Savings of up to 30 per cent on Statoil drilling costs in the Sleipner area of the North Sea are promised by a new team approach.
Beginning work on Sleipner A yesterday (12 January), this specially-tailored solution includes personnel from Statoil, main drilling contractor Odfjell and all 16 sub-contractors involved.
This adds up to 10 Statoil employees and 30 from the contractors, who have devoted the past four months to studying a new planning concept.
The team is split into sub-groups in accordance with the delivery concerned – a well or a completion operation, for instance. These sub-groups are responsible for decisions relating to that delivery.
"By giving everyone involved an overall appreciation of the job, we expect to make substantial savings," says Ståle Tungesvik, drilling and well operations supervisor for the Sleipner area. "That's because we'll be able to complete drilling work faster than has been usual earlier."
This will provide a good return on the relatively expensive planning process.
Two wells in Sleipner East are the initial focus for the team, including a combined producer and gas injector being drilled to the Ty reservoir with a 2,000 metre horizontal section.
A new completion method called Scrams will make it possible to control downhole equipment remotely in this well.
The other project is a producer in the Gungne structure, and will have a total measured length of 7,600 metres – making it one of the longest wells drilled by the group.
"If these operations live up to our technical and financial expectations, we're very likely to get the go-ahead to drill more prospects in the area," says Mr Tungesvik.
Plans call for the work to be concluded by the summer, but he says that the team aims to be finished much earlier than that.