Technical Program Preview

by Ted Moon
JPT Online Technology Editor

Plenary Sessions

The IADC/SPE Drilling Conference will offer several plenary sessions this year, which provide a first-hand perspective from industry leaders on the major issues facing the drilling sector today. On Tuesday's Plenary I session, "Operating Cost: Validation, Consequences, and Solutions," panelists from major oilfield service providers and operating companies will present and discuss the impact of spiraling service costs, excessive downtime, and equipment shortages on drilling activity. This panel will also offer various solution scenarios that might take the burden off of drillers.

In Wednesday's Plenary II session, titled "Technology – The Key to Finding and Producing Difficult Hydrocarbons," Chief Scientist Charlie Williams of Shell will lead a discussion on the importance of technology in discovering and producing ever more-challenging hydrocarbon resources. The panel of technology experts will also discuss what types of technologies will be needed for the deeper and harsher drilling conditions to come in the next 30 years.

Plenary III on Thursday, titled "Roadmap to the Future: People and Processes," will present the well-known challenges of the Big Crew Change from the perspective of the drilling sector. HR experts and consultants will present ways that companies can accelerate the competency curve for the thousands of new hires who will replace the most experienced drillers as they retire or move into management positions. In addition, the panel will discuss the proposed processes and methods needed to attract more technologists into the oil and gas industry over the next 10 years.

Case Histories

Sharing lessons learned and disseminating practical knowledge are cornerstones of the Drilling Conference, and Wednesday's "Case Histories" session is an ideal location to learn from a global perspective. Offshore West Africa is the focus of two case histories from ExxonMobil, as drilling engineers discuss shallow hazards planning in Nigeria's Erha-7 well and successful drilling management techniques for mass transport complexes in deepwater Angola.

The Troll West field in the North Sea is highlighted in another case study, as technologists discuss the field and technology developments used to drill for, and produce, oil from this vast gas field.

Technical Sessions

Over the course of 3 days, 18 different technical sessions will address technology topics spanning the drilling sector. Deepwater drilling is the subject of two sessions, where engineers from major operating and service companies will present the latest information on topics such as directional drilling in salt formations in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, and how to improve hole quality and casing-running performance in riserless topholes in deepwater Angola.

The technology topics of casing while drilling and directional drilling both receive their own focus in dedicated sessions. Several case histories from around the world are presented on each topic, including Chevron's successful application of casing-while-drilling technology in a Canadian Arctic permafrost field, and a complex extended reach drilling job performed in an environmentally sensitive area off the California coast.

In light of the high demand for, and high costs of, drilling services and rigs, the Drilling Conference presents a session dedicated to advances in rig equipment. Subject matter experts from technology companies like Schlumberger, National Oilwell Varco, and Seadrill present the latest information on automation advances to improve drilling efficiencies, ways to reduce integration costs and risks during new rig construction, and a successful implementation of dual drilling activities with one derrick.