Production operations platform integrates engineering analysis

The Schlumberger Avocet 2012 production operations software platform features advanced workflow automation, online artificial lift management, predictive data analysis for candidate selection, and web-based key performance indicators (KPIs) visualization for a complete view of operations. It also connects directly to engineering simulation models and analytical applications, providing insight into the root causes of production shortfalls and further improving production operations management in a broad range of asset disciplines, the company said.

The engineering analysis platform effectively integrates well operations and production management systems, including capturing and validating field data, production, and equipment surveillance and tracking specialized oilfield operations. According to Schlumberger, this unification of data and engineering models in a single environment allows users to identify problems more quickly, minimizing downtime and enabling continuous production optimization.

Regardless of asset location, the Avocet platform offers a view of asset performance and KPI monitoring as well as visualization of relevant information that can ultimately affect production and impact performance. Slb.com/avocet.

The Avocet production operations software platform provides a wide range of solutions for integrated operations-to-engineering surveillance and analysis, such as delivering KPIs on the performance and analysis of PhaseWatcher permanent multi-phase flowmetering with Vx technology. (Image courtesy of Schlumberger)

Remote gas well monitoring system makes environmental grade

A remote gas well monitoring system has been developed by an NETL and university consortium research partnership (NETL-RUA), which is funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), to help operators comply with environmental requirements related to shale gas extraction. The technology is currently undergoing field trials at a Marcellus shale site in Washington County, Pa.

According to the DOE, the project is significant because it streamlines a process to monitor shale gas wells at remote drilling sites where the terrain and lack of nearby power and phone lines make traditional monitoring difficult. The system comprises a series of wireless monitoring modules used to measure volatile organic compounds, dust, light, and sound. Each module consists of a radio transceiver, a 12-volt battery-powered monitoring device, and a battery. A 2-ft by 5-ft solar panel maintains the battery charge, and a base station module featuring a notebook-sized computer with a cell phone modem receives the monitoring data, which can be accessed from a computer in another location. Fossil.energy.gov.

New resin-coated sands reduce frac sand footprint

Preferred Sands has debuted the first environmentally sustainable resin-coated sand product, when compared with traditional phenolic-based coated sands, to service the North American frac sand industry. According to the company, the nonphenolic resin-coated sands do not leach any chemicals or create dust and are manufactured at lower process temperatures, requiring less energy and reducing the transmissions found in traditional coating operations. Preferredsands.com.

PDC reamer resolves horizontal shale drilling issues downhole

The Stabil Drill Ghost Reamer is a solution for doglegs, ledges, and cutting beds for application in horizontal shale drilling. The eight-bladed PDC reamer allows the wellbore to be cleaned and cleared either by back-reaming on rigs that have top drive or rigs without top drive by pulling out to the top of the curve and then rotating forward until reaching total depth. According to Stabil Drill, a Superior Energy Services company, the flexible reamer eliminates wiper trips, effectively saving time and money. At the time of publication, the tool had been used in more than 100 shale applications with positive results, the company said. Stabildrill.co.

New current profile simulator provides 3-D monitoring

The Fugro Robotic Technologies division has introduced the 3-D sea current profile simulator to the company's DeepWorks product line that depicts currents as they vary with depth and location, providing more realistic environmental conditions for training ROV pilots in station-keeping, navigation, performing intervention operations, and mitigating diver umbilical cable hazards. It also enables users to model various current settings in more accurate scenarios, such as across large sea areas, in shallow water, and while working around inspection targets, according to Fugro.

The simulator features a user-friendly interface on which an operator can easily modify values for the duration of the simulation mission. The user can define the strength, heading, and elevation of currents at different geographic coordinates and depths as a series of current profiles in 3-D simulation. Each current is defined as a 3-D vector. A set of the vectors defines a complex current profile from the sea surface to the seabed, while full horizontal and vertical interpolation is supported, allowing the current's strength and direction to be calculated and monitored at any point in the current field, the company said. Fugrogrl.com.

Fugro’s 3-D current simulator can predict where subsea risers and umbilicals are in real time based on the currents flowing, helping to improve safety and reduce costs. (Image courtesy of Fugro Subsea Services Ltd.)

Rigless ESP technology improves bottom line in Middle East

Artificial Lift Co. has installed the first rigless electrical submersible pump (ESP) string at a Saudi Aramco-operated field in the Middle East, resulting in cost savings on rig utilization and electricity expenditures, decreased downtime, and less oil deferment, the company said.

The operation comprised a 134 HP rigless ESP system with a 6,000 b/d pump. The system, which includes the Artificial Lift Permanent Magnet Motors and Wet Connect system, was installed at a depth of 1,865 m (6,119 ft) and also included the installation of a downhole ESP gauge, packers, and subsurface safety valve assemblies to optimize production at the well site. Alcesp.com.

Subsea pile-stabilizing template takes on challenging soil conditions

The first offshore pile installation operation using the StabFrame subsea pile-stabilizing template has been completed without incident and ahead of schedule in the OGX-operated Waimea field in the Campos basin offshore Brazil.

According to joint developers Large Diameter Drilling Ltd. and MENCK GmbH, the StabFrame, which is steered via a work-class ROV, can stabilize piles in all depths required for underwater pile driving and can accommodate various soil conditions. The StabFrame hydraulic release mechanism enables the pile to be driven further into the seabed, if required, before opening the frame, which allows the template to adjust to unpredictable and challenging seabed conditions.

For this operation, MENCK had to drive 10 84-in. mooring piles in up to 140 m (459 ft) water depth using an MHU 500T hydraulic hammer. The piles were required for installation of an FPSO mooring system during the initial EWT phase of subsea development on the Waimea field.

The StabFrame template completed its first offshore pile installation operation in the Campos basin despite strong currents, estimated at times to be more than 2.5 knots. (Image courtesy of Large Diameter Drilling Ltd.)