THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO A FUTURE DATE NOT YET DETERMINED

Presented by Prof. Robert K. Perrons – QUT

Abstract: 

The transition to a lower-carbon world is significantly underway, but oil & gas will likely continue to play an important role in the world’s energy mix for many years to come.  At the same time, however, the industry is undergoing significant change on several fronts, and technology and innovation will accordingly play a pivotal role in the future of the sector.  But how, specifically, does innovation happen within the industry?  Building upon the first Society of Petroleum Engineers Global Innovation Survey, this paper presents the findings from the follow-up survey to re-examine these processes.  However, while the first survey examined the sector’s innovation-related activities at the business unit level, this one looks at the roles of individual people.  Through the application of survey tools from the field of organizational psychology, this investigation was designed to find out who the “explorers” are within the oil & gas sector that are hardwired to deliver tomorrow’s bolder technologies, and who the “exploiters” are that are more inclined to prefer modest improvements to existing solutions.  In this talk, I will summarize the most noteworthy findings from the survey.

Biography: 

Robert K. Perrons, SPE, is a full professor at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. Before joining QUT in 2011, he worked in a variety of roles for Shell International’s Exploration and Production division—including several years as a production engineer in overseas operations (offshore and onshore), and eventually serving as the company’s Executive Coordinator of Global R&D in The Hague.  Perrons holds a B.Eng. in mechanical engineering from McMaster University, a Master’s in technology and policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a PhD in engineering from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.  He was named a Fulbright Scholar in 2020, and is a member of the United Nations Resources and Energy Expert Group. 

For more information and contact details, please visit www.perrons.net

Please adhere to the venue’s dress code of business attire: long sleeved shirts, no jeans nor joggers.

Event Description:

Join us for an insightful production engineering special interest group event on 20th Feb, 2023 at 7:30am at 31 Little Cribb St, Milton. The purpose of the event is to bring together technical professionals to discuss the latest developments in hydraulic fracturing. Three knowledgeable presenters will each share their expertise on various aspects of frac technology. After each 15-minute presentation, there will be a 10-minute question time to dive deeper into the topics. At the end of the presentations, a facilitated group discussion will be held, followed by networking opportunities. Ticket price is $10, which includes a food and drink voucher at the adjacent cafe. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from industry experts and engage in meaningful discussions about hydraulic fracturing in the petroleum engineering domain.

Event Details:

• Monday the 20^th February 2023
• 31 Little Cribb St, Milton QLD 4064
• Start time 7:30am (Networking) for an 8am Start
• Ticket Price $10
• Duration approximately 2.5 hours

Ray Johnson Jr.  – Professor, University of Queensland and Principal at Unconventional Reservoir Solutions

Title:

Get more value and useful information from DFITs and how it impacts fracture treatments

Abstract:

Diagnostic fracture injection tests (DFITs) are commonplace, but how many DFITs are effective and properly planned to derive the desired information.  Many can be over large, perforated intervals or of such a volume such that specific stress information and clean diagnostic interpretations are not possible or filled with uncertainties.  This presentation will cover a strategy to gain more effective information from DFITs and the implications of the results for the more complex stress environments in Australia.

Ed Leung – Senior Technology Advisor at RESMAN

Title: 

The application of chemical tracers in multi-stage frac operations and completions

Abstract: 

Chemical tracers can be used for interventionless monitoring to evaluate fracture clean up, flow back efficiency and quantification. The basis of the technique utilises a family of unique, environmentally-friendly, fracturing fluid compatible chemical tracers to monitor each stage, immediately after fracturing treatments from multiple stages and their deterioration over time. The data is collected during clean up and steady state periods by collecting surface samples and analysed for their tracer concentrations over time. There are two different methods to deploy chemical tracers. The first method is pumping a known concentration into frac fluid stages as the frac fluid is pumped downhole. The use of the mass balance allows the flowback efficiency for each stage to be calculated. The second is to integrate chemical tracers into downhole completion equipment to provide the same as the first method but provide data over years, post frac. The latter allows multi-quantification results to assess the performance deterioration of each frac and identify the location of formation water breakthrough.

Daniel Kalinan – CASE Solutions – Consultant | Completions and Stimulations Expert Solutions

Title: 

How to do DFITs when the grass grows faster than pressure declines – application in unconventional formations

Abstract: 

Diagnostic Fracture Injection Test is a powerful method at a heart of microfracs, minifracs, extended leakoff tests. Unconventional shale and tight oil & gas formations are characterised by low permeability, and observing natural pressure decline to determine fracture closure is often not practical. Flowback at a constant rate was traditionally used by the industry. It requires specialized equipment and prone to human error that likely to create false signal. Constant choke flowback provides clean record devoid of interventions, can be executed using minimum equipment, but harder to interpret. This presentation covers application of Pump-in/Flow-back (PI-FB) in unconventional formations, pitfalls associated with near-wellbore stress concentrations and natural fractures.

