Produced water handling has been an issue of concern for oil and gas producers as it is one of the major factors that cause abandonment of the producing well. The development of effective produced water management strategies poses a big challenge to the oil and gas industry today. The conversion of produced water into irrigation or fresh water provides a cost effective tool to handle excessive amounts of the produced water. In this research we proposed on-site produced water treatment units configured to achieve maximum processing throughput. We studied various advanced separation techniques to remove oil and dissolved solids from the produced water. We selected adsorption as the oil removing technique and Reverse Osmosis (RO) as the dissolved solids removing technique as being the best for our purpose. We performed experiments to evaluate operating parameters for both adsorption and RO units to accomplish maximum removal of oil and dissolved solids from the produced water. We compared the best models fitting the experimental data for both the processes, then analyzed and simulated the performance of integrated produced water treatment which involves adsorption columns and RO units. The experimental results show that the adsorption columns remove more than 90% of the oil and RO units remove more than 95% of total dissolved solids from the produced water. The simulation results show that the proper integration and configuration of adsorption and RO units can provide up to 80% efficiency for a processing throughput of 6-8 gallons per minute of produced water. From an oil and gas producer’s viewpoint output from the produced water treatment system is a revenue generating source. The system is flexible and can be modified for the applications such as rangeland restoration, reservoir recharge and agricultural use.

Small businesses provide 48% of private-sector jobs in the United States and play a vital role in the country's economic growth and development. Only half of U.S. small businesses survive for longer than 5 years. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore sustainability strategies managers of small oilfield service companies used to sustain their business for longer than 5 years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 10 managers--one manager from each of 10 different oilfield service companies located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States and from review of publicly available documents and archived records. The conceptual framework for this study was the dynamic capability theory. Data analysis was conducted using Yin's 5-step data analysis process and methodological triangulation. Four themes emerged from the study: networking or relationship strategies, financial planning strategies, differentiation strategies, and education and experience strategies. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential for small business managers to use these findings to develop strategies for profitability and sustainability resulting in job creation, poverty reduction, and socioeconomic development.

In this study, a three-dimensional, three-phase dynamic simulation model based on geological investigations of Korolev oilfield in Kazakhstan was used as a development planning tool in order to improve performance of three new wells. The model, developed previously by means of a seismic study, well log and core data, incorporating with characteristics of oilfield productivity, properties of reservoir, liquids and gases that are saturating the hydrocarbon-bearing horizon can be used to calculate development parameters for Korolev field, including production well locations, drilling schedules, and to facilitate both long-term and short-term forecasting for the purposes of optimizing the hydrocarbon recovery from the field. The objective of this work is to assess the impact of adding 3 extra producing wells and find ways to optimize cumulative production with the least impact on the existing development plan by means of deeper understanding subsurface dynamic processes of the Korolev field. The challenge is a high degree of connectivity between wells in the productive formation throughout the field so that any change of production parameters affects the whole field&rsquo / s cumulative production. Trying to find a solution to optimum production of the reservoir forecast studies were carried out, the impact of each new well on development parameters was defined, sub-surface processes changes due to extra producers lead-in were explained and as a result of this thesis two optimization models were proposed, one of which will bring nearly 9.7 million barrels more oil.

