IADC/SPE 88025

Well Intervention Management in Oman Fields

Leste O. Aihevba, SPE, Petroleum Development Oman

Copyright 2004, IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition
Introduction
This paper was prepared for presentation at the IADC/SPE Asia Pacific Drilling Technology The North Oman area of PDO (Figure 1) comprises a number
Conference and Exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 13–15 September 2004.
of fields (>25) of different vintages, ranging from those on
This paper was selected for presentation by an IADC/SPE Program Committee following review
of information contained in a proposal submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as
stream less than 5 years to those on stream over 35 years,
presented, have not been reviewed by the International Association of Drilling Contractors or organized into four cluster teams forming OND of PDO
Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as
presented, does not necessarily reflect any position of the International Association of Drilling Oman.
Contractors or Society of Petroleum Engineers, their officers, or members. Papers presented at
IADC/SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the
International Association of Drilling Contractors and Society of Petroleum Engineers. Electronic
reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without
the written consent of the International Association of Drilling Contractors and Society of
Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to a proposal of
not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The proposal must contain North Oman Directorate
conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian,
SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. (OND)

Summary
The Northern Oil Directorate of PDO (OND) manages some of
UNITED
the most important assets in the country, contributing just a ARAB
little under 50% of Oman’s daily production. Over the last 5 EMIRATES
years, the production has seen a rapid decline. The challenge of
arresting this decline to maximize the reserves is being met by
a significant increase in the level of well intervention following
re-emphasis on four major areas: Proper well surveillance,
Acceleration of reserves by Optimization activities,
Maintenance of NFA by restoration activities and Conservation
of reservoir energy by management of water-floods. Major
well services challenges are in the areas of well and reservoir
surveillance, failed ESP replacements, well integrity (casing,
tubing and packer) repairs, additional perforations, water shut
off, gas lift optimization and multi lateral re-entry. Well
Services expenditure has more than doubled in 4 years, with
over 5000 entries, (utilizing hoists, coiled tubing, Wireline,
pumping units) expected in 2004. Management of this rapidly
increasing level of activity was imperative to realize value for
the asset from the increased expenditure. Figure 1: Location Map of the North Oman Directorate
This paper discusses the process applied to management of
Well Services activities with a refocus on lowering With over 2000 wells and about 500 major well interventions
intervention costs, increasing net oil rewards and reducing (requiring hoists or coiled tubing) annually, OND presents
deferment, building on the principle that every action costs significant production engineering challenges with green
money, and should therefore result in some oil in the tank. It fields and brown fields, geology ranging from simple
takes us through the approach of integrated analysis of sandstone to complex faulted and fractured carbonates, oil
information from an increased level of surveillance activities to varying from light low viscosity to heavy, highly viscous
generating a more robust portfolio of intervention candidates. fluid. It also comprises a pot pourri of well types with oil
It highlights the improvements made on candidate selection, producers, water injectors, water supply wells, water disposal
ranking, activity proposal generation, resource allocation, wells and observation wells completed in vertical, horizontal
activity execution, performance management, KPI tracking and and multilateral configurations with single or dual strings.
after action reviews. It concludes with a description of the Lift methods vary from naturally flowing wells to wells fitted
feedback loop being embedded to ensure continuous with artificial lift such as beam pumps, electrical submersible
improvement, the benefits realized so far and what more needs pumps and gas lift. Completion options vary from open hole
to be done. bare foots to lined, cemented and perforated casings. Along
2 IADC/SPE 88025

hole depths vary from under 3000 ft to over 15,000 ft, with ONP PRODUCTION PROFILE vs WELL SERVICES ACTIVITY LEVEL
101% 12
more wells within the range of 5000 ft – 7000 ft. Recovery
99%
mechanisms vary from natural depletion to water flood, steam 4 10

Number of Units (WPH + CTU) Deployed

96% 4

Net Oil Rate (% of 2000 Rate)

flood and GOGD. 94%
2 8
A number of wells are either suspended or closed in and 50% 91% 3
of the total production comes from some 23% of total 89% 6
producing well population. Liquid production vary from low 86% 2

gross rates of less than 500 bpd to high gross rate wells up to 84% 7
8 8 4

2 6
20,000 bpd. Water cuts also range from 0% (dry oil) to over 81%
4 2
99%. Almost all conceivable well intervention method and 79%
2

