Bibobra Ikporo | Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State. (original) (raw)

Papers by Bibobra Ikporo

The mobilization of sand in oil and gas production facilities is one of the challenges plaguing t... more The mobilization of sand in oil and gas production facilities is one of the challenges plaguing the production department of petroleum industries. Its effects on oil facilities are detrimental to theproductivity of the well. This paper is a case study, which describes how Clampon DSP monitor was applied in sand management in an XY field in the Niger Delta oil province, with a key concern to minimize the risk of erosion damage to facilities from sand production, while maximizing production. In 2006, to optimize production without compromising safety and environment, management of the field initiated a project to minimize the risk of erosion damage to facilities by installation of a real time sand detection and erosion monitoring device on the wellheads of Wellwellheads: X15 and X17 and the inlet manifold of wells: WX3, WX4, WX5, WX6 and WX7. Employing varying choke sizes for maximum sand free rate (MSFR) or to a Maximum Acceptable SandRate (MASR). During the sand monitoring periods at their baseline (normal) chokes with subsequent bean-ups, depending on the well's potential, the corresponding sand production rates were estimated amidst other factors. The result generated by the Clampon DSP monitor showed that majority of the wells were sand producers.

Fluid distribution in the reservoir is an important factor when planning for an oil and gas field... more Fluid distribution in the reservoir is an important factor when planning for an oil and gas field development but cannot be done without saturation values within the reservoir. It must also be carefully monitored to optimize reservoir management, and delay gas or water coning. As fluid is produced from the reservoir, the saturation value changes depending on the nature of the drive mechanism, leaving some oil in un-drained compartments called residual oil. Recovery of this residual oil is at present a big challenge for many oil companies and there is a continuous search for a cheap and efficient technology that can help in its recovery. Hence, developed in this study is software “SATEST” to estimate the adjustment to oil saturation due to the various reservoir drive mechanisms and also validated with a commercial tool “MBal”. Result obtained showed a difference of 0.22% on average.

American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2015

The characterization of a reservoir is a process which starts from the beginning of the field (oi... more The characterization of a reservoir is a process which starts from the beginning of the field (oil or gas) discovery and continuous to the field's abandonment. It quantitatively or qualitatively describes the characteristics of the reservoir using data available. In the determination of key well and reservoir parameters for reservoir characterization, it is very vital to understand the flow phases and how to adequately identify them to prevent the challenge of obtaining the require parameters from a wrong phase. Thus, to successfully interpret a well test result either manually or by the use of computer aided software, we need to understand the well, reservoir and boundary models to actually match the field data. This success depends on the range and quality of pressure and rate data available and also the approach adopted for the analysis. This study adopted the method of pressure transient analysis, PTA to determine key well and reservoir parameters. A general well test work flow and the procedure for buildup test is presented. Data were obtained from Agba 8 and Ukot wells in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and analyzed using well test analysis software 'saphir' to generate the damage and flow parameters around the wellbore. Result shows that Agba 8 well is a candidate well for stimulation operation due to positive skin.

American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2015

Globally, there are different techniques applied in the industry such as analog, volumetric, decl... more Globally, there are different techniques applied in the industry such as analog, volumetric, decline curve, material balance and simulation methods to estimate hydrocarbon reserves which depends upon the volume and quality of available data with some levels of uncertainties. The analogy method is applied by comparing factors for the current fields or wells while the volumetric method implies the determination of the extent of the reservoir, pore volume of the reservoir rock and the content of fluid within the reservoir pore volume when production and pressure data from field become available, decline curve analysis and material balance calculations become the predominant methods of calculating reserves since the hydrocarbon reserve estimates is a continuous process for a field that is producing. This study presents a report on the material analysis of Ugua J2 and J3 reservoirs with MBAL prior to the field's dynamic reservoir simulation. The available data were validated and the analytical plot of pressure and production data indicated that J2 and J3 reservoirs are communicating. Hence multi-tank material balance analysis approach linked with transmissibility was adopted to model the reservoirs. The Hurst-Van Everdingen radial aquifer model was selected as the most likely case. The oil initially in place value obtained for J2 and J3 are 125.006 and 80.689 MMstb.

SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition, 2016

This research examines the applicability of two possible configurations of LNG plants as a means ... more This research examines the applicability of two possible configurations of LNG plants as a means of monetizing Nigeria's gas reserve. It involves an extensive evaluation of LNG technologies both offshore and onshore on an economic comparative basis. Economic analysis was performed on all quantitative data acquired from peer-reviewed academic journals, conference papers and technical reports. Feasible assumptions such as capacity of plants, life of projects and hurdle rate were adopted to enable a fair comparison without distortion. Cash flow analyses were conducted in relation to Nigeria's upstream natural gas utilization tax regimes as regulated by the Petroleum Profit Tax Act (PPTA). Economic yardsticks such as NPV, IRR, PI and PVR were used to rank proposed investments. Results from the deterministic evaluation were presented for offshore and land-based LNG facilities as a base case. These results were extended to evaluate the economic risks associated with uncertainties ...

Reservoir Engineering, 2018

The oil and gas business is a high risk and challenging venture and despite this risk and uncerta... more The oil and gas business is a high risk and challenging venture and despite this risk and uncertainties, several exploration and production operations are still going on in the Niger Delta region and other parts of the world. It is important to note that reserves is what drive the oil and gas business and every operator wants to produce his/her field in a safe and economic way without a rapid decline in the production rate. Thus, they wish to remain in their plateau stage for a long period. Decline curve analysis is key to determine the most probable life of a well or field and also estimate the future performance. This is important in determining the value of oil and gas economics. This chapter presents the various methods of decline curve analysis, the applications, the causes of production decline, factors affecting the decline rate and also the methods of identifying the decline model of any field from historical data. Several fields’ example questions and solutions to capture all the decline methods are also presented to determine the model parameter, forecast of future production, abandonment time and rate.

Reservoir Engineering, 2018

The pressure of a reservoir is the key driving force for the primary recovery of hydrocarbon. It ... more The pressure of a reservoir is the key driving force for the primary recovery of hydrocarbon. It gives an indication of the amount of hydrocarbon remaining in the reservoir at any given time. Three types of pressure regime is encountered during the drilling process; which are the normal, abnormal and the subnormal pressure. During production of the hydrocarbon, as soon as the well is open to flow, the reservoir pressure starts declining, depending on the drive mechanism of the reservoir and at any point in time, the average value of pressure is estimated. In this chapter, solved example questions on determination of fluid contacts from pressure survey data and averaging of reservoir pressures are presented. In addition, the position of the reservoir fluid contact is not static as the fluid is produced. At first, the position of the fluid contacts are first determined within control wells and then extrapolated to other parts of the field. Once initial fluid contact elevations in control wells are determined, the contacts in other parts of the reservoir can be estimated. Hence, the various methods of estimating reservoir fluid contact are presented with solved example questions.

Reservoir Engineering, 2018

An accurate estimation of oil and gas reserves is a key to the success of every field development... more An accurate estimation of oil and gas reserves is a key to the success of every field development, and this continues throughout the life of the field. There are several methods available for hydrocarbon reserves estimation and these are analogy, volumetric, decline analysis, material balance and reservoir simulation. The accuracy of any of these techniques depend solely on the type, quantity and quality of the geologic, geophysical, engineering, and economic data available plus the assumptions adopted for technical and commercial analysis. Also, the success of the reserve evaluation rely on the integrity, skill and judgment of the experienced professional evaluators. Thus, this chapter is basically dedicated for volumetric method of hydrocarbon reserve estimation which requires a limited amount of data. This chapter gives an understanding of the input parameters required and the factors affecting the volumetric reserves estimation. The step by step approach on how to calculate hydr...

Reservoir Engineering, 2018

Whenever a well is drilled and completed, it is expected to flow naturally via the wellbore to th... more Whenever a well is drilled and completed, it is expected to flow naturally via the wellbore to the surface, a relationship known as inflow and outflow. The inflow performance relationship (IPR) is often required for estimating well capacity, designing well completion, designing tubing string, optimizing well production, performing nodal analysis calculations, and designing artificial lift etc. This performance is commonly defined in terms of a plot of surface production rate versus bottomhole flowing pressure on a cartesian coordinate. The maximum flow rate that occurs when the bottomhole flowing pressure is zero and the maximum rate corresponding to this pressure is called the absolute open flow (AOF). In this chapter, several mathematical models for estimating the inflow performance relationship (IPR) are presented with solved example questions. Also, a case study of an improvement in IPR curve of well K35 to evaluate the efficacy of a pre and post stimulation job is also presente...

