I will believe the Saudis don't see any upcoming problems with Ghawar when they cancel one of their projects due to low oil prices. If they continue to be full steam ahead with increasing their capacity then I think they are aware that Ghawar may not be as robust in 5 years time as they would like us to believe.
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4836 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 7:31 am Post subject: Shell is waterflooding wells in the GOM
Is this similar to what the Saudis are doing?
Quote:
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Monday it has begun waterflooding offshore oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico to raise production by 30,000 barrels per day.
Shell said injecting filtered and treated sea water into the reservoirs to displace additional oil is expected to extend the life of the Usa-Princess field by 10 years, and it expects to continue waterflooding the site for 30 years.
The first water was injected Thursday, it said.
The area, 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the mouth of the Mississippi River, has produced more than 400 million barrels since Ursa went into production in 1999. The Princess field, which is linked to the same reservoir, was opened in 2003.
"We believe potential exists for continued development of material oil and natural gas within this basin," Shell Vice President Russ Ford said in a statement.
Ursa is in water 3,800 feet (1,160 meters) deep, while the Princess field lies under 3,650 feet (1,100 meters) of water.
Shell said the topside injection system pumps water through two separate flow lines to three underwater sites, two existing well sites and a new site northeast of the Ursa platform.
Shell operates the project with a 45.4 percent stake. Its partners are BP Exploration and Production Inc., Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConacoPhillips Co.
Joined: Feb 09, 2006 Posts: 416 Location: Venezuela
Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:53 am Post subject: Re: Shell is waterflooding wells in the GOM
Sounds like a standard enhanced recovery method using injected water to both maintain pressure in the reservoir and to push oil ahead of the "flood".
By maintaining pressures as high as possible, less gas escapes from solution in the oil and therefore keeps the oil as "light" as possible. This gas is part of the drive mechanism that helps push the oil to the surface.
The risk of waterflooding is that sections of the reservoir can be bypassed thereby trapping oil and leaving it behind.
Such an enhanced recovery project on this reservoir may be an indication as well that production has peaked and the reservoir is in decline.
Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:58 am Post subject: Re: Shell is waterflooding wells in the GOM
Sorry frank...enjoyed the post but just noticed your question.
Yes...the KSA has been pumping water into Ghawar for many years. Just a complex example of floating oil on top of vinegar in a salad dressing bottle. And that what makes predicting Ghawar decline so difficult...even without the KSA holding back data. On the one hand the injected water helps to keep the oil moving fast but the water level eventually reaches the top of the reservoir. Just like the salad dresing bottle. But once the vinegar reaches the top of the bottle it just doesn't dribble out...it overflows on all sides and very quickly it's most vinegar and very little oil.
That's why we have to hold our breaths and see what happens. But I promise you, the KSA has been keeping close tabs on the water level movement so they should have a decent estimate of future production curves. Keep that in mind when you try to read between the lines of their public statements.
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