OTC ’15: BHP Billiton makes case for Shenzi as world class project
PRAMOD KULKARNI, Editor
HOUSTON – Located in the Green Canyon Block 654, about 122 mi south of New Orleans, Shenzi is BHP Billiton’s flagship project in deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The operator presented a panel of E&P executives at a press conference during the Offshore Technology Conference, who collectively outlined the exploration, drilling and production aspects of the project and showcased milestones, which classify Shenzi as a world-class development.
Moderated by Charlie Williams, director of the Center for Offshore Safety, the panel consisted of Robert Writt, operations manager, Gulf of Mexico; Niall McCormack, vice president, exploration; Steve Kendrick, senior drilling and completions manager, Gulf of Mexico; and Kristen Ray, general manager of Gulf of Mexico operations.
“I’ve seen deepwater developments from the beginning since 1978,” Williams said. “Shenzi is a great story of how to deliver safety and best practices in management.”
Niall McCormack identified Shenzi as the first truly subsalt development. “The first images of Shenzi looked like a child’s drawing of tree,” explained McCormack in the Shenzi souvenir that was introduced at the press conference. “You could see some geology that was coming up, then it was just a cloud sitting on top.”
To discern productive formations below the salt, BHP Billiton applied Rich Azimuth Seismic, a new imaging technology that the company says is the new standard for studying subsalt reservoirs worldwide.
“We strive to be the low-cost developer and low-cost operator,” said Robert Writt. “Benchmarking against our competitors has enabled us to achieve top-quartile performance.” One example of how BHP Billiton has stood apart from other operators is in its decision to delay the design of the water injection facility. Most such systems are designed at the green-field stage. The BHP Billiton team waited to obtain dynamic water injection data, to achieve an optimum brownfield installation.
Steve Kendrick explained how after-action reviews and best practices helped improve drilling efficiency. “We were able to reduce days/1,000 ft from about 7 to 1.06,” Kendrick explained. Some of the drilling challenges were related to salt creep and the optimum angle of drilling when entering top of salt and bottom of salt.
Kristen Ray spoke of milestones associated with Shenzi. “It took us only four months to achieve peak production of 149,500 bopd. Right now, the field is producing 95,000 bopd with facility utilization of 80%. With Shenzi, we’ve shown that better, faster, safer and cheaper can be done.”
