Built to Bend: Strengthening Drilling Operations with Resilience Engineering & MPD

Abstract This paper explores how Resilience Engineering (RE) principles can be integrated into drilling operations to enhance robustness and adaptability. It also demonstrates how Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) can further improve resilience. Resilience Engineering offers practical insights by focusing on procedural contingencies, defense-in-depth, anticipatory strategies, and human factors. The study applies Resilience Engineering frameworks, emphasizing real-time operations, critical monitoring, risk anticipation, and post-operation evaluation. This holistic approach ensures robust performance across various drilling scenarios. Case studies from conventional and MPD operations highlight trade-offs between efficiency and flexibility. Insights from aviation provide additional best practices for resilience and incident management. Systems designed for efficiency in stable scenarios often become brittle under abnormal conditions. Resilient systems, in contrast, are prepared for the unexpected, enabling dynamic responses to evolving threats. This work presents the framework for embedding Resilience Engineering into drilling operations. Diving into the continuum of balancing operational efficiency with adaptive capacity, while demonstrating how MPD can strengthen resilience. By fostering resilience, robust systems capable of thriving in complex environments can be developed, thus improving both safety and performance.