Bulletin 02/2016

SPE SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS

ITALIAN SECTION TECHNICAL BULLETIN 2 / 2016 SPECIAL ISSUE: The SPE Italian Section’s 30th Anniversary

Towards a new Energy Mix

Does the economic crisis affect firms’ innovative behaviours?

C O N T E N T S TECHNICAL BULLETIN 2 / 2016

CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

INNOVATION

SECTION ACTIVITIES

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A great team for great results

Does the economic crisis affect firms’ innovative behaviours? Evidence from the oil and gas service contractors

Italian Section thanks its Talented Members

Alessandro Tiani - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Chairman

6 Chairman’s Intro: SPE Italian Section 30th anniversary Alessandro Tiani - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Chairman

SPECIAL FOCUS

7 The SPE Italian Section’s 30TH anniversary: An inspiring heritage Giovanni Paccaloni - Mentor Chairperson

9 Looking at the past to build the future: SPE as a “Game Changing Agent”

Giordano Pinarello - BlueThink S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Management and Information Technical Director Pasquale Senese - Saipem S.p.A

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS

21 Ensemble Methods for Reservoir Management: exploiting asset potential Andrea Lamberti - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Reservoir Technical Director

24 Virtual Reality and Unmanned Drill-Floor Operations to Improve Personnel Safety and Reduce LTIs

Andrea Adelmo Asci - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section YP Board Member

33 Safety Promoted through an Outdoor Adventure Federico Giubilei - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Secretary

34 SPE Technology Day: Separation Technologies The use of innovative and non-invasive technologies to optimize separation process in oil & gas Gionata Ferroni - Geolog S.r.l.

TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS

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Loris Tealdi - Eni Iraq b.v.

SPE Italian Section Past-Chairman 2014-2015

Alberto Maliardi - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Drilling & Completion Technical Director 2015-2016

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Snamprogetti™ Urea Technology: an evergreen process together with innovative solutions to face future projects

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Alberto Serrafero - Saipem S.p.A.

Drilling & Completion: Tough times = Interesting times!

SECTION PROGRAM

Paolo Allara SPE Italian Section Drilling & Completion Technical Director 2016-2017

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Valerio Parasiliti Parracello - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Program Chairman

“Towards a New Energy Mix” Claudia Porretta Serapiglia - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section External

SECTION LIFE

14 SPE business visit at Flowserve Corporation Giovanni Cuomo - Eni S.p.A. Stefano Maronese - Eni S.p.A.

16 SPE Student Chapter of Politecnico di Torino earned its pass to Petrobowl 2016 Dario Viberti - Politecnico di Torino Student Chapter Liaison

A conversation with Andrea Trespidi Davide Scotti - Saipem S.p.A. SPE Italian Section HSE Technical Director

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Section Program

SECTION BOARD

42 SPE Italian Section Board 2016 - 2017

Think ‘Big’, Act ‘Digital’: the Present and Future of Doing Business

ITALIAN SECTION DASHBOARD

Gianna Giudicati - Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Management and Information Technical Director

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30 The Projects, Facilities and Construction corner Andrea Intieri - Saipem S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Projects, Facilities and Construction Technical Director

Report as of 30 June 2016

STYPED

45 The Young Professionals Journal

The Bulletin is printed in 1000 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 2 / 2016

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CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

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A great team for great results The experience SPE Italian Section Board Members had in 2015-16 this year was challenging, but extremely rewarding. Our motto was ‘a new foundation’: we went through a generational change and drove a process of strong renewal, with the passion of the new founders.

Milestones of the year are listed below:

Alessandro Tiani Eni S.p.A., SPE Italian Section Chairman 2015-17

• Events: we organized 20 events, out of which 10 large “joint” events (100+ participants) through collaboration with Universities (Polytechnic of Milan, Eni Corporate University), Alumni associations (IAASM, Alumni ASP), Industrial associations (Confindustria, ANIMP, AISA) and Foundations (LHS). We brought SPE technical excellence to a wider audience.

• HSE: it became our flag, to highlight the excellence of Italian Section’s professionals in our wonderful but exigent country. We took the challenge to show how sustainable and safe can be our business. Relevant things done: 2 HSE speech during Summer and Christmas social dinner, donation by members for HSE day with about 100 children involved, outdoor laboratory workshop for 30 YPs. • Students: new Students Conference organized online connecting 7 Universities. Gained 80 new student members in last two months.

Student Chapter of Turin joined 2015 ATCE Petrobowl final and qualified for 2016 Final.

• Membership growth: historical peak of 521 members at end of 2015 (+13.5% vs 2014). Student members 209 at end 2015 (+10.6% vs 2014) currently beyond 230 (+20%) thanks to the Student Conference organized in May 2016.

• React to downturn cutting costs & improving quality: positive renewal of many of the historical sponsors and gained 4 new sponsor.

Cut costs for events collaborating with Universities. Cut 30% cost for bulletin and renewing the format.

• The best technical event was considered the DL “Managing Dual careers” by Eve Sprunt, coupled in the same day with a round table on “The role of women in the O&G” that saw the participation of top representatives of women workforce from the Italian Section.

• The best professional event of the year ‘The Open Innovation Way’ Conference, by SPE Italian section, SPE Italy YPs and ASP Alumni (network of excellence of Politecnico di Milano).

• The best community outreach event of the year was a special workshop arranged in collaboration with the Museum of Kids in Milan (MUBA) on May 1st, where about 100 kids have been involved in five special sessions during which they learnt how to become “Little leaders in safety”.

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CHAIRMAN’S PAGE

• The best YP & Students initiative was the “SPE Meets Universities” event on April 6th involving the following Universities: Milano, Bologna, Roma, Napoli, Pisa, Palermo and Torino.

While I would like to thank 2015÷16 Board, who gave me the chance to enjoy a year of great results I would like also to welcome the New Board 2016-17 (the roaster is in the final pages of this bulletin). There is a turnover of positions and people, in order to bring fresh energy and ideas to our community.

We will continue working on improving what we did so far, with an outstanding Events Program, demonstrating leadership in HSE and widening our local network.

Specific 2016÷17 goals will be: • to increase presence and visibility of the Italian Section excelling professionals towards the SPE International environment, including conferences, awards and committees.

• to establish one new student chapter in Politecnico di Milano • membership growth and members support during the downturn of the industry

Chairman’s Intro: SPE Italian Section 30th anniversary

by Alessandro Tiani, SPE Italian Section Chairman 2015-17 Dear SPE Colleagues, it is with a great honor that I am called to organize celebrations of SPE Italian Section 30th anniversary.

The best way to do that is announcing and congratulating the 3 SPE Regional Awards received by Italian Section Members: • Claudio Molaschi, eni, SPE Regional 2016 Drilling Engineering Award • Annamaria Petrone, eni, SPE Regional 2016 Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Social Responsibility Award • Sandra Cobianco, eni, SPE Regional Service Award We also celebrate by presenting the results of 2015-16 SPE Italian Section activity, described in my article in the following page.

Articles of past Chairmen Loris Tealdi and Giovanni Paccaloni are, on the other side, recalling some pieces of our recent and past history.

However, save the date: 14th September 2016 will be the day celebrating our anniversary, with visit of SPEI President Nathan Meehan.

A. Tiani with C. Molaschi and S. Cobianco, two of the three winners of the Regional SPE Awards of the Italian Section

Full day program will include: • a morning meeting kicking off the new Student Chapter with students at Polytechnic of Milan!

• an afternoon conference about Innovation: “Boosting start-up to Field Operations: The Corporate Venture Capital Way” • the yearly Social Dinner, with the projection of a celebrating video of our Section Nathan Meehan visiting the SPE Italian Section in September 2015 Key facts of the past few months: • Election of the new SPE Italian Section Board 2016-17, • Outstanding event “ Towards A New Energy Mix”, in collaboration with Scuola Mattei, • Talented Members Dinner, • YP workshop: “Promote Safety Though an Outdoor Adventure”, • SPE Meets Universities – online student conference with 7 universities.

Continue reading to find more info…

SPECIAL FOCUS

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THE SPE ITALIAN SECTION’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY: AN INSPIRING HERITAGE In a hot summer morning of 1985 Dario Balistrieri, Carlo D’Angelo, David Smith and myself entered the office of Prof Chierici, the Italian SPE authority of the time, author of numberless publications and well known to worldwide scientists for his technical competence, as well as for his intransigent and self-assertive mindgIOVANNI PACCALONI set.

Mentor Chairperson The question we posed was: “Professor, would you like to support our idea to start an SPE Section in Italy? Don’t you believe that is time to promote more involvement of Italian petroleum professionals in SPE activities?” His immediate, caustic answer is still freezing my spine: you have no chance of success!!

When we left his office, the determination to go ahead with our project was much higher than before, and a few months later, in January 1986 the new Adriatic SPE Section was officially born!

What were the keys to our success?

One over any other: enthusiasm, motivation and commitment; our sheer awareness that we were doing something overdue, with a terrific potential for personal and professional growth of our members. Another important key factor was our deep desire to go international, to test our skills in a wider, more challenging environment, and to benefit from a worldwide network of excellence.

Reminding those pioneering times 30 years later, I like to mention that our enthusiasm trespassed the national borders, as we acted as incubator for the Austrian and Yugoslavian students and professionals, eager to establish international connections.

The Adriatic Section included the SPE Student Chapters of Leoben (Austria), and Zagreb (Yugoslavia) and our Bulletin was initially printed in four languages, English, Italian, German and Yugoslavian!! A few years later, both Austria and Yugoslavia established their own autonomous sections.

A milestone of the SPE Italian Section was the launch of the “The Way Ahead” program for the Young Professionals in 1999. The immediate initial success in Italy was replicated in Europe and very rapidly spread all over the world. In 2005 the new SPE Magazine entirely devoted to the YPs was entitled “The Way Ahead” as a continued inspiration and source of passionate commitment from its roots.

All along its 30 years of history, our section acquired increasing international reputation, and the deep esteem of people of great stature and vision, such as Dan Adamson, Dave Keith and others.

Not many SPE Sections can boast of four SPEI Board Members that have served as Regional Directors, one SPE President, and two SPE-AIME Honorary members!

Today, a group of talented and committed young members has taken the elm, and are bravely sailing the white waters of these challenging times. Helping them is the heritage of three decades of dedicated peers practicing the values of excellence, integrity, professionalism, life-long learning, diversity, volunteerism, innovation, and social responsibility.

I am sure that they will succeed in the endeavor of taking the Italian Section towards new outstanding achievements!!

LONG LIFE SPE ITALIAN SECTION!!!!!

Fig.1 - SPE Adriatic Section Board and SPE President during his visit at the section in March, 1990. From top left: R. Cesaroni, V. Pozzi, L. Sgubini, C. Colamasi, D. Balistrieri, C. D’Angelo, G. Paccaloni, O. Gaither (SPE President), A. Pirocchi.

SPECIAL FOCUS

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Looking at the past to build the future: SPE as a “Game Changing Agent” Last year I passed my SPE responsibilities to Alessandro Tiani, and, after one year, I have to observe a very vibrant level of activities in SPE Italy and several new and extremely interesting initiatives. SPE has always been a fantastic laboratory of ideas, personal and professional development opportunities driven by the charisma, Loris Tealdi passion and competence of its memEni Iraq b.v.

