APPROACHES TO COST EFFECTIVE BOREHOLE DRILLING

Dr. Martin O. Eduvie National Water Resources Institute Introduction In September 2000, 180 countries including Nigeria agreed to a set of development goals and targets to be achieved in 2015. These were also reinforced by the targets of the World summit for Social Development (WSSD) 2002. Among these is the commitment to halve the proportion of people living below poverty line, halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and halve the proportion of people without access to improved sanitation. Nigeria is one of the countries that must achieve these goals. At least 1.1 billion people across the world lack access to safe, clean drinking water (MacDonald et. al., 2005). Nigeria with a population of over 120 million people have invested heavily in borehole Projects throughout the Country to satisfy the fast growing demand for safe water and to improve the socio-economic development of its populace especially in the rural areas. The tasks of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) therefore present an enormous challenge to the Country and the international community. The Federal, State and Local Governments have supported the development of groundwater especially in the rural areas over the past twenty years. In addition, the External Supporting Agencies (ESAs) like UNICEF, UNDP, JICA, WaterAid etc. have committed huge sum of money through provision of Drilling Rigs, Geophysical equipment, chemical laboratory Kits, handpumps and spare parts to ensure sustainability of the programme. In recent time some of these ESAs have provided direct funds for private sector drilling of borehole projects. Despite this huge investment, there is still severe scarcity of water supply for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. In order to meet the MDGs especially for water supply, there is the need to adopt and develop mechanisms or strategies to reduce costs and improve construction quality and functionality of borehole projects. The objectives of this paper therefore are to raise issues and develop processes, which will bring about the provision of cost effective boreholes in Nigeria and other countries in the Sub-Sahara Africa. There is no doubt that the current levels of investment in the water sector will need to double if the Millenium Development Goals are to be attained by 2015. However, global development funding has been in steady decline over recent years and the general downward movement in economy of most nations has also affected the private sector investment in the sector. It is therefore a necessity that by adopting technical and altitudinal changes couple with financial discipline in borehole drilling business, the service coverage level can be more than double with the existing level of investment.

Borehole needs in Nigeria To meet MDGs in water supply for rural Nigeria, 1 borehole will serve 230-500 people living within 500m radius of the water point. Given that 50% of the population live in rural areas, which are to be served with hand pump boreholes, Nigeria may need 2,000 boreholes for every 1 million people. Thus, to provide safe water for 70 million people living in rural areas require about 140,000 boreholes, (given no increase in population). How Much Does Boreholes Cost in Nigeria? The construction costs for sustainable supplies by borehole systems are relatively high. The prices range from N400,000 to N950,000 for 4/5 boreholes fitted with handpumps. The cost of motorised boreholes with diameter of 6 to 8 varies from N500,000 to N2,000,000 depending on the support structures associated with such projects. Who Drills in Nigeria Government drilling outfits Non government organizations (NGOs) Contractors o Foreign Contractors o Local Contractors Why groundwater? Groundwater is the water stored in an aquifer in pore spaces or fractures in rocks or sediments. Groundwater is generally a readily available source of water throughout populated Africa but the construction costs for sustainable supplies are high. The reason why groundwater is preferred to surface water includes: Its relative low costs compared to surface water Availability in most areas Potable without treatment Employs low cost technologies The frequent drought problems enforce the use of groundwater source as many small intermittent rivers and streams dry out during the dry season. BOREHOLE DRILLING DESIGN AND COST A borehole is a hydraulic structure which when properly constructed will permit the economic withdrawal of water. Borehole design is a process of specifying the physical dimensions of the borehole, the material to be installed therein in order to achieve maximum yield at a minimum cost without depleting the aquifer system. Proper well design can easily be achieved by paying modest attention to the following points: Detail investigation study Applying appropriate drilling technique Utilizing quality materials Proper collection and analysis of the data and information obtained.

