AUGUST 2020

Are you ready

for the
RECOVERY?
Maintenance of shut-in wells will mean a lot when they restart.

Path Mooring Tech Modeling

Forward Reliability Advances Geomechanics
 NEW LOOK, SAME TRUSTED
RESOURCE FOR PROGRAMS
AND SERVICES. Learn more.
www.api.org/GIS

API drives safety, environmental protection, and sustainability across

the oil and natural gas industry by setting world-class standards and
best practices, and by administering certification, training, and safety
programs for global operations.

© Copyright 2020 – American Petroleum Institute (API), all rights reserved.

 A Hart Energy Publication

August 2020 + Vol. 95 + Issue 08

Geomechanics

34 Planning the most productive well

path and then drilling it, too

38 Geomechanical modeling increases

well delivery success in India

MWD/LWD

42 Another perspective on Stoneley-derived

permeability in clastic reservoirs

46 3D inversion of ultradeep
electromagnetic data

22
Cover Story: Production Best Practices
Diverters Are you ready for
the recovery?
50 Improving diverter effectiveness
through lateral characterization
and near-wellbore modeling

54 Expanding the scope of

particulate diversion
Artificial Lift

56
50
Assessing wellbore tortuosity
for improved production

60 New jet pump design delivers

increased reliability and lower
cost of ownership

Mooring & Riser Technology

62 Improving mooring reliability

through risk-based monitoring 64
and inspection

64 Delivering a sustainable
execution model for reducing
offshore emissions
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 1
 1616 S. VOSS ROAD, STE 1000
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P: +1 713.260.6400 F: +1 713.840.0923
HartEnergy.com
Executive Editor
JENNIFER PRESLEY
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Group Senior Editor
VELDA ADDISON
vaddison@hartenergy.com
Senior Editor
BRIAN WALZEL
bwalzel@hartenergy.com
Senior Editor
DARREN BARBEE
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Senior Editor
JOSEPH MARKMAN
jmarkman@hartenergy.com
Activity Editor
LARRY PRADO
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Editor-at-Large
NISSA DARBONNE
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FAIZA RIZVI frizvi@hartenergy.com
Senior Managing Editor, Print Media
ARIANA HURTADO
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Senior Managing Editor, Digital Media
EMILY PATSY
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Assistant Managing Editor
BILL WALTER
bwalter@hartenergy.com
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Art Director
MELISSA RITCHIE
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Publisher
DARRIN WEST
dwest@hartenergy.com
Editorial Director
LEN VERMILLION
Senior Vice President, Media,
E&P/Conferences
RUSSELL LAAS
Chief Financial Officer
CHRIS ARNDT
Chief Executive Officer
RICHARD A. EICHLER
07 Letter From the Publisher
14
E&P Plus: Continuous improvement =
Getting better all the time
09 As I See It
Embracing change
10 Industry Pulse
Locating relevant external technologies
to help save R&D budgets
14 World View
ConocoPhillips CTO discusses role of
new technologies amid industry downturn
70
16 Executive Q&A
API’s new VP of upstream policy talks
agency’s role in today’s challenging
energy sector
20 Path Forward
New benchmark aims to competitively
market America’s growing crude
oil supply
68 Digital Solutions
Digital twins are empowering
operations in oil and gas
70 Regional Report: Europe
Has the pandemic battered
Europe’s upstream sector? 72 Tech Watch
The promise of smart water for
EOR in carbonate reservoirs
74 Tech Trends
A compilation of the industry’s
latest upstream technologies
76 International Highlights
Drilling activity around the world
78 On the Move
Promotions, new hires and
the latest company news
79 Index to Advertisers
80 Last Word
Scaling energy-centric digital
solutions will reap rewards
ABOUT THE COVER: Oryx Midstream Services provides logistics services, including storage
facilities, exclusively in the Permian Basin. (Cover photo courtesy of Oryx Midstream Services LLC;
Bottom images from left to right courtesy of Brian Nadurak/Continental Resources, Dudarev Mikhail/
Shutterstock.com, ConocoPhillips and Schlumberger; Cover design by Alexa Sanders)
E&P (ISSN 1527-4063) (PM40036185) is published monthly by Hart Energy Publishing, LP, 1616 S. Voss Road, Suite 1000, Houston, Texas 77057. Periodicals postage
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 COMING NEXT MONTH
S tarting in September, the all-new E&P Plus will bring
you full-spectrum perspectives on oil and gas E&P. It will
deliver the technology- and operations-oriented content
you expect from E&P, plus much more affecting engineering
and operations professionals. E&P Plus has been built for
digital from the ground up. Watch your inbox for upcoming
editions. Some new designs appear in this issue, and a whole
new experience will be delivered in September. Learn more
in the letter from our publisher on page 7.
The September issue’s cover story will focus on “the
new energy company.” New departments in E&P Plus will
include innovator spotlight and analyst’s corner articles.
The regional report will highlight South America, and our
executive Q&A will include insights from several oilfield
Content
2020 Artificial Lift Technology Showcase
By Ariana Hurtado, Senior Managing Editor, Print Media
In this annual technology showcase, Hart Energy highlights
the latest artificial lift technologies from 15 companies and how
these service companies aim to address operator challenges
while meeting production requirements efficiently.
Alaskan exploration: a partner for Pantheon
By Velda Addison, Group Senior Editor
Analysis of recently completed geophysical work points to an
estimated 1.8 Bbbl of oil in place at Pantheon’s Talitha project on
Alaska’s North Slope. But amid an oil price collapse, will anyone
join them to dance?
Oil market uncertainty remains, price
‘painful but not terminal’ for most
By Velda Addison, Group Senior Editor
Questions linger around OPEC’s oil production cut compliance
and a potential ramp-up in U.S. shale plays, according to a recent
Westwood Global Energy Group webinar.
Is energy transition ready to kick
shale to the curb?
By Joseph Markman, Senior Editor
Probably not, but backers believe cleaner fuels are primed,
post-COVID-19, to make strides.
Drilling activity in 2020 forecast to hit
at least 20-year low
By Emily Patsy, Senior Managing Editor, Digital Media
The number of oil and gas wells to be drilled globally this year
is expected to plunge to the lowest level since at least the
beginning of the century, according to an analysis recently
published by Rystad Energy.
CEOs—plus videos! This issue also will feature the 2020
Meritorious Awards for Engineering Innovation winners. In
addition, E&P Plus will still include its exploration, drilling,
completions, production and offshore features in every
issue. As always, while you’re waiting for next month’s
E&P Plus, be sure to visit HartEnergy.com for the latest
news, industry updates and unique industry analysis.
Exclusives Available Only Online
Subscribe at HartEnergy.com/subscribe
HART ENERGY VIDEOS:
By Jessica Morales, Director of Video Content
RelaDyne exec talks maintenance,
tech as oil industry resets
Scott Hill, RelaDyne Reliability Services vice president, discusses
how this unprecedented time will change sectors within the oil
and gas industry and how what that will look like is yet to come.
Evercore’s James West on Chevron-
Noble Energy deal, shale outlook
“M&A has started to pick up. You saw a deal announced with
Chevron buying Noble. We would expect to see more of those,”
James West, senior managing director of Evercore ISI, says.
Rockcliff Energy CEO Alan Smith
on Haynesville awareness
Alan Smith, president and CEO of Rockcliff Energy, explains
the Haynesville Shale advantage and why that might be
misunderstood by the investment community.
Production Lending execs on which
deals are still closing
Abhishek Kumar and Ryan Childs with Production Lending
explain what lending to oil and gas operators in the ‘new normal’
looks like.
CEO Justin Love on Blackbuck Resources’
unique position
Blackbuck Resources CEO Justin Love says a unique background
and being debt free has allowed opportunities for the Hous-
ton-based midstream company through this tumultuous time.
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 3
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 AUGUST 18-19, 2020

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 Coming in September …
Publisher’s
Letter

E&P Plus:
Continuous improvement =
Getting better all the time
T
hank you for reading E&P magazine. Exciting growth is occurring in the types of relevant
content we bring you—and how it’s delivered, all to make this a better experience for
our users.
With this August edition, you may notice a few changes in the “look and feel” of our design—
different grids, more graphics and more “plus” signs. These are precursors to even BIGGER
changes next month.
Starting in September, the new E&P Plus will deliver the exploration- and operations-oriented
content you expect, plus much more affecting the work of technical, engineering and operations
professionals: Darrin West
• In-depth interviews with corporate leaders on what lies ahead. First up will be an executive Vice President and Publisher
dwest@hartenergy.com
panel discussing how producers and service providers likely will change after the historic
disruptions in 2020.
• E&P Plus also will improve its own technology platform. You’ll see continuously scrolling
content and be able to move about with ease. This will make it easier for you to read
whatever catches your eye, whenever you choose.
• You’ll also be able to listen or watch more interactive content. Interviews, videos and
animations that dive into how technology works or address operational concerns like “By broadening our
digitalization, environmental practices or managing an increasingly diverse (and remote) scope and streamlining
workforce will enrich your experience.
our delivery, we are
Beyond enabling deeper coverage for transformative technologies and emerging market
mirroring ongoing
trends, these rich media functions will help E&P Plus evolve beyond its print-centric roots. Our
changes in our industry.”
jobs have changed and we understand yours have changed, too. By broadening our scope and
streamlining our delivery, we are mirroring ongoing changes in our industry.
We’re pacing the evolutionary shifts in how today’s producers work, how service companies
are being (re-)organized and how oil and gas work will get done going forward.
E&P Plus has been purpose-built for the next wave of growth in our core audience. Please
watch your inbox for a whole new experience in September. Until then, please reach out to me
if there is any question I can answer.+

Read more commentary at

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 7

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 As I
See It

Embracing Coming in September...

E&P Plus
change
New ideas bring growth and promise of
a brighter future.

T
echnology and time slow for no man, woman or child. Ten years ago, search engines were
battling for the top spot, social media was beginning to toddle along and smartphones were
nowhere close to the super-speed geniuses they are today.
Technology is the lifeblood of the oil and gas industry. A look back at the top 10 technologies
to watch in 2010, E&P editors identified advances in MWD/LWD designs, drill bit designs, subsea
compression, zipper fracs and more as the keys to successfully unlocking resources. The truth of
those predictions, aided in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, is evident in 2020 in the uneasy truce
between global oil and gas producers and full oil storage tanks.
The industry, amid the growing calls for a transition to cleaner energy resources, faces
many challenges moving forward. However, as harrowing of a time it finds itself in currently,
Jennifer Presley
the industry’s resilience and its ability to respond will help ensure its promising future. The work Executive Editor
it is doing today will define how the industry will operate tomorrow. jpresley@hartenergy.com
This work extends to how editors and graphic artists can better deliver the industry’s news and
insights. Today, with this issue, E&P takes another step on an evolutionary journey many years in
the making. Featuring a fresh new design and expanded coverage, this issue is the first of several Join me on Aug. 18 & 19
changes planned for E&P. at Hart Energy’s first
The new look and new areas of coverage will bring a full-spectrum perspective on exploration
DUG Midcontinent Virtual
and production. We’ll continue to deliver the technology- and operations-oriented content readers
Conference. Hear why
have come to expect while also digging deep into the rise of the global LNG trade, crucial market
Continental Resources’
trends, and environmental, social and governance issues impacting the industry.
Harold Hamm is buying
In short, there will be everything you have come to expect in the print magazine and much
through the downturn, a
more—but in an all-digital package. This move to digital enables the use of more video interviews
special address on crude
with industry leaders and more animations of complex technical concepts. This enhanced digital
oil supply and demand,
experience is mobile, enabling the sharing of information when and where it is necessary, be it
plus more!
in the out in the field or in the boardroom. The mobile-friendly magazine ensures the content is
immediately available.
Where the future is concerned, Buckminster Fuller, a 20th-century inventor and visionary, gave
For more details, visit
some sound advice: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something,
hartenergyconferences.com/
build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
dug-midcontinent.
Look for the new model of E&P next month. I’m sure you will not be disappointed. +

Read more commentary at

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 9

 Industry Pulse
Locating relevant external
technologies to help save
R&D budgets
Many technologies developed for applications in other industries
also have compelling uses in the petroleum industry.
John C. Barratt, Oil & Gas Innovation Center Inc.
Editor’s note: This is the third article of a three-part series outlining
why oil and gas industry companies should look externally for tech-
nology solutions. Part 1 discussed the merits of technology scouting.
Part 2 provided examples of promising external technologies. This part
explains how to find relevant external technologies and interact with
early-stage companies.
T here are four primary sources of innovation: universities, national
laboratories, corporations and startup companies (Figure 1). There
are relevant technologies in all four of these areas. Still, for the reasons
outlined below, most companies in the petroleum industry should concen-
FIGURE 1. When scouting for new technologies, look to these four sources of innovation.
(Source: Oil & Gas Innovation Center)
10 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
trate their technology scouting efforts in two areas: sourcing technologies
from established companies in other sectors and accessing technologies
developed by startups.
Technologies developed within universities
and national laboratories
Universities and national laboratories have robust research programs that
yield a substantial amount of intellectual property. However, universities
and national laboratories are not set up to directly commercialize their
discoveries. Instead, they license their innovations to startups or estab-
lished companies. Many of the leading universities and research labora-
tories have long-standing relationships with the
petroleum industry, and the largest oil and gas
producers and oil service companies have the
internal resources to pursue technology licens-
ing arrangements with these research entities.
However, for most other oil and gas companies,
it is far simpler to interact with the startup com-
panies commercializing university and national
laboratory research.
Technologies developed by estab-
lished companies in other industries
Regardless of the industry, almost every estab-
lished company has an internal R&D program.
Corporate R&D is inherently focused on the needs
of the parent company, and yet the resulting inno-
vations routinely have broader applicability.
For example, the leading construction equip-
ment companies have developed proprietary
coatings to protect the underside of their heavy
equipment, and these coatings also have oil and
gas industry applications. In the health care are-
na, numerous medical devices must be sterilized
 Industry Pulse

in autoclaves between uses. The leading medical device manufacturers Entering keywords into search engines and scrolling through countless
have developed proprietary polymers and electronics that will tolerate pages of results is the least efficient method. A more productive approach
repeated autoclaving under elevated temperatures. Some of these high- is to focus on the uses of the underlying technologies. For example,
temperature polymers and electronics also have wellbore applications. high-temperature sensors having potential oil industry applications also
Under a nondisclosure agreement, compa-
nies in other industries will usually share infor-
mation about their proprietary technologies. The
legal personnel who manage these intellectual
property portfolios and the researchers leading
the corporate R&D programs frequently partic-
ipate in conferences unique to their industries. READY
to PERFORM
Contact information for these critical legal and
R&D personnel can usually be obtained from
the conference organizers.

Technologies developed by
startup companies CRAFTED FOR CONFIDENCE
Universities and national laboratories routinely
license their technologies to startups. On occa-
sion, large companies also will license specific
technologies to startups spun off from the par-
ent company.
The venture capital (VC) model for fund-
ing startups was developed and refined in the In House Environmental Testing Per API 6A Annex F
U.S. in the 1940s. This innovative approach for
funding early-stage companies took off in the
1960s in places such as Silicon Valley. For about
30 years, early-stage American companies re-
ceived most of this VC. Research by the Center
for American Entrepreneurship shows that, as
recently as the late 1990s, American companies
received 90% of the global VC dollars. However,
this has materially changed. Today American
companies receive only 50% of worldwide VC
dollars—entrepreneurship is increasingly global. WHEN PERFORMANCE IS CRITICAL, you need a valve
Figure 2 is a Statista ranking of the most in- that you can trust. That’s why we test every design to the
novative countries in the world using data from extreme, with conditions well beyond those seen during
Bloomberg. Numerous organizations produce normal operation. With an experienced, proven team and
similar comparisons. The absolute rankings are comprehensive, in-house testing capabilities, CORTEC
not that important; the key point is the similari- pushes the boundaries of product reliability far beyond
ty in the country scores. None of the 10 leading the industry standard.
countries in this figure has a material advan-
For more information on specific CORTEC product
tage over the other nine countries, which high- offerings, visit us at uscortec.com/testing
lights another important point, namely that a
comprehensive technology scouting program
must have a strong international component.

Locating relevant startup companies

Fortunately, finding relevant startups is the
same regardless of the company’s location.

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 11

 +
Industry Pulse
ulse
FIGURE 2. The key point in this ranking is the similarity in the country scores. None of the
10 leading countries in this figure has a material advantage over the other nine countries.
(Source: Statista, data from Bloomberg)
will be useful in the aerospace, automotive and even the medical device
arena. A productive way to find these sensor startups is to scrutinize the
accelerators, incubators and events unique to the aerospace, automotive
and medical device industries.
For example, the Airbus BizLab is a glob-
al accelerator fostering startups having aero- Universities, national laboratories,
space-related technologies in areas such companies in other industries
as communications, electronics, metallur-
gies, sensors and software. The Starburst and startups represent a vibrant source
Accelerator also provides similar services of innovation.
to aerospace startups. In the automotive
industry, there are multiple accelerators
including Startup Autobahn, BMW Startup Garage, Future Mobility and the
Honda Xcelerator. In the medical device industry, Johnson & Johnson has
a top-notch business accelerator called JLabs.
Every year there are hundreds of startup competitions. Some of these
competitions will attract startups across the technology spectrum, while
other events are highly focused on just one type of technology. Rather than
taking note of only the winning companies at these startup competitions,
12 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
it is essential to review the solutions offered
by every competing company or, at least, the
finalists. The names of the competitors and
occasionally even detailed information about
their technologies can usually be found on the
event website or in the conference agenda.
Setting expectations when
working with startups
Successfully interacting with startup companies
is far different from working with large oil and
gas producers or oil service companies.
The management team in a startup will usually
consist of only a few individuals who will be si-
multaneously involved in developing their core
product or service, filing patents, fundraising,
hiring staff, moving to a new office space or
dealing with potential customers. Consequent-
ly, these management teams are often unable
to devote significant time to any single task,
including responding to product inquiries. Be-
cause of these workforce and time constraints,
most startups do not have the ability to simul-
taneously engage with multiple, large oil and
gas producers and oil service companies. As a
result, there is a significant, first-mover advan-
tage for oil industry firms that can successfully
find and collaborate with the most promising
early-stage technology companies.
Except for a few places in the world, start-
ups generally have access to financing and do
not need equity funding from the oil and gas industry. However, these
early-stage companies are almost uniformly interested in opportunities to
pilot test or field trial their technologies.
If a startup has received funding from a VC
firm, this is advantageous for two reasons:
1. Prior to investing, the VC will validate the
startup’s intellectual property portfolio; and
2. The VC will continually prod the start-
up to commercialize its technology, which
means the startup will be more responsive to
commercial inquiries.
Conclusion
Universities, national laboratories, companies in other industries and
startups represent a vibrant source of innovation. By following some basic
guidelines, oil and gas producers and oil service companies of all sizes
can access these external technologies. This type of technology outreach
is particularly attractive now because of low oil and gas prices and con-
strained petroleum industry R&D budgets. +
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 World View
ConocoPhillips CTO discusses
role of new technologies amid
industry downturn
Greg Leveille explains why now is the best time to ramp up new technology efforts.
Brian Walzel and Jessica Morales, Hart Energy
A s the oil and gas industry fights its way through the most recent
downturn and faces an unprecedented drop in energy demand,
many companies are looking to slash expenses. In some cases, research
into new technologies and applying new ways of operating have been put
on the back burner.
ConocoPhillips CTO Greg Leveille recently sat down with Hart Energy to
explain why now is the best time to ramp up new technology efforts and how
the company has applied its lessons learned to global operations.
Hart Energy: With the current downturn the industry finds itself in, there
is a lessened focus on either researching new technology or applying new
technologies. What do you think this means for the industry?
Leveille: When you look at a disruptive event like the one we are going
through right now, lessening focus on innovation and technology advance-
ments is not the right approach. During times like these, what you really
need is increased focus to find ways to improve underlying business per-
formance. So there is a lot of stress in the industry, but companies are hav-
ing to find the right balance between shorter-term survival and longer-term
prosperity. We’re putting more and more of our energy into accelerating the
adoption of already proven or nearly proven technologies.
Hart Energy: Why do you feel it is important for companies to invest,
particularly now, in new technologies?
14 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
Alpine was the first North Slope field developed exclusively with horizontal
well technology to access more than 50 sq miles of subsurface from a
single drilling pad. ConocoPhillips’ Alpine project also employs EOR through
waterflooding and miscible gas injection. (Source: ConocoPhillips)
Leveille: If I think about the areas where we’ve increased our focus most
dramatically, it’s really in the digital space. If you look at our technology
footprint, it’s quite large. We have our core E&P programs, and most of those
are digitally enabled. We actually have three digitally focused technology
programs. If you look back 10 years, I think everyone would say the 2010s
were the age of the unconventional resource technology really making a dif-
ference. I think the 2020s are going to be the digital decade for our industry
when digital really comes of age and has a big impact on the whole supply.
Hart Energy: Where do you see opportunities for tech advancements for
hardware for things like production equipment and completion tools?
Leveille: It can sound like everything is going digital and there’s no place for
traditional technologies, and that’s just not the case. If I was to look at the
real hardware-oriented themes we’re pursuing, there are things like plug and
abandonment, water treatment, extended-reach drilling, a lot of things still in
the completions space, and how to get better performance out of completion
equipment, both at the surface and downhole. There are a lot of old offshore
platforms sitting in the North Sea and other areas around the globe, and a lot
of that kit needs to come out of the ground. So finding ways to plug and aban-
don wells at a fraction of the cost of using traditional methods is really going
to make a difference. There are a lot of places where digitalization is enabling
us to take digital technologies and expand beyond what was possible before.
If you look at seismic imaging, for example, we’ve developed an approach that
 World View

