helmerich&payne_blog

A major operator was drilling in the Haynesville shale, a formation known for extreme drilling environments that can expose downhole tools to costly damages and drilling remediation. The operator recognized that every un-planned trip could add days to the well cycle, further inflating their drilling costs. Additionally, this operator was concerned about high torque and drag numbers, which could have extended the expected well cycle times. To proactively combat these known challenges, the operator contacted Helmerich and Payne to discuss what suite of solutions they could deploy in order to achieve a better drilling outcome. Solution H&P suggested pre-planning for the challenges ahead by utilizing Advanced Well Engineering's DrillScan® software– specifically the Torque and Drag and Buckling module. This module is based on a unique, field-validated stiff-string model that is as accurate as Finite Element Analysis (FEA), but faster. To enhance wellbore quality while minimizing eco...

The Travis Peak is a set of interbedded formations in the Haynesville shale with rock strengths that vary from 7 to <20 kpsi in terms of compressive strength. Operators drilling in this formation are all too familiar with the uncertainty this reservoir presents and that if not drilled carefully with the ability to proactively respond to the challenges presented, can cause excessive wear, cutter damage and ultimately lead to early bit failure. One such operator drilling in this area reached out to H&P to design a specialized drilling program where a transition would be made to controlleddepth-of-cut drilling prior to encountering the Travis Peak in order to ensure proper bit engagement and extend drilling life. For the first well on the pad, the challenge remained that the exact depth the Travis Peak would come in was unknown. Adjusting the drilling parameters too early could lead to slower than needed drilling in earlier formations, while failure to adjust in time could result i...

An operator in the Eaglebine formation needed to mobilize a stacked rig to H&P’s South Texas district without compromising on their desired performance outcome. The aim was to increase time to target while also preserving the life of the drill bit. The well had a three casing string profile with an intermediate bit size of 7 7/8-in., a lateral bit size of 9 7/8-in., and an average total depth (TD) of 16,800 feet. Solution H&P recommended a suite of automated drilling solutions designed to establish drilling consistency across the crew and increase overall efficiency. Working together, FlexDrill® software uses Autodriller control system’s set point automation to increase rig efficiency, reducing overall mechanical specific energy (MSE) and downhole dysfunctions like whirl and stick slip. Additionally, FlexDrill technology would help fulfill another desired customer performance outcome since it preserves bottom hole assemblies (BHAs), reducing the flat time attributed to tripping...

A major operator drilling in the Woodford formation of central Oklahoma wanted to reduce stick slip, which is a common issue while drilling wells in the relatively young Merge play. This reoccurring issue often caused costly bit and bottom hole assembly (BHA) damage, leading to additional time spent on the well due to extra trips and BHA changes. Solution H&P identified the key challenges and recommended FlexTorque® software as a resolution. FlexTorque technology reduces vibration from stick slip that can lead to BHA damage by maintaining constant bit speed based on the model created by the unique BHA configurations. Outcome After installing FlexTorque software on one of wells and comparing its KPIs to a well that did not install H&P technology, the operator recognized the true impact FlexTorque technology had on achieving their desired outcome. Torque Standard Deviation 64% reduction in the average torque standard deviation, indicating a smaller severity of torque swings Inter...

"Given our place in the overall oil and gas value chain, we acknowledge the important part we play. Absent the drilling of wells, the entire oil and gas value chain would shut down. With that realisation, we are also aware of our ability to influence the efficiency, safety, and environmental impacts. How does company culture factor into H&P’s sustainability mindset? We continuously strive to be better than the day before; it is part of our culture. Some contend that the term ‘company culture’ often gets overused and is overly popularised such that it starts to lose its meaning. It does not at H&P. Our deep-rooted foundational elements in ‘Do the Right Thing’ have served as a basis in our culture for more than 100 years. What part does a drilling contractor have to play in the overall sustainability landscape? As we move forward in becoming more transparent and better custodians, we appreciate more of what we can control, what we have influence over, and frankly what we can...