Inappropriate well design can increase the cost of well. Well design for rural water supply should not be the same for urban water supply. The design should be able to eliminate unnecessary costs. For smaller water supply schemes for rural water supply, small diameter boreholes may serve the purpose appropriately. Accordingly, smaller capacity rigs are preferred to execute the work over higher capacity rigs because of the following advantages: (a) The drilling rigs and the accessories has low investment cost. (b) Low running cost. (c) Easier and less service. (d) Lighter and thereby easier to move. By preparing an appropriate well design through proper consideration of the above factors in relation to a given project, it is possible to minimize unnecessary costs and thereby achieve better reliable results. GENERAL PARAMETERS THAT DETERMINES COST OF BOREHOLE DRILLING Parameters that determine cost of borehole drilling can be classified under four main headings. These are as follows: Borehole Drilling Rigs Type of drilling machines and its cost and depreciation costs Age of drilling machines Rate and speed of penetration Interest cost on investment if funds is sourced for equipment Insurance premium for machines and trucks. Site Conditions and Distance Site geology and distance Distance the drilling crew, machines and equipment travel Success rate of drilling productive well. Labour/Material cost and overhead Wages, salaries and allowances Existence of work incentive schemes Increase premium for the employees Material market price of gravel, sand, cement, casings/screens, fuel, etc. Drilling Method/Design Drilling method used Depth to water table Depth and diameter of the well Sanitary protection works Occurrence or non occurrence of technical troubles and accidents during drilling General/other factors Drilling crew work, quality and efficiency of the drilling crew Time of decision on issues that directly affects the drilling progress

Existence of trouble shooting failures and know how and expertise of the drilling crew to manage trouble

WELL DIAMETER AND YIELD The general belief that water wells are traditionally drilled with large diameter assuming that the yield of the well will increase in proportion with its circumference is not true i.e that by doubling the size of the well, the yield would double. Lulu (2004) illustrated the plausible situation of well diameters and yield in the table below: Table 1: Relationship of well diameter and yield Well diameter 3 4 5 Yield in % 100 104 107

6 110

8 114

10 118

12 121

Also Driscoll (1986), stated that every time a borehole is doubled in diameter the water flow is only increased by 10% assuming that all borehole design are correctly done. CHOICE OF DRILLING EQUIPMENT Selecting the right size of drilling rig plays a very important role particularly in rural water supply where operational challenges are high, funds limited and terrain difficult. There is a prevailing misconception that the larger the well diameter higher the yield. In fact, the water yield depends on the size of the aquifer and not on the diameter of the well. The diameter and depth of the well has a direct relationship to the size and cost of the drilling equipment as well as to its operation and maintenance costs. The drilling rig equipment packages are available in the cost range of US$ 100,000 to US $1Million (Sehmi, 2004). Therefore, a careful selection of equipment is imperative for cost-effective operations. A balanced strategy is the best option i.e one based on the reliable hydrogeological studies with a mix of small and/or large size drilling rigs as technology choices. The other important element on drill rig size selection is maneuverability and versatility. The larger the rig size the heavier it is thus more difficult to access in remote villages where rural water supply programme aim to reach. For example, a small drill rig that can drill 4-6 diameter well to a depth of 100 meters may weigh less than 10 tons. By comparison, a rig that can drill 8-12 diameter wells to a depth of 250 meters or more will weigh in excess of 20 tons. These large rigs become virtually impossible to be driven even on large highways let alone rural roads as many bridges and culverts cannot take more than 10 ton weight. Moreover, many water wells are situated inside the village for the convenience of users and long wheel base/heavy-weight rigs often cannot enter village sites. ROLE OF STANDARDIZATION Standardization in equipment selection and procurement methods is an effective way of controlling a variety of short and long-term cost. For example, during an inventory exercise in Ethiopia in 1989, it was found that there were 22 different makes (manufacturers) and 35 different models of drilling rigs working