we call compressive seismic imaging that builds on some techniques devel- “We do see a world
oped in the medical industry, which allows us to acquire our seismic data at
a much lower cost and also increase the quality [and] the fidelity of the data. where we think the game
is going to be who can
Hart Energy: How is ConocoPhillips applying the lessons it has
learned over the last decade or more in its shale operations to
make their best resources
improving future shale wells? better, because we’re in a world
that is likely going to have down-
Leveille: If you look at the industry, we’ve really scaled up from a very small
area of focus in unconventionals during the first decade of the 21st century ward pressure on prices for a long
to today where it’s one of the most active areas in the industry. Being able to time to come.”
take lessons learned from one basin to another and basically taking areas of
—Greg Leveille,
expertise into other areas has really helped our company. We actually have
ConocoPhillips
a group of people within our company whose job is that knowledge transfer
element. ConocoPhillips has a big footprint in the established basins. We’re
in the Eagle Ford, Bakken, Permian and Montney up in Canada, so we’re Hart Energy: Where do you think there is still room for
trying to find ways to take what we’ve learned let’s say in the Eagle Ford efficiency gains in unconventionals?
and Bakken and take it to our Canadian operations. We have learned a lot
as far as what is the optimal completion design in the Lower 48 states, and Leveille: We’ve come a long way in unconventionals in a relatively short pe-
we were able to export some of that to Canada. And a reason we have a big riod of time. So there is a tendency for people to think ‘Wow, what more can
position today in the Montney is because the lessons we learned helped us you do?’ If you think about it from a capital/opex productivity perspective, I
understand the scale of opportunity in a particular area, which other people think there is room for improvement in all of these areas.
probably didn’t recognize. We’re thinking that completion automation is going to be an area for a
lot of opportunity for additional advancements, both on how the frac spread
Hart Energy: What are some global regions where energy works and also on being able to take information gained during the hydrau-
development opportunities might be more feasible with the lic fracturing operations and incorporate it into optimizing into that particular
implementation of new technologies? stage or additional stages being done. Drilling is ahead of completions as far
as how automation has been built into the business, but there is a lot more
Leveille: About 10 years ago, we recognized that the world was changing to come. On the operations side, I think that’s where digital is going to make
very rapidly as far as the oil and gas landscape. If you went back more than a huge difference.
a decade, there was a perception that the world was running out of oil and During the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re finding we can operate a lot of
gas. When most companies were looking at technology, they were looking our facilities with fewer people in the field, and we think that is going to be a
at ways to unlock really challenged resources. Resources where it was going trend that is continuing, and it is absolutely necessary given the scale you’re
to take some enormous breakthroughs in order to make those resources going to see in the big established unconventional basins. +
commercial. With the recognition that the world was changing and there
was going to be an abundance of low-cost supply resources because of the
unconventional reservoir revolution, we really shifted our focus in terms of
what we’re pursuing as far as technology advancements, and we really shift-
ed them to make our very best assets even better.
So rather than find some challenged asset that isn’t in the money today
and trying to get it into the money, we’re taking resources that can be pro-
duced at $25, $30, $35 cost of supply and trying to cut another 10%, 20% out
of the cost of supply equation.
So what really stands out for us, obviously it’s the unconventional reser-
voir assets we’re pursuing around the globe but also the big conventional
fields. We have some legacy scale fields in Alaska and Norway and other
places around the world. We do see a world where we think the game is
going to be who can make their best resources better, because we’re in a Watch the complete video interview with ConocoPhillips CTO Greg Leveille
world that is likely going to have downward pressure on prices for a long at hartenergy.com/videos.
time to come.

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 15

 Executive Q&A
API’s new VP of upstream
policy talks agency’s role
in today’s challenging
energy sector
Lem Smith discusses his efforts at API and the association’s role amid the
current energy climate.
Brian Walzel, Senior Editor
A PI named Lem Smith as its vice president of upstream policy in May.
Smith joins API from Squire Patton Boggs where he was a principal
and partner. He previously served as director of U.S. government and regu-
latory affairs with Encana Oil and Gas, now Ovintiv. Prior to Encana, Smith
served as government relations manager at Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and
director of government relations for Kerr-McGee Corp.
He began his career on Capitol Hill working with U.S. Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott before moving to the House of Representatives where he
worked for U.S. Reps. Roger Wicker and Charlie Norwood.
Smith recently provided E&P an exclusive interview in which he discussed
his efforts at API and the association’s role amid the current energy climate.
E&P: What are some of the goals you have set out to achieve in
the short term in your new position with API?
Smith: My goals are those of our members, and API to a larger extent. From
a public policy perspective, the issues that our members have identified for
us that have been party issues in many cases have been party issues for
two, three, five, 10 years. So we continue to work to advance those interests.
More recently, I think we have been more engaged in trying to beat back
short-term proposals that can conflict with our long-stated core key princi-
pals, such as free market and free trade. I think what you’re seeing [is] the
dislocations earlier this year and the oil markets where we had the economic
16 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
Lem Smith
VP Upstream Policy, API
shutdown to protect workers and U.S. residents, [but] demand fell off the
cliff. So as states and regions and countries reopen gradually, I think we have
been able to demonstrate that our industry is a critical component to get-
ting America’s economy restarted and back ramping up so we can continue
to provide opportunities for American families by ensuring that we have a
stable, secure and affordable supply of energy.
I would say that the last three months have been unprecedented. In the
case of API, we’ve stayed true to our core principals. There can be no short-
term fixes for a lot of it, and we haven’t asked for any industry-specific relief.
We haven’t asked for a bailout. We’re a big believer in allowing markets to
work, and we’ve stayed true to those core principals.
E&P: What are some key objectives of API that fall
under your purview?
Smith: We have some long-held priorities. To name one that is prioritized on
Capitol Hill on both sides of the aisle is the National Environmental Policy Act
[NEPA] reform. It was a really good law with really good intentions 50 years
ago, but it’s API’s position that it’s in need of some constructive reform in order
to get back to what we would characterize as its intended use. The projected
average of projects under NEPA review averages about six years, and the aver-
age cost is almost $4.5 million associated with that review. We’re talking about
bridges, roads, energy projects and renewable energy projects. I think NEPA

in its current form makes efficient development and delivery of those projects
difficult to impossible. The public process that is proposed by CEQ [Council
on Environmental Quality] remains robust. Of course, we’re all committed to
protecting the environment. But this notion that infrastructure projects and
environmental protection are mutually exclusive, that’s not a view we share.
E&P: How have the efforts of API changed during the environ-
ment we are currently in, amid a global pandemic, demand
destruction and so many companies struggling?
Smith: The old adage is sometimes you’re building an airplane while you’re
trying to fly it. I think that applies here. It’s been a challenge, not just for
our association and our membership, but in many business segments of the
country. API is no different.
We’ve got some incredibly motivated and incredibly talented people; we have
a great leadership team that [API CEO] Mike Sommers has put together, and
we’ve got a lot of people who are motivated every day. We’ve seen the dislo-
cation in the oil markets that we’ve never seen before, and quite frankly, it’s my
observation that was a motivating factor for people to just roll up their sleeves.
Completely Redesigned for Digital
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COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2020
Executive Q&A
“The last three months have been
unprecedented. In the case of API,
we’ve stayed true to our core principals.
There can be no short-term fixes for a lot of it, and we haven’t
asked for any industry-specific relief. We haven’t asked for a
bailout. We’re a big believer in allowing markets to work.”
—Lem Smith,
API
There were some critical, nonessential compliance issues where we were
concerned about worker safety for offshore that involved the regulatory
bodies that we work. API was able to play a role in getting some nonessential
compliance relief. Those were things we can do to help foster and offer ideas
for relief in the short term that don’t impact safety or reduce environmental
protection, but it’s something that is very critical given those first three or
four or five weeks where we shut down the economy to protect the safety
and welfare of U.S. residents.
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 17
 +
Executive Q&A
At some level, we’ve had to continue to produce energy to sustain and
grow the economy during this downturn, and API played a critical role as
an intermediary to help those conversations and be efficient and involved in
some helpful and effective tools here in the short term.
E&P: How can API serve as an asset to the industry
during these times?
Smith: We have folks who have been with API in some cases 20 years, 30
years. The experience…I think about the offshore, for example, during
Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita or Hurricane Sandy, and you think about
some of the critical infrastructure needs that we have—whether it’s for pe-
troleum product demand, servicing electric utility fuel sources to keep the
lights on. We are oftentimes in the position where we can dedicate critical
resources to keep the lights [or] in the case of Hurricane Katrina help fueling
stations down in the Gulf Coast to get critical supplies and emergency per-
sonnel to people in need.
API has often been in a position to help expedite and facilitate some of
those emergency endeavors that are so critical to help people.
18 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
E&P: Why was this position something that interested you?
Smith: I worked on Capitol Hill, I was a finance major and just really enjoyed
policy formulation and development. I worked in the Senate. I worked in the
House for two members, first on Appropriations, then on the Energy and
Commerce Committee working for Charlie Norwood, who was very involved
in the precursor energy bills to 2005. Nothing ever happens quickly in Wash-
ington. In the case of the final Energy Policy Act of 2005, those efforts really
started in about 2001.
And my first engagement with API was in 2003. I found them to be
a great source of real data and science, and later joined the industry
working for Kerr-McGee, and we were members of API. I worked for
Anadarko, which acquired us at Kerr-McGee and [later] for Encana for
almost 10 years, leading and developing their government relations and
regulatory affairs group.
I had just always been impressed with the depth of talent, the compe-
tence of the folks at API and the reach, education and resources that they
can provide folks. When this opportunity opened up, it just seemed like a
+
natural fit. It’s a great industry that is doing great things for this country.
(Source: Dabarti CGI/Shutterstock.com)
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 Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm
has taken on many challenges, including
working to help lift the export ban and
proving the viability of the Bakken Shale.
(Photo by Brian Nadurak, courtesy of
Continental Resources)

New benchmark aims

to competitively market America’s
growing crude oil supply
Harold Hamm-led American GulfCoast Select is the first new
crude benchmark since 2010.
Leslie Haines, Executive Editor-at-Large, Hart Energy

L
ike all oil producers, when the
price of WTI plunged way below
zero as the May contract expired
on April 20, Harold Hamm watched in
dismay and disbelief. Something was seri-
ously not right. Something was broken.
But unlike others, the chairman and
founder of U.S. shale producer Continental
Resources Inc., which bills itself as Ameri-
ca’s oil champion, sprang into action.
“I’m a very positive person and I
look for solutions, so I knew we had
to do something to make the market
work,” Hamm told Hart Energy in an
exclusive interview.
Hamm marshaled his forces and
became a founding member of the
American GulfCoast Select Best Practices
Task Force Association. For two months,
the group has been talking to large pro-
ducers, traders, midstream companies,
refiners, consultants, the companies that
publish commodity benchmark prices and
the commodity exchanges—Intercontinen-
tal Exchange and Nymex.
The result— American GulfCoast Select
(AGS), which was introduced by Platts on
June 26. Global commodity pricing agency
Argus also launched its own price assess-
ment index for the U.S. Gulf Coast—Argus
AGS—in close consultation with market
participants, including Hamm-led Amer-
ican GulfCoast Select Best Practices Task
Force Association.
The task force goal was to establish
a new benchmark and mechanism
to more accurately and reliably price
U.S. light, sweet crude oil, believing a
waterborne benchmark is necessary to
competitively market America’s growing
crude oil supply.
AGS is the new benchmark for light,
sweet crude with between 38°API and
41°API, meant for export on the Gulf Coast
from facilities anywhere from Corpus

20 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com


Christi, Texas, to St. James, La. Production
will come initially from the Permian Basin,
then from the Bakken and the Eagle
Ford shales.
“It’s very exciting and transformative,”
Hamm said. “This is a real bright spot
that helps every producer in America.
Being a part of the global market is what
it’s all about.”
The last new crude benchmark,
North Sea Brent, was introduced in 2010.
“This [AGS] is not a replacement for
WTI,” Hamm said. “It should have occurred
right after exports began in 2015.”
The new benchmark reflects dramatic
changes in U.S. crude flows over the
past few years as shale output grew
exponentially and exports began, with
increasing flows to, and storage in, the
Gulf Coast region.
Horizontal drilling has enabled U.S.
producers to bring on huge new quantities
of light, sweet crude. However, most U.S.
refineries could not handle these barrels.
Hence, that crude was looking for new
markets and had to be exported to other
refineries around the world.
“The market has shifted,” Hamm said.
“There is so much oil now that never
touches Cushing coming from the Eagle
Ford and much of the Permian. You have
a vast amount of new infrastructure along
the Gulf Coast…spent on expanding dock
space and loading facilities. So we needed
to develop a benchmark on the Gulf Coast.
All of the major markets in the world are
In an exclusive video interview in late June, Harold Hamm discussed AGS with Hart Energy’s
Leslie Haines and Jessica Morales. View the entire interview at https://bit.ly/38LZdvF.
Path Forward
American GulfCoast Select (AGS) at a glance
• LOAD PORTS: AGS reflects typical ports used for loading Aframax
vessels along the Gulf Coast including Corpus Christi, Texas
City, Houston, Beaumont and Nederland, with the assessment
reflecting the most competitive location.
• LAYCAN: AGS reflects cargoes loading in a 15- to 45-day window
from the day of the assessment. Bids, offers and trades reported
to Platts for inclusion in the assessment should specify at least a
five-day loading period.
• CARGO SIZE: An AGS assessment reflects typical cargo size of
700,000 bbl with a range of 550,000 bbl to 800,000 bbl included
for the assessment.
waterborne, not landlocked. If you sit back has historically been proactive in defend-
and take a 40,000-foot view, you see the ing the U.S. producer.
need; you see what the logistics are.” Previously, he was instrumental in
The inflow of daily volumes of light, persuading the federal government to lift
sweet crude oil into the Gulf Coast the crude export ban in 2015. Since then,
eclipses the Cushing, Okla., market. the U.S. had been exporting as much as 5
Storage in Cushing, exempting line fill, is MMbbl/d before the COVID-19 pandemic
76 MMbbl, while storage on the U.S. Gulf reduced global demand. That number
Coast is nearing 391 MMbbl, the has more recently fallen to about 3.3
task force association said. MMbbl/d, which is “still strong despite the
“This [the new benchmark] is hap- pandemic,” Hamm said, and indicative of
pening, and it’s been very well received the power of American natural resources
around the world,” Hamm said. “What and the producers’ ability to manage them
this is all about is having the best compet- during a severe price downturn.
itive market in the world. Who wouldn’t Hamm also has asked the Commodity
want to be associated with that?” Futures Trading Commission to investigate
Hamm, also the chairman and founder why the price of crude fell to a negative
of the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, $37/bbl on April 20. He and others believe
the event was not handled correctly.
AGS has to be traded widely, not
narrowly, he added, and it needs to be
driven by those who would use it. He said
the task force recognized early on that
“producers were the tail of the dog” and
that downstream companies and crude
buyers have to be involved. +
Harold Hamm will be a keynote speaker
at Hart Energy’s DUG Midcontinent
Virtual Conference Aug. 18-19.
Register at hartenergyconferences.com/
dug-midcontinent.
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 21
 Are you ready

Oryx Midstream Services provides

logistics services, including storage
facilities, exclusively in the Permian Basin.
(Source: Oryx Midstream Services LLC)

22 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com

 COVER STORY:
Production Best Practices

for the RECOVERY? Maintenance of shut-in wells will mean

a lot when they restart.
Joseph Markman, Senior Editor

S
hutting in an oil and gas well is routine, as is restarting it.
What is anything but routine is leaving the well shut in for
a prolonged period while grappling with a pandemic-fueled
global economic recession that clobbers both market price and
demand with no end in sight.
While many wells returned to production in certain basins when
prices rose from their abyss in May and June, many wells in other
basins did not and will not until COVID-19 recedes in the U.S. and
economic activity is sufficient to sustain higher oil and gas prices.
That might not happen until 2021, when it is hoped that a vac-
cine will be available and the U.S. Energy Information Administra-
tion expects WTI’s price to average $43.88/bbl for the year. That
means that thousands of unconventional wells could be shut in for
months or even more than a year—the longest stretch since the
start of the shale revolution. But it’s not just producers that are
affected. When prices crashed, midstream operators had to react
quickly as well.
“My biggest concern, obviously, was what do we do with these
pipelines?” Martin McHale, Oryx Midstream COO, told E&P. “How
long is this going to last? Is it going to be a one-month, two-month,
six-month economic set of conditions that require that production
stay shut in?
If this downcycle poses a lot of questions, it also presents the
opportunity to find some answers by gathering downhole data
from shut-in unconventional wells.
“I think we’re in uncharted territory,” Chris Mountford, technical
account manager with Endurance Lift, told E&P. “We’re going to
learn a lot going forward if there’s a months-long period of shut-
ting in a whole lot of unconventional wells, tight wells.”
But what is known right now are the best practices the industry can
employ during this time to prepare wells for the upcoming recovery.

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 23

 Cover Story:
Production Best Practices

In or out?
Crude Oil Future Prices
A producer utilizes an array of assets in a (as of July 1, 2020)
well below ground, everything from sim-
$41.50
ple production tubing to complex electric
submersible pumps (ESPs) and sucker rod $41.00

pumps. A typical shut-in that results from $40.50

problems with flowlines, a compressor or
$40.00
a pipeline is a straightforward process—
address the issue and rev up again. But a $39.50
shut-in during these atypical times, which
$39.00
results from massive economic disruption,

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and surface equipment.
“You have to have some kind of treat-
ment plan or setup plan when you shut
the well in because the last thing you
want to do is physically go from produc-
ing to not producing the well and allow
your production tubing and artificial lift
system to sit in the formation fluids for a
long period of time,” Matt Young, sales
manager with Flowco Production Solu-
tions, told E&P.
Unprotected equipment is vulnerable
to paraffin and wax buildup, corrosion
and blockage from debris in the well.
In general, the plans take two shapes—
pull the equipment out or leave it in with
an anti-corrosion program in place.
“A really proactive approach is to go in
and pull everything, or remove the tubing
and gas lift from the well,” Young said.
“It has the highest upfront costs when it
comes to preparing for a shut-in, because
you have to pay for a rig to be on loca-
D
tion. You have to pay to have personnel
on location. You have to pay to have
somebody pull and store the equipment
that they removed from the wellbore.
So, you have all these associated costs
upfront, but the benefit to that is the fact
that you don’t have to worry about the
artificial lift and tubing after that point.”
A shut-in strategy also can hinge on the
type of artificial lift at work in the well. While
gas-lift equipment can be left in the well,
plunger equipment should be pulled out.
“In the plunger lift world, people
would want to retrieve the plungers,
bringing them to the surface rather than
allowing them to stay down in the bot-
tom of the wells,” Jack Rogers, director of
plunger lift products with Endurance Lift
Solutions LLC, told E&P.
The procedure entails securing the
plunger in the lubricator and then closing
(Source: CME Group)
the master valve when shutting the well
in, he said. Sand and debris can gather
at the bottom of the hole, so bringing the
plunger to the surface and inspecting it
for wear or damage is a key part of the
removal. Can it ultimately return to ser-
vice? Is replacement the best option? Or
does the plunger just need some mainte-
nance before getting back to work?
Rogers suggests examining the
lubricator system at the wellhead. The
system absorbs energy when the plunger
surfaces, contains well pressure and
redirects flow from the tubing into the
flowline. How is that equipment holding
up? Are there O-ring seals that need to
be replaced? Is everything secure? He
recommends applying a lubricant onto
the threads where the lubricator connects
with the wellhead. Control valves on the
surface—those that open and close the
well intermittently—likely could use some
grease so they don’t stick in the closed
position and complicate the future restart.
Similar procedures should be followed
with master valves at the wellhead.

