As shown in Figure 5.1.1, Well Engineering activities (preparation for drilling and well completion, or both preparation and physical work) take place in each of the five ORP Phases over the lifetime of the opportunity. The activities are associated, firstly, with exploration wells, then with appraisal wells and, finally, with production wells. A typical well delivery process is illustrated in Figure 5.2.7 below and is equally applicable to exploration, appraisal or production wells. (A range of schedule durations is shown in the Figure and the actual durations for each activity are determined by the requirements of the opportunity plan, the well objectives, the value drivers for the project, the knowledge and maturity of subsurface geology etc.)
As the well delivery process sits within the overall Opportunity Realization Process, it is subject to the overall Opportunity Realization Plan. Well Engineering will participate in the Opportunity Framing and the major Well Delivery Process deliverables will be shown on the Opportunity Roadmap. As discussed in 2.3, Planning the Opportunity, sub-sets of the opportunity should be framed individually (within the boundaries set by the Opportunity Framework) and it is this activity that starts the process defined in Figure 5.2.7. By following this logic, the objectives of each well project are in line with higher level objectives/aspirations The process must be used in conjunction with the SIEP “DTL Best Practice Guide.”
A checklist for each of the activities in Figure 5.2.7 is given below.
(a) An Opportunity/Project Framing Workshop. (9 months – 2 years pre spud)
This review session has the following key principles associated with it:
- If an exploration opportunity, then, ideally, this document should be prepared prior to lease sales.
- As much pre-work should be carried out as possible to make the document as complete as it can be. Identify areas that have not been addressed and include these as future actions. Build a risk register with reference to TECOP (Technical / Economic/Commercial/ Organizational/Political.)
- Involve other stakeholders in the framing exercise (e.g. petroleum and field engineering)
- Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are bought into by all in the project team. Establish a baseline to measure against.
- An Opportunity Framing document and Roadmap must be prepared for the well project.
- Close out of this step would be a multi-discipline team to review and discuss all sections of the document and get agreement between all disciplines that they have included everything they know about the project at that stage.
- Use this event as a first team-building session. Prepare a Team Charter. Establish the team values and clarify who does what, when and how the team works.
- Hold a Project Objectives session in the workshop (Use DTL Best Practices for this).
- Define roles and responsibilities.
- Hold a Stakeholder Analysis exercise.
- Appoint a project manager
- Set-up the project such that learning will be an integral part of planning and execution.
(b) A Well Functional Specification and Concept Selection Workshop
This document and multi-discipline peer assist review workshop need to satisfy the following checklist:
- Should be a multi-discipline event/document in template form (standard for all projects).
- Needs to involve partners, either for review or to participate in milestone meeting.
- Develop a fact base that shows the relationship between planning time vs performance against budget
- Does the basis of design have, as a minimum, a conceptual well design?
- Is there a clear link to technology? Are contracts and contracting strategy in line with value creation?
- Has the well been through a well design review with outside peers (sub-surface, well delivery, and partners)? Was the focus on value and not costs?
- Are all risks understood?
- If the base case has been reviewed, is there enough lead time to prepare for well execution? Are additional resources required?
- Ensure the well/concept design meets the objectives
- Is this project defined in enough detail to get partners and government bodies involved?
- Is the lifecycle of the well included in the concept/design? Has an operating philosophy been made for the well project?
(c) 1st Technical Limit Workshop (Value Challenge) (Immediately following Basis of Design Session)
Immediately following the Basis of Design meeting the Technical Limit (TL) process should be fully incorporated into the Well Delivery process. This will determine that the ‘right well’ is being planned and executed. The following points should be addressed in this multi-discipline meeting:
- Ideally this workshop should be held at the conceptual well design stage and include external peers.
- Adopt latest Shell Group DTL Best Practices for the 1st TL Workshop.
- Check the make up of the multi-discipline team. Check stakeholder diagram.
- Ensure the decision makers are present in the workshop
- Include a joint value challenge event that asks the question, ‘Are the value-drivers understood?’ and which involves field development or exploration teams as well as the well engineers. Set a Technical Limit and ideally a technical limit time and associated risked cost (UTC for the well project if possible). This identifies the size of the Prize (the business opportunity).
- Are all critical path and non-critical path elements identified and a time assigned?
- Are their opportunities to remove activities from the critical path and/or risks and blockers associated with the critical path elements?
