Description
The deepwater basins around the world contain vast hydrocarbon resources, which await discovery and development. Our challenge today is to recover these resources profitably while investing in developing the technology needed and assuring that risk and uncertainties are managed and mitigated. The challenge is even increasing with discoveries in areas in deeper waters, no export infrastructure, long distances for tie-backs to existing ones, deeper wells and high pressure/high temperature environment. The experience of matching the field development scheme to the reservoir uncertainties and site characteristics is a key to ensuring success. Industry has developed both the dry and wet tree concepts for water depths up to 5000ft and 7000ft respectively and breakthrough technologies are thought out to enable production in ultra deep waters (up to 10000ft). Execution capability is another area critical for deepwater projects success. The author has been involved in Deepwater projects from front end engineering and economics to project execution. Successful strategy for front end scenario planning, concept ranking, project execution will be presented along with insights of the key drivers of development economics and Capital Productivity.