SPE Italian Section bers. Here lies the great strength of Past-Chairman 2014-2015 SPE, which leverages nowadays, in Italy, on a great pool of both senior and talented young professionals, the future leaders of tomorrow. The membership has significantly grown over the recent years and this is the best recognition of the value of the voluntarism offered by the SPE Italy board and all those who cooperate.

The celebration of the 30th anniversary of our Section is a major milestone that deserves to look at the “battles won in the past” in order to plan and succeed in the future ones.

In my SPE career started in 2001, I have been involved in several Young Professionals boards both at local (from Italy, to Netherlands, Congo and Nigeria) and at International levels up to the SPE International Board of Directors in 2007. In all those meetings, at different levels of responsibility and roles, I always tried, within my possibilities, “to push the envelope” and act as a “game changer” in all those occasions where problems, limits or simple “status quo” guardians were standing in front of me.

Being a “game changer” means replying to those who pose problems, barriers or limits, “why not? Who said it cannot be done?”

Fig.1 - October 2014, a soccer match between YP and senior boards: two teams who play united

The Young Professional boards within SPE were for me a fantastic professional “gym” to explore new ideas, to know people and talents from various companies and nationalities, to share ideas and get innovative thinking solutions to old or new problems. Here is the power of SPE and mostly of the SPE Young Professionals lies.

Now, it is already 5 years I cannot be labelled anymore as SPE “Young Professional”, but this will never change my attention towards young resources development and motivation that is, considering the current and future demographics of our industry, the true area of human capital investment to make the difference in the turbulent energy market of tomorrow.

Proud of having been part of it in the Italian Board over last 3 years, I will continue my support to SPE activities worldwide during my career with papers, publications, attendance at conferences or panels and SPE boards. The benefit to my self-development of being an active actor within SPE arena has an inestimable value.

Motivation, passion, competencies can overcome all challenges, no matter the complexity. Time spent for SPE is a great investment in everyone’s career.

Remember the SPE Board 2014-2015 motto: “Excellence is a choice! Drive, do not be driven!”

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SPECIAL FOCUS

“Towards a New Energy Mix” EXCHANGE OF VIEWS AMONG STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS IN THE INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO ABOUT THE TRANSITION TO A NEW ENERGY MIX IN THE XXI CENTURY

Claudia Porretta Serapiglia Eni S.p.A., SPE Italian Section External Relations, Universities Director

At exactly one year of distance from the conference “FALLING OIL? Oil price drivers: market vs. technology”, once again SPE Italy and Eni Corporate University, SCUOLA MATTEI, are collaborating to discuss a nowadays hot topic in the O&G industry.

It is almost clear to everybody that the O&G business is called to face a new challenge: modify ing the energy supply mix in order to answer the requests coming from all the stakeholders, first of all the final consumers.

The aim of the event held in ECU on May, 23rd 2016, was to share views and ideas about the transition from one form of energy to another one: alternative green energies are a matter of fact. The real point is how and how quickly the energy switch will be feasible.

The event started with the welcome by Marco Coccagna (ECU CEO, Eni Corporate University) and with a brief introduction of SPE Italy by the Chairman Alessandro Tiani.

Enzo Di Giulio, manager of Scuola Enrico Mattei, moderated the panelists through their interventions:

• “The turning point of the COP 21 and opportunities of the green economy” by Giuseppe Ricci, EVP Health, Safety, Environment and Quality, Eni SpA; • “Renewable energies: the challenge of a necessary transition” by Patrick Manino (alternate to Luca Cosentino), Energy Solution, Eni SpA; • “Cop 21 and the Paris Agreement: What does it mean for business?“ by Linden Edgell, Global Sustainability Program Director, ERM srl.

Giuseppe Ricci in his speech provided a detailed analysis of values regarding the climate and energy challenge: of the total 13,6 Gtoe of global energy supply, more than 80% currently derives from fossil fuels, so generating a global emission of 32 GtCO2 (on a total global emission of GHGs equals to 50 GtCO2e). Surprisingly, coal accounts for 29% of energy supply but is responsible of almost half of the global energy-related GHGs, especially due to its usage in the power sector in countries such as China (98% of power fuel), USA (76%), EU (75%) and India (94%)!

If one of the objectives of the Paris Agreement is “Holding the increase in

SPECIAL FOCUS

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The panel of experts stimulated the audience with a mix of alarms and hopes.

the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels”, what does it mean in terms of energy mix and consumption? In order to explain it, Giuseppe Ricci introduced the concept of “Carbon Budget”: the temperature target equals to a max quantity in the atmosphere of 2,900 GtCO2e.

Since unfortunately 1,900 GtCO2e have been already emitted before 2011, it means that our remaining budget is less than 1,000 GtCO2e and then the aim becomes 40÷70% GHGs reduction in 2050 and the carbon neutrality within 2100, in order to achieve the 2°C target.

It is clear, according to Ricci, that the approach has to be more scientific than ideological: targets have been identified and the road-map can be designed by governments according to the selected targets.

The Paris Agreement is considered by Ricci an outstanding result in this scenario, since it achieved a strong global political consensus among the 195 Countries that cover 95% of global GHG emissions.

It represents a major difference with respect to the previous agreements, i.e. 2005 Kyoto protocol, since the approach moved from top-down to bottom-up: all the countries are committed to contribute to the goals with common but diverse responsibilities.

On a slightly different position was the

smiling introduction by Linden Edgell: according to her point of view the new amazing word is “HOPE”. A new energy mix transition is becoming more and more feasible since the discussion is no more a matter for governments only; during COP 21 meetings in Paris, all the parties were actively attending: countries, O&G business representatives investors, and especially mass movements.

This will be translated into an increased pressure on the energy business stakeholders: on one side GHG accounting, reporting and risk disclosure will become mandatory for many consumers, whereas on the other side producers of energy will be pushed to reduce carbon-intensity.

Based on Ricci’s speech it is now evident that past EU climate policies generated competitive distortions for the industry, the so-called “paradox of the coal-renewables mix in the power sector”, while coal use increased.

For this reason it can be foreseen that global carbon pricing is the key to reach a worldwide low carbon transition; the introduction of an Emissions Performance Standard (EPS) can induce a progressive phase out of coal power plants and help the transition of the power sector.

According to Linden Edgell, impacts will be felt across the economy in many different ways: price on carbon emissions will impact most of the economy; the market for innovative, energy-efficient and low carbon

products will be stimulated; the transport sector will be facing the prospect of major technological shifts and finally the financial sector will increasingly focus on managing carbon risk in investment and lending.

In such a scenario of risks and opportunities, Edgell underlines the chance of a competitive advantage to be captured by all the stakeholders.

And what about Eni in this scenario? Ricci pointed out as in the last two years Eni has improved its climate strategy thanks to a stronger involvement of the board and the top management. A GHG Action Plan at 2025 with challenging GHG objectives has been launched and a long term GHG reduction will be pursued along with the green integration of traditional business and specific low carbon R&D programs.

Patrick Manino with his speech “Renewable energies: the challenge of a necessary transition”, after illustrating the most recent breaking news about renewables focused on Eni major green projects managed by the new business line “ENERGY SOLUTIONS (DES)”, created in 2015.

According to Manino, an O&G company as Eni can succeed thanks to its main key strength points: it has a global presence and can work on a portfolio of assets to be converted (brownfield), or integrated in a new cooperation model (greenfield); it has the capability to mobilize financial levers and to manage complex and hybrid projects, while taking advantage of excellence in R&D.

12 SPECIAL FOCUS newable energy. “What would you do with 100M US$ of investment in solar energy in Egypt?” asked himself Riccardo Rebosio; the answer came from the results of a feasibility study and comparison between a Photovoltaic system (PV) and a Concentrating Solar Power System (CSP) plant.

The presentation illustrated the technical modeling and the economic evaluation of both systems. Based on the economic results concerning the studied case, the CSP proved to be a less mature technology; nevertheless it could become a viable option in the future, since costs are going to be cut on the short and medium term.

Breaking news: the world of energy is changing

Which is the most challenging task of an R&D department, according to Manino?

For sure “storage capability” is the greatest question mark about the future in the energy market; who will solve this topic will be the winner!

At the end of this very interesting panel section, we were pleased to attend to a session called “The energy perspectives for the XXI Century” during which three detailed project cases were presented by Medea students: • “U.S. Shale Revolution”, by Serena Salvio; • “Solar Investment Assessment in Egypt”,

by Riccardo Rebosio; • “Can Chinese carbon emissions peak before 2030?”, by Leonardo Bartolini.

The three projects deeply investigated 1) the economic and technical aspects of

Breaking news: the world of energy is changing

Shale Oil in the US market, 2) a potential solar investment in Egypt and 3) the impact of different Chinese business plan scenarios in the trend of CO2 emission.

The main outlines from Serena Salvio presentation is that the survival of the shale companies will strongly depend on the US government financial support. The resilience of these companies, the so-called “Shale Zombies”, has been underestimated until now and it is still uncertain.

The probability that there will be a real agreement on the production level between OPEC and NON OPEC countries will surely play a significant role in the shale oil future.

Solar power currently covers the highest share of the new global investments in re-

Since China is the country with the largest emissions in the world, the impact of different industrial scenarios will be of great importance for the level of the emissions in the future. Leonardo Bartolini illustrated the ”Business As Usual“, the “Green” and the “New Policies” scenarios, highlighting that just in the last two of them, a peak in the CO2 emission can be reached (in 2035 and in 2025 respectively), whereas in the Business As Usual scenario there are no chances of stabilizing the CO2 emission trend.

After attending the student session, I felt myself convinced that the youngest generations are approaching the new challenges of the market with a very high level of competence and professionalism. This will be the real hope for our future, since, as Linden Edgell well said in her speech, the future can be efficiently built by inspired individuals as well as by a government or a CEO of a major company.

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SECTION LIFE

SPE business visit at Flowserve Corporation Report of the event organized by the Project, Facilities and Construction technical discipline at Flowserve’s facilities in Desio (Milan)

Giovanni Cuomo Eni S.p.A.

Stefano Maronese Eni S.p.A.

Fig.1: The SPE visitors in Flowserve.

On April 8th, a group of 25 SPE members had the chance to have an insight into one important manufacturer of the Oil&Gas industry: Flowserve Italian branch.

Flowserve is a multinational company supplying pumps, valves, seals and services for the power, Oil&Gas and chemical industries; Flowserve operates in more than 55 countries and has a leading legacy of brands dating back to 1790.

The Italian branch has its factories both in Caserta and in Desio, close to Monza, where the visit took place. Such event is the perfect example of the SPE philosophy of promoting, enriching and exchanging technical knowledge through dedicated activities.

explaining how the casting process begins: in the furnace, the alloy is molten at more than 1500 °C and then poured into a mould, a structure that contains hollow cavity of the desired shape. Each mould has a customized design and it is manufactured either by artisans in the foundry or by using a 3D printer. The molten metal needs around 24 hours to solidify before proceeding to the workshop. Attendees had the unique chance to witness first hand and from a safe distance this rather impressive process: the whole job relies on little automation and the workers manually control the pouring of red-hot molten metal well above 1000 °C. (Fig. 2)

The visit started with the Flowserve management welcome: Alessandro Pedroni, General Manager, Paolo Fondrini, Manufacture Manager and Marco Restelli, Commercial Operation Director, presented the company and explained their production process from client request to the object final assembly, passing through mould design and casting.

