Background:

Significant innovation has taken place in drilling into the tight-oil and shale-gas reservoirs. As laterals continue to increase in length and completion intensity has yet to find a ceiling, the industry is focused on how to best balance optimizing ROP while ensuring that the wellbore placement and construction are to plan. From an efficiency standpoint, much of the low hanging fruit has already been harvested with the shift towards pad drilling and pad optimized drilling rigs. However, the push towards 2+ mile laterals, tighter spacing and larger wellbores means that future productivity gains will be driven by novel downhole solutions coupled with integrated , novel surface equipment solutions.

Drilling continues to be a large part of the capital budget for oil companies and therefore, the pursuit of lower cost wells has not ended. In addition, of equal concern to E&P operators is producing a high-quality well that is landed in and stays within reservoir sweet spots, thereby increasing the potential for maximum hydrocarbon recovery.

Our scouting and research is focused on emerging technologies, solutions and vendors that are enabling operators to drill high-quality wells at low cost while maximizing productivity and economic value. As companies continue to balance the need for faster drill times with an increasing focus on precision, technological innovation will have the most lasting impact. These innovations will create for adopters truly sustainable value and competitive strength. The challenge is knowing which ones to pursue.

STUDY SCOPE:

The study will be focused on drilling technologies and will uncover solutions specifically applicable to:

PER WELL EFFICIENCY

• Consumables using novel chemical solutions to increase ROP while minimizing formation damage and mud loss events.
• Enhanced Equipment & Automation of drilling equipment or processes to reduce human error and costs either on the rig or Subsurface with a particular focus on hardware advancements which may tip the balance in favor of equipment which historically has been considered either too expensive or unreliable.

LIFE OF WELL SOLUTIONS

• Advanced Geosteering & Well Placement to increase contact area with reservoir sweet spots via both enhanced measurement and control systems.
• Telemetry solutions to enhance data transmission capabilities from downhole whether via enhancements to traditional mud pulse technology or emerging mechanisms such as acoustic transmission and EM.
• Well Integrity & Remediation to ensure that the wellbore is able to withstand the stresses of the completion process.