After the domination of land-based shale play investment during the past few years, 2019 looks set to be the year that significant production activity returns to offshore fields.
In September 2018 Valerie Jones, writing for RigZone, observed “Analysis by Rystad Energy shows that a recent surge in offshore oil and gas FIDs has set the stage for a significant increase in offshore investments next year. This will be the first time shale investments will not overtake offshore.”
This time around however it’s a very different oil and gas industry that will be making the trip. With a recovering oil price well below the halcyon days of $130/bbl., and employee numbers slashed during the downturn, operators will be taking a different set of priorities offshore. They will need to do more with less.
With ORCA uniform mud damage removal technology on board, operators are well-positioned to embrace their return to offshore drilling.
Keeping it simple
ORCA dramatically simplifies logistics, on-shore preparations and job execution. In the new era well complexity will increase at the same time as there are fewer, less experienced crews available for drilling damage removal treatments. In this new offshore environment, operators will require treatments that both accommodate complexity to improve well productivity, while at the same time are simple to perform. With Orca onboard operators can now increase cleanup effectiveness independent of well complexity and simplify the workflow to reduce risk to the job or personnel.
Finding new efficiencies
ORCA drives cost efficiencies. Keeping costs down without cutting corners has always been part-and-parcel of any offshore operation. But today’s new economics picture puts a renewed focus on efficiency gains. Smart operators will be looking for every opportunity to ship and store less equipment and to consume less energy, as well as new ways to accomplish tasks faster and eliminate downtime. ORCA can be mixed in mud pits and pumped using cementing equipment, eliminating the need to transport dedicated equipment.
Building in compliance
ORCA is environmentally benign. Environmental legislation in many territories has been tightened up since the last generation of offshore field developments. As a result, operators will be thinking hard about choices regarding hazardous chemicals, how they manage waste offshore, and the potential long-term effects of any discharges on marine habitats. Compared to the acids conventionally used to clean up filter cake after drilling, ORCA products are benign, low hazard and non-corrosive and remove hazardous materials from the supply chain and the rig floor.
Proven in the field
Recent ORCA success offshore. In a recent treatment on a 5000 ft open hole section of an offshore injector well, liquid OBM was displaced to 1.09 NaCl brine with no fluid lost to the formation. ORCA for OBM breaker fluid was then pumped downhole and left in place to address drilling damage. A subsequent injection rate of 10% above the target rate was achieved at maximum injection pressure without backflowing the well to aid drilling damage removal before starting water injection. The operator considered this a great success, given the difficulty of removing OBM-based drilling damage offshore.
With ORCA on board you will be ready for Offshore v2.0.
Speak to Cleansorb today to find out more.