Following this brief introduction, Giancarlo Isella, Safety and Quality Director, lead the group inside the foundry,

After the thrilling experience of the molten metal, the visit moved to the quality laboratory, in which participants witnessed a tensile test performed on a sample in order to ensure the highest quality of the metal.

The visit then proceeded to the learning centre and the workshop where the components of the pump are assembled.

At the learning centre, SPE members had the opportunity to address to Ales-

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Fig.2 - Molten metal exiting the furnace.

sandro Pedroni questions about the new challenges that the company is facing and the chosen strategies to innovate in such a delicate period of the markets.

Alessandro clearly explained that, although the market is rather conservative, they have been moving to the innovation side by investing either in enhancing efficiency, in new products (such as magnetic drive pumps) and in innovative production techniques.

He stressed the peculiarity of Flowserve, which not only designs the product but also designs and organizes the whole production process, which is constantly evolving in order to guarantee the best quality and time-to-market. Alessandro also showed their range of products including pumps, valves, seals and support systems, and the services associated with them such as the engineering and technical services. (Fig.3) (Fig.4) Finally, in the workshop, attendees followed the last steps of the pump manufacturing process: the components are machined, assembled and tested before being shipped to customers all over the world.

The visit was very interesting and engaging, and allowed following the production process from the raw material to the final product.

The experience made possible to really understand “how stuff is made�, enlarging the view on the complexity of the Oil&Gas industry. A vital part of SPE’s mission is maintaining high professional standards

Fig.3 - Flowserve General Manager explaining how pumps are assembled.

Fig.4 - Impellers ready for the assembly.

by offering members a continuous allround education options. This technical visit surely reached the target! We thank

Flowserve for the opportunity and the time spent with us. See you at the next visit!

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SPE Student Chapter of Politecnico di Torino earned its pass to Petrobowl 2016

Dario Viberti Politecnico di Torino Student Chapter Liason

The Petrobowl is a competition organized

by SPE International for Student Chapters. The SPE student chapter teams compete in a series of quick-fire rounds, answering technical and nontechnical industry-related questions. Regional qualifier competitions take place in all the regions covered by SPE, and the best 36 teams are invited to the PetroBowl championship held at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition.

The Petrobowl Regional Qualifier for the European, North Sea and Russia & Caspian regions took place in Stavanger (Norway) on April 13th, 2016 within the “The International Conference and

Exhibition on Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility (HSSE–SR)”. A total of 23 student chapters participated.

The Student chapter team of Politecnico di Torino took part with 5 students selected by a technical committee put together by the SPE Italian Section and came in second, thus qualifying for the Petrobowl championship that will be taking place in Dubai, September 26÷28th, 2016.

The participation of our students in the Petrobowl Qualifier was fully supported by the SPE Italian section. Congratulations to our students and good luck in Dubai!

The journey so far: in students’ own words Olushola Olapade, Ebenezer Amoah-kyei, Muhammad Salman Qamar, Lucien Merhej, Hana Tfaili, Politecnico di Torino student chapter This year, 16 students from the Petroleum Engineering Group, Politecnico di Torino, were interested in representing their academic institution at the Petrobowl Competition. To select the final representing team, the Petroleum Engineering Group in collaboration with the SPE Italian Section, organized a local

Petrobowl Competition which took place in Milan on March 5th, 2016: based on the results of the competition, the winning team has been awarded with the opportunity to represent Politecnico di Torino and the SPE Italian Section in Petrobowl European Qualifier Round at Stavanger, April 13th, 2016. The 16 students were

SECTION LIFE

Olushola Olapade

Ebenezer Amoah-kyei

Lucien Merhej

Hana Tfaili

divided into four teams involved in a Quiz Competition before the actual Petrobowl. The competition was tough and full of excitement. The Muhammad Salman Qamar winning team was made up by Olushola Olapade, Ebenezer Amoah-kyei, Muhammad Salman Qamar, Lucien Merhej and Hana Tfaili.

The Petrobowl Competition in Stavanger was an exciting experience. The day started with the interaction between the students from other European universities. It provided us with an opportunity of networking, making new friends, exchanging information about petroleum engineering courses in different universities, as well as their plans for the future and much more. Then, the nerve breaking competition start-

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ed. After the successes with University of Bucharest, AGU University, and Technical University of Denmark, the team reached the final together with the University of Stavanger. Both teams were good, and the end was very close, we got second place in the Petrobowl European Qualifier Round. It was an amazing and joyful moment for us, as it was a great victory. We were now sure to be heading to Dubai to compete with the best teams from all over the world.

The stay in Stavanger was a worthwhile experience. In addition to the competition, we had the opportunity to visit a beautiful city.

We went sailing, hiking and enjoyed the street food. In the whole, it was an exciting journey and a great learning experience.

Now, we are preparing for the Petrobowl Final that is going to be held in Dubai September 26th, 2016, during the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. We are determined to do our best and try to win the Petrobowl Competition this year.

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INNOVATION

Does the economic crisis affect firms’ innovative behaviours?

Evidence from the oil and gas service contractors

by Pasquale Senese, Saipem

Giordano Pinarello BlueThink S.p.A., SPE Italian Section Management and Information Technical Director

Pasquale Senese Saipem S.p.A.

The oil and gas industry has substantially contributed to shape the contours of the world economy in recent years.

The industry has played a large strategic and geopolitical role and ripple effects toward other compartments have emerged as a consequence of all major structural changes in the sector. As such, the most recent economic crisis is an exceptional laboratory to analyse the profound transformation that the industry is called to embrace in the approaching years. On the one hand, there is an increasing pressure towards investments in new technologies to further exploit conventional energy sources. On the other hand, substantial fluctuations in oil prices have also stimulated the awareness towards issues associated to oil dependency, thus boosting the search for alternative energies.

Understanding how the oil and gas industry has reacted to these challenges, and in particular how its innovative behaviour has been affected by these new stimuli is therefore crucial in the light of two main considerations. First, the competitiveness of the industry is increasingly driven by the capability to

keep climbing the innovation ladder. As natural resources become scarcer and harder to find and extract, technology development in terms of new technical solution, new optimization processes and new products represents the only way to maintain the competitiveness of the overall industry. Second, the sector has undergone a significant change in the last few years with an increasing role played by service contractors with respect to traditional oil companies. The raise of these new actors has been concurrent and significantly correlated with the renewed focus on innovation since these players are those responsible for a large number of new technologies developed and adopted in the industry in recent times.

This article analyses the innovative behaviour of the oil and gas industry during the most recent economic crisis by focusing on a representative subsample of contractors (Saipem, Technip, McDermott, Allseas and Heerema), which are responsible for engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, operation and maintenance services. All selected companies are characterised by similar

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characteristics and specialization profiles.

They develop a wide range of engineering solutions, including front-end engineering and design (FEED) for chemical plants, fixed platforms, subsea, floating units and drilling ships. They are responsible for modules and equipment fabrication and construction for chemical plants, rigs, fixed platforms, subsea, floating units, topside and drilling ships. They provide heavy lifting and installation services (Fixed Platform, Topside), pipeline and sea line installation services (Flexibles Lay, Rigid Reel Lay, J-Lay, S-Lay), wellheads and barges interventions as well as activities devoted to the operation and maintenance of offshore or onshore plants.

For all these major players data have been collected on patent records from the European Patent Office (EPO) database for the period 2006-2014. The EPO provides information on patent applications and patents published by inventor (generally a physical person) and assignee (usually the company). Details are also collected on the technological class of each selected patent. This latter information is particularly relevant since it allows to understand both whether companies have reduced or reinforced their innovative performance during the crisis, and whether they have further invested in their core competences or diversified their portfolio.

Figure 1 plots the number of patent applications over years for the whole sample of selected companies. It shows a positive trend (with the exception of a drop in the number of patents in 2007) with a peak in 2011 and a slight decrease in the following years. Interestingly, when analysing this evidence in the light of the evolution of oil prices a significant correlation between the two emerges. The number of patents by year turns out to follow closely the evolution of oil prices. This evidence correlates with overall figures for the oil and gas industry, where competitiveness is significantly affected by fluctuations in the price of fossil fuel sources.

Overall, all major players analysed have been characterised by positive innovative performance as showed by the evolution in the number of patents granted by firm (Fig.2).

Information on the technological class to which each patent belongs is exploited to map firm specific core competences, defined as those corresponding to the tech-

Fig.1: Number of patents and fluctuation in oil prizes Note: The number of patents by year come from EPO. Data on fluctuations in oil price, measures as US $ per barrel come from the US Department of Energy. Information on application rather than publication date has been used as the application date is expected to be the closest to the inventions and therefore more informative to reflect the concurrency between innovative performance and the evolution of oil prices.

Fig.2: Patents (publication date) by Companies – 2006/2014 Source: Author’s elaborations on EPO data. Note: The number of patents published is reported on the y-axis while publication date is reported on the x-axis.

nological classes associated with the majority of patents (>70%) granted to the firm.

Interestingly, figure 3 suggests that whereas firms in the industry have sustained their investments in core competences, they have also reduced significantly the amount of investments in non-core competences. In periods of resources’ scarcity firms need to optimize their investment strategies. As such, they tend to focus on those technological assets that are more relevant for the development of their core business, thus underinvesting in non-core activities. (Fig.3) Finally, a special attention is to be devoted to the role of innovation in green technologies. Green or eco-innovation turned out to be a relevant area of investment in recent years. This is mainly because firms face

rising incentives to invest in green technologies to satisfy the increasing sustainability awareness of both consumers and regulators. For the scope of this article green technologies have been qualified as those related to wind and hydrogen technologies as the areas in which the oil and gas service contractors are more technologically active due to the operational synergies with their traditional specialization profiles and pre-existing technological competences. Figure 4 reports the growth rate in the number of patents classified as green and non-green respectively with respect to the value observed in 2006. Information on growth rate differentials between green and non-green technologies signals differences in the pace at which new technologies have been developed. Innovation in green technologies has followed an in-

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creasing trend. In 2008 the growth rate in green technologies has outpaced that in non-green technologies, reaching a peak in 2012. Non-green technologies have behaved differently with a moderate positive performance until 2010 and a slightly decreasing trend afterwards.

Overall the analysis of key descriptive trends in the oil and gas industry supports a number of relevant considerations: • The industry has experienced a positive innovative performance during the crisis with an increasing number of patented inventions developed in the last few years.

This trend is however accompanied by a progressive refocusing of the corporate innovation strategies toward the strengthening of core competences. In other words, in periods of resource scarcity each firm computes a strategic decision over the distribution of investments across a wide range of alternative technological classes favouring those considered as fundamental for the core business of the company; • The above evidence implies a certain degree of heterogeneity in the scope of innovation across firms with different actors focusing on the development of different technologies. Future opportunities are intimately connected to the strategic decisions been taken with respect to the technologies on which the bulk of investments has been redirected. The competitiveness of each company depends on whether these strategic decisions will be able to match the future development of the industry in terms of core technological assets. The winners will be those companies that have been able to effectively predict the upcoming market scenarios and have therefore invested on those technologies that are expected to become predominant in the near future.

Main References: 1) Archibugi, D., & Filippetti, A. (2011). Is the economic crisis impairing convergence in innovation performance across Europe?. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 49(6), 1153-1182.

2) Archibugi, D., & Filippetti, A. (2013). Innovation and Economic Crisis: lessons and prospects from the economic downturn. Routledge.

