A Unique Framework for Developing and Mentoring the Next Generation of Reservoir Navigation Engineers

Abstract

In this day and age of rapidly evolving technologies coupled with a dynamic workforce environment, in terms of age, experience, and geographic diversity, it is becoming increasingly challenging to ensure quality personnel are available to meet the ever-increasing technical demands of the oilfield. With the growing trend toward precision wellbore placement in horizontal, highly-deviated and multilateral wellbores, advanced geosteering services are critical to a project’s success. Reservoir navigation has become a fundamental part of the modern field development program where simple geometric well targets do not capture the capabilities and value of today’s technologies. Reservoir navigation refers to those activities designed to place the wellbore in a predetermined location and maintain it within a desired location within the reservoir. Proper geosteering optimizes wellbore placement in the productive reservoir, maximising both drilling efficiency and hydrocarbon production. It involves real-time interpretation and decisions while drilling to properly and accurately place the wellbore in the most productive zone in the reservoir. The process can be complex and requires a high level of expertise. Historically, the industry has relied on field engineers with years of field experience and a geosciences background as a talent pool for reservoir navigation engineers. It can then take several months of classroom, on-the-job training, guidance, and mentoring before a reservoir navigation engineer can break out on his/her own. A growing demand for these complex, precision wellbore placement applications are out-pacing our ability to fully develop the required competencies of reservoir navigation engineers using traditional training methods. The challenge is to decrease competency development time without compromising the technical proficiency of the individual (Hearn, et al., 2008). That is, how do you develop engineers to work with, and eventually step into the shoes of, existing experts? How is knowledge transferred, and how do we ensure the next generation of engineers can supply the same level of service with the same fundamental knowledge in this fast-paced world of answers while drilling? While experience is always the best teacher, proper mentoring and a clearly defined framework of skills and processes for acquiring those skills is required. This paper maps out such a framework and explores the results of two years of development of several new reservoir navigation engineers.