Journal of Petroleum Technology, Vol.51, No.12, 50-51, 1999
Depressurization management
The Brent held production began in 1976, peaked in 1984, and has been declining since. Because of the high solution-gas/oil ratio (GOR), substantial gas reserves remain dissolved in residual and bypassed oil. In 1992, the decision was made to depressurize the field to recover an additional 1.5 Tscf of gas and 34 million STBO, extending the held life by 5 to 10 years. Implementing the reservoir-management strategy requires a balance between immediate return on oil or gas production and well activity to liberate gas for later benefit. Acquisition of adequate surveillance data enables tracking the rapidly changing field conditions. Depressurization performance must be monitored against a plan and variances recognized early to optimize the production or investment profile.