Page 324 - Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production Second Edition

CHA P T E R 1 2

Production Operations and Maintenance

Introduction and Commercial Application: During the development planning phase of
a project, it is important to define how the field will be produced and operated
and how the facilities are to be maintained. The answers to these questions will
influence the design of the facilities. The typical development planning and project
execution period may be 5 or 6 years, but the typical producing lifetime of the field
may be 25 years. Because the facilities will need to be operated and will incur
OPEX for this long period, the production and maintenance modes should be
an integrated part of the facilities design. Figure 12.1 puts the operating period into
perspective.
The disciplines dealing with the development planning, design and construction
phases are typically petroleum and well engineering and facilities engineering,
whilst production operations and maintenance are run by a separate group. Early
input into the FDP from the production operations and maintenance group is
essential to ensure that the mode of production and maintenance is considered in
the design of the facilities.
Over the lifetime of the field, the total undiscounted OPEX is likely to exceed
the CAPEX. It is therefore important to control and reduce OPEX at the project
design stage as well as during the production period.
The operations group will develop general operating and maintenance objectives for
the facilities which will address product quality, cost, safety and environmental
issues. At a more detailed level, the mode of operations and maintenance for a particular
project will be specified in the FDP. Both specifications will be discussed in this
chapter which will focus on the input of the production operations and
maintenance departments to a FDP. The management of the field during the
producing period is discussed in Chapter 16.

Traditional responsibility of.....
Engineering Operations

development operating phase
phase

0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (Years)
Figure 12.1 The operating phase in perspective.

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