Unit 13. Research and Development in Oil and Gas Industry

Lead-in

Ex. 1. What are the trends in oil and gas technology? What are the main factors that drive the technological development in the sphere? Discuss with a partner, how the following factors influence the progress and innovations in oil and gas industry.

• environmental concerns

• economic efficiency

• depletion of conventional hydrocarbon reserves

Reading and Vocabulary

Ex. 2. Read the following text and see if you were right in the previous discussion.

Technological Progress in Oil and Gas Industry

This text will discuss the role of technology in the evolution of the natural gas industry, focusing on technologies in the exploration and production sector, as well as a few select innovations that have had a profound effect on the potential for natural gas. Advances in the Exploration and Production Sector Despite the fact that natural gas deposits are continually being found deeper in the ground, in remote, inhospitable areas that provide a challenging environment in which to produce natural gas, the exploration and production industry has not only kept up its production pace, but in fact has improved the general nature of its operations. Some highlights of technological development in the exploration and production sector include: 22,000 fewer wells are needed on an annual basis to develop the same amount of oil and gas reserves as were developed in 1985. Had technology remained constant since 1985, it would take two wells to produce the same amount of oil and natural gas as one 1985 well. However, advances in technology mean that one well today can produce two times as much as a single 1985 well. Drilling wastes have decreased by as much as 148 million barrels due to increased well productivity and fewer wells. The drilling footprint of well pads has decreased by as much as 70 percent due to advanced drilling technology, which is extremely useful for drilling in sensitive areas. New exploration techniques and vibrational sources mean less reliance on explosives, reducing the impact of exploration on the environment. Some of the major recent technological innovations in the exploration and production sector include: 3-D and 4-D Seismic Imaging – The development of seismic imaging in three dimensions greatly changed the nature of natural gas exploration. This technology uses traditional seismic imaging techniques, combined with powerful computers and processors, to create a three-dimensional model of the subsurface layers. 4-D seismology expands on this, by adding time as a dimension, allowing exploration teams to observe how subsurface characteristics change over time. Exploration teams can now identify natural gas prospects more easily, place wells more effectively, reduce the number of dry holes drilled, reduce drilling costs, and cut exploration time. This leads to both economic and environmental benefits. CO2-Sand Fracturing – Fracturing techniques have been used since the 1970s to help increase the flow rate of natural gas and oil from underground formations. CO2-Sand fracturing involves using a mixture of sand proppants and liquid CO2 to fracture formations, creating and enlarging cracks through which oil and natural gas may flow more freely. The CO2 then vaporizes, leaving only sand in the formation, holding the newly enlarged cracks open. Because there are no other substances used in this type of fracturing, there are no 'leftovers' from the fracturing process that must be removed. This means that, while this type of fracturing effectively opens the formation and allows for increased recovery of oil and natural gas, it does not damage the deposit, generates no below ground wastes, and protects groundwater resources. Coiled Tubing – Coiled tubing technologies replace the traditional rigid, jointed drill pipe with a long, flexible coiled pipe string. This greatly reduces the cost of drilling, as well as providing a smaller drilling footprint, requiring less drilling mud, faster rig set up, and reducing the time normally needed to make drill pipe connections. Coiled tubing can also be used in combination with slimhole drilling to provide very economic drilling conditions, and less impact on the environment. Measurement While Drilling – Measurement-While-Drilling (MWD) systems allow for the collection of data from the bottom of a well as it is being drilled. This allows engineers and drilling teams access to up-to-the-second information on the exact nature of the rock formations being encountered by the drill bit. This improves drilling efficiency and accuracy in the drilling process, allows better formation evaluation as the drill bit encounters the underground formation, and reduces the chance of formation damage and blowouts. Offshore Drilling Technology – The offshore oil and gas production sector is sometimes referred to as 'NASA of the Sea', due to the monumental achievements in deepwater drilling that have been facilitated by state of the art technology. Natural gas and oil deposits are being found at locations that are deeper and deeper underwater. The above technological advancements provide only a snapshot of the increasingly sophisticated technology being developed and put into practice in the exploration and production of natural gas and oil. New technologies and applications are being developed constantly, and serve to improve the economics of producing natural gas, allow for the production of deposits formerly considered too unconventional or uneconomic to develop, and ensure that the supply of natural gas keeps up with steadily increasing demand. Another technology that is revolutionizing the natural gas industry is the increased use of liquefied natural gas. Cooling natural gas to about -260°F (-162°C) at normal pressure results in the condensation of the gas into liquid form, known as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). LNG can be very useful, particularly for the transportation of natural gas, since LNG takes up about one six hundredth the volume of gaseous natural gas. While LNG is reasonably costly to produce, advances in technology are reducing the costs associated with the liquefaction and regasification of LNG. Because it is easy to transport, LNG can serve to make economical those stranded natural gas deposits for which the construction of pipelines is uneconomical. LNG, when vaporized to gaseous form, will only burn in concentrations of between 5 and 15 percent mixed with air. In addition, LNG, or any vapor associated with LNG, will not explode in an unconfined environment. Thus, in the unlikely event of an LNG spill, the natural gas has little chance of igniting an explosion. Liquefaction also has the advantage of removing oxygen, carbon dioxide, sulfur, and water from the natural gas, resulting in LNG that is almost pure methane. LNG is typically transported by specialized tanker with insulated walls, and is kept in liquid form by autorefrigeration, a process in which the LNG is kept at its boiling point, so that any heat additions are countered by the energy lost from LNG vapor that is vented out of storage and used to power the vessel.

