-
tion, whereas especially Zone 3 shows a
significant drop in injection rate. The in-
jection at Zone 1 also reduces, but this is
less obvious from DAS. It is probable that
poor-quality polymer has plugged the
formation preferentially in Zones 1 and 3,
causing the change in conformance and
the loss of injectivity.
Conclusions
In this paper, the authors presented an
example of the use of DAS in combination
with an improved DTS warm-back appli-
cation for flow profiling that shows that
it can be used to frequently monitor the
performance of individual zones without
well intervention.
Currently, it is difficult to determine
the holdup of the separate phases in
multiphase-flow situations using DAS
only, and therefore DAS cannot replace
the full functionality of a PLT. However,
many operators are currently develop-
ing brine-sensitive FO-based sensors
and more-advanced DAS evaluation
work flows that should fill this gap. On
the other hand, production and injection
profiling does not always require a com-
plete and sophisticated PLT string. Also,
when it is not possible to run a PLT, DAS
is a very good alternative with unique ad-
ditional functionality. JPT
79
 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

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

The next few years will be quite chal- ed as an interesting field application of
lenging for costly heavy-oil production steam-stimulation efficiency improve-
because of the recent slump in oil pric- ment by better sweep and water shutoff
es. To sustain its current level, which using gels. There are, on the other hand,
comprises roughly 12–15% of total pro- cases that entail more-advanced and
duction, process efficiency should be -expensive applications. Without “sol-
enhanced. Cost control is one of the venting” or heating them, no produc-
ways to achieve this. I selected a few tion is possible to recover extraheavy oil
example papers on heavy-oil production or bitumen.
by improved waterflooding at a relative- Another work selected as a synopsis
ly low cost (SPE 169490 and SPE 174491) paper for this issue (SPE 175414) reports
and on practical management applica- the pilot results of a solvent-enhanced
tions to enhance the primary produc- steam application. Despite its extreme
tion (SPE 177914 and SPE 169396) as cost, this combination is inevitable in the
additional-reading suggestions. An case of bitumen, especially in unfavorable
alternative for improving the efficien- geologies such as carbonates. One of
cy of “flowable-heavy-oil” recovery is the reading suggestions is SPE 169035,
to use traditional chemicals (typically which reports the initial observations on
polymer/surfactant/alkaline combina- a steam-heating pilot application in such
tions). SPE 169715, as synopsized in the a geological environment.
next pages, covers the Canadian experi- Before closing, I would like to bring
ences of chemical applications. your attention to two critical points as
Ongoing thermal applications can- we experience one of the more severe
not be stopped because of technical rea- economic downturns in the oil industry.
sons, but they need to be optimized to First, research on technology for heavy-
reduce the cost or be supported by aux- oil recovery must go on one way or anoth-
iliary methods to improve recovery. er. A great deal of effort has been devoted
The use of chemicals is one method to to new applications such as solvent use
achieve the latter. SPE 176703 was select- with thermal processes, electromagnetic
Tayfun Babadagli, SPE, is a professor in the Civil and Environmental
Engineering Department, School of Mining and Petroleum
Engineering, at the University of Alberta, where he holds an
NSERC-Industrial Research Chair in Unconventional Oil Recovery.
His areas of interest include modeling fluid and heat flow in het-
erogeneous and fractured reservoirs, reservoir characterization
through stochastic and fractal methods, optimization of oil/heavy-
oil recovery by conventional/unconventional enhanced-oil-
recovery methods, and carbon dioxide sequestration. Babadagli holds BS and MS
degrees from Istanbul Technical University and MS and PhD degrees from the University
of Southern California, all in petroleum engineering. He was an executive editor for SPE
Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering during 2010–13 and is a member of the JPT Editorial
Committee. Babadagli received SPE A Peer Apart status in 2013, was elected an SPE
Distinguished Member in 2013, and was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer in 2013–14.
heating, and nanomaterials at the labora-
tory or field scale during the last decade.
They should be concluded for the next
expected cycle of higher oil prices. Sec-
ond, cost-effective solutions should be
sought and materialized immediately to
sustain many ongoing heavy-oil (espe-
cially thermal) operations. One option
is to search for cost-effective chemicals.
Selection of these temperature-resistant
chemicals requires additional research
efforts to carry the results over to the field
for cost-effective applications as quick-
ly as possible. Similar chemical-selection
processes may be considered to enhance
ongoing waterflooding applications for
relatively “lighter” heavy-oil cases. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
SPE 169035 Design, Implementation, and
Early Operating Results of Steam-Injection
Pilot in Already-CO2-Flooded, Deep,
Heavy-Oil, Fractured Carbonate Reservoir
of Bati Raman Field, Turkey by Secaeddin
Sahin, Turkish Petroleum Corporation, et al.
SPE 169396 Boscan Field—Highly
Deviated Wells To Avoid Water Production
in a Heavy-Oil Reservoir Influenced by an
Active Aquifer by R. Plaza, Petroboscan,
et al.
SPE 169490 Alkali-Metal Silicides: A
New Material for Heavy-Oil Production
Processes by Paul H. Krumrine, SiGNa
Chemistry, et al.
SPE 174491 Successful Application of
Hot-Water Circulation in the Pelican Lake
Field: Results and Analyses of the E29
Hot-Water-Injection Pilot by Kirk Duval,
Cenovus Energy, et al.
SPE 177914 Successful Chemical Water-
Shutoff Treatment in an Omani Field
Heavy-Oil Well by Guillaume Dupuis,
Poweltec, et al.

80 JPT • MARCH 2016

Chemical EOR for Heavy Oil:
The Canadian Experience

C hemical enhanced-oil-recovery
(EOR) methods such as polymer
and alkaline/surfactant/polymer (ASP)
flooding are generally not considered
suitable for oil viscosities greater
than 100 or 200 cp. However, this
perception is changing, in particular
because of field results from a number
of chemical EOR pilots or full-field
floods conducted in Canada in higher-
viscosity oil. The aim of this paper is
to review some of these projects.

Introduction
Canada is well-known for its heavy-
oil and bitumen reserves. Most of the
bitumen reserves are exploited using
thermal methods, such as cyclic steam
stimulation or steam-assisted gravity Fig. 1—Map showing location of pools.
drainage, while heavy oil is exploited
mostly using cold production methods, ect, and the Seal project are all interest- going from 18 to 232 BOPD in the first
such as cold heavy-oil production with ing and worthy of discussion. For full de- well, from 9 to 364 BOPD in the central
sand. Cold production leads to recov- scriptions of these fields, please see the well, and from 16 to 139 BOPD in the last
ery of less than 10% of original oil in complete paper. well. The water cut increased slowly and
place (OOIP). Thermal methods are not moderately in all three wells. The op-
always applicable, in particular when Projects erators estimate that polymer flooding
the pay is thin. In that case, alternatives Pelican Lake Polymer Flood. The Peli- will increase the recovery factor to 20 to
such as chemical EOR are required to can Lake field is approximately 250 km 30% of OOIP.
increase recovery. The two main chem- north of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
ical EOR processes are polymer and (Fig. 1). The recovery factor for prima- Mooney Bluesky A Polymer Flood. The
ASP flooding. ry production remained low even after Mooney field is in northwestern Alberta
In the past 10 years, several the introduction of horizontal drilling. (Fig. 1). The operator considered poly-
chemical-flooding projects have taken Thus, a first—unsuccessful—polymer mer flooding as a way to improve sweep
place in Canadian heavy-oil fields. The flood was attempted in 1997, after which efficiency and reduce water production.
most successful of these is the Pelican waterflood was also piloted. The water- A pilot composed of two injection wells
Lake project, which is currently pro- flood managed to increase oil produc- and three production wells, all horizon-
ducing more than 60,000 B/D, much of tion but with high water cut. Thus, an- tal, started in November 2008.
it through polymer flooding. But other other polymer pilot was started in 2005. The polymer flood was able to increase
less-well-known projects such as the Polymer injection started in May 2005. production and maintain a plateau for a
Taber South project, the Mooney proj- The responses were excellent, with rates few months in the two wells closest to the
injection wells. However, water break-
through occurred within 4 months in the
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
confined well and within 6 months in the
of paper SPE 169715, “Chemical EOR for Heavy Oil: The Canadian Experience,” by other well, and the water-cut increase
Eric Delamaide, SPE, IFP Technologies; Brigitte Bazin and David Rousseau, IFP was very sharp.
Energies nouvelles; and Guillaume Degre, Solvay, prepared for the 2014 SPE EOR Further modeling suggests that
Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia, Muscat, Oman, 31 March–2 April. The paper has polymer-flood recovery could vary be-
not been peer reviewed. tween 17 and 25% of OOIP; the recovery

