Academic literature on the topic 'Enablers and barriers to strategy formation'

AbstractCO2 geological sequestration has been proposed as a climate change mitigation strategy that can contribute towards meeting the Paris Agreement. A key process on which successful injection of CO2 into deep saline aquifer relies on is the dissolution of CO2 in brine. CO2 dissolution improves storage security and reduces risk of leakage by (i) removing the CO2 from a highly mobile fluid phase and (ii) triggering gravity-induced convective instability which accelerates the downward migration of dissolved CO2. Our understanding of CO2 density-driven convection in geologic media is limited. Studies on transient convective instability are mostly in homogeneous systems or in systems with heterogeneity in the form of random permeability distribution or dispersed impermeable barriers. However, layering which exist naturally in sedimentary geological formations has not received much research attention on transient convection. Therefore, we investigate the role of layering on the onset time of convective instability and on the flow pattern beyond the onset time during CO2 storage. We find that while layering has no significant effect on the onset time, it has an impact on the CO2 flux. Our findings suggest that detailed reservoir characterisation is required to forecast the ability of a formation to sequester CO2.

The practice of the healthcare including treatment, policy planning and decisions, should be based on evidences (explicit) and experience (tacit) whenever possible. This might be achieved through investment in studying knowledge management (KM) in the healthcare practice. However, the studies of KM in practice and specifically in the healthcare are still limited, because literature keeps looking at KM from the angle of technological solution without considering KM functions from the social aspects. Thus, this chapter tries to provide an in-depth framework to a specific and fundamental function of the KM, which is knowledge transfer. This chapter proposes a conceptual framework of a multilevel process-based on enablers and barriers of KT mechanism. This chapter moderates the KT mechanism into five main elements related to characteristics of knowledge: source, recipient, relationships between them, tools, and context of the actual transfer. This model is conducted to notify the design and implementation of KT systems and mechanisms for public organizations, including healthcare.

Information and communication technology (ICT) helps to remove barriers and improve mechanisms that support e-business. E-business involves collaborative systems that enable trading partners to work together as members of communities of practice. This article argues that the ICT components of e-business are necessary to support communication but in themselves are often insufficient as enablers of collaboration. A knowledge management orientation is taken to viewing the dyad between human ability, organisational need, and the extent to which electronic information systems can mediate between them. Concepts from the social practice literature are identified that may contribute to addressing the gap between generic technology and situated business applications, which may inform human resource strategy.

Information and communication technology (ICT) helps to remove barriers and improve mechanisms that support e-business. E-business involves collaborative systems that enable trading partners to work together as members of communities of practice. This article argues that the ICT components of e-business are necessary to support communication but in themselves are often insufficient as enablers of collaboration. A knowledge management orientation is taken to viewing the dyad between human ability, organisational need, and the extent to which electronic information systems can mediate between them. Concepts from the social practice literature are identified that may contribute to addressing the gap between generic technology and situated business applications, which may inform human resource strategy.

Project-based organizations have characteristics that raise additional barriers to information management, knowledge sharing, and to organizational learning. The main causes of this are inadequate information architectures and governance, poor collaborative culture, and lack of organization-wide information management strategies. This chapter presents a comprehensive basis to understand the information and knowledge-sharing practices in PBO, as well as the methods and tools that information professionals and project managers should have in mind when performing their tasks. For that, literatures are reviewed focusing on the explanation of the processes of knowledge creation and sharing leading to organizational learning. The main conclusion is that a knowledge-sharing strategy in a PBO should include a set of mechanisms that address a customized mix of the codification and personalization dimensions and that strategies for collaborative information management should be used as enablers for embedding knowledge sharing within the organizational practices and culture.

Project-based organizations have characteristics that raise additional barriers to information management, knowledge sharing, and to organizational learning. The main causes of this are inadequate information architectures and governance, poor collaborative culture, and lack of organization-wide information management strategies. This chapter presents a comprehensive basis to understand the information and knowledge-sharing practices in PBO, as well as the methods and tools that information professionals and project managers should have in mind when performing their tasks. For that, literatures are reviewed focusing on the explanation of the processes of knowledge creation and sharing leading to organizational learning. The main conclusion is that a knowledge-sharing strategy in a PBO should include a set of mechanisms that address a customized mix of the codification and personalization dimensions and that strategies for collaborative information management should be used as enablers for embedding knowledge sharing within the organizational practices and culture.

