Complete Tech Workflow Spurs Optimal Decision-Making

Q. What is Beicip-Franlab Mexico doing to remain competitive during the downturn in the oil and gas industry?

A: Beicip-Franlab was impacted by the drop in oil prices, so our focus this year has been on planning ahead, cutting costs and retaining our best talent. We are also interacting with new companies entering the Mexican market. PEMEX and IMP are still our main clients in Mexico, and we are supporting them on various ongoing projects. We are also working with CNH to prepare for the upcoming rounds. This year we are focused on improving our client support and maintaining our business in Mexico.

We are in the process of negotiating a new contract with PEMEX for 2017. This involves identifying the projects that offer the most scope for productivity and production improvement, which are PEMEX’s main priorities at the moment.

Q. What specific technological solutions do you offer to your clients?

A: We provide a complete workflow, from exploration to production, including technology designed for EOR projects. We use leading-edge Petroleum System Analysis/Basin Modeling techniques to make optimal decisions in exploration, field development and production optimization, from marginal fields to supergiant fields and nonconventional reserves. We are also working on economic analyses, which involves determining the profitability of future fields.

OpenFlow Suite 2016 is the latest edition of our software release. Each year we improve and build upon OpenFlow’s capabilities, adding additional features to enhance our clients’ experience. KronosFlow is one of the latest elements of the suite, designed for the analysis of more complex areas during exploration. Also, we have a new technical solution that was incorporated into our platform under the name TightFlow. This is three-year consortium led by IFPEN and Beicip-Franlab to develop and validate innovative technologies along a new workflow focusing on the understanding and modeling of the impact of hydraulic fracturing on the production of hydrocarbons in unconventional plays. The other components of the suite, such as TemisFlow, DionisosFlow, FracaFlow, Pumaflow and Cougarflow, have also been updated to the new platform.

Beicip-Franlab also can assist operators throughout all the steps of an EOR project. Beicip-Franlab is a member of the EOR Alliance, with IFPEN and Solvay, which aims at covering the full range of services from pre-feasibility to pilot design and implementation.

Q. What specific projects are you involved in at the moment in Mexico?

A: Beicip-Franlab works on integrated studies to analyze different areas. Many companies that are investing in exploration are working on reprocessing seismic data with CNH’s multiclient project. We are working to be involved in this process and our role will focus on analyzing the new seismic data, which would include 2D basin modeling, that could include a regional study, as well as possibly prospective resources assessment, to promote areas that will be opened in the upcoming bidding rounds. A benefit of CNH’s multiclient approach is that companies will not only end up with the seismic data from the fields but also with a study of the strategic areas that provide potential investors with a more in-depth view. We are working to create new alliances with companies that have multiclient contracts with CNH.

Q. Why should a company entering the Mexican oil and gas market for the first time choose Beicip-Franlab?

A: Our specialty lies in reservoir, production and exploration services. In the area of exploration, we can assist companies in Petroleum System Analysis/Basin Modeling and the analysis of the value of fields and risks analysis from an economic point of view. In the area of reservoirs, we can analyze how much a field is producing, how to optimize their current production and its future production potential. Looking at the long term, the next step would be to offer specific EOR solutions and projects.