RFID Technology for Deepwater Drilling and Completions Challenges
Authors: Wilson Adam 
Published: May 2017

This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper SPE 181012, “Leveraging RFID Technology for Deepwater Drilling and Completions Challenges,” by Euan Murdoch, SPE, Eddie Valverde, SPE, Rupa Sharma, Crystal Wreden, SPE, Alex Goodwin, and Jonathan Osei-Kuffour, Weatherford, and Kyle Kimmitt, Cornelis Loonstra, Babak Ghaempanah, and Deandre Reagins, Shell, prepared for the 2016 SPE Intelligent Energy International Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen, 6–8 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

Deepwater operators continually face technical and environmental challenges to drilling and completing wells safely and efficiently. To address these challenges, the industry has used radio-frequency-identification (RFID) technology to reduce risk, rig time, and nonproductive time and to perform operations that traditional tools cannot. This paper describes criteria for selecting RFID-enabled tools rather than traditional tools, integration of RFID tools with operations, and value-added features enabled by RFID. The complete paper also presents contingency, safety, and risk-assessment factors and case studies.

RFID Background

RFID is a method of communication using radio-frequency electromagnetic fields. Information is stored within RFID tags and is transferred to a reader when the two are close to each other. There are two types of tags: active tags, which contain their own energy source, and passive tags, which are energized by the reader as they pass by. A typical passive tag used in the tools described in this paper is shown in Fig. 1. This tag contains a transponder circuit and an antenna that receives signals from the reader. The transponder is programmed with a unique identification number and instructions for the reader.

The reader contains a receiving antenna and a power source (Fig. 2) that generates an electromagnetic field. The field generated by the antenna powers the tag when it is within range and enables the tag to transmit the stored instructions. Because a passive RFID tag is powered by the reader antenna, it does not require batteries or an internal energy source, which makes the passive tags less costly and smaller than active tags. Receiving antennas can be programmed to respond only to specific tag identification numbers, and any tag passing by the receiver without these numbers will be ignored.

Transferring RFID Technology to Deep Water

RFID technology has been integrated into drilling and completions applications. One application of RFID technology is for drilling automation and drillpipe identification. RFID tags attached to drillpipe identify individual-joint dimensions, track inspection information, and allow inventory tracking. These tags can be used also to create an automatic pipe tally as drillpipe joints are run in hole past a reader located below the rotary. RFID technology has moved also into cementing. RFID-activated port collars have been designed recently for use in a drilling-with-liner application in the North Sea to cement a 9⅝-in. liner and eliminate the need to open the ports mechanically by means of a long inner string.