Bullettin 01/2018 by MyChicJungle

SPE SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS

ITALIAN SECTION TECHNICAL BULLETIN 3 / 2017 A PEEK AT THE SPE SOUTH, CENTRAL & EAST EUROPE REGIONAL SECTION OFFICERS MEETING IN KRAKOW

A CONVERSATION WITH DAVIDE VASSALLO, GLOBAL MD FOR DUPONT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

RENEWABLES: A NEW APPROACH TO ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

C O N T E N T S TECHNICAL BULLETIN 3 / 2017

CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

SECTION LIFE

Enhanced oil recovery opportunity through low salinity waterflooding

Alberto Di Lullo - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Chairman

Andrea Lamberti - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Liason with Universities

Marco Spagnuolo - Eni S.p.A.

YP CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

POLITO SPE Student Chapter Turin

HISTORY TELLING

POLIMI SPE Student Chapter Milan

Terrifying Beauty

Learning from the past, developing for tomorrow Luca Cadei - Eni S.p.A. New SPE Italian Section YP Chairman

MOBILIS IN MOBILI

Swarm of Knowledge

Ferdinado Marfella - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Production & Operation Technical Director

SECTION PROGRAM

Section Program

SPECIAL FOCUS

Chapters’ Corner

Jose Rene Felipe Sarquez Bernal Francesco Zinna

UNIROMA SPE Student Chapter Rome

Take a peek at the SPE South, Central and East Europe Regional Section Officers Meeting (RSOM) – Krakow 2017 Eleonora Azzarone - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Membership Chair Pietro Selvaggio - Eni S.p.A.

Italian Section as driver for professional excellence Gianna Giudicati - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Secretary

The happiness of moving towards your potential Maria Giulia De Donno Zubair Field Operating Division (ZFOD), Iraq

Section Summer Dinner: the new Board 2017-2018 with a moving handover

The Golden Middle Age of Robotics

Martina Sacchetti

Ferdinado Marfella - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Production & Operation Technical Director

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS

SPONSORED CONTENT

Digital What??????

Paolo Allara - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Technical Director Drilling & Completion

SimSci – 50 years of Innovation in Engineering

Cristina Peretti - Schneider Electric S.p.A. SPE Member

The Use of Earned Value Management (EVM) While Drilling Deep Water Oil Well

TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS

Nahg Alawi Geomatika University College

SOFT DRIVE A Torsional Vibration Active Damping System Equipped with Back-Spinning Prevention

Salah Hasin Ghumiem - Eni S.p.A.

A conversation with Davide Vassallo

Antonella Godi - Edison S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Reservoir Technical Director

Davide Scotti - Saipem S.p.A. SPE Italian Section HSE Technical Director

Pavle Šprljan - HELB Ltd.

Production & Operations - A highway from well problems to well operations solutions

Ferdinando Marfella - Saipem S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Production & Operation Technical Director

A new Direction: Renewables in Oil&Gas!

Donato Azzarone - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Renewables in O&G Technical Director

Danijel Pavković - University of Zagreb

SECTION ACTIVITIES SPE Technology Day: Bolting Solutions to maintain the integrity of bolted joints Paolo Allara - Saipem S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Technical Director Drilling & Completion

A Visit to Baker Hughes, Florence Andrea Tondelli - Eni S.p.A.

A new approach to energy development

SECTION BOARD

Marco Pelucchi - Eni S.p.A.

Paola Bertolini - ERM Simone Poli - ERM

SPE Italian Section Board 2017 - 2018

ITALIAN SECTION DASHBOARD

Gianna Giudicati - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Secretary

Report as of 15 November 2017 The Bulletin is printed in 900 copies and is being sent to all Italian Section Members, to Oil and Service companies operating in the area, to Italian Government bodies related to the petroleum industry and to the main newspapers

TECHNICAL BULLETIN 3 / 2017

For any information concerning advertising on this bulletin you are kindly invited to contact: Ugo Ormezzano: Ph: +39 02 89288953 Cell: +39 348 3505226 uormezzano@tetratec.com

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SUPPORTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PAGE SUPPORTERS OF SPE ITALY Many thanks from the SPE Italian Section to all its supporters!

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CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

TERRIFYING BEAUTY Dear Colleagues,

ALBERTO DI LULLO

Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Chairman

this is my first “Chairman’s page”, after several years spent in the SPE with different roles, and I would like to share some thoughts about the short term future of our Italian Section. First of all, in the past months we have received a series of significant International recognitions (Best YP Section, Gold Standard Turin Student Chapter, three Regional Awards in 2016 and three in 2017), achieved by the previous Board under the lead of our past Chairman Alessandro Tiani. This performance level is a sign of effective management and enthusiasm by all the Board members, by our supporting Companies and by all the members who took part to the organization of the events, most notably our Young Professionals. The most important objective the new Board and I personally have is to preserve and consolidate such undisputed qualities: if by pure voluntarism we can achieve such outstanding results, it is only due to our belief in the value of sharing ideas, technologies, experiences and personal time. This commitment is pure gold and all of you and I have to do our best to keep it alive. A second point that I am happy to mention is our continued and growing commitment to increase the general level of knowledge about important technical topics. Beyond the

consolidated “Business Visits”, which are wonderful occasions to see in person how specific activities are carried out in an industrial site, we are launching a new series of events in the form of introductory workshops or lessons (nick-named Blackboard Fridays) in which accessible technical knowledge is offered at the “promotional price” of just being an SPE member. The first of such events was an “Introduction to Biodiversity” (11 Dec 2017). In 2018 we plan to organize a series of short lessons, of maximum about 2 hours per event, targeted to non-specialists, such as “Reservoir for all of us”, “Subsea architectures for all of us”, etc., in which participants will be able to ask their doubts to a recognized expert without being intimidated as in a traditional conference or workshop. We hope that not only Young Professionals but also more Senior Members will be able to widen the breadth of their knowledge of our very complex and articulated Industry. The final point I wanted to share with you is my choice to formally introduce “Renewables in Oil and Gas” among the Technical Disciplines covered by the Italian Section. Even if this topic is deeply being addressed by SPE International (e.g. see “The Growing Range of Renewable Options for Oil and Gas” JPT Aug 2017), we may very well be the first Section to have a Technical Director on the subject, Donato Azzarone. The transition to other energy sources

CHAIRMAN’S PAGE beyond Oil and Gas is a giant global effort and Italy has a strong potential to lead the change is a fruitful way, by developing new concepts and business models strongly related to our territory and local values. Our SPE mission to facilitate the technical exchange among several players is perfectly suitable to help the creation the mixed professional qualities that are needed in the near future. Our commitment about renewables has begun with the participation of the Italian Section to the Workshop “Indagine sull’applicazione delle fonti rinnovabili” organized by Assominararia and EniProgetti, with the cooperation of Simone Grosso who is also our Technical Director of Facilities and Construction, and will proceed in 2018 with several other initiatives. We will also ask for help

from our members in the Industry and in Universities, because a successful Transition will only occur with a positive contribution from both worlds. As it happened several times in the past with more traditional O&G disciplines, through discussion and confrontation we will surely help generating new good ideas to be put into practice. The cover image is very much related to the above. It is a monument by Monica Bonvicini, Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic since 2012, located in Norway, in the fjord on the waterfront at Bjørvika in Oslo (http:// www.art-agenda.com/shows/monicabonvicini-she-lies-in-oslo/). It is a three dimensional interpretation of the renowned Caspar David Friedrich’s painting “Das Eismeer”, 1823-24, also

called “The Wreck of Hope” (see picture on the left). Historically, the painting represents a disaster-stricken North Pole expedition, the black sunk ship being visible on right of the painting, completely overcome by the “Northern Nature in the whole of her Terrifying Beauty”. From the perspective of Bonvicini, “the sculpture on water will stand for a permanent state of erection/construction” exploring “the interface between nature and culture”. It is my opinion that our capability to reshape now the Engineering of the last century along the needs and culture of this century will make the real difference between wreck and hope for the next generations. My best wishes to our members and the new Board to meet each other and grow in a new vision of the future.

YP CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

LEARNING FROM THE PAST, DEVELOPING FOR TOMORROW

LUCA CADEI

Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section YP Chairman

Writing my first official article as SPE YP President of the Italian Section is a rather strange experience for me. Four months have already passed and it is the time to take a breath for a while, to think about what has been done and, at the end, draw a line and go ahead with passion. The target, as always, is to keep and improve the quality level of our association, achieved during the years by previous SPE YPs. In the following lines, I will try to share with you my feelings on these initial months of this new SPE year, highlighting the lessons learned and the dynamic future developments. Regarding what has been done, I would like to thank, first of all, the active YP members that are collaborating to make possible the creation and support of a complete range of technical and social events. The YP board is composed this year not only by a group of very skilled and motivated professional but also by friends. I am sure that this last feature, which makes me proud to be a part of this group, represents an insurance on the future results of SPE Italian section. This advantage can be seen also as one of the main critical point of the YP group. Considering the high-level rotation of YP active board members, this year will

be a crucial point for the development of SPE Italian section itself, because a lot of us will run into an abroad assignment very soon. One of the coolest and most interesting characteristic of a job within the Petroleum industry is the possibility to travel a lot and to become an “Expat”, working all over the world and changing dynamically. Hence, our main goal this year will be the enrolment of new generations of motivated YP, which can “feed” the “operating foundation” of our association. The human capital is in fact the most precious “asset” of SPE. During these first months, I also got the opportunity to discover from the indirect feedback of our audience some interesting things that can be considered the touchstone of how the new generations see the petroleum and energy industry scenario, and give us the chance to get a Development Opportunity. The new cardinal points lies in: • Internationalization - The eyes of young professionals are always oriented to the global market and to what is happening all over the world; • Coaching - The sharing of Senior Member experiences and wisdom is what people, entering in the industry,

YP CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

YP group at the summer dinner

is looking for, to feed their curiosity and passion; • Technical content - YPs ask SPE to be a fundamental resource of technical information and knowledge; • Renewable energy and Industry 4.0 The last events organized reveal that the interest of our audience is increasingly targeting the transition towards different sources of energy and a different approach to the business based on the digital transformation experimented by the industry. The energy transition is ongoing while I am writing this article, and SPE Italy,

considering the evolution of our audience interests, has to follow its development. The evolution is also running in the media generally used to communicate to our members. Social media and personal ad hoc mail for selected events seem to be the new way to catch the attention of Senior members and YP, maintaining the high quality achieved with our bulletin,

recently awarded by the other Regional SPE sections for both layout and contents. Being aware of what we have done till now and what we want to obtain for the Society of Petroleum Engineers, I am sure that we will be able to support and help the evolution development of the Italian energy scenario thanks to our members, our greatest assets, in the years to come.

Luca Cadei Luca Cadei joined Eni’s Operation Department in 2015, as a Production Engineer; he got his BSc and MSc in Energy & Petroleum Engineering cum laude at Politecnico di Milano, integrating these with a period of study abroad, in Norway and Netherlands, and with an internship in ENI e&p. After graduation, he was hired by ExxonMobil, as a field Process Engineer, but the chance to get back to the Upstream sector, drove him to accept the ENI job offer. Currently he is involved in production optimization and troubleshooting of ENI assets worldwide, with a particular focus on the application of innovative advanced technologies.

