Technology Focus: High Pressure/High Temperature (March 2024)

Abstract

Early February saw the occasion of India Energy Week (IEW), a major event held in Goa, India, with which I was pleased to be engaged. The meeting addressed the many challenges and transformations facing the energy sector around the world, in both the short and long term. Complex alignments and armed conflict affect humankind around the globe and disrupt the infrastructural networks that connect populations. Recent events in the Red Sea serve as only one example of how geopolitics can profoundly influence a hydrocarbon market that expects to see high volatility in pricing. IEW drew further attention to the important role India will play in the global energy economy of the future. A huge market with a booming economy and a growing demand for energy, India, too, seeks to develop its energy mix in accordance with the international goal of achieving a net-zero future and exploring renewable energies. Within that greater framework, the subject of this feature, high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) resources, continues to be a focus of efforts to apply new technologies that maximize productivity while addressing concerns related to capital expenditure, operating expenses, and high drilling costs. These cost-effective technologies will only grow in importance in exploiting HP/HT and ultra-HP/HT fields. Increased emphasis on effective well control, durable completion equipment, and monitoring of downhole conditions will become key entry points for technological advances in the near future. This year saw a somewhat smaller number of HP/HT-centered conference papers for review. Nevertheless, I have identified, with an aim of providing readers an idea of the robust scope of research within the HP/HT industry, important works pertaining to simulation, drilling, and cleanup. These papers, set against the volatility faced by the energy sector, embody the importance of keeping our fellow energy professionals apprised of our successes and lessons learned. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. OTC 32657 Comparison of Wellhead Fatigue Methods Using Acoustic and Standalone Monitoring Data for HP/HT Developments by Bulent Mercan, 2H Offshore, et al. IPTC 22815 Successful Drilling of the Deepest and Hottest HP/HT Carbonate Well Offshore Malaysia, Lessons Learned, and Way Forward by Swee Hong Gary Ong, PTT Exploration and Production, et al. OTC 32203 Managing the High-Temperature Risk in a Horizontal HP/HT Deepwater Well by Yu Liu, Shell, et al.