3) Archibugi, D., & Planta, M. (1996). Measuring technological change through patents and innovation surveys. Technovation, 16(9), 451-519.

4) Archibugi, D., Filippetti, A., & Frenz, M. (2013). The impact of the economic crisis on innovation: evidence from Europe. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 80(7), 1247-1260.

5) Dosi, G. (1982). Technological paradigms and technological trajectories: a suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change. Research policy, 11(3), 147-162.

6) Gagliardi, L., Marin, G., & Miriello, C. (2014). The Greener the Better: Job Creation and Environmentally Friendly Technological Change. Available at SSRN 2383321.

7) Hamilton, J.D. (1983). Oil and the Macroeconomy since World War II. Journal of Political Economy, Vol.91, No. 2 (Apr., 1983), pp. 228-248.

Fig.3: Evolution of core and non-core competences – 2006/2014 Source: Author’s elaborations on EPO data Core: B63/F16/E02/E21 – Non Core: B01/B23/B29/C07/C10/F25/G01 Note: The number of times a technological class appears in patents documents is reported on the y-axis, the publication date of the patent is reported on the x-axis.

Fig.4: Green and non-green technologies – 2006/2014 Source: Author’s elaborations on EPO data Note: The percentage growth rate in the number of patents is reported on the y-axis, the publication date of the patents is reported on the x-axis. The relevant drop in innovation outputs in 2013 and 2014 it has to be interpreted taking into account that the data may be affected from a certain degree of truncation bias due to the fact that many of the most recent patents may be in the application stage and therefore still unrecorded by official statistics.

8) Longwell, H. J. (2002). The future of the oil and gas industry: past approaches, new challenges. World Energy, 5(3), 100-104.

9) Lord, R. (2007). Technological Breakthroughs Advanced Upstream E&P’s Evolution. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 59(10), 111-116.

10) Malerba, F. and Orsenigo, L. (1995), ‘Schumpeterian patterns of innovation,’ Cambridge Journal of Economics 19 (1), 47-65.

11) Maugeri, L. (2006). The Age of Oil. The Mythology, History, and Future of the World’s Most Controversial Resource. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc. 12) Mitchell, J., Marcel, V., & Mitchell, B. (2012). What next for the oil and gas industry?. Chatham House.

13) Paul, D.L.,2007.Technology to meet the challenge of future energy supplies. J. Pet. Technol.59(10),153–155.

Pasquale Senese is a professional with more than 10 years of experience in the oil and gas sector. He has been working for Saipem since 2006. He is also an affiliate to the Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research since 2015.

He holds an MSc/MEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Naples and an MSc in Management from Birkbeck College, University of London.

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Ensemble Methods for Reservoir Management: exploiting asset potential

Andrea Lamberti Eni S.p.A., SPE Italian Section Reservoir Technical Director

Dear members, E&P development projects are characterized by several uncertainties and high risks, often involving large-scale investments. In a low oil price scenario, as the one we are experiencing, complex developments such as deep offshore or artic environments can be weakly economic if the asset value is not completely exploited. Higher oil recoveries can be achieved by means of optimal field management, without modifying the development scenario and with very limited investments.

However, an improper management of uncertainties could lead to performances below expectations. Computer-assisted

history matching and model-based reservoir production optimization can help to define an optimal recovery strategy that also considers the residual uncertainty represented by the ensemble of alternative reservoir models resulting from the history matching process.

The work reported below summarizes the application of this concept to a real field. The work is based on the paper SPE175570 “Optimizing Reservoir Life-Cycle Production Under Uncertainty: a Robust Ensemble-Based Methodology�, presented at 2015 SPE Reservoir Characterization and Simulation Conference and Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Optimizing Reservoir Life-Cycle Production Under Uncertainty: a Robust Ensemble-Based Methodology

Agostino Perrone Eni S.p.A.

In reservoir management, Optimization is used to improve the actual production of a field or to support new development decisions. The number of variables to be controlled in such applications could be very high: in a waterflooding problem, for instance, the number of control variables is proportional to the number of wells and the frequency at which the well controls are changed over the selected optimization time window. Moreover, most of the optimization methods

rely on the use of predictive reservoir models, which are always affected by a certain degree of uncertainty, due to the limited access to the reservoir. Computer-Assisted History Matching (CAHM) or Data Assimilation techniques have been used in geosciences to condition the model parameters to the available historical data (for a review see Oliver and Chen, 2011). Such inverse problems are normally ill-posed, meaning that there are redundant degrees of freedom

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and more than one possible solution exist (Tarantola, 2005). Therefore, model uncertainty characterization needs to be included in the optimization procedure, to avoid sub-optimality or unexpected low performance of the resulting production strategy (van Essen et al., 2009).

Ensemble methods are gradient-based optimization methods wherein the objective function gradient is estimated through the correlation provided by an ensemble of control strategies and their associated reservoir model predictions. The simulator is used as black box, thus giving the method great flexibility and easiness of implementation, whereas the computational costs are essentially related only to the ensemble size. Furthermore, the ensemble-based optimization methods are inherently able to account for model uncertainty since they can be easily coupled with an ensemble of equi-probable reservoir models. This approach is known as Robust Optimization (RO).

The robust optimization problem is intended as the maximization of the expected value of the objective function with respect to the uncertainty model, which can be represented through a set of different geological realizations. The combination of history matching and control optimization with the ensemble methods provide a natural, efficient framework for Closed-Loop Reservoir Management applications (Wang et al., 2009; Jansen et al., 2009).

We considered the Ensemble Optimization (EnOpt) methodology, as firstly introduced

by Chen et al. (2008). EnOpt is a stochastic technique that attempts to maximize the objective function by iteratively updating a vector of randomly perturbed control variables along the direction of the approximated objective function gradient. Such technique has been applied for the life-cycle production optimization of a heavy oil reservoir model.

The reservoir consists in shallow depth sandstones with relatively low heterogeneity, good rock properties and high oil viscosity. The field was developed according to a line-drive waterflooding strategy, with horizontal pairs of injectors and multilateral producers, operating under bottom hole pressure controls. Due to the low mobility of the fluid, the particular well layout and the short production history, we focused on a sector of the full field model to be able to perform the robust optimization at a manageable computational cost, while still

Fig.1 - Permeability field of the sector model

capturing the relevant reservoir dynamics.

The selected sector model included about 47,000 grid blocks with no flow boundaries and three pairs of alternating horizontal injectors and producers (Fig. 1).

We evaluated different optimization strategies, firstly assuming perfect knowledge of the reservoir geology (nominal optimization) and then accounting for the model residual uncertainty (robust optimization) after the history matching.

The nominal optimization was performed with the aim of tuning the optimization parameters and understanding the main production drivers of the reservoir. As an example, Fig. 2 shows the solution obtained in case of the nominal optimization of the cumulative oil production (FOPT).

At the top, the optimal profile for an injection well is shown. The light grey area represents the P5-P95 range of the final ensemble and the dotted line is the ensemble mean, whilst the solid and dashed lines represent the do-nothing case (against whom the injection pressure change are calculated) and a second reference strategy based on pressure maintenance, respectively.

The bottom graphs show how the objective function increases (+2.6%) over the optimization iterations. Alternatively, we considered also the optimization of the net present value (NPV), with the aim of accounting for the possible economic penalization due to the production of water. In this second case, the NPV is increased by 6.3%, though a significant reduction of the injected and produced water, although the cumulative

Fig.2 - Nominal Optimization of the oil production: optimal injection profile and Objective Function vs. iterations. (WI water injection increment, WP water production, OP Oil production).

production of oil is reduced by 1%. Such alternative strategies highlight that the oil recovery in this field is strongly driven by the amount of water injected.

For the robust optimization, a set of 73 different geological realization was available after the ensemble-based historical data assimilation. As shown in Fig. 3, we tested two different approaches to achieve a suitable estimation of the robust gradient while keeping the computational effort at a manageable level. In the first approach (namely, “1-1 coupling”), we used an ensemble of control of the same size of the ensemble of realizations, so that they can be coupled using a one-to-one relationship. The second approach (namely, “1-N coupling”) all the control vectors are applied on a reduced number of model realizations as representative of the residual uncertainty range. As a measure of the

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Fig.3 - Robust Optimization: different approaches for the robust gradient computation.

quality of the optimization, we applied the final mean control schedules to the full set of model realizations. The estimated probability density distributions of the normalized objective function (see again Fig. 3) showed that in both the cases a robust improvement (around +2% of the FOPT) is achieved. Moreover, the level of optimization efficiency obtained with both the robust approaches is comparable to the one obtained in the hypothesis of known geology.

The previous results showed that the oil recovery could be improved through simple adjustments to the controls of the injection wells, although the resulting optimized strategy would involve higher volumes of injected and produced water.

An implementation of such strategy at the field scale could be in conflict with the actual field water capacity.

With the aim of finding a more attractive solution, we set up a fit-for-purpose optimization case, wherein the BHP of the producers were added as control variables and a scaled water production constraint was introduced in the simulations. We tested this strategy on the sector model, using the undiscounted net present value as objective function. The optimized controls and the resulting production profiles are reported in Fig. 4, showing that there is room for optimizing the production of oil (+2%) with a simultaneous reduction of the associated water volumes (-2%) and a resulting NPV improvement of around 12%.

Finally, we tried to extrapolate the solution found on the sector to the full field model.

An overall enhancement of both the field Net Present Value and the life-cycle oil recovery was recorded, despite the simpli-

Fig.4 - Robust optimization of the net present value: optimal well controls and heuristic interpretation for the extension to the full field. (WI water injection, WP water production, OP Oil production).

fications related to the heuristic interpretation of the sector-optimized strategy and the minimal changes to the control parameters. Furthermore, the improved recovery is associated to some short-term benefits due to the anticipation of the production, but differently to the previous cases, the volumes of the injected and produced water are just moderately increased and consistent with the field capacity constraints.

References Oliver, D. S., Chen, Y. 2011. Recent progress on reservoir history matching: a review. Computational Geosciences 15 (1): 185-221.

Tarantola, A., 2005. Inverse problem theory and methods for model parameter estimation. Philadelphia, USA: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Van Essen, G., Zandvliet, M., Van den Hof, P. et al. 2009. Robust Waterflooding Optimization of Multiple Geological Scenarios.

SPE Journal 14 (01): 202-210. DOI:10.2118/102913-PA. Wang, C., Li, G., Reynolds, A. C. 2009. Production Optimization

in Closed-Loop Reservoir Management. SPE Journal 14 (03): 506-523. DOI:10.2118/109805-PA. Jansen, J.D., Brouwer, R., Douma, S. G. 2009. Closed Loop Reservoir Management. Presented at the SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium, The Woodlands, Texas, 2-4 February.

SPE-119098-MS. DOI:10.2118/119098-MS. Chen, Y., Oliver, D. S., Zhang, D. 2008. Efficient Ensemble-Based Closed-Loop Production Optimization. Presented at the SPE Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, 20-23 April. SPE-112873-MS. DOI:10.2118/112873-MS.

Agostino Perrone: Reservoir engineer in eni. He holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a specializing Degree in Petroleum Engineering. He joined the Company in 2014. As part of the Advanced Reservoir Modelling department, he has been involved in the development of methodologies for Closed Loop Reservoir Management.

He is currently performing the Operational Training at the M’boundi field, Congo.