- Rank ideas/issues based on value and ease of implementing that ideas or addressing that issue
- Have action plans and action parties for issues that require more work (including long lead items and non-standard techniques) been identified? Form sub Task Teams to address the actions or opportunities for improvement that have been identified. Who heads up the task teams? Can the tasks be incorporated into the overall project plan? Ensure that the action plan is in line with ranked ideas/issues
- Further evaluate hazard and risk management issues.
- Have all formation evaluation requirements been robustly challenged and justified on a value basis? Has a Value of Information (VoI) technique been used? Calculate and publish a cost-time-value opportunity
- Report ‘value of regret’ for action items that will not be actioned due to contraints. This is done to prevent the team loosing sight of the ultimate opportunity as defined by using the ‘Technical Limit’.
- Are Common Interest Networks (CIN’s) like the Wells Global Network (WGN) used when planning the well project?
- Make public a Time-Depth Plot showing the opportunity for chasing the TL.
- Start working on the forward plan Who has overall responsibility for the plan?
- Use the event to incorporate further team building sessions, celebrations and learning events.
- Get senior management buy-in to plans being made. Present plans to management
- End the event with a rollout to senior management team for their assistance.
d) Self-Assessment Process Check Milestones / Directors Review / TL Progress Meetings
- Hold a series of peer assists to review specific areas of the well with outside peers. Involve partners in assists as required.
- Check-out the plans (and specifically project objectives) with senior management team
- Update Plans on a regular basis with team.
e) Drilling Program
Complete first draft of Drilling Program. Have best practices been incorporated into plan? Is outside learning clear. Are the risks clearly identified? Are contingency plans in place (This document is likely to have a number of versions published prior to spud. The first draft should be shown to all parties well in advance of spud.)
Clear objectives for the program as concluded at the Basis for Design should be included in the Drilling Program. Is the document a compilation of the well proposal and drilling program as per best practices?
f ) Drill The Well On Paper (DWOP) Exercise
- Adopt the latest Shell Group DTL Best Practices for the DWOP and Complete the Well on Paper (CWOP) exercise. Attendees should include the people who will actually execute the plan. This means a heavy delegation of people from the rig site, including all contractors and other departments that are involved in the well delivery process.
- Review and verify the Well Objectives with all parties
- Have an explicit section of this workshop looking at risk assessment and contingency planning
- Form additional Task Teams to focus on short-term remedial actions.
- Develop a communications plan to communicate the outcome of the DWOP/CWOP for different stakeholders
- Make the plan visible both in the office and on the rig (i.e., to all stakeholders)
- The well project team to set a Target Time for the well. The team will be accountable for this target.
- Check that all stakeholders understand the difference between the Technical Limit (aspiration and business opportunity) and the team target time and cost?
- Follow DTL best practices for getting contractors involved.
g) Pre-spud Meeting
• Key drilling contractor personnel, rig move personnel and service company representatives along with Shell drilling group should have a pre-spud meeting
• Sub-surface team should review well objectives and critical success factors
• Review steps of drilling program
• Review contingency plans, communications plan and execution plan
• Check the need for this meeting to be held on the rig, at the rig location etc.
• Involve drilling crew fully.
h) Well Execution Phase (Spud to Total Depth)
Again, Shell Group Best Practices for DTL should be referenced to this section.
- Well to be monitored in OU by core competence group that should be used as an independent sounding board for brainstorming or helping out with problems or issues relating to well delivery
- Review any possible innovations for future. Flag lessons to be learned and review with other teams.
i) After Action Reviews (AARs)
(As soon as possible after the end of the Well project)
• Adopt Shell Group DTL Best Practices for After Action Reviews
• DTL engineers to wrap up each hole section and provide preliminary data for after action review. Hold AARs after hole sections or main portions of the well, if required.
• Results of Well Delivery should be incorporated into OU knowledge database
• Original objectives of project should be checked against what was actually achieved
• Scorecard the well project from a well delivery perspective
j) Campaign Review / Post Production Review / Post Implementation Review
(3 months after the end of Campaign or once good production data has been achieved) The objective of this meeting is to get closure on the project with the project team.
• Address the value question, check that target UTCs have been achieved. Review skin factors, overall costs, UTCs in a multi-discipline environment.
• Get outside peers to help evaluate
• Identify learning (possibly new best practices) from the campaign and distribute to the group, within the OU and the larger wells community by means of the WGN
• Invite next project manager/s to this event
• Use VAR 5 recommendations
• Recognise and reward people for their efforts
The Well Delivery Process is illustrated in another way in Figure 5.2.9.