Casabe Field is a heavy crude mature field with 260 producers, under selective injection of water with 350 injectors, producing close to 14,000 bbl/d of oil and about 80,000 bbl/d of water are being selectively injected under a 5-spot injection model. High water injection rates develop as consequence high flow velocities along its high permeability thinned sands, causing sand jetting over the cement and casing and seriously affecting the integrity of the well and zonal isolation. As typical in a brown field, operational costs are close to the limit, and sand cleaning represents almost 90% of workover operations with an average of 3.4 sand cleaning interventions per year in evaluated wells, which means an inoperability of 40% of time per year. Those events have represented millions of dollars in well interventions, abandonments, and water treatment, for which an aggressive sand management strategy was designed to optimize field operation. This strategy consists of identifying producing intervals with evidence of sand production in wells with high failure rates, in order to take effective and efficient corrective actions to recover the normal operation of the well with an optimized production. The identification of potential sand-producer intervals has been performed with the combination of last generation of cement evaluation with porosity wireline tools, applying a novel analysis of the acquired data through the processing of a flexural wave to characterize the geometry of the third interface (or open hole). Characterizing the annular geometry with mentioned technologies, has helped identify indications of cavern development behind the casing which also correlates with casing deformation, corrosion, and cement degradation, something expected at sand-jetted intervals. This, of course, means not only production loss but also integrity loss that threatens nearby zonal isolation. In all the cases where caverns have been detected, cement was strategically and efficiently pumped to cover formation washout. Post-workover and production reports indicate continued production was reached as inoperative time was reduced from 40% to 10%, but also well intervention for sand clean out was reduced from 3.4 to 1.4 per year on evaluated wells. This sand management strategy has been conducted in 10 wells in which more than USD 9 million cost-saving in workover activities have been reported. The application of new technologies and new ways of data analysis to inspect the physical condition of downhole barriers enabled the operator to save costs and to maintain the control of the integrity of the wells in aggressive environments such as the existing in Casabe Field. The experience gained in the process of identifying caverns behind the casing can be easily passed to other engineering teams facing similar situations, for example in neighboring fields of the Medium Magdalena Valley of Colombia.

Abstract Shale is an effective barrier material. It has a proven track record of acting as a seal (barrier) for oil and gas reservoirs for millions of years. Shale with high clay content and especially high smectite has low permeability, in the nanodarcy range, compared to standard class G laboratory cement that has permeability in the 10–20 microdarcy range. Weak ductile shales will also have a self-healing behavior should fractures be induced at some point. Shale is approved by regulators to be used as well barriers and part of permanent plug and abandonment (P&A) for oil and gas wells. Examples of regulations are Norsok D-010, 2013 in Norway and O&G UK, 2012. In Norsok D-010, one suggests the formation of shale barriers to happen due to creep in ductile shales. Creep occurs in many materials and is observed as deformation under constant load and is also well described in rock mechanics literature. In a previous paper (Kristiansen et al., 2018), it was discussed how shale can be activated as a barrier to form around the wellbore in some shale types. This can be done by inducing a pressure drop in the open annulus (rapid drawdown), by heating the shale by a couple of hundred degrees Celsius, or by chemical processes. In that paper, the process found most effective and practical at that time was demonstrated: the activation of shale barriers with a rapid pressure drop in the annulus. It was also shown that the barrier can be verified days after by standard verification methods used in the industry (pressure testing and bond logging). The shale barrier verification criteria are analogous to cement barriers. In this paper we share the experience from the implementation of a strategy to use shale as well barriers in new wells at Valhall and a second field, Ula, around 100 km away. The method used to activate the shale barriers has revealed some challenges from a well control point of view, but it has also shown that waiting a couple of weeks, or in some cases a couple of months, shale barriers are forming with the same quality as when they were activated or logged later as part of P&A. From this work it can be concluded that the shale barriers logged during P&A are, in some cases, in place only weeks or months after the wells have been drilled. The activation seems to induce an acceleration of time-dependent deformation that will naturally happen over longer time and is consistent with rock mechanics principles of time-dependent deformations in rocks (like creep and consolidation).

