Incorporating Emissions Into Wireline Formation Evaluation Risk Assessments

As the global industry undergoes a transformative shift towards sustainability and emission reduction, traditional risk assessment metrics no longer capture the full spectrum of potential consequences. Beyond the conventional factors of injury severity, cost, traditional environmental definitions, and downtime, carbon impact would seem to be a requisite dimension. This necessitates the incorporation of emissions into operational risk assessments for a more comprehensive understanding of the implications. A conventional wireline formation evaluation sticking risk assessment has been modified by integrating emissions considerations into our analysis. The methodology involves the development of a specialized calculator that factors in variables like well depth, rig type, wireline descents, and mobilization distance to quantify emissions across a range of operational scenarios. The scenarios encompass severe outcomes like loss of a wellbore, moderate incidents like wireline fishing operations, lighter severity situations requiring pipe-conveyed logging or tripping to replace a failed tool string, and fully mitigated scenarios with successful wireline operations completed. With the introduction of emissions as a critical risk metric, the imperative for thorough de-risking during the assessment and planning stages becomes more significant than ever. The results of our exercise put into clear focus the impact that operational risks and NPT scenarios can pose on emissions targets. For example, if a drillship on a 27,000-ft deepwater well with 6,000 ft of open hole were to lose the borehole due to unfishable tools, the emissions impact would be 3,500 metric tons of CO2e equivalent to you driving an average car 15.7 million miles. Successful fishing operations, a much more favorable outcome, would still result in at least 466 metric tons CO2e. More commonplace tool failures at TD or an operational plan to log on drillpipe can result in over 400 metric tons CO2e. In contrast, a fully mitigated wireline run provides a relatively smaller 122 metric tons of CO2e. The implication of emissions consequences elevates the urgency of proactive de-risking to deliver the industry’s pursuit of sustainable and responsible practices. The findings from this study can help operators to better evaluate wireline formation evaluation risks, as well as help other service providers apply the methodology to their operational disciplines.