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Subsea Solutions

All wells are not created equal. Subsea wells, which spring from
the ocean floor yet never see the light of day, have a life-style all
their own. Constructing these wells and keeping them flowing and
productive require heroic efforts that are now paying off.

Alan Christie
Ashley Kishino
Rosharon, Texas, USA
John Cromb
Texaco Worldwide Exploration
and Production
Houston, Texas
Rodney Hensley
BP Amoco Corporation
Houston, Texas
Ewan Kent
Brian McBeath
Hamish Stewart
Alain Vidal
Aberdeen, Scotland
Leo Koot
Shell
Sarawak, Malaysia

For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Robert


Brown, John Kerr and Keith Sargeant, Schlumberger
Reservoir Evaluation, Aberdeen, Scotland; and Michael
Frug, Andy Hill and Frank Mitton, Schlumberger Reservoir
Evaluation, Houston, Texas, USA;
EverGreen, E-Z Tree, IRIS (Intelligent Remote Implementation
System) and SenTREE are marks of Schlumberger.
1. Brandt W, Dang AS, Magne E, Crowley D, Houston K,
Rennie A, Hodder M, Stringer R, Juiniti R, Ohara S,
Rushton S: Deepening the Search for Offshore
Hydrocarbons, Oilfield Review 10, no. 1 (Spring 1998):
2-21.

Oilfield Review

The mysteries and challenges of the world under


the sea have long enticed adventurers and
explorers. For thousands of years, people have
speculated on the existence of underwater civilizations and dreamed of discovering lost cities or
developing ways to live and work under the sea.
Underwater cities remain a fantastic vision,
but some aspects of everyday industry do transpire at the bottom of the sea: early communications cables crossed the ocean bottoms; research
devices monitor properties of the earth and sea;
and military surveillance equipment tracks suspicious activityall as extensions of processes
that also take place on land.
Similarly, the oil and gas industry has
extended its early exploration and production
operations with land-based rigs, wellheads and
pipelines to tap the richness of the volume of
earth covered by ocean. This evolution from land
to sea has occurred over the past century, starting in 1897 with the first derrick placed atop a
wharf on the California (USA) coast (right).1
Seagoing drilling equipment followed, with offshore platforms, semisubmersible and jackup
drilling rigs, and dynamically positioned drillships. From one point on a fixed platform or floating rig, wells could be drilled in multiple
directions to reach more of the reservoir.
As offshore technologies advanced to conquer
increasingly hostile and challenging environments, offshore drilling moved forward in two
major directions: First, and predictably, wells
were drilled at greater water depths every year,
until the current water-depth record was
achieved6077 ft [1852 m] for a producing well
in the Roncador field, offshore Brazil.2 Drilling for
exploratory purposes, without actually producing,
has been accomplished at the record depth of
9050 ft [2777 m] for Petrobras offshore Brazil.Other
Gulf of Mexico leases awaiting exploration reach
water depths of more than 10,000 ft [3050 m].
2. Bradbury J: Brazilian Boost, Deepwater Technology,
Supplement to Petroleum Engineer International 72, no. 5
(May 1999): 17, 19, 21.
Deepwater has different working definitions. One definition of deep is 2000 ft in hostile environments, 3000 ft
[1100 m] otherwise. Another is deep for more than 400 m
[1312 ft] and ultradeep at more than 1500 m [4922 ft].

Winter 1999/2000

Offshore drilling

Deepwater

Subsea

1897 Derrick placed atop


wharf 250 ft [76 m]
from shore
1911 First drilling platform
1925 First artificial island
for drilling
1932 First well drilled from
independent platform
1953 First mobile
submersible rigs
1956 Drill to 600-ft [183-m]
water depth
1961 First subsea Christmas
tree

1966 First jackup


1970 Guideline drilling
in 1497-ft [456-m]
water depth
1971 First dynamically
positioned oil drillship

1973 First multiwell subsea


template
1987 Water depth
drilling record of
7520 ft [2292 m]

1991 Record subsea tieback


to 30 miles [48 km]
1992 First horizontal tree

1994 Water depth oil


production record of
3370 ft [1027 m]
1996 Water depth oil
production record of
5607 ft [1709 m]
2000 Water depth
drilling record of
9050 ft [2777 m]

1996 Record tieback to


68 miles [109 km]
1997 1000 subsea wells
completed

> A time line of offshore operations.

> A subsea production tree, with flowline


connecting to a surface facility.

In a second direction, well-completion equipment has entered the water. Wellheads on the
seafloor, in what is called a subsea completion,
connect to flowlines that transport oil and gas to
the surface (above left). With multiple points of
access, more of the reservoir can be reached
than through extended-reach wells, so the reservoir volume can be exploited more thoroughly. In
addition, field development costs can be greatly
reduced through use of a common central facility.

> Multiple trees. A group of five subsea


production trees is linked to a manifold,
where flow is collected at a single station
before continuing to surface. A second
group of five subsea water-injection wells
is in the background.

The earliest subsea wells were completed


from semisubmersible drilling rigs with the help of
divers who directed the equipment into place and
opened the valves. Today, subsea completions can
be too deep for divers, so the production equipment is monitored and manipulated by remotely
operated vehicles (ROVs). The simple wellhead
and pipeline arrangement has expanded to
encompass multiple wellheads connected to a
manifold by flowlines, then to a floating produc-

tion system, neighboring platform or shore-based


facility (above right). Groups of manifolds connected to central subsea hubs maximize areal coverage of the reservoir. The tieback distance
between the subsea completion and its platform
connection has increased from a few hundred feet
or meters to a record 68 miles [109 km], held by
the Mensa field in the Gulf of Mexico.3

Oilfield Review

3. Sasanow S: Mensa Calls for a Meeting of the Minds,


Offshore Engineer 24, no. 7 (July 1997): 20-21.
4. Thomas M and Hayes D: Delving Deeper, Deepwater
Technology, Supplement to Petroleum Engineer
International 72, no. 5 (May 1999): 32-33, 35-37, 39.
5. Greenberg J: Global Subsea Well Production
Will Double By Year 2002, Offshore 57, no. 12
(December 1997): 58, 60, 80.
A Christmas tree is the assembly of casing and tubing
heads, valves and chokes that control flow out of a well.
6. Thomas M: Subsea the Key, Deepwater Technology,
Supplement to Petroleum Engineer International 72,
no. 5 (May 1999): 46, 47, 49, 50, 53.

Winter 1999/2000

700

600

Number of subsea completions

More and more of the operations originally


performed at surface are moving to the seafloor.
Todays subsea technology covers a wide range
of equipment and activities: guidewires for lowering equipment to the seafloor; Christmas, or
production, trees; blowout preventers (BOPs);
intervention and test trees; manifolds; templates;
ROVs; flowlines; risers; control systems; electrical power distribution systems; fluid pumping
and metering; and water separation and reinjection. One futuristic vision even depicts a seafloor
drilling rig.4
The first subsea production tree was installed
in 1961 in a Shell well in the Gulf of Mexico.5
Within 36 years, 1000 wells had been completed
subsea. Industry champions predict that completing the next 1000 will take only another five
years, and that expansion will continue at around
10% per year for the next 20 years.
In some areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico and
offshore Brazil, expansion will require pushing
the frontiers of depth-limited technology. Only
two wells in the world have been completed subsea at greater than a 5000-ft [1524-m] water
depth. Increases in the number of subsea completions are projected for all depths, but the most
striking will be for the ultradeep (above).6
In other areas, the North Sea in particular,
growth is evident in the increasing number of
subsea completions per project. Norsk Hydro is
planning to develop the Troll field with more than
100 subsea wells tied back to a floating production system.
The subsea environment poses a set of technological challenges unlike anything that the surface can present, and more than can be covered
here. This article reviews the task of completing
a subsea well and explains the workings of the
equipment that controls access to the well
through every stage of its existence, from exploration, appraisal and completion to intervention
and abandonment.

500

Operational
Planned

400

300

200

100

50

150

250

350

450

600

800

1000

2000

3000

Water depth, m

> Number of subsea wells, both operational and planned by 2003, by water depth.

Why Subsea?
Describing the full process behind choosing one
deepwater development strategy over another is
also beyond the scope of this article, but a brief
overview will help set the background. As in the
planning of any asset development, the decisionmaking process attempts to maximize asset
value and minimize costs without compromising
safety and reliability. The cost analysis focuses
on capital expenditures and operating expenses,
and also includes risk, or the potential costs of
unforeseen events.
The conditions driving these costs are numerous and interrelated, and include all the reservoir-related factors usually considered in
land-based development decisions, plus those
arising from the complexities of the offshore
environment. An abbreviated list includes existing infrastructure, water depth, weather and currents, seabed conditions, cost of construction
and decommissioning of permanent structures,
time to first production, equipment reliability,
well accessibility for future monitoring or intervention, and flow assurancethe ability to keep
fluids flowing in the lines.
Certain of these conditions pose awesome
challenges for any offshore development, and
present strong arguments for subsea completion
instead of or combined with other options such
as semisubmersibles, tension-leg platforms, drytree units, and floating production, storage and

offloading systems (FPSOs). Distance from infrastructure is a key determinant in opting for a subsea completion. Wells drilled close enough to
existing production platforms can be completed
subsea and tied back to the platform. The tieback
distance is constrained by flow continuity,
seafloor stability and currents. With some fixedplatform capital expenditures measured in
billions of dollars, maximizing reservoir access
through additional subsea wells can increase
production while keeping capital and operating
costs down.
Wells whose produced fluids will be handled
by an FPSO vessel are also natural candidates
for subsea completions, and not only because of
reduced time to production. Often these are
wells in locations where water depth and
weather make more permanent structures
impractical or uneconomical. Other options in
these environments are either the dry-tree unit,
sometimes called a spar, which is a buoyant vertical cylinder, or the tension-leg platforma
floating structure held in place by vertical, tensioned tendons connected to the seafloor by
pile-secured templates. Both the dry-tree unit
and the tension-leg platform support platform
facilities and are anchored to the seafloor. The
latter techniques have been applied without
subsea completions at depths reaching about
4500 ft [1372 m], but deeper than that the solution has called for a subsea completion in conjunction with the floating systems.

Schlumberger has designed a series of trees for subsea


operations, testing, completion and intervention. Combinations
of inside and outside tool diameters, pressure and temperature
ratings and control systems are designed to suit a variety of
subsea completion and well-testing applications as well as
water-depth and wellbore conditions.

At the water depths in question, running


hydrocarbons through flowlines, valves and
pipelines is not an effortless task. The low temperatures and high pressures can cause precipitation of solids that reduce or completely block
flow. Precipitation of asphaltenes and paraffins is
a problem for some reservoir compositions, usually requiring intervention at some stage of well
life. Scale deposits can also impede flow, and
need to be prevented or removed.7 The formation
of solid gas hydrates can cause blockages in
tubulars and flowlines, especially when a
water-gas mixture cools while flowing through
a long tieback. Prevention techniques include
heating the pipes, separating the gas and water
before flowing, and injecting hydrate-formation
inhibitors.8 Corrosion is another foe of flow continuity, and can occur when seawater comes in
contact with electrically charged pipes.
Access to the well for any tests, intervention,
workover or additional data acquisition is a key
consideration. Traditionally, operators have
selected platform-style solutions when the
development requires postcompletion well
access. Platforms house Christmas trees and
well-control equipment on the surface, giving
easier access to introduce tools and modify well
operations. To perform these functions on subsea
wells requires a vessel or rig, and sometimes a
marine risera large tube that connects the
subsea well to the vessel and contains the
drillpipe, drilling fluid and rising borehole
fluidsand planning for their availability when
the time comes.
All of this adds up to significant cost. In many
cases, the subsea production tree must be
removed. Reconnecting to many subsea wells to
perform workovers and recompletions can also
require a specially designed intervention system

to control the well and allow other tools to pass


through it down to the level of the reservoir. The
development of the completion test tree is now
enhancing the accessibility of subsea wells,
allowing reliable well control for any imaginable
intervention. A full discussion follows in later
sections of this article.
Equipment reliability is a major concern for any
subsea installation. Once equipment is attached to
the seafloor, it is expected to remain there for the
life of the well. Some operators remain unconvinced about the suitability and reliability of subsea systems in ultradeepwater developments.
However, more and more operators are gaining
confidence in subsea practice as contractors provide innovative and tested solutions.
Equipment
Much of the specialized equipment for subsea
installations is designed, manufactured, positioned and connected by engineering, construction and manufacturing companies. ABB Vetco
Gray, FMC, Cameron, Kvaerner, Oceaneering,
Brown & Root/Rockwater, McDermott, Framo
and Coflexip Stena are among the companies
that supply most of the BOPs, wellheads, templates, production trees, production control systems, tubing hangers, flowlines, umbilicals,
ROVs, multiphase meters and pumps, separators
and power generators. The largest structures,
such as manifolds, can weigh 75 tons or more,
and can be constructed and transported in modular form and assembled at the seafloor location.
In addition, oilfield service companies and
other groups provide special tools and services
for the subsea environment. Baker Hughes,
Halliburton, Expro, Schlumberger and others
have developed solutions to crucial wellborerelated problems.

One of the key concerns in constructing and


operating a subsea well is maintaining well control at all times. Drilling, completion and subsequent servicing of subsea wells are typically
performed from one of two types of vessel: a
floating system that is tethered or anchored to
the seafloor; or one that maintains location over
the well with a dynamic positioning system. In
both cases, it is critical that the vessel remain in
the proper position, or on station. The position
can be described as the area inside two concentric circles centered over the well location on the
seafloor. The inner circle represents the limit of
the preferred zone, and the outer circle represents the maximum acceptable limit before damage occurs. The vessel activates thrusters to
propel the vessel back to the desired location if
currents or other conditions such as weather
have caused it to move off station, all while
continuing the drilling, testing, completion or
well intervention.
However, under extreme conditions, the
dynamic positioning system may be unable to
remain on station or a situation may arise that
could endanger the vessel. System problems
could include the failure of the thruster system or
loss of some anchoring lines, causing the vessel
to drift off station. Other situations could include
severe weather or collisions with icebergs or
other vessels. Under such conditions, the dynamically positioned vessel would drive off station.
All these cases would require disconnecting
the landing string and riser from the well. Once
the decision to disconnect from the well is made,
industry best practices for operation in deep
water with dynamically positioned vessels
require that the complete process be achieved
within 40 to 60 seconds, depending on the conditions and systems used. However, prior to disconnecting from the well and in a separate
process that itself takes 10 to 15 seconds, all
flow from the well must be controlled and no
hydrocarbons must enter the sea. Both ends of
the disconnected conduit must be sealed. And
once the hazard clears and operation becomes
safe again, connection to the well can be
reestablished to resume the operation.
The tools that have been developed by
Schlumberger and other companies to perform
these tasks are called subsea completion and
test trees. They are not permanently fixed to the
seafloor as are the production trees, but are
deployed inside the marine riser by a landing
string when needed, run through the BOP stack,

Oilfield Review

connected to the production tree tubing hanger


and then retrieved (right). The tools combine two
main features: the control-system portion of the
tool transmits information between the surface
and the tool and facilitates the activation of the
valves and latches. The valves and latches perform the connection, flow control, disconnection
and reconnection with the seafloor tree.
Schlumberger has designed a series of trees
for subsea operations, testing, completion and
intervention. Combinations of inside and outside
tool diameters, pressure and temperature ratings
and control systems are designed to suit a variety of subsea completion and well-testing applications as well as water-depth and wellbore
conditions. For well testing, the smaller diameter
SenTREE3 system is used. The SenTREE3 tool
has a 3-in. inside diameter and ratings of 15,000
psi [103.4 MPa], and 350F [177C]. For completion and intervention, the SenTREE7 system is
designed with a 738-in. internal diameter and has
10,000 psi [68.9 MPa] and 325F [163C] ratings
capable of operating in water depths up to
10,000 ft. A chemical-injection line allows additives to be introduced to the well to prevent corrosion or hydrate formation.
Each tools control system is engineered
according to the operators requirements. The
time available for disconnection depends on each
vessels dynamic positioning system capabilities,
water depth, expected currents and wave
heights, and a hazardous operations analysis. The
SenTREE tools are designed to unlatch under full
tension and at an angle greater than can be physically achieved in the BOP stack, to ensure that
controlled unlatching is possible in all conditions.
In water depths to 2000 ft [610 m], under mild
conditions and from a tethered or moored vessel,
the time can be up to 120 seconds. The time is
longer because the vessel is anchored and does
not rely on dynamic positioning to stay in place. In
these cases, the control system usually has a
direct hydraulic design. The signal to disconnect
is sent through hydraulic lines to solenoid valves
in the tools control system that hydraulically activate the tool valves. Due to the behavior of the
fluid and the control lines, the time required for
the shutoff signal to travel to the subsea tool
increases with depth. One method for minimizing
this additional time in water depths up to 4000 ft
[1219 m] is to enhance the system through use of
pressure accumulators in the subsea hydraulics.
7. Crabtree M, Eslinger D, Fletcher P, Miller M, Johnson A
and King G: Fighting ScaleRemoval and Prevention,
Oilfield Review 11, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 31-45.
8. For more on gas-hydrate inhibition: Brandt et al,
reference 1: 11-12.

Winter 1999/2000

Subsea
completion
and test tree
Blowout
preventer

> A subsea completion and test tree and subsea blowout preventer (BOP) configuration. The completion
and test tree fits inside the BOP to control a live well.

At greater water depths, or in operations from


a dynamically positioned vessel, disconnection
must be achieved in 15 seconds or less. A
hydraulic system alone, over the distance
involved, functions too slowly for this, but the
combination of an electrical and hydraulic system
allows a fast electrical signal to activate the
hydraulically controlled disconnection and flow
shutoff. These systems are known as electrohydraulic. For the SenTREE3 system, the surface system sends a direct electric signal on an electrical
cable to the three solenoid valves of the downhole
control system. These valves control the three
functions of the SenTREE3 tool, which are to close
shutoff valves, vent pressure and unlatch.
The SenTREE7 multiplex control system, on
the other hand, performs 24 functions. These
include opening and closing four valves, latching
and unlatching two tools, locking and unlocking
the tubing hanger, injecting chemicals and monitoring temperature and pressure (right and
below). The system is too complicated to operate
by direct electrical signal, so a multiplexed signal
is sent down a logging cable, then interpreted by
a subsea electronics module in the control system, which in turn activates the tool functions. In
addition, the electrical system telemeters feedback on the pressure, temperature, status of the
valves, and other parameters as required, providing two-way communication between tool and
surface. The Schlumberger multiplexed control
system is the fastest proven method available.
The shutoff system comprises a ball valve,
flapper valves and a latch. A tubing-hanger running tool (THRT) completes the system. A slick
joint separates the various valves and latches to
match the spacing of the rams of any subsea BOP

> Inside the SenTREE7 system. The


electronics module (above) interprets
multiplexed signals sent from the
surface to control tool functions.
Hydraulic lines (left) transmit the
signals to the tools valves and latches.

Oilfield Review

configuration so the rams can close in the case of


a blowout (below). The valves are specified to hold
pressures exerted from inside or outside the system. To ensure fluid isolation, the valves operate
in order: first, the ball then lower flapper valves
shut off fluid rising from the well; second, the
retainer valve above the latch closes to contain
fluids in the pipe leading to the surface; third, the
small amount of fluid trapped between the two
valves is bled off into the marine riser; finally the
latch disconnects the upper section, which can be
pulled clear of the BOP stack. If the riser is going
to be disconnected at the same time, the BOP
blind rams are then closed and the drilling riser is
disconnected. The vessel then can move off location leaving the well under control. The design of
a subsea completion and test tree centers on the

Lubricator valve

Control system

Bleedoff valve

Retainer valve

Latch connector

Flapper valve

Ball valve

>

SenTREE series of subsea test


and completion tools. The SenTREE3
(left) and SenTREE7 (right) tools
have similar design, with valves
and latches to shut off fluid flow
and disconnect from the well in a
controlled operation. The SenTREE3
tool (yellow) is displayed inside a
BOP stack (green). The components
of the SenTREE7 system are labeled
in order of their activation in the
event of a disconnection.

ability to perform a controlled disconnectionan


event that both operator and service company
hope will never happen, but must have the capability to manage should it occur.
The design and manufacturing process for
completion and test trees is quite different from
that of other oilfield service tools. Other oilfield
service tools, such as wireline or logging-whiledrilling tools, are typically designed by service
companies to be used hundreds of times in many
wells and to suit a wide variety of conditions.
Subsea completion and test trees consist of standard modules, but must be adapted to suit project specifications driven by BOP dimensions,
shear capability and tubing-hanger system
dimensions, all according to a tightly timed
development and delivery contract.

