1. ERCB Well Identification: Business Practice and Challenges
Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB)
January 9, 2013
Miriam Romero
Information Management Business Analyst

2. What is a Unique Well Identifier (UWI)?
Standard well identification
Developed for the petroleum industry by the Canadian Petroleum Association (CPA)
Defines the approximate geographical location of the bottom of a drill hole – and a specific drilling or producing event at the drill hole

3. UWI Format 4 components; 16 characters SS - always 1 in AlbertaLE
LSD SC
TWP RG W M P ES 1 00 11 36
006 05 4 2
SS - always 1 in Alberta
Location Exception (LE) – sequence of license approval
DLS – bottom hole location
Event Sequence (ES) – sequence of drilling, production and licensing event

4. UWI creation : Licensing Activity
A newly issued license
Re-entry application
Resumption application

5. UWI creation : Drilling Activity
Preset surface casing
Drilling legs
Additional drilling (i.e. deepening) within the same formation
Ghost holes

6. UWI creation : Completion Activity
Additional completion on a new non-commingled pool
Optional for wells commingled in DE 1, DE 2 and self-declared commingled pools

7. Business Challenges Case 1 – A primary key that changes
UWI is ERCB’s database primary key
UWI exists in at least 50 tables in the corporate database
UWI change is a normal business practice

8. Business Challenges Scenario A – Directional wells
UWI may change if the wellbore Total Depth is on a different location

9. Business Challenges
Scenario B – Vertical wellbore (i.e. stratigraphic test holes)
UWI assigned is based on the projected bottom hole of the longest proposed drill leg

10. Business Challenges Scenario C – Road allowance wells
Well trajectory may be misinterpreted for a road allowance well
Original UWI:
05/ W4/0
Amended to:
S2/ W4/0

11. Business Challenges
Case 2 – The UWI as representing 3 different well lifecycle events
Is the UWI ...
Wellbore (drilling)?
Wellbore completion?
Licensing event? /4 /0 /3 /2

12. Business Challenges
Case 2.A – UWI of wellbore completion follows UWI of last wellbore
00/ W4/0 (Drill)
03/ W4/2 (Drill)
00/ W4/3 (Drill)
00/ W4/4 /4 /0 /3 /2

13. Business Challenges Case 2.B – A wellbore may have more than 1 UWI
00/ W4/0 (Wellbore /0)
00/ W4/2 (Wellbore /2)
00/ W4/3 (Completion /3)
00/ W4/4 (Re-entry of /0) /3
/0 & /4 /2

14. Business Challenges Case 3 – Event Sequences > 9 15 legs drilled
9 legs captured
6 legs omitted

15. Case 4 – Assignment of Location Exception codes
Business Challenges
Case 4 – Assignment of Location Exception codes
Different rules for
Conventional, shale and CBM
Oil sands
Road allowance
Water sources

16. Business Challenges Case 5 –Which well events have a common
origin (wellhead) ?
License A:
00/ W4/0
00/ W4/2
License B:
00/ W4/3
License C:
02/ W4/4
00/ W4/5

17. Questions??