'Smart' drilling could boost India's oil output by 30%: Report

At a time of a renewed spike in oil prices, Finnish-Russian digital solutions provider Zyfra said on Wednesday that geosteering and other modern 'smart' drilling software systems will help India increase oil well productivity by up to 30 per cent and reduce construction times by half, while mitigating production and process risks,

Zyfra, which achieved $3 million in contracts with its Indian counterparts in 2018, facilitating industrial manufacturers with AI and IIoT-based solutions, said in a statement that it has recently acquired a controlling stake in Geosteering Technologies (GTI), a leading vendor of 'smart' hydrocarbons drilling software.

"The company's core product is Geonaft, a modular software package designed to provide comprehensive engineering support for directional and horizontal drilling through optimal positioning of the well bore within the target horizon. Geonaft determines the well's stratigraphic position while drilling and forecasts changes in the structure formation," it said.

"The economic impact of drilling with Geonaft could be as much as $1.5 million per year in a single well. Over 4,000 horizontal and directional wells have already been drilled using software products from Geosteering Technologies by clients, including Gazpromneft, Rosneft, Slavneft, Bashneft, Lukoil and other leading Russian oil and gas producers and oilfield service companies," it added.

According to the company, the 'smart' drilling technology market is currently worth over $3 billion and will turn into a $30 billion market in a decade's time.IANS