Global energy technology company SLB recently launched its EWC electric well control technologies at the SPE/IADC International Drilling Conference and Exhibition. The technology aims to reduce capital and operational expenditure while making mission-critical drilling operations safer.
Well control technologies—which play a vital role in preventing the uncontrolled release of fluids from the well—have traditionally been powered by hydraulic systems, which encompass a complex network of hoses, valves, and actuators. This makes the well control system expensive to install and requires costly routine maintenance over its lifetime. SLB’s new EWC aims to replace hydraulics with a simplified electric power system to provides real-time data insights and a continuous supply of on-demand power to well control components.
“As drillers continue to seek safer, cost-efficient solutions for well control, we continue to focus on innovation to answer this call,” said Cecilia Prieto, president of well construction at SLB. “EWC represents the next evolution of well control technologies, which we pioneered with the industry’s first blow out preventer (BOP) a century ago. Not only do these technologies remove the upfront and long-term cost inefficiencies of traditional hydraulic well control systems but they also bring next-level safety capabilities that are in line with new industry standards and regulatory requirements worldwide for closing times and full system redundancy.”
SLB’s first EWC technology allows drillers to instantly and precisely control and monitor BOPs onshore and offshore, using Industrial Internet of Things components along the system architecture to provide instant pressure readouts without the need for conventional pressure gauges.
SLB was recently awarded a front-end engineering and design contract for a custom EWC BOP control system to be tailored to a rig for an operator in the North Sea. Work on this project has already begun, and final review of the design is expected in the first half of 2025.