Bonga intervention - Shell

TAKING TECHNOLOGY FURTHER
EP Technology – No.1 2008
EPA global quarterly magazine highlighting
Shell E&P technology and projects
Technology
Bonga intervention
Offshore Access System
Going big
in Qatar

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MOMENTUM
EP Technology is an external magazine published by Shell International
Exploration and Production. Utilising news and features, each issue
highlights wide-ranging aspects of the exploration and production business,
from the development, implementation and impact of new technology to the
people who make it happen around the world.
MOMENTUM
There is an old saying: ‘Do what you’ve always done, and you’ll get
what you’ve always got.’ In today’s oil and gas industry, with easy
hydrocarbons now a thing of the past, doing what we’ve always done
will not get us very far. That’s why thinking out of the box and coming
up with new technologies and new ways of working is fundamental
to success.
In this edition of EP Technology we look at several breakthrough
technologies, which Shell has either developed or is utilising in a
novel way. One such technology is our new seismic acquisition and
processing techniques, which allows us to ‘see’ below salt layers and
was instrumental in a recent successful bid in the Gulf of Mexico.
Constantly raising the bar on technological achievements keeps the
industry vibrant, but it’s not just about technology, it’s also about
having the right people. It is knowing that we have a wealth of
expertise, experience, technology and talented people that gave
Shell the confi dence to take on the challenge of the world’s biggest
fully integrated Gas-to-Liquids project in Qatar. This is a project that
will generate approximately three billion barrels of oil equivalent
during its lifetime, and required a lot of out of the box thinking to get
us to where we are on this exciting venture.
One of the most important contributions that people bring is their
previous experience and know-how. If we don’t learn from the past
we are destined to move forward only very slowly. Shell’s deepwater
successes in the Gulf of Mexico today are underpinned by the long
history of experience and challenges overcome since we started in
the region several decades ago. Having achieved aggregate
production in excess of one billion barrels from the Gulf of Mexico,
we felt it was time to take a look back at what we had accomplished,
as well as a look forward to where we are going.
However, new technologies are not just about accessing more
hydrocarbons; they also play an important role in ensuring this is
done safely. Safety has always been an absolutely key – and integral
– priority in our projects and operations. In Shell, our ability to
provide a safer working environment involves not only good work
practices, but also the application of new and innovative
technologies such as our award-winning Offshore Access System,
which allows safer and more cost-effective access to offshore
platforms. This system is currently being applied in the North Sea to
great success and has reduced the number of helicopters needed to
service Normally Unattended Installations.
These are just some of the stories we cover in this current edition.
We hope you will fi nd them both interesting and thought-provoking.
Dr Matthias Bichsel
Executive Vice President, Development and Technology, for Shell E&P

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CONTENTS
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11
14
22
28
CONTENTS
Going big in Qatar 4
Pearl GTL project gets ready for take-off
UPDATE
Technology wins at EI Awards 10
Triple success at prestigious ceremony
Champion West recognised for excellence 10
Brunei project gains gold
Green light for green lights 11
Bird-friendly platform lighting trialled in North Sea
Ormen Lange on line 11
Norwegian pace-setter delivers fi rst gas
A clearer vision 12
Acquisition and reprocessing techniques provide key
to securing new business
Thinking ahead 14
Intervention planning takes priority in Nigeria
Reliable sources 18
Shell’s Water to Value policies explained
One billion and counting! 22
Shell sets standards in the Gulf of Mexico
Walk to work 26
Offshore Access System provides an innovative solution
Finding answers 28
Lynda Armstrong talks about Shell’s EPT Solutions division
Front cover
Bonga, in Nigeria, where Shell’s intervention planning is minimising
downtime and maximising production
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PROJECT
REPORT
Going big in Qatar
PROJECT
REPORT
>
Roughnecks hard at work on the Noble Gene House rig, situated off the coast of Qatar

LARGEST FULLY INTEGRATED GTL PROJECT
IN THE WORLD
> SHELL’S BIGGEST EVER EQUITY INVESTMENT
> PARTNERSHIP WITH QATAR GOVERNMENT
PROVIDES THE KEY
Despite having a native population of less than a quarter of
a million people, Qatar is a country that thinks big. It’s also
home to Shell’s biggest equity investment ever, the Pearl
Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) project. EP Technology fi nds out more…
Situated on a small peninsula on the
western coast of the Gulf, Qatar holds the
world’s third largest natural gas reserves
and is the single largest supplier of liquefi ed
natural gas. Off the north-east shore of the
Qatar peninsula and covering an area of
more than 6,000 square kilometres, lies the
massive North Field. Considered to be the
largest single non-associated gas reservoir
in the world, with estimated recoverable
resources in excess of 900 trillion cubic
feet, the Pearl GTL project will tap into this
reservoir, producing upstream resources
of approximately three billion barrels of oil
equivalent over the lifetime of the project.
With production currently scheduled to start
around the end of the decade, Pearl GTL
is not only the world’s largest integrated
GTL project, but also the largest energy
project ever launched within the borders
of Qatar. The project fi ts perfectly into
Shell’s strategy to increase its upstream
business by recovering and producing
more oil and gas, and to deliver a more
profi table downstream business by refi ning
and delivering more product to customers
in a profi table and sustainable way. Pearl
GTL also meets Shell’s commitment to
be a technology leader and to expand its
unconventional fuel portfolio.
Pearl is being developed under a Development
and Production Sharing Agreement
(DPSA), through which Shell provides 100%
of the funding to develop and operate the
GTL project. Proceeds from the product
sales are shared between Shell and the
State of Qatar on a pre-defi ned formula.
To date, the project has awarded contracts
in excess of $10 billion – including those
for gas and liquids processing facilities,
the GTL plant and utilities, and offshore
platforms and pipelines among others –
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constituting the most signifi cant parts of
the project.
Pearl GTL will produce some 1.6 billion cubic
feet per day of gas, which will be transported
and processed to produce approximately
120,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day,
including condensate, liquefi ed petroleum
gas and ethane. Dry gas will be used as
feedstock for a new onshore integrated
GTL complex which will manufacture an
additional 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of
liquid hydrocarbon products. The Pearl GTL
complex will consist of two 70,000 bpd GTL
trains and associated facilities. Production
from the fi rst Pearl GTL train is anticipated
to begin around the end of the decade.
The plant will produce a range of liquid
products and fuels, comprising naphtha,
GTL fuel, normal paraffi ns, kerosene and
lubricant base oils. GTL fuel is the largest
NOR TH FIELD
Gas r eservoir
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Pearl-1 platform is situated 60 kilometres off the Qatar shoreline
component of the product slate and can
be used in existing light and heavy-duty
diesel engines. With lower emissions
at the point of use, it can play a role in
reducing local air pollution in cities and help
provide a strategic diversifi cation of liquid
transport fuel for importing countries. GTL
blended fuels can also enhance engine
performance and are already being used in
the demanding world of motorsport.
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Shell has been allocated two blocks in the
North Field, which are being developed
to produce feedstock for the plant. “We
spent about two years producing an area
development plan,” explains Bart Lismont,
Shell Qatar’s Upstream Manager. “This was
submitted to the Qatari government as part
of the integrated Final Development Plan
which was approved in July 2006.
“We drilled an appraisal well in the
southernmost area of our two blocks
and, as part of the deal we had with Qatar
Petroleum, we also drilled another well
outside our block. The appraisal wells
were drilled to determine the gas-water
contact, the gas composition, the volumes
of gas inside the block and what the rock
properties were.
“It is very important to understand what you
are working with in a block that has never
been drilled before as the rock properties
will determine the number of wells required
>
Shell’s GTL products are already proving themselves in top-level motorsport
and the composition will affect revenues
as well as costs, for example, through the
number of desulphurisation units needed
onshore.”
Compared to the complex and innovative
GTL facility, the upstream operation is
a relatively straightforward affair, as
Lismont explains: “Pearl GTL is truly
world-scale. Up to this point, GTL has
been produced on a smaller scale. The
world’s fi rst commercial GTL plant of
its type, at Bintulu, Malaysia, has been
operated by Shell since 1993 and its daily
output is 14,700 barrels of products.
“The Pearl GTL project includes a very
large onshore complex, requiring 100,000
tonnes of steel and 100,000 tonnes of
equipment. By contrast, the offshore
operation is less complex with no
processing involved.”