technology will find a place or an application in this area. Well 76%

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
0
2004

interventions is the result of either a need to get data or Figure 2: OND Historical Net Oil rates vs. Resource Utilization
information from a well or reservoir, a need to change the (1999 – 2004)
production or injection status of the well bore or a need to
improve the production or injection profile of the reservoir. This paper deals with the management of Well Intervention
in OND. A poster of the material contained in the paper is
Problem Statement: Can increasing levels of well also available. Further discussion will be under the following
intervention be sustained in the face of declining net sub headings:
oil rate? - The Well Intervention Process Life Cycle
It is now generally recognized that as oil fields mature, infill - Well Data Gathering
drilling activities is less economically attractive as a means of - Data Warehouse
maintaining target production levels when compared to - New Surveillance
remedial activities on old well stock. Whereas infill drilling - Well Data Analysis
may initially result in increased production, it does not - Well Intervention portfolio
effectively counterbalance the natural decline of old wells. - Well Intervention Budget
Servicing old wells, has been found to be more robust as a - Well Intervention Activity Planning
means of arresting decline in maturing fields and this at a much - Data Gathering
lower unit cost. This remedial intervention is repeated over the - Restoration
life cycle of a well until the net oil rate of the well is so low - Optimization
that it cannot justify or pay out the cost of the intervention, - Well Intervention Execution
then the well is shut in. - Well Intervention Activity Tracking
Over the last 5 years, with a reduction in infill drilling - Scorpion Plots
activities, the production from the North Oil Directorate went - Benefits Realized from the New Process
into a sharp decline and presented the major challenge of - Recommendation for Further Improvements
arresting the decline and meeting production targets. Increased
focus was put on existing well stock and well servicing activity The Well Intervention Process Life Cycle
levels increased almost 150%, (Figure 2), accompanied by an Historically assets react to a declining production by infill
increasing level of well intervention expenditure. For 2004, drilling. As profitability erosion, the cost impact of infill
OND expects a well services expenditure of ~$100 million, drilling and the stretch on annual capex become increasingly
with over 500 major well entries needing well pulling hoists, significant, there is a shift towards reactive intervention in old
coiled tubing units or electric line units and over 4000 wire line wells. A variety of techniques are tried in “spot” operations
and pumping investigations. and as more successes are recorded, the selection criteria for
candidates become better, more candidates for such operations
This level of activity is expected to directly secure up to some are found and campaigns can be planned1. The shift to
25% of the year end average NFA production rate, which reactive intervention on old well stock then gradually mature
would otherwise be lost (deferred) if money were not spent on to proactive and planned intervention, with weekly, 90-Day,
well intervention. annual and even longer term look ahead, against which
The management of this expenditure to ensure value for money budgets can be requested, oil gains forecasted and out of
and optimize returns on investment has therefore become a key which campaign and new technology benefits can be reaped.
business activity. With the increasing number of intervention,
there is now a greater effort to be smarter at picking the right
candidates and applying the best, (fit-for-purpose),
technologies.
IADC/SPE 88025 3

data to identify deviations from expected values and trends to

MEASURE enable selection of the most robust economic remedies. Gaps
2004: ~ 80,000 m3/d
Optimisation + Restoration
in the knowledge of the well performance, which can be filled
by gathering more data, to enable proper diagnosis of the well
problems, are also identified.