Produced water is one of the major by products of oil and gas exploitation which is produced in large amounts up to 80% of the waste stream. Oil and grease concentration in produced water is the key parameter that is used for compliance monitoring, because it is easy to measure. For Canadian offshore operations, the current standard is a 30-day volume weighted average oil-in-water concentration in discharged produced water not exceeding 30 mg/L. Treatment of produced water may therefore be required in order to meet pre-disposal regulatory limits. The measurement of oil in produced water is important for both process control and reporting to regulatory authorities. Without the specification of a method, reported concentrations of oil in produced water can mean little, as there are many techniques and methods available for making this measurement, but not all are suitable in a specific application. The first part of this study focused on selecting a suitable analytical method for oil and grease measurement in oil field produced water. Petroleum ether was found to offer a comparative dissolution of crude oil as dichloromethane and hexane; it was therefore used as the solvent of choice for the UV-Vis spectrophotometric analysis of oil and grease in synthetic produced water. Results from the UV-Vis spectrophotometric and FTIR spectrometric analytical methods were found to be comparable; it confirmed that UV-Vis spectrometry could potentially serve as an alternative method for measuring oil and grease in oil field produced water. However, while the UV-Vis method may have limitations in measuring oil and grease concentrations below 30 mg/L, the FT-IR method was found to be equally efficient at measuring both high and low oil and grease concentrations. Dissolved air flotation (DAF) was the primary treatment technology investigated in this study for removing oil and grease from synthetic produced water. By itself, DAF achieved less than 70% oil and grease (OG) removal, and was not able to achieve a clarified effluent OG concentration of 30 mg/L required for regulatory discharge limits. At an optimum condition of 20 mg/L ferric chloride (FeCl3) at pH 8 (70.6% OG removal), coagulation was found to significantly improve the performance of the DAF unit (p < 0.05). At the optimum conditions of 100 mg/L PAC dose, pH 8 and a mixing time of 10 minutes (77.5% OG removal) and 300 mg/L OC dose, pH 8 and a mixing time of 10 minutes (78.1% OG removal), adsorption was also found to significantly improve the performance of the DAF unit (p < 0.05 in both cases). Adsorption with organoclay was recommended as the best pre-treatment for optimizing the performance of DAF in removing oil and grease from offshore oil field produced water. The bench-scale experiments showed that turbidity removal results were consistent with the OG removal results. Without pre-treatment, DAF achieved significant removal of benzene from produced water due to the volatile nature of benzene. Therefore comparable levels of benzene removal was observed by the DAF, FeCl3/DAF, PAC/DAF and OC/DAF treatment schemes; 79.3 %, 86.6 %, 86.5 %, 83.5% respectively. Finally, as benzene is known to be carcinogenic to humans, this study recommends the incorporation auxiliary equipment in its design, for the treatment of the off-gas (VOCs, particularly BTEX) released during the removal of dissolved oil from the oil field produced water.

Detonation gun coatings of tungsten carbide have been widely recognised as one of the most effective anti-wear coatings for oilfield applications. However, very little fundamental tribological information exists for the material, which hinders coating development and the evolution of correct specifications. This study redresses this problem by conducting adhesive, abrasive and erosive tests upon the coating and relating the findings to the coated microstructure. The intention has been to simulate the in-service behaviour of parallel gate valves, which are used primarily to control flow in remote locations where reliability and freedom from maintenance are essential. Although problems with such valves are rare, costs associated with replacement are exceptionally high and therefore a high research priority has been placed on valves of this type. Currently, new designs of valve are tested using a pipe loop rig at BP Research Centre. However, such tests are both expensive and time consuming and with the increasing desire to bring products to market more quickly an alternative is sought. Probably, the area offering most scope for improvement is in material specification of the sealing surfaces and this work sets out to produce a first stage selection procedure for candidate materials. Uniquely, the study has taken one component, systematically categorised its failure mechanisms using non-destructive replication techniques and then reproduced them in the laboratory. The failure analysis has pointed to three-body abrasion, erosion and adhesion being the dominant failure modes and therefore, a suite of tribo-test methods have been developed to replicate them These are namely reciprocating diamond-on-flat, slurry erosion and reciprocating pin-on-plate tests. The material studied was a proprietary detonation gun coating of tungsten carbide, LW45, which is currently the most popular seal facing material specified for gate valves. A conformal contact geometry was chosen for the reciprocating pin-on-plate tests and problems with alignment were overcome by using a pre-test running-in procedure with 1 μm metallographic paste. Wear of LW45 occurring during the pin-on-plate test was not affected by test speed over the range selected, but was highly dependent upon load. Four different categories ranging from minimal wear to catastrophic wear have been identified. Extensive post test analysis using optical and scanning electron microscopy has further classified the failure that occurs into two groups, termed mild and severe. In the mild regime wear occurs by preferential removal of the binder phase, which is minimised on further sliding by protruding carbide particles. Eventually sufficient binder is removed for carbide fall-out to occur, upon which the cycle is repeated. A greater wear volume is produced by the severe wear mechanism which is caused by the interlinking of cracks present within the microstructure of the coating. To ensure operation in the mild regime, continuous sliding under operating pressures of above 7.84 MPa should be avoided. Abrasive wear simulated by the diamond-on-flat test increased with load. However, the failure mechanisms produced were independent of load and consist of a combination of plastic deformation and brittle fracture with plastic deformation representing the rate controlling step in the wear process. Slurry erosion tests have shown that LW45 wears by a brittle erosive mechanism and is therefore best able to resist erosion at low impingement angles. The volume loss per particle impact for LW45 is proportional to the kinetic energy of the impinging particles. The failure mechanism involved the growth of cracks in the microstructure by a fatigue action eventually leading to crack interlinking and material fall out. For all wear conditions, it is suggested that the removal of microcracking from the coating microstructure will lead to significant improvements in wear performance. A simplified design guide has been produced that gives a weighted importance to the various failure modes attributable to the respective tests. A significant improvement in performance was recorded by LW45 in comparison to typical substrate materials such as AISI 410 and Ferralium F255 stainless steels.

