Petroleum Exploration

Introduction
• In the upstream sector, the two Upstream National
Oil Companies (NOCs) viz., Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation Limited and Oil India Limited play a
dominant role with a total share of about 76% in
oil and gas production in the country.
• Presently, ONGC produces nearly 62.5% of
indigenous crude oil and 71.5% of country’s gas
production, while OIL’s share is 9.5% of
indigenous crude oil and 8.9% of gas production.
• The share of Private/JV companies in oil and gas
production is 28% and 19.6% respectively.
 Sedimentary Basins in India
• India has 26 sedimentary basins covering an area
of 3.14 million square kilometres. The
sedimentary basins of India, onland and offshore
up to the 400m isobath, have an aerial extent of
about 1.84 million sq. km.
• In the deepwater beyond the 400m isobath, the
sedimentary area has been estimated to be about
1.30 million sq. km.
• The Indian sedimentary basins have been broadly
divided into four categories based on their degree
of prospectivity.
Crude oil & natural gas production in the country is from 7 basins under category-I and
deepwater areas.
In category-II basins, hydrocarbon discoveries have been made but commercial production is yet
to commence.
The distribution of total Indian sedimentary area of 3.14 million square kilometre under
different categories and deepwater is presented as under:
Estimated Hydrocarbon Resources in India
As on 1.4.2017, In-place hydrocarbon volume of 10454 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent
gas could be established through exploration by ONGC, OIL and Private/JV companies. So, about
75% of resources are under “yet to find” category.
Out of 10454 MMT of oil and oil equivalent gas of In-place volumes, the ultimate reserves which
can be produced are about 4017 MMT of oil and oil equivalent gas since inception. The
balance recoverable reserves are of the order of 1787 MMT of oil and oil equivalent gas.
 Unconventional Hydrocarbon
Resources
• CBM Resources
• The estimated Coal Bed Methane (CBM)
resources are of the order of 2600 Billion
Cubic Metres (BCM) or 91.8 Trillion cubic feet
(TCF) spread over in 11 states in the country.
Recoverable Coal Bed Methane Reserves
 Shale Gas/Oil Resource
• It is estimated that a number of sedimentary basins (Gangetic plain, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh & other coastal areas) in India, including the
hydrocarbon bearing ones – Cambay, Assam- Arakan, & Damodar – have large
shale deposits. Various agencies have made different estimates of shale gas and oil
in the Indian sedimentary basins.
I. M/s Schlumberger: 300 to 2100 TCF of shale gas resource for the country.
II. Energy Information Administration (EIA), USA in 2011: 290 TCF of shale gas in
4 basins (Cambay Onland, Damodar, Krishna Godavari Onland & Cauvery
Onland).
III. Energy Information Administration (EIA), USA in 2013: 584 TCF of shale gas
and 87 billion Barrels of shale oil in 4 basins (Cambay Onland, Damodar, Krishna
Godavari Onland & Cauvery Onland).
IV. ONGC: 187.5 TCF of shale gas in 5 basins (Cambay Onland, Ganga Valley, Assam
& Assam Arakan, Krishna Godavari Onland & Cauvery Onland.
V. Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI): 45 TCF of shale gas in 6
sub-basins (Jharia, Bokaro, North Karanpura, South Karanpura, Raniganj &
Sohagpur).
VI. United States Geological Survey (USGS) has also estimated technically
recoverable shale gas resources of 6.1 TCF in 3 basins (Cambay Onland, Krishna
Godavari Onland & Cauvery Onland). Further, USGS has indicated that these
basins have also potential for shale oil.
 Crude Oil & Natural Gas Production
• Crude oil production in 2017-18 upto December 2017
is about 26.933 Million Metric Tonne (MMT) by
ONGC, OIL and Private/ JV Companies. About 72% of
crude oil is by ONGC and OIL from nomination regime
and remaining 28% of crude oil production is by
Private/JV companies.
• In 2017-18, the share of offshore crude oil production is
about 51.1%. The remaining crude oil production was
from 6 States viz., Andhra Pradesh (0.9%), Arunachal
Pradesh (0.1%), Assam (12.2%), Gujarat (12.8%),
Rajasthan (21.9%) and Tamil Nadu (1.0%).
 Natural Gas Production
• Natural gas production in 2017-18 upto December 2017 is
about 24.686 Billion Cubic Metre (BCM) by ONGC, OIL
and Private/ JV Companies.
• About 80.4% of natural gas production was by ONGC and
OIL from nomination regime and remaining 19.6% of
natural gas production was by Private/JV companies
• The share of offshore natural gas production in 2016-17 is
about 67.6%.
• The remaining natural gas production including CBM was
from 10 States viz., Andhra Pradesh (2.8%), Arunachal
Pradesh (0.1%), Assam (9.9%), Gujarat (5.0%), Rajasthan
(4.4%), Tamil Nadu (3.7%), Tripura (4.4%), Jharkhand
(0.01%), Madhya Pradesh (0.5%) and West Bengal (1.7%).
 Exploration
• The objective of any exploration venture is to
find new volumes of hydrocarbons at a low
cost and in a short period of time.
• Exploration for petroleum originated in the
latter part of the nineteenth century when
geologists began to map land features to search
out favourable places to drill for oil Of
particular interest to geologists were outcrops
that provided evidence of alternating layers of
porous and impermeable rock.
• In the 1960s, the development of geophysics provided
methods for exploring below the surface of the earth.
• The principles used are basically magnetism
(magnetometer), gravity (gravimeter), and sound waves
(seismograph).
• These techniques are based on the physical properties
of materials that can be utilized for measurements and
include those that are responsive to the methods of
applied geophysics.
• Further, the methods can be subdivided into those that
focus on gravitational properties, magnetic properties,
seismic properties, electrical properties,
electromagnetic properties, and radioactive properties.
 GRAVITY METHODS
• Gravity methods are based on the measurement of physical
quantities related to the gravitational field, which in turn are
affected by differences in the density and the disposition of
underlying geological bodies.
• In the early days of gravity prospecting, both the torsion
balance and the pendulum apparatus were extensively
employed, but these have been supplanted by spring balance
systems (gravimeters).
• Gravimeter can be read in a matter of minutes, in contrast to
the several hours required in obtaining readings with the
earlier instruments.
 Magnetic method
• Magnetic methods are based upon measuring the magnetic
effects produced by varying concentrations of ferromagnetic
minerals, such as magnetite.
• Instruments used for magnetic prospecting vary from the
simple mining compass used in the seventeenth century to
sensitive airborne magnetic units permitting intensity
variations to be measured with an accuracy greater than
1/10,000 part of the earth’s field.
