CHAPTER 8 TURNING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES. Meeting the Demand

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "CHAPTER 8 TURNING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES. Meeting the Demand"

Kerry Marsh
6 years ago
Views:

conducts research that will one day lead to more efficient combustible engine technology.

demand for petroleum. Think of how much it takes to build and maintain a modern city.

Look around your house or room what else do you think is made from petroleum?

1 Petroleum is a nonrenewable resource. This fact has driven the company s efforts to be wise stewards of Saudi Arabia s precious natural resources. To this end, Saudi Aramco actively practices and promotes conservation efforts and conducts research that will one day lead to more efficient combustible engine technology. TURNING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES below: The growth of cities has helped fuel the demand for petroleum. Think of how much it takes to build and maintain a modern city. Meeting the Demand Remember the list of products made from petroleum in Chapter? Look around your house or room what else do you think is made from petroleum? How many objects are made of plastic? What if there was no more plastic? How many objects would disappear? Worldwide demand for petroleum products has increased steadily over the past hundred years, and shows no signs of slowing down.

Saudi Aramco believes it is possible to keep up with demand far into the future.

new and existing sources as possible and use petroleum more wisely to conserve it for future generations. Saudi Aramco currently uses a variety of technological tools.

possible, all the while taking care of the world s natural resources. Oil Recovery above: The work being done at EXPEC revolves around maximizing the ability to find and recover oil.

2 Saudi Aramco believes it is possible to keep up with demand far into the future. In order to do this though, oil companies will have to invest significant time, effort and money into new technologies that will help them find new petroleum sources, recover the most petroleum from new and existing sources as possible and use petroleum more wisely to conserve it for future generations. Saudi Aramco currently uses a variety of technological tools. And scientists at EXPEC s Advanced Research Center (ARC) are constantly developing new ones in their effort to find even more sources of petroleum and to recover as much of it from those sources as possible, all the while taking care of the world s natural resources. Oil Recovery above: The work being done at EXPEC revolves around maximizing the ability to find and recover oil. Technology of Today: Horizontal Drilling The use of horizontal drilling has increased significantly since the 980s, and the techniques employed have improved as well. Saudi Aramco began using the technique at the beginning of the 990s, and now has about 500 horizontal wells in operation. Horizontal wells are typically much longer than vertical wells, since they have to travel both vertically and horizontally. While length alone is an obstacle and the difficulty of navigating a sharp turn underground is added, the result is a drilling challenge. It s worth the trouble, though, when drillers can reach oil without disturbing the people living right above the reservoir. Horizontal wells start out vertical and then begin to bend underground so they end up running parallel to the earth s surface, traveling across lengthy horizontal distances. Have you ever tried to steer a remote-control toy and ended up bumping into something? Imagine trying to make a drill perform a sharp turn thousands of meters underground. Special computerized Hoirzontal Drilling Branches Technology of Today: 3D Seismic Modeling Earlier, you read about traditional reservoir modeling using seismic data downhole sensors have to be mounted on or near the drill bit to help navigate. (the information gained from recording sound waves inside the earth) Drilling begins on the surface of the earth. Even horizontal wells and core samples from test wells (which show the underground layers of the earth) to create a two-dimensional (D), or flat, image of the surface begin vertically, as drillers must push through to deeper layers where petroleum is found. geology of the area surrounding a petroleum reservoir. This D image is Once drilling crews have 74 basically a snapshot of a thin slice of the reservoir. A traditional reservoir model combines several of these slices to deduce the overall size, shape and makeup of the reservoir. To create a D model, vibrations are produced in a straight line with the seismic sensors, so the data is collected from a two-dimensional above left: The seismic information (shown here in a seismic graph) collected for 3D seismic modeling covers a wider range of the earth s subsurface. above: Saudi Aramco began using 3D seismic 3 drilled deep enough into the earth, they can create horizontal drilling branches. Drill bits are equipped with sensors, which makes navigating blindly across 3 plane going straight up and down through the earth (this is the thin slice described above). 3D modeling works in a similar way, but instead of creating a straight line, vibrations are sent through sensors at angles. modeling in the 980s, when the necessary computing power became available. To make these models, scientists and engineers have to collect the subsurface easier. This means that the sound waves can actually travel across the earth instead of just straight up and down, and can therefore collect a wider range of information. a lot of data. It is expensive and timeconsuming, but the accuracy of the models leads to less drilling time and more oil recovered.

But researchers want to listen to what the planet is saying.

There the petroleum reservoir in more places, just like you would cover more are earthquakes happening all the time thousands of them per second.