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

JPT • MARCH 2016 81

 in the central well of the pilot was approx-
imately 12% of OOIP as of March 2013.
Seal Bluesky Polymer Flood. The res-
ervoir in the Seal area of the Peace River
oil-sands region in northern Alberta
(Fig. 1) has been developed with more
than 270 horizontal producers since the
pool was discovered in 2001. The wells
achieve good initial rates—given the
high oil viscosity—of 100 to 200 BOPD
before declining.
A polymer-flood pilot with three in-
jectors and four producers was initiated
in October 2010. Production responses
started in June and July 2011 in the two
confined wells, with oil rates increas-
ing from approximately 30 BOPD to a
maximum of 135 BOPD in one well and
from approximately 50 BOPD to a maxi-
mum of 155 BOPD in the other. What is
more surprising is the water-cut evolu-
tion; it started increasing at the same
time as the oil rate or even slightly be-
fore and has been increasing very slowly
since then. In early 2013, it was at 40%
in one of the wells and still only 10%
in the other. Polymer apparently broke
through in the producers sometime in
late 2011 or early 2012.
At the end of November 2013, the re-
covery in the two confined producers
was approximately 5 and 6% of OOIP,
respectively; the estimated ultimate in-
cremental recovery is 8.8% of OOIP,
which would bring the total recovery to
14.3% of OOIP.
Taber South Mannville B ASP Flood.
This project (Fig. 1)—the first field-
wide ASP flood in Canada—started in
May 2006.
In 2004–05, the cumulative produc-
tion was 16.9 million bbl and the re-
covery was approximately 38% of OOIP.
There was no pilot, and the injection of
an ASP solution started in May 2006 in
the whole pool. At that time, estimated
pool recovery was 38.7% of OOIP.
The production response started in
November 2006, and the pool eventually
saw its production rise from 300  BOPD
to a maximum of 1,330 BOPD. At the
same time, water cut decreased from
98 to 84%.
Estimated incremental oil recovery for
the project climbed as high as 16% of
OOIP but was reduced several times be-
82
cause of operational issues. It now ap-
pears to stand at 11.1%.
Suffield Upper Mannville UU ASP
Flood. The Upper Mannville UU pool is
one of many similar pools in the Suffield
area (Fig. 1). The pool was developed
with initial production in 1996. Water
injection was initiated in 1998. When the
operator started considering ASP flood-
ing at the beginning of 2006, oil produc-
tion was approximately 300 BOPD, with
a water cut of 60%. Cumulative produc-
tion at that point was 320,000 bbl, or
slightly less than 10% of OOIP.
Because of the small size of the pool,
there was no pilot, and the injection of an
ASP solution started in May 2007.
The response in terms of oil rate is
rather muted, although it could be ar-
gued that production would have de-
clined had the ASP injection not taken
place. The picture is somewhat distort-
ed in that one very good well, which was
producing more than 100 B/D 5 months
before the beginning of the injection, saw
its production fall suddenly to 10 B/D
when the injection started. This well later
went back to the same 100 B/D of produc-
tion, but it is doubtful that this can be at-
tributed to the ASP injection.
The recovery factor was 14.1% of OOIP
when the injection started; it is now al-
most 30% of OOIP. According to the op-
erator, the expected recovery factor for
the primary recovery with waterflood
was 20% of OOIP and the incremental re-
covery from the ASP flood is greater than
10% of OOIP.
Conclusions
A review of the five chemical EOR proj-
ects in heavy oil in Canada—three poly-
mer floods and two ASP floods—has led
to the following conclusions:
◗ Chemical EOR is a viable solution
to increase production and recovery
in heavy oil.
◗ For polymer flooding, the process
has proved to be efficient for
viscosities up to 10 000 cp.
◗ For ASP flooding, the process
has not yet been tested at those
high viscosities but is efficient at
viscosities up to a few hundred
centipoise. There is no reason that it
would not be as efficient as polymer
flooding at higher viscosities. JPT
Production Monitoring . . .
(Continued from page 76)
Success Cases
This section describes two successful
cases (more are provided in the complete
paper) that have been achieved through
successful data- and model-driven auto-
mated work-flow implementation that
allows faster, effective, and collaborative
diagnostic decision making and field im-
plementation to gain value.
Success Case 1: A Collaborative Work-
ing Environment (CWE). During daily
video conferencing between the KK staff
in Samarang and headquarters in Kuala
Lumpur, engineers are able to discuss any
issue pertaining to the wells and to create
solutions. The Production Surveillance
team is able to analyze well performance
through gas lift optimization even at re-
mote jackets. The CWE has enabled the
team to have effective meetings by having
real-time work-flow KPI visualizations
and reliable audio/video conferencing.
Success Case 2: Enhanced Gas Lift Di-
agnostics. The value of a gas lift diagnos-
tics and optimization work flow mainly
comes from automating most of the pro-
cesses during this work flow that were
previously handled manually. In this par-
ticular case, the gas lift diagnostic work
flow raised an alarm that the well was
multipointing. On the basis of well-test
parameters and further gas lift diagnos-
tics, multipointing was confirmed. This
was an opportunity to improve current
well-production performance. Engineers
executed the work flow and performed
detailed diagnostics to troubleshoot the
problem. KK engineers worked as a team
and, by running sensitivity studies on
operating conditions, achieved the sin-
gle deepest injection point. Further di-
agnosis identified that the casing-head
pressure (CHP) was too high. The so-
lution was to ensure the CHP to be ap-
proximately 650 psi for optimum injec-
tion depth. Production technologists in
KK advised offshore personnel to reduce
the CHP to optimize the well production.
This has led to reduced gas lift consump-
tion, from 0.9 to 0.4 MMscf/D, owing to
the achievement of single-point injec-
tion. By optimizing gas lift, the potential
gain is approximately 200 B/D. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2016
VERSATILE COIL STEERING
TECHNOLOGY
Cudd Energy Services (CES) introduces a new steering process through its
Coil Drilling Technologies services to complement its extensive coil tubing
offerings. The Coil Drilling Technologies delivers slim-hole directional services
in multibench and multileg horizontal applications that is economical, fast, safe
and less damaging to the formation. These versatile technologies do not require
special consideration for pressure deployment, have a short sensor-to-bit length
for increase directional control and can be deployed on a variety of e-coil reels
at various lengths and sizes. The tools are ideal for open-hole completions,
setting whipstocks for casing exits and navigating multilaterals for remedial well
intervention or stimulation operations.

For more information about Coil Drilling Technologies, visit us at www.cudd.com today.
 Solvent-Enhanced Steamdrive:
Experiences From the First Field Pilot

I n recent years, the addition of a

hydrocarbon condensate to steam
operations in heavy-oil and bitumen
in the economic viability of the process.
The main objectives of the pilot were to
obtain a positive response in bitumen
cles to create communication between
injectors and producers. Infill injec-
tors were not subjected to cyclic steam.
reservoirs has emerged as potential production and accurate quantification After that, the pad was intended to
technology to improve not only oil of the diluent recovery. An accurate as- be switched to a VSD with continuous
recovery but also energy efficiency. The sessment of the bitumen-production in- steam injection of 100 m3/d (cold-water
idea of solvent addition to a steamdrive crease was not expected because of the equivalent). The rate was to be tapered
process has been extended and applied small size of the pilot and lack of con- down to 50 m3/d over the life span of
for the first time in the Peace River trol patterns; hence, the injection slug the steamflood.
area in Canada. There, evidence was size and concentration were designed to The solvent-injection strategy that
obtained of oil uplift in the patterns obtain a significant and measurable bi- determined in which injectors solvent
where solvent was injected. However, tumen response. would be coinjected, for which period of
piloting this new technology in a time, and at what concentration was de-
brownfield had many challenges, Pilot Design signed in a two-stage process. In the first
especially when evaluating its main The Peace River lease in Alberta, stage, a simplified element-of-symmetry
economic factors: production increase Canada, has been subject to many well- model was used to screen a wide range
and solvent recovery. and recovery-technology trials in the of options with respect to solvent con-
last 30 years. One of the technologies centration and start and duration of sol-
Introduction tried is cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) vent coinjection. It was found that, on
Vertical-well steamdrive (VSD) is the with multilateral horizontal wells. Pad the basis of the development scheme,
selected process to recover bitumen 19 has been developed with so-called bitumen rates in VSD would be low for
from the Peace River Bluesky formation. “soak radial wells”—four horizontal lat- a few months before mobilized bitu-
Solvent coinjection has been identified erals in a cross pattern. Over a 9-year men would reach the producer, at which
as an economical method to improve time frame, bitumen has been produced point the rates would show a strong in-
the efficiency of this process. In an early in seven to eight CSS cycles. With a re- crease followed by a gradual decline.
phase of the steamdrive, a slug of hydro- covery of less than 20% from the ini- Solvent addition increases bitumen mo-
carbon condensate (diluent) is coinject- tial design, a part of the pad has been bilization and leads to a higher desatu-
ed with the steam. The solvent condens- converted to a pattern steamdrive to in- ration of the steam chamber because
es at the cold steam/bitumen interface crease recovery to more than 50%. Ver- of the formation of a solvent bank. This
to form a solvent bank. This bank has tical injectors and producers are drilled leads to a more pronounced increase in
the potential to accelerate bitumen pro- to complete the 5-acre inverted-five- bitumen rates once the mobilized bitu-
duction by viscosity reduction and to spot patterns. Vertical producers are men reaches the producer.
improve ultimate recovery. perforated over almost the complete in- The effect of different solvent concen-
The efficiency of the diluent coinjec- terval, while steam injectors have been trations on the early bitumen rates and,
tion in a steamdrive process is expected completed with five limited-entry per- hence, on the bitumen-uplift signal is
to be lower than that of liquid addition forations (LEPs) to distribute the steam shown in Fig. 1. After this period, injec-
to steam for enhanced recovery; how- evenly over the entire reservoir interval. tion conformance in the LEP injectors
ever, the solvent recovery factors are On the basis of the field-development would have stabilized so solvent would
expected to be much higher. The sol- plan, the newly drilled vertical infill pro- be injected over the full height of the
vent recovery, therefore, is a key factor ducers were subjected to two CSS cy- pay zone.
In Stage 2, this solvent-injection strat-
egy was tested in a full-field model that
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
had been history matched to the histori-
of paper SPE 175414, “Solvent-Enhanced Steamdrive: Experiences From the First cal CSS cycles on a well-by-well basis. In
Field Pilot in Canada,” by M.L. Verlaan, SPE, and R. Hedden, SPE, Shell Canada; and addition, the temperature data gathered
O. Castellanos Díaz, V. Lastovka, SPE, and C.A. Giraldo Sierra, Shell Chemicals from logging the infill wells had been
Americas, prepared for the 2015 SPE Kuwait Oil and Gas Show, Mishref, Kuwait, used to scale the effectiveness of each
11–14 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. leg of the multilateral wells.

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

84 JPT • MARCH 2016

 35
30
Net Bitumen Rate (m3/D)
25
20
15
10
5 ◗
0
2013 2014
Fig. 1—Net bitumen rates in VSD as a function of solvent concentration
predicted by the element-of-symmetry model.
Pilot Operations:
Steam and Solvent Injection
After the second CSS cycle in the verti-
cal infill producers, the downhole pumps
were installed and the steamdrive phase
of the project started in June 2014. In-
jectors 3, 5, and 9 could be operated at
the targeted injection rate of 100 t/d, but
Injector 7 had a maximum injection rate
of approximately 75 t/d at a tubinghead
pressure (THP) of 12.5 MPa. Because of
the high pressure drop over the LEPs,
the injectivity could not be increased by
fracturing or dilating the reservoir and
it was decided to operate this injector at
the maximum THP of 12.5 MPa. The con-
tinuous steam injection started 7 June
2014, and, after approximately 8 weeks
of steam injection, 15 wt% (cold) sol-
vent was injected directly into the steam
at the wellhead in Injectors 7 and 9. The
injection was continued for 4 months
without major problems, achieving a
total of steam and solvent injected of
19,600 t of steam and 3,400 t of dilu-
ent. As supported by pressure/volume/
temperature calculations, the addition
of the solvent did not lead to a reduction
of the steam-injection capacity in the
LEP-constrained wells.
Bitumen Production
One of the objectives of the pilot is to
demonstrate a significant bitumen-
production increase as a response to
solvent injection. The solvent-injection
JPT • MARCH 2016
Conclusions
◗ Conducting a recovery-technology
No solvent pilot in a small brownfield infill
development is challenging.
5 wt%
It requires a robust design for
10 wt% expected signal and high-frequency
and redundant data acquisition to
15 wt% obtain quantifiable results.
◗ Well testing and water-cut metering
are a large source of error and
need to be checked thoroughly
and validated with independent
measurements.
New allocation algorithms were
developed and validated to be able
to allocate solvent and bitumen
2015 2016 accurately in a steamdrive process.
◗ Bitumen uplift could be observed
positively in several wells; the oil/
steam ratio in the solvent patterns
on average was 0.1 higher than in
the patterns without solvent during
slug was designed to give a significant the first 10 months of the pilot.
bitumen-production increase in wells ◗ Solvent recovery is faster than
surrounding the solvent injection. This expected. More than 50% of the
was clearly observed in the multilateral solvent had been recovered within
Well P11, which has a horizontal leg that is 4 months of stopping solvent
close to solvent Injector I9. After 1 month injection. JPT
of injection, the production rate of this
well more than doubled compared with
the baseline production of the steamdrive.
After this initial peak, which coincided
with solvent breakthrough, the rates de-
clined but were sustained at a higher pla-
teau for approximately 6 months.
Solvent Recovery
Much attention was given to the accu-
racy of the diluent recovery in this pilot
because it is a key economic factor in the
solvent-injection process. The fact that
more than 75% of the recovered diluent
was produced through the casing-vent-
gas system helped because the measure-
ment errors of the gas stream (e.g., rate
and composition) are much smaller than
those of the emulsion stream. The main
uncertainty comes from the calculation
method to allocate the hydrocarbons to
bitumen and diluent.
On the basis of the recovery so far and
the current rates, the project is expected
to achieve or even exceed the predict-
ed recovery factor of 86% after 2 years.
At that mark, the incremental oil/lost-
solvent ratio will be 5.2, which is eco-
nomically favorable and compares well
with other solvent-coinjection processes.
85
 Pilot Tests of New Enhanced-Oil-Recovery
Technologies for Heavy-Oil Reservoirs

