Khurais project is the largest onshore oil development project in Saudi Arabia

Riyadh, July 12, SPA -- The Khurais project is the largest onshore
oil development project in Saudi Arabia, located in a
remote area in the Central region, approximately 200 km from the
capital, Riyadh, and 300 km from the Eastern port city of Dammam.

"Two rows of oil producing wells have been drilled in the
middle of the field, and two rows of power water injector
wells have been drilled close to the field boundaries," according to
an article, published by Saudi Aramco's Journal of
Technology-Summer-2009.

The article is written by Ali H. Al-Ghamdi, Fahad A. Al-Bani and
Roberto H. Tello Kragjcek. It is entitled as "Delivering the largest
oil increment in the world--Innovation, Solutions and Rewards".

An average of 12 rigs worked simultaneously throughout the
duration of the project to drill and complete the required increment
wells.

The Saudi Aramco Journal of Technology is published quarterly by
Saudi Aramco to provide the company's scientific and engineering
communities with a forum for the exchange of ideas. Articles present
technical information aimed at advancing the hydrocarbon industry.
The Journal of Technology is distributed without charge worldwide.
Due to the large number of wells, one of the success measures of this
project revolves around its expeditious completion and accelerated
learning process.

Specific innovative solutions were deployed to improve the well
delivery performance, as well as to address the peculiar drilling
challenges of the Khurais field.

The combined impact of these innovations was a significant
reduction in drilling time and cost.

This article describes how novel solutions were implemented
to deliver the Khurais increment, and reviews the engineering
and operational processes used by the operator to successfully
complete this project.

The application of cutting edge technologies, like the rotary
steerable system (RSS), real time drilling data transmission,
geosteering, systematic bit selection and redesign, performance
monitoring through the technical limit process, non-damaging
fluids, and an on-site dedicated mud plant for effective oil-based
mud (OBM) management and logistics, have
contributed in achieving this success.

The article reached the following conclusions:

1- Through the development of the project it was
demonstrated and confirmed by the team that a high
degree of interaction among all parties would yield
synergistic results exceeding the results achieved by the
parties working independently.

2- Quantifying and addressing removable time by using effective
investigative tools presented in this article will provide
maximum opportunity to improve drilling performance.

3- The histogram chart is a useful tool to visualize the best
time (P10) and more probable time (P50) expected for a
specific activity or drilling task.

4- Analyzing the differences between the actual performance and the
best time in the area, P10, generated continuous improvement
opportunities, which further reduced the P10 time.
5- Remote Operation Centers proved to be a great support
for real time improvement and NPT reduction.

6. The new steerable PDC bit, which was a result of the
design and application process, uses DOCC technology
with an engineered bit aggressiveness response that allows
tool face control, while delivering the required buildup
rates and optimum ROP.

7- The installation of an on-site all oil mud plant resulted in
continuous mud quality control, minimum formation damage,
an increase in drilling performance in the horizontal section,
and elimination of rig time dedicated to mud preparation.

8- The time dedicated to the optimization of the BHA was
drastically reduced, due to a successful combination of
field tests and software simulations. The use of the
optimum BHA produced a notable increase in ROP, due
to a reduction in sliding time during the directional
drilling operation.

--SPA