The objective of the auto driller is to maintain stable control of drilling parameters to reduce the time per stand and increase single run sections when possible. Large variation in rate of penetration, weight on bit, differential pressure, torque, and rotary speed have been found to damage the bit, motor, and bottomhole assembly (BHA), reducing the performance and life of these tools. During operations it was found that some instability in drilling parameters was introduced by the auto driller. The first attempt was to find the best set point combination to improve stability and net rate of penetration (ROP). This helped, but the system still tended to be unstable with changes in formation. The next step was to adjust the auto driller tuning parameters to improve system stability. The tuning was modified so that the system could be stabilized over the range of formations being drilled and were sent to the real-time centers and recorded to become part of the drilling roadmap. The net rate of penetration, or minutes per stand, was used as a key metric for real time performance. Variation in rate of penetration, weight on bit, differential pressure, torque, and rotary speed were used as leading indicators of BHA stress and thus life expectancy. Manually tuning these systems on the rig, with intensive support from the operator’s and contractors subject matter experts, and real time centers resulted in a reduction in drilling time and stress on downhole motors and tools. The drilling time was improved from 30-50 minutes per stand to 18-25 minutes per stand in the fast drilling part of the lateral interval (about 1500 meters). Furthermore, the fluctuation of the drilling parameters were reduced to two-thirds compared to previous wells. The drilling team completed its first shoe-to-TD single run in two years in the 8-1/2" section, typically requiring three BHAs. This was drilled in about half the time compared to the prior single run and was followed by another 3000-meter single run lateral. The downhole temperature in this section exceeded the motor vendor’s specifications and reducing the stress on the BHA due to parameter variation was critical in improving performance. Key performance indicators were developed to measure the health and function of the auto driller system. These were shown to be useful as real time and leading indicators of performance. A case study demonstrates how to use these KPIs to manually tune the system while drilling. Finally an example is shown on how to use source code from the Open Source Drilling Community to help tune the system offline and make it more robust to formation changes.

The scope of this paper is to present scenario-based, game design methodology to driller workforce training in drilling rig simulator training exercises to train on functional operation of the rig control system. Scenario-based training has resulted in a shift from traditional and maneuver-based training approaches. It trains drillers on different skills and competencies. It has also shown to improve spatial memory, decision making and other cognitive skills. The objective is to use these methods via training to improve driller competency. Drillers working on drilling rigs operate in high-hazard environments. Driller has to manage situations that are dynamic in nature, high risk, uncertainty and manage multiple operations of the rig control systems. Integrating simulator-based exercises into training is designed to improve safety and performance. The motivations behind this work are multi-fold. First, we recognize that the incoming workforce of drillers across the world have different learning abilities, decision making skills, risk adjustments and cognitive skills. The drilling rig simulator's objective is to train drillers to deploy a better strategy, have fewer errors and faster response in real-world scenarios using their spatial working memory (memory responsible for the recording and recovery of information). Secondly, the control systems on a drilling rig is continuously changing which requires the drillers to get up to speed very quickly. Dynamic situations require the driller to monitor this complex system, perform routine procedures on the control systems, and quickly respond to hazardous situations. Technical advances in drilling rig simulators now means that the simulator-based exercises provides immediate feedback, has exercises that are repeatable with different scenarios, integrates a structured observation tool to record and capture positive behaviors as well as areas for improvement, trains drillers on technical and non-technical skills and plans performance standards. Different approaches to the scenario-based game design methodology of training are being explored. Drillers can operate the drilling rig training simulator application by remotely login to the physics-based drilling rig training simulator for scenario-based training. The driller is presented with various scenarios - drilling dysfunctions, situational dysfunctions, etc. Both the approaches in the training simulator navigates the driller through various levels of difficulty from beginner to advanced. The organization and progression of increasing layers of situational difficulty (technical / non-technical) are presented to the driller for the various scenarios through a multi-level course that allows the driller to tackle and improve his competency. The drillers response to the dysfunctions/situations are measured and formulated into a competency assessment matrix that allows the training department to determine if additional training is required. Integration of scenario-based game design methodology in the drilling rig simulator is an innovative way to train drillers. Mobile or web scenario-based game design can enhance self-training leading to better productivity and confidence in drillers. Key performance indicators were developed to measure the driller competency through this methodology.