New Autonomous Systems
Surprisingly, the energy industry is closer than many realize to implementing fully or nearly autonomous systems. This will be possible not because of some gigantic breakthrough in technology, but rather by adding new levels of overlying intelligence to automated components that already exist.
Consider self-driving cars. While several companies have been developing futuristic self-driving cars for more than a decade, the rest of us have been adopting automated systems such as intelligent cruise control and self-parking without much ado for years. Autonomous cars and other self-guiding robots incorporate an additional technology called SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping). SLAM systems locate the vehicle relative to other objects and map the optimal route to a specified destination, within constraints, altering course based on dynamic, real-time information. For autonomous cars and trucks, the payoff will come in fewer accidents and fatalities, more efficient traffic flow, optimal fuel usage, lower insurance premiums, and other benefits to individuals and society.
The challenge for the self-driving car lies in achieving sufficient intelligence to navigate chaotic environments characterized by large degrees of uncertainty. Sound familiar?
The analogy with a complex drilling operation is obvious. Fortunately, we started down the road to drilling automation years ago. Iron roughnecks have automated dangerous pipe-handling operations. Semi-intelligent autodrillers have replaced manual control of weight on bit and rate of penetration (ROP). Automated optimization algorithms have boosted ROP an average of 32% over autodrillers. Today, intelligent geosteering tools and rotary steerable systems represent our industry’s version of SLAM.
One day soon, like a self-driving car, we may simply tell our autonomous drilling system where we want to go in the subsurface and, following our own “rules of the road,” it will take us there by the fastest, safest, and most cost-effective route.
Where we go from here depends on our collective imagination and will. But we are well-positioned to put the pieces together now, and take automation to new levels. The intelligent way to implement intelligent technology will be to match the degree of autonomy with the complexity of the operation, whether in drilling, completions, or production. The transition will unfold carefully in stages, enabling us to learn as we go. It will be an evolution through innovation, not a revolution. But the impact could prove revolutionary.
To advance to the next level of intelligent energy, however, we will need more than technology. We will need new business models, new organizational structures, and new ways of working as well. We need models that encourage rather than discourage collaboration, innovation, integration, and automation. This is why they, too, are on the agenda for the 2016 SPE Intelligent Energy International Conference.
What To Expect