T hermal steam stimulation (TSS)

is considered the most effective
of current methods for heavy-oil
jection, and steam-assisted gravity drain-
age—have been the most widespread EOR
methods used in heavy-oil fields. One can
production was prolonged 3–5 months,
and oil viscosity decreased by three times.
The dominant technique in these new
production. However, the method has improve the efficiency of steam stimula- stimulations is the use of gel technolo-
problems with low coverage by steam tion by combining it with physicochemi- gies to increase reservoir coverage by wa-
injection and decreased efficiency at cal methods—in particular, using ther- terflooding. Under surface conditions,
later stages of development. This paper motropic gel-forming and oil-displacing thermotropic gel-forming systems are
presents the results of solving these systems—thereby increasing the reser- low-viscosity aqueous solutions. Under
problems by combining thermal steam voir coverage by steam injection and pro- reservoir conditions, they are converted
and physicochemical stimulations and viding additional oil displacement. into nanostructured gels. Gelation occurs
using “cold” technologies involving because of thermal energy from the heat
thermotropic gel-forming and oil- Integrating Physicochemical carrier, without any crosslinking agents.
displacing systems. Methods and TSS Field tests of the integrated technol-
This approach uses the concept that res- ogies, combining thermal-steam and
Introduction ervoir energy or energy from an injected physicochemical stimulations, were con-
In Russia, the amount of oil reserves con- heat carrier can generate in-situ “intel- ducted in high-viscosity-oil fields in Rus-
sidered difficult to recover is constant- ligent” chemical systems (i.e., gels, sols, sia and China. The increase in oil-flow
ly increasing. Active reserves account surfactant solutions, and buffer systems rate ranged from 3 to 24 tons/D per well.
for one-third of all prospected reserves, with controlled alkalinity). These sys- Incremental oil production was 980 tons
and the difficult-to-recover oil reserves tems remain for a long time and are per well treatment. Geophysical studies
account for 67%. High-viscosity oils are self-supporting in reservoirs with com- conducted before and after injection of
13% of the difficult-to-recover oils, and plex properties, making them optimal for the gel-forming system showed a redis-
low-permeability formations account oil displacement. tribution of filtration flow and increased
for 36%. The amount of heavy and high- To increase oil recovery from heavy- reservoir coverage by TSS. After the in-
viscosity oil is several times greater than and high-viscosity-oil reservoirs at later jection of the systems into 41 steam-
the amount of light and low-viscosity oil. stages of development and to improve the injection wells in the Usinsk oil field, the
Therefore, the development of the depos- efficiency of thermal-steam and cyclic- oil-flow rate increased by 4–30 tons/D
its of heavy and high-viscosity oils is given steam stimulations, an EOR technology and water cut decreased by 5–20%.
more attention. To develop heavy- and has been created that alternates thermal-
high-viscosity-oil reservoirs effectively steam and physicochemical stimulations Gelled Oil-Displacing System
and increase oil production, new, integrat- by surfactant-based systems, which gen- Using Surfactants With
ed enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) technolo- erate carbon dioxide (CO2) and alkaline Controlled Viscosity
gies are necessary. The new technologies buffer solutions in situ. The application To improve the areal injection of heat
addressed here combine basic reservoir of the technology at a stationary steam- carriers (steam or hot water) and cyclic
stimulation by water or steam injection injection site in the Usinsk oil field in steam stimulations of production wells, a
and physicochemical methods, increasing Russia decreased water cut by 10–20% gelled oil-displacing system using surfac-
reservoir coverage and oil-displacement and increased oil-flow rate by 40%. At tants with controlled viscosity has been
factors and improving the development. a cyclic-steam-stimulation site in the created. This system is an extension of the
In recent years, thermal methods—oil Liaohe oil field in China, oil production concept of using reservoir energy or that
displacement with steam, cyclic steam in- increased 1.8–2.3 times, the period of oil of the injected heat carrier to generate in-
situ “intelligent” chemical systems. Com-
positions based on surfactants and alka-
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of
line buffer solutions last for a long time
paper SPE 176703, “Pilot Tests of New EOR Technologies for Heavy-Oil Reservoirs,” by and are self-supporting, which are opti-
L.K. Altunina, V.A. Kuvshinov, and I.V. Kuvshinov, Institute of Petroleum Chemistry, mal properties for oil displacement.
Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; and M.V. Chertenkov, SPE, The systems use ammonium salt and
and S.O. Ursegov, Lukoil, prepared for the 2015 SPE Russian Petroleum Technology carbamide, which generate CO2 and am-
Conference, Moscow, 26–28 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed. monium buffer solutions in situ, provid-

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

86 JPT • MARCH 2016

 14 000 Oil-production rate Average oil-production rate in 2014 before treatment Water cut 85

Injection of gelled surfactant-based systems into steam-injection wells

84
12 000
83
Oil-Production Rate (tons/month)

10 000 82

Water Cut (%)

81
8 000

80

6 000
79

78
4 000

77
2 000
76

0 75
01/14 02/14 03/14 04/14 05/14 06/14 07/14 08/14 09/14 10/14 11/14 12/14 01/15 02/15 03/15 04/15
Month/year

Fig. 1—Oil-production and fluid-flow rates before and after injection of the gelled surfactant-based system in the Usinsk
oil field.

ing the colloidal chemical properties of temperatures between 20 and 40°C, the tems because they can be prepared and
the surfactants, optimal for oil displace- authors proposed using gels and sols injected by standard oilfield equipment.
ment and preserved in a wide range of based on a low-temperature gel-forming Flow-deflecting technologies based
concentrations, reservoir water salini- system as well as alkaline and acid oil- on the use of the gel-forming and sol-
ties, and temperatures. This results in displacing systems based on surfactants, forming systems for injection wells are
reduced oil viscosity, interfacial tension, an inorganic buffer solution, and poly- recommended for oil fields or areas
and clay swelling as well as increased mo- ol with controlled viscosity. These are large enough to have significant effect.
bility of reservoir fluids, thereby increas- compatible with high-salinity formation “Cold” technologies intended to en-
ing the oil-displacement factor. water and have low freezing points (be- hance oil recovery and intensify oil pro-
Because of the introduction of gell- tween −20 and −60°C). duction from low-productivity wells
ing agents to the system, which provides To enhance oil recovery from high- are considered promising technologies
a controlled increase in viscosity, the viscosity-oil reservoirs without the TSS, because of good results from the pilot
surfactant-based system becomes both the authors proposed the “cold” technol- tests as well as the potential flexibil-
flow-deflecting and oil-displacing and ogy of cyclic reagent stimulation, which ity and selectivity of their application
can be used to improve the efficiency of is similar to cyclic steam stimulation. A in the most appropriate wells. More-
the TSS because of increased sweep effi- slug is injected into the production well over, these technologies are suitable
ciency and oil-displacement factors. and followed by water injection, and the for cyclic application (cyclic reagent
From 15 June to 31 July 2014, the well is closed for 7–14 days before being stimulation, analogous to cyclic steam
gelled surfactant-based system was in- put into operation. The oil is produced as stimulation but without heating the in-
jected into five steam-injection wells in a low-viscosity emulsion. After the first jected fluid).
the Usinsk oil field. The volume injected cycle of oil production, the next cycle Large-scale commercial applica-
ranged from 80 to 110 m3. Standard oil- is performed: injection of slug and then tion of these new integrated technol-
field equipment was used to prepare and water followed by well shutdown and ogies—combining water or steam in-
inject the gelled system under field con- then oil production. jection with physicochemical methods
ditions. The effect was monitored, and that increase the reservoir coverage—
a positive effect was clearly defined 3 Conclusion will extend the profitable exploitation
months after the injection (Fig. 1). All the technologies presented in this of oil fields in later stages of their de-
paper have had their efficiencies proved velopment and boost production at oil
EOR From Heavy-Oil Reservoirs under field conditions and are recom- fields with difficult-to-recover hydrocar-
Without Thermal Stimulation mended for further pilot projects and bon reserves, including heavy- and high-
To enhance oil recovery from high- commercial applications. One should viscosity-oil reservoirs and deposits in
viscosity-oil reservoirs without TSS at note the high processability of these sys- the Arctic. JPT

