Agenda

Unconventional plays are highly heterogeneous systems with complex distributions of rock and fluid properties at multiple scales. Capturing this variability as early as possible in the life of a play is paramount to properly evaluating recoverable resources and optimise their development. Integrating geoscience with engineering is also key to understanding the main controls among the myriads of parameters that influence well productivity. This session explores recent advances and promotes knowledge sharing on multidisciplinary workflows and technologies in the field of resource evaluation and reservoir characterisation and their application to the Middle East unconventional plays.

This session discusses the recent modeling approaches to understand hydraulic fracturing. This includes understanding the mechanism of hydraulic fracture propagation in naturally fractured and weakly bedded formations. Knowledge of proppant transport mechanism will also provide insight for better design and productivity estimations. Discussion of proppant distribution in slickwater stimulated fractures will be be carried out in this session. Presenters will shed light on the impact proppant placement in secondary created fractures and conductivity on productivity prediction. Reservoir modeling to understand transport phenomena in unconventional plays will be discussed. Building reliable geo-mechanical models from logs are also out to be presented.

Unconventional Drilling in Saudi Arabia is dedicated to delivering wells safely and efficiently to meet Kingdom’s growing demands for gas. Drilling and Optimization team implemented fit-for-purpose technologies and conducted detailed optimization workshops to improve flat time, rig move time, as well as drilling and completion practices. Average time and cost has reduced by 70% over the past five years by implementing the following major initiatives:

1. Managed Pressure Drilling for narrow mud weight window, extended bit life and improved ROP, allowed access to reserves that could not be drilled conventionally
2. 4-1/2” longstring cemented completion eliminated clean out and upper completion runs
3. 5-1/2” longstring cemented monobore completions with 8-3/8” horizontal
4. Slim design combination of curve and lateral avoided running 7” liner
5. High dogleg severity in curve section minimized footage
6. Vibration mitigation tools protected BHA components and improved ROP
7. Optimized BHA design to achieve highest ROP and lowest CPF

Over the past decade, Operators and Service Companies have put significant efforts towards engineering and developing well completion, production enhancement and stimulation techniques for unconventional fields.

The Middle East Region has its own challenges, from high bottom-hole temperatures and pressures, tectonic activities to diverse reservoirs heterogeneity, all of which are considered when modelling and proposing treatments and solutions.

This session aims to bring together subject matter experts to discuss the current state, best practices, and emerging technologies for consideration in the Middle East and around the world focusing on completion and production solutions including hardware, well/stage spacing, cluster density, hydraulic fracturing materials, methods, techniques and modelling, as well as artificial lift equipment and production optimization operations.

The development of unconventional resources requires extensive operations on a large number of wells drilled and completed in often remote and challenging environments. Performing these operations efficiently ensures that environmental impact and development costs are minimized while the abundant resources are made available for use as quickly as possible. In the extreme surface environment coupled with limited unconventional oilfield infrastructure of the Middle East, the efficiency gains can be more difficult but are all the more critical. This session will explore practical efforts that have been made to:

• Move drilling time from months to weeks
• Accelerate fracturing rates from one stage every few days to 5 to 7 stages every day
• Reduce the overall carbon footprint and water use

The remarkable increase of production from the more mature unconventional plays has brought deeper insights and challenges about the economics of this type of resource. The operators and technology providers are working play by play and well by well to improve development and lifting costs. The fund lenders are struggling to support the required long-term investments based in the current economic environment.

The oil and gas industry has always considered commercial competition paramount when dealing with investment in different exploration and development opportunities, e.g. onshore versus offshore, primary/secondary versus EOR, light/medium versus heavy oil, according to the limited availability of capital. Unconventional resources are also competing fot these limited resources in the complex economic environment that the oil and gas industry is facing.

This section is aimed to provide an open discussion about the current and future primers and drivers for the cost-effective development and production of the unconventional plays in other petroleum basins in the world, and especially in the Middle East. The topic includes what the main areas of attention need to be, the main risks that the industry is facing to produce this resource, and the most critical areas to trigger a sustainable unconventional petroleum based production.