REVIEW PLAN Data Warehouse. Historical data is generally stored in a data

IMPROVE warehouse of some sort, which varies from asset to asset even
within the same operating company. It has been identified that
2004 ONP WS at times, up to 50% of a production engineer’s time can be
Opex + Capex = $ ~ 100 mln
spent on basic data gathering and analysis. Data of different
DO vintages and from different sources are needed. These range
from losses information, casing and other well mechanical
data, perforation operations and depths, and logs, especially
Figure 3: ONP Well Intervention Life Cycle and Feedback
Process those acquired and prior to initial commissioning of the well,
through well production data (Gross, BSW, GOR, FTHP,
Any robust well intervention portfolio must be based on a choke sizes, etc) up to pressure and temperature surveys,
continuous feedback process (Figure 3). This starts from a production logs, and other cased hole logs. These data are
review of available (reservoir and well) data, based on which stored in different platforms with differing levels of QA/QC.
wells requiring remedial activities can be identified. Further The same data (e.g. casing setting depth) retrieved from
data, required to increase the probability of success of different sources have in the past, varied significantly. A data
proposed intervention, as well as maximize the productivity management project was initiated in 2001, which among other
reward is also collated as part of the areal surveillance plan. things recommended standardized data quality and the
Analysis of these data by competent disciplines against agreed introduction of single point, data entry sources. These coupled
screening criteria result in firm candidates, which are then with the recent deployment of various data retrieval and
ranked and put on an activity schedule for execution, based on display portals have significantly improved the time spent on
available budget. Rationalization of resources, applying the basic data analysis.
ideology of trying to solve a well’s problem by utilizing the
most cost effective means, contributes to effective budget New Surveillance. A routine data gathering plan is necessary
utilization. This implies that a value chain that tries to use the for proper reservoir management. Data gathered when a well
cheapest resource, which can secure the desired result, is is healthy go a long way to help identify what to do with the
employed. Screenings starts from simple wire line and well when its performance deteriorates. In properly managed
pumping intervention through deployment of coiled tubing up fields, this data gathering plan should be part of the ARP /
to jacking frame, well pulling hoist or light work over rigs. ORP and a feature of the opex model. It is sometimes found
Justification of resources is always based on the economics of that available data is not enough to allow a definitive remedial
the proposed intervention. Ranked candidates are then put on activity plan for a problem well and more data need to be
an activity plan and scheduled for execution. Detailed acquired to firm up an activity plan. In addition, data
intervention programs are then prepared, services and materials requirements are also identified for ongoing studies and
are called in and the intervention performed. On completion of special projects. These are all put together in an asset data
the intervention operation, the well back is put back on gathering or surveillance plan. All four asset clusters in OND
production and tested to allow an assessment of the now have formalized surveillance plans that have to be
effectiveness of the intervention. An after action review (AAR) updated annually and against which budget are reserved.
is performed highlighting data and technical factors that Surveillance and data gathering also generally fill up the low
positively or negatively affected the execution and rewards of end resources, being principally through tubing (TT)
the job. The outcome of the AAR is used to fine tune future operations utilizing slick line and electric line units in vertical
candidates selection, execution and resource utilization for sections of wells and basic coil tubing for memory logs and
similar well problems. By following this cycle, the probability electric coiled tubing unit for logs in horizontal sections of
of success of well interventions increase. The data needed to wells. A few logs require the presence of larger unit (jacking
firm up candidates become clearer, the selection process picks frame, well pulling hoist or light rig) to pull the tubing, and
the best candidates, resources are more effectively deployed allow access of larger tools to the reservoir or casing.
and operational steps are streamlined to what is known to have Generally, about 10 – 15% of the well services budget is spent
been successful in the past. A flowchart of the process and the on surveillance activities.
feedback loop has been made and publicized to all well
services action parties to embed this “Measure - Plan - Do – Well Data Analysis
Review loop. Most remedial work on existing wells is at the instance of on
operations staff, a production programmer or a production
Well Data Gathering engineer. Though these three disciplines have clear functions,
Data is the basis of all problem well identification. The first there is not a very fine dividing line between their
step to well intervention management is the review of available responsibilities. Generally the operations staff looks at the
well from a daily delivery status and initiates well
4 IADC/SPE 88025

intervention activities around the wellhead and surface based on contract rates and the averages of such activities
facilities. The programmer looks at the well performance trend during the last year), resulting in a budget estimate required
on a short term and initiates well intervention activities that for each type of activity.
restore existing, like for like, production, (generally outflow or
vertical lift). The production engineer looks at the well on a
longer term (life cycle) and initiates well interventions
activities that affect the reservoir, (changes the inflow
characteristics of the reservoir into a wellbore), optimizes the
OPEX
vertical lift or extends the life of the well. Therefore as one 80%
goes from the operations staff to the production engineer, the
level of detail to which the interaction among wells and
reservoir is considered increases as does the amount of data CAPEX
20%
required to come to a conclusion on what to do with a problem
well. However, the best well intervention results are got from
those wells where all these three disciplines have interacted
closely and other subsurface disciplines have been brought into
the analysis of the problem well2. Now all wells in OND are
looked at regularly, (by a full complement of subsurface
disciplines, supported by programmers), in well book reviews,
block reviews, field reviews or other inter disciplinary review
fora. These reviews utilize all the available data (production
history, open hole and cased hole logs, CBL/CET, RST, WFL,
PLT, pressure and temperature logs, etc) on a well, to confirm RESTORATION
if each well is performing as expected and if not, what are the 30%

likely causes and what can be done to remedy it.