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Virtual Reality and Unmanned Drill-Floor Operations to Improve Personnel Safety and Reduce LTIs In this issue of the SPE Italy Technical Bulletin, the focus is on virtual reality and drill floor automation as two crucial factors that could help in further enhancing personnel safety while ensuring more efficient Drilling & Completion operations.

Alberto Maliardi Eni S.p.A., SPE Italian Section Drilling & Completion Technical Director 2015-2016

The availability of competent and skilled personnel at rig site is key for ensuring safe and efficient Drilling & Completion (D&C) operations. From this point of view, statistics highlight two important aspects: (1) a primary causal factor of drill-floor accidents is still represented by human error and (2) most of the current D&C personnel is about to approach retirement, while a younger generation of new employees is being hired.

Such aspects lead to the consideration that, to improve personnel safety and reduce Lost Time Injuries (LTIs), two main factors need immediate attention: 1. training and competencies assessment programs should be further enhanced, to ensure that personnel can effectively acquire, and maintain, a high level of knowledge and skills;

2. new advanced technologies should be identified, to improve safety by limiting human presence on the drill-floor, and maximize operations efficiency through increased precision and faster execution.

As far as the former point is concerned, Virtual Reality is a learning “tool” that has already proved to be very valuable in numerous applications and in many different industrial sectors. Its application in D&C operations will improve and accelerate the training of personnel, in that it will: • allow personnel to gain a comprehensive view of D&C operations, having the chance to be exposed to a great variety of activities and situations all at the same time, without the need of being physically present at rig site; • provide an advanced visualization of the downhole process, which would surely help in understanding how to better manage surface operations; • allow an easier acquisition of lessons learned, and enable the execution of real-time simulations.

TECHNICAL DIRECTORS Through Virtual Reality, trainees get an enhanced experience in terms of rig, equipment and operations, with the main aim to focus on how to increase safety and reduce Non-Productive Times (NPTs). The participation in such experience will allow them to learn in less time.

The primary application areas of Virtual Reality shall be the following.

Rig Walk Through - For different rig types, trainees shall be able to take interactive walks, to become familiar with them by exploring their areas, recognizing the relevant equipment and systems, and learning how to effectively use them.

Safety Induction - Personnel shall get fully aware of the potential threats and unsafe situations that may be encountered at rig site, including workers making dangerous actions or performing work in an unsafe manner. It shall be possible for trainees to virtually perform emergency drills, including evacuations.

Operational Procedures - The best way to acquire confidence with D&C operations, is to virtually implement them in such a way to practise the relevant procedures and get an in-depth understanding of equipment, under both planned and unplanned operating activities.

Advanced Simulations - The virtual environment shall simulate all D&C operations, and the procedures to handle emergency situations. A sort of “cyber chair” shall allow trainees to face up to realistic D&C scenarios, also including the operations that significantly impact on NPTs (e.g., stuck pipe) and emergency procedures that cannot be easily experienced in real life (e.g., riser disconnection).

Another factor to be taken into consideration to further enhance personnel safety and reduce LTIs, is the implementation of improvements in drill-floor automation.

Although major service companies have already made semi-automated systems for drill-floor optimization available on the market, a full drill-floor automation solution does not currently exist. The main reason is not the lack of technology, but rather the lack of interoperability among systems, which makes the equipment very expensive, difficult to maintain and nearly impossible to replace.

Furthermore, most of the available technologies for robotic drilling are hydraulically powered, which creates several operational issues (e.g., problematic con-

Virtual Reality Applications

Example of Virtual Drill-Floor

trol systems, inaccuracy in robots’ performances, space requirements, etc.).

Over the last years, more and more companies have been focusing on creating fully automated systems.

It is likely that, in few years, the oil & gas industry will achieve commercial versions of fully automated drill-floor solutions. This will not only have a great impact on safety, but will increase the effectiveness and reduce overall costs of drilling operations.

“What about people?” someone may ask.

Full drill-floor automation is about enhancing personnel safety and creating a different way of working to achieve successful performance of any operation involving robots.

Furthermore, analysts believe that oil & gas companies will drill more wells when the cost per well will be reduced, thus generating a sustainable business for the entire oil & gas industry!

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Drilling & Completion: Tough times = Interesting times!

Paolo Allara SPE Italian Section Drilling & Completion Technical Director 2016-2017

First of all, I would like to personally thank my predecessor, Alberto Maliardi, for both having thought about me and for the extraordinary work carried out in these years as SPE Italian Section Technical Director Drilling & Completion. In this virtual handover, while I appreciate our common origins in R&D, where the future is forged, I pledge I’ll do my best in order to present you the most interesting and valuable matters that are happening in our beautiful O&G world.

“Not all those who wander are lost” was saying Gandalf in the Lord of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, and I really believe in this motto.

Wandering is the art of being in the right place at the right timing and both Drilling and Completion are probably best described as such. But are we lost?

Apparently, from the news in our sector, it seems that many of us are being lost, at least in the eyes of those that are not

in our business.

Especially in these tough times, when the oil has touched the lowest values since a very long time, Drilling and Completion is suffering the most as these are the first activities to be ‘cut’ in order to limit investments and expenses.

On the contrary, it is precisely in these tough times that the best ideas and solutions are surfaced, either because we have to survive, and because there is more time to think!

So, my aim and hope is to be able catching as many as possible of these ideas and present them to you!

Of course we will be giving space to Managed Pressure Drilling, that is becoming an hot topic, as well as news on well control, without forgetting the latest efforts in completion.

I’ll be grateful to all those who will send me a feedback, wandering, but not lost!

Paolo Allara I am working as Offshore Drilling Assets Technical Services Manager in Saipem, taking care of our fleet from a technical point of view. I lead several departments: Drilling Equipment, Electric & Electronics, Dynamic Positioning and Automation, Subsea Equipment and R&D. I joined Saipem in 2001, after a short fellowship at Politecnico di Milano where I graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 2000. Thereafter, in 2013, I graduated in Eni’s MBA.

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A conversation with Andrea Trespidi

BY DAVIDE SCOTTI, SAIPEM

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

Ciao Andrea, thanks for accepting this interview for our magazine! How would you best introduce yourself to our readers? Who is Andrea Trespidi?

I’m a 40 year-old leadership and safety aficionado who has worked at the Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, the network rail management and maintenance company for half of his life. I began as a railway operation chief. I spent my entire life in safety and for four years I was HSE manager of Lombardy, where three thousand people were employed.

The railway maintenance is a fascinating and risky industry, isn’t it?

Train maintenance is dangerous. We have proper and rigorous procedures to minimize hazards of train investment and aerial conductors electrocution. But procedures are procedures. Human beings are, after all, fallible. In June 2013, when I was an HSE novice, a young colleague, Dario, lost his life. This fact changed my life, and I dedicate every of my following days to make this never happen again.

What do you know about the Oil and Gas field?

In these last years, the Oil and Gas field has superseded several challenges. What is needed is more technology and more professionalism at each level, both managers and workers. Every day, workers are on the field facing several hazards. We can think of safety goals as technical achievements. I think in our field, railway, as well as in the oil and gas one, the challenge lies in outlining and preserving a good leadership strategy, as people better react and are more aware of the possible consequences if they receive positive examples from their peers. People wellbeing is a goal by itself, and allows the business to thrive through a people-first mentality.

Andrea, we met three years ago, and you joined the LiHS foundation campaigns, you were truly convinced that the unique safe way for the future must be accomplished through leadership, an emotional revolution in which people make each other care and take interest in each other’s progress. How do you feel about it, now?

Sure, that is the way. A pathway through love. Safety grows and flourishes in an environment of love. Safety represents love for life. If we fall in love with safety we can

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change the world, we battle for a better world, a world where nobody risks losing their life when they are out there doing their job. No more undue suffering for spouses and children. No more tears. This is the world I want. This is the world we want.

We obviously share a common vision. And what do you suggest we do in order to win this battle?

If you want to generate change you must act, you must create a new environment, a movement. You have to spend a lot of your time discussing, communicating and explaining why you want it. Just in this way you can create the social conditions that lead to transformation. The managers, the politicians, the ruling class, they come to power for a few years and then are replaced; so, even when they have good ideas, they do not always manage to implement them. You have to create buzz, in order for it to one day become noise. The real change comes from the heart. It’s always been that way. As Sabatino De Sanctis said in the book “Il libro che ti salva la vita”, “one bee buzzes, three bees sting, a swarm is unstoppable.” Change are hearts and ideas in motion, unstoppable until the next end point.

Lovely. And this is exactly what we are trying to create in Italy with the initiative “Italia Loves Sicurezza”. Simple, but revolutionary, and very hard to achieve.

What’s your inspiration and what do you expect to happen?

“Italia Loves Sicurezza” is a movement. Now we are no longer alone in this battle. A team, a group of inspired people can achieve more than the sum of the individuals.

I believe in them. I cannot control other people, I only feel a moral duty to inspire them. In my company we started “Raccontare può Salvare”, (in English “Telling can save”), a new way of thinking for speaking about near misses, no more faults, but opportunity for understanding and improvement. That changes everything, our way of communicating safety, our leadership approach and our awareness about hazards. We have a lot fewer injuries now, and people are more passionate about their jobs. Railway is a strange, but fascinating environment. We all love our job, we love trains, we know we can have tremendous impact, we have people lives and time in our hands; and we take care.

I know you have published a fairytale in Italy to inspire little kids on the subject of safety leadership.

Yes, it is called “Sallihs”, and it is for kids aged 3-5 and their parents. I think that if we want to change the world, we must focus on leaders, and if we want to change leaders, we must focus on them when they are young. Very young!

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Think ‘Big’, Act ‘Digital’: the Present and Future of Doing Business

Gianna Giudicati Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Management and Information Technical Director

After two years as Section Secretary, it’s an honor for me to accept this new role that will be both an opportunity and a challenge to provide Section members with new and interesting chances for investigating transversal managerial topics. Let me first thank Giordano Pinarello and his Committee for the great job they did in offering occasions for thinking out of the box and going deeper in crucial subjects, such as open innovation.

As a first focus on which I would like to address the activities for the forthcoming program-year, my aim is to match one of the needs collected in the last Member Satisfaction Survey: most of you requested to enrich Section Program with some initiatives addressing themes within the sphere of economics. By matching Economics with Management, I would like to propose you a lecture aimed at providing both YPs and seniors with new approaches, visions and tools to widen your critical analysis of events both within and outside professional activities.

And secondly, what about the actual crucial issues emerging right now in the sphere of Information Management?

The aim is to better aware you on some hot topics particularly discussed in to-

day’s Information Management trends, in particular Big Data and Digital Transformation. Big Data have been defined as the “petroleum of the future”, meaning one of the basics on which the future society and economics will be based.

Big Data are also strongly determining the way in which companies analyze and face the environment in which they operate. In addition, big data are the main actors guiding Digital Transformation, a new way of doing business and, in particular, corporate information management.

In the next Bulletin, I’ll introduce you the new Section Team (with confirmations, news and returns) that will support me during the yearly activities!

Finally yet importantly, let me conclude by thanking all Board members for the support they gave me in these last two years as Section Secretary: in particular Section Chairmen, L. Tealdi and A. Tiani, and Program Chairman together with Bulletin Managing Editor, V. Parasiliti and A. Vienna.

And a warm ‘Good Luck’ to the new Italian Section Secretary!

