The construction of offshore oil wells is a complex and costly process, corresponding often to 20-35% of the investments in a field development plan. Therefore, phenomena that directly impact the drilling operation have to be closely monitored and its early detection can prevent significant extra-costs to this already expensive activity. In that light, Petrobras, the largest Brazillian energy company focusing on oil and gas, relied on ESSS to create one of the first solutions developed in the industry to provide real-time interpretation of possible operational problems during well drilling. Transient calculations combined with an automated methodology of data analysis with quantitative criteria remove the subjective part of the interpretation and identification of events and helps in the decision-making process.
Developed with the participation of renowned universities and research institutes, the real-time monitoring system allowed Petrobras to increase its operational safety, as it alerts for possible risks to the operational team, as well as reducing well construction costs by predicting and preventing failures that lead to millions of dollars in losses.
“We estimate that the solution brought a potential gain of 130 million dollars in the last five years. Furthermore, it is a tool that helps in better decision-making,” explains Roni Abensur Gandelman, former coordinator of Petrobras’ Real Time Operation Centers.
In 2016, the project received ANP’s (Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels) Technological Innovation Award, in the category of Technological Innovation developed in Brazil by Small/Medium Size Companies in Collaboration with Oil Companies. The awardrecognizes projects related to Research, Development and Innovation (R,D&I). Clovis Maliska Junior, President of ESSS, stated: “Receiving an award like this, which is one of the main prizes in R&D in Brazil, is the recognition of the serious and focused work that ESSS has been performing throughout its 25 years of operation in the O&G market.”
About the project
ESSS Oil and Gas Real-time Monitoring embeds simulation models and engineering knowledge to guarantee that operation limits and safety procedures are respected, and to provide insights and diagnostics to predict possible issues before they evolve to significant damages. Real-time analysis such as the annular pressure profile comparison against pore and fracture pressures, well cleaning efficiency, solids concentration and bed formation can be easily done. Also, it creates alerts for operational problems, such as washouts, bit nozzle obstruction, circulation losses, pump problems and kicks, so the operator can decide how to mitigate those issues.
ESSS also has an availability of 24/7 team of experts inside Petrobras that are constantly monitoring and analyzing the wells being drilled to detect possible failures and assist in decision-making. Learn more at our webinar “Outcomes of detecting real-time drilling problems: a 9-year journey“.