• Magnetic susceptibility of rocks depends mainly on the
proportion of Rock Forming Minerals. Most of the common
rock types are either nonmagnetic or very feebly magnetic.
• When the rocks are composed of higher proportion of
magnetic minerals like magnetite, ilmenite, pyrrhotite, etc.,
it becomes susceptible to magnetism.
• the most widely used magnetic instruments
are:
1. Schmidt vertical magnetometer.
2. Torsion fiber magnetometer
3. Nuclear precession magnetometer
 SEISMIC METHODS
• A powerful technique for underground exploration, has
been used for over 60 years. It will give more precise
details on the formations beneath the surface.
• Seismic methods are based on determinations of the
time interval that elapses between the initiation of a
sound wave from detonation of a dynamite charge or
other artificial shock and the arrival of the vibration
impulses at a series of seismic detectors .
• The arrivals are amplified and recorded along with time
marks (0.01 sec intervals) to give the seismogram.
• The seismograph measures the shock waves
from explosions initiated by triggering small
controlled charges of explosives at the bottom
of shallow holes in the ground.
• The formation depth is determined by the time
elapsed between the explosion and detection of
the reflected wave at the surface.
• The information from seismic survey indicates
the type of rock, their relative depth and
whether the trap is present.
Seismic surveyed used in petroleum Exploration
 ELECTRICAL METHODS
• Electrical prospecting methods depend upon
differences in electrical conductivity between
the geological bodies under study and the
surrounding rocks.
• igneous rocks range from 104 to 106 Ω-cm
• saturated unconsolidated sediments from 102
to 104 Ω-cm.
 RADIOACTIVE METHODS
• In the disintegration of radioactive minerals three
spontaneous emissions take place, the election of an
electron (b-ray), a helium nucleus (a-ray), and short-
wavelength electromagnetic radiation (g-rays).
• The instruments used in radioactive exploration are the
Geiger counter and the scintillometer.
• In addition to prospecting for radioactive minerals, the
radioactive method is extensively applied in borehole
studies of subsurface stratigraphy as might be deemed
necessary when prospecting for oil.
• Different sedimentary rocks are naturally characterized by
different concentrations of radioactive materials.
• Shale and volcanic ash give the highest g-ray count and
limestone, the lowest g-ray count.
 BOREHOLE LOGGING
• Another valuable exploration method is
geophysical borehole logging, which involves
drilling a well and the use of instruments to log
or make measurements at various levels in the
hole by such means as electrical resistivity,
radioactivity, acoustics, or density.
• In addition, formation samples (cores) are
taken for physical and chemical tests.
 Electrical Logging
• The use of electrical logging is based on the fact
that the resistivity of a rock layer is a function of
its fluid content.
• Oil-filled sand has very high resistivity.
• The method consists of passing a current between
an electrode at the surface and one that is lowered
into the hole.
• Any change in the resistivity conditions around
the moving electrode affects the flow of current
and voltage distribution around it.
 Radioactive logging
• The natural radioactive properties of many
constituents of rock have made it possible to
develop and use nuclear radiation detectors
(radioactive logging) in the borehole or even in
holes that have already been cased.
• Two commonly used methods are :
1. g-ray
2. neutron logging.
 Acoustic Logging
• The acoustic logging method is quite similar to surface
seismic work. Instead of explosives, an electrically operated
acoustic pulse generator is used.
• In one instrument, the generator is separated from the
receiver by an acoustic insulator.
• The design permits automatic selection and recording of the
travel times of the onsets of pulses that travel through the
rock wall of the hole as the instrument moves down or up.
• Signals are recorded continuously at the surface, being
transmitted through a cable on which the instrument is
suspended.
• The velocity log provided by the instrument helps to define
beds and evaluate formation porosity.
 Density Logging
• Density can now be logged with a new technique
that uses radioactivity (density logging).
• The instrument consists of a radioactive cobalt
source of g-rays and a Geiger counter as a
detector, which is shielded from the source.
• The rock formation is bombarded with the g-rays,
some of which are scattered back from the
formation and enter the detector.
• The degree to which the original radiation is
adsorbed is a function of the density of the rock.
 Core Sampling
• Test well sampling is another important method used in the
search for oil (core sampling).
• Well data obtained from the examination of formation
samples taken from various depths in the borehole are of
considerable value in deciding further exploratory work.
• These samples can be cores, which have been taken from
the hole by a special coring device or drill cuttings screened
from the circulating drilling mud.
• The major purpose of sample examination is to identify the
various strata in the borehole and compare their positions
with the standard stratigraphic sequence of all the
sedimentary rocks occurring in the specific basin where the
hole has been drilled.
• The overall objective of drilling is to bore a hole (the well
bore) into the ground until you penetrate a target rock
formation, that has been identified by the geologists as
having the potential to contain commercial hydrocarbons.
• There are two drilling methods used in the petroleum
industry:
1. The cable tool method, by which the first oil well
was drilled in 1859 to a depth of 65 ft, was first
employed by the early Chinese in the drilling of brine
wells.
2. The rotary drilling method, started by a French civil
engineer in 1863, is the most common method that
performs a rotary grinding action.
 Cable tool method
• A cable tool rig is a drilling apparatus
consisting of the drill string, which is mainly
composed of the drill bit, made of a heavy
steel bar;
• the drill stem, a cylindrical steel bar screwed
directly above the bit;
• jars of heavy steel links, to produce a sharp
upward blow on the tools; and
• tool joints that connect these parts.
• In a standard cable tool rig,
there are three rig lines or
cables:
1. the drilling line,
2. the sand line, and
3. the calf or casing line
• The cable tool rig can be used to drill wells up
to about 170 m, but it is generally confined to
much shallower operations.
• In cable tool drilling, the hole is kept partly
filled with water to soften the formation and
prevent caving.
• At depth, when the bottom of the hole
becomes full of cuttings, the rock bit should be
withdrawn and a bailer run to remove the
cuttings.
 Advantages:

