Accelerating digital and intelligent transformation is a crucial measure for oil and gas enterprises to advance industrial transformation and upgrading and foster new productive forces. Sinopec’s upstream sector in China has thoroughly implemented the “Digital and Intelligent Sinopec” initiative, focusing on supporting corporate reform and management. By closely aligning with the development trends of digital and intelligent technologies and the demands of exploration and production operations, the digital and intelligent transformation has been steadily advanced. A group-level Exploration and Development Data Center (EPDC) has been established, aggregating 17.2 PB of various types of exploration and development data, which has enabled centralized data management and shared applications. An Internet of Things network covering oil and gas production sites has been nearly completed, with digital coverage rates for oil, gas, and water wells, and station facilities reaching 94.90% and 92.30%, respectively. This has fundamentally transformed the traditional manual management model of stationing personnel at wells and stations, effectively supporting the reform of production operation modes and labor organization under digital and intelligent conditions. The construction and deepened application of unified systems have been advanced coordinately, continuously improving the digital coverage across all exploration and development business operations. Sinopec has also actively promoted the construction of artificial intelligence (AI) scenarios and their pilot applications, achieving notable results in scenarios such as intelligent seismic processing and interpretation, intelligent rock thin-section identification and analysis, intelligent reservoir numerical simulation, intelligent drilling, intelligent fracturing, and intelligent well condition diagnosis. Looking ahead to the “15th Five-Year Plan”, Sinopec’s upstream sector in China aims to build intelligent oil and gas fields, accelerate the integration of data flow, business flow, value flow, and supervision flow (“four flows in one”), and promote the construction and application of high-value AI scenarios across the entire business chain. These efforts will support the deeper and more substantive integration of digitalization and intellectualization, enhancing the operational efficiency, economic benefits, and management capability of oil and gas exploration, development, and production.
Petroleum refining. Petroleum products, Gas industry
JIANG Yong, LUO Xianbo, ZHANG Qixuan, WU Jintao, YANG Chenxu
The BZ condensate gas reservoir in the Bohai Sea, China, is a rare fractured buried hill condensate gas reservoir with high saturation and high content of condensate oil. The reservoir features high temperature, high pressure, ultra-low porosity, and ultra-low permeability. Due to the small difference between the fluid dew point and the pressure in the gas reservoir, it is prone to condensate oil precipitation, causing contamination in the near-wellbore zone. In the early development stage, the BZ gas reservoir pilot area was produced using natural energy. When the reservoir pressure drops below the dew point, retrograde condensation intensifies, leading to a rapid increase in the gas-oil ratio and an accelerated decline in production. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the evaluation of retrograde condensation damage and effective remediation methods. Core depletion experiments were conducted under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions using compound condensate gas to simulate retrograde condensate oil contamination. Gas-phase permeability was tested at different depletion pressure points to evaluate the degree of retrograde condensate contamination. Additionally, gas injection experiments were carried out to investigate the mechanisms of damage mitigation. Experimental results showed that as the reservoir pressure decreased, the amount of retrograde condensate in the core increased, and the effective gas-phase permeability decreased significantly. Ultimately, the resulting retrograde condensate damage to the reservoir reached 65.8% to 70.2%. Gas injection could reduce the viscosity of condensate oil, increase the volume expansion coefficient of reservoir fluids, and induce re-vaporization of retrograde condensate oil. This process reduced the amount and saturation of retrograde condensate liquid, relieved retrograde condensate blockage, and improved the effective gas-phase permeability of reservoir cores. The permeability recovery rates for N2, associated gas, and CO2 were 48.1%, 78.6%, and 81.7%, respectively. The final recovery rates for condensate oil reached 43.7%, 66.8%, and 69.2%, respectively. The research results provide technical support for gas injection development in the pilot zone of the BZ buried hill condensate gas reservoir. This approach effectively mitigates production decline and achieves good results, offering important guidance for the efficient large-scale gas injection development in the future.
