Halliburton, Eni achieve industry-first closed-loop rig automation in deepwater Indonesia

(WO) — Halliburton has completed what it says is the industry's first deployment of integrated closed-loop rig automation and managed pressure drilling (MPD) on a deepwater exploration well with Eni offshore Indonesia, marking a milestone for automated drilling operations in the Asia-Pacific region. 

The project combined Halliburton's LOGIX™ automation platform with managed pressure drilling to integrate rig surface equipment, automated well placement, downhole hydraulics and MPD controls into a single closed-loop system. According to the company, the deployment represents the first application of the integrated technology in Asia-Pacific.

Halliburton said its LOGIX Orchestration service coordinated drilling and tripping operations through a unified workflow, eliminating the traditional separation between drilling execution and pressure management. The integrated system was designed to improve operational consistency while maintaining well control in deepwater wells with narrow drilling margins.

The companies reported that the automated workflow improved drilling efficiency by more than 15% while maintaining pressure control throughout the operation.

"When we integrate rig automation with MPD, we close a critical gap and give operators better control, consistency and performance in complex wells," said Jim Collins, vice president of Sperry Drilling at Halliburton. "This deployment proves the model scales in a deepwater environment."

Halliburton said the project combined Eni's operational expertise with its drilling automation technologies to integrate drill floor controls, subsurface automation and pressure management into a single operating system.

The deployment builds on Halliburton's broader efforts to expand closed-loop drilling automation from decision-support applications to real-time drilling execution, particularly in technically challenging offshore environments.

The company said growing operator demand for automated well construction technologies is driving increased adoption of integrated drilling systems for deepwater developments worldwide.