Overview

Resourceful field development can be achieved only with proper management of uncertainties inherent to any project. This situation is even more noticeable in certain deepwater offshore scenarios in which difficulties of well testing and fluid and core sampling exist. Particularly for cases in which the increasing development complexity is associated directly with uncertainties in fluid and reservoir characterization, a probabilistic analysis, instead of a deterministic one, is the natural way to proceed.

In recent years, besides standard reservoir simulation, experimental-design techniques have been introduced to assess uncertainties related to reservoir properties and the project economic aspects. Experimental design is a statistical technique that allows attaining maximum information in a given process at a minimum cost. It allows screening of uncertain reservoir variables and determining which variables, as well as which interactions between them, have the largest effect on the project outcome. On the basis of this information, a more reliable uncertainty distribution can be established.

During the past year, an impressive number of papers were presented at the Offshore Technology Conference and various SPE conferences having the main focus on the evaluation and management of uncertainties in field development. Other significant points mentioned in many works were the importance of teamwork and the development and implementation of new technologies. Clearly, these aspects are heavily dependent on synergy among geophysicists; geologists; and reservoir, drilling, and production engineers. This month, the featured papers address many challenges found in field development. They also present actual and interesting solutions to challenges by stressing the importance of teamwork and proper management of uncertainty. I hope you enjoy them.

Clair Field: Development of a Waterflooded Fractured Reservoir

Tahiti: Development-Strategy Assessment

Albacora Leste Field Development: Reservoir Aspects and Development Strategy

Use of Simple Stochastic Models for North Sea Field-Development Decisions

J.C. Cunha, SPE, is an associate professor at the School of Mining and Petroleum of the U. of Alberta, Canada. He has served as member and chairperson on several SPE committees and currently is the Vice-Chairperson of the SPE Edmonton Section. Previously, Cunha worked 25 years for Petrobras in various technical and managerial positions. He worked on several projects in Brazil, various South American countries, the Gulf of Mexico, Africa, and the Caribbean. Cunha holds a BS degree in civil engineering from Juiz de Fora U., Brazil; an MS degree in petroleum engineering from Ouro Preto U., Brazil; and a PhD degree in petroleum engineering from the U. of Tulsa. He has authored 23 SPE papers. Currently, Cunha is Chairperson for the SPE Drilling Technical Interest Group and serves on the JPT and SPE Drilling and Completions Editorial Committees.

Overview

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