Petroleum refining. Petroleum products, Gas industry
DTDC的设计和操作关系到工厂管理的安全、环保和能源消耗，在保证豆粕质量的前提下，降低DT的蒸汽消耗和降低豆粕的残溶是关键。论述了DTDC的预脱溶层、脱溶层、干燥层和冷却层的结构及关键操作参数设置，改进的DT功能性结构部件，DT的关键控制点、控制点及关键安全装置控制参数，另外论述了降低豆粕残溶及节能的措施。生产实践中，适度增加预脱溶盘数量，控制气相温度在68~70 ℃,保持脱溶层总料层高度不小于3.4 m,改进脱溶层逆流盘透气孔、搅拌叶、料位和落料控制机构和直接蒸汽喷孔，控制层料之间的压力降，延长蒸脱时间至45~55 min,经脱溶后，美国大豆豆粕和巴西大豆豆粕的残溶分别在50~80 mg/kg、 100~150 mg/kg，溶耗分别在0.3 kg/t和0.5 kg/t，KOH蛋白质溶解度分别在84%和80%~82%，尿素酶活性等指标合格，压榨厂蒸汽消耗控制在170~190 kg/t。The design and operation of DTDC is related to the safety, environmental protection and energy consumption of plant management, and it is critical to reduce the steam consumption of DT and reduce the residual solvent of soybean meal under the premise of ensuring the quality of soybean meal.The structure and key operating parameters of pre-desolventization layer, desolventization layer, drying layer and cooling layer of DTDC, improved DT functional structural components, DT key control points, control points and key safety device control parameters were discussed. Measures for reducing the residual solvent of soybean meal and energy consumption were introduced. In production practice, moderately increasing the number of pre-stripping discs, controlling the gas-phase temperature at 68-70 ℃, keeping the total material layer height of the desolventization layer not lower than 3.4 m, improving the desolventization layer countercurrent disc ventilation holes, stirring blades, level of material and material control mechanism and direct steam injection holes, controlling the pressure drop between the layers of material, prolonging the steaming time to 45-55 min. After desolventization, in US soybean meal and Brazilian soybean meal, the residual solvent were 50-80 mg/kg and 100-150 mg/kg, solvent consumption were 0.3 kg/t and 0.5 kg/t, KOH protein solubility were 84% and 80%-82%, respectively, urease activity and other indicators of soybean meal were qualified, and steam consumption in the pressing plant was controllled in 170-190 kg/t.
Jalal M. Ahammad, Mohammad Azizur Rahman, Stephen D. Butt
et al.
Abstract The occurrence of fluid flow near a wellhead is the major concern of the petroleum industry, as pressure drop, loss of formation, and other variables of interest are mostly affected in this region. The fluid flows from the hydrocarbon reservoir to the wellbore can be characterized as laminar to turbulent; thus, it is important to model this phenomenon with the integrated wellbore-reservoir model. Using 3D Navier–Stokes equations, an integrated wellbore-reservoir model is created in this study, and it incorporates the formation damage zone. For the porous-porous and porous-fluid interfaces, the General Grid Interface (GGI) approach is applied in conjunction with the conservative mass flux interface model. Model equations are solved using a velocity-pressure coupling solver that is pressure-based. For reliable and quick results, the system of equations is solved using an algebraic multigrid approach. The pressure diffusivity equation’s analytical solution under steady-state flow circumstances is used to validate the model. The integrated wellbore-reservoir model is applied to different reservoir scenarios, for example, different production rates, formation zones, and reservoir formation conditions. The results indicate that the present Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model can be extended to simulate the real field scale model. integrated wellbore-reservoir modeling based on 3D Navier–Stokes equations with efficient computational techniques can lead the field of petroleum industries to advance current knowledge.