Wells all in this together

In terms of collaboration with operators of
nearby wells, the best practices for shutting
in wells are akin to fracking, Joe Irvin, Perm-
ian Basin area manager with Flowco, told
E&P. During fracking, producers often com-
municate with each other to ensure that no
one’s wells suffer collateral damage.
“They shut in all the wells they can,”
Irvin said. “They know they’re about to
frac. They’re going to shut in the well.
Flowco Production Solutions’ gas-lift system in the Midland Basin is shown in operation. They’re going to pull all the tools because
(Source: Flowco Production Solutions) they could end up getting a bunch of

24 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com


sand or buildup from that frac. Better to
just plug it off.”
During the current mass shut-in, com-
munication takes on added importance,
Mountford said, because a producing well
can pull in water from neighboring shut-in
wells. The process of shutting in changes
the way fluids are sent from the reservoir
toward whichever lower pressure zones
are available to accept fluid. The first well
in an area to come back online could pull
water off adjacent wells or the formation
for days, weeks or months.
“It could change the financial metrics
of your well significantly just because the
water cut may suddenly go up to 100%,”
he said. “I think there’s going to be a need
for personal communication between
operators in areas.”
Nick Sharp, director of gas-lift oper-
ations with Endurance Lift, endorses
talking first as well.
“It also goes to the production side
when loading wells up,” he said. “It almost
becomes a dewatering project if you’re not
cognizant of who’s operating versus shut-
ting in wells around you.”
Different types of equipment have
varying levels of vulnerability to the down-
hole environment over time, Mountford
said. Gas-lift valves, for example, are fairly
resistant to some of the chemistry that
may be downhole. Conversely, operators
may experience issues with a sucker rod
string sitting in a stew of H2S and CO2.
When in contact with air and moisture,
H2S forms sulfuric acid, which can corrode
A worker analyzes well data from automation systems in the
Midland Basin. The long-term shut-ins of many unconventional wells
provide a chance for operators to collect data and prepare to bring
production back online. (Source: Flowco Production Solutions)
equipment. CO2, often injected into wells
to induce EOR, does not corrode in its pure
form. However, when it comes into contact
with fluids that contain water, it creates
the corrosive element carbonic acid. The
combination of H2S and CO2 in the well
results in iron sulfide, a significantly more
hostile corrosive agent than either H2S or
CO2 alone, according to research by the
University of Stavenger in Norway.
“One of the things that we could see
with wells shut in for a long period of time,
especially in areas where there’s potentially
corrosive chemistry, is that you could
have some holes in your tubing, which
will completely crater the gas-lift system,”
Mountford said. “It’s not that the artificial
lift equipment is bad; it may be holes in
the tubing. This provides an opportunity to
consider redesigning or pulling strings and
checking tubing in that matrix.”
Another area to address during shut-in
is the condition of lateral lines, Sharp said.
“There’s a certain amount of fillage of
that lateral,” he said. “Once you shut in a
well, everything that’s flowing at that time
settles back. When you kick the gas-lift well
back on, you may produce for a couple
days until you lose communication with the
toe in the lateral.”
Bacteria also can create problems in
laterals drilled across multiple zones, Sharp
said. When those zones stop flowing, the
low-pressure zone takes in material from
the higher-pressure zone. Bacteria can col-
lect in that section of the lateral, resulting in
corrosion issues.
Cover Story:
Production Best Practices
Is your chemistry set?
When the well is ready to be brought
back on, Young said, the producer simply
chooses an artificial lift or reevaluates an
earlier elected lift type, installs it into the
well and brings it back on. But at an esti-
mated cost of $75,000 or more to pull the
equipment, according to Bloomberg, some
producers might choose to leave the equip-
ment in the well and adopt a maintenance
schedule. That involves pumping corrosion
inhibitors into the well, along with antibac-
terial agents to mitigate any kind of buildup
during the static condition of a shut-in
well. Treatments of that type are typically
repeated every few weeks or months to
ward off threats.
In a static well, oil, gas and water nat-
urally separate with gas above, oil in the
middle and water below. Gas is relatively
benign for the most part unless it includes
elements such as hydrogen disulfide or
CO2, he said. Those can react with water
to corrode production tubing or any kind
of metal in the well. In the oil area, natural
components of a hard hydrocarbon mix-
ture like paraffin, wax and asphaltene can
build up and plug production tubing and
the artificial lift equipment.
Enemy No. 1 in a shut-in well is water
because it is so welcoming to materials
that prey on metals including sodium,
calcium and potassium. Left alone, they
will attach to production tubing and pro-
duction casing in the artificial lift system.
Treatment includes chemical flushes and
freshwater flushes as well as the use of
tools to isolate the gas/oil/water separa-
tion or keep it below the artificial lift.
The way it works, Young said, is that
treated fluid or water is pumped down the
production tubing, displacing the hydrocar-
bons. Another option resembles a gas well
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 25
 Cover Story:
Production Best Practices
application, in which a plug is inserted into
the tube and a specific depth, keeping the
oil or gas from migrating above that level.
So how does a producer choose
between pulling the equipment at shut-in
or adopting a maintenance program? It is
a matter of upfront cost versus later-life
cost, Young said. Maintenance costs are
relatively low and have a 90% success rate
for those following the process. Another
plus is that when it is time to restart the
well, the artificial lift system is already in
place with potential corrosion and buildup
issues mitigated.
But there is a significant caveat. Artificial
lift incorporates sophisticated technology in
a complex system. Choosing maintenance
of ESPs and sucker rod pumps promises
a significantly lower rate of success than
simply pulling that equipment out of the
well, Young said. ESPs have a lot of moving
parts and it takes relatively little—a small
amount of sand or buildup of film—to
interfere with their operations. Sucker rod
pumps are similar, so they carry a higher
risk of product failure when systems
restart, even when the operator adheres to
a good maintenance schedule. In the case
of more complex artificial lift systems, the
associated cost of pulling the equipment
out of the well at the beginning is probably
a safer, lower-cost route when compared
to the maintenance option.
During fracturing operations,
producers often communicate
with each other to ensure that no
one’s wells suffer collateral damage.
Ready for kickoff
What is happening in an inactive well
during a prolonged shut-in might be
unclear until restart, but there are numer-
ous downhole interactions that could be
occurring to various degrees. That is why
monitoring casing and tubing pressure
is so important. The entire process is not
cheap and it is not easy. Attention to safety
is not an extraneous detail when uncorking
a natural resource that is meant to burn.
26 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
“When these companies are shutting
a well in, it’s not an inexpensive fix, espe-
cially for the operator, because it’s going
to cost … anywhere from $5,000 to even
$15,000 to get a plunger lift well kicked
off,” Taylor Arbaney, product line director
of plunger lift with Endurance Lift, told E&P.
Bringing a well back to production
involves a checklist and trained personnel.
Samples must be taken from separators
treated with chemicals, and flowlines are
checked for leaks. Then the well under-
goes about a day’s worth of pressure
tests before the team even addresses the
plunger lift.
“If the well is loaded, then we’re going
to have to probably have some type of
swabbing unit come out and kick the well
off,” Rogers said. In that situation, a crew
comes out to the well with a swabbing rig
and, typically in a day, removes fluids to
release bottomhole pressure (BHP) and
enable the hydrocarbons to flow.
Monitoring technology offers an idea
of the extent of liquid load in the tubing
and indicates if fluid under pressure for a
long period has retreated to the wellbore.
If that is the case in the static well, the well
may not be able to kick off the plunger lift
because the hydraulic pressure of the fluid
is keeping it shut in.
Enter the swabbing unit, which is a
small truck-mounted rig. It is less costly
than a workover unit because it is not
designed to pull pipe. Instead, it runs a
braided-line into the well under what
could be several hundred feet of fluid.
Then, like a plunger, it quickly pulls the
fluid to the surface. The goal is to kick off
the well, and often it works for maybe 30
minutes. Then the line returns for another
run and pulls up more fluid. There could
be a significant amount of fluid collected
in the time since the well was shut in.
“Keep in mind that fluid could be in
the annulus as well as what is inside the
tubing,” Rogers said. “So once we pull the
fluid and begin to reduce the hydrostatic
pressure level of the fluid, then the well
will start to have flow capability.”
At that point, the plunger lift system
can take over from the swab rig and run
five to 50 cycles to clear the fluid out
of the well and return it to production.
The process, depending on a number of
factors including depth and production,
could take a week.
Hiring that swab crew can be costly. How-
ever, depending on the volume of fluid, less
expensive options could be available.
“We may be able to do it by dropping
soap sticks to try reducing some of the
fluid up off the well, and then drop the
plunger to get it to kick off,” he said.
Soap sticks can remove fluids like
condensate and water, and they act to
decrease hydrostatic backpressure that
can hinder production.
If the wellbore is dry, then it could be a
matter of choking back pressure to keep
it under control so overly high IP doesn’t
overwhelm the equipment.
“In a dryer condition, you’re going to
have a lot of built-up energy, and we have
to bring that back on a little slower [to]
choke back the well,” Rogers said, “where
we would normally be operating without a
choke in the system.”
He also offers a piece of critical advice:
automation is great but don’t try this
from home.
“As a safety precaution, I would highly
recommend members of the field team
to monitor those systems. Obviously, we
would not want to bring wells back on with-
out some type of personnel on location,”
Rogers said. “There’s good intelligence
to be gained from having remote control
and remote observation for pressures, but
having that human intervention to kick off
the wells is a preferred safety practice
when returning wells to production.”
Separation equipment or flowlines
that move oil to gathering pipelines can
experience blockage as well. A plunger
typically takes about a week to line out a
well, and the process needs to be carefully
monitored to keep velocity in check. If the
wellhead chokes are not watched closely
and fail to rein in excessive velocity on the
plunger lift, equipment may be damaged.
“We can design the systems for a
certain amount of energy, but if they’re
brought back on at a really high rate,
obviously the energy has to dissipate
somewhere,” Rogers said.
That pressure can induce higher levels of
IP in a well shut in for long period of time.
 Cover Story:
Production Best Practices

“When they bring those wells back on,

they’re going to get a lot more production
with that formation just building up pres-
sure when that well kicks on, even though
we’re throttling at a certain percentage.
But it’s at the highest flow rate that it can
handle for 24 hours or longer, depending
on the well,” Joe Irvin, Flowco’s area man-
ager for the Permian Basin, told E&P.

The great unknown

If the effect of extended downtime on a
well is an unknown, the equalizer is that
even a short-term shut-in can impact the
formation.
“I’ve been doing this about 20 years
and I’ve seen a lot of companies have
shut-in issues,” David Gilmore, techni-
cal account manager with Endurance
Lift, told E&P. “Any time you shut in a
well, you have the risk of disturbing or
changing your formation. Previously, if
everything is slow, good and smooth, and
then you shut it in, you’ve built up this
pressure. There’s always a risk whenever
you shut in a well of causing some dam- Personnel analyze well data from automation systems in the field. The Flowco Liftsight
age to the formation or changes to the Internet of Things cloud SCADA system uses message queuing telemetry transport tech-
formation. The well might not come back nology to deliver supervisory control at the wellhead, plus remote monitoring of chemical
on as strong as it was before.” injection, gas volumes, pressures, temperatures, flow rates and compressor set points.
Then again, the opposite could happen. This messaging protocol is optimized for bandwidth-constrained or unreliable networks.
“There’s always the potential that (Source: Flowco Production Solutions)
operators can bring a well back on, and
it performs better than it previously has,”
Gilmore said. Safely bringing back gas-lifted wells
Wells that restarted in May and June,
mostly in the Permian where breakeven
prices are relatively low compared to other • When starting up gas-lift systems after a significant shut-in
basins, weathered the shut-ins fairly well. period, it is important to follow the API unloading procedure
“The wells that are being brought to minimize erosional damage to the gas-lift equipment.
online right now are the ones that have
really only been shut in for a short time,” • It is recommended to monitor the surface casing pressures
Brian Arnst, product manager with Amby- before and after startup to ensure the gas-lift valves are
int, told E&P in June. “I think the longer
operating as designed.
these shut-ins go, the more exacerbated
these potential problems are going to be.” • Once the well has begun to produce again, casing fluid
There isn’t much published about
level shots and flowing pressure/ temperature surveys are
what happens when unconventional
good tools to incorporate back into the field to help confirm
wells are shut in for an extended period,
said Endurance Lift’s Mountford. The gas- the artificial lift system is working properly and the flowing
lift equipment itself, however, shouldn’t BHP has returned to the pressure that the well was being
present problems with being shut in, produced at before the shut-in.
Gilmore said.
“We have wells in which we’ll install (Source: Matt Young, Flowco Production Solutions)
gas lift, and upon completion, they just

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 27

 Cover Story:
Production Best Practices

Oryx operates exclusively in the Permian

Basin, a play that enjoys relatively low
breakeven prices for crude. So for the
company, the shutdown was relatively brief.
(Source: Oryx Midstream Services LLC)

sit there covered with fluids for two to
three years before they’re ever kicked on
and used,” he said. “So the equipment
is capable of withstanding being shut in.
Your biggest concerns are really going to
be corrosion, paraffin buildup, scale, the
solids debris and related downhole con-
ditions. And then making sure you bring
these wells back online at a slower pace
than you would if they were shut in for
just a day or two.”
The data chase
A SCADA system and automation can link
up a well or multiple wells and connect
the user to a wealth of data online. They
also provide an invaluable troubleshoot-
ing tool in terms of narrowing the search
for problems.
“It gives us all the data that we can see
on the wellhead: flow rate, injection rate,
even fluid levels [and] how much fluid
per day,” Irvin said.
A standalone controller at the well site
is a lot less expensive, he acknowledged,
but an automation solution provides
data on how a plunger lift is functioning
or well pressure on a 24/7 basis. When
operators check their laptops or tablets,
they are immediately updated on how
plungers are running or if production on
a particular well is coming up short on 50
bbl/d of oil. That enables an engineer to
target a particular well for attention.
On the flip side, automation provides
so many data to operators that they don’t
always know what to do with all those data.
The company’s solutions acquire well
data on site or via existing third-party sys-
tems, such as SCADA, and monitor well
performance, tracking the kind of rapid
well condition changes that are expected
when the wells return to service. Their
solutions adjust the set points of artificial
lift systems to ensure the equipment can
safely adapt to the changes until the well
flattens out to its pre-shut-in levels.
If geology is complicating matters
below the ground, much of the technol-
ogy above the ground will have been
dormant during the shut-in—a possibility
that troubles operators.
Chris Robart, chief commercial officer
with production optimization technology
provider Ambyint, has heard concerns.
“One of the things [a large] customer
mentioned is, ‘I’m expecting there will be a
whole bunch of electronics issues and stuff
that just isn’t working that failed in regular
due course of operations,’” he told E&P.
The longer wells stay shut in, the more
likely that operators will experience a
deluge of issues that they will discover,
both manually and remotely through
their SCADA systems, one by one. Robart
expects a higher-than-normal frequency
of problems to solve when that happens.
View from midstream
When demand collapsed, dragging oil
prices down with it in early March, crude
oil and associated gas production col-
lapsed too. That created the possibility of
suddenly empty crude pipelines, which
can be dangerous for system integrity.
Oryx Midstream’s McHale said his
company swiftly reached out to its
upstream partners and made plans to
protect its equipment, including the
measurement and pumping devices that
would need to quickly return to work
when wells began to restart. Oryx asked
producers to maintain oil in the tanks so
the company could be sure it would be
able to pump into a pipeline in the event
it was not ready to begin its chemical
treatments before wells were shut in.

28 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com


“It was a really good, collaborative
exercise,” McHale said. “The producers
get it. They want to make sure that they
have a reliable midstream infrastructure
to sell into, and we want to make sure we
take care of the assets for the life cycle.
So it was a good practice run for this
short-cycle, volatile price environment.”
Oryx started by determining which
chemical treatments were necessary
to ward off wax or paraffin buildup in
soon-to-be shut-in pipelines. Bacteria and
corrosion were top priorities as well, just
as they are for producers.
“We essentially went segment by
segment across our system, over 1,200
miles, and did a risk ranking,” McHale
said. “We mobilized our vendors. They
dedicated some additional resources
and equipment to go out there and
physically treat some of these pipes that
we thought were going to be shut in.
And they were shut in.”
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Oryx operates exclusively in the Perm-
ian Basin, a play that enjoys relatively low
breakeven prices for crude, so for the
company, the shutdown was relatively
brief. About 80% of Oryx customers oper-
ate in the Delaware Basin, with the rest in
the Midland Basin. While one or two cus-
tomers still had shut-in wells by late June,
the vast majority were back to pumping.
“Marginally, everything has been
turned back on,” he said. “I think you
see some pockets where producers took
the opportunity during the downtime
to do some well work or optimization
work with the facility, but most of the
economic deferrals or shut-ins have been
turned back on. We went in with a base
case that this was a two- to three-month
phenomenon, but it didn’t last that long.
Obviously, prices did a quicker recovery
than everybody was expecting.”
Well restarts went smoothly as well,
assisted by hot weather in the basin. The
Cover Story:
Production Best Practices
average high temperature in Midland,
Texas, in May was 91 degrees, and on six
days, highs were above 100 degrees. The
heat helped keep wax and paraffin from
building up.
“If this would have happened in the
middle of winter, I would certainly expect
to see some issues around that, but we
were able to thread the needle on the
paraffin and the water corrosion control
and sediment,” McHale said. “We had a
couple of tank batteries where we went
out and did some flushing to clear out
some things, but it was not as bad as we
were expecting.”
Planning ahead of a crisis might not
be possible, but in normal interactions,
a midstream company like Oryx relies
on communication and planning with its
upstream partners.
“The planning upfront is critical,” he
said. “You need good insight on where
the production is, when it’s coming online
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 29
 Cover Story:
Production Best Practices
and how much is going to be there. The
better those plans are, the more static
those plans are, allows us to build more
efficiently, use our contract and internal
resources more efficiently, not hopping
around trying to follow a completion
crew or a drilling line or a rig line.”
Producers vary in how they manage
sales. From the midstream perspective,
early production estimates make it easier
to evaluate where restraints might lurk in
the system, where there might be slack
and what kind of flexibility might be
available to move barrels around to avoid
bottlenecks.
“It comes down to organization and
planning to make sure there are no con-
straints,” McHale said. “When the Perm-
ian was running 400 to 500 rigs, that was
tough. It was tough on everyone across
midstream and service. You’re trying to
figure out when a producer is going to go
from an eight-well pad to a 16-well pad.
We need to know that. We need to know
that early on.”
Rainy day has arrived
An industry reeling from a cascade of
harsh developments might also have
found the rainy day it has been in
search of to clean house in its opera-
tions and collect critical data about the
nature of an unconventional well when
pumping has ceased.
“Realistically, when you look at shale,
we haven’t had these big shut-in oppor-
tunities yet,” Ambyint’s Robart said. “And
when you do shut in wells, there are all
sorts of additional data and information,
reservoir-oriented, that you can collect that
you otherwise don’t have the opportunity
to collect.”
It is also a chance for operators to
address matters that could not be touched
during times of full-on production.
“If they were thinking about redesign-
ing the gas-lift system, if they were having
some issues before now, a shut-in period
gives a chance for the well to stabilize,”
Endurance Lift’s Gilmore said. “This is
a good time for them to run a static
downhole pressure survey, temperature
survey, pressure survey [and] give them
an idea of the bottomhole pressure that
30 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
A technician conducts a well test in the Midland Basin. Once the well has begun to produce
again, casing fluid level shots and flowing pressure/temperature surveys are good tools to
incorporate back into the field to help confirm the artificial lift system is working properly and the
flowing BHP has returned to the level before the shut-in. (Source: Flowco Production Solutions)
they have, their temperatures. It also
gives them a chance to find out what
their static fluid level is.”
For example, a well might be capable
of maintaining fluid levels of 3,000 or
4,000 ft but be equipped with a valve
designed for more than that, he said. The
fluid is never going to be seen there and
won’t be able to unload anything. The
shut-in could provide the time to make
changes to a gas-lift system and perform
other well maintenance.
“During that shut-in process, you have
a really benign environment to start
to do some research [and] some data
collection,” Young said. “You can do it as
simple as putting a pressure transducer
on the surface tubing and casing, and
connecting that surface transducer into
your automation system.”
The tool collects daily casing pressure
and tubing pressure. The more data
collected on pressure build that can be
turned over to the reservoir and produc-
tion engineers, the better the operator
will be able to determine whether the
artificial lift system for the well is the best
choice or if a different system is more
economical and efficient.
Some of the data, of course, will be left
to the scholars.
“There are a ton of question marks out
there that lots of people have guesses
on, but no one really has data, no one
really has analysis and empirical evidence
that would back up a lot of speculation,”
Robart said. “So I think there will be,
potentially, a lot that we all learn as an
industry over the course of the next three
to six months as these wells restart. Next
will come the hard work of analyzing the
data and learning from it. So maybe you’ll
start to see papers published that draw
on some of the data that we’re going to
acquire here over the course of the next
few months. It’ll take a year, two years,
three years, really, for some of the insights
to be published.”
Prepare for the best
From its nadir at the close of April to mid-
year, the price of WTI rose by almost $80/
bbl. In almost any era, that type of spectac-
ular improvement would eventually result
in complaints about an insufficient supply
of Bentleys for sale in Midland, Texas.
Not in this era, in which the oil and gas
industry is locked into survival mode. This
is not a downcycle like 2015-2017, in which
the U.S. upstream sector took on a market
share challenge from Saudi Arabia and
essentially produced its way to success.
That strategy cannot work when storage
levels are high and demand is low.
Still, oil and gas has been and
remains a cyclical industry, meaning
that this downcycle is also a prelude to
the next upcycle. How companies use
this time—for well workovers, technol-
ogy upgrades and data collection—may
not determine which entities survive
the tough times, but it will likely play a
key role in competitive advantage when
prosperous times return. +
A home for
North American
hydrocarbons
In North America, EDF specializes in commodity price risk
management solutions with a focus on leveraging its
downstream demand to serve the upstream oil and gas sector.
We are part of the EDF Group of companies, one of the world’s
largest generators of electricity and a global consumer of
energy including Natural Gas, NGLs, Crude Oil, and LNG.

