Integrated production optimization unlocks 13.8 million barrels in a North African mature field

SLB’s Integrated Production approach—emphasising production optimisation—triples output and improves efficiency for a 50-year-old asset.

An operator in North Africa faced a formidable challenge—turning round a mature field with decades of declining production, rising water cut, hundreds of idle wells, and legacy facilities.

Choosing to go beyond isolated interventions, the operator partnered with SLB to implement an integrated production optimization solution—unifying advanced reservoir diagnostics, tailored well interventions, facility debottlenecking, and digital operations.

The outcomes surpassed all projections, yielding 13.8 million barrels of additional oil—triple the original production estimate—and establishing a new standard for asset rejuvenation in the area.

To transform a late-life and technically constrained field into a high-performing asset by deploying SLB’s Integrated Production offering. The goal was to maximize recovery, improve operational efficiency, and establish sustainable production growth, all through a single, comprehensive partnership model.

The SLB’s Integrated Production multidisciplinary team began with in-depth reservoir diagnostics, leveraging advanced production logging to map untapped reserves and guide intervention strategy.

More than 200 shut-in wells were screened, and the most promising candidates underwent reactivation and stimulation using one-step technology.

Geosphere technology enabled successful re-entry into thin, underdeveloped layers, while artificial-lift solutions were upgraded with slim ESPs for agility and reliability.

Simultaneously, facilities underwent debottlenecking—with desalters studies, optimized pumps, and pad tie-ins—to remove throughput constraints.

Digital smart operations were integrated across the project: edge computing, surface automation, and a real-time operations command center sustained performance gains and ensured HSE leadership.

All activities ran under a unified contractual framework, streamlining communication and accountability.

• 13.8 million barrels of incremental oil unlocked across the field.
• Achieved production results three times higher the initial forecasts.
• 90 wells brought online: 82 via conventional interventions and eight through advanced re-entry operations.
• Produced water volumes reduced by 55%.
• Project scaled up rapidly: from two to eight well-operation rigs and from one to five drilling rigs.
• Implementation of advanced metering, digital surveillance, and structured operational practices underpinned ongoing performance.
• All targets achieved while maintaining industry-leading HSE standards.

SLB’s Integrated Production demonstrates the unmatched value of holistic, cross-disciplinary collaboration in revitalizing some of the world’s oldest and most complex assets.