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Sour Gas Well Testing Challenges-A Successful Case Study

Conference Paper · November 2019

DOI: 10.2118/197482-MS

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SPE-197482-MS

Sour Gas Well Testing Challenges-A Successful Case Study

Mubashir Ahmad Mubashir, Fawad Zain Yousfi, Mohamed M. Albadi, Mohamed A. Baslaib, Omar Al Jeelani, Amna
Salem Aladsani, Shamsa Alhouqani, Salah Al Qallabi, Ibukun Bankole, Fawzi Al Jaberi, Ashim Dutta, Ayman El
Shahat, Jose Alejandro Aranda, Rami Jibreel, Ghada Matar Ali, Anubhav Agarwal, Yohannes Fisher Pangestu,
Rahul Kumar, Abiodun Isiaka Jaiyeola, Andrey Yugay, Gervasio Pimenta, Rashad Masoud, Rohit V. Deshmukh,
Hessa Al Shehhi, Fares Al Belooshi, Viswasri Pendyala, and Chandra Mandal, ADNOC Onshore

Copyright 2019, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 11-14 November 2019.

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
ADNOC onshore tested HPHT sour gas reservoirs with 30% H2S, 10% CO2 to evaluate the reservoir and
well potential as part of the efforts in supplying additional gas for meeting country's growing energy needs.
Developing these massive HPHT sour gas reservoirs is essential for providing a sustainable source of energy
for years to come.
This critical project serves the broader national strategy and country aspirations in fulfilling the gas
demand over the next few decades to come.
Few HPHT sour wells were drilled but only one well could be tested successfully. The other two wells
had to be suspended due to HSE /environmental and operational reason as elemental Sulphur was detected.
Based on the previous well test and reservoir data, it was decided to use one of the existing well and
sidetrack in the Sour reservoir to gain experience about drilling a long horizontal section in the High
pressure, high temperature sour condition. A specialized drilling Rig capable of drilling the long horizontal
well was selected. Due to nature of the reservoir, specialized sour service drilling tools were selected
considered the long departure and long open hole horizontal length of 10000+ ft. Selection of the downhole
material for these conditions was itself a challenge as very few vendors or IOC (Internatioanl oil companies)
have experience of developing and producing from +30% H2S and +10% CO2.
Due to the location of the well, stringent HSE measurements were adapter to ensure zero tolerance for
the safety violation in accordance with 100% HSE.
The testing of the HPHT sour gas was challenging due to not only HSE issues but also from the
environment part too as flaring needed to be minimized in the brown field. Hence, it was decided to Tie-
in the well to the nearby facilities. The challenge was that the existing facilities were not design to accept
the sour gas. This was overcome by blending the sour gas with sweet gas to meet the existing facilities
specs and capacities.
After the well was drilled, the +10000 ft. open hole was flowed to clean to ensure all the drilling fluid lost
was recovered to test to access well potential and obtain representative data for full field development plan.
2 SPE-197482-MS

Drilling, testing and producing the highly sour HPHT gas reservoirs with more than 30% H2S and 10%
CO2 along with temperature ranging up to 300 deg F is itself a huge challenge.
Over the last few years, ADNOC Onshore have developed considerable expertise in testing the sour wells
considering all the safety and environmental aspects.
This paper highlights the work progress and the lessons learned during each step of the operation from
planning phase to drilling, tie-in the well to the existing facilities after dilution during testing. All the
proposed mitigation plans considering 100% HSE while dealing with these appraisal wells in the Arab sour
reservoir having +30% H2S and 10 % CO2 were developed and implemented sucessfully.

History:
In the year 2017, ADNOC Onshore embarked upon a challenging journey of bridging the hydrocarbon
gap through exploitation of unconventional reservoirs in line with national strategy of meeting the ever-
increasing gas & energy demand.
The "Sour Gas" development was thereby considered to be a flagship project for ADNOC in the Middle
East considering the significant Sulphur content of >30%. The project was thus deemed to be extremely
challenging in terms of planning and execution.
Through effective teamwork and successful collaboration, ADNOC Onshore demonstrated the way
forward to unlock the locked-in potential by drilling the longest HPHT well & successfully testing it. The
size of prize is estimated to be many TCF remaining reserves with an 80% recovery factory.