SIMULTANEOUS OPERATIONS
The jackets (the structural legs that support
the offshore facility) are already in place
for the two remotely-operated production
facilities, at depths of 37 and 29 metres.
These will host a drilling campaign totalling
22 wells, 11 from each platform. Connecting
each platform to the GTL facility, based at
Ras Laffan Industrial City, will be 64- and 52kilometre
subsea pipelines, with a further
six kilometres on land.
“The temporary decks we are using on the
two Pearl platforms have been designed to
a much higher than normal specifi cation,
to allow us to use them for simultaneous
operations, or SIMOPS,” adds Lismont. “The
procedure for bringing a well into production
involves drilling the well followed by some
highly technical operations in the reservoir
section of the well, including perforating,
stimulating and testing the reservoir to
HOW IT WORKS: GAS-TO-LIQUIDS
Gas-to-Liquids conversion is an umbrella term
for a group of technologies that can create liquid
synthetic fuels from a variety of feedstocks.
The basic technology was developed in Germany
in the 1920s and is known as the Fischer-Tropsch
process after its inventors. In essence it uses
catalytic reactions to synthesise complex
hydrocarbons from simpler organic chemicals. This
process can create identical liquids from a variety
of feedstocks, although the technical challenges are
greater for biomass and coal.
There are two main categories of natural gas-based
Fischer-Tropsch process technology – the high and
the low temperature versions:
ensure consistent and adequate production.
It is common in the industry for these three
stages to be carried out using the drilling
rig after it has drilled the well. However, by
using the high-specifi cation temporary deck
we will now perform this sequence from the
deck while concurrently using the drilling rig
to drill the next well.
“As these well activities can take between
20 to 30 days, there are enormous potential
savings as the drilling rig can be released to
continue drilling wells while the temporary
deck can be used for the completions.
SIMOPS are not straightforward, so to
ensure that things go smoothly we have
conducted a quantitative risk assessment
to demonstrate that the operation can be
carried out safely.
“In addition to SIMOPS, we will be using a
drilling technique known as ‘batch drilling’.
In batch drilling, the rig is used to drill the
same section of several wells one after the
other, improving drilling performance and
saving millions of dollars. Add to that the
savings from the reduction in staff costs,
the use of helicopters and supply vessels,
the reduced use of service providers and
many other factors, and the savings are
important.”
The high-temperature, iron catalyst-based
Fischer-Tropsch GTL process produces fuels
such as gasoline that are closer to those
produced from conventional crude oil refi ning.
The resultant products are virtually free of
sulphur, but contain aromatics.
The low-temperature, cobalt catalyst-based
Fischer-Tropsch GTL process, however, produces
a fraction of gas oil called GTL fuel that is
virtually free of both sulphur and aromatics.
Shell’s proprietary GTL process, also known as
Shell Middle Distillate Synthesis (SMDS), uses
a much more active and selective catalyst than
earlier processes, which enables the production
Shell’s decision to make such a large
investment was no doubt encouraged by the
welcoming and progressive attitude of the
Qatari government. “It’s a very good country
to do business in,” Lismont enthuses. “Qatar
has a bold vision for the development of
its energy resources and very effective
management that makes quick decisions
and executes them effectively. The time
it took to get the Pearl GTL project off the
of a range of fi nely tailored liquid fuels in a fully
commercialised system. There are three main
stages:
In the fi rst, natural gas is partially oxidised
at high temperature and pressure in the Shell
Gasifi cation Process (syngas manufacture step).
The second stage, Heavy Paraffi n Synthesis
(Fischer-Tropsch synthesis step), is the heart of
the process. Here the gas is converted into liquid
hydrocarbons.
Finally, the Heavy Paraffi n Conversion
(hydrocracking step) reactor is used to fi netune
the product by selective cracking and
fractionation to separate the desired middle-
distillate products.
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The Noble Gene House jack-up rig is currently drilling an appraisal well
ground, as well as the earlier Qatargas 4,
is truly noteworthy. Decisions are taken in
support of the ambitious goals that Qatar
has set for itself, namely to be the world
leaders in GTL and LNG. Qatar has very
knowledgeable people in the right places.
For me, it is very pleasant to work with
them on the technical side. We exchange
information on a constant basis with our