Presenter:

Andrew Dean

Andrew is a Reservoir Engineer at QGC in Brisbane working in the reservoir modelling team, he holds BSc in Petroleum Engineering from University of Adelaide (Class of 2016). Prior to QGC Andrew worked for Origin.

Short Presentation Abstract:

Current full-field models at Queensland Gas Company (QGC) typically contain thousands of coal-seam gas (CSG) wells, spanning ~4,000 sq.km. The goal of history matching individual wells in these models at a well level can present a significant challenge. Previous methods applied in QGC were to history match to a field level and more recently to apply well level property modifiers in a semi-automated workflow to match produced volumes at a well level. The new method, implemented through python, can attempt to minimise multiple match metrics (pressure mismatch, rate mismatch, etc.) through the modification of multiple different reservoir grid properties in a single iteration, at a well-level, resulting in fewer iterations to converge on a satisfactory history-match.

Presented by Peter Behrenbruch – Bear and Brook Consulting

Abstract:

The presentation discusses a fully automated, universal and comparative analysis approach for defining formation characteristics: based on geological and core description, linked to logs and pore structure – pore throat size and sorting, and based on hydraulic parameters. It is shown how such analysis leads to greater understanding, more meaningful data integration while ensuring consistency. Methodologies employed make use of cluster analysis and pattern recognition, utilising a 6-parameter model space, a nomograph called ‘Global Characteristics Envelope’ (GCE): displaying porosity, permeability, hydraulic radius, porosity group (porosity/ grain volume), flow zone indicator (linked to grain size) and grain sorting. The approach gives greater insight than more conventional methods. A catalogue of models is presented, which can universally be applied to all conventional formations, clastics and carbonates. Zones are identified according to different cluster situations exhibited in GCEs: consistent diagenetic intervals (base model); very uniform intervals (3 models) – uniform porosity or permeability, or both (cluster); more heterogeneous intervals (4 models) – highly varying diagenetic intervals, interbedded diagenetically-driven intervals (e.g. pyritisation), alternating thinly-bedded intervals of different rock types, and fining sequences. Outliers can be identified, e.g. shale plugs or fractures (natural or induced). Examples and a detailed comparative case history are presented.

Biography

Peter is currently Managing Director of Bear and Brook Consulting (Company) and has more than 40 years of petroleum engineering related experience, most notably employed by Shell International (8 years) and BHP Petroleum (16 years). He has held positions as engineer, technical manager, project manager, academic and consultant, and in general management, including member of management boards. His expertise is in field development planning and reservoir management. Peter has been Project Manager for three Australian FPSO projects. Since establishing the Company in 2003, he has engaged in numerous consulting activities. In the last 10 years alone, he has conducted 98 short courses, workshops and seminars, given to 38 organisations. Peter has led core-related research since 2002 and is presently commercialising this research. He has published more than 60 technical and managerial papers. He was the SPE Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, serving on the SPE Board in the late ‘90s.

Agenda

Morning:  “Logging Through the Ages” in the morning, with an assessment of what you can get from the logs acquired in some of the wells we encounter (1960s, SP, IND to 2020 NMR etc) and how modern logs improve our understanding of the sub-surface

• 1960s:   SP-IND only, some early Sonic logs
• 1970s:   Introduction of the Density and neutron logs
• 1980s:   Litho-Density
• 1990s and beyond:        
• Image logs, NMR, Full Wave Form sonic etc

Afternoon: Coal, definition and productivity from subsurface data

• Data Acquisition (Logs and core)
• Use of the log data
• Use of the core data
• Proximate analysis
• Langmuir analysis
• Pulling it all together 

 Biography

Andy Hall has 31 years of experience in the upstream oil and gas industry as a Petrophysicist and Exploration / Development Geologist in Coal Seam Gas (CSG), Shale Gas and Conventional oil and gas plays.  He has diverse experience, working for companies such as Origin, Roc Oil, Candecca, and AEA Technology.

Speaker: Vibhas Pandey – ConocoPhillips

Abstract: 

Accurate prediction of fracture height growth from hydraulic fracturing treatments, especially in highly layered or laminated formations, is crucial not only from well performance perspective but also from planning and treatment design viewpoint.  Understanding of critical parameters that govern the fracture height growth in heterogenous formations is essential to developing suitable well completion strategies that are specific to the reservoir.

