Management of the Well Construction Process Using an Intranet-Based Learnings System
Authors: Diggins Eric , Muir Brad , Bell Ronald 
Published: December 2007

Nexen is a mid-sized independent E&P operator with operations worldwide. Not unlike many similar sized companies, Nexen had relatively few Drilling and Completions systems and processes in place prior to 2000 and relied heavily on the knowledge and experience of staff and contractors. Given the increasing level of risk exposure around Nexen Well Construction activities and the consequent impact on total corporate capital expenditure, the need was seen to develop a system to enable standardization and management of policies, procedures and guidelines as they pertained to Well Construction.

Key areas of concentration in the initial stages of management system development included the typical critical tasks as follows:

Health, Safety and Environment processes / standards Well design, planning, integrity and life cycle operations. Contract / contractor management Cost control and the business process including organization

It was also recognized that one of the shortcomings of many organizations, particularly ones in which activities are spread over wide geographical areas, was the capture and application of project learnings, good and bad, and incorporation of same into future projects. The system therefore needed to incorporate this facility in some fashion.

The retention of learnings or knowledge was also related somewhat to the high proportion of consultants in the team and the relative transient nature of the workforce in this respect - the lessons learned were, at times, "walking out the door" with people.

Further, the demographics of the team highlighted a very real concern and it was recognized that Nexen would have to be in a position to attract, develop and retain a younger workforce if we were to be successful going forward in addressing the Company growth plans. The system needed also to facilitate the career development and training of new grads / young engineers providing some structure and guidance that was absent.

The following two areas were subsequently developed to complete the perceived needs of the Nexen drilling team.

Key Learnings capture & continuous improvement. Staff development.

Due to the diverse range of operations and geographical areas in which this information was to be applied and to ensure that the most up-to-date information was being provided in a manner simplifying the issues around document control, it was crucial to have this information available on a real-time basis. It was decided that a web-based system met these objectives in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

The final key was the development of a process to assure that personnel (both staff and consultant) had a comprehensive understanding / knowledge of critical information, contained within the management system, related to their job function. To address this need, a knowledge assessment element was utilized. By completing an on-line induction process, the individual, as well as Nexen Drilling Management, could have the confidence that he or she understood the critical processes by which Nexen manages its Well Construction function.

The Nexen Well Management System (WMS), a collaborative effort between Nexen Petroleum International, TTG Systems, OGCI and Advanced Well Technologies (AWT) is the result of these efforts to address the team's requirements and objectives.