Q&A With SLB: Wired for Safety—Electric Well-Control Technologies

_ Electrification of critical drilling and production components is sweeping through the oil field, both onshore and offshore. As technology catches up with the energy storage requirements for given applications, service companies are introducing new electric-powered equipment to replace kit that has been historically hydraulically controlled. One of the latest additions to this movement has been SLB’s EWC electric well-control technologies. EWC technologies replace hydraulics and its complex network of hoses, valves, and actuators with a simplified electric power system that provides real-time data insights and a continuous supply of on-demand power to well-control components under any operating conditions. Electrically driven pumps deliver shear pressures up to 5,000 psi and the system’s lithium-ion 10C battery backup system provides immediate response and full functionality when rig power is unavailable. SLB’s EWC technology enables drillers to instantly and precisely control and monitor blowout preventers (BOPs) onshore and offshore, leveraging industrial internet of things components along the system architecture to provide instant pressure readouts, without the need for conventional pressure gauges. This is designed to help operators make better-informed decisions about the operation and maintenance of the well-control system—reducing nonproductive time and minimizing operating expenses. JPT sat down with Matthew Givens, a pressure-control equipment domain expert and 24-year veteran of SLB, to get the low down on this new EWC system and what it means for the industry. JPT: Traditionally, well pressure controls are manipulated hydraulically and remotely operated. What made SLB look at this system as a prime candidate for electrification? MG: Traditional BOP systems are hydraulically operated remotely, regardless of whether the BOP system is on land, offshore, or a mile below the surface of the ocean. Over time, these systems have become more complex, with hydraulics accounting for more than 60% of system failures. Industry standards and increased well depths require more hydraulic accumulation, increasing the size and weight of the BOP control system. We needed a way to improve performance, reliability, and monitoring of the BOP system while reducing the system’s overall footprint. Our EWC electric well-control technologies are simplifying the system architecture, transitioning from maintenance-intensive ‘stored energy’ of hydraulics to reliable, energy-dense, electric power sources that use data-based decision-making for maintenance. JPT: How long was the new system under development at SLB and were there any significant changes made from the earliest days to Serial #001? MG: Electrification has been a goal since the early 2000s, but stored-energy solutions just weren’t ready for our application. In the last 5 years we have accelerated our EWC developments, notably introducing the EWC pressure on-demand BOP control system. Initially, we aimed for full electrification of the BOP system. However, operational challenges made it apparent that some situations might still require hydraulically actuated equipment. Our EWC pressure on-demand system provides the end user with improved edge-based diagnostics and significantly reduces the footprint by using batteries as stored energy for existing hydraulically actuated equipment.