Riser

Spanner joint
Hydril
Retainer valve
Bleedoff valve
Shear sub

Shear rams

Latch assembly
Blind rams

Valve assembly

Pipe rams
Slick joint
Pipe rams

Adjustable
fluted hanger
BOP stack

SenTREE3 tool

Winter 1999/2000

SenTREE7 tool

Multiple vendors participate in building different components of a subsea installation, and


each component must fit and work with others on
schedule. Delays in tool availability mean delays
in production. The tools themselves are physically colossal (above). Even the largest wireline
tools fit inside. The substantial dimensions and
weight of this equipment require special handling equipment and cranes for moving and
manipulation. Tool operation, handling and maintenance are usually carried out by locations that
also handle well-testing equipment.
Each completion and test tree must be adapted
to fit a specific subsea production tree and BOP
combination, of which it seems no two are alike.

The first production trees were mainly dualbore type trees, with a production bore and separate annulus bore passing vertically through the
tree and with valves oriented vertically. There
were also a number of concentric-bore tree
designs in which the annulus could not be
accessed.9 Both the dual-bore with separate bores

>

> A tool as big as the team. The SenTREE engineering team at the Schlumberger Reservoir
Completions center in Rosharon, Texas, USA accentuates the large scale of the SenTREE7 tool.

and the concentric-bore trees are sometimes


called vertical trees by some manufacturers.
A disadvantage of this type of tree is that
it is installed on top of the tubing hanger, so
that if the tubing must be pulled for a workover,
the production treeoften a 30-ton item
must be removed. In some cases, this may also
involve the removal of umbilicals or even
pipeline connections.
In 1992 a different style of production tree,
the horizontal tree, was introduced. In the horizontal tree, the production and annulus bores
divert out the sides of the tree and the valves are
oriented horizontally. These are sometimes
called side-valve or spool trees. Since the tubing
is landed inside a horizontal tree, the tubing can
be accessed or pulled without moving the tree,
making intervention much easier. Each type of
production tree has a different arrangement with
the BOP, wellhead and tubing hanger, and so
requires its own completion and test tree.
The unique design and the union of electrical
and hydraulic methods in the control system
make the Schlumberger SenTREE7 subsea completion and test tree highly versatile and adaptable to the needs of the project at hand (next
page). The subsea completion and test tree is
custom-engineered to fit inside a BOP with any
ram spacing and to interface with any tubinghanger running tool.
Certificates from
Det Norske Veritas
issued when modules
pass their factory
acceptance test, and
Gary Rytlewski, subsea
chief engineer at the
Schlumberger Reservoir
Completions center.

9. Richborg MA and Winter KA: Subsea Trees and


Wellheads: The Basics, Offshore 58, no. 12
(December 1998): 49, 51, 53, 55, 57.

10

Oilfield Review

> Engineers assembling a SenTREE7 tool for testing at the Schlumberger Reservoir
Completions center.

Tool Reliability
The primary consideration in selecting a
subsea completion and test tree is reliability.
Schlumberger ensures reliability of completion
and test trees through meticulous, systematic
testing. Every component of every tool undergoes
tests with multiple levels of scrutiny.
The first formal test is the factory acceptance
test (FAT), in which individual modules are tested
in-house. The test is conducted in the presence

Winter 1999/2000

of a representative from Det Norske Veritas who


witnesses the test and reviews the calculation
package that shows how that module was
designed to work (previous page, bottom).
However, calculations alone do not prove that
a tool will function under the extreme conditions
of the subsea environment. Operators need more
than numerical computations when the safety of
personnel, equipment and the environment is at

stake. The cost of deploying a substandard subsea tool at current rig day ratesa day or more
to run the tool to depth, a few hours to discover it
is malfunctioning, and another day or two to bring
it back to surfacecan reach the million-dollar
mark, not counting any repairs. Reliability of other
types of equipment can be proved in laboratory
pressure vessels, but testing a subsea completion
tree in a pressure vessel is not an easy task. For

11

Above valve zone


8x control functions
Below valve zone

5000-psi
external pressure

SenTREE7
test tree

> Massive in-ground high-pressure


laboratory for proving subsea tool
reliability, with ground-level wellhead
(insert). Conditions can be created to
match those expected for any subsea
installation down to 10,000-ft water depth.

Latch system to
lock in tubinghanger running tool
and tubing hanger

this purpose, the Schlumberger Reservoir


Completions group designed and constructed an
oversized high-pressure test facility (above).
The hyperbaric test facility at Rosharon, Texas,
USA was constructed by excavating a 35-ft [11-m]
deep pit and creating a 19-in. [48-cm] inner-diameter hole to hold an entire completion tree at conditions equivalent to those at 10,000-ft water
depth. Here, any subsea pressure scenario can be
created to match conditions expected for any job
and prove that the tool will function properly.
Qualification tests ensure that modules comply with specific industry standards of function
and performance, such as those established by

12

the American Petroleum Institute (API). For example, any number of API standards specify that a
module must perform at a given temperature,
pressure and flow rate, with various fluids, for a
given length of time. These tests are conducted
by the Southwest Research Institute in San
Antonio, Texas, according to industry benchmarks
that other subsea equipment must also meet.
Another test that requires third-party involvement is the system integration test (SIT) at which
all components from all vendors are assembled
in a simulation of a real subsea operation. The
client is usually present to witness the integrated

test. Typical equipment and services present at


the SIT are the subsea production tree, manifold,
flexible and hard flowlines, umbilical control,
SenTREE7 subsea completion test tree and control system, tubing-hanger running tool, tubing
hanger, slickline unit, dummy ROV, cranes and all
the expected field personnel. In some cases, the
connectors for permanent monitoring systems
and the associated test equipment are also part
of the SIT. Any interface between the SenTREE7
tool or tubing-hanger running tool and an intelligent or advanced completion would be incorporated in the SIT, thus helping eliminate potential

Oilfield Review

costly offshore interface problems. This approach


ensures that the equipment will work together
properly in the field.
The following sections include field examples
that demonstrate the roles completion and test
trees play in the different phases of well life,
from exploration and completion to intervention
and abandonment.
Well Testing
In the exploration stage of a well, after a potential
pay zone is discovered, a well test is conducted to
evaluate the production and flow capabilities of
the well. To test a subsea well, a drillstem test
(DST) string is run through the BOP. A typical DST
string consists of perforating guns, gauges, a
gauge carrier with surface readout capabilities, a
retrievable packer and a test-valve tool. This is
connected by tubing up to the seabed, then to a
retrievable well-control test tree set in the BOP to
ensure that disconnection, if required, is done in a
controlled way. Reservoir fluids flow past the DST

gauges at the reservoir level where pressure and


temperature are detected, then flow through the
tubing and test tree, and finally to the surface.
In 1974, when Flopetrol-Johnston Schlumberger
introduced the first subsea test called the E-Z Tree
tool, testing operations from a floating vessel
were made possible with the required level of
safety. Since then, the technology has evolved
and other companies have developed related
tools. Halliburton and Expro now offer similar
test trees and services, and Schlumberger has
developed the SenTREE3 test tree.
In one subsea testing job for Chevron, the
controlled disconnect ability of the SenTREE3
system was confirmed under severe weather
conditions. The North Sea well was at a water
depth of 380 ft [116 m]. The SenTREE3 tool was
equipped with a hydraulic control system. The
heavy-oil test was conducted with an electric
submersible pump and a drillstem test tool.
Weather conditions deteriorated until the average heave reached 15 ft [4.6 m]. At this time, the

> Emergency disconnect of SenTREE3 system during a well test for Chevron.
The hydraulic control system unlatched the subsea test tree when weather
conditions became hazardous, and successfully reconnected to retrieve
the test tree and drillstem test tool once the weather moderated.

Winter 1999/2000

operator decided to halt the test and unlatch. The


shutoff valves were activated and the tool was
unlatched and drawn up (below left). The riser
was disconnected and the vessel moved off.
By the time the weather calmed down, the
well test was cut short and the primary objective
was then to relatch and retrieve the drillstem test
tool. The reconnection was performed successfully and the DST was recovered to surface.
Another example of subsea testing success
comes from the Barden field in the Norwegian
North Sea operated by a consortium consisting
of Norsk Hydro, BP, Shell, Statoil and Saga
Petroleum. Early in 1998, the operators decided
to evaluate the new discovery with the
SenTREE3 tool and were the first in the world to
use the Schlumberger electrohydraulic control
module (below). The dynamically positioned
Ocean Alliance maintained position in the 857-m
[2812-ft] deep rough waters. With this combination of potentially rough seas and moderate
depth, the ability to disconnect quickly is even

> The SenTREE3 tool with electrohydraulic


control used for testing the Barden field in
the Norwegian North Sea.

13

> Subsea completion sequence. 1. Complete drilling and install the suspension packer. 2. Retrieve the drilling riser and BOP stack, move rig off.
3. Retrieve drilling guidebase with ROV assistance. 4. Run the production flow base and latch on 30-in. wellhead housing.

13 3/8-in.
casing

Suspension
packer

10 3/4 by 9 5/8-in.
casing

5. Run subsea horizontal tree. 6. Land the tree, lock connector, test seals and function valves with ROV. Establish guidewires and release tree-running tool.
7. Run BOP stack onto horizontal tree, lock connector, run BOP test tool and test, function-test tree. 8. Retrieve suspension packer, remove wearbushing from
tree, make up SenTREE7 system, rack back.

more critical than in deeper water, because the


angle of the riser relative to vertical changes
more quickly as the vessel moves off station,
and the maximum feasible unlatch angle is
reached sooner.
Fortunately, the weather remained temperate
throughout the full seven days of the well test. A
pressure and temperature sub inside the
SenTREE3 tool monitored flowing conditions to
assist in the prevention of hydrates. Reservoir
fluids flowed through the IRIS Intelligent Remote
Implementation System test string. The produced

14

liquid hydrocarbons were flared with the new


EverGreen burner that generates no smoke or
solid fallout.
In the three years since its introduction, this
new subsea testing technology has spread to
other exploration provinces. Two other well tests
have been conducted with the SenTREE3 tool
plus electrohydraulic control systemone offshore Brazil, the other offshore Nigeria. Almost
300 other jobs have been run offshore Brazil,
West Africa, Australia, Indonesia and in the Gulf
of Mexico with the SenTREE3 test tree and the
hydraulic or enhanced hydraulic control systems.

Completion
The operations described so far pertain to subsea
exploration and appraisal wells with temporary
completions: after testing, the packer, test string
and tubing are pulled and the BOP is left in
control of the hole for either abandonment or
sidetrack operations. Installing a permanent
completion, or string of production tubing, is performed in the development phase when production wells are drilled and completed or when an
existing well is recompleted. The basic process
of completing a subsea well with a horizontal
production tree can be described as a series of
five steps, with a number of subtasks within the
five broad categories:

Oilfield Review

10

11

12

7-in.
production
liner

7 5/8-in.
premium-thread
chrome tubing
7-in. polish bore
receptacle (PBR)
with seal units
9 5/8 by 7-in.
permanent
production
packer

Perforating
gun

9. Run completion string, make up tubing-hanger running tool (THRT) and SenTREE7 system on tubing hanger, run landing string with umbilical, make up
surface control head to landing string. 10. Land hanger in production tree and test seals. Rig up wireline and retrieve straddle sleeve. Run seat protectors.
Circulate tubing to potable water for drawdown. Set wireline plug, test string and set packer. 11. Rig up production test package. Rig up electric wireline
and lubricator. 12. Run guns, correlate and perforate well.
13

14

15

16

13. Carry out production test, acid stimulation and multirate test. 14. Unlatch THRT and retrieve landing string and SenTREE7 tool. Rig down production test
package and flowhead. 15. Run internal tree cap. 16. ROV closes tree valves. Retrieve THRT and landing string.
(continued on page 16)

Well suspensionSuspend flow from the


well with kill fluid; run plugs to shut off flow;
retrieve the riser and BOP.
Production tree installationInstall the
horizontal tree; rerun the drilling BOP; recover
plugs and temporary suspension string.
CompletionChange to completion fluid;
condition the well prior to running completion;
run the completion with production equipment
and the subsea completion and test tool.
Installation and interventionClose rams;
land off and test hanger; set and test packer;
underbalance the well; perforate; clean up flow;
pull out the landing string.
Isolation and production preparationRun
and set hanger plug; open rams; unlatch tubinghanger running tool (THRT); pull THRT out of hole

Winter 1999/2000

with landing string. Run internal tree cap; run and


set internal tree cap plug.10 Unlatch THRT from
internal tree cap; recover landing string; recover
BOP and riser.
Two oilfield service companies, Expro and
Schlumberger, offer tools and services for completing large-bore, horizontal-tree subsea wells.
ABB Vetco Gray, an engineering company that
already supplies tubing hangers, is actively
developing capability to offer completion services also. As service providers gain experience
with and compile success stories about subsea
completions with horizontal trees, operators will
learn about the advantages the newer trees offer
in terms of ease of completion and intervention.
Late in 1999, Shell in Sarawak, Malaysia realized considerable savings by advancing quickly

from exploration to production using an off-theshelf horizontal subsea treethe companys


first horizontal tree. Using the SenTREE7 completion tree, they successfully completed the
subsea well 12 days ahead of schedule without a
minute of downtime. Schlumberger became
active in the earliest planning stages of the
project. This early involvement ensured that the
project would proceed as smoothly as possible.
The completion proceeded in a series of steps
beginning with the termination of drilling and
continuing through landing the production tree,
running the completion string with the SenTREE7
tool, and tying into a well-test package (previous
page, above and next page, top).
10. A tree cap is a cover that seals the vertical conduits in a
subsea production tree.

15

17

18

19

20

> Subsea completion sequence (continued). 17. Retrieve BOP stack, retrieve guidewires. 18. Install debris cap, deploy telescopic legs. 19. Suspend well.
20. Tie in to pipeline for production.

By mid-1999 Texaco had set a record for deepwater subsea completions in their Gulf of Mexico
Gemini field (below). The enhanced direct
hydraulic SenTREE7 subsea completion tree
assisted in the completion process of three subsea
wells in 3400 ft [1037 m] of water, at the time a
worldwide industry record for this type of subsea
completion system. The enhanced direct hydraulic
SenTREE7 system helped run the 5-in. completion
string along with a Cameron tubing hanger on
7-in., 32-lbm/ft [14.5-kg/m] landing string. The
completions were performed from the Diamond
Offshore Ocean Star, an anchored vessel, and the
enhanced hydraulic control system provided the

requisite 120-sec response time to control the


well and disconnect the landing string if required.
After the completions, surface well tests
were performed from the anchored vessel. The
first well was flowed back to the Diamond
Offshore Ocean Star for a total of 65 hours, with
a final gas rate of 80 MMscf/D [2.2 million m3/d],
condensate at 1500 bbl/day [238 m3/d] and water
at 200 bbl/day [32 m3/d]. Methyl alcohol was
continually injected at the SenTREE7 chemicalinjection line to prevent formation of hydrates
during the flowback period. The SenTREE7 tool
was also used to facilitate the installation of the
internal tree cap. Schlumberger also provided

surface well test equipment and services and


sand-detection equipment during well cleanup.
All services, including SenTREE7 operation, were
performed with 100% uptime.
Since then the water-depth record has been
broken, again by the SenTREE7 tool, in another
Gulf of Mexico field. Late in 1999, a Schlumberger
completion and test tree operated from an
anchored vessel as before, but this time in water
depths of 4650 ft [1417 m]. The record was set
during completion of a five-well development
using a tool system similar to the one deployed in
the Gemini field: the enhanced direct control system assured a 120-sec response time.

> Gemini field subsea development. Three Texaco subsea wells in the Gulf of Mexico were completed
using the SenTREE7 system from an anchored vessel.

16

Oilfield Review

Completions of this nature have been performed on wells in Africa, the Gulf of Mexico and
the UK, and more are being planned for the year
2000. After the exceptional experience in the
Gemini field, Texaco has selected Schlumberger
for completions services in 15 subsea wells in its
North Sea Captain field. And more multiwell contract arrangements have been made with major
oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.
In particular, BP Amoco has signed a threeyear multiwell contract with Schlumberger for
subsea completions services in its Gulf of Mexico
fields. Two of these reach water depths of 7000 ft
[2134 m]. These wells will be completed from
Enterprise, a dynamically positioned drillship,
and so will require the multiplexed deepwater
control system that provides a 15-second controlled disconnect. The entire multiplex system
has already completed a rigorous qualification
test and met stringent BP Amoco requirements,
including the 15-second disconnect time. BP
Amoco purchased a surface well-test package
that was installed on the Enterprise for use as a
well test and early production facility.11
11. For more on early production systems: Baustad T,
Courtin G, Davies T, Kenison R, Turnbull J, Gray B,
Jalali Y, Remondet J-C, Hjelmsmark L, Oldfield T,
Romano C, Saier R and Rannestad G: Cutting Risk,
Boosting Cash Flow and Developing Marginal Fields,
Oilfield Review 8, no. 4 (Winter 1996): 18-31.
12. McGinnis E: Coiled Tubing Performance Underlies
Advances in Intervention Vessels, Offshore 58, no. 2
(February 1998): 46-47, 72.

Winter 1999/2000

Intervention
Most wells require some kind of intervention during their life span. Interventionsinstalling or
servicing subsurface surface-control valves,
changing gas-lift valves, production logging,
pulling failed tubing, removing scale or paraffins,
perforating new sections, squeezing cement into
perforations to shut off water flowall can
extend the productive life of a well. Some companies claim that more than half their production
comes from subsea wells, and they will not tolerate reduced production that can be ameliorated
through intervention.12
Intervention can be and has been accomplished with a drilling rig and marine riser, but
returning to a subsea well using this approach is
an expensive proposition. This has led the industry to seek more cost-effective methods for
subsea intervention.
Subsea well intervention services of
Schlumberger, together with Coflexip Stena
Offshore (CSO), have devised a cost-effective
alternative for light well interventionintervention that can be run through tubing. Coflexip
Stena Offshore built the specially designed
dynamically positioned monohull vessels,
CSO Seawell and CSO Wellservicer. The

Schlumberger well intervention group developed


the subsea intervention lubricator (SIL). The SIL is
designed to be deployed and operated from a
suitably equipped dynamically positioned vessel
and permits wireline or coiled tubing access to
live subsea wells without the requirement of a
conventional BOP stack and marine riser.
Wireline techniques have limited application in
the hundreds of subsea wells that are highly
deviated or horizontal. An intervention system
must be able to convey tools and fluids in highangle wells. Coiled tubing often offers these
capabilities.
At the end of 1997, the worlds first such
coiled tubing intervention was carried out from
the CSO Seawell on the Gannet field for Shell in
the North Sea. Representatives from the
Schlumberger well intervention services group,
Dowell, Coflexip Stena Offshore and Shell
Subsea Well Engineering and Underwater
Engineering together assessed the risks associated with the development of the system. A custom-built lifting and shipping frame was installed
on the CSO Seawell to keep the riser in tension
and deploy the coiled tubing. The system was

17

tested first on a suspended wellhead and successfully performed a series of operations: routine disconnect and reconnect; swivel check;
coiled tubing run in hole; logging and circulating;
emergency disconnect with 1100 psi [7587 KPa]
in riser; and rigging down. On the live Gannet
well, a coiled tubing-conveyed production logging test was conducted over four days with no
nonproductive time (below).

