The Shushufindi Revolution: New Life and a Brighter Future for a Giant

Abstract

The Shushufindi field is the largest oil accumulation (3.8 billion barrels) in the Oriente Basin in Ecuador, and it represents 16% of the total oil production in the country. It was discovered in 1972 and has achieved a current recovery of 1.2 billion barrels of its original oil in place. Its peak oil production was 125,000 BOPD, reached in 1986; since then the production steadily declined. The Ecuadorian government recognized the danger of declining oil revenues, and, in January 2012, the national oil company (EP Petroamazonas) signed a 15-year Specific Integrated Services Contract with Consorcio Shushufindi S.A. (75% Schlumberger, 25% Tecpetrol). During an aggressive optimization campaign performed in the last 10 months, the Consorcio Shushufindi has achieved an incremental recovery of 1.1 million barrels (4,400 BOPD) by rebalancing and optimizing bottomhole flowing pressure over most of the field through increasing the extraction rate. An additional 1.1 million barrels (4,700 BOPD) of production was achieved by performing Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) upsizings in 24 wells, from a complete portfolio of 34 wells. The Shushufindi revolution demonstrates how an ambitious optimization plan, multidisciplinary integration and collaboration between the operator and the service company can be successful in a mature field despite the associated risks. In addition, this project demonstrates that activities can be performed to increase production at a minimal cost and how to maximize the return on existing assets through the realization of their production potential.