Detect Drilling Oscillations

Challenge
Drilling is critical for oil and gas exploration companies, which typically use
third-party contract drillers to do the work. The service providers often pre-
configure the depth and speed of the well-bore path via an auto-driller system that
controls the process with occasional human intervention. However, many variables
relating to the mechanical equipment and geology can cause unplanned vibrations.
It can be difficult to communicate the best approach to the drillers, which tend to use
default settings for holding a specific drill speed for long periods of time, which can
be suboptimal. If left unchecked, sustained vibrations can damage the drilling rig,
OIL & GAS
leading to costly repairs and delays.
A North American upstream oil & gas company wanted to protect the equipment
and well from damage caused by self-inflicted vibration within auto-driller systems.
Data Sources The company’s objective was to communicate with the drillers as to the proper set
•P
 rocess Data Historian: points, gain, and decay settings, enabling them to adjust the depth and speed of
OSIsoft PI drilling according to the conditions.

•A
 sset Structure: OSIsoft Asset Previously, there was no way to avoid the unexpected vibration that caused damage
Framework and delays, leaving the company in reactive mode. The company wanted to be able
to collect and analyze historical auto-driller oscillation data to understand where
Data Cleansing problems had occurred in in order to make proactive adjustments.

•T
 he drilling block speed is
filtered using Seeq’s agile filter
to smooth the signal. Solution
Using Seeq, the company can identify regions of oscillation in the drilling block speed
Calculations & Conditions
and summarize the total amount of time and number of oscillations by shift. Seeq
• T
 he derivative of the filtered then creates a report for operators to guide drillers where the majority of the issues
signal is calculated using have occurred in the past. The engineers examine this report in near real time daily to
Seeq Formula to indicate make up-to-date recommendations.
“ramp-up” times.
Seeq enables the drilling engineers to analyze adverse vibrations when drilling a
• “ Ramp-ups”, or single well. Using Seeq’s searching capability, the engineer creates clear visualizations
oscillations, are detected that identify oscillations to determine the areas of highest risk – specific wells at
using Value Search to create specific depths. The engineer can parse this information by time of day, specific
a condition. equipment, and the location of the well. The engineer has the option of aggregating
• M
 ultiple, sequential this information in a table and providing it to the operator overseeing the drilling
oscillations are identified by operations. The operator then can use this summary view to guide the drillers and
merging adjacent capsules in mitigate oscillations, a major step forward.
the condition.
• T
 he on-bottom time is
calculated by aggregating
a condition using
Scorecard Metric.
Results
The use of Seeq enables the company to mitigate auto-driller vibration problems through visualization and notifications. Being able
to make proactive changes backed by data helps the company extend the life of the equipment.
This is valuable insight as drilling is an expensive operation, and oscillations can delay the process or damage the equipment and
well. Reducing oscillation events significantly reduces the costs of drilling. This example demonstrates Seeq’s ability to use expertise
to visualize an undesirable event, analyze its pattern, and share that information with the client company to mitigate risk. The results
are longer bit run times, fewer delays due to trips, more efficient drilling, and lower costs.
Now, the company has the ability to proactively adjust the drilling operations in near real time as opposed to just reacting when
oscillations caused negative effects. The oil company can use the data to hone the optimal drilling approach, enabling the holes to be
drilled much faster and without causing damage, saving time and money.

Reporting & Collaboration

•A
 Seeq Topic displays the total oscillation time and on-bottom time of the wellbore per shift, per day. This provides a
comprehensive picture of high-risk drilling times.

A Seeq Topic with a scorecard showing the totally time in oscillation and wellbore on bottom.

Seeq Corporation
1301 2nd Avenue, Suite 2850
Seattle, WA 98101
www.seeq.com | (206) 801-9339