LONDON-- May 11, 2021 -- Schlumberger and NOV announced today a collaboration to accelerate automated drilling solutions adoption by oil and gas operators and drilling contractors. The agreement will enable customers to combine Schlumberger surface and downhole drilling automation solutions with NOV’s rig automation platform to deliver superior well construction performance. This integrated offering enables the automation of manual workflows, improving safety, decision making, consistency, and efficiency in drilling operations.

“We are pleased to collaborate with NOV and to integrate their rig automation interface with our drilling automation solutions to unlock higher performance for operators and drilling contractors. Leveraging downhole and surface automation applications, we can deliver enhancements in operations safety and efficiency, and deliver top-quartile wells for our customers consistently,” comments Olivier Le Peuch, CEO, Schlumberger. “This partnership will help accelerate customers’ adoption of drilling automation technologies, enabling superior well construction performance.”

“Through this collaboration, NOV demonstrates its commitment to deliver an open digital automation platform that enables drilling contractors to achieve higher consistency, safety, and efficiency with improved wellbore quality,” said Clay Williams, Chairman, President and CEO, NOV. “We continue to invest in digital solutions that provide value for our customers. Drilling automation allows rig crews to focus on the big picture to drive performance and less on manual, repetitive tasks.”

The combined solution leverages advanced AI from the Schlumberger DrillOps[*] on-target well delivery solution, while NOV’s NOVOS process-automation platform controls all NOV rig equipment within the operational envelope. The two technologies will work seamlessly together to manage compliance to procedure and to reach best-in-class operational performance.

The family of DrillOps solutions includes open and modular technologies that leverage Schlumberger’s deep drilling domain knowledge and advanced machine learning applications to execute the digital drilling plan consistently and to automate drilling tasks, attaining higher levels of efficiency. More detail on the DrillOps solution can be found here.

NOVOS is a state-of-the-art open platform, automating repetitive drilling activities, benefiting contractors by allowing drillers to focus on consistent process execution and safety, and benefiting operators by optimizing drilling programs.