Integrated Well Construction Control for Real-Time Task Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drilling operations, particularly in offshore petroleum exploration, face challenges in achieving operational efficiency and safety, especially in challenging environments, due to high costs and stringent regulatory requirements, with issues such as loss of drilling fluid and uncontrolled influx of reservoir fluids.
Innovation Solution
An integrated well construction system with a process controller and equipment controllers that manage automated and manual tasks, allowing for real-time adjustments and updates based on well plans and operational data, incorporating a task manager module for refining tasks and ensuring compliance with safety protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated control systems are implemented to improve operational efficiency, then productivity increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is divided into multiple independent equipment controllers (20) each managing specific drilling equipment, and a higher-level process controller (40) that coordinates them. This segmentation allows automated control functions to be distributed across modular units, improving operational efficiency while managing complexity through structured decomposition of the control architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The equipment controllers (20) are designed as multi-functional units that can manage different types of drilling equipment through standardized interfaces. Each controller serves multiple functions including monitoring, control, and communication, reducing the need for specialized dedicated systems and thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If real-time monitoring and control are implemented to improve safety, then reliability increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous real-time monitoring where equipment controllers (20) collect operational data from drilling equipment and transmit it to the process controller (40). The process controller analyzes this feedback information and automatically adjusts control parameters to maintain safe operating conditions, thereby improving reliability through closed-loop control while managing complexity through automated decision-making algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The process controller (40) acts as an intermediary layer between the equipment controllers (20) and the central management system. It aggregates data from multiple equipment controllers, performs coordinated control decisions, and manages communication with external systems, thereby enabling comprehensive safety monitoring without requiring direct complex connections between all system components.
3Productivity
If integrated task management is implemented to improve operational coordination, then productivity increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the control functions of multiple drilling equipment into a unified integrated well construction system. The process controller (40) consolidates task management for all equipment controllers (20), coordinating their operations to achieve synergistic productivity improvements while managing complexity through centralized orchestration rather than multiple independent control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated well construction system for constructing a well includes equipment controllers which control drilling equipment, and a process controller operatively connected to the equipment controllers. The process controller includes a drilling control module which defines an operational drilling scheme and a task manager module. The operational drilling scheme has a first part to control the drilling equipment, a second part with manual tasks and/or automated tasks to be performed, and a relation between an execution of control of the drilling equipment via the first plan and of manual tasks and/or the automated tasks via the second plan. The task manager module has a user interface, a task refinement component which updates the second part, and a user interaction device which provides a manual addition of new manual tasks and/or new automated tasks, and a removal or amendment of at least one of the manual tasks and/or the automated tasks.