JurAssIC - KwIDF - Kuwait Oil Company

J U R A S S I C
Issue 2 • November 2010
The Kuwait Integrated
Digital Field Bulletin
www.kwidf-jurassic.com
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
KOC & SCHLUMBERGER LAUNCH TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT JOINT VENTURE P2–3
UNIQUE CHALLENGES OF THE COMPLEX JURASSIC GAS FIELD P4
applying digital processes and technology to explOitation strategy P5
Meeting the First Milestone P6–7
The Origin of Digital Data P8–9
Implementation Flash—the Field is Alive with Data! P10
Paris gathering of executives at the Schlumberger Riboud Product Center. Pictured from left to right are Mr. Maen Razouqi, General Manager
Schlumberger Kuwait; Mr. Khalid Sumaiti, Deputy Managing Director E&P KOC; Mr. Sami Al-Rushaid, Managing Director & Chairman KOC;
Mr. Andrew Gould, CEO & Chairman Schlumberger; and Dr. Adel Al-Abbassi, Manager R&T KOC.

By Dr. Adel Al-Abbassi, KOC Manager Research & Technology
KOC & Schlumberger Launch Technology
Development Joint Venture
KOC
and Schlumberger executives gather to discuss a joint future. Mr. Qasem Dashti presenting live data from Kuwait to the Paris meeting...in Real Time.
Past, present, and future
The Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and Schlumberger
Ltd. have been doing business together since the
1930s, and the relationship is growing even stronger
with the selection of KOC as the Schlumberger
technology partner for 2010.
In Paris, France on April 29th, KOC and Schlumberger
held a signing ceremony to officially launch a
joint venture for technology development, with
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that
identified technologies to be co-developed for
the mutual benefit of both parties. Chairman &
Managing Director of Kuwait Oil Company, Sami
Al-Rushaid, and Chairman and CEO of Schlumberger,
Andrew Gould, were both present at the ceremony,
which marked the first true collaboration between
the two companies.
The signing was part of an executive technology
meeting entitled “KOC/SLB Executive Technology
Collaboration Forum,” attended by many Deputy
Managing Directors and other managers from KOC.
Mr. Ashok Belani, President of Schlumberger’s
Reservoir Characterization group, presented
Schlumberger’s skills in research and engineering,
while Dr. Adel Al-Abbassi, Manager of R&T
at KOC, outlined his company’s current and future
technology requirements.
This occasion coincided with KOC’s 75th anniversary
celebration and Schlumberger’s 70th anniversary
celebration in Kuwait.
Moving forward together: KOC Chairman Mr. Sami Al-Rushaid and Schlumberger CEO Mr. Andrew Gould.
Technology collaboration, a win-win
opportunity
Under the umbrella of the Exploration and Production
Development Directorate of KOC, Deputy and
Managing Director Mr. Khalid Sumaiti is the
champion of this new venture, while Dr. Al-Abbassi
will lead the project. According to Dr. Al-Abbassi,
“Schlumberger usually selects a partner to work
with in advancing technology that is beneficial for
the oil sector as a whole.” He thinks that “KOC
was selected not only because of our long-standing
relationship with Schlumberger, but also because
our company is becoming more mature with respect
to R&T.”
The Schlumberger Technological Program leverages
its research centers around the world to develop
state-of-the-art solutions tailored for specific
oil fields. Every year, a different oil company is
chosen as a joint venture partner, concentrating on
selected challenges and developing appropriate
solutions. “The collaboration partnership is mutually
beneficial, as the partnering oil company (in this
case, KOC) gets an optimal solution while jointly
staying at the forefront of technological research
and development,” states Maen Razouqi, General
Manager of Schlumberger Kuwait.
Focus on key projects
This collaborative journey started with several
months of cooperation regarding tens of specific
technology needs submitted by all KOC assets.
After careful, detailed reviews and a joint workshop
with experts from both companies, the findings were
presented at the Paris meeting.
Key collaboration projects were selected by the
attending KOC executives as the main areas of
focus for the joint venture team. The project areas
consisted of Seismic, Completions, Wireline, and
innovative new technologies that could be tested
in Kuwait.
