Successful Deployment of a Purpose-Built Rig on Multi-Well Platform in a Swamp Location for Concurrent Drilling and Production

Abstract

fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThe 'lean and green' operating philosophy adopted for a field development plan in a Nigeria major E & P company in 1996 focuses on spending less and leaving the environment with minimal impact. Previously, the company cuts an average of 0.7 hectares of vegetation per well in the swamp to create drilling locations. Entry to a pre -installed multi well platform in a dredged drilling location by a specially built rig in October 1999 marked the inception, industry-wide, of platform drilling in the swamp .The successful deployment of this custom made rig to a six-well platform, each well spaced 2.5 meters (8 feet) apart, and the hooking up of the first well in the cluster Monday, 27 November 2000, ushered in the first oil from a multi-well platform operating in a concurrent drilling and production mode from an inland water location. This is indeed company and industry-wide achievement. Since then, five more wells have been drilled and completed from the same location, thereby saving over $2.0m from location preparation and avoiding multiple rig moves. The use of one single location to drill six wells significantly reduced the footprints on the environment in line with the company's mission in that respect. This paper presents the planning and execution of drilling, completion and production in a cluster location concurrently using the purpose-built rig during a recent campaign.