The Nabors PACE®-R801 automatic drilling rig is located on site in the Permian Basin.
As the number of rigs in the United States continues to rise slowly, and the response to rising crude oil and natural gas prices has been somewhat moderate, two giants in the industry announced last week that they are working together to make the drilling process safer and more efficient through automation. . XTO Energy and Nabors Drilling, subsidiaries of ExxonMobil XOM, used innovative Nabors drilling rigs and fully automated unmanned drilling rigs on the first of the three horizontal wells planned in the Permian Basin. This is the industry of land drilling rigs Pioneered. .
Anyone who has ever worked in an oil field knows that the floor of a mobile drilling rig has long been one of the most dangerous places in the industry. Whether it is drilling downholes, replacing the drill bit, or pulling the drill pipe out of the hole, the labor-intensive activities required to drill these deep holes into the ground always account for a large percentage of the company’s reportable lost time accidents each time. year.
In a press release on October 7, Nabors announced that the technology can now drill these horizontal wells in the Permian Basin (and possibly any other oil and gas producing areas) without the need for employees to work on the drilling platform. happen. The company stated that its PACE®-R801 drilling rig "combined Nabors’ proprietary automated drilling software intelligence suite with Canrig® robotics on PACE®-R801 to create an unmanned rig that can remove workers from the red Block areas are removed and provide consistent, predictable drilling performance."
As part of this project, XTO and Nabors signed a contract to drill three such test wells in the Permian. It should be noted that the drilling rig can not only drill some shallow vertical wells, but also horizontal wells with longer transverse cross-sections. The first well announced last week had a total survey depth of 19,917 feet.
Jason Gahr, ExxonMobil Unconventional Drilling Operations Manager, said: "ExxonMobil and Nabors have deployed this automated drilling platform in Midland, proving the use of robotics, automation, computing, and data to optimize drilling. Capabilities. This is a good example of improving the safety, efficiency and environmental performance of our operations through innovative technologies."
Anthony Petrello, Chairman, President and CEO of Nabors, said in a press release: “The successful drilling of the world’s first fully automatic land rig marks the culmination of Nabors’ five-year engineering journey. The experience and experience gained from this concept rig The insights will be used to create the next generation of Nabors technology and continue to improve our existing digital, automation and robotics solutions in this field."
Media reports on ESG often focus on "E"-the environment-part of the equation, which has become an important consideration for companies in the oil and gas industry. But the "S"—society—part of the acronym is equally important for full compliance, and health and safety are a big piece of the puzzle. Therefore, any technological or procedural advancement that reduces the risk of workers and therefore reduces the number of reported lost work accidents has become as important to operators as reducing emissions or reducing water consumption.
Nabors also pointed out that this automation of drilling rigs does not necessarily lead to massive unemployment. “The number of crew on PACE®-R801 is similar to other Nabors rigs, but the responsibilities have changed,” the company said. “One driller needs to supervise the operation of the rig, while others continue to perform basic tasks such as service, maintenance, inspection, and rig movement. The important thing is that it is no longer a worker in the red zone.”
This is just one well, and there are two more wells to be drilled, but this is the innovation that the oil and gas industry must pursue in order to retain its social license to operate in the current ESG-led environment.
David Blackmon is an independent energy analyst/consultant based in Mansfield, Texas. He is the editor of Shale magazine and the co-host of In The Oil Patch Radio,
David Blackmon is an independent energy analyst/consultant based in Mansfield, Texas. He is the editor of "Shale" magazine and the co-host of the national joint weekly program In The Oil Patch Radio. David has a 40-year career in the oil and gas industry, of which the past 23 years have been spent in the field of public policy, managing regulatory and legislative issues and LINN for a number of companies including Burlington Resources, Shell, El Paso Corporation, and FTI Consulting. energy. During this period, David led many industry-wide efforts to solve various problems at the local, state and federal levels. From April 2010 to June 2012, he served as the head of the Texas American Gas Union. In addition to client-related work, David also maintains a growing media communication practice.