Look Ahead Team MXS: Transforming Knowledge in Successful Operations

Abstract

This paper describes how the creation of an innovative multidisciplinary team - the Look Ahead Team (LHT) - together with ad hoc new built processes and protocols, have greatly helped minimizing both the geological and drilling risks and their impact in the very complex wells currently being drilled in the Mesozoico, Exploration and Alliance projects in Southern Mexico (MXS). Also, it explains how the integration of different knowledge domains coupled with detailed technical scrutiny, subsurface visualization, modeling and simulation, thorough multilayers risk assessments, risk management techniques, real time data acquisition and continuous application of lessons learnt, have been delivering substantial savings to the drilling operations. Wells can be classified as deep HP/HT and/or LP/HT wells. The objective of the LHT is to visualize and analyze drilling related risks, to generate alerts and recommendations before a new hole section is commenced, so that undesirable and detrimental subsurface events are anticipated and prevented or minimized. Drilling engineering, geology, geophysics, geomechanics and well placement are all represented in and form an integral part of the LHT. For each new well to be drilled, the geosciences' domain experts perform an integrated subsurface interpretation considering all current information available, offset wells and real time data. The analysis performed is twofold: a forecast drilling scenario (well trajectory and placement) which is optimized based on the calibration attained through the iteration with existing (offset) wells using sophisticated modelling and newly created work protocols that allow effective multidisciplinary workflows, subsurface assessment and detailed risk analysis by hole section. The main outcome of the analysis is to deliver a predictive ‘look ahead’ report which contains all risks identified at least 200 m ahead of the bit together with the risk analysis matrix and the corresponding prevention and mitigation plan. Also during the program execution, the LHT provides technical support to the engineering and operations teams anticipating the next action based on risk projection re-assessment using real data streaming. The Look Ahead Team's newly implemented processes/workflows and innovative analysis methodologies, have been tested on 21 development wells and 3 exploratory wells for a total of 72 hole sections. In just one year from its foundation, unforeseen drilling events due to geological uncertainty were reduced by 90% achieving 10MMUSD worth of savings.