"It was not a popular move at first, but we wouldn’t be able to drill today’s modern wells without top drives. It was a bold decision that had a global impact – a monumental commitment in many ways, full of challenges, but as a company we were committed to doing the right thing. What has contributed to the longevity of H&P and its success in the drilling industry? JF: The one thing that has enabled us to be so nimble and change with the market, has been the standardisation of our fleet. A crew on one rig can go to the next and it’s identical. They know where everything is located, how to operate it, and it allows us to rapidly implement new processes and technology at scale. A single solution is deployed on all our rigs: we don’t have to do it iteratively. How are you taking the H&P legacy of the past 100 years and applying it to the next 100 years? CM: The future is determined by data-driven decisions. We consider the wells currently being drilled, but our primary focus i...

With new innovations in drilling automation like FlexFusion, we are leading the development and implementation of autonomous drilling solutions to deliver value through more cost-effective, consistent, precise and safer outcomes. EVERYTHING THAT MAKES US UNIQUE, MAKES UP FLEXFUSION . Simply put, FlexFusion allows us to combine advanced automation technologies with industry-leading FlexRig® fleet, to create solutions that deliver customer specific outcomes. Seamless interaction between critical capabilities provide safer, more dependable and consistent results for your drilling operation. The H&P FlexRig® fleet pushes performance and geometric limits. Our FlexRig fleet is the heart of our drilling operations. Seamlessly integrating with our automated technologies, these super-spec rigs have served as the industry leader for decades and are designed for optimal flexibility, performance and efficiency. A control system that knows what is important, when it matters most. The Autodrille...

With Helmerich & Payne’s performance-based contracts, we are held accountable to achieving your goals and delivering operational success at every turn. In fact, that’s how we’re compensated. For more than 100 years, Helmerich & Payne has led the drilling industry through foresight, innovation and follow through. We have continually led the way in what we deliver with our products and people—like our latest autonomous solutions and our team of experts ready to deploy them across the world. The next phase in our evolution as a service provider revolves around the promise of the solutions we deploy. To ensure our partners get the best service from H&P and maximize results to the best of their ability and ours, we’re introducing performance-based contracts—an approach that directly connects our compensation with the well quality, operational efficiency and value creation we deliver. BENEFITS TO YOU: • Reduce risk • Drive efficiency • Increase performance • Minimize cost...

An operator in the Delaware basin was proactively looking for ways to maximize efficiencies in its well program by decreasing the number of days spent on the well and by lowering bottomhole assembly (BHA) count. One well had been drilled on the pad, and the initial spud to total depth (TD) was 32.4 days and 22,330 feet. After collaborating with the customer to understand the desired outcome, H&P recommended an integrated solution to address multiple outcome deliverables. By using FlexDrill® software in conjunction with H&P’s Autodriller control system, the customer can enable set point automation to increase the efficiency of the rig and reduce the overall mechanism specific energy (MSE) and downhole dysfunctions like whirl and stick slip. The system automatically stages drilling set points after tagging bottom, further reducing risk and accelerating the well program. By design, this system is set up to deliver maximum efficiencies while reducing the learning curve to achieve r...

An operator drilling out of the Meramec formation in Oklahoma historically struggled with suboptimal rates of penetration (ROP) due to stick slip and whirl. It caused premature tool failures and bit damage and increased the nonproductive time and costs. They turned to H&P for a solution to enhance drilling efficiency and preserve bit life. Based on the desired outcome the operator was looking to achieve, H&P recommended the Autodriller control system in conjunction with FlexDrill® technology. The continuous, automatic optimization of these solutions helped increase ROP and lower mechanical specific energy (MSE), leading to a more efficient drilling process for the operator. The proprietary FlexDrill technology performed continuous drill off tests to find the optimal drilling parameters through each formation. This process mitigated stick slip and whirl dysfunction, reducing the downhole vibrations responsible for bit and bottom hole assembly (BHA) damage. Additionally, H&P’...