1. KwIDF Jurassic—a digital oilfield project that
will fully automate the North Jurassic gas field
using advanced E&P software, sophisticated
hardware, and wireless telecommunications
technology to transmit data from the wellsite to
the KOC Ahmadi offices. This project includes a
newly built Collaboration Center with technical
meeting rooms specially equipped for viewing
3D data on high-resolution workstation monitors
and large, wall-mounted screens. This ergonomic
visualization environment will facilitate and
optimize the decision-making process across the
entire asset, as everyone has access to the same
high-quality information.
2. FILAB—a KOC concept involving an innovative
field laboratory that will bring lab work directly
to portions of a field without having to upscale.
Focusing on accuracy and precision, this
challenging project was previously just a dream,
but is now on the brink of reality. This is an ongoing
project that will span more than five years.
3. New NMR tool—to be developed for in-situ
determination of the viscosity of heavy oil.
This project is expected to last for one year.
4. New seismic tool—to allow for more accurate
processing of information through the reduction/
elimination of multiple contaminations/noise.
This project is expected to last for more than
two years.
5. Smart completion—for deep gas (greater than
15,000 ft) with high temperature/high pressure
and the presence of H 2
S. This project is expected
to continue for three to five years.
Presentation in real time
The Paris meeting provided an opportunity to
showcase current projects, one of which was
KwIDF Jurassic presented by Dr. Al-Abbassi via
remote connection to the pilot collaboration room
(located in the KOC Al Tameer building in Kuwait).
Mr. Qasem Dashti presented live data streaming
from two newly instrumented wells to the folks
in Paris… all in real time! n
KwIDF Jurassic solution adds value
Right before the KOC/SLB Executive Technology Collaboration Forum,
a Jurassic gas field event occurred and the KwIDF Jurassic technology solution
was put to the test in its infancy—with only two wells instrumented and
limited workflows implemented. The Completion Integrity workflow was
involved; a workflow that uses casing and wellhead pressure measurements
to detect early completion integrity problems.
The field event
The casing pressure on a Jurassic gas well alarmingly rose to above 3000psi.
Using the KwIDF solution, powered by Schlumberger technology, Mr Qasem Dashti
saw this spike on his screen. He immediately called in Mr. Bader Al-Qaoud, who then
contacted Mr. Hassan A. Rahim, PSG Section Head at the PSG field office. A quick,
collaborative decision was made and a message was sent to well checkers to bleed
off the valve.
Based on the casing pressure data, production and completion engineers speculated
that the pressure spike was due to one of the following reasons:
■■
■■
■■
■■
■■
■■
damage in the tubing
cement problems
cross-flow due to the complexity of carbonate reservoirs
casing leaks
packers
thermal expansion (temperature effect).
After the valve was bled off and a two-day waiting period passed, the effect of the
decision was determined by observing the casing pressure measurement again. Since
it had only risen slightly, thermal expansion was deemed to be the cause. The pressure
continued to be monitored for any abnormal readings during the next two weeks, and
when none occurred, the interpretation of the results was confirmed.
The remote, automated production monitoring system—in conjunction with the
Completion Integrity workflow—provided reliable data that signalled early detection
of the problem, which was successfully assessed and resolved before it worsened.
This field event was mentioned by Mr. Dashti during his demo at the KOC/SLB Executive
Technology Collaboration Forum in Paris.
PAGE 2
PAGE 3

BY bader nasser al-qaoud, team leader production support gas group
BY QASEM DASHTI, TEAM LEADER, FIELD DEVELOPMENT GAS GROUP
Unique Challenges of the Complex
Jurassic Gas Field
Applying Digital Processes and
Technology to Exploitation Strategy
“HPHT gas fields that contain near critical fluids add
a dimension of complexity to the overall exploitation
strategy in terms of resource management,” says
Mr. Al-Qaoud. He adds, “High drawdown pressures
will inevitably lead to condensate drop-out in the
reservoir structure, itself, with consequences of
lower ultimate recovery, depletion of reservoir
energy, and reduced gas flow potential.”
In the KwIDF Jurassic project, “the complex geology
is evidenced by areas with a tight rock matrix
associated with a dense network of connected
fractures. While this leads to good production,”
Mr. Al-Qaoud cautions, “there is also a high
probability of liquid loading. Further complexity is
found in other areas of the same structure, which
have very poor reservoir properties with a sparse
fracture network.”
