DIRECTIONAL DRILLING AUTOMATION: HUMAN FACTORS AND AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING

Continuous real-time updating of the bit position is one of the many critical analysis steps that can be automated, driving steering decisions. The practice of accurately predicting bit position and trajectory is a skill that is artfully developed by expert directional drillers over many years. To demonstrate the value of partial automation, a specific example is presented where the continuous calculation of the real-time bit position and its trajectory is fully automated, showing that the analysis and decision-making performed by the automated system is faster and more accurate than performed by human directional drillers.