Exploration & Production - Location Selection to Release to Drill
Often one of the most overlooked of key business activities on the critical path in the design, planning, and execution of oil and gas wells, the location selection to release to drill process must be managed effectively to ensure:
- The development of a portfolio of drillable locations: Having an effective location selection to release to drill process that sustains an ongoing inventory of approved drilling locations greatly facilitates the achievement of operational excellence.
- Improved cycle time to get through the drilling and completions of specific well projects
- Improved revenue performance: Obviously, the faster the upstream operator can bring wells on line, the greater the revenues from increased production
- Lower costs are associated with an orderly, reliable, and high-quality location selection to release to drill process
- Better safety performance is facilitated when well projects are managed through an effective, disciplined wells development process
Among the business activities that must be addressed for an effective location selection to release to drill process:
- Legal rights for the acreage is an obvious prerequisite
- Strategic intent for the development of the wells program in the play, including long-range objectives
- Well spacing plan for the play
- Surface access to the proposed drilling sites
- Surveying and staking of proposed locations
- Permitting and compliance to all local, state, and federal regulatory bodies
- Landowner issues related to all proposed drilling locations
- Infrastructure needed to carry out drilling and completions activities
- Permits to construct the physical site
- Construction of the site
- Final permitting and approval to drill
