WorldWide Drilling Resource

Boring Thoughts by Todd Tannehill Owner, Mud & More, LLC WorldWide Drilling Resource ® welcomes Todd Tannehill as a contributing writer. Here’s his first article: If You Feel the Rain, It’s Too Late Recently, I spoke with a drilling contractor who was in a jam and needed a drilling fluid mix to “fix this mess.” Taking the call, as I sat down to write this month’s article, was no less than perfect timing. Looking back on my 12 years with a drilling fluid company, my global team spent a lot of time and resources helping con- tractors “fix this mess.” It usually starts with a series of back and forth phone calls; and when it really gets “messy”, a trip to the jobsite may be inevitable. Drilling fluid professionals from any company are happy to get on-site to help, but many of the “fix this mess” moments don’t have to happen in the first place. If we protect the job like we protect our company vehicles and other assets, we can proactively reduce many issues. A question: When is the best time to buy flood insurance? My answer: If you feel the rain, it is most likely too late. Why do you pay insurance premiums on your company vehicles? Using the 80/20 rule, there is an 80% chance you will not need to use the insurance today, this week, or this month. So why add the extra expense of paying for something you may or may not need? The reason is, you know how crazy people (maybe your people) drive and you could find yourself or company in an accident (aka a “fix this mess” situ- ation.) While this insurance example seems simple and crazy - so is not properly set- ting up for what you know about a drilling site. If a horizontal drill operator knows he is going to go through road fill or gravel and does not set up with a proper fluid loss mix, it is like sending your vehicle out without insurance. We may or may not make the shot, we may or may not crash the truck. The right tooling and fluid mix based on the knowledge you have of the conditions increases your chance of suc- cess. “Fix this mess” should be a reaction to unanticipated conditions versus iden- tified conditions. Any time we can work proactively versus reactively - we save time, money, and do a better job for the customer. Using an online drilling calculator can assist in properly anticipating drilling fluid and tooling needs during the bid process, thus ensuring your costs are covered for the job-specific add-ons. Setting up with the proper tooling and drilling fluid mix is a proactive step, so you wi l l reduce your “fix this mess” moments. Todd Todd Tannehill may be contacted via e-mail to michele@ worldwidedrillingresource.com 41 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JANUARY 2018