CSO Seawell

Rigid riser

Subsea
intervention
lubricator

Subsea tree

Since the SIL was developed in 1985, more


than 1166 operational days have been registered
and more than 275 subsea wells have been
entered using the lubricator from the CSO
Seawell.13 Key factors in the success of the
approach have been efficiency and cost-effectiveness of operations. Compared with operations from a mobile drilling unit, cost savings can
range from 40 to 60%.
Abandonment
As more provinces mature and prolific fields
decline, operators must contend with subsea
well abandonmentas challenging a prospect
as any other subsea well operation. Well control
must be maintained at all times, and abandonment guidelines must be heeded. These vary
with government and regulatory agencies, but
generally include points regarding the depth
below the seafloor to which all equipment must
be cleared, the isolation of producing zones from
each other, and the isolation of producing zones
and overpressured or potential producing zones
from the seabed. Operators want to minimize
expense at this stage in the life of the well, so
cost remains a large concern.
One of the first major subsea well-abandonment projects carried out in the North Sea was for
the Argyll field in the UK sector.14 In 1975, the field,
in 260-ft [79-m] water depth, had been the first to
begin production in the North Sea. By 1992, 35
wells had been drilled, of which 18 were completed subsea, and 7 of those had been shut in.
Production could not be sustained much longer. At
that time, conventional abandonment involved
retrieving the completion and setting cement
plugs through drillpipe from an anchored or
dynamically positioned semisubmersible drilling
rig. This process would take 8 to 10 days per well.
An innovative alternative proposal called for
squeezing cement into the productive perforations
through the production tubing and cementing the
whole completion into place. This could be accomplished in about four days per well with the same
drilling rigs as the conventional abandonment, or

Coiled tubing
production logging

more cost effectively from a dynamically positioned dive-support vessela vessel not specially
equipped for drilling. The two key factors in favor
of the new approach with a dive-support vessel
were reduced cost of implementation of the
streamlined task and lower risk due to the shortened program with minimal hardware recovery.
The abandonment plan maximized efficiency
by executing the operation in two partsfirst all
wells would be plugged, then all subsea production trees and wellheads would be recovered.
This optimized equipment rental costs and made
it possible for the crew to improve the process by
repeating and learning one type of operation.
The job was performed by the Coflexip Stena
Offshore Ltd. CSO Seawell using the subsea
intervention lubricator. During the plugging
phase of the plan, the SIL maintained control of
and provided access to each well to carry killweight fluid to the open perforations, perforate
the tubing, circulate cement, pressure test the
plugs, circulate test dye, perforate casing and cut
the tubing with explosives. In the second phase,
the subsea production tree and tubing hanger
were recovered, casing strings were cut explosively at least 12 ft [4 m] below the seabed and
the wellhead and casing stumps retrieved. The
optimized operation took 47 days instead of the
81 planned.
To date, 142 subsea production and suspended wells encompassing 8 complete production-field abandonments have been carried out in
the UK continental shelf using the CSO Seawell
and the SIL.
For deepwater subsea wells, abandonment is
more involved. Late in 1999, EEX Corporation
began decommissioning its Cooper field in the
Garden Banks area of the Gulf of Mexicothe
first such project performed at a water depth
greater than 2100 ft [640 m] from a dynamically
positioned vessel.15 Schlumberger and several
other contractors worked with Cal Dive Inc.
through the complex operation that included
removal of a one-of-a-kind freestanding production riser, 12-point mooring system, floating production unit and all the subsea equipment.
Schlumberger provided subsea project management expertise along with coiled tubing, pumping, slickline, testing and wireline services.
The first step in decommissioning the field
was to kill the seven subsea wells. Once this was
accomplished, the riser, flowlines, production
trees and export pipelines were all cleaned and

> Light intervention services on subsea wells from a dynamically positioned monohull vessel using
the subsea intervention lubricator. Cost-effective subsea intervention, in the form of coiled tubingconveyed production logging, was performed in the Gannet field, North Sea.

18

Oilfield Review

flushed. The mooring lines, chains and anchors


were moved off-site, and the seven wells were
plugged and abandoned using a combination of
wireline and specially designed coiled tubing
unit. Because the entire abandonment operation
was conducted from the Uncle John, a dynamically positioned semisubmersible, the system
also used an emergency disconnect package.
After the wells were plugged, the subsea trees
and remote templates were retrieved. The flowlines and export lines were then filled with
treated salt water and sealed. These lines, along
with the main template, were left in place on the
seabed in such a way that, if required, they could
be used to support future regional development.
What Next for Subsea?
Many companies already are experienced with
subsea solutions and others are just beginning to
become familiar with the advantages and limitations. All agree that although the industry has
achieved measurable advances since the first
subsea well almost 40 years ago, more work has
to be done before subsea technology can be
applied everywhere it is needed.
Nearly all of the current limitations are
related to the extreme depths and operating conditions encountered by subsea wells. One broad
category of work to be done concerns metallurgy.
Embrittlement of metals at subsea temperatures
and pressures causes failures in equipment.
Going deeper may require completely new types
of materials.
Another area of investigation addresses
risers, moorings and umbilicals. Groups are
looking into assessing induced vibrations on
drilling risers and the possibility of developing
polyester moorings.
13. Stewart H and Medhurst G: A Decade of Subsea Well
Intervention, presented at World Oil 6th International
Coiled Tubing & Well Intervention Conference and
Exhibition, Houston, Texas, USA, February 9-11, 1998.
14. Prise GJ, Stockwell TP, Leith BF, Pollack RA and
Collie IA: An Innovative Approach to Argyll Field
Abandonment, paper SPE 26691, presented at the
SPE Offshore European Conference, Aberdeen,
Scotland, September 7-10, 1993.
15. Furlow W: Field Abandonment, Offshore 59, no. 10
(October 1999): 114.
16. Silverman S and Bru JG: Taking the Initiative,
Deepwater Technology, Supplement to Petroleum
Engineer International 72, no. 5 (May 1999): 54-56.
17. Silverman and Bru, reference 16.
18. Thomas, reference 6.

Winter 1999/2000

As more provinces mature and prolific fields decline, operators


must contend with subsea well abandonmentas challenging
a prospect as any other subsea well operation. Well control
must be maintained at all times, and abandonment guidelines
must be heeded.

One of the ways the industry is looking for


innovation is through consortia, initiatives and
joint efforts. One of these, DeepStar, is a group of
Gulf of Mexico participants from 22 oil companies
and 40 vendors and contractors.16 The oil companies have specified areas in which new deepwater solutions must be found. First on their list is
flow assurance. Paraffins and hydrates are the
main causes of flow blockage in long tiebacks. If
ways could be found to combat their deposition,
longer tiebacks could be possible and economic
thresholds could be lowered, allowing development of reserves that are currently marginal.
Several companies are working on solutions
to these problems. Some are proposing and trying methods that attempt to unclog flowlines
with coiled tubing-conveyed tools. Others are
testing the feasibility of heating pipe to control
paraffin and hydrate formation. In addition, the
DeepStar organization has begun construction of
a field-scale test facility in Wyoming, USA. The
5-mile [8-km] flow loop will be used to validate
hydrate-prediction software and multiphase flow
simulators, test new hydrate inhibitors, observe
the initiation of hydrate plugs, evaluate sensors
and understand paraffin deposition. Much more
work is needed to ensure that subsea wells and
long tiebacks can sustain flow.

Elsewhere, other initiatives have been undertaken. PROCAP2000 in Brazil supports the
advancement of technologies that enable production from waters to 2000 m [6562 ft] depth. Since
its inception in 1986, many of the groups targets
have been reached, but several subsea projects
concentrating on subsea multiphase flow metering, separation and pumping are continuing.
The Norwegian Deepwater Programme was
formed in 1995 by the deepwater license participants on the Norwegian shelf, including Esso, BP
Amoco, Norsk Hydro, Shell, Saga and Statoil. The
goal was to find cost-effective solutions to deepwater challenges and included acquiring weather
and current data, constructing a regional model
of the seabed and shallow sediments, determining design and operational requirements, and
addressing problems related to flowlines, umbilicals and multiphase flow.17
These joint efforts have been established not
with just subsea technology in mind, but to
uncover solutions for exploration and production
in deep water in general. However, many operators are choosing subsea as their long-term
deepwater development concept. By some estimates, 20% of the global capital investments in
offshore field developments are in subsea facilities and completions.18 This percentage is likely
to rise, especially as subsea equipment continues to prove reliable, flow-assurance problems
are solved and operators gain confidence in subsea practice.
LS

19

Downhole Monitoring: The Story So Far

Reservoir monitoring requires dependable downhole data-acquisition systems.


Products based on sound reliability engineering and failure testing, essential to
building durable permanent monitoring systems, are responsible for an impressive
track record for permanent gauge installations worldwide. Gauges supply data
useful for both short-term troubleshooting and for long-term development planning.

Joseph Eck
Houston, Texas, USA
Ufuoma Ewherido
Jafar Mohammed
Rotimi Ogunlowo
Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited
Lagos, Nigeria
John Ford
Amerada Hess Corporation
Houston, Texas
Leigh Fry
Shell Offshore, Inc.
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Stphane Hiron
Leo Osugo
Sam Simonian
Clamart, France
Tony Oyewole
Lagos, Nigeria
Tony Veneruso
Rosharon, Texas

20

Nothing lasts forever. To many of us, forever is


our life span, which can vary widely among individuals. The permanence of inanimate objects
also varies in absolute time and importance. For
example, commercial communication satellites
are expensive to fabricate, difficult to deploy and
generally inaccessible for repair, so it is important that they function properly for a long time.
Replacement valves and pacemakers for human
hearts can be replaced or repaired, but not without considerable risk to the recipient. Equipment
sent to the remote research stations of
Antarctica is expected to stand up to harsh conditions. Buildings, bridges and monuments are
also built to endure, but they have finite lifetimes. Intelligent completions, which combine
production monitoring and control, are becoming
more common, and require reliable downhole
gauges and flow-control valves.1
Downhole equipment in the oil field also
must stand the test of time. The productive life

of an oil or gas well may be 10 or more years, so


permanent downhole equipment must last at
least that long to satisfy operators expectations.
Because it is impractical to conduct equipment
tests of such long duration, reliability engineering and failure testing have become mainstays of
those people who develop permanent monitoring
systems. The result has been an impressive
reliability track record for permanent monitoring
installations worldwide.
In this article, we begin by examining the
challenges in permanent monitoring. Next, we
consider how engineers develop robust permanent gauges to provide a continuous stream of
data for the life of a well. Finally, we present
examples that demonstrate how the use of permanent gauges adds value by helping to optimize
production and forewarning operators of problems so that preventive or corrective action can
be taken.

For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Franois


Auzerais, Michel Brard, Jean-Pierre Delhomme, Josiane
Magnoux, Jean-Claude Ostiz and Lorne Simmons, Clamart,
France; Larry Bernard and David Lee, Sugar Land, Texas,
USA; Richard Dolan and Brad Fowler, Amerada Hess
Corporation, Houston, Texas; David Rossi and Gerald Smith,
Houston, Texas; John Gaskell, Aberdeen, Scotland; and
Younes Jalali and Mike Johnson, Rosharon, Texas.
We thank Philip Hall, Chief Executive of The Sir Henry
Royce Memorial Foundation, for information about Sir
Henry Royces bumping test machine.

FloWatcher, NODAL, PQG (Permanent Quartz Gauge),


PressureWatch, PumpWatcher, Sapphire and WellWatcher
are marks of Schlumberger.
1. For more on flow-control aspects of intelligent
completions: Algeroy J, Morris AJ, Stracke M,
Auzerais F, Bryant I, Raghuraman B, Rathnasingham R,
Davies J, Gai H, Johannessen O, Malde O, Toekje J
and Newberry P: Controlling Reservoirs from Afar,
Oilfield Review 11, no. 3 (Autumn 1999): 18-29.

Oilfield Review

Winter 1999/2000

21

1973 First permanent


downhole gauge installation
in West Africa, based on
wireline logging cable and
equipment

1975 First pressure and


temperature transmitter on
a single wireline cable

Challenges in Permanent Monitoring


From the perspective of reliability, permanent
downhole gauges used in oil and gas wells are
similar to commercial communication satellites,
although other industries, such as the automotive
industry, confront similar reliability challenges.
Each system must endure a long life under harsh
environmental conditions. Once in place, the
devices are not routinely repaired, replaced or
recovered. Parts may never return to surface for
lab analysis of what worked and what didnt; it is
difficult to determine what failed without retrieving and examining a malfunctioning device.
A typical approach to these challenges is to
include redundant components in the hope that
if one part fails, its backup will function. When
used wisely, redundant designs can improve reliability significantly. However, in both downhole
gauges and satellites, redundant components
occupy valuable, limited space and consume
precious power. Common failure modes must be
avoided when specifying redundant components.
For example, if a particular component is prone
to failure in a particular environment, its backup
part should be made from different material so
that it too wont fail under the same conditions.
The annals of aviation include numerous episodes
of common-failure-mode disasters. Charles
Lindbergh undertook a transatlantic flight in the
single-engine Spirit of Saint Louis in 1927 only
after careful study convinced him that the lack of
backup systems would not put him at risk.2

22

1978 First subsea


installations in North Sea
and West Africa

In addition to fabricating durable permanent


downhole equipment, engineers and designers
work together to address the complexity of
equipment installation and conditions at the
wellsite. Competent field engineers and robust
equipment are both essential for reliability. For
example, it is difficult to maintain a high level of
manual dexterity for hours at a time in an icy
downpour or a fierce wind. It is important for the
field crew to install a monitoring system using
well-designed installation tools that ensure
installation consistency, especially in remote
locations. Simplifying the installation process as
much as possible also improves success rates.
Early failure of permanent monitoring systems
decreases when a well-prepared crew performs
the installation with familiar tools.
Operators have used permanent downhole
pressure gauges since the 1960s.3 The vast body
of experience is paying off in the latest generation of gauges, for which statistically valid reliability data are now available. There are now
thousands of gauges deployed worldwide, over
800 of which have been installed by Schlumberger
since 1973 (above and next page, top). A significant increase in installations occurred after a
new generation of more reliable gauges was
developed in the early 1990s.
2. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lindbergh/timeline/
index.html
3. Nestlerode WA: The Use of Pressure Data From
Permanently Installed Bottom Hole Pressure Gauges,
paper SPE 590, presented at the SPE Rocky Mountain
Joint Regional Meeting, Denver, Colorado, USA,
May 27-28, 1963.
4. For more on permanent downhole pressure gauge hardware: Baker A, Gaskell J, Jeffrey J, Thomas A, Veneruso
T and Unneland T: Permanent MonitoringLooking at
Lifetime Reservoir Dynamics, Oilfield Review 7, no. 4
(Winter 1995): 32-46.

1986 Fully welded metal


tubing-encased permanent
downhole cable

1983 First subsea


installation with acoustic
data transmission to surface

1/4-in. encased

cable

Metal-to-metal sealed
cable head
Hermetically sealed
welded housing

Cable driver and


fault-tolerant regulator

11010

Dependability

< Schlumberger milestones in permanent monitoring. Incremental improvements in dependabilitythat is, reliable
delivery of high-quality measurementsof permanent gauges are shown qualitatively by the time line below.

Digital pressure,
temperature and self-test

P/T

Quartz crystal resonators


to measure temperature
and pressure
Protection bellows
Pressure connection

or

Gland radial
connection

Autoclave axial
connection

> Permanent downhole pressure guage. This


PQG Permanent Quartz Gauge system measures
pressure and temperature using quartz crystal
resonators.

Oilfield Review

1986 Introduction of quartz


crystal permanent pressure
gauge in subsea well

1993 New generation of


quartz and sapphire crystal
permanent gauges

1990 Fully supported copper


conductor in permanent
downhole cable

Dependability, the Sine Qua Non


A basic permanent downhole gauge consists of
sensors to measure pressure and temperature,
electronics and a housing (previous page, right).4
A mandrel on the production tubing holds the
gauge in place. A cable, enclosed in a protective
metal tube, is clamped onto the tubing. The cable
connects the gauge to the wellhead and then to

1994 PQG Permanent Quartz


Gauge performance substantiated by gauge accreditation
program at BP. Start of longterm lab testing

surface equipment, such as a computer or control


system. Because acquiring and transmitting good
data depend on proper functioning of each part,
such systems are only as reliable as their weakest component.
A complete monitoring and communication
system, such as the WellWatcher system, handles diverse sensors, including a FloWatcher

1994 FloWatcher installation


for mass flow-rate measurement

sensor to measure flow rate and fluid density,


a PumpWatcher sensor to monitor an electric
submersible pump and a PressureWatch gauge
to measure pressure and temperature (below).
Surface sensors measure multiphase flow rate
and pressure and detect sand production. In
addition to surface controls for valves and
chokes, there is a computer to gather data, which

Surface sensors and controls


Multiphase flow rate
Valve and choke control
Pressure measurements
Sand detection

Permanent downhole sensors


FloWatcher sensor
to monitor flow rate
and density
PumpWatcher sensor
to monitor electric
submersible pump
PressureWatch gauges
to measure pressure
and temperature

Data-retrieval and
communications software

Integrated
applications

Host server and database

> A complete permanent monitoring system for measuring pressure, temperature, flow rate and fluid density downhole. Surface sensors measure
flow rate and pressure. A data-retrieval and communications system facilitates data transfer to the office of the end user.

Winter 1999/2000

23

are stored at the wellsite or transmitted to the


office (below).5
Permanent downhole systems must be
dependable throughout their lifetimesthey
must be reliable and stable. Dependability conjures different meanings for different people, but
is used in this article to refer to the combination
of reliability and stability. Reliability in the context of downhole gauges refers to proper installation and ongoing delivery of data from the
gauge. It can be defined as the probability that
the gauge will perform as specified without failure for a certain amount of time under the
required environmental conditions.
Stability refers to the actual measurement.
Measurements from an unstable or excessively
drifting gauge might prove more troublesome to
an oilfield operator than outright failure of the

gauge. It is important to know whether gradual


variation in a measurement with time indicates
an actual change in the reservoir or reflects a
drift problem with the measuring device.
To ensure a dependable product, it is essential to maintain strict quality control throughout
the entire engineering process. Quality is the
degree to which the product conforms to specifications. To truly achieve world-class reliability
and stability entails systematic product development and qualification testing, use of qualified
components and proven design methods, strict
audits and tracking of generic parts, failure analyses and consultation with industrial and academic
peers. Reliability and stability cannot be tested
into a product after it is built, but instead must be
considered throughout the entire process, from
design and production to installation.

Wellsite

The Road to Reliability


During the past 10 years, Schlumberger has
enhanced the dependability of its permanent
monitoring systems through improvements in
engineering and testing processes, system
design, risk analysis, training and installation
procedures (next page, top).6 Like other tools and
systems developed by Schlumberger, permanent
gauge development follows a logical sequence of
engineering phases. Dependability concerns are
paramount during each phase.
The engineering phase begins with development of a mission profile, or a verbal description
of the technical concept that serves as an engineering framework. The mission profile defines
the role of each component and the environmental conditions components will encounter during

Office

Automatic
dataretrieval
server

Engineering
offices
Data browser

WellWatcher
acquisition unit

V RES

RETPOKILEH

Central storage

Automatic dataretrieval client

Sensors
ASCII files
Central storage
configuration
Archiving
database
Data access library

> Data flow. Measurements are transmitted from the downhole device through the cable to surface. The surface data-acquisition unit can send data by
satellite to engineering offices, where data are stored in a library for easy access.

24

Oilfield Review

Product engineering

Training and personnel development

Project engineering

Mission profile and requirements


Prototype product design
Risk analysis and test plans
Components qualification testing
Reliability qualification testing
Technical reviews and audits
Sustaining, product improvement

Training with development and


field engineers
Well completions installation training
Performance evaluation and growth plan
Technique improvement

Reservoir engineering and production


requirements
Well completions design and
installation planning
Well construction, installation and
operation
Project improvement

Reliability and data quality


management
Collect field track records into database
Analyze results and feedback for
improvement
Review with operators, development and
field engineers

> Permanent monitoring system development. From the initial mission profile to failure analysis, collaboration between engineers, field personnel and
operators contributes to continual improvements in permanent monitoring systems.

their expected lifetime. All components of the


system are screened and qualified to withstand
the expected conditions. Accelerated destructive
tests subject components to conditions much
more extreme than expected over their lifetime,
such as greater mechanical shocks and vibrations
and higher-than-downhole temperatures and
pressures. This type of testing helps determine
failure causes and failure modes. Long-term testing of the system enables engineers to validate
reliability models and quantify measurement
stability (below).