This means you can drill fewer wells in a given oil field right kind of equipment, we can listen to those sounds and learn a lot and still reach just as much, and usually more, of the oil.

To reach even more oil, one vertical well shaft can have several horizontal branches that go off in different directions, like the branches of a tree. These branches are known as multilaterals.

3 But researchers want to listen to what the planet is saying. Did you know horizontal well shaft runs across the earth, it comes into contact with that the subsurface of the earth is a very noisy place all on its own? There the petroleum reservoir in more places, just like you would cover more are earthquakes happening all the time thousands of them per second. surface area of a rug if you laid down on top of it instead of standing in Fortunately, most are too faint for human beings to notice. With the one spot on it. This means you can drill fewer wells in a given oil field right kind of equipment, we can listen to those sounds and learn a lot and still reach just as much, and usually more, of the oil. about the structure of the earth s deep layers. Researchers are working to develop those special detectors, called passive seismic monitors. To reach even more oil, one vertical well shaft can have several horizontal branches that go off in different directions, like the branches of a tree. These branches are known as multilaterals. Multilateral wells become maximum reservoir contact (MRC) wells when they come into contact with more than 5 kilometers (3. miles) of the reservoir rock. Technology of Tomorrow: Passive Seismic Monitoring above: Horizontal drilling helps avoid the need to drill in populated areas. It is also a very effective method for retrieving offshore petroleum. Just like on land, one horizontal well can do the work of several vertical wells. Plus, if the offshore conditions are too challenging, drillers can start the well either on-shore or in shallow water. listen for micro-earthquakes deep under the earth, and send the information to a central computer network for processing. above: This image shows how passive seismic monitors record the faint vibrations coming from deep within the earth. Earlier you read about the thumper trucks, which thump down on the ground to create sound waves, so you already know that this is the traditional form of seismic exploration in other words, creating seismic waves through human activity. shaybah field 76 Passive seismic monitoring will use ultra-sensitive geophones that will Saudi Aramco s Shaybah field, which was developed in the mid-990s, was the first oil field in Saudi Arabia to utilize horizontal and MRC wells exclusively. Shaybah was discovered in the 960s, but not developed for almost 30 years. This is partly because it presented severe difficulties for the drilling technology that was available at the time. First of all, the oil in Shaybah lies between a large gas cap and a layer of water underneath. This means that it would be difficult to retrieve the oil without getting too much gas or water along with it. Second, Shaybah is located in deep, sandy desert in places the dunes can be up to 00 meters (600 feet) high. Remember the importance of seeing the details within the reservoirs? The many fault lines, or sudden changes in the composition of the underground rock layers, affect the drilling and recovery processes. The level of detail created by 3D models helps petroleum engineers see how reservoirs look and helps them decide where to drill. above: By using horizontal instead of vertical wells, Shaybah field was fully developed ahead of schedule and for less than the estimated cost. Horizontal wells, particularly MRCs, were the perfect solution. The company didn t have to drill nearly as many wells, and the multiple horizontal branches allowed them to recover the oil in the reservoirs with much less of the water and gas along with it. 3D imaging creates multiple levels of detail. The image begins with a rough sketch of the reservoir, outlining general surface changes. As the image gains dimension, more details emerge. The different colors in this image represent distinct types of geology within a single reservoir. The vertical lines represent potential drilling sites. Horizontal drilling has other benefits, too. Because of the way the 77

Saudi Aramco has continued to work toward this goal, enhancing the accuracy of its models by improving upon technology previously developed by its own researchers.

Researchers have increased the number of cells the simulator can handle.

Technology of Tomorrow: Reservoir Nanorobots Resbots TM In Chapter 3, you read about reservoir characterization and the top: Saudi Aramco has created Resbots, which will someday be able to monitor

They will be able to collect and provide information that above: Gone are the days when drilling crews only had reactionary tools, such as this blowout preventer, to deal with problems within the

below: With Extreme Reservoir Contact wells, a large number of branches could be created and controlled using wireless technology and power generated within the well.

many more. They re calling these wells Extreme Reservoir Contact (ERC) wells. The result would be a huge improvement in both the efficiency and amount of petroleum recovered from each well.

