In the Automated Drilling Pilot three newly developed technologies aiming to improve the quality of the drilling operation, have been submitted to an extensive offshore field test in the North Sea. The technologies involved were: (1) Software for drilling control automation based on real time process modeling, (2) system for drillpipe tracking based on RFID technology and (3) sensors for continuous measurements of drilling fluid parameters. During this field test the listed technologies were not only tested simultaneously, but also set up to exchange data in real time, forming one integrated drilling automation system.In this paper the relevant functionalities of the technologies tested in the pilot are described. The paper also outlines the preparations for the pilot, including work performed on risk mitigation, onshore testing and training of personnel. In addition, the actual field performance of the technologies have been measured and evaluated regarding their influence on a number of important operational areas such as HSE, operational efficiency, work tasks/responsibilities and demands on surrounding technology. Lastly the capability of these technologies for exchanging data in real-time to form a closely integrated automation system has been demonstrated and evaluated.Based on the experiences from the Automated Drilling Pilot, several crucial technology enablers have been identified for the technologies involved, the most important being related to personnel training/experience building, drilling data quality/availability and offshore expert support.

The cement height requirements for primary cement jobs, or annulus cement, are stated as absolute values in some parts of the world. For example the Norsok Standard, D-010, "Well integrity in drilling and well operations" states that one cement barrier is either 50 meters when verified by displacement calculations, or 30 meters when verified by bonding logs. The requirements do not distinguish between reservoirs with high pressure/ temperature- and reservoirs with typical low pressure/termperature conditions. A numerical method has been developed which considers the current or future well conditions as part of the cement evaluation process. This numerical approach is an additional tool in the decision making process and does not replace existing verification practices. The time to run the analysis has also been an issue to address, since existing tools in the industry (FEM-analysis etc.) can be quite time consuming to run. Additionaly it is also possible to perform analysis up-front the operations and various pre-defined cement length intervals can be compared to the requirements or other upper acceptable cases. Offshore well cases from the Norwegian Continental Shelf have been used as basis in the development and demonstration of the method. The numerical model is based on monophase or multiphase Darcy flow calculations through the cement sheath involving uncertainties like cement permeability, reservoir pressure in the eternal perspective etc. The model allows a parametric analysis in a reasonable computation time and building of a well case library making the process efficient in an industrial comparison perspective. The method is an ‘engineering approach' taking place in the decision making process of well integrity.