March 1998 Vol. 219 No. 3  Drilling

J. John Grow,  Engineering Editor

Offshore life: What's it really like?

A first hand look into what offshore life is about can be previewed by potential roustabouts on an actual rig, Mr. Charlie in Morgan City, La. With demand for qualified personnel due to increased drilling activity, how do potential hires know what they are getting into, maybe for the first time in their life? What is actually required of them in the relatively hostile, offshore environment? What is it like to work and live away from one's family? How physical is the work? These are a few of the questions, which till now, were not fully realized until actually stepping onto a personnel basket, dangling on the deck of a crew boat and being swung onto an actual rig.

Diamond Offshore Drilling has taken the lead in hands-on training of new roustabouts for their rigs. The Mr. Charlie, donated to the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition, located in Morgan City, La., is the training ground for new-hired roustabouts. Students live and work on the rig for five days learning the basics of safety and general roustabout duties that will be required of them when they actually start work. They live away from their families and get a glimpse of how physical the work is.

About 20 students attend school each week, Sunday evening through Friday. Although it's not 12-hr tours for 14 days, they cover topics including safety with workboats and helicopters, and proper procedures with drill pipe and tag lines. The new oilfield hand gets to know just how big a drilling rig actually is, how important it is to look out for each other, and a basic knowledge of equipment and how to handle it safely.

The newly trained roustabout should graduate knowing basic safety procedures, what to expect when working with equipment, such as slings or shackles and how to properly ride a personnel basket. There are fewer misconceptions about the unique characteristics of working offshore. Students should know the type of work to expect, the regimen, the terminology, the equipment and most importantly, that safety is everyone's job.

Safety buy-in by employees/management pays off. Phillips Petroleum Co. boasts 1997's safety performance near "best in class," at 1.18, recordable injury rate (RIR) — number of injuries and illnesses per 100 employees — for 1997, down 22% from 1996. It is just shy of the RIR for Shell and Conoco, considered the industry leaders. Operating consistency is up, insurance costs are down, maintenance is done more efficiently; and in many areas, utility costs are down while production is up.

Stepout breaks 10-km drilling barrier at BP Wytch Farm field. A 33,181-ft (10,114-m) stepout was the first to break the 10-km barrier for British Petroleum (BP) and exceeded the previous record by 6,729 ft (2,051 m). The M-11 well, which took 173 days to drill and case, reached a total depth of 34,967 ft (10,658 m). Total vertical depth was 5,266 ft (1,605 m).

The M-11 well is the 14th extended reach well drilled since BP and its partners began the Wytch Farm project in April 1993. It was drilled as part of the Stage III development of the offshore section of the field's Sherwood reservoir.

BP originally planned to develop the field's offshore reserves by building an artificial island at a capital cost of $260 million, with first oil forecast for 1996. However, in late 1991, the company concluded that extended reach drilling could reduce capital expenditures by 50% and advance first oil by three years, to 1993.

The BP-operated Wytch Farm oil field, located on the South Coast of England, is the largest onshore oil field in Western Europe. Production averages some 100 Mbpd from the field.

LWD/MWD depth record broken again. Anadrill, a subsidiary of Schlumberger Oilfield Services, has set a new world depth record again for the deepest measurement-while-drilling (MWD) triple combo transmission on BP's Wytch Farm project. The previous record, also set by Anadrill, was 29,875 ft (9,106 m) in the South China Sea, and now grows to 33,181 ft (10,114 m) on the South Coast of England, beating the old record by over 1/2 mi. LWD recorded data was successfully retrieved, breaking the old record by more than 4,000 ft (1,219 m).

Titanium mud motor technology sets new world record. Intermediate radius, defined as a build or turn rate of 30 – 70°/100 ft (30 m), technology allows drilling horizontal drains through productive zones without the expense of a new surface well. Total Oil Marine (TOTAL) and Baker Hughes INTEQ (BHI) lay claim to a North Sea and world record for horizontal length drilled beyond an intermediate radius curve. With a build section of 51°/100 ft (30 m), the 5-7/8 in. re-entry well, exited 7 in. casing and kicked-off at 13,612 ft (4,149 m) to a total depth of 16,903 ft (5,152 m) for a horizontal departure of 3,290 ft (1,003 m). The high angle profile required for this well, located in TOTAL's Dunbar field, was accomplished using BHI's innovative titanium mud motor technology, allowing drill string rotation throughout the entire curve. Over a 328 ft (100 m) distance, the motor was able to generate 90° of azimuth turn and 65° of build. The horizontal section was maintained within a TVD window of ±3 ft (1 m). Total depth was reached on Jan. 9, 1998.

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Copyright © 1999 Gulf Publishing Company