The failure of many experienced drilling hands to return to the business after the enormous shakeout of the 1980s continues to concern worldwide operators.
Staffing key positions on the rig floor has become a real problem in some areas. The situation is unlikely to improve in the short term, according to a dismal picture of the future painted by Leon Vincken, a former head of operations for Shell International Petroleum and now technical director of Dietsmann International, Antwerp.
Giving one of the keynote presentations at the recent European Oil and Gas Conference in Sicily, Vincken said the cyclical nature of the drilling business and the drastic reduction of activity in 1986 led to layoffs of experienced professionals, many of whom turned away from the rig floor and decided to try their luck elsewhere.
EXPERIENCE LOST
Few of the experienced hands will return to the ups and downs of the drilling business with its untidy field work and many personnel transfers, Vincken said. He also predicted new recruits would not last the course.
Some drilling contractors and operators are subcontracting rig crewing to service contractors who supply technical personnel and complete drilling crews. This provides flexibility in payroll numbers and a rapid buildup in crews when required.
But new demands on safety enhancement and care of the environment will require these service contractors to train their personnel to the same technical and safety standards as the drilling contractor or the operator.
In the past, he said, profit margins enabled all personnel to be trained properly. But with present minimal margins, the service contractor could only maintain training up to a point beyond which he will have to choose between making a profit or training at a par with the operator.
MORE INCENTIVE CONTRACTS?
Vincken also believes that European operators will have to move to incentive drilling contracts, common in the U.S. for many decades.
Some European operators have already introduced these contracts, which require more intense participation of the drilling contractor in planning and supervising the well program.
The widely used system of day rates allows operators to make easy comparisons between drilling contractors. And once a contract is awarded, everyone is happy as long as drilling times are not too far off budget, Vincken noted. The operator has almost total responsibility, calls the shots, and provided no major disasters occur-has a reasonable grip on total costs.
The drawbacks are obvious. There is no particular encouragement to improve and exploit the expertise of the drilling contractor as long as the equipment is operational and the crews are competent.
The drilling industry also has to overcome longstanding conservatism, particularly in capitalizing on the results of R&D programs, he said. Apart from some forward looking operators and contractors, mostly those with a strong cash position, there has been a reluctance in the past to take on costly, state of the art technology.
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