"Multidisciplinary Analysis of Tight Gas Sandstone Reservoirs, Almond Formation, Siberia Ridge Field, Wyoming"
Date: Monday, December 11, 2000
Place: Westchase Hilton, 9999 Westheimer
Time: Social 5:30 p.m., Dinner 6:30 p.m.
Cost: Click here
The completion of a recent Gas Research Institute study (GRI -00/0026) allowed for significant insight into the controlling mechanisms for gas production in Siberia Ridge Field, southwestern Wyoming. The purpose of the study was to characterize the Almond Formation (Cretaceous) in Siberia Ridge Field to better understand controls on productivity and to compile this information for use as an analogue in similar tight gas sandstone reservoirs. Of particular interest was the role that natural fractures play on productivity, because this reservoir's average porosity ranges from eight to ten percent and matrix permeability is in the micro-darcy range. The Siberia Ridge Reservoir Characterization (SRRC) study comprises full-field geoscience, petrophysical and engineering analyses and the results of a GRI cooperative research well. As an industry partner in this study, Amoco Production Co. committed to drilling and completing a well to test a "sweet spot" hypothesis as well as gather data utilizing a comprehensive log and well evaluation suite that is generally unavailable in developed areas. The Siberia Ridge Unit #5-2 well (Sec. 5, T21N – 94W) commenced drilling in late 1997 and was successfully completed in February 1998 for an IP of 2.56 MMcfd and 240 BWPD on a 32/64" choke. The well was directionally drilled to intersect a predicted system of natural fractures interpreted primarily from well data.
Gas production in Siberia Ridge Field is quite variable, with EURs averaging 1.8 BCF and ranging from less than 0.5 BCF to nearly 20 BCF. At the beginning of the study it was unknown whether the locations of productive sweet spots were controlled by increased natural fracturing, by better matrix quality, or by completion practices.
Geological facies analysis and petrophysical data were mapped along with production data to determine productive trends. Several horizons within the 3-D seismic survey were picked, and isopach derivative maps were made. Coherency analysis was run on several horizons to determine the location of any significant linear features. The combination of depositional, petrophysical, and structural data revealed that mapped areas of better petrophysical properties generally indicated better production, even though the range in reservoir quality is very small.
Fullbore Formation Microimager (FMI) and core data from three wellbores were used to characterize the natural fracture system. These fractures appear to be related to the regional extension fracture network and are ubiquitous in the wellbores studied. Natural fracture density was found to be mostly a function of wellbore depth, lithology, and deviation as well as a function of linear feature proximity. Rather than providing increased conductivity to natural gas in the reservoir intervals, natural fractures were found to provide increased relative permeability to water in the deep Almond. The presence of natural fractures is not thought to be a significant factor in gas production; rather, proper well completion practices were found to be critical to well performance.
The enhanced understanding of the Almond reservoir in the Siberia Ridge Field provided by this multidisciplinary study can be used by the operator to improve drilling, completion and production practices, ultimately impacting well economics by decreasing risk and increasing recoverable reserves.
Biographical Sketch:
Stephen Sturm is a lead geologist with Schlumberger Holditch-Reservoir Technologies in Denver, Colorado. He has worked for Schlumberger since 1994 when it acquired Intera Information Technologies.
Steve began his career with RPI International in Boulder, Colorado in 1984 as a research geologist and petrologist participating in regional stratigraphic and reservoir evaluation studies in Wyoming, North Dakota, Colorado, and New Mexico. In 1989 through 1991, he worked on damage assessment and clean-up recommendations on the Exxon Valdez and BP American Trader oil spills, and environmental and economic appraisal of the Oman Coastline.
After joining Intera in 1991, he worked on numerous characterization and simulation studies including reservoirs in Rocky Mountain basins, Kuwait, Norway, Venezuela, Mexico, and Chile. Following acquisition of Intera by Schlumberger in 1994, he continued working with multi-disciplined reservoir characterization project teams on fields in Western Siberia, China, Indonesia and Mexico, as well as the Williston and Greater Green River Basins. From 1997 through 1999 he held the position of lead geologist and project manager on the GRI characterization of the Almond Formation in the Siberia Ridge Field, Greater Green River Basin, Wyoming.
Steve holds an MS degree in geology from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks and a BA in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Queens College (CUNY), New York.
"Rapid Remediation by Thermal Technologies"
Date: Thursday, December 14, 2000
Place: H.E.S.S. Conference Center, 5430 Westheimer Rd. (refer to map ), just West of the Galleria.
Time: Social 5:30 p.m., Dinner 6:30 p.m.
Cost: Click here
Remediation with thermal methods is a hot topic since steam injection, electrical conduction heating, and electrical resistance heating have been used in several successful projects. The most visible of these projects is the Visalia Superfund Project. A total of 1,300,000 pounds of wood treating chemicals were recovered there by injecting steam into an aquifer 120 feet underground. Less than one pound per day was being recovered by pump and treat. Even more robust thermal technologies are available to mineralize high concentrations of dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPL) underground in a few weeks.
Using steam or temperature as high as 800°C for in situ remediation can be thought of as enhancements of soil-vapor-extraction. The primary recovery mechanism is vaporization, however, the vapor pressure of the DNAPL increases orders of magnitude, because the temperature can be far above the boiling point of water. This means that large molecules like benzo (a) pyrene and PCBs can be more mobile than benzene is in a soil-vapor-extraction project.
Moreover, oxidation or reduction to mineralize DNAPLS is much more rapid. For instance, at Visalia, the half-life of benzo (a) pyrene in heated zones is 45 days. At 600°C in an ISTD project the half-life of benzo (a) pyrene is only a few minutes. PCB's are dechlorinated by ISTD in a few minutes, and destroyed in a steam project in two months. Thus, impossible projects can now be completed in a few months to a year. Several companies are commercializing thermal technologies at a cost ranging from $25 to $200 per cubic yard for larger projects. Dozens of projects have been completed and the industry is rapidly developing.
