APPLYING TECHNICAL LIMIT METHODOLOGY FOR STEP CHANGE IN UNDERSTANDINGAND PERFORMANCE

This paper presents an alternative planning approach to the drilling a nd completion process, technical limit, which has resulted in a step c hange in Woodside's performance. Three new wells and six subsea comple tions were finished 20% under budget with this tool and with a simple philosophy characterized by the following questions. What is current p erformance? What is possible? What is needed to get there? The target was to drill a directional well in 20 days when the previous best time was 42 days. A target of 12 days was set on subsea completions, altho ugh a conventional approach had previously been 20+ days. The methodol ogy was to ask what would be possible if everything went perfectly on every operation making up the well time. This is not the usual trouble free time but a well time built up of individual components, with eac h component representing its theoretical best performance. Details of how the approach was used to plan, and operational data that confirm t hat the technical limit can be approached are presented. As a result, the well construction performance delivered step change improvement wh en managed against the technical limit.