Drilling Systems Automation: Fault Detection, Isolation and Recovery Functions for Situational Awareness

Abstract

Drilling process automation solutions provide positive assistance to the driller, and increase consistency in execution of drilling procedures. However, in drilling automation the use of automated drilling advisors can reduce human operator situational awareness. Therefore, systems that automatically detect and react to drilling incidents must support the driller. These critical systems cover Fault Detection, Isolation and Recovery (FDIR) functions. This paper presents a method that facilitates the interoperability of drilling automation advisors for FDIR functions. Some drilling events happen so fast that mitigation (FDIR) must be implemented directly at the automated drilling control system (ADCS) level. Yet, FDIR functions often need dynamic parametrization from external sources since the ADCS may lack access to mandatory information needed for correct detection and mitigation of the incident. This requires interoperability, communications without human intervention, between the ADCS and the external sources of the parameters for the FDIR function. To interconnect the two sides of the problem, the ADCS describes its capabilities for fault detection and isolation and the external application, the automation Advisor, adapts to the exposed capabilities. On the one hand, the ADCS may implement various types of FDIR functions. On the other hand, external dynamic parameter functions may only address certain types of drilling incidents. Different ADCS providers implement such FDIR functionalities in different ways. Since this undermines the portability (interoperability) of the solutions provided by third party advisor applications, any drilling systems automation solution must address this communication issue. The simplest form of communication describes predefined capabilities, providing the ability to communicate based on an agreement about a set of statically defined possibilities. At an intermediate level of complexity, the ADCS describes its capabilities in a descriptive format that the external application interprets, and to which it can adapt. In the most advanced version, the ADCS describes that it allows the external parameter provider to configure the ADCS behavior to its needs. The paper describes a generic data model covering all three levels of the interface. Another implementation of the model is in the form of a micro-service that implements a REST API and exchanges Json formatted data objects. The latter is therefore agnostic to programming languages and computer platforms. This work is part of the D-WIS (Drilling and Wells Interoperability Standard) initiative advancing industry wells digital systems interoperability. D-WIS is a cross-industry workgroup providing the industry with solutions to facilitate interoperability of digital and computer systems at the rig site. The proposed solution delivers retrofitting ease for existing solutions but is sufficiently flexible to accommodate to new and not yet known FDIR functions. It is a key function for systems interoperability at the rig site, directly addressing situational awareness for the driller.