DI G ITALI ZATION OF DR I LLI N G
WellsX’s ECO digital twin platform leverages data from previ-
ously drilled wells to inform the design of new wells drilled in
the same field, or fields with similar geologies.
“The digital twins help us understand all the subsurface data
that we use to actually do the specific designs, and part of the
challenge is being able to understand any changes in interpreta-
tion,” Mr Grøtte said. “When it comes to the subsurface data set,
there’s always some uncertainty – it’s very rare that you have
perfect logs where the formation changes are 100% clear. By using
the digital twin, you’re actually representing these different for-
mations in layers, which makes it much easier for the engineers
to understand when the data changes, how those changes affect
the well designs, where we put the casings in, etc. We can contex-
tualize the subsurface.”
The next step in Aker BP’s digital well planning efforts is a new
cloud application, Field Development Planning (FDP), that con-
verts the manual process of collating field development data into
an automated digital system. The FDP application can be used
to model multiple wellbores within a single field. If the operator
plans to drill multiple wells from the same asset, or within the
same field, it can model the optimal trajectories of each well to
reach the desired target.
The FDP application, which Aker BP jointly developed with
Halliburton, also provides alternative field development plans
modeling different well trajectories with different risk profiles.
These types of predictive capabilities allow the operator to spend
more time focusing on removing or minimizing the risks associ-
ated with challenging wells, Mr Grøtte said.
“The wells are getting more and more complex. We need to free
up engineers’ time to focus on the risks and make sure that we
drill successfully to total depth. With the FDP, we’re essentially
putting thousands of Excel spreadsheets and reports all into one
digital twin,” he said. “Normally, when we do an offset analysis,
we’re probably spending weeks gathering data and trying to orga-
nize it. In the past it was all in Excel. But now you can easily look
at 20 nearby wells – all the events, all the risks, everything that
happened when we drilled those wells. You can make a data-driv-
18 en decision on what is the likelihood for something to happen and
you can back it up with actual analysis generated very quickly.”
Aker BP launched the FDP application in Q3 2023, after three
years of development and testing. It will be integrated with the
Digital Well Program so data can be transported automatically,
eliminating the need to repeat data entry.
In addition to its work on field development, Aker BP also
recently announced a partnership with Halliburton, Microsoft
and SLB on the construction of a data mesh platform aiming
to enable multi-vender interoperability on geological modeling
and well planning. The system will be based on the OSDU data
platform, an open-source, cross-company, cloud-native reference
architecture that outlines standards for data management in oil
and gas operations.
By being able to convert data into standardized formats, dif-
ferent operators and third-party vendors can run data analytics
on their own software without needing to rebuild any code. For
example, a service company can utilize the data generated in the
FDP platform to run analysis within its own existing platform,
instead of having to build a modified software that’s integrated
with FDP. The results can then be shared through standard and
interoperable application programming interfaces (APIs).
The type of data being targeted include subsurface data, well
logs, well trajectories and fluid/rock properties.
“Really, what this data mesh is doing is giving every vendor the
possibility to build integrations into an app and share data with-
out having to change their software to a new standard,” Mr Grøtte
said. “That’s always part of the challenge when you’re adding
third-party software – having to go back to change the core parts
of the software instead of just adding some existing information
to the data that exists.”
The platform is scheduled for release in 2024.
Predictive analytics to improve efficiency
WellsX, a company founded in 2017 that provides digital solu-
tions for drilling operations, is moving in the digital space with
the development of ECO (Engineering, Control and Optimization).
It is platform that integrates applied physics modeling with the
Internet of Things to predict downhole hazards in real time.
The ECO system contains three components. The drilling
section plan component allows users to estimate the expected
mechanical and hydraulic loads in the well for all types of process
operations prior to the start of well construction. The calculations
“We need these digital platforms
and these digital twins. We need
new architecture that will allow
us to use the data we have, and
these are the kinds of systems we’re
building.” - Arnfi nn Grøtte, Aker BP
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023 • DRILLING CONTRACTOR
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