Smart views
See what you need
to see in time to respond.
Performance engine
Smart analytics: optimization
for your daily constraints.
Data factory
Open, easy access
to reliable data.
Basic components of the Jurassic field intelligent
Data Management System.
A clear strategy
Mr. Al-Qaoud wants to develop “a clear strategy
to maximize the gas field’s ultimate recovery and
maintain its production regularity.” He plans to
accomplish this in conjunction with the KwIDF
Jurassic change management program. He
states, “To minimize wellsite interventions due
to the toxic nature of the Jurassic gas field’s flow
stream, intelligent automated systems have to be
developed and integrated with advanced wireless
instrumentation.” This sophisticated technology,
driven by remotely operated production management
and surveillance software, is part of the new, stateof–the-art
intelligent Data Management System
implementation made possible through partnering
with Schlumberger Information Solutions (SIS).
Key software features
The automated data management solution,
powered by the Schlumberger Avocet*
production software suite, will provide:
■■
■■
■■
■■
■■
proactive identification and visualization of
potential production problems by analyzing
data in the context of operating processes
aggregation of real-time and other
data from multiple sources, providing
extensive capabilities, including event
detection, reporting, trending, data
diagnostics, predictive modeling, and
a calculation engine
insights into performance issues when
plugged into a comprehensive production
software suite with integral intelligent
surveillance
immediate access to actionable data via a
Web-based user interface, enabling engineers
and managers to see what they need to see
in time to respond
design of real-time production surveillance and
optimization workflows, which allow automating
and standardizing of the designed workflows.
(Note: Results of 22 such workflows, including
one for key performance indicators (KPIs), are
visualized and accessible in SmartView, a Web
portal solution for building production surveillance
advisory tools.)
Quick decision-making
On an ongoing basis, the Production Support team is
faced with critical decision-making challenges that
require fast solutions to avert potentially serious
problems. Mr. Al-Qaoud and his team will greatly
benefit from the various productivity-enhancing
features—ranging from the SmartView Web portal
to Smart Analytics supported by a server-based
workflow engine, instead of distributed workflows in
scattered applications. “The easy access to a wealth
of data in the new Data Factory,” Mr. Al-Qaoud says,
“will give us the ability to make better-informed,
production-related decisions from a shared
Mr. Bader Nasser Al-Qaoud, Team Leader of KOC’s
Production Support Gas group, is responsible for gas
field operations, working daily within the company’s fast
decision-making loop.
knowledgebase of validated, trustworthy data.
This will positively impact the speed and quality
of our decisions, and influence every other aspect
of our exploitation strategy going forward.”
Expected safety improvements
Once the intelligent Data Management System
is in place and providing remote, real-time daily
production information, Mr. Al-Qaoud believes
that “safety will naturally improve due, in part,
to the need for fewer wellsite visits, resulting in
less exposure of KOC workers to harmful toxins.”
He expects that “re-purposed visits will be more
common, as checkers will no longer visit the well to
perform mundane production support tasks; they will
have a more high-value purpose to their visits than
just reading dials manually.” n
Mr. Dashti contends, “Many production data
management systems and practices in use today
were not designed for real-time compliance, often
creating a mistrust of data due to poor quality
and unavailability at the time of need.” Mr. Dashti
believes that “the absence of appropriate
workflow tools can lead to missed opportunities
for optimizing production.”
According to Mr. Dashti, “Only a step change in
production workflows and collaboration can ensure
that data, human resources, and software application
requirements are relevant to actual needs.”
Intelligent automation
“The greenfield nature of Jurassic gas field makes
it an ideal candidate for digital field processes and
technologies,” says Mr. Dashti. “However, this high
pressure, high temperature (HPHT) gas field is
geologically complex. It has fluids in near-critical
condition with elevated concentrations of H 2
S and
CO 2
. ”Mr. Dashti’s goal is to “maximize ultimate
recovery, maintain production regularity, and
minimize wellsite interventions due to the toxic
nature of the flow stream.” He claims that
”intelligent automation at the wellhead combined
with advanced instrumentation will minimize
HSE exposure of field personnel.”
Interventions at the wellsite will be supported
by handheld PDAs embedded with work orders.
