“Strategi Revolusioner Pengembangan Lapangan, Teknologi dan Kebijakan Migas Guna

Meningkatkan Ketahanan Energi Dalam Rangka Ketahanan Nasional”

An Advanced QAQC Strategy in Drilling Management to Anticipate

Contractor’s Efficient Survival Mode
Erwindo Tanjung
Premier Oil

Abstract
In survival mode due to low oil price situation, contractor drilling services modified their
personnel qualification, equipment standardization and tighten services leverage in order to
reduce the operational cost to be able to win the tender and keep utilization of the services,
personnel and equipment. The modification sometimes does not consider their existing
standard operation guidelines. The modification impacts significant low performance for their
reliable operation, onshore support, etc. which even could touch high operational risk for
Company. In the past, company normally just received the QAQC report from contractor’s
independent company, and limited only to equipment matters. However, in this recent
condition of the contractor, Company then must re-design and re-concept the mind set of
drilling operation management to prevent non-productive time (NPT) and operational risk.
QAQC is one of the most critical parts on drilling operation management for safe and reliable
operation. QAQC shall cover end to end drilling operation in relation to contractor’s
equipment, procedure, personnel, safety management, logistic, etc. starting from preparation,
transportation until execution and back to their shore base. All impacts related to contractor’s
failure will be company account; therefore QAQC supervision must cover all potential area
failure.
This paper contains a case history happened in the last drilling campaign PHE WMO about
contractor condition to survive which impacting their standard and performance, also PHE
WMO’s advanced strategy on QAQC to mitigate contractor’s condition in order to achieve
safe and reliable operation and the process of communication and placement of the strategy to
the contractor and all stake holders to ensure the smooth implementation. PHE WMO success
cut overall NPT 50% from the last previous campaign with no safety recordable case.

Keywords: Drilling QAQC, Drilling Operation Management

Equipment Problem, on both surface and

1. Introduction
downhole. This is the highest record of
PHE WMO started new drilling campaign in
contractor’s failure in history of the
Q4 2016. Eventhough during the period,
company.
price of oil was low; the campaign must be
continued as the EPCI was already in-placed.
In order to preserve economist drilling
2. Basic Theory
campaign, low cost unit of drilling services
PHE WMO found the overall NPT are
was strategized during tender process. This
mainly related to incompliance of
strategy was supported by contractor’s
contractor’s own QAQC standard and lack of
condition with much less demand/activity.
contractual clauses committment. These
The campaign covered 3 (three) development
condition happened quite massively in
wells and 1 (one) exploration well. During
almost all major contractors/services, and did
execution of the first well, PHE WMO
not happen in the past. PHE WMO suspected
suffered 240 hours NPT (15%), which 173
the condition are driven by tight profit
hours of them were related to Contractor’s
margin of the contractor. In other side, major

