Genoa Black caught up with Craig Feherty, Director of FiberLine Technology (FLI) at Well-SENSE, to discuss their new product after it burst onto the market last year and subsequently received the award of Most Impactful Technology at the OWI Global Awards 2020.
FLI is an intervention system for downhole data acquisition which enables the operator to perform high-quality well surveys faster than ever before. It employs single-use bare fibre-optic lines for distributed temperature and acoustic sensing, placing them directly into the wellbore from surface to total depth.
This compact and lightweight technology does not rely on the use of rigs, wireline, sickline or coiled tubing for deployment - reducing cost, risk and time taken for well intervention, while still providing a dynamic picture of a well over time. Only one engineer is needed to deploy the system and it can be used for a number of different applications.
Behind the projects success:
Feherty reflected on why the product has received so much attention over the last year. He commented, “We have been running the technology for a couple of years, developing it, trialling it, making it commercial. We knew all along it was something important for the market, that will enable well surveillance to be carried out more efficiently. Over the last year FLI has delivered impressive field results."
When asked what value the FLI system brings to customers, Feherty responded, “One struggle for the industry is efficient data collection of the right type - understanding what is happening within assets, how they are performing and where things are going wrong that may be put right. Standard intervention methods can be costly and have not evolved much over time.
“We have approached this from different angle - how to give our customers faster, richer data sets and reduce the risks that especially offshore interventions can carry. All the way through our development we have tried to address the problem of gathering more meaningful data using a simpler technique. By doing so you minimise the risk. Our product is capturing such rich data sets that it gives our customers much more of an understanding of what is going on within their well, which in turn allows them to make decisions fast. And it is delivered at a very affordable price.
Why recognition was significant:
The FLI Director continued by observing that the company is a small team that has evolved from humble beginnings, mainly through determination. He noted, “It is not easy bringing a new product to market, especially something as different as ours. Developing and building the business up, really is a true reflection on the hard work of our team and the commitment we have had. We have always known that this would be something quite special and it is only through perseverance that you get there. It is the icing on the cake that the hard work that we have committed to, and the work we have done in partnership with our customers, has been recognised by these awards.”
Reflecting on 2020:
2020 was a difficult year for every company across the oil and gas industry and Feherty did not shy away from addressing the obstacles Well-SENSE had faced. He admitted, “I won’t lie and say it hasn’t been a challenge. It has been a challenge for all of us with a lot of uncertainties about. But I think, if anything, it gives us more pride in what we are doing.
“We have had a tough year, but we have ridden through it and with the commercial benefits FLI can offer, we still have a fantastic level of customer engagement, enquiries and orders. We are still growing and that is a testament in itself that, even in challenging times, a small, dedicated team with a great product designed to deliver value, can really make a difference.”
Looking ahead to 2021:
Finally, the FLI Director turned to the future as he concluded, “I would like to say the plans will be bigger and better next year, and of course they are, but really it is keeping to the same path we are on. We are seeing demand growing for our services and our technology and we look to continue servicing that throughout 2021. The more we do, the more we can prove how FLI can make big wins for our customers and we only see that as being fruitful. As a team we are really excited for the next 12 months. 2021 will be a new beginning for all of us, but we are starting in a great position, and we are expecting big things.”
Dedication and perseverance appear to have paid off for Well-SENSE with the recognition from the OWI Awards judging panel, with one of the expert judges noting that the FLI system is ‘giving operators new options’. The new technology is a much needed innovative boost for the industry and is fast becoming the first choice well surveillance and diagnostic tool across the sector.
At the OWI Global Awards 2020, Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) claimed Best Example of Collaboration for the Subsea Well Response Project (SWRP) and so Genoa Black sat down with Andy Myers, SWIS Director at OSRL, to discuss the enterprise in more detail.
The SWRP was established in 2011 as a non-profit joint initiative between several major oil and gas corporations to improve the industry’s ability to respond to sub-sea well control incidents. The four objectives of the project were to; develop a capping toolbox to allow wells to be shut in; produce the Subsea Incident Response Toolkit (SIRT) for site survey, debris clearance, BOP intervention and subsea dispersant; collaborate on an international deployment mechanism so equipment could be readily available to the wider industry; and determine the feasibility of a global containment system.
Oil Spill Response Limited has collaborated with the SWRP since its conception and today offers subscribers access to equipment, planning support, exercise assistance and training services as well as facilitating the Global Subsea Response Network (GSRN) to enhance well response capabilities for the industry.
