2. The Approach
Caspian Consultants will guide your company to identify and assess appropriate and profitable field development methods
for your field(s). We will also propose the optimal development concept from a business case perspective for the selected
methodology and mature this option, including overseeing necessary laboratory and field tests to facilitate a final investment
decision. Field (re)development is done in four phases- with specific deliverables and decisions at each point. Caspian
Consultants will lead your company through these planning stages, providing clarity around required steps and the
incremental value associated with proposed development activity. Field development planning is in 4 phases:
Phase 1: Screening Phase 3: Concept select
Phase 2: Concept identification Phase 4: Front end engineering design
Field Development Planning
Phase 1: Screening
The objective of the screening phase is to determine which redevelopment methodologies are applicable for the client’s field
and propose a preferred option.
This phase is initiated by framing the project at the client’s office and gathering relevant, quality controlling and restoring
data. During the framing, the client will share the field development philosophy, history and operations, as well as the
commercial framework within which the field must be profitable. Caspian Consultants will evaluate available geological,
petrophysical, dynamic, well and facilities data to help formulate the project timeline, determine if significant gaps exist.
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3. Back in Caspian Consultants’s offices, our staff will apply their broad expertise to rapidly assess several (re)development
methods including optimized water flood, polymer flood and chemical (ASP) flood, as appropriate. Important parameters for
consideration in the analysis include reservoir, crude and aquifer properties, including reservoir temperature, crude viscosity,
reservoir permeability and aquifer salinity. For given methods a small
dynamic simulation may be constructed to help determine field
sensitivities to these parameters and estimate incremental production
and uncertainty associated with the forecast.
At the conclusion of this phase, a screening report will be generated
and personally reviewed onsite with the client. This report will describe
the methodologies evaluated, discuss their applicability to the client’s
field, and estimate relative incremental production and ultimate
recovery, as well as risks and uncertainties and proposed roadmap
forward. The report will also propose the preferred (re)development
methodology. During this consultation meeting, questions and
concerns will be addressed to ensure the client can make the right
decision as to whether to proceed to the next step in realizing
maximum returns from the study fields.
Phase 2: Concept Identification
The objective of this phase is to identify development concepts for the preferred redevelopment method. The results will be
delivered in a feasibility report outlining the business-case and possible concepts to achieve profitable (re)development of the
field under the development method identified in phase 1. The report will be be delivered and personally reviewed with the
client to ensure that all issues associated with field development, including local logistics, operations, contracts and
procurement and commercial regimes have been fully considered in the identification of profitable development concepts.
Maturation of different concepts will commence once the preferred methodology has been chosen. Different methodologies
may be utilized to mature the concept. For example, if chemical flooding is proposed, laboratory testing to characterize
phase behavior testing and surfactant compatibility will be
performed. This may involve testing a suite of surfactants on the
crude and formation water to identify the optimum recipe to help
mobilize the most oil for production. If a field pilot has been
determined to be a necessary step to mature the concept, the pilot
location will be determined in this phase and assessed via dynamic
simulation to determine the optimal number of wells, well spacing
and type. In addition, a more detailed business case will be
presented which takes into account the new production forecast
from the detailed simulation, and incremental investments in wells,
facilities and chemicals to help the client determine whether to
pursue (re)development of the field.
Phase 3: Concept Selection
The objective of this phase is to determine the appropriate pilot or full field development concept. Consideration will be given
to the well pattern, recipe, slug sizes, injection/production rates, well- and facilities design. The results will be presented to
the client at his offices in a Concept Development Plan. This report can form the basis for the Front End Engineering work to
be pursued in Phase 4. Further refinement of the forecast may be done by incorporating additional laboratory results, e.g.
core-flow experiments, which yield valuable insight on relative permeability, chemical absorption rates and injectivity. If
applicable, relevant field tests, single well injection test with tracer will be proposed, and if agreed, designed and managed,
allowing a more robust forecast of the incremental produceable oil by indirectly measuring residual oil saturation before and
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4. after flooding. It is a measurement of the efficiency of
the chosen methodology near the injector (for full
picture including sweep efficiency a producing pilot is
recommended).
Phase 4: FEED
Finally, the objective of phase 4 is to determine
whether or not the to make the financial investment
decision. To aid the client in determining this, Caspian
Consultants will assist the client in selecting a front
end engineering design (FEED) firm, and manage the
FEED studies on the client’s behalf, ensuring that all
design elements are addressed and delivered to the
specified quality. These designs may include
identification and selection of exotic materials and
novel execution approaches.
Summary
Caspian Consultants will provide your company with an end-to-end service: this service includes identification and
assessment and a recommendation for a field (re)development method, selection of the optimal concept to execute that
redevelopment and selection and management of FEED studies to allow the client to make a financial investment decision.
At each step of the way, Caspian Consultants will provide the business analysis to determine the amount of incremental
production, the field ultimate recovery and the value associated with that. Furthermore, Caspian Consultants will design and
oversee all relevant and agreed laboratory work and field testing which may be required to make this assessment.
The advantage of Caspian Consultants is that the client gets seasoned experts providing an unbiased assessment. Caspian
Consultants’s pragmatic approach delivers fast screening and scoping and recommendations designed to minimize your
company’s capital exposure. Caspian Consultants facilitates transparent decision making and enables your company to
make the right choice for your field. Caspian Consultants’s field development approach is proven in major oil companies and
flexible, so can be applied to every size field.
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