Oilfield Services Research Articles

Metadata Analysis Reveals Major Worldwide Trends in Industrial and Academic Geophysics

We summarize our metadata analysis of the last 38 well-attended annual conferences, organized by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. In 2018, Schlumberger and Saudi Aramco had the highest number of publications among service and production companies. In 2019, BGP and PetroChina took the lead. Throughout history, US academics have had the highest number of publications, but in 2019 Chinese academia came close to taking the lead. Analysis of the publication activity of oil-producing and oilfield service companies provides insights into the state of geophysical research. The number of publications from industrial companies in the energy sector reflects their financial standing and aspirations for the near future. Publications from academia in different countries tell us about state and private funding of research in each country, and indirectly reflect the geopolitical situation in the world. The changing number of publications over time reflects the dynamics of the transformation of research in geophysics, and allows us to understand better what is happening and make forecasts.

Prospects for Strategic Planning of Oilfield Service Enterprises

Prospects for Strategic Planning of Oilfield Service Enterprises

The approach to the development of a probabilistic model to determine the optimal mechanism for an unfinished oil well fund subsidising

In the context of the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine measures taken by the international community, energy demand declined significantly in the second quarter of 2020. In April, oil prices fell to a record low of $13-$14 per barrel. In order to restore oil prices, OPEC+ imposed strict restrictions on production in May. This has in turn decreased the number of drilling wells significantly and has had a negative impact on oilfield service companies. The decline of the oilfield services can lead to a loss of skills in the development of hard-to-recover reserves and to a loss of global market share. In order to reduce risks and ensure accelerated recovery of production volumes, a number of countries are developing and introducing methods of state subsidising to stimulate the construction of oil wells up to the moment of their completion. In Russia, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is also developing a plan to provide preferential loans to oilfield service organisations, and then oil companies will redeem finished wells. Given the recession in the global economy, the high volatility of macro parameters, the risk of the second wave of coronavirus and the new OPEC+ restrictions, makes it necessary to determine the best and most sufficient, but not excessive, mechanism for supporting oilfield services and stimulating the optimal pace of construction of oil wells depending on the type of oil fields and their remoteness from world markets’ sales. In view of the high uncertainty of model parameters, this paper proposes to use probabilistic methods and Bayesian methods to solve the above problems.

Comments: Oilfield Services Face Low and Slow Recovery

OPEC’s easing of production cuts originally planned for January may be delayed until mid-2021 because of the global increases in COVID-19 cases occurring in November. As restrictions are renewed, extended, or newly instated, fuel demand is expected to decrease. Following a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) meeting on 16 November, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo underscored the need to remain “vigilant and diligent” in the months ahead. The JTC recommended that supply increases be postponed from 3 to 6 months. The OPEC ministers plan to hold an online meeting on 30 November to decide on production levels among the 13 member countries. By the time you read this in early December, their decisions - and the market responses to them - will be evident. Approximately 7.7 million B/D, or about 8% of global production, are currently tamped down. The recent encouraging announcements of two vaccines’ effectiveness in early clinical trials buoyed oil prices, which are hovering around $40/bbl (West Texas Intermediate closed at $41.38 on 16 November). The past 8 months brought with them upheavals in operators’ and service companies’ short-term reactions to market conditions based on their financial resiliency, and as the pandemic persists, the fallout sputters on as layoffs, bankruptcy filings, mergers and acquisitions, and new collaborative business deals arise almost daily. One sector thought to have bottomed out globally is oilfield services (OFS) and drilling, according to Moody’s Investors Service’s outlook published 13 November. Improvement in earnings is expected to be slow in 2021 as a result of the limited growth forecast in development activities and capital investment. Low and slow growth may be the sector’s motto for some time. The record lows in the third quarter of this year in the drilling rig count and well completion/servicing activity hit the OFS hard after operators reined in capital spending. Some recovery in the US has occurred since August when the rig count tanked at 244. By late October, it neared 300. The international rig count drop has slowed and reached fewer than 700 by later October. Moody’s reported the decrease will continue, but at a slower rate, through the end of this year.