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contractor shall win the bid to keep the
business cycle (i.e. preventing releasing an
equipment to others business unit, releasing
an experienced personnel), however due to
low demand and PHE WMO’s driven of an
economist drilling campaign; the
contractors/bidder must compete the
optimum lowest cost unit in high demand of
tender participant. PHE WMO then
reconstruct immediately the existing
company’s QAQC system prior execution of
the 2nd well, named Advanced QAQC
Strategy. The advanced QAQC covered
people, plant/equipment and procedure.
3. Methodology
Commonly all equipment and personnel are
inspected in onshore yard before mobilize to
rig site. For equipment; prior to mobilize,
company will receive and review
contractor’s QAQC result to ensure to defect
or record from 3rd party independent
inspectior. Also for personnel, company shall
accept the SBTC (Safety Behaviour Training
Competency) of each person prior to
mobilize them. Following the increasing of
significant NPT to sub-category of
equipment failure in the 1st (first) well; the
common QAQC practice is not sufficient to
prevent and not reliable to mitigate
unnecessary time and risk. Therefore, an
advanced QAQC strategy is established.
Beside receive and review 3rd party
inspection document, company QAQC
supervisor shall also visit and witness their
internal QAQC process to ensure meeting
company/manufacture’s guidelines. This
advanced QAQC shall consider end to end
process and coverage all circumstences
operation of equipment, procedure, and
personnel. This advanced QAQC strategy
shall be communicated to the contractor,
about the objective, scope of the QAQC and
also the schedule. Close communication and
good planning with the contractor, to prevent
delay of inspection nor repair if any failure
or any no-test result during the inspection
and testing of the equipment which may
cause late delivery to the field. About the
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personnel, time for interview or come to
company’s office prior go to the rig site shall
inform clearly to the contractor as the
personnel might be still working in other
operator. Ensuring the right personnel come
to the office is the critical part, as the
personnel is coming directly from others
operator which most of time does not have a
time to read and understand the background
of company’s design, downhole condition
and drilling program overall.
4. Case Study and Discussion
Advance QAQC strategy is additional steps
of QAQC steps/proses that covers 3P
(People, Plant & Procedure) on top of
common/existing QAQC procedure that
already implementing in the company.
Following are debrief advance QAQC of
those 3P:
4.1 People
4.1.1 Personnel for routine
activities/scopes such as wellhead
& tree, cementer, mud logger,
DD, mud engineer, etc must be
consistent same/no change
personnel. The contractor shall
also provide an experienced back
up personnel to anticipate any
emergency call. If any changes is
proposing for long term period,
then the proposed person by
contractor must be approved by
Company with 3 months notice
period.
4.1.2 For critical job, the personnel
who will operate the equipment
must come to company’s office to
present specification of the tools,
operational limitation, risk and
mitigation, report of QAQC from
3rd party independent inspector,
Valid Certificate of Conformity
(COC) and the agreed procedure.
The personnel who will go to rig
site shall understood step by step
operating run procedure and risk
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 register/matrix as the result of
risk & mitigation assessment.
4.2 Plant
4.2.1 Reinforce implementation of
audit PJA (Pre-Job Activity),
which part of CHESMS process
to the contractor’s management
system.
4.2.2 Randomly performing audit
minimum stock inventory of
dedicated equipment as per
contractual.
4.2.3 Lots of equipment stacked in the
contractor’s shelf with no QAQC,
no redress and no test yet.
However sometimes also
happened the equipment was
available QAQC but validity was
too old (i.e. 1 (One) year ago).
Company found some cases
where the contractor does not
comply their QAQC standard
from their own company, or even
manufacture. There are 2 (two)
threats of advance QAQC
strategy.
4.2.3.1 First, for non-critical
equipment will have
minimum QAQC
standards that meet
manufacture guideline
and reporting
requirement, also the
personnel qualification
shall meets contractual
and pass interview.
Additional of minimum
QAQC standars shall
include but not limited
to:
4.2.3.1.1 Function test
mechanical and
hydraulic system
4.2.3.1.2 Function test
electrical and
computerized
system
4.2.3.1.3 Shear Pin Test
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4.2.3.1.4 Hydraulic integrity
body and seal test
4.2.3.1.5 Make up torque
witness
4.2.3.1.6 Critical equipment
dimension
4.2.3.1.7 3rd Party
Independent
inspection report
which covers NDT,
load test and other
similar test
4.2.3.2 Second, for critical
equipment (i.e. high risk
operation/scopes, high
NPT track record), on
top of the first above;
contractor shall also
provide monthly
summary of failures
from all areas of
operation, and shall
provide contractor’s
management inspection
policy/plan of the tools.
4.3 Procedure
4.3.1 Additional procedure of QAQC
shall be added on top of common
existing ones. These additional
are Pre-Mobilization Stage, Pre-
Execution Stage and Prior
Execution Check List. These
QAQC procedures are gate
review stages prior to operate the
equipment/services.
4.3.1.1 Pre-Mobilization Stages
are series of inspection
equipment prior to send
the equipment to rig
site.
4.3.1.2 Pre-Execution Stages
are series of assesstment
of the personnel
competency and
operational procedures.
Most of contractor’s
operational procedures
are not valid and
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 generic. Specific QAQC strategy shall be divided into major
procedure shall be and non-major services. This is basically to
generated and detail manage the concentration and manning for
specific procedure in optimum QAQC result.
relation to downhole
condition shall be added
4.3.1.3 Prior Execution Check 6. Recommendation
List is performed when - QAQC method shall be treated as a
the equipment and live strategy. The strategy will evolve
personnel are on board. in referring to a volatile operational
The personnel shall do concern.
final check list of the - The concern sometimes is more
equipment referring to related to contractor management (i.e.
contractor’s check list, gross neglicience), or equipment
report the check list to failure, or invalid procedure, etc.
the company - More number qualified QAQC
representatives prior to supervision – More available time
make up/operate the preparation are the ideal condition to
tool. do advance QAQC as comprehensive
Procedure for critical scope/equipment shall as possible, but most of time the ideal
be reviewed, and refreshed with all involved condition is not available, therefore a
parties including with rig site team thru sensitive and proactive decision is
teleconference. It is not enough a pre-spud required to define the focus of QAQC
meeting, several pre-phase meeting shall be strategy.
conducted as well to refresh the discussion.

5. Conclusion
An advanced QAQC strategy was
successfully reduce NPT significantly for
both equipment failure and downhole
problem, as shown in Figure 1. An advanced
QAQC will not just help to reduce
equipment failure, but also helpful to reduce
overall non-productive time as well as
improve safety process of engineering and
operation to optimize productive time.
Advanced QAQC will ask Company
involvement , focus and time to check,
review and agreed on Contractor’s Quality
Assurance Process since beginning of the
contract implementation, preparation until
execution; also Quality Control on both side
Company and Contractor.
Local within Indonesia and Overseas activity
shall be included into Contractor’s database
and shall be utilized by Company to review
statistical lesson and failure.

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List of Figures

Figure 1. NPT versus Total Hours

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