Speed & Accuracy

The Rig-Hand system increases the speed and accuracy of data collection, as well as simplifying the provision of the information to other necessary parties in a useful format. This eliminates several steps in the typical reporting process and provides direct and indirect value to drilling operations. Values were reviewed for:

• Increased Information Reliability and Accuracy

• Time Savings - Reduction in Labor Time

• Improved Utilization of Key Personnel

• Optimization of Drilling Operations

• Post Work Review and Analysis, Standardized Information Storage

For further details on the calculations, see the Economic Summary.

Increased Information Reliability and Accuracy

Rig-Hand increases the reliability and accuracy of collected information and the probability of successful fishing operations.

Dimensional information measured by instruments that are accurate, fast and simple to use can feed data directly into the Rig-Hand system, eliminating errors of interpretation, transcription and transmission. Improved accuracy has direct value to down-hole equipment recovery (fishing) operations.
Even if standard (tape measure) methods are still used with Rig-Hand to measure equipment and then the information is manually input, it will no longer need to be hand transferred several times to various reports, tally calculations and other users.

To speed the measurement process up and further reduce the opportunity for measurement errors, newly input information can also be compared against previously input data. If equipment is ‘cataloged’, then its dimensions do not even need to all be re-input. It is expected that users will catalog most of the tools that they are routinely running down-hole. When tools are re-measured for subsequent operations, the data which was input earlier acts as a quality control check for overall dimensional accuracy.

Increased Probability of Success in a Fishing Operation
Given that the likelihood of retrieving downhole equipment left in the hole decreases dramatically after each successive recovery attempt, the best chance of successfully retrieving equipment is to have precisely the right tools for the job on the first recovery attempt. Therefore, highly accurate bottom hole assembly (BHA) and drill string information is critical to successful fishing operations.

Value of Increased Success Rate of Fishing Jobs
More accurate BHA dimensional information will potentially reduce the average fishing costs by 20%. Assuming that fishing costs average 2.5% of annual drilling operational costs, we can reduce those annual costs by 20% X 2.5% = 0.5%, while simultaneously reducing risk.

Example savings based on savings of 0.5% of annual rig costs per rig per year

Time Savings - Reduction in Labor Time

Rig-Hand reduces the labor time of routine tasks, such as drill string tallying and creation of drill string schematics
 

Using the Rig-Hand system, Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) information collection will become a simple exercise instead of a laborious one of deciphering notes from drillers, engineers, and associated personnel on the rig. Drill string, casing and tubing tallies are calculated in ‘real time’ on the rig floor from the acquired information, increasing the accuracy of the drilling operation and reducing time spent waiting for laborious addition processes. In addition, drill floor time that is currently used to measure equipment will be reduced by at least 0.5%.

The reduction of critical-path rig time alone makes the Rig-Hand system economically valuable to most operations.

Value of Reducing the Time in Data Acquisition and Analysis
Based on interview responses, it was estimated that using the Rig-Hand System will save about six minutes of drill-floor time per active rig day. This equates to at least a 0.4% savings in drilling rig time cost per year.

Example savings based on 0.4% of annual rig costs per rig per year: Assuming 300 days per year of operations, average savings of six minutes/day = 6/1440 minutes/day = 0.42% average daily time savings, round down to 0.4%

Improved Utilization of Key Personnel
 

Rig-Hand releases key personnel from performing simple but time consuming and error prone work, allowing them to perform higher value tasks
 

In addition to the critical path time, which is used here for value analysis, there are other very substantial benefits. Using the Rig-Hand System will releases key personnel from performing simple but time consuming and error prone work, allowing them to perform higher value tasks.

How much time does your key rig personnel spend performing mundane information transcription, downhole schematic preparation and pipe tallies? The value of this benefit of using Rig-Hand is not calculated here but it is significant.

Optimization of Drilling Operations

Rig-Hand simplifies and improves the drilling optimization process.

By having the most accurate down-hole equipment information, consistently collected in an electronic format and easily shareable with other applications, drilling operations will be optimized more easily and with greater confidence. Real time optimizations of critical operational parameters such as Torque & Drag or Bottom Hole Hydraulic Horse Power are more likely to be performed.

Preliminary marketing interview questions for this area included asking potential clients how often they ran optimization programs, what the access to such programs was, what the obstacles were to running such programs and how often they should be running optimizations. These numbers are derived from the ability of Rig-Hand to mitigate a subset of the obstacles, namely, that the input data is seldom complete or accurate and often not available in a timely manner. Engineering responses indicated that with better quality and availability of data, more optimizations would be run.

Value of Optimized Drilling Operations
The overall improvement to drilling operations would be on the order of 0.2% on onshore rigs and 0.5% of annual offshore rig drilling costs. Example savings are:
 

Data will be entered, stored and reviewed in an easy-to-follow, standardized format using Rig-Hand software. The software ensures that all necessary information is collected. Standardized data synchronization methods are employed to move the collected data to the PC and enterprise environment. Management of downhole equipment dimensions, history inventory and traceability is finally realized while simultaneously providing a positive impact to time critical drill-floor operations.
Engineering research time will also be reduced when it is desired to review past operations for possible improvement. The data has been accurately collected and then stored in a consistent and easily accessible manner.

Data Can Be Shared Immediately
Data from the Rig-Hand is synchronized to a PC where it can be shared throughout a worldwide enterprise environment via Internet or Intranet, or used locally for other engineering purposes.
Post-mortem review of drilling operations is a time consuming task often performed by drilling engineering staff and more often not performed when it should be, due to lack of accurate, reliable and available operational data.

Value of Consistent Data Collection and Sharing
Attempts to determine the cost and value of this information had widely disparate results. Preliminary marketing responses correlated to the question of whether a company considered itself a ‘learning organization’ or not. Organizations which answered positive to this question attached larger values to post work data access.

Averaged values of all responses were determined and are used here.