Some rigs have a reputation for performance. Understanding the elements of efficient operations requires observation. To improve on this process, Pride International has taken observation to a new level by building its per-well performance into a repository of useful data that promises to usher in a consistent level of increased performance.

Drilling a well

In any given project, the overall responsibilities of drilling a well are shared. Well parameters and designs are controlled primarily by the operator. During the well construction phase, the driller receives daily parameters from the customer as part of its well program. Shared responsibilities requiring the attention of both the contractor and the customer include the actual drilling, weight-on-bit, RPM, pump rates, circulating, completions, and HSE management.

The drilling contractor has a specific set of activities and responsibilities. These rig-controlled processes (RCPs) account for an estimated 30% of a given well. Rig positioning, picking up/laying down drillpipe, tripping, running and pulling the riser, building the bottomhole assembly, testing equipment, rig maintenance, crew competency, and housekeeping are areas in which the contractor takes primary responsibility during the overall operation. When available, efficiencies often can be identified and implemented in these areas to improve a drilling contractor’s overall performance.

Observation, action plans

As early as April 2009, Pride began modifying Rimdrill software in an effort to better capture performance metrics and generate daily rig reports. Designed by California-based Infostat, the software is a reporting tool that provides a basic platform with standard functionality, including International Association of Drilling Contractors standard drilling reports. Wanting to drill down from basic reporting, Pride has tweaked this platform by adding new functions and subcodes to develop a more in-depth view into overall rig performance.

Chris Weber, vice president, operations support for Pride, explained, “We have made several modifications to Rimdrill to accommodate better, more granular reporting around the RCPs to generate customized reports and to capture lessons learned at the rig level.”

Prior to Rimdrill, paper-based reporting was common. While this system provided an ample amount of information on a per-well basis, the capacity to measure against previous benchmarks was somewhat limited. Today, the contractor has access to more historical data and maintains the ability to compare its performance across a number of metrics at the push of a button, both on a daily basis or by using other parameters.

Roughly 30% of any given drilling project contains RCPs, which are defined as activities for which the drilling contractor primarily controls the outcome and performance. (Image courtesy of Pride International)

A key tool Pride has implemented to measure its performance is the End-of-Well Scorecard. The scorecard provides a comprehensive summary of Pride’s performance drilling a given well and covers well delivery time, efficiency benchmarks, HSE, equipment reliability, and lessons learned.

“We are excited about the End-of-Well Scorecard because it provides rig performance managers with a tool for reviewing their rig’s performance both with rig crews and clients,” Weber said. “These post-job performance discussions, also known as After-Action Reviews, are an important part of a continuous improvement culture.

“One of the keys for us is that the scorecard is not just a data report. The scorecard’s primary function is to facilitate a performance discussion both with the rig crew and the customer.”

The goal is to reduce the client’s time to drill and produce wells without compromising safety. In addition to in-depth reporting, the company also has developed an observation process. Using the metrics derived in its daily reporting, where deficiencies appear, the contractor sends engineers to observe the rigs during operations.

Three basic areas are observed – people, process, and plant – to determine where improved efficiency can drive performance. In one example, Pride’s performance team studied surface casing running speeds and riser running speeds on the Pride Africa and Pride Angola. Both drill-ships were of similar design and were located in close proximity, yet the performance data showed a clear difference in their riser running speeds. The team spent a week on each rig while crews ran the BOP and made observations and came up with a number of findings that explained the difference in performance. Some had to do with the number of people on shift at a given time, like crane operators; others had to do with the configuration of the riser bay.

“These are little changes,” Weber said. “You are not always going to find a major breakthrough, but in the spirit of continuous improvement, you’re looking for those things. One of the big things we are focused on is actionable recommendations – not just a report that sits on the shelf, but things that actually lead to meaningful actions.”

Pumping up performance

One Pride rig that has achieved a dramatic performance improvement recently is the Pride Mexico, which operates offshore Brazil. Gabe Hoke, the first graduate of Pride’s management training program, was named rig performance manager for the Pride Mexico at the end of October 2009. Performance improvement included significant reductions in downtime, safety issues, and drillpipe tripping speed. The improvements helped the rig exceed its 2010 performance bonus target by 15%.

“The key to improving performance is having complete buy-in from your team,” Hoke said. “Performance also requires a systematic approach that looks at improving every facet of an operation – people, process, and plant.”

“That is a tangible benefit,” Weber added. “It shows not only the advantage that can be gained from separating performance management from asset management to put a full-time focus on each but also the payoff from our management training program.”

Moving forward

Pride’s performance measurement program is still in its early phase, but benchmarking will continue to increase. “We only go back a couple of years. We’re new into this,” Weber said. They are currently rating its performance on a quarterly basis, looking at each rig along a number of metrics to apply benchmarking with each new project.

While it is true that every well is different, by focusing on those elements that fall within the control of the drilling contractor (RCPs), Pride is driving toward a more consistent performance throughout its entire fleet.

The company spent 2010 getting its measurement tools in place. By driving adoption and getting buy-in and usage of the system on a per-rig basis, Pride believes 2011 is the year it will start to see performance improvements in the data.

“This is the year that we need to make this program stick,” Weber said. “We want to drive consistency and improve performance to continue to strive for the technical limits inherent to our fleet. You’re not going to get there if you’re not using a process like this.”

Offshore