The First Few Wells Ever Completed In The Mediterranean Sea- A Project For The "A" Team
I have been a part of several interesting projects of all sizes all over the world. The degree of challenge for each project has fluctuated with the location of the project. Different ways of doing business, personnel security, safety not seen as #1, well requirements, reservoir environment, technology, etc. also lend a hand in giving each project its own amount of difficulty.
Whether the project is simple or difficult, large or small- challenges are, more times than none, affected by peoples' personalities being that we all think differently. (If we could only know what our co-worker is thinking!)
With that said, I am one that has always said every project requires a team with different personalities, open-mindedness, and the right skills. Although all of the projects I have worked have been fascinating in different ways, the most interesting project I have been a part of was the Mari B Wells in Israel. These wells were the first few wells ever completed in the Mediterranean Sea for Israel.
The first well was completed as a subsea well in the year 2000. Planning continued and 4 more wells were completed thru 2003. At the time, I was working for Schlumberger as the Completions Project Manager, and the operator was Samedan (now Noble Energy). The name of the project was "Mari B."
The "A" Team
The completion designs of these wells were not complicated but that is not to imply that the execution of the drilling and completion was flawless. The difficulty on this project lies with other contributing factors leading me to believe that "Mari B" was one project that required the "A" team in every aspect.
These contributing factors ranged from planning, to creating a temporary infrastructure, logistics, manufacturing, shipping equipment from all over the world, the short schedule, personnel security and their safety, as well as contingencies in the event the political unrest would escalate to a point of forcing the land operation team to move to Cyprus, etc.
Timing on this project was short. Therefore, a completion design to perforate, space-out the sand screens and pump the treatment all in one trip was chosen to be the most efficient means of getting the job done. The operational expertise for both, lower and upper completions also had to be hand-picked as the preparation of equipment onshore Haifa, and the completion operational sequence had to be as close to flawless as possible in order to meet the schedule.
Due to the geographical location and personnel expertise in the area, the team was made of multidisciplinary/multi-national onshore and offshore personnel in order to execute the operation. Security measures during that time of unrest in the country forced us to only allow the minimum amount of personnel necessary into Israel.
For a project like this to be successful, the team members have to not only be chosen according to high performance and a high skill level, but also the team has to be brought together to understand the seriousness of safety from beginning to end and the effect of deviating from it.
Each team member must be aware of the operational steps to be made by their teammates before and after their part of the process. In order to achieve this understanding by all, the entire team began the planning process by getting together in one room to assemble the process. The what, who, how and contingencies with all possible details were discussed and challenged as a team; finally one procedure from beginning to end was agreed and documented after many meetings.
This gave each team member accountability and the responsibility to report to an operation coordinator on the rig who in-turn would report to the company personnel on land, and finally myself in Houston.
I would then be in contact with the required personnel to report and discuss any problems, procedural changes, and how the entire process would be affected.
By the end of the project the team bonded like no other; and allowed us to learned a lot from each other. The completion of such high-producing wells in Israeli waters was successful and done in a safe manner.
Being part of a team that completed the first few offshore wells in such a historic country makes me proud to say that I am part of history.
Source: http://oilpro.com/post/8596/carlos-pineda
