Case Study: Smooth Operator (Oil Reservoir Consultants)
The Problem
The operations and maintenance engineering team at a large oil field in Western Africa wanted to apply Real-Time Optimization (RTO) to their production systems to ensure that the new lines they were adding were continuing to operate at peak performance.
With nearly 50 producing wells, and the recent addition of several new flow lines, the team needed to ensure that an array of variables were calibrated correctly so that the system was as productive as possible. The team had used several tools to evaluate the performance of their pipelines, the results of which had
determined that not all of the recommended changes would yield measurable benefits. The team was faced with a critical decision; Was it worth pursuing the recommended adjustments for all sites and risk achieving only marginal results? Making all of the recommended adjustments would put unnecessary wear and tear on the wells by taking them on- and off-line, while making select changes would likely result in sub-optimal performance.
Critical Issues
Niche Petrochemical/Production Expertise Process Simulation/Optimization Travel availability
The Solution
Within five days Maven launched an inquiry and delivered 20 oil reservoir consultants, including process optimization specialists, reservoir managers and petrochemical engineers with direct experience implementing RTO systems in Western Africa. The operations team engaged with five of the individuals via Telephone Consultations, and used the conversations as interviews to determine which of the Mavens they would invite to come on-site to guide the team in their evaluation process. The following week, the selected Maven advised the team on which of the recommended adjustments would yield significant improvements. With guidance from the Maven, the team was able to make the selected adjustments and realize a 3% increase in production over the next six months and save over $230,000 by avoiding expenditures on well interventions that would not have been beneficial.
“We were grateful for the caliber of candidates Maven was able to deliver. We had exhausted our pool of connections and were running out of time to source the right help” — Lead Reservoir Supervisor