counterparts within Qatar Petroleum and
there is a clear interest in all the activities
we are pursuing.”
MEGA-SEISMIC
Lismont continues: “Shell is striving to
make a difference in Qatar. We aim to be a
company that is responsive and good to do
business with. There are a number of things
that we have done differently (compared
to previous projects in the area) and the
success rate has been high. We did the fi rst
MDT test on wireline. We used the heaviest
tool ever in the Middle East and got the
fastest ever results. We also acquired fl uid
composition data in parts of the reservoir
where others didn’t succeed and the
subsequent analysis was done much faster
than before, taking just one week when it
has previously taken a year. We’ve also been
doing a few things with Qatar Petroleum
outside of the GTL/LNG scope which
reinforces our strong partnership. One big
task we have been asked to undertake is a
mega-seismic survey on the North Field.”
But then big is a word that is heard often in
this otherwise small nation. It is estimated
that Pearl GTL will require in excess of
35,000 workers and 200 million man-hours
to complete. That should provide more
than a few challenges along the way, but
the combination of the Qatari government’s
focus and determination, and Shell’s
advanced technological solutions should
help Qatar realise its ambition of becoming
the ‘GTL capital of the world’.
STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE
With the sun shining almost every day of the
year, Qatar is working hard to establish itself as
an exciting tourist destination, no doubt helped
by a portfolio of world-class sporting events that
includes golf, cycling and motorsport events.
The country is also gaining a reputation as a
great place to do business in the fi nancial arena
and, of course, there’s the gas industry.
“We’re going to see Qatar become one of the
world’s largest energy hubs in the next few
years,” says Andy Brown, Shell Qatar Country
Chairman and Managing Director of the Pearl
project. “The Qatari government has shown
tremendous vision and leadership in recognising
the potential of its reserves and seeking to
diversify its gas revenues through a broad range
of products. In terms of LNG they’ve strategically
placed themselves in all major gas markets. The
pace of development for this project has been
notable when you consider that we fi rst began
talks in mid-2001. There has been tremendous
commitment from both sides and we are pulling
together an extremely large and complex project
that touches on the full breadth of our core
technological skills.”
This rapid commercialisation will undoubtedly
place demands on the state’s small population, but
Shell is playing its part by investing in the training
of the Qatari population. “Over the next few years,
Qatar will achieve a higher income-per-capita than
any other country,” says Brown. “They are making
enormous investments in plants and equipment
but the sheer number of people they will require to
support this growth is very high.”
A programme of ‘Qatarisation’ is being put in place
to ensure that the local population can benefi t from
this explosion in wealth. Shell is actively trying
to increase the number of Qatari nationals in its
workforce and in 2005 they made their intentions
clear by opening up a facility at the new Science
& Technology Park in Doha in a bid to equip locals
with the skills required to excel within the industry.
“We want to be the absolute leaders in the
Qatarisation process,” concludes Brown. “We’ve
already set up a process of recruiting Qataris to
work on Pearl GTL, and by engaging in activities in
broader society and improving our footprint here we
are creating long-term value. This is an important
part of our offering to the people of Qatar.”
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UPDATE
TECHNOLOGY WINS AT EI AWARDS
In what could be called the Oscars
of the petroleum industry, the Mars
Pipeline Repair project won the
prestigious Energy Institute Award
for Technology at November’s awards
ceremony in London, one of three
accolades scooped by Shell.
CHAMPION WEST RECOGNISED FOR EXCELLENCE IN PROJECT INTEGRATION
Brunei Shell Petroleum’s
Champion West project, hailed as
a front-runner not only in Shell,
but also in the oil and gas industry
in the application of smart wells,
has received one of the IPTC
Excellence in Project Integration
Awards.
The International Petroleum
Technology Conference (IPTC)
was a three-day conference and
exhibition, held at the Dubai World
Trade Centre from 4 December.
Champion West was one of five
projects to be recognised during
the awards banquet held during
the event.
UPDATE
Technical Offshore Manager Mike
Coyne received the award from
former England rugby captain
Will Carling on behalf of the Mars
team. He claimed that he had all
but given up on the project being
recognised after it was placed in the
In a letter from Ibrahim Abou-
Sayed, the 2007 IPTC Awards
Committee Chairman, he said,
“In naming your company as
recipient of a 2007 IPTC Excellence
in Project Integration Award,
the IPTC Awards Committee
recognises your company’s
project team as one that
made significant and unique
achievements in managing and
directing an integrated project
from discovery to delivery.”
Now in its second year, IPTC is
becoming a leading oil and gas
conference and exhibition in the
eastern hemisphere, drawing
Technology category rather than the
expected Innovation group. “They had
announced the Innovation section
first, and we were not even named,
so I was worried,” said Coyne. “The
Technology section came up about
fifteen minutes later, so it was a
big shock when we won a totally
different category.”
The judges awarded the honour in
recognition of the company’s dramatic
recovery of the Mars platform and its
infrastructure following Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita in 2005. The
technologically complex recovery
included organising an on-site
multinational workforce of more than
500 people per day, communicating in
three languages, working around the
clock and recording more than one
attendees from Europe, Africa,
the Middle East, Russia, Asia
Pacific, the United States and
elsewhere. IPTC gives delegates
million man-hours without serious
incident. The project has garnered
awards from industry associations
around the world.
John Hollowell, VP Production –
Europe, presented the Safety Award
section to the company’s Sakhalin
team, while former Group Chief
Petroleum Engineer Iain Percival
took the award for Outstanding
Individual Achievement. The institute
acclaimed his work mentoring a
number of young professionals, both
in Shell and other organisations,
spending time with students and
faculty from two universities in
Aberdeen and visiting schools in his
home area of the north of Scotland.
Iain retired from Shell in 2006 after
33 years of service.
exposure to regional gas and
oil providers, regional energy
ministers, and international
executives.

ORMEN LANGE ON LINE
September saw the Ormen Lange
venture in Norway produce its first
gas, six months ahead of schedule
and on budget. Project Director
Tom Røtjer joined Norway’s
King Harald in opening the first
well, calling the occasion “the
beginning of the beginning.”
The project represents a feat of
unprecedented innovation; the
Langeled pipeline is the world’s
longest subsea gas pipeline, running
1,200 kilometres from Nyhamna,
Norway, to Easington in the UK.
Two million tonnes of steel and
concrete make up the pipe’s 96,000
individually shaped sections. Divers
lived underwater for 48 hours at a
time in a specially designed habitat
to ensure the pipe pieces could be
laid with such precision that they
could be welded together without a
connecting joint.
Expected to produce 20% of the
UK’s total gas consumption for the
next 40 years, Ormen Lange has a
production capacity of 10 million
standard cubic metres a day.
“The fact that Norway is helping
fill the gap in British domestic gas
production is really critical. This
represents a reliable long-term
source piped directly to the UK. As
a Briton with long associations with
Norway, I am very proud of Ormen
Lange,” said Managing Director of
Norske Shell, David Loughman.
GREEN LIGHT FOR GREEN LIGHTS
New platform lighting that lessens
the impact on migrating birds by a
factor of ten has gone on trial in The
Netherlands.
Twice a year, around 60 million birds
cross the North Sea, with around
six million having their journeys
jeopardised by the high-intensity
lighting traditionally used on rigs.
Shell has been researching the
migration patterns since 1992
at North Sea platforms operated
by Dutch company NAM, a 50/50
joint venture between Shell and
ExxonMobil (see report in Changes,
January 2005). The conclusion was
that white light attracted 80% of birds
towards the platform, while other
colours caused less distraction.
Armed with this information, NAM
approached Philips in a bid to
find a workable solution. Philips’
research produced green lighting
which creates less distraction for
birds while satisfying the health and
safety needs of workers.
Most of the floodlights on platform
L15 have been retrofitted with a
mixture of new TL and HID lamps
which radiate only part of the
spectrum. Both the number of
distracted birds and the health and
safety of workers is being monitored.
If the results are positive, the new
lighting will be marketed in 2008.
11

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SEISMIC
REPORT
BLOCKS IN GULF OF MEXICO
A clearer vision
>
Sea bed
Source
SEISMIC
REPORT
Signal bypasses
salt layer
In October, the prestigious newsletter Oil
Daily praised the way that Shell “blew
competitors out of the water” to win
exploration rights for 69 blocks in the Gulf
of Mexico lease sales. Many of the blocks
Shell bid for had never been drilled – largely
because the exploration targets are both
very deep and lie below large bodies of salt
– so the exploration risks were high.
When asked what gave Shell the confi dence
to take this very expensive step into the
Salt layer
Deep reservoir
Distorted signal
unknown, Dirk Smit, Technical Manager for
Exploration Research and Novel Technology,
based in Rijswijk, The Netherlands, replies
emphatically: “The development and
application of new seismic acquisition and
processing techniques played a big role. The
Gulf of Mexico is a very diffi cult environment
for seismic.”
Developing new ways to ‘see’ below salt
layers in order to analyse deep reservoir
targets presents great technical challenges.
> NEW ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING
TECHNIQUES HELP EVALUATE PROSPECTS
> SHELL WINS EXPLORATION RIGHTS TO 69
Shell emerged as a clear winner in the latest Gulf of Mexico lease sales. One of the secrets of
its success lay in the application of new seismic acquisition and reprocessing techniques.
EP Technology explores these new ways of ‘seeing’ deep targets hidden below salt
Illustration shows typical set up for wide azimuth seismic surveying
Receivers in
towed streamers
pick up signal
For a start, salt acts as a distorting lens for
seismic waves, and the diffi culties of imaging
below salt are compounded when reservoir
targets lie between three to four kilometres
below the seafl oor. “The scattering effects
inherent in the propagation of seismic
waves through to deep targets, as well as
the scattering that occurs when seismic
waves travel through highly irregular salt
bodies, means that conventional seismic
techniques are not able to illuminate deep
structures that lie below salt,” explains Smit.

