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Reviving the Mature Field of Bekapai: Integrated Work From Subsurface to

Network Optimization
Yan Muhazir, Supriady Supriady, Andy Kristianto, and Henricus Herwin, Total E&P Indonesie

Copyright 2015, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/IATMI Asia Pacific Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition held in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, 20 22 October 2015.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
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Abstract
Bekapai is a mature oil and gas field located in the offshore Mahakam Delta, Indonesia. The hydrocarbons
are accumulated in complex multilayered reservoirs. Ten platforms were constructed to accommodate the
oil production coming from 74 wells drilled between 1974 and 1996. The production started in 1974 with
peak production at ~60,000 BOPD in 1978, followed by a period of decline until it reached its lowest point
at 1,000 BOPD in 2007.
A field re-development project, so-called Phase 1 initiated in 2008, had increased the production to
10,000 BOPD and 46 MMSCFD by the end of 2013. It consisted of 9 development wells. Following this
successful project, a new 3D OBC seismic was acquired and further development plan, Phase 2, initiated,
consisting of 10 development wells and gas production facility debottlenecking. Two wells have been
drilled in 2014 and contribute in stabilizing the production of 2014 at 11,500 BOPD and 38 MMSCFD,
the highest oil production of the past 25 years. The gas production decreases as a consequence to field
production facility limitation. It was shelved due to priority of oil development. However, it is expected
to increase to 100 MMSCFD in 2015 after the debottlenecking. In parallel, idle wells reactivation to access
the shallow gas resources is also reviewed. Besides contributing to gas export, the gas is also used as
artificial lift to revitalize the oil wells.
This paper demonstrates the main elements of the redevelopment: evolution of the geological model
achieved through seismic and petrophysical data, production management in a complex production system
and various optimizations at the production network in order to unlock the production capacity limit
through debottlenecking projects and chemical injection at the export line. A continuous effort in even
further redeveloping the field is also shown through Phase 2, the objective of which will be chasing the
attic oil, blowing down the gas-cap, and double the gas production.

Introduction
Bekapai is a mature oil and gas field located in the offshore Mahakam Delta, Indonesia. The field was
discovered in 1972. Following the discovery, series of exploration and delineation wells were drilled to
appraise the hydrocarbon extension. The hydrocarbons are accumulated in a faulted anticline structure
with multilayered sandstone reservoirs, deposited in a fluvio-deltaic environment.

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The initial development of the field took place between 1974 and 1996. The production started in July
1974 from a single well. One year later, a multi-well production platform, offshore processing platform,
and a living quarter were installed. Between 1974 and 1996, ten platforms were constructed and 74 wells
were drilled. The gas and liquid are treated in the offshore process facilities prior to sending it to onshore
facility. The peak production at ~60,000 BOPD was achieved in 1978. Most of the oil production is
coming from the zone located between 1,250 -1,500 m subsea. After a long period of decline, the field
reached its lowest point at 1,000 bopd in 2007.
A field re-development project, so-called Phase 1, was initiated in 2008. By the end of 2013, the field
was able to produce 10,000 BOPD and 46 MMSCFD. Following this successful project, a further
development plan, so-called Phase 2, was proposed and a new 3D OBC seismic was acquired to support
the re-development plan. Two wells of this phase have already been drilled in 2014 and contributed in
reaching a new peak of production in 2014 at 11,500 BOPD and 38 MMSCFD, the highest oil production
of the past 25 years.
In addition to the development projects mentioned above, routine production optimization activities
such a wireline intervention, idle wells revival, and Drag Reducing Agent (DRA) injection also hold
important roles in sustaining the field production and even unclock the field production limitation.
Geological Context
The field is a faulted anticline structure with multi-layered sandstone reservoirs of late Miocene-Pliocene
age, deposited in a fluvio-deltaic environment. The structural scheme is a Pliocene dome-shaped anticline
elongated in a NNE-SSW trend, parallel to the regional structural frame work. The center of the fold is
cut by post sedimentary normal faults in NNW-SSE direction. The faults consist of two major faults and
several minor faults in the graben. Those faults divide the field into three main compartments: West,
Central and East.
The Bekapai field consists of five stratigraphic intervals. The Deep zone (MF7.5-MF8.5) consists of
stacked mouth-bars facies, deposited in delta front environment during the regressive period. The Lower
zone (MF6-MF7.5) was deposited in the delta front to prodelta environment during the transgressive
period. The Upper zone (MF4-MF6) is the lower part of the Fresh Water Sand formation. It was deposited
in lower delta plain to delta front environment in the beginning of the regressive period. The reservoir
consists of distributary channel sand in the top and some mouth bars facies in the bottom. The Main zone
(BETA-MF4) is the upper part of the Fresh Water Sand formation. The interval was deposited in the
flood-plain (fluvial) to delta plain environment during the major regressive period. The reservoir is thick,
medium to coarse-grained, with inter-bedded shale and some coal intercalation. The Shallow zone
(U05-BETA) was deposited in the delta plain to delta front environment. The reservoirs are distributary
channel and mouth bar sand.
The reservoir pressure depletion is the main driving mechanism in the Lower and Deep zones while
strong aquifer and gas cap expansion are the main reservoir driving mechanism in the Shallow, Main and
Upper zones. Figure 1 illustrates the geological context of the Bekapai field.