MOBILIS IN MOBILI

SWARM OF KNOWLEDGE You need to stop for a while and start thinking about how your network of people represents your job and your social life. Take a look at a newspaper, at the television news, at the Internet: each of us is an atom in a comFERDINANDO MARFELLA plex world. A rich man gets richer, Eni S.p.A. business people always do business, SPE Italian Section Production & cheaters get caught and your neighbor Operation Technical Director usually looks like you. What is going on around you? Every single individual is alone in today’s world, but we can count on a network of people, each beginning to have the awareness of being a social atom1. We are the heart of SPE Italy, the Italian section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the largest organization made up of individual members in the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry, counting more than a hundred thousand members in 130 countries. We are SPE. The Italian section aims to keep its members connected to a powerful network of people and knowledge, in this country and around the world, to learn, to benefit and to get involved. SPE Italy offers the opportunity to be part of a global experience of continuous improvement and communication through various and continuously evolving programs and activities, developed by our board for you. Be all you can be being part of a global networking process. Thinking about beings, bees come to mind. I participated in a beekeeping course during the summer holidays. And talking of bees… Beekeeping is the art of collecting honey from hives. There are many books on beekeeping, but I preferred learning all I can about these sweet little insects by putting my hands (with strong gloves) in their hives. Before the course, the honeycomb structure of the hives just reminded me of benzene molecules, reminding me of what I had read about asphaltenes in books on petroleum. Bees are fundamental to crop pollination. You have probably

seen somewhere this quote usually attributed to Albert Einstein. Smoking his pipe and sailing on his boat on a sunny day, he appeared as an old gray-bearded sailor and he met three young professional gentlemen invited to a Christmas dinner and, with his skeletal hand, entertained one with the story of his incredible adventure at sea. Initially reluctant because of his appearance, the young professional was seduced by the magical glance, the glittering eyes of the old narrator and listened to his story. “If the bee disappeared from the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man”. Although Einstein was sometimes mistaken2, he was right about bees as this lyrical ballad illustrates. Anyone who has ever had the curiosity to study bees will have discovered their fascinating and royal society. They are able to communicate with each other, dancing the distance between the hive and the source of nectar and also the angle between the sun and the flowers. They can regulate the temperature of the hive and are able to keep it constant; they accumulate honey for the winter enabling the swarm to survive. After the beekeeping course, I was a wiser man, inspired by the power of the logic of nature. I am still not ready to go and keep bees, to pick and gather their honey and other sweet products including beeswax, propolis, pollen and royal jelly, but I learned something philosophically about knowledge management and social intelligence. The biggest mistake Einstein made… Having been one of the greatest geniuses of all time, Albert Einstein with his theory of relativity who revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos. Yet this visionary genius spent the last decades of his life in a sort of intellectual isolation, ignored by the scientific community and criticized even by his own friends. Perhaps he behaved like an atom of a noble gas and not as a social atom. The idiosyncrasies of human decision-making have confounded economists and social theorists for years. If each person makes choices for personal (and often irrational) reasons, how can

MOBILIS IN MOBILI people’s choices be predicted by a single theory? How can any economic, social, or political theory be valid? The truth is, none of them really are. The social intelligence of bees is an example in nature that has inspired scientists and engineers. Swarm behavior is the starting point of several social and mathematical models both in nature and in artificial contexts. In computer science, particle swarm optimization is a computational method that solves a problem by interactively trying to improve a possible solution by optimizing a given measure of quality. The science of physics is beginning to provide a new picture of the human or “social atom,” and help us understand the surprising, and often predictable, patterns that emerge when they get together. One of the first applications was the study of social behavior starting from the social intelligence of bees: they collect and add value to the nectar of flowers by transforming it into honey and other useful and precious substances. The richness of the metaphor, between bees and people, honey and knowledge, is as clear as the course of a great river illuminated by the moonlight in the darkness of an impenetrable pluvial forest. It is not a mystery and we do not need to disturb the real genius of Einstein to say that I am referring to the social intelligence of SPE. Knowledge travels on a delicious network, as nectar is turned into honey through the efforts of handy and amazing bees. SPE gives the opportunity to meet and connect with specialists, managers, distinguished lecturers, special people, a rich and branching network of networks each a realm of knowledge, such as the big network that can be activated by participating in SPE Business Visits. Take advantage of the full potential of the SPE and participate in our initiatives! On the other hand, you can, in turn, contribute to the SPE. Rather than using the logic of taking and running away, we would like to encourage you to practice the art of growth through giving to others, like the great men and women of history. The famous biologist and scientific divulgator Richard Dawkins is known for his genetic studies, his books, and the concept of “meme”. He wrote “The selfish gene” (1976) in which he described the advantage that a gene confers on individuals: a gene evolves in time while individuals slowly die, according to the philosophy

of Sylvia Plath. The concept of “meme” is nowadays very popular in the world of the Internet. It is analogous to the gene but refers to the transmission of knowledge between people. A meme is an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. It acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from one person to another person in a population through writing, speeches, and distinguished lectures. A field of study called memetics arose in the 1990s to explore the concepts and transmission of memes in terms of an evolutionary model. Memes are living structures physically resident in the brain. Knowledge illuminated in the night like intermittent fireflies, like bright squares of fluorescent light in the ocean intensified by the sparkling waves. Exactly like the electrical charges that travel in the neuronal structures of our mind. All these sparkling lights bring to my mind the atmosphere of Christmas, the SPE dinner and the opportunities to meet smart people, the wells’ Christmas tree decorated with glittering lights and festoons that can also thrill the toughest and hardest of drillers. The electrical charges make me think of Michael Faraday. He was one of the most famous scientists amongst the group of people who discovered electricity. There is a link between Christmas and Michael Faraday, who organized the first event for children in which he talked about science using simple words. He created an event for the diffusion of knowledge that has continued up to our day and that is broadcast nowadays by British public television. The Royal Institution’s Christmas Lectures were first held in 1825, and have continued on an annual basis ever since, except during the Second World War. Very notable lecturers have included famous scientists and important teachers of science. We would like to encourage you to follow in the footsteps of these illustrious predecessors by preparing a talk for the next SPE event, maybe even by becoming a SPE Distinguished Lecturer. 1 Ref. “The Social Atom: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught, and Your Neighbour Usually Looks Like You”, Mark Buchanan, Bloomsbury Publishing 2007. 2 Ref. “Il più grande errore di Einstein – Vita di un genio imperfetto”, David Bodanis, Mondadori 2017.

SECTION PROGRAM

SECTION PROGRAM The following table, prepared by Giovanni Cuomo, Program Chair, summarizes the main events foreseen in the forthcoming months. Not to be missed the three Speeches with Antonella Godi in December, Marica Calabrese in January and Ilaria De

Santo in March. The next period will see a couple of selected Distinguished Lectures. Works are also in progress for preparing the next Business Visits.

DATE

DESCRIPTION

EVENT

11 DEC, 2017

What is biodiversity and what has it ever done for us?

LECTURE

13 DEC, 2017

Social Dinner

CHRISTMAS SOCIAL DINNER

13 DEC, 2017 13 DEC, 2017

Nominations of the Thesis awards during the Social Dinner Essential prerequisites for maximizing success from big data

SCLOCCHI AWARD DISTINGUISHED LECTURE

19 DEC, 2017 (TBC)

A speech with Antonella Godi

MEMBERSHIP OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM

JAN, 2018

International Negotiations workshop

NEGOTIATION WORKSHOP

JAN, 2018

Open discussion of an Oil&Gas topic led by YPs

APERITIF AND SPEECH CONTEST

JAN, 2018

A speech with Marica Calabrese

MEMBERSHIP OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM

FEB, 2018

TBD

BUSINESS VISIT

MAR, 2018

Webinar

YP INTERNATIONAL DAY

MAR, 2018

A speech with Ilaria De Santo

MEMBERSHIP OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM

13 MAR, 2018

Creating geologically realistic models used for reservoir management

DISTINGUISHED LECTURE

APR, 2018

Open discussion of an Oil&Gas topic led by YPs

APERITIF AND SPEECH CONTEST

APR, 2018

TBD

TECHNOLOGY DAY

APR, 2018

TBD

BUSINESS VISIT

SPECIAL FOCUS

TAKE A PEEK AT THE SPE SOUTH, CENTRAL AND EAST EUROPE REGIONAL SECTION OFFICERS MEETING (RSOM) – KRAKOW 2017

ELEONORA AZZARONE

Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Membership Chair

PIETRO SELVAGGIO Eni S.p.A.

Fig.1: Attendees at 2017 RSOM in Krakow (Poland)

On September 16th, in Krakow (Poland) at the Faculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas of the AGH University of Science and Technology, the Poland Section hosted the SPE Regional Section Officers Meeting (RSOM) under the guidance of Matthias Meister, the Regional Director for South, Central and East Europe (SCE EU). Forty board members, representatives of the Croatian, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Turkish and Ukrainian Sections and Student Chapters, attended the event. Various topics regarding the O&G industry, particularly in the downturn period, were discussed. Practical questions arose, such as community engagement, volunteerism and students to support, e.g. how can we reach out new members and how can members benefit from the membership in SPE. The meeting session started with an outlook of the oil price and its impact on the industry. The issues caused by the downturn are huge, not only for the job situation but also for the SPE organization, who nowadays suffers from reduced sponsoring, waived membership fees and loss of members.

The key challenges that we will have to face in the future (our challenges, the next generation’s) are: • A lower oil price for a long period, a scenario where prices of about 50 $ will be the reality; “lower for longer is the new normal” with exploration slowing and producers outside U.S. shale areas not increasing their spending, says Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli, at the World Petroleum Congress in July 2017. • Big Data and the implication of innovative technologies, transitioning towards the idea of the “Digital Oil Field”. • A new efficiency that is already happening in all our operations, from fuel and energy efficiency to responsibly and sustainably dealing with the resources. According to this environment, the SPE is conducting its mission “to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources, and related technologies for the public benefit; and to provide opportunities for professionals to enhance their technical and professional competence” to enable

SPECIAL FOCUS

Fig.2: 2017 SPE Regional and International Awards Ceremony; 2017 Gold Standard Section Awarded to Italian Section

the global oil and gas E&P industry to share technical knowledge needed to meet the world’s energy needs in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. Therefore, the SPE vision, together with the awareness that our job is evolving and it is not going to disappear, allows looking ahead towards all the disciplines associated with petroleum engineering, like geoscience, general engineering, physics, chemistry and geology and the new topics very close to our “world”, such as the geothermal and the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). During the day, several brainstorming sessions took place, focusing on the topics “Supporting Members Through a Downturn”, Volunteers, and Social Media. Burning matters to which no unique solution exists, but SPE takes all the input seriously, and is working on an improvement to satisfy the needs of their members. Fundamental topics were the benefits of being part of SPE and volunteerism. SPE represents the biggest source of knowledge and technology broadcasted through PetroWiki and OnePetro to the oil and gas community, together with conferences and distinguished lectures. It is much more than an international network of upstream professionals. Volunteerism is the key to SPE’s success; volunteering helps members learn the industry, interact with industry

professionals and give back to the industry. As a no-profit organization, SPE relies on members contribution; hence an important topic was to see how the sections approach their members to take the step ahead, and to become actively involved in their local community. While the approaches may be different among the different sections, the most significant differences lay probably between the philosophies of the Professionals Sections and the Student Chapters, the latter in particular find social media their natural habitat, thus fully use their capabilities. It was particularly interesting to see how different sections reach out their younger members, supporting students and young professionals. For example, students at IFP School in France have created an exciting and interesting game called “Reservoir Box”, which was supported by the SPE French Section. In this game, the participants experience the very same challenges every O&G company in the E&P faces: from making technical and financial decisions, dealing with unexpected situations, to most importantly working in teams and as teams. The regional meeting was the opportunity

for Blaine Horner, Regional Activities Specialist for North Sea, South Central and East Europe and Africa, to recall some initiatives, resources and tools available to the sections and all members. One of these is SPE Cares, a new initiative started in 2016 with the aim of giving back to the communities hosting our conferences. Active involvement in local community service encourages positive press for the O&G industry and sets the stage for SPE members to develop meaningful networks, which is especially critical, given the current industry climate. Therefore, SPE launched SPE Cares, an SPE Community Service initiative, aimed at promoting, supporting and participating in charitable, educational, humanitarian and social community services at the Section and Student Chapter’s level. The initiative not only focuses on holding events or activities such as the ATCE, but also recognises community service that SPE members are already conducting in their respective student chapters and professional sections. To enhance the communication and the realization of more international activities and to improve the spreading of information, a new platform is available to build and maintain bridges between SPE Student Chapters (but also Sections): SPE Connect. It is an online community to meet, collaborate, discuss specific technical challenges and resolutions, or to share one’s

16 SPECIAL FOCUS

Fig.3: SPE City Tour of Krakow with Matthias Meister and Jean-Marc Dumas

experience and knowledge with other SPE members worldwide. There was also time for the 2017 SPE Regional and International Awards Ceremony in which Italy was well represented with three SPE Regional Awards: • Projects, Facilities and Construction to Alberto Di Lullo (Section Chair), Eni SpA • Service to Edoardo Dellarole, TEA Sistemi SpA • Young Member Outstanding Service to Adele Vacca, Eni SpA and a SPE International Award: the Gold Standard Section Award. In particular, this award recognised the Italian Section in displaying exemplary efforts in technology dissemination, section operations, member benefits, society and community benefits and innovation. During the morning tea break, the commemorative video celebrating the history of the Italian Section at its Thirty

Year Anniversary in September 2016 has been projected. At the end of the day, the Regional Director Matthias Meister thanked all the attendees and their sections for the support and the wonderful moments during the last two years because it was time “to pass the baton” to his successor: Jean-Marc Dumas. The new SPE SCE EU Regional Director, recipient of the 2010 SPE Regional Service Award and the 2016 SPE Distinguished

Member Award, is the founder of PCMC, an international consulting and engineering contractor in Paris, France. Moreover, he founded the SPE France Section in 1984 and held various positions, including French Section Chairman. Attending the RSOM was a fulfilling experience, an opportunity to meet amazing people, bright-eyed and bushytailed, and to learn a fundamental lesson: “Make SPE the society of your choice”.