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Chris Beyer Ben Rich

chris.beyer@edfenergyna.com ben.rich@edfenergyna.com
281-653-1068 281-653-1736
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Content

Noven IoT System for Monitoring

and Diagnostics of wells
Mahmut Sengul, CTO, Noven Inc. – msengul@noven.io

N oven IoT system is an intelligent well, asset monitoring platform

designed for small to mid-size Independents, mature fields oper-
ators, unconventional oil and gas producers. System includes battery
operated wireless sensors and edge gateway capable of performing
wellsite diagnostic.
Noven IoT system is capable of learning from multi-sensor data using
ML/AI algorithms at edge device. It provides actionable insights about
the health of the well. These unique diagnostics are not available during
pumpers’ gaugers’ visit to wellsite. An intelligent system for monitoring and
remote diagnostics of oil and gas wells operate with Sucker Rod Pumping.
A system for surveillance and remote diagnostics of Artificial Lift operated
oil and gas wells using IoT and Machine Learning technology.
Early field case studies demonstrated that Noven IoT System can con-
tribute reducing the operating cost, improve production, eliminate losses
due to HSE incidents.

Why Monitoring?
Monitoring production data is nothing new for operators, but it’s only
been something the supermajors and major companies could afford to
do…and even then, they had to pick and choose, only able to monitor
maybe 60% to 70% of their wells. Addressing this problem has never
been more important than it is today. Weak cash flows and uncertain cost
inflation in new projects have led to a change in the business objective of
many producers from chasing growth in greenfield projects to optimiz-
ing production from existing fields without spending much. There is an
increasing demand for affordable technologies.
Noven IoT System is a step forward for providing new production Hardware
optimization tools available at well site to achieve the digital trans- n Proprietary wireless sensors:
formation in onshore oil and gas business. Unique capability of well o Clamped on Polished Rod Load Cell
diagnostic at the edge opens new opportunities from artificial lift to o Inclinometer
well optimization. The goal is to improve overall efficiency by reduc- o Pressure Gauges, Casing and Tubing
ing failures, anticipate deteriorating operating performance by timely o Tank level sensor
introducing mitigation options. As a first application we have selected n Gateway, capable of performing machine learning
the underprivileged the sucker rod pumping wells and developed diag- n Communicating via LTE – M1 and Satellite link for Gateway to
nostic capabilities for these well. Cloud connectivity
n Power supply
System Details
Noven IoT system designed and hardware manufactured in USA. This Software
gave us an opportunity easily customize our system for addressing the n Creating surface dynamometer card and performing remote
needs of diverse customer base. pump, well diagnostics using proprietary AI/ML algorithms.

32 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com

 Hart Energy IndustryVoice® allows marketers to reach our audiences by enabling them to create and place
relevant content in our media channels – in print, online, via social media and at live events. Each IndustryVoice®
piece is produced by the marketing sponsor and any opinions expressed by IndustryVoice® contributors are
their own. For questions about IndustryVoice® programs, email IndustryVoice@hartenergy.com.

n Role based User Interfaces: Pumper APP, Engineers Table 1: Noven IoT System Diagnostics
APP using Apple iOS and web-based analysis
Noven Value of
n Cloud Data Management system Description Action
Diagnostic Information
Sucker Rod Pumping Well Surveillance 01 Well is working OK Fair Keep monitoring
There is a trend of failure frequency decrease among the 02 Well is working with gas Moderate Check gas separator efficiency,
companies adapted remote well monitoring systems. Pump interference production trend, choke setting
failure frequency is the largest compared with those of sucker 03 Well is working with High Review pump performance and
rod and tubing for all the sucker rod pumping wells. We have pumping problems schedule for intervention
analyzed over 500 well data and short-listed diagnostic mes- 04 Well is working with High Review installation, operating
sages under five categories (see Table 1) and automated the mechanical integrity issues conditions, schedule for repair
process. System captures sensors data and generates AI/ML 05 Well failure Highest Review well performance and
driven diagnostics on pump operating efficiency and failures. schedule for workover

Case Studies
Noven IoT System testing is ongoing at seven different fields with five
operating companies in Texas. These wells are unique in a sense of
geometry, depth, pump size and production volumes. Data captured
from sensors evaluated in two levels; transient and, time-lapsed anal-
ysis. Value of two-level diagnostics illustrated for dynamometer and
pressure measurements. During last couple months system delivered
below high value diagnostics.
n High Gas Interference
n Multiple tubing failures
n Plugged pump barrel
n Fluid pounding
n Separator dump valve failure
n Deep parted rod
n Flow assurance issue due to paraffin buildup
n Completion change due to mechanical integrity, sanding failures
n Leaking production choke
n Blockage of flow line due to debris, sanding
n Intermittent production due to lack of supply gas, slug flow
n Temporary pump-off conditions
n Transient well tests; interference, build-up and drawdown
Operators took action based on our unique diagnostics, which were
not obtainable with pumper visits.
Benefits
n Bluetooth Low Energy radio communication for sensors
n Non-intrusive, rapid deployment capability (<30 min)
n Pump diagnostics using surface dynamometer cards generated
online at the well site
n Casing and tubing pressure transients and trend analysis
n Focus on wells that require immediate attention
n Reduce non-productive time, production losses
n Reduce number of visits to well sites by using Alerts and Status of Wells
n Monitor, reduce, detect spills from tank batteries with Alerts
n Reduce wellsite visits which also improves safety
n Continuously monitor pressures and have the ability to set up
thresholds to detect anomalies
n Remote device management
n State awareness of the assets near real time
n Minimize downtime, unplanned shutdowns
n Early intervention capability for crisis management
Typical Engagement
Solution as a Service businesses pay a set monthly fee for the entire
solution. Instead of paying multiple vendors or trying to manage part of
the solution in-house, businesses only have one bill to pay. It includes:
Install the System. Sensors are tuned for individual application and
come configured. Software is already pre-loaded and ready to manage
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Operations support. We install, maintain and operate including
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We are coming into an age where processing power, edge technology
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IoT for All

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 33

 Planning the most
productive well path
and then drilling it, too
A computational approach to well trajectory planning promises significant time savings
for determining an optimal well that also satisfies drilling constraints.
Tobias Hoeink, David Cotrell and Sachin Ghorpade, Baker Hughes

T
he significant capital invest-
ment of constructing a
well, in combination with
the upfront uncertainty on its per-
formance, creates one of the most
difficult choice sets for profitable
extraction from hydrocarbon reser-
voirs. A fundamental component is
planning the well trajectory. Currently,
well trajectories are planned with
isolated, manual processes and
numerous revisions involving geo-
scientists, geomechanics specialists,
drilling engineers and asset managers.
The planning process can take days,
weeks or months, but even then,
the truly optimal well might not be
identified because not all possible
well trajectories can be evaluated by
humans in a reasonable time.
A multidisciplinary team at Baker
Hughes conceived and implemented
an integrated method of finding the
optimal wellbore path in a given
reservoir. The technology considers
distributed reservoir properties (e.g.,
porosity, permeability and saturation),
satisfies constraints (e.g., pipe bend
curvature limits, wellbore stability
considerations and anti-collision
assurance) and avoids obstructions
and no-go zones within the reservoir.
A Monte-Carlo approach is imple-
mented to help cover parameter
space and enforce constraints while
generating ensembles of valid candi-
date well trajectories. The selection of
the optimal wellbore path can be posed
as a constrained optimization problem
and solved with a novel methodology.
By starting at either the wellhead or
a particular survey location along an
existing well, multiple possible well path
trajectories are created automatically. As
each path is progressively constructed,
drilling constraints, wellbore stability
constraints and anti-collision constraints
are enforced. Each successfully created
wellbore path is scored with an objective
function based on reservoir properties,
for example, the length of the well
exposed to reservoir rock that exceeds
thresholds on porosity, permeability and
hydrocarbon content.
Planning for simple and
complex reservoirs
The Baker Hughes team applied this
technology to several different reservoir
types. Figure 1 shows a top view of a

34 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com


thin, heterogeneous reservoir with a
distinct northwest-southeast strike of
partially fragmented hydrocarbon
sections. The reservoir landing location
had been predetermined; it is located
at the bottom mid-point of the displayed
reservoir section. Also shown is an
ensemble of evaluated well trajectories,
all of which satisfy the drillability
constraint (build-rate less than 3
degrees per 100 ft). All well trajecto-
ries were scored with the objective
function, and the resulting scores
have been normalized so that a score
of one denotes the most productive
wellbore trajectory and a score of zero
denotes the least productive wellbore.
Visual inspection confirms that the
low-scoring well trajectories are, on
average, shorter and traverse through
lower-porosity reservoir rock. In
contrast, high-scoring well trajectories
are, on average, longer and traverse
through the fragments of high-porosity
reservoir rock.
The second example reproduced here
is a complex, faulted reservoir shown in
Figure 2 in conjunction with the optimal
well trajectory from a predetermined,
fixed wellhead location. The optimal well
trajectory intersects multiple faults at
near-perpendicular angles and traverses
Exploration: Geomechanics
(Source: Shutterstock.com/Hart Energy)
FIGURE 1. A fixed landing zone
example in a thin, heterogeneous
reservoir depicts porosity in (a) 2D
property distribution and (b) an
ensemble of evaluated wellbore
trajectories. (Source: Baker Hughes)
through the high-productivity zones
located in the eastern portion of the
reservoir segment. This well trajectory
avoids crossing a number of smaller
faults in the east of the reservoir sec-
tion, which could cause unnecessary
drilling risk. However, it is worth noting
that the applied technology can be
adapted to include fault-avoidance
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 35
Exploration: Geomechanics
constraints or penalties associated with
fault-proximity or fault-crossing.
No constraint on constraints
The nature of the solution approach
provides several attractive features. No
matter how many candidate well trajecto-
ries are evaluated or how much compute
time can be allocated, this approach always
returns a best well trajectory. In a strict
mathematical sense, the returned solution is
not the best, because there is no guarantee
of identifying the global extremum. Instead,
the returned solution can be considered an
approximation that, in the limit of infinite
candidate wells, is equivalent to the opti-
mum. In practice, a few thousand candidate
wells, which can be generated in a time
frame of minutes, already cover the spatial
extent of most reservoirs in adequate detail.
Subsequent candidate wells oftentimes only
marginally improve the solution.
Another advantage of this approach is
near-perfect numerical scalability. Because
each candidate well trajectory is generally
independent of each other, this meth-
odology can easily be scaled up to any
number of independent processes, each
of which generates and evaluates its own
sub-ensemble of candidate well trajecto-
ries. In ideal map-reduce fashion, only the
resulting best well trajectories from each
process will be compared to each other to
determine the overall best well trajectory.
The initial implementation was focused
on drillability, wellbore stability and
anti-collision constraints. The approach is
extremely flexible and other constraints
36 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
such as fault-avoidance, cost metrics or
bottomhole assembly specifications can be
implemented in a straightforward manner.
Furthermore, fieldwide wellbore stability
constraints can be converted into an
effective azimuthal window for allowable
well trajectory segments. Alternatively, it is
straightforward to evaluate multiple failure
criteria for wellbore stability calculations
at each trial well trajectory segment.
Additionally, this methodology can be
extended to propose the optimal well tra-
jectory for multiple wells.
Optimum objective
Determining the optimal wellbore tra-
jectory in heterogeneous reservoirs is a
difficult undertaking, which only becomes
more challenging with increasing reservoir
complexity, for example, due to isolated
pockets of high-value target regions within
a reservoir, structural complexity or the
existence of faults.
Fortunately, the problem of finding the
optimal wellbore trajectory can be posed
as a constrained optimization problem, for
which different solution strategies exist. In
this context, a solution is defined as a well-
bore trajectory for which an objective func-
tion is maximized or minimized, while at the
same certain constraints are satisfied.
In the initial implementation, the opti-
mum is determined by selecting an objec-
tive function that is very quick to compute
because it does not rely on full reservoir
simulations. This approach thereby provides
a rapid screening tool that can be followed
by detailed reservoir simulations if desired.
FIGURE 2. The optimal
well trajectory (in blue) in
a faulted reservoir from a
predetermined, fixed well-
head location is shown.
(Source: Baker Hughes)
Therefore, determining an optimal wellbore
trajectory is a relatively quick process,
which itself can be used as an inner process
within the larger iterative process or as a
component in a layered solution approach.
For instance, identifying the optimal well
trajectory can be a component of full
field development planning, during which
multiple wells or multiple well pads are con-
sidered, possibly over a decadal time span.
Also, multiple injector and producer well
trajectories can be optimized in response to
existing and evolving reservoir conditions.
In unconventional scenarios, well trajectory
planning can be closely coupled to well
completion configurations and hydraulic
stimulation scenarios. In real-time drilling
or autonomous drilling applications, the
optimum well trajectory can be adjusted
on the fly as live data indicate a deviation
from the original plan is warranted.
In general, an objective function can
be of technical or economic nature.
Technical objective functions include
integrated permeability, exposure to
hydrocarbons, producibility or likelihood
of production volume. Economic metrics
can include minimizing capital costs
associated with drilling and completion,
maximizing revenue from production,
maximizing profit or net present value or
even maximizing the return of investment
over a specified period. +
Acknowledgment:
This article is based on the OTC-30567-MS
paper, “You Can Plan the Most Productive
Well Path and Drill It, Too.”
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 Geomechanical
modeling increases
well delivery
success in India
A better understanding of earth stresses resulted in a dramatic reduction
in wellbore instability-related drilling events and NPT for the operator.
Rajeev Ranjan Kumar, Joseph Zacharia, Adam Donald and Surej Kumar Subbiah, Schlumberger;
and Arun, S.K. Biswal and Jayant Bhagat, Oil and Natural Gas Corp.

E
xploration wells drilled in the
offshore Kutch-Saurashtra rift
basin seek to evaluate poorly
illuminated sub-basalt Mesozoic pays
below the Deccan Trap volcanics. Oper-
ators’ previous experiences in these
reservoirs have uncovered challenging
subsurface conditions, including 3,000 m
of hard, abrasive formations, abnormal
pore pressure regimes and HP/HT con-
ditions that compromise ROP and lead
to premature termination of wells. Tradi-
tional prognosis methods fail to predict
the abnormal pore pressure regimes and
stress anisotropy created by the disturbed
tectonic history and complex geological
setting. Regional operators face unpre-
dictable flow events and wellbore insta-
(Source: Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock.com)
also compromised, leading to inconclu-
sive well tests and discouraging hydraulic
fracturing results.
As exploration and field develop-
ment activities increase in this region
offshore Western India, operators seek
to improve the understanding of earth
stresses to enable better insights of
the subsurface, maintain hole integrity
and optimally evaluate hydrocarbon-
in-place volumes.
To minimize well construction
challenges and hence improve hole
integrity, operators in this region need a
reliable mechanical earth model (MEM).
However, challenging drilling conditions
have resulted in the absence of core and
other external calibration data needed
contributed to the successful completion
of openhole sections with minimal non-
productive time (NPT) and significant
increases in well deliverability metrics.
Technologies
The acoustic scanning platform provides
axial, azimuthal and radial informa-
tion from the monopole and dipole
measurements for near-wellbore and
far-field slowness information, giving
valuable insight into earth stress, pore
pressure and rock mechanical proper-
ties in the downhole environment.
The wellbore stability modeling
software guides users through the steps
required to build a calibrated MEM
that integrates all data and provides

bility incidents such as cavings, tight pulls,
breakouts and equivalent circulating
density fluctuations during drilling.
Apart from the drilling and comple-
tions challenges, the wellbore instabilities
affect openhole logging and coring oper-
ations, leading to inadequate formation
evaluation. As a result of poor hole con-
ditions, the production casing lands short
of the target and the cement integrity is
to optimize the models. Schlumberger
engineers have developed a unique
workflow that fills this data gap by lever-
aging 3D acoustic radial profiling data
from the Sonic Scanner acoustic scan-
ning platform with the integrated stress
analysis plug-in on the Techlog wellbore
software platform. The combination
of these technologies has provided
geomechanical information that has
an understanding of rock properties
surrounding the wellbore and in situ
stresses. This enables the prediction of
potential shear and tensile failures at
borehole walls. The software can predict
breakout and breakdown pressures
based on wellbore direction versus the
orientation of the principal stress tensor.
This information helps users plan a safer
mud-weight window for drilling based

38 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com


on the sensitivity analysis tool in the
wellbore software platform.
The integrated stress analysis plug-in
determines stress direction from bore-
hole images, calipers and dipole sonic
anisotropy data. The borehole shape
functionality analyzes ultrasonic and
resistivity images to identify borehole
stress indicators. Combined with data
acquired using the acoustic scanning plat-
form, it also determines stress magnitude
and regime, which can then be used to
perform multiwell analysis for planning
vertical and deviated wells in the field.
By utilizing the wellbore as a down-
hole laboratory, the final deliverable
FIGURE 1. An integrated
analysis of available log data of
an offset well identifies the root
cause of wellbore failure, poor
primary cementation and poor
gas influx during well tests.
(Source: Schlumberger)
of the integrated technologies shows
direction, regime, stress ratio and stress
Q factor and helps operators optimize
their resources for acquiring the addi-
tional external calibration data required
to build a reliable MEM.
Case study
A current study focuses on observations
from one offset well and one planned
well in the Kutch-Saurashtra rift basin. The
operator wanted to drill through more than
3,000 m of highly abrasive formation con-
sisting of the overlying basalt of the Dec-
can Trap and tight sands-shale sequences
of the Bhuj and Jhuran formations.
A predrill 1D MEM was created for
the planned well using available offset
well 3D acoustic radial profiling data
from the acoustic scanning platform
and drilling history (Figure 1).
Exploration: Geomechanics
The offset well integrated analysis
strongly suggests an interplay of wellbore
shear failure with subvertical natural frac-
tures and mechanically heterogeneous
dipping layers, resulting in extremely
complicated hole failure patterns across
most of the drilled intervals. Seepage
fluid loss from the cement slurry into the
natural fractures during the curing stage
can be interpreted to be responsible
for the poor cementation. The Stoneley
Fracture Analysis, dipole dispersion
analysis and negative far-field 3D shear
velocity anisotropy across the sand facies
indicate good far-field permeability due
to the compliant natural fractures and
fissures. Near-wellbore alteration due
to high hoop stresses appears to extend
deep into the formation, which in turn is
expected to limit perforating charges pene-
tration and reservoir contact.
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 39
Exploration: Geomechanics
In the absence of external calibration
data, the integrated stress analysis plug-in
on the wellbore software platform was
used to invert the stress magnitudes
and rock mechanical properties.
The MEM helped the operator to plan a
proactive mud weight policy to drill the
challenging Deccan Trap, Bhuj and Jhu-
ran formations in the planned well. The
drill bit and bottomhole assembly (BHA)
were engineered based on the MEM rock
mechanical properties (Figure 2).
Based on results from drilling the
12¼-inch section and minor geological
variations, fresh logs from the acoustic
scanning platform were acquired in the
12¼-inch section, and the predrill model
for the 8½-inch section was updated to
account for the local variations in the stress
regime. New stable mud weight windows
were provided for the 8½-inch section,
and key drilling parameters, LWD logs
and cuttings were monitored in real time
40 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
while drilling the section. The process was
reiterated before drilling the challenging
Jhuran Formation.
The 3D acoustic profiling data revealed
intervals with high side-burden variations,
which led to additional compaction and
abnormal pore pressures. A proactive
mud weight increase policy based on the
MEM and interventions based on real-
time monitoring resulted in smooth drill-
ing and completion of both sections with
minimal NPT and a 40% increase in ROP.
Selectively optimized perforation intervals
flowed gas to surface with minimal stim-
ulation. Time-savings for drilling the 12¼-
inch and 8½-inch sections is estimated
tobe about 40 offshore rig days.
Conclusion
The combination of using the data from
the acoustic scanning platform with the
stress analysis plug-in on the wellbore
software platform significantly increases
FIGURE 2. Improvements in
well deliverability are made
by employing geomechanical
modeling based on 3D acoustic
profiling log data and
integrated stress analysis.
(Source: Schlumberger)
the accuracy of stress predictions in
Western offshore India, demonstrating the
potential to increase exploration success
in the region. Real-time monitoring of
drilling parameters, mud log, cuttings and
LWD logs improves the accuracy of mud
weight, minimizing well flow incidents.
The integrated measurements ensure the
most consistent, accurate MEM, helping to
improve BHA design and tailor drill bits for
increasing ROP. A better understanding of
earth stresses results in a dramatic reduc-
tion in wellbore instability-related drilling
events and NPT, enabling operators to
increase drilling efficiency with consistent
ROP in abrasive formations and save a
significant number of rig days. +
Acknowledgment:
This article is based on the OTC-30593-MS
paper, “Geomechanical Aspect of Success-
ful Deep Tight Gas Sandstone Exploration
Involving Drilling to Completion.”
 THE