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Figure 1Geological Context of Bekapai Field

Field Development Concept

Oil and gas are found almost in all the layers, except Shallow reservoirs where only gas exists. However,
most of the hydrocarbon is located in the Main zone thus the initial development of Bekapai was focused
to this area. As consequence, the remaining zones were underdeveloped and they became the targets for
Phase 1 and Phase 2 Re-Development phases. In brief, Bekapai is developed through successive phases
of development as follows:

Initial Field Development (1974-1996)

The initial field development was performed progressively through six phases between 1974 and
1996. The development started with the exploitation of the oil accumulation located in the flank
of Main zone western panel. However, few wells were drilled penetrating the upper and lower zone
to appraise the hydrocarbon potential in those zones. The main zone has the most important oil
accumulation, which is 75% of field OOIP.
Phase 1 Re-Development (2007-2011)
The Phase 1 Re-Development was performed between 2007 and 2011. The targets of this
development were:
X
X

Gas and by-passed oil at the higher structure of the Main zone.
Gas and oil in the underdeveloped zones: Upper, Lower, and Deep zones.

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Phase 2 Re-Development (2013-Today)

The Phase 2 Re-Development started in 2013 and is still on-going with the following targets:
X
X
X

Attic Oil and Gas Cap in the Main and Upper zones.
Gas and oil in the Shallow, Lower, and Deep zones.
Gas and oil in the Central and East panels.

The development phases are illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2Bekapai Development Concept Illustration

The reservoirs are divided in two categories, as different completions are needed:

Sand prone reservoirs

It consists of Shallow, Main, and Upper zones. Sand control devices, such as Gravel Pack (GP) and
Screen, are required to be installed in order to produce the hydrocarbons safely. Normally, these
zones are the first to be produced as the stakes and the productivity are higher compared to the
lower zones, and the intervention is easier as it requires only slickline intervention to open or close
the sleeves.
Non-sand prone reservoirs

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It consists of Lower and Deep zones. As the sand production risk is low, the zones are only
equipped with liner completion to allow direct perforation and water shut-off operation in the
future. These zones are second to be produced as the stakes and the productivity are lower
compared to the upper zones, and the intervention is more complicated as it requires electric-line
intervention.

