Abstract
Reduction of carbon emissions has become a global objective driving both government and private sectors to develop and mature technologies that fit this purpose. This paper will evaluate how deploying rate-controlled production (RCP) Autonomous Inflow Control Devices (AICDs) in a field, with hundreds of wells completed with AICD completion, reduced carbon emissions during prolonged periods of production. The study introduces a workflow that uses a publicly available Greenhouse Gas (GHG) estimator for different field development plans.
The production data of 28 wells from a reservoir in the Sultanate of Oman were analyzed. The RCP AICD is a self-regulated based on the properties of the fluid passing through, which optimises oil production while reducing the production of unwanted fluids. To ensure an accurate comparison, the data underwent extensive pre-processing, and some modelling was conducted. The collected data, including fluid properties, formation characteristics, and operational processes were all used to feed the estimator, which then run for various scenarios with and without AICD cases to predict the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with each operation and treatment involved in the field development.
By calculating these emissions, operators can identify the major sources of emissions and energy consumption and optimize their processes to reach net-zero. The results show that the use of AICDs completion in the wells has resulted in reduced capex and opex including drilling a reduced number of wells (both producers and injectors), less requirement of energy extensive production, surface processes and re-injection of unwanted fluids to achieve the target production rate for the field.
The study's findings revealed that AICDs have significant effects on improving oil production by 217% while reducing total water production by 52%, as well as on the environment. For instance, the use of AICD completions in the field was estimated to reduce carbon intensity, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy consumption by up to 51%, 47%, and 110%, respectively; compared to stand-alone screen (SAS) is installed in the other wells. Also, the finding shows that production operation was a major contributor to GHG emission and energy consumption for non AICD completion scenarios compared to any other operation or process involved in oil production.
This study provides a comprehensive workflow to quantify the impacts of the use of new technologies, especially flow control devices on the reduction of carbon emissions. It also illustrates the significant role of flow control technologies toward net zero targets by achieving less carbon intense oil production.
