Project Overview

Following a competitive tender, a major operator engaged SPD to provide fully integrated project management services for an offshore exploration and development drilling programme in New Zealand. At its peak the SPD team comprised more than 10 personnel embedded in the operator’s New Plymouth office, delivering well planning, engineering, programming, on-site supervision, logistics management and daily financial cost tracking across a campaign of six-plus wells drilled over 18 months.

Key Challenges

• Remote offshore location with limited oilfield infrastructure and restricted rig availability.
• Simultaneous operation of a semi-submersible and a jack-up rig, each requiring independent HSE and regulatory compliance management in a new regulatory environment.
• Extended reach drilling (ERD) development wells demanding rigorous well design optimisation to balance technical performance and cost.
• Exploration wells with inherent uncertainty, requiring rapid engineering response to downhole drilling situations.
• Complex international logistics, with equipment mobilised to New Zealand and a target of zero waiting-on-equipment time.

SPD’s Approach

SPD applied an integrated project management methodology, running engineering planning in parallel with procurement of tangibles from day one. Peer reviews and offset well analysis underpinned well design optimisation, while multidisciplinary workshops with field and operations staff identified best-in-class techniques before spud. Co-location in the operator’s office accelerated decision-making and simplified coordination across both rig operations.

SPD also prioritised sourcing New Zealand personnel, including expatriate New Zealanders working overseas, bringing in-country expertise to every role, shortening learning curves and lowering costs. Performance improved well-on-well throughout the campaign.

Results & Value Delivered

✔ Zero Equipment Delays — Comprehensive logistics planning meant no time was lost waiting on equipment throughout the campaign.

✔ ERD Performance Optimised — ERD well designs delivered safe, efficient drilling performance on technically demanding extended-reach wells.

✔ Dual-Rig HSE Compliance — Both rigs operated in full compliance with New Zealand regulatory requirements, with zero recordable safety incidents.

✔ Well-on-Well Improvement — Structured lessons-learned application delivered consistent performance gains across successive wells.

✔ Cost Control — Daily cost tracking and integrated planning maintained financial discipline across an 18-month, multi-well campaign.