• The lower initially equipment cost.

• The lower daily expense: lower fuel and maintenance cost,
low water requirement.
• Lower transportation cost.
Disadvantages:

• Limitation on drilling rates and depth.

• Lack of automatic control over high pressure which may be
encountered and consequent greater danger of blowouts
with accompanying hazard to personnel and equipment .
 Rotary drilling
• In rotary drilling, the well is drilled by a rotating bit
to which a downward force is applied.
• A rotary drilling rig comprises following
components:
1. derrick and substructure
2. Mud Pump
3. Prime movers
4. drawwork or hoist
5. Rotary Drill String
6. Rock bits
7. Drilling Line
• The basic rotary drilling system consists of
four groups of components.
 Prime movers
Hoisting equipment
Rotating equipment
Circulating equipment
 Prime Movers
• The prime movers in a rotary drilling rig are
those pieces of equipment that provide the
power to the entire rig.

• Recently, while diesel engines still compose

the majority of power sources on rotary rigs,
other types of engines are also in use.
 Hoisting Equipments

• The hoisting equipment on a rotary rig consists of

the tools used to raise and lower whatever other
equipment may go into or come out of the well.
• The most visible part of the hoisting equipment is
the derrick, the tall tower-like structure that
extends vertically from the well hole.
• The hoisting system is made up of the drawworks,
derrick, crown block, traveling block, hook and
wire rope.
 derrick and substructure
• The derrick provides the vertical clearance
necessary for raising and lowering the drill
string into and out of the borehole during
drilling operations.
• It must be sufficient height and strength to
perform this duties in safe and expedient
manner.
• The substructure is the support on which the
derrick rests.
• It’s height must be sufficient to house and
afford access to blowout prevent.
 Travelling Block, Crown Block, Drill
Line & Hook
• Use to connect the supporting derrick with the load of
drillpipe to be lowered into or withdrawn from the
borehole.
• During drilling operations, this load usually consists of
the weight of the drillpipe, drill collars and drill bit.
• The drill line passes from the drawworks to the top of
the derrick. From here is sheaved between the crown
block and traveling block to give an eight, ten or
twelve-line suspension.
• It is then clamped to the rig floor by the deadline
anchor
 Drawworks