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 Another perspective on
Geophysical surveys, like the LWD and
cased-hole log process shown, are
designed to increase oil production.
(Source: Aleksei Zakirov/Shutterstock.com)
42 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
Stoneley-derived
permeability
in clastic reservoirs
Standoff enhanced Stoneley measurements are applied
for continuous permeability using LWD
azimuthal acoustic data.
Uche Achinanya and Otilia Mihailescu, Weatherford
A
s the oil and gas industry
grapples with what appears
to be a “new normal” asso-
ciated with fluctuating oil price, techno-
logical innovations aimed at minimizing
the overall costs of safely producing
hydrocarbon are also becoming normal.
New technological developments in drill-
ing, reservoir evaluations, completions
and production are on the increase. In
reservoir evaluation, innovations aim at
not just providing cost-effective means
of acquiring reservoir properties but also
novel approaches to acquiring quality
measurements that will enhance knowl-
edge of the reservoir.
Formation permeability measurement
is one of the most critical parameters in
the determination of hydrocarbon pro-
duction. It drives a key part of the recov-
ery factor in reservoir simulation, field
development and reservoir management.
In-situ permeability measurement can be
derived from in-situ formation mobility
data using formation testing, core analysis
and well tests. All these direct permeability
measurements provide intermittent station
measurements and may not effectively
address the varying porosities and perme-
ability changes within the well intervals.
Other challenges with direct perme-
ability evaluation methods are the asso-
ciated costs and time it takes to complete
such evaluation. A good example is the
process of permeability evaluation from
core samples. It takes a relatively long time
to acquire and evaluate core samples,
which affects the ability to make timely
decisions on the well completion.
Similarly, a well test approach is time-
consuming and relatively expensive.
In resolving the need for an accurate
continuous permeability profile, several
techniques have historically been used
by log analysts and geoscientists. The
most common techniques include the
use of porosity logs, geochemical logging,
invasion profile (from resistivity measure-
ment), nuclear magnetic resonance tools
and acoustic Stoneley arrival.
The use of acoustic Stoneley arrivals
for permeability has been a subject of
discussion among geoscientists over
the past four decades, starting with the
early attempt to measure permeability
from Stoneley wave by Rosenbaum in
1974. While significant work has been
conducted over the years on Stone-
ley-derived permeability, doubts remain
on the accuracy and reliability of this
technique. Stoneley wave generation
is highly sensitive to several downhole
factors, so the reliability of the Stoneley
wave presents a challenge. The Stoneley

The Weatherford CrossWave
azimuthal sonic tool features a
unipole-transmitter configuration.
(Source: Weatherford)
wave acquisition challenge is further
amplified in an LWD environment.
The drilling environment in which the
LWD acoustic measurement is acquired
has its challenges with drilling noise and
tool centralization.
Drilling noise
Drilling noise has a major influence on
LWD acoustic measurement; therefore,
the ability to detect Stoneley arrivals
could be affected by it. Acoustic noise can
be generated through vibrations of the
drillstring as a result of its rotation. The
LWD sonic tool position may experience
complicated movements during drill-
ing, which must be kept under control,
otherwise it will hit borehole walls and
generate significant drilling noise. Drilling
noises are mainly low-frequency waves,
which propagate along the borehole like
Stoneley waves. This limits the ability to
easily detect Stoneley waves.
Tool centralization
The presence of an LWD acoustic tool
replaces a large portion of the fluid vol-
ume in the borehole, making the Stone-
ley wave in the remaining fluid annulus
quite sensitive to the tool position in the
borehole. That is, an off-centered tool
reduces the Stoneley wave masking the
effect of formation permeability. This
concept makes tool standoff one of
the critical factors that affect Stoneley
measurement in LWD. Standoff relates
the tool centralization and its relative
position to the wellbore.
A standoff-enhanced Stoneley
permeability approach utilizes the
Stoneley wave arrivals from a unipole
LWD azimuthal sonic tool to derive a
continuous permeability index.
Technology overview
The Weatherford CrossWave azimuthal
sonic tool employs a unipole configura-
tion with a single, directionally focused
transmitter and one array of six directional
Drilling: MWD/LWD
receivers azimuthally aligned with the
transmitter. The transmitter operates in
monopole mode at about 12 kHz center
frequency with a wide band. The acoustic
waves from the transmitter travel along
the wellbore until they are detected by the
six receivers set at a spacing of 6 in. apart.
Focused receivers that have limited radial
sensitivity to fluid flow and drilling noise
are used to maximize the receivers’ sensi-
tivity to the sound waves traveling through
the formation.
Like traditional monopole sonic tools,
this tool measures the velocity of mud
head waves associated with compres-
sional and shear waves refracted through
the formation at the critical angle parallel
to the borehole. However, unlike radially
symmetric monopole tools, this azimuth-
ally focused sensor can differentiate the
slowness of refracted compressional and
shear waves from different azimuthal
directions around the borehole. This is
accomplished by using X-Y magnetome-
ters to track the azimuthal orientation of
The graph depicts 16 sectors of azimuthal
sonic measurement presentation from
the Weatherford LWD CrossWave
azimuthal sonic tool. Each sector
provides independent acoustic arrivals:
compressional, shear and Stoneley.
(Source: Weatherford)
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 43
 Drilling: MWD/LWD
the transducers as the drillstring rotates
and sorts the measured waveforms into
16 azimuthal sectors.
The azimuthal binning capability of the
CrossWave azimuthal sonic tool is utilized
in providing azimuthal 360-degree sonic
borehole images. This azimuthal binning
into individual sector measurement is the
basis for the standoff enhanced Stoneley
measurement.
One of the major difficulties in
designing LWD sonic tools is to isolate
the receivers so they do not measure
sound waves that have traveled directly
up the collar from the transmitter to
the receivers, known as “tool mode”
or “collar mode.” An attenuator must
be present between the acoustic wave
source and the tool receivers to mini-
mize this effect. The CrossWave sonic
tool implements a propriety attenuator
section separating the transmitter
and receivers, which offers 50 dB of
sound isolation.
Stonely permeability estimation shows an
excellent correlation with core permeability.
(Source: Weatherford)
44 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
Workflow
At low-frequency sonic acquisition, the
Stoneley wave velocity and attenuation are
sensitive to formation and fracture permea-
bility. The novel workflow to Stoneley-
derived permeability is in four parts:
1. A slowness analysis consists of
a raw full CrossWave azimuthal
sonic waveform processed at low
frequency. The slowness analysis
focuses on the critical need to have
a good Stoneley wave arrival, which
forms the foundation for the ability
to achieve an accurate permeabil-
ity estimation. Data processing is
performed for the low-frequency
component of
the Stoneley;
2. Identifying the sector of the well-
bore with the strongest Stoneley
arrival associated with the appro-
priate standoff for optimal Stoneley
wave generation;
3. Obtaining a Stoneley energy-
coherence; and
4. Deriving a normalized Stoneley
loss means Stoneley-wave velocity
decreases and its attenuation for
increasing permeability. The low-
frequency component of the
detected azimuthal Stoneley spec-
trum provided the most sensitivity
to the permeability of the primary
porosity reservoir.
The continuous azimuthal Stoneley
wave and energy-derived permeability was
compared with permeability from the core
in a recent clastic reservoir. Stoneley energy
normalization in this example utilized the
high- and low-core permeability results.
Normalization also can be done using
formation test mobility results or known
reservoir permeability.
Derived azimuthal Stoneley perme-
ability results respond to permeability
changes in the varying porosity intervals.
This approach provides a simple, cost-ef-
fective technique of providing continuous
permeability estimation for qualitative
reservoir evaluation. +
TECHNOLOGY
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 3D inversion of ultradeep
electromagnetic data
A 3D inversion of ultradeep EM data provides a useful tool for identifying a
change in resistivity all around the borehole.
G
eology is 3D and needs to
be represented in three
dimensions to provide better
reservoir understanding. With depths
of investigation in the region of 100 ft
to 150 ft, 3D inversion of data from the
EarthStar ultradeep electromagnetic
(EM) tool allows reservoir complexities
to be represented in all directions at
distances that allow early well place-
ment decisions and well planning of
subsequent wells in 3D.
The EarthStar ultradeep resistivity
service is an LWD technology that helps
operators map reservoir and fluid
boundaries more than 200 ft from the
wellbore using 1D inversion, more than
doubling the depth of investigation of
current industry offerings. The service
delivers a comprehensive reservoir view
so operators can eliminate costly pilot
holes and sidetracks, make informed
(Source: Eddytb Foto/Shutterstock.com)
geosteering decisions in real time and
better plan future field development.
As a part of the Earthstar service, a
3D reservoir mapping capability pro-
vides a more detailed representation
of subsurface structures to improve
well placement in complex reservoirs
out to a depth of 150 ft. 3D inversion
reveals overlooked features such as
faults, water zones or local structural
46 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
Nigel Clegg, Halliburton
variations that can considerably alter
the optimal placement of a well.
Historically, 1D inversion of ultradeep
EM data has been deployed in many com-
plex reservoirs to understand reservoir
morphology and the position of fluids
within the reservoir. Curtain plot displays
show the distribution of multiple reservoir
boundaries plotted directly above and
below the wellbore. Identification of resis-
tivity boundaries distant from the wellbore
allows changes to the position of forma-
tion and fluid boundaries to be identified
early, and well paths to be modified to
achieve optimal well placement.
The extreme depths of investigation
possible with these tools also allow
secondary targets to be identified and
subsequent wells to be planned to
target them, increasing the success
rate and providing cost savings. The
1D approach assumes that geology is
a layer cake and formations are con-
tinuous to the sides of the wellbore; in
fact, geology is 3D, with the potential
for change to formations and fluids in
all directions.
A 3D problem requires a 3D solution
to allow assessment of a reservoir in
all directions and allow well placement
decisions to be made that involve
changes in well azimuth as well as
inclination to place the well in the most
productive reservoir zones.
3D geology
The importance of a 3D understanding of
the reservoir can be demonstrated with a
relatively simple and common reservoir
target: channel sands (Figure 1).
Where a well exits a channel, a 1D
inversion will only display the position
of the upper and lower boundaries. It
is not evident from which side of the
channel that the well has exited or if
the channel has just pinched out. It
might be possible with other image
tools to identify how the well exited the
sand, but there is high uncertainty as
to the position or continued existence
of the channel. This scenario can be
represented with a simple model and
inverted using the 3D algorithm to
show the benefit of assessing a reser-
voir in 3D (Figure 2).
Not only is it clear how the well has
exited the target sand channel, but it
is also clear before the well exits the
channel that it is approaching the
side of the channel. Changes to the
well azimuth could prevent the
exit from the target if this is
acted on early enough.
 Drilling: MWD/LWD

FIGURE 1. A vertical slice through the geology

along the well path is represented in the top image.
1D inversion would display the position of resistivity
bodies in this way. A 3D representation of a channel
sand is depicted in the bottom image; the curtain plot
sliced along the well path would not show the lateral
migration of the channel. (Source: Halliburton)

This decreases the computing

3D inversion process
The 3D inversion employs a deter-
ministic algorithm to produce a single
model that represents the distribution
of resistivities around the well. The
inversion discretizes the earth using an
octree mesh, which uses local refine-
ment to place small cells immediately
surrounding the wellbore, with cells of
increasing size with increasing distance
from the well.
This cell refinement is designed to
mirror the sensitivity of the EM tools
employed, which are more sensitive to
change closer to the wellbore. Increas-
ing cell size in this way results in a
decrease in the total number of cells
required, such that, for example, 1 mil-
lion cells could represent the entire well
rather than 10 million cells, which would
be required without local refinement.
resources needed and produces a
quicker result, which is an important
consideration when results are
required in a matter of hours rather
than days. The computational size of
the inverse problem can be further
reduced by decoupling forward (simu-
lating the tool response for a particular
resistivity distribution) and the inverse
(estimating the resistivity distribution
for a set of tool responses) problems.
Local meshes are generated for small
subsets of the data. These meshes
(approximately 30,000 cells each) are
used for the computationally intensive
forward and sensitivity calculations.

FIGURE 2. In the top image, a 3D synthetic

model was created to show a section of a
high-resistivity channel sand (orange) within a
low-resistivity shale (blue). In the bottom image,
a 3D inversion result is shown when the input
model is run through the 3D inversion algorithm
showing the same distribution of the sand.
(Source: Halliburton)

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 47

 Drilling: MWD/LWD
FIGURE 3. 3D inversion results for three multilateral well sections are displayed within the 3D space (main bore, western lateral and eastern
lateral). The inversion results have been clipped to only display resistivity volumes above 15 Ωm to reveal the distribution of the sands. A
geological interpretation for an erosive channel has been superimposed across the results. (Source: Halliburton; SPE-196141-MS paper)
Performing these calculations on many
independent smaller meshes allows the
computationally intensive steps of the
inversion to be carried out simultane-
ously on many separate workers in par-
allel, commonly in a cloud environment.
The results of these calculations are
then transferred to a global mesh that
encompasses the entire well (often
comprised of many millions of cells) and
used to generate the resistivity model
representing the 3D geology along the
entire well path. The entire process for a
well can take a matter of hours. For real-
time functionality, each point can be pro-
cessed in a matter of minutes providing
near-real-time results.
Field example
Synthetic examples show the potential
for this technology, but it is the appli-
cation to field data that is a true test of
its usefulness. With the wide variety of
potential depositional environments,
the possibility of post-deposition
48 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
deformation of formations and the
added complications in mature fields of
fluid changes resulting from production
and injection, many reservoirs show the
need for 3D inversion to better under-
stand the reservoir. This technology has
been used in multiple wells to date, cov-
ering clastic and carbonate reservoirs in
both mature and new fields. Verification
of the results across many environments
provides high confidence in the results,
which is vital in the use of any new tech-
nology, particularly one that is reporting
formation/fluid changes away from the
wellbore, beyond the reach of most
LWD tools.
Particular focus for these investi-
gations has been on complex envi-
ronments where lateral variation is
expected and 1D inversion does not
show the complete picture. One such
example is turbidite deposition, where
mass flow deposits can result in both
erosion and rapid deposition with the
potential for multiple mass flows. 3D
inversion of a trilateral well, though one
such example, shows the complexity of
the reservoir and the benefits that 3D
inversion can bring to reservoir under-
standing (Figure 3).
Conclusion
In complex geological environments
and mature fields where production and
water injection result in complex fluid
movements, 3D inversion of ultradeep
EM data provides a useful tool for iden-
tifying a change in resistivity all around
the borehole. It provides a deeper reser-
voir understanding beyond the position
of resistivity boundaries reported above
and below the borehole from existing
technologies. The significant distances
away from the wellbore that changes
can be identified allow well placement
decisions to be made early and the
potential to make azimuthal changes
to the well path based on the evolving
reservoir picture as well as changes to
true vertical depth. +
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 Completions: Diverters

FIGURE 1. The stage in image A was pumped without an engineered diversion design. There is a pressure increase when the
diverter hits the perforations. However, the treating pressures slope quickly, resuming its pre-diversion trend, indicating poor diversion.
The stage in image B was completed using an engineered completion design. It shows effective diversion as the pressure increased
when the diverter hit the perforations, and the slope of the pressure has altered. (Source: Drill2Frac)

exceeds the breakdown pressure of the
secondary clusters.
While the calculation of BHP is
relatively straightforward, the calcula-
tion of breakdown pressure can be
a touch more complex. There needs
to be some measurement of mech-
anical properties along the lateral.
Traditionally, these data might have
been obtained from sonic log runs,
but due to the cost and operational
complexity of obtaining these logs,
this is often not a practical solution.
Another option is to use drilling
data to infer mechanical properties
of the rock being drilled through,
a process that has been applied on
thousands of wells over the last
several years.
The amount of energy required to
drill through a unit of rock is known
as the mechanical specific energy
(MSE) and is made up of two parts: the
drilling efficiency and the compressive
strength of the rock. If the drilling
efficiency is normalized, the result is
directly representative of the compres-
sive strength of the rock being drilled.
This value is often referred to as the
RockMSE and can be used to infer the
52 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
breakdown pressure of the formation
along the lateral.
Once the breakdown pressures are
established, then perforation clusters
can be placed with primary perfora-
tion clusters being put in sections of
the stage with the lowest breakdown
pressure and secondary clusters being
put in sections of the stage with the
highest breakdown pressure. At this
point, a near-wellbore fluid distribution
model needs to be created. Varying
perforation designs are tested until an
optimized design is obtained, wherein
there is enough perforation friction
created to distribute fluid among all the
primary clusters, yet not so much as to
exceed the breakdown pressures of the
secondary clusters.
Evaluating diverter effectiveness
A quick way to evaluate the effective-
ness of the diversion design is to review
the pressure data during pumping.
Due to the discretization of the perfora-
tion clusters, there should be two indi-
cators of effectiveness in the pressure
data. When the diverter initially hits
the perforation clusters, there should
be a clear increase in pressure.
At that point, the fluid should start
entering the secondary perforation
clusters. As a result, there should be
a change in the pressure slope as
new fractures are being created and
the net pressure is essentially reset”
(Figure 1). Using these two methods
of evaluation, several hundred
fracture stages have been evaluated.
It was found that when lateral mea-
surements and near-wellbore modeling
were used to design the diverter strat-
egies, more than 90% of stages had
effective diversion. In contrast, stages
that used geometric perforations and
a consistent diversion schedule only
showed effective diversion in 60%
of stages.
Thus, with a thorough understanding
of downhole mechanics and an accurate
estimation of rock mechanical proper-
ties and heterogeneity along the lateral,
it has been shown the effectiveness of
diverters can be significantly increased.
This understanding has allowed opera-
tors to increase fracturing stage lengths
through the use of diverters, which
can lead to a significant reduction in
completion costs without having an
adverse effect on production. +
 Assessing wellbore
tortuosity
for improved production
High-density datalogs helped an operator determine the
root cause of tubing buckling and improved production
equipment placement.
Rob Shoup, Richard Harrison and Stephen Forrester, Gyrodata
A
confluence of unprecedented
global events has caused a
decline in commodity prices
and a resource oversupply the likes of
which the oil and gas industry has never
seen. As companies navigate these tur-
bulent times, the role of technology in
enabling success will become more critical
than ever. When discussing completion
and production solutions, the role of
wellbore quality cannot be overstated with
regard to how well the downhole equip-
ment performs. In wells where the produc-
tion equipment is experiencing premature
failures, being damaged or requiring
intervention operations, a simple solution
is running a wellbore tortuosity log to
obtain in-depth data on areas of concern
in a well. In this fashion, operators can
understand areas of excessive side-loading
force that would cause significant financial
and operational issues.
Wellbore tortuosity logs
Gyrodata has released MicroGuide
wellbore tortuosity logs to provide
(Source: justyle/Shutterstock.com)
operators with a much clearer and more
detailed view of problem areas in their
well. This high-density wellbore logging
technology generates 1-ft survey data,
enabling an accurate calculation of a
well’s tortuosity. The survey data are
obtained from gyroscopic tools acquiring
and processing data in high-frequency
continuous mode. As the data are pro-
56 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
cessed, the system defines reference
lines for the wellbore path based on the
received data and determines displace-
ments of the wellbore path from the
reference lines. Through a series of calcu-
lations based on this incoming informa-
tion, the wellbore shape can be rendered
and visualized in 3D.
Obtaining and analyzing such detailed
wellbore geometry and tortuosity data
allows the operator to make informed
decisions on where to place artificial lift
and other production equipment. Making
these types of decisions with previous
systems involved many assumptions and
guesswork, which ultimately resulted in a
substantial amount of unpredicted failures.
Case history
An operator in the Austin Chalk drilled a
challenging well in Fayette County, Texas,
through interbedded formations primarily
composed of claystone and sandstone
with some concretionary limestone beds.
The well followed a J-shape profile with
a vertical section building into a curve
and extending into a lateral with a kickoff
depth of about 10,000 ft. When the drilling
phase was completed, the operator ran
the production tubing downhole into a
packer. Soon after coming online, the
production tapered off and a coiled tubing
(CT) cleanout was attempted. Unable to
get through the tubing and packer into
the production casing, the decision was
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quality by design.
 Production: Artificial Lift
made to run a wellbore tortuosity log. It
was unclear what was causing the issue,
but it was imperative that a solution be
determined immediately to enable the
well to produce at a higher rate and avoid
a significant financial impact.
The operator decided to run a wire-
line gyro survey to obtain wellbore
datalogs that would provide greater
insight into what was going on down-
hole. Previous stand-length MWD logs
were compared against the updated
1-ft logs taken with the new system.
The accuracy of the data was a critical
factor, as the operator needed to clearly
understand the tortuosity anomaly and
if it could place its production equipment
through the tubing in its current state.
Gyrodata performed a comprehensive
analysis of the wellbore logs and footage
spreads to provide the operator with
information on how severe the side-
loading forces against the tubing were.
The analysis revealed that the side-load-
ing forces were so severe that they had
effectively caused the tubing to helically
buckle. This, in turn, was preventing the
CT from passing through the production
tubing and out the bottom of the packer.
After the MicroGuide logs were processed,
the 3D wellbore visualization showed the
operator this anomaly.
The operator was advised to pull the
tubing until they reached the maximum
weight of the string plus a few thousand
FIGURE 2. This 3D representation depicts transversal displacement, with the color
temperature proportional to the maximum diameter of a straight device in inches.
At a measured depth of 9,450 ft, the maximum diameter of a device is 2.97 inches,
at a device bend of 0.719 degrees/100 ft. A device with a diameter of 2.88 inches will
undergo a uniform bend of 0.696 degrees/100 ft. (Source: Gyrodata)
58 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
pounds to reduce the helical buckling
and allow the production equipment to
be properly placed downhole.
Another wellbore tortuosity log was
run, validating the results from the orig-
inal data. At this point, the side-loading
forces and corkscrewing had been
reduced to manageable levels, allowing
the operator to run through the tubing
with CT and proceed with the well clea-
nout that was planned. The operator
acknowledged the success of the technol-
ogy and the role of wellbore datalogs in
identifying tortuosity issues.
Figure 1 shows a 3D visualization
of the tubing before Gyrodata recom-
mended to pull it to reduce the helical
buckling. Figure 2 shows the tubing after
FIGURE 1. This 3D representation
depicts transversal displacement,
with the color temperature
proportional to the maximum
diameter of a straight device
of a length 200 ft. At a measured
depth of 9,450 ft, the maximum
diameter of the straight device
is 0 inches. (Source: Gyrodata)
the pull, with buckling reduced to a level
that it was possible to run CT through
and complete the cleanout operation.
Conclusion
Historically, wellbore tortuosity has been
difficult to assess. Large changes in tra-
jectory in a wellbore’s path over a short
distance create problems with running
casing as well as production equipment
failure. Solutions in the current market
rely on using the calculated dogleg of
the wellbore to provide information on
well tortuosity. Though these solutions
have experienced varying degrees of
success over the past several decades, the
information received lacks the precision
and granularity necessary to explain the
true difficulties of running and operating
equipment in the well.
A changing industry in dire need of
improvements to the bottom line and
ultimate recovery rates demanded
something better than the standard
option, leading to the development of
the wellbore tortuosity logging technol-
ogy. Moving forward, increased adop-
tion will see production increases of
more than 50% while eliminating dam-
age to production equipment that could
necessitate costly workover operations,
significant amounts of nonproductive
time and early equipment replacements.
Further innovation from Gyrodata on
this front will include the future intro-
duction of a real-time option for collect-
ing tortuosity data while drilling.+
Tell Your Brand Story
in Your Own Words
E&P’s IndustryVoice® programs provide
multi-platform marketing while reaching
audiences across all our media platforms.

