Abstract
BP had long recognized the benefits of MPD, having been using it for years to deliver very challenging wells in Egypt, Trinidad and the North Sea; and it was time to bring these benefits to its GoM operations. Once the company team identified a portfolio of suitable candidate wells to allow the economics of the application to be advantageous, they partnered with Seadrill to provide the MPD service integrated into the West Capricorn drilling rig. This approach builds on synergies within the drilling contractor organization to achieve long term economic, competency, and risk management benefits, resulting from integrating this drilling method on the rig, and eliminating interfaces with 3rd party providers. The paper will discuss how the company and the drilling contractor teams, together with equipment suppliers and training providers, managed the project from initial system design, to installation and commissioning, to the successful delivery of the first well using MPD, at top quartile performance. It will discuss the process for optimizing the design and testing it from a reliability and process safety perspectives; engaging the regulatory authority and the classification society; integrating MPD in the well planning process and developing operational procedures for use on the rig; and delivering a training program for the wider team covering the technical and the human factors aspects to ensure a successful delivery.
