This paper presents a systematic evaluation of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) potentials for St Joseph Field located in the offshore Malaysia. The field has been in production for 30 years, currently under gas injection and started injecting water in March 2011. Chemical EOR (cEOR) was identified as the most effective EOR process for maximizing ultimate recovery for St Joseph and the two nearby fields. This paper presents the key results of the St Joseph chemical EOR feasibility evaluation. It also discusses an integrated area development concept exploiting the synergies between the three fields of North Sabah, which is recognized as key to a successful cEOR development in the area. This study aimed to understand the size of prize in case of both polymer flood and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) EOR scenarios using 3D full field models. One dimensional box and single well models were used to understand the physics of the EOR processes whereas the full field model was used to investigate the EOR subsurface development concepts, infill opportunities, injector/producer placements, slug size etc. It is anticipated that the proposed ASP flood will increase the ultimate recovery factor for the EOR targeted sands to circa 65%. Potential subsurface risks/uncertainties were also investigated. The chemical EOR process will involve handling a large volume of chemicals. This represents a major challenge in application of chemical EOR technologies in an offshore environment like St Joseph. Various facilities concepts were examined in detail. The selected concept is a combination of a mobile floating facility for the injection water treatment and chemical injection packages and a platform-based facility for processing the produced fluids/chemical. A pilot injection prior to full implementation has been planned to manage key subsurface/surface uncertainties and main challenges. The detailed studies of the pilot design and implementation are presented in a separate paper.
Chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) is a complex process which exhibits a number of risks and uncertainties. A successful chemical EOR implementation depends on the success and the ability in addressing all these risks upfront and one of the important de-risking steps is the piloting process before full scale implementation. St Joseph is an offshore field in North Sabah region of Malaysia chosen for chemical EOR implementation. In line with the implementation of chemical EOR, there are a number of uncertainties and risks associated with such a development. Some key uncertainties are generic to cEOR development, such as the heterogeneity, chemical effectiveness, emulsion, production of sales specification oil, etc. However, there are certain risks and uncertainties that are typical for this particular field, such as fractured injection, offshore environment, large secondary gas cap, etc. In order to de-risk the full field development and get a better handle on the risks and uncertainty, a pilot is planned. The paper discuses the approach taken for the pilot selection, which includes the qualitative and quantitative assessment of pilot types vis-à-vis key risks, the workflow towards designing the pilot, the modeling approach followed, the facility concept of the design, and injectivity modeling, leading to final pilot design. The paper also touches upon the data acquisition and surveillance plan to analyze the pilot performance and quantitatively address the key risks. In addition, the risks and uncertainties of the pilot implementation are also discussed, together with the mitigation and remediation methods. The pilot study resulted in the detailed pilot design and data gathering plan. The results of the pilot will be used to determine if chemical EOR is viable for full field development at St Joseph.
The Baram Delta Operations (BDO), located offshore Sarawak Malaysia, consists of 9 fields with an estimated STOIIP of about 4 BSTB. 6 of the major fields in BDO have been on production for more than 30 years. Average recovery factor to date is about 30%. EOR has been planned as an effort to boost the production as well as prolong the life of the field. A preliminary EOR screening study shows that water-alternating-gas (WAG) is the most amenable EOR process for BDO. A PETRONAS and Shell joint study team was tasked to further extend the screening study conducted in 2005 by developing an EOR Big Picture for BDO. The objective of the study was to quantify the EOR potential in BDO and to develop a holistic areal implementation plan to mature the EOR potential. Scenarios evaluated involved a combination of three gas processes; immiscible hydrocarbon (HC) WAG as well as immiscible and miscible carbon dioxide (CO2) WAG. All reservoirs in BDO were first screened and ranked. Eligible reservoirs were then characterized into a few groups according to fluid, rock type as well as aquifer and gas cap size. Optimized EOR performance was evaluated using full field models as well as smaller scale, detailed prototype models of a few selected reservoirs. The prototype models were developed using field analogue data which were representative of a particular reservoir group. The performance prediction of the remaining reservoirs not modeled was STOIIP scaling of representative dimensionless curves. The HC WAG reservoirs were all immiscible while the potential CO2 WAG was a combination of miscible and immiscible cases. The subsurface EOR evaluation also included an estimation of infill and water flood potential, associated well count, well cost as well as the net gas import required and the total gas handling required. This paper presents the details of the systematic approach used to assess the subsurface EOR potential in the BDO fields.
Shell's Smart Fields programme has built elements of Intelligent Energy into the key field developments over the past ten years. Considerable value has been achieved, from new technologies, new ways of working and global implementation. Various technical solutions have been deployed and new ways of working pursued. New fields in development go through a screening, to identify intelligent energy elements valuable to their project. High value has been achieved from solutions in production surveillance and optimisation, smart wells, real time monitoring and optimisation and time lapse reservoir surveillance. As we progressed in our Smart Fields journey, the focus of the Smart Fields programme has shifted from "selling" individual solutions to achieving the "Appropriate Level of Smartness" (ALoS) in all our key projects & fields.
Smart Fields solutions add a lot of value to further field development and well, reservoir, and facility management. Over the years, Shell has developed and deployed many integrated Smart Fields solutions. However, as each field is different, with more complex field development types, ‘stacking’ of different solutions is becoming common, we need to ensure that we identify and deploy the right balance of solutions. The "Appropriate Level of Smartness" (ALoS) describes the desired stage. The focus of the Smart Fields programme has therefore shifted from "selling" individual solutions to achieving ALoS in all our key projects (help assets know and implement the balanced mix of solutions). In this paper, we describe how we screen, decide applicability, and deploy Smart Field solutions for the Shell portfolio. The screening identifies the relevant Smart Fields Solutions for a project or asset that will maximize the project value and help reduce its key business uncertainties, taking a full lifecycle view. Deployment will help projects to ensure that the value opportunities identified through the Screening are materialized into solutions deployed at the asset, realizing the value to Shell. Solutions need to be tailored for the specific field, production type, purpose, or environment (Archetype). We have developed a framework to ensure that we deploy the right Smart Field solutions for each type of field and asset. As guidance, we make use of a newly built Solutions Advisory. This advisory, for example, highlights which solutions are standard in which environment, meaning that you would have to justify why not to implement. At the end, we will show how Smart Fields has already added substantial value in brownfields, whilst ALoS guarantees our future value and effectiveness of greenfield projects, ensuring that we do it right from the beginning, so no retrofitting is required.
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