SPE 153856

Leveraging New Technologies to Expedite Thermal EOR Facility

Expansions
Hannie Kovac, SPE, Cannon, Neil Malpiede, SPE, Cannon

Copyright 2012, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Western Regional Meeting held in Bakersfield, California, USA, 19–23 March 2012.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract

Redeveloping a heavyoil field is a complex undertaking. It requires a thorough understanding of the

geology, reservoir and fluid characteristics, and the existing facilities infrastructure. Redevelopment should
progress with minimal interference to existing facilities operations, maximizing positive cash flow from beginning
of work to full commissioning of the new facilities. Employing new technologies and techniques in design,
fabrication, installation, commissioning and start-up can help accomplish a successful expansion of an existing
plant. Always, the objectives are to maximize safety, assure best operability, maximize efficiencies, provide
design flexibility, ensure best fit of design to the redevelopment plan, and ultimately provide satisfactory project
economics.

A comprehensive baseline of the existing infrastructure is required as a basis for process expansion. The
3D Scanning methods presented in this paper provide an efficient method of precision baselining existing
facilities. Critical tie-in points are identified on 3D models. Equipment sizing and selection are influenced by the
available footprint, access, and utility infrastructure – often undocumented in older facilities that have undergone
numerous modifications. Emphasis is placed on minimizing interference with existing production equipment. The
tie-in points identified using 3D scanning are integrated into the piping design process. The operator has the
opportunity to “fly” through the proposed design and evaluate operability in a very effective three dimensional
viewport. CAD (Computer Aided Design) drawings from 3D models allow precise dimensioning of pipe spools
and allow off-site fabrication of tie-in spools. The tie-in points are installed in a shorter shutdown and are fitted
with the isolation required to bring the process online without taking additional downtime. The net benefit is
reduced exposure; fewer contractors working on location, fewer and shorter turnaround outages, and a better
operational functionality review of the design prior to implementation – resulting in a safer, faster, and higher
integrity project overall.

Introduction

Thousands of independant oil companies, many of them with ten or fewer employees, produce 82% of
the natural gas and 68% of the oil produced in the United States. (spOILed, Mark Mathis 2001) These
entrepreneurs often exploit brownfield developments to glean the harder-to-access reserves left after a major has
harvested the “low hanging fruit”. Small companies produce 23% of California’s heavy oil. (CDOGGR, 8/2008)
The objectives, obligations, and accountabilities of these smaller companies match those of the major oil
companies but the margins are tighter, the capital is often privately sourced through investors, and the internal
talent is innovative but leanly staffed. These companies employ only the technologies they need to accomplish
the job correctly on the first attempt. Design tools that larger companies consider established and accepted are
regarded as luxuries.
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3D visualization is an accepted practice for interpreting subsurface and subsea installations. 3D scanning
has been used to create precision record documents, accommodate engineering design, and enhance
visualization of facility layouts for a decade. This paper presents how 3D Scanning technology provides an
advantageous strategy for approaching the expansion of existing heavy oil facilities, regardless of the size of the
producer.

Statement of Theory and Definitions

Until recently, the need for precise and complete 3D data, defining existing site conditions, has gone un-
met. Long standing acquiescence to the sparse and often low-accuracy “as-built” data points has been replaced
by the demand for precise and robust data capture provided by 3D Laser Scanning. The innate precision and
comprehensiveness of scanned data provides the opportunity to drastically reduce errors in both design and
construction. The highly visual product transforms the investment into an asset that can then serve the owner in
the Operations and Maintenance phase of the facility and, if properly maintained, on into future facility upgrades.

Description and Application of Equipment and Processes

3D Laser Scanning is a relatively new technology. Initially looked into by the U.S.
Navy, commercial units first became available around 1998. The scanner instruments (Fig.
1) vary in their capacity, but a typical unit has a range of 100 meters with a standard error of
+
/- 6 millimeters. One can think of a 3D Laser Scanner as a surveyor’s instrument enhanced
to the extreme. The difference being that the conventional surveyor’s instrument uses a
laser to collect discrete xyz data points at locations determined by the decisions of the
operator, with a collection rate of about one data point per minute. The 3D Laser Scanner is
camera-like, collecting xyz data points automatically. The scanner collects data points at a
rate of 50,000 points per second. The scanner’s servo-driven rotating laser beam “paints”
the surrounding environment with “hits” typically spaced by only a few millimeters. This laser
“paint job” produces a “point cloud” with millions of xyz data points precisely defining the
scanned objects in three dimensions. (Figs. 2 & 3)

Figure 1: Scanning Tool 

 
Figure 2: Photograph Figure 3: 360 degree image from scanner.

