AL_Arnaout_subbed.qxp 1/4/09 12:42 Page 80
Production Engineering Experience with the First Intelligent Field
echnology
Implementation at Haradh-III – Transforming Vision into Reality
ell T
a report by
Ibrahim H Al-Arnaout, Saad M Al-Driweesh and Rashad M Al-Zahrani
Southern Area Production Engineering Department (SAPED), Saudi Aramco
Drilling & W
Intelligent Fields oil in place. These strategies are expected to maximise the recovery
Over the past few decades, the concept of Intelligent Fields (I-Fields) factor and, in turn, maximise profit. I-Fields provide the best means
has undergone rapid development, and I-Fields are now deployed by to ensure compliance with injection and production targets. Also,
virtually all oilfield operators. Industry-wide, companies are starting the huge influx of data enables thorough evaluation of reservoir
to realise that the way to cope with existing, as well as future, management strategies to better address abnormal behaviours
production challenges is through the implementation of promising concerning areas of the reservoir.
technologies and better integration of the huge influx of data
these technologies provide. Minimising Well Intervention
Equipping wells with permanent downhole monitoring systems
Don Paul, Chief Technology Officer at Chevron, defined the term (PDHMS) and multiphase flow meters (MPFMs) eliminates the need
I-Field as follows: “the basic idea of the I-Field is to have an for routine pressure and sampling surveys to monitor the reservoir
instrumented, integrated, information-intensive environment for pressure and sweep efficiency. Not only is the cost of these surveys
operating oil fields. As you increase the number of sensors and avoided, but also the associated risk of running gauges in-hole and
controls, it allows you to connect the reservoir down the value chain retrieving them is entirely eliminated. Moreover, smart completion
and, in a sense, make the oilfield look more like a factory than it has technology enables the controller to choke or shut off production
historically been viewed.”
1
from a specific zone or lateral. This saves the cost and risk of
subsequent work during the well’s life if water production started
Despite the variety of names that different operators attach to I-Fields, in the well.
they all share the three fundamental components of technology, data
and people.
2
Also, in principle all operators share most of the Enhancing Work Efficiency
following primary objectives when implementing the I-Field concept. I-Fields make realtime data available to interested parties within any
organisation. This feature improves the decision-making process by
Optimising Production/Injection Performance involving all concerned parties and providing sufficient data to
Reservoir management usually sets production strategies based on conduct a thorough analysis. Moreover, the ability to view the data
several factors, such as reservoir characteristics, pressure and original on various sensors in realtime enables the detection of deteriorating
equipment performance, which, if acted on in a timely manner, will
save the cost of production downtime and avoid the extended loss
Ibrahim H Al-Arnaout is a Petroleum Engineer in the
Southern Area Production Engineering Department
of important data.
(SAPED) at Saudi Aramco, working as Supervisor of the
Haradh and Harmaliyah Production Engineer Unit at
Enabling Timely Detection and Proactive Measures
Udhailiyah. He has 10 years of experience in the
development of Intelligent Fields (I-Fields) and smart The ability to view data in realtime, as well as remotely from end-users’
completions, and was a member of the team that
stations, enables timely detection of adverse well performance
developed the HRDH GOSP-III, the first advanced smart
I-Field in Saudi Aramco.
conditions, which accelerates the decision-making process. Time is
critical in such situations, especially in advanced wells such as
Saad M Al-Driweesh is a Production Engineering General multilateral wells equipped with smart completion, where large
Supervisor in the Southern Area Production Engineering
investments are made on the premise of sustained optimal production.
Department (SAPED) at Saudi Aramco, where he is
involved in gas and oil production engineering, well
I-Fields provide operators with the ability to control wells remotely
completion and stimulation activities. He has worked with
with virtually no additional manpower requirements or job scheduling
Saudi Aramco for the past 19 years in areas related to gas
and oil production engineering. Mr Al-Driweesh received
delays. Therefore, I-Fields accelerate and improve the decision-making
his BSc in petroleum engineering from King Fahd University and, more importantly, the decision-implementation cycle.
of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Aramco’s First Intelligent Field
Rashad M Al-Zahrani is a Petroleum Engineer in the
Southern Area Production Engineering Department (SAPED)
Saudi Aramco has developed the first real application of the I-Field
at Saudi Aramco. He is also studying for his MSc in
concept at Haradh-III. In February 2006, the field had a production
petroleum engineering at the University of Texas A&M. Mr
Al-Zahrani has three years of experience in production
capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (B/D). The reservoir is
engineering, is a member of the Society of Petroleum characterised by stratiform super-K zones and fractures, which play
Engineers (SPE) and has published several technical papers
a significant role in fluid flow and recovery. Simulation studies have
and articles. He has a BSc in petroleum engineering from
the University of Kansas.
shown the advantages of developing multilateral wells equipped
with smart completion, which allows incremental downhole choke
80
© TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2009
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156