Beyond the build cycle: driving rig technology innovation
By Lee Womble, 2026 IADC Division VP – Drilling Services
I have the pleasure of serving IADC as Division Vice President – Drilling Services for my fifth year. Some of you may not know the scope of IADC Drilling Services, which includes Advanced Rig Technology, Tech-
nical Publications, Drilling Engineers, Underbalanced Operations and Managed Pressure Drilling, and Cybersecurity. These volunteer committees put in a tremendous amount of work to establish guidelines, educate, protect, share and promote the skills and technological advances needed to grow our drilling industry. I will focus on Advanced Rig Technology (ART) here to show how IADC continues to support advancements even in the challenging capital-constrained environment that we find ourselves in right now.
The ART Committee manages the annual Advanced Rig Technology Conference. This provides an opportunity for various drilling contractors, equipment manufacturers, service companies and operators to showcase the most recent technological advances without being overly commercial. The committee also provides a venue for small startup companies and individuals not supported by large companies to present their innovative ideas in the Spark Tank events. ART is also currently working to publish papers and guidelines on artificial intelligence, bit dull grading and the addition of a rig technology category to the IADC Lexicon. While these activities are important, we must also view technological advances through a commercial perspective for member companies to justify investment.
When our industry is not in a build cycle, it becomes a challenge for members to justify spending unless there is a clear return. That return doesn’t necessarily refer to ROI, as there are other justifications such as safety and predictability or consistency. Either way, the implementation of any new technology on a rig requires a partnership between the driller and operator. Sometimes the early adoption comes with an associated learning (less efficient) time that could be allocated in new technology budgets versus operating budgets. This partnership could include performance bonuses or simply rig time set aside for the installation/commissioning of the upgrade. Steve Angstmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Kinetic Pressure Control — a company where I currently serve as Senior Advisor — emphasizes this: “The only thing more important for an innovation project to succeed than a good idea is a good partner. Success in drilling has always been a team sport, and bringing teams together to implement new technology is essential for turning concepts into results.”
Along similar lines, it has become obvious that any advancement in rig technology must be “bolt on” or retrofittable to an existing rig, as very few newbuilds can be justified. The many advances in automation come with the requirement for software upgrades and maintenance. These requirements take time to implement and must be able to be completed in the field. We need to ensure, as an industry, that people focus on these advances together without the need to “take credit” alone.
On land, economies of scale are imperative. I talked with some drilling contractors to gather their perspectives on these issues. Gene Stahl of Precision Drilling emphasized the importance of scale when implementing new solutions, noting that “the rollout of technological advances needs to be on multiple rigs instead of one-off science experiments.” This approach ensures that innovations are truly viable across fleets rather than limited to a singular controlled environment.
Looking forward, improvements could still be made in red zone management and extending that management into other areas of the rig. This brings us to an essential consideration around safety. As per Jon Richards of Noble Corp, “People on the rig floor are working inside a machine.” This approach underscores why we need to ensure this new technology can fail safely, so that personnel are not put at risk when the machine fails. We also need to ensure proper training of rig personnel on the new technology. Many of these improvements such as MPD, fluids management and cementing are being transferred from the operator scope to the driller’s scope. With that comes additional capital expenditure on the driller and increased risk to their rig down time. Drillers must either sub-contract a service provider or train their own personnel on this scope.
Beyond automation and safety systems, there’s significant untapped potential in how we use the information we’ve already collected. As stated by Shane Marchand of H&P, “Another area for growth will be a dramatic increase in the use of clean data.” Without going all the way into the artificial intelligence topic discussed everywhere today, we can acknowledge that we, as an industry, have gathered vast amounts of operational data over the years that remain underutilized.
In summary, we have made tremendous advances, both onshore and offshore, over the past 20 years with no sign of advancements slowing down. IADC plays a critical role not only in providing a mechanism for members to introduce innovation, but also in rig personnel training. I am proud to have worked alongside some of the best minds in the business and watched new technology change the industry’s safety, performance and reliability. I encourage everyone to at least ensure your company participates in the ART Committee and share these advances across our great industry. DC