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The Projects, Facilities and Construction corner

Andrea Intieri Saipem S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Projects, Facilities and Construction Technical Director

With this issue of our technical bulletin, I am particularly proud to introduce other colleagues that have recently decided to join SPE Italian Section Project, Facilities and Construction Committee! Having already introduced Alessandra Turconi (Saipem) and Domenica Pizzirusso (Tecnomare) in the previous bulletin, now it is the turn to talk about Alberto Serrafero, an experienced process engineer that started with Snamprogetti and is now affiliated with Saipem: in this bulletin, Alberto will talk about some exciting technological challenges of the urea technology with a dedicated technical article. Moreover, a new wave of YPs, including Giovanni Cuomo and Stefano Maronese from Eni and Manuel De Meo, Bruno Cresci and Luca Garofalo from Tecnomare, are already active in the organization of Section’s activities. Below you will find more details on their professional profiles.

Finally, this bulletin contains a brief report of the business visit held last April at Flowserve Corporation, both a wonderful opportunity to learn about real life operations - we visited their foundry during the steel casting! - and of course a quite useful networking venue.

Alberto Serrafero - Saipem Alberto holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Genoa. After graduating, he joined Snamprogetti as process engineer in the Urea technology department. Today he is Senior Urea Process Engineer in Saipem. In his 10 years of experience he has been involved in technology and process engineering of several Urea plants and in the feasibility and execution phase of successful revamps. He has been deputed abroad to follow pre-commissioning, commissioning and start-up activities of major Fertilizer Plant in Pakistan. Alberto is now involved in new development strategies and active promotion of the SnamprogettiTM Urea Technology and today he holds the position of Urea Technology Manager.

Manuel De Meo - Tecnomare Graduated in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture at the University of Naples in 2013, Manuel has been working for Tecnomare since 2014 as Naval Architect after a post-graduate degree in design of Oil & Gas plants. He was involved in several significant projects for eni related to the development of offshore fields. His technical experience includes jacket installation and naval design, mooring, stability, and hydrodynamic analyses for floating platforms.

Giovanni Cuomo - Eni Graduated with honors in Civil Engineering at Federico II in Naples and holding a Master in Petroleum Engineering and Operations from the Politecnico of Turin. Passionate about innovation in the Oil&Gas industry and eager to learn. Currently working at eni S.p.A.

Stefano Maronese - Eni Stefano graduated in Energy Engineering at the University of Padova in 2013. After a post-graduate degree in Oil&Gas plant design, he started his career in Eni Construction department. Recently, he has joined the Midstream Power System Engineering unit.

Bruno Maria Cresci - Tecnomare Bruno graduated in Marine Engineering at Federico II University of Naples in 2014 and, after a post graduated master in Oil & Gas plants design, joined Tecnomare S.p.A. where is actually working as Naval Architect. He is involved in the design and development of new structures and technologies for Marginal Fields. He has also experience on the design and installation of fixed platforms.

Luca Garofalo - Tecnomare Graduated in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture at the University of Genoa in 2011, Luca joined Tecnomare in 2014 after an experience as HVAC Engineer for Cruise Ships and a post-graduate degree in design of Oil & Gas plants. Actually, he is involved in Angola Block 15/06 Est Hub development project as Naval Architect. His experience include mooring, stability, hydrodynamic and structural analyses for floating platforms.

SECTION ACTIVITIES

31

Italian Section thanks its Talented Members SPE Italian Section recognizes as Talented Members those members who, with their high quality publications, seminars, and other professional services, improved the quality of the events and initiatives proposed by the Italian Section.

For this reason, on last June 9th the Section thanked its Talented Members with an ad hoc event sponsored

by Geolog and hosted at La Ruota restaurant, in San Giuliano Milanese (MI). A chance for networking, chatting and meeting past Section Chairmen, SPE distinguished lecturers, and international award winners. An introductory aperitif opened the event, during which Section Chairman Alessandro Tiani and todays Board Members had the chance to welcome all their guests.

Andrea Adelmo Asci Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section YP Board Member

Welcome Aperitif

Calleri (CEO Geolog), and Mauro Tambini

Discussions, information exchange and toasts then moved to the dinner room for another convivial moment: the atmosphere was always filled with the voices of the invited people, together with the welcome talk by the Section Chairman. During the dinner there was also the precious chance to present the three 2016 Italian winners of SPE Regional Awards: Claudio Molaschi (SPE Regional 2016 Drilling Engineering Award), Annamaria Petrone (SPE Regional 2016 Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Social Responsibility Award), and Sandra Cobianco (SPE Regional Service Award).

32

SECTION ACTIVITIES

Dinner opening

Alessandro Tiani and two of the three SPE award winners: Claudio Molaschi and Sandra Cobianco

The event closed with a final speech by Section Chairman and by the main organizer of the event, Maurizio Senese. After a brief overview over the main focuses on which the Section has inspired its initiatives during the year, Section Chairman took the chance to engage the Talented Members as focal points to further improve people engagement in Section activities, especially technical meetings and workshops. Business visits, technology days and distinguished lectures are indeed important occasions for both networking with other professionals but also for being always updated on the last news within technical areas and for sharing the knowledge acquired during professional life.

For sure, the continuous active participation of the Talented Members will remarkably enrich the entire Section and encourage other professionals to join organized initiatives. We are grateful all the Talented members for their participation and, especially, for their efforts in contributing to Section activities. A final thank to the organizers and to Maurizio Senese, mentor and designer of the event.

SECTION ACTIVITIES

33

Safety Promoted through an Outdoor Adventure Constant efforts are being made so that HSE should gain its due importance in everyday activities and, especially, in the work environment. The communication strategies of this crucial topic are constantly being revised and kept up-to date in order to ensure the best possible results. A good example of this commitment is the event promoted and organized by SPE Young Professionals (“YPs”) on May 20th: “Outdoor Adventure Day with HSE” led by Davide Scotti (SPE HSE Technical Director). This event launched a new format for the SPE events and a new way to convey the importance of safety and HSE in its fullest meaning.

Federico Giubilei Eni S.p.A. SPE Italian Section Secretary

This event took place in an adventure park near Milan and was structured as an outdoor leisure day trip. The aim was to test YPs ability in evaluating risk in an environment different from the one where everyday activities are conducted. A small group of YPs, both SPE affiliated and students from “Politecnico di Milano” went in an organized trip to the park. The activities started even before the departure with an ice-breaking exercise led by Davide Scotti, in order to create the right energy among the participants.

During the journey, Davide stressed out the importance of contributing to create a strong safety culture. He provided an example of responsibility and safety awareness, by remarking that, in Italy, very few people would fasten their seatbelts sitting on a coach or in the back seat of a car. As was the case, we proved not to be the exception to the rule, as none of us had fastened our seatbelts before Davide’s intervention. After his introduction, all of us, including the reluctant driver, could begin the journey with the proper

safety level. At last, we got there! The landscape was amazing, the sun was shining, and the auspices were great for us to begin our adventure.

A small lift led us to the mountaintop. A team of very experienced alpine guides briefed the group, staring at the climbing walls with a mix of qualm and excitement, duly supported by state-of-the-art continuous safety devices. Never forget that three safety barriers should be always in place: fixed devices, personal protective devices and, last but not least, our own attitude and culture. This last is the most relevant, since no regulation can ever meet its target if not understood, accepted and respected by each one of us.

Now everything is ready, so let the adventure start! Four path with increasing difficulty levels were available: green, blue, red and black. Each adventurer was free to choose which one to start with, based on their own confidence in their abilities. This is another crucial aspect of proper safety: never attempt to do something if you feel you cannot completely rely on your skills or you are not under the right environmental conditions. You have to be aware of your capabilities and know your limits. Climb, clutch, hook, clasp and jump down. After three hours of struggle among pine trees, the group is tired, excited, and more skilled. It is definitely time to have rest and a nice glass of wine at sunset!

On our journey home, it is time to exchange opinions, give feedback, and capitalize such a thrilling experience with an HSE point of view. In this respect, Davide Scotti pointed out his seven golden rules to be a good safety leader: vision of the target; focus; capacity of influencing and inspiring one’s own team; being credible setting an example; having a team-oriented attitude; communicating in an efficient manner; capability of providing feedback. Each one of these draws a pattern that each safety leader should follow in order to succeed in communicating properly the path to safety in everyday life and, particularly, in a risky working environment.

An event with this format has the double advantage of effectively conveying the message and presenting a great networking opportunity for people sharing the same vision and constant preoccupation for creating and preserving a proper safety culture both in the workplace and outside it. Moreover, promoting a suitable safety culture among young people is the best way to create awareness and educate the leaders of tomorrow in a safety-conscious way.

This is why SPE Italy and the LHS foundation are fully committed in promoting this kind of events.

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SECTION ACTIVITIES

SPE Technology Day: Separation Technologies The use of innovative and non-invasive technologies to optimize separation process in oil & gas This main SPE event was organized on May 26th, 2016 by Costacurta S.p.A., an Italian excellence specialized in the design and manufacture of metal components for various industries. One of the main products of the company is a range of separators developed internally, which made it the ideal venue for the subject discussed.

Gionata Ferroni A panel of speakers from various Geolog S.r.l. backgrounds addressed the issue of separation technologies from various perspectives. The audience was, as it has become common nowadays, in part attending the event but also in significant part connected via webinar.

Alberto Di Lullo presented a work prepared with the colleagues Podenzani and Mancini on the HPC (High Performance Computer) that the Eni runs in their Green Data Center. The system is the 11th most powerful computer in the world, and the more powerful super computer in the European oil industry.

Fig.3 - This type of simulation requires billions of cells

Fig.1 - The session was well attended and questions came from the floor and from the remote attendees

Ken Primrose, CEO of ITS, started with an overview on the specialty of his company meaning electrical tomography, an analytical process aimed at understanding multiphase flows.

He described the technology and the systems involved, focusing then on the main applications, which are fluid separation and, in fact, multiphase flow.

The measurements carried out reveal in some cases a fluid behavior, which is difficult to predict or simulate.

Nevertheless, science is moving forward also in fluid theoretical simulation, as was explained by Giuseppina Montante from UniversitĂ di Bologna, who has illustrated the state of the art in CFD (Computerized Fluid Dynamics).

Although advanced software products can be rather fancy, in realFig.2 - Describing turbulent flows require rather ity CFD is mostly based complex calculations. on hard-nose complex mathematics.

This is exactly what multiphase simulation needs. In addition to CFD analysis, the Green Data Center is also used for Flow Assurance. The target of increased productivity is reached through a workflow involving post-process simulations, rapid decision-making and by organizing the data work running it as web services by browser. Finally, the Costacurta team brought to the table a practical case, putting together the application of CFD and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to improve the performance of a gas-liquid separator. The workflow utilized was shown, in which the fabrication and installation procedures were only determined after a thorough study. In particular, the application of FEA helped identifying stresses, a crucial parameter in an installation where vibrations were causing significant problems. Finally, the combination of CFD and FEA significantly contributes to optimize both the design of new equipment and the troubleshooting of existing ones, without the necessity of manufacturing prototypes or making tests in field. In conclusion, this technology day provided the audience with in-depth knowledge of advanced engineering applied to the oil industry, also confirming the excellence of Italian technology from all the involved players, oil companies, service sector and academia.

Fig.4 - This type of simulation requires billions of cells

36

TECNOLOGY APPLICATIONS

Snamprogetti™ Urea Technology: an evergreen process together with innovative solutions to face future projects

Alberto Serrafero Saipem S.p.A.

