Technology Focus: Deepwater Exploration and Production (June 2008)

Abstract

Technology Focus The technical challenges of deepwater development cross all disciplines and all phases of a deepwater field's life. It starts with the explorers, who interpret subsalt images to locate potential fields hidden below thousands of feet of salt at depths reaching the current limits of our rigs. It continues with the drillers, who are drilling faster and deeper and collecting critical data to help subsurface engineers appraise the size of the field. Additionally, they provide a stable wellbore that enables the completion engineer to complete the well with little-to-no formation damage and possibly stimulate the formation with reliable downhole equipment. Finally, subsea and facility experts step in and install subsea and surface kits (depending on whether the completion is wet, dry, or hybrid) designed to handle a range of the field's conditions. Long-term production from deepwater fields has been a challenge and will become even more challenging with respect to being able to produce wells at high rates initially and recover the maximum reserves. Producing beyond primary depletion will require the use of artificial lift (e.g., gas lift or electrical submersible pumps in the well or at the mudline) and reservoir-pressure maintenance (either natural or artificial) and, possibly, enhanced oil recovery. As we continue to explore in deep water, new horizons at depths never before completed are demanding development of new ideas and new technologies. As professionals working in the oil industry, we need to continue working together to come up with new ways to develop these deeper high-pressure reservoirs; we need to keep that "can-do" attitude. Deepwater Exploration and Production additional reading available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org SPE 110089 • "Calibrating the Mechanical Properties and In-Situ Stresses Using Acoustic Radial Profiles" by Colin M. Sayers, SPE, Schlumberger, et al. IPTC 11282 • "Planning a Deepwater Well for All Seasons: Platina-2, a Combined Appraisal/Development Well" by Ian Brown, BP plc, et al. SPE 112472 • "Meeting the Flow-Assurance Challenges of Deepwater Developments: From Capex Development to Field Startup" by M.M. Jordan, SPE, Nalco, et al. SPE 111629 • "Techniques for Monitoring the Recovery of Deep, Cold-Water Habitats Following Physical Disturbance From Drilling Discharges" by Daniel O.B. Jones, National Oceanography Centre, et al.