The existing approaches for identifying events in horizontal well fracturing are difficult, time-consuming, inaccurate, and incapable of real-time warning. Through improvement of data analysis and deep learning algorithm, together with the analysis on data and information of horizontal well fracturing in shale gas reservoirs, this paper presents a method for intelligent identification and real-time warning of diverse complex events in horizontal well fracturing. An identification model for “point” events in fracturing is established based on the Att-BiLSTM neural network, along with the broad learning system (BLS) and the BP neural network, and it realizes the intelligent identification of the start/end of fracturing, formation breakdown, instantaneous shut-in, and other events, with an accuracy of over 97%. An identification model for “phase” events in fracturing is established based on enhanced Unet++ network, and it realizes the intelligent identification of pump ball, pre-acid treatment, temporary plugging fracturing, sand plugging, and other events, with an error of less than 0.002. Moreover, a real-time prediction model for fracturing pressure is built based on the Att-BiLSTM neural network, and it realizes the real-time warning of diverse events in fracturing. The proposed method can provide an intelligent, efficient and accurate identification of events in fracturing to support the decision-making.
Massive data of bending strain along pipelines can be detected by the Inertial Measurement Unit(IMU), but there is no effective method available for the quantitative evaluation of pipelines with the IMU data so far. To address this issue, an identification method was proposed for thaw settlement segments of pipelines in permafrost zones based on IMU strain data. The method mainly includes the pre-processing method of IMU strain data, i.e., the data alignment method, the identification method of large strain characteristics of the non-thaw settlement pipeline segments, such as bends, dents and tees, and the quick positioning method of geological disaster pipeline segments determined by presetting the identification threshold and the abnormal pipeline segments to be inspected. Thus, the IMU detection data of the First Mohe-Daqing Pipeline in the permafrost region during 2013 to 2018 were identified and analyzed, and the identification results were in good agreement with the geometric inspection data. On that basis, a statistical analysis was made to study the distribution of abnormal pipeline segments in various areas of this permafrost region. The results indicate that the seasonal frozen region has more geological change points than the permafrost region, but the change is small. Generally, quantitative data are provided through this research for the integrity assessment of pipelines in geological disaster areas, which could be used to solve the technical bottleneck of failure to determine the external load of pipelines at present. Hence, it is a significant new direction for the development of pipeline integrity assessment technology.
In particular, quantitative laboratory measurements are challenging to perform due to their costs and time consumption. So, the need to explore other available data interconnectivity to permeability is of great importance. One of these data is NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) log data which have been used frequently in recent studies. It is considered to segregate different groups, which can be obtained through cluster analysis. Using reliable parameters in the cluster analysis helps to segregate different rock units which can be used in the permeability models. To select reliable parameters, cross plots of the permeability versus extracted features from the NMR T2 distribution curve were plotted. Results indicate that TCMR, peak reading amplitudes, and T2Lm are the best permeability indicators, respectively. Cluster analysis was performed on T2LM, TCMR and Peak reading amplitudes, which showed the highest consistency with core derived data compared with other parameters. The crucial step is to determine the best estimate of the number of clusters. It is usually taken as a prior in most clustering algorithms. In this research, Davies-Bouldin criterion values versus the number of clusters were used to obtain the optimal number of clusters. The knee method, which finds the “knee” in many clusters vs. clustering evaluation graph, was used. A clustering model with the number of clusters from 2-100 was created. It showed the five is an optimal number of clusters. Subsequently, the Schlumberger-Doll-Research (SDR) coefficients for each cluster were modified using a curve fitting tool in the Matlab software. Results indicated that calculated permeability using cluster analysis showed a higher correlation by core derived permeability than the original SDR permeability model. Since this is the core part of the group attempt to use extracted T2 distribution features in permeability estimation in carbonate reservoirs, more investigation is required to attempt satisfactory results to standardize the value of the coefficient of the permeability models in carbonate rocks with different petrophysical properties.
Palm oil, the commodity produced mainly in Indonesia and Malaysia, is widely used for deep-frying of fast food and food derivatives. European and American markets of palm oil are affected by the concern of the toxicity potential from monochloropropanediol esters (MCPDE) and glycidyl ester (GE) that are undesirably produced from monoacylglycerol (MAG), diacylglycerol (DAG) and chlorine in refineries. Improvement of oil palm plantation, fruit harvest and oil extraction process in palm oil mills is necessary before the refinery process so that hydrolysis reactions that produce MAG and DAG and chlorine contamination can be minimized in crude palm oil (CPO). This review focuses on the quality control currently employed in the mills especially in managing free fatty acid (FFA) formation as the indicator of the hydrolysis reactions along with other quality control parameters and the reduction of chlorine content.
