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"For instance in the U.S., if a motor goes down, service and
support are easy to obtain because of the well-developed
infrastructure. However, in Kuwait, you have to depend upon
yourself because we are isolated from the outside world."
Drilling operations are essentially turnkey, especially in the
sense of rig moves. "The only thing we are not doing is taking
control of drilling the wells," Bauer said. Santa Fe even hauls all
well consumables that include casing, wellheads, and other well
supplies for KOC's wells.
Earlier this year, a 3-yr-contract extension for Santa Fe's five in-
country rigs was finalized between KOC and Santa Fe. In addition,
responsibilities were added to its rig-move obligations, including site
construction. To meet these commitments, Santa Fe has purchased an
additional 69 pieces of moving equipment including all-terrain cranes,
water trucks, forklifts, and fuel tanker trailers.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking plays a key role in cost reduction for Santa Fe.
"We have all sorts of benchmarking systems going on. We benchmark
moving time, down time, trip time, drill bit runs, nipple up time, slip
time on a connection, or even the time it takes to make up a joint of
casing from one joint to the next," said Miles Sheldon, vice-president
and Middle East area manager for Santa Fe.
Benchmarking not only allows Santa Fe to determine its
strengths and weaknesses for each of its drilling activities, but also
promotes competition among the rig crews. Superintendents
benchmark rigs against each other in similar fields. “When we see
Crew A making a connection in X amount of time, and Crew B
making it in Y amount of time [faster], we have to ask ourselves,
what's the problem, what are we doing different?" Hutchison said.
Toolpushers play a key role in transferring knowledge from
crew-to-crew. "A tool-pusher will watch one crew use it
[benchmarking technique], then pass tips on to the other crews,"

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