Case Study: Apache Energy Limited reduces North Sea drilling NPT with SLB geomechanics services

Apache Schlumberger Team Reduces NPT in North Sea Field

Apache Energy Limited was facing a difficult drilling challenge in the mature Forties field in the North Sea, where declining production, narrowing mud windows, and frequent wellbore instability were driving up costs and risking further damage. SLB worked with Apache’s drilling team to improve drilling efficiency and extend the life of the field, using petrotechnical geomechanics services and a multiwell sonic workflow to better understand downhole conditions.

SLB implemented an integrated solution combining operations monitoring, geomechanics analysis, risk management, seismic data, well logs, core measurements, the Sonic Scanner acoustic scanning platform, virtual seismic profiling, and TerraTek rock mechanics services. This helped diagnose more than 120 wellbores, refine stability predictions, and improve seismic calibration; as a result, Apache reduced NPT costs by more than 60% in one year and had no BHA losses after the new workflow was put in place.

Apache Energy Limited