Multicomponent seismic imaging techniques improve geological interpretation by providing crucial information about subsurface characteristics. These techniques deliver different images of the same subsurface using multiple waveforms. Compressional (P) and shear (S) waves respond to lithology and fluid variations differently, providing independent measurements of rock and fluid properties. Joint interpretation of multicomponent images requires P-wave and S-wave events to be aligned in depth. The process of identifying P and S events from the same reflector is called depth-registration. The purpose of this investigation is to illustrate procedures for depth-registering P and S seismic data when the most fundamental information needed for depth-registration – reliable velocity data – are not available. This work will focus on the depth-registration of a 9-component 3-dimensional seismic dataset targeting the Sycamore formation in Stephens County, Oklahoma. The survey area – 16 square miles – is located in Sho-Vel-Tum oilfield. Processed P-P, SV-SV, and SH-SH wave data are available for post-stack analysis. However, the SV-data volume will not be interpreted because of its inferior data-quality compared to the SH-data volume. Velocity data are essential in most depth-registration techniques: they can be used to convert the seismic data from the time domain to the depth domain. However, velocity data are not available within the boundaries of the 9C/3D seismic survey. The data are located in a complex area that is folded and faulted in the northwest part of the Ardmore basin, between the eastern Arbuckle Mountains and the western Wichita Mountains. Large hydrocarbon volumes are produced from stratigraphic traps, fault closures, anticlines, and combination traps. Sho-Vel-Tum was ranked 31st in terms of proved oil reserves among U.S. oil fields by a 2009 survey. I will interpret different depth-registered horizons on the P-wave and S-wave seismic data volumes. Then, I will present several methods to verify the accuracy of event-registration. Seven depth-registered horizons are mapped through the P-P and SH-SH seismic data. These horizons show the structural complexity that imposes serious challenges on well drilling within the Sho-Vel-Tum oil field. Interval Vp/Vs – a seismic attribute often used as lithological indicator – was mapped to constrain horizon picking and to characterize lateral stratigraphic variations. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:08:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SergioTPLD_DISSERT_1-57.pdf: 4080097 bytes, checksum: 6b4587c4ddbf8c39fc420eddf4c5025b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-12-16 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / On Rio Grande do Norte northern coast the process of sediment transport are intensely controlled by wind and sea (waves and currents) action, causing erosion and shoreline morphological instability. Due to the importance of such coastal zone it was realized the multi-spectral mapping and physical-chemical characterization of mudflats and mangroves aiming to support the mitigating actions related to the containment of the erosive process on the oil fields of Macau and Serra installed at the study area. The multi-spectral bands of 2000 and 2008 LANDSAT 5 TM images were submitted on the several digital processing steps and RGB color compositions integrating spectral bands and Principal Components. Such processing methodology was important to the mapping of different units on surface, together with field works. It was possible to make an analogy of the spectral characteristics of wetlands with vegetations areas (mangrove), showing the possibility to make a restoration of this area, contributing with the environmental monitoring of that ecosystem. The maps of several units were integrated in GIS environment at 1:60,000 scale, including the classification of features according to the presence or absence of vegetation cover. Thus, the strategy of methodology established that there are 10.13 km2 at least of sandy-muddy and of these approximately 0.89 km2 with the possibility to be used in a reforestation of typical flora of mangrove. The physical-chemical characterization showed areas with potential to introduce local species of mangrove and they had a pH above neutral with a mean of 8.4. The characteristic particle size is sand in the fine fractions, the high levels of carbonate, organic matter and major and trace element in general are concentrated where the sediment had the less particles size, showing the high correlation that those elements have with smaller particles of sediment. The application of that methodological strategy is relevant to the better understanding of features behavior and physical-chemical data of sediment samples collected on field allow the analysis of efficiency/capability of sandy-muddy to reforestation with local mangrove species for mitigation of the erosive action and coastal processes on the areas occupied by the oil