Transforming Operations with Real Time Production Optimization and Reservoir Management: Case History Offshore Angola

Abstract

AbstractThe subject field is located 50 miles offshore Angola in ∼1200' of water. The compliant piled tower that supports this development in Block 14 is one of the largest manmade structures in the world. The 46-well development plan includes both wet and dry trees. The multi-layered reservoirs are heterogeneous in nature. To extract the most value from this development, Chevron has developed and deployed an integrated solution that uses people, processes and technology to improve performance. In 2002 Chevron began exploring how integrated digital solutions could help better manage the reservoirs, wells and facilities. Since that time, a fully fledged i-field™ program was developed with a vision for transforming operations through technology. It's about making sure the right people have the right information at the desired frequency in a usable format at the right time to make the best decision. It's about teamwork and collaboration across function and distance. It's about providing people the time and space to develop creative alternatives and solutions to effectively manage the daily and longer term challenges.The Production Optimization Solution for the subject field was successfully deployed in September 2010. The solution is designed to improve production engineering productivity, increase production and recovery by optimizing overall field management, and decrease response time through early problem detection. Two initial engineering workflows were deployed along with an asset overview dashboard that displays key information, trends and results. After a rigorous evaluation process, a project team was created to develop the engineering workflows that make use of nodal analysis and pressure transient analysis tools for field and model management. A 3rd party vendor was selected to design and manage the data and application integration required to successfully implement the solution.This paper will detail the development and deployment of this integrated solution that is allowing the engineers to spend more time on technical work, respond quicker to anomalies, and make better, faster decisions. It will also discuss the requirements for success that include change management, training, support and organizational capability.