Page 52: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Nov/Dec 2019)

51 53

TECH FILE Drilling

Chase the Right Metrics for

Better Production Results

By Jennifer Pallanich il and gas companies track knows, but nobody seems to know and incentivize a variety how to address,” he says.

of metrics, but these ac- One challenge is to ? gure out what

O tions can inadvertently those KPIs are. One possibility is val- lead to lower production levels and af- ue per foot of wellbore, which he ac- fect lifting costs. knowledges “is not simple to measure.”

If there’s an incentive for fast drill- Another is simply looking at cost per ing instead of precisely placed well- barrel instead of cost per foot, he says.

bores that maximize contact with More valuable wellbores are sweet spots, the wellbore will miss out smoother and more precisely placed on potential production of hydrocar- so they offer more exposure to the bons, says John Clegg, Weatherford’s reservoir for higher overall drainage drilling fellow. of the reservoir while minimizing the

Or a wellbore might have a lot of chance for sand to choke down pro- tortuosity, which in a lateral can lead duction levels, he says. They are also to problems with sand choking pro- easier to drill, easier to cement – im- duction, hurting output rates. Or un- proving integrity – and easier to com- wanted tortuosity can cause premature plete, as well as improving the reliabil- and expensive damage to production ity of production equipment, he says.

John Clegg, equipment such as rods or pumps. In the long run, high-producing

Weatherford “If you’re measuring once you’ve wellbores produce more of the origi- drilled the well, it’s too late,” he says. nal resources in place. Through that “You’ll suffer for perhaps the next 10 higher production, they lower the recent incarnation have been expen- years with lower production and lack overall cost per barrel. sive to work with,” Clegg says, so of ultimate recovery.” Technology holds another key to there is still widespread use of steer-

Clegg calls that a big problem. the puzzle, Clegg believes. A rotary able motors. He says the industry “has “We need a completely different set steerable system like Weatherford’s to bring down the overall cost of using of KPIs for how we value what we’re Magnus can maintain inclination and rotary steerable systems.” doing while we’re drilling,” he says. azimuth angles until a driller inter- If access to rotary steerable systems

In short, he says, it’s time for the venes. As such, it can optimize pro- becomes ubiquitous, he says, automat- industry to “change the way it thinks duction by drilling a smoother well. ed geosteering becomes more likely.

about drilling well costs” and incen- Taking that technology one step “Without better KPIs, we cannot jus- tives programs that can in? uence im- further, it might be possible with “a tify the development of the technology mediate outcomes like cost per foot or lot of development” to automate geo- we will need to maximize value of the days of drilling without considering steering by teaching it to “? nd the well,” he says. “Right now, we are not later outcomes like production levels. sweet spots,” he says. measuring the right things and we are “It’s one of those things everybody “Rotary steerable systems in their not incentivizing the right behavior.” 52 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM