Benchmarking Well, Reservoir and Facility Management WRFM Performance in Greenfield Heavy Oil Assets

Abstract

Abstract The paper describes the results of a benchmarking exercise conducted for a selected set of Well Reservoir and Facility Management (WRFM) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on two greenfield, heavy oil assets in Kuwait. The purpose of the benchmark exercise was to define a baseline performance for these new heavy oil assets to validate ongoing improvement efforts, as well as to identify further improvements opportunities the medium term. The assets were compared against a group of analogue assets operated by an IOCs. The benchmarking exercise focused on four areas common to all assets: Production Optimization Gains, Well Stock Reviewed, Total Deferment from Wells and Data Acquisition Compliance. Given the differences in conceptual definitions employed by the companies (including the definition of the KPIs, and even the definition of an "asset"), the study started by formalizing the definitions based on the IOC standard. Given that the WRFM processes had only been formally implemented in the Kuwait heavy oil assets in 2018, the data collection was limited to 2018. The greenfield nature of the assets presented some challenges due to different approaches in measurements and the ongoing implementation of the WRFM processes which required normalization of the data to make the comparison effective. Analysis of the benchmark results indicate that the heavy oil assets in Kuwait have an acceptable performance versus the IOC assets, particularly in Production Optimization Gains and Data Acquisition Compliance. However, the performance is mostly driven by the nature of the asset (Greenfield, early production life) and the relatively small number of wells compared to the IOC assets, which are more mature. The assets required additional focus on well stock reviewed and reduction of the total deferment from wells. By increasing the well stock coverage, more optimization opportunities would be identified and eventually executed. Deferment (mostly due to Sand production and availability of equipment) required urgent attention based on the larger difference in this KPI with the benchmarking group. A set of recommendations per KPI was defined to support the improvement efforts, which are expected to positively impact the performance of the Kuwaiti assets and to maximize the value at their early production stages. Benchmarking of greenfield assets, particularly in heavy oil, presents various challenges associated with the early stages of operation (and the implementation of WRFM processes), as well as with the actual measurement of performance when compared to more matured assets. The paper is expected to provide a valuable reference for new heavy oil projects, either under definition or in early production, to focus WRFM efforts and accelerate their performance toward top quartile.