Evolution of Geological Understanding

The first 3D seismic acquisition survey for Bekapai Field was performed in 1994, before that date only
2D lines being available. The geological understanding especially the structural scheme changed dramatically after the first 3D acquisition. However, several subsurface uncertainties remained; the fault shadow,
push-down, and seismic signal absorption due to gas cloud in the shallow zone are the main challenges
in the seismic imaging. A new acquisition technique implementing Oceanic Bottom Cable (OBC) with
four components (4C) receiver was acquired in 2012 to answer the challenges of the seismic imaging. The
4C receivers allow recording and processing in conventional P-wave (PP) and converted S-wave (PS). The
nature of S-waves with a lower velocity than P-waves and being insensitive to fluid effect resulted in a
much improved image of the gas cloud area. Figure 3 shows the comparison of P-wave seismic and
S-wave seismic.

Figure 3Comparison of P-wave seismic and S-wave seismic

In the period of 70s to 90s, the 2D geomodeling was implemented in the Bekapai field as support for
the initial development plans. The first 3D geomodel was constructed in 2006 integrating the result of
seismic reprocessing in 2002 in order to be implemented for Phase 1 re-development. That was the period
of puzzle geomodel where an individual model was constructed for each zone and compartment due to
the complexity of the structural scheme (double truncation fault). In 2010, the first full field geomodel was

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made by integrating the result of PSDM re-processing of the 3D seismic 1994. There are a lot of
improvements in the structural modeling, but the workflow was very heavy and time-consuming
(Kristianto, et al. 2014).
The seismic OBC interpretation resulted in a new structural scheme where the West fault is more open
to the north and less compartmentalization in the Central panel. This also creates a new potential in the
Central panel by a new closure in the northern part (Figure 4) (Siawira, et al. 2015). The new structural
modeling technique, so-called Volume Base Model (VBM) has been successfully tested and implemented
in order to construct the double truncation fault model. Integration of all the data lead to improve the well
placement in the Phase 2 re-development. Figure 5 shows the sub-surface evolution of the Bekapai field.

Figure 4 Comparison of old and new structural interpretation

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Figure 5Subsurface Understanding Evolution of Bekapai Field

Field Development Results

Initial Field Development (1974-1996)
During this period, ten platforms were installed and 74 wells were drilled. In 1974, the field production
was coming from a single well. One year later, a multi-well platform, offshore processing facility, and
living quarter were installed. The gas-oil-water production was treated at the offshore processing facility
prior to sending it to the onshore terminal. Until 1976, the oil production was transferred to onshore
terminal using tanker. In 1977, a 12 x 24 km sealine linking offshore processing facility and onshore
terminal was commissioned to replace the oil production transfer mean. The peak production was
achieved in 1978 with ~60,000 BOPD. In order to stop the gas flaring and to produce it instead, a gas
compressor was installed at the offshore processing facility in 1985. The gas and oil are then sent to
onshore terminal in multi-phase flow through the 12 sealine. Bekapai network illustration is shown in
Figure 6.

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Figure 6 Bekapai Network Illustration

Three tripod platforms were installed to develop the central panel in 1981 and it contributed 10,000
BOPD of additional oil production by 1982. In 1996, an additional well was drilled targeting the gas and
oil reservoirs in the west panel. The high pressure gas from this well is used as a source for gas lifting.
In general, the wells were completed with dual string completion (Long String and Short String) in
order to connect as many potential reservoirs as possible and produce them in commingle. However, well
accessibility is a drawback to this type of completion. Hence, a water breakthrough or sand issue from one
reservoir could jeopardize the production of the well as it cannot be isolated from the other reservoirs. In
addition, production allocation is also a challenge in this type of completion since PLT cannot detect the
flow contribution of each reservoir.
A total of 56 development wells were drilled within the envelope of initial development period and 5
wells are still contributing to current production, where 4 of them were revived through idle wells revival
project carried out in 2013. Until May 2015, this phase contributes 192 MBO and 266 BCF to the field
production with more than 90% of the production coming from the Main zone.
Phase 1 Re-Development (2007-2011)
Seven development wells were initially proposed in the frame of Phase 1 Re-Development. However, 2
additional wells were added later on following the good results of the preceding wells. The well results
can be seen in Figure 7. The better than expected results are mainly due to higher netpay encountered in
the wells, with details as follows:

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Figure 7Phase 1 Re-Development Well Results comparison Realization vs Prognosis

Unpredicted gas pays in the Shallow zone.