Integrate your digital, mobile,

print messages

Engage qualified executives,

managers, engineers and technicians

Increase awareness for your

product, service or brand

Get a stream of qualified sales leads

Find out how E&P’s IndustryVoice® programs

help you gain multi- platform leverage.
Contact Danny Foster at
IndustryVoice.com dfoster@hartenergy.com
 Today’s redesigned jet pumps, when paired
with more reliable surface power sources,
are vastly more efficient and economical.
(Source: Tech-Flo)

New jet pump design

delivers increased reliability and
lower cost of ownership
Powered by surface pumps, a new pump design harnesses the momentum of
one fluid to move another fluid.

Bill Jackson and Erik Reissig, Tech-Flo, a Tally Energy Services company

F
or well more than 100 years,
the image of a pumpjack
against the backdrop of a
desert sunset has typified every oil field
in the world. Over the last 10 years or so,
however, shale plays have rewritten the
playbook not only for completions but
for production.
casing wear. This combines with pump
damage from sand to require multiple
costly workovers, lost production and
loss of profits.
A successful lift method for shale
plays must eliminate as many moving
parts as possible, both in the tubing and
in the pump itself, while being reliable
How it works
A jet pump uses the Venturi effect. This
is a special case of Bernoulli’s principle
stating that as fluid flows through a pipe
with a constriction in it (nozzle), the fluid
must speed up in the restriction, reducing
its pressure and producing a vacuum.
This vacuum brings formation fluids into
(Source: juninatt/Shutterstock.com)

Below those topside images, today’s
wells feature 90-degree turns, long
laterals and copious amounts of abra-
sives such as frac fluid and sand. This
is hardly conducive to the mechanics
of the pumpjack, which feature long
rodstrings and mechanical downhole
pumps. Irregular holes lead to rod and
and cost-efficient, especially with today’s
wild price dives.
One option gaining traction is the jet
pump—with an important caveat. Today’s
redesigned jet pumps, with more reliable
surface power sources, are vastly more effi-
cient and economical than those that met
limited success in the 1980s and 1990s.
the jet pump and to the surface.
A jet pump uses a high-pressure fluid
stream—usually produced water, but
occasionally oil—to create a low-pressure
situation at the intake (a Venturi), in
effect, sucking in the oil and associated
gas. At the surface, a process separates
the fluids.

60 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com


The jet pump itself has no moving
parts, relying on a surface pump to move
the fluid stream. With its small size and
lack of moving parts, a jet pump is not
affected by solids or gas locking and
can be placed as deep as required by
the well and formation. It rarely needs
servicing and, when it does, it can easily
be reversed out to replace the nozzle
and mixing tube without the expense and
downtime involved with a pulling unit.
This technology can be used in wells
from 20 to 6,000-plus bbl/d.
Key differences in
jet pump designs
One of the drawbacks to conventional jet
pump installations, in many cases even
today, has been the choice of surface
pump. Traditional plunger/multiplex
pumps require constant maintenance and
often fail even if properly maintained.
This leads to downtime and costly repair/
replacement scenarios.
As a result, Tech-Flo has moved to
diaphragm PD pumps and H-pumps,
multistage centrifugal electric submers-
ible pumps (ESPs) on the surface. The
(Source: Tech-Flo)
cost of ownership of these pumps is
much lower because H-pumps are
more reliable and require maintenance
only quarterly.
While H-pumps are slightly less efficient
than plunger pumps, 70% compared
to 95%, they more than make up the
difference in reliability and lifting cost per
barrel. The cost of the H-pumps them-
selves has dropped since about 2010, as an
increase in competition has led to greater
efficiencies in manufacturing.
Jet pumps and H-pumps are gaining
acceptance in many other areas, so their
use in production is also rising. Producers
find jet pumps invaluable for frac flow-
back and fluid recovery because of its
ability to handle solids and volatile gases.
As the flow changes, it can be optimized
quickly without a pulling unit.
For production, jet pumps can be
set deep into the horizontal section at 45
to 70 degrees—a placement not optimal
for rod pumps because the rod would
wear against the tubing and for ESPs as
they are rarely placed at that angle.
Its versatility is another benefit,
especially with the rapid changes
Production: Artificial Lift
inherent in new wells. A jet pump can
handle a well that kicks off at 4,000
bbl/d that may drop to 2,000 bbl/d in a
few weeks. The service company sim-
ply changes the nozzle and mixing tube
to optimize the dropping production
rates. Hydraulic lift offers more versatility
than virtually any other type of artificial
lift system.
Jet pumps also lend themselves
to hybrid jet pump/gas-lift installations
in which the jet pump recovers the
frac fluid until gas production becomes
relevant. At that point, retrieving
the jet pump by wireline is simple
and cost-effective. The bottomhole
assembly can be left in the wellbore.
That way, if the well should later
need to be put back on hydraulic lift
due to offset fracs, disruption in gas
production or compressor downtime,
the operator can pump the jet pump
back into position, either temporarily
or long term—without the expense
of a pulling unit.
In the field
In today’s oil price climate, cost reduc-
tion is at the top of every company’s
wish list, as it was for a producer with a
well in the Frio Formation near Galves-
ton, Texas. The well’s rod pump faced
operational and wellbore issues that cost
the operator an average of $140,000/
year in pulling and repair costs.
The well had been completed to 6,800
ft with 5.5-inch casing. A severe deviation
in the casing was the main issue, creating
the damage but also limiting production. It
produced 20 bbl/d and 260 bbl/d of water.
Tech-Flo installed a jet pump system
at a 20% cost reduction over the existing
equipment. The producer had previously
used a rail car separator with a suction
leg installed for the surface pump’s suc-
tion, which eliminated the need for other
separation equipment.
The jet pump boosted production to
28 bbl/d and 400 bbl/d of water using 70
mechanical horsepower. In the first year
of installation, the jet pump system saved
the producer $133,000 in service and
repair costs. +
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 61
 Improving mooring reliability
through risk-based
monitoring and inspection
Marine technology is advancing rapidly to improve simulations, monitoring, weather
forecasting, inspections and digitalization needed for safer mooring systems.
C
hain corrosion and fatigue
are the primary causes of
offshore mooring incidents,
events that can cause costly line failures,
pre-emptive replacements, downtime
and severe degradation of asset security,
according to a recent survey.
West Africa (where corrosion
was the primary cause) and North
Sea (fatigue) were the most common
locations, suggesting site environments
strongly influence the probability of
failed mooring systems, often with
expensive consequences (Figure 1).
FPSO units were responsible for the
majority (73%) of incidents covered
in the analysis. In 2019 there were 225
FPSOs either in service (182), available
(20) or on order (23) worldwide.
With the number of floating produc-
tion installations on the rise, modern
FIGURE 1. Reported incidents in the
analysis, including line failure and
severe degradation, are shown.
(Source: ABS) Others
s
2%
Gulf of
Mexico
0%
Brazil
62 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
Sue Wang, ABS
monitoring and inspection strategies
are taking a key role in assuring
dependable operations and worker
safety. Most of the initiatives start with
design assessments.
Assessing the design of
a mooring system
The most effective way to assess the design
of any mooring system is to verify the
acceptance criteria for mooring loads in
terms of strength and fatigue.
During the service life of the mooring
system, demand for reassessments
could be triggered by change of environ-
mental conditions (relocation, etc.), life
extension, detection of mooring system
degradation or an anomaly, and/or
other factors that could affect the safety
of the system.
North
Sea
31%
West
Africa
28%
9%
In general, the methodologies used to
assess designs are well established, with
industry guidelines and classification rules
routinely applied by owners and operators.
However, major challenges continue to
arise from uncertainties associated with
environmental conditions, advanced
corrosion of mooring systems, shifts in
operational conditions and transient
responses that are difficult to detect at the
design stage.
Environmental conditions
at the FPSO site
The major environmental loads for moor-
ing systems are caused by wind, waves
and currents. In most cases, mooring line
fatigue is caused by the impact of waves,
which are cyclical and dynamic nature.
The severity of the wave environment
can be measured by assessing the maxi-
mum wave heights over a specific period
against the strength of the mooring
line and wave energy where the line’s
fatigue load would be highest. These
Asia
7%
Australia
6%

conditions are site-specific, even within
recognized regions.
The wave environment in West Africa,
for example, is comparatively benign.
However, FPSOs in the region are prone
to squalls that are characterized by sudden
rapid increases in wind speed and shifts in
wind direction.
For turret-moored FPSOs located in this
region, it is especially important to simulate
a time-domain analysis because sudden
changes in wind direction could result in
higher loads.
Mooring chain corrosion reduces the
load-bearing area and increases levels
of stress while changing its distribution.
Levels of corrosion are mainly deter-
mined by water temperature, dissolved
oxygen, velocity of the water particles,
wet/dry cycles and nutrient concentra-
tions, mainly dissolved nitrogen.
Corrosion rates, therefore, can vary at
different locations on the mooring line,
including at splash zones, middle sections,
thrash zones and on the ground line, where
segments are subjected to different tempera-
tures, dissolved oxygen and nutrients.
Digital models have the potential to help owners
reduce uncertainties and increase the integrity of
mooring systems.
Recent studies on the corrosion of mooring
chains suggest dissolved inorganic nitrogen
(DIN) is a critical water-quality measurement
in assessing the potential for underwater
corrosion. DIN mainly comes from nitrates,
and its presence varies greatly across geo-
graphical locations and water depths.
In general, the solubility of nutrients
decreases in deeper water, and the rate of
their chemical reactions increases when
water temperatures rise. Also, any discharge
from local rivers can significantly affect the
DIN levels.
The high level of nitrate discharge and
other pollution in West Africa and South-
east Asia, together with the higher water
temperatures, contributes to comparatively
higher corrosion levels in these locations.
The major dynamic loads caused by
any environment on an FPSO are trans-
mitted to mooring lines through motions,
offsets and accelerations. In general,
ship-shaped FPSOs are subject to higher
wave loads than other floating units due
to their large water surface area.
FPSOs are also very sensitive to the
directionality of environmental condi-
tions. If the main environmental load is in
the FPSO’s beam direction, for example,
the mooring system could potentially
experience a very high level of stress.
Mooring systems are normally config-
ured to ensure that the dominant direction
of the environmental load is as close as
practicable to the FPSO’s longitudinal
direction, namely, in its bow or stern direc-
tions, to minimize the environmental load.
Mooring strength and fatigue assess-
ments are carried out, in general, by inves-
tigating the global performance of moored
FPSOs to obtain maximum mooring line
tension and produce a line-tension histo-
gram, an approximate representation of
the load distribution data.
Allowable line tension and accumu-
lated fatigue loads are evaluated by
calculating minimum breaking strength
for the mooring line, fatigue capacity,
corrosion allowance and safety factors
such as a ratio of mooring line strength
capacity to mooring line load.
For mooring chains that are designed
with corrosion allowance, their minimum
breaking strength is determined by
removing the full corrosion allowance.
For the fatigue strength assessment, half
of the corrosion allowance associated
with the design life can be used.
Unfortunately, compared with other
marine assets, FPSOs have less historical
data to analyze. Although there has been a
significant increase in the asset class since
2000, the first FPSO installation was in 1985.
Aside from those associated with
corrosion and fatigue, other challenges
Offshore: Mooring &
Riser Technology
for current FPSO moorings include
increased exposure to harsher environ-
ments, increased water depths and
many are nearing the end of their
service lives.
Design development
and innovation
On the positive side, the offshore indus-
try has advanced in areas of monitoring,
inspection and digitalization, which may
serve to improve the reliability of moor-
ing systems.
With increased computation power,
performance simulations of mooring
systems are commonly found tools that
support the assessment of designs, par-
ticularly by increasing the transparency of
forces from transient loads. Among other
benefits, this provides better load histories
for the fatigue assessments.
Real-time simulation models, or digital
twins, incorporate information for real-
time monitoring and/or assessments that
allow vessel locations, headings and moor-
ing line tensions to be incorporated in the
system-fatigue analysis.
Technologies that can identify the failure
of mooring lines by monitoring a vessel’s
offsets are also in development. An algo-
rithm has been developed to predict exces-
sively heavy loads for mooring systems
based on historical experience, potentially
identifying the probability of failure.
Digitalization
Digital models that include information
on elements, such as the design of the
mooring system, periodical inspections,
operation performance and environmental
(Source: Dudarev Mikhail/Shutterstock.com)
conditions, have the potential to help
owners reduce uncertainties and increase
the integrity of the mooring systems.
Monitoring and inspection strategies can
be validated and improved by using data
management systems to store, analyze,
interrogate and identify trends. +
Acknowledgment:
This article is based on the 2020 OTC-
30529-MS paper, “Improving Mooring
Reliability through Risk Based Monitoring
and Inspection.”
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 63
 Delivering a sustainable
execution model for
reducing offshore emissions
Carbon footprint evaluation for offshore wind installation finds material selection
and stakeholder alliances keys to success.
Tonje Istad, KANFA AS, part of the TechnipFMC group
A
ccelerating the understanding
of the industry’s carbon foot-
print and the corresponding
cost implications are critical to under-
standing how businesses can collaborate
to reduce carbon emissions and meet
global climate initiatives.
Cost and carbon footprint justify the
green energy transition initiative, but
stakeholders expect data behind state-
ments and actions. After all, what cannot
be measured cannot be managed.
To develop a sustainable execution
model, the TechnipFMC group recently
conducted a carbon footprint analysis
within the scope of an engineering study
Floating
Spar Substructure
Mooring Chain
Seabed
64 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
of an offshore floating wind project
to analyze elements for minimizing
carbon emissions. The purpose of this
early-stage study of an industrial project
is to examine how the engineering,
procurement, construction and installa-
tion (EPCI) phase can reduce its carbon
footprint. Offshore floating wind will
create far less emissions as an electricity
provider than other fossil-based energy
resources; hence, material use is signif-
icant, so it is worth examining how this
may be minimized.
FIGURE 1. Hardware within
the boundaries of the red
outline is included in the
carbon footprint assessment.
(Source: TechnipFMC group)
Suction Pile
This principle of considering where
carbon reduction savings could be real-
ized is therefore applicable to any project,
carbon intensive or not.
Carbon footprint of a
floating wind installation
The scope of the study is therefore
the complete system hardware with the
exception of the tower, turbines, blades
and electrical cables. Items included in
the scope are within the boundary of
the red box in Figure 1. The 11-off spar
is anchored with three mooring lines
each, which are secured in a grid of 19
suction anchors.
Procurement, construction
and installation
Bottom sections of the concrete spar
substructures will be slip-formed in the dry
dock before being completed at an inshore
deepwater fabrication site at about 330 ft
water depth. Upon completion of the con-
crete works, steel components (e.g., flanges,
fittings, boat landing deck and J-tubes) will
be mounted onto the substructure. Assem-
bly of the tower, nozzle and blades will be
performed at a specially prepared separate
site using a shore crane.
The mooring system and suction
anchors will be preinstalled at an
 Offshore: Mooring &
Riser Technology

1. CONCRETE Substructure 2. STEEL Substructure

70,000 Tonnes CO2e 135,000 Tonnes CO2e

FIGURE 2. Total project carbon emissions for the two selected material scenarios of the substructure are depicted, with the
concrete substructure showing a lower carbon footprint. It was only the floating substructure where materials were changed; the
remaining scope was kept the same. (Source: TechnipFMC group)

offshore site. Upon completion of Within the emission assessment, carbon footprint evaluation, it is also nec-
inshore assembly operations, the com- each material has an emission factor essary to include downstream emissions,
plete structure will be towed away and that is multiplied with the amount in such as the end-of-life aspects of the wind
connected to anchor chains. The final each case. Standard factors may be turbine system elements, as this might
phase of installation activities includes used or, alternatively, third-party ver- affect final results. An executed analysis
laying, connection and protection of ified emission factors can be applied is seen as a first step in acquiring
electrical cables. The carbon footprint if suppliers are able to provide an required knowledge and enhancing
analysis also covers marine operations Environmental Product Declaration. For environmental awareness. The next step
executed during inshore assembly, the purpose of this study, concrete and would be an assessment of commercial
namely towing activities between the some steel suppliers were able to pro- aspects and a cost-benefit analyses of
dry dock, deepwater slip-forming site vide specific emission factors lower than carbon reduction initiatives.
and tower assembly location. the common European standard values. The most significant parameters affect-
ing the carbon footprint in the order of
ranking are found to be steel components
The carbon footprint analysis also covers marine (e.g., mooring chains, suction anchors,
operations executed during inshore assembly, auxiliary equipment), emissions from
namely towing activities between the dry dock, deepwater transportation and installation vessels,
reinforced concrete (e.g., concrete sub-
slip-forming site and tower assembly location. structure and rebar steel) and
(Source: TechnipFMC group)

CO2e emission assessment
When measuring carbon emissions,
the common approach is to convert
main greenhouse gases into equivalent
tonnes of CO2e by using the Green-
house Gas Protocol.
This emphasizes the importance of close
cooperation with key suppliers.
Defining the boundaries of measure-
ment is a critical aspect of measuring
carbon footprint. This case examines
upstream and direct emissions. For a full
solid ballast.
Materials account for the largest foot-
print, whereas the transport has a smaller
share. In addition, a sensitivity analysis
was selected driven by engineering logic
and project execution boundaries. With
regard to the material selection of the

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 65

 Offshore: Mooring &
Riser Technology
spar, both concrete and steel substruc-
tures were evaluated (Figure 2). The
pie charts show that substituting the
concrete substructure material with
steel nearly doubles the total project
carbon footprint by 93%. As for the
concrete case, there is an option of a
more environmentally friendly concrete.
The environmentally friendly concrete
reduces CO2e emissions attributed to
reinforced concrete by 25% for an insig-
nificant premium. This environmentally
friendly concrete is included in the 16%
in Figure 2.
Keeping in mind that all elements
apart from the floating substructure
are kept the same, attention is needed
when looking at percentages only. The
mooring elements in both scenarios of
the pie charts in Figure 2 are the same
numbers; however, they appear to be
different because only relative per-
centages are presented. Note, the only
differentiating factor in Figure 2’s pie
charts is the spar/floating substructure’s
material. In any case, it is evident that
the amount of steel or material is the
prominent factor in determining the car-
bon footprint. Chains proved to a signif-
icant share of the total scope included.
In certain cases, segments of the steel
mooring lines could be substituted with
polyester ropes, which could result in
achieving cost and CO2 reductions.
66 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
Glass-refined plastic instead of steel was
analyzed as an alternative. This proved to reduce carbon
emissions by half.
Glass-refined plastic instead of steel
was analyzed as an alternative. This
proved to reduce carbon emissions by
half. Relatively speaking, considering the
low share of the total scope, this reduc-
tion is small. However, due to the size of
the project and absolute numbers, the
savings are not insignificant.
Project awareness of
carbon footprint
The carbon footprint measurements
proved to be interesting and eye-
opening to the team members. The
results would have been impossible
to predict beforehand. Moreover, the
findings would not have been realized
through engineering calculations alone.
Engagement from the project team and
stakeholders proved to be essential.
Project execution aiming for reducing car-
bon emissions should therefore include
awareness campaigns, building of alli-
ances and, at the very least, an acknowl-
edgment that it is a learning journey.
To account for the risk that some
large emission factors are left outside
The carbon footprint analysis
covers onsite installation of
the tower. (Source: iweta0077/
Shutterstock.com)
of defined study boundaries, the team
suggested an alliance type coordination
with the operator and main suppliers.
The idea was to establish a “project
within the project” to identify and priori-
tize cross-company green initiatives.
In this regard, the energy industry
can look to the construction industry as
a model. For a long time, the latter has
focused on toxic materials as well as
energy consumption and waste as
it relates to climate change risk and
material depletion.
To achieve efficient resource utiliza-
tion, a theory states it is necessary to
move beyond linear reasoning within
familiar boundaries by applying an
experimental mindset and acting in
alliances when responding to complex
sustainability challenges. That certainly
proved to be true in this study. +
Acknowledgment:
This article is based on the OTC-
30561-MS paper, “A Carbon Footprint
Evaluation Method for Offshore Floating
Wind Installations.”
 Gain A New
Perspective
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 Digital Solutions

Digital twins
are empowering
operations in
oil and gas
New advances and approaches are driving new benefits.

