Overview: Field Development Projects (September 2007)

Recently, during the Second International Oil Congress and Exhibition in Mexico, I had the opportunity to attend a roundtable discussion on "Global Trends in Deepwater Development." The event, held in Veracruz, had representatives from some of the major players in deepwater field development, and most talks and discussions focused on the challenges, concerns, problems, and rewards expected in coming years in the deepwater and ultradeepwater environments. In the Gulf of Mexico alone, it is expected that new oil reserves in excess of 45 billion bbl will be found in the near future. However, improved economic development of those reserves will be achieved only with state-of-the-art technologies in all phases of the project. Efficient field development must take into account simultaneously the constraints in well drilling, production scheme, subsea equipment, and reservoir management. Because only limited information is available in the earlier stages of the development plan, a structured way to handle the risks involved also must be implemented. Establishing a field-development strategy under very-high-uncertainty conditions appears to be the rule in most recent deepwater projects. In the round-table discussion in Veracruz, the panelists seemed to be conscious of the huge challenges ahead and, at the same time, excited and optimistic about the future development of fields that just a few years back were deemed impossible ventures. What do you think? I invite you to read the featured articles presented this month and reach your own conclusions. Enjoy. Field Development Projects additional reading available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org SPE 101286 "Exploration Potential of Sinuous (Channel-Like) Events in Late Cretaceous of Al-Khafji Field, Middle East" by Kalyan Chakraborty, SPE, Kuwait Gulf Oil Company, et al. SPE 107387 "The Challenges of Developing a Deep Offshore Heavy-Oil Field in Campos Basin" by F.P. Figueiredo Júnior, Petrobras, et al. Available at the OTC Library: www.otcnet.org OTC 18538 "The Dalia Development Challenges and Achievements" by D. Picard, Total E&P Angola, et al.