JPT • MARCH 2016 87

 TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Seismic Applications
Mark Egan, SPE, Retired
From time to time, I am asked to address ... [S]ome of the
general audiences. The mission is to
describe what we do in the seismic busi- more exciting advances
ness. Typically, the first slide I show are actually arising
is a prenatal ultrasound display of my
daughter. I explain that using reflected from the integration
sound waves to create such an image is of seismic with
precisely what we do with the Earth. The
other technologies ... .
world’s first reflection seismic field tests
were conducted near Oklahoma City in
1921, and, ever since then, the industry another additional-reading paper, ampli-
has endeavored to improve that seismic tudes are used for identifying porous
imaging process. zones in an otherwise tight-sandstone
So, indeed, one of the papers selected gas reservoir in Oman. And, in the third
for this Technology Focus section and additional-reading paper, the authors use
one of the papers recommended for addi- the amplitudes in 4D analyses for identi-
tional reading deal with case histories fying new reservoir drive mechanisms in
in which imaging is improved through a field offshore Brunei.
better velocity-model building. In the Both imaging and amplitude inversion
first paper, integration of microgravi- benefit greatly from broader-band data.
ty data, resistivity measurements, and Therefore, this is the topic of the second
seismic is the key in the onshore case paper presented. In this example from
history from Qatar. In the first offshore Malaysia, the marriage of a new
additional-reading paper, full-waveform acquisition technique with new process-
inversion of seismic travel times and ing algorithms yields broader frequen-
amplitudes is the key in the case history cy content, enabling more-accurate esti-
from offshore Australia. mates of gas in place to be derived.
Advances in seismic applications are But even further advances in seis-
not just confined to imaging, though. In mic applications are taking place now,
Mark Egan, SPE, retired from Schlumberger in January 2016. He
had worked for Schlumberger and its heritage companies since
1975, with his last position being global chief area geophysicist in
the Land Unconventionals Group within the WesternGeco seg-
ment. Egan’s previous postings with Schlumberger included posi-
tions as chief geophysicist in North America; Saudi Arabia; Dubai;
and Gatwick, England. He holds a PhD degree in geophysics, an
MS degree in acoustics, and a BS degree in physics and math.
Egan is a member of the JPT Editorial Committee.
88
especially in the world of unconvention-
al resources. The authors of the third
selected paper discuss the integration
of miscroseismic data with 3D-seismic
attributes, well-log data, and comple-
tion data to understand the geome-
chanical rock properties in the Midland
basin of Texas. This information was
important for planning the spacing of
new wells.
I hope this journey is successful in
showing that substantial advances con-
tinue to be made globally in seismic
applications. But, perhaps even more
importantly, I hope the journey shows
that some of the more exciting advances
are actually arising from the integration
of seismic with other technologies and
that, while imaging may still be king in
seismic (and in some fields of medicine),
the applications of seismic to building
3D mechanical Earth models, for exam-
ple, are gaining prominence. JPT
Recommended additional reading
at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org.
IPTC 17905 High-Resolution Anisotropic
Earth-Model Building on Conventional
Seismic Data Using Full-Waveform
Inversion: A Case Study Offshore Australia
by Bee Jik Lim, Schlumberger, et al.
SPE 177552 Seismic Reservoir-Quality
Prediction, Khazzan Field, Oman
by T. Chris Stiteler, BP, et al.
IPTC 18491 4D Seismic in Stacked
Reservoirs—From Puzzles to Insights
on Production Drive Mechanisms
by Denis Kiyashchenko, BSP, et al.
JPT • MARCH 2016
Near-Surface Velocity Model To Enhance
PSDM Seismic Imaging of Dukhan Field

Oil and gas infrastructures Surface geology

D ukhan field affords an opportunity

to assess alternative near-surface
velocity-modeling work flows that
specifically integrate microgravity
Hofuf
(MGR) and vertical electrical sounding (Gravel – Sand)
(VES). A pilot study of the Dukhan Dam
seismic data demonstrates that (Limestones)
integration of MGR/VES into prestack U-Dammam
(Dolomites)
depth migration (PSDM) improves the L-Dammam
fidelity of seismic images and results in (Shale)
an improved depth match. The resultant Oil and gas Rus
lines (Limestone)
MGR/VES PSDM pilot model improved Oil and gas Sabkha
the velocity model between the surface stations
and top Simsima formation on the basis Sabkha Sabkha
(outside
of visible impact on the deeper structure the survey)
obtained from imaging and better fit 3D Pilot Area
between the seismic depth horizons
and well measured depths.

Introduction
The Dukhan field (Fig. 1) along the south-
west coast of Qatar is an elongated anti-
cline that has significant hydrocarbon
reservoirs in the Jurassic Arab and deep-
er formations. In 2007, Qatar Petro- Fig. 1—Survey-location map (left), environmental overview (center), and
geological-context overview (right) of the Dukhan field.
leum invested in a new full-field, land
and shallow-water 3D-seismic survey of perturbations onto the seismic wavefield methods, even to the seismic refraction
the area. remains one of the main challenges to be survey, because their depth of investiga-
Despite considerable and continuous addressed. The near surface influences tion is limited to the top of the shallow-
progress in seismic technology, obtain- the kinematics as well as the dynamics est hard layer. In addition, rapid lateral
ing an accurate, quantitative, well-focused of the source-generated seismic waves. changes and large velocity contrasts are
seismic depth image at reservoir level re- Knowledge of the near surface to correct unfavorable to seismic refraction.
mains challenging. In land seismic, a poor for its induced distortions is critical for a An alternative approach, such as up-
characterization of the near-surface geol- reliable use of seismic images, structures, holes, provides accurate local informa-
ogy is detrimental to the depth imaging of and amplitude at reservoir level. The near- tion but is difficult or impossible to in-
underlying structures. The proper knowl- surface lateral and vertical velocity varia- terpolate “geologically” because of the
edge of the near surface to correct for its tions often are not accessible with seismic large separation between them. However,
these upholes have great value as anchor
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights points for the depth inversion of continu-
of paper IPTC 18293, “Near-Surface Velocity Model of Dukhan Field From Multiphysics ous longer-wavelength acquisition data.
Whereas the near surface is a major
Survey To Enhance PSDM Seismic Imaging,” by K. Setiyono, Qatar Petroleum; S. Gallo,
issue for land seismic imaging (especially
C. Boulanger, F. Bruere, F. Moreau, and B. Rondeleux, CGG; and J. Snow, Qatar
on the usual 3D-seismic geometries with
Petroleum, prepared for the 2015 International Petroleum Technology Conference, too few exploitable near-offset seismic
Doha, Qatar, 7–9 December. The paper has not been peer reviewed. records), additional, efficiently acquired
geophysical measurements help to fill the
Copyright 2015 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced by seismic gap for near-surface characteriza-
permission. tion. These methods, most often involv-

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

JPT • MARCH 2016 89

 ing high-sensitivity/-resolution electric
and gravity potential fields, complement
seismic acquisition nicely.
To improve the near-surface veloci-
ty model of the Dukhan field, a dense
nonseismic microgravimetry (high-
resolution gravity) survey was imple-
mented in combination with the VES
(resistivity) method using a phased ap-
proach. Initially, a pilot area (165 km2) was
acquired to evaluate how depth imaging
benefits from an improved near-surface
velocity model with the integration of ad-
ditional geophysical measurements. On
the basis of encouraging results, the deci-
sion was made to extend the gravimetric
and electric acquisition over the onshore
portion of the Dukhan survey. Access to
resistivity vertical profiles over the en-
tire area was of particular importance to
image the geoelectric layering of the area.
This profile was essential to perform a
geology-driven interpolation between
upholes data as well as to introduce geo-
logic constraints to the gravimetry inver-
sion. The objectives were for both static
correction and building of the medium-/
long-wavelength components of the near-
surface velocity model down to the Sim-
sima level (the first visible seismic hori-
zon at approximately 500-m depth).
Challenges
The challenge in the Dukhan field was
linked to the very complicated environ-
mental context. First is the extensive in-
frastructure over the oil field (oil/gas lines,
stations), inherent to a production site,
and the electromagnetic noise. Fig. 1, cen-
ter, displays the full oil and gas network
on the full field, showing the complexity
of this kind of environment. Second is the
surface geology, highlighting lateral lith-
ological variations, the Dukhan oil field
being a gentle anticline with the Rus for-
mation (Lower Eocene, in green) outcrop-
ping in the axis of the field (Fig. 1, right). A
large sabkha is also present in the north of
the survey (Fig. 1, outlined in yellow) occu-
pying an area of approximately 20×7 km.
Acquisition
Initially, during the Dukhan 3D-seismic-
survey acquisition, direct-current (DC)
resistivity data with VES were acquired
specifically to characterize the sabkha
area and determine its basement depth
and thickness.
90
After the Dukhan 3D-seismic acqui-
sition was complete, a PSDM was per-
formed over the 3D pilot area (Fig. 1, cen-
ter), covering approximately 165 km2. In
order to assess the effectiveness of MGR
and resistivity methods to help improve
depth imaging, through better charac-
terization of the near-surface velocity
model, MGR/resistivity measurements
were acquired over the pilot area.
Near-Surface Gravity Model
To have an effect on seismic imaging,
quantitative velocity values must be de-
rived from heterogeneous data sets.
Modeling steps for improved-velocity-
model creation included the deep
model building in order to focus MGR/
resistivity inversion on events localized
between the surface and the top Simsi-
ma (deep gravity effect must be modeled
and removed) and focus on the shallower
part of the model (0- to 500-m depth)
(creation of a resistivity structural model
down to the Simsima). The depth re-
sistivity model is then converted into a
density model and is used as the initial
density model for gravity depth inver-
sion. The final gravity model is converted
finally into an improved velocity model
for PSDM imaging.
Near-Surface Resistivity Model
The second step in the near-surface mod-
eling was focused on the description of
the resistive layering structure of the
shallow model (0–500 m), from the in-
version of DC resistivity data. A knowl-
edge of the shallow layering is also valu-
able to steer the density inversion of
the MGR near-surface observations bet-
ter. The a priori shallow layering struc-
ture was derived from seismic time ho-
rizons picked from the surface down to
the Simsima. The time horizons were
then depth converted by use of avail-
able wells and upholes. These horizons
delineate four major formations—RUS,
UER-1, UER2-3, and UER4A-4B—used as
the initial geological model for DC resis-
tivity depth inversion.
Constrained Gravity/Resistivity
Inversion and Improved-
Velocity-Model Creation
Between the surface and approximately
100-m depth, velocities/densities from
upholes were maintained as fixed points
during the gravity-inversion process. A
priori density values for Rus and UER
formations (upper, medium, and lower
UER) are derived from resistivity as ob-
tained by resistivity depth inversion and
resistivity-to-density conversions and
are based on observations that resistiv-
ities are correlated to densities/veloci-
ties. Dedicated modeling was performed
in the identified anhydrite areas. Dedi-
cated electrical-resistivity-tomography
profiles were acquired on anhydrite
areas to identify anhydrite extension
and thickness. The positive gravity
anomalies in these areas were modeled
as near-surface karst bodies, consisting
of anhydrite (geologically mapped) with
increased density. Dedicated conversion
parameters were used for these particu-
lar areas, Gardner coefficients being dif-
ferent from the standard ones in these
anhydrites. Surface geology and geologi-
cal horizons were also integrated in the
final inversion process as an initial geo-
metrical model.
All available external geological data
for Dukhan field were used in the final
modeling work flow. The density model,
derived from resistivity, was finally up-
dated by means of gravity inversion
and transformed into a velocity model
through the density-to-velocity conver-
sion relationship. The final result was a
velocity model optimized to match the
electrical and gravimetric information.
The resulting fit from gravity inversion
was considered very good, with a root
mean square close to 0.050 mGal, indi-
cating that a priori resistivity informa-
tion does not contradict the gravity data.
Consequently, incorporation of resistiv-
ity data reduced the uncertainties in the
final solution.
The final result is a 3D velocity model
optimized to match resistivity and gravi-
metric data.
PSDM Imaging Work Flow
The near-surface velocity model was then
used in the pilot seismic PSDM work flow.
Introducing the velocity model had a vis-
ible effect on the deeper structure ob-
tained by the imaging and resulted in a
better fit between the seismic horizons in
depth and well control. Structural chang-
es and a better match to well informa-
tion are observed after the near-surface
model is applied. JPT
JPT • MARCH 2016
 ENDLESSINNOVATION
2016 Ofshore Technology Conference | 2–5 May | NRG Park | Houston, Texas, USA
REGISTRATION OPEN NOW
The Ofshore Technology Conference (OTC) is where
energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and
opinions to advance scientifc and technical knowledge
for ofshore resources and environmental matters.
OTC attracts more than 90,000 attendees from 130+
countries and more than 2,500 exhibiting companies.
12625 OTC2016 JPT FP 2016-02-04.indd 1
OTC is sponsored by 13 nonproft organizations in the
energy industry, who work cooperatively to develop the
technical program. Revenue from OTC directly benefts
the membership of these societies.
Visit 2016.otcnet.org for additional information.
2/4/16 3:41 PM
 Broadband Seismic Acquisition: Implications
for Interpretation and Reservoir Models