Ron Frohock, OspreyData

O il and gas operators and producers have been steadily utilizing dig-
ital technologies to enable improvements in operations, production
and safety, addressing crucial business challenges. However, significant
future improvements require operators to step up their efforts on digi-
tal transformation. An approach that is gaining momentum across many
Industrial Internet of Things-based industries is the use of digital twins.
While many digital twin efforts have focused on manufacturing and aero-
space, the oil and gas industry is now evaluating the concepts and testing
the waters.
“The transition to the digital oil field has been ongoing for more than a
decade, and the goals and benefits that we targeted are finally being actual-
ized,” Noble Energy senior technology executive Gary Birdwell said. “We see
digital twins as a natural evolution in our digital oilfield strategy, enhancing
our ability to optimize capital efficiency and effectively manage operating
expenses for the life of an asset.”
There are already high-profile efforts and results in the space. One ex-
ample of digital twin technology is in Equinor’s Johan Sverdrup Field, where
digital twins are helping to optimize operations on a field expected to ac-
count for 25% of Norway’s total offshore production. Another example is
bp’s simulation and surveillance system, APEX. The system reportedly cre-
ates digital twins of all its production systems. In 2017 bp reported that APEX
added 30,000 bbl of production globally.
Digital twins trace their roots back to NASA’s Apollo program. To ad-
dress practical needs, Apollo engineers created models of physical devices
that could be analogs for actual space devices. Experiments and simula-
tions created the exceptionally detailed processes and flight plans used by
astronauts. In the “Apollo 13” movie, engineers worked through attempt
after attempt to prepare for reentry while adhering to specific power re-
quirements. This was a physical replica, but the idea is the same—each
attempt or trial was a simulation. Ultimately, the engineers found the right
sequence and the crew reached home successfully.
Today’s technology and computational models allow truly stunning
digital copies of physical devices and processes to exist as digital twins.
These virtual models combine advanced computational capabilities with
Digital twins empower producers with a continuous improvement cycle that
quickly turns into a competitive advantage as solutions are scaled across the
oil field. (Source: OspreyData)
extensive engineering data and real-time sensor streams, enabling simula-
tions of new operational conditions, improved predictions and detailed in-
structions on how to change the behavior of devices in the physical world.
Field applications
Many operators are establishing and running operations centers to
perform remote diagnostic analysis. Benefiting from the collection of near-
real-time sensor streams, digital twins can enable these centers to deter-
mine the root cause of many issues before dispatching field teams. As
the digital twin includes a detailed asset inventory, the field team can be
provided with a set of necessary parts based on the failure diagnosis.
“Operators have quickly shifted digital transformation funding from capex
to opex and G&A levers,” said Adam Hutchinson, president of Stonebridge
Consulting. “The seemingly simple measure of LOE per barrel presents a
very complex problem statement for optimization often leading to OpsCenter
strategies starting with the highest return on investments projects and then
continuing down the cost-benefit list—improve well performance, reduce G&A,
optimize water management, outsource telecommunications and so forth.”
Across industrial sectors, Gartner Inc. has predicted in a recent report
that “half of all major industrial companies will be using digital twins by
2021, potentially increasing operational effectiveness by 10%.” Recent re-
search by MarketsandMarkets indicates substantial growth in the digital
twin market, projecting up to $35 billion in market worth by 2025.

68 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com


Digital twin adoption
Being digital representations of physical devices or processes, digital twins
are only as good as the source data available to them. Data must be aligned,
cleaned and reconciled before use in any form of advanced analytics.
OspreyData has shown that the task of collecting and maintaining wells’
reference logs is often challenging for organizations where different teams
work on a patchwork of solutions across vendors. Teams will only prioritize
this data collection when the answers that technology enables become a
strong imperative for growth and profitability.
The various sectors within upstream oil and gas offer different data rep-
resentations, challenges and opportunities for digital transformation and
the use of digital twins. In exploration, much attention is given to seismic
data, reservoir data, lateral spacing, and frac and completions design, in-
cluding proppant and frac fluid. In production, many analytical models
focus on the well history that can be instrumental in creating digital mod-
els. However, to have an impact on what is happening in real time and
reap higher economic benefits, operators must be able to model wells and
fields by analyzing streaming data.
Lowering the lease operating cost and increasing production with exist-
ing wells may be key to survival. A digital twin approach for active produc-
ing wells has more value now than ever, with fewer new wells starting to
date in 2020 and increased investor focus.
A starting point in a gas-lift optimization scenario could be to collect
sensor readings on gas injection rate and daily production, allowing pro-
duction engineers to estimate the net effect of gas injection rate changes
on production. Engineers can benefit from evaluating and visually plotting
the inferred gas-lift valve in use to determine injection depth. As gas-lift
wells are complex operations with fluid dynamics, potentially competing
network effects and interactions among adjacent wells, taking an incre-
mental approach to building their digital twins allows organizations to see
significant value and operational improvements step by step.
Many digital twin use cases rely on a combination of in-depth well and
petroleum engineering data, coupled with sensor streams to construct the
digital models that mirror the physical behavior.
Simulations with digital twins
Advancing the capabilities of digital twins is creating new dueling dig-
ital models. Simulation models provide computational models, typically
based on physics, to calculate the expected behavior of a device. Many
simulation solutions are used today to determine design configurations or
to periodically revise set points and operational parameters. A new class
of models based on empirical review and evaluation of operational data
points is being used to create machine learning models. These models
are often used to compare a device’s operational behavior to previously
observed behaviors.
A new era of simulation models will provide nearly instantaneous results.
Periodic reviews for one well, which usually take engineers days to complete,
can now be executed hundreds of times per day for entire fields of wells.
Conversely, coupling high-fidelity sensor data and automating tradi-
tional simulation processes can potentially allow far richer, complex and
Digital Solutions
realistic views into production operations. Operators continue to be chal-
lenged by new economic realities, shifting workforce skills and increas-
ing environmental scrutiny. There is a heightened emphasis throughout
organizations to provide cost transparency. Operators willing to embark
on this journey will assess and understand their current operations more
deeply and improve operations with automated management, efficient
equipment allocation and improved maintenance scheduling.
“Technical challenges exist in this, or really any type of transformation,
but they are few in comparison to the cultural and organizational impacts,
which can be huge,” Birdwell said. “Establishing an understanding of your
current state, challenging assumptions of what you do and why, [and] driv-
ing to an agreement on change is critical.”
Elaborating on the importance of using reporting and metrics to quanti-
fy the true value gained, he said, “Finally, ensure that you have measures
in place to track progress; that is the only quantifiable way to ensure you
are improving operations.”
Constructing digital twins requires an
expanded mix of skills. It involves aspects of
business intelligence, process simulation, petroleum
engineering, data science, data engineering and IT operations.
Against the backdrop of recent industry pressures, what-if scenarios can
be run across digital twins to determine if wells should be pulled from
operations amid the current price drop. Understanding the complexities of
a well’s operational environment might help operators avoid costly work-
overs from issues like sand buildup. Performing a similar analysis on re-
start order and processes could improve setpoint determination and may
prove to be critical in avoiding production misses.
Adoption challenges
Many operators have prior experience in digital transformation and have
begun these complex undertakings. Digital twin efforts continue to drive
teams to evaluate the organization’s abilities, especially along dimensions
of data management, change management and technical agility. Con-
structing digital twins requires an expanded mix of skills, involving busi-
ness intelligence, process simulation, petroleum engineering, data science,
data engineering and IT.
Digital twin frameworks are still early and rapidly evolving. Based on
OspreyData’s experience, operational challenges around machine learn-
ing are outside the scope and experience of most operators. This should
not hinder operators from engaging in digital twin efforts but should high-
light the importance of having an objective review of internal capabilities
and what may require external partners and solutions. Though these ap-
proaches have existed for years in multiple industries, new advances and
approaches are driving new benefits, and the time has come to consider
+
their benefits and suitability within oil and gas.
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 69
 Regional Report: Europe
Has the pandemic battered
Europe’s upstream sector?
As operators scale back production and spending, exploration and appraisal drilling activity in
the region has taken a massive hit.
Faiza Rizvi, Associate Editor
B ruised by a historic downturn, upstream operators across the globe
continue slashing capex budgets, scaling back operations and reduc-
ing their workforce. The future of Europe’s upstream sector—which was
already in transition and overwhelmed by environmental and regulatory
challenges—is now more uncertain than ever, according to Wood Macken-
zie analysts. Even as significant capex reductions have been made, tougher
decisions are still to come on pre-final investment decision (FID) projects
across various European regions.
In addition, some 200 mid- and small-sized oilfield service companies in
Europe could become insolvent as purchases on the oilfield service market
are set to drop by $5 billion this year compared to 2019, as reported by
Rystad Energy.
“The [European] companies initially responded to the pandemic by re-
ducing activity levels … and most companies reverted to minimal manning
on installations in order to maintain production and protect the workforce
at the same time,” said Yvonne Telford, senior analyst of northwestern
Europe with Westwood Global Energy Group.
However, continued low oil prices have hit revenues hard, and compa-
nies in the U.K. and Norway have responded with deeper spending cuts,
she added.
Field development delays
Nine field developments—seven in the U.K. and two in Norway—that
were expected to be sanctioned in 2020 by the Oil and Gas Authority
and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate have been deferred, Telford
said. In the U.K., only three of the eight fields that were planned to start
in 2020 are expected onstream due to the deferral of shutdown activi-
ties, which include subsea tie-in work and project delays related to the
pandemic. In Norway, due to the government’s pledge to cut Norway oil
output, seven planned 2020 startups were pushed to next year, account-
ing for about 700 MMboe.
Among large producers, Chrysaor has cut spending plans by 30% and
postponed several drilling projects, both infill and exploration-related, in-
cluding the appraisal of the Grevling oil project in Norwegian waters.
70 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
Shell has postponed its $1 billion Jackdaw natural gas field development
in the North Sea. A decision on whether to proceed with developing the
Cambo Field northwest of the Shetland Islands was postponed in March
until 2021 according to Shell and its partner on the project, Siccar Point.
Also, Exxon Mobil is preparing to restart the sale of its British North
Sea assets. The sale process, which was initially planned for late last year,
is expected to raise less than originally expected after a 40% drop in oil
prices since January and a weakened long-term outlook, Reuters reported.
The slashing of capex budgets has significantly impacted exploration
and appraisal drilling activity in Europe.
As Telford pointed out, “The number of wells expected to be drilled in
the U.K. and Norway in 2020 has reduced from 81 at the start of the year to
44 in June, with the likelihood of the figure falling further. This equates to
a 52% reduction in exploration and appraisal activity in the U.K. and 39%
in Norway, compared to the 2019 activity levels.”
She added that larger projects are now at risk of not progressing
to development.
“Although Jackdaw and Cambo project sanctions have been deferred
to 2021, these North Sea projects are deemed only marginally commercial
based on existing cost estimates,” she said.
In addition, the Equinor-operated Rosebank project, expected to be
sanctioned in 2022, and BP’s Clair Phase III development are facing com-
mercial challenges in the low-price environment. Combined together, the
four projects would contribute about 850 MMboe to the U.K.’s recoverable
resources.
Low oil prices in Norway have put two major project developments at
risk—the Wisting development in the Barents Sea and NOAKA develop-
ment operated by Aker BP and Equinor.
Spending and production cuts
According to a survey by Norway’s national statistical institute, Norwe-
gian oil and gas investment—a key economic driver—is expected to decline
sharply in 2021 with the biggest drop expected in the exploration for new
reserves and spending on development plans, Reuters reported.

In the North Sea, operators have been quick in their response to the
downturn by restricting spending levels, according to recent findings by
Wood Mackenzie. 2020 budgets have been slashed with FIDs deferred,
infill drilling campaigns canceled and miscellaneous expenditure withheld.
Analysts also predict that North Sea production will suffer an immediate
drop, partly due to Norway’s production cuts. However, in the longer term,
output levels will largely depend on FID approvals as operators will be
looking for more clarity on the market situation before moving ahead with
new developments.
The Norwegian government announced in April that it would partici-
pate in the global effort to reduce oil supply, pledging to cut production
by 134,000 bbl/d in the second half of 2020. The Norwegian oil minister
also announced that the startup of production of several fields would be
delayed until next year.
“A stabilization in the oil price will help
companies plan for recovery, but the oil price
largely depends on countries avoiding a second wave of
COVID-19.”
—Yvonne Telford,
Westwood Global Energy Group
As Telford pointed out, the proposed cuts would result in Norway pro-
ducing at a maximum rate of 1.725 MMbbl/d for the remainder of the year,
which would subsequently lead to a 5% cut in the annual production rate
for the majority of oil fields in Norway. Equinor as the largest net producer
in Norway bears the largest proportion of the cuts accounting for about
30% of the reduced volumes.
Telford added that the situation is slightly different in the U.K. where
the fall in oil prices is not expected to have a significant impact on this
Regional Report: Europe
The pandemic and consequent oil
price crash has halted several major
field developments across the U.K.,
Norway, North Sea and Barents Sea.
(Source: Ole Jørgen Bratland/Equinor)
year’s production, as any output reductions will be balanced by the de-
ferment of planned field and pipeline maintenance shutdowns. How-
ever, the impact on production will be felt in 2021 and beyond due to
deferred and canceled investment and projects. In addition, some pro-
duction facilities are expected to cease production earlier than planned,
such as EnQuest’s Alma/Galia and Dons area and Premier Oil’s Balmoral
area, Telford said.
Recovery path
The Norwegian government approved additional tax breaks in June to
spur investment, protect jobs and maintain activity levels through 2022.
Rystad Energy analysts suggest the measure will improve E&P companies’
short-term liquidity and reduce breakeven prices for future development
projects by an average of about 40%. This substantial improvement in
project economics is expected to fast-track new projects on the Norwegian
Continental Shelf over the next two years.
On the other hand, the U.K., which has little maneuverability left to offer
tax incentives to the E&P industry, is more exposed to the oil price down-
turn necessitating greater cuts in opex and capex, Telford said.
“Major oil producers can weather the downturn more effectively
compared to smaller producers, as the former tend to have lower costs
per barrel of oil equivalent [boe]. Those companies that have taken on
the challenge of returning value from later-life assets hold higher rela-
tive costs per boe and are more impacted,” she said. “These companies
have been more ruthless in cost control, and there will inevitably be
business casualties, particularly in the service sector and supply chain.
Stabilization in the oil price will help companies plan for recovery,
but the oil price largely depends on countries avoiding a second wave
of COVID-19.”
In addition, companies in the U.K. and Norway will need to focus on
smaller incremental gains across their portfolios to maximize revenue in
the short term.
“The marginal gains this can bring will help build toward higher invest-
ment and recovery,” she said. +
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 71
 Tech Watch
The promise of smart water for
EOR in carbonate reservoirs
Researchers confirm the importance of the physicochemical properties of crude oil in
determining the effectiveness of smart water to improve oil recovery.
Jin Song and Sibani Lisa Biswal, Rice University
E OR is challenging in carbonate reservoirs, which hold more than 60%
of the world’s oil reserves. Carbonate reservoirs are oftentimes oil-wet,
meaning that oil prefers to tightly associate with the mineral surface and thus
cannot be efficiently displaced by primary oil recovery methods such as water
injection. Tremendous strides have been made in the industry to alter the car-
bonates to be less oil-wet to improve oil recovery. “Smart water” has emerged
as a low-cost and promising technology to achieve wettability alteration.
R&D efforts
Smart water typically refers to a low-salinity brine with a specified compo-
sition that can alter rock wettability and enhance oil recovery. Unlike other
EOR methods, such as chemical injection, smart water is simpler and requires
a much lower capital investment. This approach has started to receive much
attention for carbonate reservoirs after a surprisingly high oil recovery was
reported when seawater was injected into the Ekofisk oil field in the North Sea
in the 1990s. The salinity of seawater is much lower than the formation brine
in the reservoir, and the low salinity is considered a key reason for the success.
Although several successes have been reported in both laboratories
and oil fields, the effectiveness of smart water was found to be incon-
sistent. Many researchers have reported smart water as ineffective in
improving oil recovery. Moreover, the underlying working mechanism of
smart water remains controversial.
72 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
(Source: Tatiana Shepeleva/Shutterstock.com)
Study results
Research conducted at Rice University in Houston was motivated by the need
to effectively evaluate the benefits of smart water injection for any crude oil as
well as gain a clearer understanding of the fundamental working mechanism
of smart water EOR. After performing a comprehensive evaluation of crude oil
samples from multiple oil fields, it was determined that IOR (%) by smart water
is correlated to certain physicochemical properties of the oil.
In recent work, Rice researchers fully characterized and tested six crude
oils from various carbonate reservoirs around the world: the Middle East, the
Gulf of Mexico and Malaysia. A model oil with added asphaltenes was devel-
oped to compare as a control case. The properties of the crude oils that were
measured include total acid number, saturate-aromatic-resin-asphaltene frac-
tionation, asphaltene instability, zeta potential in brines, interfacial tension in
brines, water-in-oil content and water-soluble organics content. Furthermore,
spontaneous imbibition tests were performed in high- and low-salinity brines
to investigate how effective the low-salinity brine was for each of the seven oils.
Seven Indiana limestone cores were saturated and aged with the oils. Then
the cores were immersed first in 22.6% sodium chloride (NaCl) (high salinity),
then in 1% NaCl (low salinity) at 194 F for spontaneous imbibition.
The correlations between the oil recovery via spontaneous imbibition and
different oil characteristics were analyzed. The degree of electrostatic repulsion
between the oil-rock interface in low-salinity brines has been a popular hy-

LOW-SALINITY WATER INJECTION
Smart water has emerged as a
low-cost and promising technology to achieve
wettability alteration.
(Source: Lukas Gojda/Shutterstock.com)
Tech Watch
FIGURE 1. Additional oil recovery in low-salinity water (compared
to high-salinity water) correlates with the oil interfacial tension for
the seven tested oils. The cryo-TEM image shows emulsified water
droplets in crude oils that respond favorably to low-salinity water
injection. (Source: Rice University)
pothesized mechanism as the key parameter governing smart water EOR. Sur-
prisingly, no correlation was found between additional oil recovery and oil zeta
potential, which characterizes the electrostatic repulsion between the crude oil
and rock surface. However, the oil interfacial activity in the low-salinity water is
found to affect the low-salinity-induced wettability alteration process (Figure 1).
This observation also is supported by studying two other properties: water-
in-oil content and the content of water-soluble organics. Both measurements
should be higher for more surface-active oils. As expected, similar correlations
to the additional oil recovery also were found for those two oil properties. Inter-
estingly, emulsified water droplets were observed via cryogenic transmission
electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) in oils that exhibited high oil recovery factors
in smart water. This confirms the importance of the physicochemical properties
of the crude oil in determining the effectiveness of smart water.
With these findings, companies can quickly screen and estimate the smart wa-
ter potential of a specific oil field by testing the oil interfacial tension or the wa-
ter-in-oil content using smart water. Expenses associated with screening oilfield
candidates for smart water applications can be significantly reduced. +
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 73
 Tech Trends
New wellhead system reduces potential
leak paths, enhances safety
Weatherford has released the Velox wellhead system for operators need-
ing to lock in pressure integrity while enhancing safety and improving
efficiency. Velox delivers isolation between casing strings with quick-
connect components that maintain pressure control, reduce potential
leak paths and minimize nonproductive time during installation in many
applications, including HP/HT and sour-gas wells. The system expedites
installation by enabling the pack-off to be run in a single trip from the
rig floor, which removes personnel from the cellar. The system also
reduces potential leak paths by eliminating conventional flange-to-flange
methods and external lockdown screws. Velox also expedites installation
by eliminating wait time for cement to cure, enables mandrel hanger
installation from the rig floor rather than the well bay and accelerates
assembly to the BOP stack with the Rapid-Lok design feature.
The Velox wellhead system
removes lockdown screws
to reduce potential leak
paths, enhance safety and
reduce nonproductive
time during installation.
(Source: Weatherford)
Updated software provides optimization
of production assets
ChampionX has released XSPOC 3.0, the latest version of its produc-
tion optimization software. This release provides a number of powerful
updates to the XSPOC platform, enabling set-point optimization of rod
lift wells and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven classifications for electric
submersible pumping (ESP) wells that allow users to better optimize their
production assets with fewer resources and time. The 3.0 update also
includes further development of XSPOC’s physics-based diagnostics for
ESP and gas-lift wells, including additional flow models and equipment
specifications. This update is built on XSPOC’s optimization heritage and
takes steps to enable optimized autonomous control for all methods of
artificial lift.
XSPOC 3.0 adds AI-driven
classifications for ESP
wells and set-point
optimization for rod
lift wells. (Source:
ChampionX)
74 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
New firing system for high-speed, multiwell,
zipper frac completions
GEODynamics Inc. has released its EPIC family of integrated technologies
that are designed to deliver a fast, fully integrated, addressable firing
system that supports high-speed, multiwell, zipper frac completion tech-
niques. The product release includes the EPIC Command Shooting Panel,
EPIC Test Surface Tester and EPIC Switches, which offer reliable multifunc-
tionality. The EPIC System is electronic static discharge, radiofrequency,
high voltage and without a single point failure, thus intrinsically safe.
EPIC Command is a highly intuitive and user-friendly shooting panel. For
example, EPIC plots shot data on the touch-panel display in real time for
positive shot verification and simultaneously logs the data for future per-
formance review. The system also uses advanced technology to ensure
high reliability. EPIC Command is complemented by GEODynamics’ line
of EPIC Switches, which can be installed into industry-standard switch
subs as an integral part of the pressure bulkhead in a slim pack flying
lead design as well as the proprietary module in the company’s STRATX
line of tools. EPIC Switches were designed for optimum performance
using the EPIC Command system’s advanced telemetry, while also offer-
ing robust operation with Warrior software and control panels.
EPIC integrated technologies
offer a complete firing
solution using the latest
technology in switch design
and flexibility and are
integrated with an advanced
and intuitive shooting panel
and surface tester.
(Source: GEODynamics Inc.)
Multibeam sonar offers
increased efficiency and safety
iXblue, a provider of navigation, sub-
sea positioning and imagery solutions
for the offshore market, has released
the SeapiX-C solid-state 3D multibeam
sonar. The technology offers real-
time georeferenced static bathym-
etry capabilities to offshore oper- SeapiX-C is a seabed
ators for instant monitoring and decision-making. mapping technology
Offering a new static 3D imagery tool to display the designed for challenging
seabed in real time during jackup barges deploy- jackup barge operations.
ment, SeapiX-C enables operators to directly see (Source: iXblue)
where they are positioning the legs of the platforms,
bringing higher efficiency and safety to deployment operations by removing
the need for time-consuming and costly pre-lay diver operations. All real-
time bathymetric results, platform information and other critical information
are displayed within a single user-friendly interface to facilitate operations.