4 Saudi Aramco has continued to work toward this goal, enhancing the accuracy of its models by improving upon technology previously developed by its own researchers. The original computer simulator, called the Parallel Oil Water Enhanced Reservoir Simulator, or POWERS, was able to animate tens of millions of cells within a single reservoir model. Researchers have increased the number of cells the simulator can handle. The updated technology has a new name, GigaPOWERS, and recently set a new world record with a billion-cell reservoir simulation run. Technology of Tomorrow: Reservoir Nanorobots Resbots TM In Chapter 3, you read about reservoir characterization and the top: Saudi Aramco has created Resbots, which will someday be able to monitor reservoirs on their own. They will be able to collect and provide information that above: Gone are the days when drilling crews only had reactionary tools, such as this blowout preventer, to deal with problems within the well. Today, the ability to constantly monitor the well allows drillers to find solutions before problems reach the surface. below: With Extreme Reservoir Contact wells, a large number of branches could be created and controlled using wireless technology and power generated within the well. Technology of Tomorrow: Extreme Reservoir Contact Researchers at EXPEC ARC are searching for ways to increase the number of branches on a multilateral well from the current maximum of four or five to many more. They re calling these wells Extreme Reservoir Contact (ERC) wells. The result would be a huge improvement in both the efficiency and amount of petroleum recovered from each well. importance of studying a potential oil field before drilling. Saudi Aramco is working to develop extremely tiny robots (/00th the size of a human hair!) that can be injected into wells at the same time as the fluid injected will help guide well placement. below: By increasing the number of cells in its models, as seen here, Saudi Aramco obtains even more accurate images of 78 to boost pressure. The Resbots will collect information about the reservoir, such as pressure, temperature and porosity. The Resbots will then be retrieved from another well and the information studied. reservoirs, and therefore, can recover more of the petroleum within them. 79 Technology of Tomorrow: Gigacell Simulation GigaPOWERS In Chapter 4, you read about Reservoir Management. Part of the department s job is to work with computer models called reservoir simulations, which animate the fluid flow within a reservoir. The goal is to increase the magnification of the models to simulate the reservoir in greater detail.

Manipulating the Wells Technology of Today: Intelligent Wells Intelligent wells use many different sensors to pick up information underground: Flow meters, seismic sensors, valves to control flow,

Special computerized rotating steering systems allow operators to control the drilling direction (remember, they have to make sharp turns underground).

In these centers, experts monitor drilling using information sent from the wells through Intelligent wells (also known as smart wells) are another drilling technology that has become increasingly

5 Manipulating the Wells Technology of Today: Intelligent Wells Intelligent wells use many different sensors to pick up information underground: Flow meters, seismic sensors, valves to control flow, instruments that measure density and electromagnetic resistance are just a few. Fiber optic cables send all of this information to the surface. Special computerized rotating steering systems allow operators to control the drilling direction (remember, they have to make sharp turns underground). Geosteering centers can be located far away from oil fields. In these centers, experts monitor drilling using information sent from the wells through Intelligent wells (also known as smart wells) are another drilling technology that has become increasingly common at Saudi Aramco since the late 990s. Traditionally, it has been impossible to detect problems in wells or reservoirs which are thousands of meters underground until the problem comes to the surface. Suddenly drillers would have a broken drillstring, a blowout because of overpressure or something even worse. There was no way to anticipate these problems. Though they don t really think for themselves, intelligent wells are equipped with many different types of sensors that collect information about what s going on in the well and send it back to drilling crews on the surface. The sensors work with steering systems to allow geosteering adjusting the position of the drill bit while drilling, based on information transmitted by the drill sensors. This means that drilling crews don t have to rely completely on the computer simulation of the reservoir that was generated beforehand. wireless links. Intelligent wells are equipped with many kinds Technology of Tomorrow: Smart Fluids Imagine being able to mold and shape a reservoir exactly how you of sensors. The sensors detect information about the reservoir and transmit it back to the surface. wanted it to be. That is the goal of smart fluids. These fluids of the future will be custom-made to produce specific outcomes within the well. For example, one outcome would be to plug certain areas of the top: With intelligent well technology, wellbore while allowing liquid to flow through others. workers can detect and correct potential problems before they happen. What s more, Saudi Aramco s intelligent well systems also include wireless links to a geosteering center, where experts Technology of Tomorrow: Intelligent Fields The intelligent field is the next logical step in advanced drilling technology. Researchers at EXPEC ARC are pursuing this ambitious 8 technology of tomorrow: smart equalizers One of the smart well technologies Saudi Aramco is currently working on is the smart equalizer, which helps maintain an equal flow of crude oil throughout the horizontal well sections (so there isn t too much crowding in one section with just a trickle of oil in another). The smart equalizer automatically adjusts the flow of petroleum according to how much water or gas there is in the crude oil. It can also be adjusted through wireless or electric control of valves that are attached to the equalizer. can monitor the wells and drilling from afar. above: Smart fluids, seen here, can change the behavior of a reservoir. One possible task is to shut off the flow of water so the oil can flow freely on its own. goal, which would combine the monitoring capabilities of intelligent well systems with processing plant information, pipeline flow and more to create a system that is fully self-run. Intelligent fields would have only intelligent wells. Continuously running reservoir simulations would provide data that would determine exactly how the wells in the field should be operated. Within an intelligent field system, a reservoir engineer s job would change from directing and controlling to monitoring and overseeing the production of oil.