“The Gulf of Mexico lease sale highlighted
the importance of building on Shell’s long
tradition of innovation to improve seismic
imaging in deep reservoirs below salt.”
TEAM EFFORT
Overcoming the technical diffi culties
has been a massive project involving
researchers, as well as geologists and
geophysicists, working in the business and
technical units. Preparation for the 2007
lease sale began several years earlier when
Shell invested in a multi-year regional,
proprietary seismic reprocessing project to
improve the imaging in the subsalt Miocene
and Palaeogene structures in the Central
Gulf of Mexico area. In essence, the problem
boiled down to designing better ways to
acquire the seismic data, and developing
more effective ways of processing them.
“To get better or more optimal illumination
below the salt, you fi rst need to acquire more
data, and data that is optimally positioned to
penetrate below very deep salt bodies,” Smit
notes. “We developed new algorithms to
allow us to extract the maximum amount of
data. We worked very hard and collaborated
with different business units to achieve
our goals, with the availability of greater
computing power at an affordable cost also
making it possible.”
ACQUISITION IMPROVEMENTS
On the acquisition front, Shell researchers
looked at ways to improve the acquisition
of wide azimuth seismic (see text box) and
worked closely with the seismic contractor
Western Geco, to develop a very effi cient
acquisition design. An agreement between
the two companies meant that Western Geco
was able to use Shell’s acquisition design
to shoot a speculative seismic survey over
blocks offered for lease, and then process
the data for sale to other companies.
This made it possible for Shell to gather
a richer data set over a larger area, at
acceptable costs and within a relatively
short time frame. Taking this data, Shell
was able to apply its own seismic imaging
technology to interpret the results ahead of
the lease sale.
Crucial to that interpretation was the use
of new algorithms developed by Shell and
the availability of increased computing
power to process the larger amounts of
data generated by wide angle seismic and to
extract more information from them.
“Thanks to our new algorithms, which
we have been developing over the past
few years, we are able to calculate the
propagation and refl ection of the seismic
energy to and from the subsurface much
more accurately than in the past,” explains
Smit. “Our new processing techniques
exploit the full seismic wave form and hence
contain more precise information about
features such as the location and the extent
of the salt. It all adds up to give us a clearer
picture of the structures and geology in the
deep reservoirs below the salt.”
Because reprocessing the entire data set
in order to apply the new algorithms was
too expensive, the team concentrated on
reprocessing data over areas where the
greatest improvements were needed. “We
were confi dent that by using our own suite
WIDE AZIMUTH SEISMIC: HOW IT WORKS
In conventional seismic acquisition, the seismic
source and the towed streamers that incorporate the
receivers used to collect the data are located on the
same boat. By contrast, in wide azimuth seismic, the
source and receivers are carried on separate boats
(see main illustration). This makes it possible to shoot
at various angles – or azimuths – below the salt.
To get better or more optimal illumination below
the salt, you need to acquire more data. “It is
very diffi cult to get seismic energy below the salt
because of the way it scatters,” explains
Dirk Smit. “But the chances of improving the
amount of energy that comes back from below the
salt are greatly increased by illuminating along
of processing technologies to ‘high grade’
data in the more diffi cult areas would give
us the edge,” says Smit.
GLOBAL ADVANTAGES
The new acquisition and processing
techniques also show great potential
for enhancing exploration in other deep
reservoir settings or in regions where
subtle geological features overlain
by layers of volcanic rocks or hard
limestones are likely to cause seismic
waves to scatter. “As soon as you are
looking at deep exploration targets,
you are faced with the problem of how
to deal with a very strongly scattering
overburden,” Smit explains. “These
conditions occur in many areas. When
you consider that most of the conventional
targets – which are at relatively shallow
depths – have been found, it’s easy to
see how these new acquisition and
processing technologies will help open
up a whole new spectrum of exploration
opportunities.”
different angles. Techniques such as wide
azimuth seismic help us to do this, and when
combined with better processing techniques
and new algorithms that allow us to process all
the extra data we collect with wide azimuth
surveys, we are able to create clearer images
below the salt.”
13

14
PROJECT
REPORT
Thinking
ahead
PROJECT
REPORT
Bonga’s Millennium ROV gets ready for action
> INTERVENTION PHILOSOPHY REDUCES
DOWN TIME
> BESPOKE VESSEL ENABLES RAPID RESPONSE
TIMES
> PROJECT TAILORED TO MEET UNIQUE OPERATING
CONDITIONS

Subsea repairs can be expensive, time consuming and complex, but with expert forward
planning, Shell engineers are meeting these challenges head on
Drawing on decades of experience
from operations around the world helps
Shell accurately anticipate and predict a
project’s technical support needs. Using
this to embed the necessary technology,
equipment and procedures during the
early stages of development can result in
signifi cant savings in time and cost, and
keeps HSE risks to a minimum.
Essentially, subsea oil and gas fi elds are
designed for minimum intervention from
the outset. The capability to drill wells and
thereafter install the equipment in deep
water is a technological marvel in its own
right – with Shell acknowledged as a world
leader in the fi eld – but once they are in
place, it’s a long way down should you
need to perform even a minor repair. And if
something does go wrong, you need to be
able to fi x it quickly, effi ciently and safely.
QUICK INTERVENTION
To address these issues, Shell has
adopted a proactive intervention
philosophy where technical solutions to
possible problems are a key part of the
forward planning. This philosophy of
having equipment and solutions readily
available to meet predicted needs before
they occur is already proving highly
effective. It is also changing the way Shell
projects are set up.
One very good example of this effective
philosophy can be found at the Bonga
project in Nigeria, where advance
preparations enabled the fast delivery
of interventions, eliminating the need for
costly rig mobilisations, and ensuring the
rapid ramp-up of the facility’s production.
Bonga is an impressive project. Producing
fi rst oil in November 2005, it lies 120
kilometres off the Niger Delta, standing in
a water depth of more than 1,000 metres
and covering 60 square kilometres.
Its Floating Production, Storage and
Offl oading vessel (FPSO) is one of the
world’s largest at more than 300 metres
long and 50 metres wide. The project also
includes “Stella”, the world’s largest and
most technologically advanced deepwater
Single Point Mooring buoy.
As operating conditions in West Africa
are quite different from those at Shell’s
operations in, for example, the Gulf of
Mexico or the North Sea, there cannot be a
‘one size fi ts all’ approach to intervention.
The intervention programme for Bonga
was tailored to meet the project’s own
specifi c needs. “Our initial intervention
philosophy at the early stages of the
development of Bonga followed the normal
industry practice, which consists of routine
intervention limited to minimal inspection
tasks, with signifi cant intervention only
in response to equipment malfunction,”
says Andy Reeves, Head of Subsea and
Well Intervention at Shell Nigeria. “We
soon realised, however, that because of
the remote location and limited availability
of intervention capability in the area, we
would have to take steps to ensure that the
necessary equipment would be available
when required.”
ONE STEP FURTHER FOR BONGA
Taking learnings from past experiences,
Shell decided to use elements of the
intervention programme designed for
Malampaya (offshore Philippines), and
apply intelligent adaptations to suit local
conditions. At Malampaya, maintenance and
repair operations are performed from a fi eld
support vessel (FSV) equipped with a remotely
operated vehicle (ROV). Essentially a methanol
supply vessel, the FSV used at Malampaya is
only equipped with the ROV when required.
At Bonga, engineers saw the need to take
this one step further, with a dedicated FSV,
permanently fi tted with a purpose-designed
ROV, a piece of forward planning which has
proved to be very valuable.
MINIMUM MAINTENANCE
Reeves goes on to say: “As there had been
a delay in the fi eld start-up at Bonga, it was
critical to ensure the continuity of production
during commissioning, start-up and operations
in the run-up to fi rst oil. Shell’s subsea
equipment is designed to be inherently
reliable, requiring a minimum of repair and
maintenance. However, at Bonga the equipment
had lain dormant in the subsurface for some
time, leading to a possibility of technical
complications.
“We also needed to ensure that we could deal
with problems like well completion debris
causing choke blockage, while reducing
the down time associated with waiting for a
support vessel to be equipped, or called from
somewhere else. It might take you a minimum
of four or fi ve days to get a boat into port, pick
up the ROV and get it mobilised. Keeping the
well shut down for just fi ve days can cost an
awful lot of money.
“This was why, in the case of Bonga, we elected
to have a FSV with its own ROV in place. This
meant identifying the potential activities and
defi ning the capabilities needed from the
15