1 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 52 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

Ex. 3. Choose the correct answer, A, B, C or D, according to the text.

1. What is NOT true about the progress in oil and gas industry since 1985?

1. Today a well produces twice as much as it would in 1985.

2. The number of wells has been decreasing by 22,000 every year since 1985.

3. The productivity of wells has improved.

4. Today wells produce less waste than before.

1. What benefits does 4-D seismic imaging provide?

1. It helps to expand the area of seismic exploration.

2. It gives most accurate subsurface characteristics.

3. It determines whether the drilled well is dry.

4. It allows to monitor changes in the formation.

1. What is the advantage of CO₂-Sand fracturing over conventional hydraulic fracturing?

1. It doesn’t lead to formation damage.

2. It holds cracks open for a longer period of time.

3. It prevents sand production.

4. It removes waste from previous fractures.

1. What is NOT mentioned as an advantage of the use of coiled tubing?

1. reduced environmental impact

2. low cost

3. reliability of operation

4. efficient use of land space

1. What does “this” in Line 52 refer to?

1. drill bit

2. rock formation

3. information

4. quick access to the data

1. What is implied about NASA?

1. It uses the latest technologies.

2. It is engaged in deepwater drilling.

3. It has a famous monument.

4. It has discovered deep gas and oil deposits.

1. Which statement in NOT true about Liquefied Natural Gas?

1. Its production is rather expensive.

2. It occupies smaller volume than gas in the gaseous state.

3. It is produced under temperature and pressure below standard conditions.

4. It is bringing enormous changes in the gas industry.

1. Why is LNG considered a safe technology?

1. It does not react with other vapors.

2. It will not produce fire easily.

3. It is transported in safe tankers with thick walls.

4. It does not contain hazardous impurities.

Ex. 4. VOCABULARY. In the text above, find the equivalents to the following words and phrases. (The sequence corresponds to their occurrence in the text.)

