Project Title: Research and Application of Complete Technology for Intelligent Drilling System of Unconventional Oil and Gas

Participating Enterprises: CNPC Greatwall Drilling Company

Award Received: Scientific and Technological Progress Award

Project Number: ECF-2026-SYE-1033

Main Participants: Chi Lijun, Zhou Chao, Guan Song, Li Xingcai, Liu Hongbo, Luo Changsheng, Zhang Wucai, Zhang Shuo

Expert Review Comments:

The principal advance is a complete operational loop linking drilling measurements, intelligent decisions and equipment execution. Physics- and data-based parameter optimization, multisource wellsite sensing and coordinated pipe-handling robots extend intelligence from recommendations into field operations. Demonstration of the complete system in four Liaohe shale oil wells achieved an autonomous-drilling rate of 93.2% and a 15% reduction in drilling cycle time; wider subsystem deployment provides further operating experience. The achievement demonstrates strong engineering integration, with particular value in reducing manual exposure to hazardous tasks and improving operational consistency and efficiency. It provides a significant field demonstration of an integrated intelligent-drilling solution developed in China.

Main Innovations:

1. The project developed the world’s first integrated intelligent drilling main control system combining an intelligent well site, a decision-making platform and an intelligent drilling rig, creating an intelligent drilling “organism” that integrates surface and downhole operations, equipment and software, and field and remote support. 2. A digital architecture connects the base, well site and downhole systems through comprehensive sensing, establishing a remote data network integrating perception and cognition with millisecond-level latency. 3. A drilling decision platform driven by combined data and physical mechanisms recommends drilling parameters every 5 seconds, compared with 10 seconds for leading international providers. 4. The world’s first cluster of suspended pipe-handling robots achieves millimeter-level control accuracy, outperforming comparable domestic and international products.

Main Uses and Technical Principles:

For the development of complex unconventional resources including shale oil, shale gas and tight oil and gas, the system connects the entire chain of digital sensing, intelligent decision-making and automated operations, transforming the traditional reliance on manual drilling experience. It provides comprehensive well-site sensing, dynamic intelligent drilling-parameter optimization, advance warning of wellbore risks and automatic operation of wellhead equipment clusters, promoting safe, efficient, intelligent drilling with fewer personnel. The domestically developed integrated equipment has been deployed at scale in China and abroad.