Graded Unit Development Stage

01/05/2014 Graded Unit
Offshore Oil and Gas Extraction
Brendan Smith- Student ID: 533917
FORTH VALLEY COLLEGE

1 Brendan Smith/SI:533917- | Forth Valley College
Contents
Aims...........................................................................................................................................2
Objectives and Timescales....................................................................................................3
Main Area for Project ..............................................................................................................3
Methods of Research and Presentation ..............................................................................4
Introduction to the offshore industry.....................................................................................6
Types of drilling........................................................................................................................7
Pro’s and Con’s to each drilling type ................................................................................8
Shallow and Deep Water Drilling ..........................................................................................9
Environmental Effects and Damage.....................................................................................9
Safety Measures Taken ...................................................................................................... 12
Recent Projects in the Sector............................................................................................. 14
Advancement of Technology.............................................................................................. 16
Where is the Future Going? ............................................................................................... 16
Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 17
Evaluation of Investigation Coverage............................................................................ 18
Evaluation of Project Sources ........................................................................................ 19
Evaluation of Aims............................................................................................................ 19
Evaluation of Project Difficulties..................................................................................... 20
Evaluation of Learning ..................................................................................................... 20
Bibliography........................................................................................................................... 20

2 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Aims | Forth Valley College
Planning Stage
In this project, I will write up a plan, development and evaluation on the topic of
offshore oil and gas extraction. In this I, have looked at the aims of each stage; the
timescales in which I planned on starting each sub-topic and the timescale to write
up my evaluation of the project. I have identified the main issues on each of these
sub-topics and looked at how I planned to research the topics through the
description of methods and sources used.
Aims
The aims of the plan:
 To give a clear and concise structure to look at how I will complete my
development and evaluation stage.
 To give a realistic approach to the timescales allocated to each individual sub-
topic and the evaluation.
 To make clear what I am researching and what methods were used to attain
this information.
 To identify the main issues that were researched during the development.
 The aims of the development:
 To attain a deep and highly detailed understanding of the offshore oil industry
and its processes.
 To explore past events that have acted as turning points in the industry.
 To look at what has been done to ensure that complete safety is achieved in
the industry.
 To explore the precautions taken to prevent environmental disasters
 To look at the benefits (and negatives) of the industry on the modern world.
 To look at recent projects and developments and what change they will
ultimately bring.
 To consider what the future may hold for the industry and how the industry is
going to solve the challenges presented.
The aims of the evaluation:
 To look back on what has been learned from this project.
 Looking at what has been achieved and what may not have been achieved.
 To look at what research methods were/weren’t effective during this project
 To look at what can be done to improve this in the future.

3 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Objectives and Timescales | Forth Valley College
Objectives and Timescales
In my research, I will cover a range of topics based around the offshore oil and gas
industry. These objectives are to achieve the aims stated in the development stage
plan. The following is my planned timescale for each individual sub-topic:
 Introduction to the offshore industry- Date of Completion: 28/02/14
 Types of Drilling- Date of Completion: 07/03/14
 The Positives and negatives to each drilling type- Date of Completion:
14/03/14
 Shallow and Deep Water Drilling- Date of Completion: 21/03/14
 Environmental Effects and Damage- Date of Completion: 04/04/14
 Safety Measures taken to prevent past disasters- Date of Completion:
11/04/14
 Recent Projects in the sector- Date of Completion: 18/04/14
 Advancement of Technology/Where is the future going? - Date of Completion:
25/04/14
 Remaining time will be used to structure and reference the development and
to deal with any corrections. This will run until the due date of the
development stage on the 01/05/14
 The evaluation of the development stage will be completed before the due
date 22/05/14. The aim is to have this typed up by the 08/05/14 with any
remaining time used to structure and correct any mistakes.
Main Area for Project
In the development stage the above objectives were further broken down to the
exact topics of research. Stating each objective, I will provide more detail on what
each involved:
Introduction to the offshore industry;
This will include the history of the oil industry technological advances leading up to
today’s technology and what it has done for the industry of today.
Types of Drilling;
This will include the various methods of drilling and what it takes to make a drill
effective and safe.
The Positives and negatives to each drilling type;
This will involve what type of cases each drill type is typically used for and why the
other drilling methods are not preferred in these circumstances.
Shallow and Deep Water Drilling;

