Well AFE vs Actual Cost Report – Excel Drilling Cost Variance Tracker for Oil & Gas

Description
This Well AFE vs Actual Cost Report is a formula-driven Excel template built for oil & gas operators, drilling engineers, and project cost controllers who need to track actual well spend against the original AFE budget as drilling progresses. An AFE sets the plan — this tool tracks reality against it, so cost overruns surface early enough to act on, rather than being discovered only after the well is complete and the invoices are in.

The report opens with Well Details (well name, field, spud date, and rig release/completion date), then compares AFE Budget to Actual Cost across the same structured categories used in drilling cost planning: Site Preparation & Mobilization (access roads, rig mobilization, permits), Drilling Rig Cost, Drilling Services & Materials (mud, bits and downhole tools, casing and cementing, directional drilling/MWD, wellhead equipment), Evaluation & Completion (logging, well testing, completion), and Other Costs (transportation, personnel). Every category automatically calculates dollar variance, percentage variance, and a plain Status flag — "Under Budget" or "Over Budget" — with color-coded conditional formatting so problem areas are visually obvious at a glance.

A live KPI strip at the top surfaces the headline numbers immediately: total AFE budget, total actual cost, total variance in dollars and percent, and a count of how many cost categories are currently over or under budget. The Total row rolls up all category subtotals automatically into a final AFE vs Actual comparison for the whole well. Because this report uses the same cost category structure as our companion Drilling & Well Cost Calculator, an AFE estimate built there can be carried directly into this report's Budget column once drilling begins — giving you a consistent cost-tracking workflow from initial estimate through final actuals.