Behind the project's success:
Speculating why the project was chosen by the judges, Myers commented, “This award recognised delivery of SWIS equipment and quite rightly so. That was a huge milestone for the industry. But there is a journey that everyone is on in order to ensure that they are maintaining the response readiness. We are collaborating not only with those members and subscribers but also more widely with companies that we work closely with to help provide a comprehensive service for the subscribers.
“We helped to facilitate the Global Subsea Response Network and participants in that help to provide the comprehensive service. Some of the key participants are; Wild Well Control, the OEMs of the equipment such as Trendsetter Engineering and Oceaneering; and other companies such as Wood - all recognisable names. But we helped to facilitate access to all of those resources to ensure; a comprehensive integrated planning service; to be prepared; but also, in a response, the access to the resources that would be needed.
Why recognition was significant:
When asked what the recognition meant to OSRL, Myers said, “Collaboration is at the core of the company’s business. We are a member owned company and consortium. It really is part of our basis and part of our premise. We are not a traditional commercial organisation. It is good to be recognised as it re-iterates the purpose of our company and why we exist which is to help facilitate that collaboration and ensure everyone is ready to respond if required.
Lessons learned from 2020:
2020 has been difficult for everyone and has thrown up challenges that simply could not have been foreseen this time last year. Myers acknowledged a similar story within his company but preferred to look at the positives, noting that such times opens opportunities and there is now a chance to use the tools that have been developed to embark on a more positive approach moving forward.
Looking ahead to 2021:
A postiive outlook is at the heart of OSRL’s plan for 2021, and Myers concluded, “Into 2021 the key focus area for our subsea business is really related to the global subsea response network and we want to do more to formalise that. We want to do more work to promote it so the industry understands its capability and we hope to grow it in specific areas. We want to look at how that network delivers integrated planning services and a comprehensive response for the industry.”
As the oil and gas industry struggles to mitigate the economic damage caused by COVID-19, voices across the sector have suggested that increased collaboration will be vital for recovery in 2021. Receiving the OWI Award for Best Example of Collaboration has therefore come at a significant time, with the judges labelling the SWRP project as ‘huge for the industry’, and hopefully this will set a precedent that will lead to more cooperation in the future.
After claiming the prize for HSE Innovation at the OWI Global Awards 2020, Kristell Nygård, Operations Manager at TIOS, spoke with Genoa Black to discuss the resounding success of their Transfer Hose Hang Off Unit and their plans to build on this in 2021.
In combination with a Stimulation Vessel the Transfer Hose Hang Off Unit has proven to enhance safety, efficiency and operability during Riserless Light Well Intervention operations. Nygård noted how the new hanger system, in action this year, had eliminated a whole range of problems that were experienced on previous campaigns. These include; the use of crane operations (which required time); human presence on the hose hanger system (where previously engineers had to climb up the hanger system); and repeated connection and disconnecting of pumping lines (now just one connection is needed with testing only required each time the vessel arrives onto the site).
The system also allowed control of operation from a safe distance (with the option to use the control panel so people do not have to be close to the equipment); increased distance between the two vessels; and it also significantly extended the weather operating windows for operations resulting in a saving of approximately 18 hours per well.
On what separates the unit from the rest of the market, Nygård commented, “It is the manual handling that is reduced to a minimum. It is also a great wholesale unit that you can replace anywhere. As it has a small footprint, you can put it on a fixed platform on any vessel you like.”
Nygård also spoke on the importance of recognition, “It is good that all the teamwork we are doing is getting recognised as TIOS is a small company. We are trying to come up with new great ideas to make well intervention jobs more achievable in days instead of weeks. We like to do things faster, better and with increased operational ability.”
“We had a challenge when oil prices dropped. Well intervention is more about contract to contract, when the price goes down sometimes companies pull out of contracts and the jobs stop. It was a challenging year but we have achieved more and more,” Nygård added and thanked the continued support from companies within the sector.
Concluding, Nygård looked ahead to 2021, “We have now gone into business with the same oil company and the same equipment to perform one more acid job this year. We are going to stimulate two more wells for the same company. Also, this time we will be able to pump balls through the system for the first time enabling us to do more with the new hosing system. The same company would like us to perform more of the same job next year so actually this gives us more jobs. For the hose hanger system there are other companies who want to use it as well.”