16
Clockwise, from above: Fibre optic links allow
extremely high quality video images from below the
surface; Tree interface cap is used to remotely open
full bore isolation valves; The Bourbon Emerald is
equipped with the 225hp Millennium 25 ROV; Specially
developed skids are fitted to the ROV, allowing remote
full bore isolation valve skid testing
equipment – basically using our worldwide
experience to predict what could go wrong,
and having an appropriate response ready
when it did.
“We identifi ed the key requirements at
Bonga to be routine inspection, control
module, choke trim, hydraulic fl ying lead
(HFL) replacement and valve movement
or override. The FSV can also be deployed
in construction and other infi eld
development tasks during the expansion
phase of the project.”
VALUABLE SUPPORT
The result was the commissioning of the
4,200-ton Bourbon Emerald. Originally
built in 2004 as a North Sea supply vessel,
the ship was upgraded with advanced
positioning and communications equipment,
a 12-ton and a 100-ton crane, both capable
of deploying loads to 1,500 metres, and
a helideck rated for large helicopters. It
provides accommodation for up to 50 people
and has a free deck area of 640 square
metres (6,900 square feet). The ROV is
a 225hp Millennium Plus model built by
Oceaneering International. It features twin
manipulators and has a fi bre-optic umbilical
and tether.
The apparent inversion of priorities results
in plenty of added value, according to
Reeves. “Instead of being a supply vessel
that is occasionally kitted out for repair and
maintenance tasks, the Bourbon Emerald
is a dedicated maintenance and repair
vessel that can also be used for other tasks.”
Reeves underlines that in addition to the cost
and down time savings provided by the quick
and immediate response that the vessel
provides, its presence also serves to reduce
any risks to the environment.
“The HSE considerations on a subsea
project are quite different from standard
surface installations, simply because of
their location,” says Reeves. “With subsea
installations, the safety risks to people
are usually not that large in the sense
that they tend to be remote from the
surface facility. For example, should
a blow-out occur there is little risk of
personal injury, but there is a pollution
risk. While all of our subsea equipment
is designed to minimise the risk of
leakage into the environment, in the case
of a malfunction, decreasing our reaction
time can make all the difference.”
ARSENAL OF KNOWLEDGE
“The water injection wells on Bonga
were fi tted with full-bore isolation valves
downhole. These valves are opened
by pressurising and depressurising
the well causing them to ratchet open.
The pressurisation is usually done by
the drilling rig, which, in this case, had
already left Bonga. The subsea project
team were asked to come up with a
way to undertake the operation using a
modifi ed ROV.

“Using ‘out of the box’ thinking and
drawing on Shell expertise from around
the world, the team, working closely
with contractors and colleagues from
Houston and Aberdeen, developed
a suite of equipment that was
successfully deployed to do the job,
minimising the delay and at a fraction
of the cost of recalling the rig,” Reeves
concludes.
Now, with experience at Bonga having
proven the success of the advance
intervention planning philosophy,
Shell engineers have added yet
another chapter to the large arsenal
of knowledge that underpins the
company’s position as a technological
leader in subsea and deepwater. This
will ensure that the increased effi ciency
and the fi nancial savings achieved at
Bonga can be applied to appropriate
existing projects, and be integrated into
the design of projects yet to come.
PHILOSOPHY PROVES ITS WORTH AT BONGA
Since fi rst oil in November 2005 the level of subsea
intervention required at Bonga, in Nigeria, has been
less than anticipated.
However with the procedures and resources in place
to rapidly respond to any problems, the Bourbon
Emerald (pictured) has intervened quickly to replace
two blocked chokes and investigate problems
around two leaking HFLs, replacing one and
repairing the other.
This has resulted in numerous days of down time being
saved, with the full value of the intervention philosophy
to be further realised over the coming years.
17

18
TECHNOLOGY
REPORT
Reliable
sources
TECHNOLOGY
REPORT
> REDUCING AND MANAGING AMOUNTS OF
PRODUCED WATER
> USING WATER FOR ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY
METHODS
> TREATING PRODUCED WATER FOR USE IN
FARMING

Successfully managing produced water is one of our industry’s key challenges. But water
should not be the enemy. If used effectively, it can help boost production and bring benefi ts to
the wider communities
The amount of water produced in an oil
fi eld can range from between two to ten
times the daily oil production, creating
as much as 210 million barrels of water
worldwide each day. As disposing of this
unwanted water can cost more than $125
million daily, it’s easy to see why Shell
aims to minimise expenditure while
disposing of produced water in
an environmentally and socially
responsible way.
That said, successful water management
is about much more than disposing
of dirty water as cost effectively as
possible. Produced water can also
be a valuable commodity, playing an
important role in boosting production
and helping to create modern
biofuels. What’s more, successful
water management has clear social
benefi ts. Water politics are high on the
international agenda and industry must
play its part by fi nding more advanced
ways of recycling and reusing produced
water rather than simply disposing of it.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
Shell’s water management capability
has its roots in the company’s profound
understanding of its reservoirs, which
enables it to minimise water production
according to the settings of each fi eld. A
‘Water to Value’ team was created to help
manage the amount of produced water in
its wells and to fi nd better recycling and
disposal methods.
“Simply put, water management looks
at the supply and demand of water,”
says Zara Khatib, who has led the Water
to Value team for several years, and is
internationally recognised as a technical
expert in water injection and produced
water management.
According to Khatib, the supply and
demand of water is important in all
countries, regardless of whether they
produce oil, as all companies need water
for various industrial processes. “When
water is produced during oil recovery, we
can reuse it elsewhere where they might
need water to inject into wells to boost
recovery or for other industrial uses. Of
course, reusing the water also helps to
reduce the amount we have to dispose of,
and it also reduces the energy needed in
the production process – and therefore
the associated emissions.”
One example of sound water management
can be found in the Middle East, where some
fi elds consume large amounts of water
in the production process, while others
produce excess water from natural
water aquifi ers.
AVOIDING LEAKS
Excess water that cannot be used for water
fl ooding has to be recycled, re-injected
into depleted reservoirs or disposed of in
another environmentally sound way. One
groundbreaking method applied in Oman
is the use of reeds to purify dirty produced
water. Bacteria in the roots of the plants help
to neutralise impurities, so that the water
can then be used for re-injection, irrigation
or for certain industrial or domestic uses.
The reeds could, in turn, potentially be used
to create biofuel. “It creates its own value
chain,” Khatib says.
Water fl ooding – injecting water to boost
oil recovery – is another technique that is
proving to be a big business. Shell produces
about 750,000 barrels of oil per day from
50 operated water fl oods. The scope of the
water fl ooding is increasing and unlocking
a potential resource of approximately six
billion barrels.
CASE
STUDY
19

