Consistent, Systematic Approach to Deepwater Coiled Tubing Efficiency Improvement Substantially Reduces Operational Time, Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

AbstractDespite new deepwater project economics being strongly challenged by the halved oil prices, it is expected that the ongoing projects will continue, given the large, long-term investments that have already been made. In this challenging market environment, operators are required to reduce operating costs to balance expenditures with available cash flow. With the reduction in operator spending, coiled tubing (CT) service companies are further pressed to reduce service charges. Lowering service rates is not the ultimate solution because it neglects to consider a prevalent factor that often relates to excessive expenditures: inefficient performance. Improved operational efficiency holds significant cost-saving potential. Efficient performance in the areas of equipment loading, offloading, rigging up, pressure testing, in-hole operations, and rigging down enables substantial financial reward in the form of time savings.The importance of efficiency improvements in deepwater vessel-based CT operations, along with the key areas of improvement and performance solutions, were explained in previous papers, Ottolina et al. (2016) and Rudnik et al. (2014). The objective of this study is to transform efficiency improvement into a repeatable process that can be applied to every aspect of CT operations to decrease operational risk, enhance performance and reduce intervention cost.Low-performance areas and locations of recurring non-productive time (NPT) were addressed with remedial work plans. Meanwhile, high-performance areas were analyzed to record the best practices for efficient execution to realize efficiency gains for the campaign's duration. These best practices were applied to areas of mediocre performance to elevate the percentage of tasks performed on an efficient level. To ensure continuous improvement and unbiased performance review, a performance tracking system and various performance metrics were created. To ensure consistency of performance and continuity between three offshore crews, the development of standard work instructions, process flow charts, and templates were created and deployed.The development of a total efficiency solution provided the framework for a step change in performance for seven well intervention operations. A consistent, systematic approach to CT operation efficiency improvement has resulted in reductions of 60% for average pressure testing time, 63% for BHA makeup with break test, and 30% reduction in rig up and rig down series. Additionally, improved consistency has accompanied increased performance as the online pressure testing success rate improved from 64 to 95%. These efficiency gains currently provide an estimated 22 hr total time savings for a typical 7-day CT operation.