Oil and Gas Production and
Exploration, Part II
American Translators Association
52th Annual Conference
Boston, October 26, 2011
Presenter: Steven Marzuola
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Progression
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Water depths
Shallow
„
Up to 1000 / 1500 ft deep
„
Christmas tree on platform (“dry tree”)
Deepwater
„
Christmas tree on bottom
(subsea, “wet tree”)
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Offshore “building blocks”
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2
Shallowest water
Louisiana
Lake Maracaibo,
Venezuela
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Jackup drilling rigs
„
„
Mobile, flexible
Usually up to 400 ft
water depth
„
Can handle surface
trees on permanent
platform, OR subsea
trees
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3
Conventional platform
„
Depths up to 1000
feet
„
Wells drilled
directionally
„
Surface-type
wellheads
„
Drilling equipment
often permanent
Source: California Department of Conservation - www.conservation.ca.gov
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Deepwater drilling rigs
„
Semi Submersible
z
z
„
More stable in rough
weather
Slow transit speed
Drillship
z
z
z
Faster deployment
Less stable
Increased Capacities
z
Liquids, bulk material,
personnel
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4
Marine Riser
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Riser tensioner system
System used to keep a positive pulling force on the
marine riser independent of the movements of the rig.
If there was no tensioner system in place every time
that the rig moved downward, the riser would buckle
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5
Subsea BOP stack
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Anchor handling vessels
„
Moored (anchors)
z
z
z
Reduced operating cost (fuel)
No “Drive-Off” (loss of control)
No “Drift-Off”
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6
Dynamic Positioning (DP)
Thrusters
„
„
„
„
Any water depth
Faster to
mobilize/demobilize,
avoid bad weather
No anchors to handle,
drag on bottom
Expensive to operate
(fuel)
Not shown: “Built-in” type
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Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)
„
Unmanned submarine
z
Controlled from rig with tether
z
Multiple functions
z
z
Video
z
Operate wellheads or BOP Stack
Classed by horsepower, number
of actuators
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Production facilities
„
TLP - Tension Leg
Platform
z Semisubmersible,
moored to seafloor
z Production through
subsea manifolds
z More stable in rough
weather
z Reduced transit speed
z Onboard drilling and
production facilities
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Production facilities (cont.)
„
SPARS
z
z
z
z
z
Large submerged cylinder, moored to
seafloor
Stable Platform
Surface BOP Stacks / trees
Weather has less impact on operations
Usually Reduced Capacities
z
z
z
Liquids
Bulk Material
Personnel
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8
Pipelay vessels
S-Lay
J-Lay
Shallower water
Deeper water
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Subsea pipeline - complications
Concrete coating:
Reel-lay
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9
Rig costs
„
„
Up to $550,000 per day
Total operating costs
z Up to $1,000,000 per day =
z $41,600 per hour
z $694 per minute
z $11.57 per second
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Subsalt
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Particular problems with salt
„
Salt “blurs” seismic images
„
Required advances in seismic technology
„
Drilling problems
z
Plastic salt movement
z
Abnormal pressures
z
Lost circulation
z
Shale problems
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Norske Shell “Troll A”
• Installed in 1996
• Water depth 303 meters
• Overall height 472
meters
• Weighs 656,000 tons.
• Produces gas from 40
wells
• Towed 200 km to the
Norwegian Sea. Tallest
structure ever moved by
man.
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11
FPSO - Floating Production
Storage, Offtake
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ChevronTexaco “Genesis”
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Independence Trail Hub
„
„
„
„
„
„
Located 200 miles SE of New
Orleans. Anchored in 7920 ft of
water
Cost $385 million. Service life of
20 years
Receives flow from subsea
wells up to 30 miles away,
connected via 176 miles of
flowlines
Peak production 850 million
cubic feet of gas per day
Sent to shore via 24” pipeline
(cost $280 million)
Current price of $4.30 / MCF,
provides cash flow of $3.5
million per day
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Chevron “Typhoon”
• Installed May 2001
• Capsized during
Hurricane Rita, drifted
70 miles away –
September 2004
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Project lifecycle
Consequence of size, expense, complexity
Phases
„ Conceptual
„ Pre-FEED
„ FEED (Front End Engineering Design)
„ Detailed Engineering
„ Construction, Installation, Commissioning
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Factors that influence projects
Long lead times – 1-2 years for major
equipment, longer for vessels and platforms
Plans change due to
„
„
z
z
z
z
Market prices
Interest rates
Other opportunities, access via pipelines built for
nearby fields
Mergers
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Peak Oil, or Hubbert’s Peak
M. King Hubbert - Shell geophysicist
Theory: production tends to follow
bell-shaped curve. Can be predicted
in advance.
Production increases early due to
discoveries and new infrastructure.
Later declines due to depletion.
„
„
„
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Peak Oil, or Hubbert’s Peak (cont)
In 1956, Hubbert predicted peak of USA
production late 1960s - early 1970s.
Controversial, but proven right by 1976.
Actual peak was in 1970.
Is it applicable to world production?
„
„
„
z
z
z
Rapidly growing demand in China, India
New technologies, increased depletion rates
What is the effect of higher real prices?
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Historical oil production
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Steven Marzuola
281-381-9337
www.techlanguage.com
Houston Interpreters and
Translators Association
American Translators Association
© 2011 Steven Marzuola
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