Wide Vision Drilling (WVD) a Proven Roadmap for Mastering Complex Wells

The paper outlines the work process and well construction development for the complex Kvitebjørn and Valemon HPHT (High Pressure and High Temperature) fields in North Sea. It addresses the technical challenges of drilling a 4-kilometer, interbedded, near-horizontal, unstable 17 ½-inch section, which involved multiple trips due to failures and service quality incidents, often requiring sidetracks and re-drilling. Ultimately, this contributed to delivering wells 23-54% over budget. To overcome those challenges, it was crucial to develop methodology to ensure a sustainable approach that remains despite changes of project team. The Wide Vision Drilling (WVD) is a roadmap that was developed based on thorough offset analysis technique and progressive learning strategy for wells drilled in Kvitebjørn and Valemon HPHT fields since 2004. It details all subsurface risk and breaks it down into risk packages relevant to different formation groups and develops a drilling strategy/roadmap for each group. It provides a detailed and systematic approach to ensure continuity of project risks understanding and field specific best practices implementation. This roadmap ensures safe and efficient section delivery, proving that optimal performance balances speed and risk control. The WVD strategy led to a groundbreaking achievement on the Kvitebjørn and Valemon field, successfully delivering single run in every section drilled for the first time. This significantly increased delivery efficiency by 50-80% compared to project's historical average. The improved performance was achieved with zero HSE incidents and no well control issues. The project also realized cost savings, drilling wells with more than a 20- 30% reduction in budget time and reducing non-productive time (NPT) from 46% to 11%. Additionally, early production was accelerated by over 50 days and wells were delivered with all required well integrity barriers in place. This process marked a significant shift, transforming the field strategy and enabling Equinor to develop previously unfeasible targets, thereby extending the project's life. These results have elevated Kvitebjørn and Valemon from challenging projects to world-class HPHT operation. Beyond these tangible outcomes, the initiative fostered a culture of continuous learning and performance within the One Team. The process's agility ensures that changes in personnel will not disrupt the project performance, maintaining consistent results. The WVD roadmap played a crucial role in improving the operational success of both fields. Frequent personnel changes pose significant challenges in the Energy industry and hence field best practices are changed as newcomers come with their preferred practices. It is common that they start implementing those new practices without understanding the historical evolution of the fields design and best practices. This paper outlines a strategic process for developing unique local field practices, and mitigating negative impact from personnel changes