“What’s your fix?” Marcus asked.

“Elena, I have a drillship on a day rate of $450,000. If you tell me to stop, I lose three million before breakfast. If you’re wrong and the well collapses…” He didn’t finish the sentence.

“It’s that or a junked wellhead and a $200 million relief well.” Six months later, Elena stood in Dassault Systèmes’ Simulation as a Service control room outside Paris. On the wall screen: live SCADA data from the Blacktip field.

The wells with the Abaqus-recommended design were producing 8,200 barrels of oil per day—exactly as predicted. Sand production was below 0.5%.