T his paper addresses the impact

of acquiring a new 3D broadband
seismic survey over an amplitude-
The study area is located in the shallow
(less than 200 ft) waters off peninsular
Malaysia. Seven exploration and apprais-
frequency and amplitude decay
with depth is present in the seismic
record, having direct implications for
supported, discovered gas field containing al wells have targeted shallow and deep imaging deeper targets.
legacy 3D conventional towed-streamer reservoirs, although only three wells ◗ Shallow gas—Pockets of shallow
seismic data. The new seismic data were have been drilled to deep targets. Gener- gas, ranging in thickness from 0 to
acquired in shallow water depths by use ally speaking, seismic imaging of shallow approximately 150 ft, are prolific
of a dual-level streamer technique and reservoirs is good, while deep targets are in the basin. They are generally
were processed through prestack depth more challenging to image. elongated and broad in map view
migration (PSDM). Five gas discovery/ The primary motivation for acquiring a and can be up to 20 km in length.
appraisal wells existed before broadband new broadband seismic survey stemmed Acoustically, they are very “soft”
acquisition, and two wells were drilled from imaging difficulties of thin (less because their velocities and densities,
after acquisition was completed. These than 15 ft) deep gas reservoirs on conven- which have been measured in
seven wells serve as control points that tional seismic data. Many of these reser- well logs, are very slow and low,
provide a valuable link between the voirs are vertically juxtaposed by coals, respectively. The bodies absorb
seismic and reservoir properties. which tend to mask the acoustic response seismic signals, causing areas beneath
of the reservoir. Even after later repro- the gas to have both amplitude and
Introduction and Background cessing of legacy data through anisotro- frequency loss, although this is
Seismic imaging of hydrocarbon reser- pic PSDM, imaging difficulties remained. usually repaired deeper down as the
voirs with small impedance contrasts rel- gas is undershot by farther offsets.
ative to bounding lithologies is challeng- Seismic Imaging Challenges If the slow velocities of the shallow
ing. Ideally, an infinite bandwidth wavelet The study field consists of multiple, gas bodies are not incorporated in
would detect and resolve subsurface geol- stacked reservoirs. Coal and organic shale the velocity model, then structural
ogy as observed in the resolution of a typ- layers are prevalent throughout the en- sags are observed beneath them.
ical wireline log. Improvements in seis- tire section. Although very thin (less than Traditionally, it has been very difficult
mic acquisition and processing continue 10  ft), they have large impedance con- to incorporate the shallow gas bodies
to strive toward this ideal condition, and trasts with bounding rocks and are usual- into the velocity model because of
recent advancements in seismic acquisi- ly detected on seismic. Often, the seismic low fold in the common depth point
tion—namely, the broadband acquisition response from these layers overwhelms gathers at very shallow times.
technique—have attempted an approxi- the response from the gas-charged reser- ◗ Fault shadow—A third challenge to
mation of the infinite bandwidth wave- voir facies. imaging occurs in what are known
let through the removal of the receiver Adding further to the imaging com- as fault shadows. A fault shadow is
or source ghosts. This advancement is of plexity are three geophysical data-quality generally expressed as a triangular
particular interest in oil and gas develop- issues common to the basin. zone of distortion on the footwall
ment areas where known thin or poor- ◗ Natural amplitude and frequency side of a normal fault. Usually, the
quality reservoirs that are difficult to de- decay—The absorption of seismic larger the fault, the more severe the
tect on conventional seismic records have energy with depth has been well- fault-shadow effect is. In the study
been penetrated by previous wells. documented. In the study area, strong area, faults are most prevalent at the
crest of the structure where imaging
is most important. It is believed that
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights fault shadows are the result of not
of paper IPTC 18075, “The Impact of Broadband Seismic Acquisition and Implications fully capturing velocity differences
for Interpretation and Reservoir-Model Building,” by Carter Gehman and Andrew across the faults.
Spedding, Hess, prepared for the 2014 International Petroleum Technology
Conference, Kuala Lumpur, 10–12 December. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Seismic Acquisition, Processing,
and Stack Comparison
Copyright 2014 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced by There are approximately 500 km2 of
permission. full-fold seismic overlap and three wells

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

92 JPT • MARCH 2016

Fig. 1—Horizon slice amplitude extractions from legacy (left) and broadband (right) interpretations of the target
reservoir. The red dot is the well location. The red arrow points to the area within the fault shadow where the
broadband data are illuminating the reservoir all the way to the fault boundary.
common to the 2003 legacy survey and
the 2012 broadband survey. The gen-
eral processing flows between the two
surveys are similar; however, important
differences in short-period multiple-
attenuation techniques, the handling of
Q attenuation, and velocity-model build-
ing exist between the two surveys.
In the cross-section view, the broad-
band section appears richer and of lower
frequency than the legacy data. Quantita-
tively, the actual frequency range at tar-
get depths is larger in the broadband data
because of the added low-frequency con-
tent. It appears that the legacy spectrum
contains stronger midrange frequencies.
However, signal/noise analysis suggests
that legacy noise levels are the highest in
the midrange frequencies; thus, the lega-
cy midrange frequencies are interpreted
to be noise-dominated. Qualitative com-
parison of the two data sets under gas
clouds and fault shadows shows signifi-
cant imaging improvement on the broad-
band data, although imaging challenges
still remain.
Interpretation Work Flow
and Results
Full geophysical evaluations were con-
ducted on the legacy and broadband data
sets across the study area. Two static geo-
logical models (geomodels) were con-
structed with input from both of these
evaluations. In terms of the contribution
to the geomodel, the evaluation work flow
is twofold: structural interpretation and
stratigraphic assessment. The former
methodology consists of well ties, map-
ping, and depth conversion, resulting in
the depth surfaces that make up the model
framework. The latter method involves
investigating the rock properties from
JPT • MARCH 2016
available well data, which provides a link
between the rocks and seismic-derived
attributes. When there is high confidence
that a specific attribute corresponds to the
presence of sand, for example, then that
attribute is used to condition the distribu-
tion of sand in the geomodel qualitatively.
Seven common seismic surfaces were
mapped in two-way time and subsequent-
ly transformed to depth by use of the
respective anisotropic PSDM velocity
calibrated to sonic and checkshot veloci-
ties measured in the wells. These surfac-
es cover a two-way time window of ap-
proximately 1.5 seconds and bound the
structural framework for the geomod-
el. In general, the broadband interpreta-
tion is more continuous and there is less
manual interpretation required for the
broadband surfaces, although manual in-
terpretation is still required in higher-
noise areas beneath shallow gas bodies or
under fault shadows.
Comparison of Legacy
and Broadband Data
Considering the target reservoir previ-
ously used for 1D modeling (Fig. 1), the far
stack amplitude map for this particular
interval is indicative of gas reservoir and
is used by the geomodeler to condition
facies distribution. Similar stratigraph-
ic features are observed on the legacy-
and broadband-data-set attribute maps.
There is an east/west-trending channel
geometry that contains amplitude anom-
alies against a set of faults to the east.
High-frequency noise contamination
is evident on the legacy map, while the
broadband map appears much smoother.
Outside of the main channel axis, ampli-
tude anomalies associated with coal are
observed. However, on the broadband
map, there also appear to be additional
channels to the north, representing up-
side resources, which are not seen on the
legacy map. A likely explanation for this is
that the broadband signal is able to ana-
lyze reservoirs and distinguish them from
coal and organic shale when the two fa-
cies are in close proximity.
Seismic data contain signals and
some amount of coherent and random
noise. Signal/noise analysis at our study
area indicates that the broadband data
are cleaner overall and have a higher
signal/noise ratio relative to conven-
tional streamer seismic. A high signal/
noise ratio enables the potential for high-
frequency spectral shaping to try to en-
hance thin-bed resolution, especially if
the noise floor is low on the high end.
Conclusions
Broadband seismic acquisition is an im-
provement over conventional streamer
acquisition in terms of imaging complex,
fluvial/tidal geologic layers. Before ac-
quiring broadband data, it is crucial to
understand what the specific problems
are for imaging. In this case, the main
causes for seismic-imaging problems
stemmed from shallow gas bodies, fault
shadows, coal seams, and the natural ab-
sorption of energy with depth. Synthetic
forward modeling is an excellent tool for
feasibility studies. In terms of frequency
content, the actual broadband data con-
tain more lower and higher frequencies
than conventional data and have a higher
signal/noise ratio. These factors have re-
sulted in better resolution and detection
of thin reservoirs in complex impedance
environments, which, in turn, have bol-
stered confidence in the reservoir model
used for field development. JPT
93
 High-Fidelity Microseismic-Data Acquisition
in the Midland Basin Wolfcamp Shale Play

