Production Technology R&D: Insights from Upstream Research

Worldwide, research and development (R&D) programs have long been an integral part of most oil and gas companies. Large and small oil companies alike continuously perform several R&D activities on some level to improve their operations and services. With the advent of technology in recent years, companies are increasingly recognizing the competitive advantage that R&D provides to their core businesses. In this paper, we share insights from over a decade of R&D experience by the Production Technology Division (PTD) within Saudi Aramco's EXPEC Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC). The team has pioneered many technologies that significantly enhanced production operations, and helped in reducing operations’ carbon footprint in oil and gas fields. We highlight how the research team grew over time, and how they interacted and engaged with field proponents in their R&D work while providing several illustrative examples. We also discuss the focus and strategy of the team going forward.