The oil and gas industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by increased oilfield recovery, profitability and productivity, and the growing importance of technologies such as AI, IoT and machine learning. In the last three years alone, there have been over 534,000 patents filed and granted in the oil and gas industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cloud in Oil & Gas: Wellbore drilling optimization. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 256,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the oil & gas industry, there are 40+ innovation areas that will shape the future.
Wellbore drilling optimisation is a key innovation area in cloud
Wellbore drilling optimisation generally involves reducing drilling cost, improving a drill bit’s rotation speed to improve drill rate, and optimising bit weight.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 60+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established oil & gas companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of wellbore drilling optimisation.
Key players in wellbore drilling optimisation – a disruptive innovation in the oil and gas industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to wellbore drilling optimisation
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Schlumberger is one of the leading patent filers providing cloud-based solutions for wellbore drilling optimisation. Recently, the company has collaborated with AVEVA to improve performance and efficiency at well sites. The collaboration initially focuses on DELFI exploration and production environment to optimise performance and improve equipment health.
Halliburton, another leading patent filer, has announced a partnership to develop Field Development Planning (FDP) cloud software. FDP helps to take efficient decisions on field development data collected manually. Further, the data can be auditable and reduces risk and uncertainty in field development.
Wellbore drilling optimisation through cloud technologies will potentially become the favoured approach by many oil and gas companies. Use of cloud technologies helps to generate data-driven insights in real-time to optimise wellbore drilling. Companies are looking to automate as many processes as possible to mitigate operational risks as well as labour risks, potentially leading to cost savings in the long term.
To further understand how Cloud is disrupting the oil & gas industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cloud Computing in Oil & Gas.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
