Opportunity to rehabilitate low-efficiency oil wells and increase production using Knowledge-based
According to the economic correspondent of Fars News Agency, the Supreme Leader of the Revolution in 1401 named “manufacturing; Knowledge-based, employment-creatingThey have been named in order to determine the general line of the executive apparatus of the country once again with economic issues and with a focus on supporting domestic production.
Given the importance of the oil industry as The drivers Iran’s economy, in this area, it is necessary to make serious planning to support production with emphasis on the two aspects of knowledge-based and job creation; Earlier, in a meeting with producers and economic activists on the 11th of Bahman, the Supreme Leader had stated that “the oil industry must be based on knowledge.”
In this way “Rehabilitation of inactive wells using the capacity of knowledge-based companiesIt was one of the projects put on the agenda by the Ministry of Oil.
A review of the experiences of countries and oil companies in the world in implementing the “Passive Wells Recovery Plan” shows that this plan can be quite economically attractive in the era of declining oil revenues and increasing the risk of new discoveries and developments.
As a result, due to the limited investment in Iran to develop oil fields and maintain and increase production, this project will be feasible in Iran, although expert studies of this project have not yet been presented in the media and inspection Not located But according to the Minister of Oil, with the implementation of the plan to rehabilitate inactive wells, 80 million barrels per year can be added to the country’s oil production capacity.
Knowledge-based economy is one of the axes related to the “plan to revive low-efficiency and inactive wells”. It becomes.
Knowledge-based companies also have a great impact on the growth and development of different regions by changing the field of science and knowledge and new economic findings and results, and can play a role in this project of the National Iranian Oil Company.
In this regard, Iran Petroleum Company under paragraph (a) of Note 18 of the Budget Law of 1400 countries, facilities to create employment based on the knowledge of the oil industry and with the aim of helping to provide the necessary equipment, implementation of employment-generating development plans, production for the first time And the completion of the oil and gas value chain, which includes the plan to rehabilitate inactive and low-efficiency wells.
Although the development and implementation of a plan to rehabilitate low-efficiency and inactive wells in the face of limited financial resources is a step forward, but about the capacity of this plan to increase Iran’s oil production and capacity Technologically There are ambiguities in domestic knowledge-based companies.
In this regard, a more detailed study of the rehabilitation plan of low-efficiency and inactive wells with Mohammad Sadegh Mehrjoo, Master of Oil and Energy We sat down to talk.
The details of this interview are as follows:
How the plan to rehabilitate low-yield oil wells was born
Fars: As the first question, how did the idea of rehabilitating low-efficiency and inactive wells come about? What is the need to implement this plan in the current situation in terms of investment and production capacity?
مهرجو: It was around the beginning of 1996 that the then CEO of the Offshore Oil Company of Iran came up with the idea of controlling the discharge of the Iranian Offshore oil wells to control water production in the wells before they came to the surface.
Following this idea, a committee was formed with the presence of various technical affairs departments of the company, under the name of yield control committee, which was later renamed the overdraft committee. The task of this committee was to study wells with a large volume of water production, as well as closed and inactive wells at the level of the Offshore Company.
For almost two years, statistical surveys were conducted on inactive and semi-active wells on the continental shelf, and the status of these wells in terms of drilling history, operation and even type of completion was counted and summarized. An RFP was prepared and provided to domestic and foreign knowledge-based companies. Took.
Various technical proposals were made to test various mechanical methods of discharge control as well as chemical (in order to increase oil production) in closed and low-efficiency reservoirs and wells of the Iranian continental shelf.
Later, with the establishment of the Science and Technology Park and to define technological projects in this field, the idea of the Continental Shelf Extension Committee was used to rehabilitate closed or low-efficiency wells. Thus, a letter was sent to all production companies under the National Oil Company to collect information on all closed and low-efficiency wells in order to create a database in this regard and provide work packages to knowledge-based companies to receive technological proposals.
* The cost of rehabilitating a low-efficiency well is one-fifth that of drilling a new well
As you are aware, at present, drilling of development wells in Iran, depending on onshore and offshore drilling, costs about 7 to 11 million dollars depending on the type of wells and the number of days required for drilling and completion. This cost goes even higher with the increase in the price of crude oil and the rent of the rig in the required days.
If we can significantly and economically increase oil production from closed or low-efficiency wells at lower costs, such as one-fifth the cost of re-drilling wells, we can say that implementing a cost-effective plan is far better than re-drilling wells (from within the same Had a previous hole) or drilled from the beginning.
But the important point here is whether in all low-efficiency or closed wells, the implementation of well-centered or even reservoir-based methods will really work or not?
* Technological strengths and weaknesses for rehabilitating low-efficiency wells
Fars: You scored the first question in the right place; In general, what are the reasons that stop production in wells and what are the solutions to solve them? Are we having problems with technology?
