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Title: Production Optimisation For Improved Field Management By Continuous Well Monitoring
Author: Andrew W. Jamieson, Ukedirin J. Abamwa
Source: 2019 North Sea Flow Measurement Workshop
Year Published: 2019
Abstract: This paper aims to promote better management of oil wells and oil fields. Monitoring and measurement of oil well production has always been challenging. Reasonable estimates of well production are essential for day-to-day reporting and production programming. Reservoir engineers need them for many aspects of field management, for example, updating reserve estimates, planning field extensions and deciding when to apply enhanced recovery processes. Well flowrates are required by production chemists to set the correct concentration of injected chemicals such as corrosion or hydrate inhibitors, demulsifiers, among others. These flowrates are also required for effective sand management.However, when confronted by volatile oil prices, demands to cut operating costs, changes in ownership of assets and, indeed, short-sightedness by management in the face of these demands, appropriate monitoring of well production is often neglected. Every now and then spectacular examples of the consequences of such neglect hit the headlines. In 2004 Shell admitted to overestimating its reserves by some 20%, leading to a sharp fall in its share price and litigation entailing huge fines, costs and compensation claims that lasted for years afterward. In the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, initial flowrate estimates varied from the BP figures of 1000-5000 bbl/day to the Flow Rate Technical Groups figure of 62,000 bbl/day. It is evident that not knowing the flowrate was significant in the litigation and costs that followed. But there are far more mundane examples where poor production measurements lead to large revenue losses that are not really noticed.We discuss conventional well test methods and illustrate that they often cannot give accurate estimates of well production. We point out that continuous well monitoring is more and more being recognised as a better alternative. We give examples of the demonstrable benefits such as optimised production, predictive well maintenance and increased revenues.Sadly we concede that despite the clear evidence that continuous monitoring gives significant benefits, there is little apparent active interest from the industry worldwide. We ask why is there such an inconsistency, but we are unable to give good explanations.

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