“We don’t have a Big Data problem. We have a Messy Data problem!”

Among many provocative ideas, the problem of “messy” drilling and downhole data, and how to improve the quality of that data was a key theme of the KAUST Research Conference: Advances in Well Construction.  The conference, hosted Nov 7-9 by ANPERC, brought together key industry and academic research leaders to delineate the main physical, mechanical, and chemical reasons for oil and gas drilling inefficiencies and mishaps, and propose a way forward using the best multidisciplinary approaches.

KAUST Research Conference 2016 included talks Big (and Messy) Data, future technologies, and the educational challenges facing the industry as it moves further into the 21 ^st Century.  Unlike traditional academic conferences, the KAUST Research Conference: Advances in Well Construction was modeled on the innovative SPE Forum Series.  Each “session” consisted of a short talk on a key problem in the theoretical or applied fields in drilling and completions, followed by breakout sessions for each team to address one task/question to solve or answer. Over the course of the three-day conference, the 54 participants—hailing from KAUST, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Queensland, University of Agder,  Saudi Aramco, Baker Hughes, Schlumberger, OMV, Huisman Equipment BV, and others—engaged in 17 sessions, producing some unique observations.  More importantly, the conference produced suggestions for future research and education, such as how coursework and research together must  bridge the generation gap between the older generations of drillers who “go by their gut” and experience, and the emerging generation of “digital natives” who may rarely—if ever—drill wells at the actual drill site.                    

The discussions also covered much needed areas of new technology development, where the emphasis was on visionary technology solutions and not on incremental improvements to existing technology. One of the intended outcomes of the conference will be a conference summary of the ideas and suggestions from the 17 breakout sessions, which will be assembled by members of ANPERC and distributed to the conference participants.                                                                                                            

Visit the conference website page for a full list of all participants and session information. The video below provide a glimpse of the talks and breakouts discussions during the KAUST Research Conference.

The KAUST Research Conference: Advances in Well Construction with Focus on Near Wellbore Physics and Chemistry was co-Chaired by Professor Tad Patzek (ANPERC-KAUST) and Professor Eric van Oort (UT Austin).  The event was organized by the KAUST Ali I. Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center with financial support from the KAUST Office of Sponsored Research and the KAUST Industry Collaboration Program (KICP), Idustry Engagement Office. 

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