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Paving the Road to Success in Drilling |
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Looking back to 2003, when the first practical steps in the development of Salym group of fields were being considered, SPD had the aim of becoming one of the best oil companies in Russia. During this short period, the company has made noticeable progress on the way to fulfilling its goals. One of the most significant examples is in the success in well construction.
SPD drilled the first oil well in West Salym in the spring of 2004. A huge amount of preparatory work was performed by the company in identifying the best well engineering practices used by Russian oil companies. This study lasted for about a year and involved frequent visits to West Siberian oilfields, where SPD learned how Russian companies manage drilling operations, and what technologies and materials they use. SPD also visited Russian drilling equipment manufacturers.
Based on the observations from the scouting exercise and comprehensive study of well construction methods and techniques used in Russia, the company developed its own drilling operations strategy. SPD believes this strategy will ensure successful implementation of the large-scale Salym field drilling programme. The programme provides for drilling over 1000 wells in West Salym, Upper Salym and Vadelyp. The strategy of well construction adopted by SPD relies on the best Russian drilling equipment, materials and operational experience, plus the application of organisational and technological solutions that have been proved by the Shell Group.
“We wanted to combine the best of Russian and Western experience”, - Well Engineering Manager Fred van Nieuwenhuizen says, and continued, “The year round, we studied Russian well construction practices and the drilling rig market, prior to drilling tenders. Eventually we selected two drilling contractors, one Russian, the Siberian Service Company and one Western, KCA Deutag. It is our belief that our business will only benefit from a fair competition between the contractors. All materials we use in well construction, including casing pipes, wellheads and completion equipment, are made in Russia, as are the drilling rigs, where SPD has chosen rigs BU-4500 and BU-3900 manufactured by OAO UralMash. These rigs have been custom-built with Western top drives to suit our needs. The top drive can have influence on drilling techniques and expand the functionality of the entire drilling system, thus increasing the penetration rate while reducing, and at times, removing the risk of emergencies and hole problems while drilling. This in turn makes it possible to drill long reach wells (high angle wells) up to 2500 metres. In addition, we use Western centrifuges, shale shakers, special fluids and chemicals to enhance the efficiency of drilling operations.”
Along with advanced technologies SPD has introduced new organisational and managerial approaches. In the first place it's about the concept of drilling optimization, also known as Drilling the Limit, which was developed and is widely used in Shell global well engineering units. The principal elements of this concept are as follows:
· Commitment to achieve maximum efficiency and best performance in well drilling;
· Continuous review of operations and rectification of deficiencies, learning and application best practices; and,
· Maintaining a close working contact with subsurface professionals, drilling contractors, counterparts in well pad construction and hook-up crews.
The company has established a well engineering department staffed by Russian engineers who have been given training in Shell standards, and foreign specialists with background experience in Shell projects. There are two well engineering teams, which in close cooperation with contractors maintain control of drilling operations.
“SPD's performance achieved in the drilling operations have proved the validity of SPD well construction strategy”, says Fred van Nieuwenhuizen, “During this time the penetration rate has nearly tripled. In 2004 the first well was drilled within 33 days, whereas the average drilling time today is down to 10-11 days. It’s interesting to note that in Western Siberia the average drilling time for similar wells under similar geotechnical conditions is 15 to 18 days. SPD set a record by drilling a well within 4.5 days in 2009.
Yet another company success is drilling wells with extended horizontal displacement. Initially all wells were S-shaped with a maximum of 1600 meters outstep. However, as experience was gained, the outstep of wells was increased to 2500 meters. In addition, many sub-horizontal wells are now being drilled at 80 to 85 degrees through the reservoir. This provides the opportunity to increase oil recovery and optimize the number of wells.
Recently a new technology of running in hole, with an Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP) together with a perforating gun, was tested in order to start production right after well perforation and without shutting in the well. Normally a shut-down is required to pull the gun out the hole and run in the hole with ESP which can have an adverse effect on a reservoir.
Due to proper work management the time used for a rig move from one well pad to another has been reduced significantly. SPD use 28 days to move a rig to a new location, whilst the average figure for the region is 40 to 45 days.
All the results have been achieved without increased cost and with good HSSE performance. SPD Well Engineering team has been selected as Shell’s “Most Improved Team in Wells” in 2005, 2006 and 2008. |
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INFORMATION |
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Copyright © 2004 Salym Petroleum Development N. V.
// Russia, 31, Novinsky blvd, Moscow,
Tel.: +7 (495) 518-97-20,
Email: info@spdnv.ru |
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