Delivering Best in Class Wells: A Case Study

Abstract

It is possible to conduct a drilling and completion operation, sustaining a high operational performance and ensuring low Non-Productive Time (NPT) throughout a well drilling and completion campaign. The results from a recent onshore drilling campaign proves that with the right people, planning and process, a hitch free drilling and completions campaign can be achieved. In this case a perfect campaign was defined as;Delivering the planned work-scope (5 wells) within the approved Authority for Expenditure (AFE) cost and duration. Drill to the specified Total depth, penetrating all the subsurface targets within the stated tolerances specified. Achieve less than 15% overall non-productive time.Deliver the planned work-scope without Fatalities (FAT), Loss Time Injuries (LTI), Restricted Workday Cases (RWC), or uncontrolled discharges to the environment.Deliver wells without well control issues, Stuck-pipe incidents or any train wrecks.Deliver wells with minimal formation damage.Maintain technical and operational integrity by complying with statutory regulations and company governance documents always. In order to avoid previous problems encountered while drilling the appraisal wells, critical sections of the Well delivery process were thoroughly reviewed and optimized as required. These include: The Well Design, Rig selection/certification and acceptance, Safety, and drilling operations and logistics. The optimization methods are extensively discussed in this paper. The improvement and close optimization of the mentioned facets of the project helped to save circa $14MM from the project. When compared with other land projects in the same terrain (Niger Delta), the campaign was observed to be a top performer in the P-10 region of the performance percentile.