Gene Kliewer • Houston
Deepwater Horizon saga continues
At this writing, the efforts to stop the flow of oil and gas at BP’s Macando well in the Gulf of Mexico show no signs of ending. The relief wells, one main well and one contingency well, are drilling ahead and estimates are that the first well, from theDevelopment Driller II may make contact this month (July). The second well, from the Development Driller III, is about 4,500 ft (1,372 m) behind the first well.
Once contact is made, plans are to attempt a “bottom kill” by pumping drilling fluids into the bottom of the well rather than the top. An attempted “top kill” failed.
On the production side of the efforts, estimates are that recovery capacity could be up to 80,000 b/d by month’s end. Plans are to replace the containment cap with another one that has multiple hoses for a higher flow rate. More surface processing and storage is in the works in order to keep up with the anticipated increase in the production rate.
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In Norway
As might be expected, the problems in the Gulf have generated action in other offshore arenas. Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA), for example, has approached the Norwegian Oil Industry Association (OLF) to discuss emergency preparedness measures on the Norwegian continental shelf.
NPD seeks clarification on how the industry would respond to a subsea blowout offshore Norway. It has also asked OLF to assess existing strategies for limiting the effects of a blowout and to identify potential for improvement.
“We must assess the need for new practices, for developing innovative technology, and/or for a new understanding of response requirements,” says Magne Ognedal, PSA director-general.
“BP has done much on a trial and error basis, and Norway can take advantage of the lessons learned. The PSA has emphasized the need to secure such benefits to the OLF, which has confirmed that it will coordinate the work and takes the issue seriously.”
Following a report from US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, PSA has compared its 21 recommendations for the US offshore sector with the minimum requirements set forth in Norwegian regulations. It appears that most of Salazar’s proposed improvements have been largely implemented already in Norway.
PSA says it will constantly assess the need to make the Norwegian regulations and guidelines more precise and/or to improve methods for verifying technical condition on the basis of lessons learned from theDeepwater Horizon incident.
In the UK
The UK plans to step up inspection of drilling rigs and the monitoring of offshore compliance on the UK continental shelf.
DECC plans to recruit additional inspectors for its Aberdeen office to double the annual number of rig inspections in UK waters.
It has also asked OSPRAG, the new oil spill prevention and response advisory group formed by Oil & Gas UK, to report on its findings on Britain’s capability for dealing with oil spills.
DECC plans to review indemnity and insurance requirements for operating in the UK continental shelf. DECC adds that the European Union has asked companies operating in EU waters to provide assurances that they are working as hard as possible to ensure safe practice and that they are able to take on full responsibilities for environmental and other damage if an incident were to occur.
First Romanian multi-stage frac raises production
Petrom has completed an improved recovery project at its Lebada Est and Lebada Vest fields in the Histria block in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea. As a result, the company expects additional production this year of more than 300,000 boe from two existing wells (LO2 and LO4) and a newly drilled offshore well, LV05.
L02 and L04 were drilled in 1998 on Lebada Est. They had been producing at low rates due to the low permeability of the reservoir rock. According to Petrom, Lebada Est and Lebada Vest are similar geologically.
The company applied multi-stage hydraulic fracturing – a pioneering technique for the Romanian sector, it claims – to increase the flow of reservoir fluids from the rock into the wellbores in the LV03 and LV04 wells on Lebada Vest.
Following the resultant improvement in production in both cases, the company decided to drill a new well on Lebada Vest – LVO5 – and to transfer the technique to wells L02 and L04 on Lebada Est.
Petrom currently produces 32,000 boe/d from five fields in the Black Sea, which accounts for around 18% of its overall production in Romania.
D&P equipment/service news
Wellstream has established an Integrity Management Division based at its headquarters. The new division will inspect and monitor existing and new risers and flowlines. The aim is to reduce operational, safety, and environmental risks by using real-time data to plan interventions, optimize offshore asset life and production availability, and minimize equipment operating costs.
Wellstream also has formed an exclusive partnership with MAPS Technology to develop and promote the latter’s MAPS stress measurement technology. The agreement follows the successful development of a prototype system with a major offshore oil and gas company.
The V1 monitoring system can measure directly the integrity of load-bearing elements of a flexible riser or flowline without penetrating or adversely impacting the riser or flowline structure. In this way, it provides real-time information on load changes, and any loss of integrity or progressive failure occurring within all load-bearing elements.
MODEC has contracted VWS Westgarth and VWS Brazil for a seawater treatment package for a development project offshore Brazil.
The package will be supplied as a single-lift module comprising coarse strainers, media filtration pre-treatment, vacuum de-aeration, and sulfate removal process (SRP) systems. Water throughput capacity of the equipment will be 24,000 cu m/day (150,972 b/d).
