Choosing well plans to create a system of low impact technologies is difficult and needs to be based on a quantitative approach. The EFD Team has developed a systems approach, an established solution to optimize decisions and ensure that the program selected satisfies chosen criteria (called attributes). (Recently this statistical approach has been proposed for locating infill wells in a developed field.[1]) It is being used in the EFD program to arrive at the optimum system for a given site. The entire matrix of technologies is being transferred to the web where sponsors can access the tool to select low impact options among the many configurations of drilling systems.

As part of our activities, the EFD drilling systems analysis tool was utilized in a graduate class project at Texas A&M. In this class 10 teams were asked to prepare a well plan for a hypothetical (but real) well site along the middle Texas coast. Each of the teams independently chose a combination of technology available to meet certain environmental conditions imposed on their group. At the end of the spring semester teams were judged on the well design submitted for the class project and winners received cash prizes. Plans are being made to repeat this team project in 2009.