Production automation system for company manufacturing oil country tubular goods

This work presents a developments of a single integrated solution for the process automation of oilfield service companies that allows organizing production and management systems in a single information space. The analysis of the main factors and causes that affect the occurrence of production losses, and their consequences. In the scope of this work, algorithms for solving individual automation problems that are interconnected into certain algorithm modules have been developed. The results of the integration analysis of modern ERP automation systems are presented, in particular, their level of adaptation to the stages of the product life cycle, compliance with standards and safety requirements, and the complexity of the transition to an automated system. Possible risks of the implementation of the algorithms were also assessed, describing an applied importance of the development of a single production control algorithm. Further, an evaluation of main advantages and economic effect of the introduction of process control automation system at the company manufacturing oil country tubular goods is presented.

Multigrid pressure solver for 2D displacement problems in drilling, cementing, fracturing and EOR

Numerical simulators for the design of oilfield services technologies are required to be fast and robust, hence the implementation of underlying mathematical models is expected to be highly efficient. We present an optimized numerical algorithm based on the multigrid approach for solving the pressure equation in 2D problems of fluid-fluid displacement. This type of problems arise in oilfield services applications, such as drilling, cementing, hydraulic fracturing and EOR. The displacement of fluids with different properties in a narrow annular gap (drilling, cementing) or a slot (hydraulic fracturing, production) is governed by the 2D width-averaged model in the lubrication approximation. In numerical implementation, the most time-consuming is the elliptic Poisson pressure equation, which has coefficients with discontinuities (jumps) in the case of displacement of fluids with viscosity contrast. Specifically for this case of discontinuous coefficients, we designed and implemented numerically the black-box multigrid algorithm, which resolves the divergence issue typical of standard realization of multigrid algorithm using bilinear prolongation operators. The algorithm is tested on a number of matrices corresponding to discretization of elliptic equation at rectangular staggered meshes with different resolution. The performance of the algorithm is compared against several other sparse solvers available for commercial use: smoothed aggregated algebraic multigrid (PyAMG software package), direct sparse solver from Intel MKL library (DSS), Bi-Conjugate Gradient-Stabilized solver preconditioned by ILUT factorization implemented into BLAS package, and our in-house Conjugated Gradient algorithm preconditioned by ILU(2) factorization. It was found that the performance of the black-box multigrid solver is significantly higher (from 7x to 30x in terms of CPU time depending on the mesh resolution) as compared to the closest solver under consideration, which allows us to recommend this solver for implementation into existing 2D drilling simulators, fracturing design tools, cement placement and production simulators.

Survive, Revive, Thrive: Chapter 1: In the Storm

Most of you reading this are thinking, okay, he’s SPE President, he must know something I don’t know, see something I don’t see, etc. The truth is we are all in the same storm of pandemic+economic crisis=chaos. Our salvation is that humans have evolved and survived not despite adversity but because of it. Humans do not like uncertainty - real or perceived. Uncertainty causes anxiety, and anxiety clouds one’s thinking. My advice is to focus on what you know, what you believe in, and what you can do. These actions are tangible and necessary. The recent industry news is truly unnerving. Nearly 50 companies in North America have filed for bankruptcy during the second and third quarters of 2020, while others are making deep cuts in their workforce. Globally, multinational oil and gas operators and oilfield services providers are reducing staff by 10-20% (15% appears to be an average). The result is job losses totaling more than 100,000. As the pandemic drags on and demand remains contracted, these numbers are only expected to rise. This hit to our industry is personal for me (and likely for most of you). Many of my former students, friends, and family are affected by the economic calamity that we are currently experiencing, some more severely than others. Please keep in mind that many of us are faring reasonably well, but to someone who has lost their job, it is more than their livelihood - it could also be that they have lost their sense of purpose. The numbers don’t lie. The demand side of the equation has contracted by roughly 10%, and the expectation for recovery is that demand will continue to increase by about 1% per month. That means demand will return to late-2019/early-2020 levels around mid-2021. This assumes, of course, that the pandemic does not worsen. Financially, as an industry we are in survival mode. There are segments that are strengthening, and ironically, several of my former students and industry colleagues in leadership positions for companies undergoing bankruptcy are remarkably optimistic about the future. I think it comes down to the uncertainty/anxiety syndrome I discussed above (i.e., as a business, once there is clarity the confidence exists to do what must be done). I ask that you keep our colleagues who are struggling in mind. Reach out and let them know you are thinking about them and ask them (sincerely) if they need any help. If they say they do, then do whatever you can. If entry-level colleagues (i.e., students) are in your sphere, don’t tell them how tough it was during your career or give them platitudes. Be honest and direct and guide them toward activities and tasks that keep them sharp and focused. If asked difficult questions such as “Should I leave the industry?”, be kind but candid. My reply is “If you really want to be a petroleum engineer, you will have that opportunity, but you must be prepared for competition.”

