WillCo Drilling Intelligence-Field Review 1, October 2026

The Barrier Decides the Outcome

📋 This Review at a Glance

Field Review 1, October 2026 | Covers Sep 18 - Oct 18, 2026 | Monthly | 12 stories, all four grades | About 15 min read | Skim: this table + Practical Recommendations

📩 Forward this to whoever owns your next cementing, casing, bit or P&A program.

🧭 How to Read WDI-F

WDI-F grades each story on what has been shown, not on what is promised. Grades describe the evidence stage of the specific claim. Source quality and the availability of a comparison baseline are stated separately.

🟢 Grade A: documented field execution, with a measured or logged result. A does not mean universally effective or commercially proven. Use it: put it in the option set for your well plan.

🔵 Grade B: a limited field trial, pilot or demonstration. Use it: ask for a second well or a matched run before you rely on it.

🟡 Grade C: lab, modeling or concept work, with no field demonstration of the claim being graded. Use it: track it, do not plan on it.

🟣 Grade U: the available reporting does not provide enough detail to verify the comparison or establish a transferable benchmark. U does not mean false. Use it: ask for the depth, rig and baseline first.

Grades apply to the claim, not to the company. Each story also names its source: primary or secondary, and whether it was read as a full report, an abstract or a press report.

Figure 1. This Field Review on the WDI-F evidence scale.

🧱 Top Story: Holding the Barrier Across Loss Zones

Two case studies, from Iraq and Pakistan, give two answers to the same problem: cement that will not stay where it is pumped. Geretsried, further down, shows what happens when that answer is missing.

🟢 A | Iraq: a lead slurry designed to gel in place across the losses

What carries the grade: more than ten wells, cement bond logs. Source: SPE paper abstract (primary).

In an Iraqi field, the intermediate casing section crosses two loss zones, Hartha and Dammam, and the primary job ran in two stages: the first isolating Hartha, the second Dammam. The answer was in the lead slurry: a thixotropic lead designed to build static gel strength fast once placed, to help keep the second-stage cement in place across the fractured Dammam carbonate. SLB authors report it in more than ten wells in SPE-232025-MS, presented at GOTECH in Dubai (Sep 29 to Oct 1).

The lightweight lead, at 11.4 to 11.7 ppg (1.37 to 1.40 s.g.), stays pumpable during placement. Typical lead volumes run 300 to 400 bbl, followed by a Class G tail at about 15.9 ppg (1.9 s.g.).

Across those wells the paper reports a "significantly improved" cement bond log response, including across the Dammam, a top of cement that reached higher above the loss zone, and top jobs "substantially reduced" in both volume and number. The paper puts no number on the gains; the signal is that the fix sat in gel strength, not only in density (WillCo analysis).

Figure 2. Two-stage cement job across the Hartha and Dammam loss zones, Iraq (WillCo schematic from SPE-232025-MS, not to scale).

🟢 A | Pakistan: four packers built into the liner job

What carries the grade: wireline cement evaluation, no remedial work. Source: SPE paper abstract (primary).

MOL Oil & Gas and SLB built four external casing packers (ECPs) into a single 7-in liner job in Pakistan, together with formation strengthening, the first such application in Pakistan, they report in SPE-232169-MS. The authors report that wireline cement evaluation validated zonal isolation "with no remedial intervention required".

The problem behind it: drilling into unexpectedly weak formations had left "inadequate cement behind the 13-3/8-in. and 9-5/8-in. casings", threatening well integrity.

The liner job had four constraints:

• Total fluid losses.

• Annular restrictions at the polished bore receptacle.

• A smart completion that demanded zonal isolation.

• No caliper logs, so the ECD plan was simulated from offset wells.

It was an integrated design, with three elements developed together:

• 🧱 Formation strengthening: non-reservoir-damaging chemicals let the Lockhart formation sustain an equivalent mud weight of about 15.0 ppg (1.80 s.g.), against a selected mud weight of about 12.9 ppg (1.55 s.g.).