The drawworks is a mechanism commonly

known as a hoist.
The main purpose of the drawworks is to lift
the drillstring out of and to lower it back into
the borehole.
The drill line is reeled (spooled) on a drum in
the drawworks.
 Rotating Equipments
• The rotating equipment consists of
components that actually serve to rotate the
drill bit.
• Rotating equipment from top to bottom
consists of swivel, a short piece of pipe called
the kelly, rotary table/topdrive, drill string and
bit.
• Swivel
• The swivel hangs from the drilling hook by means of large bail, or handle.
• The swivel is not rotate, but allow everything below it to rotate.
• Drilling fluid is introduced into the drillstem through a gooseneck
connection on the swivel, which is connected to the rotary hose.
 Kelly
• The kelly is approximately 40 feet long, square or
hexagonal on the outside and hollow throughout
• Its outer surfaces engages corresponding square
or hexagonal surfaces in the kelly bushing.
• The kelly bushing fits into a part of rotary table
called master bushing. Powered gears in the
rotary table rotate the master bushing, and thus
the kelly bushing.
• The kelly bushing will rotate the kelly and
everything below it to rotate
 Drill String
• The drill string is made up of the drill pipe,
drill collars, and specialized subs.
• Drill pipe and drill collar come in sections, or
joints, about 30 feet long.
• The most commonly used diameters of drill
pipe are 4, 4½, and 5 inches OD.
• The purpose of drill collars is to put extra
weight on the bit.
 Drill Bit
• At the bottom of drill string is a the bit, which drills the formation rock.
• Most common types are roller cone bits and diamond bits.
• The bit size: range from 3¾ inches (9.5 cm) to 26 inches (66 cm) in
diameters.
• The most commonly used sizes are 17½, 12¼, 77/8, and 6 ¼ inches (44,
31, 20, and 16 cm).
 Circulating System
• There are a number of main objectives of this system:
 Cooling and lubricating the drill bit.
 Controlling well pressure.
 Removing debris and cuttings.
 Coating the walls of the well with a mud cake.

• The circulating system consists of drilling fluid, which is circulated

down through the well hole.
• The most common liquid drilling fluid, known as 'mud', may contain
clay, chemicals, weighting materials, water and oil.
• The circulating system consists of a starting point, the mud pit,
where the drilling fluid ingredients are stored.
• Mixing takes place at the mud mixing hopper,
from which the fluid is forced through pumps up
to the swivel and down all the way through the
drill pipe, emerging through the drill bit itself.
• From there, the drilling fluid circulates through
the bit, picking up debris and drill cuttings, to be
circulated back up the well, traveling between the
drill string and the walls of the well (also called
the 'annular space').
• Once reaching the surface, the drilling fluid is
filtered to recover the reusable fluid.
 Drilling mud
• Drilling mud, which is a mixture of clay, high
density solids , water and chemical additives is
pumped down through the inside of the hollow
drill string.
types of drilling mud:
1. Water based mud
2. Oil based mud
3. Gas based
 Drilling Fluid

• Major direct function of drilling fluid:

• To keep hole free of cuttings.
• To exert sufficient hydrostatic pressure on the formation.
• To prevent walls from caving.
• To cool & lubricate the drill string.
• To reduce friction between the hole and the drill string.
• To help suspend the weight of the drill string and casing.
• To deliver hydraulic energy to the formation under the bit
• One critical function of drilling fluid:
• When formation pressure is more than hydrostatic
pressure, a kick occurs. An uncontrollable kick
may cause a catastrophic blowout - perhaps the
worst disaster during drilling operation.
• The effects of blowout are:
– Loss of life.
– Loss of drilling equipment (including the rig).
– Loss of the well.
– Loss of oil and gas reserves.
– Damage to the environment.
 Blowout preventer
• It is not always possible to predict exact
magnitude of pressure which will be encountered
in the drilling of well.
• It is not uncommon to encounter pressure greater
than those imposed by the drilling fluid, with the
result that formation fluid flow into the borehole
and eventually to the surface. This effect is called
blowout and most feared and expensive accident
which can occur during drilling well.
• The main function of blowout preventer is to
furnish a means of closing the annular space
between the drill pipe and casing.
 Drilling procedure
• There are five basic steps to drilling the surface hole:
1. Place the drill bit, collar, and drill pipe in the hole
2. Attach the kelly and turntable and begin drilling
3. As drilling progresses, circulate mud through the pipe
and out of the bit to float the rock cuttings out of the
hole
4. As the hole increases in depth, add new sections
(joints) of drill pipes
5. Remove the drill pipe, collar and bit when the preset
depth (anywhere from a few hundred to a couple-
thousand feet) is reached
• When the preset depth is reached, the casing pipe sections
are run into the hole and cemented to prevent the hole from
collapsing. The casing pipe has spacers around the outside
to keep it centered in the hole.
• The cement is pumped down the casing pipe using a bottom
plug, a cement slurry, a top plug, and drilling mud. The
pressure from the drilling mud causes the cement slurry to
move through the casing and fill the space between the
outside of the casing and the hole.
• Finally, the cement is allowed to harden and is then tested
for such properties as hardness, alignment, and a proper
seal.
• Drilling continues in stages and when the rock cuttings from
the mud reveal the oil sand from the reservoir rock, the final
depth may have been reached.
• At this point, the drilling apparatus is removed from the
hole and tests are preformed to confirm that the final depth
has been reached.
• These tests include the following:
1. Well logging: lowering electrical and gas
sensors into the hole to take measurements of
the rock formations there.
2. Drill-stem testing: lowering a device into the
hole to measure the pressures, which will
reveal whether reservoir rock has been
reached.
3. Core sampling: taking samples of rock to look
for characteristics of reservoir rock.
 Well completion
• Once the final depth has been reached, the well is completed to
allow oil to flow into the casing in a controlled manner.
• First, a perforating gun is lowered into the well to the production
depth. The gun has explosive charges to create holes in the casing
through which oil can flow.
• After the casing has been perforated, a small-diameter pipe (tubing)
is run into the hole as a conduit for oil and gas to flow up the well
and a packer is run down the outside of the tubing.
• When the packer is set at the production level, it is expanded to form
a seal around the outside of the tubing.
• Finally, a multivalve structure is installed at the top of the tubing
and cemented to the top of the casing. This allows them to control
the flow of oil from the well.
 Directional Drilling
• Directional drilling is
the process of
drilling a curved well,
in order to reach a
target that is not
directly beneath the
drill site.
• two tools are the whipstock
and the knuckle joint.
• The whipstock is a gradually
tapered wedge with a chisel-
shaped base that prevents
rotation after it has been
forced into the bottom of an
open hole.
• As the bit moves down, it is
deflected by the taper by
about 5° from the alignment
of the existing hole.
 Drilling Problems
• Stuck pipe
• Lost circulation
• Borehole instabilities
• Mud contamination
• Kicks and blowout
 Stuck Pipe/Pipe Sticking
• When part of the drill pipe or collars are stuck
in the hole
• Causes of pipe sticking:
1. Differential/wall sticking
2. Mechanical sticking
3. Key seating
 Lost Circulation
• One of the major problems in drilling
operation.
• Occurred in almost every formation and at
virtually all depths.
• Occurs when hydrostatic pressure of mud
exceeds the breaking strength of the formation.
Borehole Instability / shale problem
• A condition where the shale section containing
hydratable clays which continually absorb
water from the mud, expands, swell & slough
into the hole
 Mud Contamination
• when a foreign material enters the mud system
and causes undesirable changes in mud
properties, such as density, viscosity, and gel
strength.
• Water-based mud systems are the most
susceptible to contamination.
• Solids Contamination
• Excess solids of any type are the most undesirable contaminant to
drilling fluids. They affect all mud properties.

