Offshore drilling contractor Noble Corporation and General Electric (GE) have entered into a partnership to work on an advanced data analytics system for offshore drilling rigs known as Digital Rig (SM).
Noble said on Monday that the Digital Rig solution aims to improve the operational productivity of the company’s drilling rigs.
The company added that the solution would allow it to better manage the asset lifecycle by using utilizing data analytics and provide a more productive drilling operation for customers.
The agreement entails the use of GE’s latest digital asset performance management system on four Noble drilling rigs as part of a fleet pilot program. The expected efficiencies captured through the implementation of the Digital Rig solution target a 20 percent reduction in repair and maintenance expenditures across the pilot rigs, the driller said.
The data-driven drilling model created by Noble’s and GE should enhance drilling process efficiency, shift to predictive asset management, and reduce third-party service costs.
Tim Schweikert , President, and CEO of GE’s Marine Solutions, said: “Offshore companies must adapt to industry disruptions by leveraging digital solutions to counteract the current downswing and for readiness to scale during a market upswing. Together, we are stronger and will get there faster. It is a privilege to partner with Noble, and we are looking forward to delivering the results enabled by the digital age.”
The Digital Rig solution also processes operational data from critical assets utilizing GE’s data models and analytics to detect anomalies which are often a sign of potential failure or performance degradation. These anomalies can potentially be detected weeks ahead and could provide an early warning to operators to prevent the problem before it occurs, said Noble.
As the system continues to learn, the solution will be able to shift from planned to predictive maintenance. By reducing unnecessary or excessive maintenance, the partners believe the transition to predictive maintenance will create cost-savings, mitigate the risk of maintenance-induced problems, reduce downtime, and increase drilling productivity.
David W. Williams , President, and CEO of Noble Corporation, said: “We believe the shift to data-driven decisions will have a significant effect on drilling efficiencies. It is imperative for our industry to embrace the digital revolution to stay efficient and nimble, and Noble is leading the way. We look forward to developing our Digital Rig solution with GE.”