Technology Focus: Offshore Drilling and Completion (October 2021)

Abstract

Communication and prediction are symmetrical. Communication, in effect, is prediction about what has happened. And prediction is communication about what is going to happen. Few industries contain as many phases, steps, and levels of interface between the start and end product as the oil and gas industry—field, office, offshore, plant, subsea, downhole, not to mention the disciplinary, functional, managerial, logistics handovers, and boundaries that exist. It therefore is hardly surprising that communication, in all its varied forms, is at the very heart of our business. The papers selected this month demonstrate how improved communication can deliver the prediction required for a variety of reasons, including safety, efficiency, and informational purposes. The application of new and exciting ways of working, partially accelerated by recent events, is leading to breakthrough improvements on all levels. Real-time processing, improved visualization, and predictive and machine-learning methods, as well as improvements in all forms of data communication, are all contributing to incremental enhancements across the board. This month, I encourage the reader to review the selected articles and determine where and how the communication and prediction are occurring and what they are delivering. Then perhaps consider performing an exercise wherein your own day-to-day roles—your own areas of communication, interfacing, and cooperation—are reviewed to see what enhancements you can make as an individual. You may be pleasantly surprised that some simple tweaks to your communication style, frequency, and format can deliver quick wins. In an era of remote working for many individuals, it is an exercise that has some value. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. OTC 30184 - Augmented Machine-Learning Approach of Rate-of-Penetration Prediction for North Sea Oil Field by Youngjun Hong, Seoul National University, et al. OTC 31278 - A Digital Twin for Real-Time Drilling Hydraulics Simulation Using a Hybrid Approach of Physics and Machine Learning by Prasanna Amur Varadarajan, Schlumberger, et al. OTC 31092 - Integrated Underreamer Technology With Real-Time Communication Helped Eliminate Rathole in Exploratory Operation Offshore Nigeria by Raphael Chidiogo Ozioko, Baker Hughes, et al.