Overview: Deepwater Exploration and Production (June 2005)

Abstract

In recent years, the industry has met some amazing deepwater technology challenges. Drilling and production in water depths that just a few years ago would have seemed impossible now are considered routine. Not long ago, a site in water depths greater than 150 m was considered deep, and the Cognac Project—at more than 300 m—was considered a remarkable feat of technology. Today, the feasibility of a project in 2000-m water depth is not an issue. Instead, project efforts focus on topics such as design robustness, effective project-execution strategies, reliability of operations, and cost-effectiveness. It is a tribute to technical innovation that, for most deepwater projects in less than 2000 m of water, several different acceptable methods often are available to solve specific technical challenges. Operators, designers, constructors, and installers continue to improve deepwater technologies and reduce cost and schedule risks. Areas such as well testing, reservoir evaluation with minimal data, riser systems, and flow assurance are being addressed to improve project execution and delivery. Meanwhile, new projects are benefiting from the application of lessons learned from previous efforts. Recent work has achieved promising results in special projects for which water depths reach 3000 m. Today’s challenge is to make the issues at that depth as commonplace as those in less that 2000 m. From a historical perspective, it is truly startling that work on these challenges is proceeding in an almost routine manner, with complete confidence that viable solutions will be found. Additional Deepwater Exploration and Production Technical Papers Available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org SPE 92616 Mooring and Riser Management in Ultradeep Water and Beyond SPE 91012 Incorporating Uncertainties in Well-Count Optimization With Experimental Design for the Deepwater Agbami Field Available at the OTC Library: www.otcnet.org OTC 17292 Holstein Truss Spar and Top Tensioned Riser System: Design Challenges and Innovations OTC 17683 Lessons Learned From the Evolution and Development of Multiple-Line Hybrid Riser Towers for Deepwater Production Applications