Shell orders pumps for St. Joseph field off Sabah

July 29, 2009
Shell Malaysia Exploration & Production BV placed an $8 million order for Flowserve Corp. barrel-type injection pumps for its waterflood development in St. Joseph field, off Sabah.

Guntis Moritis
OGJ Production Editor

HOUSTON, July 29 -- Shell Malaysia Exploration & Production BV placed an $8 million order for Flowserve Corp. barrel-type injection pumps for its waterflood development in St. Joseph field, off Sabah.

Shell operates St. Joseph field under the North Sabah 1996 production-sharing contract with coventurer Petronas.

Shell expects water injection to start in 2010, according to a presentation to the International Petroleum Technology Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 3-5, 2008.

The presentation, "St. Joseph Field Waterflood Project: Fractured Water Injection Using Smart Well Technology," by Darryl Harris, Nicolette G. Du Rieu, and Keith Ian Rollett of Sarawak Shell Bhd., describes St. Joseph as a mature oil field that has been on production since 1981, with gas injection starting in 1996.

It says the scope of the waterflood development includes installation of a new offshore living quarters platform and seawater treatment and injection facilities plus drilling of six horizontal water injection wells and five infill wells.

The presentation says that the flood will involve the injection of treated seawater at a rate of 60,000 bw/d into a laminated reservoir with historical problems of controlling water and gas breakthrough through high permeability streaks.

It adds that smart technology will facilitate the injection under fracturing conditions into five completed zones. It says injection will proceed simultaneously in two zones with zones being alternated several times a year.

The smart technology for remote control of the injection includes, for each zone, a flow control valve and dual downhole pressure gauge, the presentation says.

Contact Guntis Moritis at [email protected].