Locating the remaining oil in Mature Fields
The Locate the Remaining Oil (LTRO) workflow provides powerful field analysis for mature fields based on fundamental reservoir management principles: Voidage, Volumetrics, and Mapping. LTRO’s goal is to focus on “developing the field” rather than “developing the model”, taking analysis back to the raw data and interpretations rather than anchoring on one deterministic simulation model. This approach enables a more practical understanding of the reservoir, it’s uncertainties and its potential, which is easily digested by multiple disciplines without the use of specialist software.
The pragmatic method helps optimize field management strategies by identifying and targeting remaining resources, mitigating risks, and quantifying production growth opportunities.
Belltree keeps it simple- LTRO workflow
- Pick fields and reservoirs with most potential, utilising our in-house benchmarking tools in bMark™
- Collate and QC all known field data
- Apply classical reservoir engineering techniques to uncover the field “story”
- Map the remaining oil and gas
- Identify targets including quantifying upside and risking
What are the benefits of Locate the Remaining Oil (LTRO)?
- SPEED & COST: Outputs can be available in 2-6 months, reducing typical 3D (re)development timeframes by months if not years.
- RANGE: Applicable to any size field from marginal to multi-billion barrel.
- FLEXIBILITY: Technique can easily accommodate varieties in data quality, quantity and format. Multiple geological and geophysical scenarios can be incorporated as the methods are map based.
- FOCUS: Method focuses on ‘getting in deep’ with the data and can act as a useful pre-cursor to modelling studies to avoid pitfalls
- TRANSPARENCY: All opportunities captured regardless of risk in a “life cycle” Opportunity Inventory. LTRO outputs are maps and cross sections that are easy for all to understand and query.
LTRO with bMark analytics
How does LTRO differ from traditional reservoir modeling?
LTRO provides a more streamline, field-oriented complementary workflow to traditional reservoir modeling. Prioritizing rapid identification of remaining oil resources which is flexible to data type and quality and easily encompasses uncertainties.
Additionally, Belltree’s LTRO approach incorporates utilisation of our proprietary software, bMark™, and global technical database of over 51,000 fields and reservoirs. The standardized and data-driven approach can further streamline the management study by enabling faster QC and analysis and benchmarking.
Real-World Results-Case Study: Locating the remaining oil
A national-scale bMark™ benchmarking study highlighted significant potential for reserves uplift in a set of highly mature fields in Africa. Belltree were commissioned to follow up this screening study with several detailed LTRO studies.
LTRO studies confirmed the potential indicated by benchmarking and quantified the reserve potential of the fields into a set of risked project inventories. On average, the LTRO-identified optimisation projects had risked volumes equal to 60% of the field current 1P reserves.
To learn more about the LTRO process, see its application via a detailed case study on a tight oil field, or learn about our other products and services please contact Belltree today.
