Basrah – Rumaila’s facelift is continuing despite a few hiccups that pushed production down to below the initial production rate (IPR) of 1.065 million barrels per day. That’s the rate at which Rumaila was producing under SOC last year until BP with CNPC signed a service contract to stop the decline and develop the field further to bring it up to 2.85 million b/d within 6 years. However, SOC officials are not worried. Over the past two months, things were put back on track again. The decline has stopped and production is edging up gradually towards the IPR and will top it by a further 10% to achieve the initial production target (IPT) of 1.150 million b/d (which includes a 2% correction for operational loss) stipulated under the contract, by the end of 2010, the director general of SOC Dhiya Jaafar and the head of the Rumaila Operating Organization (ROO) Salah Abdul Karim told me in Basrah this week.
The hiccups are mainly attributed to a change of design at the surface from the old ways of SOC. Flowlines for example are now connected to the wellheads above ground, requiring fittings and looping that SOC does not have in stock. Electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) being lowered into the wells have also been missing safety valves and chokes which SOC did not have enough stocks of, forcing the ROO to await the arrival of new imported ones. Delays in importing equipment and material is also attributed to bureaucracy at the ports and customs, read: corruption.
But not everything is negative at Rumaila. Among the bright spots is the speed at which wells are being drilled. There are seven rigs currently working at Rumaila according to contracts awarded earlier this year; three by China’s Daqing, three jointly by Schlumberger and Iraq Drilling Co (IDC) and one by Weatherford. Weatherford has managed to drill a 3400-meter deep well in 28 days instead of the scheduled 60 days. SOC’s average is normally 40-45 days for a 2500-meter deep well. As a result ROO expects to end the year with 12 wells drilled instead of 6 planned initially. Of those four are planned this month and another five in December. In 2011 the plan is to drill 44 wells in the same Main Pay reservoir where drilling is ongoing at the moment, under the same awarded contracts.
A new drilling tender is expected next year for the drilling of another set of 56 wells, including directional drilling, targeting this time Mishrif reservoir in addition to Main Pay.
Of the 90 ESPs planned by end February 2011, 25 have so far been fitted, and a further 100 more will be scheduled for fitting by end 2011 bringing the total number of wells fitted with ESPs at the end of next year to 190.
Water injection is also proceeding smoothly as the testing with water straight from the Karmat Ali plant of 10-micron particles over the past three months resulted in stable pressure. That’s an encouraging sign for the next 16 wells slated for water injection in 2011 to add to the four where the procedure is applied this year.
At this rate, the ROO believes it could achieve a 30% increase in output in 2011 to some 1.5-1.6 million b/d and a further 20% in 2012.