By the Way

Just FYI, we did end up drilling that last hole section in one bit run; I blogged a bit about it a couple of posts ago. Turns out that that was the world’s longest 12¼” Autotrak (the downhole tool we use to turn the well in different directions), and the world’s 4th longest AutoTrak run of any size. It also set a Chayvo (“Чаиво” is Russian for “settlement by the bay” - the oilfield we’re drilling in) record for fastest 12¼” ROP (Rate of Penetration is how fast the well is drilled) at 344m/day; the old record was 334m/dy. When the operating rate is ±$350k/dy - that adds up pretty quick. My self-assessment that’s due once a year for all XOM employees (which is coming up), should look pretty good this year… drilled the world’s first and second longest wells, set the world’s deepest whipstock, and a world record bit run. Things like that keep this job interesting, and make the long travel, days away from home, and the bitter weather worth it.