Technology of Tomorrow: Bionic Wells This may sound like a science fiction story, but Saudi Aramco s vision for wells of the future is that they will actually be planted in the ground, just like

In the same way, bionic wells will follow the oil underground.

below: Just like a tree extends its roots toward moist soil, bionic wells would seek oil underground. left: Here, you can see the progression of Saudi Aramco s well technology.

research and development explores new scientific techniques Saudi Aramco s R&D Center is alive with activity as researchers continuously work with new techniques to improve the oil production process.

In addition to experimenting with bacteria as a way to remove sulfur from crude oil, researchers are also attempting to put bacteria to use in bio-cracking.

Saudi Aramco is also currently at work analyzing oilfield above: Bacteria are becoming an bacteria to discover new ways in which it can be used in oil production.

6 Technology of Tomorrow: Bionic Wells This may sound like a science fiction story, but Saudi Aramco s vision for wells of the future is that they will actually be planted in the ground, just like trees. A tree root seeks a wet area of the soil, and then extends a branch of its root there. Once that area dries up, the tree cuts the root off and grows another one somewhere else. In the same way, bionic wells will follow the oil underground. Once a section of a reservoir dries up, the well branch in that area will be cut off, and the well will seek out another oil-rich area to which it will extend another branch. below: Just like a tree extends its roots toward moist soil, bionic wells would seek oil underground. left: Here, you can see the progression of Saudi Aramco s well technology. What began as a single vertical well has grown into a complex structure much like the life of a tree. bottom: A Saudi Aramco biologist works with cell cultures in the biodesulfurization process. research and development explores new scientific techniques Saudi Aramco s R&D Center is alive with activity as researchers continuously work with new techniques to improve the oil production process. One of these techniques is bio-engineering, or, in this case, the use of bacteria. In addition to experimenting with bacteria as a way to remove sulfur from crude oil, researchers are also attempting to put bacteria to use in bio-cracking. This process involves using bacteria to break apart heavier hydrocarbons into lighter ones, which could ultimately mean thinning out heavy crude oil, making it more valuable. Saudi Aramco is also currently at work analyzing oilfield above: Bacteria are becoming an bacteria to discover new ways in which it can be used in oil production. important tool in the petroleum production process. Nanotechnology is another area of interest to Saudi Aramco researchers. Nanotechnology refers to working with matter in extremely basic forms, such as molecules or even atoms. By coating equipment such as pipes with nano-materials (which are 0 to 00 times stronger than traditional materials), Saudi Aramco can prevent corrosion and increase the equipment s strength. This is only the beginning for nanotechnology, however, as researchers hope to find many more uses for it within the petroleum production process. Technology of Tomorrow: New Fuel Formations You know that petroleum is considered a nonrenewable resource because of the great length of time it takes to form. As a forward-looking company with a commitment to the future, Saudi Aramco is exploring new fuel formulations to reduce emissions and conserve resources. The company built a combustion laboratory in which new fuel formulations are tested Lessening the Impact Technology of Tomorrow: Bio-Desulfurization You have already learned a great deal about the oil industry s impact on the environment, as well as Saudi Aramco s dedication to decreasing the negative effects of oil production. The company continues to develop new biological and chemical methods for removing sulfur from crude oil. One of these methods is bio-desulfurization, which is using bacteria to eat away at the sulfur in the oil. Technology of Tomorrow: Innovative Carbon Capture Saudi Aramco is pursuing several different strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions when fuel is burned. Researchers in the R&D Center are working with leading universities to determine the possibility of capturing carbon in solid form from on-board a vehicle. The collected carbon would then be reused in the development of new, high-tech materials. above: Coal, seen here, is a form of solid carbon.

HIGH-TECH REDNECK. Past, Present, and Future Oil Field Technologies By Allen Castleman

HIGH-TECH REDNECK. Past, Present, and Future Oil Field Technologies By Allen Castleman HIGH-TECH REDNECK Past, Present, and Future Oil Field Technologies By Allen Castleman CHINESE DRILLING The Chinese have used oil and gas for many centuries. There is no record of when the Chinese began