Fig.1: An Urea plant in Pakistan, using the Snamprogetti™ technology

Introduction An old saying goes: “Knowledge is born from experience”. What kind of experience is required then to be able to face all the aspects of an innovative chemical plant technology? To answer this question it is necessary to consider that the extent of knowledge in the various disciplines (i.e. design, manage and start up of a fertilizer plant) is enormous, whereas what is commonly referred to as “technology” is a very particular minor part, although of central importance.

In other words, the experience acquired in all the aspects constitutes a key factor that can lead to excellence.

In this framework, Saipem, through its proprietary technology Snamprogetti™ Urea, is a leader in the urea plant, being able to convey all the knowledge into its proprietary know-how and using it to study and develop new innovative solutions.

With over 130 Snamprogetti™ Urea Technology existing licenses spread in 34 countries (mainly India and China) and a daily urea production exceeding 235,000 metric tons, Saipem holds more than one third of the worldwide installed urea capacity and the world’s record for

having licensed the largest urea single line plant, Wulan Plant in China with a production capacity of 4,000 tons per day.

HP loop: the core technology The Snamprogetti™ Urea Technology was born about 50 years ago. However, its heritage is based on the Italian chemical industry of even longer ago. Although the process scheme of the modern technology looks very similar to the original concept of about half a century ago, a lot of innovative modifications and improvements have been studied throughout its life. In addition, they witness the Saipem/ Snamprogetti’s approach in technology development, aimed at exploiting the synergy in generating knowledge arising from being both a licensor and a contractor.

The concept behind the Urea formation (the most important used fertilizer in the world) is based on the simple formula, highlighted here below: CO2 + NH3 = Urea + H2O The selectivity to Urea of the above thermodynamic reaction has a limit, much depending on temperature, pressure

TECHOLOGY APPLICATIONS and feed ratio (NH3/CO2) in the process operation. The higher is the yield in Urea, the lower is the overall energy consumption of the complex. This is the main reason way all the efforts in developing the technology are mainly focused on HP synthesis loop of Urea Plant.

HP loop development: two innovative solution in Urea Reactor and Urea Stripper.

It is in the above-described section of the process, where the several studies are more concentrated to discover new and

37

Supercups trays for Urea Reactor Urea reactors are non-ideal multi-phase plug-flow reactors (“PFR”) type equipped with dedicated distributors for the reagents and a number of sieve type trays consisting of perforated plates that prevent back-flow of the heavier solution from the upper part downwards and favor the gas absorption in the liquid phase.

The innovative concept of the Snamprogetti™ SuperCups lies in the realization of a confined reaction space within the reactor tray geometry, namely the cups. They perform as a number of mixing units where ammonia is contacted with the gaseous CO2 in small bubbles.

Fig.2 - Simplified scheme of HP synthesis Loop in Snamprogetti™ Technology

Snamprogetti™ ammonia stripping process is characterized by a urea synthesis loop operating at about 160 kg/cm2 (g) with ammonia to carbon dioxide molar ratio at urea reactor inlet of 3.1 ÷ 3.5. This allows a CO2 conversion into urea of 60–63% in the reactor itself, also thanks to the perforated trays preventing back-flow and favor gas absorption by the liquid.

The urea reactor effluent solution enters the stripper, under slightly lower pressure than the urea reactor, where a fair part of the unconverted carbamate is decomposed in NH3 and CO2, thanks also to the stripping action of NH3 excess, so that the overall yield of the H.P. synthesis loop referred to CO2 is as high as 80÷85% (on molar basis).

Downstream of the stripper residual carbamate and ammonia are recovered in two recycle stages operating at about 18 kg/ cm2 (g) (namely M.P. section) and about 4 kg/cm2 (g) (namely L.P. section) respectively.

Ammonia and carbon dioxide vapours from the stripper top, after mixing with the carbonate recycle solution from downstream section, are condensed, at the same pressure level of the stripper itself, in the 1st and 2nd H.P. carbamate condensers, thus producing steam. After separating the inert gases from the top of carbamate separator, which are passed to M.P. section, the carbamate solution is finally recycled to the reactor bottom by means of a liquid/ liquid ejector, which exploits H.P. ammonia feed to reactor as motive fluid.

innovative solutions leading to a significant improvement in the urea plant performances. The efforts produced in the last 5 years produced two new technologies which will promise to distinguish the Snamprogetti™ in the future projects. They are known as Supercups trays and Omegabond® Technology.

Fig.3 - CFD of SuperCups tray

Once the reactants have swirled inside the cups, the mixed solution of product and non-reacted components is uniformly distributed on the upper part of the tray by means of the upper cup distributor.

The outlet flow pattern ensures a further mixing of the solution coming from all the cups.

The peculiar behavior of the SuperCups is characterized by a triple fluid-dynamic effect: Gas Equalizer, Mixer Reactor and Gas Distributor. (Fig. 3) As of today, the SuperCups have been comprehensively tested

38

TECNOLOGY APPLICATIONS

in two industrial facilities before the commercial launch.

The performance of these innovative trays has been assessed by monitoring the plant operation over a wide time frame. The laboratory analyses, the steam balance and

standing collaboration with ATI, has lately introduced an additional advancing solution for urea stripper: the “OmegaBond® Tubing Technology”. The first tests of this revolutionary tube solution started in 2005 at Fauji Fertilizer Ltd., Pakistan, whereas

Fig.4 - Omegabond® tubes

the process evaluation of each process sections lead to the evidence of an enhancement in the performance of the units that, after the installation of SuperCups, have been operated at increased plant loads with higher reactor yield and lower specific energy consumption.

In addition, at maximum plant capacities, the reactor volume starts to be limiting and the improvement of fluid-dynamic patterns given by SuperCups allows pushing the reactor conversion upwards thanks to the higher mixing efficiency of reactants and to the increased mean residence time.

These operational finding results are even more significant considering that the extent of modifications was limited to two trays (about 15% of total) only for each unit.

In conclusion, based on its proven features, the SuperCups represent a completely innovative reaction device for urea synthesis that can be advantageously applied to design a new generation of urea reactors as well as to improve the performance of existing equipment in retrofit design.

the first ever stripper installation was at Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co., Bahrain. Thanks to the long-term strategy for excellence in technologies and operation of those licensees of the Snamprogetti™ Urea Technology, this solution is now a reality in the market.

Several benefits are gained with Omegabond® technology: operation at more severe process conditions, no need of stripper passivation air, reduction of maintenance costs and additional available capacity – in case of retrofit design, as a result of getting a higher recycle within the high synthesis loop.

Up today, six installations have been successfully commissioned in the fertilizer world, confirming the improvement in the urea plant efficiency and operation. (Fig. 4)

Omegabond® Technology The Urea Stripper is a high temperature, high pressure vertical falling-film heat exchanger generally exposed to a highly corrosive environment conditions in the urea process. In addition to the well known (in urea field) proprietary design of titanium and bimetallic strippers, whose designs are continuously updated and constantly improved, Saipem, thanks to the long-

The future is bright by the capability of conjugating the technology development with the market requirements with an approach that, by going beyond the vision of a technology licensor, incorporates the one of a major worldwide contractor.

In this framework innovation is a never ending task which is part of past heritage, of present vision and of future ambitions of Snamprogetti™ Urea Technology.

Conclusion The history of Snamprogetti™ Urea Technology witnesses the constant effort towards a continuous innovation and modernization aiming at both client satisfaction and sustainability.

References [1] A. Gianazza, G.P. Testa, «Urea Technology: The Combined Knowledge of Licensor and Contractor» in Nitrogen+Syngas Conference 2009.

[2] E. Ladstatter, A. Gusenbauer, M. Aslam, A. Khan, U. Avagliano, L. Carlessi, « The Snamprogetti™ SuperCups Solution» in Nitrogen+Syngas Conference 2016.

[3] D.R. Goin, R.C. Sutherlin, A. Nuruddin, A. AlNajar, A. Serrafero, «The first OmegaBond® tubing technology HP urea stripper in Snamprogetti’s licensed urea plant at GPIC’s plant-site in the Kingdom of Bahrain» in Nitrogen+Syngas Conference 2013.

[4] L. Carlessi, «Snamprogetti™ Urea Process Technology: the continuous improvements of an evergreen technology» in IGTC Conference 2013

SECTION PROGRAM Dear members, with this column let me give a recap of a year of events and appointments.

A big role has been played by the HSE discipline: thanks to the strong efforts of the Technical Director, Davide Scotti, we organized two dedicated initiatives for YPs and children, moreover HSE was also the main topic disValerio Parasiliti cussed during the Christmas Dinner.

Parracello Eni S.p.A. A point that I would like to underline SPE Italian is the collaboration with other assoSection Program Chairman ciations. We arranged events with Scuola Mattei-IAASM, Confindustria Giovani, and ANIMP with the aim to further expand our perspectives from the Petroleum to the Energy Engineering vision.

Another subject that inspired this year was the space dedicated to Section sponsors. Three Technology Days and a business visit have been organized by some sponsors to show the last technologies to SPE members.

News of this year have been the Special Events, seven appointments focused in five wide issues: soft skills, open innovation, leadership, HSE, communication. During these events, we had

the honor to host the current SPE International President, Nathan Meehan, and Eve Sprunt, SPE former, who contributed to the high level of the Section initiatives.

As usual, we had three traditional Distinguished Lecturers, but this year we added a fourth one, held by the Italian Section DL Nicola Bona. Two of the DLs were host in Politecnico Di Milano and one in Scuola Mattei in order to involve students in our activities and reinforce the network with the Universities.

On this line, students have been a central part of our program.

With the great work done by the YPs and the Director of the external relations with universities, Claudia Porretta Serapiglia, we engaged the students in six of our events!

We closed the year with the Dinner for Talented Members (see the article in this Bulletin issue).

The first appointment of September will be the traditional Social Dinner linked to the second visit to our Section by Nathan Meehan!!!

With the last event, I close my service as Program Chairman; I would like to thank all the members, and the volunteers for the help they gave me during the year. I wish the next Program Chairman to continue and raise the Section initiatives.

I leave you with some pictures of this great year!

Date

Promoter

Type

Title

14 September 2016

SPE Italian Section

Social Event

Section Dinner

14 September 2016

Nathan Meehan - 2016 SPE

Special Event

Student Visit & Members Meeting

President

SECTION BOARD S P E I TA L I A N S E C T I O N B O A R D 2 0 1 6 - 2 0 1 7

Chairman

vice Chairman

Tiani Alessandro (Eni S.p.A)

Maurizio Rampoldi (Eni S.p.A.)

alessandro.tiani@eni.com

maurizio.rampoldi@eni.com

Mentor Chairperson

Past Chair

Paccaloni Giovanni

Tealdi Loris (Eni S.p.A)

gpaccal@tin.it

loris.tealdi@eni.com

Program Chairperson

Membership Chairperson

Ruben Visintin F.G. (Eni S.p.A)

Eleonora Azzarone (Eni S.p.A)

ruben.visintin@eni.com

eleonora.azzarone@eni.com

Treasurer

Scholarship Chairperson

Fernando Luis Morales Urosa (Sclumberger Italiana S.p.A.)

Dellarole Edoardo (TEA Sistemi S.p.A.) edoardo.dellarole@tea-group.com

fmorales2@slb.com

Technical Director Section Drilling and Completion

Technical Director - Section HSE

Paolo Allara (Saipem S.p.A.)