New ball valve simplifies installation for
high-flow applications
Swagelok has released its GB series ball valve, a versatile fullbore, bi-di-
rectional flow-capable ball valve designed for extended operation in harsh
environments at a working pressure of 6,000 psig. The Swagelok GB
series ball valve is engineered to provide high flow rates at this working
pressure. The valve also simplifies installation, minimizes rework require-
ments and delivers the reliable shutoff performance needed to keep
workers safe and systems operating efficiently in a variety of demand-
ing applications. Examples of ideal applications for the valve include use
in hydraulic, injection and fire suppression systems in the oil and gas
industry as well as for isolation in highly corrosive alkylation operations
in the chemical and petrochemical industry. The Swagelok GB series ball
valve provides value by reducing the time and cost required to install and
verify the performance of components installed in high-flow industrial
applications. For example, the valve is designed for quick, easy setup,
with bi-directional flow eliminating concerns of backward installations.
The ball valve is also engineered to provide long-term benefit to owners
and operators through features, materials and design options that help
protect workers and maximize component life in challenging conditions.
The Swagelok GB series ball
valve features a bi-directional
flow design and available
integral Swagelok end
connections that simplify
system design and reduce
installation time and labor.
(Source: Swagelok)
Gas compression engine lowers emissions
and operating costs
Caterpillar Oil & Gas has released the Cat G3520J gas compression
engine, which is designed for oil and gas applications to meet industry
emission requirements. Its robust diesel strength design prolongs life and
lowers owning and operating costs. With ratings at 1104 and 1286 bkW,
the G3520J engine design is built on the reliability and durability of the
Caterpillar G3500 LE series. Benefits and features of the G3520J include
the ability to burn a wide range of fuels and a broad operating speed
range with improved altitude capabilities. The engine also leverages
Ultra Lean Burn technology. In addition, the Advanced Digital Engine
Management A3 system integrates speed control, air/fuel ratio control
and ignition/detonation controls.
Tech Trends
Companies collaborate to develop solutions
for optimizing reservoir management
Emerson and Quantum Reservoir Impact (QRI) have partnered to
develop and market next-generation applications for artificial intelligence
(AI)-based analytics and decision-making tools customized for oil and
gas E&P. The partnership will help oil and gas customers embrace digital
transformation technologies and harness vast amounts of data to opti-
mize their reservoir management strategies. The collaboration combines
Emerson’s independent E&P software portfolio with QRI’s industry exper-
tise in applying augmented AI, machine learning and advanced analytics
for asset and reservoir management. As part of the ongoing collabo-
ration, the companies will apply advanced computational technologies
to help geoscientists and engineers make actionable and reliable field
development decisions quickly, mitigating risks and leading to higher
productivity and better performance.
New VR training platform aids in
dropped objects prevention
The new virtual reality (VR) platform called DROPS VR, from software
firm DrillingVR and oil and gas industry safety group DROPS, is designed
to drive awareness and education around dropped objects prevention
in industries such as oil and gas. DROPS VR is a collaborative online
program that encompasses VR training apps, exhibition areas and virtual
conference spaces. Firms will be able to access new online drops preven-
tion training tools for free via the system, aiding dissemination of HSE
best practices on a global scale. The DROPS VR software enables person-
nel in all roles to train more effectively to identify and neutralize drops
hazards on offshore assets. Best practice drops prevention technology
(e.g., high-quality, corrosion-resistant steel mesh nets) can be deployed
within the software. The practical application of drops prevention
products in a versatile virtual environment prepares personnel for the
real world where mistakes cost lives. +
____________________________________________________
Editor’s note: The copy herein is compiled from press releases
and product announcements from service companies and does not
reflect the opinions of Hart Energy. Submit your company’s updates
related to new technology products and services to Faiza Rizvi at
frizvi@hartenergy.com.
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 75
 1 US
+
International Highlights

88 Energy reported that it hit more than 280

1

ft of net pay in Seabee, Torok and Kuparuk

at an Alaska wildcat on the North Slope.
The Charlie-1 well is in Section 21-4n-9e 3
in Umiat Meridian. The Project Icewine
discovery was directionally drilled to 11,112
ft (11,109 ft true vertical) in Kuparuk. Addi-
tional laboratory work is planned to confirm
rock properties and saturation. The well is
1 mile north of BP’s Malguk 1, an 11,375-ft
venture abandoned in 1991 despite shows
of oil in Seabee. The Charlie prospect is on 2
state lease ADL 393380, 30 miles west of the
Franklin Bluffs pad.

2 Mexico
At the Saasken Exploration Prospect in
offshore Mexico’s Block 10, Eni announced
a discovery in Cuenca Salina in the Sureste
Basin. According to preliminary estimates,
the discovery may contain between 200
MMbbl and 300 MMbbl of oil in place. The
Saasken-1 NFW discovery well is the sixth
consecutive successful well drilled by Eni
in the Sureste Basin. Area water depth is
340 m. The 3,830-m well encountered 80
m of net pay of good quality oil in Lower
Pliocene and Upper Miocene sequences
with excellent petrophysical properties in
the reservoir. Current data indicate that
the production capacity of the well is more
than 10,000 bbl/d.

joint venture partners began two phases

3 Canada
Equinor announced a discovery in the
Cappahayden K-47 exploration well in the
Bay du Nord region offshore Canada’s
Flemish Pass. According to the company,
it is a potentially large oil reservoir. It was
drilled in 974 m of water and is about 450
km east of St John’s, Newfoundland, in
the EL1156 Block. The well is close enough
to the Bay du Nord Field to be connected
to a proposed FPSO vessel that Equinor
hopes to build for the project. If additional
drilling indicates a sizeable reservoir, it
will improve the economics of the proj-
ect, which are currently estimated at 300
MMbbl of oil.
4 Norway
Neptune Energy has received a drilling per-
mit for wildcat wells 34/4-15 S and 34/4-15
A in offshore Norway’s PL 882. Both ven-
tures will be drilled from the Yantai plat-
form. PL 882 was awarded in 2017—these
are the first and second exploration wells to
be drilled in the license area, which consists
of parts of blocks 33/6 and 34/4 and are
about 10 km northwest of the Snorre Field.
5 South Africa
Africa Energy is planning a multiwell explo-
ration campaign in 2020 in South Africa fol-
lowing its 2019 Brulpadda discovery on Block
11B/12B. After the discovery, Block 11B/12B
of 3D seismic over the Paddavissie Fairway
and an extended 2D seismic survey across
the remainder of the block. The first planned
well will be Luiperd-1 and will target several
de-risked submarine fan prospects with sub-
stantial prospective resources. Seismic data
processing has identified significant prospec-
tivity with encouraging seismic indicators
across the new Kloofpadda lead to the east.
The scope of the PGS 3D seismic survey has
been increased to cover a newly identified
northern extension to the Luiperd Prospect.
6 Egypt
Kuwait Energy announced an oil discovery
in the Abu Sennan concession in Egypt’s

76 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com

 4
8
6
El Salmiyah Field. The El Salmiyah-5 well ini-
tially flowed 4,100 bbl of oil with 18 MMcf of
gas per day. The venture encountered hydro-
carbons in all of the targeted intervals, total-
ing more than 120 m. The well was targeting
previously undrained reservoirs in the field,
with the primary focus on Kharita and sec-
ondary objectives in Abu Roash C and Abu
Roash E. According to the company, testing
in Kharita indicated a larger than expected,
undrained area updip from the existing wells
in the field.
7 Belarus
Belorusneft has discovered two new oil
fields, Izbynskoye and North Omelkoviche,
in the Khoiniki District of the Gomel region
9
For additional information on these projects
drilling activity database at HartEnergy.com.
in Belarus. The initial reserves estimate is
17.7 MMbbl, and the discovery increases the
prospects and resource potential of the cen-
tral structural zone of the Pripyat Trough.
According to laboratory studies, oil from the
fields is light, sweet and has low viscosity.
The company will study the commercial
potential of the central structural zone of
the Pripyat Trough with seven exploration
wells between 2020 and 2023.
8 Lebanon
Total is planning to drill a second exploratory
well offshore Lebanon in Block 9 territorial
waters. The first test on nearby Block 4 at the
Byblios 16/1 well did not find hydrocarbons.
Block 9 also has a possible reserve in its car-
and other global developments, visit the
bonate limestone formations, similar in geol-
ogy to offshore Egypt’s Zohr Field and Cyprus’s
Calypso prospect. The Block 9 test is set to start
by year-end 2020.
9 China
PetroChina reported the discovery of a large
gas belt with an estimated reserve of more
than 35.3 Tcf in southwestern China’s Sichuan
Province. The gas belt discovery is in the Tian-
bao Township, Daying County. It flowed 43.08
MMcf/d of gas. According to PetroChina, the
discovery will increase the province’s produc-
tion capacity, which is currently 529.72 Bcf/
year of gas. +
—By Larry Prado, Activity Editor
HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 77
 +
On The Move
PEOPLE
Weatherford has
announced that Karl
Blanchard, executive vice
president and COO, will
assume the role of interim
Blanchard
CEO until a permanent
president and CEO is
appointed. Christian Garcia, executive vice
president and CFO has decided to leave the
company after the filing of the company’s
second-quarter financial results on Aug. 5.
Additionally, Weatherford’s board of directors
has appointed Benjamin C. Duster IV to
serve as director.
Petronas has appointed Tengku Muhammad
Taufik Tengku Aziz president and group
CEO, following the retirement of Tan Sri Wan
Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin from the company.
Henrik Poulsen has stepped down as CEO of
Ørsted. The board of directors has initiated a
process to identify a successor.
Tellurian Inc.’s board of
directors has named Charif
Souki executive chairman
of Tellurian. Souki has been
Tellurian’s nonexecutive
chairman since founding the
Souki
company in February 2016.
Equinor ASA has elected Tove Andersen to
the company’s board of directors. Addition-
ally, Jon Erik Reinhardsen and Jeroen van
der Veen have been reelected as board chair
and deputy chair, respectively.
Matthew Allen has
stepped down as CEO
and managing director of
Otto Energy. Still, he will
remain with the company
as a senior adviser for six
Small
months to assist with the
transition of a new successor. During the
transition period, John Jetter, nonexecutive
78 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com
chairman, will assume the role of executive
chairman and Kevin Small, executive direc-
tor, will oversee the day-to-day operations
of the company.
Siemens Gamesa Renew-
able Energy’s board of
directors and Markus
Tacke mutually agreed
to terminate his CEO
contract June 17. Andreas
Nauen
Nauen, who has headed
the company’s offshore activities, has been
appointed the new CEO.
Gravity has appointed Richard Robert CFO.
Laredo Petroleum Inc. has named
Bryan Lemmerman CFO. He succeeds
Michael Beyer, who has stepped down
from his position.
Key Energy Services Inc. has appointed
Nelson Haight CFO, senior vice president
and treasurer.
Jonathan (Jack) Thayer has joined Venture
Global LNG Inc. as CFO.
Aker Solutions CFO Ole Martin Grimsrud
has given notice that he will step down from
his position, effective Sept. 1, to pursue other
opportunities.
CAM Integrated Solutions has named Brian
McPherson chief accounting officer.
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers has
appointed Jason Modglin president.
TengBeng Koid has joined Flotek Industries
Inc. as president of global business.
Additionally, the company has welcomed
Kevin W. Brown to its board of directors.
Danos has named Reed Peré vice president
of Permian operations.
Gro Haatvedt will step
down as vice president
of exploration and devel-
opment with Neptune
Energy at the end of
Haatvedt
September. She will
continue serving as
Neptune’s distinguished adviser.
David G. Hill has stepped down as executive
vice president of land and exploration with
Ovinitv after the company announced a 25%
cut to its workforce.
John Ale has retired as Southwestern Energy
Co.’s general counsel and corporate secretary.
He will besucceeded by Chris Lacy.
Sercel-GRC has appointed Song Hu sales and
support manager.
AccessESP has selected
Matthew Walker as the
customer application
performance manager
for the U.S. market.
Walker
COMPANIES
Sparrows Group has relocated to a new
purpose-built facility in Luanda, Angola, to
support its growing operations in Africa.
Carbon Engineering Ltd., a Canadian clean
energy company, has broken ground on its
new Innovation Center in Squamish, B.C.,
whichis due to be completed by August 2021.
GATE Energy has opened its new South
Korea office to form the strategic stronghold
for commissioning and engineering support
for the company in the region.
Geoprocesados and DownUnder
GeoSolutions (DUG) have announced that
Geoprocesados has recently opened a new
 +
AUGUST 2020

On The Move

Publisher
DUG McCloud-based seismic processing and Chevron Corp. has entered into a defin- DARRIN WEST
imaging center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. itive agreement with Noble Energy Inc. Tel: 713-260-6449
to acquire all of the outstanding shares of dwest@hartenergy.com
BP has agreed to sell its global petrochemi- Noble in an all-stock transaction valued at
cals business to Ineos for $5 billion. $5 billion. The transaction is expected to
Global Sales Manager
close in the fourth quarter.
HENRY TINNE
Bristow Group Inc. and Era Group Inc.
Tel: 713-260-6478
have completed their merger. The newly BJ Services LLC has voluntarily filed petitions
htinne@hartenergy.com
combined company will use the Bristow under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Group name. Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of Texas. BJ intends to sell Executive Director of Conference Marketing
Glenfarne Group LLC has acquired Magno- its assets and is in active discussions with bid- BILL MILLER

lia LNG through Glenfarne’s newly formed ders regarding both the cementing business Tel: 713-260-1067
subsidiary Magnolia LNG Holdings LLC. and portions of the fracturing business. + bmiller@hartenergy.com

Executive Director—Digital Media

DANNY FOSTER
AD INDEX Tel: 713-260-6437
dfoster@hartenergy.com
Aggreko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC Director, Business Development
CHANTAL HAGEN
CORTEC Fluid Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Tel: 713.260.5204
DarkVision Technologies Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 chagen@hartenergy.com

DUG Midcontinent Virtual Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

United States/Canada/
E&P Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17, 59 Latin America
EDF Trading North America LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 1616 S. Voss Road, Suite 1000
Houston, Texas 77057 USA
EnviroProp LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Tel: 713-260-6400
Hart Energy Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41, 67 Toll Free: 800-874-2544
Fax: 713-627-2546
Hart Energy Video Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
HartEnergy .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Advertising Coordinator
Helmerich & Payne Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Left of cover SUSET MEDEROS
Tel: 713-260-4637
Meritorious Awards for Engineering Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 iosubmission@hartenergy.com
Noven Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33
Operations Technologies Specialists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Subscription Services
E&P
Rextag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 1616 S. Voss Road, Suite 1000

RFG Petro System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Houston, Texas 77057

Tel: 713-260-6442
Shearwater Geoservices Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Fax: 713-840-1449
TETRA Technologies Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 custserv@hartenergy.com

HartEnergy.com | E&P | August 2020 79

 +
Last Word

Scaling energy-centric digital

solutions will reap rewards
The energy industry must embrace the power of scaling digital solutions to meet its
net zero ambitions.

Paula Doyle, Cognite

A s the energy industry faces increasing pressure to solve the chal-

lenges of efficient energy consumption, improved emissions, better
workforce utilization and increased facility optimization, digital solutions
Not every company is capable of forging its own path. Nor do they
necessarily need to. It’s good to have leaders and followers, but it’s
also important to understand when a company should lead and when
are no longer an option but a necessity. it should follow. Operators have a tremendous responsibility to listen
There is much talk surrounding why energy-centric digital solutions to the entire supply chain as there are a multitude of small-scale com-
are needed. From new developments to EOR to decommissioning, mul- panies with digital solutions, tools, platforms and experience that can
tiple digital tools such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, robotics, revolutionize business models.
drones and autonomous vehicles are already widely operational. What Other industries, such as banking, defense, life sciences and automo-
is required now is a strategic understanding of how to truly digitalize tive, are significantly further ahead in their digital journey, and we must
an industrial organization effectively, at scale, for the most significant learn from them to accelerate our action to adopt and adapt digitally.
business impact. Many will be showcased at ENGenious 2020,
Extracting value from data, collaboration and learn- the sister event to SPE Offshore Europe.
ing from others, and multiskilling the workforce are There are It was originally scheduled to be
all significant success factors. a multitude held Sept. 22-24 in Aberdeen, but
Automating the process of extracting, manipu- of small-scale the decision was made to switch
lating and gaining value from data is as essential ENGenious from a face-to-face
to the fourth industrial revolution as the steam companies with conference and exhibition to a
engine was to the first. Seamlessly combining digital solutions, virtual conference format in light
conventional IT data such as the information tools, platforms of the COVID-19 pandemic.
provided by business process systems across The conference program will
the enterprise with operational data is critical. and experience that showcase innovative companies
Platforms do exist, and the time to realize can revolutionize that are successfully adapting and
“value from data” is shortening. However, organi- business growing their core business by scaling
zations must be crystal clear on how data will help digital technologies.
achieve business goals. There is little point in data for models. Leaders must understand the opportunity pre-
data’s sake, as it is the insight gained that is important. sented by scaling digital adoption. Multiskilling the
The inherent desire within the energy industry is to create existing workforce and bringing in new types of resources
bespoke solutions. Collaboration across companies needs to (e.g., data scientists and software developers) are critical.
become commonplace. Appropriate, off-the-shelf software and Digital tools and applications must be as intuitive and easy
hardware solutions must be employed for the industry’s adop- to use as possible. If the user experience is inferior, uptake
tion of digitalization to progress much faster. will be limited.
Cognite recently announced a strategic partnership with Aker BP to Let’s not underestimate the challenge ahead of us. Altering the
investigate how robotics and drones could be employed on the Skarv oil core ways of working within the energy industry is an immense under-
and gas platform to carry out safer, more efficient and sustainable oper- taking. It can only be achieved successfully if the value to be gained from
ations. Using Cognite’s Data Fusion cloud-based platform, relevant data digital and technological solutions is understood and embraced through-
are easily accessible and can be used to drive decision-making. Testing out organizations.
will take place throughout 2020 and will include autonomous inspection, The pace of digital evolution is tremendous, but never again will it
high-quality data capture and response to leaks. move so slowly. +

80 August 2020 | E&P | HartEnergy.com