New Strategy for Exploitation of Mature Heavy Oil Fields in the Mexican Northern Region
In Pemex Exploration and Production there is a great variety of Production Assets: some are oil producers; others, gas producers; some, onshore, others offshore. Still others are focused on the development area. Among these there is a group characterized as producing from mature and marginal fields.
This select group has certain factors in common: old reservoirs actively being exploited, having low productivity, some in obvious decline, those with a high percentage of water and high GOR, high production costs, low economic indicators, unnecessarily large installations, excess numbers of personnel, and, of course, great uncertainty regarding net revenues, or even, low or negative profits. These assets, in spite of undesirable factors, still have an enormous value in terms of reserves, skilled personnel, a few high productivity wells, and strategically-located installations.
At the present time, evaluating projects, allocating resources, and assessing business practices are performed using a generalized approach. Such methods do not differentiate between gas producers and oil producers, whether onshore or offshore, mature or marginal, as is done in international practices.
Proposals suggesting a fresh approach to recovering the remaining economic value are hereinafter set forth relative to human resources, evaluation and funding of projects, operation of installations, and fiscal reform.
In conclusion, any delay in initiating a sweeping plan of company-wide improvement will cause the financial picture to deteriorate, thereby doing irreparable harm not only to PEMEX, but also to Mexico itself.
Heavy Oil Production Systems
2004 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition Technical Program