Part III. Execution
As proposed in Part 1 of Well Control: A Drilling Engineer's Pursuit, let’s examine three phases of which influence the level of preparedness companies and engineers will have for a well control situation: Well Design/Construction, Execution Planning, and Execution.
With Well Design/Construction & Execution planning, discussed in the first two blogs, we come to the final phase of our discussion, the critical phase - execution.
Input: Well-site consultants, Service Providers, Engineering, Logistics Coordination, Communication, Safety Awareness, JSA’s, Teamwork, etc.
Output: Execution
This one is the stopper, the plug, the duct-tape, but unfortunately it can also be the final straw, the last hole that had to align for failure, the ultimate back-breaker. It is where the rubber meets the road, the straw that can break the camel’s back, and of course the shit hits the fan.
With all the proper engineering (well design/construction) and job communication (execution planning), can the safety of the well site team and environment still be jeopardized? Yes, Absolutely Yes.
I listed teamwork pretty far down the list on inputs, but for no reason whatsoever, teamwork is the only way to achieve the companies’ goals of a competent wellbore that was done safely, economically, and with respect for the environment above and below ground. Do contractors and service providers need to follow their safety policies and understand their duties operationally? Absolutely. Do company men need to communicate their employer’s safety concerns and reasons to the contractors on location in order to be successful? Absolutely. Does engineering need to get updates on wellbore conditions and help manage the unexpected by knowledge that the well site wasn’t privied too otherwise? Absolutely.
The whole point here is teamwork is needed for operators and providers to avoid an uncontrolled well influx of which could cause harm to people and the environment. Execution can make or break the program but it is neither more or less important than the following two phases in helping Oil and Gas companies be prepared for handling well influx events.
Jumping back to the first input listed, well-site consultants, what comes to your mind when you hear company man/well-site consultant? The Boss? The Ornery Ex-Driller? The regarded leader? No matter what pre-determined notions or beliefs that have been formed along the way of your career, the well-site consultant is the most important player on location. He is the stop gap between a well control incident and your best day of drilling. His unique position to both represent the operator and manage the contractor’s execution is of utmost criticality to leaving the well-site safely at the end of a shift. Utilize the well-site consultant to represent your safety procedures, your culture, and implement your planning.
Combining the well-site consultant’s field experience with your engineering work and leaning on teamwork between all services with the operator will help us avoid the un-thinkable. No one’s concern should be taken lightly whether it is in regards to downhole pressure, proper hand placement, or someone’s state of mind.
Open ears, open mind, pro-active communication can mean the difference between an incident of gigantic proportions verse an activity all but forgotten.
Next time you hear of an incident close to your operations dig, try to find out why, where and how their processes failed them. If we can learn from our mistakes as an industry maybe we can get through this downturn unscathed and shine above others at times when scrutiny is at its all time highest.
Would love your feedback on items missed as we all know a blog is written in hours and another point of view is something much appreciated in regards to building the depth of the material we have added.
Kick Circulated Out, Drilling Ahead!