Eleonora Azzarone She is a Petroleum and Reservoir Engineer with 10 year experience in the oil & gas business. She has been working for Eni S.p.A. since 2007, in charge for petroleum and production optimisation activities on worldwide exploration and production wells, such as well testing and PLT with operations follow-up on site and in charge for reservoir management and studies, R&D projects and fluid PVT/rock labs activities. She is currently involved in production monitoring, analysis and follow-up, reservoir simulation, reserves and risk analysis for the Kazakhstan Area. She has been SPE Membership Chairperson since 2016. She holds an MSc Degree in Environmental and Subsurface Engineering at Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna. Pietro Selvaggio Pietro Selvaggio is a Reservoir Engineer, graduated in Energy and Nuclear Engineering at Politecnico di Torino with a master thesis in “Exergoeconomic modelling of gas network” at Imperial College London where he worked at Sustainable Gas Institute (BGgroup) after the graduation. He holds a 2nd level Master in Petroleum Engineering and Operations and is currently working in the Reservoir Department of Eni S.p.A. Pietro is involved in reservoir management and optimisation activities as well as Integrated Asset Modeling.

SPECIAL FOCUS

ITALIAN SECTION AS DRIVER FOR PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE

GIANNA GIUDICATI

Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Secretary

The lights of the Milan skyline highlighted our Talented members and the winners of the Regional awards for an event dedicated to all those people, who have been committed in sharing passion and energy for SPE activities. The event was held in “Terrazza di via Palestro” on September 21st as a precious chance to meet award winners and, most importantly, to hear their experience and precious suggestions. After a brief introduction, Section Chairman gave an overview on the Regional Awards won by Italian Section members in the last two years:

S. Cobianco and A. Petrone

• 2016 Regional Drilling Engineering Award to Claudio Molaschi, • 2016 Regional Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Social Responsibility Award to Annamaria Petrone, • Regional Service Award to Sandra Cobianco (2016) and (2017), • 2017 Regional Projects, Facilities and Construction Award to Alberto Di Lullo, • 2017 Regional Young Member Outstanding Service Award to Adele Vacca.

SPECIAL FOCUS

Regional Section Awards 2017

The evening was characterized by an exciting sequence of speeches by both winners and the Technical Directors sponsoring the event. The winners Annamaria Petrone and Sandra Cobianco have been the two main representatives of the section female quota. Both of them highlighted in their speech their experience abroad and the importance of networking in their professional lives. Annamaria and Sandra remarked their participation in SPE as an important chance for meeting professionals within

the O&G sector, and for learning from others in a logic in which everyone learn from each other. Award winners lived the floor to the three Technical Directors sponsoring the event: Paolo Allara (TD Drilling and Completion), Simone Grosso (TD Facilities and Construction), and Davide Scotti (TD HSE). Paolo emphasized the ongoing changings characterizing the drilling activities, and the relevant new approaches, thanks to the continuous advancements in digital transformation

Section Chairman (on the right) awarding E. Dellarole.

initiatives in this area. Simone focused his intervention of the unavoidable transition from O&G companies to Energy companies and the critical role played by renewables research and activities, which are increasingly becoming core in the O&G industry. Davide concluded TD speeches with a talk remarking the primary commitment, investment and effort of all activities on Safety, which is the first factor to think about.

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TD speeches: Paolo Allara (on the left) and Simone Grosso (on the right).

The dinner closed with the talk by Giovanni Paccaloni, Mentor of the SPE Italian Section. Giovanni focused his talk on professional excellence, which doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come from scratch but rather is the result of a mix and equilibrium between networking skills and opportunities,

TD speech by Davide Scotti.

Overview of the dinner attendees.

together with professional and technical experience. Finally, Giovanni left the floor to Maurizio Senese, who introduced in last year the initiatives dedicated to talented members, and to Alberto Di Lullo for the final greetings.

G. Paccaloni awarding A. Di Lullo.

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THE HAPPINESS OF MOVING TOWARDS YOUR POTENTIAL It is pretty strange that a petroleum engineer, who is no expert at all in the field of psychology, would write an article about “happiness”. As a consequence, I would like to explain how I arrive here!

MARIA GIULIA DE DONNO

Zubair Field Operating Division (ZFOD), Iraq

Fig.1: Image taken from the cartoon “The Little Prince” (2015, Onix Films, Paramount Animation et al).

On September 2017, an institutional dinner was planned between (ZFOD) Geosciences and Well Operations departments with the aim of improving communication, cooperation and a sense of belonging. During and after the dinner, a topic of discussion should be proposed and everyone is invited to participate. I was responsible for the organization and my point was which topic should I choose in order to keep awake and to animate the discussion between 30 engineers of different ages (from 30s to 60s), different nationalities, different genders, after a long working day?

was one of the most popular and most famous TED(*) talks entitled “the happy secret to better work” held by Shawn Achor, a researcher of Positive Psychology with 12 years of experience at Harvard University. It is an inspiring, provoking and funny talk that reflects on happiness and its effect on productivity. If you have not watched it yet, just google it! TED(*): (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a media organization which posts talks online for free distribution, under the slogan “ideas worth spreading”. TED’s early emphasis was technology and design, consistent with its Silicon Valley origins, but it has since broadened its focus to include talks on many scientific, cultural, and academic topics.

We believe that we should work to be happy, but could that be backwards?

Actually, I had no doubts! I chose happiness! The reason for which everyone of us is waking up every morning at 6.00 am or earlier in a foreign country, the reason we work 12 hours a day or even more.

Shawn wants to reverse the formula for happiness that most companies and schools apply: “if I work harder, I will be more successful. And if I am more successful, then I will be happier. That undergirds most of our parenting styles, our managing styles, the way that we motivate our behavior.”

I chose happiness and its link with our daily activities and with the development of our human potential. The starting point of the discussion

But every time our brains reach a success, we just change the goalpost of what success looked like: “you got good

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grades, now you have to get better grades, you got a good job, now you have to get a better job, you hit your sales target, you’re going to change your sales target”. And if happiness is on the opposite side of success, your brain never gets there. “What we have done”, Shawn says, “is we have pushed happiness over the cognitive horizon as a society. And that is because we think we have to be successful, then we will be happier”.

the ways in which you can train your brain to become more positive: it is interesting but also very personal. So I will not go further on this article since I would like to stay focused on the link between happiness and development of human potential and the results of scientific researches that show how working can be a source of energy and positiveness.

But the real problem is our brains work in the opposite order.

Mihalv Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian psychologist, recognized and named the psychological concept of flow, a highly focused mental state. He began to look at creative people -first artists and scientists -- trying to understand what made them feel that it was worth essentially spending their life doing things for which they expected neither fame nor fortune, but which made their lives meaningful and worth doing.

The Happiness Advantage According to Shawn, if you can raise somebody’s level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call the “happiness advantage”, which means: your brain at positive performs significantly better than it does at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence raises, your creativity raises, your energy level raises. Because dopamine, which floods into your system when you are positive, has two functions. Not only does it makes you happier, it turns on all of the learning centers in your brain, allowing you to adapt to the world in a different way. This means we can reverse the formula. If we can find a way of becoming positive in the present, then our brains work even more successfully as we are able to work harder, faster and more intelligently. On the rest of the talk, Shawn focused on

The Flow

surrounds you and you are immersed in the activity that you are doing, whether it is climbing a mountain, writing a book, preparing slides for a meeting or a brainstorming session. Your personal involvement is total, you are completely focused on the goal, your task is highly fulfilling and your emotional state is absolutely positive.

Into the Flow (image from NCIS: Los Angeles TV episode)

When you are really involved in this completely engaging process of creating something new, existence is temporarily suspended. The state of flow is an ideal experience, a sort of competitive trance. What matters is that this is a particularly productive time, during which you are totally out of touch with the reality that

Flow enters the workplace especially when you think you are doing something good, meaningful, something that makes you feel happy as you are working at it. Masaru Ibuka, the co-founder of Sony, had an idea to establish a place of work where engineers can feel the joy of technological innovation, be aware of their mission to society and work to their heart’s content.

22 SPECIAL FOCUS A person “in flow”, or “in the zone”, feels: • completely involved in what he is doing– focused, concentrated; • great inner clarity – knowing what needs to be done, and how well he is doing; • a sense of personal control - knowing that his skills are adequate to the task and what he needs to do is possible to do, even though difficult; • a sense of serenity – no worries about himself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego (“loss of reflective self-consciousness”); • timelessness – thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes, sense of time disappears; • intrinsic motivation – what he is doing becomes worth doing for its own sake, whatever produces flow becomes its own reward. “The flow” is a wonderful feeling. For sure, every one of us has experienced it at least once, maybe when playing as a kid. But most of us have experienced it also during adulthood and while working. It happens when you are just so focused and excited about what you are doing and you do not see hours pass, the lunch break arrives leaving you surprised. So, the question positive psychologists seek to address is how to put more and more of everyday life in that flow channel: how to be “in the zone” while you are working? Or during your daily life activities? Although there is no recipe for entering a flow state, there are a few things that can help elicit this beautiful feeling of being in the zone. First and foremost is to pursue activities that are ever so slightly outside of your comfort level. It is like saying: the challenge should be slightly above the skill. Let’s say that you have very high skill levels. Well, if the challenge is low, you might be bored or apathetic. If you have low skill but the challenge is high, you are going to be overwhelmed, maybe anxious; you will not be able to do it. On the contrary, if you have a high amount of skill for something and the challenge is really high, that is a really important criterion for being able to get into the zone. Second foundational element is to be fully present and focused. That helps if

the challenge and the skills are both high because you almost have no choice but to be present. So to recap, the flow “happens” when the activities you are performing are slightly outside of your comfort zone, you’re still quite skilled for and you are completely present.

The following image shows Mihalv’s model of flow as related to challenge and ability. From the graph, it can be said that “the flow” or “being in the zone” it is not only emotionally positive but it is the point where your productivity is optimized. Reaching the flow state is optimal for both you and your company.

SPECIAL FOCUS What creates more beauty: Joy or Pain?

“You are a unicorn”: the role of a leader

From the previous paragraphs, it seems that there is a bi-univocal correspondence between happiness and productivity. However, not everything that glitters is gold!

Intrinsic motivation is the most beautiful driver and engine for our actions in order to reach our potential. It comes from our inner state, emotions, thoughts and feelings and it is something very personal and delicate. In some moments, intrinsic motivation may lack.

The previous paragraphs were based on the points of view of two influential positive psychologists: Shawn Achor and Mihalv Csikszentmihalyi. But there are so many theses regarding topics as complex as happiness, optimizing productivity and realizing each one’s human potential. We also know from history about some great examples, great works and discoveries accomplished by people who had a restless or suffering soul. There are a lot of common sayings on the topic: “What is bad for your heart is good for your art”, “from pain to paint” and a lot has been studied about the “tortured artist”, “artist touched with fire”, the “poète maudit”, “the damned and suicidal musicians”. This could be extended also to science, technology and entrepreneurship. Restless souls are always so incredible, original and productive. Always looking for something. Sometimes, also in everyday experience, negative feelings like the fear of “not being good enough” move us much more than happiness. For example, when I was preparing solid mechanics (for the first time), I was studying and meanwhile playing cards with friends, going out at nights then I did not pass the exam! The way I studied for the next semester was completely different and completely focused on the topic. I was afraid not to pass the exam and the desire to do more, to overcome the challenge, was so strong I succeeded in completely focusing on my tasks. Luckily, not all the exams were so difficult! Negative feelings (the fear of not being up to par, continuous comparison and competition, apprehension due to personal issues) or external motivation (approval of other people, money, awards) can move your actions on the short term. But on the long term, in order to be resilient, positive feelings and internal motivation are the strongest drivers. And probably being “in the flow” is the healthiest way to be at the top of your skills and capacity and to fulfill your ambition.