His Field Development Gas group will also use
new digital field work processes supported by
state-of-the-art collaboration rooms. These facilities
enable proactive, real-time decisions to be made in
accordance with the field’s exploitation strategy. Mr.
Dashti asserts, “It is now possible to quickly
leverage multidiscipline competencies that can
easily contribute in real time to production
operations, instead of conducting long-term studies
and reviews.”
Exploitation strategy—
goals and implementation
Mr. Dashti describes the field’s exploitation strategy
as “concurrently maximizing the production of
individual wells while minimizing the liquid
drop-out in the reservoir. This will maximize
reserves recovery, leading to a new paradigm
in resource management.”
“An ‘intelligent’ Data Management System,”
says Mr. Dashti, “will eliminate the risk of
non-validated data and inefficiencies of data
retrieval and utilization. We want to achieve
production regularity, aided by our highly
instrumented wells that not only address the
acquisition of well and reservoir data,
but also capture additional information—
such as sour and flammable gas detection
and video images—that directly feeds into
work routines governing loss prevention
activities.” This is a big step toward improved
safety conditions.
Mr. Dashti says, “Using the new collaboration
rooms for multi-disciplinary decision-making
will help align individuals with pre-defined
rules of the exploitation strategy. The active
participation of team members also ensures
that rules are modified, as needed, during
field maturity.”
The implementation of SIS smart tools is “helping to
achieve production regularity via an integrated
network model enabling production technologists to
generate what-if scenarios and set the rules for
routines to control automatic chokes. This prevents
weak wells in tight areas of the reservoir from being
overwhelmed by the wells in densely fractured
areas.” Furthermore, features like alarms embedded
in the Avocet Production Surveillance system allow
problems to be flagged and mitigated proactively.
The intelligent Data Management System supports
Mr. Dashti’s goals by democratizing data, so that
raw data is transformed into the right information
and pushed to the target audience in a reliable and
efficient manner.
“Trustworthiness is a key requirement for real-time
production optimization. It is absolutely necessary
to have validated and conditioned data, as it will
ensure cross-discipline collaboration is functioning
at a high level. Viewing reliable data simultaneously—
whether or not the decision makers are in a single
collaboration room—is a KOC initiative destined to go
beyond just this one gas field. n
Mr. Qasem Dashti, Team Leader of KOC’s Field
Development Gas group, is mainly involved in production
optimization and well performance issues, working daily
within the company’s medium decision loop.
PAGE 4
PAGE 5

y KWIDF JURASSIC TEAM
Meeting the First Milestone
This issue of the KwIDForum newsletter focuses on issues pertaining to the Jurassic Gas milestone #1:
Reliable Production Information that is Readily Available, which includes the following advanced
technology capabilities:
Change is Happening!
Mr. Hassan A. Rahim, Section Head PSG & Oil Team, confirms that “improved safety in the field is already a reality
as a result of the various KwIDF Jurassic well instrumentation and CCTV components installed at this stage in the
project.” Mr. Rahim has also noticed an increased awareness of safety issues, as well as a stricter adherence to
safety protocols, at the wellsites since the start of the KwIDF Jurassic implementation.
n
n
n
n
n
n
comprehensive, end-to-end data flow, from instrumentation to analysis
built-in data quality cleansing and conditioning
data history via date and time tagging
delivery and sharing of operational processes
integrated with surveillance and engineering tools
delivered and displayed in the appropriate context and format.
For more information, please visit the project Web site at www.kwidf-jurassic.com.
Milestone 1
Reliable, readily available,
production information.
Reliable and timely production information
delivery—from instrumentation to analysis.
Data is automatically and intelligently processed,
allowing dynamic visualization to suit different
usage scenarios and domain applications.
Bringing change to the field: Mr. Hassan A. Rahim, Section Head PSG, reviewing the KwIDF Jurassic Message with Mr. Juan Carlos G. Bonilla, Schlumberger
Change Management Consultant.
Photo of CCTV pole overseeing a wellhead at North Jurassic gas field.
PAGE 6
PAGE 7

technical article i Hassan A. Rahim, Section Head, Production Support Gas and Oil Team
The Origin of Digital Data
Front and back view of a 24VDC, pole-mounted solar panel that provides power
to RTU electronics, field instrumentation, solenoids and hydraulic pump, choke valve,
and WIMAX CPE.
