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101 comments on Extreme Production Measures

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magnus1 on July 23, 2006 - 2:18pm Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
We need to differentiate between peaking of light sweet crude and peaking of total production of all grades. Unless and until there is an expanision of refinery capacity to process the heavier grades, the availability of excess medium and heavy grade crude will not  be relevant. I would like to see any articles on the peaking of world light sweet crude.
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oilmanbob on July 23, 2006 - 2:41pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Using language like "extreme production methods" implies that production can be extended and total volumes increased by other methods. This is not correct as many reservoirs need "extreme" methods to be economicially viable, and many reservoirs have enhanced recovery because of these methods.
  Horizontal drilling makes many low permiability reservoirs increase their economic recovery by 300% or more, and the same is true for waterflood and gas pressure maintainence.
   I'm not suggesting that this is true for all reservoirs, butI do believe that use of language such as extreme can taint the debate.
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Dave Cohen on July 23, 2006 - 2:59pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Bob --

Re: "many reservoirs need "extreme" methods to be economicially viable..." and "Horizontal drilling makes many low permiability reservoirs increase their economic recovery by 300% or more..."

In the interest of everyone, be more specific. It's not clear to me whether some deepwater wells can be produced in any other way or even if alternative methods have been developed and tried. And what about onshore drilling? When you've got a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Any aggressive production technique or approach that is meant to increase short-term recovery rates...

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oilmanbob on July 23, 2006 - 3:30pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Dave,
  I'm not an engineer, I am a landman. In other words I help contract with landowners to get the property to drill oil wells.
 But, horizontal drilling has made a lot of areas economic, such as the Austin Chalk or the Barnett shale. As was pointed out above, pressure maintainence starts at day one on a lot of reservoirs.
  The majors and the engineers claim that recovery has increased by 50% or more on reservoirs discovered now as opposed to oil fields that were drilled up in the 1920's. I cant prove that but I believe they are correct.
  I feel that the real problem is population growth. There are at least 10 times as many oil consumers in the world as there were 50 years ago. We are looking at a very steep slope because of demand as well as the exhaustion of the big fields. There will still be a lot of oil produced in 20 or 30 years, just not nearly enough to satisfy demand no matter what the price.
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oilmanbob on July 23, 2006 - 3:46pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
  I did not address offshore wells because they are not my area of expertise. However, directional drilling has raised the number of wells that can be drilled by a single rig by a huge factor. Modern rigs can drill 60 or more, while old rigs could get 8 wells or so from a platform. And the fancy new seismic imaging techniques and steerable downhole drill motors can place each well in the best place to produce the maximum amount of oil.
  Also, some reservoirs of heavy crude would not be economic at all without enhanced techniques. Look at Chevron's wells at Bakersfield that require steam to produce, or any of the tar sands that are going to save us all according to the majors.
  I can't be specific about the math or what percentage of oil is produced with "extreme" techniques. I lack the knowlege, but I bet someone around TOD does have the info. I would love to know.  
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peakhasarrived on July 23, 2006 - 3:30pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Magnus1:
I would like to see any articles on the peaking of world light sweet crude.

Please check out this link:
http://www.opec.org/home/Monthly%20Oil%20Market%20Reports/2005/pdf/MR082005.pdf

It is the OPEC August 2005 report. Go to page 5 paragraph 2.
 Basically they say that the future world refining capacity that is built should reflect the kind of crude being extracted, namely the heavier one.

Hope that this is the kind of information that you were looking out for.

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Gail the Actuary on July 23, 2006 - 5:49pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Regarding the OPEC August 2005 report, both pages 4 and 5 provide some good information about the distribution between light, medium, and heavy oil, now and expected in the near future. My interpretation of the information provided is that the proportion of light sweet oil is expected to decline in the future.

Page 4 indicates that what growth has recently take place in light oil in the recent past is in light sour oil. Page 5 indicates that growth outside OPEC in the 2007 to 2010 period is expected to be predominantly medium, balanced between sweet and sour. OPEC capacity expansions in the same period are expected to be overwhelmingly medium and heavy and predominantly sour.

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101 comments on Extreme Production Measures

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