I n the Permian Wolfcamp shale

formation in west Texas, density fields
of microseismic events were mapped
◗ Variations in observed complexity of
event clouds related to formations
◗ Variations in event characteristics
in microseismic complexity can be rec-
ognized between two different forma-
tions. Fig. 1 shows one example in which
in four dimensions and variations related to stress shadows from width of the microseismic fracture cloud
were noted in the geometry of the adjacent prior stimulations is approximately the same as the stage
hydraulic stimulation as well as in the Expanding on the first observation, width. However, when a similar stimula-
development of pressure away from the for a number of the data sets with an off- tion design is pumped on a different for-
perforations. In addition to aiding well- set stimulation, P- and S-wave amplitude mation, a much more complex genera-
spacing decisions, these data were used ratios vary azimuthally with respect to tion of microseismic events associated
to study individual-well geometries and the observation well. Fairly uniform ra- with the stimulation is seen. While it is
compare variations in the microseismic diation patterns appear to be caused not too surprising to see differences in
response between adjacent wells. by consistent failure mechanisms. These stimulations between formations, it is re-
composite P/Sh amplitude displays pro- assuring to see such differences reflected
Results vide low-cost source mechanism infor- within the microseismic data acquired
The data sets demonstrate that high- mation and highlight a common nodal to help test the positional accuracy of
fidelity microseismic data can be acquired plane as imaged back to the observa- the events. This example demonstrates
by use of downhole tractored and multi- tion well. that the complexity is real in the second
observational well-imaging techniques to The amplitude ratios suggest a uni- formation and not a function of imag-
understand stimulations and the stress form mechanism that occurs during hy- ing issues.
fields better as indicated by microseismic draulic stimulation that may be relat- The third key observation with the
data. The data are called high-fidelity be- ed to in-situ conditions of altered rock microseismic data is that a fundamen-
cause, in general, they are excellent data within the formation or the hydraulic tal change in the stimulations was seen
that are consistent and conform to stan- stimulation itself. It is difficult to deter- related to the order of the stimulation.
dard understandings of stimulations. Be- mine if the natural fractures are aligned The acquisition of microseismic data on
yond the robustness in event counts, the in a certain orientation or the propa- the first single-well stimulation for a
data typically have a high signal/noise gation of stress and slippage is relat- pair of wells shows a general pattern of
ratio with high-quality waveforms for ed to the developing fracture. The mi- some events progressing out of the per-
picking and consistent hodograms across croseismic data suggest a dominance forations with a somewhat slow build
the tools within the array. Additionally, of strike/slip failures because the log outward away from the clusters. When
the P- and S-wave picks are orthogonal to of Sh/P changes with a 90° rotation. If the second well of a pair was stimulated,
each other and often include the P ampli- the data had plotted more as with a however, a rapid development was seen
tude and the horizontal (Sh) and vertical 180° rotation, two possibilities would of event counts that are typically five
(Sv) S amplitudes. exist for interpretation, including a ver- to seven times greater than in the first
The data demonstrate tical dip/slip mechanism or a horizontal stimulation. These events from the sec-
◗ Clearly defined nodal planes bedding-plane slip. In the latter, the frac- ond stimulation have a magnitude shift
indicating good P- and S-wave ture opening is accommodated by shear- of 0.3 units higher, an increase in length,
amplitude stability indicative of ing along the bedding planes as the frac- and a noted height increase. The only
uniform radiation patterns directly ture opens vertically. way to increase magnitude is to increase
related to the hydraulic mechanics The second key observation is that, the area or amount of slippage on the
and fracture networks for a given stimulation design, a change second stimulation. The first stimulation
can be considered as occurring within
virgin rock, while the second stimulation
This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights
appears to be stimulating an altered rock
of paper SPE 178715, “High-Fidelity Microseismic-Data Acquisition in the Midland that reflects the change in stress condi-
Basin Wolfcamp Shale Play,” by Robert Hull, Robert Meek, Brian Wright, Hallie tions from the first stimulation. The in-
Meighan, Jake Lempges, and Austin von der Hoya, Pioneer Natural Resources, creased events as well as the magnitudes
prepared for the 2015 Unconventional Resources Technology Conference, San Antonio, appear to provide an increase in fidelity
Texas, USA, 20–22 July. The paper has not been peer reviewed. and consistency of the P/S ratio.

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

94 JPT • MARCH 2016

 Phones

Phones

Perforations

Fig. 1—Highlight of the microseismic response for two different formations using somewhat similar stimulation
parameters. On the left, a long fracture wing is obtained in a higher-permeability zone, as compared with the
stimulation response on the right. While the acquisition geometry was different for these figures, vertical and horizontal
array effects were not the cause of these well-defined changes in the stimulation geometry. In fact, had a fracture wing
developed on stimulation on the right, the positioning from the horizontal array would have detected this geometry
better. This is because the accuracy in map view of the events is idealized using the moveout of the waveform across
the receiver array.

Beyond the key relationships previ-
ously noted, the following have also been
noted in the data sets:
◗ Defined progression of the events
in time outward away from the
fracture indicates an ability to
image the pressure diffusion fronts.
◗ The orientations of the geometry
of the stimulation are related to
geomechanical properties.
◗ Single observational wells can
produce reasonable locations of
events that can be tested with
respect to dual monitoring as well
as colocation imaging solutions.
◗ Consistent Gutenberg-Richter
magnitudes are achieved across
multiple jobs.
◗ Moment magnitudes vary
with respect to stratigraphic
geomechanical properties.
◗ Event barriers show good
agreement with changes in
Young’s modulus and acoustic
impedance.
◗ Different geometries are created in
the event clouds when fluid types
for stimulations are adjusted.
◗ Reactivation of stress and geometry
changes are seen in areas of known
reservoir depletion from producing
vertical wells.
◗ Geometries show a good definition
of lateral pinch-off points.
Key methods used to obtain these
high-fidelity data include
◗ Using tractored and coupled phones input to high-value well-spacing deci-
deployed within 1,000 ft of the sions. Furthermore, this paper demon-
stimulation and typically imaging strates that the data are robust in their
through a varying velocity field attributes, leading to key understandings
◗ Using a substantial imaging of geomechanical properties as well as
aperture with array lengths of completion optimization. JPT
1,100 ft and 12 three-component
tools
◗ Using appropriate methods to
reduce and understand noise in
order to improve signal quality Changing Your
Using dual monitoring as
Address?
◗
appropriate to confirm positional
uncertainties
◗ Using nearby highly accurate, Let SPE know.
dipole sonic data for velocity- +1.972.952.9393
model calibration
◗ Working with the contractors to
design the appropriate acquisition
methodology and geometry Update Your
◗ Managing microseismic acquisition
as a geophysical method while Member Profile
reviewing data in real time within
a team environment to understand http://www.spe.org/
completion and reservoir members/update
interrelationships
Conclusions
During the past few years, the indus-
try has attempted to gain better un- SPE Benefits
derstanding of the role microseismic
data can play in assessing completions Discover the possibilities.
and quantifying their uncertainty. Mi- http://www.spe.org/
croseismic data can be integrated with members/benefits
other data sets to understand geome-
chanical properties as well as provide

