CRITICAL ISSUES IN DRILLING & COMPLETIONS
Nevertheless, I see there is a big oppor-
tunity when we’re talking about the whole
process of drilling the well. I think it’s
something we can work out, maybe get to
a point where we can have a well drilled
on autopilot but still have someone around
just in case we need to interrupt the pro-
cess or something goes wrong. That’s pos-
sible, and it doesn’t require major technol-
ogy investment.
What are some of your main consid-
erations when deciding whether to
invest in a new digital/automation
technology? Do you see that capital
discipline and cost are holding the
industry back from achieving more
technical advances?
For us to invest in anything, we have to
look at what we’re going to get out of it.
What is the end result of the investment?
We’re not just going to invest in something
and not expect to get something out of it.
Look at our investment in remote opera-
tions, which is something we can justify
and which can make our clients happy.
The payback is there. We definitely want
to go for those types of investments. But
it’s a case-by-case basis in terms of look-
ing for opportunities for investment.
Beyond remote operations, one area
where we’re really looking to invest is in
decarbonization of the rig, especially the
newbuilds. If I look at investing in electri-
fication of the rig, there’s a direct benefit:
We can stop burning diesel. There are two
elements to that – one, the net-zero ele-
ment, and two, we lower our fuel costs.
Diesel is very expensive these days. Those
are definitely things that attract us.
I know that ADNOC Drilling has already
invested significantly in reducing its
carbon footprint over the past few
years. What further efforts can the
world expect to see from your com-
pany in the next 2-5 years around
ESG? The major part for us is the engines that
we use to operate the rig. Electrification
will be a major solution for that. For the
new rigs we have coming in, it’s much
easier to incorporate the systems needed
to electrify the rigs into the design from
While ADNOC Drilling ordered 16 newbuild hybrid power land rigs in 2023, it is also
prioritizing the electrification of existing land units like Rig 52. The contractor also
continues to seek ways to achieve value through automation on land rigs, which
can be challenging due to the frequent moves involved in onshore drilling.
day one. For our existing rigs, there will be
a lot of work required. Those are going to
be focus areas for us.
Another area we’re looking at is the
amount of waste that gets created in the
drilling process. How can we manage that
waste in a way that protects our environ-
ment? That could mean thermal treatment
of the cuttings, reinjection of the cuttings or
other different ways for us to look at that.
Right now, we have 30 mobile camps for
treating wastewater, and because they’re
working in remote locations, we have to
use diesel engines to power them. We’re
looking into using solar power for those
camps. If that goes successfully, just imag-
ine having all of those camps equipped
with a solar system. On top of that, we’re
working on battery energy storage sys-
tems for our land rigs. So, there’s a com-
bination of several different technologies
that we’ll continue to work on in the near
future. As we move forward, we’re going to see
more activity. We’re going to target cer-
tain production capacities that have to be
sustained. As that happens, the amount of
ESG activity within our company is going
to increase. We want to deliver 25% emis-
sions reduction by 2030 and become net-
zero by 2045. We have to deliver.
Let’s talk about the rigs some more.
You’ve already spoken about electrifi-
cation and low-carbon systems going
on the rigs, but what upgrades to the
rig are you considering in order to
improve drilling efficiency in the near
future? To me, that is not just a question of
efficiency. It’s about improving safety on
the rig and protecting our people. We take
safety as one of our major priorities – if
there’s an area where we can invest that
makes people safer, we will not hesitate.
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