Drilling Mud Process Control

Well drilling has benefited from automation and improved control systems. An example is Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) which allow computers to automatically adjust the pressure at the bottom of a well. But some things are still outside the control of computers. To achieve an optimal pressure, to keep the hole clean of cuttings and execute an efficient drilling operation, you need control of the mud. But for drilling mud, the time and labor-intensive work processes have not changed radically. And even if real-time information about downhole conditions are available, we are unable to respond with real-time adjustments of what we pump into the well. The project Drilling Mud Process control gather several partners to solve this problem. At a test-rig at Huisman's facilities in the Netherlands, the project will integrate hardware and software to automate the work processes surrounding drilling mud. The project will pull the density and viscosity of mud into a real-time control system. This will both simplify work on drilling rigs and provide us with a much improved control of more and more challenging drilling operations.

- Det er demonstrert at et integrert system med sanntidsovervåkning av væskeegenskaper, nedihullsmodeller og automatisk mikser kan fungere under realistiske operasjoner. - Resultater fra prosjektet vil være en viktig byggestein i utviklingen av automatisert og fjernstyrt boring/borevæskehåndtering.