JPT • MARCH 2016 95

 PEOPLE
TAM International has made changes to its
management team. MICHAEL BELEAU,
SPE, has been appointed business develop-
ment director for TAM US. He joined the
company in 2014 as product line manager
for fracture systems. In his current role, he
will direct sales and launch new products in
the US markets. Beleau has a diverse background in the industry
and has held technical, sales, and operational roles at Hallibur-
ton and other companies.
MARTIN CORONADO, SPE, has been ap-
pointed engineering director at TAM. Previ-
ously, he was vice president of engineering
at Hydrawell US. Coronado has held engi-
neering, research, and upper management
roles in Baker Hughes’ technology group
and has experience in inflatable packer sys-
tems, openhole and casedhole completions, well intervention,
liner systems, and sand control. He is a member of the SPE
In Memoriam
ARLIE SKOV, 1991 SPE president, died 23
December 2015. He was 87.
Skov’s presidential year was marked
by the international expansion of SPE
during that decade and witnessed the
launch of several new initiatives. During
his term as president, the first SPE sec-
tion in China was started in Beijing and the first section in
Russia was started the following year. In 1991, SPE became
a cosponsor of the International Meeting on Petroleum En-
gineering, which was held in Beijing in March 1992. SPE also
opened its London office in 1991. The first edition of the SPE
Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Respon-
sibility biennial conference was held in 1991 in The Hague,
The Netherlands.
Skov emphasized SPE’s role in energy education and the
importance of sharing technical knowledge with govern-
ments to aid them in making informed energy policy deci-
sions. As president, he visited numerous SPE sections. In the
October 2007 issue of JPT, he recalled going to countries in
the Middle East, Africa, China, Australia, and South America.
“I visited a total of 33 sections outside the US as well as 22
within it, and I was perhaps the first SPE president to visit
that high a proportion of non-US sections. … I am delighted
that SPE continues its international growth.”
Before becoming president, Skov chaired the SPE Annual
Meeting Technical Program Committee in 1967 and 1971,
and was the chairman of both the Reprint Series and Lucas
Gold Medal committees. Skov held offices on the boards of
96
Deepwater Drilling and Completions Conference Committee.
Coronado holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering
from the University of Washington.
TIMOTHY DAVIS, SPE, has been appointed
global technical director at TAM. He will be
overseeing global technical support for op-
erations, training, product line manage-
ment, and marketing. Davis joined TAM in
2006 and was most recently the global
product line manager for cement integrity.
He also has experience in the wireline industry. Davis holds a BS
degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University.
TAM has appointed ARTHUR LOGINOV,
SPE, director of Latin America for western
hemisphere operations. He was previously
global technical manager responsible for
cement integrity, inflatable service tools,
and swellable technology. Before joining
SPE and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and
Petroleum Engineers (AIME) and was the vice president of
AIME. He was a Distinguished Member of SPE, and in 1998
was named Honorary Member by both SPE and AIME, the
highest honor these organizations bestow. He was also a re-
cipient of the SPE Distinguished Service Award.
After his graduation from the University of Oklahoma
in petroleum engineering, Skov began his 36-year career
with Sohio Petroleum Company in Oklahoma City, and later
worked for subsidiaries of BP. A main part of his career was
focused on the development of the North Slope of Alaska
and the Prudhoe Bay oil and gas fields. He was manager of
production planning for the development of Prudhoe Bay,
technical adviser to the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation
System for the proposed Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline, and in
1981, became the manager of new technology development
responsible for developing cost-effective drilling, produc-
tion, and transportation capabilities in arctic pack ice and
other environmentally hostile areas of operation. He then
became director of production technology for BP’s research
and development and technical services in the US. For his
work on improved oil recovery, Skov was named an “En-
hanced Oil Recovery Pioneer” at the SPE/US Department of
Energy Enhanced Oil Recovery Symposium in Tulsa in 1992.
After retirement from BP in 1992, Skov formed Arlie M.
Skov Petroleum Consulting, which remained active through
December 2000. He was a registered professional engineer
in Oklahoma and Texas and lived in Santa Barbara where he
and his wife moved in 1995.
JPT • MARCH 2016
TAM, he was regional manager for Asia Pacific at Weatherford.
Loginov has 34 years of experience in casedhole and
openhole completions.
PETER HOWELL, SPE, has been appointed
drilling and wells excellence manager for
the Oil and Gas Institute at Robert Gordon
University. He will be working toward
strengthening the connection between the
university and the oil and gas industry, fo-
cusing on the wells sector. Howell was previ-
ously wells manager at TAQA. He has experience in drilling, well
engineering, operations, supply chain, and business manage-
ment in several countries from his previous roles, which include
vice president at Applied Drilling Technology International UK
and integrated services manager at Noble Drilling. A fellow of
the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Howell has a bachelor’s
degree in mechanical engineering from the University
of Southampton.
In Memoriam
DONALD RUSSELL, 1974 SPE president,
died 19 December 2015. He was 84.
Russell became president during a
turbulent time in the oil and gas indus-
try. The OPEC oil embargo against the
US was in effect and the price of oil had
increased severalfold in a short span of
time. SPE’s Dues Waiver program was first introduced in
1973 to support unemployed members. In spite of the dif-
ficult economic conditions, Russell successfully steered SPE
in the direction of technical knowledge dissemination and
individual member development, and SPE’s annual mem-
bership grew steadily.
Supported by the SPE Board of Directors and reflecting
the views of the majority of SPE members, Russell opposed
the unionization of professional employees in the oil busi-
ness as well as SPE endorsing guidelines that would dictate
the relationship between employers and professionals. In his
column in the November 1973 issue of JPT, he wrote, “[SPE]
must stick to its traditional role as a bulwark of profession-
alism and seek to be of greater value to the engineer/sci-
entist and to the industry it serves.” Russell also reiterated
the importance of educating the public and the government
about the industry. In the JPT October 2007 issue celebrat-
ing SPE’s 50th anniversary, Russell said that he was proud
of speaking out for the oil and gas industry with facts and
that those energy education efforts paid off.
Russell made notable technical contributions to SPE and
the industry. He was awarded the Cedric K. Ferguson Medal
in 1962, recognizing an outstanding technical paper written
by an SPE member under 36 years of age. He received the
John Franklin Carll Award in 1980 and the DeGolyer Distin-
JPT • MARCH 2016
Member Deaths
Berthangel Gonzalo Arrazola, Ciudad Del Carmen Campeche,
Mexico
Richard J. Aseltine, Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA
Dario Balistrieri, San Donato Milanese, Italy
Theodore L. Barecky, Portland, Texas, USA
John David Boxell, Duncan, Oklahoma, USA
Joe B. Clifton, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, USA
Howard F. Dekalb, Hilo, Hawaii, USA
William Livington D’Olier, Bakersfield, California, USA
Vasco Da Silva Felix, Tunis, Tunisia
Francesco Guidi, San Donato Milanese, Italy
Wolfgang Herget, Essen, Germany
Kingdon R. Hughes, Addison, Texas, USA
John C. Kirby, La Canada, California, USA
Artur (Toni) A. Marszalek, Warszawa, Poland
Pieter Oudeman, Leiden, The Netherlands
Willem G. Riemens, Wassenaar, The Netherlands
J.D. Sere, Houston, Texas, USA
George W. Winter Jr., Euless, Texas, USA
Reece E. Wyant, Houston, Texas, USA
guished Service Medal in 1987. He published several tech-
nical papers and, with C.S. Matthews, authored SPE’s first
monograph, Pressure Buildup and Flow Tests in Wells in
1967, which is considered a classic today. He served on the
board of directors of both SPE and the American Institute of
Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) and
was president of AIME in 1990. He was an honorary mem-
ber of both SPE and AIME. Russell was also part of the ex-
ecutive structure at SPE that spearheaded the formation of
the SPE Foundation.
Russell began his career with Shell Oil Company in 1955
as a petroleum engineering trainee, and in his 33-year ca-
reer at Shell, held roles of increasing responsibility in pro-
duction operations and exploration and production re-
search. He was vice president of corporate planning in 1977
and vice president of production in 1980. He retired from
Shell in 1987 as president of Shell Development Company,
the company’s research and development organization. He
became president and chief executive officer of Sonat Ex-
ploration Company in 1988 and led the company’s growth
for more than a decade. In 1998, he founded Russell Com-
panies, an independent oil and gas company based in Tyler,
Texas. For outstanding leadership at Sonat and Shell in the
development and application of new technologies, he was
recognized with the AIME Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold
Medal in 2000.
Russell graduated with a BS degree in mathematics and
physics from Sam Houston State University, which he at-
tended on a music scholarship, playing trumpet in the Hous-
tonians Jazz Band. He also held an MS in mathematics from
the University of Oklahoma. He was elected to the US Na-
tional Academy of Engineering in 1982.
97
 In Memoriam
HORACE RANDOLPH (RANDY) CRAW-
FORD, SPE, died 16 December 2015 at
age 87. He was a pioneer in fracture
treatment designs and products and was
honored as a JPT Legend of Production
and Operations in 2009.
After graduating with a PhD in chemi-
cal engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, Craw-
ford joined Western Company as a research associate and
developed acidizing, cementing, and fracturing products
and treatment designs. One of his early papers, with other
coauthors, “Carbon Dioxide—A Multipurpose Additive for
Effective Well Stimulation,” was published in JPT in 1963.
After Western, Crawford worked for several other com-
panies, including Westco Research (a Western Company
subsidiary), Lone Star Gas Company’s Nipak Fertilizer, and
Sanitech and Enserch Exploration.
Crawford joined Conoco in 1979, and was tasked with in-
creasing the production rate of the company’s Gulf of Mex-
ico oil wells. He prepared a well completion plan and devel-
oped in-house tools to teach the plan to others. The results
were successful and Conoco increased the production rates
and revenues from the first two platforms by approximately
USD 104 million annually.
He authored several technical papers, including methods
to calculate the dimensions of a fracture using the proper-
ties of the reservoir and fracture fluid. He authored six pat-
ents for technologies, including explosive charge assem-
blies, secondary recovery of petroleum, seismic methods,
and transmission of mechanical power.
The coal seam fracture treatments he helped design for
Consol Coal, Conoco’s sister company, is considered one of
his greatest contributions to the industry. Still being used
today, this technology allows engineers to fracture and pro-
duce the methane from coal seams before sending min-
ers into the mine. This has made coal mining safer by re-
ducing the methane content in the mine and released into
the atmosphere, and has reduced the operational cost. For
this contribution, Crawford received a Special Achievement
Award from Conoco.
Crawford was passionate about education. With his
wife, Louise Crawford, he established two scholarship
funds—the Dr. H.R. and Louise Crawford Scholarship En-
dowment at Texas Tech University and the H.R. Crawford
Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Engineering for gradu-
ating engineering students at the University of Texas at
Austin. These have so far helped more than 100 students
attend college.

Hydraulic Fracturing . . .
(Continued from page 71)
started to be pumped in from the surface
because of the higher specific gravity of
the rod-shaped proppant. There was also
no pressure increase as an indication of
restriction from the perforations during
rod-shaped-proppant stages.
The three wells achieved a tip screenout
during the last proppant stages, increas-
ing the net pressure by several hundreds
of psi. The net pressure gain attributable
to the proppant pack for the three wells
was between 300 and 400 psi when com-
pared with the net pressure from the mini-
fracturing treatment. The three fracture
treatments were pumped successfully,
without major operational constraints.
Treatment Evaluation. The treatment
evaluation consisted of first estimating
the fracture geometry by performing
pressure matching with the fracture simu-
lator and then comparing the production
response against the production forecast
by use of the fracture geometries obtained
from the pressure match to identify any
discrepancy in the match of the simulated
and real production behavior. These pro-
cesses are detailed in the complete paper.
As part of the evaluation, the three
wells fractured with rod-shaped prop-
pant were compared with offset wells that
were fractured with ISP. The rod-shaped-
proppant wells showed higher proppant-
pack conductivity and longer effective
fracture half-length; conductivity and
fracture half-length were the reasons for
the higher production rates and increased
recovery compared with rates and recov-
ery in conventionally fractured wells.
Field-Trial Production Results
The production behavior of the three
wells was closely monitored during the
6 months after the treatment. The three
wells clearly showed much higher pro-
duction than the offset wells fractured
with conventional proppant. The offset
wells were fractured using on average
15% more proppant and using the same
type of fluid.
Well A had an initial production rate
from the fractured zone of 184 BOPD,
whereas the offset well fractured with
conventional proppant had an initial pro-
duction rate of 155 BOPD. After 6 months,
Well A yielded 4,035 STB more cumula-
tive production than the offset well, a dif-
ference of 24%.
Well B showed initially 143 BOPD; this
was a lower production rate compared
with the best offset well, which started
with 169 BOPD. Although the initial pro-
duction was lower, after 45 days, the well
fractured with rod-shaped proppant pre-
sented higher production. Comparing the
cumulative production after 6 months,
the well fractured with rod-shaped prop-
pant had 12% higher cumulative produc-
tion than the offset well; this represented
1,800 STB.
Well C’s initial production rate was
152 BOPD, and the offset well fractured
with conventional proppant produced
92 BOPD initially. When comparing the
cumulative production from the two
wells after 6 months, the well fractured
with rod-shaped proppant produced
8,298 STB more than the offset well frac-
tured with conventional proppant.
All the wells fractured with rod-shaped
proppant have at least 12% higher cumu-
lative production after 6 months when
compared with the best-performing off-
set well. The offset wells were just one or
two spacings away from the well treated
with rod-shaped proppant, so the reser-
voir properties and reservoir-pressure
levels were very similar. JPT

98 JPT • MARCH 2016

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

contact@AvasthiConsulting.com
www.AvasthiConsulting.com H.J. Gruy and LONQUIST & CO. LLC
Petroleum Engineers • Energy Advisors
AVASTHI Associates, Inc. www.lonquist.com
Oil and Natural Gas Reserve Advisors
& ASSOCIATES, INC. Reserve Determinations Market Valuations • Reservoir Engineering • Merger & Acquisition Support
Worldwide Energy Consulting Geologic Studies Expert Testimony
Since 1990
• Reserve Determinations • Mineral and Royalty
Field Studies Arbitration Management
CO2, N2, Chemical and Thermal EOR/ IOR, CCUS, Petrophysical Analysis Commercial Models • Economic Evaluations
Reservoir Engineering and Simulation, IAM, Reservoir Simulation Risk Analysis • Underground Storage • Regulatory Filings and
Geosciences, Static and Dynamic Modeling, Stochastic Evaluations Acquisition Screening Engineering Testimony
Geomechanics, Fracturing/ Stimulation,
Consulting and Training Services for • Salt Cavern Engineering • Facilities Engineering
6575 West Loop South, Suite 550
Development and Optimization of • Disposal Well Design
Conventional/ Unconventional/ Shale, Bellaire, Texas 77401 • Supply Studies
TEL: (713) 739-1000 • Graphical Information Systems
Oil, Gas, Gas-condensate, and • Mining Engineering
FAX: (713) 739-6112
Heavy Oil Fields around the World
hougruy@hjgruy.com
Global Head Office: 800 Rockmead Drive, Suite 212
Houston, Texas 77339, U.S.A. • Phone: +1-281-359-2674 www.hjgruy.com Austin — Houston — Wichita — Calgary
Worldwide Petroleum Consulting M.J. ENGLAND, P.E.
SPE Benefits HOT
CONSULTING PETROLEUM ENGINEER
Reserve Reports Estate Appraisals
Fair Market Value Expert Witness
Discover the possibilities. Engineering 215 Union Blvd., Suite 350
Lakewood, CO 80228-1840
http://www.spe.org/members/benefits Exploration / Field Development / Training Telephone: 303/298-0860
Integrated Reservoir Studies • Lead & Prospect Facsimile: 303/298-0861
Generation • Reservoir Characterisation • Field
Development Planning • Enhanced Oil Recovery • SERVING THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY FOR

CG A & Underground Gas Storage • Reserves Audits • Training

& HR Development
www.hoteng.com
Parkstrasse 6, 8700 Leoben, Austria
Phone: +43 3842 430530 / Fax: +43 3842 430531
OVER 60 YEARS

MILLER AND LENTS, LTD.

