Description
Application of Fast Drill Principles to Maximize Borehole Quality
(Having Your ROP Cake and Eating it Too)
Due to the popularity of this topic, we have extended pre-registration to the room's maximum capacity of 90 people. There will be no guarantees that walk-ins will get a seat or meal, but we will try our best to accommodate everyone. If you have pre-registered for this event, your seat will be held until 11:45 am, at which time it will be released to walkins. Please arrive on time.
Fred E. Dupriest
Chief Drilling Engineer
ExxonMobil
In 2005 the operator implemented a workflow referred to as the Fast Drill Process (FDP) that ensured drilling performance limiters were identified and extended continuously. Early work focused on the use of mechanical specific energy surveillance to manage bit dysfunction.
However, there have also been over 40 types of non-bit performance limiters identified and extended by the various drill teams. Because those with greatest impact were seen to be tied directly to borehole quality, a global initiative was launched in 2008 to implement new physics-based practices and training. An expectation was also established that redesign would continue to the "economic limit of performance".
This is a significantly different standard than the common industry metric for adequate borehole quality, which is that required to run and cement casing. However, when the true hidden impact of poor quality is assessed within the FDP workflow, such as increased reaming and circulating time, the economic limit of redesign has proven to be a nearly perfect borehole.
The average footage per day drilled by the 23 global operations that have been active since the Fast Drill Process was implemented has improved by about 80%. Increases in instantaneous drill rates have varied from 100-400%. Approximately half of the gain is believed to have come from the redesign of borehole quality, or the development of new practices to maximize drill rates for the given quality of hole that can be achieved. The presentation will include discussion of the key new physical insights that form the basis of the redesign practices, the practices themselves, and the field results.