Baker Hughes has released WellLink Performance service, designed to help operators reduce invisible lost time (ILT). It helps transform complex data buried within legacy applications, drilling reporting systems and data streams into information that is instantly accessible and actionable.

Using this information, operators quickly identify, investigate and mitigate common performance issues associated with drilling processes such as connection procedures, circulating times and tripping speed — inefficiencies that can account for as much as 30 percent of normal up time activities.

“Although ILT is a critical performance indicator,the manual processes commonly used to capture relative data points and calculate results have not given operators the real-time,accurate information they need,”says Celestine Vettical, vice president, Remote Operations Services Products and Technology at Baker Hughes."The WellLink Performance service uses the latest in digital technology to help operators understand performance gaps, accelerate critical decision making and ultimately reduce well construction costs.”

Delivered via a software-as-a-service model,the WellLink Performance service allows drilling teams to identify inefficiencies immediately by analyzing historic and real-time well site data and comparing the data to planned, benchmark and offset data. The teams also can seamlessly identify and investigate ILT root causes on a degree more granular than with common manual methods by reviewing charts that compare depth versus days drilled and activity analysis graphs and reports in real time. Key performance indicator alarms and dashboards help operators

take proactive actions to improve ILT-related issues and monitor these actions in real time for continuous improvement across operations.

The service also is compatible with the company’s SIGNALS Drilling Advisory Service, which combines the WellLink software with remotely-located Baker Hughes personnel, who are available24/7 to critically analyze and interpret the data sets. Through this analysis, the experts can identify opportunities to further reduce ILT during the drilling process.