The promise of drilling systems automation is to increase well construction efficiency, delivering quality wells in a safe, reliable and predictable manner. This promise is achieved in part by creating a digital infrastructure that extends vertically from the drill bit to the remote enterprise, and horizontally from exploration to production. Critical to the success of automation is the unimpeded flow of quality data through this infrastructure. This paper focuses on studying only drilling systems automation, but the lessons learned can be applied to other disciplines such as completions and production. Due to the disconnected nature of the well construction business with multiple disciplines and companies involved, data silos and restrictions are numerous. This paper describes the development of a wellsite-based automation system consisting of an open data aggregator, with networked surface and downhole sensors and real-time applications for process monitoring, advice and control. The data aggregator is designed to allow all relevant parties to access and share data in a high-velocity deterministic environment. This access and sharing permits easy implementation of comprehensive drilling system automation, be it monitoring, advising or control, in a controlled, productive and safe manner. The paper also describes the implementation of automation applications using data from the aggregator, covering real-time drilling optimization and hydraulics. Operation of the data aggregator at the wellsite with connection to rig systems and remote operating centers is described. The data aggregator uses protocols that are international standards, and it is designed to be open and not proprietary. From an implementation standpoint, this allows easy interface of the aggregator to measurement and control systems, and access to copious third-party communication products, reducing development time and increasing reliability. Observations are that many rig instrumentation and control systems use either customized or proprietary protocols; common data information standards are lacking in the oilfield. In addition, data ownership and governance must be addressed at an industry level, as well as secure bi-directional flow of data between wellsite and town. While these topics are, to some extent, being addressed in industry road-mapping and guidance groups, progress is slow and this hinders the adoption of technology. The paper describes the development and implementation of an open data aggregator for the wellsite. The aggregator allows third-party real-time applications to use and share data, and to collaborate on industry standards. It further describes the development of automation applications riding on the data aggregator, and their use in drilling systems automation. This case study illustrates and examines issues that must be addressed at the company and industry level to move universal drilling systems automation closer to reality.

Directional drilling today is a manual process characterized by monitoring drilling parameters and trends, predicting the future wellbore trajectory and adjusting steering parameters as required. When drilling with a rotary steerable system (RSS) in the bottom-hole assembly (BHA), the trajectory control system is distributed between surface and downhole. The surface control makes use of downhole measurements and capabilities of the rotary steerable BHA, and in turn is used to control the downhole components, forming a ‘directional drilling control loop’ and allowing the efficient drilling of a quality wellbore. Traditionally, the directional driller assumes the surface control, whereas downhole control was executed by the RSS-BHA allowing to drill certain parts of a section automatically. With the advent of automation, the surface control can be executed by a control system. This paper introduces a new automated trajectory drilling service for a rotary steerable system. The system is capable of predicting the wellbore trajectory, deriving steering proposals to follow the planned trajectory closely or steer back to plan, and submitting those steering downlinks automatically to the downhole RSS with the directional driller observing the system. The paper explains the underlying control methodology and the automation system architecture. Furthermore, operational considerations such as handling of formation disturbances are discussed. The concept of embedding the driller and directional driller in the decision-making workflow is outlined. Finally, the performance of the automated trajectory drilling system is assessed and field test results from two case studies are presented, where up to 98 % of a single wellbore has been drilled automatically. To date, a total of 3,926 m have been drilled automatically with the automated drilling system.

Drilling systems automation requires a downhole digital backbone for closed-loop control, as do many other real-time drilling, completion and production operations. The absence of a reliable, high data bandwidth, bi-directional communication method between surface and downhole is a barrier to digitalization and automation of the oil field. This paper describes the development and successful drilling field trial of a micro-repeater wired pipe – effectively "smart pipe" – that removes this barrier. The developed system uses battery-powered micro-repeaters (a fail-safe signal booster) placed within the box of each tubular and fully encapsulated dual RF-resonant antennas to transmit data between tubulars. The current system delivers 1-Mbps backbone data rate with a maximum payload of 720 kbps, and with a very low latency of 15 μsec/km, making it ideal for control-loop applications. The system design focusses on reliability: failure of multiple components will not affect telemetry. The prototype system has been rigorously field tested during drilling in Oklahoma. Testing occurred on a drilling rig in Beggs, Oklahoma. The first trial (2016) covered drilling operations, the second (2017) covered controlling downhole technology; both were successful. The drilling trial demonstrated fitting the system to pipe with conventional API connections, standard rig-floor pipe handling, reliable wireless transmission between surface receivers and wired pipe network, the use of multiple along-string measurements of temperature and vibration, and simulated component failure. Of particular note was the surface system: it is wireless and no modification to the drilling rig was required. Conventional tubulars can be refit with the system, which removes a barrier to the use of wired pipe for automation and LWD/MWD measurements in lower cost onshore operations. There is a benefit for drilling operations: all pipe joints contain a micro-repeater and are addressable for "smart pipe" applications such as an electronic pipe tally, and pipe condition monitoring. Drilling operations are the first users of the system, but it serves other operations, for example tubing conveyed wireline operations. The smart wired pipe concept is truly innovative. It enables drilling systems automation and logging-while-drilling applications, such as seismic-while-drilling with along-string sensors, by providing a fully open acquisition and control platform to the industry.

Thorough planning of drilling operations includes capturing best practices and expert knowledge as operational procedures to provide guidance during execution. However, due to the high level of uncertainty in drilling, and because conventional field procedures are generic and not context sensitive, they are open to interpretation. The resulting performance depends on the user's experience. In challenging situations, when crews are under time pressure and stress, any assistance with monitoring drilling conditions, identifying causes, and carrying out mitigation activities, is of value. This paper describes an advisory system to capture operational knowledge in the form of context sensitive procedures and rules. The system uses real-time measurements and connections to other systems to gather information and data on current operational conditions. Automatic execution of the procedures and rules is possible within the current level of process automation, but the manual use of the system can guide field users through complex tasks. This is particularly useful in handling manually complex operations within an automation scenario, and helps with maintaining situational awareness for operators. As an essential piece of the drilling automation package, the system monitors events created by various specialized processing and alarm-generating components, and triggers execution of required workflows. The deployment of the advisory system in the North Sea has focused on several aspects: drilling with RSS systems, automated trajectory drilling, borehole cleaning, vibration management, MWD/LWD tools troubleshooting, and drilling through stringers. For example, hard formation stringers recognized by the stringer-detection application, trigger execution of mitigation procedures, giving precise instructions depending on the wellbore inclination. The system easily integrates with, and controls, these application libraries allowing consistent execution promoting the reduction of NPT. Further, the advisory system allows autonomous monitoring of drilling events, and execution of best operating practices facilitates multi-well remote operations. Situational awareness is critical in situations where human operators and automated systems play inter-related roles. In such cases, it is important for users to know the state of each task and understand how activities they perform affect other users. The use of context sensitive procedures and rules, executed with connectivity to instrumentation, measurements and real-time applications, allows the user to maintain situational awareness while automating the drilling process.