Innovative thinkers

Dr. Robello Samuel

As Halliburton technology fellow for drilling and completions, Dr. Robello Samuel has a unique approach to the generation of ideas and advancement in technology. This is likely a core attribute that has made him so influential to the evolution of research and practice in drilling engineering.

“We need to think outside of the box, always,” Samuel says. “But first, you need to know what your frame of reference is. If you are outside the box, there is no point in thinking outside the box; as you don’t know what is inside to start with.”

This is an adage that Samuel frequently teaches to his students. As passionate as he is about science and drilling technology, he is just as enthusiastic about sharing his more than 30 years of multi-disciplinary experience in domestic and international drilling and completion operations; management; consulting; and technology development.

He spent the first nine years of his career working on rigs as a field and drilling engineer for India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. This is where he gained hands-on experience in the field, before moving on to the R&D side of the industry. With that knowledge and industry expertise, he has taught advanced graduate drilling engineering courses at various universities, and presently teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma, University of Houston and the University of Southern California.

Additionally, Samuel conducts one-day drilling workshops that raise funds for student scholarships. He said, “Times are tough during a downturn, and I wanted to find ways to help students.” The course imparts ways to solve complex problems in practical terms, through Landmark’s well construction lifecycle applications. He introduced the cloud-based learning initiative, which offers improvements in information management and access, and is one of the first of its kind.

Samuel, himself, is the author of the textbooks studied in these courses. After noticing a lack of information being produced about the theoretical knowledge behind downhole drilling tools, Samuel wrote his first book on Downhole Drilling Tools Theory. He has written 12 books since then.

Engineering technology and education are not Samuel’s only passions, however. It was not until he left his life as a drilling engineer in India, that he discovered his aptitude for research. He came to the U.S. for higher studies, and after earning his PhD, he took a position at Enertech as a product research specialist. It was here that Samuel began working with an R&D team, to develop commercial software projects related to everything from casing/tubing design and analysis, to integrated drilling engineering applications. Samuel said, “I have a real passion for research.”

In 1998, Samuel began an illustrious career at Halliburton, as senior technical advisor. He provided technical and engineering directions in well planning application products. Additionally, he guided engineers, and consulting and support staff, on well planning, and wellbore tubular and hydraulics design, the analysis of wellbore thermal and flow phenomena, and their effect on the loading of wellbore tubulars, as well as an energy-based approach for path planning for optimization and downhole automation.

With his impressive history of participating in multiple cross-disciplinary projects of major significance, Samuel quickly worked his way up to technology fellow in 2012. Throughout his years at Halliburton, Samuel has applied theories, principles and practices to the research and development of new, and improved, drilling products and procedures. He has published more than 150 technical papers, reports and books. Additionally, he holds six patents, with more than 50 patent-pending applications.