Drilling group ERIELL tests mettle in diverse conditions
Different regions of the world pose unique challenges for international oilfield services contractors, in terms of climate, geology, logistics and other aspects. One player familiar with operating in such contrasting conditions is ERIELL.
As previously reported, the international oilfield services provider undertakes much of its work in the arid climate of Uzbekistan, and in the plunging temperatures of the ice-covered Russian Arctic. But the company also has drilling assignments in Bangladesh and Iraq, which offer their own distinct challenges.
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“ERIELL is a company that works successfully in the most various climatic and geological conditions - and this is a significant competitive differentiator for us,” Vitaly Dokunikhin, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of ERIELL Group, comments. “Our success is due to our long experience, continuous state of exploration of new solutions, and innovative fleet of drilling rigs - including our extra-heavy drilling rig with a load capacity of 675 tons and our arctic drilling rigs.”
Bangladesh
Bangladesh is a significant gas producer in its own right, extracting nearly 25bn m3 of the fuel in 2020 alone, according to BP’s latest Statistical Review of World Energy. But this is not enough to cover its consumption, which exceeded 30bn m3 that year. The country relies on imports of LNG to cover the shortfall.
Demand is expected to surge in the years ahead, on the back of economic growth. And this creates a strong incentive for domestic gas development, to help stem the decline in Bangladesh’s production and avoid the country becoming too dependent on LNG from overseas.
ERIELL began its activities in Bangladesh in 2013, after securing a contract in the previous year with Russian gas producer Gazprom International to drill at the Titas, Begumganj, Semutang, Srikail, Shahbazpur and Rashidpur fields. It went on to drill 10 exploration and production wells at these sites on a turnkey basis, completing them some 240 days ahead of time.
The contractor secured another contract from Gazprom International for five additional wells at the Srikail, Bakhrabad and Rashidpur fields in August 2015, again fulfilling its duties ahead of schedule. It did the same under a March 2017 contract for wells at North Bhola and East Shahbazpur field on Bhola Island. For that work, it employed one of its ZJ70LDB rigs.
All of the wells drilled ERIELL flowed more gas than had been anticipated. The company has been hired for three more prospecting and exploration wells on Bhola island, but that work was delayed owing to the pandemic.
Working on Bhola Island created unique logistically challenges. The island’s narrow roads are not designed for oversized and heavy loads, and there are only two ferry lines serving the island, resulting in long queues to make the large rivers crossing.
In Bangladesh, ERIELL had to adapt to a humid tropical climate quite unlike its past experiences. Bangladesh is one of the wettest places in the world, with rainy season lasting from April to October, and annual rainfall averaging 2,000 to 5,000 mm of water per m2, exposing equipment to the risk of corrosion. Getting equipment and personnel to drilling sites could also prove difficult as the company had to contend with congested roads and many river crossings. Below ground, it has also had to deal with abnormally high reservoir pressures and geological complications.
Iraq
Iraq is a very different energy market. The OPEC member is a major oil exporter, extracting a peak of over 4.7mn barrels/day of crude oil and condensate in 2019. With the fifth largest proven oil reserves in the world, at 145bn barrels, it is eager to ramp up supply further once current OPEC production limits are lifted. Iraq is also eager to make greater use of its 3.5 trillion m3 of proven gas reserves, by expanding the role that gas plays in its power sector.
ERIELL won a contract from Russian producer Lukoil in 2015 to sink 25 wells at the West Qurna-2 oil project, one of Iraq’s biggest. For this assignment, it deployed three heavy ZJ70-DBS drilling rigs, finishing four months ahead of schedule, despite challenging geological conditions. A notable difficulty it encountered was with the drilling and round trip processes in the Tanuma formation. This was due to cave-ins and the large quantity of lost returns in wellbore passage 12-1/4" and 8-1/2".Working in Iraq means contending with intense summer heats, with temperatures reaching up to over 60°C. Sand storms also sweep through drilling sites, causing disruptions and risks to personnel and equipment.
The company was also brought on board to drill 23 production wells at the Garraf oilfield in Iraq, after successfully winning a tender held by Malaysia’s Petronas. The start of the work had been scheduled for 2020 but was postponed to 2021 as a result of the pandemic.
Looking ahead, ERIELL sees opportunities to further expand its activities in the Gulf region, home to a number of the world’s top-tier oil and gas producers. It is currently participating in a tender for drilling in UAE, and plans to participate in such contests held by various operators on a regular basis in the region.