IIT-G develops new method for exploration, drilling of oil, gas

A team of researchers of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) has developed a novel decision support system for oil and gas drilling under a collaborative research and development project funded by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), officials said on Friday. The newly developed system based on the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as hybrid model-based diagnostics and data analytics algorithms would significantly reduce the non-productive time during exploration and drilling projects in the oil and gas industry.

The researchers team led by Senthilmuruan Subbiah, Professor from the Chemical Engineering department of the institute, has demonstrated a real-time well drilling monitoring and decision support system tool. This will make use of existing data to enable real-time multi-objective optimisation of drilling parameters and operators choosing a feasible and optimal solution in real-time.

The team has filed an application for an Indian patent protecting the novelty and utility of the innovations. Officials said the IIT-G and Institute of Drilling Technology of the ONGC on Friday signed technology licensing agreement with Udaipur (Rajasthan)-based Softdrill Solutions Private Ltd. to create an advanced real-time operational solution for oil and gas well drilling operations.

Krishnamoorthy, Dean Industrial Interaction and Special Initiatives of the IIT-G, said the institute has the necessary expertise in various domains in different departments and centres to cater to the needs of the oil and gas industry. "IIT-G is also involved in indigenous technology development, not only for drilling but for other areas as well," he added.

Vimal Katiyar, Dean, Research and Development (R&D), highlighted the fact that IIT-G has been the Centre of Excellence in R&D for the oil and gas industry, being funded on many projects by ONGC, Oil India Limited and other Indian oil companies.

By virtue of its research leadership, IIT-G has been globally ranked 41th in QS Ranking for research in petroleum industry, he said.