SAUDI ARAMCO DESCRIBES CRISIS OIL FLOW HIKE

On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and triggered one of the most severe crises in the world's oil supplies since World War 11. Within a few days of the invasion, Iraqi and Kuwaiti oil exports were embargoed, and almost 4.6 million b/d oil of production was removed from world markets.

This shortfall amounted to about 20% of total Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries production at the time and could have proven disastrous to the world's industrial and financial well-being. However, there was no disruption to the major economies of the world.

The primary reason for the cushioning of this impact was the massive expansion in production undertaken by Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco). This production increase added almost 2 million b/d of crude oil to the market before the end of August and another 1 million b/d by mid-December 1990. These increases played a major role in stabilizing crude oil prices and mitigating energy concerns during the Iraq/Kuwait crisis.

The events of the 1990-91 gulf crisis and war will be chronicled for years. The buildup of the coalition forces is a story of epic proportions. What follows is a much lesser known story of how Saudi Arabia's oil production was sustained and increased during that crisis.

PRODUCTION PROCESS

The production in Saudi Aramco is enormous in scale, with complex interlinked processes. It involves a network of production wells, gas-oil separation plants (GOSPs, Fig. 1), crude oil shipping, gas gathering, and processing and fractionation plants.

Overall, the company operates some 12,000 km of major pipelines linking 57 production facilities, five major gas processing and fractionation plants, three shipping terminals, a refinery, and several thousand oil and gas production and water injection wells.

As of early August 1990, Saudi Aramco had 26 GOSPs actually on-line and operating and 31 older or partially constructed GOSPs in mothballed state.

Mothballed facilities are plants in which the bulk of the instruments and much of the rotating equipment have been removed and placed in long-term storage. Oil wells and flow lines associated with mothballed facilities are depressurized and filled with dry crude oil.

Cathodic protection remains activated throughout the network of wells, flow lines, and pipelines. Plant drawings, start-up procedures, and detailed material listings are kept for each facility that is mothballed.

Following the OPEC meeting held on Aug. 22, 1990, Saudi Aramco took immediate steps to increase its production from spare capacity in operating plants and fields. Total crude output increased systematically from 5.5 million b/d in August to over 7.5 million b/d by early September.

Because of the crisis, however, it was apparent that still more production would be required to satisfy the total crude oil demand. An intensive survey of mothballed facilities was undertaken, including equipment status, spare parts, and manning requirements.

By mid-September it was possible to confirm that several GOSPs could be returned safely to operation if the proper resources to reactivate them could be made available.

DEMOTHBALLED FACILITIES

Based on the survey, GOSP and pipeline demothballing was initiated. It was found that the mothballed facilities, most of which had been shut-in since 1986, were preserved in excellent condition.

The maintenance effort expended at that time had resulted in the systematic removal of vulnerable equipment and storage in protected environments. Equipment left in place had been properly purged and protected to eliminate any risks of corrosion or deterioration.

Hundreds of maintenance and operation personnel were reassigned to implement the demothballing program, including advanced trainees in operations and support services. Thousands of pieces of equipment were overhauled or refurbished, using all the field and central resources of the company.

Eventually, four GOSPs and pumping facilities were put in operation by late September, followed by seven more in October, four in November, and two in December (Fig. 2).

These facilities were all onshore and contributed 1 million b/d of crude oil production by Dec. 16, 1990. This brought the total Saudi Aramco production rate to 8.5 million b/d on a sustained basis.

The initial increases in production from 5.5 million b/d to 7.5 million b/d were achieved with Arabian Heavy and Arabian Medium crudes from Safaniya and Zuluf fields, respectively. Both fields are offshore in the North Arabian Gulf, and these operations were constantly hampered by the threat of mines.

Subsequent increases to 8.5 million b/d provided Arabian Light from Ghawar and Arabian Medium from Khursaniyah, Qatif, and Khurais fields.

These onshore fields were not exposed to military threats but were generally older and involved less reliable equipment.

MANPOWER

The main challenge that was encountered throughout the demothballing effort was the locating and reassigning of qualified personnel.

Manning for the demothballing operation had to be readily available in Saudi Aramco, job-qualified, and mobile so as to be assigned to often isolated and remote locations on short notice.

Maintenance personnel were the first to be identified by reviewing the company's overall operations and seeking areas where personnel could be released. The effort eventually yielded some 300 highly qualified maintenance personnel who could be redirected to the demothballing program.

These employees were made available by deferring work such as testing and inspection, preventive maintenance, and maintenance in support of less critical facilities.

Contractor personnel were also released from noncritical assignments to assist Aramco personnel on some of the more labor-intensive activities.

By working extensive overtime, it was possible to accelerate otherwise impossible completion schedules.

It was estimated that over 700,000 overtime hr were worked by maintenance personnel during the demothballing effort.

Spare parts, housing, and logistics for transporting materials and personnel were made available from within the company's resources. Three major remote camps in the vicinity of the demothballing projects were repaired and reactivated within 30 days to provide over 1,100 beds in air-conditioned dormitories.

Hundreds of heavy equipment units, such as cranes, trucks, bulldozers, buses, and support vehicles, were reassigned to remote field activities within the first few weeks of the program's initiation.

Operational manpower was made available by extending work schedules from 8 to 12 hr shifts and applying special work schedules such as 14 days on and 7 days off. New crews were formed to operate the plants by mixing experienced operators with less experienced trainees in the final stages of their training programs.

In all, over 150 operating personnel were reassigned in this manner to support the reactivation effort and man the demothballed facilities and fields.

Thousands of hours in overtime were expended weekly to cover operating requirements and transportation to remote facilities.

PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE

Once the mothballed wells and facilities were brought into operation, it became apparent that the condition of most of the equipment was in very good order and only required minor ongoing maintenance.

Some equipment, however, ultimately required complete replacement due to lack of spare parts or high cost of maintenance.

The plants today continue to provide trouble-free service since their initial reactivation and are constantly inspected and maintained in line with current practices with all other facilities.

Pipelines and flow lines were also found to be in generally good condition after hydrotesting and inspection. Where required, repairs were undertaken to provide safe pipeline operations on a longterm basis.

The wells that were put on production were found to require no significant workovers or recompletions. Reservoir performance has been very steady, and well productivity has been sustained without any difficulties.

Downstream facilities, such as stabilization plants, pump stations, tankage, and terminals, were brought on stream to provide flexibility and maintain crude quality. Several hundred million cubic feet of gas associated with facilities having gas-gathering systems were brought into the gas network operated by Saudi Aramco.

As a result, no disruptions to any of the power generation or desalination services that depend on the gas system were experienced at any time during the crisis.

PRODUCTION PLANS

Saudi Aramco is in the process of reestablishing its production capacity at 10 million b/d as directed by the government of Saudi Arabia.

Projects are in place to expand capacity by drilling hundreds of additional wells, constructing oil dehydrating and desalting facilities, expanding pressure maintenance by water injection, and expanding oil and water pipelines.

Drilling in support of the expanded production and water injection is in progress and is planned to be completed as new facilities become available for operation.

The production expansion carried out by Saudi Aramco between August and December 1990 increased Saudi Aramco's sustained production capacity from 5.5 million b/d to over 8.5 million b/d utilizing internal manpower resources and existing facilities.

Expansion projects are progressing as scheduled to bring total production capacity up to 10 million b/d. The performance of the plants and reservoirs has been trouble-free and confirms that there will be no difficulties in achieving and maintaining the kingdom's production objectives.

Copyright 1991 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.