Plan For The Unexpected

Let's talk about the oilfield for a minute. The heart of the oil and gas industry takes place out in the field, where there are a lot of uncertainties. First, all the work is done outdoors, in all types of weather, which means that there is a massive force impacting our work, which we have no control over. Secondly, much of our work is downhole, where we can't see what is happening. Downhole is a harsh environment with high pressure, high temperature, chemicals, scales, and a variety of fluids. Finally, in the oil patch we like to move really fast because, well, there's usually a lot of money on the line. All of this together creates a recipe for unexpected events to derail our plans.

In my time in the oil and gas industry, I've seen all kinds of bizarre, unexpected things happen, some small and some major. In fact, this kind of thing happens so often that you actually come to expect it. You learn to expect the unexpected. Plans rarely go perfectly as planned and thus we should not be surprised when unexpected things happen. Despite this, I'm always amazed when I see projects that are planned so precisely that everything has to go perfectly or else chaos ensues.

What does this mean? Well, it means that our plans should include some margin of error. When you go out to the field, pack some extra tools just in case. If you expect a project to last 5 days, plan for 7. Add a little extra money to your budget just in case. The worst thing that happens is that things go as planned and your margin of error goes "unused". If you do this, I promise you that you'll be a lot less stressed out. You can thank me later.

Remember, it's the oilfield and nothing goes as planned. Plan accordingly.

Save Money With Better Planning

Tip: Better Planning Can Save A Lot Of Money

We've all heard the mantra before, "find ways to cut costs", "How can we do this cheaper?" or "Don't spend money that isn't necessary". I get it, we are all in business to make money and keeping costs low is a major part of that. I've also seen companies go to great lengths to cut costs, such as eliminating necessary steps in the operation, or making drilling and completion decisions that will negatively impact production, in order to cut costs.

Again, I get it. Cutting costs is often a necessary even if it's not fun.

With that said, I do believe that there is a lot more low-hanging fruit than we often realize. From what I've seen, planning and logistics can be a massive area of low-hanging fruit. I've seen many times where a company sacrifices performance in order to cut costs, only to turn around and change plans somewhere else, causing a chain reaction of scheduling delays and results and 10-times more costs than they just saved. Poor or inconsistent planning leads to cost increases. It can lead to standby charges, or force your vendors to raise their prices. Sometimes poor choices means redoing work and having to pay for it twice. Every time we plan poorly or change the plan at the last minute, there is a cost associated with that. We need to be honest about this fact. Sometimes a change of plans is necessary, but let's not pretend that it's free.

If you want to get serious about keeping costs low, then focus on better and more efficient planning.