ADNOC directed ADNOC Onshore to drill, tie-in and carry out a long duration test for Sour appraisal
gas as it is in line with the national strategy and commitment to develop unconventional reservoirs to bridge
the hydrocarbon gas. "Sour Gas" project was screened and assessed to deliver the ever-increasing demand
for a sustainable future.
The project had no conventional solutions considering the highly sour and corrosive nature of the fluids.
The challenges of accessing the deeper horizons made the project far-fetched for successful execution
considering the requirement of advanced technology, infrastructure, manpower and compliance with safety
standards.
Detailed background work to access deeper reservoirs was the key to ensure project assurance deemed
critical in the successful and safe delivery of the project. The studies work involved appropriate selection of
SPE-197482-MS 3

well designs with metallurgy to withstand the corrosive nature of the fluids downhole in addition to selection
of specialized infrastructure at surface.
Dedicated task force involving cross-disciplinary teams were appointed to address the planning and
execution of this highly critical and specilized project.
Roles and responsibilities were defined with milestones and clear timelines.
Key milestones involved:

• Feasible solutions for highly sour and corrosive fluids in terms of infrastructure and management.

• Developing guidelines for Safety compliance to address the exceptional high Sulphur content.

• Designing the longest HPHT well in a corrosive environment in an iterative process.

• Dilution/Sulphur management at the receiving facilities considering the facilities corrosivity

handling capacity and capabilities.
• Accomplishing a structured data acquisition plan instrumental for the safe delivery of future wells.

The successful planning and execution of the flagship project "HPHT Sour Gas Development" is currently
been looked upon as a benchmark for the future development of similar assets in the Middle East and in
the wider International community.
Safety guidelines, operational lessons learnt and Sulphur management are the key-shared information
internal to the organization for improvising the current practices. The project helps in ensuring additional
sustainable gas for the nation's future demand.

Significant collaborative effort was taken to involve subsurface disciplines for articulating the recovery
strategy for successful project delivery.

Background:
Arab reservoir is having +30% H2S and 10 % CO2 and few appraisal wells were drilled in the crestal part
of the field.
Appreciable amount of gas reservoirs have been anticipated but more data is required to carry out full
field development plan to tap the full potential of these ARAB sour reservoirs.
Although the data from some wells penetrated to the Arab reservoir was thought to be adequate to evaluate
the In-Place-Volumes, to define volumetric ranges and to prove mobility of hydro-carbons but these wells
4 SPE-197482-MS

did not provide sufficient data to define an optimal development plan for the Arab gas field with +30% H2S
and 10% CO2 and hence additional data acquisition was required to reduce the remaining key uncertainties.
Some of the key subsurface uncertainties for optimal field development are listed below both for surface
and subsurface:
The subsurface major uncertainties were:

• Project uncertainties (Subsurface):

• Fluid Composition:

• Reservoir quality and Productivity

• Volume in Place

• Reservoir quality distribution

• Well sustainable deliverability

• Water production

Surface uncertainties:

• Fluid volumes

• Fluid handling capacities

• Facilities limitations

• HSE issues

Other uncertainties that were encountered were:

• Material selection

• Completion integrity

• Facilities integrity

• Dilution ratios

• Presence of elemental Sulphur

• Handling of elemental Sulphur

The objective of the appraisal program was to gain valuable reservoir data by drilling and then testing
the well in order to finalize the facilities design and full field development plan.
SPE-197482-MS 5

Based on ADNOC directives the Sour Gas Development (BSG) project is being implemented in two
phases.
Phase-1 consisted of sidetrack existing AP-1 well, carrying out Short duration testing of (AP-1), AP-2
and AP-3. Existing AP-2 and AP-3 were not tested as the company responsible for execution withdrew from
the project before completing the testing operation. ADNOC approved budget for phase-1.
Implementation of phase-1 is in progress where ADNOC onshore has successfully side tracked existing
(AP-1) well and drilled a 10000 ft. horizontal hole targeting Arab-D reservoir followed by running the
specialized completion in AP-1 . The short duration testing was completed. The long duration testing will
be conduictedas phse-2 after acquiring the specialized surface and subsurface material.
Meanwhile, preparation for short duration testing of AP-2 and AP-3 were also implemented as part of
Phase-1 with major difference as having L-80 carbon steel standard completion for these two wells.
Furthermore, ADNOC has directed expediting the horizontalization of AP-3 and carrying out long
duration test based on the specialized surface and subsurface material availability.
Phase-2 of the BSG project includes running specialized completion in AP-1, horizontalization of AP-3,
carrying out long duration testing after tie-in these wells to facilities. Also included is drilling/testing an
appraisal well in another field in the Arab reservoir. No budget approval is obtained for phase-2.
The timely availability of specialized equipment and resources are critical for a safe and successful
operation of this project.

