A New Method for Rig Move Optimization - Case Study on Moving Land Rigs

Optimizing the entire drilling process and reducing overall drilling costs, thus increasing rig productivity, is a high priority for operators and drilling contractors. Moving rigs between two locations or pads may happen at a high frequency, making the rig move a key element in overall productivity improvement. An optimization of rig move durations will result in the reduction of rig time not dedicated to drilling wells, typically charged at lower day rates or lump sums, as well as subsequent earlier production. Optimizing the rig move is beneficial for both the operator and drilling contractor. In this article a new concept and method to optimize the rig move process is presented. The concept of rig move optimization is based on rigorous, objective and accurate measurement of all rig move activities at both rig-up and rig-down sites. The new method is applied and evaluated to drilling rigs in exploration projects in Eastern Europe. Special measurement instruments are installed on rig-up and rig-down sites in order to measure all dismantling, moving and rebuilding activities of rig components, rig subsystems, as wells as truck and crane activities. Subsequently the activities are recognized to reconstruct the rig move process and to calculate essential Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The result shows the work process, as well as lost time and invisible lost time as part of the process. The KPIs and reports for a rig move are communicated to the crews in order to generate an optimized move schedule following best practices utilizing the so-called "Rig Move On Paper" procedure. For evaluation three rig moves in a row were monitored for this case study. The results revealed a savings potential of up to 30% of the total rig move time per monitored move.