• 🔩 Packers in the liner: four ECPs built into the liner to meet the smart-completion isolation requirement.

• 🧪 Flexible cement: a flexible, expandable, self-healing cement system.

Figure 3. A 7-in liner cemented with four external casing packers as part of an integrated barrier design, Pakistan (WillCo schematic from SPE-232169-MS, not to scale).

⚰️ Abandonment: Place It, Then Prove It

🟢 A | Southern Pakistan: a campaign abandoned without a rig

What carries the grade: a completed multi-well field campaign. Source: SPE paper abstract (primary).

A rigless crew of 20 to 24 abandoned 57 wells in 326 days in southern Pakistan, Sprint Oil and Gas Services reported in SPE-234278-MS at the SPE/ICoTA Asia Pacific Well Intervention and P&A Conference in Kuala Lumpur. Integrated slickline, coiled tubing, cementing and pumping took the place of a rig at up to 80% lower cost than rig-based P&A, the abstract reports, with CO2 reduced by about 220 short tons.

The wells were up to 40+ years old, and the slurry was designed for wellbore temperatures of 120 °F to 350 °F. The engineering detail the paper highlights is plug length. Coiled tubing placed plugs of up to about 1,099 ft in a single stage, against the roughly 656 ft the authors associate with rig-based drill-pipe, pump-and-pull placement.

Figure 4. Rigless P&A in southern Pakistan: single-stage coiled tubing plug length against the drill-pipe, pump-and-pull length the authors cite.

🔵 B | Offshore mature field: finding the plug top by sound

What carries the grade: one well detailed of four selected. Source: SPE paper abstract (primary).

After placing a plug, locating its top provides one part of the verification; barrier integrity requires a separate acceptance basis. Acoustic velocity, calibrated on known depths in the well, located the top of cement (TOC) on the deep and surface abandonment plugs of an offshore mature-field P&A well with an uncertainty of ±33 ft, using an interventionless acoustic method. On the deep plug, a subsequent mechanical drill tag confirmed the acoustic TOC.

EnQuest Petroleum Developments Malaysia and ScanWell (Norway) presented the method in SPE-234312-MS at the same conference, calibrating on the production packer and the surface bridge plug (about 4,511 and 4,524 ft/s).

The authors state the limit plainly: the method "does not directly measure cement compressive strength or prove plug mechanical integrity". It tells you where the barrier is, not whether it holds.

Figure 5. Acoustic top-of-cement location on abandonment plugs in an offshore mature-field P&A well, with a reported uncertainty of ±33 ft (WillCo schematic from the SPE-234312-MS abstract, not to scale).

🔩 Casing Through Trouble

Two ways to get casing where conventional runs fail: drill with it through tar, or mill out of it where there is no cement behind it. WDI named both cases without figures in its September teaser for this track; the SPE papers published Oct 14 for ATCE carry the quantified results, read here from the abstracts.

🟢 A | North Kuwait: casing as the drill string through tar

What carries the grade: 582 ft in 61 hr, cased, cemented and drilled out; operator co-authored. Source: SPE paper abstract (primary).

A 12-1/4 x 9-5/8 in casing-while-drilling (CwD) assembly drilled 582 ft of tar and coal in 61 hours in North Kuwait. Conventional drilling had struggled in the field: a 20° directional well with several tar intervals, drilled with RSS and rotary BHAs, had two stuck-pipe events and multiple sidetracks. Kuwait Oil Company and SLB authors report the run in SPE-234125-MS and describe it as the first CwD application through tar in North Kuwait.

The assembly used a custom drillable bit and buttress connections fitted with torque rings to handle high torque. The authors call the run the longest and most time-efficient CwD run in Kuwait. The casing was cemented and drilled out with an 8-1/2 in PDC.

