Present-day reservoir and production management have become intertwined and interdependent as assets and reservoirs mature. This principally has been led by iterative data-driven methodologies and workflows whereby evidence-based hypotheses and concepts are tested and improved. Success relies on the ability of practitioners and teams to adapt and show courage to fully examine, using first principles at times, the challenge at hand and rely on innovation and other disciplines.
These papers exemplify value creation at each stage of hydrocarbon maturation and should prompt practitioners to don their thinking caps.
The three papers shared in this issue have been selected on such a basis. The first paper, SPE 224936, shows the importance of challenging established reservoir and production management strategies in light of counterevidence. Material effects on long-term condensate recovery could then be quantified and new methodologies implemented and recalibrated. Such success established over a short time frame proves that a focused data-driven improvement can be a real cause for celebration.
The second paper, SPE 222165, is an enriching case study of how large companies can still be innovative while remaining focused on their dominant basins, delivering customized and scalable solutions. This paper illustrates business courage and the flexibility to tackle the largest capital projects by designing intelligent and continuously updating data models using integer linear programming while letting go of a fully manual approach.
The final paper highlighted may seem tangential to some of the work being undertaken around current maturing and mature assets; however, paper OTC 36184 shares a realistic future for many mature assets and saline aquifers, wherein a rigorous and robust approach is required to prepare for essential carbon capture, use, and storage-focused screening, qualification, and piloting. These projects, positioning Brazil as a frontrunner in the global transition toward a low-carbon economy while continuously investing in upstream projects, provides a glimpse of a regional and national scale push that blends key subsurface characteristics and risks with aboveground realities.
Summarized Papers in This January 2026 Issue
SPE 222165 End-to-End Approach Enhances Value of Mature and Marginal Fields by Laainam Chaipornkaew, PTTEP; C. Pipatchatchawal, The Gang Technology Company; and S. Kosawantana, PTTEP, et al.
OTC 36184 Technical Study Assesses Geological Carbon Storage in Brazilian Brownfields by Tiago H.F. de Jesus, Marcos V.B. Machado, SPE, and Júnia Casagrande, Petrobras, et al.
SPE 224936 Data-Driven Strategy Maximizes Condensate Recovery in Mature Field by Rovshan Mollayev, Mohammed Al Harrasi, and Ruqia Al Shidhani, BP, et al.
A. Shahbaz Sikandar, SPE, is group subsurface manager for Jadestone Energy. He has more than 31 years of global subsurface experience, having worked in various countries in technical and management positions with SLB, Centrica Energy, Maersk Oil, and Qatar Energy. He has worked on maximizing economic value from existing assets and global growth projects spanning all phases of upstream activities, from exploration and appraisal to greenfield and brownfield developments. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.