20
>
WATER WORKS
Bacteria and solid
matter removal
Water presses oil
to the producing well
Fracture prediction and modelling
techniques help to determine exactly how
and where to inject water into oil reservoirs
to achieve the best results, so that areas
with fractures (that would enable the water
to bypass the oil and go straight back into
the well and to the surface) can be avoided.
Shell uses proprietary simulation and
modelling techniques for this purpose to
provide refi ned models which maximise the
effi ciency of water injection.
KEEPING AN EYE ON IT
Monitoring fl uid movements during water
injection is key for successful production.
Water injection
Water supply
Oil and
water
Water to Value: an artist’s impression shows ways in which Shell is putting produced water to good use
Oil and
(less)
water
For this reason, Shell uses advanced data
acquisition techniques that help to survey
the water fl ood schemes and ensure that the
maximum amount of oil is recovered.
Seismic technology can ‘see’ where the
water is so that it can be optimally managed,
rather like an X-ray uncovers health
problems in humans. Shell also applies
4D seismic surveys to accurately monitor
the movement of the waste front to ensure
optimal sweep effectiveness, and recover
the maximum amount of oil.
These monitoring technologies allow Shell to
place the injectors more effi ciently and help
Water
Industry Domestic supply
Water is split into hydrocarbons
and water containing salt
Swellable elastomer fitted around well
tube expands when in contact with water,
reducing the amount of water pumped up
to reduce development costs. At the Draugen
fi eld in Norway, 4D seismic responses
enabled engineers to identify and assess
the position of the waterfront in the injection
project and to locate bypassed oil they would
otherwise have missed.
LIKE A SPONGE
Waterfl ooding is a common technique
applied in the second phase of oil recovery
to enhance extraction rates. If not correctly
managed, waterfl ooding can leave
signifi cant volumes of oil behind or could
result in excessive volumes of produced
water that has to be treated at the surface

Irrigation
‘greening the desert’
Clear water
Reeds
‘Smart wells’ monitor temperature,
seismic activity, pressure and
produced volume
and re-injected into deep disposal
reservoirs, thus increasing the overall
production costs.
Shell uses a range of cost-cutting solutions
to minimise the volume of water fl owing
into the borehole. Swellable elastomers
are one of the most widely used and
effective technologies. These are fi tted
around the well tubes and expand like a
sponge in the presence of water, shutting
that zone so that the water infl ux is
stopped. “We used to have about seven
times more water than oil coming out in
one particular fi eld in Oman. By applying
Reeds used as
biomass
Roots of reeds purify water further
‘Smart wells’ can even
shut off or open
different sections
Natural water
aquifer
Biofuel
Bacteria and solid
matter removal
Deep well
disposal
this technology we reduced the amount of
produced water by more than half, while
simultaneously achieving a threefold
increase in oil production,” Khatib explains.
Going forward, Shell will continue to carefully
monitor reservoir conditions and the effect of
water injection throughout the entire life cycle
of its fi elds. It will continue to innovate and
fi nd ways to optimise its production, always
ensuring that the impact on the environment
remains as small as possible. As Khatib
concludes, “We’ll do this by investing in future
technologies, work methodologies and our
people capabilities.”
FORCE OF NATURE
Zara Khatib has always believed in the power
and importance of water. After completing her
Ph.D. in engineering at the University of Wales,
Khatib worked as a lecturer at the University of
Houston for two years, after which she joined
Shell in 1984 as a reservoir engineer. She has
worked in many upstream disciplines, but water
was always part of her job.
“Water is important, because as human
beings we need water more than oil,” she
says. “We cannot drink oil to survive.” As the
years have gone by, she has become more and
more interested in the environmental side of
water and is involved in various international
committees as a water expert.
Khatib also serves as a member of the
G8-Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Committee, where she is helping to develop
recommendations for the G8+5 in Japan 2008
and she is on the World Energy Council’s Clean
Fossil Fuel Systems Committee, which is looking
at future clean fossil fuels such as Gas to Liquid
and Coal to Liquid, with carbon capture and
handling solutions to reduce CO 2 emissions. She
also serves as a member on the UN-Sigma Xi
on Climate Change, and the SPE Committee on
Carbon Capture and Storage.
21

22
REGION
REPORT
One billion
and counting!
REGION
REPORT

Shell hit a major milestone at the end of last year, exceeding
the equivalent of one billion barrels from its subsea
ventures in the Gulf of Mexico. Operating in this deepwater
environment has given the company knowledge that is being
transferred to developments around the world
>
The Cognac production platform has been developing oil and gas since 1978
When Shell drilled and completed the
Tahoe well back in 1994, subsea wells
were still in their infancy. In the 13 years
that have followed, Shell has operated and
produced from a further 56 subsea wells
over 20 separate developments, improving
performance and effi ciency each time.
“We set out a goal of proving our subsea
technology – developing the hardware
and the capabilities over the years,”
says Subsea Surveillance Manager
Blake Hebert. “We wanted to prove we
could operate and produce subsea, both
gas fi elds and oil developments with
challenging fl uid properties.”
INCREASING KNOWLEDGE
Shell’s fi rst deepwater ventures in the Gulf
of Mexico were fraught with challenges, not
least a lack of suitable staff, high costs and
the usual problems encountered from using
fl edgling technologies.
Through increased knowledge and a drive
to standardise operations, each phase
has gone into operation faster and more
cost-effectively than its predecessor.
Production of platform trees takes
around half the time of those in the early
platforms, due to a standardised design
that is lighter and smaller. This modular
approach can be directly translated into
a reduced time to fi rst oil. For example,
the Europa development took fi ve-and-ahalf
years from the discovery well being
drilled to production starting at the end
of January 2000. By contrast, Angus was
discovered in August 1997 but took just
two years to fi rst oil. Hebert explains that
the quest to fi nd new prospects in the area
23