The abstract credits the method with cutting total well delivery time by 30 rig days and saving about KD 360,000; it does not state the baseline, the first thing to look for in the full paper.

Figure 6. Casing-while-drilling through tar and coal in North Kuwait; the abstract states no baseline for the rig-day saving (WillCo schematic from SPE-234125-MS, not to scale).

🟢 A | Gulf of America: one run out of uncemented 14-in casing

What carries the grade: a timed single-run window within 9.5 hr; operator co-authored. Source: SPE paper abstract (primary).

A tri-mill cut a casing exit window in a single run, within 9.5 hours, out of uncemented 14 in 116 ppf casing with a 0.82 in wall, at 46° inclination in the Gulf of America. Talos Energy, with co-authors from Baker Hughes and Wellbore Integrity Solutions (WIS), reports the sidetrack in SPE-234032-MS.

Setting a whipstock in uncemented casing calls for precise placement between two collars. A 9-1/2 in drill-pipe-conveyed casing collar locator (CCL) on the milling assembly located the collars, and the team set a hydraulic whipstock between two of them; the paper calls it the first Gulf of America run of that CCL size. Magnets captured more than 5,000 lb (wet) of swarf. The drill-pipe CCL removed a wireline collar locator run and a bridge plug base, and the paper calls the cut in wireline time and cost "significant".

Figure 7. Talos single-run window from uncemented 14-in casing, Gulf of America: the CCL locates the collars and the whipstock is set between them (WillCo schematic from SPE-234032-MS, not to scale).

⚙️ Load to the Bit

🔵 B | Middle East: a hybrid bit that asks for more weight

What carries the grade: one lateral, vendor-authored; a matched follow-up run would strengthen the evidence. Source: SPE paper abstract (primary).

A 6-1/8 in single-cone hybrid bit cut lateral vibration by 50% and stick-slip by 60%, most noticeably in anhydrite, in a thin carbonate reservoir lateral in a major Middle East oil field, and it eliminated a cleanout run. Baker Hughes authors in Dhahran reported the trial in SPE-232221-MS at GOTECH.

The eliminated cleanout run saved an average of 9.0 rig hours, and removing the isolator sub put the LWD closer to the bit. The price was load: in this trial the bit ran with 50% more weight on bit than a PDC, with no negative impact on the dull grade.

Figure 8. The single-cone hybrid bit trial at a glance, as reported for one lateral against typical offsets: rate of penetration, the vibration and stick-slip reductions, and the extra weight on bit the run used.

🔵 B | Norway: thrust made downhole

What carries the grade: test-site phases; the baseline comparison is still to come. Source: GA Drilling publication (primary, partial text) and GA case studies.

In hard phyllite at a Norwegian test well, a downhole drive unit (DDU) confirmed more than 30,000 lbf of thrust in June and reached a peak drilling rate of about 82 ft/hr, GA Drilling reported on Sep 29; the company says Phase 3 validated the control system in hard rock at the edge of its operating envelope. The DDU grips the open hole and supplies its own thrust downhole. That speaks to the question the hybrid bit raises: how to deliver more weight where string weight runs out (WillCo analysis).

The tests ran at the NORCE Ullrigg Research and Test Centre in Stavanger, in an 8.5 in hole through phyllite with a UCS of 22 ksi. Phase 3 (June) is the new disclosure. Earlier phases this year demonstrated open-hole thrust and force control. In April's Phase 2 the DDU drilled 66 ft over 7.5 continuous hours of operation, at a stable drilling ROP of about 50 ft/hr: operating time and drilling rate are separate measures. Figure 9 shows all three phases.

The quantified ROP and WOB comparison against baseline moves to a two-week October campaign that targets 1,500 ft of continuous drilling in about 25 hours.

Figure 9. GA Drilling's three 2026 DDU test phases at NORCE Ullrigg: Phase 2 separates operating time from drilling ROP, Phase 3 shows the peak rate, and the October campaign is a target, not a result.

