Gary F. Teletzke

EOR : The New Frontier in the Malay Basin Development

Tapis is one of the largest oil fields in the Malay Basin with almost thirty years of production. It is also the oldest pattern waterflood field in Malaysia. The field has undergone continuous implementation of improved oil recovery (IOR) strategies that include major workover campaigns, step-out drilling, and infill drilling programs. Application of IOR has increased the recoverable reserves and production capacity for economic operation of the field.

Optimisation of Gas Utilisation to Improve Recovery at Hibernia

The Hibernia oil field is located in the North Atlantic Ocean over 300 km from St. John’s, Newfoundland. The field consists of numerous fault blocks undergoing conventional gas or water injection. The gas injection process is proving to be very efficient providing high recoveries in individual blocks. Expansion of gas injection through conventional development or EOR may potentially provide significant benefits if optimized correctly under a limited gas supply. The need to understand the relative benefits of gas injection into one block versus another has increased and necessitated a full gas utilization study. One EOR option being considered is water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection in some blocks. The objective of the study is to establish a field-wide improved recovery plan based on integrated laboratory, reservoir simulation, pilot, gas supply, and infrastructure studies. This paper will describe the integrated study plan and current progress. The Gas Utilization Optimization Project entails three broad phases: 1) Study Phase; 2) WAG Pilot Execution; and 3) FieldWide EOR Development. The primary focus at this point is the Study Phase, which will include laboratory studies, reservoir simulation studies, pilot engineering studies, and gas supply and infrastructure assessment. The laboratory studies are being performed to develop a better understanding of PVT, EOR, and SCAL as it applies to the WAG pilot and field-wide development. The reservoir simulation studies provide a basis for the design of the EOR pilot and the field-wide development plan. Pilot engineering must be performed to ensure the pilot will provide the information necessary to make business decisions on future development. Assessing gas supply and infrastructure is essential to understanding gas availability, value, and opportunities for enhancement. This phase is particularly important for remote locations where external gas supplies are limited. This study provides a template for obtaining and integrating information and data necessary to design, evaluate, and implement a gas injection project for improved oil recovery. Field Background Located over 300 km southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland (Figure 1), the initial discovery well for the Hibernia field was drilled in 1979 and delineated by nine additional wells over the next five years. The Hibernia reservoir is highly faulted and consists of multiple, stacked fluvial channels and sand bars. A gravity based structure (GBS) with 64 well slots was constructed from 1990 to 1997 at a cost of over

Method and system for simulating a hydrocarbon-bearing formation

4G (US). Two on-platform drilling rigs were initially operated simultaneously on the GBS, but now only a single active rig crew is present and moves between rigs as needed. The development includes two main reservoirs, the Hibernia and the Ben Nevis Avalon (BNA) (Figure 2). The expected ultimate recovery in the initial development plan was roughly 600 MB. Through continued optimization, exploration, and expansion, the field has produced in excess of 800 MB with significant remaining reserves. The original facilities were designed for 150 kBD, however debottlenecking enabled test rates of 230 kBD to be achieved. The plateau rate was originally expected to be about 135 kBD, but the actual plateau rate was over 200 kBD. Figure 3 provides a comparison of historical and forecast production rates for Hibernia.