Drilling challenges:
ADNOC onshore has overcome yet another challenge in drilling longest horizontal well 10,000 ft. in
aggressive environment having ±30% H2S and ±10 CO2 with reservoir temperature around ±300◦F. The
total well length is +22,000 FT MD. This is one of the longest horizontal well drilled by ADNOC onshore
in the harsh downhole conditions.
Drilling long horizontal wells is part of the strategy to enhance the well productivity by minimizing the
footprint in harsh environment by achieving maximum accessible reservoir contact in the brown field where
placement of more wells is becoming increasingly challenging on surface and subsurface alike.
6 SPE-197482-MS

One the challenges to start drilling Sour Gas exploration well was penetrating multiple high temperature
high pressure reservoirs with minimum geosteering to maintain smooth trajectory thru the structure of the
reservoir to enhance well accessibility intervention. Mud coolers were used to keep the mud rheology intact
and a higher overbalance pressure was applied at all times to keep the well overbalanced avoiding any
unexpected kick.
The objective was achieved by using rig capable to drill in this atmosphere and specialized drilling fluids,
which were compatible with logging tools that contains low salinity and low solids assisted in enhancing
the efficiency of the logging tools while achieving the target of drilling 10,000 ft. horizontal section.
Extensive mud losses were experienced while drilling the toe of the well that had to be recovered for
enhancing productivity.

Completion and Liner Material:

The well was completed with specialized material that will withstand the temperature and pressure changes
during production along with toxic environment having ±30% H2S and ±10 CO2.
Selection of material for downhole tubing and completion was itself a challenging process for appraisal
wells, where the uncertainties associated with the reservoir parameters needed to be weighted and economic
reasoning.
This is particularly true for high sour, high temperature, high-pressure (HS-HPHT) gas appraisal
conditions.
Based on the corrosivity assessment exercise for the design of a HS-HTHP gas well, downhole tubing
and liner for H2S and CO2 in excess of 40% and 10%, respectively was carried out with sucess.
Based on the available data and careful assumptions of uncertainties related to the amount of water,
condensate and eventual presence of elemental Sulphur, the well was completed with a 25Cr35Ni alloy for
a flow test period of 1month.
After the test was completed, the tubing string was pulled out of hole and visual inspection was carried
out on rigsite which showed scattered shallow pittings, with some connections revealing crevice corrosion.
Samples of scale material collected was analyzed for characterization of the material, allowing and
estimation of pitting depth and pitting corrosion rate based on 1-month exposure period downhole.
In addition, selecting / recommending a higher grade of material, which could be suitable to withstand
the harsh downhole conditions for the life cycle of the well has been carried out.
SPE-197482-MS 7

A separate SPE paper # 197797 (Selection of tubing and completion for high sour HPHT gas well-A
success story) has been produced with the finding and recommendations to be used for the life cycle of the
well both including downhole completion, liner and surface flowlines.

HSE:
Before drilling the wells in the high sour environment, an extensive safety review of the area, rigs technical
capabilities, equipment requires for safe operation and various procedures were discussed. Appropriate
drilling rig which had the technical capabilities, equipment and experienced crew to drill a highly sour
HPHT horizontal well was identified.
Moreover, this was also subjected to comprehensive review of HSE rules and regulations including safety
and precautions required while drilling, Tie-in and testing.
Due to the critically and strategically importance of the project, all the companies available best practices
and technical competencies were applied in this project which allowed to overcome all the SAFETY
challenges during drilling, tie-in and testing of this crucial well. All the objectives were successfully
achieved with no HSE incidents and failures.
Following are the list of the HSE studies conducted and recommendations implemented:

• HAZID/ENVID/OHID

• HAZOP of well test package

• Flare dispersion modelling

• Consequence analysis including H2S / SO2 dispersion

• H2S Zoning

• Task Risk assessment of all the critical activities

• SSSP

• SIMOPs study

• Conducted exercise prior to start of well testing

The successful implementation and close follow up of all the measures and controls identified in SIMOPS
thru multiple audits; resulted in drilling, tie-in and testing of the appraisal sour gas well with no LTI (Lost
Time Injury) as per the original objective set.
All the routine rig and rig less activities were performed safely in the vicinity complying fully with
SIMOPS and no operation was stopped during the entire time.
Findings and lessons learned are being used to tailor next stage of the project to ensure most efficient
scenario of field development to support country's increasing gas demand.
A typical brown field having operational challenges while drilling and testing highly sour gas well
8 SPE-197482-MS

Dilution Studies due to facilities limitations:

Due to HSE and environmental constrains in flaring the high H2S gas into atmosphere, it was agreed to
divert all the sour gas flow to the nearby facilities.
Gas will flow to the facilities and the liquid will be disposed in a dedicated disposal well.
However, this posed another challenges the existing facilities are not designed to handle +30% H2S.
Hence it was decided to dilute the +30% feed gas with the available gas from the nearby facilities before
entering the main trucklines.
The intent of this study was to perform blending of ARAB SOUR GAS with the available gas from
production manifold keeping the H2S limitations with in the Facilities tolerance.
Furthermore, as the trunklines with gas was directly going to the compressor station, it was rest assured
to blend the gas ratios in such a way so that the net effect of the H2S at the compressor station common
suction header post mixing will remain less than 10 mole % while maximizing the production from the
sour well at all times.

Surface tie-in:
For testing the well, it was decided to tie-in the well to the facilities and avoid any flaring. Due to time
constrains to procure specialized material, the corrosion rate with +30% H2S on the normal carbon steel
pipe was studied. Based on the experts' information, it was decided to run dual gas pipelines to the facilities
SPE-197482-MS 9

instead of using the CRA (Corrosion resistant Alloy) material. This will increase the ultimate gas flow rates
from the sour gas well.
Each line was planned to be used for max 3 months and then to be discarded after the required UT survey.
This was to ensure facility integrity. In addition, some elemental Sulphur dissolving chemical was planned
to be injected on 24 hrs. basis to mitigate any line blockage due to elemental Sulphur deposition if any.
The facilities tie-in point was selected in such a way to dilute the incoming +30% H2S to the facilities
H2S rating tolerance limitations.
A table was developed to regulate the high gas production rate to maintain the dilution rate within the
facilities material tolerant range of H2S %. (Ref ADIPEC-paper MS-188782)

Bab Sour Gas Development (BSG) Well testing operation:

Monitoring gas, condensate and water volumes is fundamental to effective reservoir management. Well
clean-up is important as the results are used to provide initial productivity values and is part of the early
appraisal and data gathering programme. During the main production phase, it was agreed to test the well
through portable test separator and then compare the results with Corlious gas flow meters installed on the
flow lines, which were leading to the facilities. This was to ensure that the flow rates going to each flow
line never exceeds the tolerance limit set to ensure facilities integrity. The corilious meters were calibrated
regularly to ensure accuracy and reliability of production data.

Well Test Objective:

Following were the major well test objectives
10 SPE-197482-MS

1. Assess the risk and improve understanding of solid sulfur deposition

○ Collect most representative and uncontaminated downhole samples separately for each
individual reservoir fluid (A and D)
○ Conduct adequate reservoir fluid analysis (e.g. 8 Content, PVT, Diamondoids)
2. Determine Arab reservoirs potential productivity
○ Clean, Stimulate and Flow Test each Reservoir individually until stabilization achieved
3. Investigate Arab reservoir parameters (skin, kh, boundaries)
○ Record accurately downhole P&T parameters during flowing and build-up periods.