🔬 Lab Bench

🟡 C | China: a star-shaped cutter tops the ranking

What carries the grade: single-cutter lathe tests, no bit run. Source: SPE Journal abstract (primary).

On granite, a star-shaped cutter had the highest overall selection frequency among ten PDC shapes in a weighted ranking built on single-cutter lathe tests. It topped the ranking in 77.98% of 30,906 scenarios, each pairing one of six depth-of-cut (DOC) levels with a different weighting of the ranking criteria. The 77.98% is a share of ranking scenarios, not an ROP gain or a field success rate.

At all six DOC levels, no other shape beat the star or the concave shape on every measure at once. Backrake angle, DOC and cutter geometry moved cutting forces more than cutting speed or trajectory did.

This is a ranking, not a run. It tells bit designers which shapes deserve a field trial in hard rock; it does not yet tell a driller what the bit will do downhole.

The paper, SPE Journal 236945-PA (online Oct 5), comes from China University of Petroleum, Beijing, with one author at CNPC Xinjiang Oilfield; the tests ran on a vertical turret lathe (VTL) and compared one cylindrical and nine shaped cutters.

Figure 10. Ten PDC cutter geometries in a weighted ranking from single-cutter lathe tests on granite. Lab result only.

🌋 Geothermal and the Frontier

🟢 A | Geretsried: the mother bore that set the pace

What carries the grade: six lateral pairs drilled and intersected, with flow tests, production logs and a stated root cause. Source: Eavor's May technical update (primary, full text); depth and rock temperature from ZFK (secondary).

Eavor's own technical update from May, by co-founder Matt Toews, traces the Geretsried setback to its cause. After the second lateral pair was sidetracked, the two rigs went into hydraulic communication. The root cause, the update says, was poor cement jobs on both cased mother bores, which left an annular fluid channel behind the casing connecting all the lateral pairs.

The consequence was mechanical. Eavor had to drill with one rig at a time instead of two in parallel, which alone doubled drilling time and cost, and stopped Loop 1 after six drilled and intersected lateral pairs instead of the planned twelve. Cuttings-laden fluid reached five of the six pairs, and three were flushed. In its May update, Eavor reported four operating pairs producing around 8.5 MWth, which it called exactly as expected. The fix, Eavor writes, is well-understood cementing design and industry best practice, now built into all future loop designs.

The German trade paper ZFK puts the loop at a depth of about 14,760 ft, in rock at about 320 °F, without stating whether that depth is vertical or measured; Eavor's update counts more than 26,000 ft MD, measured along the wellbore, so the two figures do not compare directly.

Figure 11. Eavor's Geretsried loop and the poorly cemented mother bores its May technical update names as the root cause (WillCo schematic from the Eavor update and press reporting, not to scale).

🟡 C | Oregon: a conventional well first, the beam later

What carries the grade: the claim graded is millimeter-wave drilling as a deep-well method, which no well program has yet carried; the July 2025 hole of about 330 ft would grade B on its own. Source: Quaise releases (primary) and press reports (secondary).

This month Quaise Energy is drilling a conventional well. Its first confirmation well at Project Obsidian, near Newberry Caldera in Oregon, has been drilling conventionally since July toward about 15,000 ft, the first of seven wells in Phase One. Quaise says millimeter waves (MMW) won't be used until the 689 °F wells at the earliest.

The funding and hardware news came in September. Quaise's US Department of Energy (DOE) selection, for up to $25 million subject to award negotiation, covers the drilling, stimulation and flow results of the first two wells, used to optimize a third well. On Sep 29, Kyoto Fusioneering announced it will supply Quaise with a gyrotron system designed for continuous operation.

The last confirmed MMW depth remains the roughly 330 ft hole in Central Texas granite from July 2025.

Figure 12. Quaise's public record, separated into the 2025 millimeter-wave field demonstration, the conventional Project Obsidian program, funding, hardware and the plan for 689 °F wells.

