Smart Rigs Management for Enhancing Performance

In order to have a high performing rig and a high performing team, the activities on the rig need to be managed effectively. Fundamentals to efficient management of the rig is that everyone has a clear understanding of what they must and must not do, and also how task should be carried out most effectively and safely. The operator and rig contractor will have a detailed safety management system which defines this.? However the SMS is often a weighty volume and not practically visible or easy to assimilate.

I would suggest strongly that a set of standing instructions are agreed and issued at the work site as a condensed guide to what is required as a compulsory standard. In effect a set of golden rules which must be adhered to.

I would also suggest that for high risk and or high cost activity that rig produce detailed rig specific standard procedures, including diagrams where appropriate, be developed and followed by all crews and supervisors as the safest and most efficient ways to accomplish those tasks. ?Example tasks are:

·???????? Nipple Up BOP

·???????? BOP Testing

·???????? Pulling Out Open Hole

·???????? Stuck Pipe

·???????? Hole Cleaning

·???????? Slip and Cut Block Line

·???????? Rig Move

·???????? Drilling Shoetrack

·???????? Leak Off Test

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NB: These are example procedure specific to an operator and rig. ?They should not be used as is without amending to reflect the operators procedures and policies and the rig equipment.

If followed, both of these will dramatically reduce invisible lost time . These should be modified according to SMS in use and rig.

Rig Move

?Rig Design

Speed and ease of rig move should be taken into consideration when sourcing a rig, especially for short duration wells. Rig move time is all non productive and is the most significant flat time activity on the majority of wells.

Rigs which have top drives may be able to move short distances without lowering the mast and also possibly with drill pipe in the mast, this is obviously of great benefit as well.

Rig Sequence

Ensure that the rig sequence is optimized to keep the rig move distance overall to a minimum. Keep a rig in the same area as much as possible, this also means that the camp does not need to be moved.

? Moving the Rig

·???????? There should be a detailed sequential rig move procedure available and understood, describing in detail the optimum sequence of moving the rig. Detailed analysis of the rig move process will most likely be required as it is often a complex process with many interdependencies.

·??? If Possible Define the technical Limits of your Rigs in Fleet & introduce Micro KPI,s for each Critical task of Rig move.

·???????? There should be a move specific plan made well ahead of time to ensure that the sequence of loads is understood.

·???????? Scout the new location and the route to the new location well ahead of time to ensure that there will be no delays en route or at the new location. Note any important points such as road conditions and overhead power lines.

·???????? Ensure that an adequate number of cranes are on either location to ensure compliance with the optimum.

·???????? Use a “limbo pole” height gauge( Tail Rope ) on the exit of the location to ensure all load profiles are within allowed size prior to leaving location.

·???????? If possible move at night, this may be against company policy

Drilling

The basic philosophy is to maximize the amount of time spent with the bit on bottom and minimize the amount of time spent off bottom. Currently we have AI empowered autonomous solutions which are used to enhance Drilling Performance.

The basic philosophy is to minimize the amount of time spent off bottom (Gross Connection Time), without introducing any additional risk to operation or HSE.

Reduce Number of Connections

The number of connections being made should also be kept to a minimum, and this is a major advantage of a Top drive rig compared to a Kelly rig as it takes a third of the number of connections to drill the same depth.

For example: A 3000m well drilled with Top drive and 28m stands has 107 drilling connections. The same well drilled with a Kelly and 9.33m singles has 321 drilling connections. Assuming a 10 minute connection time, A Topdrive rig will drill the well 1.5 days quicker.? This obviously has to be offset by the time spent picking up the drill string and racking in stands for top drive drilling.

On a top drive rig, if possible stands should be made up in the single hole and rack in the mast while drilling, if it is safe to do so. Another option that may be possible for short moves on the same location pad is to move the rig with the drill pipe remaining in the mast.

Reduce GCT- Gross Connection Time

Reduction in GCT has a significant effect on Gross ROP. The higher the Nett ROP the bigger the impact. This is demonstrated by the following chart for a Kelly rig:

In the example on the chart the NROP is 30 m/hr. The current GCT is 18 minutes (typical if the Kelly is reamed once). The resulting GROP is 15.25 m/hr.? If the GCT is reduced to 10 minutes by not reaming the GROP jumps by 4.26 or 28% to 19.51 m/hr; that is 28% more hole drilled each shift. Do we really want to ream?

The critical path for making the connection should contain only the following activities and each activity should be carried out in the shortest possible time:

·???????? Stop drilling

·???????? Pick up off bottom to connection height.

