Optimizing Project Management Software to Manage Well Planning: a Case Study of Deepwater Exploration Drilling Campaign in Indonesia

Abstract

Project management software such as Microsoft Project or Oracle Primavera is commonly used in civil or Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) project. However, it is not that common to find the project management software to be fully utilized for a drilling project. This paper describes the common features of project management software, how it may help to improve a drilling campaign planning process, challenges in utilizing the software, how to perform tracking time specifically for the critical path, and the reason some of these features are not commonly used for drilling project.

A literature review of project management in general and drilling project management, in particular, was conducted to fully understand the nature of the well planning and drilling execution (drilling project) and how it may differ from other EPC or construction projects. A deepwater exploration drilling campaign in Indonesia was used as a case study to demonstrate the usability of project management software in aidingdrilling project planning.

The result of the literature reviews and the case study shows that the deepwater exploration drilling project is different from typical EPC projects due to it has to deal with subsurface conditions and oil price fluctuation that might incur some uncertainties till the drilling commences. The nature of drilling projects also means that adding more personnel does not necessarily mean increased productivity.

However, the case study shows that the project management software can be a great help in planning, mapping the tasks, tracking time and progress control, and also monitoring and forecasting the project completion. In addition, it can be perceived how the critical path might affect the whole drilling project, both in terms of schedule and cost-efficiency. The project  management software certainly leverages the effectiveness of the integrated work of drilling project. Those things are proven difficult to achieve if using a conventional spreadsheet for creating project planning and control.

This study also found that there are some alternatives to the conventional waterfall project management approach that can be used for exploration drilling planning. One of these approaches is the agile project management commonly used for software  development or a project that has a continuously changing requirements or condition, a typical situation faced in an exploration drilling campaign. A further study is required to assess the suitability of this agile project management approach in planning an exploration drilling project.