⏱️ Verification Pending

🟣 U | Western Desert: fast, but to what depth?

What carries the grade: U applies to the efficiency comparison, not to the wells: no depths, rig, cost or time baseline, or NPT definition published. Source: company statements in trade press (secondary).

Seven and a half days means little until the reader knows to what depth. Khalda Petroleum, the Apache and EGPC joint venture in Egypt's Western Desert, reported three consecutive wells drilled within one month on a single rig, with a 17.7% cost reduction worth $735,000. KAH-B-54 went from spud to handover in 7.5 days, the company's fastest, and KAH-B-53 in 8.9 days, its third fastest; drill pipe connection time fell 25.3% to 7.5 minutes. Drilling Contractor credits refurbished bits, motors that improved execution rates, and more selective use of high-cost RSS.

A separate Oct 15 report measures a different outcome, spud to online: SKAL-02 came online within 50 days of spud, 14% faster than benchmarks for wells of similar depth, with shorter, cheaper and zero-NPT claims alongside. The two campaigns do not combine into one comparison.

The published figures do not yet support a like-for-like efficiency comparison.

Figure 13. Khalda's Western Desert claims grouped by outcome (spud to handover, spud to online) next to the data needed to grade the comparison.

🎯 The Through-Line: The Barrier Decides the Outcome

Four of this month's six A grades are barrier stories. The field evidence spans cement placement, integrated isolation design, campaign execution and a documented isolation failure. Each supports a different conclusion; campaign size alone does not establish barrier performance (WillCo analysis).

Three questions stay open this month:

1. ⚰️ Once the plug top is found, what proves the plug holds? The acoustic TOC story finds the top; integrity still needs its own test.

2. 🌋 Which cement and casing systems will survive 689 °F? Quaise holds millimeter waves for its 689 °F wells at the earliest; watch the barrier design those wells carry.

3. ⚙️ When string weight runs out, does the load come from more WOB at surface or from thrust made downhole? Read the hybrid bit and downhole drive unit stories side by side.

The U story is a reminder of why WDI-F grades at all. A fast well without a depth is a press line; with a depth, a rig and a baseline, it becomes a benchmark others can use.

✅ Practical Recommendations

Your pre-spud checklist from this month's field evidence:

• 📏 Separate placement from proof. At the cement and P&A program review, ask for the log or tag, the well count and the baseline behind every claim, and confirm barrier placement and barrier integrity with separate checks. (SLB, MOL, Sprint, EnQuest)

• 🧱 Design the barrier as one system. For loss-prone sections and multilateral mother bores, treat slurry rheology, packers and formation strengthening as one barrier design, with its acceptance basis set before the next section or lateral is drilled. (SLB, MOL, Eavor)

• ⚙️ Sign off every non-standard load. At the BHA and casing design review, list every string with a non-standard load (hybrid-bit WOB, CwD torque, a whipstock in uncemented casing) and confirm its operating envelope with the vendor before the casing design is frozen. (Baker Hughes, KOC, Talos, GA Drilling)

🔭 What We're Watching Next

For next month's Field Review, these are the open items:

• GA Drilling's October DDU campaign: whether it puts a number on the ROP and WOB gain against baseline.

• The KOC and Talos papers from SPE ATCE in Houston, Oct 21 to 23: whether the full texts publish the baselines behind the rig-day and wireline savings.

• Eavor at Geretsried: how the mother bores of the next loop are cemented, and how that isolation is verified before laterals are connected.

• Quaise Project Obsidian: progress on the conventional confirmation well and any first millimeter-wave run plan.

📩 Send Us Your Field Result

Have a field result with its log behind it? Send it to us at info@willcodrilling.com, along with any story you want unpacked in full.

Follow WDI at willcodrilling.com/wdi for the weekly editions and the monthly Field Review. We will reassess this month's grades if new evidence becomes available.

