Drillpipe Presentation - Drilling Engineering Association

ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR THE ENERGY INDUSTRYIn today’s economic and political climate it isessential for the energy industry to maximize assetproductivity. Accurate placement of the wellbore isrecognized as one important key to maximizing theproductivity of the well. Even more important isprecise knowledge of where pay zones (and hazardzones) are located. The cost of imprecise drilling orinaccurate geologic information ranges from smalllosses in productivity to complete loss of the well.Even small losses in productivity can translate intounrecoverable resources worth millions of dollars.Other more sobering costs of incorrect drillinginclude loss of human life.In order to avoid such losses, timely informationregarding the targeted resource, the trajectory of thewellbore, and the safety and stability of the well isessential to the drilling process. However, theseverity of conditions encountered in the drillingenvironment has largely kept the industry from entering into the age of information andconnectivity. Present drilling communications technologies are analogous to sendingsmoke signals, which prevents much-needed information from being relayed to the top ofthe well with the necessary speed and completeness.Certainly, high-speed data transmission inthe drilling environment would be a keyenabling technology for the energy industry.However, this technology has eluded theindustry for many years. As far back as 1939,technology had been proposed to provide datafrom down-hole to the surface. The stumblingblock in most instances was bridging the tooljoints connecting segments of drill pipetogether. Corrosion, shorting, and otherdamage to electrical connections at thesehundreds of tool joints, or intrusiveness orunreliability of the data transmission system,have effectively prevented commercializationof such data transmission systems.12/25/2003 INTELLISERV, INC. 2185 SOUTH LARSEN PARKWAY PROVO, UT 84606