The Transfer Hose Hang Off Unit was a worthy winner of the OWI 2020 HSE Innovation prize, marking a notable advancement in safety and operability for the industry, and it appears that TIOS has every intention to build on this success as it heads into 2021.
The Helix Intervention Tension Frame (ITF) was implemented after Helix Energy Solutions approached OSBIT with a well intervention problem; how to deploy tools safely from a vessel.
OSBIT responded with a tension frame that is constrained onto a vessel so that it slides only vertically with the craft allowing them to establish a walk-to-work system and allowing a relatively large ITF compared to the vessel. The ITF has three platform levels, is accessible via a telescopic gangway and removes the need for engineers to use rope access systems. This means that from a relatively small vessel, a suite of tools can be exchanged without having to come off the well in addition to the swift manoeuvring of personnel.
With the ITF, Helix vessels productivity is greatly enhanced, with crews able to quickly access the wells, use the tools they have, and move from well to well and tooling suite to tooling suite safely and effectively. This ensures that the right people are at the right equipment at the right time, and that maintenance can be carried out as swiftly as possible.
In use on Helix Siem vessels in Brazil the integrated system is field tested, with noticeable benefits such as reducing the time taken to switch between wireline and coil tubing operations (and back again) from days to just a few hours. It has also had a marked improvement on safety with the Siem Helix 2 recently completing 500 days without an LTI.
David Carr, Senior Vice-President of International Development at Helix Energy Solutions commented, “The three ITFs that were built for us by OSBIT have had an outsize effect on increasing the safety and efficiency of our most recent three vessels. Just being able to switch operational modes to go from wireline to coil tubing in a manner of hours is saving our customers significant rig time. More importantly they provide a safe compensated platform for our crews to work at height and because of that we have been able to completely eliminate man riding from these vessels. We are extremely happy with the safe working environment that the ITF brings to Helix.”
For the ITF project, OSBIT was shortlisted for Most Innovative Solution at the OWI Global Awards 2020, capping a positive year for the company despite the pandemic. At the start of the year, OSBIT was awarded a contract by FTAI Ocean, a subsidiary of Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC, to develop and construct a new well intervention tower system and has also recently appointed Robbie Blakeman as joint managing director to reflect the ambitions of the company as it seeks to continue its success and growth into 2021.
See the latest well intervention training from Seaflo and understand how this can increase your project efficiency
If you’re intervening, generally something’s wrong and it’s only going to get worse unless you do something about it. Is there something in the very name and nature of well intervention that is undermining its true potential in the North Sea and the wider global market? Let’s explore why interventions typically take place, what is done and what could be done differently.
By Simon Sparke – International Well Integrity
From a well integrity perspective, there have been several key and defining events have shaped the oil and gas industry in terms of how we construct wells and then monitor and test for operational reliability and regulatory compliance.
Perhaps one of the most significant components was the introduction of the ‘surface controlled sub-surface safety valve (SCSSSV)’.
The history behind this critical well component is very interesting and here is what I have found so far:
It is generally a requirement of many regulators that SCSSSV’s are fitted to wells in a wide range of locations and well types. However, due to the allowable leak rate criteria of 15 SCF/Min, some regulators and operators do NOT accept this piece of equipment as a barrier, though if used it will significantly reduce flow.
It has become part of the periodic testing requirement and for many years now the reliability has improved significantly. Broadly speaking, the valve is a flapper and not a ball valve and is run as an integral part of the completion (tubing retrievable) or they can be wireline retrievable.
While it is not my place to make recommendations about which type of valve to run, there are a range of reliability databases available that will help an Operator make that decision.
My recommendation is that when looking to identify which SCSSSSV to purchase and run, consider several factors -:
Finally, once purchased and before this tool is run, determine the hydraulic signature of the valve. This will provide invaluable support data when trying to diagnose problems.
North Sea oil and gas operators are failing to make the most from their existing well stocks, with some 30% (600) shut-in and 33 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) lost due to well losses – the equivalent of a new west of Shetland field.
The figures, from 2017 but reflective also of 2018, were presented by Margaret Copland, senior wells and technical manager at the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) at this morning’s Offshore Well Intervention Europe (OWIE) conference in Aberdeen.
