Patent ID: 6233524
Filing Date: 2001-05-15
Classification: E21B

Abstract:
An automated drilling system for drilling wellbores, comprising:(a) a drilling assembly comprising a drill bit at an end thereof;(b) a plurality of sensors for providing measurements relating to one or more conditions of the drilling assembly (drilling assembly parameters);(c) a force application device for applying force on the drill bit during drilling of the welibore;(d) a rotator for rotating the drill bit;(e) a source of drilling fluid at the surface for supplying drilling fluid under pressure to the drilling assembly; and(f) a processor having an associated model, said processor cooperating with said model and utilizing the measurements relating to the one or more conditions of the drilling assembly to compute a combination of drilling parameters that when used for further drilling of the wellbore will yield at least one of (i) enhanced drilling rate and (ii) extended drilling assembly life, wherein said processor further causing the drilling system to alter the drilling parameters to the computed values for further drilling of the wellbore.