Joint Industry Project: Drilling Systems Automation Roadmap Phase II Stage I Report

The Drilling Systems Automation (DSA) Roadmap industry initiative was launched mid-2013 and has made important progress developing an understanding of the future of drilling systems automation up to 2025. The value of this initiative is large for both deep offshore and land drilling because there are many facets of the drilling industry that are barriers to fast adoption of automation. The roadmap development follows the Sandia National Laboratory’s roadmap process and addresses similar industry features that appear on Department of Defense (DoD) roadmaps such as the Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap. This roadmap initiative is a first of a kind for the oil and gas drilling industry. It is affiliated with IADC, SPE and AUVSI.

We understand that budgets are tight and it may be difficult to become a funding member at $10,000 for the Phase II Stage I report however we do believe there is large value for operators, drilling contractors, service companies and OEM’s to see this initiative progress and succeed. John de Wardt (DSA-R Program Manager) is personally committing $80,000 in kind for this next stage. John and the all-volunteer team have already contributed an effective $300,000 in time value with additional value from their knowledge input. This report will provide industry and non-industry players the guidance to develop applicable technologies to advance application yielding value for you and your clients. A future ramp up in drilling activity can benefit from applying algorithms to automated systems under human supervisory control that deliver consistent performance offsetting some of the hiring and retraining required that achieves variable results.

The value proposition from the application of automation is both large and underestimated. Already the autonomous systems in rotary steerable tools deliver performance / reservoir value and the automated systems in Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) offer both access to un-drillable wells and continuous closed circuit well control. Drilling machines now have advanced controls and are well suited to full automation. The real prize lies in drilling systems automation combining surface and downhole activities. The value proposition can be more fully assessed from offset experience in other industries; an example of applying autonomous lift machines into a wharf with a remote control center delivered an autonomous solution with unforeseen benefits: productivity increased by 18%, maintenance dropped by 27% and fuel / emissions reduced by 22%.

The roadmap development covers 9 challenges including understanding and communicating the transition from human operator to automated system through various defined levels in a manner that manages risks. This particular development is the extremely important Human Systems Integration (HSI) element of the roadmap and includes input from both USA and European based leaders in this topic. Furthermore, the roadmap will illuminate sensor, communications, software, machines / equipment opportunities within drilling systems automation.

This Joint Industry Project (JIP) to support delivery of the first planned report from the roadmap team has been endorsed the IADC Drilling Engineering Committee; 30% of the target funding has been received from Shell, ExxonMobil and NOV. We are seeking 7 more funding companies at $10,000 each. If interested, contact me for detailed proposal.