For these cases, I would like to quote the first part of Shawn’s talk. He told a story from his childhood: by accident, he pushed his 5-years-old sister Amy down from the top of their bunk beds. Amy landed painfully on her hands and knees on all fours on the ground. In that moment, Shawn did the only thing his seven yearold brain could think to avert the tragedy of Amy crying and waking up their parents. Shawn said: “Amy, Amy, wait. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Did you see how you landed? No human lands on all fours like that. Amy, I think this means you’re a unicorn.” Now that was cheating, because there was nothing in the world Amy would want more than not to be Amy the hurt five year-old little sister, but Amy the special unicorn. Of course, this was an option that was open to her brain at no point in the past. Instead of crying, instead of ceasing the play, instead of waking the parents, a smile spread across her face and she scrambled right back up onto the bunk bed with all the grace of a baby unicorn (with one broken leg). When intrinsic motivation is lacking, having a great leader makes you feel like a unicorn, this, even though this could be cheating a little bit, in the short term it can improve your emotions, your motivation

and push again your inner state towards the “flow” improving the performances and the level of positivity of the entire team. Conclusions During the dinner no one fell asleep (that was already a good result!) and the discussion was animated by different and sometimes opposite points of views, all very interesting and personal. Somehow everyone had something to say showing the great impact of these topics regarding everyday behaviors, how to manage our personal resources in order to be resilient and how to manage and motivate human resources if you are a coordinator or a manager. I always wonder about people who create something new, who bring a big technological or organizational change, who have the courage to lead their own project, or to lead an association, an organization or a team, who inspire others through something that is still to build. I always wonder about which is their own driver, where they found the resilience, the energy, the strength of believing in themselves and in their own project and the passion to reach their own target. And of course, looking at them I always try to understand how to improve my attitude at work trying to make a difference. “Motivation is a battle for the heart, not just an appeal to the mind” (Patrick Dixon, Building a Better Business), and I hope that the considerations shared in this article could stimulate new possible insights on your own work life and how to boost it.

Maria Giulia De Donno Giulia joined Eni’s Reservoir Department in 2014, as Petroleum Engineer. She got her BSc and MSc in Civil Engineering cum laude at Politecnico di Milano. After graduation, she worked as Offshore Structural Engineer both in Italy (DG Impianti Industriali) and Norway (Det Norske Veritas). In 2012-2013 she attended the Master in Petroleum Engineering of Politecnico di Torino. Currently, she is working as Petroleum Engineer in Zubair Field Operation Division (Eni Iraq). Giulia is SPE member since 2014 and she actively cooperates with the board of SPE-YP.

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret to happiness

https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_ happy_secret_to_better_work

ht tps: // w w w.ted.com /talks /mihaly_ csikszentmihalyi_on_flow

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SECTION SUMMER DINNER: THE NEW BOARD 2017-2018 WITH A MOVING HANDOVER

GIANNA GIUDICATI

Cascina Solesina has been the framework of the Section Summer Dinner on July 20th: an ancient structure in the splendid backdrop of the Forlanini Park. This rustic village in the Milan countryside, called “Antico Borgo in città”, and its manager Emily welcomed one hundred Section members and friends for the first

Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Secretary

The aperitif at Cascina Soresina

official social event coordinated by the new Section Chairman Alberto Di Lullo. The welcome aperitif in main court has been the perfect chance for preliminary networking, to both meet those young professionals approaching SPE in their first social event and the new entries in the Section Board.

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YP members always attend Italian SPE social dinners

The new Section Chairman hosted the attendants for the dinner in one of the main rooms of the Cascina, which was decorated on a perfect Italian Section style. Alessandro Tiani, the outgoing Chairman, who unfortunately wasn’t able to join the dinner, recorded a welcome

video message, opening the dinner. After the apologies for his unexpected absence, Alessandro renewed his gratitude to all the section members supported him during his 2-years Chairmanship, defined as “intense and wonderful thanks to the strong collaboration among all of us”.

Screenshot from Alessandro Tiani welcome message.

The organized events, more than 40 in the last two years, and the renewed Section Bulletin are just two of the activities coordinated by Alessandro with the aim to diffuse the passion for SPE, which group and unite all Section members. With the handover of the Chairmanship to Alberto, Alessandro closed his video with a warm thank you and Arrivederci.

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Dinner courses were then spaced by the presentation of the renewed SPE Italian Section Board 2017-2018 and the anticipation of the SPE Regional Award, celebrated at the end of the Summer during the Dinner for Talented Members (Have a look at the dedicated article). Despite a few internal reshuffles, Alberto Di Lullo therefore welcomed the new entries: Luca Cadei, - YP Chair; Giovanni Cuomo Program Chairman; Michele Margarone – Award Referent; Donato Azzarone – Technical Director for Renewables in O&G, and Michele Margarone – Liason with other Sections. Grateful thanks are also due to Lorenzo Carollo, Stephan Conte, Andrea Intieri, Allegra Mondello, Giordano Pinarello, Claudia Porretta Serapiglia, and Valerio Parasiliti Parracello for their effort as Board members for the last years. A final intervention, Alberto Di Lullo mentioned the three Regional Awards assigned to Adele Vacca (YP Outstanding), Edoardo Dellarole (Service Award) and Alberto himself (Projects, Facilities and Contructions Award). The perfect chance for Section Board and all attendees to wish Alberto Di Lullo all the bests for his new role and to thank Alessandro Tiani for his commitment, passion and enthusiasm he gave us in the last two years. Thank you Alessandro!

Dining together

The welcome desk where the summer edition of the Bulletin was distributed

The new Chairman welcomes the new board members

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A table of senior members ...

... and a table of young members

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CHAPTERS’ CORNER Introduction by A. Lamberti Student [stood-nt]: any person who studies, investigates, or examines thoughtfully. Chapter [chap-ter]: a branch, usually restricted to a given locality, of a society, organization, fraternity, etc. ANDREA LAMBERTI Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Liason with Universities

JOSE RENE FELIPE SARQUEZ BERNAL

FRANCESCO ZINNA

MARTINA SACCHETTI

Dear members, My name is Andrea Lamberti and I am the 2017-2018 SPE Italian Section director of External Relations with Universities. I was former Technical Director of reservoir and I have been working for Eni Reservoir department for 12 years. “Maybe” you guess that this section is dedicated to SPE student chapters activities. This is because

their work represents a significant part of our section life and because they deserve the opportunity to show to all the members what they do and the efforts they put in the organization and execution of their activities. Moreover, they are the foundation on which SPE Italian Section will be developed in the years to come. This year my challenging objective is to enforce the relations between the three active chapters (Milan, Rome and Turin) and the rest of the section. I think this window should be one of the link we can use to share knowledge and approaching each other. Therefore enjoy reading their experience, hoping that this year will be full of activities and opportunities to share.

Jose Rene Felipe Sarquez Bernal Jose Rene Felipe Sarquez Bernal is the SPE Polito Student Chapter Treasurer, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering obtained in the Universidad Industrial de Santander. He is studying a Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino. Jose was part of the UIS Student chapter for several years and has been part of the SPE PoliTo chapter since October 2016. Francesco Zinna I’m Francesco Zinna, student in Energy Engineering M.Sc. at the Politecnico di Milano. I am doing an internship in Eni to write my master thesis. I am a SPE member and in the board of Polimi Student Chapter as social media manager. I have also studied at the UCT of Prague in my Erasmus program, and I have collaborated with Ingegneria Senza Frontiere Milano for two years. Martina Sacchetti Martina Sacchetti is the SPE Student Chapter Communication Chairperson, she holds a Bachelor of Business degree in Economics obtained in Sapienza Università di Roma. She is studying a Master of Business Marketing Management.

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Fig.1: Turin student chapter executive board with professor Dario Viberti

POLITO SPE PoliTO Student Chapter with the gazed fixed on the SPE outstanding award By Jose Rene Felipe Sarquez Bernal

The last June, the SPE Politecnico di Torino Student chapter was recognized for the first time with the SPE GOLD STANDARD Distinction in the Student Chapter Awards 2016-2017. It was one of the few chapters in Europe and the only one in Italy that achieved this recognition from the Society of Petroleum Engineers. The Gold Standard second highest award that a student chapter can get and is given to those chapters who “have accomplished an admirable level of activity”. This reflects the great effort and dedication that the past board had during the whole year. The goal for the elected board 2017/2018 is to get the highest distinction granted by the SPE, the Outstanding Student Chapter Award; an award that has never been won by an Italian institution. To be able to succeed with this, the new board have a clear vision on how to develop the chapter at three different levels.

During the last months, several activities have been carried with the members of the chapter. A SPE Professional gathering that counted with the presence of Mr. Matthias Meister, SPE Regional Director for South, East & Central Europe, and Mr. Luca Cadei, SPE YP Chairman, and Mr. Selvaggio Pietro, SPE YP professional events supervisor, a welcome party was organized to put in contact the 2017-2018 freshmen with the senior students, among other activities. The work of these first months has been focused on the first two points of the vision of the chapter. However, the next step would be to expand the chapter internationally. To accomplish this, the chapter has organized in association with the 2017 SPE Outstanding Student chapter award Universitatea “Petrol-Gaze” Ploiești an exchange program in which 20 students from the Politecnico di Torino are going to travel to Bucharest, Romania from the • Among Petroleum Engineering Master of 26th of November-1st of December. During science students this week, the participants will have the • Among Engineering students at opportunity to visit the OMV-Petrom ICPT Politecnico di Torino who aim to enter laboratories (the biggest oil company in the oil and gas industry Romania), have a field trip to the București • Internationally, between other SPE gas storage station, and attend different chapters in Europe and worldwide. seminars.

For the students, this exchange program will be a great opportunity to experience the O&G industry from a totally different culture, deep in technical knowledge and establish connections with future colleagues. For the chapter, this is one step forward in the major goal of win the Outstanding Student Chapter award. In the following months, several activities will be organized by the PoliTo chapter, with the cooperation of different local and international companies. Technical seminars held by experts for the chapter members, a second phase of the exchange program will take place in Turin. All these activities with the aim of getting the desired award.

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Fig.2: Milan Student Chpater during a visti to Eniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Casalborsetti plant with professor De Ghetto

POLIMI One Year of Us: Student Chapter POLIMI By Francesco Zinna

HOW WE WERE BORN Another year was about to start, new courses, new professors, new examinations but we all knew that we would sit among the benches with the same questions that we have been attending to us for almost five years: what will I do when I leave the Politecnico? What will I be able to do? How much will I have to learn once more in the world of work? These questions became more and more present in our heads as we went on our path. So one morning like every other one,

Professor M. Blunt spoke to us about this society, SPE, a society made up of the world of Oil&Gas, to which we could contribute by building the first Student Chapter in Milan. We thought we would certainly have had some answers to our questions and that maybe we could have given our little contribution HOW WE PARTICIPATED We started attending SPE events: lectures, plant visits, and group activities. We met great junior and senior professionals who told us their experience, their expectations,

and advised us about what we could do ourselves as Student Chapter. Therefore, something in our days had changed: we did not only have answers to our questions, but also expectations, ambitions and motivations. Furthermore, we have understood the true meaning of being part of an association: the incredible and vast network of people you have the chance to meet, people from around the world who have something to tell, to share, even with us that we were and still are only students. Moreover,

SECTION LIFE during breaks between one lesson and the other, in front of a coffee machine, we were not only talking about courses and examinations, but also about the events we attended, the people we knew, about what we could do as we were only students and so we got involved. WHAT WE HAVE CREATED It was after these beautiful experiences that we made the decision to create the Chapter: we elected our president and vice president, Antonio and Luca, and the whole board. We contacted professors to find our advisor, Professor Guadagnini, and met the guys from the Turin Chapter, always ready to give us some helpful advice to move the first steps. Organizing events within the Politecnico we began to make us known, advertise us through social networks and organize us to the best that we could. Despite many of us have left for Erasmus and experiences abroad we have been able to carry on our

project. We are not a big group, but we have always brought our commitment and our participation to reach our goal and finally, collecting subscriptions, sending hundreds of mails, we managed to create the third active Chapter in Italy. Some of us have begun to look to the world of work and even in this, SPE played a decisive role: to start a new experience in a completely different environment, but finding family people with whom you have just talked about during a dinner, you makes even more sense of the meaning of the networks that SPE can convey. We have found 100% support in SPE, a society that has involved us and has always helped us. We know that we have just begun to walk, but we hope to grow more and more on this path, understanding what it means, not only to be part of Oil&Gas world, but especially to be part of a group of professionals and students all around the world that can give you a lot and to

which you can give your contribution. HOW WE WILL CONTINUE Once we have overcome the great challenge of creating the Chapter, there is now an even greater obstacle: keep it going over the years and continue what we worked on. Many members of our Chapter are about to end their path at Politecnico and many students do not seem to want to approach the world of Oil&Gas through our courses. That is why we will try to win another challenge: not only to survive the Chapter, but to try to teach new members what we have learned from the Chapter and the SPE so that they continue with the same enthusiasm and try to do even more than we did. Because when you can create something, when you understand that you are part of something, even after you have committed to succeed, satisfactions always come to you.

