Abstract
The paper presents an approach that integrates various success criteria that the different disciplines involved in planning a well have in mind during the planning phase. Apart from purely economic factors, the "value of information" is considered in this approach, which requires a "proxy". An approach has been developed based on a 26 well drilling campaign, which integrates various aspects under which a well can generate value for a company, into a single "well success indicator". This key performance indicator (KPI) flexibly weighs various factors representing the different disciplines involved in planning a well; the weight factors can easily be adjusted to the needs and requirements of companies or projects. The paper will discuss the approach taken to develop the system and the prerequisites for applying the system to any well.
While in some wells, the evaluation based purely on economic criteria like additional recoverable oil or increased production rates, yields the same "success" as with the more detailed approach. However, for most wells, significant differences can be observed. A factor is that the usual approach does not consider information in the same way – although that can reduce the risk for future wells, and as such save money. Even if this information is not translated into monetary value, it can be appreciated as a part of goals set by each discipline. If such goals are well-defined, they can be used to evaluate the well success – which is more than just the project economics. It can also be seen that poorly chosen weighting factors, can distort the view on a project significantly.