4 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Methods of Research and Presentation | Forth
Valley College
In this a comparison, will be made to what drilling structures are used to withstand
and overcome the challenges set by the differing environments posed by both
shallow and deep water drilling.
Environmental Effects and Damage;
This topic looked at the effects that this industry poses to the environment and what
effect past disasters have had on the environment.
Safety Measures taken to prevent past disasters;
This topic involved the lessons learned and what is being done by companies to
ensure that they can be trusted to continue to operate in the know that the same
disaster won’t be repeated.
Recent Projects in the sector;
This topic looked at what projects companies are undertaking to improve the
technology and make them more effective.
Advancement of Technology (Where is the future going?);
A look at where experts are looking to in the future. What could the future hold and
what kind of benefits could be in store if the experts figure out new ways of getting
better results.
Methods of Research and Presentation
In this project, there were various methods of extracting the information required to
complete the objectives and hence answer the aims stated in the beginning. There is
the more obvious method which is the internet. Through this oil and gas companies
such as Shell and BP share their information to make the public more aware of what
they do when out extracting natural resources. So, using information from companies
will be one of my methods of research.
Through the internet; government and authority reports were also used. These
reports and investigations carried out by authorities can reveal large amounts of
information for the industry. These can be from recommendations for safety to
determination of how efficient a process is in determining the effect on CO2
emissions. These sources can be found on government agency websites such as
SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency).

5 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Methods of Research and Presentation | Forth
Valley College
Academic journals were also made use of. These journals provide excellent
references for information and are highly reliable sources of information which the
internet can lack (dependant on the source). Typical sources of this can be from the
internet or the Heriot Watt Vision Server.
Industry contacts were used during this research. People who work in the industry
itself are often full of detailed information and are very highly reliable. It is this high
and concise detail that can prove to be excellent for references for research.
This research shall be presented in a report format in my development stage.

6 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Introduction to the offshore industry | Forth Valley
College
Development Stage
In this report contains the development stage of the project “Offshore Oil and Gas
Extraction”. In this there will be a number of topics studied and detailed which all
relate to the goal of ‘gaining a deep and highly detailed understanding of the offshore
oil industry and its processes’. Furthermore to this, this report will study; the effects
the industry has and has had in the past; the measures taken as a result of the past
(human and environmental safety); the good and bad the industry gives the modern
world; recent projects within the industry (and what they will lead to); the future that
is held for the industry (looking at the challenges and solutions).
Introduction to the offshore industry
1
In this section, the history of the offshore industry will be studied looking at the very
beginning leading up to today and what effects history has had on today’s industry.
The very first ‘on water drilling’ took place in the 1930’s in the Louisiana swamps. It
was possible due to the waters being very shallow and sheltered. These barges
were rectangular in shape and could be towed by tugs, mobilising them into position
over the desired drill location.
The drilling in the Louisiana swamps was the building blocks that allowed offshore
drilling to develop. The first offshore well which was defined as ‘offshore’- because it
was ‘out of sight of land’- was developed on the 9th of September, 1947. While this
was a landmark in the industry’s history the water depth was only 15ft thanks to the
continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico.
Since these landmarks much further development has been achieved in the industry
in the run up to the twenty-first century. For example thanks to improving methods of
geology to discover potential fields using sonar, the potential of energy reserves of
oil across the world have been expanded. Many areas have discovered oil such as
the Middle East; South America (including the Falklands); the China Sea; Australia;
South East Asia; the North Sea; the Gulf of Mexico (deep water) and many new
developments are expanding the opportunities.
1 (International, 2013), (Spill)

7 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Types of drilling | Forth Valley College
Types of drilling
In the offshore industry there are three types of drilling available. One is conventional
overbalanced (OBD), Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) and the other
underbalanced drilling (UBD) which is a type of MPD. First OBD will be explored.
Overbalanced drilling or OBD is the conventional method used by the oil and gas
industry. However with advancing technology this method is likely to get outdated.
OBD works by creating greater pressure at the well bottom than what the
surrounding rock formation creates. This also creates under pressure further up the
drilled rock closer to the surface. The mud used in OBD is much heavier than in
other methods- this mud or mixture of clays and water help lubricate and keep the
drill bit cool as well as forcing drill cutting out the way of the drill so that it can
continue drilling. By pumping this heavy mud at high pressure it prevents oil and gas
(which is under high pressure itself due to the rock formation) from coming up to the
surface during drilling. It should be noted that if pressure is lost there is
precautionary measures taken. This involves the installation of a blowout preventer.
So if pressure is lost and oil and gas is forced to the surface the blowout preventer
effectively shuts off the drilled hole and maintains the rock formation pressure on the
oil and gas. All three drilling types make use of the blowout preventer as it is a
universal requirement in order to operate a drill procedure in a responsible manner.
In OBD the well fluid acts as the primary well control mechanism so changing the
fluid by altering the density acts as the primary control method. (Columbu's State
University) (NEDILJKA GAURINA-MEĐIMUREC)
Underbalanced drilling effectively does the opposite of its counter-part overbalanced
drilling. The idea is that the pressure created at the well bottom is less than that of
the surrounding rock formation. This means that there is high pressure further up the
drilled rock. It should be noted that the ‘mud’ used is a much lighter fluid, typically
fluids that have undergone gasification. This means that air, nitrogen and natural gas
are forced into the mud making it much lighter, reducing the pressure at the well
bottom. Because of the lighter fluid, the primary control of the well can no longer be
the conventional well fluid as used in OBD. Instead it is replaced by 3 new
mechanisms:
1. Hydrostatic Pressure of materials
2. Friction Pressure of the fluid from circulation
3. Choke Pressure which comes from the pipe being sealed at the surface
To be clear on what these mean:
The hydrostatic pressure is the pressure that is exerted by a liquid on a surface.
Friction Pressure is the pressure created as a result of the mud moving along the
rock surface in the well.

8 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Types of drilling | Forth Valley College
Finally managed pressure drilling is mostly a hybrid of UBD and OBD. This is where
the goal is to keep pressure of drilling in line with the surrounding rock formation.
This type of drilling follows how UBD works as UBD is a type of managed pressure
drilling. Like UBD the pressure is controlled by changing the hydrostatic, friction and
choke pressures to maintain the desired pressure. It is made to be a lower pressure
than what OBD would be. However unlike UBD the pressure is higher and sits at
roughly the rock formation pressure.
Pro’s and Con’s to each drilling type
Overbalanced drilling is a simple technique that has fewer risks. It can be controlled
by the circulating fluid and does not risk having hydrocarbons flow into the drill bore.
However OBD does have major disadvantages in which is what ultimately brought
about the newer UBD and MPD techniques. Overbalanced drilling creates higher
pressure than the pore pressure in the surrounding rock by injecting drilling fluid at
high pressure. This very pressure damages the well bore area and causes loss of
drill fluid. This when it comes to production, severely reduces the total amount of
recoverable hydrocarbon’s thus reducing the production life a well has. This reduces
potential profits that a company can make so makes this technique unfavourable.
Research has since found other techniques which include UBD and MPD.
Underbalanced drilling is a more complex technique that requires more time in
preparation and in risk assessing. It also involves a higher cost to drill using this
method. However there are great advantages to this technique. Underbalanced
drilling is opposite of OBD because of a well head low pressure. This means no
drilling fluid is lost during the drill and means there will be no damage to the well bore
area. This improves the quantity of hydrocarbons that are recoverable. According to
Dutch Shell this can be as high as 800% (Underbalanced Drilling). Also because
fewer well are required to be drilled to drain the reservoir it leaves a much lower
environmental footprint. So while drilling one well is more expensive, fewer are
drilled overall which can save money in the long-run. Underbalanced drilling is also
very useful to find out more information on tight gas wells. These wells are important
in the production and future production of natural gas. Unfortunately due to gas
being hard to identify with well discovery methods such as sonar, other ways must
be used to be certain the well is economically viable. UBD can be used to drill up
both drill cutting and the gas from the well with the circulating fluid. This gas can then
be analysed using chemistry lab techniques (Comparison and Advantages of UBD
and MPD Techniques: When Should Each Be Applied). OBD simply would not be
able to do this due to the high pressures that are utilized.

