Real-time drilling optimisation – driving drilling excellence
Abhijit Barhate A C , Piyush Patel A and Egil Abrahamsen BA Drill Insight, Level 24, 77 St Georges Tce, Perth, WA 6000.
B Sekal AS, Vassbotnen 11, 4313 Sandnes, Norway.
C Corresponding author. Email: abhijit.barhate@drillinsight.com.au
The APPEA Journal 59(1) 196-210 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18231
Submitted: 19 December 2018 Accepted: 4 March 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
Here we explore a real-time solution that anticipates drilling events and avoid delays caused by such issues as poor hole cleaning, higher torque and drag, swab and surge, stuck pipe, lost circulation, formation damage and wellbore instability. This is important if drilling optimisation is a major technical and corporate goal or if you wish to go beyond the traditional approach of collecting real-time data only to monitor operations. The presented state-of-the-art ‘real-time drilling optimisation’ solution creates a dynamic, real-time picture of the entire wellbore and key drilling variables and parameters using advanced, tightly coupled thermodynamic, hydraulic and mechanical drilling models and trend analysis applications to anticipate potential drilling issues in real-time while drilling. The solution can also be used to perform scenario based ‘what-if’ analysis and ‘look-ahead’ simulations of drilling operation with the purpose to analyse outcome of alternative operating scenarios. This is an effective solution that simplifies real-time data analysis by using trends and deviations between modelled and actual data to predict changing wellbore conditions and developing a digital twin of a wellbore. This paper includes robotic drilling automation, aimed at reducing invisible loss time, enhancing drilling efficiency and safety by applying operational safeguards to the drilling control system, providing automatic safety mechanisms and enabling automatic sequences. This paper highlights technical cases demonstrating how this analytic solution not only auto-detects symptoms (which can lead to drilling events or hazards, invisible loss time and non-productive time) but also optimises drilling performance through simulation well ahead of time, thus driving drilling efficiency.
Keywords: advanced real-time dynamic monitoring, digital twin technology, integrated drilling process automation, robotic drilling technology, trend analysis and forecasting, virtual well.
Abhijit Barhate is a co-founder of Drill Insight, an Australian company based in Perth. He holds a B. Chem. Eng. (Hons) and a Masters in Oil and Gas Engineering from the University of Western Australia. He has over 12 years of field, design and modelling experience in the full life-cycle of oil and gas field development, from drilling and exploration to start up. Most of his career, he worked in the field on drilling as well as production optimisation and found a passion in dynamic simulation driven well modelling to solve well control, drilling, production problems and improve drilling and production efficiency. As a well modelling specialist, he provided his expertise to companies like Baker Hughes, Woodside Energy Limited, WG Kenny, Shell, Hess in Australia and STOS in New Zealand. He has won awards for successfully conducting risk- and hazard-free managed pressure drilling operations for HPHT and depleted wells. |
Piyush Patel is a co-founder of Drill Insight, and the specialist for well contingency, production technology and real-time solution related services. He is a proud alumnus of premier institute IIT and holds a Masters of Technology in Advanced Digital Solutions and has been working with technology and innovation-driven organisations for over 15 years. He has worked on real-time assurance solutions for both subsea production systems and drilling operations with his proficiency in digital decision support solutions, dynamic simulations, flow assurance and operation excellence. |
Egill Abrahamsen has more than 36 years of international experience in drilling services and technology implementation. He holds a Bachelors, postgraduate qualifications in Electronics and Automation from a premier University in Norway. He held various technical and management positions in Weatherford’s corporate Tubular Running Services product line team for Mechanised Rig Systems before joining Sekal as VP Business Development in 2011. Egill now holds the position as VP Technical Sales while also supporting development projects, drilling operations and client simulation services to detect and address drilling challenges. Egill is a member of SPE and IADC, and has authored, co-authored and presented numerous SPE papers and trade articles related to technologies and field cases in both Weatherford and Sekal. |
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