SFI DigiWells is led by NORCE - to ensure increased profitability and reduced carbon emissions
The SFI DigiWells will develop knowledge and digital solutions that will contribute to a competitive Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). The research will ensure increased profitability with at the same time reducing carbon emissions.
Digiwell customized
In the NORCE-led SFI DigiWells, researchers and industry partners will develop more efficient drilling of oil and gas wells through increased digitization and automation.
The Research Council distributed two billion to 22 centers on Friday 12 June, NORCE received two centers and is involved in four others.
I look forward to taking on the task of starting the center. The Rystad report that was handed over to NFR earlier this year shows that petroleum research is very profitable. This SFI initiative also follows up the Konkraft report from 2018 as a highly recommended collaboration between various players on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to ensure competitiveness by developing and implementing new digital solutions, says Erlend Vefring who will lead the work in the SFI center DigiWells: Digital Well Center for Value Creation, Competitiveness and Minimum Environmental Footprint.
The start-up of the SFI center DigiWells gives us the opportunity to develop new and innovative solutions that also ensure lower emissions. I am proud that we have so many talented researchers that make us successful in the fierce competition for SFI centers. With the initiative, we have managed to bring together a large industrial cluster together with a number of outstanding university environments nationally and internationally, says Aina M. Berg, Executive Vice President NORCE Energi.
Digitization
The SFI center DigiWells will take advantage of the opportunities that open up with the increased use of new digitized solutions. Interdisciplinary and digitized work processes will be developed for better planning and implementation of drilling and well operations. This will include the development of solutions for decision support and automated and autonomous operations.
More efficient wells will optimize resource utilization at NCS, resulting in lower costs per barrel (high value creation), reduced risk (safe operation), and reduced environmental impact (lower carbon emissions for each unit produced).
Research partners are:
NORCE, University of Stavanger, NTNU, University of Bergen, University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, TU Clausthal, and UPV EHU.
The SFI Center DigiWells' research partners have leading expertise and skills in petroleum technology and drilling and well construction, as well as deep knowledge in digitization, machine learning, and automation, including software prototyping and commercial development. Infrastructure for experimenting and testing solutions is in place with ULLRIGG and the laboratory facilities in OpenLab Drilling, owned by NORCE.
Picture: From OpenLab Drilling Control Rooms
