Basic Principles of Gazprom Neft'S Modular Strategy for Field Infrastructure Development

摘要

Today, complex projects with a high degree of uncertainty relating to the reserves and geology increasingly dominate the portfolios of promising assets of oil producers. Successful development of such oil deposits requires novel approaches. One of these approaches suggests using modular technologies for field infrastructure development purposes that secure effective performance in the face of geological and production uncertainties. The article offers a summary of the basic principles of modular strategy that have been developed and deployed by Gazprom Neft. A new age for the petroleum industry is just around the corner, while the age of large-scale deposits with substantial proven reserves is coming to its end. Promising assets are typically low-margin fields with small reserves and high subsurface risks. The classical approaches to the development of such deposits have proven to be ineffective given the circumstances. New technologies and approaches should be employed to secure maximum effects. This may be driven by the use of modular and mobile technologies that enable flexible and prompt performance in the face of uncertainties. Using mobile solutions, a producer can come to an oil field, work through the early oil, and if the initial stage is successful–continue developing the field block. If the block is a failure, the producer will simply move to a different block with no significant loss. This demonstrates the concepts of speed (assets can be designed and built faster) and reduction of specific capital expenditure. A modular solution is still a capital structure, but it offers some flexibility. When we come to a new field, we already have an understanding of its geology, but we acquire new data as we drill, and it forces us to change the site capabilities by increasing or reducing the infrastructure capacity, at the same time minimizing the expenditure and losses (R.R. Ismagilov, 2017). Oil companies in Russia and overseas have shown increased demand for these technologies in the past 2-3 years. The heightened interest is driven by the new opportunities for effective operation of the oil fields. However, modular technologies are not something new or revolutionary. The history knows many examples when modular technologies were used in the oil and gas industry. Perhaps the most ambitious and unique example was the Yamburg Oil, Gas and Condensate Field infrastructure development project in the 1980s. The ultimate mission was to start production at the field as quickly as possible. The principal solution intended to expedite construction of the gas treatment facility was to use supermodules, i.e. fully-assembled process units. The modules were placed on pontoons and delivered to the construction site by river ships. All they had to do at the construction site was to connect the modules to one another.