Petroleum Production

Optimization

Technology | Petroleum Production

Optimization

Fundamentals

Production Optimization refers to the various activities of

measuring, analyzing, modelling, prioritizing and implementing
actions to enhance productivity of a field:
reservoir/well/surface . Production Optimization is a
fundamental practice to ensure recovery of developed reserves
while maximizing returns. Production Optimization activities
include:

Near-wellbore profile management

gas–water coning and fingering,
near-wellbore conformance management
Removal of near-wellbore damage
matrix stimulation or acidizing
Maximize the productivity index
hydraulic fracturing
maximum-reservoir-contact well with multilateral
completion
Prevention of organic and inorganic solid deposition in
the near-wellbore/completion/pipeline
 Well integrity
prevention and remediation of casing and cement
failure
Design of well completion
optimization of artificial lift performance at
field and well level
sand control management
Efficiency of oil and gas transport
Design of surface facilities and fluid handling capacity
Production system debottlenecking

Production Optimization, along with Reservoir Management, is a

central part of a company’s field development and
deliverability strategy. Key factor in production optimization
is the capability to mitigate formation damage during well
construction and production routine operations. Formation
damage mitigation can be accomplished assuring that
operational details are achieved before reaching the pay zone
to the last production parameters recorded.
Various approaches to petroleum system production optimization

Technologies

Production optimization allows to increase productivity from

existing field and uses encompass several areas of interest.
In this context, contributes can come from the application of
different technologies.

ADVANCED COMPLETION

Production optimization requires advanced and intelligent well

completions.

Intelligent Well Completion

An Intelligent (Smart) completion is a well that contains a

“Remotely Operated Adaptive Completion System” which
provides real-time data and the capability to re-configure
the well architecture without well interventions.

The system is able to collect, transmit, and analyze

reservoir production data and to proof completion
integrity, and to enable remote action to better control
reservoir, well, and production processes.

These systems generate large amounts of real-time production

data and the key challenge is to realize direct added value
to operations with this data

Their primary objectives are to maximize or optimize

production/recovery, minimize operating costs, and improve
safety.

Intelligent well completion system

 Intelligent completion for a multi lateral well

WELL PRODUCTIVITY

An ideal well productivity is the final goal of Production

Optimization. In particular, well productivity is determined
by a well inflow performance and in this context, a common
approach is “Nodal Analysis”. It is a system analysis
approach applied to analyze the performance of systems
composed of interacting components.
 Well Performance Analysis

The Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR) is defined as the

functional relationship between the inflow production rate and
the inflowing pressure at node . The Outflow Performance
Relationship (OPR) is defined as the functional relationship
between the outflow production rate and the outflowing
pressure at node. The interaction of IPR and OPR is the
Working Point of the system.
 IPR and OPR interaction

Productivity Index (PI or J) expresses the ability of a

reservoir to deliver fluids to the wellbore. Optimal well
productivity is achieved by the use of an integrated approach
of disciplines and operations.

WELL STIMULATION

Well stimulation is a term describing a variety of operations

performed on a well to improve its productivity. Stimulation
operations can be focused on the wellbore or on the reservoir.
They can be conducted on old wells and new wells and they can
be also designed for remedial purposes. There are two main
types of stimulation operations: matrix stimulation and
hydraulic fracturing. Matrix stimulation is performed below
the reservoir fracture pressure in an effort to restore the
natural permeability of the reservoir rock. Well matrix
stimulation is achieved by pumping acid mixtures (acidizing)
into the near-wellbore area to dissolve the limestone and
 dolomite formations or the formation damage particles
between the sediment grains of the sandstone rocks. Hydraulic
fracturing is the most common mechanism for increasing well
productivity.

In certain hard carbonate reservoirs “Acid Fracturing”

is performed;
In other soft carbonate and in all sandstone reservoirs
“Propped Fracturing” is used.

Hydraulic fracturing id used to by-pass near wellbore damage

and Increase well production by changing flow regime from
radial to pseudo-linear, to reduce sand production and to
increase access to the reservoir from the well bore.

Graphical representation of IPR under different conditions

SAND CONTROL MANAGEMENT

When oil is produced from relatively weak reservoir rocks,

small particles and sand grains are dislodged and carried
along with the flow. This sand production can create erosion
in flowlines and other equipment. Sand management can be
considered as a key issues in field development in most of
world’s oil and gas fields. Sand control management can be
counted as an activity which shares risks (safety,
environmental, process and cost) of producing sand to the
surface vs. the risks of trying to keep it down in the
reservoir using different mechanical or chemical control
techniques.

