CRITICAL ISSUES IN DRILLING & COMPLETIONS
Technology allows drilling
contractors to bring added value
beyond traditional work scope
Rather than focusing on being the lowest-cost provider,
H&P says it aims for consistent operations and precise
wellbores, whether in US or international markets
John Bell, Senior VP, International and
Offshore, Helmerich & Payne
BY STEPHEN WHITFIELD, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
John Bell is Senior VP, International and
Offshore, at Helmerich & Payne (H&P).
just adds to the complexity of entering and
competing in some of these markets.
H&P has been very active in markets
like the Middle East and Latin America.
What do you see as the biggest chal-
lenges in increasing activity in those
areas? Compared with North America, how
are rig and drilling needs different in
those non-US markets? On the flip
side, where do you see similarities
where H&P can apply its expertise
gained in North America to improve
operations in those other markets?
H&P has operated in most countries in
Latin America, and we’re in Colombia and
Argentina right now. The region is chal-
lenging because of various economic and
geopolitical issues, which have resulted in
a lack of capital being deployed there. This
means the level of activity can be incon-
sistent and leans toward short-term work.
In terms of the Middle East, certainly
there’s a lot of capital being employed, but
it is a very competitive market. There are
also very high barriers to entry. The com-
panies that we work with are primarily the
national oil companies , and the process
that they go through to acquire rigs and
pick up providers is a longer process than
in the US.
There’s also a huge focus on cost, but
from our perspective, working with a cus-
tomer is about more than just providing
the lowest cost. It’s about how you can
bring additional value beyond just what
has traditionally been viewed as what
a drilling provider can provide in these
markets. The other hurdle is that it takes signifi-
cant capital to deploy assets overseas. You
have to prepare the rig, put the rig on a
boat and you often have to add additional
equipment required by the customer. It
16 For us, it’s less about the rigs – because
our rigs can perform the majority of the
work that needs to be done in interna-
tional markets – and more about the type
of work that’s being done. In the US, it’s
been almost exclusively unconventional
drilling for the last 10 to 15 years, which
requires a different mindset, different pro-
cesses and different contractual incen-
tives. Internationally, outside of the Vaca
Muerta in Argentina, it’s still largely a
conventional drilling market.
We believe we can have a huge impact
on these markets as they begin developing
their unconventional resources. However,
we also believe that a lot of what we do
from the standpoint of creating consisten-
cy, applying technology, having seamless
safety and operational processes, can be
very impactful in conventional markets.
ing to use more technology and drilling
automation to differentiate. That has been
our focus over the last handful of years,
and it will continue to be our focus. We
believe properly applying technology will
be a significant differentiator.
So digital systems and software are
going to play a bigger role than phys-
ical equipment upgrades?
That’s a fair assessment. The mecha-
nization of various key components on
the rig will be important, but we’re not
looking at wholesale changes to the rigs
themselves. There are things we can do around
automation that will make a difference,
but it’s also just the digital systems we use
from the standpoint of the operating sys-
tem, from the support system perspective,
whether that’s maintenance systems or
asset management systems, and making
sure we have the right people in the right
place with the right skills.
It’s also about safety – there are so many
things that technology can do to help us
better operate the rig from a safety per-
spective. What is H&P doing to ensure your rigs
will remain competitive over the com-
ing years, or are new rigs going to be
needed? Automation and digital systems have
been a key area of focus within the
industry. What do you see as the big-
gest gains that drilling contractors
have made so far, and what do you
see as the next frontier?
It’s not about having a different type of
rig or having more rigs; it’s about continu-
One thing that our customers want is
consistency. It helps from a planning per-
JAN UARY/FEB RUARY 2023 • D R I LLI N G CO N T R ACTO R
CRITICAL ISSUES IN DRILLING & COMPLETIONS
Top H&P believes the industry must do
more to excite the next generation of
workers and show them that oil and
gas is a part of the solution for the
future . The industry also must play
up its achievements in sustainability
– for example, how increased drilling
effi ciency has led to reduced well cycles
and less emissions across the board.
Bottom Digital systems will remain a key
focus for H&P , but they will not diminish
the importance of rig crews . This means
upskilling drillers will be important, so
they can spend less time on repetitive
tasks and more time leading on the rig.
spective, and it ultimately provides them
with lower total well costs. If you drill
one well way ahead of the curve but the
next one is a mess, it is hard to plan and
more than likely your overall costs will be
higher in the long run.
Automation and technology also allows
our customers to scale up and down as
they need to. It allows them to combine our
capabilities, our technologies, our remote
operation centers, and so forth, with their
capabilities and other third-party capabili-
ties. They end up having smoother and the
most precise wellbore, and they get fewer
bit trips. You can’t do all these things in
unison without technology.
Technology also plays a big role in
safety, because it allows leaders on the
rig to have more time to lead. In the old
days when you had a driller on the brake
handle, he had to just keep doing that.
Nowadays, they’re in a driller’s cabin with
joysticks, but how do we allow them to
focus on the crews and have time to pre-
job plan, stop and adapt when something
doesn’t look right or the job changes?
It sounds like the driller is still going to
play a significant role even as you
continue to adopt automated sys-
tems onto your rigs.
That’s exactly right. It’s about upskill-
ing them and enhancing their impact. We
want them to have the time to lead. We
want them to develop personnel. The more
we can help them spend less time on the
detailed, repetitive work, the better.
How are personnel challenges differ-
ent in your international markets ver-
sus in North America? What is H&P
doing to ensure that its overseas rig
crews are as competent and as a part
of H&P’s culture as their counterparts
in the US?
We pride ourselves on having a con-
sistent culture and consistent process-
es around the globe, not just in the US.
Whether you’re in Vaca Muerta, Bahrain,
or in West Texas or North Dakota, it looks
and feels the same and the people are
using the same systems and same pro-
cesses to the best of our abilities.
Obviously, there are some variations
depending on certain countries and lan-
guages, but we want those tools to be
applied across the fleet. We want to share
learnings, and we work hard on that.
On your first question, the pandemic is
an example of the personnel challenges
we face in the international space. The
personnel who rotated internationally on
our rigs oftentimes came from different
countries. They couldn’t just hop in their
car and get to the rig from their home. That
forced us to think about, one, how can we
leverage technology and two, how do we
manage our businesses differently when
we have those logistical challenges.
The pandemic was a transformational
event, and it really illustrated the chal-
lenges of operating internationally. We
improved many of our processes.
Can you give some examples of things
that you’re doing now that you hadn’t
before? D R I LLI N G CO N T R ACTO R • JAN UARY/FEB RUARY 2023
17