Addressing Safety Challenges of Operating in Sour Gas Fields: A Case Study from the Middle East

Abstract

In the Middle East, there is a gas field that is one of the most challenging gas extraction development projects in the world. The field has a hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentration in excess of 20%. The field was discovered over 40 years ago, but due to the absence of appropriate technologies to safely extract the reservoirs, field development had been sidelined for several decades. With the advances in oilfield technologies and processes, the field operator commenced field development a few years back. The operator protects its facilities from H2S risk by a comprehensive air management process that uses leading industry gas monitoring and protection systems. During the project design phase, the emphasis focused on fixed facilities and protection at these facilities. However, the possibility of an unexpected gas release and exposure in areas away from the fixed facilities and while in transit within the field soon became apparent. The challenge was to provide for the safety of personnel from the time they entered the field to the time they exited it. An oilfield services company identified the potential risk that possible H2S exposure represented to the safety of personnel while in transit through this field. To address the challenge, the company sought the help of an innovative safety solutions provider. After a series of discussions between the safety solutions provider and the oilfield services company, it became apparent that there was a need to develop a solution that would provide early-warning gas detection while on the move, ensure immediate availability of breathing air protection, and allow communication and documentation of hazards and air status within a crew transportation vehicle. The resulting solution was a vehicle gas protection system (VGPS) with an integrated gas detection system and a proprietary breathing air management system that enables users to transit safely through such terrain.

The effect of impurity on miscible CO2displacement mechanism

“…The concept of acid gas is different from sour gas which consists of natural gas and a high H 2 S content. The sour gas reservoirs that are discovered all over the world are the main sources of acid gas (Abou-Sayed et al, 2004;Behrend et al, 2007;Huang et al, 2011;Onerhime et al, 2014;Mohsen-Nia et al, 1993;Verlaan and Zwet, 2012). The research on acid gas as a flooding agent of EOR has received wide interest since the 1960s (Battistelli and Marcolini, 2009;Harvey and Henry, 1960;He et al, 2019;Luo et al, 2019a, b;Siddiqui et al, 2013;Trivedi et al, 2005;Vark et al, 2004).…”

Preventing sour gas kicks during workover of natural gas wells from deep carbonate reservoirs with anti‐hydrogen sulfide fuzzy‐ball kill fluid

“…However, the constant action of acid gas under a high‐temperature condition could lead to the wearing and tearing of the casings and the propagation of cracks in the cement sheath 4 . In addition, high H 2 S leakage during gas production also leads to adverse environmental, health, and safety issues that limit the field development processes 5–10 . In this situation, experts could either abandon the well or execute a special well workover operation 11…”