The Dawn of a New Automation Consortium

Abstract

Automation Consortium Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) have set an audacious goal to halve the time, cost, and number of rig personnel required for drilling every type of well, from unconventional shale to ultradeepwater. The Rig Automation and Performance Improvement in Drilling (RAPID) research consortium is envisioned by its creators as an accelerator of technologies that can address “any and all” aspects of automated well construction. Launching a new research and development (R&D) group in the middle of an industry downturn may seem like bad timing. But program director and petroleum engineering professor at UT, Eric van Oort, emphasized that low oil and gas prices should serve as motivation, not trepidation. “There is a big carrot out there. Operators have done everything to reduce cost, to reduce activity, to lay down rigs, to work with suppliers on price reductions,” he said. “The dust is settling on that, and the question now is what are you going to do to make these operations at [USD] 40, 50, 60 a barrel profitable?” RAPID’s plan is to develop, field test, and assess the commercial viability of new technologies that deliver value for the companies who join the consortium and to get this done in a relatively short time. The far-reaching effort will leverage the experience of a multidisciplinary group of UT research scientists, talents of top engineering students, high-tech facilities, and mountains of drilling data from participating oil and gas companies. The senior research team includes seven PhD-level engineers with extensive backgrounds in oil and gas, robotics, data analytics, and aerospace. Program director van Oort spent 20 years in various technical capacities at Shell before taking on his role at UT, and is a former SPE Distinguished Lecturer. In May, he addressed representatives from more than 30 upstream companies at a kickoff event on campus to make the case for why they should support RAPID. To join the consortium and have access to its work, companies pay an annual fee of USD 75,000, prorated this year to USD 50,000. Once they become members, the hope is that the companies will provide critical drilling data and feedback on the direction of the research projects. Aside from helping companies expand their profit margins, van Oort said automation will make drilling complex wells easier, improve safety, and help attract a new breed of engineers to replace those being lost through the recent layoffs, as well as those retiring amid the great crew change.