Enhanced Field Surveillance through Real-Time Data Visualization in Dubai Offshore Fields

Abstract

Abstract Dubai Petroleum (DP) currently has offline production optimization processes in place for optimizing Dubai’s offshore gas lifted assets, both at the well and system levels. In order to achieve real-time well surveillance and optimization capability for the whole asset, DP has deployed a field-wide real-time well performance monitoring system for all the producers and injectors in the entire asset. This paper describes the various phases of the real-time well performance monitoring project; justification, pilot test, full field implementation and current applications of this tool. The technical and economic benefits of such systems and the lessons learned from this implementation will also be discussed. The "Data to Desktop" well performance monitoring system aids the engineers to review well performance related trends in a continuous manner. The system has helped identify well performance-related issues in a very short period of time and aided in solving these problems with less production downtime than before. The tool has helped reduce the time spent by engineers for data gathering and issue identification. As the system is web-enabled and deployed through the company’s Intranet, it is possible to monitor the live well performance from any location. The Real-time "Data to Desktop" system will allow DP to progress to the next step of real-time production optimization. The raw well data will be "cleansed" from spikes, noise and bad-data periods and utilized for calibration of the well models. The output of the models when compared with the field data can be used to automatically highlight the wells that are sub-optimal in their performance. Faced with ever growing pressure to produce maturing fields optimally, asset operators are turning to digital technologies to help maximize the time spent by engineers in greater value-adding activities, leaving data gathering, "cleansing", processing and visualization to systems such as the well performance monitoring system that was implemented.