Sekal AS has been awarded a framework agreement with Statoil for Advanced Monitoring of drilling operations. As part of the Advanced Monitoring service, Sekal will be utilising its DrillScene™ software to model well behaviour and provide a more comprehensive picture of well status in real time.
Experience from using DrillScene™ in drilling operations has shown great success in early detection of symptoms of potential critical situations such as influx of oil and gas into the well, loss of fluids to the formation, poor cuttings transport, friction evolution and pack-off tendencies that might lead to stuck pipe situations. Such early detection of symptoms can reduce non-productive time and increase both drilling safety and efficiency.
The International Research Institute of Stavanger AS (IRIS), the major shareholder in Sekal, has spent the last decade developing DrillScene™ and the advanced physical models behind this software. During this development phase, Statoil Research & Development and the internal Statoil project Intelligent and Safe Well Construction (ISWC) have been the largest contributors for testing the models and the software in real operations.
Sekal provides a 24/7 helpdesk staffed with highly experienced drilling and software personnel to provide round-the-clock support for the Advanced Monitoring service. Sekal and IRIS are committed to continuously developing software that employ real time data from the rig for both advanced monitoring and automated drilling.
The contract will run for two years and has options for an additional two plus two years. The contract could utilize as many as 20 to 30 employees when fully operative.