📚 References and Sources

1. M. Chaab et al. (SLB). "Advanced Thixotropic Cement Slurry for Effective Zonal Isolation: A Case Study from Iraq," SPE-232025-MS, GOTECH 2026, Dubai, Sep 29 to Oct 1, 2026. DOI: 10.2118/232025-MS. https://onepetro.org/SPEGOTS/proceedings/26GOTS/26GOTS/D021S019R004/807706

2. Z. Sarfraz, O. Syed, S. Khan (MOL Oil & Gas Co. B.V.); W. Shoukat, A. Hussain, M. Umar, H. K Naru, M. Bogaerts (SLB). "Optimizing the Cement Performance on Wells Subjected to Losses and Revolutionizing Wellbore Integrity: With External Casing Packer Ensuring Long-Term Wellbore Integrity - A Pakistan Case Study," SPE-232169-MS, GOTECH 2026. DOI: 10.2118/232169-MS. https://onepetro.org/SPEGOTS/proceedings/26GOTS/26GOTS/D021S035R003/807829

3. Sprint Oil and Gas Services. "Accelerating Mature Well Decommissioning Through Data-Driven Rig-Less P&A Strategies in Mature Fields of Southern Pakistan: A Fit-For-Purpose Approach," SPE-234278-MS, SPE/ICoTA Asia Pacific Well Intervention and P&A Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Sep 29 to 30, 2026. DOI: 10.2118/234278-MS. Full abstract (SPE's Crossref record, campaign figures included): https://api.crossref.org/works/10.2118/234278-MS. https://onepetro.org/speapwi/proceedings/26APWI/26APWI/D021S013R007/808319

4. S. Alzayani et al. (EnQuest Petroleum Developments Malaysia); B. Challenger et al. (ScanWell). "Field Validation of Intervention-Less Acoustic Top of Cement Verification During Well Abandonment Operations," SPE-234312-MS, SPE/ICoTA Asia Pacific Well Intervention and P&A Conference, 2026. https://onepetro.org/speapwi/proceedings/26APWI/26APWI/D021S013R004/808277

5. M. Mahdi, A. Alohaid, M. AlGaiar, M. Farahat (Baker Hughes). "Leveraging a Novel Single-Cone Hybrid Bit Design for Enhanced Drilling Efficiency and Borehole Quality in Thin Transitional Reservoirs," SPE-232221-MS, GOTECH 2026. https://onepetro.org/SPEGOTS/proceedings/26GOTS/26GOTS/D021S025R002/807872

6. M. Gajdos (GA Drilling). "Field Demonstration of Downhole Drive Units in Hard Crystalline Rock: Results from a Norwegian Test Well," Sep 29, 2026. https://www.gadrilling.com/publications/field-demonstration-of-downhole-drive-units-in-hard-crystalline-rock-results-from-a-norwegian-test-well

7. GA Drilling earlier case studies (Phase 1 and Phase 2 context): https://www.gadrilling.com/case-studies/nextitan-field-validation-results-core-functionality-proved-in-hard-rock and https://www.gadrilling.com/case-studies/nextitan-field-validation-results-may-2026-dual-unit-system-drills-hard-rock

8. M. Al-Mudhaf, S. M. Gholoum, M. Alqattan, A. Dutta (KOC); S. Alharbi, O. El Sheikh, F. Mataqi (SLB). "Successful Application of Casing-While-Drilling Technology to Drill and Case Through Troublesome Tar Layers in North Kuwait Field," SPE-234125-MS, SPE ATCE 2026, published Oct 14, 2026. DOI: 10.2118/234125-MS. Author affiliations as registered with the paper: https://api.crossref.org/works/10.2118/234125-MS. https://onepetro.org/SPEATCE/proceedings/26ATCE/26ATCE/D021S015R003/808948