in the country, either supplied by varies donors (including UNICEF) or purchased by the government of Ethiopia. The rigs aged from 1950 1989. Out of 62 total rigs 40 were in working condition, 17 were aged form 1950s; 2 were aged from 1960s, 13 were aged from 1970s, and 30 were aged from 1980s. One can only begin to imagine the difficult challenges of keeping an inventory of essential spare parts for all these different rigs at different locations in the country and the different training requirements for crews on maintenance and repairs! There is simply no economic justification for this situation. Similar conditions exist in many developing countries where drilling programmes are underway like in Nigeria. The other crucial element to consider in favour of standardization is the sustainable availability of spare parts and replacement assemblies. Over the years the drilling industry has undergone many business upheavals through mergers, takeovers, closers or phase-outs. This has affected negatively many drilling rig owners. With a lack of information on installed assemblies/units on the drill rigs and sources for procurement of spare parts etc., and no or weak local manufacturing capacity, replacement parts become virtually impossible to obtain and the drill rig then becomes a scrap. So, what is the solution? There is no single solution as such, but the best one is to focus on achieving as much standardization of the equipment as possible. Standardization of equipment is directly linked to achieving good economics of drilling operations in that a balanced spare parts inventory will result in substantial cost savings and reduce operational and managerial challenges require maintaining an inventory of thousands of line items for scores of equipment models at various warehouse locations in the country. DRILLING COST IN SOME DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Table 2 shows statistics of borehole numbers drilled per rig and the cost implications. Table 2: Cost of drilling in some developing countries
Country India Sudan Nigeria Ethiopia Ethiopia No. of Boreholes per rig 150 wells 150 wells 150 wells 6 wells/rig/year 50 wells/rig/year Drilling costs $10/m $60/m $160/m $400/m $106 (8 times production increase at 75% cost saving) Year 1989 1989 1989 Before 1989 1989

Source: Sehmi (2004)

With good planning, correct selection of equipment and dedicated/motivated staff, the performance of drilling activities, from 1989, in Ehiopia was increased to 50 wells/rig per year at a cost of $106 per meter (ie. 8 times production increase at a 75% cost saving).

Poor planning, weak logistical support, prolonged breakdown, awaiting spare parts, long mobilization/demobilization time between two sites and lack of incentives to staff, all contributed to high costs. Once these factors were controlled it resulted in tremendous cost savings and increased performance thereby achieving greater coverage in a given period of time. RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO DRILL COST EFFECTIVE BOREHOLES A cost-effective borehole is the process of advocating for approaches, which can reduce borehole cost and ensure high construction quality. Implementation of the following recommendations can reduce the cost of water wells for our communities. The use of compact drilling rigs on which mud pump; compressor and welding units are mounted on the rig carrier. It will reduce the cost of machineries, tyres and labour. Select appropriate drilling method and bits that suits the geology of the well site. Practice compact well design. Smaller well diameter will reduce well bore volume and increases penetration rate, thereby decreasing the drilling cost. It has also an advantage to save the mud volume and corresponding cost. If there is strong confidence on the density and complete absence of future collapse or cave-in of the hole, the well can be left uncased. Unless you predict an immerse squeezing pressure greater than the collapse resistance of uPVC, steel casing should not be used. It is advisable to use uPVC casing since it costs four to five times cheaper. Trying to predict accurately the geohazard zones reduces drilling costs, improving drilling success and may prevent serious drilling related incidents. Select the best drilling machine in terms of penetration rate, operational cost, initial cost, easy to operate and transport in poor condition of roads in remote areas. Selecting and maintaining the correct mud weight, viscosity, jelling strength, and a low percentage of suspended solids, together with a suitable up-hole velocity, contribute to rapid and trouble-free drilling. Set careful drilling plans and plan action and implement efficient and effective drilling operation Management. Manufacturing at least some parts of drilling machines, equipment and tools, casings and screen and avail the required spare parts timely will reduce the cost of borehole drilling. Standardization of Rigs equipment and vehicles will reduce the operation and maintenance cost. Research and development Institute on groundwater development should be available in the Country to transfer appropriate drilling technologies and skills from abroad and conduct training, research and initiate innovation on drilling technology and engineering and develop the indigenous drilling knowledge. How to Reduce Cost of Borehole Drilling Define drilling cost on choice of equipment (small, medium and big drilling rig. Table 3, after Ball (2004)) Need for stakeholders workshop to consider borehole costing with emphasis on factors that influence costs and performances and efficieny. For example, small

