Oil Production Supply Chain
Conventional methods to extract fossil fuels were developed over the last 100 years. These largely involve transporting heavy equipment to the well site that can provide enough force to push drilling and flow control equipment into wells. All wells inevitably go into decline due to natural pressure declines, corrosion, stuck valves, etc. As more than 70% of the world’s oil and gas production comes from fields over 30 years old, it is crucial for oil and gas companies to reverse declines using a combination of mechanical and chemical approaches that keep production flowing.
Conventional oil and gas production methods require oil and gas companies to coordinate a supply chain that includes much heavy equipment and many laborers. The use of heavy equipment and certain substances is not only costly, but also results in personnel safety and environmental risks that the industry works hard to minimize. In recent decades, as companies have gone into deepwater, Arctic and other extreme and environmentally-sensitive locations, production has become even more challenging and expensive.
Optimizing the Supply Chain
Our technology helps the industry reduce emissions and environmental risks across the supply chain in several ways. First, we built our reputation over ten years ago by helping the industry to optimize and increase the use of deviated wells including horizontal and extended reach wells. Increased use of these wells resulted in many technical, economic and environmental benefits.
As an example, many wells can now be drilled horizontally from a single vertical well. As a result, fewer surface penetrations are required. This reduces environmental impact and surface infrastructure, particularly in offshore settings. In some instances, our contribution to highly-deviated and horizontal drilling has helped avoid the need to build large offshore platforms. This pre-empted the need to dispose them at the end of their lives and all the associated raw material, transportation requirements, fuel consumption, emissions and discharge related to their construction and operation. In addition, we help make it possible to construct extended reach wells underneath and out of sight of environmentally and culturally sensitive locations.
Second, we pre-empt the need for conventional interventions involving many tons of heavy equipment and large teams of workers along with all the fuel consumption, emissions and discharge caused by their transport and operation. By applying large amounts of precision-controlled force in small parts of the well via remote control, we are significantly more reliable and effective than conventional approaches requiring heavy equipment. We therefore help streamline the supply chain, increase its efficiency, contribute to the industry’s objective of rigless and riserless intervention -- and at the same time reduce industry fuel consumption, CO2, particulate, NOx and SOx emissions. In addition, we often replace conventional methods that introduce strong substances into wells and reservoirs and can sometimes replace the use of explosives.
Third, many of our services involve reducing or preventing water related to the production process in maturing wells. This increases oil recovery from maturing reservoirs, extends their economic lives, and has many environmental benefits. |