INTEGRITY OPTIMIZATION
27% 24%

Well Intervention portfolio

DATA GATHERING
The outcome of the individual and team reviews of the wells in OTHERS 13%

each asset is collated, generating a list of all the problem wells, 6%

with proposed remedies. This well intervention portfolio would

normally have a high level definition of the technology to be
applied, the resources required, the cost of the proposed
activity and the expected reward in terms of increased
production, increased injection, increased safety and integrity Figure 4: OND Well Intervention Expenditure Classification
or reduction of water or gas. This portfolio is creamed and the The activities are classified into capex and opex activities.
more robust candidates are put forward for execution in the Capex activities are mainly major integrity repairs, changes of
short term. Each of the four asset used to manage it own vertical lift, e.g. change from gas lift to ESP lift, or change of
portfolio from candidate identification through to activity well type, e.g. from an oil producer to a water injector.
execution, with its own ring fenced resources and budget, Activities are further subdivided into data gathering,
totally in isolation and without reference to the portfolio of restoration (integrity and vertical lift or injectivity) and
other assets. This has now changed significantly, with more optimization. (Figure 4). These classes are better defined in
focus being put on the larger picture. Though the opportunities the next section.
portfolio is still managed within the assets, the planning and
execution of well service activities and the management of the Well Intervention Activity Planning
budget are now done centrally. There is also a gradual move to The planning process for well interventions varies depending
store all the opportunities from the four assets in a central on the activity class. Irrespective of whether it is a capex or
database. opex activity the difference comes mainly from the expected
reward of the activity, and this forms the basis for the
Well Intervention Budget distinction between data gathering, restoration and
As part of the annual program cycle, budget for well optimization.
intervention is requested. This is now based on an activity-
based bottoms up model that takes a matrix of total well Data Gathering. As the name implies, data gathering
population, segmented into well types with types and interventions are primarily aimed at getting more information
frequency of intervention required, to come up with the about a well or reservoir. It generally does not have any
number of each type of intervention per year. The frequency of associated gain in product other than a value of information.
intervention is based on the operating philosophy and the Data gathering activities are planned in line with the
strategic directions envisaged for the field. This process and all surveillance philosophy of the field as outlined in the agreed
the inputs go through a series of challenges to arrive at the surveillance plan. These vary from simple pressure surveys in
final planned number of interventions. This number of vertical wells to more complicated multi phase production
interventions is matched against a well cost catalogue (which is
IADC/SPE 88025 5

logging in horizontal wells as well as some special tools for Clean out on water injectors are done with a CTU, whereas
some special studies e.g. geophones in wells for artificial lift repairs and integrity repairs require a well pulling
microseimicity. Data gathering in some cases, e.g. wells with hoist.
ESP have to be a long-term plan, as special Y-tools have to be
included in the completion to allow access for such data Artificial lift repairs are generally not plan-able. Historical
gathering. Data gathering activities mainly utilize wire line, trends are used to forecast failure rates and make allowance
electric line, basic coiled tubing, and electric line coiled tubing. for resource requirements.

Rather than follow a ranking process, data gathering activities Integrity Repairs are those activities that aim to fix a
are planned as campaigns based either on activity types across mechanical problem with a casing, tubing, tubing accessory or
OND (e.g. an E-coil doing multiphase production logs in all retrieve a fish from a well bore. These may or may not be
areas), or on a resource utilization in an area (e.g. a basic CTU plan-able depending on the safety criticality of the failure.
doing all CTU jobs like water injection cleanouts, MPLT etc in Whereas some wells have to be shut in immediately and
one field). In some cases the expected rewards (risked) of a repaired, others may be operated for up to one year after the
follow up activity or a clearly formulated VOI is included in failure has been identified. All the costs associated with
the consideration of the prioritization of data gathering routine checking of the annular pressures of wells, gauge
activities. Such high priority and strategic data gathering cutter runs, hold up depth checks and other wellhead
candidates are slotted into the plan as necessary. The data maintenance activities are considered part of the well integrity
gathering budget is usually ring fenced and managed with the maintenance budget.
primary objective of ensuring it is spent to acquire the most
valuable data. Clean out of water injectors are generally plan-able. This is
done to ensures maximum availability of injection capacity to
Restoration. Restoration activities are all those activities meet target injection rates required to arrest reservoir pressure
carried out to ensure that a well is producing as close to its and gross production decline as well as ensure that surface
expected potential, to safeguard current production forecasts capacity constraints due to water injection is minimized.
allowing for natural decline. These activities are mainly As understanding of the failure modes of the artificial lift
activities that focus on the vertical lift aspects of a well or its system and well casing and tubular improves, proactive
mechanical integrity. As shown in figure 5, restoration change outs can be done. Since this may result in an increased
activities are mainly responsible for safeguarding NFA. A number of interventions, the cost of proactive repairs must be
simple justification for the restoration budget is a presentation weighed against the benefits of reduced deferments.
of what would happen to the NFA forecast without any
intervention, the so-called “rock bottom NFA”. This is an Optimization. Optimization refers to any activity that
indication of what would happen to production rates if improves the NPV of a well over the NFA case. In terms of
breakdowns were not fixed. production rate, this can be either an increase in reserves (UR)
or acceleration of production. On a field wide scale
Well Intervention Production Profile optimization activities have the effect of making the decline
less steep (figure 5). Incremental production alone is not
Optimization enough to justify an optimization activity. This incremental
Restoration production has to be weighed against the cost of the activity.
Production Rate

