Aramco does the dance of the seven veils

[pscot]

in a PR film about mighty Ghawar. Joulesburn takes a peek beneath the veils for Oil Drum readers. Sexy graphics.

http://www.theoildrum.com/

A few months back, Saudi Aramco commissioned a story about the first wells in the Ghawar oil field in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest. With the title "Ghawar's Magnificent Five", it was published first on the Saudi Aramco website but has subsequently appeared elsewhere. Saudi Aramco later published the same article along with the companion piece "Still Going Strong" (subtitled "57-year-old super-giant Ghawar oil field productive as ever") in the Fall 2008 issue of SA Dimensions magazine, also available on their website1. "Magnificent Five" is the newly minted moniker2 for the group of discovery wells, one for each of the five major production areas of Ghawar: 'Ain Dar, Shedgum, Uthmaniyah, Hawiyah, and Haradh. These articles are remarkable in that Saudi Aramco rarely reveals production details for specific wells in Ghawar, but something in this myth-building exercise is amiss -- both in the consistency of the numbers provided and their use as indicators for the state of the wells and the overall field. In this article, I will examine the data provided for these wells and cross check with other available information including satellite imagery available within Google Earth. There is definitely more to the story, and this uncut version is actually more interesting than what Saudi Aramco has released to theaters.
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Before we look more closely at the "Mag Five", let's address an important aspect of Ghawar not discussed in the articles. The Ghawar oil field has been subjected to peripheral water injection for nearly 40 years. The goal of the water injection is to maintain pressure at the oil/water contact (OWC) so as to enable the oil to flow uniformly towards the wells. As the OWC moves upwards as the oil is displaced, wells nearer to the periphery of the field will be expected to encounter water sooner than those in the middle. Ideally, the field would be developed in stages, with the first producers situated a modest distance from the (original) OWC and wells further updip either choked back (to concentrate flow on the first producers) or simply undrilled. This is shown below. Click the Start/Continue button to proceed through the various stages of field depletion (more)

[hunter]

1. A very well written horror story...

... 'cept it's not a story, and the characters are us.

:hide:

Every time the economy starts perking up this reality will be smacking it down, all the way to the bottom which nobody can see.

[phantom power]

2. The collapse of Ghawar is going to be awesome.

:puke:

[phantom power]

3. In the dance of the seven veils, the eyes are the last to be unveiled.

At least, that's what Tom Robbins told me.

[pscot]

4. Science can't accept hearsay as conclusive

but I'm certain there are spots around Phoenix where an enterprising investigator might conduct some valuable field research. Come to think of it, I don't believe veils are much used nowadays.

[phantom power]

5. There's a good turkish restaurant about a block from me that hosts belly dancing.

I could approach them about some field experiments.

[pscot]

6. I think a hands on comparison of oiled

vs un-oiled dancers would be extremely valuable. Such research could prove costly. Maybe you could get a grant.