Technology Focus: Reservoir Performance (September 2020)

2020 is going to be remembered in oil and gas history for its unexpected free fall in oil prices in less than 2 months. This year’s severe supply-and-demand imbalance is going to have tremendous implications for adopting new business models, developing new technologies, and attracting new talent into the industry. Collaboration and automation are going to continue being drivers for both operators and services providers in all their business segments. While the ongoing trends in data science and engineering analytics are going to show more benefits in lowering production costs and increasing efficiencies, the well-established reservoir and production engineering disciplines will continue to be critical for reservoir performance improvements. In the past 12 months, 93 technical papers were presented at various conferences with a reservoir performance focus and were reviewed for this feature, showcasing further advances in reservoir performance monitoring and optimization. For comparison, 133, 157, and 160 technical papers were reviewed for the 2019, 2018 and 2017 features, respectively. Interestingly, this year, 34 papers had first authors from academia (37%), 49 had first authors from operating companies (53%), and 10 had first authors from oilfield services companies and consulting firms (11%). For comparison, the review for the 2019 feature included 39 papers with first authors from academia (29%), 63 with first authors from operating companies (47%), and 31 with first authors from oilfield services companies and consulting firms (23%). It will be interesting to see this data for the 2021 feature. The three primary papers selected and three alternative papers recommended as additional reading are a representative sample of the 93 papers reviewed for this feature. They have been selected on the basis of their technical contributions and geographic diversity.

SK is buying a Baker Hughes business

The private equity firm SK Capital is purchasing the specialty polymers business of the oil-field services and chemical firm Baker Hughes. The business operates a plant in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, maki...

Amarinth establishes strategic partnership to serve East African market

UK pump manufacturer Amarinth has entered into a strategic partnership with energy consultancy Tsavo Oilfield Services to provide centrifugal pumps and associated equipment to the East African market.

Oilfield service companies as part of economy digitalization: assessment of the prospects for innovative development

The digital transformation of the economy as the most important stage of scientific and technological progress and transition to a new technological structure is becoming one of the determining factors in the development and competitiveness of the domestic upstream sector. Prospects for innovative development of oilfield service companies are the key technological areas within the first project of the Hi-Tech Strategy of the German Government until 2020 – “Industry 4.0”. The purpose of this study is to assess the prospects for innovative development of the domestic oilfield service industry in the context of the digitalization of the oil and gas industry.
 The subject of the research is the process of the formation of key technological lines of “Industry 4.0” and their impact on the domestic oil and gas sector. The research is based on logical-theoretical and empirical analyses. The main factors that determine processes of digital transformation in the oil and gas industry are considered; the results of digitalization processes in the largest foreign and Russian industry companies of the upstream and oilfield services segments are presented. The information base is made up of data from oilfield service and oil and gas producing companies, presented on the official websites of companies in the public domain on the Internet. It has been proven that, unlike the world's leading companies in oilfield services segment, independent domestic oilfield service companies provide mainly traditional service technologies in a fairly narrow range. The limited scope of functioning and technological capabilities of Russian companies is explained by the lack of necessary investment in development and expansion of business, as well as interest on the part of the state and corporate sectors in the development and replication of domestic technologies and the formation of a full-fledged oilfield services market in Russia.
 

