Lessons Learned from 27 Years' Experience of Stimulation Vessel Design and Operation - a Case Study

Abstract

The operating envelope and environmental demands for hydraulic fracturing and stimulation treatments in the North Sea are increasingly larger and more complex. As a result, a generation of vessels designed and built in the 1980s are increasingly unable to achieve operational, economic and/or environmental goals. Thus, a new generation of vessels must be designed specifically to meet these European requirements.The design characteristics of a new vessel can be split into five categories: (i) stimulation plant (ii) marine systems (iii) environmental protection (iv) welfare of the crew and (v) regulatory compliance. All five categories are critically important to achieving the stated goals for the new generation of European vessels, and all require careful integration of current cuttingedge technology with forward-thinking design concepts that will enable technical evolution over the expected 30-year lifetime of the new vessels. This paper will outline the most significant problems faced by the current generation of stimulation vessels, compare current technological solutions to those problems, and demonstrate that integrating those technologies in a new vessel can achieve performance and flexibility far beyond what is possible by retrofitting them on an older vessel or in a modular system on the deck of a supply boat.Tail-end production will have an increased importance in the North Sea and in all offshore production as a large number of producing fields near the end of their life. The effective deployment of production enhancement with stimulation vessels has a major part to play in extending field life.

An Advanced Proppant Based Fracture Stimulation Treatment on an Extended Reach Well in the Southern North Sea Utilising a New Purpose Built Vessel: a Case Study

“…The design and fabrication of the stimulation vessel used in this operation has been previously described in detail (Martin et al 2013). The three North Sea stimulation vessels that were originally launched in the early 1980s were the biggest and best in the industry at the time.…”

Snorre In-Depth Water Diversion - New Operational Concept for Large Scale Chemical Injection from a Shuttle Tanker

“…The lack of offshore pilots is probably not mainly because the offshore reservoirs differ from the onshore ones, but rather than the offshore logistics are more complex and storing capacity and available free space for mixing and pumping are more challenging. As reported by Martin et al (2013), in recent years, well stimulation performed by stimulation vessels of typical size around 3,000 DWT is routine work. Using a similar approach, but upscaled by one order of magnitude, may widen the range of use to also include vessels in offshore EOR operations.…”