Mike Oduniyi
1 August 2005
Lagos — Amid concern over rising operating costs in the oil industry, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has said it had deployed a new drilling technology capable of producing more crude oil than allowed by conventional methods, and at reduced costs.
Shell said it had installed the 65th Expandable Sand Screens (ESS) in its Akaso-14 well in the East of the Niger Dela.
"The successful ESS operations in SPDC translate to a total oil production potential of 45,000 barrels per day and well-cost savings of $7.5 million when compared to other methods such as gravel pack and chemical sand consolidation," said Shell.
ESS, a pipe containing a sieve-like materials is used to separate sand from oil inside the oil well before the oil is produced to surface. The company explained that this is expanded downhole across the producing sand and it has characteristics that enable the production of more oil than conventional methods. "The technology was developed and patented by Shell but now licensed to three companies."
"SPDC has proved to be a world leader in ESS application and the technology has brought tremendous improvements to the well delivery process," said Wells Manager Hans Flikkema.
The first ESS installation in SPDC was achieved in 1999 in Imo River-63, where 1,190ft of ESS was successfully expanded form 4" to 5.875" in a 6" hold. The Akaso-14 installation which was done on June 22 was along the same lines A 4"-ESS was deployed and expanded to 6" inside a 7" casing resulting in cost reduction of about $300,000.
SPDC said it recorded other achievements with this technology. It deployed ESS in a well with the highest changes in well path direction, commonly called "dog leg" in oil field parlance.
In February 2003, the company combined the use of ESS and External Casing Parker (ECP) for sand control and isolation of different zones at Agbada-17ST. In a complex operation, the drilling team ran and expanded the device, inflated the ECP and successfully cemented the casing above the ECP. These two earlier records opened up opportunities to use this technology even in very demanding and highly deviated sidetracks.
"The success rate of ESS in SPDC has been astonishing. Apart from just one failure at bonny-27, the company has proved to be a centre of excellence in the application of this technology.
"Many other Operating units consult SPDC for peer assistance on ESS operations. We attribute this success rate to team work and strong management support for a visible can-do spirit."
Hans said: "the ESS story is not isolated; we will continue to be on the cutting-edge of oil and gas exploration by deploying the best and proven technologies to make for quicker, cheaper and safer well completion for more oil at less cost."
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