Not applicable

1. Petroleum Production Systems, by Michael J. Economides et al, Prentice Hall Petroleum Engineering Series, 1994.
2. Petroleum Engineering Handbook. Volume IV Production Operations Engineering by Larry W. Lake, Society of Petroleum Engineers, 2007.
3. Production Optimization Using Nodal Analysis, by H. Dale Beggs, - OGCI Inc., Petroskills, TULSA, USA, 2003.

The course will be available through MyUni.

It will provide valuable resources and course information, such as announcements, lecture material, assignments, discussion boards, etc. The material will be released over the semester, and the course will be made available from the start of the semester.

Students are expected to check their Uni emails and check the announcements frequently on MyUni.

Lectures are supported by solved examples, problem-solving tutorials, and real case studies.

Online learning is also available through MyUni.

Students will have the opportunity to use a commercial software package.

The standard undergraduate workload for a full-time student is 48 hours per week which equates to approximately 12 hours per 3 unit course. The workload associated to this course involves 5 hrs of lectures and tutorials per week. You would be expected to spend an approximately twice the number of hours outside class-revising notes, reading more widely about the topics covered, practicing examples, finishing exercises, homework etc. The University Learning and Teaching Committee has recently agreed that 3 unit courses are required to have a minimum workload of 150 hours regardless of the length of the course.

Tentative topics in Sequence:

1. Review and introduction to Petroleum Production Systems: (week 1)
Introduction to:

• The Reservoir, Well, and Wellhead
• Surface gathering systems (Flow-line, Separators, Pumps, Compressors etc)
• Role of production system analysis and optimization of petroleum life cycles
• Introduction to different approaches practiced for production analysis

2. Production from Undersaturated Oil Reservoir: (week 1-2)

• Reservoir Deliverability
• Transient flow of undersaturated oil
• Steady-state well performance
• Pseudo steady-state flow
• Wells draining from irregular patterns
• Inflow performance relationship (IPR)
• Horizontal well production
• Formation damage and skin effects
• Impact of skin effect on horizontal well performance

3. Production from Two-Phase Reservoirs: (week 3-4)

• Two-phase flow in a reservoir
• IPR for a two-phase reservoir
• Vogel inflow performance
• Fetkovich’s inflow performance

4. Production from Natural Gas Reservoir: (week 4-5)

• Approximations of gas well deliverability – IPR
• Gas well deliverability for non-Darcy flow
• Transient flow of a gas well
• Horizontal well IPR in a gas reservoir

5. Wellbore Flow Performance: (week 6-7)

• Pressure gradient in wellbore
• Single-phase flow of an incompressible fluid
• Single-phase flow of a compressible fluid
• Multiphase flow in well

6. Well Deliverability: (week 7-8)

• Vertical lift performance (VLP)
• Combination of IPR and VLP
• IPR and VLP of two-phase reservoirs
• IPR and VLP in gas reservoirs

7. Flow Through Surface Pipeline/Chokes (week 8-9)

• Flow through horizontal pipeline –production/injection wells
• Flow through chokes

8. Artificial Lift Methods _ Gas Lift: (week 9-10)

• Natural versus artificial flowing gradient
• Injection of gas and power requirements for compressor
• Impact of increase of gas injection rate
• Maximum production rate with gas lift
• Gas-lift performance curves

9. Pump-Assisted Lift: (week 10-11)

• Positive displacement pumps
• Dynamic displacement pumps
• Progressive Cavity Pump (PCP)

10. Total Production System Analysis: (week 11-12)

• System modelling, analysis and evaluation of tubing sizes
• Flow line size effects
• Effects of flow restrictions through different completion hardware such as: Chokes, SSV
• Effects of depletion
• Optimizing well productivity

Not applicable

Alternative test dates for students who cannot be present on the date of the test on medical and compassionate grounds can be requested through the Course Coordinator.

All exams are closed-book. Further details on examinations will be given through MyUni at least two weeks in advance of the date of the test.

Further details on assignments will be given during the first day of class or through MyUni at least two weeks in advance of the submission date.

You will be advised of the date, time and location for physical submission of all assignments during the first day of class or through MyUni

Submission of Work for Assessment
Practical and field class exercises should be submitted in hardcopy with a completed copy of the assessment coversheet that is available from the school office. This should be signed to indicate you have read the above university policy statement on plagiarism, collusion and related forms of cheating.

Extensions for Assessment Tasks
Extensions of deadlines for assessment tasks may be allowed for reasonable causes. Such situations would include compassionate and medical grounds of the severity that would justify the awarding of a supplementary examination. Evidence for the grounds must be provided when an extension is requested. Students are required to apply for an extension to the Course Co-ordinator before the assessment task is due. Extensions will not be provided on the grounds of poor prioritising of time.

Penalty for Late Submission of Assessment Tasks
Assessment tasks must be submitted by the stated deadlines. There will be a penalty for late submission of assessment tasks. The submitted work will be marked ‘without prejudice’ and 10% of the obtained mark will be deducted for each working day (or part of a day) that an assessment task is late, up to a maximum penalty of 50% of the mark attained. An examiner may elect not to accept any assessment task that a student wants to submit after that task has been marked and feedback provided to the rest of the class.

Provision of Feedback to Students
Exercises will be returned to students within four weeks of their submission.