Benchmarking Operating Efficiency to Enhance Production From Mature Fields

One key performance indicator in maximizing mature field output is Operating Efficiency, defined as: production sales divided by 'field capacity'. Each operator has their own methodology for determining field ‘capacity’. It is therefore difficult to benchmark operating performance between operators to compare how efficiently similar fields are being operated. Benchmarking Operating Efficiency identifies ‘Best in Class’ achievable performance for fields, and helps to identify new Best Practices. Ziff Energy Group, working with leading Operators (Majors and Independents) has developed a methodology to compare and contrast the Operating Efficiency of disparate operators for similar types of field operations (e.g. mature onshore water floods or mature offshore assets). The ‘maximum production capacity’ calculation methodology uses actual production data plus ‘Deferred Production’ from downtime to arrive at 'Field Capacity'. The frequency of production downtime incidents, and their durations, are used to provide metrics to assess an operator's overall performance in maintaining production and recovering from downtime events. In a recent benchmarking study the Operating Efficiency of 24 fields ranged from a low of 85% to a high of 97%. The value of the deferred production aids in justifying expenditures to improve production reliability. Focused studies within a region/basin using these metrics to guide the analysis are valuable to identify ‘Best Practices’ of the leaders. Operators of mature fields have an ‘improve or abandon’ drive, and therefore should consider benchmarking Operating Efficiency metrics as a Best Practice. This paper will provide insights into the variances between several operations as found in benchmarking studies of field operations in various basins and countries, and quantifies the value lost due to unreliability in production uptime. Operating Efficiency metrics are useful empirical measures for evaluating, and consequently justifying, the costs of increasing reliability.