Using a Business Intelligence Tool for Drilling Data Analysis in the Permian Basin

Abstract

Oil and gas companies are increasingly using data analytics to improve drilling performance. This paper provides an example of using a business intelligence (BI) tool to analyze drilling data in the Permian Basin. The BI tool helped to improve operation decisions through the use of a visual report. A database, consisting of massive amounts of historical drilling data, is analyzed using the BI tool to better understand drilling performance and predict average operations performance in the area. A historical drilling database is created based on the bottomhole assembly (BHA) run data and analyzed by the BI tool to review the well performance, in addition to identifying any hazards and summarizing the optimum drilling system during the planning phase. With the help of the BI tool, the drilling database can be displayed in an interactive way to further understand the drilling performance in the area; e.g., the top performing drill bit, drilling system, downhole mud motor configuration, and estimated drilling time for the section of interest. As a result, engineers will find it easier to identify the potentially top performing wells along with drilling hazards in offset wells. The engineers can evaluate the well details and identify the best drilling practices to optimize drilling performance and eliminate downhole incidents. Using the BI tool helps reduce the data mining time and offers a fast, improved method for gaining technical insights into the drilling operation. These descriptive analytics help to simplify the complex data sets, which are valuable for uncovering patterns that offer data set understanding. With the visualization results, experts can focus on data diagnostics analytics to make suggestions for drilling operation improvements and corrections. Furthermore, these analytical data can be used as inputs for more advanced predictive (forecast drilling performance) or prescriptive analytics (drilling optimization) that deliver real-time insights for making improved business decisions.