After the scan data (Fig. 4) is captured in the field, the data is processed by 3D modeling software that
reads the point cloud (Fig. 5) and recognizes fundamental geometric elements. The elements include planes,
cylinders, cones and even more complex standard industrial objects such as structural steel I-beams, channel
iron, and piping fixtures such as elbows and tees. The software then fits 3D objects to the cloud and exports
them to various CAD design platforms as 3D elements. The accuracy of these 3D modeled objects (Fig. 6) is
better than the ±6mm standard error of the raw scan data. For example, the planar surface of a concrete column
would typically have thousands of laser hits (each with its own xyz value and +/- 6mm standard error). When the
3D modeling software processes the data, the resultant plane’s RMS is more like +/- 2mm.
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Figure 4: Scan image.

Figure 5: Point cloud.

Figure 6: Modeled objects.

Presentation of Data and Results

Company A: Pacific Coast Energy Company LP, Orcutt, California

The operators at Pacific Coast Energy Company’s (PCEC) Orcutt Hill facilities have become accustomed
to walking through their new process installations long before they are constructed. An ergonomic review of the
piping design is standard practice and often referenced in the operability component of the process hazard
analysis. Hydraulic constraints, valve positioning, and path of egress play out as operators, foremen, managers,
and engineers review the layout and debate the value of each design.

3-D piping has been a required design tool for PCEC since 2009, when a staged production expansion
began. The process design was outlined in an early phase of the project. Equipment footprints were assigned
and pipe rack loading was assessed to determine optimal and structurally acceptable loading. The detailed
design engineering and construction of this project was staged with placeholders in the scanned plant, blocking
out the space that would be occupied by the critical process equipment of the future.
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This approach of leveraging spatial information to deliver a multistage project (without the burden of
detailed engineering design at the outset of the development) has tremendous advantage. The operator has the
opportunity to collaborate with the design firm to dovetail plans, together improving the continuity of the overall
installation at no disadvantage to the detail of each individual delivery.

Company B: Linn Energy, LLC, Brea, California

Beautifully appointed in the hills east of Anaheim, it is possible look out from Linn Energy’s Brea facility to
sprawling suburbs and see where the Pacific converges with metropolis and the industrial ports of Long Beach.
This astounding view is purchased at the cost of lost time in traffic on I-5 and the 405 through Los Angeles which
is ranked #1 out of the top 20 most congested cites (as measured by the number of hours commuters endured in
extra travel time during rush hour traffic). (Texas Transportation Institute,
http://www.ithighway.com/los_angeles_traffic/index.html)

When Linn expanded their compression facilities in late 2010, they used 3D scanning technologies to
record the existing infrastructure. The engineering project manager used a selective modeling technique,
modeling only the piping tie-in points and relying on the point cloud data to create a visual frame of reference of
the installation. The result was a high-tolerance design basis for 3D piping design and a wealth of information for
the design team, eliminating the need for additional trips to the location.

The travel constraints demonstrated in the case above are relatively minor compared to the costs and
inconvenience associated with design related travel to offshore, remote, and even international locations. 3D
scanning has the potential to open the design playing field for remote operators, allowing them access to high
quality, high tolerance design at a justifiable cost. Once scanned, the comprehensive geopositional and spatial
information is available. Well maintained, with 3D piping design to construct the evolving process, the 3D scan
can provide critical design information over the entire life of a facility, minimizing additional site visits.

Company C: Santa Maria Pacific, LLC., Santa Maria, California

A brownfield redevelopment comes with the hard reality of constraints imposed by the prior installation.
For Santa Maria Pacific (SMP), these restrictions come to life as blocks and planes of unavailable space in the
model of the facilities they plan to expand. Underground electrical, creek setbacks, terraces, and biological
constraints are layered over the 3D scan of the existing facility to create a map of available surface and
subsurface footprint. This spatial analysis influences the selection of process equipment technologies.

The SMP Project Developement Manager invites the Production Supervisor to bring in the operations and
maintenance team to sit in on a plant fly-through on a movie-theater screen. This is an important step in early
design for a facility that will have to accommodate much of the expansion equipment inside of existing
boundaries. Communicating their concerns effectively in the spatial environment, the personnel that will be
accountable for installation have influence with their management to change the design as appropriate.

3D piping design is used to form the next era of constraints into the facility. Again, reviewing the piping in
the model, the management, engineers, and operators collaborate to optimize tie-in locations, identify opportunity
work, and stage construction schedules to minimize simultaneous work. The collaboration space is a controlled
environment, free of the noise and distraction of the operating facility. Visiting the location electronically reduces
inherent safety risk of having the same meeting on-site. Similar plans, albeit upgraded after the collaboration
meeting, can be used for preparing construction teams before site work commences.

Company D: Major California Oil Consortium

Company D identifies the value of 3D Scanning as an early investment that results in a safer project
delivery for a lower overall cost. They estimate that as-built documentation fees are higher on projects in which
3D Scanning is used - a cost associated with the data acquisition and modeling. The value of the model is
realized in two phases, the first being the current project the second being subsequent projects, resulting in a
reduced overall engineering effort cost.

