offshore

Wind power via floating turbines could be used to pump oil from remote offshore fields in the way windmills were once used to pump water from wells in arid West Texas.

For deepwater development, panelists at OTC emphasized the need for scalable technology, the standardization and simplification of projects, patient capital investment in innovation, greater collaboration, and new perspectives coming from outside the industry.

Operators for remotely operated vehicles will be getting more remote in the future as land-based control begins to become a reality.

A panel discussion at the 2016 OTC in Houston focused on the factors that influence deepwater developments, the scenario for the future, and the opportunities available within the industry. One key question asked was: What oil price is required to keep deepwater viable over the long term?

A 2-year comprehensive effort to design, test, manufacture, and deploy a new high-pressure completion tubular for Chevron’s deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) operations is presented.

Many of us work in strong functional environments, where all too easily we can deploy solutions that have the potential for repercussions on other aspects of well design, construction, completion, and performance.

The deepwater blocks Mexico plans to lease to international operators in December are among the deepest, most remote, and geologically challenging in the world. But the difficulties of developing these areas will start onshore, where adequate and secure port facilities are few and far between.

Mexico’s second oil and gas lease auction has been deemed a success after three out of five shallow-water blocks were awarded in September. The awarded areas contain an estimated 236 million bbl of oil and 190 Bcf of gas.

Construction costs, contractor involvement, flow assurance, and the integration of new technologies created to improve production are some of the deepwater challenges exacerbated by the current low price environment.

In June, Mexico’s national oil company Pemex announced its largest discoveries of oil and gas in 5 years. Located in the shallow-water basin of the Gulf of Mexico offshore Tabasco and Campeche, the four new fields are estimated to hold 350 million bbl of oil.