Abstract
Continual development of multi stacked super giant brown field in Abu Dhabi, over 60 years, has induced high congestion at surface resulting in challenging wellhead placement, rig movement and overall field connectivity. The conventional surface to subsurface approach has led to an increased number of undrillable wells, which impairs future developments and consequently, the ability to meet production targets and manage the field proactively.
This paper proposes an alternative to the surface-subsurface usual development solution that can unlock existing reservoirs potential, while being cost conscious and flexible to cope with business uncertainties and dynamics.
Working towards ensuring future sustainability of a brown field has proven its own complexity in developing additional value with minimal cost. Intensive focus is required on the critical factors that play a key role on brown field investment such as subsurface and surface congestion, HSE (Health, Safety, Environment), aging of facilities and it's replacement plan, and environmental issues. One such key factor is the subsurface and surface congestion, which is especially complicated due to different development schemes for each of the stacked reservoirs based on their API gravity and varying reservoir quality. The Shared Earth Model was established due to the absence of a holistic approach to strategically sustain the expansion in the brown field growth till the end of last oil/gas production drop. It is essential to allow all stakeholders to be exposed and visualize the subsurface data openly to collectively decide on the best way forward for each project investment, focusing in sector-by-sector growth. Another objective is locating surface facilities that are of lesser interest to subsurface development and plan their opportunistic removal (when conflicting with the subsurface interests), which will result in a dramatic decrease in undrillable wells by creating space at surface for the drilling location resulting in higher gain by giving priority to oil/gas reservoirs proposed development pattern. There are also challenges to proof quantitively the subsurface congestion and report the long-term risk collectively, which were addressed while developing this system. Allowing each system to talk to each other and work towards digitalization of the entire system for the full field development could not be achieved without this subsurface data platform.
