About one-fifth of the total time spent drilling a well today is nonproductive. While natural events such as adverse weather are partly responsible, equipment failure and human error also contribute. And while remote support centers help improve the latter, improving the reliability of the technology deployed can also increase performance. This is a significant prize: one-fifth of the time translates to one-fifth of the cost, and with operating budgets in the billions of dollars, the money at stake is huge.

 

 

But the development of technology demands many different inputs and considerations that are not necessarily specific to the exploration and production industry. It is therefore instructive to consider techniques that can be adopted from other leading industries as we seek to create a step change in our own performance.

 

 

The functions of today’s family car, for example, are monitored by ever greater numbers of sensors. Dashboard computers track performance, measure efficiency, and warn of impending problems. In contrast, the monitoring of a drilling rig and its equipment is much more limited – with sparse instrumentation on the drawworks, drillpipe, bottomhole assembly, and drillbit.

 

 

But beyond monitoring and automation, the automotive industry has also been a leader in engineering and manufacturing methods dedicated to improving reliability and ensuring repeatability. With the drive toward improved drilling efficiency, similar changes in oilfield technology can be achieved. While a quality rating of 97% may seem acceptable, it corresponds to 30 hours lost in every 1,000 – or about a day a month.

 

Improving the reliability of downhole equipment plays therefore a vital role in reduction of the nonproductive time. Great efforts should be made in order to develop the techniques that allow to reach the highest level of reliability and safety. It’s not always necessary to look hard in order to find the proper ideas, just look around.

 

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