SECTION LIFE

Fig.3: Rome Student Chpater during one of their aperiSPE

UNIROMA By Martina Sacchetti

WHO WE ARE The SPE Student Chapter Rome was founded in 2014. It is based at the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering at Università Sapienza di Roma and it was the first student chapter officially constituted and currently the only one active among the Universities of Rome. We could define ourselves as a small family-run company that is widening its boundaries towards the “adoption” of new members. OUR MISSION We aim to become the benchmark for all students who want to approach the Oil&Gas Industry, while being a bridge between Companies and University that allows young college students to get in the game by testing their skills and abilities while we think about taking care of them in the post-graduate world. WHAT WE DO To achieve our goals, we deal with a variety of activities, such as the organization of seminars involving the whole Oil & Gas Industry, from plant security to mining to the renewable energy field, or visits to industrial establishments, participation in national and international events and informal meetings with professional figures in the petrochemical and related industries. We attended OMC 2017 held in Ravenna, where our faculty advisor held a

conference on the “public awareness of technology” regarding the Oil & Gas. Our participation in the Maker Faire Rome, the largest European event on innovation from all over the world, has become familiar. You can find us there, in collaboration with the DICMA of Sapienza University of Rome, showcasing the innovative 3D-RES models, 3D-Printed Real Reservoirs. We have organized seminars on Soft Skills, where the students had the chance to deal with the knowledge of the professional skills required today in the job market: teamwork, problem solving, and leadership. To ease the conversation between students and professionals of the O&G industries we have created a monthly appointment: the AperiSPE, an informal conversation between students and guests accompanied by an aperitif. We are currently carrying out important partnerships with some of the greatest giants operating in the Industry: Shell Italia, the global leader in lubricants with 70 years of experience in innovation, with whom we had 2 interesting seminars in November at our headquarters. Technip, which periodically requires our curriculum vitae for internships and hiring. Eni, that will introduce us to the world of bio-fuels in a forthcoming meeting. Assomineraria, Italian Mining Association for the Mining and Petroleum Industry.

We have just started a collaboration with the SPE Student Chapter in Alexandria, Suez and Kazan to organize cultural exchange trips and joint projects. SPE Student Chapter Roma is present on most social networks - FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn - where we communicate the activities we do and the chapter’s news. We are trying to make our pages more active and encourage the collaboration of SPE members, who now seem to prefer email as a channel of communication. OUR FUTURE PROSPECTS Our Chapter is developing, the new board is growing, partnerships are budding with companies, but above all we want to increase active participation by SPE members. We believe that having a base of the Society of Petroleum Engineers at the Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering here in Rome is an honour, an opportunity to make the most of it, and a fortune, as it has enabled us to interface with such a reality interesting as SPE. This is the message we would like to convey to all the youths, to those who work in this field and beyond; but above all, this is the reason that justifies the total dedication of the Board to this project. We have so many ideas to realize, goals to accomplish and we are aiming to become an outstanding Student Chapter.

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS

DIGITAL WHAT?????? Digital Transformation, Digital Twin, Big Data Analytics, Drones, Automatization… These are only a few of the new words we are confronted everyday with, also in the very conservative O&G business. But is it just a fashion or do these new technologies bring value to our world? The answer is not so straight forward, PAOLO ALLARA many will say it depends on with Eni S.p.A. whom you are talking to, some will be SPE Italian Section Technical Director Drilling & Completion technology driven and defend it and others, old drillers, will answer that if in the past 100 years the tools have not changed dramatically then you need to make yourself an answer (see Fig. 1). And here I believe is the point. The technology is not the issue, it is a tool to be used and to get profit from. The issue is with the mentality. I believe that the most difficult thing that O&G and Drilling & Completion in particular will have to face is the change in mentality, without losing the experience and the common sense. So what makes Digital Transformation special in respect to other waves we have seen passing? The Digital Transformation has become a trend that is affecting the complete world, from consumer goods to supermarkets passing through heavy industry. This transition is not reversible: who has become digital will never look back at the old days. And the funny thing is that we already live in a digital world: we drive cars that are more digital than we think, we start having appliances with IoT and we play with our sons immersed in virtual reality! So, in the end we are not so far from the digital world and this is the key of its success. Imagine a world where you will be trained while staying at

home, as if you were in the field; where you will conduct complex operations with the help of specialists on the other side of the word as if they were next to you, both sharing documents and a common knowledge; where you will be dressing smart devices that will help keeping you safer and more protected from hazards or even enhancing your capacities; a world where you can get all the info you need on a specific topic by a simple gesture of your hand…. A dream? No. This is the promise that Digital Transformation is carrying. And from what I’ve already seen and tried - you can bet on this – this will be just the tip of the iceberg. So stay tuned and open your mind!

Fig.1: A comparison between BJ elevators in 1929 (above) and same type of elevators today (below)

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS

THE USE OF EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT (EVM) WHILE DRILLING DEEP WATER OIL WELL INTRODUCTION

SALAH HASIN GHUMIEM Eni S.p.A.

NAHG ALAWI

Geomatika University College

Earned Value Management (EVM) is a methodology that combines scope, schedule, and resource measurements to assess project performance and progress. It is a commonly used method of performance measurement for projects. It integrates the scope baseline with the cost baseline, along with the schedule baseline, to form the performance baseline, which helps the project management team assess and measure project performance and progress (PMI, 2013). The reason to select the topic “Earned Value Management” for this study is that recently an increased demand for regular reporting of cost development and project progress from the accounting functions in the company has been seen. This calls for a more formalized way to track project performance and improve forecasting, also on the sub-project level (M, Vanhoucke, 2010). AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE CASE OF AN OIL COMPANY 1 The Company The study was performed in an Oil

Company whose name doesn’t appear in this study for confidentiality reasons. 2 Scope and limitation The purpose of this study is to find out if the Earned Value Management is a reliable technique for project valuation. The outline of the study is as follows. 3 Problem Statement Along the whole duration of a project, any project owner and manager needs to be able to assure that the project is on schedule and on budget. This is often performed by taking only a quick check that the project cost has not exceeded its budget and that activities seem to be on plan (S. Hartmann, D. Briskorn, 2010). The scope for this study is to suggest ways of implementing performance measurement for a big project like drilling a deep water oil well, in such a way that the momentary situation can be assessed at any time during the project life-cycle, giving the possibility to change resource and budget allocations early and secure a timely delivery at the required quality level.

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Fig.1: Earned Value methodology is key for a correct awareness of the project progress

4 Study Questions The main question to be answered by this job can be formulated as: How can the Earned Value Management method be used and applied for the drilling and completion projects? To answer the previous question some corollary questions need to be answered: 1. Does the entire project team (Drilling Team) have the awareness of Earned Value Management? 2. What is the Necessity of EVM in Oil industry especially while drilling an oil well? 5 Study Significance The significance can be highlighted as

follow: • To know if the use of EVM can help drilling manager to understand the correct forecasting in case of failure to fulfill the time & cost. • To understand the requirements (if any to apply the EVM in drilling department. DATA ANALYSIS 1 The descriptive analysis of the sample properties The author enters 65 answers of the questionnaire from employees of the mentioned oil company. Then a descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to determine the basic characteristics of this sample as follows. 2 The sample distribution by gender variable

Fig.2: The sample distribution by the gender variable

Figure 2 shows that the males frequencies are 37 which represents 56.9% of the number of respondents, while the females are 28 which represents 43.1% of the respondents.

4 Analysis of sample opinions about the Industry’s awareness of EVM Question 1: Do you know Earned Value Management? The answer of this question is given in table 1, the answer “I don’t know” received the 67.7% of the respondents’ answers. Here is the surprise of the study. Almost 70% of the respondents have no idea what EVM is! Question 2: Have you participated Earned Value Management in your projects under your organization? The answer of this question is given in table 2; the answer “No” received the 86.2% of the respondents’ answers. Obviously, if there is no idea about the concept, so there will not be a way to apply it.

sample by age

Question 3: Performance measuring technique: how does cost and time required integrate by your subsidiary?

Figure 3 shows the sample distribution by the age variable where age group of 20 to29 years represents 13.8% of the respondents, will

The answer to this question is given in table 3; the answer “Somewhat Agree” received the 35.4% of the respondents’ answers. The respondents are agreeing to integrate time and cost for the oil well, because these two factors are the most integrated factors among the entire

3 The distribution variable

Fig.3: The sample distribution by the Age variable

the most represented age group is the group of 30 to 39, which represent 50.8% of the respondents. Then the group of 40 to 49, which represents 30.8% of the respondents. And finally the less represented age group is the group of 50 to 59 which represents 4.6% of the respondents.

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knowledge of project management. The answers indicate that, the sample doesn’t know exactly the concept of EVM. In addition, some of important concepts in project management are also unfamiliar to the drilling team. This leads to the acceptance of the significance which states that <To know if the use of EVM can help drilling manager in understanding the correct forecasting in case of failure to fulfill time & cost>.

can be done faster. • A drilling manager has enough time to do the corrective actions, because with EVM any delay can be recognized while drilling. • All inputs data of EVM are available and familiar to the whole drilling team; this makes the applying of the theory so easy.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

I acknowledge Nasser Ramadan, General Manager of Eni North Africa B.V for his support, also ENI S.p.A that created a nice working atmosphere and helped solving numerous issues. I acknowledge also the GEOMATIKA University College (Malaysia)

Most of oil companies have a strong desire and willingness to grow and establish their position in the market. Furthermore, the main priorities of the oil companies are to improve quality and to reduce time and cost wastes, especially for offshore drilling operations. Based on all this the study can conclude the follows: • Earned Value management guides the Drilling team & Manager in a project work. • The Drilling Manager who used EVM has more data available in order to make a good decision based on the EVM outputs. • The Drilling Team can be more productive, because the correct decision

Table1: Answer to question No 1

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

References M. Vanhoucke, 2010, Measuring Time - Improving Project Performance using Earned Value Management, Vol. 136 of Springer. Project Management Institute PMI (2013), A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK GUIDE). S. Hartmann, D. Briskorn, 2010, A survey of variants and

Table2: Answer to question No 2

Table3: Answer to question No 3 extensions of the resource-constrained project scheduling problem, European Journal of Operational Research 207, 1–15.

Author’s CV SALAH GHUMIEM, was born in Misurata (Libya) on April 18th 1980, He got the B.SC mechanical engineering in 2003. In 2006 he joined the ENI group and started building his career in the oil industry. He is specialized in drilling oil wells operations. During his career he worked in many different countries, he spent eleven years of experience in drilling operations especially in deep water wells. Currently he is Drilling Engineering Coordinator in ENI Ghana.

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A CONVERSATION WITH DAVIDE VASSALLO

DAVIDE SCOTTI

Saipem S.p.A. SPE Italian Section HSE Technical Director

Hi Davide! Thanks a lot for sharing your time with the SPE network. It’s an honor to interview you and I look forward to walk through this conversation. However, first things first. Although I should probably introduce you to our readers, I thought the best way to do that is by asking you my very first question: who is Davide Vassallo? I am a visionary and pragmatic optimist, aiming for a better future and enjoying the present life. I am also the Global Managing Director for DuPont Sustainable Solutions, the operations management consulting firm that is a part of DuPont. I’ve worked in the Sustainability space for my entire career and I’m very passionate about helping companies protect people and the environment, manage operational risk, improve business performance and ultimately, improve the value we create for the Society. I’ve worked with companies in many industries including oil and gas, transportation, telecommunications, chemicals, manufacturing, and infrastructure development. I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but I’m Italian by birth and I’ve lived and worked all around the globe. Perfect! I in fact know you from a few years ago, before your moved onto DuPont where you’ve had a fantastic

career. It was really great to meet you recently and catch up at the XXI Health & Safety World Congress in Singapore, a forum organized by ILO every 3 years, and to my knowledge the biggest health & safety event worldwide. Three days of sharing, learning and networking. What did you take away from it? You’re right, a very good event. During the Congress in September 2017 in Singapore, I heard several alarming statistics. The International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that an estimated 2.78 million workers die annually due to work-related injuries and illnesses. This loss of life is not only heartbreaking, but also has a USD $3 billion impact on the global economy, which equates to almost 4% of global GDP. To hear that was really alarming, however, I think it was good to have such statistics collected and shared by such a credible body like ILO. They are probably as accurate as anyone. And to me, it was also shocking to learn that every year in the world there are 380 thousand fatalities due to work accidents. What can we do about it? While we still have much work to do, I was encouraged to see that the HSE community represented at the Congress is larger in number than I anticipated.

