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Technology-led

Geology & Geophysics exploration success valuable if it can be used by remote

For Shell, exploration isn’t just exploration teams, to help them make well about the seismic, it’s about proposals, go into bid rounds, etc.

joining up the petabytes’ worth

She said that as wells became more capital intensive, Shell developed a of seismic dots between its platform model, accessible across the global team of experts. business, called WellVantage provid-

Meg Chesshyre reports.

ing a real-time, automated data stream.

The business bene? ts of WellVantage include: monitoring by experts being he importance of technology feasible for most wells, real-time data in overcoming current explora- accessible to experts and around the

T tion challenges was underlined world, global replication of best prac- by Shell’s global head for exploration, tices and faster learning. WellVantage

Ceri Powell, at a recent brie? ng at the resulted in a reduced number of people company’s learning center at Rijswijk, in at the rig site, shared measuring while

Holland. drilling/directional drilling resources “I really think it is about more brain for multiple rigs, collaboration between cells per barrel,” she says. “Technology geoscientists and well delivery teams for is a means to enable geologists and instant decision making, and improved development to deployment and support. wellbore placement. Automation geophysicists to overcome the challenges In the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, a

Three years ago a series of local sup- offered: improved personal process that we have in the subsurface today.” big heartland for Shell, there were four port and development teams were set safety, consistency and repeatability of To this end Shell’s research and devel- oil discoveries last year. These were: the up, now numbering 26. These regional drilling operations, and increased ef? - opment budget has averaged US$1.1 Rydberg oil discovery, the Kaikias oil teams cover work ? ow support, deploy- ciency of drilling operations. billion/yr over the last ? ve years. discovery, Power Nap and Gettysburg.

The efforts are bearing fruit. 2014 was an Another challenging area for the indus- ment projects and data management. The The 100 MMboe Rydberg discovery excellent year for Shell exploration-wise try is the scale of the growth in subsurface teams can orchestrate the deployment is in the Norphlet play. Together with for the company, with particular successes seismic data. Bachmann said that Shell of new software, making sure that the the Appomattox and Vicksburg dis- have been in Malaysia, the Gulf of Mexico was now moving from hundreds of TBytes right hardware and operating systems are coveries, this brings the total potential and Gabon (see below for more detail). (1000 GBytes) to more than 10 PBytes in place. “That way we have connected Norphlet discoveries to over 700 MMboe. “We’ve had 11 major exploration suc- (1000 TBytes) per seismic survey. “A end-to-end the developers of the software Kiakas is very close to cesses, exploration discoveries, comple- PByte of data is like a 250m-high pile of with the deployers of the software. Once Shell’s existing Mars mented by 41 near ? eld discoveries,” DVDs. A seismic survey that is acquired a year we bring them all together.” infrastructure.

Powell says. The 2014 overall success with ? ve dimensions is now 20 PBytes.

In 2014, Shell discov-

This presents challenges in terms of ered Leopard 1, a pre-

Exploration success rate was 80%, compared with an industry

Shell’s methods are bearing fruit, with transport from survey salt offshore deep water average of 40%.

exploration successes in Malaysia, the location to processing gas discovery (200m net

Making research

Gulf of Mexico and Gabon. site. “How you actually gas pay) in block BCD10 accessible

In 2014 in Malaysia, there were nine bring big data from A offshore Gabon. This material discoveries. Two of the largest to B?” There were also For Bettina Bachmann, is a frontier region for discoveries, the Rosmari and Marjoram challenges in processing vice president, subsurface Shell and “potentially gas discoveries, added 200 MMboe to and storage. New satel- & wells software, Shell, a very interesting new

Shell’s portfolio, and overall Malaysia lite developments, new the importance of making arena,” Powell says. The added 300 MMboe. This included a opportunities to develop research, technology and IT intention is to appraise 100% track record in the near-? eld speed ? ber optic commu- accessible to the explorer it in 3Q 2015 with the exploration with ? ve out of ? ve well nication systems, Cloud on the ground is key to Globetrotter II drillship,

Bettina Bachmann successes. A cost cutting innovation in developments, and high exploration success. “The once it has completed the Malaysian campaign had been the use performance computer capabilities were researchers make the algorithms and do its current assignment of a shallow water rig to drill a deviated all being worked on. the research on the pilot. We take these drilling the deepwater well into a deeper water prospect, thus Bachmann stressed the importance things and productize them.” Sile-1 wildcat for Shell

The new technology is, however, halving the cost of the rig hire. of E2E (end-to-end delivery) – from in partnership with

May 2015 | OE oedigital.com 46 046_OE0515_G&G1_Shell.indd 46 4/21/15 12:24 PM