Step process for sanding

 Methods of sand control

Softwares

Computer Simulations software provide geoscientists and

engineers with insights into the behavior of the well under
changing conditions. The simulations have moved on from their
‘run’ on time consuming and expensive supercomputers to faster
and cost effective intelligent platforms. New systems provide
more accurate results, better understanding of extractable
reserves enabling timely reactions to ever changing market
conditions and significantly lower total cost. Some of the
most popular software suits are briefly described below. IPM-
PETREX The IPM suite Integrated Production Modelling – is
developed by Petroleum Experts (Petex). IPM model is an oil or
gas production system which includes reservoir, wells and the
surface network. The following table give a synthetic
description of production models:

Integrated Production Modelling

 Open Server Communication

IPM allows the integration with the reservoir simulation

models – Eclipse, VIP, etc. – to evaluate the impact on
production. PIPESIM- SCHLUMBERGER PIPESIM is a flow simulator
that can create well models to help increase production and
understand reservoir potential. PIPESIM simulator models
multiphase flow from the reservoir to the wellhead and
considers artificial lift systems, including rod pumps, ESP,
and gas lift. PIPESIM enables to

design optimal well completions and artificial lift

systems;
diagnose problems that are limiting well production
potential;
optimize production from existing wells by quantifying
actions to increase flow rates.

PIPESIM includes all the standard completion model types for

vertical, horizontal, and fractured wells, and allows for
complex multilayered completions using a wide variety of
reservoir inflow parameters and fluid descriptions.
 Gas Transmission Network – Case study

PERFORM – IHS

PERFORM is well-performance software standard for NODAL and

well analysis allowing to gain understanding of flow in each
component of a well, cutting costs and maximizing production.
PERFORM allows to model well production performance, including
downhole networks for multilayer and multilateral wells,
different completion types, horizontal, deviated wellbore,
fractured and non-fractured formations. It also allows
calculations of coiled tubing, velocity strings, gaslift, and
flow assurance.
Detailed Interface displays both input and output parameters

Well System analysis (NODAL) plot

SAND MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE – SCHLUMBERGER

Sand CADE is a gravel-pack design and evaluation software Sand

CADE software performs engineering calculations to assess the
sand control treatment design and supports job execution and
evaluation for open-hole and cased-hole gravel-pack
completions.

Sand Advisor Software supports screen and gravel selection in

open-hole applications by analyzing the formation particle-
size distributions.

SandCADE horizontal openhole gravel placement simulation

Innovations
THROUGH TUBING DRILLING AND COMPLETION
Through-tubing drilling and completion is a cost effective
technology for increasing production and recovery. TTDC is a
generic term for drilling sidetracks in existing producers and
injectors, and covers both coiled tubing drilling (CTD) and
through-tubing rotational drilling (TTRD), including
installing the associated lower completion, typically liners
or screens. The main advantage of the technology is that new
reservoir sections can be reached without having to remove the
existing x-mas tree, the completion or the production casing,
thereby reducing operational time significantly compared to a
“standard” slot recovery or side-track. TTDC- wells are
particularly useful for accessing pockets of isolated oil and
gas in mature fields. Due to the deep side-tracks achieved
with this technique it is possible to minimize borehole
lengths and avoid drilling problems in overlying formations.

Through tubing rotary drilling

WELL MATRIX STIMULATION WITHOUT HCl

Well acidizing is a common practices in the oil industry and

hydrochloric acid (HCl) has been used as the main acid for
limestone stimulation purposes There are several concerns with
the use of HCl acids: health and safety of the field crew,
corrosive nature of the acids for the flow lines and
equipment, and environmental effects of the produced HCl. A
new product called FF-01 is an environmentally-friendly and
equipment-friendly product. It is a conversion to an organic
base to maintain very low pH as a vehicle for aggressiveness,
along with the creation of buffers and surface tension
relievers. Low pH, slower reaction rates with limestone, small
amount of residue after reaction, safety, minimum damage to
equipment, and longevity are the properties of this product.
Tests have been conducted to develop this new product and
study possible improvements in this blend. It has been
observed that FF-01 dissolves limestone rock samples with
smaller reaction constants compared to HCl However, it will
dissolve the same mass of rock if enough time is given, and it
lasts longer during the course of reaction while leaving fewer
residues. HCl performs better in cleaning the near wellbore
rock while FF-01 performs better in generating long wormholes
and higher effective permeability compared to the cores that
were treated using HCl.

UNCONVENTIONAL STIMULATION

The acoustic stimulation technology has the potential to

provide a low-cost procedure for enhancing oil recovery in
mature fields. Low frequency shock waves produced downhole can
increase oil production in currently producing well with high
WC mobilizing immobile oil in ¾ mile range. Application of
this technology well suits well/field having the following
properties:

Oil Viscosity less than 10 cP

High water cut, ideally greater than 80%
Low GOR, ~10 m3 per m3 of fluid produced is ideal
Minimum spacing of 400 m between source wells with
production wells spaced within 300 m radius “stimulation
zone”, if multiple tools are run.

ACOUSTIC STIMULATION TECHNOLOGY