In every drilling operation, time is money. Whether it’s the speed at which you drill or the efficiency of executing slides or minimizing flat time, it’s important to find proven and dependable efficiencies to keep all the moving parts in motion—on budget, on time and on target. Increase Rotating ROP Our DrillScan® software provides an iterative approach to finding the right BHA per well design with optimum build and turn rates to help ensure maximized rotation and minimized sliding footage. What’s more, based on the outcome objective to increase ROP, our Bit Guidance System makes directional decisions to reduce friction, enabling weight transfer and increased speed. Our Digital Roadmap software inputs pre-planned setpoints based on formation tops and adjusts them in real-time as formation changes occur, while our FlexDrill Technology continues to optimize setpoints for increased ROP during drilling operations. Increase Slide ROP Based on historical drilling information, our B...

Well Planning 3D visualization provides a better understanding of wellbore positions and its ellipsoids of uncertainty along with its proximity to nearby wells. Combined with the Collision Avoidance module, the software provides anticollision calculations to minimize risk while optimizing well trajectory design. BHA & BIT Analysis Provides quick and comprehensive 3D predictions of the directional behavior (build/drop rate, turn rate) of the BHA, allowing for optimal design and equipment selection to reduce failure rates. The Vibration Modal Analysis module provides drillers with critical rotation speeds and weight on bit (WOB) to avoid, increasing BHA integrity. Well Integrity The Casing Design module allows the user to optimize the well architecture, select casing sizes and grades, simulate loads, and calculate packer-tubing forces. The casing deformation and stand-off capability calculates casing standoff as well as the reconstruction of cased-hole trajectory, due to the de...

Each year we set both safety and sustainability goals to keep us pushing towards a better outcome. Improving Lives Through Affordable and Responsible Energy Environmental Actively C.A.R.E. Goals 2023 • Reduce the amount of GHG Emissions per drilled distance by 1% with a reach goal of 2% • Implement Driller’s Select on 100 rigs • Achieve 80% of active rigs running below 30% average excess engine hours • Achieve a completion rate of 98% for assigned GHG emissions training • Improve winterization emissions measurement capabilities and build winterization roadmaps • Validate emissions and fuel data with empirical testing 2024 • Expand, evaluate, and implement the opportunity sets required to meet the 2030 GHG emissions goal • Improve excess engine hour precision • Maintain all 2023 rigs under 30% and increase targeted efforts for rigs operating above 50% excess engine hours. • Reduce fleet vehicle idle times by 25% • Reduce volume of spills per 1000ft drilled by 15% Download the Article f...

One of the largest and longest operating onshore drilling and technology companies in the world, known for our signature FlexRig® fleet, unmatched efficiency gains, and uncompromising commitment to SAFETY and SUSTAINABILITY. We Perform Efficiently. We Execute Safely. We Deliver Better Drilling Outcomes. Download the Article from here: https://www.helmerichpayne.com/media/product-highlights/Who-Is-Helmerich-Payne.pdf . Know More about H&P - https://www.helmerichpayne.com/our-approach/why Contact us to know more: https://www.helmerichpayne.com/contact .

The newest FlexRig® fleet  design, Flex3W Arabia, offers  configurations to deliver more  power, more finesse, and  greater mobility to match the  unique demands of Middle  East operations. • Excessive rig move loads: rig down and rig up is made easier with the condensed box-on-box substructure • Disconnecting hard lines during rig moves: keep existing connections through the use of flexible flowlines • Breaking electrical connections during walks: the patented H&P BoomBox allows the rig to stay energized continuously • Crane usage to move the rig’s backyard skids: reduce dropped object exposure while transporting engines, mud pumps, and mud tanks • Removing the block and top drive: integration enables this equipment to be raised and lowered hydraulically on the mast NO MORE… Standard rig floor height- 25.5 ft. (rotary beam clearance of 21’) option of 30.5’ (rotary beam clearance of 26’) • Well head clearances of 10’ standard (option of 15’) • Offline B...

Helmerich & Payne has been named the No.1 Land Driller in the EnergyPoint Research Customer Satisfaction Survey for the 12th year in a row. In addition to capturing the top spot overall, H&P was also ranked first in job quality, technology, HSE, Interior Texas and Mid-Continent, the Gulf Coast and three additional onshore categories. “Having a service attitude means making our customers’ success our top priority and we are honored to have received this recognition from EnergyPoint Research for more than a decade,” said John Lindsay, President and CEO. “Thank you to our customers for continuing to put your trust in us and developing strong partnerships. It is also impossible to thank our employees enough for their hard work and dedication, especially considering the enormous challenges we faced in 2020 to adapt to this new COVID-19 world.” Doug Sheridan, Managing Director and founder of EnergyPoint commented, “Prior to the onset of the global pandemic in early 2020, both onshore...