24
SHELL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
Shell has been operating in the Gulf of Mexico for over 50 years, breaking numerous records in the bid to
commercially develop more fields and deliver greater value for shareholders. Here are just a few of the
highlights from the subsea division:
1988 Bullwinkle becomes the world’s tallest conventional fixed platfrom, in 410 metres of water.
1994 Installed in 870 metres of water, the Auger TLP sets a GoM depth record.
1996 Mars TLP sets a world depth record, installed in 900 metres of water.
1997 Ram Powell TLP goes deeper still, at 980 metres.
1998 The Ursa TLP begins production, operating in 1,150 metres of water.
2001 Brutus TLP installed in 910 metres.
2003 Innovative Na Kika installation, a partnership with BP, starts production.
2006 Shell announces the Perdido regional development host. At 2,440 metres of water it will be
the deepest spar production facility in the world.
is pushing the team deeper and deeper,
bringing a whole new range of problems to
be overcome.
“Deeper water means more hydrostatic
pressure,” he says. “New technology is
allowing us to lift and recover this oil. Over
the years we have seen a number of fi rsts
in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1997, we had Mensa
which, at 1,620 metres, was the deepest
operation of its time. At 68 miles it also
had the world’s longest tieback, although
this has since been surpassed by Ormen
Lange, in Norway. Shell has been one of
the fi rst to incorporate its learnings into the
designs. With continuous feedback we are
able to improve operational and engineering
practices.”
Knowledge is shared throughout Shell
operations worldwide. “The EPT subsea and
pipelines project group executes pipelines
worldwide,” Hebert continues. “They do most
projects, in Asia, Nigeria and here in the
Americas. We also have monthly meetings
where we share information, set common
goals and yearly subsea discipline plans.”
GOING DEEPER
Most recently, Shell’s Deepwater Services
provided design, engineering and project
management services for the ultradeep Na
Kika development, handing over operation
to BP. It consists of six subsea production
systems, servicing satellite fi elds tied back
to a centrally located fl oating production
facility, an industry fi rst for the deepwater
Gulf of Mexico. The six Na Kika fi elds are
located in water depths ranging from 1,770
to 2,320 metres. Na Kika established many
industry fi rsts and records, including the
fi rst use of pipe-in-pipe risers, the fi rst gas
lift risers in the area, the largest pipein-pipe
fl owline in the Gulf and the fi rst
electrically heated risers and fl owlines.
The latest challenge is Perdido. Situated in
the deep waters of the north-western Gulf
of Mexico, approval was given to develop
the area last October. The project will see
three fi elds developed through the Perdido
regional host. These will feature a common
processing hub, which incorporates drilling
capability and functionality to gather, process
and export production within a 30-mile
radius of the facility. Moored at in almost
three kilometres of water, it will be the
deepest spar production facility in the world,
capable of handling 130,000 boe/d when
production starts at the turn of the decade.
Perdido represents the fi rst commercial
production from this area of the Gulf of
Mexico and with the ultra deepwater
environment comes specifi c challenges,

SHELL’S SUBSEA ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE
GULF OF MEXICO INCLUDE
> OVER A BILLION BARRELS EQUIVALENT
PRODUCED IN 13 YEARS
> CONSTANTLY PUSHING THE ENGINEERING
ENVELOPE
> NEW PROJECTS SET TO CREATE FURTHER
RECORDS
higher costs and lower reserves per well.
Previously a project like Perdido would not
have been economically viable, but Shell’s
technology and knowledge has changed that.
“We couldn’t attempt this project without
the technology and minds to take it to the
next level,” says Perdido Project Manager
Dale Snyder. “Perdido has low-energy
reservoirs and the most critical technology
in this project is the subsea boosting
system. With the low temperatures and
pressure we have to separate liquids
>
and gas at the seafl oor and then pump
it to the surface. Without developing the
technology to do this, we simply couldn’t
reliably produce the fi elds. Additionally,
on a spar you are limited to how much
payload and how many riser pipes
you can suspend. All of the wells use
subsea trees, all of the production is
combined at the seafl oor and the subsea
boosting system allows us to use fewer
riser pipes to connect the wells to the
platform. The platform drilling rig will
drill, complete and workover the subsea
Looking to the future: Shell’s team are working hard to get Perdido up and running by the turn of the decade
wells directly under the spar by employing
surface blow-out preventers, another
valuable technology. A critical feature of
our spar design is the lightweight topsides
concept. Even though our topsides have
the functionality of much bigger spars,
such as Holstein, we can lift our topsides
in one action, lowering the offshore risk
and safety exposure. Having considerably
lower topsides weight minimises the size
and complexity of the spar, the construction
time in the yards and offshore, our safety
exposure and our costs.”
25

26
TECHNOLOGY
REPORT
Floating workshop
Working in situ increases productivity
by up to 80%
The Offshore Access System (OAS)
provides a safe, reliable and cost-effective solution for
accommodating and transferring personnel offshore
OAS is installed on the
Smit Kamara
Advantages of fl oating workshop
TECHNOLOGY
REPORT
Living area
Smit Kamara features crew bedding
Control room
The operator in the control
room guides the OAS into place
using video monitoring and
navigation aids
Safety
• Dynamic positioning system keeps
the walkway stable
• Automatic disconnection in case
of emergencies
Connecting the OAS with an offshore platform
Installed on a moving
vessel, the OAS connects with
the rigid platform via an
extendable gangway and a
hook-up device
The entire procedure takes just a few minutes, after which the
crew can walk over the gangway from the vessel to the platform
In the ‘floating’ mode the system can
operate in weather conditions with wave
heights of up to 2.5 metres significant

Walk to work
Accessing offshore platforms can be an expensive and hazardous business. With an
increasing number of Normally Unattended Installations (NUIs) to be serviced, the problem
is growing, which is why Shell has been at the forefront of developing a safer, more
cost-effective method of transferring personnel to these platforms
For decades, helicopters have been the
preferred mode for moving personnel to
offshore platforms but, as we know, these
are expensive and at the mercy of weather
conditions. What’s more, if engineers have
to send work back to the shore it inevitably
proves to be an expensive and timeconsuming
process. This has now changed
with the introduction of the new Offshore
Access System (OAS).
Put simply, an OAS is a piece of technology
that can be fi tted to vessels, allowing them
to connect with platforms and providing
a safe walkway upon which personnel
and equipment can be transferred. More
signifi cantly, using OAS allows the vessel
to be fully utilised – not only as a shuttle
service, but as a fully equipped workshop
and accommodation quarters. The Energy
Institute awarded OAS its innovation award
last year, one of numerous accolades the
technology has received.
An OAS uses heave-compensated
technology to connect the moving vessel
with a rigid platform in wave heights of up to
2.5 metres signifi cant. The pathway connects
to a docking pole installed on the offshore
structure and the entire procedure takes
just a few minutes, after which the crew can
walk over the gangway from the ship to the
installation.
The pathway is guided into place remotely
by an operator in the OAS control room,
who positions it in place using video
monitoring and a host of navigation aids
including GPS, laser targeting and tautwire
reference systems. Once connected, the
OAS is switched to “fl oating” mode, where
the dynamic positioning system maintains
the position and heading of the vessel and
ensures the walkway holds its position. In
case of an emergency, the disconnection is
carried out automatically and safely by the
OAS control system, which maintains the
bridge at a constant height.
Safety may have been a major driver behind
the development of OAS, but a welcome
side benefi t is the increased productivity
it provides. Shell’s fi rst OAS-equipped
vessel, the Smit Kamara, features fi rstclass
facilities and 25 beds. Without the
requirement of a lengthy helicopter ride at
the beginning of each day and the ability to
work in situ rather than sending work back
> PRODUCTIVITY ON NUIS INCREASED BY
UP TO 80%
> HELICOPTER USAGE VIRTUALLY ELIMINATED
> OFFSHORE WORK CAN BE CARRIED OUT IN SITU
> SAFETY RISK TO NUI CREWS CONSIDERABLY
REDUCED
to shore, productivity of crews working on
the NUIs can increase by up to 80%.
“Having NUIs to operate and maintain meant
that there was always the need to use
helicopters or boats to access the platform,”
explains Chris Wijngaarden, Shell’s Marine
Advisor for Tankers. “Both methods have
the disadvantage of limited time on location
as there are no options to have an overnight
stay on board the platform.
“For the larger jobs required at certain
points during the life of these platforms,
we could put an accommodation support
unit alongside them. We would use a
jack-up barge to execute such non-routine
maintenance, such as painting and well
servicing, but the cost of an accommodation
support barge is high and availability is low.
For non-routine maintenance activities,
where a relatively large number of workers
have to work at the NUI locations over a
number of days, we now mobilise the Smit
Kamara. If needed, we can also service
more than one location on a day, with the
condition that the locations to be serviced
are in close proximity to each other for
reasons of safety and effi ciency.”
27