Modeling and analysis of structure parameters on the lifting force for power catwalk

PurposeAs the excessive lifting force can lead to catwalk rollover and well site accidents, the lifting process boundary conditions and structural parameters have a significant effect lifting force, it is important to analysis the structural parameters on the maximum lifting force in the lifting process of power catwalk.Design/methodology/approachA new model is proposed to analyze the influence of structure parameters on its lifting force for lifting power catwalk in this paper, and the geometric and dynamic equations are established according to the different boundary conditions in different stages. In addition, the establishment of dynamics equations is based on D'Alembert's principle. To solve the model, dynamic analysis software is developed, which uses c # call MATLAB to solve the geometric and dynamic equations. The maximum lifting force is analyzed and optimized according to the software, the influence of structural parameters on the maximum lifting force is obtained and the correctness of the optimization is proved by experiments.FindingsThe best value of offset e is 0. The length of L22 should as small as possible while the installation size of the end of the conveying arm are guaranteed. The length of L1 should as small as possible while ensuring the not exceed the maximum value. The maximum lifting force remain the same in the second phase, the maximum lifting force decreases with the increase of Lcp, Lcpshould as small as possible. The maximum pressure of the hydraulic oil dropped by an average of 13.62% under optimized parameters.Practical implicationsThis paper provides a theoretical basis for the selection of hydraulic winch, which also provides the theoretical basis and data support for the design and optimization of the structural parameters of the power catwalk.Social implicationsThis research has industrial applications in SJ Petroleum Machinery CO.LTD, SINOPEC (China) .CANRIG, North Rig, TESCO, Sichuan HONGHUA petroleum equipment CO.LTD of CNPC., Baoji Oil field Machinery CO.LTD, SJ Petroleum Machinery Co. LTD of SINOPEC, Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group CO.LTD, Nanyang clips oil equipment (group) CO. LTD, etc are the likely users.Originality/valueA new model is proposed to analyze the lifting force of lifting power catwalk. The model takes into account the inertia force of the structure, development of dynamics software and analysis and optimization of structural parameters. The maximum lifting force is analyzed and optimized according to the software, the influence of structural parameters on the maximum lifting force is obtained and the correctness of the optimization is proved by experiments.

Development of the risk management system in oilfield service companies

Development of the risk management system in oilfield service companies

TO THE QUESTION OF ROBOTIZATION AND AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT IN WELL SERVICING AND WORKOVER

Aspects of the application of robotic technologies in various fields of industry, the results of the analysis of scientific, technical and patent documentation in the field of automation and robotization of technological operations of oil well’s workover process are presented. The main global technological trends of development of engineering and technology of the last century are considered, the current level of development of technologies, aggregates and mechanisms of the oilfield service industry is given. The correlation of existing devices, mechanisms and assemblies in various fields of industry of the Russian Federation with technological patterns of development of engineering and technologies is presented. The classification of the main operations of oil well’s workover by the labor of time costs is given, the main technological solutions in terms of their automation and robotization are formulated. Recommendations are given on the possibility of automation and robotization of oil well’s and injection well’s workover operations regarding the development of a robotic complex, including a set of mechatronic robotic modules and assemblies to increase efficiency and productivity when assembling and disassembling a robotic complex, as well as during performing descent and ascent operations. A review of technological equipment by design and technological features, the main directions and solutions in the field of automation and robotization of equipment and technologies of the oil and gas industry, a description of the necessary technical and technological solutions identified in the course of research is presented. The analysis of technical and design features is performed. A list of robotic mechanisms, devices and modules has been compiled to increase the efficiency of technological operations during the workover of oil producing and injection wells.

Comparative evaluation methods for technologies in oilfield services

Comparative evaluation methods for technologies in oilfield services

Energy Recovery and Schlumberger end licencing deal

Energy Recovery Inc has announced an agreement with Schlumberger to exit its 15-year licencing deal providing the oilfield services company with exclusive rights to its VorTeq hydraulic pumping system.

