Landmark Graphics Corporation

Yashas Malur Saidutta

Srinath Madasu

Keshava Prasad Rangarajan

Shashi Dande

Raja Vikram R Pandya

Robello Samuel

Jeffrey Marc Yarus

Raja Vikram Raj Pandya

Geosteering can be used in a drilling operation to create a wellbore that is used to extract hydrocarbons from a defined zone within the subterranean formation. According to some aspects, generating paths for the wellbore may include using path-planning protocols and pure-pursuit protocols. The pure-pursuit protocol may be executed to output a plurality of candidate drilling paths. The output may also include control parameters for controlling the drill bit. A trajectory optimizer may determine a result of multi-objective functions for each candidate path. A cost function may represent a cost or loss associated with a candidate path. Additionally, the trajectory optimizer may perform an optimization protocol, such as Bayesian optimization, on the cost functions to determine which candidate path to select. The selected candidate path may correspond to new control parameters for controlling the drill bit to reach the target location.

Well path drilling trajectory and control for geosteering

Systems and methods for automated drilling control and optimization are disclosed. Training data, including values of drilling parameters, for a current stage of a drilling operation are acquired. A reinforcement learning model is trained to estimate values of the drilling parameters for a subsequent stage of the drilling operation to be performed, based on the acquired training data and a reward policy mapping inputs and outputs of the model. The subsequent stage of the drilling operation is performed based on the values of the drilling parameters estimated using the trained model. A difference between the estimated and actual values of the drilling parameters is calculated, based on real-time data acquired during the subsequent stage of the drilling operation. The reinforcement learning model is retrained to refine the reward policy, based on the calculated difference. At least one additional stage of the drilling operation is performed using the retrained model.

Active reinforcement learning for drilling optimization and automation

A drilling device may use a concurrent path planning process to create a path from a starting location to a destination location within a subterranean environment. The drilling device can receive sensor data. A probability distribution can be generated from the sensor data indicating one or more likely materials compositions that make up each portion of the subterranean environment. The probability distribution can be sampled, and for each sample, a drill path trajectory and drill parameters for the trajectory can be generated. A trained neural network may evaluate each trajectory and drill parameters to identify the most ideal trajectory based on the sensor data. The drilling device may then initiate drilling operations for a predetermined distance along the ideal trajectory.

Automated concurrent path planning and drilling parameter optimization using robotics

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Atlanta, GA, United States of America

Yashas Malur Saidutta