Deepwater Technology In The Oil And Gas Industry

Speakers:
1. Mr Sapihie bin Ayob (PETRONAS Research & Scientific Services Sdn. Bhd.)
2. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fakhruldin bin Mohd. Hashim (Mechanical Engineering Department of UTP)

The exploitation of hydrocarbon accumulations in deepwater regions represents an economic and technical challenge for oil operators. Technologies had been developed to make possible to exploit and produce these hydrocarbon safely and economically.

An overview of technologies that have been adopted for deepwater development such as subsea production system, umbilical, flow-lines & risers and surface facilities e.g. FPSO, FSO, FPU, Semi submersibles, TLP, SPAR and export system are presented herein. Some technical challenges, limitation and constraints on technological implementation such as in encountered during design, fabrication, installation and operation are highlighted. Some new advances of these technologies to solve new problems or to find more cost effective solutions for development are briefly mentioned.

This topic was chosen because deepwater technology is still considered to be a new field in Malaysia and we believe that any would be eager to dwell more on this upcoming technology. Thus, it will provide an opportunity for future young professionals to have a deeper understanding of it.

What is next after USD 100 per barrel of oil?

Moderator :
Prof Birol Demiral (Schlumberger Chair)

Speakers :
1.     Mr.Elias Abllah (UTP Lecturer / Oil Price Expert)
2.     Dr. Nasir Hj. Darman (PETRONAS Senior Manager / Principal Engineer)
3.     Dr. Foo Say Moo (PETRONAS Senior Manager of Group Sustainable Development Department, Group HSE Division)
4.    Mr. Darwis Husain (Economics Analysis)

The oil price has been increasing at alarming rate since the end of 2007, how would this affect the emergence of renewable energy in the energy mix and  sustainable development. With globalisation, businesses are now faced with higher expectations from consumers and society to operate in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

Will the increasing oil price help to boost the demand for renewable energy such as biofuel, solar and wind or indeed can renewable energy replace oil in the future energy landscape? Is renewable energy sustainable in terms of supply? What    are the sustainable development issues relating to livelihood, biodiversity, climate change and societal expectations from the utilisation of renewable energy?
This debate will be the key highlights of the presentation.

Drilling Deepwater Completion

Speaker :
Mr. Patrick Moran (Senior Completions Engineer, Murphy Oil)

The Kikeh Development is the first major deepwater project in Malaysia located offshore Sabah in a water depth of 1355 m. The Kikeh Field architecture, as well as its subsurface characteristics, required many different completion types to meet the project goals. Early wellbore construction design and rig selection process focused on performance while still achieving subsurface strategic requirements.

This presentation will discuss how these early decisions benefited long-term performance and will describe the grassroots effort for deepwater completion implementation in a new area of the world.  Lastly, focus will be on the completion performance, including time, non-productive time and skin describing methodology and techniques used to deliver the Kikeh Development in world-class time and skin results.

My Life as a Petrophysicist

Speaker :
Ms. Amalia Bolhassan (Petrophysicist - Sarawak Shell)

The presentation will cover the basics of Petrophysics – logging tools and quick look evaluation; and the roles of petrophysicist in drilling operations, field development studies and integrated well and reservoir management. An understanding of how petrophysical data are acquired and the uncertainties related to the petrophysical interpretations is essential for an integrated subsurface team.

This understanding will influence the assumptions made i.e. in a field development study or in making a decision based on real-time data from the well site. The speaker will also hare her experiences during her 3 years working as a petrophysicist in Sarawak Shell Berhad.

Production Overview on PDMS / Deepwater Flow Assurance (Murphy Oil)

Sithambaram Suppiah, Production Engineer
Afida Ahmad, Graduate Petroleum Engineer

PDMS is a software that provides data visualisation, storage, and management tool for optimisation of the Kikeh field. It delivers real-time information directly from Kikeh that helps in production decision making and reduces guesswork. This allows the team to make swift decisions, with the highest degree of confidence. PDMS is cost effective, time saving, user friendly, and provides easy integration with other programs. Most importantly, it provides real-time critical information through data visualisation, data filtering, and report population. This enables reservoir surveillance to be more proactive and focused and hence increases confidence in operational decisions. As a result, facility up-time and production targets have been exceeded.

Sand Management Strategy in JDA A-18 Field (Hess Oil and Gas Sdn. Bhd.)

Mr. Harmawan Iwan, Senior Petroleum Engineer

Sand production has become an increasingly important issue for the JDA.  Although existing mitigation is aimed at maintaining individual well production rates below the estimated maximum sand free rate (MSFR), it is considered likely that sand production will occur throughout the CIZ area.
This presentation would elaborate on managing produced sand (i.e. fines) through pro-active application of an MSFR approach (maximum sand free rate) and installation of catch pots set up at surface (to avoid sand being carried away into processing facility). A high level overview of future sand management would also be presented.

Innovative Technological Advances in the Drilling Arena (Halliburton)

Mr. Alpar Cseley, Senior Training Instructor

The traditional automotive and aeronautical industries tend to spend years perfecting the end product whereas the Oil & Gas Industry is far more dynamically focussed on utilising cutting-edge technology at an earlier phase of its inception.  Easy oil is all but a thing of the past; deeper, hotter and higher temperature environments are being sought, often involving far more extended reach wells, which stretch technology to new horizons and challenge established ways and means of operating in the wells of today and for the future.It is these very drivers that make the oil industry an exciting place to be, with a list of technological advances that seems to accelerate with every passing year.  Young engineers bring their technical expertise to the best companies and work in applying their knowledge, originality and enthusiasm to designing better tools to meet the demands of the industry for highly technically competent products of the highest quality.

Time Lapse Seismic at F6 Gas Field : State-of-the-Art Production Effect Monitoring Technology (Shell)

Mr. Elvis Chung, Seismic Interpreter

F6 is the largest gas field in the offshore Sarawak region of East Malaysia, with a GIIP of around 7TCF. Production commenced in 1987 from a single platform located above the central pinnacle of the carbonate build-up. By 2006, 4TCF had been produced, but scope for redevelopment still remains in the form of further drilling and late life compression. However, the biggest uncertainty is the strength of the aquifer and the movement of the Gas Water Contact (GWC). Pulsed neutron logging indicates a GWC rise near he main producing area beneath the platform but a large uncertainty remains fowards the flanks.

Future of Recruitment in Oil and Gas Industry (Petrominwork)

Mr. Richard Thompson, Operation Consultant

The Oil and Gas business is in crisis. Supply is becoming a problem as large fields around the world show major production declines. New fields being discovered are smaller and more difficult to develop. They are often in harsh environments – deepwater, the arctic, West Africa – or are complex geologically. Demand is booming as the expectations of the people of developing nations are being met by strong growth. The imbalance is causing high prices and a huge thirst for talent. There is never been a better time to be an engineer working in the oil and gas business. Not only are salaries high, but the projects are interesting and the opportunities to both travel and make a name for yourselves are huge. The key aspect of an oil and gas career for a young graduate is how to get jump started. This means who to work, for how long, and when should you be making the tough decisions about changing companies or changing career path.

This presentation looks at the prospects in the business, the key players, the future trends and the way to build up a CV to stand out when you want the really high profile jobs, that both define your career, and give you the level of satisfaction that you deserve.

Moving Pictures in HC Exploration (Shell)

Shiv Prakash, Exploration Geologist

The paper will provide a snapshot of HC exploration with time. It will focus on methods and analysis used to derisk an exploration project. Technology has been a turnkey in advancing exploration to more challenging frontiers. Would technology alone be sufficient in tapping into our future energy resources?