Post-Frac Clean Up and Testing Optimization

Abstract

The Oil and Gas industry currently faces the dual challenge of meeting the global energy demand with minimal carbon footprint. The Barik formation is a tight to low-end conventional reservoir in Khazzan/Ghazeer Field (Block 61) in the central of the Sultanate of Oman. The field requires hydraulic fracturing to economically produce the wells, in which chemicals and proppant are pumped into the formation. Each well requires a period of clean up after pumping the frac and before connecting it to the facility in order to get rid of all the undesirable material from entering the processing facility. During this clean up and testing period, all produced gas and condensate are flared in the atmosphere. This paper presents an optimization project which was implemented in Khazzan and Ghazeer fields in Block 61 to optimize the post frac clean up and testing period in order to reduce hydrocarbon flaring and CO2 emissions as well as reducing the testing cost, without compromising the overall well clean up and testing objectives. The optimization project was originally started in 2015 where the clean-up and testing period was reduced gradually by optimizing the well bean up schedule (choke management and duration for each choke).