BP Deploys Drilling Automation Package on Alaska's North Slope To
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® Originally appeared in World Oil JUNE 2019 issue, pg 47-53. Posted with permission. DRILLING TECHNOLOGY BP deploys drilling automation package on Alaska’s North Slope to decrease connection times, improve safety and efficiency In a landmark project, BP the business of drilling a well has begun the industry, redefining well construction brought together process to shift. and driving a push beyond “knowledge automation, wired drill pipe, hoarding” to advanced, product-focused THE NECESSITY OF AN UNBIASED drilling apps, and downhole integrated technology ecosystems. TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATOR National Oilwell Varco (NOV) has drilling dynamics tools to Two things have become increasingly acted as a first-mover technology integra- prove the viability of closed- clear as the industry has shifted and grown tor in drilling automation while recogniz- loop drilling automation in over the past decade. First, it has become ing the need to surmount the industry’s an extremely technically clear that no single company has acted as hesitance to implement fully automated challenging environment. a true technology integrator—a company systems. This article explores NOV’s that will take risks, capital or otherwise, drilling automation initiative and a re- to redefine a business that has typically cent project, which has seen the broad- ŝŝANDREW COIT, STEPHEN FORRESTER evolved very slowly, conservatively, and est and most successful implementation traditionally—but that such a role is a of the automation package to date, with and STEVE PINK, NOV; CARLOS critical necessity to help facilitate indus- BP Alaska and Parker Drilling. It is a SCHIAVENATO, BP; DANIEL BLYDENBURGH, try-level progress. Second, companies multi-business story, with nine groups Parker Drilling that establish a new type of paradigm for from within NOV—covering everything industry growth must be able to overcome from rig equipment to wellbore technolo- historical perception and clearly position gies—unified via a strategic services de- Drilling automation is arguably the oil themselves as adopters of new technology. livery team to ensure the results achieved and gas industry’s most talked-about sub- To move beyond the typical limiters of justified the operator’s investment in au- ject, with a multitude of papers and arti- drilling automation, the industry must buy tomated drilling. cles written to discuss the topic and com- into the idea that this is not just a solution mittees formed to explore its relevance to be implemented on a project-by-project THE AUTOMATION VALUE and potential. Much has been said of the basis. In short, drilling automation has no PROPOSITION: TECHNOLOGY IN value of linking surface rig equipment beginning, middle, or end; it is an actual SCOPE with downhole sensors and real-time pre- way of optimally conducting business in NOV began developing a closed-loop dictive models to enable optimized drill- 21st century oil and gas markets. The oil drilling automation system several years ing, and that value will be taken a step and gas industry is generally slower to ago to address the challenges of well con- further as more and more aspects of well adopt new technologies than other indus- struction in an industry that was increas- construction are automated. tries, and many of the technologies the in- ingly adopting technology to accomplish The path to this point has not been dustry does ultimately adopt are still not its goals. This early version of the drilling without struggle, as financial, operation- as advanced as those of other industries. automation system continued to mature al, and cultural issues have challenged Understanding and accepting this truth is as incorporated technologies were refined, drilling automation’s ability to deliver the first step to moving forward and accel- new products were integrated, and proj- the results necessary to justify the invest- erating growth in meaningful ways. ect implementation revealed strengths ment. Companies across the board, from Working within the bounds of the and weaknesses. The culmination of this operators and drilling contractors to ser- standard technology life cycle and un- cycle of improvement was a closed-loop vice and manufacturing companies, have derstanding how the products and tech- system that uses sensor output to control worked to develop some form of drilling nologies will move beyond the research both the rig machinery and the processes automation, but uptake has remained and development phase and into maturity performed via that machinery, creating an slow over the past several years due to (and commercial viability) will also help effective feedback loop where high-speed budget cuts, substantiated by