CTEP provides technological solutions through scientific research

The Technology Center for Exploration and Production (CTEP) of the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) is focused on incorporating, developing and improving technologies for the development and operation of oil fields through qualified human resources, first-class equipment and laboratories, geared toward generating added value, efficiency and opportunities.

Its vision is to provide technologies and content-intensive services to the oil industry and to lead an accelerated and efficient development of oil fields, solving real industry problems, as well as the creation of high-performance specialized human resources.

The center offers services and research studies for PEMEX, operating companies, service or technology providers, universities and research centers and government entities, among others.

CTEP is located in the strategic area of Boca del Río, Veracruz. The center consists of five different laboratories with the most advanced technological instruments:

• Technology grading [1] [2] system
• Flow assurance
• Numerical simulation of metoceanic and hydrodynamic phenomena
• Drilling, completion and well cementing fluids
• Geotechnical engineering

This center boasts world-renowned laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment, product appraisal facilities, operationally ready tools and technologies, technological solutions for onshore, shallow-water and deepwater oil fields, inter-laboratory experimental networks to provide integral solutions, the incorporation of solutions for industrial applications generated from research that provides both economic and technological value for operators and information to support decision-making to further innovate their technologies and production processes.

The technology qualification laboratory, for example, aims to process hydrocarbons used in surface and subsea facilities to maintain and increase production of oil and gas fields and prevent decline. Its scope consists of:

• Mitigating production stoppages in facilities due to inadequate performance of pumps or inefficient phase separation of compressors.
• Finding solutions for separation, dehydration and production desalting problems using compact equipment and/or improving equipment performance.
• Designing new equipment and/or improving existing equipment that can handle a wide range of crude oils; in particular, heavy and extra-heavy crude.
• Reducing risk when implementing new hydrocarbon production system technologies.

The flow assurance laboratory, meanwhile, focuses on designing systems for the extraction, production and transportation of hydrocarbons, seeking to eradicate or mitigate problems associated with flow assurance throughout the integral system.

Its scope comprises:

• Both general and issue-specific research to provide viable technical and economic solutions for flow assurance problems.
• Evaluating new technologies for hydrocarbon production and transportation assurance.
• Developing and implementing new methodologies for performance analysis and optimization of chemical products for flow assurance.
• Training specialists to provide solutions for flow assurance problems.

For its part, the purpose of the numerical simulation of metoceanic and hydrodynamic phenomena laboratory is to design, evaluate or optimize marine infrastructure and develop virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D visualization applications, as well as analyzing meteorological and oceanographic phenomena that impact the design, operation and functioning of hydrocarbon production systems.

Its scope encompasses:

• Validating and implementing meteorological and oceanographic numerical models.
• Providing climatological analysis for extreme weather events in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Evaluating the effects of climate change on metocean parameters.
• Developing, implementing and validating hydrodynamic models for the analysis of floating production systems (FPS), mooring lines and risers.
• Simulating different marine operation scenarios.
• Developing virtual reality applications for training purposes in different activities within the oil and gas industry.

The focus of the completion and well cementing fluids laboratory, meanwhile, is to optimize control fluid designs, operational safety and environmental care for oil field development.

Its scope covers:

• Developing innovative and robust drilling, completion and well cementing fluid systems for the most demanding formations and field operating conditions.
• Determining the technical feasibility of technologies associated with control fluids.
• Evaluating the functionality of the control fluids systems during the FEL (front-end loading of oil field) field process and the VCDSE (Visualization, Conceptualization, Definition, Follow-up and Construction Evaluation) well process.

Finally, the geotechnical and soil-structure interaction laboratory works with onshore and offshore soils, developing physical models of soil foundations for floating and subsea systems, as well as marine pipelines.

Its scope comprises:

• Developing foundation technologies for floating and subsea systems and pipelines using scale physical models.
• Generating experimental methodologies to determine the mechanical properties of different soils.
• Providing experimental services for quality control in geotechnical exploration campaigns.

IMP, the scientific and technological heritage of the Mexican people!

For more information into CTEP’s activities:

Doctor Federico Barranco Cecilia

Coordinator of the Center of Technology for Exploration and Production

Email:fbarran@imp.mx

Telephone numbers 2291955000

The Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) has 54 years of experience in generating expertise and technological capabilities for the hydrocarbons sector. Its goal is to maximize value generation in exploration, production and transformation processes.