I-Corps: Self-guiding drilling tool for the oil, gas and geothermal industries

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响和商业潜力是对能源行业的好处，特别是美国的石油、天然气和地热行业。能源行业正在加快数字化转型进程，而其他行业（如汽车或信息技术）已经在数字化方面取得了巨大进展。未来5年，传统钻井工具和数字化油田的市场规模预计将分别达到50亿美元和300亿美元。此外，随着清洁能源需求和环保法规的增加，全球地热能市场预计到2025年将达到90亿美元，其中北美占有很大份额。这款自动化、自导向钻井工具瞄准了这一市场，以减少与深层石油和地热井开发相关的公共、环境和经济危害。改进的钻井作业将使整个钻井平台的占地面积保持在较低水平，显著减少侧钻和非生产时间。因此，半自主过程最终将降低成本和能源消耗，从而实现更环保的钻井和更高的安全性。I-Corps项目将探索以前资助的钻井自动化研究技术的商业潜力。与目前市场上的工具相比，该自导式钻井工具的自动化程度至少提高了两个级别，从而大大节省了成本，提高了安全性。开发量身定制的原型和功能工具需要更好地了解潜在的客户需求。这个I-Corps项目旨在通过全面的客户访谈来发现关键的客户需求，以指导原型开发。证明该产品的技术和经济可行性将有利于自动化钻井作业，并为在流程优化的其他方面实施该技术开辟了道路。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the benefits for the energy industry, especially the US oil & gas and geothermal industries. The energy sector is ramping up its digital transformation process as other sectors (e.g. automotive or information technology) have already seen tremendous progress in digitalization. Over the next five years, the markets for traditional drilling tools and digital oilfields are expected to reach $5 billion and $30 billion, respectively. Furthermore, with the increasing clean energy demand and regulations regarding eco-friendliness, the global geothermal energy market is projected to reach $9 billion by 2025, with a significant share held by North America. The proposed, automated, self-guided drilling tool targets this market to reduce the public, environmental, and economic hazards associated with deep oil and geothermal well development. Improved drilling operations will keep the overall drilling rig's footprint low, significantly minimizing sidetracks and non-productive time. Consequently, the intended semi-autonomous process will ultimately reduce costs and energy consumption resulting in more environment-friendly drilling and improved safety.This I-Corps project will explore the commercial potential of technology stemming from previously funded drilling automation research. The proposed self-guided drilling tool is superior by at least two automation levels compared to the current market tools, resulting in significant cost savings and improved safety. Developing a tailored prototype and a functional tool requires a much better understanding of potential customer needs. This I-Corps project aims to discover critical customer needs through comprehensive customer interviews to guide prototype development. Proving technical and economic feasibility of the product will benefit automated drilling operations and open up avenues for implementing the technology in other aspects of process optimization.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.