This talk describes the case histories of steam injection, in situ thermal destruction, and electrical resistance heating projects, how the industry is developing, how simulation of thermal projects with well proven simulators is a valuable tool for optimizing important mechanisms, improving project performance and reducing cost, and how money is made by remediating property.
Biographical Sketch:
Myron Kuhlman holds a PhD in chemical engineering from The University of Illinois. He is a principal of MK Tech Solutions, Inc., providing technical and business services to the chemical, environmental and petroleum industries. He has conducted or supervised projects in thermal remediation, soil-washing at 20 sites, thermal and miscible enhanced oil recovery, petrochemicals, plastics, specialty chemicals, and business development for Shell, duPont and several environmental companies.
His current projects are soil-washing of 175,000 tons of arsenic contaminated soil at the Vineland Chemical Superfund Site in New Jersey, in situ thermal destruction (ISTD) at Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Alhambra California, and Lake Charles Louisiana, pollution prevention in Saudi Arabia, and several oil-field thermal and miscible gas injection projects.
"The Future Hydrocarbon Potential of Iran"
Date: Monday, December 18, 2000
Place: Westchase Hilton, 9999 Westheimer
Time: Social 5:30 p.m., Dinner 6:30 p.m.
Cost: Click here
Figures
Iran Tectonic Map
Zagros Foldbelt
Structural trends and oil and gas fields
Exploration Potential
The potential for new hydrocarbon reserves in Iran is immense. Many large surface anticlines in the Zagros fold belt and elsewhere in Iran have yet to be tested. Announcements of "discoveries" in Iran during recent years are essentially "re-drills" of known prospects or discoveries not economical prior to the 1979 revolution. The prospect inventories present in Iran in 1979 have not been tapped in over 20 years. Many structures tested and plugged before the revolution would be economical today utilizing modern technology. These abandoned structures and missed pay opportunities offer a large inventory of low risk exploitation projects. Complex structures and difficult data areas offer potential for undiscovered reserves using modern 3D seismic acquisition techniques. The existing fields in Iran are structural traps that have often been tested by shallow stratigraphic wells (Tertiary Asmari), providing significant deeper pool exploration prospects. There are no stratigraphic traps currently defined in Iran. Modern analytical structural and stratigraphic techniques (sequence stratigraphy and balanced structural sections) are not widely used in Iran. There is significant potential in footwall subthrust style traps (onshore) and salt flank traps (offshore).
Petroleum Systems
The petroleum systems in Iran have been known since before the revolution in Iran. The potential for giant fields in Iran resulted in state of the art geological and geophysical work by most companies in the search for discoveries before 1979. Recent discoveries of multi-billion barrel fields in Iran by the NIOC (National Iranian Oil Company) have re-enforced the future potential for giant discoveries. Petroleum systems composed of multiple reservoirs (clastic and carbonate), sources and seals are present in the Tertiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic and Paleozoic. Many of these petroleum systems are the same as in the Gulf States and neighboring countries, yet the Lower Cretaceous, Jurassic and Paleozoic systems have yet to be exploited.
Sanctions
U.S. based companies have been prohibited from doing business with Iran by the same U.S. government that has recently sought a means to increase world hydrocarbon production. The result is the utilization of our US strategic oil reserves to temporarily control world oil prices. Meanwhile non-U.S. companies have continued to pursue projects and ventures in Iran despite the presence of sanctions. In the 2 nd Buy Back round offered by Iran, 21 of 37 projects offered, previously contained significant equity held by American companies. American companies are not only prohibited from making attempts to pursue these equities, but they are also loosing their competitive edge given by proprietary databases acquired before the 1979 revolution. The sanctions limit many business opportunities, but travel to Iran, exchange of public information, and the exchange and purchase of some types of data is permitted. Providing detailed proposals or interpretation of data is prohibited.
Economics
The current economic terms in Iran provide a major hurdle for American companies accustomed to production sharing contracts. Many companies understand the effects of booked reserves upon their stock price, but they are not accustomed to the impact that a project awarded in Iran will have upon their stock value. The Buy-Back terms in Iran are essentially that of a service agreement based upon a fixed rate of return and time period, regardless of oil price and OPEC quotas. Development projects in Iran offer low technical risk projects that have high rates of return. Offshore projects may offer higher rates of return due to higher development costs. While onshore fields in Iran may contain the greatest reserve potential, they may not result in the best rates of returns under the Buy Back terms. Reserve potential does not effect economics under the Buy Back terms, as no reserves are booked by the foreign companies. Economics in Iran are driven entirely by capital expenditure and the rate of return of the development costs of the project.
Biographical Sketch:
Weldon Beauchamp is a geophysicist and consultant (Atlas Exploration and Production Company, Dallas, TX.). He began his career with Sun Exploration and Production Company in Oklahoma City as a production geologist after the completion of his MS from Oklahoma State University in 1983. In 1985 he was transferred to exploration in Dallas, Texas while working the Mid Continent district for Sun. Later he worked for Sun International in Dallas and London as a new venture exploration geologist for Sun in the North Sea, Africa and Middle East regions. Weldon began working on his doctorate in geophysics at Cornell University in 1992. Upon the completion of his doctorate he began working for ARCO in Plano as a senior geophysicist in the Middle East and Latin America groups. While with ARCO he made several trips to Iran and made presentations to the NIOC. Current interests are in the Middle East, North Africa (Morocco and the Atlas Mountains), West Africa and Oklahoma.
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