Experts point out that mature fields may be a viable option to mitigate the hydrocarbon crisis in the country. They recognize that YPFB still does not pay attention to this alternative, despite the fact that the company has significant remaining reserves in these kinds of fields.
ISSUE 112 | 2022
Elizabeth Riva Álvarez
Mature fields are a viable option to deal with the hydrocarbons crisis that the country is going through, because they would improve production and reduce the growing imports of gasoline and diesel.
The experts’ organization has a project that supports the urgent need to reactivate these oil fields while the exploration and exploitation of new wells are carried out, for which more time is required, as well as large investments, and the inevitable high level of risk involved in these operations where there is a relative possibility of success.
Four members of the Dionisio Foianini Oil Fraternity (FPDF) participated in the colloquium organized by the ENERGÍA Bolivia magazine, where they discussed a document that they are planning to present to YPFB and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons. The members appointed to develop and discuss this proposal were José Escobar, Víctor Verdeja, both with experience in production, Eduardo Alba, an expert in drilling, and Iván Rodríguez with experience in downstream.
NEW CHALLENGES
The engineer José Escobar said that the revitalization of mature fields poses new challenges for the Government and the oil sector such as the acquisition of modern technology that requires significant investments. However, these investments could generate successful results that could benefit the energy sector and the country in a short and medium term.
“If we focus on mature and marginal fields, we can achieve significant oil production to reduce the imports of diesel and gasoline. In addition, this would make it possible to boost the reactivation of the national economy by reviving the oil sector and generating new jobs”, said Escobar when exposing the project.
A mature field is an area that shows significant amounts of remaining reserves, as a result of its low recovery factor, in these places it is possible to implement secondary, tertiary or improved recovery processes.
On the other hand, a marginal field is one that is close to the limit of its technical and economic feasibility due to low profitability indexes, high operating costs and high technology requirements for its development.
Until now, operations in these fields have not been considered a priority by the Government’s oil and gas corporation, Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB), or by other operators that are in the country, probably due to the high costs required by the process and its low profitability. However, these investments could guarantee fruitful results for the country.
Experts consider that, in order to promote the recovery of mature fields, YPFB must take immediate actions, such as the modification of the Hydrocarbons Law and its regulations, promote incentives and finally, easing the tax burden.
In addition, you must review the price you pay for the oil produced, which is well below the international average, which reduces interest in new investments and projects.
“Rejuvenating mature fields with technical, operational and managerial challenges is projected as one of the best alternatives that can help to increase reserves…”
REMAINING RECOVERABLE RESERVES
According to the information on reserves, there is a significant volume to be recovered. Primary recovery has only reached 20-30% of the original reserve, depending on exposure.
“There is a very high percentage of remaining reserves that could be rescued by applying appropriate enhanced recovery technologies. They can be in the order of 30 to 50% for the secondary and 50 to 70% for the tertiary”, Escobar said when referring to the potential that it has.
“The number of all the marginal fields has an original volume of 957 million barrels and there was an accumulated production, from all these fields, of 228 million barrels, so we have around 700 million barrels still to be recovered and if only 20% of this recovery is achieved, this would still be about 140 million additional barrels, therefore, this objective is important”, Mr. Escobar added.
Verdeja points out that a large part of the productive areas is in control of operators such as Repsol, Petrobras and Matpretrol. Moreover, another important part is held by YPFB and its subsidiaries Andina and Chaco. “In the past there have been some interesting secondary recovery experiences, one of those is the one that Repsol carried out in the Surubí field for alternate injection of gas and water, but I don’t know why it was not continued,” he said.
The specialist also mentioned that in Colombia, Brazil and other countries in the region, these types of projects are already being developed, regretting that in Bolivia there is no interest in developing mature fields, as part of a government policy.
STUDIES AND CONCLUSIONS
The engineers at the “Foianini” Fraternity said that it is necessary for YPFB to hire a company specialized in studies and analysis to carry out projections of each of the mature fields and their potential, thus defining the technology required, the time and cost that its potential exploitation will demand.
“Only between 20 and 30% of the total reserves volume were recovered, because that was their recovery factor with the primary systems. There is a significant balance left in the deposits and from that remainder only a percentage can be extracted, depending on the analysis carried out by the specialized company”, specified Eduardo Alba.
Regarding the costs, he said that it is difficult, without the studies, to define a round number. However, he said that these numbers wouldn’t be as high as those required to carry out new explorations by any means. “Incentives must be given to companies so that they can recover their investments. The initial gain that the country would have is that it would already have the oil physically available for the refineries, and later it can also develop enhanced recovery in declining gas fields, ”he said.
Summarizing, they highlight that “in the absence of major oil and gas discoveries, which allow reversing the collapse of oil and gas production, mature fields are presented as the main engine to guarantee the country’s energy security.”
The results in terms of profitability depend on the appropriate decisions, which must be attractive to all parties, both for contractors and for the State and for society, otherwise it may result in the premature abandonment of mature fields, which is not desirable for the country.
In the revitalization work of these fields, a methodology must be adopted to identify, select and prioritize opportunities that allow short-term production and optimize operating costs.
“Rejuvenating mature fields with technical, operational, and managerial challenges is projected as one of the best alternatives that can help increase reserves, through additional hydrocarbon production, enhanced recovery factor, while reducing diesel and gasoline imports,” they emphasized.
The Foianini Foundation’s project is even considering a draft for a government decree, prepared by engineer Fernando Pacheco, which would allow, without changing the Hydrocarbons Law, to improve the incentives for oil companies fostering more interest in the development of mature fields in Bolivia.