9 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Shallow and Deep Water Drilling | Forth Valley
College
Shallow and Deep Water Drilling
When companies’ drill they are faced with various challenges which can involves a
great deal of planning –one of these is what type of drilling rig to utilise during the
drill attempt. The type of drilling platform generally depends on the environment and
the depth at which the bedrock is discovered to be at. This depth is typically
determined by exploration ships using sonar to predict where potential wells are and
what depths the driller will have to deal with. Up until recent developments deep
water drilling was never really considered but thanks to growing demand for energy
the industry is having to put in a great deal of resources to find ways of drilling in
deeper water. This is where the type of drilling rig used is essential.
There are five general types of drilling platforms:
 Barge
 Jack-Up Rig
 Semi-Submersible
 Drillship
 Part of a floating production platform
Barges are used in the shallowest waters. These depths range from 5-50 metres.
Jack-Up rigs typically range from 25-150 metres water depth. Semi-Submersible
goes from 500-3000 metres and drillships can deal with water 500-3,650 metres
deep. As for an example the North Sea is a shallow sea. For this reason the typical
rigs used are Jack-Up Rigs and Semi-Submersible. On the other hand in the likes of
the Gulf of Mexico or in Brazil the deep drilling platforms are used such as the Semi-
submersible, drillship or the drilling capable production platform. Barges in general
aren’t used often now as typical shallow water (less than 50m depth) rarely has oil
left from earlier developments such as back in 1947. Because it was easier to get to
this oil it has been virtually depleted so now deeper waters have to be explored and
exploited to continue to meet global energy demand.
Environmental Effects and Damage
Offshore oil and gas developments have often had severe impact on the
environment. Hydrocarbons being an organic family of compounds can have severe
effects on ecosystems and have long lasting devastation to any local environment.
This is due to the physical properties shared by hydrocarbons and their derivatives.
Oil when drilled from the ground is a mix of chemicals forced together into a mix by
the great pressures caused by the rock formations deep underground. This mix

10 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Environmental Effects and Damage | Forth Valley
College
typically contains only 30-50% hydrocarbons that can be readily used. The remaining
is made up of:
 hydrogen (H2)
 hydrogen sulphide (H2S)
 Waxes and solids (bitumen)
 Water
 Sand, silt and grit
 Contains trace elements such as mercury and uranium
 Salts including sodium, calcium and magnesium
 Sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen containing compounds
This toxic mix is dangerous for a number of reasons as it is:
 Extremely toxic (hydrogen sulphide, mercury)
 Extremely flammable (hydrogen sulphide and hydrogen)
 Carcinogenic (tars and aromatic compounds)
 Contains radioactive materials (uranium)
 Creates pyrophoric scales with iron/rust (this can spontaneously combust in
presence of oxygen/air)
 Due to the physical properties petroleum has a lower density than water (i.e. it
floats on top of water)
 The high viscosity makes the mix very sticky making cleaning of affected local
bird life very difficult.
This makes oil mixtures extremely hazardous to any environment including human
environments. Offshore oil spills are very harmful and can take weeks and even
months to clean up costing heavily the ecosystems in the affected area. The toxicity
kills many fish and water based creatures and the viscosity ruins feathers on
seabirds preventing them from flying and eating. It also affects onshore beaches
when washed up affecting yet more wildlife. There are many examples of this; two
examples will be looked at showing spills from the oil rigs and from transportation
ships.
Stabilised oil is simply oil refined enough for safe transportation. This stabilisation is
typically done on production platforms but this depends on how the oil is transported
onshore. If the oil is taken by ship it must be stabilised however if done by pipeline
such as in the North Sea then this isn’t necessary. This first step in petroleum
refining involves separating water and entrained gases from the oil and reducing the
temperature and pressure. So it is clear that oil spills still contain a lot of the life-
threatening impurities whether it is stabilised or not. It is only the refining facilities
that actually remove these unwanted and dangerous substances which may be
present on oil rigs or onshore again depending on transportation.

