January,
2002
Applying Successful Practices in 2002
In 2001, the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC) was one
of several groups to receive awards in the U.S. Department of Energy's
(DOE) Preferred Upstream Management Practices (PUMP) program.
The PTTC team (below) will seek to refine understanding of oil
production constraints and prioritize them by focusing in those where
proven solutions exist and successful implementation will make an
impact quickly.
West Coast PUMPers
Fred Crosby, California, PE and
NACE corrosion specialist, developed expertise in downhole corrosion
and scale programs, well work analysis, and production operations. He
has particular expertise at finding different ways to prevent well
shut-ins and increase production. He holds BS and MS degrees in
petroleum engineering from Stanford University.
Ed Mayer, California, PE and
California Registered Environmental Assessor, his experience focuses
on reservoir engineering, operations, and operations management.
He holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from Stanford University
and an MS degree in petroleum engineering from the University of
Southern California.
Mike Starzer, California, PE,
now the principle of Starzer Consulting Company. Recent
experience has focused on operations and engineering in the
Bakersfield area. He holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from
the Colorado School of Mines and an MS in engineering management from
the University of Alaska.
South Midcontinent PUMPers
Cranston Fletcher, Oklahoma,
PE, has 50 years of petroleum engineering experience. Fletcher
holds BS degrees in petroleum engineering and geological engineering
from the University of Oklahoma. His experience includes aspects of
drilling, well completions, well workovers, waterflooding, coalbed
methane, appraisals and mineral evaluations, and expert witness
work.
Carl Hampton "Hamp" Bussey,
Arkansas, is the former Deputy Director of the Arkansas Oil & Gas
Commission. Mr. Bussey has a petroleum engineering degree from
Louisiana Polytechnic Institute. He has worked in Arkansas's producing
industry for over 40 years, serving in engineering and management
roles for various companies as well as his experience in the Oil and
Gas Commission.
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BORS Lift Units Profitable in Horshoe-Gallup Unit, New Mexico
Regent Energy Corp. assumed operations in the mature (discovered in
1950) Horseshoe-Gallup Unit in New Mexico. Production is from the
Cretaceous Gallup sandstone at about 1,300 ft. Through its life, about
38 million bbl of oil had been recovered from HGU, from some 350
wells. But production is very mature, having been waterflooded since
the 1960s. When Regent acquired the property in 1999, there were only
13 wells producing 60 bopd and 300 bwpd. Regent's depletion plan,
targeted to achieve 12-13% of the 142 million bbl oil-in-place,
includes selective infill drilling and reconditioning or reworking
existing wells. Since taking over operations, Regent has increased
production to 250 to 300 bopd (plus 1,300 bwpd) from about 120 wells.
Economics are still tight in the HGU.
Late in 2000, Regent installed BORS lift units on 10 wells waiting
to be abandoned. Looking at costs of $100,000 to $120,000 just to plug
the wells, and significantly more if they were reworked, the option to
test 10 BORS lift units was attractive. All wells were on production
within less than a week after installing the BORS units.
The BORS technology is based on a proprietary mathematical formula
that calculates a "balance point" in the oil column. The
unit operates by lowering a flexible, cylindrical tube down through
the well casing to the balance point, oil driven by reservoir energy
fills the tube, the tube is lifted to the surface, the oil dumped, and
the dipping process repeated. With this approach, water production and
lifting costs are reduced dramatically, and production is often
increased. For example, conventionally pumped wells in the Unit area
average 2 bopd. During a six-week period in late spring 2001, the 10
BORS-lifted wells averaged 3.5 bopd and further optimization has
increased the average to more than 5 bopd. The BORS units were
producing about 1.5 bo per bw produced, as compared to 10 bw per bo in
conventionally produced wells.
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Excerpt from an article by Ken Wiley, Regent
Energy Corp. and Richard Pomrenke, Grasso Production Management,
Inc., "New Technology Improves Results" Hart's E&P,
October 2001, pp. 79-82
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