• Calcium-Ions Contamination
• The calcium ion is a major contaminant to freshwater-based sodium-
clay treated mud systems.
• The calcium ion tends to replace the sodium ions on the clay surface
through a base exchange, thus causing undesirable changes in mud
properties such as rheology and filtration.
• It also causes added thinners to the mud system to become
ineffective.
• The treatment depends on the source of the calcium ion.
• For example, sodium carbonate (soda ash) is used if the source is
gypsum or anhydrite. Sodium bicarbonate is the preferred treatment
if the calcium ion is from lime or cement.
• Biocarbonate and Carbonate Contamination.
• from drilling a CO2-bearing formation, thermal degradation of organics in
mud, or over treatment with soda ash and bicarbonate.
• These contaminants cause the mud to have high yield and gel strength and
a decrease in pH.
• Treating the mud system with gypsum or lime is recommended.
Hydrogen Sulfide Contamination.
• from drilling an H2S-bearing formation.
• Hydrogen sulfide is the most deadly ion to humans and is extremely
corrosive to steel used during drilling operations.
• Scavenging of H2S is done by use of zinc, copper, or iron.
Salt/Saltwater Flows.
• The ions, Na+ Cl − , that enter the mud system as a result of drilling salt
sections or from formation saltwater flow cause a mud to have high yield
strength, high fluid loss, and pH decrease.
• Some actions for treatment are dilution with fresh water, the use of
dispersants and fluid-loss chemicals, or conversion to a mud that tolerates
the problem if the cost of treatment becomes excessive.
 Kick and Blowout
• Kick: An entry of formation fluids into the
wellbore during drilling

• Blowout: Uncontrolled flow of formation

fluids from the wellbore
 Recovery methods
• Primary
• Secondary
• Enhanced oil recovery
 Primary recovery
• The recovery of hydrocarbons from the reservoir
using the natural energy of the reservoir as a drive.

1. Dissolved gas drive

2. Gas cap drive
3. Water drive
Dissolved gas drive/ solution gas drive

• The principle
source of energy is
a result of gas
liberation from the
crude oil.
 Characteristics
• Reservoir pressure – declines rapidly
• Water production – no water production
• Gas to oil ratio – high
• Ultimate oil recovery – 5 to 30%
 Gas cap drive
• The principle
source of
energy is a
result of gas
present in
reservoir.
 Characteristics
• Reservoir pressure- falls slowly and
continuously
• Water production – absent or negligible
• Gas to oil ratio- rises continuously
• Utlimate recovery -20 to 40%
 Water drive
• The principle
source of
energy is a
water.
• Edge water
• Bottom water
 Characteristics
• Reservoir pressure – decline very gradual
• Gas oil ratio- little change
• Water production- start early and increases to
appreciable amount
• Ultimate recovery – 35-75%
 Secondary recovery methods
• Gas flooding
• Water flooding
 Enhanced oil recovery

