Reservoir Management Aspects of the Rejuvenation of the Forties Field,UKCS

Reservoir Management Aspects Of The Rejuvenation Of The Forties field, UKCS Owen Vaughan; Owen Vaughan Apache North Sea Ltd. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Richard Jon Jones; Richard Jon Jones Apache Corp. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Sheldon V. Plahn Sheldon V. Plahn Apache North Sea Ltd. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE Offshore Europe Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen, Scotland, U.K., September 2007. Paper Number: SPE-109012-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/109012-MS Published: September 04 2007 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Vaughan, Owen, Jones, Richard Jon, and Sheldon V. Plahn. "Reservoir Management Aspects Of The Rejuvenation Of The Forties field, UKCS." Paper presented at the SPE Offshore Europe Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen, Scotland, U.K., September 2007. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/109012-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition Search Advanced Search AbstractWhen Apache Corporation bought the Forties field in 2003, the field had produced about 2.5 billion barrels of oil from an original oil in place of nearly 5 billion barrels. Historically, cumulative production from some wells had been more than 80 million barrels. By contrast, the remaining drilling targets in 2003 were much smaller, as well as being distributed across the entire field (18 km by 10 km) and reservoir section. In addition, the facilities were nearly 30 years old and designed for fluid rates very different from those current in 2003.Since 2003, Apache has rejuvenated the field through a combination of facilities improvements, workovers, and drilling new wells. Management of the Forties reservoir during this rejuvenation has had to take into account the challenges of accessing small, widely distributed targets and the constraints of facilities projects being run in parallel.Initially, 4D seismic was used as the main tool to identify drilling locations. This was an appropriate technique to identify the larger targets but became less certain as thinner oil columns and deeper parts of the section were targeted. During this initial phase of drilling a fine-scale reservoir model was constructed and is now used with streamline simulation as a tool to assess targets and optimise the waterflood. The installation of multiphase well testing equipment and a widespread use of electric submersible pumps with permanent downhole gauges have provided new insights into reservoir performance. Sand control techniques have been introduced in order to manage the potential for sand production. Understanding and working with the interdependency of reservoir management, drilling, and facilities has been essential throughout the process.The combination of 4D seismic and simulation techniques which has guided the rejuvenation of Forties are presented, along with the interactions with facility-related projects.IntroductionThe Forties field is a Palaeocene reservoir in the central North Sea, UKCS (Fig. 1). The field was discovered in 1970 and started production in September 1975. In April 2003, operatorship was transferred from BP after Apache acquired a majority interest in the field (96.14% working interest, rising soon after to 97.14%). Cumulative production up to 2003 had reached 2.5 billion barrels of oil. Since Apache has taken over, production through to the end of 2006 has totaled 75.3 million bbl oil while booked proved reserves at year end 2006 are 35% higher than when the field was acquired. Through to the end of 2006, Apache has invested $1.24 billion of capital in the field.A major drilling programme has been carried out, with approximately 40% of current production coming from wells drilled since 2004 (Fig. 2). As a consequence of increased production as well as cost control, lifting costs have been reduced by around 30%.This paper reviews activity in the first four years of Apache operatorship, looking particularly at the evolution of the drilling programme and reservoir management during that time. The constraints and opportunities created by extensive facilities projects and their interaction with the reservoir aspects of the drilling programme are an important feature of the field rejuvenation.Forties InfrastructureThe infrastructure of Forties is a critical element in the methods used to redevelop the field. The field had originally been developed with four platforms (FA, FB, FC, and FD) each with full separation and export pumping facilities. Each platform was stand-alone and exported oil production directly into the Forties Pipeline System (FPS). Platform FE was added to the field later and brought on production in 1987. FE was set up with electric submersible pumps (ESPs) in all wells, with production manifolded and sent to FA for separation and final export pumping. From the mid 1990s, direct export into FPS from each platform was discontinued. Instead, processed crude from FA+FE, FB, and FD was sent at reduced pressure to FC where it was combined and boosted in pressure for export into FPS (Fig. 3). Keywords: Upstream Oil & Gas, Reservoir Characterization, drillstem/well testing, Modeling & Simulation, sand production, simulation model, ESP, platform, Rejuvenation, completion Subjects: Reservoir Characterization, Formation Evaluation & Management, Seismic processing and interpretation, Drillstem/well testing This content is only available via PDF. 2007. Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.

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