Next-generation reservoir management solutions are needed to help oil and gas companies forecast very short term (ex. next week’s) production requirements, plan for short-term demands (three to six months), arrive at medium-term (12 to 36 months) field development plans, and determine ‘develop or dispose’ strategies that optimize income and return on investment from a given reservoir.

Non-renewable sources of energy have always been a cause of concern mainly because of the high depletion rate. This calls for a better management of these resources through improved strategy that optimizes the entire production process and reduces the associated costs.  The oil and gas sector is also adopting new innovations that tend to reduce the costs at every stage of production; from exploration to production.

The 3-D seismic methods and satellite imaging are the latest practices that are used by the operators for exploring the sites for reserves. Once the potential sites have been identified, the Exploration & Production (E&P) professionals analyze the basic characteristics of the site viz. rock properties and composition, water flow direction and pace and finally the quantum of oil that can be recovered from the site. There has also been a substantial improvement in the drilling techniques with operators opting for coiled tubing and through tubing drilling methods. In some cases under-balanced drilling has also shown encouraging results. Research shows that that employing Enhanced-Oil-Recovery (EOR) techniques push up the yield by 10-30 percentage points as compared to the primary and secondary extraction techniques. Methods like gas injection, thermal recovery and chemical injections are being widely used to optimize the production. However, the gas injection technique remains the most widely employed wherein CO2 or nitrogen is pumped into the wells to raise the level of oil making the extraction easier. The gases also dissolve in oil thereby reducing the viscosity. Enzyme Enhanced Oil Production (EEOR) has also shown encouraging results in the presence of lime stones and water floods in the wells.

Continuous monitoring of the reserves and streamlining the production is indispensable for a robust drainage strategy. The alternative ways of optimizing the drainage are increasing the number of drainage points and using super injectors for water. The operators also try to strike a balance between high production rates and overall oil recovery. If they keep the production rates high, they would loose out on the higher profit margins on account of the price increase and if they slow down the production, the overheads would start affecting the daily operations. The drainage strategy has also to be in-line with the annual and life-time production goals of the operators. The drainage strategy is also affected by the volatility of the resources prices and operators seek to maximize their short-term profits by producing and selling more at higher prices and vice-versa.

Forecasting plays a very crucial role in strategizing the production process and is utilized even before a site is finalized for development. It is very important for the E&P professionals to estimate the depth, thickness and range of the extractable resources that help in determining the economic viability of the project. The forecasts have to be very accurate because of the remarkably high investments and long gestation period that the industry is inherently characterized with. The forecasts for the remaining extractable reserves, oil price movements and the global economic scenario are also done continuously that help the production houses to build strategies to optimize their bottom lines.

- The Global Energy Talent Editorial Team