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The attendees were motivated, engaged, capable and ready to take action. I believe we in the HSE field have an opportunity, and the ability, to change the perception that the safety community is tactical and technical. We need to be more strategic, more visible and to drive a shift from a focus on compliance to a focus on creating value for our organizations and the community at large. If we harness the talent we have in the HSE community and beyond, I believe we can make a huge impact in improving safety performance and reducing overall risks in organizations around the world. I agree 100%. As you know, I firmly believe what you are saying and actually, this is a big part of my motivation to do what I do. However, safety leading organizations like DuPont can play a big role in the evolution of industry safety culture and support to the HSE communities. Where is your latest focus? In addition to having the ability as an HSE community to institute change, executives are telling us they need help in improving safety and better managing risk within their organizations. This summer, my company DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS), fielded a global survey to measure the maturity of Operational Risk Management (ORM) in organizations across industries and to examine the challenges organizations face in managing risk. The survey is unique in that it focuses on how a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operational risks impact their business performance. These operational risks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including workplace health and safety, environment, quality

control, process safety, supply chain disruptions, maintenance and reliability challenges and production fluctuations. The survey revealed that executives acknowledge the operational risk management processes within their companies are not sufficient. This is very interesting, perhaps not so surprising, but certainly very alarming. Why do they have this perception? Two findings are particularly alarming: First, executives recognize they are not devoting enough resources and capabilities to effectively manage risks within their companies, which threatens their continued right to operate. Secondly, they acknowledge there is a significant organizational disconnect and misalignment among leadership and employees with respect to risk management, which greatly contributes to the likelihood of a catastrophic event. At least it seems the area for intervention is clear. How would you help them? We believe that companies can better manage their operational risks and improve their business performance by adopting an integrated approach that links together business performance, understanding of risk and organizational culture. (note: at this stage Davide shows me a very comprehensive slide presenting the model in the figure above) Business performance can be greatly improved if risk management processes are appropriately aligned to business performance objectives. It is critical that companies understand, at a deeper level, the operational risks they face

in order to meet business objectives. Understanding risks, across departments and functions, helps better manage business performance. We need to elevate the risk awareness of everyone in an organization and connect operational risk to business operations to truly drive change. Because organizational culture is the glue that connects disparate parts of the company and its functions, it must be part of the solution. Developing a risk mindset will help employees anticipate and proactively manage risk to prevent adverse consequences on a day-to-day basis. Culture is the glue! Some of our readers may recall a similar metaphor I used to express a similar concept. I like to say that safety is like olive-oil and accompanies every course in a hypothetical Mediterranean meal! Anyway, raising risk awareness to every player in the organization and linking safety with productivity is very relevant in our Industry, which you are very familiar with, and something we must all keep a strong focus on. Absolutely. This integrated approach â&#x20AC;&#x201C; linking business performance, risk understanding and organizational culture - is applied to the oil & gas industry to drive improvement in safety performance, risk management and productivity. The oil & gas industry is doing an excellent job in decreasing TRRs, but catastrophic events are still happening. Why? When crude prices drop, oil producers have historically cut costs, but the impact of these cost cutting exercises is slow to take effect. Like a ship whose engine has just been stopped, most of the big oil companies continue to be carried forward by existing momentum. Traditionally, it has taken oil and gas companies more than four years to adjust operating expenditure (OPEX) to market deflation due to inherent portfolio and operating constraints. It is during these times of price instability that operational risk management â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the identification, evaluation and control of hazards based on potential levels of

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS severity and likelihood of occurrence – should remain a top priority for companies in the oil and natural gas industry. Taking such steps will enable companies to avoid costly incidents and high insurance premiums, and thus continue to drive profitability, ensure the safety of their workers, and maintain their future right to operate. Do you see a positive trend in this respect, or stories worth sharing? Through the consulting work that with DSS we do with our oil & gas clients, we see a positive trend in increasing risk awareness of employees, simplifying HSE systems and driving operational discipline. But in order to break through the safety performance plateau and reduce catastrophic events, we need break through changes, not only in technology and processes, but in changing the mindsets & behaviors of employees and in the HSE culture of the organization. When these four areas are working together, in an integrated fashion, safety performance and risk management will improve. Contributing to shape a stronger safety culture is key, but there cannot be cultural change without behavioral change. And the “way we do things here” - my favorite definition of culture - is the result of mindset and behaviors, as you said. Too often safety is perceived as something boring or not interesting. This is a problem. We need to learn to communicate HSE to the heart of our people, not only to the brain, if we want to change the mindset and influence new organizational behaviors. As I’ve said previously, elevating risk awareness, and certainly engaging employees, is critical to improving safety performance and managing risk. The

viral safety movement that is taking place in Italy is a fantastic example of how impactful communication can engage people and increase awareness of risk. The Leadership in Safety program, created by Saipem and made available through the LHS Foundation, is a fantastic example of how cultural change and innovative methods of communication can inspire, engage and drive change. And create safety leaders across a community, or even a country. Through innovative channels that touch people every day – film, theater, song – the LIS program is creating a community of safety advocates and leaders throughout the country. This collaboration and sharing across corporations, schools and municipalities is bringing safety out of compliance mode and bringing safety to families across Italy. Thanks for sharing this, it’s a great recognition. Although we both work internationally, being Italians we have a duty to help our Country to further develop. Certainly, the social application of what we have learned that worked in a

complex organizational context is a very interesting exploration. The change and enthusiasm generated is telling us to continue this way. Your movement is well aligned with what we believe at DSS: winning the hearts and minds of employees and communicating affectively can change the culture of an organization and improve safety, as well as business performance. No doubt that our beliefs are aligned. Any passionate HSE professional should recognize DuPont for pioneering a new way to manage HSE. The history and work of your company has always been very influential personally. That why to have you sharing thoughts on these pages was particularly precious. Many thanks again for your time. It was a real pleasure indeed, especially knowing that SPE-Italy has a great and active Young Professional community. I really hope all future senior leaders of this industry will inject passion, innovation and HSE in every aspect of the business. Best luck to everyone.

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PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS - A HIGHWAY FROM WELL PROBLEMS TO WELL OPERATIONS SOLUTIONS

FERDINANDO MARFELLA

Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Production & Operation Technical Director

For this, my first intervention as Production and Operations Technical Director, I want start talking about the nature of our technical specialists, who deal with Production Optimization Engineering, in order to present the context within in which we work to nonspecialists. For a long time these pages dedicated to Production and Operations have remained blank due to the lack of contributions. I want nevertheless to resume the good work done by my predecessors, unfortunately for our section volunteering from who knows what distant shore. “Production and Operations” can easily be translated into our “Production Optimization Engineering”. The SPE, following international standards, includes in this area of knowledge: well operations related to production, artificial lift, downhole equipment design, formation damage control, multiphase flow, work-overs, well stimulation (acidizing and fracturing), sand control, water and gas control practices. Our specialists are involved in optimizing well performance and solving problems related to wells, starting from well design through to abandonment, following the whole production life of a well or a system of wells. Their main focus is the selection

of the optimal technology to solve a production problem through to final execution of that technology in the field and the consequent start-up of the well. For sure, we can establish that they deal with the set of activities related to the capability of a well to produce or to inject fluids, having as their main objective the maximization of production rates according to production plans and constraints and the excellence of well operations. Amongst the main obstacles that prevent the achievement of these objectives are the problems that occur within the wells. These problems can be associated specifically with the reservoir, the wellbore/near wellbore area or with mechanical aspects of the producing well. Engineers usually deal with one or more wells at a time. These wells deliver oil and gas from a given reservoir to the facilities available at the surface, while water and gas are injected into the reservoir for pressure maintenance or disposal. Engineering work to sustain and enhance oil and gas production rates starts with the identification of problems causing low production rates of wells, or rapid decline in the production of the desired fluid, or rapid increase in production of undesired fluids. Considering oil wells, these problems

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include: low productivity, excessive gas and water production, sand production. For gas wells, on the other hand, problems include: low productivity, excessive water production, bottomhole liquid loading and sand production. Although sand production is easy to identify, well testing or downhole surveillance through cased logging and production logging are frequently needed to identify the causes of other well problems. Downhole well surveillance techniques have indeed made significant progress and it must be emphasized that new methodologies are gradually emerging in recent years. The optimization problem should be considered both during design of the well and during its production life. In fact, production optimization of a well starts from its design: in order to achieve the best result over the entire field life, and does not aim simply to reduce drilling costs by reducing NPT of a drilling rig. It involves, for example, planning the opportunity for future re-engineering of the existing well for conversion to water/ gas injection or to enable it to be equipped with artificial lift devices. This approach, for example, should be clear in the case of mature/brown fields where the suboptimal design of old wells can necessitate the drilling of new wells. Sometimes the alternative consists of limiting production. Aspects affecting project economics over the long term need to be evaluated to guarantee long term optimization. In fact, this approach allows a larger range of possible solutions to be considered when production problems arise. In any event, considering our business in low oil price environments and with the current “lower for longer” mantra, nowadays production optimization activities must at least resolve short term problems, while

complying with all physical and economic constraints. Well problem analysis is a useful framework for solving well production problems, and identifying underperforming or shut-in wells. Making extensive use of well performance studies is often key to inverse problem matching, finding the root causes of production problems and selecting technology and operational solutions and for recovering or enhancing oil/gas productivity. The objectives of well problem analysis are to maximize production rates and recovery within allowable economic and/ or reservoir constraints. In fact, well problem analysis is an important part of production optimization, enabling the early identification of production problems necessary to optimize both production and economics. It should be considered as a useful tool to increase production rates, to accelerate production and finally to enhance the recovery factor. The problem solving process can be applied to a single well, a group of wells or to a whole field, being both fast and flexible. It is based on the entire system as a diagnostic spatial/ temporal domain. The diagnostic phase involves consideration of the well history, its relationship to the reservoir, and consideration of all of the components of the production system from separator to reservoir. An inverse path analysis is required to detect anomalies and to arrive at root causes that create the symptoms that we identify as problems. This problem solving procedure is usually developed through a forensic approach. It is carried out considering the heterogeneous and often incomplete data available to us through the concept of Value of Information, because data means opportunities but also costs. Wide

experience in the field helps in this task in order to convert a knowledge-based approach to an evidence-based one: the knowledge is converted into practical methods of recognizing and analyzing the symptoms of problem wells. Recognition of symptoms and diagnosis of the underlying cause of a problem can best be accomplished through regular collection and analysis of individual well production data. Although many times production data must be supplemented with other data to completely review performance. We must have control of the situation with a robust data management system, as well as a series of well checklists and flow charts that assist the engineer in analyzing well performance, using specialized software and digital oilfield suites that facilitate their task. Real-time operations management became a mantra during high oil price environments. Under the new “lower for longer” scenario for oil price, our teams are currently engaged in real-time operations only on an on demand basis, in contrast to what was happening until recently. In any event, new trends are emerging from innovation and research. The explosion of machine learning and the big data revolution is changing the world and the oil business is no stranger to this trend. The future of Production Optimization Engineering involves high automation, and considering the possibilities created by the explosion of machine learning technologies in all areas of our business. Substantial changes are under way and the future of our jobs is neither clear nor simple: we must expect the potential upsets that automation will create and that will oblige us to become aware of and control these powerful new tools. These novelties will not fail to appeal.

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A NEW DIRECTION: RENEWABLES IN OIL&GAS! Dear Colleagues, I am very pleased to introduce myself as new SPE Technical Director of “Renewables in Oil and Gas”.

DONATO AZZARONE

Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Renewables in O&G Technical Director

After almost 15 years in O&G upstream sector, I am now involved in the new Eni business unit fully dedicated to renewable energies. I think to be a physical example of the current energy transition, which aims at integrating renewable energies into more traditional O&G activities. Integration is actually the key word. In fact, our mission is to explore all potential synergies’ benefits embedded in an organic combination between renewable power systems and traditional hydrocarbon assets. This integration could be profitable for both sides and become the key factor to get a competitive advantage to produce power at competitive cost, save fuel gas and reduce greenhouse emissions. The energy cost by renewables has experienced an impressive double-digit drop in the last years even reaching, in

some cases, the so-called “grid-parity”. The material and immaterial synergies with an existing O&G asset can play an important role in this scenario, making renewable even more competitive and O&G business more sustainable. Just two examples of this integration. The incorporation of a renewable solar photovoltaic plant into a sunny onshore asset is a perfect example of synergies between differences competencies. This is the hybridization, which is a concept that will be the leitmotiv of the future power generation. Wind offshore shall be quoted as another example in which O&G competences can bring added value to renewables. This trend is well captured in what it is happening in North Sea industry. I am sure that Italian SPE can play an important role to make possible this integration, capturing the opportunities and merging the different know-how. We will arrange events to trigger discussions and facilitate the exchange of different experiences, towards an integration of people before than equipment.

