“In the initial phase the goal is to get production up and running as quickly as possible, but never to forget the long-term perspective. Later, the aim is to develop the field further and reach plateau production, or as we say; the cruising altitude, where we get the most out of the production with the least effort,” says Trond Myrseth, Director Group Operations at DNO.
The Tawke field in Kurdistan provides a good example, where production capacity has increased from the original rate of 50,000 bopd to around 70,000 bopd in 2011, with the goal of reaching a sustainable capacity level of 100,000 in 2012.
According to Myrseth, “Naturally, the goal is to stay on a stable and high production level as long as possible, but at some point pressure is will decrease or water becomes an increasing part, of the oil flow, thus signaling the onset of the tail-end phase of production.” But DNO production operations in Yemen show clearly profitability and sustainable production even in this tail-end phase.
Profitable recovery
The producing fields in Yemen have reached the early stage of tail-end production, and today a large portion of the well flow is water. As a result of extensive use of different types of infill wells to maximize profitable recovery from the fields, DNO has been able to sustain an average production of approximately 5,000 bopd during 2011.
“We are continuously monitoring the reservoirs. If we do reservoir management the right way, we can significantly prolong oil flow. Prolonging the tail end production offer financial benefits for the host country and for us,” says Myrseth.