American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015 - 132

SpecialReport: Performance Drilling

Advanced diagnostics systems
present a complete overview of
a rig's systems in an intuitive
and accessible format. Engines,
sensors, "smart" valves, dedicated input/output blocks, and
operator controls report diagnostic information to the rig's
control network in real time.

and contractors involved in each integration, which can make finding and fixing
problems extremely time consuming.
A vast skill set of mechanical, electrical
and hydraulic knowledge often is required.
At a time of narrowing margins in U.S.
shale plays, manual diagnostics simply
are not a practical method for system
feedback, troubleshooting, or control.
The price volatility and rapidly changing
pace of the oil and gas industry demand
efficiency and practicality.
With the large number of devices attached to a modern rig's control network,
the need for a uniform and comprehensive
error reporting system is clear. The glut
of information available from connected
devices can become overwhelming quickly. Information overload often is as ineffective as insufficient data, especially if
it distracts an operator and leads to unsafe
situations.
However, the goal of integrated automation is to move beyond simply reporting errors, and is to arrive at a system
that can help operators and technicians
pinpoint trouble quickly by presenting a
complete overview of the rig's systems.
The operating environment demands
streamlined automation of a drill site in
a single control network, rather than
adding to the cluttered landscape of systems.
Some rig manufacturers that understand
the potential for collecting and analyzing
all this site data have created diagnostics
and feedback systems that provide a
natural backbone for well site automation.
With all site data available to users on a
single network, these rigs simplify con-

nectivity and troubleshooting.
Advanced, built-in diagnostics systems
can help operators and technicians identify
problems quickly by presenting a complete
overview of the rig's systems in an intuitive and accessible format. Rather than
an ambiguous "check engine" warning,
a well-designed diagnostics system presents technicians and engineers with data
to identify the specific problem, in plain
text. There should be no need for rig operators to have extensive software and
computer training to operate this system.
Diagnostic systems are required to collect data from a huge number of sources
scattered across a site. Engines, sensors,
"smart" valves, dedicated input/output
blocks, and operator controls all report
diagnostic information to the rig's control
network in real time. The data streams-
each in a proprietary format-must be consolidated, unified and displayed to the
user. The system should have the ability
to filter out the irrelevant data and eliminate
much of the educated guesswork of conventional troubleshooting.

Data Connections
The availability of data communications
in the oil field has changed the operational
landscape further. Using a cellular or
satellite data connection, rigs may utilize
remote diagnostic tools over a secure and
private data channel to the operator's
headquarters or to multiple remote satellite
offices. Using these connections, authorized
engineers and service technicians are able
to monitor all critical control components,
troubleshoot system faults, and deploy
software updates. Data and feedback gath-

132 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

ered during operations allow for system
improvements, both in the short term and
over the equipment's life cycle.
Ideally, additional hardware is not required to integrate diagnostic tools. In
many systems, large touch screens provide
an interface to diagnostic tools that allow
for rapid navigation to all operational
data streaming from the site. Under normal
conditions, the operator sees only the
data he needs. When trouble is suspected,
operational and diagnostic data from any
sensor in the entire system are only a
couple of screen taps away.
Organization of diagnostics should be
clear and straightforward. Data points
should be organized according to function.
Users expect to see all relevant information
in a single location, not spread across
several places.
For example, if there is a problem
with the top drive rotation control, the
operator switches to a rotation diagnostics
screen to view every sensor and actuator
that affects this function, including the
joystick in the control room, the hydraulic
pumps and valves, and intermediate pressure sensors. When compared with a conventional drilling rig, a modern diagnostics
system potentially saves hours of manually
testing each component, let alone the
costly rig downtime and production delays
needed for software engineers and technicians to travel to the site.
Often, technicians are able to perform
full diagnostics on any rig from the office
or any computer, mobile phone or tablet
that has an Internet connection. Utilizing
this connectivity in conjunction with the
diagnostic system, engineers may monitor
the performance of critical components
in real applications, and provide feedback
to improve control software.
Future control placement can be optimized so as to be less fatiguing and to allow operators to keep their eyes on the
floor. Programmers are able to deploy
validated software updates to the rig,
based on input from engineers or customers. In combination with the extensive
diagnostic tools available, nearly any
fault can be diagnosed and isolated without
unnecessary travel to the rig. Several
problems that may have taken hours of
testing in the past often can be diagnosed
in a fraction of the time.
Role Of Automation
The diagnostics system goes beyond
troubleshooting. There is an evolving emphasis on monitoring critical systems. Ad-



American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2015

Contents
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