Chemical method Miscible method Thermal method

Alkaline Steam Cyclic steam

Polymer
flooding flooding flooding
flooding

surfactant
In situ
flooding
combution

Forward Reverse
 Polymer flooding
• The addition of polymers to injection water to
improve the mobility ratio between the injected
and in-place fluids.
• Polymers currently in use are produced both
synthetically (polyacrylamides) and biologically
(polysaccharides).
• Polymer flooding has its greatest utility in
heterogeneous reservoirs and those that contain
moderately viscous oils.
• The process is conceptually simple and
inexpensive.
 Polymer flooding

1 Oil zone 2 Polymer solution 3 Drive water

 Polymer types used in EOR

• The two sets that are extensively used for

enhancing oil recovery include synthetic
polymers and biopolymers .
• The most utilized polymers today are the
synthetic and partially HPAM (hydrolyzed
polyacrylamide), the modified natural polymers
and the biological polysaccharide, Xanthan .
• The natural polymers and their derivatives include
HEC (hydroxyl ethyl cellulose), guar gum and
sodium carboxymethyl cellulose,
carboxyethoxyhydroxyethylcellulose.
• Stability problems may occur as a result of
oxygen contamination of the polymer
solutions.
• Such contamination can lower the efficiency of
polyacrylamide solutions by as much as 30%.
• Sodium hydrosulfite in low concentrations is
an effective oxygen collector for
polyacrylamide solutions.
 Polymer Degradation in Service
Susceptibility

Type of Polyacrylamide Xanthan Gum Cause

Degradation
Chemical High Moderate The cations Na+, Ca 2+, Mg 2+

Chemical High High Transition metal ions

Chemical High High Oxygen and oxidizing agents

Chemical High High Hydrolysis by acidic or basic

chemicals
Thermal High High High temperature

Microbial Moderate High Yeasts, bacteria, fungi

Mechanical shear High low Intense shear stress and high flux
such
as that occurring with flow through
valves, orifices, and low-permeability
formations
 Surfactant flooding
• Multiple-slug process
• Reduce the capillary forces
• Displaces the major part of the oil from the
reservoir volume contacted
• Interfacial properties, slug mobility in relation
to the mobility of the oil–water bank, the
persistence of acceptable slug properties and
slug integrity in the reservoir, and cost.
 Mechanism of surfactant flooding
• Crude oil contains organic acids and salts,
alcohols and other natural surface active
agents.
• When crude oil is brought in contact with brine
or water, these natural surfactants accumulate
at the interface and form an adsorbed film
which lowers the interfacial tension of the
crude oil/water interface.
• A slug of water containing polymer in solution follows the
surfactant slug.
• The polymer solution is injected to preserve the integrity of the
more costly surfactant slug and to improve the sweep
efficiency.
• The polymer solution is then followed by injection of drive
water, which continues until the project is completed.
• Each reservoir has unique fluid and rock properties, and
specific chemical systems must be designed for each
individual applications.
 4 3 2 1

1 Residual oil zone

2 Oil bank/surfactant slug
3 Polymer solution (mobility buffer)
4 Drive water
 Properties of surfactants used in EOR.

Surfactant type Property

Petroleum sulphonates (PSs) For reservoirs with temperature, low
salinity and bivalent cations

a-Olefin sulphonates (AOS) and Better tolerance to salinity and

internal olefin sulphonate (IOS) hardness,
high temperature stability
Alkylearyl sulphonate (AAS) For high temperature applications
Ethoxylated alcohol (EA) For low temperature application
 Alkali flooding
• sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, or sodium
orthosilicates to the water.
• mechanisms rely on the in situ formation of surfactants
during the neutralization of petroleum acids in the
crude oil by the alkaline chemicals in the displacing
fluids.
• Sometimes, polymer is included as an ancillary
mobility control chemical in an alkaline waterflood to
augment any mobility ratio improvements due to
alkaline-generated emulsions.
• AP (alkalie polymer), AS (alkalie surfactant), and
Alkalie Surfactante Polymer (ASP) processes.
 Mechanisms
• Alkaline or caustic solutions are injected into the
reservoir.
• These caustic chemicals react with the natural
acids (naphthenic acids) present in crude oils to
form surfactants in-situ (sodium naphthenate) that
work in the same way as injected synthetic
surfactants to reduce interfacial tension (IFT)
between oil/ water and move additional amounts
of oil to the producing well.
 Production fluids
(oil, gas, water) Production well
Water separation and
Injection injection storage facilities
Alkaline solution
well pump
from mixing
plant

