Deepwater Challenges & Solutions

(DCS)
Unit I

Deepwater Challenges and Solution

(DCS)
Deep water > 450 meters
Ultra-deep water > 1500 meters

Deepest offshore structures

1. Atlantis (semi-submersible)
Class & type
:
ABS: A1, floating offshore installation
Tonnage
: 30,882 metric tons
Displacement
: 88,826 metric tons
Length
: 129.07 m (423.5 ft)
Beam
: 116.1 m (381 ft)
Draught
: 26 m (85 ft)
Depth
:
52 m (171 ft)
Capacity
: Diesel oil
48.3 m3 (1,710 cu ft)
Freshwater
12.6 m3 (440 cu ft)
Fuel oil
2,046.2 m3 (72,260 cu ft)
Ballast tank
38,219 m3 (1,349,700 cu ft)
Other
377.9 m3 (13,350 cu ft)
Source: wikipedia.org

Deepwater challenges
Exploration
Drilling
Completion and Production

Exploration

Challenges
Subsalt Depth Imaging
Evaluate reservoir for internal characteristics
Improve exploration success by maximizing
seismic information
Seismic imaging in narrow mini-basins
Limited geologic/analogue well information

Exploration
Subsalt Depth Imaging:
Challenge:
How can I improve imaging of the subsalt structures
so I can plan wells more accurately, and reduce
drilling uncertainty?
Complex seabed structure
Faulting or salt intrusion
Solution:
Depth imaging technique
Tool: 3D/Prestack depth imaging (Halliburton)

Exploration
Evaluate reservoir for internal characterization: (Formation
test)
Challenge:
How can I more accurately characterize reservoir rock and
fluid properties so that I can better estimate reservoir
potential, design more effective well and avoiding drilling
hazards?
Dry hole (one in seven)
Productive hydrocarbons (fluid properties)
Well pressure
Solution: Down hole formation testing: Well logging, core
samples, drill stem tests

Exploration
Improve exploration success by maximizing seismic
information:
Challenge:
How can I gain a better understanding of my prospect,
find new reserve and identify drilling targets more
quickly?
Rock property
Unstable salt depositions
Solution: High-resolution visualization data, seismic
volume interpretation and earth modeling from basin to
reservoir

Exploration
Seismic imaging in Narrow Mini-Basins:
Challenge:
How can I use detailed prospect and reservoir analysis
to speed up critical workflows, generate higherresolution seismic images, and increase interpretation
accuracy with an improved understanding of structures
overlaying the sub-salt?
Salt cover
Steep dips (hinder sub-salt imaging)
Solution: acquisition to earth modeling, accurate
velocity estimation and depth imaging

Exploration

Limited geologic/analogue well information:

Challenge:
How can I improve pre-well planning
accuracy in areas of high uncertainty where
little or no analogue well control is available?
Dip oriented slope
Submarine fan system
Solution: Geological and geophysical suite,
sedimentary transportation.

Drilling
Challenges
Access reservoirs previously inaccessible due to
extremely low ECD margins
Salt creep
Increase drilling tool reliability in Ultra-deep wells in
hard formation environments
Reduce non-productive time (NPT)
Manage complex well trajectories in Development
projects
Alleviate environmental risks using synthetic-based,
high-performance fluids

Drilling
Access reservoirs previously inaccessible due to
extremely low ECD margins:
Challenge:
How can I stay within the window to maintain well
control while avoiding fluid losses and formation
damage??
Hydrostatic pressure
Running and landing of casing
Cement sheath integrity
Solution: ECD (Equivalent Circulating Density)
Contd..

Drilling
Increasing bypass flow area to improve
circulation rates and displacement efficiency
while not exceeding the fracture gradient of the
formation due to pressure build-up
Reducing overall fluid viscosity to reduce
frictional forces
Maintaining hydrostatic pressure of the fluid
column below the fracture gradient while
maintaining well control
Contd..

Drilling
Minimizing surge pressures across formations
while maximizing running speed of the casing
or liner by reducing the pressure drop across
the hanger helping to prevent fluid loss
Allowing drilling fluids, spacer and cement to
flow freely into the casing and up the annulus
to avoid lost circulation, while also providing
excellent hole cleaning

Drilling
Salt creep:
Challenge:
How can I manage salt creep and prevent well failure,
ensuring long-term producibility and wellbore access??
Stresses in drilling string
Salt moves faster in elevated temperature or large
differential pressure between mud weight and
formation pressure
Solution: Long term cement sheath reliability
throughout all phases of drilling

Drilling
Increasing drilling tool reliability in ultra-deep wells in
hard formation:
Challenge:
How can I increase drilling tool reliability in harsh
drilling environment?
Hard formation (rock stresses)
Deepwater stresses on drilling bit
NPT (Non-productive time)
Solution: Measuring, modeling and optimizing
drillstring integrity, vibration and hydraulics during
drilling process

Drilling

Reduce Non-Productive time (NPT):

Challenge:
What steps can I take to optimize my drilling
program, reduce unplanned events and minimize
drilling risk even in long-reach, high-angle wells?

Solution: Integrated technology (anticipate and

respond to conditions encountered while drilling
and completing wells, permitting them to
exploit reserve quickly and profitably)

Drilling

Manage complex
development projects:
Challenge:

well

trajectories

in

How can I best plan and drill complex trajectories

to hit the most productive reservoir targets?
Small well
Complex structure and salt bed
Fixed rig

Solution: 3-D multidiscipline data visulaization

Drilling
Alleviate Environmental Risks Using Syntheticbased, High-performance Fluids :
Challenge:
How can I ensure the best environmental
performance in my drilling fluid choices ?
Toxicity
Environmental concerns and regulations
Suspension of solid (loss of drill mud)

Solution: Synthetic based, high performance fluid

Completion & Production

Challenges
Manage Reservoir With Intelligent Completions and
Multilaterals
High Completion Cost
Increase Recovery Factor
Ensure Well Integrity in Reservoirs With High Content
of H
Manage Complex Well Trajectories in Development
Projects
Alleviate environmental risks using synthetic-based,
high-performance fluids

Completion & Production

Manage Reservoir With Intelligent Completions
and Multilaterals:
Challenge:
How can I best manage my reservoir production
over an extended period of time and keep it
profitable?
Numerous technical challenges

Solution: enable operators to collect, transmit and

analyze down-hole data; remotely control selected
reservoir zones; and maximize reservoir efficiency

Completion & Production

High Completion Cost :

Challenge:
Given the high costs of completions in the
Lower Tertiary trend, how can I mitigate risk
and ensure safety and reliability ?
Numerous technical challenges

Solution: Sub-surface modeling

Completion & Production

Increase Recovery Factor :

Challenge:
What techniques can I use to increase
production from tight carbonate formations in
multi-zone and multistage completions?
Formation damage

Solution: Hydraulic facturing