US Land Operators Report Need for Higher MWD Data Rates

US land oil & gas operators report the need for higher MWD data rates in the future based on personal interviews with nearly 100 operators in Kimberlite’s 2018 Drilling Equipment & Services report.

56% of US land operators surveyed state the need for higher MWD data rates and they cite future plans to use dual telemetry and EM to help achieve these higher data rate requirements.

The need for higher MWD data rates is an essential component to assist US land operators in leveraging the increased use of drilling advisory systems and anticipated future use of automated drilling technologies. US land operators report an interest in using automated drilling technologies in the future where downhole sensors communicate with drilling rig equipment to automatically adjust well path and direction. It is envisioned that up to 40% of US land wells could be drilled using automated drilling technologies in the next 5 years. Advancements in data rates and software will be required to achieve these ambitious goals.

US land operators continue to enjoy improved drilling efficiencies in which they are able to drill longer laterals in less time resulting in cost savings. Many of the drilling efficiencies achieved in the past two years have been the result of “fine tuning” the bottom hole assembly (BHA) with optimally designed configurations for the downhole mud motor, MWD, RSS, centralizers and other key components. In the future, US land operators believe they will be able to achieve additional levels of drilling efficiency leveraging automated drilling technologies that can also assist with better well placement, fewer hole problems/kick avoidance and improved safety.