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New Water Injection Facility at Rumaila

One of the most advanced water pumping facilities in Iraq has been constructed at the Rumaila oilfield to help boost oil production and support the field’s long-term strategy.

Cluster Pump Station Six (CPS-6) is the first CPS facility to be built at Rumaila for around 40 years. It is also the first CPS constructed by the Rumaila Operating Organisation (ROO), the joint venture between the Basra Oil Company (BOC), bp, PetroChina and State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO), which operates the field.

Water injection is fundamental for sustaining Rumaila’s high volumes of oil production. After almost 70 years of extracting oil, gas, and water, Rumaila’s mature reservoirs have seen pressure levels fall; injecting water into the subsurface helps to replace this lost pressure and push oil and gas to the surface. Since CPS-6 has become fully operational, 18 formerly producing wells have been reactivated and around 63,000 additional barrels of oil per day are being produced for Iraq.

ROO Deputy General Manager, Hussein Abdul Khadim Hussein, said:

“Rumaila’s daily oil production has increased by around 40% under ROO’s stewardship. Key to this has been the water injection strategy, which rose from around 250 mbds in June 2010 to reach peaks exceeding 1.5 million barrels of water per day (bwpd) in 2021. CPS-6 marks a new chapter as we extend water injection to the south of the field for the first time in more than a decade and will help us to maintain high oil production for years to come.”

Cluster pump stations pressurize treated industrial water to a specified level, which is then sent for injection into water injector wells in the field. With a capacity to inject up to 320,000bwpd, CPS-6’s features include digital monitoring of the site’s key equipment and components to manage pressure levels and ensure performance is maximized from the purpose-built control room.

The site has a pumping house with five powerful Sulzer pumps, each individually capable of pressurizing up to 80,000bwpd; a manifold to direct water to 20 injector wells; 2.5 km of piping inside the facility; 75 km of supporting pipeline infrastructure outside the facility, and an office for staff.

Construction entailed more than a million hours of work, and the installation of 16,700 metres of electrical cabling, 1,721 flanges and 575 valves. Multiple logistical challenges had to be overcome in order to adapt to the pandemic and to create a COVID-safe working environment, which included erecting fences inside the compound to delineate which contractor could operate in each part of the site.

ROO General Manager, Orkhan Guliyev, said:

“The full operation of CPS-6 is a major milestone in our drive to maintain oil production in the south of the field. For the past 11 years, water injection has been focused in North Rumaila – which has seen production increase by more than 150%. Safely injecting water in South Rumaila is a key part of ROO’s strategy for future success.”

Rumaila Special Deputy General Manager, Fan Jianping, added:

“Work has also begun to construct a second new pumping station, CPS-7, which will further our ambitions to ensure the reservoirs in South Rumaila continue to produce effectively and efficiently.”

(Source: ROO)

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Rumaila Oilfield “delivers Strong 2020 Performance”

The Rumaila Operating Organisation (ROO) has announced its 2020 performance results.

The field’s oil production rate averaged 1.392 million barrels per day (bpd), despite the impact of COVID-19, a budget reduction and compliance with instructions from BOC to reduce oil production, which reflected OPEC+’s request for Iraq to curtail oil exports.

The year’s strong performance has been attributed to the dedication of the field’s workforce (which is 96% Iraqi) to adapt to and overcome major new challenges. These included a revised and reprioritized production strategy, which benefitted from the strong foundations laid in previous years to modernize facilities, optimize wells and deploy advanced technologies.

Basra Oil Company (BOC) Director General, Mr Khalid Hamza Abbas, said:

“Rumaila’s achievements in 2020 deserve great recognition, not least within the context of the global pandemic. My thanks go to every member of staff who did his or her utmost to ensure the field continued to serve the nation at this most difficult time.”

Rumaila’s 2020 achievements included record-breaking levels of water injection, averaging 1.35 million bpd of water – volumes never previously seen at the field. New digital technologies were deployed to maximize efficiencies; 21 new wells were drilled, 115 wells were optimized or renewed, and almost 7,000 well services jobs were conducted to further maintain production, while preventative maintenance and repairs ensured the continued performance of ageing facilities.

In addition, new projects were initiated to reduce Rumaila’s operational carbon emissions, particularly utilizing electricity from the gas-fired Rumaila Power Plant, rather than diesel generators, to power some key facilities in the field.

Rumaila also continued to support local communities living near or within the field during the pandemic, with ongoing initiatives to help the Al-Khora Primary Health Care Clinic and the North Rumaila Mobile Health Clinic; ROO also oversaw and delivered the procurement, shipping, installation and training on a computed tomography (CT) scanner for the Basra Al-Sadir Teaching Hospital. Major renovation works also took place at Al Sikak, Al Rumaila and Al Nukhaila schools in order to enhance the quality of local education.

With the onset of the pandemic, global oil demand contracted, resulting in the already low international oil price falling further and causing governments and companies around the world to review their plans. Iraq was no exception and resulted in the ROO’s annual budget reduced by around 30%, with adverse impacts on some development projects and well and production-raising activities.

In addition, government-requested curtailments averaged 55,000 bpd over the course of the year, partly in response to Iraq’s compliance with OPEC+’s request to reduce the country’s overall oil exports.

2020 was therefore a year defined by COVID-19. It has always been ROO’s commitment to place the health and safety of staff members above all other considerations. COVID-19 therefore required multiple preventative and responsive activities to limit the transmission of the virus. Field personal protective equipment (PPE) was sourced and distributed, including 300,000 sets of gloves, 20,000 masks, and 1,300 units of hand sanitizing products. Two new clinics were established; additional respiratory and life support equipment were secured; 4,370 diagnostic tests were carried out; contact tracing was instigated after each suspected and confirmed COVID-19 case, and wellbeing initiatives were introduced.

