Significant Progress in Downhole Automation Methods for Directional Drilling in the Middle East
Authors: Brovko K. , Ignova M. , Mantle K. , Jones M. , Zaitsev E. , Gagandeep Gagandeep , Alotaibi S. , Alroomi S. 
Published: May 2024

The ultimate goal of downhole automation in the field of directional drilling is to engage the automated mode, close the screens, and wait until the driller says, "We are landed". Recent progress in developing downhole automation demonstrates that we are moving toward this goal.

The first-curve control automated mode was introduced to the industry in 2020 for push-the-bit rotary steerable systems (RSS) and used to drill total 25,546 ft in field trials. The Middle East has become one of the major locations to field test this mode.

In 2022, curve control for the point-the-bit RSS was developed and introduced in the field trials where a total of 23,459 ft has been drilled to date. Over 70% of this footage came from these Middle East field trials.

Implementing curve control for both types of RSS has produced impressive results. This curve-control method has drastically reduced the frequency of downlink commands sent from the surface and has improved the rate of penetration in support of a sustainable digital solution for directional drilling and drilling engineering.

This paper presents case studies and new application opportunities for level 3 autonomy for trajectory automation based on the field test results.

When drilling in the manual mode, the directional driller sends downlink commands, including steering ratio and tool face, from the surface either by changing mud pulses or drill string rotation rate. Downhole automation is changing the way in which operators drill a well by sending curvature commands to follow the well plan, which applies a closed-loop algorithm. This closed-loop system minimizes the influences of drilling parameters and formation characteristics on trajectory response. The controller reacts faster to the formation changes compared with manual drilling; thus, the drilled well path is nearer to the planned path and the risks associated with directional drilling uncertainties are minimized.

During field trials, the downhole curve-control mode demonstrated the ability of drilling different types of well profiles from 2D to complex 3D with drop, turn, and tangent sections. The on bottom time increased because downlinking the rate of penetration decreased. The entire hole section could be drilled in the downhole automated mode by introducing the automated kick off and landing, currently under development, and making the next step towards reduction of surface interventions. The downhole control mode improves the quality of the wellbore, facilitating faster and smoother casing operations. Downhole automation is a sustainable solution for directional drilling, it is proved and delivered results to the field drilling more than 50,000 ft in automated mode enabling faster, multiple wells drilling and remote operations.

This paper presents the current state of downhole automated directional trajectory control for implementing RSS in the Middle East fields. The downhole automation minimizes the interactions with the surface and allows for the driller and surface system to optimize the drilling parameters. The algorithm also minimizes the influences of weight on bit, rotations per minute, and formation characteristics on the trajectory response. This algorithm also increases remote operations capabilities.