Unconventional shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States over the past decade, and interest has spread to shale-gas plays in multiple countries. Shale gas is expected to continue to supply larger shares of the natural-gas production in North America by 2020. One of the most active shale plays in North America is the Haynesville, which represents extreme challenges in drilling horizontal lateral sections with 16,500–18,500-ft measured depth wells and flowing temperatures that can exceed 375°F at section TD. This paper examines a collaborative and systematic approach between the service provider and operator to drive relentless performance improvements in the production interval of the Haynesville. In 2009, the team set out a challenge to eliminate mud motor and MWD failures in the production interval. The approach outlined in this paper will explore how root-cause failure analysis, new condition-based maintenance systems, and field-operation processes were used to systematically push MWD, mud motor, and LWD performance in this hostile environment.

The use of managed pressure drilling (MPD) during drilling operations has proven to be an effective solution for controlling equivalent circulation density (ECD); however, making a drillpipe connection with MPD is more challenging than with conventional drilling. The current methods for making a connection during MPD rely on large, high-maintenance equipment to provide a sufficient fluid supply to maintain the MPD equipment within an operable range. This equipment is both expensive and difficult to use to control ECD efficiently. A new method of smoothly diverting rig pump flow during connections from the stand pipe to the MPD pressure control equipment at the annulus uses a valve manifold with an on-board choke. In addition to eliminating more expensive solutions, this method will improve pressure control and increase the operating range of MPD to provide higher pressures during connections and greater drilling flow rates. Reliability is increased by a reduction in complexity when using this method, because most rigs have multiple pumps available for redundancy. Field trials using a fully automated MPD solution were performed by a major operator in South Texas between late 2010 and early 2011. This paper uses real data based on flow testing and actual field experience to demonstrate that implementing the rig pump diverter method with standard MPD operations effectively controlled the desired annulus pressure during connections. By replacing current methods of making a drillpipe connection, this solution will reduce the overall cost of MPD, making the total MPD solution more feasible for small wells.

World energy demand is increasing. The next trillion barrels will be harder to access, harder to find and will be in ever smaller accumulations. New discoveries will undoubtedly be more difficult to produce and will have to be done with fewer and dwindling experienced resources. The industry has begun to accept change due to their desired demand for improved efficiencies. These efficiencies include integrating the workforce (both service and operating groups), improving quality and efficiency of workflows, and improving the technologies that are feeding into the "Digital Asset™" service. Such technologies are better formation evaluation measurements, better geological models, and faster reservoir simulators, better able to integrate production data for comparison to the geological models. Connecting people and improving technology and workflows allow the right decisions to be made at the right time while spending the least amount of effort. Today, necessity drives new and more dynamic integrated operations; and more efficient working relationships are evolving. This paper will discuss the challenge of doing more with less, exploiting more difficult reserves while lowering costs, increasing profits while reducing risk, and speeding up work processes while cutting non productive time. The answers lie with in a series of steps towards cultural change: utilizing real-time collaborative environments allowing simple workflow methodologies to be applied and feeding improved measurements into improved models while continuous optimization occurs while simultaneously actual operations occur. Introduction While there is currently significant debate as to the future of oil demand, the consensus is that the current crisis will be relatively short-lived and that oil demand will return to moderate growth globally. The demand for energy as a whole will follow this same pattern. Although other forms of energy will be brought on line at varying times and intensities, none are expected to have a significant impact for the next 20–35 years. Studies suggest that currently 70% of the world's oilfields are greater than 30 years old, and the replacement rate is slightly less than 2% per year. Finding, developing, producing and refining of oil will remain a significant part of our lives for the next quarter century. We as an industry are entering a new age characterized by new and innovative ways of finding and developing reserves. Operators and service companies are identifying opportunities to do more with less and to establish the best and right time decisions for finding, planning, drilling and completing wells /fields today. Recently published industry data suggest the median age of geo-scientist, petroleum engineers and geologists is between 48 and 50. New geo-science entrants to the industry peaked in the early 90's and the number has reached a plateau. The industry is not hiring enough individuals to fill the seats of the aging subject matter experts who will be retiring in the next dozen years, although some will continue working in some capacity as contractors in the industry. We are also facing challenges with reduction of bed space for offshore installations while having to deliver expertise to more rigs with fewer expert resources. These remarks assume that the reductions in force and rig count are short-lived. However, if the low energy demand cycle is long-lived, the reduced workforce and reduced rig counts will call for a still greater need for improved efficiencies. The industry will undoubtedly have to adopt better ways to find, drill, complete, and produce hydrocarbon reservoirs. The industry has choices in how prospects are generated, how assets are developed, and how to drill and complete, while evaluating the risk compared to the financial outcome of producing fields to their maximum potential. Note that the choices are not limited to the drilling process but includes formation evaluation, prospect generation, and development of the prospect, monitoring drilling, running and design of bits, fluids, stimulation, completions, and intervention — in other words all aspects of well construction, placement, completion and production processes.