Donato Azzarone Nuclear Engineer, MBA - More than 15 years of experience in Eni upstream sector. Experiences in several countries like Italy, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, UK and Turkmenistan covering different positions mainly in operations, project and HSE. Since 2016, it is covering the position of VP for renewable energies in the new Eni Energy Solutions Division.

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Fig.1: Energy mix: eolic and photovoltaic plants inside an industrial site

A NEW APPROACH TO ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

PAOLA BERTOLINI ERM

The development of integrated projects with an “energy mix”, particularly between fossil and renewable sources, seems to represent the future evolution of the energy market. In line with International and European policies, which promote an increasingly close cooperation between “Power” and “O&G” Operators, this approach aims at a more efficient, rational and environmentally sustainable use of energy resources. An additional aspect to consider is the need of reducing the land-take, as required by many governments, by promoting the existing industrial heritage, mainly located in abandoned sites difficult to reuse or to convert to new purposes.

MARCO PELUCCHI Eni S.p.A.

In this context, ERM Italy has supported a leading energy operator whose goal is developing big-sized photovoltaic plants (>1MW) in brownfield areas. The potential benefits from these initiatives are multiple and they could be summarized as follow:

SIMONE POLI ERM

• Chance of giving “new life” to industrial areas, owned by the Operator, which are currently abandoned or underused. This includes areas with limited potential of land-use

reconversion, such as those whose potential use is restricted because of previous soil remediation or characterized by still on-going water remediation activities. • Land-take reduction thanks to land-use reconversion through the installation over coverings or in former industrial areas. • Use of existing structures and infrastructures (e.g. access roads, fences, security system etc.), wherever possible. • Increased energy efficiency and recovery with potential effect of reducing the investment costs thanks to the self-consumption and the release of surplus energy into the network. • Contribution to the economic/ sustainable territorial development in areas currently hit by crisis or in danger of depopulation. • Generation of spin-off activities on the territory, both in construction and operation and maintenance phases of the plants. • Reduction of “Carbon Footprint” thanks to the cut of the CO2 emissions generated by burning fossil fuels for energy production. The development of these projects requires a multidisciplinary approach in order to guarantee their success:

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS rights tenure and land-use destination. 2 On site surveys to verify items defined and analyzed during the desktop analysis. 3 Define a scoring model (Multi-Criteria Assessment) to prioritize suitable areas to be used for construction and development of a new power plant. The scoring model defines a ranking list of priority locations, based on a risk analysis index that includes the evaluation of critical aspects (defined during the desktop review and on site verification) and the selection of the permitting process. The multi-criteria analysis applies a weighting schema to the different identified criteria, corresponding to their significance and associated risk, in order to define the most suitable location (lowest risk) taking into account both environmental and the permitting constraints. The described process defines a new model and approach on energy development, during the transition time from traditional fossil fuels to renewable sources.

Fig.2: Phases of methodological approach to mitigation of risk (ERM courtesy)

permitting experts, engineering companies and environmental and social experts are necessary for analyzing the existing constraints, drafting the final project, arranging the electrical connection, realizing feasibility and environmental impact studies, preparing site specific and project reports and guaranteeing a constant follow-up with the Competent Authorities. A detailed assessment of venture and, consequently, investment risks needs to be performed since the beginning of the project. For this reason, it is essential using a “risk based” approach, especially for selecting the sites, which consists in a first desktop screening of the elements potentially obstructive to the project and a following multi-criteria analysis aimed at assessing the state of the environment and the presence of constraints and further restrictions in the selected areas, including technical and designing concerns. The proposed methodology (shown in the following figure) can be replicated in different areas. It involves the following phases:

1 Desktop Analysis and identification of critical aspects such as territorial and legal constraints; applicable environmental features in the area of interest (e.g. archeological sites, World Heritage Sites, protected areas and priority habitats); geophysical conditions (e.g. soil, subsoil and groundwater suitability); the validation of cadastral rights with reference to imposed and land

Connecting photovoltaic plants to existing industrial sites is an important first step to rebalancing energy consumption. However, to further guarantee an effective “energy mix”, the identification and application of new innovative and more efficient solutions are required. This includes, for example, upgrading technologies that can store large produced energy, such as batteries and “smart grids” to regulate energy transmission into the electricity grid. These opportunities could guarantee the development of a more rational, integrated and sustainable energy business.

Paola Bertolini Paola Bertolini is a Partner based in ERM Milan office and EMEA key Client Account for an O&G Company. She has excellent experience in Environmental Social and Health Impact (ESHIAs) assessment relate to Power and Oil & Gas fields. During her career she also worked for several major Power Companies as Head of Development of Renewable Energies and as HSE Manager. Marco Pelucchi Marco Pelucchi is an environmental engineer in Eni with a strong background in well operations. Since 2008 he gained several O&G experiences abroad, including off-shore and deepwater projects in Nigeria and Norway. He is expert in liquid unloading and well integrity. After joining the HSEQ department in San Donato, he currently works on new energy development projects, ESHIA for exploration wells and he is member of BES (Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) team. Simone Poli Simone Poli is a Senior Environmental Consultant and Project Manager in the Impact Assessment & Permitting Team based in ERM Milan office since 2007 (ERM Southern Division). He gained experience in project management and businesss development supporting clients in permitting procedures and in guaranteeing compliance with International Standards such as IFC, WBG, IPIECA.

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ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY OPPORTUNITY THROUGH LOW SALINITY WATERFLOODING Introduction by A. Godi SPE Italian Section Reservoir Technical Director

ANTONELLA GODI

Edison S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Reservoir Technical Director

MARCO SPAGNUOLO Eni S.p.A.

How the EOR application can be an option to increase recovery in an era of low oil price scenario? How EOR application could be attractive when oil and gas companies are incessantly cutting investments in exploration and development? In this context, low price techniques are emerging: Low Salinity waterflooding is one of the most interesting. Even if a real theoretical explanation of the interaction with hydrocarbon and rocks is not yet understood this technique seems to be very effective and doesn’t require big investment in well completion neither long laboratory test to set up the injection pattern. The work proposed in Reservoir Section this month is an application in an onshore field located in North Africa. The text in based on the paper SPE 179626 “Low Salinity Waterflooding: From Single Well Chemical Tracer Test Interpretation to Sector Model Forecast Scenarios”, presented at the 2016 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. I take the opportunity to briefly introduce myself as a new Reservoir Technical Director. I am graduated in Physics. I have more than 25 years of experience in O&G business of which 20 in reservoir activities. In my professional life I had a quite extensive type of experiences ranging from research and new technologies development to field operation activities. My expertise in reservoir is both in conventional and unconventional development, such us tar sands, heavy oils, tights gas. I am honored to be part of SPE Italian Section and I hope to actively contribute in this Reservoir Section. Increasing demand of oil worldwide, within a context of low oil price scenario in which limited investments are foreseen, is promoting the maximization of oil recovery from existing fields through the implementation of lowcost Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques, such as Low Salinity (LS)

waterflooding. LS waterflooding is an emerging EOR technique in which water with reduced salinity is injected into a reservoir to improve oil recovery, as compared to conventional waterflooding, in which High Salinity (HS) water is commonly used. Even if a conclusive theoretical

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framework has not yet been developed to explain the ensuing EOR mechanism and predict the additional oil mobilization induced by LS water, a wettability alteration process towards more waterwet conditions is believed to occur, leading to more favorable conditions for porescale oil displacement (Fig. 1). In particular, LS water may reduce the Remaining Oil Saturation (ROS) after a flooding process, as compared to conventional HS salinity waterflooding. The following work focuses on the EOR opportunity evaluation through LS waterflooding for a giant, onshore asset located in North Africa. The work is based on the paper SPE 179626 “Low Salinity Waterflooding: From Single Well Chemical Tracer Test Interpretation to Sector Model Forecast Scenarios”, presented at the 2016 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.

Single well chemical tracer test for remaining oil saturation estimation Assessing the ROS after a flooding process with water or EOR fluids is of paramount importance to accurately select a suitable tertiary development. The Single Well Chemical Tracer Test (SWCTT) is the method of choice, as it measures the insitu ROS at the well-scale, with a depth of investigation of 4-6 m. The test comprises five stages: • Pre-flush. The test zone is flooded by injecting the displacing fluid under evaluation (water or other EOR fluids). Residual oil conditions are reached in the near-wellbore area. • Tracer injection. Three chemicals are injected along with water: a partitioning tracer, a material balance tracer, and a cover tracer. Usually, the chemical

components used are ethyl acetate (ETAC) – an ester –, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and normal propyl alcohol (NPA), respectively. • Push volume injection. The injection of the partitioning and cover tracers is stopped. The material balance tracer is continued to be injected along with water to push the other tracers away from the well. • Shut-in. The well is shut for one to six days to allow the ester to partially react with water in the reservoir. The hydrolysis reaction forms an acid and an alcohol, usually ethanol (ETOH). • Back production. Tracers are back produced and their concentrations in the produced water are analyzed (Fig. 2). Different partitioning properties results in chromatographic separation between the ester and the alcohol: the ester, which is more soluble in oil than in water, is delayed compared to the alcohol, which is insoluble in the oil phase. This delay is directly related to the ROS, which can be deduced from the relative arrival times of the two tracers. Low salinity waterflooding potential evaluation at the well-scale

Fig.1: Schematic of the wettability alteration induced by LS water. The process is triggered by multicomponent ion exchange phenomena and resulting desorption from the clay surface of polar components present in the oil phase. This leads to residual oil mobilization and, in turns, to an EOR effect.

Fig.2: Back production during a SWCTT: (a) conceptual schematic of the near-wellbore tracer distributions and (b) ideal produced tracer concentration profiles. The peak separation between the alcohol (ETOH) and the ester (ETAC) is related to the ROS.

LS waterflooding was selected as a promising technique to increase the recovery of a giant, onshore, undersaturated oil field located in North Africa, where conventional waterflooding efficiency is limited. Two SWCTT were executed in sequence to measure the difference in ROS after flooding the near-wellbore area with seawater (Test 1 – water salinity 38 g/l) and LS water (Test 2 – water salinity 1 g/l). The tracer concentration profiles for Test 2 are depicted in Fig. 3.a. Analytical procedures may be used to interpret SWCTTs, but because of nonidealities in the tracer profiles, improved modeling through numerical simulations was required. A well model was built to numerically reproduce the tracer tests. The tracer transport was modeled with a dedicated simulator, which follows the classical advection-dispersion equation, with the inclusion of partitioning of tracers in multiple phases, as well as the hydrolysis reaction process. A stochastic inverse modeling framework was adopted to estimate model parameters. The latter were inferred on the basis of the reproduction of measured

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS concentration profiles. The ensuing multiple solutions and uncertainty were handled by adopting a probabilistic approach: a priori probability distributions of model parameters were assumed, and converted to a posteriori distributions through likelihood maximization, based on the Metropolis Hastings algorithm. An example of the achieved match for ETAC and ETOH during Test 2 is depicted in Fig. 4. Reproduction of the measured tracer profiles during Test 1 and Test 2 allowed us to obtain the a posteriori distribution of the ROS associated with HS and LS water. Estimates are 36 ± 4 s.u. and 29 ± 3 s.u. for Test 1 and Test 2, respectively. A randomization procedure was then applied to attain the distribution of the EOR potential, i.e. the difference between the two ROS estimates. Results confirmed the efficiency of LS water, suggesting that the ROS gain induced by LS water is 8 s.u. (P50), with a P10-P90 range of 3-15 s.u.

Fig.3: (a) Measured produced tracer concentration for Test 2 – LS water pre-flush. The major nonideality is the unexpected shape of the IPA curve (compare with Fig. 2.b, where the profile starts at high concentration). This suggests that it was pushed away from the well by additional water entering in the test zone. (b) Simulated IPA concentration, showing that this phenomenon is correctly captured.

Low salinity waterflooding potential evaluation at the reservoir-scale The potential application of the LS waterflooding technique at a larger scale was evaluated through reservoir simulations. In this context, the EOR mechanism was simulated by using salinity-dependent relative permeability curves. SWCTT results, obtained at the well-scale, were propagated to the reservoir-scale, on a sector model of the selected field. The ROS gain associated with LS water was used to define the corresponding relative permeability curves. Forecast scenarios of an EOR inter-well pilot were thereby considered to investigate the likely range of incremental recovery. Promising results were obtained: simulations suggest that the ultimate oil recovery of the EOR pilot may be increased by 2% with LS water, with a P10–P90 range of 0.7–4.3%. This is achieved by reducing the ROS in zones flushed by LS water, as evident in Fig. 5. Conclusions and way forward Based on state-of-the-art SWCTTs interpretation, we analyzed the opportunity of EOR by means of LS waterflooding in a brown oil field, establishing a robust workflow. Promising results were obtained both: (a) at the well-scale, through SWCTTs interpretation and (b) at the reservoir-scale, through reservoir simulation studies. On these premises, an inter-well pilot, one of the few ever

Fig.4: Simulated and observed tracer concentration profiles for Test 2: (a) ETAC and (b) ETOH. The uncertainty is represented by the fact that the solution is non-unique: a bundle of 50 different simulated profiles is here obtained after the history matching process.