2
5 4 1
3

1 Residual oil zone

2 Softened water preflush
3 Alkaline solution
4 Polymer solution
5 Drive water
 Miscible method
• Slug of solvent is miscible with oil.
• CO2 and N2 have great potential for low
viscosity oils
• CO2 flooding
• Initially immiscible
• Later extract HCs
• CO2 has 20-40% pore volume
• Used in pilot plant
 Steam flooding
• Similar to water flooding
• Used – high oil viscosity
• Well spacing smaller than that for water
flooding
• Can not be used for depth > 5000 ft
• Heat losses high for zone thickness < 10 ft.
• Water requirement : 5 barrels/bbl oil
• Recovery 50-60%
• Most widely used
• Higher capital cost
 Cyclic steam injection
• Used for lower API gravity
• Same well for injection and production
• Steam Injection continue for 2-3 weeks & well
shut off for few days.
• Later well can produced from few months to
year.
• ( Production rate after steaming) =
(production rate before steaming)(oil viscosity
before steam flooding/ oil viscosity after
steam flooding)
 In situ combustion
• Low gravity oil reservoir
• Burn parts of oil
• Forward combustion – injection –combustion-
production
• Reverse combustion – production –
combustion – injection
 Forward combustion
• Burns asphaltenes- thermally cracked
• Width of combustion few meters – vaporize
connate water and some of crude oil
• Steam drive
• Wet combustion and dry combustion
 Reverse combustion
• Lower effective permeability of reservoir
• Vaporized and mobilized fluids moves through
the heated portion of reservoir behind the
combustion front.
 Offshore Drilling Rigs
• Two main types: floating
• bottom-supported unit

• Floating unit include: semisubmersible (bottle-

type, column stabilized), barge rig and drill
ship.
• Bottom-supported unit include: submersible
(posted barges, bottle-type submersibles,
arctic submersibles), jackups and platforms.
 Jack up drilling platform
• Mobile platform – fixed on sea floor
• Consisting barge shaped hull, numbers of leg
• Jack up rig with cylindrical legs
• Jack up rig with truss leg
Jack up rig
 Drillship
• A drillship is a mobile offshore drilling rig where a
mono-hull ship, catamaran, triple-hull ship, or barge is
adapted or built for use as a platform.
• After reaching the well position, the drillship first gets
into position with the mooring system or dynamic
positioning system, and then begins to drill a well.
• The ship is floating when working.
• From the action of wind and waves, the drillship will
encounter a heaving motion, sway on all sides, float on
the surface, and so on.
• Hence, it needs all kinds of measures such as a drilling
string heave compensation device and swing angle
reduction device as well as dynamic positioning and so
on to guarantee displacement of drillship within the
allowable limits, so as to properly drill a well.
• The drillship usually is made of steel or concrete.
• The drillship can be a mono-ship, But this
monoship must finish the well under water.
Otherwise, the drillship can damage the wellhead
equipment when it moves.
• If the drillship is a catamaran, it won’t collide
with the wellhead device because of the open hole
between the two ships. So, it can finish the well
on the water surface.
• 30 to 100 meter operating depth and a 3200 meter
drilling depth, and it self-propelled speed is less
than 12 knots.
• Merits
• good mobility,
• a high self-propulsion speed,
• the ability to handle a wide range of variable loads.
Owing to the large waterline area, the influence of
variable loads (such as drill pipes, casting pipes,
drilling fluids, raw materials, cement, fuel oil, water,
and so on) on draft is very little.
• It has a large storage capacity, strong self-sustaining
ability, and large working depth.
• If moored with the anchor, the working depth can reach
to 200 to 300 meters.
• If it uses a dynamic positioning system with a thruster
controlled by a computer, the work depth is unlimited
and the value can reach 6000 meters.
• Faults
• Poor stability
• Limited deck area for decks; and being
expensive (more so if the drillship has a
dynamic positioning system).
Altogether, because of the drillship’s outstanding
advantages, it is suited for drilling in deep
water fields.
It is becoming a more and more important tool in
deep water oil detection
 Submersible drilling rig
• When they are active, they are first towed to the
well location by towboat , then flooded so they
sink.
• When they are on the seafloor, the anti-slide piles
can be installed, and at last the drilling activities
can proceed.
• After finishing these activities, the water is
drained off and they are inflated until they are
floating on the surface of the water, where they
can be moved to other well positions.
 Structure
Buoyancy tank
• A buoyancy tank can be a type of hull separated into some
ballast tanks or be a type of pontoon. The buoyancy tank can
sink or float through the method of flooding water and
draining air or the method of draining water and flooding air.
Pillar
• The pillars usually use steel trusses to connect the platform
deck and buoyancy tanks.
• The height of pillars depends on the depth of water, and
generally the value is about 20 m to 30 m.
• If we add large diameter steel bottles or pontoons at the four
• corner pillars, the depth can be increased and stability can be
improved as well as the vertical speed. In addition, anti-slip
piles can be added to improve the stability of the submersible
drilling rig.
 Platform decks
• Mechanical equipment in the form of squares,
rectangles, triangles, and so on can be installed
on platform decks that are welded to the
pillars.
• One side of the deck should be open for the
convenience of moving the rig.
• There is hoisting equipment for the
convenience of transporting equipment from
attending ships.
Merits and faults
• It is fixed firmly during drilling.
• It is also mobile and flexible after well completion, and
easily turned into a production platform, storage
platform, activities platform, etc..
• The height of the upper deck is fixed and the depth of
work is limited.
• It has a high resistance to the process of towing and
there is less area on the platform.
• It is easy to move when the seafloor is softer and
seriously scoured.
• So anti-slide, anti-erosion, and anti-hollowed measures
must be taken, such as adding anti-slide piles.
 Fixed bottom platforms
• A fixed drilling platform is an offshore structure fixed in
position on the seafloor using a pile foundation, mat
foundation, or other methods that produce supporting
pressure.
• A fixed drilling platform is generally divided into two types:
rigid fixed drilling platforms and mobile drilling platforms.
• Rigid drilling platforms
• A rigid drilling platform is a permanent fixed drilling
platform that doesn’t shift under the influence of marine
environment loads.
• It can be divided into two types:
• Pile foundation platforms
• Gravity platforms.
Pile foundation platforms
• This type consists of a pile inserted into the seafloor
that undertakes the vertical loads and resists horizontal
loads.
• The most widely used platform is a jacket platform.
• The monopod and the tripod tower-type platform are
also widely used.
Gravity platforms
• This type is directly and steadily located on the seafloor
on the basis of its own gravity, rather than a pile.
• The most widely used platform is a concrete gravity
platform, beyond that the steel gravity platform and
mixed gravity platform are widely used.
 Jackets
• Jackets are broadly
classified into 3/4/6/8
legged, depending upon
the surface area of the
platform required.
• A jacket can be used only
for smaller depth say 60-
70 metres as the jacket
structure rests on the
seabed.
• The jacket supports a sub-
frame with production
equipment and
accommodation deck on
top of it.
 Concrete Gravity Platform
• Build from steel
reinforced concrete
• Tall caissons, or
column are the
dominant feature of
this platform.
• Sometime, special
concrete cylinder are
fixed at the base of
the caissons on the
sea floor to store
crude oil.
 Compliant Platform

