Technology for Developing Marginal Offshore Oilfields PDF

Preface

The idea for this review of the technology for developing marginal offshore oilfields arose out of a report which we were commissioned to undertake for the Irish Department of Energy in October 1984. The Department were looking for information on the different options for developing small oil accumulations in the exposed Irish offshore area, what systems were currently available, what new developments were likely in the next decade and the approximate cost of developing various sizes of reservoir using these systems.

While compiling the report we discovered that, while all the literature and industry spokesmen agreed on the importance of marginal field technology, there was no publication which addressed the topic in any comprehensive fashion, with the possible exception of studies costing several thousands of dollars or confidential oil company in-house reports. This review aims to cover this very broad topic in a way which is intelligible to a general technical reader. It is not possible to cover detailed design aspects of the various systems described here in a book of this size. References and a bibliography covering the topics discussed in each chapter are provided for those interested in pursuing the various subjects in more detail.

We have sought the views of oil companies, design engineers, offshore consultants, contractors and researchers. We have obtained invaluable assistance from innumerable individuals and firms, far too many to list here. However, we would like to express our appreciation for all the time and assistance given, queries answered, literature searches undertaken, articles provided, etc.

We would especially like to express our appreciation to a number of individuals who reviewed and edited the draft versions of this book:

— A.R. (Bert) Schultz, Vice-President of Intec Engineering Inc. who

provided advice on technology and cost parameters.

— Dr Pat Shannon, Department of Petroleum Geology, University College Dublin.

— F.B. (Fergus) Cahill, Exploration & Production Manager, Irish National Petroleum Corporation.

We also thank our respective organisations, the Petroleum Affairs Division, Department of Energy and the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards, Dublin for their interest in this area and their permission to incorporate certain material from their report. However, we wish to emphasise that the opinions expressed herein are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Petroleum Affairs Division of the Department of Energy nor the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards. Last, but certainly not least, we wish to thank Anna Kennedy, who patiently typed, and retyped, the document and Heather Gibson, who executed the line drawings.

Authors: D.A. Fee, J. O'Dea