Rock Bottom NFA Optimization activities are generally more expensive and
entail grater risk compared to restoration activities. In Figure
6 below, Optimization curve 1 is a clear case of successful
optimization if the added reserves justify the expenditure.
Optimization curve 2, is successful if the area A is larger than
Area B, (increased UR) and can justify the cost of the
Time
intervention. However if area A is equal to or less than area B,
this will be an acceleration and is only favourable in times of
Figure 5: Production profile showing Restoration and
Optimization tranches. high oil prices and short project life cycle. Optimization
activities are always generally planned, though the execution
When wells fall over, analysis of the production rates and window may be unknown if the economics do not justify
possible upsides, (optimization?) is used to determine if the immediate reentry into the well, especially in ESP or beam
well is worth bringing back on line. pump wells. In such cases, the optimization activity is tied to
a well entry to do an ESP or beam pump repair.
There are three major classes of restoration activities: Artificial
lift (GL valves and mandrels, ESP and Beam pump) repairs,
well integrity repairs and water injection clean outs.
Stimulation of water injectors are also considered as
restoration of injectivity, whereas stimulation of oil producers
may be considered as optimization rather than restoration.
6 IADC/SPE 88025

signals from surface to some down hole tool during the

A Well Intervention Production Profile
operation, hence the electric line. All the considerations for
NFA Curve the normal CTU apply with the added care required due to the
Optimization Curve 1 presence of the electric line.
Well Tractor. The Well tractor has become a viable
P r o d u c tio n R a te

alternative mainly in cased wells with relatively clean tubing

Optimization Curve 2 and casing. It is applied mainly in long horizontal wells where
the normal coiled tubing would suffer helical buckling and
lock up, when the well casing and tubing would normally
require a small sized coil, which is not stiff enough to get to
A the depths desired. It generally fails in open hole and in casing
or tubing with scale, corrosion or debris problems.
B Slick Line (WL). The Slick line, also called wire line
(WL) is used for through tubing intervention in vertical and
Time
slightly deviated wells. It is the most used resource as all
Figure 6: Effect of Optimization on Base NFA. wells have a vertical section that requires some form of WL
intervention or the other.
The main categories of optimization activities are geared Electric Line (E-line). The E-line is a wireline unit
towards improving a wells gross productivity by stimulations equipped for sending electric signals from surface to some
and additional perforation (infill or new zone), changing a down hole tool during a well intervention. It is used for the
wells status to improve vertical lift, e.g. changing from gas lift acquisition of real time data in the vertical or slightly deviated
to ESP and changing a well type e.g. converting a low rate oil section of wells .
producer to a water injector for reservoir management. Pump Trucks. Pump tucks are used for all pumping
Optimization activities also generally require more data than operations that involve simple bull heading of fluid down a
restoration, usually involving acquisition of PLT, RST, WFL tubing or casing. The fluid can be corrosive (e.g. for acid
etc. These are always screened, ranked and put forward for stimulation of picking of tubing) or non-corrosive e.g. for
execution following a creaming curve. annulus pressure integrity testing and killing of wells.
Well Intervention Execution
When the portfolio of candidates has been screened and Irrespective of which resources is to be utilized for the well
ranked, candidates are then scheduled for execution against intervention, the success of the operations depends on the
resources as required. availability of a carefully planned work program, backed up
Resources applied include: with adequate onsite supervision, operator expertise and
- Well Pulling Hoists competence, base office support, and appropriate materials
- Coiled Tubing Units and contingency plans.
- Electric Line Coiled Tubing Units To ensure that the activity can be executed safely, the work
- Well Tractor program must consider the following:
- Slick Line (WL) - Past work over history of the well as well as past history
- Electric Line (E-Line) of similar work over in other wells.
- Pumping Trucks - Working pressures and communication patterns already
in the well or which might be created.
Well Pulling Hoist (WPH). The WPH is deployed for jobs - Careful selection of work over fluid (type and gradient).
that include the retrieval of completion strings and accessories - Adequate contingency plans: fishing, heavier or lighter
before proposed activities can be executed. Different sizes of tools.
WPH are required depending on the casing and tubing size as - Decision points identified upfront with clearly defined
well as depth, based on the required pulling capacity, pumping communication plans between the well site, well services
capacity, flexibility of operations (straight pulling versus base office and the asset team.
cutting and fishing) and BOP configuration. They usually have
the highest day rates of all resources. Successful execution of an intervention, which implies
Coiled Tubing Unit (CTU). The CTU is deployed for achievement of the well entry objectives, (operational,
most through tubing intervention in horizontal and highly economic and safety), depends on close interaction between
deviated wells beyond the limits of wire line (generally above all action parties involved in the well intervention process.
60 degrees). Tripping times with CTU operations are generally Quick indicators of success are delivery of planned activity on
faster than WPH operations. Different sizes of CTU are time, within budget and realization of expected gains.
required for different jobs depending depth, tubing size, pump Completion on intervention within planned duration,
rates required, desired fluid annular velocities, coil helical minimizing NPT, ensures that deferment targets are met.
buckling and lock up considerations etc. CTU is generally Figure 7 shows the significant improvements made in
cheaper than WPH. reducing deferments due to well intervention (down up to
Electric Coiled Tubing Unit (e-CTU). The e-CTU is 25%) in 2004.
deployed for CTU applications that include the requirement for
the acquisition of real time data, or the sending of electric
IADC/SPE 88025 7

