• Index
  • News
  • Gazprom Neft-Orenburg and ITPS Create a Digital Twin of the Eastern Section of Orenburg Oil and Gas Condensate Field

Gazprom Neft-Orenburg and ITPS Create a Digital Twin of the Eastern Section of Orenburg Oil and Gas Condensate Field

02.12.2021

Gazprom Neft-Orenburg specialists have successfully completed the project to create and launch a full-scale digital integrated model (digital twin) of the Eastern section of the Orenburg oil, gas, and condensate field. The integrated solution has been launched into commercial operation. We have implemented the project in partnership with the ITPS Group of Companies. The project's goal was to ensure the fulfilment of hydrocarbon production plans on the operational horizon and increase and maintain the profitability of the extracting asset at a high level in the future. The expected economic effect is 3.3 billion rubles by 2030.

The Orenburg oil, gas, and condensate field is the largest oil and gas field region. Gazprom Neft-Orenburg is developing the Eastern section, where the primary method of operation is gas lifting. The company uses state-of-the-art digital technologies to analyse the mutual influence of objects (reservoirs, wells, surface infrastructure, etc.), provide an unbiased assessment of well operation technological modes, and make long-term forecasts and promptly eliminate the reasons for reduced productivity.

A digital twin is one of the crucial tools for improving production efficiency. This sophisticated high-tech tool was introduced by large-scale work on creating a modern concept for producing field management based on integrated modelling tools and techniques. The image and structure of the future integrated development management system were developed, approaches, tools, and expected results of subsequent projects to create a full-scale integrated asset model were defined in cooperation with the ITPS. Next, the ITPS experts developed and piloted the integrated model at one of the areas of the Eastern section of the Orenburg field (168 wells, about 30% of the well-stock and 40% of the total production).

The implemented digital twin has become the primary tool of the Gazprom Neft-Orenburg Production Control Centre. It monitors the operation of more than 600 wells. The implemented functionality provides forecasting of hydrocarbon production volumes on medium- and long-term horizons, optimization of gas-lift gas consumption, calculation of throughput capacity of oil gathering system, and technological regimes of wells. We have developed and are currently implementing recommendations for improving source data quality. With accurate operational information, the company can maintain the required level of hydrocarbon production and conduct timely optimization.

"The digital twin of the Eastern section of the Orenburg field combines data on the structure of deposits, operation of hundreds of wells, and surface infrastructure facilities. The launch of the innovative model will help us fully unlock the field's potential and ensure a high level of industrial and environmental safety during the development of one of the largest and most complex oil and gas assets in the Orenburg region," said Evgeny Zagrebelny, General Director of Gazprom Neft-Orenburg.

"The more widespread the practice of using digital twins, the more questions arise regarding them. The value of our experience lies in knowing how to properly configure and use this tool, incorporating it into production processes, consolidating data from different field systems – and for each asset, this data set will be unique. We need to understand which sources are trustworthy and which information is misrepresented, to what extent we can reduce the margin of error that needs to be accounted for in the calculations. Everything matters here – the properties of the produced fluid, production history, reservoir, and well features. It's a lot of intellectual work, and based on this information, we generate a variety of business scenarios that we can calculate and implement. With flexible management of production parameters, we propose scenarios that lead to plan execution at a lower cost. This effect is accumulated, summed up, bringing tangible benefits to the enterprise," emphasized Leonid Tikhomirov, CEO of the ITPS Group of Companies.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you consent to our use of cookies.