Operationally, the field had to adapt to major disruptions to the way everyday work was delivered. Field staff had to contend with working fewer, yet longer shifts patterns; movement was restricted at Rumaila headquarters which is staffed by a limited number of Iraqi and international colleagues who all adhered to strict quarantining protocols on arrival; hundreds of Iraqi and expatriate staff adapted to working from home. A new IT terminal server enabled staff working remotely in Basra and around the world to securely access emails, files and industry applications, while the number of videoconferencing users increased 960%.

ROO Deputy General Manager, Hussein Abdul Khadim Hussein, said:

“With the virus making its way to Iraq, we knew we had to do everything we could to keep our people as safe as possible while at work. We also had to move quickly, to ensure that the day-to-day operation of the entire field could be maintained, so that Rumaila could continue to deliver for Iraq. The human cost of COVID-19 has been felt by everyone at Rumaila; to everyone affected, we extend our deepest sympathies.”

ROO General Manager, Orkhan Guliyev, said:

“The tremendous co-operation and teamwork between BOC, bp and PetroChina, which in previous years had been key to Rumaila surpassing targets, expressed itself in 2020 through a shared sense of resilience. The determination, dedication, patience and endurance of our people enabled us to continue to make progress during what was an extraordinarily challenging year for everyone.”

Rumaila Special Deputy General Manager, Fan Jianping, added:

“It has been a difficult operating environment for national and international oil companies across the world. At Rumaila, it has been humbling to see such strength of purpose in overcoming complex challenges. 2020 has further illustrated that our partnership has the focus, fortitude and capability to face tough challenges.”

(Source: ROO)

The post Rumaila Oilfield “delivers Strong 2020 Performance” first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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Rumaila hit 30-yr High in Oil Production

The Rumaila oilfield produced 1.467 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2018 – the oilfield’s highest annual rate of production for 30 years. 2018 also saw the milestone of four billion barrels of oil produced since the Rumaila Operating Organisation [ROO] began operating in June 2010.

The results were reported in the 2018 Rumaila Annual Report, submitted by the Basra Oil Company (BOC) to the Iraq Ministry of Oil.

In accordance with BOC’s objectives, Rumaila continued its journey to becoming a more advanced oilfield in 2018. New infrastructure played an important part in the year’s success, with three major projects completed that help Rumaila’s capacity to produce its current high production rates, as well as contribute to securing the field’s long-term future.

The new Rumaila Power Plant began operating, providing 150,000kW of electricity to the Iraq National Grid and supporting Rumaila facilities; three new dehydrator and desalter production trains were commissioned – increasing production capacity by 124,000 bpd; and two degassing facilities installed new large-scale ‘free water knock out’ vessels that ensure oil quality remains high by stripping water from the hydrocarbons.

The introduction of new technologies continues to play a vital role in the field’s advancement. In 2018, this included: the further expansion of the ‘digital oilfield’ (with 2,000 digital sensors now providing instant data from wells, facilities and manifolds to guide production performance), the completion of a field-wide TETRA radio communications infrastructure, and new data analytics tools and frameworks that visualize, interpret and reveal meaningful insights to improve day to day working.

Underpinning the 2018 results has been the ongoing programme to drill new wells, optimize existing wells, and the injection of industrial-use water to restore pressure to reservoirs in the north of the field. Thanks to the water injection programme and its supporting operations, Rumaila has been able to produce oil from historically harder to access reservoirs: in 2018, the oil produced from the Mishrif reservoir was more than triple the amount of oil extracted from that reservoir in 2010 and generating results never previously achieved at the oilfield.

The 2018 Annual Report also highlighted:

  • 59 Iraqi contracted companies won 85 contracts worth $650 million
  • 220,181 training hours were delivered to Iraqi staff
  • 31 new wells were drilled
  • 23.5km2 of land was cleared of unexploded ordnance
  • 206,675m2 of land was remediated
  • $5 million spent on supporting Iraq’s oil and gas industry via the Rumaila Education Fund

Rumaila General Manager, Hussein Abdul-Kadhim Hussein, commented:

“2018 was a remarkable 12 months in the 70-year history of this oilfield, as well as another exceptional year for the Rumaila Operating Organisation. The partnership goes from strength to strength: our success derives from the way BOC, BP and PetroChina continues to operate as one integrated team.”

BOC Director General, Ihsan Ismael, said:

“On behalf of BOC, I’d like to thank every single BOC staff member who has ensured that Rumaila continues to deliver successful oil production for Iraq, as well as pay tribute to the support of our partners, BP and PetroChina.”

ROO Deputy General Manager, Julian O’Connell, said:

“Rumaila is in service to Iraq. Our objective is to provide oil to support Iraq today, as well as create a legacy for the future. Our strategy and programme for field rejuvenation and training Iraqi personnel is helping us to achieve these twin goals and to overcome the multitude of challenges Rumaila faces.”

Rumaila Special Deputy General Manager, Fan Jianping, added:

“We are very pleased to report another successful year at Rumaila. Equally important is the fact that we have achieved this within a safe working environment. We of course want to increase production, but we also want Rumaila to be the pride of Iraq, which can only be achieved by having safety as the number one priority.”

(Source: Rumaila Operating Organisation)

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235-MW Rumaila Power Station Opened

By John Lee.

Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] has officially opened the Rumaila power station.

The construction of the 235 MW plant was supervised by the China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC), the engineering and construction subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The Minister said the project is considered as one of the largest projects organized by the Rumaila Operating Organization (ROO), which includes Basrah Oil Company (BOC), BP and PetroChina.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)