Assam Asset A Profile of Oil/ Gas fields

Introduction
The Assam Asset of ONGC produced 1.4 MMT of crude oil and 367.63 MMm3 of gas during 2004 -05. Evidence of oil in India dates back to 1825 when a military surveillance mission rowing up the river Bruthi Dihing in Assam saw the crude oil rising to the surface at Supkhpong with bubbling of gas and green petroleum. Much later in 1866, Goodenough of Makillop Stewar & Co. acquired rights and started drilling work in jungle in Joypur. His third well struck oil and history was created. ONGC started production in Assam Asset in 1957 and spudded the first wild cat well at Dishangmukh in 1959. Based on the results of geoscientific surveys, drilling of Rudrasagar prospect was taken up in 1960, which proved to be commercially viable hydrocarbon accumulation. Subsequently, Lakwa field was discovered in 1964 and Geleki field in 1968. The continued search for oil and gas led to the discovery many other small fields such as Demulgaon, Lakhmani, Changmaigaon, Laiplingaon etc. The fields of the Asset are Rudrasagar, Geleki and Lakwa / Lakhmani. The fields are in Sivasagar district of Assam. The installations of these fields located within a radius of about 50 km from the cities of Sivasagar and Nazira. The head quarter of Assam Asset is situated at Nazira and Sivasagar is the district head quarter. Rudrasagar Field: After the first oil discovery in this field in 1960, more wells were drilled during 1960 65 and proved the hydrocarbon habitat in the Barail Main Sands. The average depth of wells of this field is 3000 m. The field was put on trial production in 1966. Initial crude oil transportation from this field was carried through tankers. So far more than 170 wells have been drilled in this field, out which 60 wells are producing. The current oil and gas production from this field is 500 m3/day and 0.138 million m3 per day respectively. Many of the wells of this field are on continuous gas lift and a few are on SRPs. There are four Group Gathering Stations, two Gas Compression Stations and one Effluent treatment plant. The average water content of crude oil produced from the wells of this field is 60%. The average density of crude oil of this field is 890.0 kg/m3 and wax content is around 10%. The average permeability of this field is 10md. Lakwa / Lakhmani Field: This structure was delineated by seismic survey in 1959. The first well in Lakwa area was spudded in 1963 and oil was encountered in the Tipam and Barail sands. The average depth of wells ranges from 2600 to 3200. The field was put on production in 1969. So far more than 500 wells have been drilled in this field, out which 150 are producing. The current oil and gas production from this field is 1400 m3/day and 0.18 million m3 per day respectively. Many of the wells of this field are on artificial lift viz. continuous & intermittent gas lift, SRPs and ESPs. There are eight Group Gathering Stations, three Gas Compression Stations and two Effluent treatment plant. The average water content of crude oil produced from the wells of this field is 60%. The average density of crude oil of this field is 870.0 kg/m3 and wax

content is around 10%. The average porosity ranges from 18 24% and permeability ranges from 50 100 md. Geleki Field: During 1964-65 seismic survey was carried out in the Geleki area. Geleki structure was described in 1968. Tipam and Brail sands were proved to be oil bearing in the first exploratory well of this area. The field was put on production in 1974 and maximum production was from Tipam-VA sand. The geological age of the Barail main sand and Barail coal-shale is Oligocene and that of Tipam is Miocene. The average depth of wells of this field is 2600m. So far more than 300 wells have been drilled in this field, out which 50 are producing. The current oil and gas production from this field is 1700 m3/day and 0.445 million m3 per day respectively. Many of the wells of this field are under artificial lift. The artificial lift modes operative in this field are predominantly Intermittent lift There are three Group Gathering Stations, two Gas Compression Stations and one Effluent treatment plant. The average water content crude oil produced from the wells of this field is 20%. The average density of crude oil of this field is 870.0 kg/m3 and wax content is above 10%. All the sands of Geleki are of very poor permeability ranging from 2 15 md. The average porosity is 18 20%.

Oil Transportation from wells to Group Gathering Station (GGS)

The oil from wells is transported to gathering stations known as GGS through 4 pipelines. None of these lines is piggable. Most of the wells in Assam Asset produce oil with paraffin wax in the range of 8 13%, with certain wells producing even higher percentage of wax. The flow lines also are generally upto 3 km long, but in some cases they are even 7 km 14 km long. The average ambient minimum temperature, during winter months, is around 8-9oC, but sometimes it approaches 4 5oC. This results in severe cooling of the fluid in the flow lines. The paraffin wax separates from crude oil when equilibrium conditions change during the flow process of production from well bore and flow to gathering station. The deposition of paraffin wax occurs in the formation pores, tubing or pipeline. The actual place and rate of this deposition depends upon crude oil composition, operating temperature, pressure, flow rate and ambient temperature conditions. Deposition of paraffin wax in the production system leads to loss in production of crude oil, the quantum of which depends on the amount and location of the deposition.

Measures being taken for Flow Assurance

The predominant measure adopted for combating the choking problem in the tubing is through mechanical scrapping. Most wells require daily scrapping whereas a few of them need scrapping even twice a day. None of the flow lines of the Asset is piggable. The well flow lines are cleaned by flushing with hot effluent water. Steam jacketing was deployed near well head on one of the lines. In-situ heat generation was tried on pilot scale in one of the lines and was successful. Continuous chemical injection at the well head was tried in two lines during last winter using wax inhibitors and viscosity reducers etc.

Assam Asset is interested in cost effective solutions for dealing with wax deposition problem and flow assurance.