مهرجو: Basically, the drilling process of development wells is based on structural geological studies and specific dynamic conditions of reservoirs, and then drilling and well completion operations are designed and implemented. After that, the operation is performed in the production circuit.
The process of designing, drilling and completing the well in its time according to the specific conditions of the reservoir and the type of behavior of the reservoir fluid, as well as estimating the life of the well and operational constraints, for example in the next 20 years. Now, when we want to examine the case of closed wells that were designed, drilled and completed in the past, we must pay attention to the entire history from design to completion and production so far, and consider the specific reservoir conditions and conditions of each well. Let’s put.
See, for example, some defects and production problems can be easily done by changing the supplementary field or even changing the position of the well in the reservoir with the technologies available in our country. Some wells are also implemented by implementing control plans or installing devices فرازآوری Will have a significant increase in production.
Currently in the dimension of drilling or re-completion or pump installation or re-engineering operations فرازآوری We do not face any particular problem and localized technologies are available in the country, but in the field of designing discharge control methods such as using special control tools (such as inflow control devices) and designing and guiding them as a mechanical tool for discharge control In the reservoir, we need companies that work and have technology in the world.
In the field of chemical methods to control the discharge from the reservoir to the production wells, so far we have not had practical lessons on the scale of fields in our country.
* Deciphering the reasons for closing oil wells in Iran
Fars: A little more accurately and statistically, let’s plan to rehabilitate low-efficiency wells. There are many questions in this area, for example, in Iran, what is the percentage and number of inactive and low-efficiency wells? What percentage and how much can they be regenerated and what is the capacity to increase their production? How much investment will this be made with? What is the risk for knowledge-based companies? Can this plan significantly increase oil production, such as 300,000 barrels per day?
مهرجو: For closed or inactive wells, I will provide you with a statistic. About 34% of drilled wells in Iran are closed wells, which is a relatively high number, of which about 14% are abandoned wells that cannot be rehabilitated. Due to various reasons, they are suspended or closed, now either due to high water production or high gas production percentage, or wells are not available at all due to the problems that have occurred, which will be abandoned in production companies with further investigation.
Studies have been conducted on about 200 closed and low-efficiency wells at the level of the National Oil Company, and approximately 80% of the cause of well closure is due to the following reasons, including high water production (about 35% of closed wells) as well as problems related to the well itself. (About 30%) and a drop in intra-well pressure (about 15%) have been diagnosed.
With this introduction, in your answer to how many of these wells can be rehabilitated, I must say that it is not possible to provide statistics even in general, and the file of each well and its production history should be examined and then commented on. Be.
For example, at the level of the Offshore Oil Company, out of the total number of closed wells, which are about 120, only 10 were identified as candidates for technological works for rehabilitation in more detailed studies. As a result, if the cost of working on a well is, for example, one-fifth of drilling a new well and expecting significant returns or production is guaranteed, it is certainly economical to do more research and operational work on the well to revitalize it.
But the important point is that we should not expect a large percentage of closed wells to return to the production circuit with technological methods, in other words, we should not raise expectations from this plan. To work on closed wells, the capacity of domestic companies should be strengthened, because our knowledge-based companies may have good technical and professional capacity, but not all companies have the executive and operational capacity on the well, and in case of a contract and participation in the tender. They have to use the power of other operations management companies to implement their ideas.
* Investment risk challenge for knowledge-based companies
مهرجو: Regarding investment risks, I think that because small knowledge-based companies in the country can not accept a lot of operational risks, entering this field and working on closed and low-yield wells will be very challenging for them. In addition, the transfer of operational risks to knowledge-based companies and the submission of payments made to the successful production of wells by the National Iranian Oil Company will also increase investment risks.
Regarding the expectations from the rehabilitation plan of low-efficiency or closed wells, in my opinion, it should be considered a little more logically, and invest in this plan as much as the number of wells that can be the final candidate for rehabilitation and the reversibility of well production capacity. Initiate topics such as “One billion opportunity Euro For Iranian companies, knowledge-based is an exaggeration, and officials and decision-makers need to be more realistic about the plan to rehabilitate closed / low-efficiency wells.
Anyway, I think the idea is good, but all aspects of the work should be considered. For example, I think that many production figures can not be expected from this plan at all, and even if we can reach figures such as an increase of 50,000 barrels at the level of the National Iranian Oil Company, in the first step it is very good to be able to achieve figures with further practice and studies. Achieve a higher return on production in closed wells, given that we spend a lot of money each year drilling new wells and maintaining production.
Fars: Thank you for your time.
مهرجو: Thank you, I hope this plan will be implemented realistically with consideration.
Interview from سیداحسان Hosseini
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