industry / Dada a import?ncia do contexto litor?neo setentrional do Rio Grande do Norte, caracterizada por intenso processo de transporte de sedimentos atrav?s de a??o marinha e e?lica que acarreta eros?o e situa??es de instabilidade morfol?gica da linha de costa, ? que foram realizados a caracteriza??o f?sico-qu?mica e o mapeamento multitemporal de bancos arenolamosos como forma de subsidiar as medidas mitigadoras relacionadas ? conten??o dos processos erosivos nos campos petrol?feros de Macau e Serra instalados na ?rea de estudo. Atrav?s de imagens de sensores remotos, foi poss?vel realizar uma analogia entre as respostas espectrais dos bancos areno-lamosos com ?reas vegetadas (manguezal), indicando a possibilidade de se fazer uma reestrutura??o da ?rea, contribuindo assim com o monitoramento ambiental desse ecossistema. As bandas multiespectrais de imagens LANDSAT 5 TM de 2000 e 2008 foram submetidas ? diversas etapas de processamento digital, associadas em composi??es RGB. Dessa forma, a estrat?gia metodol?gica adotada permitiu estabelecer que, para Dezembro/2008, existiam ao menos 10,13 km2 de ?rea de bancos areno-lamosos, sendo que desses cerca de 0,89 Km2 com a viabilidade de ser empregada no reflorestamento, para a implanta??o de flora t?pica de manguezal local. Por meio da interpreta??o visual dos produtos e da an?lise estat?stica da imagem LANDSAT 5 TM de 12/Dezembro de 2008, foi poss?vel destacar a composi??o R (PC5) G (PC3/PC4) B (Banda 5), in?dita na literatura pois integra informa??es das principais componentes com bandas originais, real?ando as diferen?as entre as unidades de paisagem no ambiente costeiro, com destaque para o limites entre por??es arenosas, lamosas, aquelas recobertas por tapetes alg?licos, al?m de delimitar com mais efici?ncia a geometria dos canais de mar? na zona estuarina. Os mapas das diversas unidades, ap?s reambula??o em campo foram integrados em ambiente SIG na escala 1:60.000, incluindo a classifica??o das fei??es em fun??o da presen?a ou aus?ncia de cobertura vegetal. A caracteriza??o f?sico-qu?mica revelou ?reas com potencialidade para abrigar esp?cies de manguezal local, sendo que os bancos apresentaram caracter?stica granulom?trica com um predom?nio de areias nas fra??es finas; um pH acima da neutralidade com m?dia de 8,4; elevados teores de carbonatos e mat?ria org?nica e; elementos maiores e tra?os apresentaram, de maneira geral, as maiores concentra??es onde prevaleceram os sedimentos de granulometria mais fina, ressaltando a alta correla??o que estes elementos possuem com as part?culas menores do sedimento. A aplica??o desta estrat?gia metodol?gica ? de grande relev?ncia para a melhor compreens?o do comportamento das fei??es alvo do estudo e que, associada com dados f?sico-qu?micos permitem a an?lise da efici?ncia/potencialidade dos bancos ao reflorestamento com esp?cies de manguezais locais para mitiga??o da a??o erosiva dos processos costeiros sobre as ?reas dos campos de produ??o e explora??o de petr?leo instalados na ?rea

Afin de cibler une meilleure rentabilité des gisements d'hydrocarbures, la simulation numérique présente un intérêt grandissant dans le secteur pétrolier. Dans ce contexte, deux principaux types d'applications sont distingués : l'ingénierie du réservoir, où les modèles géologiques sont définis comme statiques et l'exploration des gisements par la simulation de la formation des hydrocarbures. Cette dernière application nécessite des modèles de bassins dynamiques. Pour ce type de simulation, la modélisation mathématique et numérique a connu une avancée importante durant les dernières années. En revanche, la construction de maillages indispensables pour les simulations reste une tâche lourde dans le cas de géométries complexes et dynamiques. La difficulté se traduit par la particularité du domaine à mailler, qui est dictée par la mécanique des milieux granulaires, c'est-à-dire des milieux quasi-incompressibles et hétérogènes. De plus, les données sismiques sont des surfaces non-implicites modélisant des blocs volumiques. Dans ce cadre, nous nous intéressons à la génération de maillages lagrangiens hexa-dominants des bassins à géométrie complexe. Le maillage souhaité doit contenir une couche de mailles principalement hexaédriques entre deux horizons et respecter les surfaces failles traversant ces horizons. Une méthodologie originale basée sur la construction d’un espace déplié est proposée. Le maillage souhaité est alors traduit par une grille 3D contrainte dans cet espace. Plusieurs techniques d’optimisation de maillages sont aussi proposées / To target more profitable oil and gas deposits, the numerical simulation is of growing interest in the oil sector. In this context, two main types of applications are distinguished: reservoir engineering where geological models are defined as static and exploration for the simulation of hydrocarbons formation. The latter application requires dynamic basins models. For this type of simulation, mathematical and numerical modeling has been an important