Optimization of
Oil and Gas Facilities Design and Operations

Developing new oil and gas fields and operating existing ones are ever increasing in costs and challenges. New oil and gas fields require careful long-term planning to be flexible over longer periods of operations and wider production ranges to minimize any required modifications of facilities, which can result in staggering capital costs requirement and lengthy shutdowns.

 On the other hand, many existing fields are getting depleted and becoming harder to produce. To name a few challenges faced, higher water rates to handle, increased need of artificial lift systems, old systems becoming obsolete with new technologies are emerging and new stricter environmental standards are forced. These are just some of the challenges faced. This makes it imperative to consider systematic periodic reviews of the existing facilities, addressing both their design and operational modes and methods. This will reduce costs of implementing modifications on the existing facilities set-up or utilized operational methods.

This PetroKnowledge training is focused on recent methodologies to evaluate various upstream, midstream and downstream facilities operation and design. The training course is enriched with real field cases, providing a step by step approach to assess a given field's existing facilities. It is also aimed for value engineering and optimizing the proposed design of new increments and field developments.

This PetroKnowledge training course will highlight:

• Oil, gas and water infrastructure
• Surface facility design and optimization
• Fluid handling and processing
• Water injection
• Economic and scenario evaluations for facilities

At the end of this PetroKnowledge training course, you will learn to:

• Compare alternatives from operational and economical perspectives
• Assess processing facilities and their capacities
• Understand midstream operations and its components
• Develop integrated oil and gas production and water injection systems
• Pinpoint bottlenecks and propose remedial modifications 

This Petroknowledge training course is highly recommended for a wide range of professionals in management, planning, operations and engineering disciplines. It is specially of great value to: 

• Management Leaders
• Engineering and Operations Departments  
• Finance and Budgeting Departments  
• Facilities Planning Departments  
• Project Management Departments  
• All Petroleum Engineering Disciplines

This PetroKnowledge is an advance training course with engineering economics and project management principles interwoven in. The course starts daily with an in-depth review of a major oil and gas facility. The review covers the facility design parameters, functions, operational modes, processes involved and equipment set-up. Next, a step-step methodology to conduct a thorough evaluation and optimization study for that specific facility will be discussed.

Upon having, comprehended, the engineering design principles and modes of operations, attendees will be handed a case study.

The case study is a challenging real case from International operations. The case will be presented and handed to attendees as a class activity. Attendees will evaluate the case, determine issues and propose optimization measures. The class will be split into teams of 3-5 engineers guided by instructors. Each case will have different possible optimization scenarios. The team will examine all scenarios and recommend one. Their recommended proposal shall be supported by economics justifications and meet all required operational flexibility. Each team will present their recommended proposal to the class at the end of the day. Teams will provide any required drawings for the selected scenario.

This approach will immerse attendees deep into optimization studies, ensure full understanding of lectured materials, enhance communication among engineers and enable them to implement back in the office.

Continuous reviews and revisiting of existing fields production strategies and facilities for optimization of the operation are a must. It should be conducted carefully by qualified specialists, forming a well-balanced system. multidisciplinary team. For, all factors should be considered to carefully weigh in their impact. The changes in forecast, production strategies, new artificial lift techniques, depilating facilities, corroded pipelines, fluctuating oil prices, increasing energy and maintenance costs, new manpower skills requirement as new technologies get implemented, are some of the issues to be considered. The workshop is enriched with cases to mimic the actual work environment. Attendees of various disciplines will be brought to understand each other's languages and appreciate concerns. This will enable effective communication and understanding among various disciplines and guide them to work as a team to resolve given projects and cases.

Participants in this workshop, through lectures, presentations and team working on cases, will develop skills to become more effective members of oil and gas fields assessment and review teams. They will gain skills to evaluate facilities overall performance, its elements, processes, equipment and implemented technology competitiveness. 

Participants will develop the skills of assessing oil and gas fields and evaluating the facilities system. Through developing economics evaluating tools and project planning elements, an attendee will be a very effective team participant enabling him/her to present his case and address his colleagues and counterparts’ concerns.