Operations Support

Real-time support during drilling operations ensures that only accurate data is fed back into the model, enabling proactive assessment and management of potential drilling problems, or the opportunity to optimize the drilling program. Observation based data is used to quantify and qualify the most likely matching set of subsurface conditions, reducing uncertainty and avoiding unnecessary contingency, thereby increasing performance and reducing cost.

Realtime management and optimisation:

A natural extension of modelling and mapping, having geomechanics engineers monitoring operations in real-time ensures that models are updated in response to observed data, reducing uncertainty and improving the likelihood of a problem free well. This is particularly useful where there is uncertainty in pressure gradients which could lead to commitment of an unnecessary contingency casing string, or conversely, being able to drop a string given the right set of conditions and observations. Having early access to data may allow designs to be simplified reducing project time and cost, while improving overall project value. Onsite geomechanics engineers will also be able to provide support for unusual drilling operations such as low energy drilling (LEDO) where system energy is minimised to avoid aggravating existing wellbore stability problems (e.g. fissile formations, existing plane of weakness instability). Understanding the volume of cavings compared to cuttings, how it evolves, and its implications in relation to system limits is an excellent tool for mitigating risks associated with complex drilling problems.