The oil and gas industry is always looking for ways to improve operations and reduce risks, a goal that has led to investment in process automation. One of the most promising areas for improvement is in drilling operations, and Nabors has taken up the challenge with the development of an advanced rig operating system that has already proven its value in the field for Nabors and other drilling contractors.
Developing a reliable system
When Nabors engineers began evaluating how a platform for integrating workflows through automation and digitalisation might be employed on its rigs, they realised that the platform would need to interface with machines without requiring a redesign of the rig control system. They also realised that a single system that could integrate machine and process automation didn’t exist. Based on that assessment, they defined the scope of the system they wanted to develop and began working to design it.
Since Nabors previously had installed proprietary automated tools on some of its rigs, it was important to developers that the new platform would provide seamless communication with existing software programs. It was equally important, however, to create a system that could be installed on any competitor’s rig and work with the same degree of reliability. Given ambitious technology development plans, Nabors also had to consider integration with future in-house and third-party applications.
Nabors SmartROS™ rig operating system delivers in both environments. This intelligent rig operating system is built on a Linux platform and uses activity-based workflows that are viewable on an intuitive user interface. Each icon on the navigation screen represents a drilling function. For example, the top drive icon displays all the information related to rotating pipe, including alerts and notifications. This simple design allows for more icons to be included in the future as more equipment and software are added to the rig.
The system has been installed on more than 150 Nabors rigs and has proven its value as a sequencing engine that reads a set of instructions and gives commands to machines that carry out the assigned tasks. Working from a single interface, drillers communicate with proprietary tools that include an automated directional guidance and slide execution system—SmartNAV™ and SmartSLIDE™. These solutions incorporate anticollision software and rotary steerable downlinking for consistently accurate directional decisions and exceptional wellbore placement. The guidance system, SmartNAV, gives instructions to the directional steering control system, SmartSLIDE, which automates slide drilling, adjusting to unexpected changes in the formation and improving performance by reducing overall cycle time. Nabors has successfully drilled more than 1,900 wells and millions of feet using these tools.
Flexibility is a key feature because the sequence of events for a drilling program is not set in stone but is determined by the best practices of the rig contractor and the operator. In a way, the SmartROS system functions like an air traffic controller, who processes incoming information to determine which airplanes should land or take off from which runways. Instructions keep changing, so the sequence of events has to change to keep in step.
Another benefit of using the SmartROS system is that it simplifies the process of controlling the robotic pipe handling equipment that is being installed to perform repetitive tasks that create potentially dangerous conditions for workers.
Laying a foundation for improvements through automation
With a body of work that validates the system’s value, the next step was to disseminate the technology, a process that was facilitated in the Middle East through a joint venture (JV) set up in 2017 between Aramco announced March 27, 2018.
SANAD, a 50/50 JV partnership to provide onshore drilling services to Saudi Aramco was the result. SANAD is one of several anchor projects that emerged from Saudi Arabia’s initiative to introduce world-class industry hubs locally to foster economic growth and job creation. Through this JV, Saudi Aramco committed to lease 50 onshore rigs over a ten-year period beginning in 2021 with the goal of extracting oil and gas by delivering best-in-class drilling performance.
On top of contracting to lease Nabors rigs, Saudi Aramco has added rigs from other international drilling contractors to its fleet. Some of these rigs are older DC units that the operator plans to upgrade with the SmartROS operating system. Using this approach, it will be possible to capture automation efficiencies from a relatively small capital investment.
Work is already underway to execute these upgrades. These upgrades are an integral part of the company’s commitment to improve its drilling capabilities.
Upgrades in progress
The first phase of the SANAD upgrade program targeted three rigs that required different types of improvements. The three rigs each required a tailored approach to the upgrade based on the existing equipment on the rig.
A rig that has an AC top drive, AC drawworks, and rig controls system can be easily upgraded with process automation hardware, SmartROS, and software integration. When evaluating an upgrade, the standard process is to perform a survey of the rig, review drawings and documentation, and identify the equipment needed to complete the desired upgrade. Following consultation with the customer, code is developed to integrate the existing and new equipment with the controls system. With the upgrades completed, the rig undergoes testing and is ready to be deployed.
The first rig upgrade for SANAD included adding an AC drawworks, which is necessary to support automation, installation of the driller’s chair and console in the doghouse, new HMIs (human-machine interface) and SmartROS process automation hardware. Because the other originally installed rig equipment could function with the new system without modifications, no additional changes were required. Once the hardware was installed, the system was ready to use.
The second upgrade was carried out on a Nabors rig that already had an AC drawworks. This unit needed only a standard driller’s chair, new HMIs and installation of the rig operating system, SmartROS.
The third rig was built by another company, thus it was outfitted with non-Nabors equipment. This rig was recently upgraded with the SmartROS system and is running advanced process automation software, SmartDRILL, which has already reduced connection times and significantly improved connection consistency.
Looking ahead
While this series of SmartROS system upgrades marks the first such program in the Middle East, it is not the first of its kind. Multiple successful DC to AC rig conversions have been carried out in Canada as well. And similar programs could deliver considerable value in areas of the world where the majority of the local drilling rig fleet consists of older rigs. There are ongoing discussions to deploy this technology with two drilling contractors in Oman and Iraq.
Successes to date not only prove the value of automation but demonstrate the improvements that can be captured across the onshore drilling rig fleet using the Nabors rig operating system.