Society of Petroleum Engineers. Distinguished Lecturer 2016-17 Lecture Season

Distinguished Lecturer 2016-17 Lecture Season

Automation of the Drilling System:

What has been done, what is being done, and why it is important

John Macpherson

Baker Hughes

Abstract:

Drilling systems automation is the real-time reliance on digital technology in creating a wellbore. It encompasses downhole tools and systems, surface drilling equipment, remote monitoring and the use of models and simulations while drilling. While its scope is large, its potential benefits are impressive, among them: fewer workers exposed to rig-floor hazards, the ability to realize repeatable performance drilling, and lower drilling risk. While drilling systems automation includes new drilling technology, it is most importantly a collaborative infrastructure for performance drilling.

In 2008, a small group of engineers and scientists attending an SPE conference noted that automation was becoming a key topic in drilling and they formed a technical section to investigate it further. By 2015, the group reached a membership of sixteen hundred as the technology rapidly gaining acceptance. Why so much interest? The benefits and promises of an automated approach to drilling address the safety and fundamental economics of drilling. What will it take? Among the answers are an open collaborative digital environment at the wellsite, an openness of mind to digital technologies, and modified or new business practices. What are the barriers? The primary barrier is a lack of understanding and a fear of automation. When will it happen? It is happening now.

Digital technologies are transforming the infrastructure of the drilling industry. Drilling systems automation uses this infrastructure to deliver safety and performance, and address cost.

Biography:

John Macpherson is a Senior Technical Advisor for Baker Hughes. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Geology from the University of Glasgow. During his 40 years in the oil industry, he has participated in exploratory drilling operations -- primarily in remote areas of South America -- and in various positions in drilling research and development. His focus has been on exploration and drilling: starting with geology, through geomechanics, drilling modeling, to drilling dynamics and drilling systems automation. He has published about 40 papers, and has more than 25 granted patents. He is the Chairman of the SPE Drilling Systems Automation Technical Section (2014 and 2015), and a member of the Drilling Systems Automation Roadmap initiative. He is a member of the JPT editorial committee.

Society of Petroleum Engineers

Distinguished Lecturer 2016-17 Lecture Season

"Deepwater Managed Pressure Drilling and Well Drillability,

Efficiency and Process Safety"

Julmar Shaun Sadicon Toralde

Weatherford

Abstract:

Adoption of managed pressure drilling (MPD) technologies of the applied surface backpressure type in deepwater environments have mainly involved a rotating control device (RCD) to create a closed drilling system where flow out of the well is diverted towards and backpressure regulated using an automated MPD choke manifold with a high-resolution mass flow meter that increases sensitivity and reaction time to kicks, losses and other unwanted drilling events.

This integration of MPD equipment into floating drilling rigs to provide it with MPD capabilities, including the capacity to perform pressurized mud cap drilling (PMCD) and riser gas mitigation (RGM), has not only produced improvements in terms of drillability and efficiency, but most importantly, in terms of process safety.

Case histories on how MPD has performed will be presented on the following:

• allowed drilling to reach target depth in rank wildcat deepwater wells that have formations prone to severe circulation losses and narrow mud weight windows;

• increased drilling efficiency by minimizing non-productive time associated with downhole pressure-related problems and by allowing for the setting of deeper casing seats;

• enhanced operational and process safety by allowing for immediate detection of kicks, losses and other critical downhole events.

• provided riser gas mitigation capabilities that can detect a gas influx once it enters the drilling fluid stream, and not after it has already broken out above the rig blow-out preventers (BOPs).

Biography:

Julmar Shaun Sadicon Toralde is the Global Champion for Deepwater Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD), Downhole Deployment Valve (DDV) and SteadyState Continuous Flow System technologies, based in Houston, Texas, USA. He helped pioneer deepwater MPD deployment on a dynamically positioned drillship in 2010 and is actively involved in major deepwater MPD rig integration projects globally. Shaun is from the Philippines and holds a Geothermal Engineering degree from Negros Oriental State University, where he taught and conducted research on energy engineering. He previously held various field and office management positions with Weatherford in the Asia Pacific region. He has 50 technical papers / trade articles and various MPD training courses to his name.