Techbits: Deepwater Developments Focus of Mumbai Workshop

Abstract

Techbits Deepwater discoveries and development plans are expanding from well-established regions like the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to frontier regions such as offshore India, but there is a lag in experience that must be filled. An SPE Applied Technology Workshop (ATW) in Mumbai titled "Deepwater Development" aimed to do that, by bringing together a multidisciplinary, multinational group of 117 oilfield professionals to exchange ideas in the area of deepwater project planning and execution. Workshop Steering Committee Chairperson N.K. Mitra of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) welcomed all delegates and presented an overview titled "Deepwater: An Indian E&P Perspective." He highlighted India's deepwater potential, which includes 1.35 million sq km of sedimentary area containing 10 billion bbl of reserves. He described ONGC's successful deepwater drilling effort at Sagar Samridhi in August 2003 that resulted in the discovery of the G-1, GS-15, and Vashishtha fields, which are scheduled to begin production in 2010–2012. Challenges preventing further deepwater developments in the region include drilling and completion technical hurdles, flow assurance, and a resistance to changing mind sets. In the keynote address that followed, A.K. Balyan with ONGC saw an urgent need to increase deepwater exploration and development off the coast of India to stem its dramatically increased petroleum import bill. This will require increased cooperation among all players in the areas of reservoir management and drilling, as well as further technology optimization. ONGC's R.S. Sharma, the chief guest of the ATW's inaugural session, pointed to nonavailability of deep- and ultradeepwater drilling rigs as driving rig costs to stratospheric levels, and estimated that each second of lapsed drilling activity at a site costs USD 146. He felt that the speed of technology development has not been keeping pace with industry needs, and placed emphasis on the areas of deepwater equipment standardization, technology for high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) wells, and smart completions. Case Histories The first technical session reviewed two deepwater case histories. The first out-lined the planning and execution of the Shell NaKika project in the US GOM. Integration of several new deepwater technologies from various disciplines and an integrated team of experienced people, from subsurface planning to operations, were the keys to the success of the NaKika project. The second case study reviewed StatoilHydro's overall deepwater development and management philosophy which gives high priority to efficient inspection, maintenance, and repair. The Kristin field, with a three-stage overpressure protection design, is an example of StatoilHydro's experience with HP/HT wells.