ONP WELL SERVICES ACTIVITY TRACKING - Oil Gained / Restored - WPH Only
Deferred oil waiting - OND Total Planned Oil Gain [m3/d] Actual Reward (oil equiv) Total [m3/d]
40
High level in Jan '04 due to lay down of Cum Planned One Year average declined Gain [m3/d] Cum Actual One Year average declined Gain [m3/d]

WPH/CTU in Nov - Dec 2003 35

30
Deferment

25

Cumulative Oil Reward (m3/d)

20

Oil Gained / Restored (m3/d)

15

10

0
Avg 2003 Jan '04 Feb '04 Mar '04 Apr '04 May '04 YTD 2004
waiting wph waiting proposal and investigation
waiting ESP material/crew waiting completion material
waiting third party waiting engineering
North Workload waiting with proposal for hoist - Days per hoist North Number of hoists

BRNWSW015
F026
Y375
AH40
BRN027
Y384
AH065
L130
AH42
SR148
BRN018
L186
AH055
BRNWSW027
BRNWSW020
Y393
L309
Y398
AH103
MLM010
Y119
Y347
L316
Y188
Y275
Y345
AH41
Y075
Y371
L304
Y176
Y064
L420
Y277
MLM013
L375
Y044
Y293
Y318
Y151
Y300
Y310
Y315
Y097
Y284
L-386
SR057
Y058
Y394
QAM002
SR101
Y293
Y112
Y017
Y342
SR049
Y322
BRN008
Y154
BRNWSW004
L213
Y419
AH021
BRNWSW021
Y327
Y127
AH082
Y354
AH121
Y027
F137
F137
Y077
Y250
Y349
D-005
F374
SR053
L375
Y069
Y277
MLM009
SR138
L410
L411
Y120
LWSW-047
LWSW-049
AH016
Y081
AH119
SR153
N083
Y308
BRN025
BRN016
N134
LWSW-21
LWSW-58
LWSW-59
MLM014
SR007
BRNWSW009
Y186
BRNWSW019
Figure 7: Deferment trends in OND – YTD 2004.
Figure 8: Tracking of Oil Gains per Activity - 2004.
Well Intervention Activity Tracking
To complete the feedback look on candidate selection, activity OND well intervention activity tracking utilizes a very
planning and well work execution, after action reviews (AAR) pragmatic well work tracking system, the scorpion plot4.
are necessary. AAR must incorporate quality control of Scorpion Plot. A scorpion plot is created for a well
candidate selection and activity execution, benchmarking (the intervention portfolio by ordering all the wells in the
ongoing process of measuring and improving key performance campaign by decreasing profitability. Profitability can usually
indicators against known bests and industry standards) as well be based on simple unit cost calculations or more detailed
as trend analysis to ensure continuous performance economics. A plot of the cumulative cost against cumulative
improvements and cost effectiveness3. Reviews are done on value (oil gain or NPV) results in a scorpion plot. On the
individual well entries as well as on the whole activity scorpion plot, three distinct regions can be identified (Figure
portfolio. 10):
A - High profitability wells: head of the scorpion
AARs on individual wells focus principally on understanding B - Medium profit wells: body of the scorpion
deviations from plan so that these can in future be replicated C - Borderline/Non profitable wells: tail of the
(if positive) or avoided (if negative). Though AAR should be scorpion.
done on all wells, with the increasing volume of intervention,
this is becoming impractical. However AARs are still made Activity types generally also seem to cluster together.
mandatory for some cases. Outliers, i.e. wells that appear conspicuously in a region away
- Wells where actual activity duration is more than planned from most of its similar interventions, indicate either
duration by +2 days or +25%, which ever is higher opportunities or problem candidates. If the outlier is to the left
- Wells where the variance between planned and actual cost of all other similar activities, it presents an opportunity for
is larger than +20% improving the success rate of future interventions. If the
- Well where variance between the planned and actual gain outlier is far to the right of all other similar activities, it
is more than +25%, (considering possible 10% metering indicates a problem candidate (poor candidate, wrong
error on both pre job and post job rates). intervention technique or poor execution).

