'Digital' oil fields could increase Mideast production and reserves, says BP

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According to Peter Roberts, Subsurface Manager, BP, Abu Dhabi, any incremental increase through such technologies could be substantial. '60% of the world's proven oil reserves are in the Middle East, amounting to 743 billion barrels. If you consider that a one percent increase in reserves would amount to 7.4 billion barrels, you can imagine what even a small increase through the deployment of digital field technology could mean for the region's oil producers and for world markets.'

'The technology to do this already exists, and at BP we've developed a range of proprietary industry leading technologies that have allowed it to increase recovery factors throughout our global network of operations,' explained Roberts, who will be speaking about the oil & gas major's experience in this area at the Intelligent Field Development Conference taking place in Abu Dhabi from 20 - 23 January.

At the conference, Roberts will present BP's Advanced Collaborative Environments (ACE) strategic programme for the global implementation of real time production and drilling operations support environments.
ACE builds upon BP's pioneering suite field management technologies, such as the fieldofthefuture which was first introduced in 2003 and utilizes a combination of subsurface and surface monitoring techniques together with digital communications technology to provide BP engineers with real time data on reservoir performance.

'By allowing people to work collaboratively regardless of distance, ACE enables enhanced productivity and delivers improved operational performance. Our five-step model specifies the key elements for successful ACE implementation, which focuses on an integrated approach to delivering long term benefits. Technology alone can not deliver a successful collaborative environment; other key components are organisation, process, people and physical environment.'

The company has successfully applied ACE technology at its oil and gas operations in Angola, Azerbaijan, the US Gulf of Mexico, Indonesia, Scotland, Norway and Trinidad & Tobago.

'BP's experience with ACE around the globe has resulted in tangible benefits through reduced production and drilling operations downtime, reduced labour and material costs due to faster problem response time, reduced offshore manning and travel costs and production increases through optimisation of well performance. We have also seen improvements in communications between onshore and offshore staff, safety, skills migration, training and work-life balance.'

'Our aim is to see similar benefits in the Middle East by working collaboratively with National Oil Companies to deploy advanced technologies and make the most of the region's resources,' Roberts concluded.