Maersk Drilling running big-data pilots on its XLE rigs

Maersk Drilling and GE announced a partnership to collaborate on a data analytic-driven pilot project starting with an XL Enhanced (XLE) ultra-harsh environment jack up. The pilot seeks to increase Maersk’s drilling vessels’ productivity while cutting maintenance costs by as much as 20%.

The pilot project will be carried out on one of Maersk Drilling’s XLE rigs for 12 months before Maersk Drilling decides whether to deploy the system fleetwide.

“Digital capability will be one of the key enablers for Maersk Drilling, and we embrace this industrial transition,” said Jesper Hansen, Maersk Drilling chief information officer.

Operational sensor data from critical equipment is connected to a historian, a specialized server that stores the data needed to model a drilling blueprint. Drilling engineers will see the real-time information on dashboards.

Advanced algorithms and data-processing capability will forecast potential failure and enable preventive maintenance. Engineers will be given early warnings to mitigate unplanned downtime, Maersk and GE said in a joint news release from the GE Minds + Machines meeting in San Francisco (OGJ Online, Nov. 16, 2016).