Saturday 23 July 2016

Deepwater Drilling for Oil - The world’s leading source of energy

Picture source: http://www.offshore-technology.com/ 

The continuous existence of man is dependent on his ability to secure a sustainable source of energy for himself. Currently the world is dependent on petroleum for the majority of its energy supply. More and more of this hydrocarbon supply are coming from unconventional sources. Examples of these are: oil shale, oil sands, ultra-deepwater explorations, etc. This article would highlight sourcing for the commodity on of the most remote areas of the world, Deepwater. Deepwater, refers to environments with water depths of 4,000ft to 7,000fts. To compare, the tallest building in Nigeria is the NECOM house, and this building is 520ft tall. This environments are tough, and without proper engineering even the best man and machine would fail. Nigeria has a couple of deepwater fields notably;
1.       Agbami Field: Run by Chevron at depths of 4,900ft below the blue sea.
2.       Bonga Field: Run by Shell at depths of 3,300ft below the blue sea.
3.       ERHA Field: Run by Exxon Mobile at depths of 4,00ft below the blue sea.
Extracting Oil and Gas from this environments require the most advance technologies available. Some of these technologies have been transferred to Space Research. Examples are the “Mars Drill” program by NASA which has the participation of Baker Hughes Inc. of Houston, a company with a rich oil field history [Source: http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/sep/HQ_04318_mars_drill.html].  Schlumberger, the largest Oil Field Servicing company also assisted NASA in the development of “Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Shoemaker mission” [Source: www.slb.com].  There are many more examples where the advance technologies used in the Oil Field has been used to benefit other aspects of science.
They type of well drilled can be classified into different types:
1.       Appraisal Wells: Drilled often shallow before an OML (Oil Mining License) is secured. The requirement for this drilling phase is the “OPL” Oil prospecting License”
2.       Exploratory Wells: Drilled deep enough to confirm the availability, quantity and viability of an oil reservoir.
3.       Development Wells: These wells are drilled into the reservoir to source for hydrocarbon which would be extracted for sale (Producer wells). We also have Injector wells, which are classified under development wells also. They are nonetheless drilled into the formation to inject substances such as gas, water, etc. This injected substances increases the pressure of the reservoir which depletes over time.
Equipment’s required in deep offshore drilling:
1.       Rigs: This are facilities used to drill holes into the earth. Examples are Drill ships, Semi-Submersibles
2.       ROV: Remotely operated vehicles are robots used to function/install equipment’s thousands of feet below the mean seal level. The Agbami field for example is approximately 5,000ft below mean sea level. Simple pressure/hydrostatic calculation would show that no human can survive at that depth due to the extreme pressure and temperatures.

Other notable equipment’s to study: Deepwater Completion Equipment, Directional Drilling, Subsea Tree Systems, FPSO, FSO, etc.

Friday 22 July 2016

2016 SHELL Nigeria Exploration and Production Company



Avail yourselves this opportunity!!!

Greensprings School Graduate Trainee Programme 2016

Greensprings’ history dates back to January 1985 when it started off as a Montessori school offering nursery education to children aged 2-5 years. Since then, the school has grown remarkably, and is today a leading institution offering a first class education from the foundation stage to post secondary levels. We believe that offering a progressive education gives parents and pupils’ stability and continuity, removing the anguish of having to change schools periodically.

This institution requires the services of Graduate Trainee.

Minimum Requirement Are:
  • Applicants should have a minimum of second class upper degree (in Education) or B.SC/B.A with a P.G.D.E qualification in the following fields; PE, Mathematics, English, Art, French , Special Education Needs, Music, Speech Therapist.
Kindly send suitable CV's to: graduatetrainee.anthony@greenspringsschool.com