Global energy demand is expected to grow by
approximately one-third by 2035. Despite the
rapid expansion of renewable energy sources,
the International Energy Agency expects that
oil and gas will meet about half of that. Although
the world’s hydrocarbon resources are adequate,
tremendous investment in exploration and
production (E&P) will be required across frontier
regions where new accumulations are being
sought in deeper waters, at higher temperatures
and pressures, and in more complex geology,
as well as from mature fields where service
intensity continues to rise.
From Unconventional to Conventional
The increasing diversity of oil and gas field devel-
opment presents a variety of technical challenges. The
workflow and technology applied cannot be routine
but must be customized from field to field. High-cost
deepwater developments require maximum safety and
minimum risk during the drilling of deviated wells
from a floating platform, whereas the unconventional
reservoirs that have enabled the rapid production of
oil and natural gas from shale deposits in North
America demand efficient drilling and completion with
maximum safety and environmental protection.
These two extremes exemplify
the variety that the industry faces.
The unprecedented rise in shale
gas production in the US that is
being followed by that of tight oil
production is based on technology
breakthroughs and new and
advanced workflow processes. The
speed of technical progress can be seen in the develop-
ment of the Bakken Shale in North Dakota, where the
first well was drilled in late 1953. Only a few hundred
more wells were drilled over the following 50 years and
oil production never exceeded a few thousand barrels
per day. Not until 2007 did operators introduce new
technologies, new efficiencies, and a workflow for shale
resource development. Only six years later the number
of producing wells has reached more than 6,500, and
production grown to almost 1 million bbl/d of oil.
In deepwater areas production growth has been
much slower despite the fact that more than half of all
oil discoveries since the early 2000s have been made
in such environments. Less than 20% of these had been
put in production by the end of 2013, and less than 15%
of new production expected on line by 2020 will come
from such developments—largely as a result of their
complexity and capital intensity.
Making the
Whole Greater than
the Sum of the Parts
4
The value of technology
must be enhanced through
successful integration
with human skill and
operational workflow.
