(Photo courtesy of SUCO)
Oil and gas production could “significantly” increase by using a three-dimensional geological modelling method, which displays the geological structure of any field, said a recent study by the Suez Oil Company (SUCO).
The modelling software is a computerised representation of the Earth’s crust, displaying a three-dimensional geological map for oil and gas reservoirs.
SUCO added the software has become one of the most effective means in the industry, noting that it would help lower operational costs.
However, building a coherent three-dimensional geological model is deemed a challenge “in terms of field development and reservoir management scheme”, the study said.
Over long years of production and field maturity, the geological interpretation, which involves geologic mapping, location selections and subsoil investigation, will be effective, the study said.
The study, which was released in May, aims to update the structural model of the Gulf of Suez’s Ras Budran field in order to improve the productive area and identify new potential discoveries in the non-productive areas; according to the study, this will result in an increase in the number of field reserves and production level.
“In this study, geological and geophysical interpretation besides modelling not only opens new windows of development, but also highlights areas of further exploration activities outside the mature field areas,” the study said.
Authors of the study have used all available data and various methods and techniques to construct a three-dimensional structural model for the Ras Budran field. They aim to establish structural model for all reservoir horizons, develop short and long term field production strategies in order to maximise field oil reserves and evaluate potential areas that may lead to new discoveries.
(Photo courtesy of SUCO)
The study began with an overview of the Ras Budran field, which is located in the North of Belayim offshore concession area, approximately 4 kilometres west of the Gulf of Suez, on the Sinai coast, and 13 kilometres northwest of Abu Rudeis.
After the field had been discovered in 1950, SUCO, along with its shareholders, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Germany’s RWE Dea, began operations in August 1979.
The three-dimensional geological modelling has helped SUCO identify unconformities in the stratigraphic section, construct a new set of maps at reservoir levels, which will be used as the basis for building a new static and dynamic model for the Ras Budran field, and identify several infill target locations for further drilling, the study stated.
In another recent study, SUCO revealed that constructing a reservoir characterisation model can improve hydrocarbon productivity in the Kareem/Rudeis carbonate reservoir, which is the largest reservoir unit in the Zeit Bay field, containing approximately 50% of total reserves.
The reservoir characterisation is a computer model for an oil reservoir, which would assist in better estimating the field’s reserves and potential development decisions.
Zeit Bay is located in the southwest offshore margin of the Gulf of Suez, east of Ras El Bahar Peninsula. It is 65 kilometres north of Hurghada, 85 kilometres south of Ras Gharib and 12 kilometres north of the Gemsa oil field.
Production in the field dates back to 1983, with an average daily rate of 20,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) and a maximum rate of 80,000 BOPD in 1986.
A significant decrease in daily production, currently ranged at 6,000 BOPD due to decrease decline in the reservoirs’ thickness, urged SUCO to conduct the study.
Reservoir characterisation plays an important role in defining, in a comprehensive manner, the details regarding the distribution of reservoir rocks and fluid content, according to the study.
Meanwhile, the reservoir management process aims to provide the facts, information and knowledge necessary to control production operations and develop any oil field, the study stated.
