Offshore oil and gas reservoirs comprise a significant portion of the world’s reserve base, and their development is expected to help close a potential gap in the supply of hydrocarbons in the near future. Continuous advances in technology have helped the oil and gas industry to extend the exploration and production activities to deep and ultra-deep waters in harsher environments. Field development in the offshore environment is associated with numerous significant challenges in different phases including exploration, reservoir description and characterization, development planning, drilling, production, improved oil recovery (IOR) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR), transportation, and decommissioning. These challenges are further complicated by economic restrictions, especially in periods when low or unstable oil prices weaken the incentives of investments due to the high risks and uncertainties involved. Environmental concerns including the adverse effects of seismic surveys, drilling activities, discharge of waste material and produced water, and accidental spills and blowouts add another level of complexity to the design and implementation of offshore projects. Safe, reliable, and efficient development of offshore hydrocarbon reservoirs can be achieved through the proper identification of the challenges and use of modern technologies and innovative methods. This work is an effort to provide a comprehensive review of the history, global distribution, production share, classification, characteristics, and characterization methods of offshore reservoirs, and some of the main aspects and challenges of the experimental and modeling works as well as IOR/EOR planning and implementations from the reservoir engineering and production standpoint. These challenges are categorized based on their area of impact, i.e., characterization and recovery (production) phases. Furthermore, economic and environmental challenges are reviewed. After the recent downturn that caused a decline in offshore investments, current investment trends and the forecasts show that the offshore industry is booming again with more focus on cost saving and operational efficiency. The key technologies that can expedite the growth of the offshore petroleum industry have also been discussed.

中文翻译：

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海上石油储层开发的技术和非技术挑战：表征和生产

海上油气藏占世界储备基础的很大一部分，其开发有望在不久的将来帮助弥合潜在的碳氢化合物供应缺口。技术的不断进步已帮助石油和天然气行业将勘探和生产活动扩展到更恶劣环境中的深水和超深水域。离岸环境中的油田开发在不同阶段涉及许多重大挑战，包括勘探，油藏描述和表征，开发计划，钻探，生产，提高采油率（IOR）和提高采油率（EOR），运输和退役。经济限制进一步加剧了这些挑战，特别是在低油价或不稳定油价由于涉及高风险和不确定性而削弱投资动机的时期。环境问题包括地震勘测，钻探活动，废料和产出水的排放以及意外的溢漏和井喷的不利影响，给海上项目的设计和实施增加了另一层次的复杂性。通过正确识别挑战并利用现代技术和创新方法，可以实现海上油气藏的安全，可靠和高效的开发。这项工作旨在全面回顾近海油藏的历史，全球分布，产量份额，分类，特征和表征方法，以及从油藏工程和生产的角度来看，实验和建模工作以及IOR / EOR规划和实施的一些主要方面和挑战。这些挑战根据其影响范围（即表征和恢复（生产）阶段）进行分类。此外，审查了经济和环境挑战。在最近的衰退导致离岸投资减少之后，当前的投资趋势和预测表明，离岸行业再次蓬勃发展，更加注重节省成本和运营效率。还讨论了可以促进近海石油工业发展的关键技术。这些挑战根据其影响范围（即表征和恢复（生产）阶段）进行分类。此外，审查了经济和环境挑战。在最近的衰退导致离岸投资减少之后，当前的投资趋势和预测表明，离岸行业再次蓬勃发展，更加注重节省成本和运营效率。还讨论了可以促进近海石油工业发展的关键技术。这些挑战根据其影响范围（即表征和恢复（生产）阶段）进行分类。此外，审查了经济和环境挑战。在最近的衰退导致离岸投资下降之后，当前的投资趋势和预测表明，离岸行业再次蓬勃发展，更加注重节省成本和运营效率。还讨论了可以促进近海石油工业发展的关键技术。当前的投资趋势和预测表明，离岸行业再次蓬勃发展，更加注重节省成本和运营效率。还讨论了可以促进近海石油工业发展的关键技术。当前的投资趋势和预测表明，离岸行业再次蓬勃发展，更加注重节省成本和运营效率。还讨论了可以促进近海石油工业发展的关键技术。