What's new in production

	Vol. 225 No. 10
ROBERT E. SNYDER, EXECUTIVE ENGINEERING EDITOR

Hands-on learning at Texas A&M. Petroleum industry technology leaders Cameron, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Lufkin Industries and Weatherford are charter members of a new initiative to strengthen hands-on instruction in drilling, completion and production at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. The new Program in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering aims to increase exposure to oilfield equipment and procedures. Students visit professional labs and well sites, interact with working professionals, who visit campus weekly, and develop a working vocabulary of the industry based on practical experience.

With the emphasis on equipment and hands-on lab experience shrinking on campuses across the nation, the department's new initiative counteracts this trend. The program supports the Department's Drilling and Production Systems course for junior-level students. The class introduces nomenclature and methods used in drilling, completing and producing oil and gas wells. Amazing, they're learning there's more to this business than sitting all day in front of a computer.

MMS working for US Gulf operators. The US Minerals Management Service has issued a new Notice to Lessees and Operators (NTL) to further encourage exploration for deep gas on the shelf area of the Gulf of Mexico at ultra-deep depths, labeled NTL 2004-G16, “Suspension of Operations (SOO) for Drilling Ultra-Deep Wells Under Salt Sheets.” MMS learned from some companies that the period it was using to grant suspensions of operations for exploration beneath salt sheets at ultra-deep depths (greater than 25,000 ft) was likely inadequate. It issued the new NTL pursuant to 30 CFR 250.175(b), which governs the granting of a SOO for exploration beneath or adjacent to salt sheets. This NTL provides guidance for operators to request SOO's for drilling ultra-deep wells affected by salt sheets and informs operators that a departure may be obtained to the requirements contained in 30 CFR 250.175(b)(2). More information is on the Web at: www.gomr.mms.gov.

In another relevant project, MMS says it is partnering with Mexico to study ocean currents over the western slope of the Gulf. It awarded a three-year, $1.73 million contract to the Center for Scientific Investigation and Higher Education in Ensenada (CICESE) in Mexico, to record ocean currents throughout the water column over the outer continental shelf and slope to obtain a 3-D picture of the circulation of the Western Gulf in Mexican waters. The program includes 13 months of field observations.

Leasing in the Western Gulf extends to deep water near the US-Mexico border in water depths exceeding 2,000 m (6,600 ft). This is an area with limited oceanographic and current data. The coupling of this study with a previously awarded MMS study, “Survey of deepwater currents in the Western Gulf of Mexico, in US territorial waters,” will add significantly to the understanding of the physical oceanography of the Western Gulf. MMS says the Eastern Gulf has been studied extensively, but few direct observations of currents have been made off its western shore, especially off Mexico, a region fundamental to understanding of the Gulf's dynamics.

Small stuff – maybe. United Heritage Corp. updated progress on using its nitrogen injection process at the Wardlaw field, in Edwards County, Texas, a long way from the US Gulf. After testing, five wells were placed on 24-hr production and averaged 2.16 bopd to 4.05 bopd, a substantial increase vs. prior levels of 0.29 bopd to 0.58 bopd before the N 2 process was utilized.

While well testing may continue for an additional 60 to 90 days, substantial production is not anticipated because of low pressure. But this is an important part of the pilot project because the information may be used for staging wells into full production and further development of the entire productive acreage. United says it is extremely pleased that the N 2 injection process is yielding such impressive results. Fluid is continually being pushed to the wellbores, indicating that production should increase as the pressure increases, and more wells are put on full production.

A total of 32 wells have been equipped for production with either submersible or progressive cavity pumps. Four of these wells have been equipped for injection. The total surface area in the pilot project encompasses some 202 acres. An estimated 97 acres has experienced an increase in bottomhole pressure. The gas caps in the structural highs have been developed, and pressures on the injection wells remain between 25 psi and 40 psi. Injection will continue in these areas in an effort to increase reservoir pressure to a goal of 60 psi. Pressure is continuing to build off the structural highs.

With the huge volumes of unrecovered and essentially abandoned crude reserves remaining in hundreds of older oil fields in the onshore US alone, such projects are vitally important to correcting the industry's deplorable natural gas wasting practices of earlier years.

Umbilical-free subsea power/ control. The UK company QinetiQ Energy is promoting a technique for providing electrical power for subsea equipment – through acoustic telemetry, thermoelectric power generation, and rechargeable battery modules – that can be integrated to deliver a reliable, remote-well monitoring and control system. Studies and lab tests have shown that a compact subsea unit with thermoelectric pads can be installed as part of the completion. The unit will generate electrical power from the transforming of differential temperature available in the subsea environment. In the compact unit design, a “hot” pad would be fixed to the flowline carrying oil, and a “cold” pad would contact a surface exposed to the seawater. Present designs are capable of generating milliwatts to tens of kilowatts of power.

Given the efficiency of today's thermoelectric generators, the electrical power generated from the expected range of temperature differences may be less than the energy required to directly operate subsea wellhead instrumentation and valves. Sufficient power is generated, however, to provide energy to charge and recharge a battery pack. With a lithium-ion battery, the most advanced rechargeable battery available commercially, long life and reliability are assured for the demanding conditions and size constraints of subsea completions. For more details check www.QinetiQ.com.