Petrochem/Utilities Industry Trends

Heading into Deeper Waters - New Technologies Make Deepwater Exploration and Production Possible

Issue Table of Contents

Heading into Deeper Waters - New Technologies Make Deepwater Exploration and Production Possible Deepwater Standards Initiative Streamlining the Development and Approval Process Q&A with API's Coordinator of Drilling and Production Operations on Increased Deepwater Production Through Acceleration of Standards and Technologies API and Global Engineering Documents - Better Together

Drilling in deep and ultradeep waters and exploring in new regions of the world are no longer the promises of the future. They are happening. According to the American Petroleum Institute facility design, equipment and technology are now available to explore and produce oil and gas from water depths exceeding 10,000 feet. Impressive discoveries, advanced standards and technology, and expanded exploration and production into new regions have all combined to produce a deepwater resurgence.

Drivers
The main drivers behind the active shift toward deepwater exploration and production are:

• Ongoing depletion of shallow water reserves and declining productivity in mature provinces
• Larger reserve size and high productivity of deepwater fields
  
• Buoyant oil prices and the growth in global demand for hydrocarbons
• Technological advances, resulting in decreasing deepwater development costs
• Innovative financing structures and management procedures
• Developing government support, especially through favorable fiscal policies
• Advancement of safer operations with reduced potential for environmental impacts

Technology
New technologies have been key to finding and extracting recoverable oil and gas resources. Examples of these innovative technologies are:

• 3-D seismic
  Improvements in 3-D seismic and 4-D time-lapse visualization, remote sensing, and other exploration technology allow explorationists to target higher-quality prospects and to improve success rates by as much as 50% or more. The result: fewer wells need to be drilled to find a given target and production per well is increased, in some cases by 100%.
  
  
• Directional and horizontal drilling
  These techniques enable producers to reach reservoirs that are not located directly beneath the drilling rig, a capability that is particularly useful for offshore development. Horizontal drilling may also allow a producer to contact more of the reservoir so that more resources can be recovered from a single well.
  
  
• Synthetic drilling fluids
  Synthetic drilling fluids combine the higher drilling performance of oil-based fluids with the lower toxicity and environmental impacts of water-based fluids. Because synthetic-based fluids can be recycled, they generate less waste than water-based fluids. Compared to oil-based fluids, synthetic fluids have low-toxicity and low-irritant properties that significantly enhance worker health and safety.
  
  
• Dynamic positioning systems
  Dynamic positioning systems compensate for the effects of wind, waves, and current, enabling mobile offshore drilling units to hold position over the borehole, maintaining within operational limits lateral loads on the drill stem and marine riser. These systems expand the range of water depths and environmental conditions within which drilling operations can be safely conducted.
  
  
• Advanced platform design
  Compliant Towers, Tension Leg Platforms, Spars, Subsea Systems, Floating Production Systems, and Floating Production, Storage & Offloading Systems are now being used in water depths exceeding 1,500 feet. All of these systems are proven technology, and in use in offshore production worldwide.
  
  
• Reuse of offshore platforms as artificial reefs
  In the "rigs-to-reefs" program, offshore platforms are toppled and sent to the bottom of the ocean, providing several acres of living and feeding habitat for thousands of underwater species. Within six months to one year after a rig is placed on the seafloor, it will be a thriving ecosystem completely covered with marine life.
  
  
• Improved waste management planning
  The industry is aggressively employing technology to reduce or eliminate waste by preventing it at the source. Techniques include better planning, materials management, material reclamation, and recycling; major changes to processes; improved auditing and maintenance procedures; changes in day-to-day operations to control waste generation; and more targeted employee training.
  
  

Operations
There are currently deepwater operations ongoing in:

• Gulf of Mexico
• West Africa
• Brazil
• Mediterranean
• Northwest Europe
• Asia-Pacific region
  And more…

To date, deepwater finds in the Gulf of Mexico have been more plentiful than elsewhere.

Standards
The standard of living we enjoy today can be directly attributed to the ability to locate, produce and refine crude oil. With the consumption rate growing at an approximate rate of 10% annually, petrochemicals and their by-products have virtually become necessities in our lives. As challenges and pressures increase in this competitive and vital industry, staying current with the latest standards development is more important than ever. Immediate access to entire libraries of information from more than 370 Standards Developing Organizations worldwide from Global Engineering Documents, a division of IHS Engineering, helps keep petroleum customers in the forefront of their industry. IHS Engineering also offers an impressive line of electronic standards, regulations, and code subscription services for the oil and gas industry including: PetroChem Collection, API Select, OCS Collection and the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.