Information and Report on the Offshore Gas Reservoir in Kuwait

Introduction

My team was tasked with collecting information regarding the onshore gas reservoir in Kuwait - a public State with crude oil and gas reservoirs. They will aid in the design of the appropriate technology to be applied in gas exploration in the given area of study, given its location, amount of the expected outcome from the undertaking about the costs incurred, environmental and human-related safety required, and the efficiency of the system.

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The specific location for the project was the Kuwait city along the coast Persian Gulf Sea and more specifically a gas reservoir, Ghawar gas reservoir, located two hundred meters off the Persian Gulf. It has an estimated one trillion barrels of gas which are located two miles down the subsea bedrock - which in turn has a depth of one mile from the water surface. Given its location - under the waters - and the estimated returns - shown by its estimated output when the exploration is implemented - new cost-effective technology should be applied to enhance efficiency aside from making it environmentally friendly, safe to undertakers and increased output per unit time. It is because the use of outdated gas exploration methods such as cable drills are slow and expensive, making exploration a more risky adventure given the high probability of failure of the project due to lack of adequate knowledge on the likelihood of success. (Kuwait, 2013). Also, it is risky to use divers to accurately pinpoint the exact areas which should be drilled in the process of gas exploration given the incredible depth of water, resulting in high pressure at the bottom which can kill them. Environmental safety is again at stake if old technologies are applied due to the likelihood of spillage, causing fires and inconveniencing suitable sea animal survival.

Kuwait is, besides, rich in both offshore and offshore oil and gas reserves, giving it a burden in trying to balance into making the best out of these projects. Thus, modern-day technological approaches, though costly, should be applied since their probability of success is very high and sustainable.

Recommendations

Following the state of Kuwait and Ghawar gas reserve as shown by the information in the report; its location, estimated profit turnover and critical environmental and safety issues to be considered, new technological methods should be applied to make it economical. Thus, the following methods are ideal;

Use of 3-D seismic imaging

This technology should be applied in Ghawar to accurately and precisely pinpoint the exact location of gas reserve which will guide in drilling the necessary points. It helps the drilling company avoid unproductive spots. It functions under the principle that different materials reflect and bounces off sound in different ways. They help in establishing where the gas is likely to be by studying the magnetic fields, rock formations and gravitational tendencies associated with it. The geologists and engineers establish a standard way in which a transmitted sound bounces off different materials. Thus, that of gas is known. (Speight, J. G. 2014).

During the process of finding the exact spots of gas, vibrator truck devices are made to hover in the area suspected to contain the product. It then transmits sound waves which travel through the rocks and reflected differently. The geophone receives the reflected sound waves on the surface the sent to the recorder trucks. The data - recorded sound waves in form or zig-zag lines - is then analyzed by the physicists and geologists, collecting that information that is congruent to those of the searched gas which are then taken while its exact location is established. It avoids the wastage of resources and time by the companies by reducing the number of drilled holes while detecting more productive wells.

Measurement while drilling technology

This technology will go a long way in informing the gas drillers in Kuwait about what they will encounter during drilling as well as the details of the drill bits in action. Also, about whether they are drilling the unauthorized areas by providing real-time information on the status of drill bits and the need to steer them to the spots likely with more massive quantities of oil. It serves some purposes relating to information like the pressure and temperature of the rocks drilled as well as densities and magnetic resonance of the rock formations being drilled.

It functions in a way that mud slurry is sent down the well to carry rock debris up the surface through the outer sides of the hole being dug. They are then sent to the surface in a binary code formation that is then recorded in the decoder and their pulses studied using the mud pulse telemetry approach. The information then guides such activities as steering the drill bits or abstaining from the whole exercise altogether.

The fact that information on either to steer is available, the decision to do so has been facilitated by technology that makes it possible to steer a drilling bit at required levels underground and about how the gases have been trapped in their reserves. In case the gases in the Kuwaiti Ghawar gas reserve field is horizontally spread, the application of the steering technology enables maximum harnessing of the mined gas while auguring well with the sensitivity of the environment available.

Hydraulic fracturing technology

It is a technology that is applied in the case where the gas pores in the reservoirs are small to the extent of barring efficient flow of those tapped gases in into the sunken tunnels. Drillers will employ it to help stimulate gas flow by driving down to the reserves hot water mixed with chemicals with enough pressure to expand the rock fractures. A mixture of fluids, rock pellets and sand are then accorded to keep them from closing, making it easy for gases to flow to the surface. That ought to be applied in Kuwait in the case where gas holes in the reserves are small. It helps ensure efficiency in the undertaking. (Nikiforuk, A., & David Suzuki Foundation. 2010).

Remotely operated vehicles technology

It refers to robotic technological machines, unmanned, that are operated by a person seated in the oil rig on the water surface. It allows him/her to see underwater. Some of them are fitted with extended arms that makes it possible to be used in installations underwater. The fact that they enable the controller to see underwater aids in forgoing the otherwise risky alternative of having to send people underwater to check the states of oil rig projections since the pressure underwater is incredibly high for human survival. Also, it is a cheaper method since it will require less maintenance cost as well as long-lasting.

References

Kuwait, (2013). Place of publication not identified: Oxford Business Group.Nikiforuk, A., & David Suzuki Foundation. (2010). Tar sands: Dirty oil and the future of a continent. Vancouver: Greystone Books.

Speight, J. G. (2014). Handbook of offshore oil and gas operations.