Replies to post #10416 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[OakesCS]

I've had a lot more exposure to these folks recently. Don't know whether that's becuz our sales folk are scouring thru the weeds or the sagd folks are looking for free wisdom but it's become clear that a lot of money has gone into designing production and processing facilities without thorough consideration of the chemistry involved. The example given about not using temperature sensors is a typical example although I've heard of worse. Some of the problems can't be dumped entirely on the CEs and MEs working for the producers, e.g. water treatment requirements thrown in after facilities already in place, but in general I can't say I'm impressed with the intellectual capabilities of some of the folks calling the shots. One guy was a recent PhD who apparently learned how to use HYSIS as part of his degree program but has no practical knowledge of the materials that are used in drilling a well or the stuff that comes out of a well. I won't go into greater detail regarding his errant guidance on surface facility design but it was embarrassing and expensive.

[semi_infinite]

Not really, it is simple if you spend the money to monitor reservoir heating. Or you can make it difficult by cutting out observation wells. Fortunately, this is not a deepwater project and results won't be fatal and it is reversible. Stupid decisions tend to be made in reaction to unreliable extrapolations of volatile oil prices.