Exxon aims to increase oil production by automating drilling in the Permian.

ExxonMobil's contractor in rural west Texas, where oil rigs, pump jacks, and sparse, flat terrain are everywhere, sits on a drilling platform, using controls to move steel pipes weighing 2,000 pounds.

The most common place for an accident on a drilling rig is the floor of the rig, where human supervisors would normally stand. Exxon is the largest oil company in the United States by volume. It operates over 30 drilling rigs, including two automated rigs equipped with robotics. An executive stated that by 2028 the company plans to convert half of its fleet into automated rigs. This will reduce the number of workers performing potentially dangerous tasks and increase the efficiency to drill more wells. Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico is the largest U.S. Oilfield. Two decades ago, development of shale made the U.S. one of the top oil producing countries. Drillers have developed new technologies to extract oil because of the rapid decline rate in shale-wells. Some industry professionals are concerned about the potential decline in Permian production. Exxon wants to increase its Permian oil production by nearly 40% by 2030, to 2.5 million barrels equivalent per day. Chevron, the rival oil company, plans to keep production at 1 million boepd and focus on cash flow.

Bart Cahir is Exxon's senior Vice President of Unconventional Oils. In an interview, he said that the automated drilling rigs were part of a "combination" of technologies and strategies Exxon uses to boost production.

He said: "When we remove people from the rig floor they are now able think ahead and plan the next operation. This combination gives us efficiency." This is the productivity game." Last year, the company installed its automated rig supplied by drilling contractor Helmerich & Payne. The company drilled horizontally two miles underground in just over six days. This is the third fastest drill in Exxon history.

Exxon has never reported its use of automated rigs and goal to expand the fleet in the Permian.

A gate with the sign "Red Zone: Restricted Area" surrounds one of Exxon’s automated drilling rigs located in Midland. The Grim Reaper is used to illustrate the dangers that workers are exposed to when working around heavy machinery and systems under pressure. Robotic arms are now used to position drill pipes that are over two stories high. Workers would normally help move the columns. This allows the drilling to go deeper into the borehole.

Exxon's Houston central operations team communicates with employees on the rig to determine what precise movements the robot system should make. Cahir explained that by removing workers from so-called Red Zones, they can focus on other tasks on the rig, and the work will be less variable, allowing more feet to be drilled per day.

He said that in the history of drilling wells, about one-third of all serious injuries have occurred on the floor of the rig. "By getting people out of the higher-risk area, we're essentially removing that risk."

Cahir stated that Exxon will expand automated rigs from a quarter to half of its fleet in the next year, and to the entire fleet by 2028.

Exxon has also developed a suite that includes more than 40 technologies in order to double the oil recovery rate from the Permian formation by the early 2030s. Due to the compacted, tight rock in shale fields, the industry extracts only 10% of the oil. Sheila Dang, Midland, Texas. David Gregorio edited the story.

(source: Reuters)