DRILLBITS
Monthly eNewsletter from the IADC

In the most recent edition of eNews, Drilling Contractor magazine published a series of video interviews conducted during the 2022 Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Conference held in Austin, TX in late August. The IADC ART Conference & Exhibition serves as a leading forum to explore the state of the art in rig technology, downhole operations, and integrating the two seamlessly with minimal human intervention. The event also reviewed activities of the IADC ART Committee, which has steadily advanced drilling technology, by exploring future technology, drilling control systems, automation, questions of reliability and more. The committee has developed operational guidelines, assessed pros and cons of advanced drilling technology, developed new definitions and more.

Nabors, Well Data Labs build machine learning model to optimize well planning, performance

Machine learning techniques are nowadays often used to analyze historical well data, allowing drilling contractors and operators to optimize performance while drilling new wells and predict outcomes in real time. In this interview with DC from the 2022 IADC ART Conference,Allan Nandlal, Product Manager at Well Data Labs, and Malini Manocha, Director of RigCLOUD at Nabors Industries, discuss the results of a collaborative project in which the two companies developed a machine learning model to help predict and optimize well planning and real-time operations. The two speak about the methodology used to build the model, as well as the results they saw from testing.

Precision Drilling focuses on hybrid power, alternative fuels in efforts to build low-carbon portfolio

As part of efforts to lower its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions profile, Precision Drilling has zeroed in on hybrid power, enabled by battery energy storage systems. Speaking to DC from the 2022 IADC ART Conference, Stu Ross, Manager of Drilling Performance at Precision Drilling, discusses the results the company has seen from implementing battery systems in the field, as well as the next steps that Precision Drilling plans to take in the low-carbon space, including its work on powering drilling rigs with hydrogen.

Maersk Drilling improves energy efficiency by leveraging data, adjusting behaviors to optimize power consumption

Maersk Drilling is in the midst of an initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 50% by 2030. One of the key levers the company identified in achieving this target is increasing the energy efficiency of its drilling operations. Under its Energy Efficiency Embedded (EEE) project, it has leveraged data to help adjust processes and procedures in its rig fleet and optimize power consumption. In this interview from the 2022 IADC ART Conference, Rune Loftager, Head of Technology at Maersk Drilling, speaks about the importance of data in boosting energy efficiency, as well as the progress the company has made in optimizing processes on the rig.

Texas primed to become major player in US geothermal development

The state of Texas is becoming a notable playground for geothermal energy development, thanks in large part to its regulatory structure, said Barry Smitherman, Chairman and President of the recently formed Texas Geothermal Energy Alliance. In this interview with DC from the 2022 IADC ART Conference, Mr Smitherman discusses the role that oil and gas drilling contractors can play in geothermal while making use of existing drilling equipment, as well as the challenges in making large-scale geothermal cost effective.