What's new in production

	Vol. 224 No. 7
ROBERT E. SNYDER, EXECUTIVE ENGINEERING EDITOR

E&P Toolbox via SPE. The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) has partnered with Petris Technology Inc. to bring E&P Toolbox (EPT) to SPE.org. Designed to provide easy access to engineering software applications to help SPE members be more productive, the EPT contains a wide variety of online tools on a short-term or as-needed basis, anywhere in the world. SPE members receive discounts on administrative costs. 

The EPT includes more than 25 different software packages covering a variety of aspects of industry operations, including applications that assist with data analysis and interpretation, design, modeling, management, sales and many other tasks. Software is available in the categories of: geology, geophysics and petrophysics; engineering for reservoir/simulation, drilling, completion/production, process/facilities, and offshore structural; plus project management and collaboration, and marketing regulatory and financial. Applications will be added on a regular basis. 

After signing an agreement with Petris, SPE members may rent the use of these applications on a monthly basis for as long as needed. Access is Internet-based, so the tools may be used anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. Petris also can securely manage a company’s data storage. For more information, visit www.spe.org/EandPtoolbox/. 

US Energy Plan needs action. NOIA’s Washington Report notes that, two years after the release of the Administration’s National Energy Policy, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham joined with Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Pete Domenici, R-NM, Deputy Majority Whip Craig Thomas, R-WY, and freshman Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, to urge continued action on the National Energy Policy’s recommendations. Joining the group to speak for the House chamber was Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, Joe Barton, R-TX, who called for the Senate to follow the example of the House and act quickly in approving its version of the legislation. 

Senator Domenici praised President Bush for creating the energy policy task force headed by Vice President Cheney, which made, “pragmatic recommendations about what real energy policy should be.” Domenici declared, “We need to provide incentives for production in the Gulf and build a natural gas pipeline for Alaska, or we will have a natural gas shortage as surely as we stand here.”

Secretaries Norton and Abraham also emphasized the need to pass comprehensive energy legislation that would implement sound measures as quickly as possible, including support of royalty relief for deep gas drilling on the Shelf, citing estimates that activity spurred by such relief will net $280 million for the US over the next five years. Congressman Barton lauded the House’s achievement in passing its version of energy legislation and urged Senate leaders to follow suit. Senators Domenici and Thomas acknowledged that deliberation on the energy bill had been delayed. To view the Bush Administration’s National Energy Policy, visit www.whitehouse.gov/ energy/. 

Deepwater FPSO R&D. In the next few years, a growing demand is expected for Floating Production and Storage units (FPSOs) for ultra-deep waters (more than 1,500 m), due to the technical and economical limitations of other concepts. The areas of most interest will be the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and West of Africa. IZAR FENE Shipyards decided to take the initiative and explore possibilities for a fully dynamically positioned (DP) FPSO. The Spanish yard is supported by FMC SOFEC, DNV and MARIN. 

The DP FPSO is a merger between the technological possibilities of harsh weather FPSOs and the ultra-deepwater DP drillships. Potentially, the DP FPSO concept has the advantages of the elimination of all material, installation, inspection, depletion problems and costs of mooring a system in ultra-deep waters. In addition, it is easier to relocate the unit and it has the added possibility of sailing away from approaching hurricanes. 

The main objectives of the DP FPSO project are to develop a concept engineering study for operation in deep water and to assess the reliability compared to conventional turret-moored FPSOs. The JIP also aims to identify regulatory issues associated with this special concept and consult the appropriate authorities (USCG, MMS, etc.) to discuss key issues and how they can be resolved. 

The project will also provide cost estimates for comparison studies and will identify other related problems which may require further investigation. MARIN was involved in numerical simulations using the DPSIM program, and successfully carried out model tests in the deepwater Offshore basin. 

MMS approves new GOM technologies. When a new idea is proposed for US offshore oil drilling or production, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) carries out intensive studies to determine whether the technology can be used safely and what impact it will have on the environment. If it does not meet stringent tests, it is not approved. Two new technologies – advanced cell spar offshore production structures and synthetic moorings – were meticulously scrutinized during recent MMS approval processes, as reported in its Spring 2003 MMS Today report.

Cell spars are giant structures that extend beneath a production platform to provide buoyancy, stability and gas storage. The world’s first cell spar floating production platform, Red Hawk, will soon be deployed in the Gulf of Mexico. Red Hawk measures 64 ft in diameter by 480 ft in length. It includes seven tubes, each 20 ft in diameter, with a center tube surrounded by the other six tubes, all connected by a structural steel matrix. The structure supports a deck that is 110 ft by 132 ft. It will have an initial production capacity of 120 MMcfd gas, with ultimate capacity of 300 MMcfd. Operated by Kerr-McGee and its partner, Ocean Energy, Red Hawk will be moored in 5,300 ft of water, 175 mi off the Louisiana coast. 

In addition to cell spar technology, the project also will use synthetic moorings. These are made of high-strength polyester fiber; they provide an equivalent level of protection, or greater, than steel wire rope systems, while reducing vertical loads on the spar hull. This is the first use of polyester ropes for a Spar-based floating production system and for a permanent mooring system in the Gulf.