Well Design and Engineering Process Automation

Abstract

Drilling engineers use several applications to perform well design tasks and to create a final report for review and approval, any changes in subsurface information require revalidation of engineering calculations and repeat of the entire tasks to update the stage-gate report. This is usually a manual, timeconsuming and human error prone process that may result in additional cost and/or prolonged planning cycle time. Moreover, such manual works by individual engineers lead to diversified well design practices and formats across a company which make it difficult for standardization and compliance control. Drilling engineering computer programs are primarily standalone applications that are used for engineering calculations with no continuous workflow in most cases. Well Delivery Process (WDP) is an engineering software solution developed to integrate, automate and standardize well construction planning process across the operating company. The system encompasses several integrated workflows by which users can carry out drilling/completion tasks from feasibility study to concept selection and detailed design as well as operations monitoring and closeout reports on a single digital platform. Furthermore, functions such as engineering calculations, rules validation, offset analyzing, well schematic, risk analysis, checklist, and well program are automated through the workflows and several microservices built on a series of applications. The WDP, based on the company's well design automation initiative, was developed jointly with the service provider using its Business Process Management (BPM) tools. The system integration transforms how wells are constructed and delivered by combining a digitalized planning and design process with engineering models on a single and open cloud-native platform. Several tools and techniques such as design templates, continuous calculations, well cost models, etc. are utilized through integrated workflows to automate well design and process. The solution supports all new wells and leverage data from existing wells to optimize well construction process. As a result, the collaborative well design platform and automation tools take the drilling engineering process to the next level with a better quality well design and a reduced planning time.