An uncontrolled hydrocarbon release is one of the worst possible scenarios that an operating facility can experience. Not only are the safety barriers compromised, exposing the asset and people to significantly more risk, but the economic, business and environmental consequences can be detrimental.

Add Energy is an international oil and gas consultancy and service provider offering solutions across the E&P value chain, to help operators enhance performance, assure integrity and unlock efficiencies in their operations.

Drilling and extraction of hydrocarbons is a complex and risky process, and operators must have robust safety assurance and contingency measures in place to mitigate danger, efficiently respond to any incidents and reduce the personal, business and environmental impact if an uncontrolled release were to occur.

In certain regions of the world, and for some operators, regulations and internal procedures mandate that fields cannot be developed unless the operator can demonstrate that the well can be intercepted and controlled via a single relief well drilling operation, as opposed to multiple relief wells, which is usually the norm.

Safety is always the number one priority in drilling operations, but this can often impact an operator’s ability to reach their targets and optimize future production. However, there are ways engineers can increase the efficiency of field development and maximise production, without compromising safety. 

Production optimization with less CAPEX is an ever-growing quest for many operators. Not only are operators focused on maximizing flow rates through larger bores, but they want to achieve this with less investment.

Whilst production optimization creates significant cost benefits for a business, it is critical to note that additional risks are introduced when bigger bores are developed. These include, but are not limited to:

During a period of low oil price, it is even more critical to optimize costs and identify ways to meet production targets with less expenditure. 

This week marked the 10^th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon incident that took the lives of 11 men and wreaked havoc on the environment, as well as the oil and gas industry globally.