advance in recent years. However, the construction of meshes needed for the simulations is a difficult task in the case of complex and dynamic geometries. The difficulty is reflected by the characteristic of the domain to mesh, which is defined from the mechanics of granular media which are almost incompressible and heterogeneous environments. In addition, the seismic data represent non-implicit surfaces modeling volume blocks. In this context, we focus on Lagrangian hex-dominant mesh generation of basins with complex geometry. The desired mesh must contain a layer of almost hexahedral meshes between two horizons and conform to fault surfaces through these horizons. A novel methodology based on the construction of an unfolded space is introduced. The desired mesh is then seen as a constrained 3D grid in this novel space. Several mesh optimization techniques are also proposed

This thesis examines the current state of crude oil extraction and production in the Greater Burgan oilfield, Kuwait's largest and oldest oilfield. This thesis is based on interviews with oilfield workers, analyses of official documents from the Kuwaiti government and the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), and my own experience as an oilfield worker in Kuwait. through this, I trace the changing social and environmental relationships in the Burgan oilfield. Through Actor-Network-Theory and Assemblage Theory, I explore the different actors and the power dynamics negotiated between actants in the oil industry. Specifically, I am interested in how economic and social relationships are assembled in oil economies, how oil dependency impacts society, and how we can prepare for a future without oil. Burgan reservoirs have shifted from natural production to artificial lift, indicating that Burgan has reached its oil production peak. This plateau in oil production has incited KOC to further invest in technology, to compensate for the anticipation in oil production shortfalls. Furthermore, I examine how 'cultures' are created around oil in the oilfields. This leads me to ask how labour security, safety, and dependencies are negotiated in relation to global processes. I conclude that the declining profitability of the oil market is compensated for by lower salaries, the deterioration of working conditions and worker rights. Finally, I explore the long-term health and environmental effects, and how their mitigation is negotiated in the oilfields. The study highlights the practice of gas flaring as leading to carbon emissions in extraction of oil and shows that the official data on flaring is underrepresented. In addition, a lack of awareness and mitigation around Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) is highlighted and discussed. Finally, the argument is made that the traditional oil industry in Kuwait is disassembling, KOC now invests in oil markets else-where to compensate for losses. As shown here, oilfield workers are the first point of contact in this complex situation, so they should be considered in the transition process.

Актуальность работы состоит в том, что на фоне текущей экономической ситуации компаниям нефтесервисного рынка необходимо отвечать на возникающие вызовы внешней среды. Важность нефтесервисной отрасли для России очевидна, поскольку ее состояние тесно взаимосвязано с положением нефтегазового сектора. В работе рассмотрена эволюция теоретических подходов к разработке стратегии компании, проведен анализ научных взглядов на понятие стратегии, представлена классификация научных школ теории стратегического управления. Рассмотрены структура стратегического потенциала нефтесервисного предприятия и существующий алгоритм разработки стратегии нефтесервисной компании, выявлены факторы экономической нестабильности для предприятий нефтесервисной отрасли. Для разработки стратегии выбрана методика стратегических карт Р. Нортона и Д. Каплана. Для сформулированных целей предложены КПЭ, позволяющие отслеживать прогресс по их достижению на примере компании ООО «БК Евразия». / The relevance of the work is that against the background of the current economic situation, oilfield services market companies need to respond to emerging environmental challenges. The importance of the oilfield services industry for Russia is obvious, since its state is closely interrelated with the situation of the oil and gas sector. The paper considers the evolution of theoretical approaches to the development of a company's strategy, analyzes scientific views on the concept of strategy, and presents a classification of scientific schools of strategic management theory. The structure of the strategic potential of an oilfield service enterprise and the existing algorithm for developing the strategy of an oilfield service company are considered, the factors of economic instability for oilfield service industry enterprises are identified. To develop the strategy, the method of strategic maps by R. Norton and D. Kaplan was chosen. For the formulated goals, KPIs are proposed that allow.