Evaluating Well Programs to Understand the Value of Information and Flexibility in Managing Subsurface Uncertainties

Cunningham, Peter C., Decisions Unlimited, Tarland, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

Deciding on the best well program can be problematic to evaluate due to the huge num­ber of possible combinations, and after the event may often seen to be inefficient and cost­ly. With hindsight, more data is often collected than is necessary leading to over spending on costs. This is in part due to human nature whereby as much information as possible is collected and the need to reduce risk. To avoid these pitfalls, it is important to understand the implicit learning during a well program to develop more effective programs. The best well order can be judged on examining the value of information obtained from particular sequences of wells. This paper discusses how this evaluation may be done simply and eas­ily to obtain useful insights to particular drilling programs, showing how learning provides future flexibility to adjust the well program accordingly and potentially save money.