·???????? Set string in slips

·???????? Add section of pipe

·???????? Lift string out of slips

·???????? Lower string to bottom

·???????? Start drilling

?Any activity such as reaming, circulating or surveying executed on critical path should be eliminated. Experience has shown that a 10 minute GCT is easily achievable for any rig by following just the basic CP activities; less than 5 minutes is achievable by high performing rigs.

Avoid Reaming

Do not precautionary ream prior to NCT ( Net Connection Time). ?It is often seen as best practice to ream the drilled hole prior to making the connection (NCT). ?The reasons given are usually to ensure the connection can be made without hole problems from cuttings or caving's and enlarging the hole to ensure trouble free trip out of the hole. ?However, other reasons given include as a signal for the crew to come to the rig floor and because we always have done before, these are obviously not good reasons. Reaming just adds to open hole time, which generally adds to risk of hole problems.

·???????? If hole cleaning is adequate while drilling then there should be no reason to ream/circulate prior to the Connection -NCT.

Poor Connection Analysis

GCT 41 min , NCT 8 min; far too long, should be 3 min

27 min spent unnecessarily reaming stand twice prior to going in slips despite:

Low ROP No indications of poor hole cleaning or hole instability

2 min before rotary started after coming out of slips

2 min spent fine tuning pump pressure before going on bottom

Potential GCT = 35 – 27 – 5 = 9 min

·???????? If hole cleaning is inadequate due to excessive NROP, then reduce ROP to a suitable level, do not ream/ circulate prior to Connection -NCT to clean the hole. This practice is high risk, as it loads the annulus with cuttings in a cyclic manner.? Hole cleaning problems is directly related to % of cuttings loading. It will also cause problems with cyclically overloading the shakers. It takes the same amount of time to drill slower and not ream but with much lower risk. There is no reason to drill too fast then ream/circulate to compensate.

·???????? If hole cleaning is inadequate (losses or drilling with water), then a hi-vis pill should be spotted around the BHA for the connection. This can be timed to occur while drilling the last section of the stand/Kelly, and drilling stopped once the pill is spotted. In this case, the most important aspect is reducing NCT to the absolute minimum. There is no reason to ream/circulate prior to the NCT.

·???????? If there are caving's and hole cleaning is adequate then reaming will not reduce the amount of caving's in the well, they will keep coming no matter how long you ream.? It may be advisable to spot hi-vis over or at the top of the BHA.

·???????? If the hole is swelling and reducing in size due to either chemical reaction or overburden stress, then reaming is not going to help. Any stabilizers in the BHA will only ream the section of the wellbore that has just been drilled, which have spent the least amount of time open. Spending time reaming will actually make matters worse as it just increases the amount of time that the wellbore above is exposed. There is no reason to ream, and good reason not to ream. If hole swelling is an issue, the options are to drill as fast as possible, make frequent wiper trips and the best option is to incorporate a reamer(s) higher up the string to skim/ream the wellbore while drilling.

?The only times where reaming is justified is:

·???????? Poor hole condition is indicated when picking the string up from bottom to the connection position. This would be an indication that you may run into problems while making Connection NCT. ?This will be generally to excessive cuttings or caving's in the wellbore around the BHA. The problem should be subsequently addressed, rather than continuing to ream on connections in the hope of not getting stuck.

·???????? If slide drilling at high angle , hole cleaning can be compromised and reaming/circulation may be required prior to making NCT. ?It is recommended not to slide the entire single or stand, but to start with sliding and end with rotary. Better still, use rotary steerable system.

Reasonable Connection Analysis

GCT 12.4 min

Net Connection Time NCT (in slips to out of slips) 4.2 min; a bit too long, should be 3 min

3.1 min spent stationary after coming out of slips

1.4 min before pumps started after coming out of slips

2.1 min spent bring up pumps to speed

Potential GCT = 12.4 – 1.2 – 3.1 = 8.1 min

How to achieve < 13 mins Target

As a baseline, do not ream prior to making the connection. Monitor torque and drag, and only ream if indications are of poor hole cleaning. Prior to connection; pick up just enough to establish the over-pull value and confirm string is free then set in slips. Do whatever is needed to perform the in slips connection within 3 minutes, this is definitely achievable but will take some analysis on site.

After connection; pick up the string from the slips and start the rotary and pumps gradually watching your SPP.

As soon as circulation is established start moving string downwards to bottom

Have position marked on pump controls to eliminate fine tuning, don’t wait to get exact SPM prior to starting drilling.