Applying project management principles to drilling programs

If more E&P companies applied classic project management principles to the well project drilling process, how much would this lower costs and increase overall drilling program efficiency?

Quite a lot.

Tim Clay, Director at Energy in-Focus Limited, has a short but timely and thought-provoking article on this topic, entitled “Project management in drilling”, in the latest issue of Digital Energy Journal.

Using practical examples, Tim discusses his experiences in using a project management orientation to improve the well project drilling process. Such a process has to be adaptable and scalable, so that it may be applied across multiple programs, and at all organizational levels. As well, the process must integrate technology with business processes that make appropriate use of people's technical skills so that maximum leverage is applied throughout well project delivery.

With up to 75% of exploration costs going into drilling, the holistic project management-oriented view of the process puts in place a logical road map that focuses on the delivery of wells over the life of a reservoir. The key, I think, is that the project management approach that Tim describes enables the organization to take a lifecycle view of what's going on, rather than the short-term operational/reactive mode of thinking that's prevalent in many organizations. While some people have to worry about the daily here-and-now of drilling, there also has to be a coherent and consistent way of looking at the entire drilling program to enhance operational efficiency and maximize production.

The project management approach to this process can deliver step change improvements in performance (examples are noted in the article), and the principles Tim discusses have application elsewhere in E&P operations. Well worth a read.