1. избранный

2. негостеприимный, мрачный

3. поддерживать

4. темп

5. отличительная черта, основной момент

6. подошва основания

7. кустовая площадка

8. экологически уязвимая зона

9. зависимость от

10. взрывчатое вещество

11. сейсморазведочное построение

12. измерение

13. разведуемый участок

14. гидроразрыв с применением песка и СО₂

15. скорость потока

16. трещина

17. испаряться

18. остатки

19. койлтюбинг, гибкие НКТ

20. жесткий, неподвижно закрепленный

21. гибкий

22. установка

23. бурение скважин малого диаметра

24. каротаж в процессе бурения

25. доступ к

26. информация с точностью до секунды

27. точность

28. встречать, наталкиваться на

29. колоссальный

30. глубоководное бурение

31. облегчать, содействовать

32. краткая характеристика

33. сложный, усовершенствованный

34. претворять в жизнь

35. ранее

36. экономически невыгодный

37. предложение (экон. термин)

38. не отставать от

39. стабильно растущий

40. спрос

41. произвести революцию, полностью изменить

42. сжиженный природный газ (СПГ)

43. конденсация

44. газообразный

45. дорогостоящий

46. сжижение

47. регазификация

48. трудноизвлекаемый газ

49. взрываться

50. неограниченный, незамкнутый

51. маловероятный

52. разлив

53. чистый, беспримесный

54. метан

55. танкер

56. изолированный

57. точка кипения

58. противостоять, противодействовать

59. выпускать, вентилировать

60. приводить в движение, поставлять энергию

61. судно

Ex. 5. From the Vocabulary List above, find synonyms to the following items.

1. assist

2. improbable

3. dependence

4. high-tech

5. unmixed

6. previously

7. change drastically

8. significant

9. ship

10. expensive

11. implement

Ex. 6. Match words from Column A to the words from Column B in order to form phrases. Translate the resulting phrases into Russian. Make up five sentences with these phrases.

Column A	Column B
well seismic deepwater liquefied CO2-sand slimhole boiling flow	fracturing imaging natural gas drilling rate point drilling pad

Ex. 7. The Vocabulary List contains a number of useful terms. Match the terms and their explanations.

a) seismic imaging	e) supply	i) liquefaction
b) slimhole drilling	f) demand	j) regasification
c) measurement-while-drilling	g) liquefied natural gas	k) methane
d) deepwater drilling	h) condensation	l) tanker

1. The process of oil and gas exploration and production far from the coastline.

2. The ability and desire to purchase goods and services.

3. The conversion of a solid or a gas into a liquid.

4. A system developed to perform drilling related measurements downhole and transmit information to the surface while drilling a well.

5. The evaporation of liquified natural gas after transport (by ship) to a distribution terminal.

6. Large ship used to carry a variety of goods, including petroleum products, chemicals and foodstuffs.

7. Geophysical technique that investigates the subsurface.

8. The amount of some product which will be available to customers.

9. The simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas.

10. A means of reducing the cost of a well by drilling a smaller-diameter hole than is customary for the depth and the types of formations to be drilled.

11. Liquid dry gas, primarily methane, that has transformed to liquid form upon cooling to minus 163 °C at atmospheric pressure.

12. The change of the physical state of aggregation (or simply state) of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase and the reverse.

Ex. 8. Insert appropriate items from the box into the following sentences. Sometimes you will have to change the form of the word.

a) liquefaction	e) vent	i) demand
b) gaseous	f) insulated	j) explode
c) footprint	g) prospect	k) sophisticated
d) well pad	h) flexible	l) flow rate

1. The EIA has estimated that __________ for oil in the United States would reach 28.3 million barrels per day in 2025.

2. Even newer techniques allow the driller to drill 4 or 6 or even 8 horizontal wells from only one __________.

3. During the test, the well demonstrated a __________ of more than 6000 barrels of oil per day.

4. Oil tankers must have __________ walls to prevent leakage during transportation.

5. New technologies are being developed to reduce the area of well __________, thus decreasing impact on the environment.

6. The first coiled tubing units represented a __________ large diameter metal pipe with an electrohydraulic communication link.

7. __________process can be designed to purify the LNG to almost 100 percent methane.

