{"id":2801,"date":"2022-12-12T09:51:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-12T09:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rockflow.com\/?p=1503"},"modified":"2023-05-02T15:14:44","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T15:14:44","slug":"diagnosis-before-cure-when-to-call-an-upstream-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rockflow.com\/diagnosis-before-cure-when-to-call-an-upstream-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"Diagnosis before cure: when to call an upstream doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

At Rockflow, the challenge with every upstream project is finding what the real problem is.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You might come to us with an idea of that problem, like a patient who suspects they know what ails them. Frequently, though, the reason companies come to us is because they\u2019ve exhausted their own resources – and sometimes their own understanding – and they need an independent, veteran expert to tell them what is going on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

That means we first need to pose the right questions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In our experience there are typically three types of issues that an O&G company will want our perspective on. And while purely technical problems might have a direct solution, there are many that first require an accurate diagnosis.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

1. A technical issue<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When you know you have a technical problem<\/a> and you\u2019re not certain of the solution.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At the purely technical level, you don\u2019t necessarily need a diagnosis, you simply need a solution that fits.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In this instance, you want the equivalent of a highly practised tailor who can measure you at a glance and produce exactly what you need \u2013 whether that\u2019s a reserves audit<\/a> or a feasibility study<\/a>. The quality of the solution and its speed and efficiency all matter here, and that\u2019s why many companies choose us and keep returning to us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What they\u2019re also looking for, however, is reassurance that the issue does not go any deeper; if we believe there are other dimensions, we are well placed to identify them and let the client know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

2. A diagnosis issue<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When you have a technical problem, and you don\u2019t know the exact nature of that problem.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

One company asked us to investigate an issue they were facing with a fracking project: their wells weren\u2019t producing gas, instead they were producing water.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

They had already hired a number of other consultancies who had attempted to resolve the issue and, had it been an engineering problem, no doubt they would have succeeded. But the company was keen to find a solution and were willing to throw more resources at it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Based on our experience, we suspected the issue was not with the well and our investigation determined that it wasn\u2019t<\/em> their fracking process that was bearing water, it was the rock itself.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The need for a diagnosis is not unusual. We have found that the more complex the issue, the less a client will know about what they need. Patients might tell their doctor what they suspect their ailment is but the doctor will – and should – say, \u2018First, let\u2019s talk about the symptoms\u2019.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The diagnosis of subsurface issues requires a similar approach. Like a well-experienced doctor who has encountered a range of patient ailments; our extensive knowledge acquired across a wide range of fields and basin types allows us to identify the problem and find the solution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3. A holistic issue<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When you know there\u2019s a problem but you don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s a technical, organisational or personnel issues.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To take another scenario, let\u2019s look at a problem with a more human cause, one which involved lines of communications across continents.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In this case the message being received by the head office in one country did not square with some of the operational challenges arising in another. So they asked us to work closely with their technical team and undertake an in-country peer review to get a fuller picture of operations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

However, this is not all we did. While we were in conversation with our client, we began to suspect there was a deeper issue at play and the company didn\u2019t initially – and quite understandably – want to tell us what it was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Through our conversations, we were able to put our finger on the question that needed to be asked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n