Scotti Davide (Saipem S.p.A.)

paolo.allara@saipem.com

davide.scotti@saipem.com

Technical Director Section Management and Information

Technical Director Section ProduCtion and Operations

Giudicati Gianna (Eni S.p.A)

Allegra Mondello (Costacurta S.p.A.)

gianna.giudicati@eni.com

amondello@costacurta.it

Technical Director - Section Project Facilities and Construction

Technical Director Section Reservoir

Intieri Andrea (Saipem S.p.A)

Andrea Lamberti (Eni S.p.A.)

andrea.intieri@saipem.com

andrea.luigi.lamberti@eni.com

Director - Companies advertisement and Sponsorship

Director External Relations Universities

Valerio Parasiliti Parracello (Eni S.p.A)

Claudia Porretta Serapiglia (Eni S.p.A)

valerio.parasiliti.parracello@eni.com

claudia.porretta.serapiglia@eni.com

Director - External Relations and Associations

Director - Mid/Downstream Liaison

Stephan Conte ( Eni S.p.A.)

Carollo Lorenzo

Director - innovation and section development

Director - Awards Nominations

Pinarello Giordano (Bluethink S.p.A.) giordano.pinarello@bluethink.it

Ugo Ormezzano (Tetra Technologies Inc.)

Director

Director

stephan.conte@eni.com

lorenzocarollo73@gmail.com

uormezzano@tetratec.com

Maurizio Senese

Di Lullo Alberto (Eni S.p.A)

maurizio.senese@gmail.com

alberto.dilullo@eni.com

Director

Director - Gela Liaison

Simone Grosso (Tecnomare S.p.A.)

Savioli Lorenzo (Eni S.p.A)

simone.grosso@tecnomare.it

lorenzo.savioli@eni.com

Student Chapter Liaison

Internet & Communication Chairperson

Viberti Dario (Politecnico di Torino)

Vacca Adele (Eni S.p.A)

dario.viberti@polito.it

adele.vacca@eni.com

Director - Bulletin Managing Editor

Vienna Arrigo (Eni S.p.A) arrigo.vienna@eni.com

Italian Section dashboard Section # 096 Repor t as of 30 June 2016 Char ts do not include affiliate members.

Professionals Members: 447

Affiliate Members: 8

Student Members: 245

Professional Member Retention: 78.21% Professional Member Growth: -13.04%

STYPED THE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS JOURNAL

BULLETIN 2 / 2016

YP FOCUS

YP COMMUNITY

The YP Wind of Change

HSE: An Adventurous Approach

Andrea Tondelli - Luca Cadei Eni S.p.A.

Stefano Maronese Eni S.p.A.

STYPED INITIATIVES SPE Meets University Francesca Giordano - Giorgio Fighera Eni S.p.A.

46 YP FOCUS

The YP Wind of Change The Oil & Gas industry has been historically characterized by strict rules and traditions, but during the very last years, the deep downturn of the Luca Cadei Eni S.p.A. market related to the oil price crisis has highlighted all the limitations connected to this approach. It’s time for experimenting new ideas, and the SPE YP community is the perfect melting-pot of disciplines and backgrounds to successfully drive our industry through the world energetic challenges of the forthcoming years Therefore, as for the Oil & Gas industry, also inside the SPE community there is a wind of change. This year the YP board has been completely transformed in both constituting people and concepts. First of all, the approach will be bottom-up instead of having an up-down YP board. The active group is composed of talented young professional linked by friendships, passion and common energy.

Having this new generation being working side by side within the board means that an incredible value will be given to the development of innovative proposals and events for all other members.

Ideas will flow more freely and anyone will have the possibility to contribute in the future agenda.

Andrea Tondelli Eni S.p.A.

YP board will be a place to organize and create, share opinions and become collaborative under every aspects. The merging of these features, along with the heterogeneity of SPE YP population, will boost new ideas and solutions, exploiting this natural mechanism of cross-fertilization.

Within this dynamic environment, some focal targets have been pointed out: • Social media; • Interactivity; • Networking; • Association identity.

This year the communication will be strongly enhanced. Our social media pages - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Speitaly.org - will be constantly updated, speeding up the information flow, through i.e. the possibility of “posting” allowing to receive instant news and feedbacks. This will be fundamental in order to recalibrate our initiative and be more connected to all members. Moreover, all the active members are the backbone of our association and they will stay updated continuously by the YP board, and especially from all of us informally. It is fundamental to underline that all the active members are friends instead of colleagues, leaving formal approaches inside their own offices, pursuing the aim of experimenting new ideas freely. Networking is not only a target but will be the tool used to craft and tune this new transversal and innovative vision for the SPE YP. The Oil & Gas industry needs passion to overcome the recent market trends, making necessary the maturation of strong SPE YP group identity. Hence, universities will be more involved and connected to SPE; a dedicated Student Chapter section in the YP board has been created to support the primordial beginning of the PoliMI Student Chapter, to strengthen the connections with the PoliTO Student Chapter, to boost the Student Chapter in Rome, and to cultivate the expectations given by Pisa University.

These are maybe only few, little first steps of changing for the big challenges that we are facing, but fully represent the reaction of the new generation of YPs and a real trial to thrive the success of the energy market for the years to come.

STYPED INITIATIVES

47

SPE meets University Francesca Giordano Eni S.p.A.

Giorgio Fighera Eni S.p.A.

Students are the future.

Students are the professionals of tomorrow.

Students are the authors of new chapters of the Oil & Gas story.

With this in mind, SPE Italy pursued in 2015/2016 a new nation-wide SPE Student Chapter Program to present the Society of Petroleum Engineers to students professors in Italian Universities, trying to involve them and make them part of the SPE world.

The challenge was big but as well as the opportunity.

We wanted to present SPE in a modern, comprehensive and effective way. This led to organize a nationwide event called “SPE meets University”. On April 6th a video streaming conference took place. The event gave us the possibility to connect simultaneously the students from Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Università di Firenze, Università di Pisa, Università di Palermo and Università degli studi Federico II di Napoli.

The participation was high and almost unexpected, with about 300 students in the audience, thanks to the collaboration and dedication of Young Professional SPE members present in each University to support event organization in loco.

Claudia Porretta Serapiglia, SPE Italy Director for External Relation and Universities, opened the video conference illustrating how SPE is organized worldwide and nationwide, with a particular focus on the activities carried out by the SPE Italian Section, at Senior and Young Professionals level. Giorgio Fighera, SPE Italy YP board member, stressed how important is an active participation

to SPE activities and how it strongly impacts the development of communication and social skills.

The conference profited also from the contribution of Torino SPE Student Chapter students. Henry R.N.B. Enninful, Matteo Deidda and Salman M. Qamar talked about their experience in the Student Chapter and about their active participation to a number of SPE initiatives (e.g. thesis award and Petrobowl Competition): an important contribution to show how SPE interacts with students and how a Student Chapter works.

The conference was also a perfect showcase to give an example of a typical SPE-like mini lecture. The journalist Barbara Sgarzi was also invited to talk as an expert of internet recruiting. With her lecture “Don’t forget to google yourself”, focused on the role of social media during the job search, Barbara gave precious guidelines on how to build an interesting web personal profile.

After the streaming event, in each university one Young Professional provided a SPE Ambassador Lecture. The YP members shared their experience by focusing on the added value in their professional life of being active within SPE and kept up the discussion with the students with a Q&A session.

So far, the feedbacks are enthusiastic. Many students joined SPE (more than 60 students in the following days) and many showed interest in giving birth to a new Student Chapter in their University.

Overall, the event allowed to establish promising connections with the academic world, which are connections of great value that we want to nourish to further consolidate this first successful outcome.

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YP’S PHOTOBOOK HSE: an adventurous approach Stefano Maronese Eni S.p.A.

Have you ever thought about safety as an adventure? This is why our group of YP set for an adventure on May the 20th, an adventure in safety. Here you go a brief reportage of the day. The adventure started in... San Donato, where we met our guide and mentor through the journey: Davide Scotti. Davide works as a HSE Culture Manager for Saipem and has a long-standing experience in HSE, being the manager of LHS Foundation, a no-profit organization founded by Saipem which foster the development of a correct safety culture through the program “Leadership in Health & Safety”. Davide welcomed us and explained the plan for the day: we were heading to Val Brembana for some tree climbing.

The real adventure started after the safety briefing: when helmets, climbing harnesses and all the safety gears were deployed and tested, the challenge began. It is no easy task hanging from a rope twenty meters high, but the thrill is unique. At times it proved to be tough; if you are afraid of height, definitely it is not the place for you.

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After the workout, there was time for chill out, surrounded by the beautiful landscape of Val Brembana. During the social moments, there was the chance to exchange opinion and talk about this amazing experience. During the discussion, Davide made us think about the way we approach potentially dangerous situation while minimizing the risk and still enjoying the thrill. He introduced us the “seven point of the good leader in safety� and made us reflect on how we , as a team , implemented them spontaneously. A good leader in safety must have a proper vision of the situation, a correct focus on the action to be taken, should have a good influence over the team members, be credible and always show the proper commitment towards security, foster teamwork, be an effective communicator and finally listen to feedback to keep on improving. We immediately realized that we applied the principles spontaneously, even without knowing them.

As the sun was setting, we were ready to get back to Milan. Before leaving, one last picture to remember this thrilling day, in which we learnt a lot about HSE while amusing ourselves. Special thanks go to Davide for his admirable professionalism and his contagious passion making this a very eventful day. See you at the next adventure!

50 YP NEWS

Presentation of the new SPE student chapter Board of Politecnico di Torino On April 15, the SPE PoliTo student chapter elected its new board members. Two parties, namely the ‘Team International’ and the ‘Team Game Dayal Parkash Changers’, faced each other during Politecnico di Torino Student Chapter the campaign period. The “Game Changers” made up of Emecheta Kemjika, Dayal Parkash and CojoCojocariu Elena Iuliana cariu Elena Iuliana, won the election.

Politecnico di Torino Student Chapter Both teams ended up collaborating as they showed great zeal to work for the chapter. The newly elected team in line with their commitment and vision, restructured the organization in a more functional manner assigning heads to each committees.

The first chapter meeting was held May 5, 2016 and all the members pointed out how a stronger academia/industry liaison was needed as well as the need to organize more events that contribute to both technical and interpersonal skills.

The current SPE PoliTo board aims at forming an Alumni Network Emecheta Kemjika Politecnico di Torino Student Chapter

so that more opportunities are created for students and their interaction increase internationally. Following the programs that were part of the agenda the members have organized a “Technical Paper Writing Training”, screening of SPE’s webinar on “Do’s and Dont’s of Matrix Stimulation by Giovanni Paccaloni” and “Career counselling by Marian Sebastianelli (Drilling fluid Engineer- Schlumberger)” who shared her experiences related to the industry and how the students should prepare themselves in the current scenario. All of the events were held in May. Recently, the chapter competed in the PetroBowl European Regional Qualifiers winning 2nd place having lost to Stavanger University in the Finals (see article before). Both schools (Stavanger University and Politecnico di Torino) will be representing the European region in the world finals which will take place in Dubai later this year at the SPE Annual Technical Conference.

The chapter aims at nourishing both the soft and hard skills of their members in the most effective manner considering the resources available. They are currently working on an Exchange Program with the Bucharest student chapter and believe in taking the chapter to new heights.