Events

The Petroleum Graduate Student Association (PGSA) will be hosting Chevron for our first technical seminar of the semester on Tuesday, September 13th at 6:30 PM in CPE 2.214. Our presenter will be Peggy Rijken who is a UT PGE Distinguished Alumna and is currently the Team Leader for the Productivity Enhancement team in the Reservoir and Production Engineering department at Chevron. 

Title: Tengiz Sour Gas Injection Modeling: A Geo-mechanics Approach to Understand Gas Breakthrough

Presenter: Peggy Rijken (Chevron)

When: Tuesday, September 13th at 6:30 PM (food will be served at 6:15 PM)

Abstract: Tengizchevroil (TCO) uses sour gas injection technology in a limited area of the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan (giant carbonate sour oil field) for pressure management and sour gas re-injection. Several sour gas injectors have been drilled and operated since 2007. A recent operational question is whether gas breakthrough is caused by fracturing induced by cold gas injection. Additionally, there is an interest in knowing the injection limits that do not result in induced fracturing.

In this presentation, numerical modeling of sour gas injection using a geomechanics simulator is employed for the simulation of the Tengiz field sour gas injection. The aims are to investigate the potential of gas breakthrough and especially the effects from fracturing induced by cold sour gas injection. Historical injection rate and pressure data are used to calibrate the numerical model. Given the complexity of the field geological features, a sensitivity study is performed for future forecast. Critical parameters investigated include injection rate, injection temperature, stress, permeability, etc. The study considers a wide variability of the input values to fully evaluate the effect of gas injection.

The results of this study provide valuable guidance for TCO’s sour gas injection strategy design which may impact future expansion of gas injection in addition to better performance towards operational excellence of the injection/production plan.

Biography: Peggy Rijken is the Team Leader for the Productivity Enhancement team in the Reservoir and Production Engineering department at Chevron, with prior assignments as a hydraulic fracture engineer and as a geomechanics specialist. Rijken is a petroleum engineering graduate of the University of Texas (PhD) and holds a Masters in Mining and Petroleum Engineering from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. Rijken currently serves on the SPE Talent taskforce, the Soft Skills committee, and serves as the ATCE SPE Reservoir engineering committee chair. She has previously served on the ATCE well completions committee and served on the ATCE SPE well stimulation committee prior to becoming the committee chair. Rijken also serves as a technical editor for the SPE Production and Operations SPE editorial review, was the recipient of the 2015 UT Austin PGE Distinguished Alumna award, and will serve as the SPE 2017 ATCE Program Committee Vice Chairperson-Elect.