The ROGTEC Interview: Denis Ivanov Nabors Drilling International Limited
When ROGTEC last spoke to you in Issue 29 (May 2012) you mentioned Nabors was looking to increase its drilling fleet. What progress has been made on the expansions? Do you have further expansion plans for Russia?
Yes, we started to work with a new client “Slavneft-Krasnoyarskneftegaz” in the Krasnoyarsk region.
This new project started at the beginning of this year. For its implementation we performed very difficult rig mobilization and fast rig up in severe climatic conditions and with the critical conditions of the winter roads. We managed to mobilize the rig in two months from the start of first shipment until the well spud was drilled.
Nabors, as an international company with the largest land drilling fleet in the world, brings rigs from locations outside Russia and from our manufacturing facilities in Houston USA. We are currently participating in several tenders, in the Russian market, although I would not like to reveal the companies yet, until we have a signed contract.
What has your level of activity been like in 2013 compared to 2012, and what level of market activity do you see
for 2014?
Most clients are now asking for high technology and automation in a newer generation rigs to improve drilling efficiency and to reduce the employee’s exposure to accidents or hazards. Many Russian Drilling Contractors are facing the issue of having to upgrade their fleet, as the existing rigs are old and highly inefficient. We believe that just a few of them will invest heavily to upgrade their rigs. This creates an opportunity for companies like Nabors to gain some market share.
Our activity in 2013 has increased substantially, oil companies are demanding better technology and improved safety results. Both are a high priority at Nabors. In 2014 the demand for highly efficient drilling contractors will grow and we will aggressively participate with Nabors’ highly efficient fleet and highly trained work force.
Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) and horizontal wells are being drilled more frequently in Russia. How active are you in this technical area?
The first well drilled by a Nabors rig in Russia had a 500m horizontal section drilled with a mud motor system. Today all the wells we drill in Russia have horizontal displacement up to 1000m and inclination up to 90°.
It should be noted that existing clients contract Nabors for complex wells with horizontal displacement. Our equipment copes with the most complex well profiles. Nabors rigs have a high equipment capability which allows us to perform drilling operations with greater horizontal displacement.
All our drilling rigs are equipped with top drives, variable frequency drives – HSR systems, VFD, that allows performing the finest adjustments to drilling parameters and use state-of-the-art technologies to improve the drilling process.
Russia is looking to develop its unconventional oil plays but there are still some taxation barriers to a full scale development. How active is Nabors in drilling unconventional fields in Russia, and where would you like to position yourselves once full scale development is underway?
Nabors is looking to participate in challenging projects, as we have enough resources and technologies that help us drill the most complex projects in unconventional fields. Russia is still young in developing unconventional fields, however the Russian government and President Putin V.V. realize that this is our future. We as Nabors are ready to participate in any complex project. It is good to mention that we are very active in all unconventional plays in the USA market, so we have a good in-house knowledge of how to drill these wells.
Can you tell our readers about the recent job you have completed in Russia for Rosneft?
Until not long ago our biggest client in the territory of Russia was TNK-BP, which is now owned by Rosneft. Currently we are negotiating our future development and expansion with Rosneft on their projects. We have a very positive record as a proof of our efficiency with our client and this helps us to discuss future projects with Rosneft. Nabors has several years of operations excellence working in Russia and this will help us to get more and more projects.
We are sure that our cooperation in the future with Rosneft will continue to lead us to the even better results. Rosneft is one of the largest companies in the world and Nabors is proud to work for such a client as we can bring our international reputation and experience to Russia and Rosneft is always very interested in leading technologies.
Can you describe the work you conducted for Total?
Total is also a major client in Russia and abroad. We are working on a project in the Komi region with them. Total is a company with very high demands in safety and operational performance, and I am glad that Nabors fully complies with Totals requirements.
Drilling efficiency is key for operators and contractors to minimize costs. What systems or practice do you use to maximize drilling efficiencies?
Nabors sets very high safety and operational excellence standards. Such parameters as drilling speed, minimum NPT (Non Productive Time), Rig Move Times and our highly trained work force are fundamental to our success, as well as a strict adherence to industry safety standards.
We have a proven record in Russia where the NPT of our drilling rigs is less than 1% of total operating time. We managed to improve our NPT in 2012 and achieved 0,94%. On the VCNG oilfield, which has a complex geology, our rigs periodically set new records in drilling speed. Last year, our Russian rig 603 (VCNG field) received the award of the best performing rig of the year in Nabors Worldwide. We are very proud of this award and this is a result of very hard work from our field crew and our management team. We proved that even in severe conditions we can achieve the best results in safety and operations. As a general director for Nabors Russia I am very pleased with the performance of my team and this is proof that all changes that we’ve met so far had a positive impact on our operations.
How do we achieve such results: we always try to motivate every employee to increase the efficiency of our operations. We increased morale and team spirit among our crews. All our employees are paid bonuses for being ahead of schedule and for safe work. Our employees regularly undergo training both in Russia and in Nabors’ international training center in Dubai. Also we actively work on shipments of necessary spare parts, timely equipment refurbishing. Our specialists on the rigs work with state-of-the-art electronic systems for drilling equipment maintenance and tracking of spares shipments, all through a Quality and Rig Management System.
I will always be proud of our safety results and we will continue to strive to our high standards – which were set by our president Siggi Meissner and our CEO Tony Petrello – aim to zero incidents globally.
Have you implemented any new technologies in Russia recently?
Nabors always follows the fast developments of new products in drilling, safety and rig equipment. The software of our equipment is constantly updated, our specialists, technicians of leading world manufacturers regularly upgrade our equipment.
Among Nabors latest achievements in the industry we can mention: the latest generation of PACE®-X drilling rigs. Also, the software products designed to increase drilling efficiency: ROCKIT®, REVIT™ and DRILLSMART™.
Undoubtedly our equipment allows service companies to apply their latest technologies in our rigs whenever needed. In Russia we work with RSS (Rotary Steerable Systems), new drilling fluids, the latest equipment for casing running (Suregrip), Managed Pressure Drilling, Real Time Data Transmission and Rig Data Monitoring.
What changes can you see in the drilling sector in Russia over the next few years?
We expect to see a continuation of the replacement of the old fleet of Russian drilling rigs. Russian operators significantly increased demand in safety standards for drilling contractors which is a positive sign for Nabors, as we already have and use the highest worldwide safety standards. Nabors will be actively and aggressively involved in all the challenging projects in Russia.