A drawback to accelerated testing is that


failure can occur simply because of the stressful
test procedure, and the test might not be a good
predictor of actual performance. It is impossible
to test everything, but it is important to test as
much as possible to increase confidence that the
product will perform as required in commercial
operations. Feedback from field engineers is a critically important complement to laboratory testing.

5. For a related article on data delivery in this issue: Brown T,


Burke T, Kletzky A, Haarstad I, Hensley J, Murchie S,
Purdy C and Ramasamy A: In-Time Data Delivery,
Oilfield Review 11, no. 4 (Winter 1999): 34-55.
6. Veneruso AF, Sharma S, Vachon G, Hiron S, Bussear T
and Jennings S: Reliability in ICS* Intelligent
Completions Systems: A Systematic Approach from
Design to Deployment, paper OTC 8841, presented at
the 1998 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston,
Texas, USA, May 4-7, 1998.

PQG Stability Test at 10,000 psi


10,030

>

150C

160C

170C

Pressure, psi

10,020
10,015
10,010

Test cell repairs

10,025
Test cell repairs

Permanent gauge stability test. This plot


of pressure versus time represents testing
of a PQG Permanent Quartz Gauge system at
elevated pressures and temperatures for more
than two years. The initial test conditions were
140C [284F] and 7000 psi [48.2 Mpa]. Testing
was then accelerated, with the temperature
increased to the maximum rated temperature
of 150C [302F], and then to 160C [320F] and
170C [338F], to make the gauge fail. Each
time the temperature was increased, there
was a brief period of measurement drift before
the gauge reached stability. The gauge drifted
less than 3 psi/yr [20 kPa/a]. During the test,
the gauge performed as expected, but the test
cell had to be repaired twice!

-3 psi/year drift

PQG
pressure reading

0 psi/year drift

10,005
1 year

2 years

10,000
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Duration of testing, days

Winter 1999/2000

25

Tests for susceptibility to mechanical shock


and vibration, such as those expected during
transport and installation, are also performed.7
These tests are similar in concept to those
developed by Sir Henry Royce, the engineer
behind the success of the Rolls-Royce automobile. By repeatedly bumping the car on an
apparatus that simulated bumps in a road,
Royce determined which parts of the chassis
were not strong enough and developed better
ones (right).8 The changes included replacing
rivets with bolts and using a few large bolts
rather than many small ones.
In the system-design phase, engineers ensure
proper interfacing between the completion
components. Communication with completion
engineers and third-party vendors has resulted in
continual improvement in downhole cable connections and protection of the system.
Both experts and end users provide input during the development phase, as engineers perform
simulations and build mock-ups. Conducted frequently, design reviews include field personnel.
Design rules have been prepared to address the
need for low stress on components, minimal
external connections and other concerns.
Once the system is built and is ready for
installation, a specially trained crew reviews
detailed installation procedures and project
plans with operations personnel and third-party
vendors. Performance of the field installation
crew plays an important role in system reliability,
so formal training programs for both system
design engineers and field installation technicians are conducted. Whenever possible, system
design engineers attempt to simplify installation
requirements because factors such as frigid
temperatures, gusty winds and long hours may
present additional challenges to the crew. A
design that allows fast, easy installation relieves
some of the burden on the field crew and
minimizes risk and rig time.

> Torturing tools. By exposing an automobile chassis to repeated mechanical shocks (top), Sir Henry
Royce observed which parts were prone to failure and built better ones for Roll-Royce, beginning
around the turn of the last century. Today, highly specialized testing machines and accelerated test
techniques developed by Schlumberger verify the endurance of downhole equipment against
mechanical shocks (bottom).

7. Veneruso A, Hiron S, Bhavsar R and Bernard L:


Reliability Qualification Testing for Permanently
Installed Wellbore Equipment, abstract submitted to the
2000 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
to be held in Dallas, Texas, USA, October 1-4, 2000.
8. We thank Philip Hall for information about the bumping
test machine. Mr. Hall retired from Schlumberger after
22 years of service, both in the oilfield and in electronics.
He is Chief Executive of The Sir Henry Royce Memorial
Foundation, The Hunt House, Paulerspury,
Northamptonshire, NN12 7NA, England.

26

Oilfield Review

Learning from Experience


If a permanent downhole gauge fails, engineers
analyze the circumstances and sometimes
attempt to reproduce the failure modes in the
engineering center or other testing facility. Failure
mechanisms are not random; in most cases there
are underlying causes at work that must be
uncovered, such as design problems, faulty materials or improper installation. Schlumberger has
established an on-line database to capture data
about system installations, including details
about environmental conditions, to identify any
patterns in failures (right). The database allows
statistical analysis of the data by region, operator,
environmental conditions and other operational
parameters. Careful analysis of the worldwide
database increases confidence that the appropriate lessons are learned from field experiences
and helps focus efforts on possible areas of
improvement.
From August 1, 1987, to the present, the performance of 712 permanent gauge installations
has been tracked. The oldest system is more than
16 years old, having been installed a few years
before the database was established. Analysis of
572 new-generation digital technology installations made since their introduction in March
1994 indicates that over 90% of these
PressureWatch Quartz and Sapphire systems
were still operating after 2.5 years (below). The
analysis, based on methods introduced by

> Permanent downhole gauge database. Careful tracking of each system enables analysis of
gauge performance. Comparison of environmental conditions helps teams prepare to install
gauges in new locations by learning from past experience in similar areas.

100

>

Permanent gauge operating life. Since recordkeeping began in 1987, Schlumberger has installed
more than 700 permanent gauges worldwide.
Analysis of 572 new-generation digital technology
installations made since March 1994, shown by
the purple line, indicates that over 88% of these
PressureWatch Quartz and Sapphire systems
were still operating after 4 years. The lavender
trend line begins at 97% and decreases by 3%
per year, a higher failure rate than that of the
actual data. The photograph shows the production
facilities of the Baldpate field, operated by
Amerada Hess.

90

Survival probability, %

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Operational life, years

Winter 1999/2000

27

>

Characterizing performance over time.


Even the most reliable permanent gauge can
fail and the root cause often is a matter of
speculation. Production-related or installation
flaws account for many early failures. At
intermediate stages, failures occur at a low,
relatively steady rate, apparently because of
random overloads. After many years of service,
failures may occur as components age.

Accumulated failures, %

Predictable wear-out
(design and environment related)

Random overload
(design related)

Flaws
(manufacturing and installation related)

Mltoft, helps reveal the key factors influencing


the reliability of permanent monitoring systems
(above right).9 The Mltoft method addresses a
systems actual operational time rather than its
calendar time, a key advantage when studying
field installations over a long time period. The
method helps pinpoint areas for improvement in
system design and deployment.
Operating companies have independently
studied the reliability of permanent gauges.10
Different manufacturers and operators measure
performance according to their own standards.
Schlumberger has chosen to focus on the whole
system rather than a single component because
it is vital that the entire system operate properly
and provide usable data.
Downhole to Desktop: Using the Data
After the equipment has survived the ordeal of
testing and installation, the real challenge begins
once a permanent monitoring system is placed
securely in a well. A system that takes a measurement every second of the day produces over
31 million data points per year. Coping with the
volume of data from permanent monitoring
systems is an issue that operators and service
companies continue to address.11 Some operators
have chosen to sample their data at specific
times or when the change in a measurement
exceeds a predetermined threshold. Others sample their data at greater time intervals, such as
30 seconds, to reduce data volume.
Once reaching the end user, the data are applied
to two general production issues: reservoir
drainage and well delivery (right). Reservoirdrainage aspects include pressure monitoring,
pressure maintenance, material-balance models
and simulation models. Well-delivery issues,
such as skin and permeability, affect production
engineering.
When a well is shut in for maintenance, a
pressure gauge offers the small-scale equivalent
of a pressure buildup test. Subsequent well shutins allow engineers to analyze the repeatability

28

Operational time

Reservoir drainage
Application

Description

Pressure monitoring

Static bottomline pressure survey

Pressure maintenance

Future development plans (reservoir


repressurization: install injection facilities?)

Well test interpretation and analysis


(buildup, drawdown, multirate and
interference well testing)

Reservoir boundaries, well spacing


requirements, interwell pressure
communication

Water and gas injection monitoring

Evaluate degree of pressure support


from injector wells
Appraise performance of injection program

Reservoir simulation model


refinement and validation

Historical database for pressure


history matching
Calibration tool for simulation model

Complement or corroborate other


reservoir monitoring measurements

Corroboration of information provided


by innovations such as 4D seismic
surveys, time-lapse well logging

Material balance model updating

Input data for continuous update and


refinement of material balance model
Well delivery

Application

Description

Well test interpretation and analysis


(buildup, drawdown, multirate and
interference well testing)

Skin, permeability and average


reservoir pressure

Production engineering

Input for NODAL analysis


Productivity Index (PI) and long-term
variation in PI measurement;
generation of water, gas and sand
production rate correlation as a
function of pressure
Flowing bottomhole pressure survey
to determine maximum offtake _
Flow well at optimal pressure above
bubblepoint pressure to avoid
liberation of free gas
Real-time fracturing and stimulation
operation monitoring
Appraisal of injection and production
profile along the well

> Typical applications of permanent downhole gauge data. Data from downhole
gauges can be used to improve both reservoir drainage and well delivery.

Oilfield Review

of the tests and improve confidence in selecting


a reservoir model. If all the wells in a field are
shut in, downhole gauges can measure the average reservoir pressure. The average reservoir
pressure measured this way is a key component
of decline rate and reserve estimations and a
parameter for reservoir simulations.12
In fluid-injection projects, permanent downhole
pressure gauges can be used to better maintain
pressure, displace oil, arrest subsidence and dispose of fluids. By monitoring a continuous stream
of pressure data, operators can control reservoir
performance by injecting fluids to keep reservoir
pressure above bubblepoint pressure to ensure
production of oil rather than gas. Permanent
gauges can also help determine the optimal production rate when there are concerns about sand
production or water coning at high flow rates.
Downhole pressure gauges allow engineers
to allocate production to specific wells. Knowing
the downhole pressure, the wellhead pressure
and the general properties of the produced fluids
allows calculation of the flow rate for a well and
calibration of flow rates with test data. Offshore
satellite fields tied back to platforms and fields
owned by multiple partners are good candidates
for this particular application of downhole pressure gauges.
In artificial-lift applications, downhole pressure gauges help engineers determine how well
the artificial-lift system is performing. For example, a prolific, highly permeable, unconsolidated
oil reservoir might have high deliverability, but
the bottomhole pressure of the well might be
inadequate to produce the fluid to surface. If an
electric submersible pump or gas-lift system is
installed in the well, the operator can add a
downhole gauge to assess the performance of
the lift system.
9. Mltoft J: Reliability Engineering Based on Field
Informationthe Way Ahead, Quality and Reliability
International 10, no. 5 (May 1994): 399-409.
Mltoft J: New Methods for the Specification and
Determination of Component Reliability Characteristics,
Quality and Reliability International 7, no. 7 (July 1991):
99-105.
10. van Gisbergen SJCHM and Vandeweijer AAH:
Reliability Analysis of Permanent Downhole Monitoring
Systems, paper OTC 10945, presented at the 1999
Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas, USA,
May 3-6, 1999.
11. A complete discussion of processing and reducing data
from permanent downhole gauges is beyond the scope
of this article. For one example of how to process data:
Athichanagorn S, Horne R and Kikani J: Processing and
Interpretation of Long-Term Data from Permanent
Downhole Pressure Gauges, paper SPE 56419, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and
Exhibition, Houston, Texas, USA, October 3-6, 1999.
12. Baustad T, Courtin G, Davies T, Kenison R, Turnbull J,
Gray B, Jalali Y, Remondet J-C, Hjelmsmark L, Oldfield T,
Romano C, Saier R and Rannestad G: Cutting Risk,
Boosting Cash Flow and Developing Marginal Fields,
Oilfield Review 8, no. 4 (Winter 1996): 18-31.

Winter 1999/2000

LOUISIANA
TEXAS

Garden Banks

100 miles

160 km

Enchilada

Baldpate
North

Baldpate

> Enchilada field. The Enchilada area includes several blocks in the Garden Banks area offshore
Louisiana, USA. The blocks are 3 miles [4.8 km] long and 3 miles wide.

Gauges in Action
The permanent monitoring applications that follow come from widely separated regions with
different operational challenges and operator
priorities. In each case, the operator might measure the value of permanent monitoring systems
in a variety of ways, such as additional barrels of
oil recovered through more efficient reservoir
drainage or delivery from individual wells, or in
cost savings through decreased well interventions. Appraisal of a deep, sour, high-pressure,
high-temperature (HPHT) discovery in the Middle
East presented numerous operational and interpretation challenges. Unlike the prolific shallow
oil fields nearby, the discovery well produced
anomalously high API gravity oil for the region
from a fractured carbonate reservoir with limited
microporosity. A thick salt layer above the reservoir complicated interpretation and operations.
Nevertheless, the accumulation presented fascinating opportunities to evaluate fracture fairways
below structural spillpoints and hydrocarbon selfsourcing in a kerogen-rich reservoir rock.
Data from the initial discovery well were inadequate to calibrate reservoir simulations or to
plan development. A deep appraisal well, drilled
over the course of a year with mud weights
exceeding 20 pounds per gallon [2.4 g/cm3], provided core, mud log and wireline log data. An
extended well test generated enough data for
engineers to decide how to proceed.
The extremely high formation pressures and
use of kill-weight mud in wellbores meant that
wireline-conveyed pressure measurements were
not possible. Instead, the operator selected a
FloWatcher system to measure pressure, temperature and flow rate continuously. This installation

was the first use of the FloWatcher system at a


pressure of 15,000 psi [103.4 Mpa], so advance
preparations were necessary. The wellhead,
which had already been procured, was modified
to allow an exit for the cable. A shed was built to
accommodate surface monitoring equipment.
The permanent monitoring system was
safely installed and an extended well test was
conducted for four months, with oil flowing
through a 70-km [43.5-mile] flowline. The
FloWatcher system was selected in part
because pressure measurements at the Venturi
inlet and throat allowed determination of the
absolute pressure, the pressure change across
the Venturi and the flow rate. Despite a
repairable seal failure in the Venturi, it was still
possible to obtain pressure measurements from
the pressure gauge, which functioned as
expected throughout the test. Also, the mandrel
design for the system was relatively inexpensive.
The permanent monitoring system enabled
engineers to produce at the maximum rate while
maintaining pressure above the bubblepoint, and
to gather the data they needed to formulate
development plans. Given the operational challenges of this particular well and area, the
remote location and the importance of gaining
useful data, an extended well test with a permanent downhole monitoring system proved to be
the optimal approach.
Permanent downhole monitoring systems
have been used in the Gulf of Mexico for several
years. Shell Offshore, Inc., has installed permanent gauges in each of the 10 wells it operates in
the Enchilada area in the continental Gulf of
Mexico (above). The Enchilada area comprises
thin-bedded turbidite reservoir sands located both

29

Permanent downhole pressure gauges are


especially important for effective reservoir management in the Enchilada area and areas like it.
Thin-bedded reservoirs, such as turbidite sands,
can be difficult to evaluate by wireline methods.
Producers want to determine if the reservoir is
continuous. During the initial development, few
appraisal wells had been drilled and the subsalt
location of several prospects made it difficult to
define the reservoir geometry and extent.
Gathering early reservoir pressure data from
each well aided development planning. In addition, the long-reach, S-shaped wells in the
Enchilada area are expensive to drill and not
easily accessed by wireline methods.
Furthermore, the mechanical risk of running
wireline pressure devices into these high-rate
wells is unacceptable. Therefore, the permanent gauge system allows frequent reservoir

pressure monitoring without mechanical risk


and with minimum deferred production.
Frequent pressure measurements help optimize
production rates, and enhance understanding of
ultimate reserve potential.
The Enchilada area example affirms that data
from permanent gauges are valuable throughout
the life of the well. Run time is a major concern for
Shell Offshore because the Enchilada wells are
expected to produce for at least 10 years. The reliability and durability of these permanent gauges
have a direct impact on the assets value. The successful application of permanent monitoring technology convinced Shell to install gauges in two
wells on their deepwater Ram-Powell platform,
offshore Gulf of Mexico. The second of these
installations, a PQG Permanent Quartz Gauge system set at a depth of 23,723 feet [7230 m], is the
deepest installation by Schlumberger to date.

Pressure

above and below salt. The first gauge was


installed in September 1997, and to date all of
the gauges continue to operate without failure.
Permanent downhole pressure gauges fulfill
two major requirements for Shell Offshore: daily
operations improvements and better long-term
reservoir management. In both cases, pressure
data must be accessible to reservoir specialists
in a format they can use efficiently. The system
installed by Schlumberger stores the data for
subsequent pressure transient analysis. Shell
Offshore retrieves the data from the system and
uses its own computer-assisted operations (CAO)
system to manage the data stream on a longterm basis.
Shells CAO acquisition unit captures surface
and downhole pressure measurements at
approximately 30-second intervals for trend analysis and long-term archiving of pressure data. In
the past, most decisions about daily operations
were made on the basis of surface pressure or
tubing pressure measurements with infrequent
downhole wireline pressure measurements. A
decline in surface pressure could indicate reservoir depletion or a downhole obstruction, but this
ambiguity could not be resolved with surface
data alone. Now, with both surface and downhole pressure measurements, it is possible to
quickly diagnose production problems. For example, if both surface and bottomhole pressure
curves track each other on a declining trend, then
the probable cause is reservoir depletion. On the
other hand, if the surface pressure is dropping
but the downhole pressure remains constant or
increases, then the engineer might suspect that
salt, scale or paraffin is plugging the tubing
(right).13 Therefore, engineers for the Enchilada
area use surface and downhole measurements to
diagnose production problems and optimize
remediation treatments.

Pbhp
Psurface

Time

Pbhp

30

Pressure

>

Diagnosing production problems. Plots of both


bottomhole, Pbhp, and surface pressure, Psurface,
versus time help engineers diagnose production
problems. In the top example, surface and
bottomhole pressures are declining, but the
curves track each other, suggesting reservoir
depletion. In the bottom plot, the surface
pressure diverges and drops at a faster rate
than the bottomhole pressure. One possible
conclusion is that scale is plugging the
production tubing.

Psurface

Time

Oilfield Review

LOUISIANA
TEXAS

Enchilada

Garden Banks

100 miles

160 km

Baldpate
North

Baldpate

> Baldpate field location. Baldpate field is located offshore Louisiana in Block 260 of the Garden
Banks area.

Complicated deepwater developments, such


as the Baldpate field in Block 260 of the Garden
Banks area of the Gulf of Mexico, challenge operating companies (above). The first downhole
gauge in the Baldpate field was installed in
August 1998. Seven of eight wells have downhole gauges. The field is expected to produce for
6 to 10 years.
Baldpate field comprises two major Pliocene
reservoirs at depths of 15,500 to 17,500 feet
[4724 to 5334 m]. Original reservoir pressures
exceeded 13,000 psi [89.63 MPa]. Production
from the sands in the Baldpate North area is
commingled in a seventh well. The field reached
peak production of 58,000 BOPD [9216 m3/d] and
230 MMscfg/D [6.5 MMm3/d] by June 1999.
Installation of permanent downhole gauges is
particularly demanding at the well depths and
pressures of Baldpate field. Success depends on
a thoroughly trained, competent wellsite crew.
For example, the crew must avoid potential pitfalls such as damaging the cable and making bad
splices. Extensive prejob planning allows the
entire team to anticipate problems and work out
solutions before installation. Having many of the
same crew work on every installation builds
experience and carries lessons learned from one
job to the next.
13. For more on scale: Crabtree M, Eslinger D, Fletcher P,
Miller M, Johnson A and King G: Fighting Scale
Removal and Prevention, Oilfield Review 11, no. 3
(Autumn 1999): 30-45.
14. Erosional velocity is the velocity at which an impinging
fluid degrades a metal at the molecular level. In this
case, the operator was concerned about the possibility
of high-flow rate wells producing sand from the unconsolidated reservoir and damaging the production tubing.
15. Pahmiyer RC, Fitzpatrick HJ, Jr. and Dugan J:
Completion Efficiency Measures for High-Permeability,
Unconsolidated Sand Environments, presented at the
1999 SPE European Formation Damage Conference,
The Hague, The Netherlands, May 31-June 1, 1999.

