lehr-doug-2017.jpg

Doug Lehr

Senior Manager for Design for Reliability Baker Hughes

is senior manager for design for reliability activities at Baker Hughes. His current focus is driving reliability in new products. Lehr has 40 years of experience in the development of downhole tools for completion and intervention applications, including high-pressure/high-temperature (HP/HT) packers, composite fracturing plugs, and deepwater intervention tools. He has authored nine technical papers, holds 29 patents, and has chaired SPE HP/HT workshops. Lehr holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA degree in finance and marketing from the University of Houston. He was an SPE Distinguished Lecturer and has won numerous engineering awards. Lehr is a member of the JPT Editorial Committee and can be reached at douglas.lehr@bakerhughes.com.

  • Data science continues to provide solutions for unconventional-well challenges. But innovative combinations of proven technologies also are delivering improved success in artificial lift wells. The articles I have selected for this feature provide details on these achievements. But can the learnings from one type of completion improve success in other types of complet…
  • In the 2020 Completions Technology Focus, I stated that digitization will forever change how the most complex problems in our industry are solved. And, despite another severe downturn in the upstream industry, data science continues to provide solutions for complex unconventional well problems.
  • Machine learning can provide accurate prediction of annular pressure buildup, first-year oil production, and (in conjunction with novel casing accessories) the time and location of water breakthrough along a lateral wellbore.
  • The synopses in this feature show how machine learning can provide accurate prediction of annular pressure buildup, first-year oil production, and (in conjunction with novel casing accessories) the time and location of water breakthrough along a lateral wellbore.
  • In reviewing abstracts and papers for this feature, many impressive themes were evident—too many to cover in one editorial. I have commented on two: the advancements in unconventional completion design and the use of academia as a source of sophisticated completion analysis.
  • All completion systems should enable the safe and profitable extraction of reserves. To maximize the useful life of the completions system, reliability of components, configurations, and processes should be maximized.
  • Hardware innovation will continue to occur, but data analytics, multivariate modeling, and process optimization are emerging as new contributors to completion success.
  • There is intense focus across the industry on profitability in the current low-oil-price environment. Yet, today’s profitability is not the only challenge. Laying the groundwork for future profitability must also occur.