Abstract Appraisal drilling of a recently discovered Cambrian-aged gas field in Oman is indicating that the field may have significant amounts of gas locked in a challenging deep, hot, and highly pressured reservoir environment. The low porosity and permeability values of the Amin reservoir allow the classification of the reservoir as a tight gas sand. The variability of reservoir properties, both spatially and vertically, makes it difficult to standardize perforation and fracture stimulation design which, in turn, complicates delineation of a development plan for the project. One of the difficulties relates to uncertainty in vertical propagation of hydraulic fractures. Fracture height based on evaluation of radioactive tracer logs indicates that vertical barriers to fracture propagation may relate to specific geologic zones in the reservoir. The mapping of the reservoir zones into undeveloped areas of the field would allow selection of primary and secondary production targets based on the specific physical properties of the individual zones. To assume that no barrier to fracture propagation exists between separate production units may lead to attempts to stimulate them synchronously, which would be disadvantageous for several reasons, such as premature screenouts and incomplete coverage of gas-bearing layers. Reserves booking and allocation can also be jeopardized should the fractures propagate into undesired zones.

Abstract One of the crucial components of well integrity evaluation in offshore drilling is to determine the cement bond quality assuring proper hydraulic sealing. On the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) an industry standard as informative reference imposes verification of cement length and potential barriers using bonding logs. Traditionally, for the last 50 years, wireline (WL) sonic tools have been extensively used for this purpose. However, the applicability of logging-while-drilling (LWD) sonic tools for quantitative cement evaluation was explored in the recent development drilling campaign on the Dvalin Field in the Norwegian Sea, owing to significant advantages on operational efficiency and tool conveyance in any well trajectory. Cement bond evaluation from conventional peak-to-peak amplitude method has shown robust results up to bond indexes of 0.6 for LWD sonic tools. Above this limit, the casing signal is smaller than the collar signal and the amplitude method loses sensitivity to bonding. This practical challenge in the LWD realm was overcome through the inclusion of attenuation rate measurements, which responds accordingly in higher bonding environments. The two methods are used in a hybrid approach providing a full range quantitative bond index (QBI) introduced by Izuhara et al. (2017). In order to conform with local requirements related to well integrity and to ascertain the QBI potential from LWD monopole sonic, a wireline cement bond log (CBL) was acquired in the first well of the campaign for comparison. This enabled the strategic deployment of LWD QBI service in subsequent wells. LWD sonic monopole data was acquired at a controlled speed of 900ft/h. The high-fidelity waveforms were analyzed in a suitable time window and both amplitude- and attenuation-based bond indexes were derived. The combined hybrid bond index showed an excellent match with the wireline reference CBL, both in zones of high as well as lower cement bonding. The presence of formation arrivals was also in good correlation with zones of proper bonding distinguishable on the QBI results. This established the robustness of the LWD cement logging and ensured its applicability in the rest of the campaign which was carried out successfully. While the results from LWD cement evaluation service are omnidirectional, it comes with a wide range of benefits related to rig cost or conveyance in tough borehole trajectories. Early evaluation of cement quality by LWD sonic tools helps to provide adequate time for taking remedial actions if necessary. The LWD sonic as part of the drilling BHA enables this acquisition and service in non-dedicated runs, with the possibility of multiple passes for observing time-lapse effects. Also, the large sizes of LWD tools relative to the wellbore ensures a lower signal attenuation in the annulus and more effective stabilization, thereby providing a reliable bond index.