Winter 1999/2000

Amerada Hess Corporation, operator of


Baldpate field, elected to install permanent
downhole pressure gauges for both mechanical
and reservoir management purposes. Expensive
gravel-pack completions and tubing in high-rate
wells are prone to damage if there is excessive
drawdown or if the erosional velocity is too
high.14 As flow rates were ramped up during the
initial stages of production, pressure data helped
avoid damage by ensuring that predetermined
limits on drawdown and erosional velocity would
not be exceeded. By measuring the pressure drop
across the completion, engineers calculated
the mechanical efficiency, or mechanical skin, of
the completion.15
Acquiring a constant stream of pressure data
enables reservoir engineers to fine-tune compositional models for reservoir simulation, perform
history matching of pressure depletion of the
reservoirs over time, test secondary recovery
scenarios and predict ultimate recovery. The
pressure data are also used for frequent pressure-transient analysis. This analysis provides
calculations of effective permeability, mechanical
skin, non-darcy flow effects, average reservoir
pressure and approximate distance to various
reservoir boundaries.

Interference tests can be performed because


there are permanent downhole pressure gauges
in all the wells. Each well responds to rate adjustments in offset wells within hours. The pressure
responses can be used to assess reservoir continuity. Data from pressure gauges confirmed the
geologic model of laterally continuous basin floor
fan sands.
Of seven gauges installed in the Baldpate
field, six are working. The lone failurethe only
failed gauge out of 43 gauges installed by
Schlumberger in North Americaappears to
have resulted from a problem within the gauge
itself, although it has not been recovered for
postmortem analysis. The installation of gauges
in all the wells meant that the loss of one gauge
was an inconvenience rather than a major difficulty. It was not worth retrieving or repairing the
failed gauge because of the cost and mechanical
risks of pulling tubing. Data from the gauges in
the other wells are sufficient for ongoing reservoir management.
Amerada Hess carefully manages the high
volume of data from permanent downhole pressure gauges. The data are stored in the hard drive
of a personal computer on the production tower.
From the office, an engineer can control sampling
rate and electronically retrieve data from the
remote production tower and move them to the
office. Eventually, however, Amerada Hess
expects to move and store the complete data volume elsewhere. Data can be downloaded into a
pressure-transient software package and analyzed within minutes.

31

Qua Iboe
terminal
Niger Delta

Oso
Mfem

Unam
Ubit

Usari
Enang
Edop

Ekpe

Etim
Iyak

Asabo
Asasa

AFRICA
Oil fields with downhole gauges
0

15 miles

24 km

> Offshore Nigeria. Since 1992, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited has installed permanent downhole
gauges in the 12 offshore fields shown in red-rimmed green. Approximately 95% of the gauges are still
operating today.

An example from Africa demonstrates other


applications of downhole gauges. Since 1992,
Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited has installed
permanent downhole pressure gauges in 12 of its
fields offshore Nigeria: Usari, Oso, Mfem, Ubit,
Iyak, Enang, Asasa, Ekpe, Asabo, Unam, Edop
and Etim (above).16
Mobil has used continuous pressure measurements from downhole gauges in many ways.
The most basic applications include determining
the reservoir drive mechanism, assessing depletion patterns and reservoir discontinuities, and
planning pressure maintenance programs.
Permanent downhole gauges measure downhole

32

pressure in wells whose high wellhead pressure


precludes use of wireline pressure measurement
techniques. Mobil can avoid the costs of shutting
in wells with high flow rates solely for gathering
data. In fields with many wells, data from strategically placed pressure gauges allow reservoir
engineers to calibrate pressure measurements
gathered by wireline methods with those from
permanent gauges.
In the Edop field, 7 of approximately 40 wells
have downhole pressure gauges. Mobil expected
to inject gas to maintain reservoir pressure, so
the initial plan was to place a downhole pressure
gauge in a well in each of four fault blocks in the
Edop field and assess the connectivity of the

reservoir across fault blocks. Results from the


gauges showed no communication across the
fault blocks, and that separate injectors would be
required for each fault block. The downhole pressure gauges also indicated that the planned
injection patterns needed to be changed, so the
downhole pressure gauge data were then integrated with the 3D geological model to modify
and optimize producer and injector locations.
16. Ogunlowo RF, Ewherido UJ and Oyewole AA: Use of
Down-hole Permanent Gauges in Reservoir Description
and Management of a Gas Injection Project in Edop
Field, Offshore, Nigeria, prepared for the 23rd Annual
International Conference and Exhibition, Abuja, Nigeria,
August 4-6, 1999.
17. Algeroy et al, reference 1.
Huck R: The Future Role of Downhole Process Control,
Invited Speech, Offshore Technology Conference,
Houston, Texas, USA, May 3, 1999.
18. Christie A, Kishino A, Cromb J, Hensley R, Kent E,
McBeath B, Stewart H, Vidal A and Koot L: Subsea
Solutions, Oilfield Review 11, no. 4 (Winter 1999): 219.

Oilfield Review

Outlook for Reservoir Monitoring


Permanent reservoir monitoring is vital to intelligent completions, a modern approach to improving
reserve recovery.17 Efficient, beneficial operation
of downhole flow-control valves depends on
understanding reservoir dynamics, so the combination of acquiring downhole data and using
flow-control valves is essential. At present,
knowledge of the reservoir comes from analyzing
pressure and production data and, in some cases,
data from downhole flowmeters. Ongoing
research and development of flowmeters are
expected to provide accurate measurement of
flow rates as well as multiphase fluid properties.
In addition, researchers are addressing the challenges of accurately measuring flow rates in
directional and horizontal wells.

Winter 1999/2000

2150
2100

Pmax = 2100 psia

tmin = 4/00

tmax = 7/00

2050
2000
Pressure, psia

Pressure data provided by downhole gauges


were critical in determining communication efficiency around shale baffles that had escaped
detection by seismic and well logging methods.
Also, the continuous data provided by the gauges
led to better reservoir simulation results than single data points from wireline measurement
methods. As the injection project proceeded,
instantaneous pressure responses within the
continuous stream of data enabled engineers to
determine how much compressor downtime their
injection project could accommodate (right).
In other fields operated by Mobil offshore
Nigeria, 20 to 25% of the wells have downhole
pressure gauges. Approximately 95% of the
gauges provided by Schlumberger are still operating. The rare instances of failure have been
attributed to problems in control lines, bad
cable splices, failure at the wet connector or
problems at the Christmas tree rather than problems with the gauges themselves. However,
these are still considered failures of the system.
Improvement beyond the current 95% success
rate is expected.

1950
1900
1850
1800
1750
1700
1650
12/98

2/99

4/99

6/99

8/99

10/99

12/99

2/00

4/00

6/00

8/00

> Pressure response in Edop field. In the central fault block, gas injection is increasing
reservoir pressure, as shown in this plot of pressure measured in four different wells
versus time in the Intra Qua Iboe 3 reservoir. Predicted pressures, shown in dashes, were
calculated on the basis of well placement, drainage radius, production rates and expected
gas injection rates. tmin, or April 2000, represents the earliest predicted date when the
reservoir pressure will attain the target pressure (Pmax), while tmax represents the latest
projected date to reach the desired pressure and occurs in July 2000.

Improved links between data acquisition


systems and operators will facilitate real-time
data transmission and display. Permanent monitoring allows engineers to get a sense of the
reservoir, but to see the reservoir requires
that the data be transformed into a usable format. If data access or display is too cumbersome,
downhole pressure gauge data are in danger of
being ignored.
The costs and economic benefits of permanent monitoring must be considered together.
Success stories from around the world, such as
those presented in this article, should serve to
bolster confidence in permanent downhole pressure gauges. As confidence in the dependability
of permanent gauges and other systems continues to grow, the value of the data will overcome
short-term concerns about cost in many cases.

Today, operators are venturing into remote


areas and water depths approaching 10,000 ft
[3048 m] and are completing wells subsea with
the expectation of limited or no interventions.18
Optimal production in these arenas will necessitate permanent monitoring systems that are
compatible with other completion equipment.
As with permanent downhole pressure gauges
and flow-control valves, dependability of downhole flowmeters and other permanent equipment
in wells will remain the key criterion for choosing
to deploy these devices in expensive, inaccessible wells.
The successful application of rigorous product development and testing processes with
concurrent reliability engineering and field service quality control has set the standard for
dependable permanent monitoring systems. This
reflects a long-term commitment of people and
resources. Employing these engineering processes enhances future permanent monitoring
systems. For operators, these enhancements
translate into early diagnosis of problems, fewer
well interventions, reduced risk and greater
reserve recovery.
GMG

33

In-Time Data Delivery

The Internet is facilitating new on-line activities such as shopping, banking and
entertainment. Now work with E&P data can also be performed through the
Internet. Soon, operators will need only a standard personal computer or
workstation, Internet connection and a Web browser to access, review, validate
and interact with each step of data acquisition, processing and interpretation.

Trevor Brown
Unocal Indonesia
Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
Thomas Burke
Alex Kletzky
Austin, Texas, USA
Ivar Haarstad
Statoil
Trondheim, Norway
John Hensley
Phillips Petroleum
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA
Stuart Murchie
Houston, Texas
Cary Purdy
POSC
Houston, Texas
Anchala Ramasamy
BP Amoco Exploration
Aberdeen, Scotland

34

Twenty years ago, no one could have predicted


how much our lives would rely on data transmission. Advances in communication technology
and data transfer have revolutionized the way
people shop, access financial accounts, pursue
amusements, converse, learn and interact with
their world. Nearly every area of human activity
has been affected in some way by high-speed
data links, satellite transmission and communication networks.
Technological developments in the last decade
have made data delivery faster, more secure and
reliable, and increasingly convenient. The oilfield
exploration and production (E&P) industry has benefited from these improvements, perhaps more
than other industries, because of its global nature.
Decision-makers often are at antipodal distances
from the assets they manage, but need updated
information, sometimes every hour. Ten years ago,
it would have been inconceivable to believe that
data obtained somewhere in the diverse oilfield

environment could be brought at great speed to


any operator anywhere in the world. But today,
data users in the petroleum industry are able to
call on an increasingly powerful array of tools,
from direct communication links to private networks and the Internet, to move crucial data anywhere in the world.
This article describes how methods of data
delivery have evolved from simple point-to-point
data transmissions to secure, multipoint Webbased systems that are easy to use. We will look
at how todays data communication technologies
provide efficient and secure data networking to
help operators get the right information at the
right time to evaluate their projects and make
critical, timely technical and financial decisions.
Field examples are provided from each stage of
hydrocarbon production to illustrate the application and benefit of todays evolving data communication technology.

For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Ian Alderson,


James Bristow, Franois Daube, Moira Duff, John Kingston,
Mark Osborn and Richard Woods, Gatwick, England; Jorg
Barsch and Ariel Skjorten, Oslo, Norway; Richard Christie
and Ian Falconer, Sugar Land, Texas, USA; Alain Citerne,
Jean-Noel Mauze and Leo Osugo, Clamart, France;
John Driggers and Jessica Latka, Sedalia, Colorado, USA;
Claude Durocher, Balikpapan, Indonesia; David Harris
and Tore Moe, Stavanger, Norway; David R. Houston,
IBM Global Security Services, Austin, Texas; George Karr,
Yogendra Pandya and David Scheibner, Austin, Texas;
Herman Kat, TransCanada International (Netherlands) B. V.,
Zoetermeer, The Netherlands; and Ken Landgren and
S. Omar Alam, Houston, Texas; and Fraser Louden,
Dallas, Texas.
AssetDB, CMR (Combinable Magnetic Resonance),
DataLink, DSI (Dipole Shear Sonic Imager), Enterprise,
Finder, FloWatcher, FracCADE (Fracture Design and
Evaluation), FracCAT (Fracture Computer Aided Treatment),

GeoFrame, GeoSteering, GeoWeb, IDEAL (Integrated


Drilling Evaluation and Logging), INFORM (Integrated
Forward Modeling), InterACT, InterACT Web Witness,
LogDB, MAXIS (Multitask Acquisition and Imaging System),
MDT (Modular Formation Dynamics Tester), PDSView,
PetaSTAR, Platform Express, PowerPlan, PumpWatcher,
Remote Command, Remote Witness, SDMS (Seismic Data
Management System), SeisDB, SuperVISION, TransACT,
TRX, and WellWatcher are marks of Schlumberger.
Communicator is a mark of Netscape Communications
Corporation. ECLIPS and RigLink are marks of Baker
Hughes. INSITE (Integrated System for Information
Technology and Engineering) and INSITE-ANYWHERE are
marks of Sperry-Sun Drilling Services. Internet Explorer,
Microsoft Office and Windows are marks of Microsoft
Corporation. Lotus Notes is a mark of Lotus Development
Corporation. Open Works is a mark of Landmark Graphics
Corporation. POSC is a mark of Petrotechnical Open
Software Corporation.

Oilfield Review

Finder
Enterprise
System

S e l e ct
I n t e g r a te

Log

Production

Sei
s mic

y
log
Geo

Data Acquisition
The E&P industry probably has the most
widespread range of data-acquisition technologies and domains of any commercial activity.
Data come from measurements that range from
thousands of kilometers or miles at the large
scale to a few angstroms at the small scale
from sedimentary basins to the wavelength of
light absorbed by hydrocarbon molecules.
E&P data come from all stages of operations,
spanning exploratory seismic surveys, through
drilling and logging, to subsurface production
monitoring. The measurements provide information on the formation and reservoir, as well as the
ongoing operations, and often are used to make
critical decisions. Frequently such decisions need
to be made as soon as data are acquired, either
at the acquisition site, or more often at a central
office or base location where all the required
experts are available. Reliable data communication technology allows such collaboration to
occur with ease, thus facilitating more knowledgeable and better decisions. If the decision
window is small or immediate, then the operator
may need to transmit data in real time from the
acquisition site and interact remotely with the
acquisition process simultaneously.
For any given project, the service providers,
decision-makers and partners are unlikely to be
located in the same place. Through multipoint,
two-way communication, todays technology
facilitates virtual collaboration in such circum-

Winter 1999/2000

ells

Validate

L o ad

> Finder Enterprise data management system.


The Finder E&P database provides on-line storage
of master corporate information, such as well
log, seismic and production data. Managers,
scientists and engineers use this system as a
source for correct, verified and approved data
that can be viewed, selected and retrieved at any
time for analysis and interpretation. Interpretation results can be saved in the master database.

stances. Regardless of the method used, it is


important that the data be delivered whenever
and wherever they are needed. Decision-makers
also must be given the appropriate amount of
information and not be swamped with irrelevant
details. This becomes a challenge as technology
evolves and the complexity and volume of
acquired data increase.
Advances in modern data-acquisition systems
coupled with the industrys demand for more
information have created additional challenges in
managing the wide spectrum of data types and
formats (see Classifying Oilfield Data, page 40 ).
Between the data acquisition and their final use
at the oil company office, intermediate data processing and analysis can help ensure that the
data quality is the highest possible, and that all
the data can be used for the intended purpose.

For operators who do not wish to perform postacquisition data processing, analysis and interpretation in-house, service companies can provide
these services in their data processing centers.
Data processing centersAt these centers,
expert personnel with advanced software packages extract the essential information from the
raw data files and interpret the results, presenting them in a meaningful format for decisionmakers. Efficient data delivery is essential to their
work. These data processing centers may be
located in the offices of the operator or a service
provider. Personnel at typical processing centers
include log analysts and interpretation experts
qualified in the geosciences. The range of software applications available to them is extensive,
encompassing borehole seismic data processing,
geological analysis, borehole imaging, petrophysics, well testing, production engineering,
signal-processing and interpretation functionality.
Data management centersIn the past, the
integration of data from the different domains
(seismic, drilling, production, reservoir engineering), either recently acquired or pulled from an
archive, has been a difficult and inefficient manual task. The Finder Enterprise system, developed
by Schlumberger to provide all the elements of
an integrated data management and archive system, embraces every domain of the E&P industry
(above). This system provides best-practice procedures and one-stop shopping for all types of

35

Geoscientist

>

GeoWeb workflow. As part of an integrated


data management system, GeoWeb software
can be used to select, retrieve, view and
verify E&P data on a local computer or workstationproviding a virtual information
shopping bag to collect data for processing.
For example, data can be loaded directly into
a GeoFrame system software application
for advanced formation, petrophysics and
reservoir analysis.

Information
shopping bag

Select required
data

Well-based,
third-party
applications

Select data
repository

Visualize and
analyze data

Launch
drill-down
modules

AssetDB SeisDB

LogDB

Databases

required data. The ability to combine and correlate reliable data among multiple wells and
domains further enhances the value of all the
data.1 Furthermore, an efficient data-management,
archiving and retrieval system can help interpreters exploit knowledge from data previously
acquired and benefit from the experience gained
during acquisition.
The Finder Enterprise data-management architecture has been designed around the principal
data-management and data-access functions:
loading, validation, editing and integration. These
functions enable users to find, access and transfer
any oilfield data. The architecture comprises a
data catalog covering individual master databases
and systems designed to register and synchronize
1. Beham R, Brown A, Mottershead C, Whitgift J, Cross J,
Desroches L, Espeland J, Greenberg M, Haines P,
Landgren K, Layrisse I, Lugo J, Moren O, Ochoa E,
ONeill D and Sledz J: Changing the Shape of E&P
Data Management, Oilfield Review 9, no. 2
(Summer 1997): 21-33.

corporate repositories and master databases into


a well-organized environment. A description of
some of its major components follows:
the Finder systema comprehensive data
store for geology, and geophysics, production
and drilling data
the LogDB archivea comprehensive well-log
archival system
the SeisDB archivea seismic data-management system for archiving, viewing and restoring bulk seismic data
the SDMS/PetaSTAR systema seismic datamanagement solution for workstation-based
seismic data
the AssetDB systema record inventory management system that allows oil companies to
store, organize and track a wide variety of
physical E&P data assets.

