A plan to bring a train back to about 87 thousand barrels of oil a day and 35 thousand barrels of water, one well at a time, with checks between phases and a hold on any abnormal condition.
Outcome
Objective met4 of 4 success criteria. Read the conclusionAfter a turnaround, a processing train had to be returned to service with all its wells. Opening them together risked slugging, carry-over to the tank vents and flare, unstable dehydrator interfaces and an emergency shutdown that would cost more days than a slow start. The weak natural flow wells needed nitrogen lift or flowback support before they would flow.
We grouped the wells into four phases by rate, water cut and lift. Planned oil increments were 21.7, 22.3, 22.1 and 20.5 thousand barrels a day. Planned water increments were 2.5, 4.2, 18.0 and 10.5 thousand barrels a day. Wells came on one at a time, about fifteen minutes apart, with the control room confirming inlet pressure, separator levels, tank levels and vents, dehydrator and desalter interface, and flare behaviour before the next well. Phase three carried half the water and was given the longest stabilisation window. The procedure set the condition that would hold the sequence and named the facility manager as the person who released it.
Phase three carries half the water
Planned oil and water increments for a four-phase train restart. Wells brought on one at a time, about fifteen minutes apart.
Source: train restart plan, 2026, operator withheld.
The train was restarted in sequence to the plan. The control room had a number to check against at each step and management could see where the water would arrive and when.
The objective was to return the train to about 87 thousand barrels of oil a day without an emergency shutdown during the restart. It was achieved. The four phases ran in sequence, each held until pressure, levels, interface and flare were stable, and the rates were confirmed from the allocation export afterwards. The operator kept the procedure as its template.
| Success criterion | Met | How it was achieved |
|---|---|---|
| iTrain returned to service with no emergency shutdown during the restart | Met | Restart completed phase by phase without a trip |
| iiEach phase stable on pressure, levels, interface and flare before the next began | Met | Phase checklists completed and signed at each step |
| iiiOil and water back to the planned 86.6 and 35.2 thousand barrels a day | Met | Post-restart rates confirmed from the allocation export against the planned 86.6 and 35.2 thousand barrels a day |
| ivPlan values and actual rates kept separate in reporting | Met | Restart report carries plan values and allocated actuals in separate columns; no plan figure reported as an actual |
Deliverables
Evidence note
Work done for the operator of an onshore field in the Middle East. Plan values are from the restart document. Actual rates are in the operator's records and are not quoted here. Operator and facility not named.
We set the concept, worked the design through with the operator and the vendor, wrote the commissioning procedure with five hold points, supported execution and brought the line into service.
Met4 of 4 success criteriaOperator engagementRead the caseMiddle East·Concept study reviewAn independent review of a consultant's concept study for free water knockout and produced water treatment at one facility, with a verdict and a numbered list of items to close.
Met4 of 4 success criteriaOperator engagementRead the caseNext case: A produced water balance for a water-flooded field
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