11 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Environmental Effects and Damage | Forth Valley
College
The first example which is a fairly recent one was the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico in
2010. This spill was caused by the blow out preventer failing to stop oil and gas
escaping to the seabed. This allowed up to 95 thousand barrels of oil to be released
into the Gulf every day creating a great environmental catastrophe. The cost to the
eco-system was huge; by the 60th day 1550 birds were collected of which 885 were
dead. 469 sea turtles were collected and 363 had died. Marine mammals -which
were mostly beached bottlenose dolphins- collected was a total of 47 of which 44
had died. The casualty rate was high but the fatality rate was also very close to the
number of causalities. There were also great effects on the coastal shrimp and
menhaden populations which had affected the two largest fisheries in the region.
The shoreline was also badly affected in the incident. Many inland wetlands and
islands marshes which provide sanctuaries for many animals will –as a government
report in 2000 predicted- cause “severe adverse impacts” on these regions. With
some of them being permanent. There will be a loss of island habitat due to the local
vegetation dying. This will result in increased erosion thus permanently affecting the
islands. These islands also act as barriers to tropical storms reducing the damage
done. Without these islands hurricanes are bound to cause more damage especially
with the earth’s climate warming.
(Channel Four, 2010)
In 1978, the tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground off the coast of Brittany (in France)
after its steering failed in a severe storm. Its cargo of 246,000 tons of light crude oil
from the Middle East spilled into the English Channel, with the dyer consequence of
killing more marine life than any other oil spill before that time. Attempts to clean-up
were badly disrupted by strong winds and rough seas. Less than 3300 tons of
dispersants were used to attempt to contain the spill. Within two weeks of the
disaster, millions of dead molluscs, sea urchins and other similar species were
washed up onto the Brittany coast line. Entire echinoderm and small crustacean
populations almost totally disappeared from some areas. Fortunately these
recovered within a year. However other wildlife such as diving seabirds were badly
affected having taken a loss of life of almost 20,000. Life in the estuaries was
seriously affected as oyster cultivation contamination resulted in an estimated 9,000
tonnes of product being destroyed to prevent damaging market confidence in the
local industry.
Oil and gas production is a great risk to any environment unless proper precautions
and safety measures are put in place and maintained throughout the length of the
operation. Especially with rising awareness of human effect on the globe these
measures are ever more important for companies to use and enforce from the
commissioning to the eventual decommissioning of any oil field. (Hooke, 1997)

12 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Safety Measures Taken | Forth Valley College
Safety Measures Taken
Safety Measures are essential in today’s world. Many companies take pride in
having excellent safety records and this reflects in the strength of their company on
the market. For stakeholders safety is paramount and if this is inflicted upon it can
really damage a company’s profits. This is best seen with the BP oil spill in the Gulf
of Mexico where BP lost nearly 22 percent of its market value within nine trading
days following the incident –amounting to around $40 billion of lost value. This was a
combination of 11 people being killed in an explosion on the deep-water horizon
platform (the platform affected) and a huge environmental impact after an estimated
4.9 million barrels of oil escaped into the ocean by the time the leak was contained.
In general all companies have similar approaches to maintaining standards in safety
and environmental effect. By simply spending a day onsite it is very clear safety is
the top priority as would be expected. The common ones include right to work
permits and toolbox talks. The right to work permit system effectively is a risk
assessment of every potential event and hazard that could present itself during the
work being carried out. These permits involve risk being analysed and forms being
filled in and then reviewed and signed off by the qualified supervisor. Once signed
off, all these potential hazards and responses are then passed down to the
employees taking part in that operation and any uncertainty with any member of the
team are dealt with prior to any work being started. If anyone feels worried or any
unplanned changes occur work stops safely and immediately and is reviewed before
work can continue.
Shell also includes further safety measures known as Mind Safety. This is a
compulsory course which all employees complete when working on gas plant
production in Scottish operations. These operations run from the starting point up at
St. Fergus gas plant in the north which separates the methane from natural gas and
provides gas for the national grid in the UK. The remainder is sent via pipeline south
to Mossmorran FNGL plant. At Mossmorran the remaining ethane, propane, butane
and gasoline are separated and stored before being sent to the Braefoot bay
offloading facility which fills large tankers with product to be exported abroad. When
dealing with gas there is an increased hazard compared to dealing with liquid.
Pressure creates the chances of explosions and hydrocarbon gas has a very high
flammability. The idea behind mind safety is to ensure that employees don’t simply
go into an autopilot mode or alpha sleep during work. Accidents often occur when
employees have done a job for so long or they have other things on their mind (like
the vast majority of the population), they no longer use they’re full conscious
awareness while performing that work. This is often described as carelessness and
this can be attributed to this alpha sleep. This is where mind safety comes into play.
The main principle of mind safety is:

13 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Safety Measures Taken | Forth Valley College
 The average mind can hold 7+-2 pieces of information at one time. So when
on a job, new information is constantly flowing so when the mind fills up it
removes old information or forgets it.
 This is a cause for concern so when say a hazard is identified it is to be dealt
with immediately but only if it is safe to do so. If this is not dealt with ASAP
then there is a greater chance the conscious mind will fail to deal with the
hazard. It could be too late by this time.
 When any personnel approach a working area, they are to:
o Scan the area for potential hazards
o Determine what risks might be involved due to those hazards
o And what needs to be done to protect myself from harm
However, mind safety goes beyond this. There can be issues with communication
between the workers and supervisors and management. Communications are
essential and to risk these breaking down can create hazards in itself. When mind
safety was introduced all employees had to complete the basic course which
improved communication between the various ranks.
Secondly positivity in safety was introduced. The idea of safe working practice being
a positive rather than a boring chore type that had to be completed was another
important principle. By using the dynamic training which involved humour,
entertainment, and real life examples which everyone could relate to, create a
common belief that safety is a positive thing. Also the idea that this mind safety is not
just a course completed and brushed aside creates the idea that there is a common
goal which all levels within the plant are working towards ensures everyone is
working together creating that team sense.
Lastly the improved leadership that all management and mind safety coaches all
take part in. All of those involved attended leadership courses to improve their
personal skills and meetings both weekly and monthly occur between management,
the coaches, supervisors and the workforce to ensure confidence is high and any
issues are dealt with appropriately. This is how further steps have been taken to
mainly eliminate human injury but of course can prevent other damages to the
environment surrounding such plants and operations. (Royal Dutch Shell, 2012)
(Royal Dutch Shell)
The best way to see the detail of environmental protection measures put in place by
companies in recent times is to look at Royal Dutch Shell’s arctic readiness project.
With the recent disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and with the sensitive environment in
the Alaskan Northern Slope, development here leaves no other option than to put in
place a great deal of measures in place to give the government and local population
confidence in the companies operation. It is believed that the arctic could contain
almost 27 billion barrels of oil. This could help support national security in both
foreign and economic security for North America. Shell has spent almost $4 billion
and five years studying and understanding the arctic environment they wish to drill

14 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Recent Projects in the Sector | Forth Valley
College
in. A spill prevention plan second to none in the world has been developed. There is
to be no exploratory drilling until the summer to ensure complications with ice flow
cannot risk issues during drilling. Shell has invested in an arctic response fleet of
booms (which are floating barriers to prevent oil spills spreading), skimmers (which
are devices that contain materials that oil tends to stick to, removing it from the water
surface), aircraft capable of spreading dispersants and a huge 301ft ice breaking
ship capable of towing 250 tons. In total 13 thousand barrels can be recovered per
day. Responders trained for arctic conditions would be operational within an hour of
an accident. Also two ships will be available to drill relief wells and an onsite capping
and containment system will be on standby in the event of a worst case scenario.
Finally to top it all off there is a real time operations centre which monitors drilling
24/7 and plans responses for any unplanned events that occur. This level of
prevention and safety is the best in the world is undoubtedly going to become more
common as wells get harder to drill and have to face tougher environments with
increasing pressure on the industry to operate safely. (Royal Dutch Shell, 2011)
(Royal Dutch Shell) (Shell is arctic ready(part 3))
Oil Boom Containment System Oil Skimmer System
Recent Projects in the Sector
There has been some great advancement in the industry to date. With ever rising
difficultly in reaching reserves and greater demand than ever companies truly have
to push the boundaries of their capability. In this section recent projects that are
pushing these boundaries will be looked at.