Omid Mosalman Haghighi, Ali Mohsenatabar Firozjaii
Abstract Enhancing oil recovery from oil-wet carbonate oil reservoir is an important challenge in the world, especially in Middle East oil field. Surfactant and smart water can change the interfacial tension and wettability condition of this type of rock to water wet from oil wet. The present study follows the experimental work of the combination of new green surfactant with smart water to enhance oil recovery from a carbonate oil-wet rock. Wettability alternation and IFT reduction by surfactant, smart water and combination of surfactant with smart water were investigated experimentally. The results show that making surfactant solution using smart water can reduce oil saturation by reducing IFT and alter wettability conditions. The oil recovery factor at the end of water, surfactant and surfactant–smart water flooding was 36, 52 and 66%, respectively. It shows that combination of surfactant with smart water can help surfactant to be powerful.
Matthäus Bertrand, Willenberg Ina, Engert Stefan
et al.
The present report describes the establishment, structure and objectives of the recently established German National Reference Center for Authentic Food (NRZ-Authent). The NRZ-Authent is completely integrated into the Max Rubner-Institut (MRI), the Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food in Germany. Various different departments of MRI have a long experience regarding the analysis of the quality of food in general and the testing of food authenticity in particular. Therefore, a close interaction between these food-related departments and the NRZ-Authent is a basic requirement for the successful work of this newly created centre. The addressees of the NRZ-Authent are the official food authorities and laboratories in the German states. In this context, the NRZ-Authent will establish a platform for providing quick access to updated, reliable and consistent technical data, research findings, new techniques and expertise necessary for the correct application of European Union legislation. The MRI has been working on the authenticity of edible oils for a number of years now, and some examples of this successful work are presented.
Abstract Heat losses to cap and base rocks undermine the performance of a thermal flood. As a contribution to this subject, this paper investigates the applicability of the principles of heat exchanger to characterise heat losses between a petroleum reservoir and the adjacent geologic systems. The reservoir-boundary interface is conceptualised as a conductive wall through which the reservoir and adjacent formations exchange heat, but not mass. For a conduction-dominated process, the heat-transport equations are formulated and solved for both adiabatic and non-adiabatic conditions. Simulations performed on a field-scale example show that the rate of heating a petroleum reservoir is sensitive to the type of fluids saturating the adjoining geologic systems, as well as the characteristics of the cap and base rocks of the subject reservoir. Adiabatic and semi-infinite reservoir assumptions are found to be poor approximations for the examples presented. Validation of the proposed model against an existing model was satisfactory; however, remaining differences in performances are rationalised. Besides demonstrating the applicability of heat-exchanger theory to describe thermal losses in petroleum reservoirs, a novelty of this work is that it explicitly accounts for the effects of the reservoir-overburden and reservoir-underburden interfaces, as well as the characteristics of the fluid in the adjacent strata on reservoir heating. These and other findings should aid the design and management of thermal floods.
Dans un contexte de demande de diversification de la part du consommateur, de recherche de nouveaux débouchés pour les producteurs et de mondialisation des marchés oléagineux, les acteurs de la filière française ont développé des productions de spécialité afin de redonner de la valeur ajoutée à la filière. Cette analyse dresse un panorama de ces productions à travers quatre exemples : la filière oléique pour des qualités nutritionnelles et fonctionnelles reconnues, la filière érucique pour une diversité de débouchés en oléochimie, la filière Fleur de Colza – démarche de long terme de partenariat agricole – et la filière bio – un marché jeune, dynamique, en cours de structuration. Dans chaque cas, la valorisation pour le producteur nécessite une démarche de filière avec l’accompagnement de l’ensemble des acteurs afin de valoriser l’origine française par la traçabilité, apporter conseil et formation aux agriculteurs, optimiser la supply chain, soutenir la recherche variétale et développer la contractualisation pluriannuelle.
