Automated Well Intervention Planning and Method Selection

Every hydrocarbon producing field depends on high uptime in order to deliver value according to a promised depletion plan. Both producing and injecting wells rely on quality maintenance throughout their lifespan to ensure a desirable uptime resulting in safe and reliable performance. There are numerous variations of well intervention methods that are designed to increase or recover the productivity of the well. The optimal choice is often field- or well-specific and may vary depending on the life stage of the well. Intervention cost builds up over the lifetime of a well, especially when considering that cost is added to unnecessary loss or premature decline in productivity. It is evident that the potential for savings is significant if it is possible to reduce the total cost of well intervention operations and increase the effect they have on overall production and the fields ability to deliver value. Aker BP, a partner in this research project, analyzed several stages of a well intervention job across their fixed installations Valhall, Ula and Ivar Aasen: 500 - 750 mNOK is spent on well interventions per year; 120-140 well intervention programs are being generated each year; an engineer spends on average 10 days to plan and finalize a plan for the well intervention program; and most of the time spent on well intervention planning is today manual and repetitive. The aim of this research was to create software for automating well intervention planning, thereby: reducing planning time by 90%; generating higher quality plans that will result in optimized performance with reduced likelihood of human error; and unlock valuable engineering time. By compressing the time needed to generate well intervention programs, subject matter experts can be allocated to allow an increased activity level offshore. For Aker BP this could potentially increase the number of well interventions by 30%, resulting in an increase of 2000-4000 barrels per day (bbl/d). Results achieved: We studied, documented, and prototyped the complete well intervention planning and execution process for our partner and a key service company. This was used as the foundation for most of the work carried out. The software prototype we developed for intervention planning has reduced the time to plan, and improved the accuracy of, well intervention plans. It still remains to quantify the improvements (the work is ongoing), but through extensive user testing and early feedback the trend is evident. We created templates for wireline tasks (runs), activities, and steps to greatly streamline the planning process and to create a foundation for stepwise improvement in the planning and execution phases and performing actual vs. plan analysis. A key feedback from users, during the project, was the need for an integrated solution for assigning and tracking actions, and for capturing discussions and decisions. This was deemed as a key ingredient in the total solution and the ability to meet the primary goal of the project (reduced and improved well intervention planning). In order to lay the foundation for operational improvements, we implemented a solution for analytics, showing how plan data can be combined with operational data in order to identify the problem areas with respect to well intervention planning and execution. This prototype will be used as the basis for a new commercial product. One of the goals was to show how the intervention plans created in the system included enough detail for autonomous conveyance. This goal was achieved by combining the plans created with Standard Operating Practices (e.g. speeds running in and out of the well, rules for weight checks, forces and hydraulics pre-job simulations, etc.) and then visualized in a 3D environment. Based on the results of the research, Stimline has laid the foundation for two, potentially three, new commercial products. The focus of the research, in the proposal from 2019, was on well intervention. However, the results have been so positive that a major oil company has chosen to continue developing the software, and the general approach to improved planning and collaboration, not only for well intervention, but also for drilling, completions, and plug and abandonment.

The outcome of the project is indeed reduced intervention cost, increased oil production, increased safety, and increased consistency during well intervention planning and operations. The software solution is now part of the digitalization process in two oil companies. A very positive result is also that a super-major oil company has selected the invention as the basis for their global digitalization solution not only for well intervention, but also for drilling, completions, and plug and abandon phases.

Stimline will, in close cooperation with Aker BP, create software algorithms that automatically generate actionable and insightful well intervention options for a given job. The intervention plans will be ranked and rated according to parameters such as: - Cost and time (to load out and actually do the job, variability in completion time) - Number of personnel required to perform the job - Track record (likelihood of success and consequences of failure) - Risk - Applicability to particular well types and regions - Equipment volume and weight offshore (crane ratings), logistics and space on hatch deck. - Availability of equipment from vendors None of this software exists today. The proposed innovation will be integrated into IDEX, an existing software software solution targeting well interventions. The most critical R&D Challenges are: Challenge 1: Identify the data and information that is required to enable the algorithms in proposed innovation, and how the data should be codified? Challenge 2: Create software that generates a detailed and actionable well intervention plan given a job objective. Challenge 3: Create an algorithm that automatically generates a set of relevant alternative well intervention plans. Challenge 4: Create an algorithm that ranks and rates relevant well intervention plans in order to make intelligent suggestions to the end user. Challenge 5: The software should be easy to use for both oil company and service company end-users. What is the best way to present alternatives to the user? The resulting innovation will help oil companies and service companies to dramatically lower well intervention planning time and therefore cost, increase productivity, and contribute to the creation of fit-for-purpose well intervention plans. The outcome of the project is reduced intervention cost, increased oil production and increased safety