Examining the causes and costs of unplanned sidetracks can help companies better mitigate future risk

While it’s recognized that unplanned sidetracks negatively impact the economics of a drilling project, it can be difficult to estimate the value of mitigation efforts if there is no baseline measurement of their frequency and cost. To address this, Helmerich and Payne (H&P) analyzed a dataset of 6,500 North American wells from a two-year span, examining the frequency of and reasons for sidetracks, as well as the typical amount of lost footage and time.

At the 2022 IADC/SPE International Drilling Conference on 10 March, Marc Willerth, H&P Technology Development Manager, spoke with DC to discuss the results of the study.