Fig.5: Oil saturation at the start and at the end of the forecast simulations: (a) 3D map with cross section and (b) resulting profiles related to conventional HS waterflooding and LS waterflooding. It is evident the ROS reduction for the simulations where LS water is injected.

executed with LS water, is currently ongoing to confirm the EOR potential at a larger scale.

Tomich, J.F., Dalton Jr., R.L., Deans, H.A., and Shallenberger, L.K. 1973. Single-Well Tracer Method To Measure Residual Oil Saturation. J. Pet Tech 25 (02): 211-218. SPE-3791-PA. DOI: 10.2118/3792-PA.

References Lager, A., Webb, K.J., Black, C.J.J., Singleton, M., and Sorbie, K.S. 2008. Low Salinity Oil Recovery - An Experimental Investigation. Petrophysics 49 (1): 28-35. Rotondi, M., Callegaro, C., Masserano, F., and Bartosek, M. 2014. Low Salinity Water Injection: eni’s Experience. Paper SPE 171794 presented at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 1013 November. DOI: 10.2118/171794-MS. Tarantola, A., 2005. Inverse Problem Theory and Methods for Model Parameter Estimation. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).

Biography Marco Spagnuolo: reservoir engineer in Eni. He holds a Degree in Energy Engineering at Politecnico of Milan, a specializing Degree in Energy Engineering – focusing hydrocarbons – at Politecnico of Milan, and a MSc in Petroleum Engineering at Imperial College London. He joined the company in 2015, where he was involved in the EOR team, with focus on chemical technologies. He then moved to the Sub Saharan Africa Reservoir Studies unit and he is currently working in the South Europe Reservoir Studies unit.

HISTORY TELLING

THE GOLDEN MIDDLE AGE OF ROBOTICS

FERDINANDO MARFELLA

Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Production & Operation Technical Director

Fig.1: The Robot Curiosity is wandering since 5 years on the Mars surface

In 1517 Isabella Gonzaga d’Este, the marquise of Mantua, and the humanist Mario Equicola, her preceptor, visited the temple of Saint Anthony during their pilgrimage in Provence1. During their visit to the cathedral, the Antonines monks showed a marvelous organ. The organ had various registers, a real novelty for that era. Some animated statues, known as musical automata, fascinated the travelers’ company when the expert organist started to play and two huge wooden and bearded heads began to move their eyes, open their mouths, and vibrate their tongues with cool wings. The monks used automata to impress visitors and encourage them into collection of alms, useful for the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony to cure the sick people affected by the fire of St. Anthony. The Renaissance was the golden era of great inventors and engineers. The great genius of Leonardo da Vinci was the inventor of a mechanical knight. It was a humanoid automaton designed and possibly constructed by him around the year 14952. Leonardo was not the only great inventor of the time: many engineers designed and built new machines, created new inventions and made new discoveries. Before Da Vinci, there was the Arab (having Kurdish origins) Al-Jazari – the

Engineering genius of the Islamic world in the Middle Ages3. Al-Jazari, who was born in the region that currently occupies Iraq, was the creator of a water clock powered by counterweights weights and a humanoid-shaped automaton that was capable of serving drinks. He designed and built a number of automata including the first programmable humanoid robot. He also invented the Crank-shank. He was

Fig.2: The Elephant Clock. From “The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices”, Al-Jazari

HISTORY TELLING one of the pioneers of this science, one of the greatest engineers in history who built automata in 1260. Although it is hard to believe, robotics is a science that is thousands of years old. ASIMO (whose name comes from English initials or words Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) is a humanoid robot created by Honda in 2000. It has the ability to recognize moving objects, postures, gestures, its surrounding environment, sounds and faces, which enables it to interact with humans. AIBO (Artificial Intelligent Robot), a robot dog by Sony, is considered to be one of the most successful household robots in the history of entertainment robotics and one of the most advanced robot animals, if not the most evolved from the one to the consumer market. We assume that a robot dog, like Sony’s mascot, is the latest in technology. Nevertheless, this is only partially true because the robots of Sony are not more than the result of centuries of investigations. We marvel every time we read about a robot that is capable of playing the violin, the sax or drawing a portrait. History tells us that the manufacture of machines that imitate human beings or other living beings is even prior to the Christian era. In fact, some 4000 years ago, in the ancient Egypt there were statues of gods or kings who fired fire from their eyes, such as the statue of Osiris. Other mills were endowed with mechanical arms that were operated by the priests of the temple.

in which they describe mechanisms built for entertainment purposes capable of various movements. Among these mentioned are those that imitated birds that chirp, fly and drink; statues capable of serving a glass of wine or automatic doors. The “motor” of these old machines was the movement of water, the force of gravity or some leverage systems. From that time also dates a theater of mechanical puppets capable of representing scenes of the Trojan War. The earliest feedback control mechanism was the water clock invented by the Grecian engineer Ctesibius. He also invented the hydraulis (a hydraulic organ) and the hydraulic pump. When you are at the coffee machine, remember that Heron invented the first dispenser that worked inserting a five drachmas coin to distribute liquid soaps and balsams in the Grecian temples. When in the morning you turn on your personal computer, think that Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Grecian analogue computer used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendar and astrological purposes. It could also track the four-year cycle of athletic games which was similar (though not identical) to an Olympiad, the cycle of the ancient Olympic Games. It is a complex clockwork mechanism composed of at least 30 meshing bronze gears. Detailed imaging of the mechanism suggests that it had 37 gear wheels enabling it to follow the movements of the moon and the sun through the zodiac, to predict eclipses, and even to model the irregular orbit of

the moon, where the moon’s velocity is higher in its perigee than in its apogee. The astronomer Hipparchus of Rhodes studied this motion in the 2nd century BC, and it is speculated that he may have been consulted in the machine’s construction. The original works by Grecian authors on automata have not come to us. We have indirect references in Latin authors as Vitruvius and a translation by Bernardino Baldi done in 1589. In the Middle Ages, the knowledge about the robotics of the Grecians was assimilated by Byzantine and Arab authors and only during Renaissance rediscovered. One of the oldest book on automata that stands out is undoubtedly “The book of knowledge of the ingenious mechanisms”, written by Al-Jazari in 1260. In him many ingenious mechanisms of the previous centuries were compiled, at the same time that some created by the author were exposed. The Arab world of the Middle Ages was the means of preserving and improving Greek knowledge. From the Iraqi Banu Musa brothers of the 9th century, to the Andalusian engineer Abbas Ibn Firnas, to Al-Jazari who lived and worked in the 12th century – Jim Al-Khalili, the British physicist and scientific divulgator of AlJazeera, wrote about the work of the engineers and innovators of the Arab Golden Age of science (9th - 14th centuries). The state-of-the-art of medieval Arabic robotic engineering and the history of early automatic machines are analyzed in his book3. Here he unpicks the engineering principles behind the incredible trick

But perhaps the automata that most caught the attention of the ancients was the statue of Memnon of Ethiopia , which was capable of emitting sounds when the sun’s rays illuminated it, causing the logical fear and respect among the population. There was nothing magical in the automaton: at dawn, the change in temperature caused the evaporation of the water stored inside, and it was that vapor that escaped through very well calculated fissures of the statue produced a sound similar to speech. The Greeks were great constructors of automata4. They often used hydraulic energy to give movement to their creations, and Heron of Alexandria (contemporary of Christ) wrote a book, called “Automaton”, giving the name to these ancient robots,

Fig.3: The Antikythera Mechanism (picture taken by Marcus Cyron under CC 2.0 license)

HISTORY TELLING

devices of the Banu Musa brothers in the 9th century, and is shown a modern reconstruction of their ingenious ‘flute that plays itself’. In Istanbul, Jim Al-Khalili reported in his book the intricate clocks and sophisticated water pumps designed by 12th century engineer Al-Jazari. Returning to the European and Italian context, in the Renaissance, during the first half of the sixteenth century, the engineer Janello Torriani, from Cremona, who was Senior Mathematician of the Court of Felipe II, built an automaton called “El Hombre de Palo” or “Patapalo”. Such was the complexity of the mechanism created by this engineer, which his automaton was able to cross one of the streets of Toledo (which he later named) and beg for the construction of a hospital5. A century and a half later, Jacques de Vaucanson built a series of automata that acted as flutists and drummers, which proved a great success. His last and most famous mechanism was the so-called “Duck with Digestive Apparatus”, a device equipped with more than four hundred moving parts capable of flapping wings, eating, digesting and defecating as a live duck does. A feat like that, made with the scarce technical resources of the time, seems almost impossible to overcome. Consider that in 1771, Richard Arkwright invented the first fully automated spinning mill driven by waterpower, known at the time as the water frame. Oliver Evans developed an automatic flourmill in 1785, making it the first completely automated industrial process. Also in a context of scarce technical resources, during the 18th century, the Swiss Pierre Jaquet-Droz created works that made an impression in each place that were exhibited. Three of them can be seen in the Museum of Art and History of

Neuchâtel, in Switzerland. The three have more than 2000 moving parts, and “The Writer” exceeds 6000. Steam engines are a technology created during the 1700s used to promote automation. The centrifugal governor, which was invented by Christian Huygens in the seventeenth century, was used to adjust the gap between millstones. Mr. Bunce of England used another centrifugal governor in 1784 as part of a model steam crane. James Watt adopted the centrifugal governor for use on a steam engine in 1788 after Watt’s partner Boulton saw one at a flourmill Boulton & Watt were building. The Industrial Revolution started. Only in 1920, the word “robot” was finally adopted to designate these mechanisms. It was the Czech writer Karel Capek, who mentions it in his play “RUR” (Universal Robots of Rossum), and that under the form “robota” means “forced labor” in Czech: a concept that resumes in Asimov’s science fiction stories. Using the few mechanical means at their disposal, without precision lathes or electricity to perform their jobs, these men managed to found the foundations of a whole branch of technology that still amazes us today. Today extensive automation is practiced in every type of manufacturing and assembly process. Some of the larger processes include electrical power generation, oil refining, chemicals, steel mills, plastics, cement plants, fertilizer plants, pulp and paper mills, automobile and truck assembly, aircraft production, glass manufacturing, natural gas separation plants, food and beverage processing, canning and bottling and manufacture of various kinds of parts. Robots are especially useful in hazardous applications like automobile spray painting. Robots are also used to assemble electronic circuit boards. Automotive welding is done with

Fig.5: Hydrone-R is Saipem’s latest subsea resident intervention drone, currently under development. It is conceived for prolonged subsea dives in challenging environments and will be the cornerstone for integrated Life of Field operations.

robots and automatic welders are used in applications like pipelines.

Fig.4: The digesting duck built by Jacques de Vaucanson

The robot on an oil drillship in the Gulf of Mexico made it easier to do drilling job stringing together heavy, dirty pipes. Oil companies automate the repetitive and dangerous task of connecting hundreds of segments of drill pipe as they are shoved through miles of ocean water and oil-bearing rock. As the global oil industry begins to climb out of a collapse that took 440,000 jobs, anywhere from a third to half may never come back. A combination of more efficient drilling rigs and increased automation is reducing the need for field hands. And therein lies a warning to U.S. President Donald Trump, who has predicted a flood of new energysector jobs under his watch. Automation, of course, has revolutionized many industries, from auto manufacturing to food and clothing makers. Energy companies, which rely on large, complex equipment for drilling and maintaining oil wells, are particularly well-positioned to benefit. That means an engineer can design an oil well at his desk. With the press of a button, an automated system would identify the equipment needed from a supplier, create a 3D model and send instructions for building it out into the field: that is automation. Avoid repetitive and repeatable jobs. 1 Ref. “Il viaggio d’Isabella Gonzaga in Provenza”, Domenico Santoro, Arbor Sapientiae, Roma 2017. 2 Ref. “The da Vinci robot”. J. Endourol. 20 (12): 986– 90. December 2006. 3 Ref. “Pathfinders: The golden age of Arabic science”, Jim Al-Khalili, Penguin Publishing 2010. 4 Ref. “La rivoluzione dimenticata: il pensiero scientifico greco e la scienza moderna”, Lucio Russo, Feltrinelli Ed. 2001. 5 Ref. “Janello Torriani. Genio del Rinascimento”, Cristiano Zanetti, Fantigrafica 2016.