IADC launches DDR Plus to enable more granular data collection, support industry’s digital revolution

Revamped IADC tour sheet retains original 28 codes, adds 6 new operational codes

By Mike Killalea, Adviser

The drilling industry is undergoing sweeping change, driven by advances in digital technology. These advances support growth of data analytics and set forth the tantalizing prospects offered from developing automated drilling systems. However, increased data analytics and automation means that rig and downhole data had better be accurate and of known quality.

To ensure improved and more granular drilling data collection, the IADC Drilling Control Systems (DCS) Subcommittee has completed a sweeping revamp of the IADC Daily Drilling Report (DDR), known also as the tour sheet. The DCS works under the purview of the IADC Advanced Rig Technology (ART) Committee.

The new version, the IADC DDR Plus, remains backward compatible with previous versions, while adding additional main operational codes and introducing a highly granular code set architecture.

IADC DDR Plus retains the original 23 operational drilling codes and five completion codes from the legacy tour sheet, with minor changes for clarification. The subcommittee added six new operational codes – nonproductive time, operating status, safety, well control, coiled tubing, and subsea installations – for a total of 34 operational codes. Figure 1 compares the DDR Plus operational codes against those from the legacy DDR.

Granular Codeset

From both a performance analysis and an automation perspective, it is vital to know when each operation begins and ends. To accomplish this, a DCS work group developed definitions focusing on start and stop criteria for 32 of the 34 operational codes. The exceptions are Testing and Subsea Installation, both of which are relevant to a broad range of circumstances.

To provide granularity, each main operational code cascades into Activity Code, Activity Sub-code, Equipment Code, and Equipment Sub-code. Each code and subcode is identified by a unique identification numeral. Since the same activity or piece of equipment might be relevant to multiple operational codes, this provides consistency throughout the code set.

Numerous drilling contractors contributed their activity and equipment codes, as did the Association of Canadian Drilling Contractors, whose system was established based on the original IADC DDR codes. The DCS work group established 196 codes for Activity, 26 for Sub-activity, 200 for Equipment and 26 for Sub-equipment. Figure 2 shows an example of how the granularity of the cascading code set works.

Since no equipment sub-activity is relevant, the final code is 6.88.80.0, the zero representing the absent equipment sub-activity.

DDR Plus Schema

IADC contracted Independent Data Services (IDS) to develop an electronic schema to implement the IADC DDR Plus. The schema is the standardized digital description of DDR Plus, allowing data to be easily and logically stored, transferred and analyzed.

“For IADC members, the DDR Plus opens a new world of detailed and standardized operational communication, allowing them to make exciting strides into the automation of reporting, analytics and benchmarking,” remarked David Shackleton, IDS Regional Manager, Americas. “I can’t wait to see this adopted on a big scale – to see companies save on manpower, bring together data sources from multiple companies, utilize new standardized analytics tools and, ultimately, make tangible improvements to their operational performance.” 

The WITSML data transfer protocol, developed and maintained under Energistics, was adopted as the basis for the report’s digital description. WITSML was used and extended to provide a structure tailored to IADC members’ needs. Combining the WITSML data transfer protocol and the IADC DDR Plus code structure creates a powerful combination of real-time data and aggregated data.

IADC paper DDR Plus tour sheets will also be updated to incorporate what facets of IADC DDR Plus can be included on paper.

The electronic DDR Plus schema and paper versions will replace the legacy editions over the course of this year.

The IADC DDR Plus is envisioned as an evergreen document. Comments can be submitted at ddrplus.iadc.org, or e-mail ddrplus@iadc.org. DC