change in bore diameter greatly affect the efficiency of the DTH hammer drilling operation in terms of drilling cuttings to be removed, compressor capacity and consequently the fuel and other consumables. In contrast to this effect of seizing up on the construction equipment and cost, every time a borehole is doubled in diameter the water flow is only increase by 10% (Driscoll 1986). In summary, the following areas when properly addressed will assist to reduce cost of borehole drilling in Nigeria. (i) Technology choice equipment and materials. Hydrogeological constraints and environment. (ii) (iii) Borehole design geometry (diameter, depth) (iv) Vested interests in adoption of alternative borehole designs Appropriate equipment (v) (vi) Local manufacture of equipment and spare parts (vii) Encouraging local contractors (viii) Realistic programme goals and targets (ix) Cost coordinator/harmonization (x) Building local/national capacity CONCLUSIONS The current socio-economic situation prevailing in Nigeria today and the need to meet the millennium goals calls for all stakeholders to work together to reduce the cost of sinking water well as part of development endeavours in poverty reduction and sustainable economic development strategy. Implementing the recommended schemes and the vital ideas articulated from this forum will contribute to reduction of borehole cost. Drilling cost reduction of boreholes is not a one-time exercise; rather it entails a continuous research and development on well economics. REFERENCES Ball, P. (2004). Boosting Borehole Production in Africa by Aligning Policy with Technology. Driscoll, F.G. (2000). Groundwater and Wells. Johnson Division. St. Paul, Minnesota. Lulu, S. (2004). Water well drilling and design- The process of sustainable use of groundwater. Maru, T. (2004). Water well drilling and the challenges of reduction of drilling cost in Amhara region- Ethiopia MacDonald A. M. and J. Davies (2000). A brief review of Groundwater for Rural Water Supply in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nottingham: British Geological Survey (Technical Report WC00/33). Sehmi, A.R.S. (2004). Economic & Effective Drilling Operation for Rural Water Supply. Operation for Rural Water Supply.

Table 3: Comparison of Borehole Cost for Medium and Big capacity Drilling Rig
To drill a 60 m hand pump extraction hole in crystalline rock for a rural community Conventional Africa Rig Purchase Cost per Reduced Diameter Africa Rig Cost ($) borehole ($) Rig 150,000 Rig Mounting vehicle 80,000 Drilling tools Drilling Tools 70,000 Compressor 250CFM x 10 bar Compressor 750CFM x 15 bar 80,000 Support Truck 60,000 Pick up 30,000 Total 470,000 Total Amortised 30 holes per year over 3,133 Amortised 30 holes per year over 5 5 years = 150 boreholes years = 150 boreholes Surface casing 6 20m depth per 400 Surface casing 420m depth metre $10.00 per metre Cement-borehole seal & apron 10 80 Cement-borehole seal & apron 10 bags @ $8 per bag bags @ $8 per bag Sand & Aggregate for apron 120 Sand & Aggregate for Apron Fuel for compressor based on 400 320 Fuel for compressor based on 200 litres consumption @ 80 us cents litres consumption @ 80 us cents per litre per litre Drill bit wear & rig consumables 250 Drill bit wear & rig consumables Hand pump 600 Hand pump Total 1,770 Total Driller Driller Drivers x 2 Drivers x 1 Asst. Rig operators x 4 Asst Rig operator x 2 Masons x 2 Masons x 2 600

Capital cost of a set of borehole construction equipment

Purchase Cost ($) 25,000 15,000 25,000 30,000

Cost per borehole ($)

95,000 633 200 80 120 160

Drilling consumables

125 600 1,285

Labour costs

400

Overheads

Equipment is attached to an office with 50 staff 2 rigs 6 hand dug well teams and 5 pump maintenance crew. Base has 6 offices, store and maintenance facilities + 5 support vehicles Total spend on overheads Assume above attracts income of 1 million US per annum. 30 boreholes @ 10,000 US each = 300,000 revenue 30% overhead cost assigned to Rig Divided by production of 30 boreholes TOTAL COST PER BOREHOLE

Per annum

Equipment is operated from yard or a town plumbing shop owner lives in compound and employs 6 staff in his shop and stores

Per annum

300000 Assume above attracts income of 300000 part of which is 30 borehole drilled @ 3000 us each = 90,000 revenue 30% over head cost assigned to rig 3,333 $ 8,837 Divided by production of 30 boreholes TOTAL COST PER BOREHOLE

30 000

100000

10000 333 $ 2,652