8. Geologists have concluded that this __________ contains vast crude oil reserves.

9. Flaring and __________ of natural gas from oil & gas wells is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.

10. Even the most __________ sand control technology affects well productivity.

11. The volume of LNG is approximately 1/600 of the __________ volume at atmospheric conditions.

12. The safety expert stressed that LNG cannot __________ like a bomb as it is stored at -163°C

Ex. 9. Translate the following sentences into English, using vocabulary from the text and terms given at the beginning of the Unit. (The items are underlined.)

1. При бурении скважин малых диаметров используются специальные долота с повышенным сроком эксплуатации.

2. В этом пласте особенно эффективен гидроразрыв с применением CO₂ и песка.

3. Многие залежи, ранее считавшиеся экономически невыгодными, сейчас могут разрабатываться с применением инновационных технологий.

4. Стабильно растущий спрос на нефть заставляет поддерживать высокие темпы добычи.

5. Сегодня подошвы основания куста скважин занимают меньшую площадь, чем двадцать лет назад, что позволяет снизить воздействие на экологически уязвимые зоны.

6. Сжижение природного газа увеличивает его плотность в 600 раз, что повышает эффективность и удобство хранения.

7. Технологии трехмерного сейсморазведочного построения значительно облегчают интерпретацию сейсмических данных.

8. Техника койлтюбинга, основанная на использовании колонн гибких труб, в России известна более 30 лет.

9. Компания «Бейкер Хьюз» предлагает оборудование для проведения каротажа во время бурения, позволяющее получить доступ к параметрам пласта с точностью до секунды.

10. Сжиженный природный газ остается в жидком состоянии и при нормальном атмосферном давлении, что делает возможным его перевозку специальными танкерами.

11. Для использования необходимо перевести СПГ обратно в газообразное состояние с помощью специальных регазификационных терминалов.

12. Существует распространенное мнение, что при морской перевозке сжиженный природный газ может взорваться или привести к разливу, однако это очень маловероятно.

13. После удаления примесей СПГ представляет собой практически чистый метан.

14. В докладе была представлена краткая характеристика глубоководного бурения.

15. Для транспортировки нефтепродуктов сегодня используются специальные суда с изолированным корпусом.

Listening

Ex. 10. You will hear a report about gas exploration in the USA and methods to recover it. Answer the following questions after listening to the recording.

Vocabulary:

1. recession – экономический спад

1. Now can you characterize natural gas in terms of its environmental impact?

2. What country has the greatest proved reserves of natural gas?

3. How has the strategy of gas producing companies changed in the USA over the last years?

4. What method of drilling is used today for gas production in the USA?

5. What does Eric Potter say about the current gas resources?

6. What is one of the negative effects of hydraulic fracturing?

7. In what way is gas production different from oil production for Americans?

Ex. 11. Watch the video “Shell LNG production reactor” and note down answers to the following questions.

Vocabulary:

1. GTL = gas-to-liquid – синтетическое жидкое топливо

2. Ras Laffan City – г. Рас-Лаффан

3. Doha – г. Доха

4. tcf – trillion cubic feet – триллион кубических футов

5. start-up – вводить в эксплуатацию

6. sulfur – сера

7. prop – опора, стойка

8. thin gas – разреженный газ

9. propriety catalyst – запатентованный катализатор

10. wax – воск

11. hydrocracker – установка для гидрокрекинга

12. detergent feedstocks – сырье для изготовления чистящих средств

13. affluent treatment plant – установка очистки сточных вод

1. What is the key component of the Pearl GTL project?

2. Why is the North Field unique?

3. What components are removed from the gas to obtain clean gas?

4. What process takes place in the “cold box”?

5. What happens during the gasification process?

6. What is “thin gas”?

7. What process takes place in the liquid processing unit?

8. In what way is the water reuse system special?

9. What piece of equipment is driven by steam?

10. What us Andy Brown particularly proud of?

Grammar

Ex. 12. Study the following information.