JPT: DEP Overview

Vol. 59 No. 6

June 2007

Deepwater Exploration and Production

Offshore operators and contractors continue to accept and meet new deepwater challenges. As shown in the following articles, the apparent limits of deepwater technologies are extended every year, and new records and “firsts” are achieved to meet projects’ increasingly ambitious requirements. Subjects covered this year include the first operational use of a new major equipment type, one of the first secondary-recovery projects in a deepwater environment, and two very different major deepwater projects.

The projects and technologies described in the articles entail significant risks, and some of the articles discuss the risk management strategies used. The technical and commercial success of these projects depends on accurate risk assessment, risk mitigation strategies, and the continued progressive development of cutting-edge technologies. The use of new technologies, however, does not always result in increased risks. In some cases, technologies are devised to mitigate an identified risk, as indicated in the articles’ discussions of “improved reliability,” “enhancements in functionality,” “optimization,” “standard interfaces and interchangeability,” “increased data quality,” “improved durability,” “improved facility uptime,” and other key themes.

Management of project risks is one of the most important tasks in project management. Rather than a one-off activity that is addressed only with a workshop facilitated by an outside expert and filed away, risk management should be an ongoing process that starts with project initiation and continues through the end of facility operation.

Ormen Lange Langeled Development

Challenges of Waterflooding in a Deepwater Environment

Application of the All-Electric Subsea Production System

Erha and Erha North Development

John Barnes, SPE, is a project director for AMEC Paragon. He has more than 25 years of project management and engineering experience in the onshore and offshore oil and gas industry. His experience includes working for engineering consultants, contractors, and operating companies on domestic and international projects. Currently, Barnes is involved with project management of offshore and onshore facility and pipeline projects. He earned BS degrees in industrial engineering and civil engineering from the University of Houston. Barnes is a registered Professional Engineer in Texas and Louisiana and is a certified Project Management Professional with Project Management Institute. Currently, he serves on the SPE program committee for OTC, the SPE Projects, Facilities, and Construction Advisory Committee, the SPE Forum Committee, and the JPT Editorial Committee.

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