AARs on the whole portfolio aim to understand the drivers for Uses of Scorpion Plots. Scorpion plots can be done for
profitability erosion, activity types, technology application, or analysis of a single campaign or it can be used to compare
to identify high value activities of which more should be multiple campaigns on the same plot.
sought during candidate selection. Gains (oil or water) from On a single scorpion plot, (figure 9), the wells falling in the
well intervention can be analysed in different ways depending three regions above can be analyzed. This allows a distinction
on the focus. In OND three treatments of gain are used: between generally viable intervention procedures (almost
- Actual post intervention initial gain always found to the left) and generally difficult or risky
- Time averaged declined gain intervention procedures, (almost always found towards the
- Calendar year average gain in tank right).

Figure 8 shows the tracking of actual initial oil gains against

plan for 2004 well work.
8 IADC/SPE 88025

OND 2003 Well Services Scorpion Plot - Shift of end point from Z1 to Z2 indicates overall
3, 11%
improvement in well intervention process,
8, 29%
Acid Stimulation

Clean Out

Clean Out & Stimulation

3, 11%
implementation of learning and best practices.
Conversion GL to ESP

ESP Replacement

Conversion BP to ESP

Conversion ESP to GL
2, 7%
- The height of the tail (H), can be used as an indicator of
1, 4%
Conversion to Water Injector

ESP Installation
the overall quality of the well intervention portfolio.
Cumulative Expenditure

Recompletion
2, 7%
1, 4% Water Shut Off
, 0% , 0%
4, 4% 1, 4%
7, 8% 5, 19% 1, 4%
, 0%

9, 9%
35, 40%
Acid Stimulation

Clean Out
15, 17%
Benefits Realized from the New Process
16, 16%

17, 8% 23, 11%

Acid Stimulation
6, 6%
Clean Out & Stimulation

Conversion GL to ESP

ESP Replacement
The technical services section under ONP which manages the
15, 7% Integrity Repair

well intervention process was created July 2003. Since then

Clean Out
11, 11%
16, 8% Others
Clean Out & Stimulation
Acid Stimulation
Conversion GL to ESP
Clean Out
ESP Replacement
23, 23%
Clean Out & Stimulation

Conversion GL to ESP

ESP Replacement
Integrity Repair

Others
6, 6%
28, 31%
there has been clear improvements in the budget management,
Integrity Repair 45, 22%

85, 41%
Others

29, 29% oil reward per job, lower unit cost and less unscheduled
deferment due to a combination of the following:
6, 3%

Cumulative Production Gain - The value generated from well services expenditure was
Figure 9: Scorpion Plot Analysis of 2003 Campaign. clearly demonstrated by the 2003 activity review, which
presented an analysis of where and how the budget was
Multiple campaigns plots (figure 10) can be used for any or all spent, and which activities fall into which value class.
of the following purposes: - The implementation of a pan ONP well services planning
- Compare similar activities over different time periods, e.g. process has resulted in a high-grade of well services
2002 versus 2003 performance activities, with more oil realized (up 15%) for less money
- Compare different activity types, e.g. additional (down 10%) compared to 2003.
perforation versus fraccing - During the last quarter of 2003, the process for finalization,
- Compare performance of different contractors, different challenge and optimization of the 2004 budget was very
resources, etc, e.g. WPH versus CTU. transparent.
- There is now a monthly activity review and best practice
Interpretation of Scorpion Plots. A number of useful and knowledge sharing session where the recent activities
insights can be derived from scorpion plots. Generally are reviewed and improvements identified for the future.
improvements in the well intervention management process is - The planning process has introduced greater stability into
expected to open up the tail of the scorpion. The end points the actual well intervention activity, with a significantly
shift further to the right (indicating more gains) and reduced turn around time, resulting in a 30% improvement
downwards indicating less cost per activity. As recommended in unscheduled deferment.
by Buffet et al (2003)1, OND tracks the following on the
scorpion plots as indicators or performance improvements or Recommendation for further Improvements
problem areas needing more focus (Figure 10). The establishment of a single point contact for all issues
related to well intervention in North Oman has paid off.
ONP Well Services 2003 vs 2004 (Excludes Surveillance)
However, embedment of the life cycle approach in all the
Generally for Q1 2004 compared with Q1 2003, ONP WS
results has improved. The Scorpion plot has dropped in the
ONP Total 2003 Activities
assets so that this process runs itself will ultimately yield
South East direction (GREEN ARROW) showing improvement. ONP Q1 2003 Activities H
Costs have reduced by about 15% while oil restored/gained
has increased by about 12%.
ONP Q1 2004 Activities C
better dividends. This is being pursued by the implementation
Note:
of the process as shown in an improved process that shifts
data from excel spreadsheets to corporate databases.
Cumulative Cost

