From basin
to barrel

Sequence: concept selection → engineering design → construction and installation → commissioning → start-up → stable operation.

Engineers choose the development arrangement, size equipment and define protection systems. Commissioning checks that installed systems are ready for service; start-up brings the facility into controlled operation.

Evidence of readiness: completed checks, tested protective functions and resolved issues within the project's acceptance process.

Drilling creates the hole. The completion provides the producing arrangement: tubing, isolation equipment, valves and a connection to the reservoir. Designs vary; not every well uses perforated casing.

Routine production tests measure individual well output. Pressure-transient tests investigate how pressure responds to a controlled change in flow, helping engineers understand the reservoir and well.

Evidence: reliable rates and pressures, stable test conditions and an interpretation that accounts for uncertainty.

Some wells cannot sustain the desired flow using reservoir energy alone. Gas lift introduces gas into the tubing to reduce the fluid column's average density; a downhole pump adds energy to lift fluids.

Decision: select and tune lift for the well's fluid mix and operating range, within gas, power and equipment constraints.

Verify: oil response, energy or lift-gas use, and reliable equipment operation. More lift input does not always mean more oil.

Water or gas injection can maintain pressure and displace oil toward producing wells. The result depends on connectivity, rock properties and where injected fluid travels.

Decision: balance injection across the field using pressure and production evidence. Injection supports the reservoir; artificial lift helps fluids travel up a well.

Verify: pressure support, injector performance and responses in nearby producers. Early water arrival can indicate an inefficient flow path.

Wax, scale, hydrates, sand and unstable multiphase flow can restrict or disrupt production. Different mechanisms require different evidence and controls.

Decision: assess fluid chemistry, pressure, temperature and flow behaviour to plan suitable thermal, chemical or mechanical measures.

Verify: pressure-loss trends, samples and stable operation. A falling flow rate alone does not identify a blockage.

Wells share separators, compressors, water treatment and export routes. One well's extra water or gas can use capacity needed by another.

Decision: compare well and network behaviour to find a feasible production plan, respecting integrity and facility limits.

Verify: field-wide oil gain, stable processing and resource use. The largest individual well rate is not necessarily the best field outcome.

Interventions investigate or change an existing well. Examples include diagnostic logging, removing deposits or repairing equipment. A workover can involve a more substantial repair or completion change.

Decision: establish the likely cause, expected benefit and suitable access method before selecting the job.

Verify: restored integrity or improved well performance against the original objective, including downtime and cost.

Containment, corrosion monitoring, equipment inspection, protective-system testing and maintenance work together throughout field life.

Decision: assess findings against the equipment's acceptance criteria. Maintenance requires appropriate work control and verified isolation; shutdown and fire-and-gas systems provide additional protection.

Verify: inspection and test results, closed defects and continued fitness for service. These protections support every production decision.

Export meters quantify sales streams. Allocation combines available measurements and models to attribute commingled production to wells or fields, accounting for uncertainty.

Environmental monitoring tracks relevant discharges, emissions, flaring and leaks. Produced water must meet the requirements for its intended injection, reuse or disposal route.

Verify: reconciled volumes, product quality and environmental performance against applicable requirements.