28
TECHNICAL
TALK
TECHNICAL
TALK

Finding
answers
EP Technology spoke to Lynda Armstrong to discover how her department helps Shell achieve
top class front end project delivery in ventures around the world
In these increasingly challenging times for the oil industry, the need
to share knowledge has never been more important. But with huge
projects taking place around the world, sharing that expertise and
making sure that the right people are deployed is a diffi cult task.
Shell’s solution is the introduction of EPT (Exploration and Production
Technology) Solutions, a front-end project delivery organisation, with
multi-disciplinary teams staffed with resources from global technical
partners – all providing specialist support and seamless integration
into individual projects.
With this wide scope, Lynda Armstrong is the ideal woman to guide
this increasingly important division. In her own words Armstrong is
a “hands-on sort of person.” Keeping with this approach, she likes to
sit in and observe the projects whenever possible. “I’ve had 30 years
in the business now and the fi rst half of that was hands-on,” she
adds. “Even though the technology has progressed, that gives you a
very good grounding for understanding the fundamentals. I think it’s
very important to get a good technical grounding before moving up
to management level. I’d like to think that I still know enough to know
what’s going on and retain a feeling for when things are going right
and when they are not.”
At present, her team employs around 800 technical and support
staff operating around the globe from three key centres – Rijswijk,
Houston and the emerging centre in Bangalore – with two smaller
> VITAL ROLE IN ADDING TO RRR
BY PROVIDING WORLD-CLASS
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS
> BUILDING A CRITICAL MASS OF CAPABILITY
IN OUR CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE
FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
OF PROJECTS
operations in Aberdeen and Doha. The division plays a vital role in
adding to the Reserves Replacement Ratio (RRR), and the growth of
EP, by providing world-class integrated solutions to extract diffi cult
hydrocarbons from the subsurface.
Working in partnership with the regions, integrating knowledge
and processes in cross-discipline teams and leveraging knowledge
globally, the division is focused on a diverse portfolio of the highest
value projects in the company. “Essentially, we are the subsurface
fi eld development plan organisation. Bringing on new projects or
developing the next phase of projects goes through several phases.
Once we’re clear about what the subsurface can deliver and what,
conceptually, is needed to deliver it, then it gets handed over to the
disciplines, who actually plan and build what we develop, so we are
very much the front-end of the project organisation.”
NICHE SKILLS
“Shell operating units (OU) around the world may not have an expert
in biostratigraphy sitting in their organisation, so when they need that
niche skill they come to us. We have small expert groups operating
from a number of centres, which will advise them and work
globally. We basically share our knowledge with the Shell operating
companies around the world, and these are often joint ventures with
governments or other internationally operating companies.
29

30
“With these specialist groups and day-to-day access to the experts
and easy access to R&D, we prefer to tackle the high-end, diffi cult
and complex projects where we can make a big impact,” states
Armstrong emphatically. “For example, we’re moving into doing a
lot of the new generation of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), thermal,
chemical and miscible fl ood projects, which means that they are not
necessarily new fi elds, but they are the next phase of development
of a mature portfolio. We’ve developed them in the primary recovery,
which is the easiest stage and now the technology has caught up
and allows us to move into improved and enhanced oil recovery,”
she explains. “The oil price has also caught up, making it attractive
to undertake the next stage of development, so it’s a very wide and
exciting portfolio.
“We are also deeply involved in the next generation of new projects,
such as integrated gas projects, that can now be developed
profi tably from rocks that were previously considered too tight, or
gas that was too sour, too isolated or remote to be commercial. So I
see for the next generation of projects, where we’ve got pockets of
expertise in thermal, or in tight gas, that we really build that critical
mass of capability in our centres of excellence.”
The deepwater experience gained 10-15 years ago in the Gulf of
Mexico and Nigeria, both successful operations, provided the
foundation of this team. As Armstrong explains: “We realised that
to really make a difference in deepwater, we ought to try and build
our capabilities and focus our expertise in one place, which is why
Houston developed as a deepwater centre. Through that, we learned
what it took to really understand these deepwater fi elds and how
to develop them. We became very successful, to the extent that
many OUs now have the capability to carry out their own deepwater
projects, such as in Nigeria and Brunei. What we learned from
deepwater was not to scatter the experience and expertise too
much around the world. We grow the capability in one place, get
good at it, help the OUs also to become good at it and then move on.
Today’s communications technology obviously helps, but sharing
information is just one thing; having the critical mass of people who
know what to do with that information is another. I think that what
WHO IS LYNDA ARMSTRONG?
In her 30-year Shell career, Lynda
Armstrong has worked in a variety
of assignments around the world,
including positions in hydrocarbon
exploration, production, commercial
and HR, where she worked in
recruitment and international staff
planning. In 2005, she became Vice
President of EPT Solutions, based in
The Netherlands.
Lynda joined Shell in the 1970s as
a seismic interpreter, working in
the North Sea. She then returned to
university, sponsored by the company,
to complete a post-graduate degree in
>
Operations in Oman have benefited from Shell’s integrated approach
we offer is building teams who know how to handle that data. Then,
you start to understand what it needs and it becomes more ‘routine’;
the need to do it in one technology hub is less.”
The organisation has been very successful in delivering what it
set out to do and it has evolved along the way. The portfolio will
go on for years and years and technology will continue to evolve
so, according to Armstrong, there is a long-term future. “I believe
it will always change in response to country needs, the portfolio
and the technology. I’m convinced it will be equally successful in
delivering the next generation of projects, in ever more diffi cult and
challenging locations.”
geophysics. She cites this combination
of the theoretical and practical as
fundamental to her career. Since then,
she has held positions in hydrocarbon
exploration, production, commercial
and human resources.
Most recently, Lynda has been New
Business Development Director in
Shell UK, and Exploration Director
in Petroleum Development in Oman,
returning to EP’s HQ in Rijswijk, The
Netherlands, in 2005 to take up her
current role.
In 2003, Lynda was awarded the Order
of the British Empire (OBE) by the
British government for services to the
oil and gas industry. She is married and
has one daughter.

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Masters of the deep – As the oil industry’s quest for hydrocarbons drives it
further offshore, so the need to preserve nature’s marine mammals becomes
increasingly important. Just like Shell’s seismic technology, whales and
dolphins use sonic detection to navigate their way around the seas. Shell takes
care that its deepwater activities do not impact on marine wildlife, funding
research which not only ensures their safety in the immediate vicinity of
operations but also helps scientists understand more about the migration and
feeding habits of these grand animals.
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EP Technology – No.1 2008
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31

50 YEARS AGO SHELL INVESTED IN THE ATHABASCA OIL SANDS
IN CANADA WITHOUT KNOWING WHEN IT COULD VIABLY
EXTRACT THE OIL.
FIVE DECADES LATER, PRODUCTION FROM THE OIL SANDS
IS MAKING CANADA A GLOBAL PROVIDER OF OIL.
SOMETIMES IT PAYS TO PERSEVERE (AND TO HAVE A LEAP
OF IMAGINATION IN THE FIRST PLACE).
REAL ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR THE REAL WORLD.
WWW.SHELL.COM/REALENERGY