Executives and experts from ANCAP, Ecopetrol, PDVSA, Pemex, Petrobras, Petroperú, Pluspetrol, Repsol, Schlumberger, Tecpetrol, Weatherford, YPF and YPFB, among other companies, participated in the 86th ARPEL Meeting of Experts (RANE) on "Management of Reservoirs”, the most relevant technical event of the year where the most recent technologies on integrated management of reservoirs in the region were presented.
The congress was organized by the Regional Association of Oil, Gas and Biofuels Sector Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean (ARPEL) with the support of its Exploration and Production Committee, and was targeted to executives, technical professionals and academic researchers specialized in this field. Issues related to the revitalization of mature fields, the monitoring of reservoirs, the management of reserves and the assessment of reservoirs were addressed during two days. The agenda of the event comprised thirty technical presentations, nine plenary presentations and the exhibition of more than thirty posters.
The Executive Vice President of Exploration and Production of YPF, Jesús Grande, said that "this collaboration, this exchange of ideas and techniques used in different deposits is essential for all ARPEL member companies to develop new ideas and new ways of doing things." In his presentation, Jesús Grande referred to the four challenges that the company is currently facing: rejuvenation and optimization of mature fields, development and optimization of conventional gas fields, development of unconventionals, and expansion of Argentina's perspectives through extensive exploratory activity.
"I think that through the efforts made with meetings such as these, we can learn and gain ideas and ways of doing things that will allow us to strengthen our portfolio of projects in terms of quality and quantity," he said. He added that "the industry needs people who dare to develop new ways of doing things, people like many of you [the participants in the RANE]. This is the way to carry the industry forward and attract much more talent."
Luis Macías Chapa, Senior Advisor on Strategic and International Affairs of Exploration and Production of Pemex, and Chairman of ARPEL Exploration and Production Committee, stated that "it is very important that the technicians who come to this type of workshops may talk with their peers about what they are doing in their own operations and create networks of specialists so that they can communicate with each other to solve future problems regarding the management of deposits."
"The management of reservoirs is key because if we don't have reservoirs we don't have production," Telmo Gerlero, Global Manager of Reservoirs of Pluspetrol, said. He added that "integrated management of reservoirs means being able to make appropriate decisions taking into account how they impact on all the different sectors involved in the value chain. These are management models that prioritize the progress of reserves, making investments, applying new technologies and developing human resources".
Following with this issue, Macías Chapa stated that "we are talking about doing everything involved in the exploitation of a deposit or a reservoir in the best optimum and efficient way, and therefore, in the most economic way. This implies a series of activities, such as the management of the energy of the deposit, the production systems, etc., with the purpose of optimizing all the elements involved in the process."
The expert stated that "there are countries in the region that have taken better advantage of available methodologies," and that "it is in fact the way to implement them that makes the difference." As an example, he mentioned the companies that are very advanced in topics of enhanced recovery of hydrocarbons to increase the recovery factor, which begin with laboratory testing, pilot testing, field application, and "value and validate the results as they obtain them along the way."
There was an exclusive plenary session on the development of unconventional resources, in which Matías Fernández-Badessich, Manager of the Center of Excellence of Unconventionals of YPF participated. He said that "to make Argentina become a country worldwide renowned for its unconventional technology is no longer a utopia."
The expert pointed out that comparing a night satellite photo of the center of the province of Neuquén, where the Vaca Muerta exploitation is located, taken three years ago, with a current photo, would be enough to see "the effervescent activity" carried out in that area today.
"Many years ago it was thought that the hydrocarbon industry was in decline, was going to disappear in a few decades and replaced by renewable energies, such as solar energy and wind energy. Developing these alternative energies has proven to be considerably more expensive than planned, and then it was not known what type of energy would be used to meet the requirements for energy in the world. This was covered by setting up in production the ultra deepwater deposits, and now shale appeared, transformed the United States and is now transforming Argentina," he said.
Another of the main issues addressed during the congress was the management of human talent in the exploration and production sector.
On this point, Jorge Vicens, Vice President of Human Resources for South America of Schlumberger, stressed that "no technological tool is more important than our investment in human capital." "Effective leadership is essential to any company's success and identifying and developing future leaders is imperative for long-term sustainability," he said.
As for Luciana Poli, Human Resources Consultant of Petrobras, she stated that "good management of human talent can make the difference between a company that is maintained and a company that is moving forward, not only facing the current scenario but also helping to build the future of the industry." The RANE on "Management of Reservoirs" is an ARPEL Congress held every two years, whose venue rotates through different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The next edition of the Congress will be in 2016.
Click here to view image gallery
READ MORE