The well testing operation was sub divided into:

• Flow to clean operation

• Short duration testing

Flow to clean operation:

In order to achieve all the objectives of checking the reservoir composition, pressure, temp and well
productivity, it was essential to flow to clean the well thoroughly due the extensive mud losses while drilling
the 6 inch 10000 ft. horizontal hole in AP-1.
The well was flow to clean through green burner ensuring 100% compliance of environmental requlations
set . Gas was flared using 90 ft. flare stack while liquid received was sent to the storage tanks on locations.
H2S scavenger was added to the liquid, and gas free liquid was pumped into the disposal well.
Since the well is located in the brown field and to avoid any uncontrolled gas relase, extensive precautions
about the safety zone were implemented included:

• Installing H2S detectors all around the Well Testing Facility including green burner (covering all
360⁰ directions) for early detection and alarm. This is to alert the well test operation personnel on
site to initiate immediate shut down action in case of H2S detection & Alarm beyond the green
burner pit.
• CCTV focusing to the green burner / flare stack were installed and were operational throughout
the Flow to Clean and Well Testing operation activity.
• Pre Start up Safety Review (PSSR) checklist was developed and implemented prior to starting
of Flow To Clean & Well Testing Operations on all high sour wells. PSSR was conducted by an
independent team comprising of Subject matter experts (SME's) from Operations, Drilling & HSE.
• Blow down valve at separator for auto depressurizing of system was recommended to be part of
separator.
• Provided automatic shutdown with H2S detection and alarms for short-term well testing package.

• Provided an overpressure protection (ESD trip) in the storage tank outlet line (to flare header)
upstream of the flame arrestor.

Well was perceived clean when the following criteria are met
1. BS&W has been constant
2. FWHP (flowing well head pressure) has stabilized at +/− 10 psi.
3. FWFT (flowing well head temperature) has stabilized at +/− 3%.
4. Stable water rate and salinity.
SPE-197482-MS 11

Short duration testing:

Rigess Well Testing Program Outline.
In order to meet the well test objective, the following testing plan and sequence was developed and
implemented:
(Flow to Clean)
1. Carry out flow to clean operation by flaring to clean drilling fluid losses
2. Collect surface gas samples
(Note: MIT (modified isochronal test) with flaring after flow to Clean operation has been removed)
(Shut-in well for Tie-in to facilities)
1. Pump Nitrogen in the tubing to protect from sour fluid
2. Close ScSSSV
3. Set tubing hanger plug in the tubing hanger
(Tie-in to facilities)
Tie-in the well to the RMS-3 gathering facilities
(Testing post Tie-in)
1. Retrieve tubing hanger Plug, Open ScSSSV (Surace control Sub Surface Safety Valve)
2. Open the well and carry out a BHCIP/ Gradient survey
3. Carry out coil tubing stimulation based on the initial flow results
4. Set down hole P&T gauges.
5. Preform Modified Isochronal test (MIT)
6. Carry out surface and subsurface sampling operation.
7. Check to carry out PLT operation if feasible.
8. Kill and secure the well for future rig intervention (to change the completion for long duration test).
Following is the illustration showing the entire well testing sequence.
12 SPE-197482-MS

Coil tubing Stimulation:

Since this is a new reservoir with no well test carried out ever in this part of the reservoir, a contingency
plan was developed to carry out coil tubing stimulation if the well productivity is questionable. Various coil
tubing sizes and accessibilities run were carried out to ensure maximum accessibility.
In order to enhance the well productivity, stimulation will be carried out.
1. Various sizes of coil tunings including using 1.75", 2" and 2.375" were checked to review the
accessibility.
2. Various options of coil tubing with and without tractor were simulated in order to enhance the
accessibility.
It is apparent that due to limitation of the lock up depth, coil tubing stimulation for the entire open hole
was not feasible. Hence it was recommended using a tractor to enhance the open hole accessibility.
Furthermore, the completion nipple size was modified to considering the use to a 3.5" WWT tractor on
coil tubing to enhance accessibility.

Coil Tubing for Stimulation risks:

Due to the possibility of the tractor lost in hole or stuck, it was recommended to stimulate the first 5,000
feet using 2-3/8" coil tubing and obtain the maximum production data. After data evaluation, the WWT
hydraulic tractor options could be studied based on the accessibility and availability. It would be first time
to pilot the proposed tractor by Schlumberger in ADNOC onshore.

