Deepwater Nigeria Field Development: Challenges, Best Practices and Lessons Learned from the Agbami Field

Abstract

AbstractWith potential reserves of about 1 billion barrels of oil, the Agbami Field is one of the largest producing deepwater assets in Nigeria. The field was discovered in 1998 and was put on stream July 28, 2008 at an initial production rate of ~ 95 MBOPD. The field reached peak production of 250 MBOPD on Aug 13, 2009, 4 months ahead of schedule. Agbami is Chevron's first operated deepwater asset in Nigeria and is located 70 miles offshore from the Nigerian coastline at a water depth of about 4,800 feet.The Agbami subsea development plan consists of 38 subsea wells (22 producers, 11 water injectors and 5 gas injectors) tied back to a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel via subsea flowlines. The development strategy is to have mid-flank oil production with peripheral water injection and crestal produced gas re injection to enhance recovery from pressure maintenance and improved sweep efficiency in addition to compliance with a "No Flares" policy. The field development plan was optimized to be executed in 3 stages, and is currently in Stage-2 with 14 producers, 3 gas injectors and 6 water injectors already drilled, completed and contributing to the daily production.2013 will mark 5 years since the Agbami field came on stream. The field has produced about 350 MMSTB of oil as at year end 2012 at a 2012 average rate of 233 MBOPD. The field continues to perform with operational excellence in all areas from safety to production in-spite of the several challenges that are faced on a daily basis. This is as a result of the focus on operational excellence and sound reservoir management practices.This paper seeks to highlight the performance of the Agbami field to date and demonstrate how a focused reservoir management approach has resulted in the the fields’ world class performance in spite of the challenges faced. The paper will also seek to share best-practices and lessons learned from the Agbami field experience.