The dream is a reality: Mr. Hassan A. Rahim, Section Head PSG & Oil Team, inspecting
new wellhead instrumentation along with Ms. Lai Chan Chiu, Schlumberger KwIDF Project
Manager, and Mr. Juan Carlos G. Bonilla, Schlumberger Change Management Consultant.
Wellhead Equipment
North Jurassic Field
Wellhead Type 1 (24 wells)
Master
SSV
Solar panel
Wing
SSV
H
H
M
Video surveillance
WIMAX
CPE &
antenna
WIMAX
network
Overview
Schlumberger and KOC are partnering to provide the
intelligence and technology that will virtualize the
North Jurassic gas field. This solution answers the
design and equipment needs of a sophisticated data
delivery infrastructure that KOC will enjoy well into
the 21st century.
Project scope
Mr. Hassan A. Rahim says, “This is an exciting
project for us, as it is the very first of its kind in
terms of size and scope. We are installing everything
from wireless sensors at the wellsite, to routers
Field Control Room
Telecom tower
Operator station
and long-range wireless, remote monitoring
systems, to a CCTV video surveillance system that
communicates from the wellhead to the field control
room and KOC offices.” He adds, “State-of-the-art
digital components will bring field data all the way
to the new Collaboration Center, where it can be
integrated into Schlumberger software technology,
feeding critical well information directly to pertinent
engineering workflows in real time. The operations
data can be viewed at high-tech workstations or
projected onto large, 3D, wall-mounted screens.
It’s a big change from the old methods of data
capture and delivery!”
Schlumberger software
OPC link
KOC Ahmadi Offices
KOC L3 N/W
Collaboration room
Operator station
Project requirements
Specifying the KwIDF Jurassic requirements and
implementing the digital network solution was a
joint effort accomplished by KOC’s IT department,
Schlumberger Information Solutions (SIS), and
vMonitor technical engineers. Mr. Rahim explains,
“We were determined to create a scalable system
to satisfy the company’s data acquisition needs
today and in the future. Wireless connectivity and
solar power are just two examples of the emerging
technologies applied to the KwIDF Jurassic project.
Down to the nuts and bolts of the control panels
and battery backups, all items were chosen and
configured to meet KOC’s desire for continuous
remote, real-time data monitoring of this particularly
hazardous location.”
Field instrumentation and software
Mr. Rahim informs, “With the new field
instrumentation, it will be possible to collect and
transmit real-time data by monitoring gas leaks,
H 2
S, and pressure at the wellhead, in addition to
monitoring corrosion and temperature of the flowline
24/7/365.” Other innovative features include the
ability of the hydraulic control panel to support
remote supplementary controls using solenoid valves
and to optionally provide remote control of hydraulic
pumps. Then, there is the new remote terminal unit
(RTU) that will support multiple analog and digital
inputs and outputs, multiple thread multi-tasking
applications, IEC-61131 ISAGraf PLC programming
languages, customized ESD logic, and data logging
…to name a few.
TotalAccess software from vMonitor will provide a
user-friendly, onscreen console to view various types
of data monitoring activities, including field
measurement gauges, data polling graphs, and
summary information of surface instrumentation data,
such as pressure and flow rate, for a particular well.
Digital, wireless connectivity
According to Mr. Rahim, “The entire infrastructure
is linked together via a WIMAX network connection
to a telecommunications tower, which passes data to
a field control room that houses the operator station
with router, firewall, switch, etc. that connects to
KOC’s Intranet using thin client technology.”
Disaster recovery
Included in the overall solution is a Disaster Recovery
room, complete with a redundant server and SQL
fault server, as well as a real-time database (RTDB),
real-time data polling engine (DAQ), and a Historian
database for archival purposes, making this a true
end-to-end solution. n
Router
Firewall
Switch
Wellhead
control panel
RTU Control panel
& battery backup
Wellhead Type 2 (4 wells)
Solar panel
Wing
SSV
H
Master
SSV
H
Automated choke valve
M
Wellhead
control panel
Wellhead Type 3 (2 wells)
Master
SSV
H
Solar panel
WIMAX
CPE &
antenna
RTU Control panel
& battery backup
Wing
Video surveillance
SSV
H Automated choke valve
M
Multi-phase
flowmeter
Video surveillance
Wellhead
control panel
Downhole
gauge
surface unit
WIMAX
CPE &
antenna
RTU Control panel
& battery backup
Downhole
gauge
surface unit
WIMAX
base station
KOC SDH N/W
Router
Notes:
1. Operator stations are Web thin clients used
to access data from total Access redundant servers.