15 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Recent Projects in the Sector | Forth Valley
College
The huge Shell Prelude project is a must in this section. Prelude is a great
demonstration of challenging environments and circumstances being overcome in
the great search for new energy resources, in particular, LNG which is the cleanest
burning fossil fuel. The project involved the building of the biggest offshore FNGL
(Floating Natural Gas Liquids) facility to date. This facility is designed to meet the
challenging environments it will need to operate in, which will first be 475km off the
coast of North West Australia which is subject to the worst of cyclones at the
category 5 level. It will weigh almost 600,000 tonnes, 6 times greater than that of the
biggest aircraft carrier the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in the US Navy.
The hull was completed and launched for the first time in November of 2013. It was
sent to take part in the next stage of building which involves putting the compact
processing modules onto the deck. In order for this to be completed the processing
plant size had to be reduced to a quarter of the size of its land counterpart, this
despite the huge size of the facility. The facility once commissioned will produce
Natural Gas and store it on-board to be exported by tankers to consumers all over
the world but primarily to the growing markets in Asia. It will produce 117% of NGL
required to meet the Hong Kong natural gas demand for a year. (Royal Dutch Shell)
(Game changer for the energy industry (animation)) (Prelude’s maiden voyage (film),
2014)

16 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Advancement of Technology | Forth Valley
College
Advancement of Technology
The best way to look at advancing technology is to research the increasing recovery
rates of wells and reservoirs. In mature oil fields such as in the North Sea recovery
rates were as low as 20%-40%. A good example of this is in the Magnus field in the
North Sea (the northernmost producing field in the UK sector). Common to the
mature fields in the North Sea is that large amounts of oil are still within the wells but
are unrecoverable with old technologies. This old technology was water flooding.
Water flooding involves pumping water deep underground into the rock pores
containing the oil and forcing the oil up by maintaining the well pressure. However
water flooding overtime causes oil to become trapped in pores preventing them from
surfacing.
Another method is required to continue production. Polymer flooding and surfactant
flooding were ruled out due to the high temperatures present in the well and the fact
that chemicals at that time would have quickly degraded in these temperatures. CO2
injection was also ruled out as a lack of supply and expensive changes to facilities
and equipment would have been required. The best way seen feasible to gain
enhanced oil recovery (EOH) was by using hydrocarbon gas as the oil present in the
Magnus field was sufficiently light and reservoir pressure was high enough for
miscibility with gas lean in heavier components. This way the water film can be
thinned and allow the oil to flow again. (Ann Muggeridge)
Where is the Future Going?

17 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Conclusion | Forth Valley College
There are a number of emerging technologies that will yet improve recovery rates in
oil production. One of these is low salinity water injection. The lower amount of salt in
the brine mixture helps in making the rocks in the well slightly more ‘water wet’ which
has the effect of mobilising more oil behind the displacement front of the brine mix.
Thus it will improve recovery rate. (Ann Muggeridge)
There is also a large drive into developing hydraulic fracturing or commonly known
as fracking. There have been great economic benefits as seen in North America. It
has allowed for the reindustrialisation is some areas thanks to cheaper energy being
made available. This has encouraged research and development in the UK in the
North Sea sector. It is believed at 14,000ft below the surface there could be more oil
and gas that can be accessed by unconventional technology than what has been
produced so far by conventional offshore drilling in the North Sea. It is believed that
new technologies could increase the world’s petroleum supply six-fold to 10.2 trillion
barrels. With 30% of world energy expected to come from renewables by 2050, the
other 70% will need to come from fossil fuels and fracking could well light the way for
the future. (Trapoil outlines North Sea fracking plans) (North Sea oil fracking could
‘change’ economy) (New drilling technologies could give us so much oil, the climate
won’t stand a chance)
Conclusion
To conclude, this report has looked in detail the processes of offshore drilling looking
at the various types of drilling such as OBD, UBD and MPD methods. The pros and
cons to these drilling types have been looked at as well to gain a deeper knowledge
of how the various types may be used. This report has detailed the effects of the
industry on the world in both past and present in terms of human and environmental
effect. Also, recent projects have been explored to gain an idea of the scale that the
industry are investing in the future and the advancement of technologies showing
where the future is going.

