Standardization and automation are the two main tenets of factory processes, whether building cars, manufacturing computer chips or drilling and completing unconventional wells. The higher the level of standardization and automation, the lower the production costs and the higher the return on investment and operational safety. This simple concept works for auto-makers, chip manufacturers and oil & gas operators. Where these three types of factory diverge is in the consistency of the product produced and the production environment. A higher level of standardization and automation in an auto or computer chip factory results in a more consistent product whereas in an unconventional field, consistent actions do not ensure consistent results. In fact, standardized wells and completions will guarantee inconsistent results.We all know why...
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Over the past decade, drilling contractors and operators have steadily marched toward more automated drilling and completion processes and practices, with Shell’s deployment of autonomous drilling and trajectory control systems linked to the well plan in 2009, to National Oil Varco’s NOVA System for automated downhole data collection and well trajectory control in 2012. These types of technologies are often referred to as cognitive, or self-aware systems, where new information obtained while drilling is used to automatically revise drilling operations with minimal operator intervention...
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