In October 2021, Scout Energy purchased the Dollarhide Unit, a CO2 flood in the Devonian, from another E&P Company.
The field has numerous headers that service injection wells that are designed to alternate both gas and water injection. Following the purchase of Dollarhide, Scout operators ran analysis on each header, and discovered they didn't have any control over the field and that it had been running in a very stagnant state for several years.
In addition, the injection headers and equipment were outdated and rundown.
"So with our actuators being out of commission, pretty much the wells were just taking whatever fluid they wanted to take or whatever CO2 they wanted to take," said Senior Operations Engineer Trey Morgan.
That need to re-establish control and visibility is what led to Scout's partnership with SitePro.
"We didn't want a huge company. We wanted a smaller company we could have a relationship with," Morgan said.
While SitePro is primarily known for its software capabilities, the company also offers robust and turnkey field calibration and inspection services. This includes configuration of parts and software, electrical, automation, and equipment repairs, installation and implementation, and more.
"Historically everyone looks at SitePro as a software-only company and that doesn't typically tell the entire story," said Paden Ferrero, SitePro Vice President of Business Development and Procurement.
SitePro began the field overhaul in the spring of 2022. The project began with SitePro field technicians checking and then updating or replacing every device to ensure increased performance and communication. This included flow meters, radars, strainers, actuators, and more.
"It basically meant combing through the entire field and every device and trying to figure out if it's functioning, [or] if it isn't. Once we determined what wasn't and needed to be replaced, we worked on a parts order list and got that agreed upon," said Ferrero.
Once the parts were ordered, it was time to get them installed and ensure they were communicating correctly with Scout's technology. Jesus Martinez, the SitePro technician who spearheaded the project, said communication and transparency with the customer were his goals throughout the job. Martinez and the other technicians worked hand-in-hand with Scout pumpers and operators throughout the job.
"The communication has been excellent as far as that goes," Morgan said. "I thought Jesus did a really, really good job of keeping things under control and organized and knowing what was going on at all times."
With the new equipment installed and headers updated, Scout operators can now inject water through headers that have only been injecting CO2 the last few years and vice versa. They can also now adjust the volume that is being injected into those wells.
"By doing that, we're going to get an overall improvement in conformance with the CO2 flood," Morgan said.
This will contribute to Scout Energy's overall goal for the Dollarhide Unit, which is increasing production.