Delivering and Sustaining Step Changes in Drilling Performance Through a Physics-Based Digital Workflow Application

Abstract

In 2015, the operator deployed a global initiative that focused on using physics-based principles to optimize various aspects of the well construction process. The initial rollout emphasized optimization of on-bottom drilling time utilizing mechanical specific energy (MSE), and this was successful in generating step changes in performance. The success of this initiative, and the internal and external marketing of that success, laid the foundation for the physics-based digital workflow developed in the operator's international business unit in Oman during the second quarter of 2017. The drilling teams launched a proof of concept in Oman in July 2017 to test the workflow. Throughout the proof of concept, the workflow was digitized, and it evolved into a robust web-based application to serve as the framework to facilitate consistent, repeatable, and scalable execution of the physics-based workflow. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of utilizing a physics-based workflow as well as to describe the innovative approach the operator used to execute the physics-based workflow. The workflow overview, proof of concept results, challenges, and future opportunities are discussed in detail. During the proof of concept, which lasted from July 2017 through August 2018, field personnel from eleven drilling rigs submitted over 4,000 entries into the digital workflow application. Office-based personnel then launched 32 design projects, addressing more than 200 of the issues identified. Of those 32 projects, 17 were completed within the specified period. In one particular field, the drilling team achieved a 20% reduction in well cost and a 27% reduction in drilling days on location by using this digital workflow. Overall, both drilling teams in Oman experienced tremendous performance gains throughout the proof of concept, with one team achieving a 72% increase in footage drilled per day, and the other achieving as much as 32%. The success of the proof of concept led to the operator's decision to deploy this web-based application and digital workflow globally in the second half of 2018.