Российский нефтесервис – найти свою нишу

Российский нефтесервис – найти свою нишу

Comments: In Just Three Months, Our Industry Changed

Editor's column It has now been nearly 3 months since the one-two punches of an unprecedented modern-day pandemic and a free fall in oil prices due to the oversupply of oil resulting from a tremendous, sudden drop in demand. The domino effects across the globe continue to evolve in economies, industries, and personal lives. West Texas Intermediate hovers around $20/bbl (as of mid-April) after starting the year in the $60s: a drop in oil price of two-thirds while global oil demand continues to sputter. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast the demand to be down in April by 29 million B/D, a nearly 30% decrease from the world’s daily consumption a year ago of 100 million B/D. It added that demand has not been this low since 1995. The US Energy Information Administration expects global petroleum and liquid fuels demand to decrease by 5.2 million B/D in 2020. As the saying goes, “You do the math.” The math was done by the world’s operators, oilfield services companies, and related industry players—and the answers in far too many cases resulted in necessary, hard decisions. Furloughs and layoffs were announced early on, and capital expenditures were slashed as much as 30 to 50%. In many cases, companies soon thereafter announced further cuts in personnel and budgets. An example of a weighty cut was Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) termination of two contracts worth $1.65 billion granted to Petrofac for work to be done for the Dalma gas development project located off the north-west coast of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The contracts were awarded in February; in March, ADNOC notified contractors and suppliers it would review existing deals to find ways to reduce costs due to the steep slide in oil prices. On 16 April, the deal was called off. Petrofac said it is committed to working with ADNOC over the coming weeks to explore “alternative options” for the work. The oil and gas industry has demonstrated resiliency many times over in its long history, and as it kicks off the first-quarter earnings season, its guidance calls will reveal the plans and actions needed to move forward in the near term. The uncertainty wrought by the repercussions of the pandemic and supply/demand imbalance has introduced a host of unknown factors beyond anyone’s direct control. But companies can directly control their operations and business practices and will be presenting their full-year 2020 outlook in coordination with the first-quarter results. Diligence and resilience, based on experience and hard lessons learned, go hand in hand and will guide each company’s best attempts to manage the unique unpredictability it faces today.

3PL provider selection in oil and gas industry using the analytic hierarchy process: A case study in oil-field services company X

This study aims to: (1) Summarize the criteria for selecting 3PL Provider in supply chain management from literature review and apply these criteria to build the criteria model in choosing 3PL Provider for oilfield services company X for the purpose of expanding their market in the oil and gas industry and (2) Analyze, evaluate two 3PL Providers, along with a new 3PL Provider and suggest the strategy for selecting the suitable 3PL Provider to meet the specific requirements from company X.
 
 By arranging in-depth interviews with ten people with different positions, including Operation Manager, Supply Chain Manager, Logistics Manager, Base Manager and Logistics Specialist, along with AHP approach and expert choice 11.0 software support in collecting, processing and synthesizing data to evaluate and determine the appropriate 3 PL Provider for company X. In this study, three 3PL Providers have been chosen for analyzing and evaluating – 3PL Providers A, B, and C. The final results demonstrate that there are six main criteria and 13 sub-criteria in choosing 3PL Provider for oilfield services company X. The six main criteria are Performance, Price, Services, Quality assurance, IT system and Intangible values. The results and hypothetical situations have also been presented and discussed again with the expert logistics group to get their feedback about the practicability of the built model. The expert logistics group has agreed that the built criteria model and results are appropriate and adequate for evaluating and selecting a suitable 3PL Provider from the company’s specific demands. Consequently, this study can also be applied for similar purposes in other companies and shipping agents who need to work with outsourcing logistics services in oil and gas industry by using this built criteria model and synthesis results to find out the right decision for selecting 3PL Provider.

The Evolving Role of Oil and Gas Companies in the Energy Industry

This paper provides a review of the evolving role and characteristics of the global oil and gas companies, which increasingly come in a variety of flavors. It also surveys the different types of global oil and gas companies that include national oil companies (NOCs), international oil companies (IOCs), Independents, and oilfield services companies (OFSCs). The continued rise of NOCs, accelerated by high oil prices, has seen the balance of control over most of the world’s hydrocarbon resources shift decisively in their favor. Their ability to access capital, human resources and technical services directly from oil field service companies, and to build in-house competencies, allows them to operate independently of Investor Owned Companies in most instances. The demand on NOCs continues to evolve with the global energy landscape to reflect variations in demand, discovery of new ultra-deep water oil deposits, and national and geopolitical developments. NOCs, traditionally viewed as the custodians of their country's natural resources, have generally owned and managed the complete national oil and gas supply chain from upstream to downstream activities. Having secured their home base, NOCs have emerged as joint venture partners with the IOCs and increasingly as their competitors, seeking international upstream and downstream acquisition and asset targets. The key question is whether this emerging landscape will undermine the sustainability of the IOC resource-ownership business model. Are the challenges of declining production in existing oil fields replacing oil and gas reserves in restricted access or higher cost areas, and the declining of the operating profit margins yet sufficient to reach a tipping point?