What was impossible a few short years ago is reality today.” This quote, taken from the opening paragraph of featured paper IPTC 19671, is a most relevant statement for the state of drilling technology today. Adverse effects of economic down cycles, commodity fluctuation, geopolitical events, weather patterns, and the pandemic have imposed harsh realities on the energy sector along with almost every aspect of life on Earth as we know it.
As these events have continued to unfold in recent years, surprising trends with unexpected outcomes have resulted. For example, demand destruction because of commodity price collapse necessitated increased emphasis on efficiency and productivity. Business as usual was out of the question. Higher productivity, lower cost, environmental stewardship, and increased safety standards have become more critical than ever before.
As these forces persist, changes in our industry have accelerated at a dramatic rate in an array of key technologies. Some of these initiatives have been under way for years and are familiar themes to SPE readers: artificial intelligence, automated decision making, data analytics, and visualization, to name a few.
Papers selected for this feature were chosen to highlight some of these areas of advancement, with particular emphasis on breakthrough technologies where step changes have been delivered or are seen as imminent. For instance, much has been written about the profound impact of managed-pressure-drilling (MPD) systems with ongoing breakthroughs in areas such as advanced modeling, automation, and analytics. Likewise, automated directional drilling has been established as a pre-eminent technology destined to continue to revolutionize the way in which wells are constructed. While many of the published manuscripts highlight onshore applications, offshore, deep water, and high-pressure/high-temperature operations are being transformed as well.
Finally, don’t miss paper SPE/IADC 199573, “World’s First Hybrid Drilling Rig,” a recommended reading paper. Several key opportunities for improvements specific to drilling rig machinery and power are addressed in this manuscript, including reduced fuel consumption, emissions, and well costs, and increased overall generator efficiency. Although hybrid drilling rigs are still in the early stages with regard to practical application within the global fleet of active rigs, it is difficult not to recognize as legitimate the basic ideas and potential breakthroughs being detailed.
This Month’s Technical Papers
Integrated Hydraulics-Modeling Platform Automates Managed-Pressure Drilling
Collaborative Strategy Heightens Efficiency of North Sea Predrilling Campaign
Drilling-Systems Automation Roadmap Improves Decision Making
Recommended Additional Reading
SPE/IADC 199573 World’s First Hybrid Drilling Rig by Memet Bilgin, CleanDesign Power Systems, et al.
IPTC 19817 Automated Steering With Real-Time Model-Based Control by Nazli Demirer, Halliburton, et al.
Michael H. Weatherl, SPE, is an engineering consultant and president of Well Integrity in Scott, Louisiana. He holds a BS degree in petroleum engineering from The University of Tulsa and has been a registered petroleum engineer in Texas since 1993. Before starting Well Integrity in August 2014, Weatherl worked as a drilling and completion team leader for Hess’ New Ventures Unit in Houston following assignments in Norway and offshore Americas. Before Hess, he worked for 25 years for Chevron, including positions in production and drilling in Louisiana and Texas. Weatherl is a member of the JPT Editorial Review Committee and serves on the SPE Deepwater Drilling and Completion Conference Committee. He has been a member of SPE for more than 30 years, has authored several papers, and served as a technical editor for SPE Drilling & Completion from 1991 to 2013. Weatherl can be reached at weatherlsr@yahoo.com.