Closed Loop Automation of Downhole Weight on Bit Improves Sliding Performance and Reduces Conservatism in Unconventional Horizontal Well Development

Abstract Today, during the development of unconventionals, the lack of knowledge of the downhole dynamics environment creates a culture of conservatism where excessive safety margins need to be applied to prevent damage to the rig equipment, drill bits, drill string and sensitive drilling tools. By using downhole data in real time, this risk can be reduced and drilling performance can be significantly improved. This paper discusses the results of the latest field test program of an automated drilling system where direct closed loop control of machines performs drilling optimization tasks using high speed downhole data. The downhole data is measured by a downhole drilling dynamics sub and is then transmitted to the surface via wired drill pipe. The downhole data is visualized and analyzed by a surface application. The surface application then sends set points through a control interface to the rig's pre-existing control system. The paper focuses on two main areas. The first is the rate of penetration improvements that occurred, while rotating, sliding, and sliding using an automated rocking application (Maidla and Haci 2004) and secondly, the positive behavioral change that occurs when the downhole environment is fully understood. These technologies bring significant benefit to our industry especially in the development of unconventional assets where sliding becomes slow and more challenging the longer the horizontal. The results demonstrated that these technologies significantly improve sliding performance up to 100%, especially when combined with a surface top drive rocking technology. The high speed downhole drilling dynamics data allowed the driller and the customer representatives to maximize the performance of the rig without compromising safety or the reliability of the equipment.