1. Over 20% of Q1 2004 activities have not yet been tested.

This oil gain picture is expected to improve when more wells
have been tested.
The register of all well intervention opportunities in a single
pan PDO database platform is expected to high grade the
B
Z portfolio and also make gaps in technology and resources
Z more obvious.
The close interaction between operations, petroleum
A A
engineering and well services should be further strengthened
Cumulative Production to ensure that success rates continue to increase. An aspiration
Figure 10: Use of scorpion plot to compare different campaigns. of creating a single proposal cum programme which gets
signed off by all parties is also envisaged as this will reduce
- Activities in the region C are always identified for well work proposal and programme generation time and
mandatory AAR improve the communication between well services and
- Move of activities from C to B or B to A results from petroleum engineering departments.
improving processes of well intervention candidate
selection or activity execution. Conclusion
- Move of activities from A to B or B to C indicates The robustness on any well intervention campaign depends on
creaming of candidates in a portfolio. This move may also the richness of the intervention portfolio following maturation
signals when an intervention technology is nearing its of candidates through an opportunities funnel. How well the
limits. problems with wells have been diagnosed and how
appropriate the chosen intervention technique is to solving the
problem are critical to successful intervention, restoring
production / injection at the minimum cost. The focused
IADC/SPE 88025 9

approach to the management of well intervention ensures value 4 Martins J. P., MacDonald J. M., Stewart C. G. and
for money, and contributes significantly to OND being on Phillips C. J.: “The Management and Optimization of a
target against production forecasts and planned costs. Major Wellwork Program at Prudhoe Bay”, paper SPE
30649 presented at the SPE ATCE held in Dallas, TX,
Acknowledgements October 22 – 25, 1995.
The author wish so thank the Oman Ministry of Oil and Gas,
(MOG) and the management of Petroleum Development Oman Nomenclature
(PDO), especially Saif Al-Hinai, the Director OND, for AAR = After Action Review
reviewing this paper and granting permission for it to be ARP = Asset Reference Plan
published. BPD = Barrels of Gross Fluid Produced per Day
I also hereby acknowledge the efforts of the other ONP BSW = Base Sediments & Water
technical services focal points, well and reservoir management CTU = Coiled Tubing Unit
team leaders, and all the players in the management of well ESP = Electrical Submersible Pump
services namely the Petroleum Engineers, Production FTHP = Flowing Tubing Head Pressure
Programmers, Operations staff, Well Engineers, Planners, IT GL = Gas Lift
support, Contractors vendors and other service providers GOGD = Gas Oil Gravity Drainage
whose individual and collective efforts to improve or well GOR = Gas Oil Ratio
servicing process has yielded the dividends recorded so far. HUD = Hold Up Depth
MOG = Ministry of Oil and Gas, Oman.
References NFA = No Further Activity Forecast
1 Buffet, M., Mastin, E., Maguerez, M. and Amiell P.: NPT = Non Productive Time
“Assessing Profitability of Well Interventions on Mature NPV = Net Present Value
Fields: Well Intervention Profitability Evaluation Method, OND = Northern Oil Directorate (PDO)
case study from Cameroon”, paper SPE 82284 presented ONP = OND Petroleum Engineering Dept.
at the SPE European Formation Damage Conference held ORP = Operations Reference Plan
in the Hague, The Netherlands, May 13 – 14, 2003. PDO = Petroleum Development Oman
2 Aihevba C. O. et al.: “Managing the Challenges of PLT = Production Logging Tool
Voidage in a Mature Carbonate Water Flood”, paper SPE QA/QC = Quality Assurance and Control
81463 presented at the SPE MEOS and Conference held RST = Reservoir Saturation Tool
in Bahrain April 5-8, 2003. TT = Through Tubing
3 Kevin, J.: “Proven Performance Improvements in Well UR = Ultimate Recovery
Interventions through Outsourcing and Continous VOI = Value of Information
Learning Systems”, paper SPE 81159 presented at the SPE WFL = Water Flow Logs
Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering WL = Wire Line
Conference held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, West Indies, WPH = Well Pulling Hoist
April 27 – 30, 2003.