Schlumberger, NOV in automated drilling solutions adoption push

Giant oilfield services provider Schlumberger and NOV have started a collaboration to accelerate automated drilling solutions adoption by oil and gas operators and drilling contractors.

Schlumberger said on Monday that the agreement would enable customers to combine the company’s surface and downhole drilling automation solutions with NOV’s rig automation platform to deliver superior well construction performance.

According to the company, this integrated offering enables the automation of manual workflows, improving safety, decision making, consistency, and efficiency in drilling operations.

Olivier Le Peuch, CEO of Schlumberger, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with NOV and to integrate their rig automation interface with our drilling automation solutions to unlock higher performance for operators and drilling contractors.

“Leveraging downhole and surface automation applications, we can deliver enhancements in operations safety and efficiency, and deliver top-quartile wells for our customers consistently. This partnership will help accelerate customers’ adoption of drilling automation technologies, enabling superior well construction performance”.

Clay Williams, chairman and president and CEO of NOV, added: “Through this collaboration, NOV demonstrates its commitment to deliver an open digital automation platform that enables drilling contractors to achieve higher consistency, safety, and efficiency with improved wellbore quality.

“We continue to invest in digital solutions that provide value for our customers. Drilling automation allows rig crews to focus on the big picture to drive performance and less on manual, repetitive tasks”.

The combined solution leverages advanced AI from the Schlumberger DrillOps on-target well delivery solution, while NOV’s NOVOS process-automation platform controls all NOV rig equipment within the operational envelope.

The two technologies will work in tandem to control protocol compliance and boost operational efficiency.