Stability Analysis of Pressure and Penetration Rate in Rotary Drilling System

The purpose of this paper is to stabilize the annular pressure profile throughout the wellbore continuously while drilling. A new nonlinear dynamical system is developed and a controller is designed to stabilize the annular pressure and achieve asymptotic tracking by applying feedback control of the main pumps. Hence, the paper studies the control design for the well known Managed Pressure Drilling system (MPD). MPD provides a closedloop drilling process in which pore pressure, formation fracture pressure, and bottomhole pressure are balanced and managed at the surface. Although, responses must provide a solution for critical downhole pressures to preserve drilling efficiency and safety. Our MPD scheme is elaborated in reference to a nontrivial backstepping control procedure and the effectiveness of the proposed control laws are shown by simulations.

Optimization of an autonomous robotic drilling system for the machining of aluminum aerospace alloys

This paper aims to identify the capability of a highly flexible industrial robot modified with a high-speed machine spindle for drilling of aluminum 6061-T6. With a focus on drilling feed rate, spindle speed, and pecking cycle, the hole surface roughness and exit burr heights were investigated using the Taguchi design methodology. A state of the art condition monitoring system was used to identify the vibrations experienced during drilling operation and to establish which robot pose had increased stiffness, and thus the optimum workspace for drilling. When benchmarked against a CNC machine the results show that the CNC was capable of producing the best surface finish and the lowest burr heights. However, the robot system matched and outperformed the CNC in several experiments and there is much scope for further optimization of the process. By identifying the optimum pose for drilling together with the idealized settings, the proposed drilling system is shown to be far more flexible than a CNC milling machine and when considering the optimized drilling of aerospace aluminum this robotic solution has the potential to drastically improve productivity.

Optimizing Directional Drilling While Simultaneously Maximizing the Whole Life Value of the Well

Increasingly complex wells and longer laterals present new challenges for wellbore placement and wellbore quality. There is a growing understanding of the impact of well placement and wellbore quality on the overall value of the well and on the economics of completions and production. This paper looks at how requirements have evolved and will evolve beyond simply "getting to TD" as quickly as possible and how emerging technologies can help. There is already an undercurrent of opinion that completions and production are sometimes compromised to maximize rate of penetration, but with some controversy about the exact value and how easy it is to attribute cause. This paper reviews how directional drilling practice has evolved over 100 years, and how the wellbore quality that results from the directional drilling process can be a driver for the overall value of the well. Specifically, it draws on a number of key references to examine how tortuosity doesn't just have an influence on drilling but also how it can adversely impact completions, reliability of production equipment and even production rates. The paper proposes that we consider the whole-life value of the well as a key performance indicator as we drill. It emphasises that we must cease to focus solely on rate of penetration and the depth-time curve. The paper shows, with examples, how modern directional drilling systems can address tortuosity and improve wellbore quality. It presents an unbiased view of the industry from an independent viewpoint, exploring how directional drilling has been partially automated over the years and examining the state of the art in current automated directional drilling systems. It proposes the need for a modern directional drilling system not just in terms of drilling parameters but also in terms of automation of geometric and, ultimately, geologic aspects of directional drilling. The paper is intended to break down the silos that can exist between drilling, completions and production functions, and to help the industry to think about the long-term consequences of performance when specifying future directional drilling equipment.

Remote Drilling Solution Delivers Consistency with the Use of an Automated Drilling Director: Case Studies from Kuwait

The Automated Drilling Director, a software application for drilling automation, integrates a physics-based model of the drilling system with machine learning and optimization algorithms to project the well path, monitor collision risk, manage vibrations, and control steering in real time automatically. With "intelligent" rotary steerable systems (RSSs), these steering decisions can be downlinked directly to the tool, thus, fully closing the loop around steering decision-making. Implementation of the Automated Drilling Director within a remote drilling center (RDC) enables the drilling operations to be conducted remotely and effectively with less rig site personnel. The resulting decisions are consistent and reliable, while a team of subject matter experts (SMEs) monitor the operations to optimize well assets, ensuring that the pre-job design of service (DoS) is executed properly. The validation of this innovative technology and approach in Kuwait, amongst others, opens the door to a new way of doing business, where resources, experience, and data are combined in the most efficient manner to improve consistency, as well as to maximize the value of the operators’ assets.

Development of Dry Drilling Diamond Bit and Drilling System

This paper summarizes the current situation, market demand and existing problems of dry drilling for stone and building materials construction at home and abroad. The use and characteristics of dry drilling, the structural design of dry drilling diamond bit and the selection of matrix formula are introduced. Finally, through the test of drilling reinforced concrete with long dry drilling bits, the related equipment of the complete dry drilling system is introduced in detail.

Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Drilling Optimization: Guidelines for Successful System Configuration and User Onboarding

The usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the arena of drilling optimization is a rapidly evolving endeavor and is becoming increasingly prevalent. In many applications the goal is process automation and optimization with the intent to reduce cost, improve yield/outcome and address risk. Real-world experience, however, has taught us that the correct application, configuration, and realtime management of an AI system is equally as important as the underlying algorithms. This paper poses that the implementation of an automated AI drilling system must consider the human element of acceptance in order to succeed. Proper onboarding and user acceptance is requisite to proper system configuration and performance. This paper sets forth guidelines that can be considered standard for initiating an AI drilling program.