Traditional geosteering workflows rely heavily on the expert oversight monitoring of incoming logging-while drilling (LWD) data and continuous manual updating of geologic interpretations to identify key points in a well where directional decisions need be made. The labor-intensive nature of this work means that a remote supervisor is often limited to only watching 2 or 3 operations simultaneously. Previous studies (Maus, et. al. 2020) have described an algorithm capable of automatically producing multiple geosteering interpretations to reduce the human workload needed to follow along with the drilling operation. This study compares the results produced by this automated geosteering algorithm with interpretations generated through traditional means. The amount of effort required to produce an equivalent outcome is quantified in order to estimate the number of rigs an expert could potentially monitor. An automated geosteering algorithm was run in parallel with conventional geosteering fo...

Casing wear due to pipe body and tool-joint of Range 2 and Range 3 DP is compared using a stiff-string torque & drag & buckling model coupled to a 3D meshed casing wear calculation. Results are compared for multiple well profiles, either smooth or tortuous, in addition to differing pipe-body and tool-joint wear factors. The driving force behind the study was to investigate if the benefits Range 3 DP over Range 2 DP, such as reducing the ECD during drilling as well increasing the lifespan of rotating BOPs, outweigh the potential casing wear. To accurately determine casing wear, all rotating operations must be taken into account and therefore a complete BHA run program must be detailed. The casing wear was found by determining the evolution of tool-joint and pipe body contact points along the drillstring and during all the operations using a stiff-string Torque and Drag model. Then, based on the contact force history, a linear Hall model was applied to a detailed 3D casing mesh w...

An operator working in the Midland Basin had been achieving mid-tier drilling performance overall but had been falling short in one key area. Their intermediate string operations were consistently the slowest when compared to similar offset operations. They were drilling 1,400 feet per day, while top operators were achieving nearly 3,900 feet per day; and while they were using an average of 3.3 intermediate BHAs, the top-performing operator was averaging just one. H&P was tasked with delivering a solution to help the client reach its production potential. To better understand the host of conditions affecting the operator’s performance, H&P performed a comprehensive evaluation of the flow rate, rate of penetration (ROP), and weight on bit (WOB) for both Midland and Martin counties when compared to offset competitors. It was determined that, by deploying FlexDrill® technology on their rig, the operator could achieve greater performance. H&P’s FlexDrill is a technology-based t...

H&P has an advanced suite of automation software applications that layer on top of the FlexRig fleet drilling control systems and provide for machine and human collaboration during the drilling process to improve efficiency. The operator used a combination of three of these technologies: FlexTorque® Technology: A hardware and software combination that offers less drilling vibration, lowers cost and yields more wells for higher reserves and production. FlexB2D® Technology: A software solution designed to improve efficiency and connection times while also maximizing bit/BHA life by reengaging the bit in a controlled and repeatable manner. FlexOscillator® Technology: A rig control software that automates drillstring rotation, reduces drag and decreases costly incidents of stuck pipe. Bit Guidance System: In addition to the technologies listed above, the operator used H&P’s Bit Guidance System to steer the bit in real time. The system uses task automation, forward modeling and auto...

ADIPEC is one of the largest and most prestigious events in the oil and gas industry and is a great opportunity to connect with a vast number of our customers and peers around the globe on the incredible strides we are making together. Having been in the drilling business for over a century, we’ve seen a lot of changes in that time. This legacy we have created provides us with a unique perspective on the evolution of the energy industry and allows us to continue to innovate and lean on technology to propel us into the next frontier. When I think about the conversations taking place even five years ago compared to now, it’s clear that we are innovating at a more rapid rate than we’ve ever seen before. The discussions that occur each year at ADIPEC help to steer the world’s energy future and it’s an honor to take part in that conversation. We have an exciting and diverse lineup of coffee break presentations prepared for our ADIPEC booth that really dive in on a level that resonates with ...