Creating More with Less; Optimizing Artificial Lift Production By Nav Dhunay CEO PumpWELL Solutions
Solving Remedial Cementing Challenges IN 2015, ALBERTA-BASED PRODUCERS have three compelling drivers to address aging or deteriorating wells. The first and most important is that on April 15, 2015 the Alberta Energy Regulator is introducing its Inactive Well Compliance Program (IWCP). The goal of the IWCP is to address 20 percent of compliance problems each calendar year resulting in abating the backlog of inactive wells within five years. This includes inactive wells that have been categorized by a level of risk and have specific suspension requirements assigned to each category. The second key driver is to evaluate both producing and suspended wells in this low oil price environment. During peak activity, remedial services are often prioritized towards well construction but the market has created the opportunity to procure remedial related services at a lower cost. The third driver pertains to Producers objectives around reducing their License Liability Rating (LLR) which took effect in Alberta in 2013. By reducing the LLR, Producers can often lower the required security deposit held by the AER and in some cases this can be a source of additional funds to offset the cost of remediation. By proactively managing the well abandonment liability during downturns, Producers can better position themselves for a market upturn by focusing capital on production growth and revenue generation, and not on remediation. By using remedial cementing techniques aging, abandoned or deteriorating wells can be repaired. Remedial cementing is a process used to repair or properly abandon a wellbore using a regular or specially-formulated cement. The need for remedial cementing can stem from a variety of issues such as: • Poor cement bond created during the well construction process • Abandon nonproductive or depleted zones • Casing failure or casing leaks • Gas migration or surface casing vent flows which can occur during the life of a well Providing remedial services is not new to Canada’s largest oilfield services cementing company, Sanjel provided services to 620 reme-
dial operations in Canada and 322 in the Rockies, Bakken and south Texas region in 2014. Within its remedial services offer, Sanjel provided the technical expertise needed to assist with the remedial cement job assessment and design, and also has a full suite of specially-formulated remedial cementing products in its REMEDIALmix product line. During the assessment phase, Sanjel’s engineers approach each remedial and abandonment challenge with an investigative approach that requires a complete well history and information gathering from a variety of analytical methods including carbon isotope testing, cement bond, noise, open-hole and pulsed neutron logs. Once the scope of the job is identified, Sanjel selects from a number of remedial cementing techniques to effectively address each step of the job. This also includes selection of the best cementing product for the service. All of Sanjel’s remedial cementing products have undergone rigorous testing in a lab environment that replicates the demands experienced in an actual operating environment. Sanjel is Canada’s cementing leader, a position earned after 32 years of industry focus. Sanjel effectively combine’s our expertise with our comprehensive products for primary and remedial cement services with an objective of long term well isolation and integrity. For more information about how Sanjel can resolve your remedial cementing issues, visit sanjel.com. Cement Mixes Application Class G Cement The industry standard sulfate resistant cement for less complex jobs or when high compressive strength is desired. Thermal 40 High temperature or SAGD wells where thermally stabilized cement is needed for well sections that will be exposed to temperatures over 110°C. SanSeal MF Wells with low squeeze rates that require a specialized microfine formulation with engineered physical and chemical characteristics such as viscosity and particle size to optimize penetration. SanSeal MF HT Thermally stabilized version of SanSeal MF to allow for placement in hotter wellbore environments where conventional microfines may have chemical instability. Micromix MF Wells with extremely low squeeze rates where only very fine cement can be injected into the miniscule cracks.
ARTIFICIAL LIFT IS EVERYWHERE. Current estimates have 96 percent of U.S. oil wells - and only slightly fewer across Canada – requiring artificial lift from the beginning to aid in oil extraction – especially the extraction of heavy oil which doesn’t easily rise to the surface. In a well where the natural drive energy of a reservoir is not strong enough to force oil upwards, artificial lift uses increased pressure within the reservoir to encourage the oil to the surface and improve production volumes and longevity. Even where wells have enough pressure in their early stages to drive oil to the surface, as they mature in their lifecycle, they will often require artificial lift to sustain production volumes. The New Year has brought big changes to the oil industry. A dramatic decline in the price of oil has forced the industry as a whole to tighten its belt and find ways of producing oil at a lower cost. Budgets are shrinking, projects have been put on hold, layoffs are happening and producers are focused on finding new ways to shave operating costs.
Pressure to do more with less The truth is, cutting key areas solely as a result of a declined price can have a severe impact on the producer’s ability to fully recover when prices inevitably rise. So, while managers might rush to slash capital budgets, cuts in the wrong areas have the potential to cause significant long-term damage. Also, there remains a constant, overriding pressure to maintain and even increase production. With declining turnovers, it’s difficult to convince management teams to pursue anything new, or perceived as ‘risky’, in oil extraction, yet in times of crisis, the most forward-looking companies look for alternative and innovative solutions. While operators themselves may not be able to spare resources for R&D or improvements to their own tool sets, the need for solutions is real and crucial and because of this, many are turning to sophisticated optimization of existing artificial lift wells. No matter the price of oil, when carried out properly, artificial lift optimization has the ability to reduce operating costs, reduce downtime and maximize production. This combination is more valuable now than ever. Artificial lift and well optimization are two separate entities. Not all artificial lifts are optimized and properly optimizing a well that doesn’t have an artificial lift solution isn’t possible. Traditionally, manipulations or minute operational changes were made to artificial lift manually in an effort to boost production and minimize downtime. This process dictated that engineers be on site to physically observe the well and make changes to the pumpjack that were deemed necessary to aid efficiency. Whether or not these changes had any positive impact couldn’t be seen right away. In some cases, getting this data might take up to a month.
Sophisticated developments in optimization technology Technology that allows for minute changes to be made electronically from a panel attached to a well has been around for some time. Continues on next page
14 Oil & Gas Network, April 2015