Drilling automation

Thought Leaders Highlight the Importance of Digital Adaptation on Drilling Operations at SPE Workshop

The SPE Workshop “Impact of Digitalization on Drilling Operations” began on 29 November in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, welcoming 316 attendees from 17 countries and 44 companies.

Notable VIPs and workshop attendees on day 1 of the workshop.
Notable VIPs and workshop attendees on day 1 of the workshop.
Source: SPE

Organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the workshop is taking place on 29 and 30 November at the Kempinski Al Othman Hotel in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. It is supported by Aramco as the Host Organization and SLB as the Co-Host Organization. The workshop committee is led by the Sultan Sumat Workshop Chairperson Digital Drilling Group Leader, Aramco and Workshop Co-Chairperson, Oscar Ramirez, Global Performance and Technology Manager, SLB.

The workshop opened with speeches from notable keynote speakers Najeeb Al-Abdulrahman, chief drilling engineer, Aramco; Ahmed Waguih, director digital drilling, SLB and Ghassan Mirdad, CEO, Arabian Drilling.

Sharing his insights on the current drilling industry, Al-Abdulrahman said, “Today, the drilling industry is going through sweeping changes due to the challenging nature and complexity of its operations. And as the world and all industries are adopting and making use of the fourth industrial revolution technologies, drilling operations are no different. Drilling operations improvement opportunities are shaped by digitalization and rely on the ongoing adoptions of the key fourth industrial revolution pillars to address the difficult and complex nature of drilling and workover operations.”

Speaking about discussions at the workshop, Ahmed Wagih said, "Over the next 2 days, we will share ideas, knowledge, insights on how we use and improve digital drilling technologies in every aspect of what we do, starting from HSE, as a priority, all the way to planning better wells to execution, and flawless execution of every single well that we drill."

Mirdad spoke about the significance of digitalization. “Digitalization brings speed and efficiency in processing data to have information, and processing information to create knowledge, and as we all know, knowledge is the basis of all sound decisions.”

The 2-day workshop will include two more keynote speakers on day 2: Meshal Al Mashari, manager digital strategy, investment and growth department, Aramco, and Siggi Meissner, president, energy transition and industrial automation, Nabors. A panel session will feature four expert panelists discussing vital aspects related to the impact of digitalization on drilling operations.

Over 40 industry speakers from 100+ global companies will share their experiences in eight technical sessions and 10+ knowledge-sharing ePoster sessions focused on robotics, automation, sustainability, data management, data analytics, and more.

The workshop is supported and sponsored by nine organizations.

Find more event information here.