In September 2006, BP and Baker Oil Tools celebrated the installation of the world's first successful expandable monobore liner extension, an achievement that marked a major milestone for solid expandable tubular technology. A month earlier, Baker and Petrobras marked another collaborative milestone for flawless operation of an allelectric intelligent completion system in a deepwater field.
Expandable metal technology and intelligent completions are among current favorite topics of trade journal editors, conference program committees and industry analysts, because each has the potential to substantially increase well value. Yet, how will these technologies be used in five years: routinely throughout the industry, or only for niche applications? Both have been commercially available for at least 10 years, yet acceptance has been slow, despite industry pressure for their development.
Although applications are expanding, each technology is currently applied in a very small percentage of wells drilled.
Why is technology uptake in the oil and gas industry slower than in other industries? How and why do we remain risk-averse? What role does "technology backbone" play? Why is operator-service company collaboration important, and how can we achieve it? And, what is at stake if we do not change?
Introduction
Numerous sources report that widespread acceptance of new technology in the oil and gas industry takes approximately 15 - 20 years, as opposed to 8 years or less in other industries. This is a disturbing statistic, not only on its face, but also in its implications. What will it take to move our industry more quickly along the path to new technology acceptance? The answer is three-fold: acceptance of reasonable risk, a stronger "technical backbone", and improved collaboration.
Expandable metal technology and intelligent completions epitomize the enabling technology conundrum. They are currently favorite topics of trade journal editors, conference program committees and industry analysts, because they have the potential to substantially increase well value. Yet, how will these technologies be used in five years: routinely throughout the industry, or only for niche applications? Both have been commercially available for at least 10 years. Although applications are expanding, each technology is currently applied in a very small percentage of wells drilled.
Both operators and service companies realize that failure to implement breakthrough technology could result in significant loss of economic benefits. Conversely, incorrect implementation of new technology could result in serious economic, safety or environmental risks. In many instances, operators are taking significant, positive steps by partially funding new technology development. Another positive step would be a mindset change to view new technology content as a positive metric, like insurance, rather than a project risk. For this mindset adjustment to occur, the operating company must have technological understanding and competence to ask correct questions of technology providers, understand risks and rewards of implementing technology, and be able to sell the corporation that the potential benefits are worth the risks. Collaboration can enhance understanding, competence and informed technological strategies. It can reduce risk. And, it can enable the enabling technologies our industry needs to continue to meet the growing demands of an energy-hungry world.