Abstract Coiled tubing (CT) equipped with fiber optics and real-time downhole telemetry and a fit-for-purpose CT tower were used in underbalanced perforating operations in six wells in Indonesia; each operation involved 800 ft of perforating guns, and each was completed in a single trip. The reservoir is thick, with high permeability and characterized by high content of CO2 and H2S. The underbalanced perforating technique was deemed fundamental to minimize formation damage in the near-wellbore area, and the campaign was part of a national strategic project to develop a block's main reserve to supply gas to drive the national economy. Each well had to be completed with minimum of an 800-ft perforation interval to deliver an average of 60 MMscf/D gas production for 16 years plateau with up to 34% CO2 content and 10,000-ppm H2S. The traditional method of e-line overbalanced perforating in such harsh environment became inefficient because of the number of runs required, which can be as high as 40 runs per well. CT-conveyed perforating guns and a completion insertion retrieval of equipment under pressure (CIRP) system were chosen to execute the task. The fiber-optic CT real-time telemetry system was selected to improve downhole depth accuracy, confirm the underbalance condition, and provide real-time confirmation when the 800 ft of guns detonated downhole. To execute the six-well campaign safely, a customized 100-ft CT tower was brought into the country. Because this was the first in-country application for fiber-optic-enabled CT in single-trip with an 800-ft underbalanced perforation interval, thorough planning and preparation were critical for a successful campaign. Considering the high gas rate, high CO2, and H2S content, a downhole lubricator valve was added as additional barrier during undeployment, and an H2S and CO2 inhibitor was used to protect CT string integrity. Another risk mitigation plan was to utilize real-time CT inspection to monitor the CT integrity and condition throughout the job. Slickline deployment was used in first two wells to deploy multiple guns into the well, but this was deemed inefficient. The CT deployment method was used to complete the campaign. The project comprised a total of 2,200 operating hours, 29 CT runs, and 4,969 ft of guns in six trips with 917 ft as the longest interval. All six wells were completed with no HSE events, no automotive incidents, 98% operational efficiency, and 21% faster than planned duration. This successful six-well campaign represents a first in-country application, which contributed to developing this main gas reserve. The campaign provides lessons for job planning and preparation, technology implementation, execution, and continuous improvement, which can be implemented in similar projects in Indonesia and around the region.

Abstract A large gas field with carbonate formations was discovered about 200 km (kilometers) offshore, in water depths of 108 m (meters) below mean sea level. Flow analysis and reservoir depletion studies by the Operator show 7" tubing is required to provide high production rates of about 80 to 120 million Standard Cubic Feet per day (mmscfd) per well as the optimum production and depletion strategy for the field. The field presents significant challenges to well construction and completion. These challenges were considered in the design stage to optimise well completion design and operations. This paper describes the approach and methods used to overcome the challenges in the design and execution stage to optimise the completion design and to manage challenges during construction of the well including: –Due to loss of circulation in the fractured gas carbonate reservoirs, the well will be drilled with Pressurised Mud Cap Drilling (PMCD), a form of Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD). Thus, the design needs to provide for installing the well completion in this condition–The wells required heavy mud weight for drilling and thus, heavy brine weights for well completion. Challenges to avoid or minimise the loss of high cost heavy brine were considered–High reservoir temperatures of about 325 deg. F (degrees Fahrenheit) which lead to challenges of ensuring equipment will continue to work in high temperature environments, high loads / stresses on completion & casing during production, and Wellhead & Christmas Tree & Flowline movement / growth.–Presence of sour gas and CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) which require optimising metallurgy of tubulars and downhole equipment, considering corrosion and cost requirements–Understanding loads / stresses on the tubing and casings with high flowrates and high flowing temperatures–Concerns with formation collapse during production–Corrosion studies to optimise material selection and ensuring well integrity for at least twenty (20) years’ field life–Manage hydrates and scaling while carrying out well completion, well clean and well test operations and during the field life–Acceptable seals, barriers and completion equipment to manage high pressure gas–Wellhead and Christmas Tree that can take the high temperature and sour gas content–Well clean-up and testing after completion in conjunction with drilling operations–Cost and time optimisation to maximize returns on investment for the project. Well completion engineering studies were carried out for each challenge or consideration. Experiences and lessons from similar gas fields were also considered. Corrosion laboratory analysis was carried out to optimise the corrosion resistant alloy for the completion tubular and completion equipment. For each solution to the challenge, cost and time considerations were reviewed and studied to optimise the design, cost, integrity and safety of the wells and operations. This paper describes the approaches and methods taken by the Operator to optimise the Big Bore Gas Well Completion Design including some lessons for improvement after successfully drilling, completing, clean-up and testing of the first well with this completion design.

