A Successful Case Study of a Collaborative Approach in Operational Optimization via Adoption of Automated Drilling Performance Measurement

Abstract

Digital transformation has always been one of the focuses of the oil & gas industry players in recent years. However, the pandemic and oil downturn last year has put the industry players in a digitization overdrive in the pursuit of leaner and cost-effective operations to stay ahead in these unprecedented times. This paper discusses the strategy, approach, and challenges in the adoption and implementation of the Automated Drilling Performance Measurement (ADPM) onsite and remote approach. This includes Wells Real-Time Center (WRTC), which utilizes the ADPM, an easy access analysis application for operational optimization. The implementation of ADPM falls under the PETRONAS Well Cost Compression focus area of Operational Optimization, which aims to achieve the operational technical limit and non-productive time (NPT) reduction. The stages of operational optimization via ADPM are broken down into pre-spud operations, operations, and post-well analysis. A historical performance study is conducted in pre-spud operations and case study sessions with the project team and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Once in operations, best practices for the focused key performance indicator (KPI) and ad-hoc gap analysis are implemented onsite throughout the well construction. Remotely, the KPIs are monitored by WRTC while rig contractors monitor the crew performance. The performance review is studied in post-well analysis, and the best practices are compiled for replication and lesson learned to improve future well's excellence. The evaluation of rig performance is conducted based on the focused KPIs criteria and Rig Scorecard criteria. Implementation of ADPM set clear and defined strategy from top management on digitalization and performance optimization. ADPM also helps foster performance optimization awareness and culture with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and expectations. For example, the application deployment for the Field B drilling campaign focused on tripping, drilling and casing KPI improvement while utilizing ADPM for data gathering and analysis. The result of this deployment is commendable, with a total actual savings of 2.94 days gained throughout the campaign. From 2016 to 2021, PETRONAS has gained a total of 39.03 days of actual savings for their entire rig fleet.