4_Petroleum and NG Engineering EA lecture note

Editor's Notes

• #3: Petroleum Engineering is the field of engineering that deals directly with the exploration and production of hydrocarbons such as petroleum and natural gas. This exploration and production associated with Petroleum Engineering generally falls within the upstream sector of the petroleum and natural gas industry, and most engineers are generally employed in one of the following disciplines: 1.  Reservoir Engineering – work to optimize production of natural gas and petroleum via correct well placement and production techniques. 2.  Drilling Engineering – work diligently to assure all specific and technical drilling procedures are met as the well drilled. 3.  Production Engineering – manage and monitor well production, and work to assure that all procedures and technical implementations between the well and reservoir are met during the production process. In short, Petroleum Engineers are responsible for the design, development, and implementation of safe, technical, and efficient engineering methods for the drilling, production, work-over, and extraction of petroleum and natural gas. The Petroleum Engineering profession is monitored and granted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), and there are currently more than 110,000 members working in more than 40 countries around the world.
• #4: Of particular interest to reservoir engineers is generating accurate reserves estimates for use in financial reporting to the SEC and other regulatory bodies. Other job responsibilities include numerical reservoir modeling, production forecasting, well testing, well drilling and workover planning, economic modeling, and PVT analysis of reservoir fluids. Reservoir engineers also play a central role in field development planning, recommending appropriate and cost effective reservoir depletion schemes such as water flooding or gas injection to maximize hydrocarbon recovery. Due to legislative changes in many hydrocarbon producing countries, they are also involved in the design and implementation of carbon sequestration projects in order to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases.
• #5: Reservoir engineers often specialize in two areas: Surveillance (or production) engineering, i.e. monitoring of existing fields and optimization of production and injection rates. Surveillance engineers typically use analytical and empirical techniques to perform their work, including decline curve analysis, material balance modeling, and inflow/outflow analysis. Simulation modeling, i.e. the conduct of reservoir simulation studies to determine optimal development plans for oil and gas reservoirs. Also, reservoir engineers perform and integrate well tests into their data for reservoirs in geothermal drilling.
• #6: Reservoir engineers often specialize in two areas: Surveillance (or production) engineering, i.e. monitoring of existing fields and optimization of production and injection rates. Surveillance engineers typically use analytical and empirical techniques to perform their work, including decline curve analysis, material balance modeling, and inflow/outflow analysis. Simulation modeling, i.e. the conduct of reservoir simulation studies to determine optimal development plans for oil and gas reservoirs. Also, reservoir engineers perform and integrate well tests into their data for reservoirs in geothermal drilling.
• #7: Petroleum production engineering is a subset of petroleum engineering. Petroleum production engineers design and select equipment to extract and treat oil and gas well fluids. They often are degreed as petroleum engineers, although they may come from other technical disciplines (e.g., mechanical engineering) and subsequently be trained by an oil and gas company. Petroleum production engineers' responsibilities include: 1. Evaluating inflow and outflow performance between the reservoir and the wellbore. 2. Designing completion systems, including tubing selection, perforating, sand control, matrix stimulation, and hydraulic fracturing. 3. Selecting artificial lift equipment, including sucker-rod lift (typically beam pumping), gas lift, electrical submersible pumps, subsurface hydraulic pumps, progressing-cavity pumps, and plunger lift. 4. Selecting equipment for surface facilities that separate and measure the produced fluids (oil, natural gas, water, and impurities), prepare the oil and gas for transportation to market, and handle disposal of any water and impurities.
• #8: Petroleum production engineering is a subset of petroleum engineering. Petroleum production engineers design and select equipment to extract and treat oil and gas well fluids. They often are degreed as petroleum engineers, although they may come from other technical disciplines (e.g., mechanical engineering) and subsequently be trained by an oil and gas company. Petroleum production engineers' responsibilities include: 1. Evaluating inflow and outflow performance between the reservoir and the wellbore. 2. Designing completion systems, including tubing selection, perforating, sand control, matrix stimulation, and hydraulic fracturing. 3. Selecting artificial lift equipment, including sucker-rod lift (typically beam pumping), gas lift, electrical submersible pumps, subsurface hydraulic pumps, progressing-cavity pumps, and plunger lift. 4. Selecting equipment for surface facilities that separate and measure the produced fluids (oil, natural gas, water, and impurities), prepare the oil and gas for transportation to market, and handle disposal of any water and impurities.
• #9: Petroleum reservoir management is a dynamic process that recognizes the uncertainties in reservoir performance resulting from our inability to fully characterize reservoirs and flow processes. It seeks to mitigate the effects of these uncertainties by optimizing reservoir performance through a systematic application of integrated, multidisciplinary technologies. It approaches reservoir operation and control as a system, rather than as a set of disconnected functions. As such, it is a strategy for applying multiple technologies in an optimal way to achieve synergy. Reservoir management consists of processes that require the interaction of technical, operating, and management groups for success. The complexity of the problem and size of the asset dictate the type and number of personnel assigned to the task. Commitments can vary from part-time assignments for technical and operating staff members to the full-time use of multifunctional and, in some instances, multi-organizational teams.