Schlumberger unveils stand-alone directional drilling system
In previous posts I have already explained the importance of directional drilling, since with this technique we can drill oil wells horizontally and inclined, all depending on the objective of the producing reservoir to be reached depending on the objective of the producing reservoir to be reached.
To expand and tell you about new technologies in the field of directional drilling, this time I want to talk about schlumberger's proposal to present an innovative proposal related to autonomous directional drilling, this technology aims to make a significant leap in the world of well drilling using as a fundamental tool the digital transformation of the oil industry.
The idea of this technology being based on autonomous directional drilling is that the technology includes a package of solutions to directional well drilling, since it can autonomously steer any section of the oil well, meaning that no matter how deep the well is intended to be directionally drilled, that section can still be drilled autonomously.
How is it possible to have stand-alone directional drilling?
This process can only be carried out through an automated and intelligent control system, in which we can obtain an immediate interpretation of the data inside the well, so that we can act on these data and drilling parameters quickly and accurately and thus minimize drilling times.
All this brings us to a second level where it is worth recognizing that Schlumberger continues to take innovative steps and advance in its digital offerings to improve the performance of oil well drilling.
To get an idea of the advantages of drilling an oil well using this technology, it is necessary to evaluate and analyze some results obtained in oil fields where they have used this technology, for this let's analyze the following:
In the Middle East, an operator used Schlumberger stand-alone directional drilling to perform curved perforating in four wells. The combined solution allowed the operator to reduce downlinks in the rotary steerable system by 49% compared with offset wells drilled in manual mode, while achieving a 37% increase in ROP.
Based on my experience as a drilling operations engineer, one of the most common problems in directional drilling was the decrease in the rate of penetration (ROP), that is why having positive precedents, such as the one obtained in the Middle East, it is noteworthy the 37% increase in the increase of ROP using autonomous directional well drilling, which cannot be achieved if we drill directionally under traditional technical conditions.
What are the sizes of the drills being used? I do find this topic intriguing because I work in the nat gas industry.
Hello friend, I don't know if when you say drill you mean the drill bit or the drill rig, as I don't know which is the case, I will answer you in both cases.
What are the sizes of the drills that are used?
That is going to depend on the holes to be drilled, for example if you are going to drill the conductor hole, the drill bit size should be 17.5 inches in diameter, now if you are drilling for example the intermediate hole you should use a 12.5 inch drill bit, and for the production hole you should drill with an 8 inch drill bit.
In the case that your question refers to the size of the drilling rigs, it will depend on the depth of the well to be drilled, for example if you are going to drill a well of 18000 feet deep you would use a drilling rig of 3000 horsepower (HP).
Truth is, you answered several of my curiosities all at once by giving those specifics... mind blown. Thank you! 😊