• Using rigid platform in water much over 1000

feet depth is not practical – very much
expensive to build.
• In deep water, most companies use compliant
platform, which contain fewer steel parts and
are lighter than rigid steel-jacket.
• Guyed-tower platform and tension-leg
platform.
Guyed tower platform
Tension Leg Platform (TLP)
 Selection of Offshore Drilling Rig
Main Factors
• whether the drilling well is an exploratory well,
an appraisal well, or a production well
• the methods used to complete the well, such as
whether they are above the water surface, under
the water surface, and so on.
• Other factors include:
1. Marine environmental conditions
2. Technical characteristics
3. Economic factors
 Basic Selection Principles
• For exploratory wells, appraisal wells, and some production wells,
we should select a mobile offshore drilling rig.
• According to different water depths we should select different types
of drilling rigs,
 If the water depth is less than 10 to 15 meters, we should select a
submersible drilling rig.
 If the water depth is between 15 and 75 meters, we should select a
jack-up drilling rig.
 If the water depth is between 75 and 200 meters, we should select a
semi-submersible drilling rig with anchored moored positioning or a
drillship.
 If the water depth is more than 200 meters, we should select a semi-
submersible drilling rig with dynamic positioning or a drillship with
dynamic positioning.
 If the production wells are more concentrated, we should mainly
consider selecting a fixed drilling rig.
• If the water depth is less than 300 meters, we should select a
pile foundation jacket fixed drilling rig.
• After finishing the drilling operation, the rig can be used as a
production platform.
• If the water depth is between 300 and 600 meters, we should
select a guyed-tower flexible fixed platform or tension leg
flexible fixed platform.
• The platform can expand into a production platform when
necessary.
• If the water depth is less than 160 meters, the seabed is flat,
and we have the advantage of building the channel and harbor
of a concrete-gravity platform, we should select the concrete-
gravity fixed platform to drill a well and produce oil.
• If oilfield development uses a floating production
system or early production system, we should select a
suitable mobile drilling rig according to water depth.
• When we need to produce oil, the rig should cooperate
with the production system.
• For some special offshore drilling operations, such as
installing a platform before drilling a well, hoisting
equipment, and so on, we should select a jack-up
drilling rig, because other mobile drilling rigs are easily
influenced by the state of the sea.
• The selection of a drilling rig is just one part of total
oilfield development, so we should select a suitable rig
on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the
technological and economic aspects.
 Transportation
• Pre-treatment
• Gas separation
• Water separation
• Blending
 Reservoir apprisal
• To reduce the uncertainty in the description of
the hydrocarbon reservoir, and to provide
information with which to make a decision on
the next action.
 Appraisal Tools
• Seismic surveys
• Interference test between two wells to
determine pressure communication across a
fault
• A well drilled in the flank of a field
• A well drilled with a long enough horizontal
section to emerge from the flanks of the
reservoir
• A production test on a well to determine the
productivity from future development wells
• Coring and production testing
• Deepening a well to investigate possible
underlying reservoirs
• Coring a well to determine diagenetic effects.
Input Parameter Controlling Factors

Gross rock volume Shape of structure; dip of flanks;

position
of bounding faults; position of internal
faults; depth of fluid contacts
Net:gross ratio Depositional environment; diagenesis

Porosity Depositional environment; diagenesis

Hydrocarbon saturation Reservoir quality; capillary pressures

Formation volume factor Fluid type; reservoir pressure and

temperature