Early Wells Delivery Leads to Substantial Oil and Gas Field Development Projects Net Profit Value Gain

Abstract An unconventional resources operator is more likely to achieve a higher value from an unconventional field development campaign by establishing a collaborative work relationship with the lead drilling rig contractor at the outset of the early planning stages. This paper discusses the multiple benefits of early collaboration, with the end result of earlier delivery of wells and production revenues, leading to substantial project net present value (NPV) gains. Traditionally, the field development plan is solely managed by the operator. A plan typically describes the subsurface properties of the field and outlines the development plan for it which includes drilling, completion, testing, stimulation, and production strategies. The planning stage is critical to optimize the selection of the right rigs for the job. Super spec fast-moving rigs, combined with drilling technology deployment, can help to safely and efficiently drill a well and thereby reduce the amount of time needed to complete the well program. Technologies assist to enable proper wellbore placement, directional drilling automation, rate of penetration (ROP) enhancement, and help reduce the occurrence of downhole tool failure events leading to well construction nonproductive time (NPT). In a multi-well pad environment, early and predictable well delivery helps avoid fracking delays and leads to an earlier production onset. Efficiency can be jointly optimized by defining together the following: optimal well pad layout, number of wells, distance between wells, well suspension strategy after drilling and prior to frac operations, simultaneous operations matrix between top hole drilling, batch drilling and reservoir fracking, to optimize well construction, reservoir drainage, and the frac campaign. The analysis presented in this paper compares a one well pad Base Case scenario to multiple super spec multi-well pad scenarios, showing that optimum use of rigs on multi-well pad deployments can lead to a greater number of wells drilled within the same timeframe with lower individual cycle times. The benefits of this close collaboration are three-fold: planning for success and performance in reducing well construction time and cost due to modern rigs and technologies deployment, optimizing rig and frac fleet deployments through proper well pads activities including simultaneous operations, and early well delivery leading to unlocking additional revenue through early production. More than 40% project NPV gain can be recorded over drilling campaigns, making it an attractive strategy for the operator.