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PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: Epoch Well Services Inc. A broader business view through digital advances Susan Braund Petroleum Directory Contributing Writer
The digital revolution has caught up with the drilling industry with a vengeance,” says James Carson, Alaska division manager for Epoch Well Services. “We now can not only monitor drilling and geological data on a real-time basis, but we also now have the tools to keep town-based customers fully informed about the progress of their wells. Epoch’s data acquisition, analysis and transmission systems and products enhance our clients’ decision-making capability and provide increased efficiency and safety.”
As a leading provider of well site information services. Epoch’s mission statement is centered on a commitment to excellence based on offering value added products and services using the newest technologies in the safest manner possible. Epoch is honoring its commitment — aggressively.
The company, whose roots stretch back to the founding in California in 1979, has maintained a continuous presence in Alaska since 1989. A market leader on the West Coast, Epoch also maintains a strong presence in the Gulf of Mexico. New growth markets for Epoch include the Rocky Mountains, South America and the Middle East, and it has grown continuously despite the cycles of the oil industry.
Recent Epoch advances have occurred in four areas of concentration: mud logging services, computerized data acquisition, software products for field and office and Web-based data info systems and satellite communications.
“Our successes are due to a combination of quality employees with sound geologic and technical backgrounds, the integration of new technology, and a strong concern for the client’s best interest,” reports Carson, who is a degreed geologist. “We continually seek to increase efficiency, reduce downtime and improve economics for our clients.” Mud logging services Mud is a specialized drilling fluid that cools and lubricates the drilling bit as it transports rock cuttings from the hole. Epoch collects and logs the mud contents every 10-30 feet of drilling, identifying, analyzing and describing the cuttings in mobile, on-site laboratories; the information is then logged, plotted and reported. Once drilling begins the mud is continually evaluated for hundreds of variables.
“In 1985 Epoch introduced its proprietary mud logging software package, Digital Mudlogging, or DML, which transited the logging process from analog to computerized data output. Today we’re able to spot the occurrence and depth of hydrocarbons in real time,” says Carson. “Twenty years ago it was a much slower, non-computerized analog process and mud log sheets were hand-drawn on vellum.”
DML mud logs are highly detailed, visually appealing and easy to read, allowing customers to quickly grasp and use the information they receive.
“We set the standard in the industry,” indicates Carson. “We feel that DML outshines other well logs in detail and clarity. Our mud logging services are widely respected for the quality of our proprietary technology and the experience of our people.” Computerized data acquisition system Modern drill rigs are a technological sight to behold: rig workers and onsite engineers can, at any time, approach one of many touch-screen computer work stations situated around the rig to access vital, per-second information. They can monitor drill bit rpm, casing pressure, pump strokes and mud pit volumes and hundreds of other functions in a wide variety of data presentations. At the same time, offsite engineers or supervisors can access the same information via dialup or Internet access and perform real-time detailed trend analysis.
Working synergistically with DML, by combining instrumentation, data acquisition, display, reporting and analysis, RigWatch™ monitors drilling and mud parameters through multiple sensors that monitor the well on a per-second basis.
“Our RigWatch software records more data at a faster rate than any in the business — 189 channels, eight times a second, recording to memory every two seconds,” explains Carson. “That sampling rate is the highest in the industry to our knowledge.”
“Our goal is to be the premier source of well site information to the oil and gas community, provide that data in the form of real time graphics and summary reports,” states Carson. “Our system is like a drilling flight recorder that allows us to look at specific moments in time or depth.”
Advanced software products for field and office Epoch has taken the stress out of morning reports. Tower sheets, or daily drilling reports, can now be transmitted electronically, which translates to saved man-hours and increased well site efficiency.
“In addition to DML and RigWatch, we offer a host of mission-critical industry software, including morning report programs like PERC™ and RigWatch™ Explorer,” reports Carson.
RigWatch Explorer is a data communications program and log analysis tool that allows geologists, engineers and drilling personnel to view and print logs at home or office.
“This office and well site product allows clients to view, print, and export critical geological and drilling data in a work station environment, “ explains Carson. “Mud log and drilling data can be transmitted live or on demand from the well site. It tracks exactly what has happened on your well in the past 24 hours, providing a broad range of valuable information in a user friendly format.”
Epoch’s software product Petroleum Engineering Resource Coordinator, or PERC, is actually more than a morning reporting system: it also streamlines the data entry and retrieval process throughout the entire history of a well. PERC is a field-proven, Windows-based relational database program for morning reports. Additional input and output screens can be customized to customer specifications.
“PERC is an industry-leading morning report database software,” says Carson. “Now, from initial planning through drilling, completions/workover and even production, this one system has the tools to ensure your operation remains profitable, and that is our goal.” Web-based data information systems and satellite communications How about a real-time browser view of your business from the Bahamas?
Epoch’s myWells.com allows customers to follow and view critical well data at home, office and — maybe even at the beach.
The Web-based system allows customers to keep the pulse of well site activities from anywhere there is an Internet connection, bringing data from Epoch’s array of products together in one place. All myWells.com data is customer administrated, including controlled logins, passwords and access levels.
“The myWells.com site is a one-stop internet location for viewing all your well site information, from daily report info to real-time drilling instrumentation logs and daily mud logs,” says Carson. “The Web site is taking well data gathering to new levels, providing you with new levels of convenience and efficiency that at one time was only imagined.”
Soon there will be satellite dishes on rigs. Satellite service is next on Epoch’s list of technological advances. The company has preferred vendor status with Hughes Direcway Satellite service, so Epoch will be using the soon-to-be-commissioned Galaxy IIIC to introduce satellite-based Internet connectivity and mywells.com to customers in Alaska.
“We’re looking forward to satellite service for 2003. It’s a quantum leap in our ability to send well data and other critical reports to our customers ... we are very excited about this prospect!”
Epoch Well Services
5801 Silverado Way
Anchorage, AK 99518
Contact: James R. Carson, Alaska division manager
(907) 561-2465
[email protected]
Editor's note: Susan Braund owns Firestar Media Services in Anchorage, Alaska.
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