Project Experiences & Successes
6 Critical Steps to Create a Successful Frac Program & Mitigate Well Failures: A Case Study
An independent oil operator experienced four back-to-back casing failures in his Oklahoma shale program. These current failures and setbacks were eating into his budget and eroding stakeholder faith in the ability to complete wells.
His initial comment was, “I’m not getting any sleep – I need some help. You’ve got to help me stop the leaks!”
Gas Storage
A large North American midstream company operating a gas storage facility required connection integrity management for a planned casing reroute. Due to damaged casing as a result of salt fall within the cavern, the said operator required a large Snubbing stack installation to handle the cavern pressure and capable of cutting 10 3/4” casing.
BHP Billiton - Shenzi Waterflood Commissioning
GATE was involved early in the seawater treating design basis to influence / impart operability and commissioning efforts. From the design phase, GATE became responsible for dynamic commissioning and start-up during the offshore phase.
Shell - Ursa Princess Waterflood Commissioning
GATE provided seawater treating equipment process, materials, corrosion, chemical, and commissioning / start-up expertise. The scope included shaping the design of the seawater treating equipment and providing commissioning leadership and start-up expertise. The equipment included a Minox and Sulfate Removal Units.
Noble Energy - Aseng Waterflood Systems Engineering
GATE was responsible for developing the overall Aseng Water Injection System Basis of Design.
Chevron - Tahiti II Waterflood
GATE provided process / commissioning expertise in the pre-commissioning and dynamic commissioning of the Tahiti II deaeration system (100,000 BWPD Minox).
Scope included planning for the offshore portion of the commissioning and offshore execution with the pre-commissioning contractor including confirmation of design, heat and mass balancing, and performance testing.
Comprehensive Physics-Based Well Operations Surveillance
Developed an integrate-able tool for operator to proactively monitor well operations real-time to identify potential cause of suboptimal production and possible well integrity issues.
Viking Shale Gas Well Material Assessment Tool
Developed a standalone tool for the operator to perform tubing/tree material screening based on the field specific reservoir fluids, well configuration and operating conditions.
SCSSV Leak Rate Calculation Utility
Developed an integrate-able tool to accurately calculate the leak rate of SCSSV which considers the existence of liquid and gas in the wellbore, wellbore cooldown and USV leak during the routine SCSSV test.
Flowline Virtual Metering System
Developed and supported the integration of the flowline virtual metering system utilizing the GATE Prho™ engine.
Inspection Of Mill Certificates
During the fabrication of the subsea boarding valve skid for a major offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the fabricator purchased several large forgings. These large forgings, from 8” to 12” in diameter, were to be machined into block valve bodies rated to 15,000 psig. As part of the agreed-upon Inspection and Test Plan, the mill certificates for the forgings were reviewed by the fabricator and by the company inspector.
Well Integrity
We partnered with a major operator to develop and implement customized strategies to ensure well facility integrity by mitigating unforseen failures to maximize safety and uptime while minimizing cost.
Life Extension Study
A large and complex offshore field in the Middle East was suffering from multiple leaks due to corrosion in the presence of high levels of CO2 and H2S in the production, seawater injection, aquifer water injection and produced water injection systems. This was resulting in excessive chemical injection expenditures and was impacting field revenues and uptime. The large, shallow water field consisted of several hundred wells and a complex hub and spoke infrastructure.