CENTRE FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION

EXECUTIVE MBA (OIL & GAS MANAGEMENT) ASSIGNMENT - 1 BATCH: SEMESTER: NAME: ROLL NO: 2010 JULY 2ND SEMESTER _______________________ _______________________ ASSIGNMENT FOR FUNDAMENTALS OF PETROLEUM EXPLORATION MDSO-802

UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM & ENERGY STUDIES

FUNDAMENTALS OF PETROLEUM EXPLORATION (MDSO-802) MAX MARKS 100

All questions are compulsory and carry 6 marks each 1.

SECTION-A WRITE CRITICAL NOTES

(5 x 10 = 50 Marks)

Write short notes on: a) Physical properties of crude oil b) Geological Time-scale c) Reservoir rock properties & their significance d) Different types of traps e) Classification of reserves f) Geological survey g) Well casing and Cementing h) Reservoir drive mechanism i) EOR j) NELP and its significance in Indian oil & gas scenario (a) (b) (a) (b)

2.

What is an offshore platform and how is it different an onshore drilling rig? What are the differences between (i) a jack-up, (ii) a submersible and (iii) a semisubmersible drilling rig? (10 Marks) What are the functions of drilling fluid used in drilling a well? Which are the basic groups of well logs to be taken in an exploratory well? Explain their purpose. (10 Marks)

3.

4.

What are the conditions necessary for generation, migration and accumulation of petroleum in a basin? (10 Marks) Case Study:

5.

Bechraji field was put on production in 1989. Initially, due to operational problems some slippage in prediction v/s actual production was noticed. The field could achieve peak rate with an oil recovery of 2.8% IOIP (0.84 Million tonnes) by the end of fourth year itself. In June 1994 a mid-term review was carried out to understand the causes of increased water cut in wells. In the field, bottom water drive throughout the area led to water coming in wells. Due to adverse mobility, viscous fingering is also taking place and its effect is more on the wells located in peripheral area. Both viscous fingering and coning can not be completely stopped as the wells were allowed to flow at an optimum rate (1520 m3/day) which is much more than the critical rates of these phenomena. The presence of natural shale barriers was an advantage in many wells to minimize and same was considered when deciding the perforation policy of wells. The performance of three set of wells at the same structural level is given in table below. The wells completed with oil-shale contact have shown lesser cumulative water production than the wells completed with oil-water contact. The field produced 1.62 Million tonnes of oil by March 1997. The plateau rate sustained for two years 199395 was around 900 tonnes/d in the field.

Identification of By-Passed Oil A study has been carried out based on performance of the wells in the peripheral area. Viscous fingering is the main reason for early water cut in peripheral wells. It leads to by-passing of oil in peripheral areas of the field. The smaller cumulative production in the peripheral wells confirms that a large amount of oil remains un-drained within 58 m isopay. Horizontal Well Performance For the first time in North Cambay Basin, the exploitation of heavy oil through a horizontal well was attempted in unconsolidated sand of Balol field. Subsequently, one well in each field were drilled in Lanwa and Bechraji, with an objective to increase production and improve recovery. Orientation of sand body led to minor change in its direction due to localized shale development. The horizontal well in this field was considered for two reasons. Firstly, to have more oil with less water cut thus reducing water treatment and disposal costs. Secondly, to achieve higher well productivity at a lesser pressure drawdown reducing cusping and coning phenomena. The present cumulative oil produced from the horizontal well is around 2,700 tonnes with a water cut of 66%. Further horizontal may be planned in future to exploit un-drained / bypassed oil. Application of Thermal EOR As the primary recovery of Bechraji field is around 10% of Initial-Oil-in-Place, it can be enhanced by implementing thermal EOR (in situ combustion) technique to achieve an oil recovery of the order of 40%. Four adjacent five spot inverted patterns have been selected for implementation of EOR. Based on this pilot result, the process may be extended to field-wide implementation. Conclusion The heavy oil reservoir needs several factors to be taken into consideration for firming up initial development plans. The parallel planning of delineation and development has resulted in high oil rates with improvement in primary recovery. The advantages of shale barriers in reducing the coning of water in wells have finally shown success in increasing oil production with reduction in water cut. Understanding of water cut behavior and production performance is instrumental in identifying areas of by-passed oil in a heavy oil reservoir. Successful drilling of one horizontal well in this unconsolidated heavy oil reservoir open up further absorption of this technology to exploit un-drained / bypassed oil. The planning of early implementation of thermal EOR will increase the ultimate oil recovery from the field. The production milestone is significant in this field compared to other heavy oil fields as it has already produced 5.4% IOIP at the end of 8th year.

Questions from Case Study: a) b)

(10 Marks each)

What are the natural and induced factors affecting oil recovery in this field? Explain how. Do you think the recovery mechanism and pattern would have been different if the field contains light oil / gas cap? Explain.

****