DISTINGUISHED SEMINAR SERIES: Eric Van Oort, UT Austin

The Future of Drilling: Advancing Drilling Automation, Data Analytics, Machine Learning and AI

This seminar will now be on zoom.

It is an exciting time in the Drilling discipline. Novel advancements in systems automation are making well construction not only more reliable and efficient, but also safer. At the same time, activity is exploding in the drilling data analysis arena, with the advent of new high-frequency sensor data as well as more advanced analysis methods that exploit the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence routines. This will benefit all global well construction, whether it involves oil and gas wells, geothermal wells, wells used for CO2 storage, etc. The RAPID (Rig Automation and Performance Improvement in Drilling) industry affiliate program at the University of Texas at Austin is working on many new automation and data-analytics efforts. In the presentation, Dr. van Oort will provide an overview of the ongoing work, highlighting such innovative projects as automated fluid monitoring and maintenance, hole cleaning automation, automated data analysis for drilling optimization through connection recipes and real-time bit damage forensics, and the newly developed methods for combined physics-based and data-driven hybrid modeling.

Bio: Dr. Eric van Oort became Professor in Petroleum Engineering and J.J. King Chair in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in 2012, after a 20-year industry career with Shell Oil Company. He holds a PhD degree in Chemical Physics from the University of Amsterdam. He has (co-)authored more than 200 technical papers, holds 15 patents, is a former SPE Distinguished Lecturer, a SPE Distinguished Member, and the 2017 winner of the prestigious international SPE Drilling Engineering Award. At UT Austin, he directs drilling-related R&D in two industry consortia (RAPID and CODA) with over 25 industry company sponsors, covering drilling automation & control, sensor design, big data analytics, complex well construction challenges, and well abandonment & decommissioning. More recently, he has become involved in solving the technical and economic challenges associated with deep geothermal drilling. In addition, he is the co-founder of 3 start-up companies, including SPYDR Automation dedicated to drilling automation, and is the CEO of his own consulting company, EVO Energy Consulting.