Project Overview

An operator preparing to launch a new drilling programme engaged SPD to develop a comprehensive Drilling Management System (DMS) from the ground up. The operator had capable engineers but no formal management system in place — decisions were being made and documented inconsistently, roles and authorities were informally understood rather than written down, and there was no structured framework for well planning, risk management, contractor governance or lessons learned capture. Before committing to a multi-well campaign, the operator needed a DMS that would impose the discipline, auditability and regulatory compliance required to manage a drilling programme safely and efficiently.

Key Challenges

• No existing DMS foundation — the system needed to be written entirely from scratch after understanding the operator’s organisation, well types, regulatory environment and risk appetite
• Must reflect how the organisation actually works, not how a generic template assumes it does
• Regulatory compliance was non-negotiable — must satisfy the applicable drilling regulatory framework
• Scope breadth — a complete DMS spans well planning, engineering standards, risk management, well control, contractor management, HSE, document control, change management, performance monitoring and lessons learned
• System needed to be scalable and maintainable by the operator’s own team after handover

SPD’s Approach

SPD began with a structured discovery phase, conducting workshops and interviews with the operator’s wells, HSE, commercial and operations teams to map existing informal practices, identify regulatory obligations and agree the architecture of the DMS before any writing began.

The DMS was developed as a tiered document hierarchy: a top-level Drilling Management Manual setting out policy, principles and management commitments; a suite of functional Standards; and an operational Procedures layer covering specific activities and workflows. Risk management was threaded throughout — a well planning risk assessment process, management of change procedure, well control response framework and lessons learned capture loop were all developed as integrated elements.

Documents Developed

• Drilling Management Manual: policy, management commitments, organisation and authority matrix
• Well Planning Standard: design basis, peer review requirements, programme approval and management of change
• Well Engineering Standard: casing, cementing, drilling fluids, wellbore stability and completion design
• Well Control Standard: philosophy, equipment requirements, kick detection and response procedures, BOP testing
• Well Integrity Standard: barrier philosophy, well barrier diagrams, mechanical integrity testing
• Contractor Management Standard: selection, work scope, KPI framework, performance review
• HSE Standard: hazard identification, risk assessment, permit to work, emergency response
• Operational Procedures: well planning checklist, pre-spud readiness, daily reporting, end-of-well review, lessons learned
• Regulatory Compliance Matrix mapping DMS content against all applicable requirements

Results & Value Delivered

• Regulator-ready from day one — the completed DMS was reviewed and accepted without material comment
• Organisation-specific, not generic — discovery workshops produced a system staff recognised and could follow without interpretation
• Risk management embedded throughout — well planning risk assessment, management of change and lessons learned integrated as active tools
• Full three-tier document hierarchy delivered — policy, standards and procedures fully cross-referenced
• Operator self-sufficient post-handover — implementation guide and document control register enable independent maintenance and updating