Automated Drilling Instructions for Steerable Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drilling operations require manual and time-consuming processes for steering directional drilling systems, leading to inefficiencies and delays in achieving accurate wellbore paths, especially in directional wellbores where precise orientation and real-time adjustments are necessary.
Innovation Solution
The development of systems and methods to generate directional motor drilling instructions in real-time, allowing for continuous updates of the well position and enabling automatic adjustments of drilling parameters such as WOB and RPM, using sensors and controllers to steer the Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA) to a steering objective location, thereby reducing the need for manual intervention and improving drilling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual survey assessment and steering plan formulation processes are used, then operators can maintain control over directional drilling, but decision-making time increases and drilling efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by implementing automated survey assessment and steering plan generation algorithms that process survey data and generate directional drilling instructions without requiring manual operator intervention for each survey interval, thereby reducing decision-making time while maintaining reliable control through the automated decision-support framework
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of survey assessment and steering plan formulation with an automated computational system that uses algorithms to process survey data, calculate optimal steering directions, and generate drilling instructions, substituting human cognitive processing with automated mechanical-computational processing
2Device complexity
If survey data is collected at discrete points only, then measurement equipment complexity is reduced, but wellbore path accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary computational actions by pre-calculating expected wellbore paths and comparing them with actual survey positions, allowing the generation of proactive steering corrections before significant deviations occur, thereby improving path accuracy without requiring more complex measurement equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where survey data from discrete points is continuously fed back into the automated steering system, which adjusts subsequent drilling directions based on cumulative position errors, maintaining high wellbore path accuracy through iterative correction despite using standard discrete survey intervals
3Productivity
If real-time automated drilling instructions are implemented, then drilling efficiency increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves universality by designing a multi-functional automated control platform that integrates survey data processing, wellbore path calculation, steering instruction generation, and real-time monitoring capabilities into a single integrated system, improving drilling efficiency while managing complexity through functional consolidation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary automated control system that acts as a mediator between raw survey data and drilling operations, processing information and generating steering instructions through algorithmic computation, thereby enabling real-time automated control without requiring direct complex interactions between operators and multiple separate systems
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, devices, and methods for directing the operation of a drilling system are provided. The location of a bottom hole assembly (BHA) of a drilling rig may be determined using survey data. One or more steering objective locations may be defined and one or more sets of directional motor instructions are generated to drive the BHA to the one or more steering objective location.