An outlook of drilling technologies and innovations: Present status and future trends

Abstract

The present article analyzes the technological advancement and innovations related to drilling operations. It covers the review of currently proven and emerging technologies that could mitigate the drilling operational deficiencies and instabilities that could hinder operational performance activities and the economic part of drilling development with great effort to minimize their environmental footprint. Drilling system design and operations are among the major aspects and cost-effective endeavors of the oil and gas industries, which are therefore technology depen-dent. They are also considered to be among the most expensive operations in the world, as they require huge expenses daily. Drilling success, depending on prevalent conditions, is a function of several general factors. These include the selection of the best technologies and tools, procedural optimization, concrete problem-solving, accurate prediction, and rapid decision-making. Conse-quently, any sorts of tools or advanced technologies that can improve the time-efficient operational and economic performance of drilling activities are essential and demanded. The paper provides a review of available technologies and developmental innovations based on both company-based and academic research-enabled drilling solutions over the past 5 years in the field of drilling systems and technological design. The paper further highlighted potential technologies that could be tapped in from other industries and could possibly be adopted by pushing the conventional boundaries of drilling operations.