Geoscience Drilling & Completion

Project overview

What is it?

In a nutshell, geoscience is the study of features on and under the surface of the earth. In the oil and gas industry, the principle purpose is to find reservoirs of hydrocarbons which a company can then analyse and decide whether to proceed with a project to extract the reserves.

Drilling and completion go hand-in-hand with geosciences, to access the reservoirs you need to drill into them.

Where does it belong in the project lifecycle?

Quite simply, all the way through.

From the initial surveys and exploration where a potential reservoir might be identified, through to monitoring the reservoir during production to decide if any intervention is required, to finally planning the plugging and abandonment of the well.

When it comes to drilling and completions, there are three distinct elements depending on the project stage they work on.

In the early stages, engineers are responsible for planning the wells and choosing the completion method for the downhole and upper components.

Further along in the project the roles move to the construction site, which can be onshore or offshore, to supervise the physical drilling and installation of the completion systems.

Finally, once the asset is producing hydrocarbons, engineers and supervisors will monitor the performance of the wells to determine whether an intervention or workover might be required to maintain flow rates

Common job titles

There are many elements involved in identifying, mapping and analysing potential resources. In geoscience alone there could be as many as 30 different jobs, some of which include:

■ Geophysicist

■ Geoscientist

■ Petrophysicist

■ Reservoir Geologist

■ Petroleum Geologist

■ GIS and Remote Sensing Technicians

■ Sedimentologist

■ Seismic Interpretation

■ Topography Expert

Drilling and completions jobs will typically include:

■ Drilling Engineer

■ Completions Engineer

■ Drilling Supervisor

■ Rig Superintendent

■ Completions Supervisor

■ Driller

■ Toolpusher

■ Well site supervisor

■ Well services supervisor
■ Workover Superintendent