The Platform to Optimise the Stranded Well Potential

Abstract

During the low oil price period, PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) embarked on an intensified approach to prioritize the production enhancement and idle well reactivation (PE/IWR) activities in its Malaysia operations. To monetize the remaining reserves from these 2,000 active and idle strings, comprehensive opportunity management system which covers opportunity identification, evaluation and prioritization, planning, execution and tracking the activities are implemented. The identified opportunities from the active and idle wells inventory and integrated field review are initially assessed at a high level based on three criteria, value (the estimated Unit Enhancement Cost, UEC), probability of success and doability which indicates how quickly it will be restored. After the due diligence work completed, the opportunities will progress to the multi-disciplinary technical commercial value assurance committee for approval then followed by planning and scoping the detailed execution. All prioritized, approved and planned opportunities are then turned into execution pipeline and properly tracked into a systematic methodology for post job analysis, evaluating the success of the jobs and recording the lessons learnt for improved future jobs is also addressed in this article. This article also outlines the examples of comprehensive and successful approach of idle string reactivation activities which gone through this opportunity management system via fishing operation, scale removal treatment, gas lift optimization, behind casing opportunities, acid matrix stimulation and surface facilities rejuvenation. This approach has significantly improved the percentage of active wells in entire domestic operation from 50 to 53%.