The first Russian PTL project was implemented in November 2003 at TNK-Nizhnevartovsk. It focused on two northern domes of the Samotlor field – Senchenskiy and Kasparovskiy. The main reservoir rock layers end around these domes, forming small local arches. Earlier, these sites had not been included in the development. Recently, however, they were opened with a small number of wells, some of them horizontal. Selection of these sites for a PTL was completely justified. Most of the production growth in 2004 at TNK-Nizhnevartovsk came from these two domes. The daily average production increase at TNK-Nizhnevartovsk over nine months amounted to 15%. The PTL work team consisted of 20 persons. It comprised specialists from TNK-BP, TNK-Nizhnevartovsk, SNGDU1, and overseas BP experts from the US and the UK.
During the meetings, 17 proposals were considered for fielddevelopment process improvements, some of which were implemented this year. For instance, the expert team confirmed the need for a new oil gathering pipeline 426 mm in diameter to connect the northern sections of the Kasparovsky dome to the preliminary water discharge unit (UPSV1). Wells were proposed for optimization using highflow rate, highpressure submersible centrifugal pump units of foreign manufacture. The need was confirmed for implementing a coupling model in order to evaluate existing losses during oil production.
Some brandnew technical solutions were also suggested. For example, we reviewed improvement options for the horizontal welldrilling technology for the АВ13 cluster; proposed measures to improve the water injection system; and the possibility of dual operation of two pools, BV8 and YuV1, using ejection and electric subsurface pumps. But this project is unlikely to be implemented in the immediate future due to the lack of reservoir conformity and insufficient knowledge of the technological side of the problem.
I believe that the PTL project implemented at TNK Nizhnevartovsk was successful. It's an effective measure. It helps reorient the oil production strategy toward a more profitable field operation, that is, to achieve a minimum cost per lifting of one ton of oil. Although, we did have our doubts before the project began as to whether we would be able to review the full range of tasks and learn all the details in just four days, we had an opportunity to learn about similar approaches used in international practice and integrate the experiences of three companies – TNK, SIDANCO and ВР. The project does not end with the end of the meetings. We will continue to study the identified opportunities throughout the year.