As part of the Finder data-management system, the GeoWeb 3D viewing software enables a
data user to view, verify, select and retrieve E&P
data from a single point of entry (left). Using a
Web browser, data users can view and literally
dig down into their LogDB original-format log
archive, their SeisDB seismic trace archival
database and their AssetDB physical data management system by launching applications within
the Finder data-management system.
Data Delivery Technology
During the last thirty years, there has been a continual development of communication solutions
used to transmit oilfield data from the acquisition
site to end users. These solutions have ranged
from commercially available systems, such as the
basic programs using file transfer protocol (FTP),
to custom solutions built by operators and service providers (see Glossary, next page). Each
method has evolved from previous ones, driven
by additional industry requirements and sustained by developments in communications technology. Today, the common feature of all these
technologies is that they are based on the TCP/IP
protocol (see TCP/IP Data Protocol, page 44).
In general, todays data transmission solutions can be grouped into three general modes in
chronological order of their development:
point-to-pointonly one sender and one receiver
regardless of the connection being utilized
multipoint data delivery using a private network
Internet-based multipoint data delivery.
(continued on page 38)

36

Oilfield Review

Glossary

authenticationThe process of identifying


users, typically by user identification (user-id)
and passwords, before they are allowed access
to computer systems or networks, typically by
user-id and passwords.
browserA software program that runs on the
users computer, allowing connections to Web
pages and services.
datagramA message unit that contains source
and destination address information, as well
as data, which is routed through a packetswitching network. Also referred to as a
packet, frame or block.
digital certificatesAn encrypted digital signature used for authentication to prove the identity of an individual, a provider of a service, a
product vendor or a corporation. Digital certificates are issued by a trusted organization
that validates and issues certificates, often
called a trusted authority.
DropBoxA secure computer file location
between protected company intranets.
It serves as a data exchange location.
e-businessFinancial transactions performed
through the Internet without paper, synonymous with e-commerce.
encryptionThe process of scrambling information so that a key held only by authorized
recipients is needed to unscramble and read
the information again.
EthernetA popular networking system
with a high transfer rate and several
cabling schemes.
extranetA technology that allows different
corporate intranets to communicate for the
purpose of electronic commerce and collaboration. Those parts of an extranet outside
the firewall contain their own set of security
safeguards, allowing only limited access for
specific purposes.
firewallA barrier established in hardware or
in software, or sometimes both, that monitors
and controls the flow of traffic between two
networks, usually between a private local
area network (LAN) and the Internet.
freewareSoftware made available at no cost
for public use by the author. The PDSView
software for displaying and annotating log
graphics on a PC is freeware from
Schlumberger.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)The TCP/IP
protocol used when transferring single or
multiple files from one computer to another.
FTP provides all the tools needed to look at

Winter 1999/2000

directories and files, change to other directories and transfer text and binary files from one
computer system to another.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
A standard document-formatting language
used for creating Web pages and other
hypertext documents.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)The
command and control protocol used to manage
communications between a Web browser and
a Web server.
HTTPS (Secure HTTP)An extension to
the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
from Enterprise Integration Technology
that allows Web browsers and servers to sign,
authenticate, and encrypt a HTTP packet
at the application layer.
InmarsatInternational Mobile Satellite
Organization, an international cooperative
that provides worldwide communications to
marine, land and airborne operations through
a network of geosynchronous satellites and
land-based stations. Currently, more than 160
countries use the Inmarsat satellite system.
InternetThe worlds largest computer network, consisting of millions of computers supporting tens of millions of users in hundreds
of countries. The Internet is growing at such
a phenomenal rate that any size estimate is
quickly out of date.
intranetA private corporate network that uses
Internet software and TCP/IP networking protocol standards. SINet and SOIL are examples
of intranets.
IP (Internet Protocol) The set of specifications
that regulate information packet forwarding
by tracking addresses, routing outgoing messages, and recognizing incoming messages
in TCP/IP networks and the Internet.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
The current system for digital transmission,
allowing rates of 64 kilobits per second (Kbps)
per line.
packetA unit of datacontaining address
information, data and error-checking informationsent over a network or communications
link. Also referred to as a datagram, frame
or block.
PKI (Public Key Infrastructure)An encryption
scheme that uses two keys. In a data transaction, a public key, given to the sender, encrypts
the data before transmission. Upon receipt, the
receiver uses a corresponding private key to
decrypt the transmission. Because the private

key is never transmitted or publicized, the


encryption scheme is secure.
routingThe process of locating the most
efficient or effective pathway through a network to a destination computer. The network
or communications software commonly
handles routing.
smart cardAn identification and security
card the size of a credit card, but with an
embedded microprocessor that can store the
digital certificate and other relevant information such as frequently used passwords.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/
Internet Protocol)A set of communication
protocols used on the Internet (see TCP/IP
Data Protocol, page 44).
VPN (Virtual Private Network)Originally
a private network for voice and data based
on security technology for transmission on
public lines and connections. More recently,
VPN is an encrypted private tunnel across
the Internet.
VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal)
A small satellite terminal used for digital
communications, from 1 to 3 meters (3.3 to
10 ft) in diameter. The VSAT is used by
Schlumberger locations primarily in North
America for high-speed, up to 128 Kbps,
communications from logging units to
geosynchronous satellites.
Web browserAn application, such as
Netscape Communicator or Internet Explorer,
that permits users to look at hypertext documents, follow links to other HTML documents,
and download files to their computers from
the Internet.
Web serverA hardware and software package
that provides services to users computers
running Web browsers.
WITS (Wellsite Information Transfer
Specification)An industry standard (API)
protocol used to send and exchange information about ongoing wellsite operations.
WWW (World Wide Web)One of the major
areas of the Internet. It is a hypertext-based
system for finding and accessing Intranet
resources. Physicists at the European
Laboratory for Particle Physics in Switzerland
developed the original WWW concepts for
exchanging scientific information.
XML (Extensible Markup Language)
A technology that allows the data on an
HTML page to be described in terms of the
information it represents.

37

Point-to-Point Data Delivery


Point-to-point data delivery has been used in
well logging since the early 1960s and still
serves as a major data communication mode in
the oil field. Data are sent directly from the
acquisition site through a communications link to
the data users or operators office (right).
The advantage of point-to-point data delivery
is that the data are pushed all the way to their
destination without any intervention from the
receiving end. In addition, this technology is
independent of any other data delivery or com-

Schlumberger
Connectivity Center

Operator 1

Help
desk

Operator 4

Firewall

Operator 2

Firewall

Operator 5

Extranet applications
Operator 3

Operator 6

> Schlumberger Connectivity Center (SCC). The hardware and software for the (SCC) were created to
connect operators and their partners to Schlumberger network-based information and data delivery
systems. The SCC provides authorized secure access to a variety of Schlumberger services through a
single, centrally managed connection. To ensure the security of all the resources within the Schlumberger Information Network (SINet), all extranet applications are located in a secure enclave. These
secure enclaves are logically outside SINet, and therefore assigned IP addresses outside the SINet
address range. The secure enclaves can be connected back to the SCC either through a dedicated
communication connection, such as a leased line, or through an encrypted connection through SINet.
Web and FTP-based data delivery and the Data Management Center are examples of services
accessible through the SCC.

38

Anadrill

Security is a concern requiring custom solutions. Recently developed security firewalls and
digital authentication technologies allow operators to collaborate with one another and with
service providers through private networks
(below). The Schlumberger Connectivity Center
(SCC) resolves many of the important network
routing and security issues that arise when connecting to external networks, both private and
public. Web- and FTP-based data delivery and the
Schlumberger Data Management Center are
accessible through the SCC.

Schlumberger

Data acquisition site

Operator desktop

Data services center

> Point-to-point data communications. This


transmission option pushes data from the
acquisition site to the destination site such as
an operators desktop computer (top) or the data
services center (bottom). The communications
link can be provided by a number of different
communications options, such as a direct phone
line, satellite link, or a dedicated ISDN line to
the destination site.

munication system. With recent systems, the


same data link is used for two-way communications, allowing the operator in the office to be not
just a passive recipient of the data but an active
participant in an interactive acquisition process.
The easy-to-use InterACT Remote Witness
software, designed for wireline logging, is an
interactive data delivery package that is used for
point-to-point data communications. It utilizes
robust and efficient compression algorithms to
move large amounts of data in real time from the
acquisition site to the clients desktop. Digital
graphics are displayed automatically in real time

Oilfield Review

and scrolled on-screen using the PDSView software (right). Graphics can be annotated, converted to commonly used graphics interchange
format (GIF) and computer graphics metafile
(CGM) formats or printed on a commercial plotter
as they arrive.
The InterACT Remote Witness system also
provides powerful two-way communications utilities with the wellsite crew using the data channel. Such utilities include chat applications that
permit rig personnel to exchange audio messages
through computers equipped with a sound card,
speakers and microphones. In addition, this system provides videoconferencing facilities that are
used to connect service vessels, offshore rigs and
remote land locations to the clients desktop or
laptop computer. The InterACT Remote Witness
service is one of the most widely used point-topoint data delivery systems in the industry.
BP Amoco initiated a program of remote witnessing during well logging acquisition on their
wells in the Andrews field in the North Sea using
the InterACT Remote Witness communications
system.2 The InterACT system provided direct and
immediate interaction between the offshore
wellsite data-acquisition team and the consultants in the Aberdeen and London offices during
log acquisition for improved decision-making.
In describing the systems value, a petrophysicist from BP Amoco Exploration, who works
on high-value wells in the North Sea, reports
that the use of the InterACT system on the BP
Amoco Andrew platform fulfilled a number of
requirementsnot the least, from a safety perspectivethrough removing the need for offshore witnessing. In addition, it provided relief
in a restricted personnel environment. BP Amoco
found it beneficial during production logging for
the reservoir engineer and petrophysicist to be
able to discuss and influence the real-time logging programsuch as reactions to unforeseen
changes in environment and the ability to make
decisions from onshore if required. By the same
token, during pipe-conveyed logging, the location of formation tester sampling points could be
confirmed and the usual pressure responses
checked with modeled results, preventing any
costly reruns.

Winter 1999/2000

> PDSView graphics software. This freeware application allows users to display and annotate
well log graphics on a PC. Its popularity in the E&P industry is a tribute to the great value of
the digital graphics. Windows elements, such as the toolbar (top), allow for a wide range
of graphic annotations that include text inserts, callout boxes, re-editing and saving of the
edited files.

Real-time communication with the engineer


through the InterACT chat tool is valuable during
prejob checks and rig-up to relay information on
tool performance quickly. During one of the early
runs of the Borehole Acoustic Reflection Survey
(BARS) tool, the onshore tool expert and petrophysicist along with the data processor used the
chat tool to check imaging quality and alter
parameters during logging. Then they processed
the InterACT-transmitted data in-house providing
the answer product within 24 hours.
Unocal Indonesia pioneered using the
InterACT Remote Witness system to help asses
their West Seno deepwater exploration and
appraisal wells. Using the MDT Modular
Formation Dynamics Tester tool pressure gradients to look for matching sands, the operators
were able to correlate zonal communication
between wells. The real-time data enabled operators to guide the team at the acquisition site to
take measurements where needed to help interpret the evolving picture of reservoir connectivity.
The real-time data and interactive communications allowed Unocal to successfully complete
the difficult process of reserve certification.

Another major operator used the InterACT


Remote Witness system to evaluate log quality
control during a deepwater wireline logging operation in Nigeria. During acquisition, the field engineer transmitted the logging data directly to the
Schlumberger Center for Advanced Formation
Evaluation (SCAFE) in Houston, Texas, by telephone
from the rig in Nigeria. Both log analysts and technical advisors from the operator and Schlumberger
were present as logs arrived from the wellsite and
were displayed and printed in real time. Data from
the CMR Combinable Magnetic Resonance tool
enabled the operators log analyst to locate additional zones containing hydrocarbons. The twoway communications channel provided by the
InterACT Remote Witness system enabled the analyst to advise logging engineers when enough
high-quality critical data had been acquired, minimizing the rig time needed for data acquisition. It
also saved a costly trip to Nigeria for the operators
experts and allowed them to continue their regular
work with a minimum of disruption.
(continued on page 42)
2. Barber T, Jammes L, Smits JW, Klopf W, Ramasamy A,
Reynolds L, Sibbit A and Terry R: Real-Time Openhole
Evaluation,Oilfield Review 11, no. 2 (Summer 1999): 36-57.

39

Classifying Oilfield Data

The format and quality of E&P data have


become as important as their acquisition and
transmission. The time and effort spent on data
acquisition and data delivery will be wasted
unless the delivered data can be readily utilized.
Data are truly delivered only after they have
been integrated and stored where the operator
can get them. Complex data previously presented on paper are easily delivered in digital
format. However, the increasing complexity of
digital data has necessitated categorization and
documentation of data types to ensure smooth
delivery and accessibility by operators. Several
default classifications have been implemented:
Basic dataThis group contains data, usually
presented optically, used without modifications by a broad spectrum of professionals.
Basic data are limited in size and are suitable
for timely exchange and quick exploitation.
Customer dataIn this category are basic
data plus the essential minimum supplemental information that support them. Customer
data are suitable for data storage and
advanced exploitation by specialists.
Producer dataThese data contain, in addition to basic and customer data, other information meaningful to the producer of the data.
Technical objects (such as tools, equipment,
processes, channels and parameters) are identified by dictionary-controlled names. Registering
proper names and properties for objects is a
prerequisite to an efficient data delivery system.
Schlumberger maintains a public version of its
Oilfield Services Data Dictionary (OSDD) on the
Web (http://www.connect.slb.com).
1. Morgan JG, Spradley LH, Worthington GA and
McClelland IJ: SEG Standard Exchange Formats for
Positional Data, Geophysics 54 (January 1983): 102-124.
2. More information about Practical Well Log Standards
and WellLogML can be found at the POSC Web site
(http://www.posc.org).

40

Data Formats
The format of digital data can be broadly classified into two categories: American Standard
Code for Information Exchange (ASCII) and
Binary. ASCII formats are generally simple, but
can be read by a wide range of software. Binary
formats generally have richer descriptions of
the data, and are more appropriate for
advanced processing and long-term storage.
Graphical formatsA visual representation
of digital data, graphical data are used to efficiently display large volumes of data in forms
that can be readily understood for simple interpretation or quality-control purposes. However,
graphical data cannot be reused easily.
Graphical data may be in hard copy (paper or
film) or digital file format, but are essentially a
snapshot of the data. Graphical data are generated by applying a format description, presentation description or style sheet to the digital
data; the resulting data may be in one of many
commercial or proprietary graphics formats.
Examples of graphical data file formats are
graphics interchange format (GIF), Joint Photographic Expert Group (JPEG), tagged image
file format (TIFF) and Picture Description
Standard (PDS). The two general types of
graphical data formats are raster and vector.
Raster files are composed of colored pixels that
combine to produce a representation of the
data. Raster files cannot include objects such
as lines or curves. However, raster files are generally easy to view with a wide range of Internet
browsers, word processors or other commercially available software. Vector files contain
objects such as lines and curves with an associated descriptive language. Although more efficient than raster files, vector files usually
require viewer software specifically written for
each vector format. Both raster and vector files
may be rendered into hard-copy prints or film.

Log ASCII standardOriginally released


in 1989, The Canadian Well Logging Societys
(CWLS) Floppy Disk Committee designed a
standard ASCII format for single-well log data
on floppy disks, known as the LAS format (Log
ASCII Standard). LAS consists of individual data
files written in ASCII. It represents the well log
header and optical curve in digital form.
Renowned for its just-right mix of size, portability, ease of use and accessibility, LAS has now
become an accepted method of rapid well log
delivery for E&P companies worldwide. Its simple structure, with familiar spreadsheet-like
columns of log data indexed to depth, makes it
easy to use or load into most application software. Its ASCII file structure assures that all
computer operating systems can open and read
LAS files. Most appreciated is the users ability
to simply open the file in any text editor and
extract well information visually.
Log Information StandardThe Log
Information Standard (LIS) binary data format
was produced on Schlumberger acquisition
systems during the 1970s and 1980s. It was the
wireline logging industry standard data format
until it was superceded by the Digital Log
Interchange Standard (DLIS) in the 1990s.
Recommended Practice 66/Digital Log
Interchange StandardThe RP66/DLIS standard became an American Petroleum Institute
(API) Recommended Practice (RP66) in 1991.
The Petrotechnical Open Software Corporation
(POSC) adopted the DLIS standard in 1992,
triggering its development as a syntactic standard for seismic, drilling and well logging.
The DLIS standard proposes a data scheme that
permits the storage, management and exchange
of quality data. By specifying equipment, tool,
process and data, the format ensures the traceability required by the E&P industry.

Oilfield Review

It supports a way to classify data and consequently provides ease of data access. The DLIS
standard also effectively conveys the data producers semantics for tool, equipment, process,
channel and parameters through official
descriptions stored in the specific data record.
The features and advantages of DLIS and
LIS can be compared:
LIS allows only four-character names. DLIS
allows longer ones.
Every DLIS object has an origination identifier
telling who created the data and when, where
and how they were created.
DLIS static data give much more information
about the data acquisition environment and
calibrations than LIS data. The DLIS static
data are self-describing and can be extended
with new object types.
DLIS can record data with complex structure, such as packed waveforms and images.
LIS cannot.
DLIS can record data frames with different
sampling rates in one file. LIS can only record
frame rates that are multiples of the base
frame rate.
In comparing DLIS with Log ASCII Standard
(LAS), some features and advantages of DLIS
and LAS are evident:
LAS has only static data about the well and its
associated parameters. Unlike DLIS, it contains no information about tools, equipment,
calibrations or other attributes.
LAS stores numbers as ASCII values and
requires about three times more storage
space than DLIS.
LAS files can be opened with a spreadsheet
or text editor. DLIS files require special
software libraries.
WITS (Wellsite Information Transfer
Specification) WITS was designed as a joint
industry effort sponsored by the International
Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) and
is the generally accepted protocol for sharing
data among various contractors on a rig.
Standard records provide data on rig conditions,
directional surveys, cementing, basic formation

Winter 1999/2000

evaluation and other common rig activities.


In addition, there is provision for custom records
that allow proprietary data to be exchanged as
long as the data in the records have been
agreed on by the sender and the receiver. WITS
is a suitable format for drilling data transmission due to its ability to transfer depth-stamped
data efficiently and in real time.
SEG-YCurrently, seismic field data are
recorded in a number of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) formats.1 SEG-Y
provides a convenient, simple method for interchanging data sets, as virtually all computer
systems in the seismic industry have software
capable of reading this format.

WellLogMLA Future ASCII Data


Format for the E&P Industry?
The use of the Internet to exchange electronic
business (e-business) documents and technical
data is growing rapidly. Organizations engaged
in e-commerce are quickly converging on the
use of the extensible markup language (XML) as
the best way to exchange information. The XML
standarddefined by the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C)is a simple, easy-to-grasp
method of encoding information in plain text.
Because of XMLs simplicity and broad industry
appeal, a wide spectrum of tools is rapidly being
developed to support its user community.
Support for XML is even included in popular
desktop tools like Microsoft Internet Explorer
5.0 and Microsoft Office 2000.
Work has already begun on defining an XML
standard for the E&P industry, called WellLogML.
With WellLogML, borehole information such
as well logs, coring information, and waveform
and other data can be transmitted via the
Internet and then displayed using a Web browser.
WellLogML can be easily incorporated into
existing log analysis software because there
are several free XML parsers, editors and other
utilities available from companies such as
Microsoft and IBM. WellLogML is also an ASCII
format, making it readily understandable.

Practical Well Log Standards


A New Industry Initiative
Practical Well Log Standards is a current industry collaborative project, including Shell International Exploration and Production, Statoil,
Norsk Agip, Norsk Conoco and Schlumberger,
formed to establish standards for the creation
of a clearly labeled well-log data set that is
accessible to a wide range of E&P professionals.2
The project leverages the work done on previous
projects, including OSDD and development of
POSC standards. Expected benefits resulting
from this project include the following:
reduced costs through process improvement
better data identification and characterization
improved data access
improved data loading efficiency
faster data preparation and acceptance for
data exchange or sale
increased accessibility and understanding
of logging data by nonpetrophysicists.
Data consumers are overwhelmed by the
amount of data they receive. Currently there
are more than 50,000 different types of well-log
traces. However, most will agree that the number of routinely used well-log traces is somewhere in the neighborhood of 500. Additionally,
the names of traces are complex and are changing at an ever-increasing rate. These factors
present several problems for data loading and
acquisition, such as how to classify useful data
and how to track the level of data processing.
The results of this confusion are lost data, lost
information and lost revenue. It is not uncommon for purchased data to bein effect
thrown away, because it would cost more to
understand the data than it would to reacquire
the data. Field studies are repeated in their
entirety at significant cost, either because data
from previous studies cant be identified,
or because data from the studies cant be
adequately understood, and because of a lack
of confidence in the results, primarily due an
inability to understand the archived results
from the previous studies.

41

Operator desktop

> Data delivery and GeoSteering services. Access to all the real-time measurements from
logging tools (top), numeric displays (bottom right ), and toolface displays (bottom left )
help the geologist evaluate the drilling program and position of the wellbore. The logging
display shows real-time LWD data plotted against depth including gamma ray (green) in
track 1, phase-shift resistivity (red) and attenuation resistivity (green) in track 2, and formation density (red) and porosity (green) shown in track 3. Drilling mechanics data include
rate of penetration (red) shown in track 1, and MWD turbine speed for washout detection
(green) in track 4. The numeric display can show the actual numerical value (boxes) or a
simple bar graph (upper right) of any time-based measurement, such as pump pressure,
downhole weight-on-bit, bit inclination and azimuth, rate of penetration, downhole annular pressure and equivalent circulating density. Alarms can be set on any measurement
(red boxes). The directional driller uses the toolface display to see how well steering
is proceeding. The Gravity Tool Face (GTF) display shows the orientation of the motor
bend housing based on the MWD accelerometer readings. The GTF readings around 0
inclination mean the motor and bit are being steered upwards.