Evaluation Stage
In this investigation, the topic covered was on offshore oil and gas extraction. Area’s
that were explored included:
 An Introduction to the offshore oil and gas industry
 The types of drilling available- including they’re advantages and
disadvantages
 Looking at shallow and deep water drilling methods
 Environmental effects and damage due to the industry
 Safety measures in response to these effects on the environment
 Safety measures taken to protect workers
 Looking at recent projects in the sector
 Detailing the advancement of technology in today’s world
 Looking at where the future is heading for the industry
These areas of research helped to give a highly detailed and deep analysis of what
is occurring and has occurred in the industry up until today with a brief look at where
the industry is going in the future.
Evaluation ofInvestigation Coverage
In the development stage a great amount of detail was given in important areas.
When looking at the highly technical drilling types available; three types of drilling
were looked at in high detail. This involved OBD (Over-balanced drilling), UBD
(Under-balanced drilling), and MPD (Managed pressure drilling). Shallow and deep
water provide varying challenges which are met by having different structures in
place. This had a good deal of detail however did not go into detail of why these
structures are best suited to they’re environments. Perhaps this could have been a
way of furthering the depth of detail given in the development stage. For
environmental effects, a great level of detail was put in, giving two recent examples.
This helped to show the reasoning behind the next sections topic on safety
measures that are now in place. However, these measures explored did not just
look at the environment but the workers who support in oil extraction. Safety is
essential for workers and how far companies have gone to extend this safety is
looked at. Looking at recent projects helped to show the extent of investment in the
industry. The sheer scale of the project explored not only shows this but shows how
important meeting energy demand is. The final section covers what the future holds
and how the engineering world is gearing up for it. This details emerging
technologies that are currently in their infancy that could prove to be of great use.
Whilst there is a great and justified drive to move away from fossil fuels to

renewables, until this technology is made more economical and more efficient fossil
fuels will continue to provide much of energy demand.
Evaluation ofProjectSources
In the development stage, there were four types of sources of information which
included:
 Websites
 Journals
 Newspaper Articles
 Company Information
The clear majority of information came from both websites on the internet and
material made available by companies in the industry (which was primarily Royal
Dutch Shell). Websites provided a great source of information and this information
generally came from professional bodies to ensure data accuracy. This information
is readily available usually resulting from search engine use. However, there is no
guarantee of perfect accuracy on websites which in where this source could be a
disadvantage. Whilst journals were used, they were not commonly used. Journals
are excellent for the high detail and ensured data accuracy. The reason they weren’t
used as often is due to the fact they are not always readily available (may have a
price tag) and it can take a long time to pick out the required data. Newspaper
articles were also used but again not commonly. Articles are good for getting news
stories and this was a great source when looking at the past examples in the
Environmental effect section as it gave good facts and statistics. However, for
looking at technical detail (which this report primarily contained) it wasn’t best suited
to giving that kind of information. Company material is great for both technical detail
and data accuracy. It is also good for supporting understanding the information by
putting it in a simplified form. This data can however be hard to find at times.
Evaluation ofAims
The aim of the development stage was to produce a highly detailed and deeply
understood researched piece. Looking back the detail of the report is very high in all
areas but it was much higher in certain pieces where it was perhaps was more
deserving to be. The depth was also good but in certain area’s this could have been
better. Ways of improving the depth could have included taking more examples – to
give a greater picture of the topic – and going to a more technical depth – such as
looking at formulas and relationships.

20 Brendan Smith/SI:533917-Bibliography | Forth Valley College
Evaluation ofProjectDifficulties
During the time of graded unit a few difficulties did arise. When writing the planning
stage, a lot of information had been lost due to a burglary of my flat. This set me
back by weeks as coursework from across all my subjects had been affected.
Overcoming this was a challenge however by spending extra time in the library
during lunch times and by setting up a way of backing up my coursework this
prevented any further disruption so I managed to recover in time for the beginning of
the development stage. Also, due to times during the development stage when I had
large volumes of coursework I would have fallen behind on my research and write-up
times as detailed in my plan at the start. Again, by continuing spending extra time
over lunch periods I managed to overcome this.
Evaluation ofLearning
During the research carried out I learned several new topics and developed old
ones. I learned a lot about engineering in the oil and gas industry, in particular the
drilling engineering when looking at the drilling methods. Also, I learned more about
chemistry when looking at the physical properties of oil and what effects these have
on the environment. My industrial chemicals block came useful when looking at the
oil extracted, which I also got to further develop by looking at the methods of
extracting from different types of well conditions. My maths came into use when
looking at the complex formulas used in drilling engineering. I got to further this as
the information was broken down and applied in an area of interest to me. Getting an
understanding of the investment in the industry helped my understanding of what the
industry was doing and the extent of opportunities available in it.
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