More elaborate and intelligent digital oilfield based on advanced communications network will be the future trend.For the digital oil field development, the sensor technology, automation technology and information technology have been introduced to develop the remote control and management system for offshore water injection well.The developed system consists of the underground components, offshore platform components and land base components.DC power line carrier communication was used to achieve centralized, efficient and fine management of multiple wells and layers.The system’s abnormality alarm protection allows for formation and wellhead overpressure alarm, and enables automatic shutdown of nozzle to ensure water injection safety.Field application results showed that the ground control device and downhole intelligent testing and adjustment working string have good communication.Water injection volume could be monitored and regulated on the ground.The water injection pressure had met the requirement of injection allocation.The developed system had laid the foundation for the development of the digital oilfield.
Chemical engineering, Petroleum refining. Petroleum products
Sayyed Hadi Riazi, Ghasem Zargar, Mehdi Baharimoghadam
et al.
In this paper, a new robust approach based on Least Square Support Vector Machine (LSSVM) as a proxy model is used for an automatic fractured reservoir history matching. The proxy model is made to model the history match objective function (mismatch values) based on the history data of the field. This model is then used to minimize the objective function through Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA). In automatic history matching, sensitive analysis is often performed on full simulation model. In this work, to get new range of the uncertain parameters (matching parameters) in which the objective function has a minimum value, sensitivity analysis is also performed on the proxy model. By applying the modified ranges to the optimization methods, optimization of the objective function will be faster and outputs of the optimization methods (matching parameters) are produced in less time and with high precision. This procedure leads to matching of history of the field in which a set of reservoir parameters is used. The final sets of parameters are then applied for the full simulation model to validate the technique. The obtained results show that the present procedure in this work is effective for history matching process due to its robust dependability and fast convergence speed. Due to high speed and need for small data sets, LSSVM is the best tool to build a proxy model. Also the comparison of PSO and ICA shows that PSO is less time-consuming and more effective.
Petroleum refining. Petroleum products, Engineering geology. Rock mechanics. Soil mechanics. Underground construction
Fourgeux Cynthia, Martine Lucy, Gambert-Nicot Ségolène
et al.
The retina is responsible for coding the light stimulus into a nervous signal that is transferred to the brain via the optic nerve. The retina is formed by the association of the neurosensory retina and the retinal pigment epithelium that is supported by Bruch’s membrane. Both the physical and metabolic associations between these partners are crucial for the functioning of the retina, by means of nutrient intake and removal of the cell and metabolic debris from the retina. Dysequilibrium are involved in the aging processes and pathologies such as age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of visual loss after the age of 50 years in Western countries. The retina is composed of several populations of cells including glia that is involved in cholesterol biosynthesis. Cholesterol is the main sterol in the retina. It is present as free form in cells and as esters in Bruch’s membrane. Accumulation of cholesteryl esters has been associated with aging of the retina and impairment of the retinal function. Under dietary influence and in situ synthesized, the metabolism of cholesterol is regulated by cell interactions, including neurons and glia via cholesterol-24S-hydroxylase. Several pathophysiological associations with cholesterol and its metabolism can be suggested, especially in relation to glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.
According to the channel deposition process and response features, the reservoir modeling based on the depositional interface (DI) is extended from turbidite fans to fluvial sandstones, in order to reconstruct the deposition process and improve the architecture simulation of channel sands. The DI-based modeling of fluvial reservoir is conducted in four steps: (1) Use a simple harmonic oscillation (SHO) damping model with disturbance to generate river flow lines and then complete the beaded association of singe-genetic sands; (2) Identify the interfaces at ends of channels (point bars) to generate the point bar model; (3) Determine the stacking pattern inside channel (point bar), and fit the interfaces with such functions as hyperboloid, paraboloid and polynomial; and (4) Carry out random sampling using the trigonometric function of key parameters for lateral accretion bedding, to complete characterization of point bar. It is concluded that the DI-based modeling method well reproduces the depositional process of fluvial sandstones and finely characterizes the architecture units therein. Key words: DI-based modeling, depositional process, reservoir architecture unit, channel sand, reservoir modeling method