9. N. Samuel (Talos Energy); F. Amaral (Baker Hughes); R. Janssen (Wellbore Integrity Solutions). "Operator Experience and Lessons Learned: Deepwater Sidetrack out of 14" Casing Using a DP-Conveyed Casing Collar Locator," SPE-234032-MS, SPE ATCE 2026, published Oct 14, 2026. DOI: 10.2118/234032-MS. Abstract record: https://api.crossref.org/works/10.2118/234032-MS. https://onepetro.org/SPEATCE/proceedings-abstract/26ATCE/26ATCE/D021S015R004/808896

10. M. Toews (Eavor). "Technical Update from Geretsried: What we built, what we learned, and what comes next," May 2026. https://eavor.de/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Eavor-technical-update-building-on-Geretsried-260529.pdf

11. ZFK, report on Eavor's Geretsried loop, citing Eavor's May technical report, Oct 16, 2026. https://www.zfk.de/energie/waerme/eavor-geothermie-geretsried-loop-bohranlagen-abzug

12. Quaise Energy, DOE selection for up to $25 million, Sep 22, 2026. https://www.quaise.com/news/quaise-energy-selected-for-up-to-25-million-in-u-s-department-of-energy-support-to-advance-worlds-first-commercial-superhot-geothermal-power-plant

13. Kyoto Fusioneering gyrotron supply to Quaise Energy (Business Wire via Offshore Source), Sep 29, 2026. https://offshoresource.com/business-wire/kyoto-fusioneering-to-supply-gyrotron-system-to-quaise-energy-for-superhot-geothermal-drilling/

14. Quaise Energy release on Project Obsidian (Elizabeth A. Thomson, correspondent for Quaise Energy; via EurekAlert), Oct 8, 2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1146997

15. Your Oregon News, "Quaise begins drilling for geothermal energy south of Newberry," Sep 22, 2026. https://youroregonnews.com/2026/09/22/quaise-begins-drilling-for-geothermal-energy-south-of-newberry/

16. Quaise Energy, millimeter-wave drilling milestone, Jul 22, 2025 (context). https://www.quaise.com/news/quaise-energy-achieves-drilling-milestone-with-millimeter-wave-technology

17. C. Xi, H. Dong, W. Liu, D. Gao (China University of Petroleum, Beijing; CNPC Xinjiang Oilfield). "Effects of Cutting and Geometric Parameters on Polycrystalline-Diamond-Compact Cutter Performance in Single-Cutter Granite-Cutting Tests," SPE Journal 236945-PA, online Oct 5, 2026. https://doi.org/10.2118/236945-pa

18. Egypt Oil & Gas, "Khalda achieves operational progress with improved drilling capacity," Oct 14, 2026. https://egyptoil-gas.com/news/khalda-achieves-operational-progress-with-improved-drilling-capacity/

19. Egypt Oil & Gas, "Khalda brings SKAL-02 online within 50 days of drilling start," Oct 15, 2026. https://egyptoil-gas.com/news/khalda-brings-skal-02-online-within-50-days-of-drilling-start/

20. Drilling Contractor, "Khalda sets drilling record in Egypt with three wells in one month," Oct 15, 2026. https://drillingcontractor.org/khalda-sets-drilling-record-in-egypt-with-three-wells-in-one-month-80348

21. WillCo Drilling Intelligence archive: weekly editions and Field Review All Issues. https://willcodrilling.com/wdi

About this report: WillCo Drilling Intelligence - Field (WDI-F) is the monthly field track of WillCo Drilling Intelligence, published as the Field Review by WillCo Drilling Consulting. Where the weekly edition follows digital drilling, WDI-F follows physical well engineering (cement, casing, bits, abandonment and frontier drilling) and grades every story by the evidence behind it, from A (executed in the field) to U (unverified with available data). Analysis and recommendations reflect WillCo's independent engineering perspective.

📩 info@willcodrilling.com | willcodrilling.com/wdi

📖 Glossary of Acronyms