the indus- companies on all fronts to maximize the downhole data drives the decision-making try’s risk aversion to such a sweeping, return on investment when implement- and automation of the surface equipment. non-traditionally linear, integrative tech- ing automation. This will occur simul- Closed-loop control of the machines ul- nology change. As the industry has slow- taneously as the implemented systems timately enables drilling optimization, a ly emerged from the downturn, however, provide the greatest possible benefit to sought-after value driver for operators. World Oil® / JUNE 2019 47 DRILLING TECHNOLOGY The full drilling automation system the automation system by sending more ing safety. This justifies requiring the op- (Fig. 1) incorporates a host of intel- precise measurements on borehole condi- erator to take a more balanced planning ligent applications that are designed to tions, which enables downhole phenome- approach when assessing how drilling au- improve drilling performance. These ap- na identification and drillstring dynamics tomation can assist them in accomplish- plications reside in NOV’s drilling pro- management. ing their business goals. cess automation platform, which is de- To better understand the potential Speed—with the main objective be- ployed in an NOV control system. The of closed-loop drilling automation, one ing to reduce the time it takes to complete applications use various methods of data needs to better understand the financial standard drilling activities—is measured collection and algorithmic analysis to due diligence that goes into drilling a well. across performance categories, from con- identify and address performance limit- Speed has been a main driver, as it has a nection times to ROP, and is prioritized, ers, accomplishing everything from con- clear impact on day-to-day financials in due to the impact of speed on critical finan- trolling downhole weight on bit (WOB) relation to how quickly the well is drilled. cial drivers like CAPEX, OPEX, and AFE. and mitigating stick-slip to identifying Drilling consistency and HSEQ manage- With speed as a main driver, the secondary equivalent fluid density (EFD) in real ment, which have less upfront financial concern becomes consistency. If increased time—in multiple drillstring locations— impact but provide greater long-term performance can be achieved, how does or optimizing mechanical-specific energy benefits for drilling programs and opera- the operator ensure that results are repeat- (MSE) parameters. tions, have typically followed. able—can the technology, that is, be relied Data are collected with a downhole- Speed has been the most immediately on to obtain similar results throughout the drilling-dynamics sub and sent to the visible component of the value proposi- operation in a predictable fashion? HSEQ surface in real time via wired drill pipe, al- tion, often creating the false perception management completes the value propo- lowing the software applications to then that speed is the most important value sition, with the understanding that im- interpret and analyze the data and distrib- driver. However, pilot deployments have proved HSEQ management is effectively ute demands accordingly to the rig’s con- demonstrated the other two components improved decision-making. trol system to adjust the functions of the of the value proposition—drilling consis- This could be interpreted literally— equipment. Along-string measurement tency and HSEQ management—actually with automated drilling processes tak- (ASM) tools round out the capabilities of enable faster operation without sacrific- ing personnel out of harm’s way in many Fig. 1. The full closed-loop drilling automation system, as used by NOV on this project. Real-time operations support center Tool communications • Satellite communications to remote viewing and control Wired Agitator™ tool Top drive Downhole data • Network connectivity • WOB Downhole data Bidirectional high-speed communication during drilling and tripping • Torque • DAQ internal BOP • Three-axis vibrations • Enhanced top drive control • Internal pressure • Annular pressure Wired drill collars/ • Azimuth HWDP • Inclination • Gamma ray BHA DAQ sub Automation-enabled control system Visualization Interface sub from third-party service company Wired drill pipe Wired MWD Optional wired drill collars/HWDP Mud motor or RSS Drilling applications Machine control • ROP optimization • Top drive Drillstring DAQ sub/ • Risk mitigation • Drawworks network booster sub • Performance steering • Pumps (option to be • Procedural adherence to instrumented or not) operational best practices Bit DAQ sub 48 JUNE 2019 / WorldOil.com DRILLING TECHNOLOGY instances—or with regard to identifying in this environment has presented compa- essary to do business there. and mitigating harmful drilling dysfunc- nies