Drilling Schedule Optimisation
Unlock Value by Optimising Your Drilling Schedule.
Our optimisation and analysis software uses a proprietary genetic algorithm to generate schedules maximising value, production or the addition of proved reserves. In addition, our tools enable operators to catalogue schedules and quantify the business impact of their decisions.
Background
Major EP companies need to create and maintain a drilling schedule for a large number of drill strings. The objective is to maximise value, production or reserves from limited resources of cash and rigs/crews. The task is complicated by the following factors:
- the data is highly dynamic
- the data is subject to uncertainty
- business priorities can change
For any significant activity levels, it is impossible to optimise this manually or by inspection. The Dundas tools contain a powerful proprietary optimisation algorithm developed to handle the complex scheduling problem faced in the operation of regional development programmes. The tool may be used to automatically optimise drilling schedules:
- Select best projects to be executed
- Determine best chronological order
- Comply with all business constraints
The optimiser objective function can be either:
- Value, or
- Production build-up, or
- Proved reserves additions (PRA)
Functionality
The Dundas schedule optimiser will complement existing schedule planning processes, and currently has the following functionality:
- automated schedule optimisation using a genetic algorithm;
- schedule evaluation in terms of NPV, cashflow, expenditure profiles, production build-up profiles and proved reserves addition profiles;
- cataloguing of manually entered and automatically generated schedules;
- parametric evaluations to quantify the business impact of key sensitivities – e.g. CAPEX availability, string time performance, rig availability;
- formatted business reports, showing a digest of schedule information and allowing quantitative comparison of alternative schedules.
Constraints
Our tools enable compliance with all of your business constraints, e.g.:
- Earliest possible spud date
- Latest acceptable end date
- Project precedence
- Capital availability per annum
- Number of rigs per rig category
- Rig availability windows
Business Case
Optimisation of the scheduling of drilling activities can liberate significant value. For example: accelerating a $100m project by four months at the expense of two $25m projects would yield an NPV gain of $1.2m; avoiding a single day of rig idle-time could save, for example, $400,000. A single improvement in scheduling decisions delivers payback on an optimisation project.
