Drilling efficiency programs yield valuable benefits

The goal of any drilling efficiency program is continuous improvement in drilling operations. Advanced preparation and organization can save valuable time and money.

Most drilling operations are inefficient, and most drilling supervisors and rig crews do not plan ahead effectively.

They run mud pump liners, pistons and valves seats and inserts to destruction and then change them out during the drilling operation instead of tracking the hours and changing them out while making a trip, before failure. They drill to TD, then mix a slug, pump the slug, and pull out of the hole instead of mixing the slug while they are drilling.

They normally slip and cut drill line just after they run in the hole instead of doing it while they are logging. Drill crews constantly inject noncritical jobs into the critical path.

In order to improve drilling operations, you must first measure the inefficiencies in a process and then take steps to mitigate them. This is done by setting measurable objectives in operations and tracking the progress. The only measurement used at present is the drilling time-depth curve.

This article visualizes the process of drilling a well as a project and uses a Gantt chart to define the critical path of drilling a well. This defines standard times for each task in the operation and is a planning tool. Other operations (tasks) that are not in the critical path (but still must be done) are removed from the critical path and included in the checklists. Improving efficiency reduces squandered assets (time, money, people).

Planning tools

Rig efficiency is a planning tool. It allows rig crews to do critical-path planning, and checklists ensure that nothing is left undone. And, because they are involved with detailed efficiency planning, the crews tend to incorporate better safety planning, making the operation not only more efficient, but also safer. It is a learning process wherein the rig crews do their jobs smarter, not just faster. The resulting wells are drilled quicker, with fewer mistakes, through advance planning.

Any drilling efficiency program should be a continuous quality improvement program that recognizes the importance of detailed planning and continuous evaluation of the drilling process. The program takes all the necessary elements of the drilling program and combines them into a plan that will provide direction to complete the project with maximum utilization of time and recourses.

A rig efficiency program should provide a detailed plan, a checklist, and a detailed narrative description of all critical tasks. This program identifies inefficiencies and continually eliminates them. It also defines the critical path in the drilling operation and mitigates deviation from the process.

The ultimate goal of any efficiency program is cost reduction. One of the objectives is to eliminate any adversarial relationship between the contractor and the operator by establishing common goals and by encouraging the contractor and the rig crews to identify with the operator's objectives by being involved in the planning.

The central theme of the program is "on time —the first time—every time," thereby eliminating the learning curve from the beginning of the drilling program.

The drilling process is viewed as a well-planned project and not as a series of episodes filled with daily crises that must be addressed. A Microsoft Project Gantt chart is used to define and track the critical path of drilling a well.

Operations that are not defined as critical path items but are tasks that must be done are removed from the critical path and scheduled for times that do not interfere with the critical path. These tasks are listed on a comprehensive checklist.

The drilling efficiency program keeps the well program on target and allows the contractor time to maintain his equipment without causing deviations from the plan. Safety is not compromised as the drilling personnel are doing detailed project planning that includes safety planning, specific to the immediate tasks.

This is an excellent program when used with an incentive drilling program. People understand that an incentive bonus is paid only if objectives are met. With incentives in the program, objectives are clearly defined and the importance of meeting them is established.

*Program origin

This drilling efficiency program was initially developed by the personnel of Global Marine Drilling Co. in response to being awarded a series of turnkey well programs and Alliance drilling programs in the North Sea. The fact that Global Marine UK was both the operator and the contractor indicated a need for developing a process of working efficiently and reducing time and costs without compromising safety or damaging equipment.

Elements of the final program included:

• Daily planning meetings with the operator, contractor, and third-party personnel that would be involved in the drilling program.
• Pretour "tool box" meetings. These are crew-level meetings, i.e., driller and drill crews, crane operator, and roustabout crews, as well as the chief engineer, and the maintenance personnel.
• Creating detailed checklists covering the activities of the day and assigning a person to be responsible for the listed tasks.
• Written instructions for the critical tasks. These instructions covered routine as well as nonroutine jobs. The instructions are written with the input of the drilling contractor, the operator, and the third-party personnel as appropriate.
• Critical-path planning utilizing Microsoft Project Manager.
• Identifying constraints in the drilling process by utilizing good problem identification and problem solving techniques. It should include the identification of limitations in the drilling process, involving tools, equipment, personnel, training, shore-based management, third-party equipment and personnel, etc.

In order for the program to succeed, elementary management concepts have to be developed and explained to the drill crews.

• Clear objectives must be developed and understood.
• The importance of achieving the objectives must be communicated.
• A plan to achieve these objectives must be developed.
• The plan must be successfully implemented.
• "A goal without a plan is but a dream."
• The entire program must have senior-level management's commitment.

Establish objectives, meet goals

People often refer to the relationship between drilling contractor and operator as a partnership when more often it is quite different.

Some of the common goals of both operators and contractor are:

• Both want a safe operation.
• Both want to minimize mechanical downtime.
• Both want good food on the rig.
• Both want a clean rig

Some mutually exclusive goals:

• Operator: Wants to drill the well on or under budget.
• Contractor: Wants to operate the rig under budget.
• Operator: Wants to drill the well as quickly as possible.
• Contractor: Wants to keep the rig on contract for as long as possible.
• Operator: Wants to find a suitable rig for the lowest day rate possible.
• Contractor: Wants to find a job for his rig with the highest day rate possible.

Unfortunately, contract drilling is one of the few industries in which the service provider does not usually identify with the clients' objectives and therefore does not develop a plan to achieve them.

Drilling contractors should identify with the client's goals and establish objectives to meet the goals. Finally, they should formulate a plan to meet the client's goals and implement and track the plan.

A bad plan for achieving the drilling time curve would be:

• Run the mud pumps at the maximum SPM and PSI.
• Run the maximum weight on the bit by running the drill pipe in compression.
• Run the blocks up and down as fast as possible while tripping pipe.
• Rush tasks, which would compromise safety.
• Exceed the design limitations of drilling equipment, which would cause damage.

Not having a plan will compromise safety for speed and possibly damage the rig and equipment. The result will be very high costs for both operator and contractor.

Critical-path planning

Critical-path planning has been used by operators and has been called the "proposed well curve," used in generating approvals for expenditures (AFEs) for proposed wells. These curves are based on historical data and best estimates. They are an overview of the proposed well defining the operator's goal (depth, range, time) and the objectives to be met (casing points) to reach the goal.

The drilling efficiency program takes this curve (goal) and assumes it is the critical path with the casing points as milestones or summary tasks. These objectives are then broken down into the tasks required to reach the milestones. These tasks or objectives are itemized and allocated time to complete. These tasks are further broken down into elements or individual tasks and resources required to complete the larger objective. It is here that the program and planning become most important.

Reaching the milestones and the overall goal requires that the basic tasks and resources be controlled. Identifying the tasks and resources permits identification of those tasks that can be kept off the critical path, and the objective can be reached in efficiently and safely manner. Resources can be efficiently allocated and costs controlled and documented.

When a simple well can have a daily spread cost of more than $180,000, efficiency is important.

Drilling a well is a project with a specific set of tasks required to reach the goal. A Gantt chart is a project-planning tool that can be used to represent the timing of activities. We use Microsoft Project Manager to plot Gantt charts, but they can also be constructed using Microsoft Excel or other project planning software.

Trip planning

A critical path is the linking of tasks that must be done on a finish-start or a lead-time relationship basis. Start-start and finish-finish tasks that must be done are moved to a checklist.