Lower Oil-Water contact in the Main zone.
Thicker oil and gas pay in the Upper zone.

Phase 1 Re-Development wells confirmed the strong aquifer support in the Main zone, where no
depletion was observed after 30 years of production. Meanwhile, in the other zones, minor depletion was
observed suggesting that the zones were underdeveloped. It also proves the wide extension of the Upper
and Lower zones, where very few penetrations were done during the initial development. The situation is
further highlighted in Figure 8.

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Figure 8 Normalized pressure versus Subsea depth for depletion observation. Higher depletion is observed in the Lower zone of the
Bekapai Field

A combined completion type, multizone gravel pack with selective system and liner, was intalled in
the wells of this phase as depicted in Figure 9 (Banman, et al. 2008). The multizone GP could
accommodate up to 4 producing zones and the liner section is accessible for any wireline intervention.
Normally, one GP zone can accommodate 1 reservoir but depending on the reservoir thickness and the
distance between the reservoirs, additional reservoirs can also be accomodated. The multizone GP
technology evolved and in 2011 it was possible to accommodate up to 5 producing zones. However, the
number of potential reservoirs found in a well was often more than the maximum number of multizone
GP, leaving behind significant amount of uncompleted netpay. Based on the well results, not all of the
total netpay in the Main and Upper zones can be accommodated by the existing completion type as
depicted in Figure 10. Thus, the remaining uncompleted zones became the potential targets for Phase 2
Re-Development.

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Figure 9 Multizone Gravel Pack with Selective System and Liner Completion

Figure 10 High un-completed pay zones due to GP zone limitation

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As part of Phase 1 Re-Development project, production network debottlenecking was carried out to
anticipate higher gas production. The objective was to increase the gas production capacity from 30 to 50
MMSCFD. A new three-phase high pressure separator was installed in the offshore processing facility and
a compressor re-bundling was performed in the onshore terminal to this end.
A combination of good subsurface results and production network debottlenecking succeeded to
increase the field production from 1000 to 8000 BOPD and from 7 to 45 MMSCFD. Before Phase 2
Re-Development commenced in 2014, the Phase 1 Re-Development contributed 80% to the total field
production with Upper and Lower zones as the main contributor.
Phase 2 Re-Development (2013-Today)
Ten development wells are proposed in the frame of Phase 2 Re-Development. However, the existing
production capacity is still limited and it will not be able to accommodate the production of these wells.
For that reason, the development project is divided into 2 sub-phases:

Phase 2A Re-Development
The project consists of drilling 2 new wells to saturate the existing production capacity. The
optimum production configuration of the existing network is found at 11,400 BOPD and 37
MMSCFD. A higher oil production should be compensated by a lower gas production and vice
versa.
Two wells, drilled in 2014, showed encouraging results. The total netpay encountered is 25%
higher than prognosis. The thicker gas netpay was found mainly in Shallow zone, whilst the
thicker oil netpay was found mainly in the Lower zone. In the shallow zone, the sand extension
was found wider than expected. It is due to the clustering effect in the prediction where the well
data distributions are clustered around the platform. In the Lower zone, the oil water contact
(OWC) was found deeper than expected resulting in a thicker netpay than prognosis. The netpay
comparison is depicted in Figure 11.

Figure 11Phase 2A Re-Development Well Results Comparison Realization vs Prognosis

These two wells contributed in reaching a new peak of production in 2014 at 11,500 BOPD and
38 MMSCFD with Upper and Lower zones as the main contributor. They are currently producing
50% of the field oil production. The production profile is shown in Figure 12.

