Sour Rated 10,000-psi System High Temperature Gas Development Wells: A Journey of Optimization in North Malays Basin While Sustaining the Nation Gas Demand

Abstract

Abstract High temperature, high carbon dioxide coupled with hydrogen sulfide contents, and rapid PPFG pressure ramp increase gas development well tends to cause high well capex for Operator. This well type typically needs high CRA material with at least a 10,000-psi rated system to complete. Offshore peninsular Malaysia’s North Malay Basin (NMB)’s deep reservoirs also fall into the described category. This paper aims to share the optimization journey, applications, and learnings of the company’s H.T. sour-rated 10Ksi gas development wells through several phases, besides fulfilling the gas delivery need for the country. In addition, engineering and operational optimizations are identified to reduce the well’s time and cost without sacrificing the crew’s safety as the team focus. The company wells engineering team applied Lean approaches encompassing the complete Plan-Do-Check-Adjust cycle to achieve the optimization. Well data usage, lessons learned, collaboration, continuity, and striving for continuous improvements are the key factors to ensure good optimization results. Fit-for-purpose drilling and completions equipment design and application, rig offline capabilities planning, wellhead dummy hanger plug design for offline cementing, intervention-less production packer setting device, offline annulus nitrogen cushion fluids displacement and other applications will be explained in the paper. The paper explained the operational challenges, how and what optimizations applied to achieve excellent well performance compared to targets and previous campaigns. The wells team optimizations spread out from engineering to execution stages, including rolling out in-house talent of digitization and digitalization of well performance surveillance, in line with the industry's way forward. The recent campaign post optimization concluded with no safety incidents, below budgeted time and cost, low overall NPTs, and achieved first gas to meet the country's power generation demand. Open, collaborative, and proactive cross departments communications are the catalysts that contributed to the positive optimization journey's results.