Restoring shut-in wells can add production at economic rates said Copland. According to the OGA’s data, 22 million boe of production was added in 2017, through intervention operations, at an average well restoration costs in 2017 averaged just US$6.4/boe. “That’s an amazing rate of return,” Copland told the event, which continues tomorrow. Yet, well intervention was carried out on just 14% of wells in 2017, she said. “We need to think about these wells in terms of economics. Given that 30% of wells are sitting shut-in – that’s not wells that are in cessation of production (COP), it’s 30% of the active well stock – there is something wrong with a 14% intervention rate. We should be at 30%, trying to get these shut-in wells online, assuming facilities can handle it (eg. water handling etc.).”
The biggest cause of shut-in wells is integrity issues, which drove 45% of intervention operations in 2017. The second biggest is water production, either being too much and choking off hydrocarbon production or there not being enough capacity to handle the water topside, said Copland.
Production losses, which amounted to 26 million boe in 2015, 37 million boe in 2016, and 33 million boe, hasn’t seen an obvious trend, said Copland. “33 million boe is the equivalent of a big field west of Shetland,” she said. “That’s the potential. These well losses are not an issue with compressors or pipelines, it’s issues with wells and we are not seeing this being addressed. We are not sure that the industry knows at a granular level what’s causing these losses. Some are obvious: wells falling over and nothing being done about it, but that’s not the majority of losses. We are often asking if they understand their well losses, are they doing failure mode analysis, what are they doing to prevent it happening and we are getting a lot of blank faces.”
A big concern is the lack of well surveillance. Operators appear to not be doing enough to learn about what is happening in their wells. The rate of well surveillance work was just 8% of the active well stock in 2017, despite a large prize that could be had by doing well intervention, Copland said. “I don’t know what that number should have been but 8% is too low. We need to increase surveillance. The amount of data gathering going on is abysmal. Many companies have performance standards for data gathering, but how many have met it? I think not many. Without surveillance data, without going in to get data, without using new technology like the logging on fibre line, we cannot make the business case to make these projects work.”
John Hand, Technology Program Manager, Conventional Assets, ConocoPhillips, agrees. Opening the second day of the OWIE conference this morning, he said that, for the US onshore conventional business, increasing production rates, “is a big data problem and all you have to do is get that data and get it in a form people can look at across disciplines. In the Eagle Ford (play), we used data analytics to cut the time to drill in half over four years.” At 22 days per well, drilling teams had said they were at their technical limit. That time was reduced to 12 days and then seven days, over a four year period, Hand said.
Shut-in wells that are not going to be brought back online should be abandoned instead of left until cessation of production for abandonment work, added Copland. “It would be more economic to do something to isolate the well and preliminary log well before that,” she said. “Maybe an operator will be short of trees, they could get a tree off one of these wells and get it turned around ready for the next time a tree falls over. Waiting until the end of field life doesn’t help anyone.”
The bigger picture is a UK North Sea that’s largely mature but still with remaining potential. Some 7500 wells have been drilled in the UK to date, with 44 billion barrels of oil produced. More wells are now being plugged and abandoned than drilled, and exploration drilling is at an all time low. But, production efficiency in existing fields has been improved, new seismic data is being shot, and “Elephant fields” could still be found west of Shetland, said Copland.
Improving well intervention and increasing production could help push back COP dates and extend the life of the UK Continental Shelf, she said. To aid that drive, Copland says the OGA is close to finalising a wells strategy which it will then use to question operators on their own activities to make sure they’re doing all they can. This strategy was due to be published by the end of Q1 2019.
We are pleased to announce that the Oil and Gas Authority will be speaking at OWI EU 2019 for the first time and are allowing us to distribute their latest Well Insights report to our audience of well intervention experts.
Offshore Network have created a 2018 Market Forecast. The whitepaper, titled 2018 Market Forecast: What does the oil price mean for well intervention? Highlights the likely path of the oil price throughout 2018 and the correlating well services which will be in demand. The paper includes a forecast of the Brent and WTI oil price throughout 2018, an overview of the uplift works operators can utilize to take advantage of increased oil price and an analysis of why P&A activity will still increase in 2018, even when a higher oil price makes more fields economic.
McKinsey & Co deliver a presentation regarding the value of North Sea well Intervention.
The North Sea is a mature basin, and as with all mature basins the lack of drilling activity over the past 18 months has placed a greater demand on old assets to maintain or increase production levels beyond their initial design life. This inevitably raises many questions about well integrity and asset life extension.