Well testing Equipment set up

SPE-197482-MS 13

Due to the H2S% age, the sour well testing equipment package capable to deal with the day and night
continuous well testing operation up to 6 months was deployed. All the connections from the separator to
the tie-in points were flange-to-flange connection. This was to ensure that the welded joints are not used to
mitigate any stress cracking on the weak points.
Since multiple zones in the vertical wells were required to be tested individually, specialized perforation
guns with maximum deep penetration charges were selected and then a Stimulation package to deal
with HPHT reservoir was deployed and used. All the specialized equipment for the HPHT Sour service
was secured and committed with the entire service provider ahead of time. A thorough TRA (Task Risk
Assesment) of each and every component of the sour well testing package was carried out in detail with
a WhatIF scenario.
Sour service Slick line including wire and down hole tools essential for intervention, 2-3/8" Coil tubing
with specific BOP elastomers (AFLAS seals) as Teflon elastomers are unsuitable for this H2S %age. Also in
case of any eventuality, specialized AUTO ignition equipment called Firefly was deployed. This equipment
provides a jet of fire from a distance in case the BOP and all the safety equipment deployed on the wellhead
fails.

Well bore Utilization:

After the successful well test of AP-1, the Arab-D sour reservoir horizontal hole was plugged with cement
and well was converted to Thamama –A observer as part of capitalisation on the well bore utilization.
14 SPE-197482-MS

Downhole Well completion:

Post Well testing operation:

Completion was retrieved and selected joints were inspected for metal loss. The results indicated that
there were some corrosion pitting but no significant metal loss in the tubing selected joints. Some crevice
SPE-197482-MS 15

corrosion was noticed with suggested that material selected was not suitable and compatible with the High
H2S environment down hole.
A separate SPE paper # 197797 (Selection of tubing and completion for high sour HPHT gas well-A
success story) has been produced with the finding and recommendations to be used for the life cycle of the
well both including downhole completion, liner and surface flowlines.

Conclusion:
Many valuable lessons were learned including HSE issues during pre drilling operation, drilling operation
challenges, tie-in to surface facilities, testing challenges, planning including contracts were faced but were
mitigated with professionalism, efficeience and effectivly with in the approval budget in line with ADNOC
vision and standard principles.
Drilling and developing sour gas wells with more than ±30% H2S and ±10 CO2 represents a high level of
accomplishment; thus ADNOC onshore studied the opportunity of drilling long horizontal wells achieving
maximum reservoir contact with the minimum footprint (PAD Drilling Design) assisting on reducing the
well cost on future campaign. The logging while drilling results indicated penetrating porous parts of the
reservoirs and this has been confirmed while testing the well. Over the last few years solid experience and
16 SPE-197482-MS

know how was developed in drilling long horizontal wells in sour environments keeping in mind the safety
aspects. A team of professional experts was the key to achieve the operational objective safely & efficiently.

Developing sour gas wells has always been a challenge due to the sour environment and accessing deeper
horizons that would require cutting edge technology. Sour gas opens new marketing channels for ADNOC
by maximizing the investment opportunities for the future investors and stakeholders. This will open new
cost, maximizing the productivity without compromising the safety and allow drilling long horizontal wells
in challenging atmosphere. The paper is part of the various issues faced while drilling, tie-in and testing
sour gas wells.

ADNOC Onshore demonstrated full commitment, high collaboration and efficient outcome ensuring
safety compliance for the successful delivery of the highly critical project.
The Gas Development team within the ADNOC Onshore left no stone unturned in the appointment and
collaboration of the stakeholders for achieving the milestones in progression.
SPE-197482-MS 17

Responsibilities were clearly defined and allocated to ensure no deviation in the timelines and subsequent
delays. Timely execution of the project has demonstrated the 100% HSE compliance.
Safety compliance was deemed as the key KPI considering the unusual H2S content of +30% and 10%
CO2.
ADNOC safety culture was clearly demonstrated through this critical project.
The project has been classified as a highly safety critical project from the inception to execution.
Accomplishing 100% HSE has been considered to be a challenging feat in this highly sour and corrosive
environment. Clear and effective communication with structured guidelines and owned responsibilities have
been instrumental in accomplishing the desired feat.
Innovative approach of minimizing sour gas flaring and blending sweet gas has resulted in significant
CAPEX savings and has been instrumental in meeting the facilities HSE requirements.
The timely availability of specialized equipment and resources are critical for a safe and successful
operation of this project.
All this was accomplished with no LTI (Lost Time Injury) and the appraisal wells were drilled and tested
successfully as per the original objective set and the lessons learned are widely shared with all the teams
across the region to expedite and improve on the technologies used for sour gas production.
Excellent teamwork and cooperation was observed throughout the project.
The valuable information gathered is a cornerstone in developing these HPHT sour reservoirs when the
gas demand is high and the techno-economic factors are favorable.

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