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This paper will examine the management issues, safety concerns of planning and executing a high end underbalanced drilling project. The discussion will include general safety, training, equipment, and conclusions. Underbalanced drilling is inherently more dangerous than conventional drilling but the danger is mitigated by proficient project management, specifically, planning, training and the operational procedures followed during execution. Statistically, underbalanced drilling is still a very small percentage of worldwide drilling operations. This trend is changing as this disruptive technology is becoming more and more accepted throughout the industry. Our biggest challenge in the future will be to ensure that the past history of no major incidents or accidents attributed to Underbalanced drilling continues. The planning that goes into an underbalanced drilling operation is more extensive than the planning of a conventionally drilled well. Some of the tools used in the planning phase of underbalanced operations include hazard identification (HAZID), hazard and operability (HAZOP), detailed operational procedures, and drawings such as equipment layout drawings (ELD), process flow diagram (PFD), valve numbering diagram (VND) and a hazardous area drawing (HAD). These processes contribute considerably to reducing the time and cost of engineering the underbalanced drilling program. Introduction Project management is a set of processes, systems and techniques for effective planning and control of resources necessary to complete the project. These processes, systems and techniques should not only focus on the resources but should also include the control of hazards associated with UBD operations. Suitable project management will not only enhance the safety of the underbalanced program but will also reduce the overall cost of the project. This is more evident if the program calls for a multi-well effort. A step by step approach to these types of projects begins by identifying the needs of the customer. The earlier the project manager can be assigned, the sooner the drilling program can be executed. Clearly defining the objectives of the customer is one of the project manager's first duties. These duties often include:Conduct UBD operations safely and minimize impact on the environment.Prove that UBD is a technology that brings added value, by accelerating production and increasing recoverable reserves.Gather UBD performance data which will be incorporated in the future drilling plan.Gain experience on UBD operations and further develop the technology for the customer.Maintain an underbalanced condition throughout operations and the completion.Fast track planning and execution of the project.Evaluation of the reservoir's inflow performance based on an analogous well drilled conventionally in the same field.Measurement of the reservoir characteristics while drilling. As early as possible, the proposed well plan and any offset well data must be reviewed. Preliminary HSE considerations and customer HSE requirements often can be identified. Different project management activities are employed during phases in the UBD project. Three main phases are:PlanningExecutionReview and closeout A safe approach to underbalanced project management should follow an industry accepted management system model. Management Systems Management systems should, first and foremost, comply with ISO 9001 standards. The system should take in the contents of this paper, link it to the customer, and connect back to the management system for initiation of improvement. A high-quality management system is designed to meet operations, quality, and HSE management system needs. Consequently, a high performing management system is customer focused and driven.
Proposal Generally, today's oil and gas projects are complex, high-risk, multidisciplinary ventures that require careful planning and precise implementation. A large number of interrelated factors and unforeseen (operational, technical and/or financial) events determine a drilling, completion, or work-over project's economic feasibility and ultimate success. Fundamental to the success of all project management is extensive economic modeling and risk analysis, since economic drivers and operational methods are developed from these processes. This paper will discuss the development of a new analytical technique that will systematically and intuitively overcome the hurdles mentioned previously while not compromising result sophistication. A variety of underbalanced drilling examples will illustrate its efficiency. This method will allow the end user, whether novice or expert, to quickly and effectively assess economic feasibility and risks. Introduction The scope and task of integrating a comprehensive set of various inputs must follow the model of a high quality Management System, one that is designed to meet Operations, Quality, and Health Safety & Environmental Management Systems needs. The basic premise of the management system model is to embed business practices in the way work is done. The project manager must have a process that links these fundamental requirements with their analytical consideration for financial risk1. Today, project managers are faced with a large amount of information from which to evaluate future prospects. The days of drilling a simple well have come and gone. Operators face tougher challenges and more uncertainties that can create more financial risk in the investments associated with new exploration. However, through the correct implementation of new technologies (i.e., Underbalanced Applications, Expandables, Rotary Steerables, etc.) greater opportunities exist to improve the return on investment. With these new technologies come greater risks in deciding which technology is best and which technology has the greatest potential for success. Project managers have relied on risk analysis to gain insight into potential hazards and lost benefits2,3. To date, the typical approach for handling such complexity has been 1) to abstract details by dividing the problem into a number of simplified components, and/or 2), to analyze these (usually univariate) models in relative isolation. Unfortunately, such an approach usually fails to effectively model real-life interactions. Industry analytical methodology traditionally follows a standard path of evaluating cash flow (i.e., tax calculations, inflation affects, multi-method depreciation and loan repayments), generating economic indicators (i.e., the process of transforming cash flow into single-quantity variables that capture economic worth, and include net present values, profit investment ratios, internal rate of return and pay-back periods), analyzing risk/uncertainty (i.e., applying discount rates, expected values, decision trees and probabilistic techniques such as Monte Carlo simulations), and finally, incorporating the affects of regional fiscal regimes. Previously, this has been difficult and necessitated individual analyses. Furthermore, the software tools were found to be difficult, inefficient, and cumbersome to the point that experts in the field of statistics and probabilistic modeling were required to interpret the complex and multivariate relationships developed during stochastic modeling. Often, the software tools were so problematic and inconsistent that the end user spent more time setting up and learning how to operate the software than using it, and generally, had to hire an expert to operate the software. It is generally accepted that these tools should help the project manager maximize the potential reward for the risked investment by using consistent mathematical solutions in an expeditious manner. An informed decision maker will more than likely make the right decision. Arguably, the benefit greatly outweighs the effort generally required to perform these analysis. However, managers still avoid the use of these tools.
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