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Figure 12Bekapai Production Profiles

Phase 2B Re-Development
The project consists of drilling 8 new wells and the installation of a new gas pipeline 12 x 16 km
from Bekapai offshore processing facility to onshore terminal through Peciko offshore network, to
further debottleneck the existing production capacity. The gas production capacity is expected to
increase up to 100 MMSCFD after the debottlenecking. The situation is illustrated in Figure 13.
The Phase 2B Re-Development had just started in April 2015. The drilling campaign and the new

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Figure 13Bekapai Network Illustration after New Gas Pipeline Installation

pipeline installation are still ongoing. The location of the future wells are optimized based on the
information coming from recently drilled wells and OBC seismic result. The new pipe line will be
ready in July 2015 and the first well of this phase will be put on production in October 2015. While
waiting for the new wells to fill the new pipeline, the gas production will be supplied by the
existing wells through well interventions.
Phase 2 Re-Development wells is using an improved version of Phase 1 Re-Development well
completion. It is now able to accomodate up to 6 six GP producing zones.
Production Optimization
In addition to big scale projects outlined above, routine production optimization activities also hold
important roles in maintaining the field production at the high level. Some routine production optimization
activities performed in Bekapai are listed below:

Wireline Intervention
This activity is the key in sustaining the field production. Each well in Bekapai can encounter tens
of oil and gas reservoirs with different pressure regimes. Thus, a good reservoir management
practice is important in order to optimize the well production and, eventually, maximizing the field
resources (Oceaneawan, et al. 2015). The number of well intervention activities has been
increasing since 2007, when the re-development project started. However in 2013 and 2014, the
activities were particularly lower compared to previous years due to Phase 2A preparation
restraining the access to the platform and limiting full production capacity (Figure 14). In terms
of production gain, the well intervention activity has a significant contribution in 2011 and 2012,
when it contributes 40% to 45% to the field production. Figure 15 is showing the contribution of
the well intervention activity in yearly cumulative production.

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Figure 14 Number of Well Intervention Evolution

Figure 15Well Intervention and New Well Contribution to Yearly Cumulative Production

Idle Wells Revival

Gas was not the main target of the initial development of Bekapai. Hence, albeit being penetrated
with almost all wells, the gas reservoirs have been rarely completed. Today, some of these wells
are in idle condition due to well performance or mechanical issues. Efforts to revive those wells
involve: annulus cementing, perforation, and sand control device installation. The revival efforts
were performed in 2013 in 2 wells by targeting the gas reservoirs. The gas is then used to revive
the neighboring oil wells through gas-lift injection. Up to today, a total of 4 wells have been
successfully revived through this project. The production figures can be seen in Figure 16. A study
for a larger implementation of this concept is still ongoing.

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Figure 16 Idle Well Revival: Gas Source Well and Gas-Lifted Well

Minimizing Flow Friction In Pipeline

In 2013, Drag Reducing Agent (DRA) was injected into the 12 x 42 km pipeline from offshore
processing facility to onshore terminal. It was able to reduce the friction between the fluid and pipe
by forming a thin layer on the inner pipes surface and thus resulting in lower backpressure to the
well (Utama, Armi and Nuzulliany 2014). As a result, the export pressure reduced from 36 Barg
to 30 Barg creating capacity for an additional 3000 BOPD production (Figure 17).

Figure 17Impact of DRA injection to Production

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Conclusion
Bekapai has been producing outstandingly for 40 years. The field development was started in 1974 with
the initial development phase and followed by successful efforts of field revival through Phase 1 and
Phase 2A Re-Development 30 years later. A new production peak of 11,500 BOPD and 38 MMSCFD
achieved in 2014 was the highest field production of the past 25 years. The on-going Phase 2B
Re-Development will further unlock the field potential in order to increase the gas production up to 100
MMSCFD.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank MIGAS, INPEX, and Total E&P Indonesie for permission to publish this
paper. Our biggest gratitude is given to Bekapai G&G and Reservoir teams.

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