Similarly, Phillips Petroleum used the InterACT


Remote Witness system at their offices in
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, USA, to follow the
progress of a logging operation in the Bohai Bay,
offshore China. Platform Express and DSI Dipole
Shear Sonic Imager data were transmitted in real
time from the acquisition site using a wellsite
satellite link. The availability of the logging data in
Bartlesville allowed the operators expert to immediately see and interpret the resistivity and porosity logs to identify potential pay zones. These were
used to find the best pressure test and sampling
points for a subsequent MDT tool run. The chat
application of the InterACT Remote Witness software helped the operator communicate with the
logging engineer at the acquisition site.

42

Another example of a point-to-point data communication system is the InterACT Remote


Command system designed for logging-whiledrilling (LWD) and measurements-while-drilling
(MWD) data acquisition. It is widely used in many
directional-drilling operations because it provides
remote real-time monitoring through the installation of a duplicate Anadrill wellsite data-acquisition system in an operators office. This system
replicates the capabilities of the wellsite system
and allows the display and printing of both realtime and memory logs, including real-time
GeoSteering monitoring, correlation and analysis
of directional data versus the wells planned
trajectory. Progress also can be checked against
information from offset wells. The InterACT
Remote Command system utilizes the Wellsite
Information Transfer Specification (WITS), and
provides powerful communications utilities, such
as e-mail, chat and audio messaging, for two-way
communication with the acquisition site.

Norsk Hydros Petroleum Technology Group in


Bergen, Norway used InterACT Remote
Command data exchange to steer wells being
drilled through the highly faulted formations of
Njord field in the North Sea. The meandering
wellbores are very difficult to navigate and realtime LWD and MWD data on the GeoSteering
screen help track the bit and keep it within the
reservoir. Typically, the operator drills through
fault blocks in the reservoir section and uses
real-time LWD data to determine if the wellbore
is still in the reservoir, or above or below it after
entering a new block. The real-time data also
help pick the total depth of the well.
The LWD data are acquired on the Njord platform using the IDEAL Integrated Drilling
Evaluation and Logging acquisition system, and
the data are transferred to a remote IDEAL acquisition system in the drilling office in Kristiansund,
Norway. Here the engineer generates real-time
logs and numeric displays of LWD data along
with the drilling mechanics data (left). The
results are sent using a TCP/IP point-to-point
connection over Norsk Hydros intranet directly to
the operations geologists personal computer (PC)
in Bergen. This PC can also be used to archive the
real-time and memory logs from the LWD tool
suite. Digital graphics are sent from the rig to the
geologists PC and high-quality prints are made in
the office for daily meetings. These log graphics
are e-mailed to partners outside the network and
can be viewed using PDSView software.
Real-time drilling decisions require close
cooperation and good data communications
between the service team and the operator asset
team. In the southern North Sea, British Gas has
combined point-to-point LWD data delivery with
forward modeling and interpretation to help
make well-steering decisions. Accurate visualization of the formation character and structure
relative to the drill bit improves intricate drilling
navigation in horizontal wells. The INFORM
Integrated Forward Modeling program produces
synthetic LWD logs that can be compared with
actual tool readings to generate a map of the formation as it is being drilled.3
First, LWD data acquired at the rig site are
transmitted in real time to the data processing
center, where a GeoSteering analyst using an
IDEAL PC networked to a GeoFrame workstation
updates the forward models in real time based
on the acquired data (next page). The combined
3. Allen D, Dennis B, Edwards J, Franklin S, Livingston J,
Kirkwood A, White J, Lehtonen L, Lyon B, Prilliman J
and Simms G: Modeling Logs for Horizontal Well
Planning and Evaluation, Oilfield Review 7, no. 4
(Winter 1995): 47-63.

Oilfield Review

system allows correlation of the actual LWD


logs with the forward-modeled logs, confirming
wellbore location. It also estimates formation
dip and produces an updated structural model
of the drilled sequence as the well progresses.
Finally, the driller or operator compares this
information with the geological and drilling constraints to guide navigation. The latest real-time
results of the GeoSteering screen correlation,
image and petrophysical interpretations are distributed in time for daily operations meetings.
The operator also maintains a Web site, on
which all results are posted immediately,
enabling other offshore and onshore project
personnel to access the results.
In one well, the relative thinness of the reservoir, lack of petrophysical contrast in the beds
and uncertainty in seismic depth conversion created a risk of drilling out of the reservoir. The
GeoFrame workstation was used to process the

azimuthal density memory data obtained


between bit runs (previous page, insert). This
helped determine the formation dip, which was
used to update the map of the structural models
on the GeoSteering screen. These provided the
analyst with an unequivocal interpretation of the
relative position of the wellbore in the formation.
The decision was made to steer down to penetrate the lower portion of the reservoir.
Point-to-point data communication also is
being used for monitoring well stimulations
and fracturing treatments. The Schlumberger
FracCAT fracturing computer-aided treatment
data-acquisition system provides stimulation
datapump rates, pressure and proppant concentrationat the wellsite. However, these
measurements can be extended to remote locations using a real-time data transmission (RDT)
system. This system allows direct communications between the wellsite data-acquisition

system and a remote FracCAT system located in


an operators office or regional technology center. Here stimulation experts can monitor the
treatment parameters in real time, evaluate
treatment progress and participate in decisions
about treatment design and execution.
A complete FracCAT system was installed in
a Houston office, where operators such as
Coastal Oil and Gas and Vastar Resources routinely monitor treatments performed offshore in
the Gulf of Mexico. The RDT service allows operator representatives to monitor and support the
wellsite operations without requiring travel to
the wellsite, eliminating unproductive travel and
waiting time. For example, completion engineers
can monitor the evolution of a fracture treatment
using the FracCADE fracturing design and evaluation software and advise the crew to adjust
the pump rates and proppant concentrations for
optimum results.
(continued on page 46)

Data acquisition

INFORM screen

IDEAL
MWD/LWD
sensors

GeoSteering
screen

Data services center

GeoFrame workstation

> GeoSteering maps with forward models. Forward modeling produces synthetic LWD logs along the planned
well trajectory that are compared with actual real-time LWD logs (upper right) to help guide the drilling process.
Pilot well or adjacent well data are used to build up one or more geologic columns to represent the expected
geology of the well. The 3D structural model obtained from the operator is also combined with the petrophysical
column and proposed well trajectory. Tool responses are predicted based on the expected layered formation
sequence, wellbore inclinations, bed thickness and sensor measurement resolution. The insert (white box) shows
the azimuthal density image, processed on a GeoFrame workstation, used to determine formation dip.

Winter 1999/2000

43

TCP/IP Data Protocol

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and


Internet protocol (IP), generally mentioned
together as TCP/IP, are protocols specially
developed to allow cooperating computers to
share resources across a network. Since identical functions are needed by many network
applications, separate protocols have been
grouped together rather than being replicated
in each application. A layering strategy
erected on several tiers of protocols is used in
networking technology. Each of these layers
calls on the services of the one below it (below).
In this article, we consider the network suite of
protocols to be divided into four basic layers.1

Application protocol is the set of rules that


govern software programs or services that use
the network, such as e-mail, Internet access or
data delivery packages. Both the commercially
available FTP and the Schlumberger proprietary TRX transmission software for digital
data transfer are examples of services at the
application protocol level. They both use
TCP/IP to perform file transfers.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is
responsible for breaking up the information
into small pieces and reassembling the information back in the right order at the other
end. It also takes care of re-sending any piece
of information that for some reason may have
failed to make it to the receiving end.

Application protocol

E-mail, Internet access, data delivery software

TCP protocol

Ensures that commands reach the destination


protocol completely and as ordered

IP protocol

Medium protocol

Provides the basic service of getting data


to their destination

Manages the specific physical connection mode

Actual link

> Layered scheme of network protocols.

Internet Protocol (IP) is responsible for routing the individual pieces of information to
their correct destination. IP is not involved
with the contents of the information or how a
given piece of information relates to any other
one before or after it.
Medium protocol is the standard for the
physical connection, which involves different
types of links such as Ethernet, Small
Computer System Interface (SCSI) and
modems among others.
TCP and IP are built on connectionless
technology concepts so that direct connections
between the sender and receiver are not
required. TCP breaks down the information into
small pieces called datagrams or packets. Each
of these datagrams is numbered sequentially
and is passed on to IP to be sent individually to
the other end through the network. While those
datagrams are in transit, the network doesnt
know if there is any relationship between them.
For example, it is perfectly possible that datagram 7 will actually arrive before datagram 6. In
order to make sure a datagram has arrived at its
destination, the recipient has to send back an
acknowledgement. For example, sending a
datagram with an acknowledgement of 1800
indicates that the specific computer has
received all the data up to datagram number
1800. If the sender doesnt receive an acknowledgement within a reasonable amount of time,
then TCP sends the missing datagrams again.
1. The details of the full International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) reference model can be found in
most data communications textbooks, such as Halsall F:
Data Communications, Computer Networks and
Open Systems, 4th ed. Harlow, Essex, England:
Addison-Wesley, 1998.
2. The term catenet, introduced in early publications
on packet network interconnections, refers to the
interconnected collection of packet networks.

44

Oilfield Review

TCP controls the volume of data that is in


transit at any one time. It is not practical to
wait for each datagram to be acknowledged
before sending the next one. On the other hand,
a computer cant just keep sending data or a
fast computer might overrun the capacity of a
slow one to absorb data. Thus, each end indicates how much new data it is currently prepared to absorb through a window field in
each acknowledgement. As the computer
receives data, the amount of space left in its
window decreases. When it goes to zero, the
sender stops. As the receiver processes the
data, it increases its window, indicating that it
is ready to accept more data.
TCP/IP is based on the catenet model, which
assumes that there is a large number of independent small networks connected together by gateways or routers (right).2 Datagrams will often
pass through many different routers before arriving at their final destination. In most cases,
these networks are set up in such a way that all
machines physically located in certain buildings
or departments comprise what is called a local
area network (LAN), and then several LANs are
linked together through the catenet model to
form a wide area network (WAN).
The routing needed to accomplish this is
completely transparent. As far as the user is
concerned, the only thing needed to access
another system is its Internet address. This
address is a 32-bit number, usually written as
four numbers separated by decimal points, that
the system administrator assigns to each computer in the network (right). The structure of
this address indicates both the network and the
host computer within the network. The part that
indicates the network is called Network ID
and the part that identifies the computer
within that network is called Host ID.

Winter 1999/2000

LAN A

LAN B

PC #1

PC #1
Gateway

Gateway

PC #2

PC #2

PC #3

PC #3

PC #4

PC #4

PC #5
Gateway
LAN C
Gateway
To other
networks

PC #1

PC #2

PC #3

PC #4

PC #5

PC #6

> Wide area network (WAN) constructed from three local area networks (LAN).
Gateways or firewalls provide security between each component of the network.

10100011 10111001 11111010 00010100

Network ID

Host ID

> A typical IP address with the network and host


identification parts.

45

Other data-acquisition providers in the oil and


gas industry have implemented specialized pointto-point data delivery systems. For example,
Baker Hughes developed the Remote Log Display
System (RLDS) that runs off their ECLIPS dataacquisition system.4 It provides real-time log and
data transmission in one direction, from the wellsite to remote workstations, where basic interpretations can be performed and presentations
customized. Transmission is over a wide range of
communications channels from dial-up modems
to satellite links.

Intranet Multipoint Data Delivery


A powerful alternative to point-to-point data
delivery is a multipoint-oriented system.5 Such a
dynamic system has been in operation in the
United States at the Schlumberger data delivery
hub in Sedalia, Colorado for 15 years. Although
the transmission system and the server hardware
and software systems have evolved over time,
the overall concept remains the same.
Schlumberger currently has nine such data
delivery hubs worldwide: Sedalia, Colorado;
Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Muscat, Oman; Cairo,
Egypt; Aberdeen, Scotland; Stavanger, Norway;
Perth, Australia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and
Caracas, Venezuela.

The TransACT system is the name given by


Schlumberger to the whole data delivery framework built around these hubs. This framework
was specially developed to allow secure and reliable transmission, monitoring, processing, tracking and delivery of oilfield data to clients,
supporting final product creation (prints, tapes,
CDs) and file filtering and format conversion
where necessary (below).6
Complicating factors in the oilfield data transmission environmentreal-time and post-job
data transmission often across poor, low-bandwidth linksmean that off-the-shelf transmission

Anadrill

Schlumberger

Operator desktop
Data acquisition
site

SNIC-FTP server

Fax machine

Data delivery hub

Web data server

Express delivery

Product delivery
center

Data services center

Data management center

> TransACT framework. This data delivery framework provides a common data delivery system to all segments of the E&P industry, serving all forms of
data produced, facilitating data integration and collaboration as appropriate on a global basisthus making a positive impact on the workflow from the
wellsite to production optimization. Data delivery starts at the data acquisition site (upper left), where the data are sent through the TransACT data delivery
hub to the operator desktop (upper right) or other destinations such as data services centers (middle left) and data management centers (lower middle).
The operator receives data through the Schlumberger Information Network (SINet) using one or more options including the Schlumberger Network Inter
Connect (SNIC) service, facsimile, product delivery centers and secure portals to the Internet such as the Web data server.

46

Oilfield Review

> Acquisition-site data communications. The map shows Inmarsat service coverage (top) for all
regions to approximately 70 latitude in both the northern and southern hemispheres. MAXIS Multitask
Acquisition and Imaging Systems logging trucks (bottom) maintain data communications to the
Schlumberger Information Network (SINet) using connections through a variety of communication
links, including Ethernet, Inmarsat, VSAT, ISDN and cellular modems.

methods generally are not suitable. The TransACT


data delivery framework, uses custom solutions to
provide reliable and secure transmission capabilities from the acquisition sites, to increase
throughput using new data-compression algorithms and to function robustly, with error-recoverability, particularly over low-quality links. The
proprietary TRX transmission software for efficient
digital data transfer, the protocol used in most
Schlumberger data transmission systems, is one
of these custom solutions.7
An example shows how the TransACT data
delivery system works. A logging engineer at a
wellsite using a Web browser can send a set of
instructionscalled ordersto the TransACT
data delivery hub (above). Once the order

Winter 1999/2000

is submitted and the data files are transmitted


to the hub, the engineer is free to leave the
wellsite. Authorized field engineers and location
managers can log onto the TransACT hub from
any location and at any time to monitor the
progress and status of deliveries. The hub then
carries out the order, redistributing data and
graphics files to clients, partners and other destinations as required through a variety of means
that best suit the needs of the clients. TransACT
data delivery includes the following options:
SNICThe Schlumberger Network Inter
Connect (SNIC) service is one of the most popular data delivery options used in the TransACT
system. It provides a connection between the
Schlumberger Information Network (SINet), the
wide area network (WAN) provided by Omnes,

4. More information about ECLIPS can be found at the


Baker Hughes Web site (http://www.bakerhughes.com).
5. Murchie S, Provost JT, Burke T, Karr G, Alam SO,
Scheibner D and Citerne A: Innovations in Global
Electronic Data Delivery, paper SPE 56686, presented at
the SPE Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition,
Houston, Texas, USA, October 3-6, 1999.
6. For more information and the latest news on data
delivery, log on to the Schlumberger Web site
(http://www.connect.slb.com).
7. Clark R, Danti B, Guthery S, Jurgensen T, Kennedy K,
Keddie J and Simms D: Building a Global Highway for
Oilfield Data,Oilfield Review 5, no. 4 (October 1993): 23-35.

47

Anadrill

and the operators workstation. The data are


placed onto the SNIC system, which is a secure
FTP server, and operators access it through a
dedicated private line between their networks
and the SNIC system. Access control is
twofoldfirst, the Schlumberger e-commerce
firewall, which limits access to the system
based on IP address, and second, a user-name
and password, which also are also required to
access the server.
Product delivery centerOften the operator
needs prints, reports, films, CDs and tapes delivered. These can be generated at a product
delivery center (PDC) located physically close
to the operator and are delivered by surface
mail or courier. The PDC produces faster delivery
and higher quality final products and reduces the
time required at the wellsite by the acquisition
crew (below).

Schlumberger

Data acquisition
site

Web data server

Data delivery hub

Data management center

> The TransACT-to-LogDB data flow. Data management is an integral part of the log data delivery
framework. The TransACT data delivery system periodically copies log data files (DLIS and PDS) from
the central data communications hub (lower left ) to the data management archive system using the
TRX transfer protocol together with a descriptive text file. The log database receiver process then
uses the descriptive text file to import log data files to be scanned, loaded and archived. During the
auto import, scan, load and archive process, the database system continually updates a Hypertext
Markup Language (HTML) report (upper right), which the operator consults from the central data
communications hub.

> Product Delivery Center (PDC). This photograph


shows the busy Aberdeen PDC, which makes
thousands of prints every year. These facilities
can copy data to color prints, film, digital audio
tape (DAT) and compact disk read only memory
(CD-ROM) for final delivery.

48

ArchiveSchlumberger intranet communication between the TransACT system and the


LogDB database allows automatic flow and
archiving of data from the TransACT hub into the
Schlumberger data-management system for
archiving and future retrieval of the data (above).
FaxDigital facsimiles are widely used for
data delivery. Since the transmission originates
from a digital graphic file, the fax on the receiving
end is of high quality. This digital faxing, or digifax, is popular because the client does not need
special equipment. Besides, fax machines commonly use continuous length paper, making them
suitable for well logs. The limitation of faxes is
that data cannot be reused or modified easily.

DataLink DropBox deliveryThis delivery


mode places the data onto a Web server in a
secure enclavevirtually located outside the
Schlumberger intranetto be easily accessible
through the Internet. Operators are notified by email when data arrive from the field. The operators simply use their Web browser with an
account name and password to retrieve the data
using standard HTTP or secure HTTPS protocols.
This delivery option has the benefit of allowing
numerous users, including partners, to access
data simultaneously from different locations.

Oilfield Review

Monthly Individual Orders

Electronic mailE-mail is often used to


attach small digital graphics or minimum data
sets. The maximum attachment size allowed
varies by company, but generally is on the order
of a few MB, which limits the use of this delivery
mechanism. In addition, since e-mail messages
are not normally encrypted, data security could
be compromised. E-mail is used to notify users
that other more secure data delivery methods
have been used and successfully completed. For
example, whenever a SNIC or DropBox data
delivery transaction is completed, an e-mail message is automatically sent to the user.
The TransACT framework is completely transparent to the data user. Schlumberger data are
sent in a timely, efficient and fully traceable manner with minimal human intervention. Many of
the tasks formally performed manually at the field
acquisition site have now been transferred to and
automated by the TransACT data delivery hub
(right). This has a large impact on both performance and efficiency. The compression and
recovery features provided by the TRX protocol
ensure that transfers are fast and reliable. Since
the transfer proceedings are completely transparent, the engineer can focus more attention on log
quality control.
After the engineer generates the corresponding TransACT order, the data delivery hub automatically completes the required data delivery
process. A typical order may include data conversion, multiple format data delivery and any
number of the available delivery methods (right).
By the time the logging tool reaches the casing
shoe, data transmission is finished. The deliveries
are completed within minutes with no intervention besides mailing the CD and hard-copy prints
generated in the PDC to the operator.

12,000
10,000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Jan

Mar

May

July

Sept

Nov

Sept

Nov

1999 Monthly Transfer Volumes in GBytes


160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Jan

Mar

May

July

> Statistics on North American TransACT activity. Graphs show the monthly
number of data-delivery orders (top), and total volume of data transferred
(bottom) by the TransACT data delivery hub located in Sedalia, Colorado.
This hub handles all of the US market, both land and offshore.

