R&D

Advanced robotics is poised to make a big splash in the oil and gas industry, but when and just how big will it be?

A fast-moving pressure pulse is the priority of a research and development initiative that, if successful, will result in a new diagnostic technology for horizontal wells in tight reservoirs.

When humankind returns to the Moon to establish colonies it will be bringing with it technologies born in the oil and mining industries. The European Space Agency and Russia’s Roscosmos will be central to that effort as they prepare to land a robotic drilling system to extract oxygen and water from frozen lunar soil.

An investigation of casing damage led Chesapeake Energy and Well Data Labs to identify patterns in the treating pressure data that are useful markers when trouble is likely.

Looking to market your technology? Engage partners, pursue all paths, and learn to catch smaller fish.

From the highest courts of the US judicial branch to the C-suite, contests involving patents have recently come to the fore in the innovation hungry US oilfield services industry, even as filings and litigation have declined in recent years.

Seeking out, experimenting with, and ultimately embracing technologies from other industries have proven crucial to innovating at oilfield service firms such as Halliburton, which has tried everything from dog food to submarine tech to improve its work downhole.

After finalizing the acquisition of GE Water and Process Technologies in September, the French resource management company, SUEZ Water Technologies and Solutions, will move to a new laboratory that facilitates increased work on digital applications for upstream and downstream.

R&D may be the key to the survival of companies as the new economics of the industry take hold.

The R&D Technical Section dinner at ATCE drew varying perspectives as the panelists discussed, and sometimes debated, a range of approaches to safeguarding industry viability and growth in the years ahead.