Executive Viewpoint

Disruptions force us to adapt to new conditions. When we produce a technical achievement that gives operators a unique advantage, we are delivering a disruptive technology.

To remain competitive—to create whole new planes of competition—we need disruption. It is rarely generated from inside: the most effective disruptive technologies are those we import. To disrupt the evolution of technologies, we must recruit personnel who have spent their professional lives in other industries. A healthy mix of insiders and outsiders stimulates development along new paths. The outsiders can supply edgy thinking, while the insiders provide the design criteria needed to safely and efficiently withstand field conditions over long periods of time.

Our industry must question its habit of regarding steady, measurable progress as sufficient in terms of advancing solutions for our customers and holding market share. Existing products and processes are tweaked every day to ensure they will perform reliably in increasingly complex situations, and while this is currently the mainstay, it is becoming necessary but insufficient for long-term solutions.

For example, the initial response to deepwater exploration and the rapid expansion of shale production was a default re-engineering of proven technologies; extending temperature and pressure ranges, adjusting mechanical properties and generally making things bigger, heavier and more powerful. However, building on precedent has inherent limits. It can chain innovative thinkers to the technical heritage within their companies.

The smooth-running world of incremental improvement needs a tectonic shake now and then, and new conditions imposed by new discoveries usually form the epicenter of a disruptive technology.

Less is more. The miniaturization insights we can gain from MP3 circuitry are valuable, but the standard electronics used in today’s consumer devices are no match for the violent forces that our downhole tools encounter every day. Keeping these forces in mind, we developed downsized electronics that feature radically different performance in extreme environments. For example, the miniaturized circuitry provides enhanced data acquisition capabilities in temperatures up to 445°F (230°C) while surviving over 10 g vibration forces and maintaining hermeticity to tens of thousands of PSI. As a result, the tools are more robust and quality of data is higher when compared with conventional equipment.

Sometimes a disruptive technology targets a revered technical tradition. The industry has been cementing casing in place for nearly a century, and the variety of slurries available is almost limitless. Although cement delivery methods are increasingly sophisticated, the basic material components of most cement jobs have remained much the same.

The use of composite materials to build passenger jets influenced a change in cement design, resulting in a strong polymeric cement that contains no particulates, does not react with water, provides superior flexibility when subjected to stresses and exhibits a low viscosity that allows it to place a competent seal in the tiniest fissures. Right now, the cost of such a system is higher than that of conventional cement, so adoption will take time. However, when the performance data proves that well life cycles can be extended, and that intervention costs will decrease dramatically, operators may welcome the so-called disruption.

The wells speak. Fiber optic measuring systems can help us understand completions and production in ways never anticipated. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), technology developed in telecom, takes advantage of the response of optical fibers to sound waves. DAS allows us to redefine the oilfield adage that “the well talks to you.” We are now able to listen to induced and naturally occurring events, such as perforations, stimulations and flows. The fiber optic line creates a spatial resolution of sound meter-by-meter, extending along the depth of the well or pipeline. Soon, it will be possible to integrate, visualize and analyze numerous operations and activities in real time, developing and extending the life of the well.

Drilling break. We have been drilling, i.e. digging, holes in the ground to extract water, hydrocarbons and other necessities for millennia. The act of drilling, grinding and pounding adds energy to the rock until the molecules are forced to disassemble.

A potentially disruptive technology, the laser, is being investigated as a rock disassembly tool, too. Lab tests demonstrate that a small laser can quickly create uniform holes, up to 2 inches in diameter, with no taper, all the way through 4 feet of sandstone block. The action of the laser is highly controllable, and the light can cut through steel and concrete with ease. It may be awhile, if at all, before a laser can replace a bit on a BHA, but it is not hard to imagine using lasers instead of ordinance for perforations.

Disruptive technologies change performance standards. They launch new paradigms. They grow out of open-minded surveillance of many industries. They depend on fresh perspectives, while meeting all the requirements for safety, sustainability and efficiency. They are intentional, and the intention is to give operators unique advantages and better performance than ever imagined.