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J.C. Cunha, SPE, Senior Technical Consultant, Petrobras America

Recently, during the Second International Oil Congress and Exhibition in Mexico, I had the opportunity to attend a roundtable discussion on “Global Trends in Deepwater Development.” The event, held in Veracruz, had representatives from some of the major players in deepwater field development, and most talks and discussions focused on the challenges, concerns, problems, and rewards expected in coming years in the deepwater and ultradeepwater environments.

In the Gulf of Mexico alone, it is expected that new oil reserves in excess of 45 billion bbl will be found in the near future. However, improved economic development of those reserves will be achieved only with state-of-the-art technologies in all phases of the project. Efficient field development must take into account simultaneously the constraints in well drilling, production scheme, subsea equipment, and reservoir management. Because only limited information is available in the earlier stages of the development plan, a structured way to handle the risks involved also must be implemented.

Establishing a field-development strategy under very-high-uncertainty conditions appears to be the rule in most recent deepwater projects. In the roundtable discussion in Veracruz, the panelists seemed to be conscious of the huge challenges ahead and, at the same time, excited and optimistic about the future development of fields that just a few years back were deemed impossible ventures. What do you think? I invite you to read the featured articles presented this month and reach your own conclusions. Enjoy.

Espirito Santo: The New Deepwater Frontier in Brazil

Akpo: A Giant Deep Offshore Development

Development-Well and Execution Planning in a Complex Subsurface Environment—The Effect of Large- and Small-Scale Modeling on Well Deliverability

J.C. Cunha, SPE, is a senior technical consultant with Petrobras America in Houston. Previously, he was an associate professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Alberta, Canada. Cunha has served as member and chairperson on several SPE committees and currently is the chairperson of the SPE Drilling TIG. Previous to the University of Alberta, he worked 25 years for Petrobras in various technical and managerial positions 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 University, Brazil, an MS degree in petroleum engineering from Ouro Preto University, Brazil, and a PhD degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa. He has authored many technical articles including 29 SPE papers. Cunha is a member of the SPE Drilling Advisory Committee and of the JPT and SPEDC editorial committees.

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