This presentation reviews the typical fracture heights observed during the treatments, and then describes the construction of a semi-analytical fracture height prediction model and its application to several real-world cases covering a variety of reservoirs ranging from traditional low permeability sandstones to coalbed methane and shale reservoirs worldwide.  The treatment types include conventional fracturing treatments, foamed fractures and slickwater fracturing treatments.

The model-predicted fracture heights agree reasonably with those determined from field measurements such as tracer and micro-seismic survey in vertical and horizontal well completions. With the introduction of fluid flow induced pressure distributions in the fracture, along with the velocity-based fracture toughness calculations, the traditional uncertainties in input data are mostly  eliminated, and accurate predictions can be made.  The analysis also reveals typical fracture growth patterns that are dependent on injection rate and corroborated with interesting observations in the field.

Key Takeaway: The critical parameter of fracture height can be predicted with reasonable accuracy even in highly layered formations and the designed fracture heights can be achieved in the field with implementation of formation-specific hydraulic fracturing treatment designs.

Biography:

Vibhas Pandey has over 30 years of experience in oil and gas industry and currently works as an Engineering Fellow with ConocoPhillips in their Global Completions Engineering group in Houston.  He is a well-stimulation expert primarily foccused on hydrualic/acid fracturing modeling, treatment design, field support and optimization, and has authored several technical papers including 2 chapters in recently published SPE Monograph. Mr. Pandey holds Bachelor’s and Masters’ degree in Mechanical Engineering (India), Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering (Univerity of Oklahoma), and is currently pursuing PhD in Petroleum Engineering from Unversity of North Dakota where he also serves as Adjunct Faculty.

Rescheduled to 30 September 2022

12:30pm Brisbane time

Presented by: Drew Pomerantz – Schlumberger (SPE Distinguished Lecturer)

Abstract

The world has entered an energy transition where the future role of energy sources will depend partially on their greenhouse gas footprint.  While that transition is expected to take a generation, some changes will occur quickly.  One of the fastest ways to combat climate change is to reduce emissions of methane, not carbon dioxide.  Methane is the main component of natural gas and a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  The oil and gas industry handles a large quantity of methane, and a small amount of that methane leaks to the atmosphere.  Because methane is such a potent greenhouse gas, those emissions are small in volume but large in environmental impact: methane is the dominant source of our industry’s direct greenhouse gas emissions, above other sources like flaring.  This lecture describes the main sources of methane emissions, the market and political drivers to reduce methane emissions, and the new technologies being developed to find and fix methane leaks.

 Biography

Andrew (Drew) E. Pomerantz is an Energy Transition Technology Advisor at Schlumberger, based in Boston, Massachusetts.  He focuses on new technologies that reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions from the upstream and midstream oil and gas industry, particularly novel methods to detect fugitive methane emissions.  Drew graduated from Stanford University with a PhD in chemistry in 2005 and has co-authored 100 peer-reviewed publications and 25 granted US patents.  He founded the Boston chapter of the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts (SPWLA).

Presented by: 

Andrew Murdoch – Managing Director Arche Energy

“The last few months on the national electricity market gave us a taste of what energy supply restrictions feel like. In this presentation, Andrew Murdoch unpacks some of the events, their causes and some of the reactions. We’ll work through some hot topics such as capacity markets, gas reservation policies, level of competition, government intervention, moratoria on gas exploration and green tape risk and then look at some simple fixes that might have avoided some of the hysteria”.

Biography

Andrew has been operating in technical-commercial roles in the Queensland NEM Zone since it was first founded over 20 years ago. In 2017, he founded Arche Energy to provide a high-quality clean energy, power and infrastructure consultancy to facilitate investment in the clean energy sector. He is an experienced general manager, project director and engineer operating in renewable power, power generation, energy, ports and heavy infrastructure.

His experience spans business development activities, major approvals, project execution, operations and maintenance and decommissioning. Andrew is an innovator and optimiser thriving in changing environments through the adaptation and integration of emerging and innovative technologies into business applications.

Key experience includes:

• Founder, New England Link
• Lead Developer, Lockyer Energy Project
• Technical Director, CopperString 2.0
• Technical Advisor, Galilee Power Project
• Project Manager, Expansion, Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal
• Project Manager, Construction, Braemar Power Project, OCGT
• Project Manager, Owner’s Engineer, Construction, Condamine Power Project, CCGT

Independent Engineer, Construction, Newman Power Plant Expansion