Reservoir Engineering, 2018

The complex nature of the material balance equation (MBE) used in estimation of oil and gas initi... more The complex nature of the material balance equation (MBE) used in estimation of oil and gas initially in place, cumulative aquifer/water influx, gas cap size and the contribution of the various drive mechanism was reduced to a simpler form by Havlena and Odeh (1963) to express the MBE in a straight line form. This involves rearranging the MBE into a linear equation. Therefore, the various mathematical model for the different material balance equations for the reservoir types in chapter five are represented in a straight line form in this chapter. To identify the type of reservoir in question, based on the signature of pressure history or behaviour and the production trend, Campbell and Dake developed a diagnostic plot and also to check for the presence and strength of aquifer. The plots were established based on the assumption of a volumetric reservoir, and deviation from this behaviour is used to indicate the reservoir type. Hence, the linear form of the material balance equations ...

The heart of the oil and gas business is the amount of hydrocarbon reserves found initially in pl... more The heart of the oil and gas business is the amount of hydrocarbon reserves found initially in place, which implies that the value of the reserve estimation is a key driver for exploration and production companies to decide whether to develop or abandon a prospect/field based on their set criteria. There are several parties involved in the utilization of the hydrocarbon reserves and it includes the operating companies, regulatory bodies, banks, investors to mention a few for different reasons. Some of these reasons are: to obtain approvals from relevant ministries and other regulatory bodies, for investment in oil/gas sector, for exploration and development plan strategy and for facilities design. Other reasons include obtaining financing, evaluation of profit/interest, satisfying government regulations & taxation, etc. Furthermore, there are several uncertainties associated with hydrocarbon reserve estimation which are presented in the later part of this chapter, and when these unc...

Reservoir Engineering, 2018

Introduction -- Reserves and Reservoir Characterization -- Volumetric Reserves Estimation -- Wate... more Introduction -- Reserves and Reservoir Characterization -- Volumetric Reserves Estimation -- Water Influx -- Material Balance -- Linear Form of Material Balance Equation -- Decline Curve Analysis -- Pressure Regimes and Fluid Contacts -- Inflow Performance Relationship -- History Matching -- Reservoir Performance Prediction.

The Political Ecology of Oil and Gas Activities in the Nigerian Aquatic Ecosystem

International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology

Throughout the life of a field, the only way to make contact with the reservoir is through the we... more Throughout the life of a field, the only way to make contact with the reservoir is through the wellbore by making indirect data measurements. These data acquired during the measurement period is analyzed and interpreted in other to have a better understanding of the reservoir characteristics. There are several methods of estimating reservoir properties such as core analysis and well logging which are only able to obtain properties at a local point. But, well testing present an average property of the whole reservoir as the reservoir responds to the perturbation caused during the test period. This study developed an artificial neural network algorithm that was trained to automatically identify four different reservoir models (the homogenous infinite acting radial flow with wellbore storage reservoir, homogenous reservoir with a finite conductivity fracture, homogenous reservoir with an infinite conductivity fracture and a double porosity reservoir with no wellbore storage effect) and estimate the model parameters (permeability, skin factor, reservoir radius, flowing wellbore pressure and/or the length of the conductivity fracture). The algorithm was constrained to four models because of the unavailability of well test data that represent the other plethora of reservoir models. The accuracy of the algorithm on reservoir model recognition was 99.5% and also, the reservoir model parameter estimation had an index of fitness of 1 for the four reservoirs and the mean squared error of 2.62653e-10, 3.29122e-8, 1.05805e-5 and 2.19763e-6 respectively. It is then concluded that an artificial neural network is a good tool for well test analysis and interpretation. And that it saves both the time and energy of the interpreter when compared to convention methods thereby providing enough time for proper engineering judgment.

American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2015

SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition, 2016

Reservoir Engineering, 2018

The Political Ecology of Oil and Gas Activities in the Nigerian Aquatic Ecosystem

International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology