Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati’s team of researchers has developed a novel “Decision Support System for Oil & Gas Drilling” under a collaborative R&D project funded by the Institute of Drilling Technology, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited. The system based on the application of artificial intelligence/machine learning and hybrid model-based diagnostics and data analytics algorithms will significantly reduce the non-productive time during exploration and drilling projects in the oil and gas industry.
The team led by Senthilmuruan Subbiah, professor from the Chemical Engineering department, IIT Guwahati has developed and demonstrated a real-time well drilling monitoring and Decision Support System tool, which will make use of existing data to enable real-time multi-objective optimisation (MOO) of drilling parameters and operators choosing a feasible and optimal solution in real-time. This project was executed during 2019-2020.
The team has also developed optimal preventive maintenance schedules for drilling units using AI/ML techniques for making complicated decisions. Under this project, energy and carbon audit methods for drilling operation to benchmark rig performance have also been developed. The team has filed an application for an Indian patent protecting the novelty and utility of the innovations from this project.
The agreement signing ceremony was carried out virtually where professor Krishnamoorthy, dean - Industrial Interaction and Special Initiatives, IIT Guwahati, welcomed the dignitaries from IDT-ONGC, IITG, and Softdrill Solutions. He set the context highlighting the history of the previous collaborative R&D project between IITG and IDT-ONGC that led to the current TLA with Softdrill Solutions for industry use. He also mentioned that IITG has been leading and is very active in R&D partnerships with industry and technology transfers for commercial use.
By virtue of its research leadership, IIT Guwahati has been globally ranked 41 in QS Ranking for research in the petroleum industry. He further said that the institute has the necessary expertise in various domains in different departments and centres to cater to the needs of the oil and gas industry.