In the mid-1980s, the impact of three decades of uranium processing near rural Fernald, Ohio, 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati, became the centre of national public controversy. When a series of incidents at the uranium foundry brought to light the years of contamination to the environment and surrounding farmland communities, local citizens’ groups united and demanded a role in determining the plans for cleaning up the site. One citizens’ group, Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health (FRESH), formed in 1984 following reports that nearly 300 pounds of enriched uranium oxide had been released from a dust-collector system, and three off-property wells south of the site were contaminated with uranium. For 22 years, FRESH monitored activities at Fernald and participated in the decision-making process with management and regulators. The job of FRESH ended on 19 January this year when the U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson — flanked by local, state, and national elected officials, and citizen-led environmental watchdog groups including FRESH — officially declared the Fernald Site clean of all nuclear contamination and open to public access. It marked the end of a remarkable turnaround in public confidence and trust that had attracted critical reports from around the world: the Cincinnati Enquirer; U.S. national news programs 60 Minutes, 20/20, Nightline, and 48 Hours; worldwide media outlets from the British Broadcasting Company and Canadian Broadcasting Company; Japanese newspapers; and German reporters. When personnel from Fluor arrived in 1992, the management team thought it understood the issues and concerns of each stakeholder group, and was determined to implement the decommissioning scope of work aggressively, confident that stakeholders would agree with its plans. This approach resulted in strained relationships with opinion leaders during the early months of Fluor’s contract. To forge better relationships, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) who owns the site, and Fluor embarked on three new strategies based on engaging citizens and interested stakeholder groups in the decision-making process. The first strategy was opening communication channels with site leadership, technical staff, and regulators. This strategy combined a strong public-information program with two-way communications between management and the community, soliciting and encouraging stakeholder participation early in the decision-making process. Fluor’s public-participation strategy exceeded the “check-the-box” approach common within the nuclear-weapons complex, and set a national standard that stands alone today. The second stakeholder-engagement strategy sprang from mending fences with the regulators and the community. The approach for dispositioning low-level waste was a 25-year plan to ship it off the site. Working with stakeholders, DOE and Fluor were able to convince the community to accept a plan to safely store waste permanently on site, which would save 15 years of cleanup and millions of dollars in cost. The third strategy addressed the potentially long delays in finalizing remedial action plans due to formal public comment periods and State and Federal regulatory approvals. Working closely with the U.S. and Ohio Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) and other stakeholders, DOE and Fluor were able to secure approvals of five Records of Decision on time – a first for the DOE complex. Developing open and honest relationships with union leaders, the workforce, regulators and community groups played a major role in DOE and Fluor cleaning up and closing the site. Using lessons learned at Fernald, DOE was able to resolve challenges at other sites, including worker transition, labour disputes, and damaged relationships with regulators and the community. It took significant time early in the project to convince the workforce that their future lay in cleanup, not in holding out hope for production to resume. It took more time to repair relationships with Ohio regulators and the local community. Developing these relationships over the years required constant, open communications between site decision makers and stakeholders to identify issues and to overcome potential barriers. Fluor’s open public-participation strategy resulted in stakeholder consensus of five remedial-action plans that directed Fernald cleanup. This strategy included establishing a public-participation program that emphasized a shared-decision making process and abandoned the government’s traditional, non-participatory “Decide, Announce, Defend” approach. Fernald’s program became a model within the DOE complex for effective public participation. Fluor led the formation of the first DOE site-specific advisory board dedicated to remediation and closure. The board was successful at building consensus on critical issues affecting long-term site remediation, such as cleanup levels, waste disposal and final land use. Fluor created innovative public outreach tools, such as “Cleanopoly,” based on the Monopoly game, to help illustrate complex concepts, including risk levels, remediation techniques, and associated costs. These innovative tools helped DOE and Fluor gain stakeholder consensus on all cleanup plans. To commemorate the outstanding commitment of Fernald stakeholders to this massive environmental-restoration project, Fluor donated $20,000 to build the Weapons to Wetlands Grove overlooking the former 136-acre production area. The grove contains 24 trees, each dedicated to “[a] leader(s) behind the Fernald cleanup.” Over the years, Fluor, through the Fluor Foundation, also invested in educational and humanitarian projects, contributing nearly $2 million to communities in southwestern Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Further, to help offset the economic impact of the site’s closing to the community, DOE and Fluor promoted economic development in the region by donating excess equipment and property to local schools and townships. This paper discusses the details of the public-involvement program — from inception through maturity — and presents some lessons learned that can be applied to other similar projects.