By NORSOK D-010’s definition well Integrity is the “application of technical, operational and organizational solutions to reduce risk of uncontrolled release of formation fluids throughout the life cycle of a well.” In order to assure integrity, comply with regulations and increase recovery volumes North Sea operators conduct regular well intervention campaigns to improve, or at least maintain, the productive life of fields in the region.
It is worth mentioning that well intervention as a subject is more inclined towards OPEX engineering work on live wells, including activities such as logging, slickline, coiled tubing, structural maintenance and other workovers to name a few. Well integrity begins at the design phase of the asset, from selecting a completion design, tubing grades and sizes, detailed assessment of reservoir fluids, testing & commissioning and complete well surveillance throughout the lifecycle of a well. Hence, well intervention and integrity activities are multidisciplinary and require excellent communication, working standards, design, engineering and a live status of the well’s behavior.
As the fields are maturing there is a natural decline following the production plateau, requiring additional applications such as Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) to maintain the profitability of the reservoir. It is anticipated with aging wellstock on rise issues such as declining structural integrity of wells will increase. Thus requiring preventative maintenance activities will increase such as diagnostic logging, tubing retrieval and well platform remediation will be unavoidable and necessary.
All of this demonstrates that there is a slow but steady growth towards an increase in well intervention and remediation activities. Whatever the objective is, be it production enhancement, structural assurance or both, integrity and intervention have a common goal – extending the asset’s production life.
Currently, 70% of global Oil & Gas recovery comes from mature fields, but as production decreases on average by 7% year on year, there is significant pressure placed on our mature assets. Significant advances in the technology used for extending production life have greatly contributed to the vast amount of stock outliving its intended design life. A good example being advanced diagnostics that help operators identify wells that are prone to corrosion, fatigue, and abnormal movements. In the long run, regular preventive maintenance serves to be the best option for keeping old assets online and profitable. Structural Integrity and Good Practices
Two main types of well platform construction can be considered for simplicity; the well can be built on the conductors (i.e. the conductor is the structural pile in the well) or built on the surface casing support, (i.e. the surface casing is the structural pile in the well) where the conductor acts only as a marine protector.
Both types are prone to corrosion with each having advantages and disadvantages. For instance, oxygen is more prevalent in casing supported wells because the D-annulus is more exposed. Other sources of corrosion include having a low-pressure seal, having a barrier to atmosphere and seawater acting on the outside of the conductor, but it is noted that casing support wells are less prone to seawater corrosion as conductors act as protection Also, drill fluids (seawater) exist in the seabed and do improve hydraulics, however, the conductor’s joints are below sea-level, and the tidal range in D-annulus gets constantly corroded due to wet and dry cycles, which is a catalyst for corrosion. The installation of debris caps in conductor supported wells seems to be harmless but creates additional corrosion problems due to condensation loops resulting in wet and dry cycles, which in turn results in accelerated corrosion just below the wellhead.
Offshore well structures and related problems, including corrosion, raise issues on how to assess and quantify structural integrity. A process to rank issues based on severity, risk, and opportunity is critical. To effectively execute this process there are four key steps to help you develop a proactive preventative programme to aid the life extension of your assets:
Once the stress conditions have been corrected you have all the most important information to select the most appropriate and efficient remediation methods for low severity and medium severity assets, for example:
Regardless of selecting the appropriate action across your assets, the main takeaway is that best practice is to investigate your wells early, identify and repair critical wells, implement preventive measures to save from developing issues, schedule monitoring, and generic studies. This offers a cost effective approach to life extension and pays off in the long term, as even though you may have to shut in wells for longer during routine inspections, you will identify remedial works and opportunities that you may or will have to address later on and outside of the inspection window. If you work outside of this window you will inherit additional cost and risk dealing with a significantly more challenging project which could have been avoided if the identified symptom was rectified during the inspection.
Preventative and maintenance workovers are more cost-effective in the long run than replacing a failed barrier. It is interesting to note that the oil & gas industry still has differing standards and opinions on barrier definitions, technical interpretations and so forth, but evolving nevertheless. Due to the nature of well integrity being diverse and multidisciplinary, there is a huge demand for entrepreneurship in developing shared management systems to keep the status of well stocks up-to-date. From the operator’s point of view, well integrity is somewhat process-oriented since there are hundreds of active wells and multiple teams working together. This can be leveraged for additional efficiencies. It is necessary to develop an effective relationship between data and inspection to offer a robust, proactive and cost effective integrity programme that supports asset life extension and reduces expensive and complex critical works and rig based activity, which could have been avoided.
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