ExxonMobil and Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Technology Center promotes research and collaboration
between United Arab Emirates and ExxonMobil professionals.
ervoir rock, you don’t know what
will happen when you drill. We use
ExxonMobil’s 3-D seismic technology
to get the picture we need.”
The next step is to create models,
using ExxonMobil’s proprietary
EM power reservoir-simulation
technology, which helps predict
how the reservoirs will perform.
“Then,” says Kemnetz, “we
apply our decision-making tools
to determine how to maximize
recovery at the lowest cost and
risk. Technology adds value by
reducing costs and enhancing
resource recovery. It opens the
door to more options.”
A first for ExxonMobil
To open that door further,
ExxonMobil has established a
unique technology center in
Abu Dhabi.
“The center’s mission is twofold,”
says ExxonMobil’s Ram
Rajagopalan, the center’s operations
manager. “We want to apply
high-impact technology that
benefits Upper Zakum while still
protecting our proprietary technology.
And we want to promote
a good working relationship
between ZADCO and ExxonMobil
professionals.”
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The technology center is the
first to be established at an
ExxonMobil joint-interest facility.
It’s managed and operated by
ExxonMobil staff.
“The technology center
provides a window into the
ExxonMobil world,” says
Rajagopalan. “It enables ZADCO
to pair the best technology with
a state-of-the-art computing
environment to achieve its development
targets.”
Employees of ExxonMobil
work closely with members of
the ZADCO team that manages
the Upper Zakum field. Together,
they seek to meet the field’s
development challenges.
The center places a strong
emphasis on training. From
2007 through 2008, it conducted
11 courses for more
than 122 people. In addition,
about 25 ExxonMobil employees
were “seconded,” or temporarily
assigned, to ZADCO to further
enable the transfer of technical
expertise. The center also hired
and trained UAE nationals in line
with a strategy set out by the
government.
In addition to making technology
and expertise available in
Photo by Keith Wood
Abu Dhabi, ExxonMobil brings
ZADCO’s Emirati nationals to the
United States for training, and has
accepted a number of individuals
for developmental assignments
within the company.
“The technology center allows
us to bring technological expertise
to our co-venturer’s facility so we
can work together applying it to
Upper Zakum’s challenges,” says
Rajagopalan.
Innovation with sand and rock
Technological advances come in a
variety of ways. Some are results
of years of intensive research.
Some arise from ideas inspired by
work in other areas.
Abi Modavi, an engineer with
ExxonMobil Production Company
who was temporarily assigned to
ZADCO as the field development
planning leader, suggested that artificial
islands, rather than the more
expensive steel platforms, be used
as drilling and production sites.
“When I first joined ZADCO, I
noticed how shallow the water
was – about 15 to 80 feet,” says
Modavi, “and I started thinking
about ways to use artificial islands
for drilling and production.”
ExxonMobil and ZADCO agreed
that the technical and economic
value of the concept held merit,
and Movadi’s staff of three
quickly grew to more than 100
during the assessment stage,
completed one year ago. The
project team now is conducting
detailed engineering design and
tendering construction bids.
Frank Kemnetz says that artificial
islands can reduce costs and
achieve long-term environmental
benefits. He points out that the
islands would not be feasible
without the “enabling technology”
of ExxonMobil’s expertise
in extended-reach drilling, which
allows wells to be drilled vertically
at first, then turned horizontally
to target reservoirs up to several
miles away.
“With artificial islands and
extended-reach technology, we
anticipate building fewer islands
instead of having to install a
larger number of steel platforms
to accommodate a comparable
number of wells, along with the
miles of pipelines to connect
them all together,” says Kemnetz.
“The cost savings could be in the
billions of dollars, and the islands
are a better long-term option for
the marine environment.”
The oval-shaped islands will
be made of sand and rock and
measure 2,000 to 2,600 feet
in diameter. The rocks, some
weighing several tons, are
barged from quarries in the UAE.
The islands are expected to
outlast the very long producing
life of the Upper Zakum field.
A multinational drilling group
ZADCO has embarked on a
major development program
to boost daily production in
the Upper Zakum by nearly 40
percent. Reaching that goal
requires a significant increase in