Do you expect to reach casing TD at first attempt?

We’re in a highly competitive business were figures are astronomical and the fine line between success and failure is made out of a pile of money. Planning and completing a drilling operation is a lot about percentages. We all know what’s at stake, but we sometimes fail to play our best bet.

Is “most of the time” good enough?

The complexity of a drilling operation leaves us with a lot of question marks even when we have done the very best of preparations. No one knows exactly what it looks like a few kilometres under the surface, but we still expect to reach casing td at first attempt, just the way we planned. Lucky enough, and due to the unparalleled quality of people and equipment, we do succeed most of the time. The best ones always do. But the process of going from “most of the time” to “always” is actually one that separates the great from the average, and is rewarded in solid gold. So the question is: How to play the percentages?

Use more money and save valuable time

A well in the North Sea often reaches the drilling costs of 130 Mill USD. If you plan carefully and manage to cut one per mille in expenses, you save 130 000 USD. With that in mind it is understandable that oil companies find it hard to let this subtitle pass their gag reflex. With the offshore gross rig cost from 30K USD to 65K USD, one hour saved makes a question in choice of tools and planning. So let’s try to state this in a more humble way: When planning a well, be sure to consider the benefits of the state of the art equipment and methods. The higher price might give you severe payback in saved time and production costs.

Top Drive Casing Running

Though this method has been successful in a lot of years and a lot of projects, some operators still hold on to conventional casing. That might be for obvious reasons, of course, but we boldly claim that TDCR is a method that increases your success rate over time. We have covered the benefits of TDCR in this article, but let’s just highlight some of the positive outcome for the people planning your project:

• The process is simpler because it requires less conventional equipment
• You can have your casing running with smaller crew                
• Less equipment to send, less need for containers etc.
• Less need for deck space
• Fewer POB. Accommodation is always a tricky aspect when it comes to casing running planning
• Fewer people to get in and out of the rig. That means less transporting costs and easier planning.

The history and the future is on your side

At Odfjell Well Services we have run close to 1.8 million meters (over 500 000 meter only in Romania) of casing from the top drive since the start in 2009. The method is more popular than ever, with new markets embracing it as we speak. TDCR has proved to be reliable, safe and effective, and have helped operators deal with tricky situations, getting to TD in time and managing their projects effectively, thus saving money. Not on the equipment – but in total. That’s where the percentages are.

Topics: Casing Running, Casing Preparation

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