To date, 3D laser scanned projects have accrued 2-5% additional cost to the total engineering costs to
cover the incremental cost of scanning and modeling. This then resulted in reduced engineering/design costs of
5-15%, and reduced construction costs of 15-25%.
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New projects leveraging previous scanning and modeling efforts are now experiencing 25 -50% reduction
in engineering costs because they don’t have to “reinvent the wheel” on subsequent projects. Instead they extend
the life of the initial investment. Those jobs are now seeing 25-33% reduction in construction costs because they
are now able to perform more off-site pre-fabrication of work. However, those original scans must be periodically
updated to keep them current with what is really in the field.

The initial set of savings comes from the ability to “visualize the work” and make it more accessible to the
design review team (engineers, designers, end-users, construction team, maintenance staff). Being able to see
the constructed project in 3D makes the leap from conceptual to tactile so much easier. Additionally, being able
to work through and around the visualization helps enormously with the initial and subsequent HAZOPS.

The secondary set of savings in design expense comes in subsequent work done in the previously
scanned and modeled facilities. The need to go out and “see” the location to get measurements is eliminated; the
first time through a facility with a scan (done correctly) will provide an incredible amount of information that can be
readily accessed time and time again. Of course it’s incumbent upon the facility owner to value the maintenance
of the as-built scan/model so that the model can be trusted as the baseline condition for future work to be done in
the facility.

Additional savings can be seen in reduction of risk and liability. With a scanner information is collected in
a safer manner than if traditional surveyors maneuvered around hard-to-get-to locations. Scanners are achieving
precision at distances beyond 25’ (some units can attain +/- 5 mm @ 500 feet).

The ability to get high-accuracy measurements allows for leveraging pre-fabrication of material
assemblies;: shop fabrication is 60% more efficient than field fabrication. Couple this with reducing actual time
expended on site and the result is a radically reduced cost of construction. An aggressive QA/QC program must
be in force at the fabricators to assure that drawings are followed and dimensions are met. Some have
suggested using 3D scans at the fabricator to further assure that new assembies are built to specifications and fit
into the intended locations within the model before being shipped to the field.

Being able to visualize the worksite also allows for the Construction Crews to “choreograph” the flow of
work, thereby realizing even more cost savings from being able to “think about the work”, something that wouldn’t
have been possible with standard isometric drawings and plot plans, (the 3D Model is so much more intuitive and
mentally accessible to the viewers, be they welders, fitters, maintenance staff, i.e., it’s just so much more natural).

What this represents is a fundamental transformation of the Industry, from the Engineering & Design
Phase, on through the Construction Phase, and eventually into the O&M Phase. Precision Engineering & Design
married with Precision Construction allows facilities owners to reap the huge pool of savings.

Conclusions

Recent advances in the hardware and software used to deliver design quality 3D models and CAD
drawing files are significant. The newly released upgrades have enhanced both speed and accuracy. The ability
to provide virtual real-time design quality data for piping design and pipe retrofitting with accuracies better than +/-
4mm has eliminated the dependency on “as-built” drawings or more crude conventional field data acquisition.
This technology now provides fast and accurate design quality data for complex, asymmetrical shaped and
sometimes inaccessible structural features often found in plant environments. The resulting true image of the
actual as-built conditions yields precisely dimensioned drawings and provides a wealth of data routinely omitted
by conventional data gathering methods. A permanent record of the conditions is recorded. The ability for piping
designers to virtually bring the plant site to their desktop via a precise 3D CAD model of the project is here.
Thoughtful design and reliable interference checking can be performed at the desktop. The new fixtures can be
designed, fabricated and installed with the foreknowledge of good fit, avoiding cost overruns and schedule slips.

Summary of Benefits:

• Conceptual Design Phase: Point cloud data is used directly for measurement and visualization of
existing facilities. Constraints are added and the limitations of the available construction space are
clearly defined and communicated.

• Detailed Design Phase: Fewer field visits to verify information resulting in less time allocated to
travel.
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• Construction Phase: Precision design reduces on-site construction man-hours.

• Operation and Maintenance: Spatial design reconciliation with the operations staff to assess
operability, ergonomics, and egress results in a safer installation.

• Regulatory Compliance: CCR Section 1722.9 (f)(1) states that a map of the production facilities
covered by the plan, include “labeling of all permanent tanks, equipment, and pipelines. If locations
are not known, the most probable location shall be shown and identified as a probable location”. An
electronic copy is preferred so that all pipelines can be seen at a usable scale.

Acknowledgements

Special acknowledgement is given to the following individuals:

Richard Hart, with Pacific Coast Energy Company LP (formerly known as BreitBurn Energy Co.
LP), for sharing the background information related to their brownfield development of their Orcutt
Hill facility;

Juan Chacon, with Linn Energy, LLC, for allowing us to use their Brea facility redevelopment as
an example of the benefits of 3D Scanning;

Kevin Yung, with Santa Maria Pacific for allowing us to publish the details of their brownfield
development utilizing 3D Scanning.

References
1
 spOILed, Mark Mathis 2011 
2
 CDOGGR, 8/2008 
3
Texas Transportation Institute, http://www.ithighway.com/los_angeles_traffic/index.html