2. RTDB = Real-time database
3. DAQ = Real-time data polling engine
Router Firewall Switch
Total Access
Redundant server-1
Total Access
Redundant server-2
SCADA
builder/
viewer
Total Access CCTV relay server
SQL fault tolerance Server-1
Total Access
SQL fault tolerance Server-2
Inside Total Access server
RTDB
DAQ
KOC L3 N/W
Disaster recovery room
SQL/Oracle/
Infinity DB
Historian
OPC HAD/
API link
SLB Decide!
software
Schematic of SCADA system architecture for North Jurassic field, including third-party equipment and software (from vMonitor) to enable data acquisition and viewing.
Stainless steel, enclosed remote terminal unit (RTU).
Control room viewer displays current and trend values for instrumentation measurements in the field.
PAGE 8
PAGE 9

By Ahmad Al-Jasmi, Sajid Qayyum, and Schlumberger Project Manager
Implementation Flash—The Field is Alive
with Data!
Digital components in place
The implementation of the KwIDF Jurassic project
is making great progress as the digital components
are put into place one well at a time. Mr. Al-Jasmi
says, “The digital oilfield vision has come a long way
since the early planning phase. As of this month,
18 wells are actually delivering data in real time—
from the wellsite to the PSG office in Kuwait. That is
encouraging to all those who have worked long and
hard on the project.” Mr. Qayyum, KOC project
manager, specifically states, “PSG is currently
getting real time data for pressure, temperature,
gas, and H 2
S from the 18 wells where advanced
instrumentation and other new equipment have
already been installed.”
Software in action
As implementation continues, the Schlumberger
Avocet* production software suite—which includes
not only conventional production analysis, but also
innovative data mining and real-time surveillance
capabilities—will be used by a joint subsurface
team to optimize production. The Schlumberger
project manager says, “With the advanced software
tools from SIS, KOC will have validated and
conditioned data they can trust. KOC engineers will
be able to better characterize reservoir and fluid
properties, transform them into rules, and then
embed them into a rules-based engine that governs
intelligent automation at the wellsite. This controls
the maximum allowable drawdown to minimize
undesirable liquid drop-out in the reservoir.”
The road ahead
While a long road still lies ahead, the team is
confident that they can get there from here. Project
team members agree that they can finally see a light
at the end of the tunnel now that data is flowing and
the systems are proving to operate as expected.
The results from having access to real-time field
data should start to impact daily decision-making
as KOC engineers receive and analyze the clean,
conditioned data at their workstations and in the
centralized Collaboration Center. n
Mr. Hassan A. Rahim views real-time data displayed in new computer system, putting a
“smile on operations.”
Coming together to build the future: (from left to right) Team Leader Production
Support Gas Group Mr. Bader Nasser Al-Qaoud, Team Leader R&T Surface
& KwIDF Program Manager Mr. Ahmad Al-Jasmi, and Team Leader Field
Development Gas Group Mr. Qasem Dashti.
PAGE 10

Photo taken during KwIDF Jurassic project review meeting. Front row, left to right: Team Leader Production Support Gas Group Mr. Bader Nasser Al-Qaoud, Team Leader Field
Development Gas Group Mr. Qasem Dashti, Manager Gas Development Group Mr. Menahi Al-Anzi, and Manager R&T Dr. Adel Al-Abbassi. Back row, left to right: KOC Project Manager
Mr. Harish Kumar Goel, Team Leader R&T Surface & KwIDF Program Manager Mr. Ahmad Al-Jasmi, KOC KwIDF Jurassic Project Manager Mr. Sajid Qayyum, and Schlumberger KwIDF
Project Manager Ms. Lai Chan Chiu.
For more information, please contact info@kwidf-jurassic.com.
Special thanks go to the KwIDF Jurassic Team for their effort in preparing this publication.
©
Kuwait Oil Company. All Rights Reserved.
*Mark of Schlumberger
Other company, product, and service names are the properties of their respective owners.
www.kwidf-jurassic.com