Convert incoming data from DLIS into LAS format, filtering out all nonessential
channels as indicated by the operator.
Deliver the LAS file to the operator's geologist in Houston through SNIC
(automatic e-mail notification of file availability).
Deliver graphic copies of the log to three partners through the DropBox utility
(automatic e-mail notification to partners). They can securely retrieve the logs
through the internet using their Web browsers and the corresponding user-names
and passwords.
Fax a copy of the log to the operator's drilling office to quickly evaluate casing
and cementing needs.
Send color prints of the logs, a CD containing the original DLIS file, the LAS-filtered
file and other digital graphicssuch as quality control and crossplotsgenerated
in the Houston PDC to the operator's office.
Notify the Schlumberger Field Services Manager by e-mail after the above
deliveries have been successfully completed.
Automatically archive all data in the LogDB database.

> A Typical TransACT order.

Winter 1999/2000

49

Sperry-Sun Drilling Services also provides a


multipoint data delivery system for a wide range
of rig services and rig sensors including MWD,
directional drilling, drilling fluids and pumping
services. Their INSITE Integrated System for
Information Technology and Engineering software allows the operator to view and analyze
data in real time in a customized format at the
rig, or at the office and other remote locations.8
Real-time communications to third-party systems using the Wellsite Information Transfer
Specification (WITS) format are supported. All
the information is contained within an Open
Database Connectivity- (ODBC-) compliant database. This allows standard commercial applications such as Microsoft Office to have direct access
to the database to generate graphics and reports.
Service companies are not alone in developing multipoint data delivery systems using private networks. Operators also are developing
direct links between drilling monitoring systems
and data management and interpretation systems. One custom solution uses a single interface for operators and different drilling

The user does not need a special application on his or her desktop computer
to view and download data. Virtually everyone has a Web browser.
The data are made available to any authorized user. This is an improvement
over the point-to-point data delivery mechanism, in which data arrive only
at a single users system. Web delivery permits multipoint and simultaneous
delivery anywhere in the network.
Firewall problems are avoided. Most operators have ports in their firewalls open
to HTTP and HTTPS (encrypted) Web traffic. Data are not pushed to the user;
instead the user pulls the data back through any firewalls that may be present.
Security of access is maintained. Web servers have standard authentication
and access control mechanisms. These mechanisms usually involve
user-names and passwords or digital certificates.
The user has full control of data delivery and timeliness is assured. If the
data arrive at the Web server in real time, the user can access the data
immediately. If the user missed the real-time arrival, the data are still there
and can be viewed at a later time.
The Web server can provide a single point of contact from multiple oilfield
services, such as drilling, logging, fracturing and production, easily accessible
through a single interface.

> Advantages of Web-based data delivery.

Other service providers


Sperry-Sun

ABC
DEF

Baker Hughes
Inteq
XYZ

Schlumberger

INSITE

RigLink

InterACT
Web Witness

DART Link
Landmark

Wellbore positioning

Wellbore
MWD logs

MWD QA/QC
Open Works

> Drilling Automation in Real-Time (DART) system. Statoil developed direct links
between their data management and interpretation systems and drilling monitoring
systems. The DART system is now being used to connect rigsite data acquisition
systems directly to Statoils internal project database.

50

contractors and service companies. As part of


Statoils research and development effort organized in the Wellbore Positioning Project, the
Drilling Automation in Real-Time (DART) system
was developed to connect rigsite data-acquisition systems directly to Statoils internal project
database (left). The project objective is to
develop concepts for application integration and
real-time data exchange to enhance multidisciplinary decision processing, and to enable efficient quality assurance and verification of
different field operations.
Choosing a platform-independent solution for
the DART system makes it possible to integrate
diverse software applications by establishing
standardized on-line data communication and
reporting formats. Statoil has finalized the first
working prototype version of the DART system
covering MWD and LWD data. An application for
downloading real-time and historical drilling data
to the project database is in prototype testing at
the Statoil Gullfaks facilities in the North Sea.
The Statoil DART approach is to be as open as
possible to enable a common platform for data
transfer and application integration to be established with service companies.

Oilfield Review

Internet Data Delivery


The increased popularity of the Schlumberger
DataLink or DropBox delivery option has led to the
development of an integrated system of Internet
data delivery mechanisms. What makes these systems particularly attractive is that they use widely
accepted commercial technology, such as Internet
access and Web browsers (previous page, top).
Today, these Web-based oilfield data delivery systems provide commercial-quality security such as
encryption and user authentication used in
Internet banking and e-commerce (see Security
for E&P Internet Data Delivery, right).
The InterACT Web Witness data-delivery system is designed to provide secure Internet access
to real-time logging data through a Web browser.
From the IDEAL or the MAXIS wellsite acquisition
systems, the data are sent in real time to a Web
server. Once the data are at the server, multiple
authorized users can access them simultaneously, and each user can interactively customize
the visualization of the data from table listings,
plots and displays choosing presentation parameters such as scales, colors and units. This datadelivery mechanism can be deployed either on
the Internet or within an operators intranet.
Another example of an across-the-Internet
data delivery system is the SuperVISION service
that helps operators monitor the progress of seismic data-acquisition projects.9 It provides operators with a simple, efficient and secure method to
link to acquisition information such as reports,
images, maps, on-line QC-displays and plots,
seismic sections and test resultsallowing
structured access to these results on demand, at
any time of the day or night and anywhere in the
world. The system enables rapid decision-making
based on acquisition data of the same quality as
operators would be able to see if they were actually present at the acquisition site.
8. More information about INSITE and INSITE-ANYWHERE
can be found at the Sperry-Sun Drilling Services Web
site (http://www.sperry-sun.com).
9. Bhatt D, Kingston J, Bragstad H and ONeill D:
Interactive Exploration, Oilfield Review 9, no. 4
(Winter 1997): 22-31.

Winter 1999/2000

Security for E&P Internet Data Delivery

IBM Global Security and Privacy Services


helped Schlumberger evaluate the risks
involved in providing E&P data delivery over
the Internet.1 A team explored the relationships
between common Internet activities, such as
collaboration, production access, publishing and
e-business, and the requirements of data delivery in the oilfield environment. This led to an
understanding of how the major Internet security hazards, such as information theft, programming errors and repudiation could impact data
delivery objectives.
The key security requirements of an E&P data
delivery system, in order of priority, were first,
authentication, access control, and confidentiality, then data integrity and finally, system
availability. With a good understanding of business needs, perils and security requirements,
several technology and process objectives were
identified to achieve a secure Internet data
delivery system:
verification of application security controls
including identification and authentication
and access controls on resources
an acceptable customer enrollment and registration process that protects Schlumberger
and its clients
encryption of data to achieve confidentiality and
integrity requirements for data transmission
formal policies and procedures with respect to
operations, administration and audit.

IBMs process and policy recommendations


were organized using the framework provided
by the British Standard 7799 Code of Practice
for Information-Security Management. The standards in this code are especially valuable for
international operations.
It is interesting to note that operators have
widely divergent policies with regard to data
security, with many companies foregoing data
security for efficiency. Many common delivery
practices, such as fax and e-mail, have developed
over years as a matter of convenience and efficiency, but provide reduced security. In other
cases, more secure data delivery options are
often overlooked. For example, when downloading data from the web-based DataLink DropBox,
operators are offered the option to use the more
secure, encrypted HTTPS, rather than standard
HTTP. Many choose not to use the encrypted
download, sometimes because of corporate policy against using HTTPS. In time, data security
will become as much a part of the oilfield culture as safety, and industry-wide data security
procedures will become the established practice.
1. For more information about IBM Global Security
and Privacy Services, see their Web site
(http://www.ibm.com/security/html/consult.html).

51

Azobe
survey
site

Gabon

A FRI CA

were particularly interested in continually


reviewing the available information and completing the acquisition project as quickly as possible
without compromising data quality. There were
four pieces of critical information:
header plots to monitor cable depth, in order to
ensure optimal amplitude and frequency
response of the geological targets
root-mean-square (RMS) amplitude plots to
monitor cable noise and ensure a good signalto-noise ratio
brute stacks, which provided an indication of
the quality of the data being processed
navigation and seismic coverage to ensure
good overlap with existing surveys in the area
and to determine whether infill shooting would
be required.

The navigation and seismic coverage plots


revealed an area of incomplete coverage, probably caused by vessel and streamer drifting in the
high offshore currents (below). The speed at
which the SuperVISION service helped the geophysicists monitor these critical data ensured
that remedial work was carried out immediately
and did not require a subsequent and costly
revisit to the area.
Elsewhere, the SuperVISION remote monitoring system is helping operators and contractors
collaborate on seismic processing by allowing
early processing results to be viewed on a
Web-based browser at each step. On a North
Sea project, TransCanada is using the
SuperVISION service to provide images of results
of various velocity models on their prestack

> Location of a marine seismic


survey in Gabon.

Off the West African coastline, the Azobe 3D


survey performed by Geco-Prakla was undertaken by the Seisranger survey vessel just 5
miles [8 km] from Port Gentil, Gabon in 1999
(above). Acquisition commenced late in
November and was expected to finish by the end
of the year; however, the 550-km2 [212-sq mile]
prospect was particularly difficult. Being close to
the shore, the water was relatively shallow and
hazardous. There was the additional problem of
shipping and fishing in the vicinity of the vessel
as it acquired the data. Debrismainly pampas
grass islandswas continuously washed across
the survey area, striking the acquisition streamers.
Meanwhile, strong currents aggravated problems by making it more difficult to control acquisition equipment. Given these difficult working
conditions, the UK-based support geophysicists

Sequence 9

Sequence 7

Sequence 5

Sequence 3 Sequence 1

Sequence 11

Sequence11

Sequence 9 Sequence 7 Sequence 5

Sequence 3 Sequence 1

> Seismic coverage plot. The map shows the ships position (white curves) and amount of
survey coverage. The light area in the map (upper right) shows that early in the third
sequence an area of incomplete coverage occurred. Strong currents that day most likely
deflected the survey vessel or streamers.

52

Oilfield Review

Operator engineering offices

Schlumberger and thirdparty offices

Wellsite

Firewall

Acquisition
Front end

Acquisition
and control
software

Cable

Gauges

Central storage
Data
management

Data analysis

Data analysis

Data delivery

> Multiple-user permanent monitoring data-delivery system. The architecture of the WellWatcher daily system enables multiple users
with a Web-browser application to display and analyze data from permanent downhole sensors. The data-acquisition system at the
wellsite sends the data in a real-time continuous mode and in a near real-time mode on a scheduled basis or at user request. The two
modes are not exclusive. The data delivery system supports all the WellWatcher acquisition systems such as the WellWatcher, the
PumpWatcher and multiphase FloWatcher systems.

depth migrations and to assess the effectiveness


of postmigration processing. The Web-based
results are faster than sending paper sections
and provided the operator with the ability to evaluate each model and phase of the processing.
Herman Kat, a scientist from TransCanada, says,
SuperVISION is a good way to monitor seismic
acquisition and processing, and offered easy
access to data when required. It offers a much
better view of the available data than e-mail
attachments. Data delivery through the
SuperVISION system is a real step ahead.

Winter 1999/2000

Effective data delivery also is important to


long-term reservoir management. Pressure,
temperature and flow data from downhole
gauges installed permanently on the completion
string have been available for more than
20 years (see Downhole Monitoring: The Story
So Far, page 20). The value of these data can
be increased with new systems to access on
demand downhole monitoring data and surface
measurements on the Internet (above). Realtime data acquisition and delivery to multiple
users through the Web-based WellWatcher
daily wellsite production monitoring and communication system can help operators exploit
these measurements to optimize reservoir and
production performance.

BP Amoco and Reda Production Services have


been using the WellWatcher daily system in the
North Sea to monitor surface, downhole and
electric submersible pump parameters since the
beginning of 1998. The BP Amoco Forties field
has been producing since the early 1970s, however during the last ten years, declining production has been maintained by secondary recovery
techniques such as gas lift and electric submersible pumps. The Forties field has five platforms, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo.
Most of the electric submersible pumps are
installed in wells on the unmanned Echo platform, which was originally designed without
processing facilities. Remote operation is performed from the Alpha platform.

53

Eight permanent monitoring systems with


pressure and temperature gauges have been
installed on four platforms. Data from these
systems are available to authorized BP Amoco,
Reda and the WellWatcher engineers located in
separate offices onshore using the WellWatcher
daily Web-browser interface (below). Continuously monitoring parameters such as intake
and discharge pump pressures and temperatures
in real time helps engineers remotely control
electric submersible pump operation during
critical startup after a shut-in period. For example, the ability to monitor electric submersible
pump parameters during power changes and
startup inrush surges avoids operating the pump
under conditions that might lead to premature
failure, costly replacement and unnecessary loss
of production.
With the availability of real-time data, well
engineers can also correctly differentiate completion problems from pump problems, and thus
plan effectively for remedial work. Reservoir
engineers can monitor reservoir performance in
real time under static and flowing conditions.
Unplanned shut-ins give them the ability to conduct buildup analysis and observe the effects on

other wells across the reservoir. The electric submersible pump operator can quickly evaluate any
potentially adverse operational condition and
advise on the maintenance of optimal parameters for the well system asset, thus assuring
continuing cash flow for all parties.
Operators often seek custom data-delivery
solutions for specific needs. The Norwegian oil
companies, including Amoco Norge, BP Norge,
Norske Shell, Norsk Hydro, Phillips Petroleum
Company Norway, Saga Petroleum and Statoil
together with the Norwegian Petroleum
Directorate agreed in 1998 to set up a private
extranet called the Secure Oil Information Link
(SOIL) (next page). The objective was to facilitate
data exchange more easily throughout the life of
a field as these operators work closely together
with service companies. Making individual connections between all involved parties is not considered a good solution for efficient data delivery.
Before SOIL was established, data would be sent
to operators either on tape or by transferring data
to the operators server using dedicated lines.
Transferring large files, such as seismic
data, through the Internet can be problematic
due to bandwidth limitations and link stability.

> Electric submersible pump witness display. The electric submersible pump witness displaymenu (top) identifies the field, well and all available data channels and the time of display
range for the selected field and well. The display selected in this example shows the electric
submersible pump intake pressure (blue) and temperature (red) taken every 10 sec over a
one-hour interval. A zoom feature enables the operator to expand any area in the chart to
look at details of the parameter-monitoring history.

54

File transfers through dedicated lines raise


issues related to both the additional work
needed to establish these lines as well as network security. A custom solution like the SOIL
extranet can provide better bandwidth, link stability and security than the Internet, while still
linking business partners. Such a network provides a big advantage for data-delivery systems
such as the SuperVISION service used to monitor
seismic data-acquisition and processing projects.
In 2000, two new state-of-the-art secure
SuperVISION gateways have been installed to
provide data-delivery communications between
Schlumberger and its clients. One of these gateways is dedicated to serving clients through the
SOIL network. This server is located at the at the
Oslo Solutions Center, Norway, where SINet is
linked to the SOIL network. The other gateway,
serving clients through the Internet, is located at
the Schlumberger Connectivity Center (SCC) in
Houston, Texas.
Petrolink Services Ltd. have also been providing data-delivery systems in the North Sea since
the early 1990s, and have been widely used by
major operators. Since then, Petrolink has
expanded their services worldwide. Although not
directly involved with data acquisition, they are
contracted by operators to manage data transmission from the wellsite to the operators
onshore offices. They offer rapid postacquisition
transmission of all wellsite data from any land or
offshore site to any location in the world using
dial-up and fixed-link satellites, microwave, radio
and regular telephone networks.10
Today, these systems consist of secure Web
servers connected to the Internet running Lotus
Notes software. This program enables data to be
automatically presented for both uploading and
downloading through the Internet using a
browser that provides encrypted data exchanges.
Data are held as individual records within a
structured database, enabling the user to sort
them by date, record type, rig or well. With private networks the Web server can be connected
directly to a wellsite or other remote location,
permitting operators to interact directly with the
server and upload data that can be accessed over
the operators own intranet. Alternatively, the
server can be connected through a firewall to
another server with a direct connection to the
Internet, to allow data transmission and access
to anyone with the correct security profile.
10. More information about Petrolink Services Ltd. can be
found at their Web site (http://www.petrolink.co.uk).

Oilfield Review

Norsk Hydro

Statoil, Norway

SOIL
Secure Oil Information Link
Statoil, USA

Kvaerner
Oil and Gas
Services

Phillips Petroleum

Schlumberger Well Services

> Norwegian Secure Oil Information Link (SOIL) network. The Norwegian SOIL network is a
branch network linking together oil companies and service providers within the Norwegian
oil industry. This high-speed extranet provides an infrastructure for secure communications
and data services. Examples are secure e-mail, directory services, secure Web services
and e-commerce.

Baker Hughes Inteq also has a browser-based


systemusing multiple secure Web servers
around the worldcalled RigLink, that facilitates
data communications between the wellsite and
remote displays in the operators office. Like
RigLink, the INSITE-ANYWHERE system allows
users to view information available from SperrySuns INSITE real-time data analysis system with
an Internet connection and a Web browser.
Balancing Security and Usability
The evolution of electronic E&P data delivery
mechanisms will continue to be driven by a mixture of market needs and technological growth.
The Internet will play a larger and more complex
role, and two featuresusability and security
will dictate its growth for oilfield data delivery.
Although usability and security usually have conflicting implicationsthe more secure a given
system, the more complex and cumbersome to
operate and vice-versathe industry will find
itself striving for an optimum resolution.
In addition, as corporations become more
aware of electronic security issues, the datadelivery infrastructure must provide technological
solutions to allow remote expertise and decisionmaking to be performed securely. Examples
include the use of user names and passwords to
log into data repository sites, and the use of

Winter 1999/2000

encryption, especially when data must move over


the Internet. More sophisticated methods of
authenticationsuch as Public Key Infrastructure
(PKI) and smart cardsare employed for more
advanced systems.
Most operators networks are usually protected by an e-commerce firewall. As a result,
transactions are more secure. Each firewall will
block all incoming unauthorized file transfers and
data deliveries from an outside network unless
specifically programmed to accept such transaction by means of poking a hole in it. This alternative is generally not accepted by most
Information Technology (IT) organizations, given
the security breach that it implies.
Technology advances in the field of Virtual
Private Networks (VPN) indicate that soon VPN
will be the option of choice to work around this
problem. Through such technology, firewalls will
become more intelligentrather than just
blindly rejecting all incoming transactions, and
they will prompt the originators of the transmission to identify themselves.
Identification or authentication can be done
through digital certificatesa digital incarnation of the passport for virtual travellingissued
by a trusted agency in a form of a lengthy string
of digital characters. Like real passports, digital
certificates contain certain characteristics that

allow the firewallthe immigration office of the


virtual worldto verify that they have not been
tampered with. In this way, firewalls can ensure
that a trusted individual, generally an authorized
employee, is originating the incoming transaction, and grant access to the network. The most
secure and convenient way to store a digital certificate is within a smart card, and it probably
wont be long before a smart-card reader is
included in all commercial computers.
Since the information must still travel through
nonproprietary links, it will be necessary to use
codification or encryption to ensure its integrity.
In this arena, PKI technology is expected be the
most commonly accepted option. Here, each individual will be issuedonce again by a trusted
agencya personal and digital private key, of
which only one copy exists. The agency also will
make available through the Internet a matching
public key. The public key is used by anyone to
encrypt data, which once encrypted can be
viewed only by the holder of the matching private
key. One convenient and practical place to store
the private key will be in the smart card.
Down the Data Highway
The last few years have been rich with many
communications and data-delivery developments
in every domain of the E&P industry. The world is
rapidly assimilating advances in Web-based
transactions that are modernizing the way we
work together. Browser-based delivery interfaces
are impacting much of the decision-critical workflow. Optimizing the flow of data to those who
use it is one way to increase operating efficiency
and reduce cost.
Advances in communications technology are
driving the shift from an asset-centered to an
expert-centeredor decision-centeredwork
process, facilitating collaboration, integration,
knowledge capture and, as a result, superior
decision management. In an upcoming article in
the Oilfield Review, we will complete the data
services story by showing how advanced data
integration and interpretation platforms are combined with 3D-visualization technology to help
operators and service companies make more
informed and knowledgeable decisions in the
domains of reservoir evaluation, development
and management.
RH

55

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