INTERNATIONAL OIL AND GAS CONSULTANTS
CAWLEY, GILLESPIE & ASSOCIATES, INC. hot@hoteng.com, training@hoteng.com
PETROLEUM CONSULTANTS Specializing in All Phases of Reserves Evaluations,
SINCE 1960 Huddleston & Co., Inc. Including Petroleum Economics,
Reservoir Engineering, Geology, and Petrophysics
Domestic and International
Petroleum & Geological Engineers
1221 McKinney, Suite 3700 Two Houston Center Phone: (713) 651-9455
Fort Worth Houston Austin 909 Fannin St., Ste. 1300 Fax: (713) 654-9914
(817) 336-2461 (713) 651-9944 (512) 249-7000 Houston, TX 77010 Houston, TX 77010 e-mail: mail@millerandlents.com
Ph: (713) 209-1100 Fax: (713) 209-1104
www.cgaus.com – info@cgaus.com e-mail: info@HuddlestonCo.com
Web pages: http://www.millerandlents.com

COUTRET AND ASSOCIATES, INC. International Reservoir

Petroleum Reservoir Engineers
Property Evaluation, Reservoir Engineering
Fluid Injection, Property Management
Technologies, Inc.
INTEGRATED RESERVOIR STUDIES
NITEC
International Petroleum Consultants
LLC

401 Edwards Street, Suite 810 Phone (318) 221-0482 Seismic Interpretation & Modeling Fractured Reservoir Characterization/Modeling
Shreveport, LA 71101 Fax (318) 221-3202 Stratigraphy & Petrophysics
www.coutret.com Gas Storage • Unconventional • EOR • CO2 CCS Black
Reservoir Simulation Oil/Compositional/Thermal Reservoir Simulation
Enhanced Oil Recovery Studies
FORREST A. GARB Well Test Design & Analysis Provider of LYNX®, MatchingPro®,
PlanningPro® and ForecastingPro® Software
& ASSOCIATES, INC. Well Completion Optimization
International Petroleum Consultants 300 Union Blvd., Suite 400 Denver, Colorado
Lakewood, CO 80228 475 17th Street, Suite 1400
PH: (303) 279-0877 Fax: (303) 279-0936 Ph. (303) 292-9595
Reservoir Engineering Expert Witness
www.irt-inc.com IRT_Information@irt-inc.com www.NITECLLC.com
Economic Evaluation Reservoir Simulation
Geologic Studies Due Diligence
Forensic Engineering Technical Staffing
lenandersen.com PERA
5310 Harvest Hill Road, Suite 275 Curtis H. Whitson
Dallas, Texas 75230-5805
Tel: 972-788-1110 Fax: 972-991-3160
Len Andersen & Associates
Email: forgarb@forgarb.com
Web pages: www.forgarb.com 800-428-4801 EOS Fluid Characterization
Design & Analysis of PVT Data
Frank Givens, CPA Gas Condensate Specialists
Structured approach to Investment Decisions Changing Your Address? Compositional Simulation Expertise
662-404-3798 Pipe-It Integrated-Model Optimization
frank.givens@lpl.com Let SPE know Skonnertveien 7, 1st floor • 7053 Ranheim Norway
LPL FINANCIAL Phone 47 7384 8080 / Fax 47 7384 8081
Member FINRA/SIPC +1.972.952.9393
whitson@pera.no / www.pera.no

JPT • MARCH 2016 99

 FTI
PLATT SPARKS
™ JAMES E. SMITH & ASSOCIATES, INC.
SPARTAN OPERATING CO., INC.
WILLIAM M. COBB
& ASSOCIATES, INC.
310 South Vine Avenue, Tyler, TX 75702
• Consulting Petroleum Engineers 903-593-9660 • 903-593-5527 (FAX) • 800-587-9660 — WORLDWIDE PETROLEUM CONSULTANTS —
• Reservoir Engineering
• Reservoir Simulation smithjames@jes-engineer.com • http://www.jes-engineer.com Waterflood & EOR Studies
• Reservoir Characterization
• Oil and Gas Reserves Evaluation James E. Smith, P.E., Registered Professional Engineer Geological & Petrophysical Analysis
• Fair Market Value and Acquisition Valuation Reservoir Simulation
• Enhanced Oil Recovery Unconventional Resource Evaluation
• Economic Evaluation Reserves & Property Valuation

SPE CONNECT
• Oil and Gas Production
Gas Storage & CO2 Sequestration Analysis
• Gas Storage Design and Screening
• Regulatory Filings and Database Acquisition
Expert Witness • Technical Training
• Expert Petroleum Engineering Testimony
FTI Platt Sparks www.FTIConsulting.com 12770 Coit Road, Suite 907, Dallas, TX 75251
925-A Capital of Texas Highway S. www.PlattSparks.com SPE Members Come Together Online Phone (972) 385-0354 www.wmcobb.com
Austin, Texas 78746 U.S.A.
(512) 327-6930
expert@ftiplattsparks.com
With SPE Connect FAX (972) 788-5165 office@wmcobb.com

A virtual place where you can meet,

PRA collaborate, and discuss specific technical Z AETRIC ®

Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska, LLC

Alaska’s Oil and Gas Consultants
Geology, Geophysics, and Engineering
www.Petroak.com
3601 C Street (907) 272-1232 voice
Suite 1424
Anchorage, AK 99503
ROBERTO AGUILERA, Ph.D.
SERVIPETROL LTD.
International Petroleum Consultants
Independent Oil and Gas Producers
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs
Log Interpretation
Well Test Analysis
Performance Forecasts
Economics
Numerical Simulation
Petroleum Short Courses
E-mail: aguilera@servipetrol.com
903-19th Avenue SW, Suite 502
Calgary, Canada T2P 3T7
Phone: (403) 266-2535 Fax: (403) 264-8297
http://www.servipetrol.com
challenges and resolutions, SPE Connect is Providing technical document development, busi-
now your link to SPE members worldwide. ness process support and printing/binding services
to the oil & gas industry since 2000.
www.spe.org/go/connect • DOCUMENTATION — Drilling & Completion,
(907) 272-1344 fax
Rig Operations, QA/HSE, Equipment, Reports,
Instructions & Procedures
Tarek Ahmed & Associates Ltd. • BUSINESS PROCESS — Technical Contracts,
Taking Petroleum Engineering Training
RFQs, Process Evaluation, Project & Vendor
Management
to a New Level
• PRINTING/BINDING — Turnkey, In-House,
For dates & descriptions Customizable, Quick Turnaround
of courses held worldwide, please visit us at
www.zaetric.com • The Woodlands, Texas
www.TarekAhmedAssociates.com 281-298-1878 • inquiries@zaetric.com
HSE Now SPE Membership
Membership in the Society of Petroleum
SPE’s new web app for health, safety, and Engineers is a continuous well of career-
environment professionals. enhancing opportunities for E&P professionals.
www.spe.org/hsenow www.spe.org/join

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE

ADIPEC 2016 Hexion Saudi Aramco

Page 21 Page 45 Page 17
Baker Hughes Ingevity (formerly MWV Schlumberger
JPT ADVERTISING SALES
Page 31 Specialty Chemicals) Cover 2, Page 7, Cover 4
Page 23 SPE Houston Dana Griffin
Beicip-Franlab SPE/ICoTA Tubing
10777 Westheimer Rd. (Companies M-Z)
Page 37 Interwell Norway AS and Well Intervention Suite 1075 Advertising Sales Manager
Page 57 Conference and Houston, Texas 77042-3455
Brookfield Engineering Tel: +1.713.457.6857
Exhibition Main Tel: +1.713.779.9595
Page 59 LEUTERT Fax: +1.713.779.4216 dgriffin@spe.org
Page 69
Page 85
C&J Energy
SPE League of Craig W. Moritz Brett O. Morgan
Page 29 MicroSeismic, Inc.
Volunteers Assistant Director Americas (Companies A-L)
Page 5
CARBO Page 4 Sales & Exhibits Print and Digital Sales
Page 63 National Oilwell Varco Tel: +1.713.457.6888 Representative
The Sub-Ez
Pages 47, 67 cmoritz@spe.org Tel: +1.713.457.6828
ChemEOR Page 11
Page 71 NCS Multistage, LLC bmorgan@spe.org
Subsea Services
Page 51
Cudd Energy Services Alliance
Page 83 Newpark Drilling Fluids Page 9
Page 15
Energy Navigator, Inc. TAM International
Page 41 NOV Interventional & Page 2 ADDRESS CHANGE: Contact Customer Services at
Stimulation Equipment 1.972.952.9393 to notify of address change or make changes
Fairmount Santrol Thru Tubing Solutions online at www.spe.org. Subscriptions are USD 15 per year
Page 53
Page 77 Pages 24, 25 (members). JPT JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY
Offshore Technology (ISSN 0149-2136) is published monthly by the Society of
Global Geophysical Visuray
Conference Petroleum Engineers, 222 Palisades Creek Drive, Richardson,
Services, Inc. Page 3 TX 75080 USA. Periodicals postage paid at Richardson, TX,
Page 91
Page 35 and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
Wellbarrier
Rock Flow Dynamics to JPT, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836 USA.
Page 13
Cover 3

100 JPT • MARCH 2016

 WARNING
RESERVOIR ENGINEERS
DO NOT TRY TNAVIGATOR
SIDE EFFECTS MAY INCLUDE: ADDICTIVE EASE OF USE,
FASTER RUN TIMES, A HIGHER LEVEL OF RESOLUTION,
UNIVERSAL COMPATIBILITY, MAY CAUSE COMPETITOR
INDIGESTION, CAN CAUSE LESS STRESS AND MORE
PRODUCTIVITY, MAY COST LESS THAN OTHER RESERVOIR
SIMULATION SOFTWARE, HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CREATE
EXCITABILITY IN USERS, CAN LOWER CYCLE TIME, MAY
CAUSE PROMOTIONS WWW.TNAVIGATOR.COM

RFD-006_tNavigator_JPT_0724.indd 1 7/24/15 4:12 PM

 PERF
CHARGE AND GUN SELECTOR APP

Maximize reservoir productivity in three taps.

Download our new PERF charge and gun selector app—available for iPhone® and iPad®—to conveniently select
the best gun design for your well and reservoir environment.

Find out more at

slb.com/perforating

PERF, PowerJet Nova, and PowerJet Omega are marks of Schlumberger. Copyright © 2016 Schlumberger. All rights reserved. 16-PE-95867
Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.