IADD ’15: Information exchange, collaboration are keys to improving mud motor performance
BASTROP, Texas -- One of the highlights of the International Association of Directional Drilling's (IADD) first Technology Forum, featuring mud motors, was a panel discussion on “What’s a win,” conducted with the participation of operators and equipment manufacturers.
The session opened with operator representatives presenting data on recent drilling performance improvements. Tim Barnard, drilling team lead for Occidental Petroleum, revealed how the company switched from delineation mode to factory mode in the Delaware Wolfcamp basin and reduced drilling days from 44.5 days in January 2015 to 22.4 days in June 2015. According to Barnard, some of the improvements were the result of multiwell pad drilling and improved benchmarking.
Barnard suggested four “wins” for operators: communication (expectations, goals for a section and understanding limitations), educated industry (learning from each other across the entire supply chain), consistent performance (safer, faster and cheaper to allow shoe-to-shoe factory drilling), and an equitable business model with incentives for exceptional performance.
Tyler Langford, drilling executive with Halcon Resources, remarked how the conversation among the operators and suppliers had changed within the last five to six years from trial-and-error to one about consistent performance. “What’s win now for operators includes not having failures, shorter drilling intervals and the alignment of agendas,” explained Langford in what Halcon did to achieve a 40% reduction in drilling days.
Drilling decline
Langford also revealed that due to the recent decline in drilling, Halcon had to move away from hiring directional drilling services and have some of its drilling superintendents work as directional drillers.
NOV’s Peter Shwets, representing the manufacturers, urged the industry to develop a common database of drilling performance information. “Can we move into a space where we share information? While there’s tendency for both operators and manufacturers to hold some information confidential, a platform for partnership could be used to share information about technology expectations, reliability and performance data will allow us to celebrate wins together.”
James Sullivan, V.P. with plating vendor Schumacher Companies, said, “Communication and sharing of information on problems and performance could provide the best coating possible.”
The IADD ’15 conference continues until Wednesday, Nov. 11, with technical presentations and technology exhibits.
