The demand for natural gas remains unabated and with it the need to further develop and disseminate gas-production-related expertise. A few of the common themes that emerge from recent SPE publications are elaborated upon here.
The recovery of condensate from gas condensate depletion drive reservoirs is much lower than the recovery of gas from the same reservoirs because of condensate dropping out below dewpoint pressure. Besides pressure maintenance, no field-proven methods are yet available to mobilize this trapped condensate. Most papers present model or laboratory results without mentioning field data. The same applies to inflow impairment because of condensate dropout; many modeling studies lack validation against field data. Case in point: Pressure/volume/temperature testing generally does not venture below 500–1,000 psi pressure while many reservoirs reach (near-wellbore) pressures well below that range.
Reducing emissions of natural gas or CO2 has become a key deliverable of most projects. Some papers present dedicated technology, while many others emphasize emission reduction as an important side benefit.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is permeating the exploration and production business, as it does society at large, and features in many recent papers. So far, most applications use advanced data analysis to achieve higher derived data accuracy. This appears to be very successful as long as the evaluated data is within the domain of the training data. It is not always clear how well the AI models perform outside of their training domain. A relevant question is whether complex AI techniques applicable within a restricted domain can or should be used to replace simple, well-established engineering relations. Time will tell how deep and wide AI will affect day-to-day gas production applications.
This Month’s Technical Papers
Velocity String Revives Production of Deep Gas Wells With Halite Deposition
Design-to-Cost Approach Increases Project Value of Troll Phase 3
Water Shutoff With a Thixotropic Treatment in Offshore Well Increases Gas Production
Recommended Additional Reading
SPE 210136 The Reversible Relationship Between Choke Management and Liquid Yield Trends in Shale Reservoirs by Yalda Barzin, Repsol, et al.
SPE 210099 Innovative, Cost-Effective, and Zero-Flaring Solution to Clean Up and Start Up New Wells in a High-H2S Field in Kazakhstan—The Vital Step Forward Toward Net-Zero Carbon Footprintby Timur Tankiyev, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating, et al.
SPE 209745 A Data-Driven Approach To Predict the Critical Gas Flow Rate in Gas Wells by Ehsan Rahmati, Ambyint, et al.
Cornelis (Kees) Veeken, SPE, is a 38-year oil and gas veteran, retired from Shell and currently self-employed as a technical consultant and trainer, managing and maximizing gas well performance. He has been a gas well production engineer for 25 years, covering research and development, greenfield development, and brownfield surveillance and optimization in The Netherlands, Oman, Malaysia, and the US. Veeken specializes in gas well performance analysis and deliquefication. He has served on steering committees of several SPE workshops and conferences and has authored more than 30 SPE papers. He earned the SPE North Sea Regional Production and Operations Award in 2011.