Drilling time and cost were reduced in the Eagle Ford through the implementation of techniques and processes that resulted in 52% improvement in time and 45% reduction in cost. The shale revolution sparked an aggressive development campaign starting in 2010 in the Eagle Ford. Wells were drilled with a lack of appropriate knowledge of the area, without sufficient experience or proper equipment. Drilling costs were high but development was profitable due to the surge in oil prices. Drilling wells in the Eagle Ford is challenging because of the differences in lithology throughout the well, pore pressure profiles, high temperature, geosteering requirements, and casing design. These challenges had to be addressed in the design and execution of the wells. In addition, multiple trips due to downhole tool failures and low rate of penetration (ROP) contributed to high non-productive time (NPT) and associated costs. When Statoil took over the operatorship in the Eagle Ford an integrated approach to engineering and operations was key to optimize performance and bolster understanding of the area. Application of technology and standardization of operations resulted in continuous performance improvement. Detailed planning and execution, application of rotary steerable, implementation of an optimized casing design, contractor performance management, clear and open communication within the team, implementation of a performance incentive plan, and proper risk management all played a part in the overall drilling performance improvements. Over the past 2 1/2 years, more than 100 wells have been drilled in the Eagle Ford by Statoil. The techniques and procedures applied to optimize operations resulted in valuable lessons learned that can be applied to other development programs in the Eagle Ford and similar areas.

Drilling exploratory wells in Campos Basin shallow water has been done before. However, if you put in place an aggressive exploratory campaign to drill 40 wells in less than 2 years, with more than 4 semi-submersible rigs new to the area and all for a recently created operating company, you are facing quite a challenge.The lithology of the wells in block C-M-592, pore pressure profiles and the requirement for formation evaluation while drilling are challenges that needed to be addressed in the design and drilling of these wells. In addition, multiple bit trips, low ROP, and high drilling vibrations have also contributed to increased non-productive time (NPT) with the associated costs.An integrated approach to engineering and real time monitoring has been the key to controlling the operations and understanding block C-M-592 in Campos basin. In addition, the application of appropriate new technologies along with standardized, fit-for-purpose practices that have been implemented since the beginning of the drilling campaign have resulted in performance improvements.

In the southern region of Mexico, PEMEX along with Schlumberger-IPM is currently drilling deep wells into the Mesozoic Era reaching depths between 6000 to 7000 meters. The challenge of drilling into these reservoirs lies in the depositional environment, including the presence of salt domes, strong dipping layers, heavily faulted Tertiary formations and abnormal high pressures and temperatures. This paper presents a case study where a joint Geomechanics and Drilling approach was put in place to solve an emergential drilling problem in this Area. Although the complex structure, the previous drilling experience at this specific field, called Pache, showed good drilling performance and no mayor events were experienced. Nevertheless, several serious events occurred during the drilling of the 12–1/4-in hole, including stuck pipes events, which lead to two sidetracks and loss of the expensive downhole tools there were un-fishable. After analyzing operational practices and offset field characteristics it was decided to re-evaluate the geo-mechanical model, geology and geophysics in order to identify the mechanisms which caused the problem. As part of the analysis after the second sidetrack, an acoustic anisotropy tool was intentionally run, since the cavings reported during the operations indicated multiple rock failure evidences. This study shows the methodology used to evaluate and determine the possible mechanisms of borehole instability as well as the recommended drilling practices and optimum mud weight adopted to avoid or minimize packoff events. It was proved that a timely data acquisition together with an integrated drilling and geosciences analysis can indeed support real time operations, understanding the root causes of the problems and proposing adequated solutions. In this case study, a 3 MMUSD non productive time problem was solved in an intense 3 days analysis. Evidently, appropriate data and a multidisciplinary team are needed to put in place such solutions. Introduction This study refers to a field called Pache, located in South Mexico, Tabasco. The suggested drilling locations at this field are based on a Post-Stack Time Migration Cube. The quality of the seismic data is fair and processing reveals velocity and migration issues. Figure 1 presents some processing results and interpretation, useful to introduce the structural complexity of the field.