This book presents a complete review of the unique instruments and the communication technologies utilized in downhole drilling environments. These instruments and communication technologies play a critical role in drilling hydrocarbon wells safely, accurately and efficiently into a target reservoir zone by acquiring information about the surrounding geological formations as well as providing directional measurements of the wellbore. Research into instruments and communication technologies for hydrocarbon drilling has not been explored by researchers to the same extent as other fields, such as biomedical, automotive and aerospace applications. Therefore, the book serves as an opportunity for researchers to truly understand how instruments and communication technologies can be used in a downhole environment and to provide fertile ground for research and development in this area. A look ahead, discussing other technologies such as micro-electromechanical-systems (MEMS) and fourth industrial revolution technologies such as automation, the industrial internet of things (IIoT), artificial intelligence, and robotics that can potentially be used in the oil/gas industry are also presented, as well as requirements still need to be met in order to deploy them in the field.
Chinthaka P. Gooneratne is the Sensors & Instrumentation (S&I) Lead and the Technical Leader for the Internet of Things in the Drilling Technology Team at EXPEC Advanced Research Center, Saudi Aramco. He has over 10 years of experience in creating, leading and managing programs designed to commercialize innovative S&I systems and developing emerging markets that utilize advanced S&I. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Kanazawa University, Japan, is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and has 10 patents/patent applications and published 34 peer-reviewed journal papers, 40 conference papers and 5 book chapters.
Bodong Li joined Saudi Aramco EXPEC Advance Research Center in 2015 as a research engineer working on the development of downhole technologies for drilling and robotic technologies for oil and gas applications.
Max Deffenbaugh is the Sensors Technology Leader at the Aramco Research Center in Houston, TX. He oversees a team of scientists and engineers who turn concepts for new oilfield instruments into field-proven prototypes. Max has more than 20 years of research experience in the oil and gas industry. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has authored more than 90 publications.
Eric Moellendick serves as Chief Technologist for the Drilling Technology Division of Saudi Aramco’s EXPEC Advanced Research Center. With more than twenty five years of oil and gas industry experience, Eric leads a team of world class researchers in developing the next generation of drilling technology required by Saudi Aramco’s Drilling and Workover stakeholders.
