An apparatus for determining torque on bit and bending forces in a drilling assembly. The apparatus includes a body having an inner bore defined by an inner wall and having an outer wall, the body also including first and second light bores disposed between the inner wall and the outer wall and a light emitting assembly arranged and configured to cause a light beam to enter the first and second light bores. The assembly further includes first and second light sensors disposed in or at an end of the first and second light bores, respectively, that measure a location where light that enters the first and second light bores contacts the sensors

A directional casing drilling system includes a casing string, a drilling rig and a retrievable Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA). The drilling rig includes a casing drive for rotating the casing string in the borehole, a control system for controlling the casing drive, and a mud pump for pumping a continuous flow of drilling mud into the casing string. The BHA includes a torque transfer section, with which it is secured in the casing string, and a drill bit section held in a drilling position in the torque transfer section. It further includes a mud drive that rotates the drilling position of the drill bit section about the longitudinal axis of the torque transfer section, and a communicating device for communicating the orientation of the drill bit to the control system. The BHA is steered by adjusting the rotational speed of the casing string.

A directional casing drilling system includes a casing string, a drilling rig and a retrievable Bottom Hole Assembly (BHA). The drilling rig includes a casing drive for rotating the casing string in the borehole, a control system for controlling the casing drive, and a mud pump for pumping a continuous flow of drilling mud into the casing string. The BHA includes a torque transfer section, with which it is secured in the casing string, and a drill bit section held in a drilling position in the torque transfer section. It further includes a mud drive that rotates the drilling position of the drill bit section about the longitudinal axis of the torque transfer section, and a communicating device for communicating the orientation of the drill bit to the control system. The BHA is steered by adjusting the rotational speed of the casing string.

A plan structure and a method for creating a plan for forming/operating a sub-sea or sub-terranean well, in an automated planner, are disclosed. The plan defines logical, sequential and conditional interrelationships between events in the plan, so that a controller can carry out the plan in a flexible and time-independent manner to complete the sequenced events. The definition of the logical, sequential and conditional interdependencies permits flexibility in how the controller uses the time and resources available to it so that the plan directs the controller in a non-prescriptive manner, allowing greater flexibility in plan execution and reducing the necessity for re-planning to occur when changes in the world or environment in which the controller executes the plan are detected.

A drilling system, assembly, and method may help optimize drilling in a system that involves more than one rotary tool that engages the formation. A rotary tool may be a rotary cutting tool, such as a drill bit or reamer, or some other rotary tool (e.g. stabilizer or rotary steerable tool) that has the potential to drag on the wall of the hole being drilled and take energy away from cutting. In an example, a wellbore or portion thereof is formed by rotating a first rotary cutting tool having a first cutting structure in engagement with one portion of the formation together with a second rotary cutting tool having a second cutting structure in engagement with another portion of the formation. Forces are obtained above and below the second cutting structure. One or more drilling parameter or drill bit design parameter are adjusted in relation to a force differential between the forces above and below the second cutting structure.

A method, apparatus and system is provided for assessing risk for well completion, comprising: obtaining, using an input interface, a Below Rotary Table hours and a plurality of well-field parameters for one or more planned runs, determining, using at least one processor, one or more non-productive time values that correspond to the one or more planned runs based upon the well-field parameters, developing, using at least one processor, a non-productive time distribution and a Below Rotary Table distribution via one or more Monte Carlo trials; and outputting, using a graphic display, a risk transfer model results based on a total BRT hours from the Below Rotary Table and the non-productive time distribution produced from the one or more Monte Carlo trials.

A method, apparatus and system is provided for assessing risk for well completion, comprising: obtaining, using an input interface, a Below Rotary Table hours and a plurality of well-field parameters for one or more planned runs, determining, using at least one processor, one or more non-productive time values that correspond to the one or more planned runs based upon the well-field parameters, developing, using at least one processor, a non-productive time distribution and a Below Rotary Table distribution via one or more Monte Carlo trials; and outputting, using a graphic display, a risk transfer model results based on a total BRT hours from the Below Rotary Table and the non-productive time distribution produced from the one or more Monte Carlo trials.

A method for controlling drilling operations includes defining operation zones in a drilling operation area, each operation zone having equipment operating therein, and repeatedly performing the steps of: determining a position of at least one person in the drilling operation area, determining whether the respective determined position is within any of the operation zones and associating each person to the operation zone in which the person is located, determining whether the respective determined position is within a safety zone in proximity to the equipment, determining at least one action to be performed with regard to each operation zone in which the person has been determined to be present, and transmitting at least one control signal for controlling the drilling operations based on the at least one action determined. The at least one action is determined dependent on whether or not the position of the person is in the safety zone.

A remote intelligent active drilling pressure control system and method. The system includes a drilling pump, a rotary blowout preventer, a ground simple throttle control manifold, a wellhead back pressure compensation manifold, a graded filling device, a downhole storage-type pressure measuring device, a ground multi-parameter online monitoring system, a drilling hydraulic calculation system, an MPD intelligent control platform and a remote monitoring and control system. The present invention provides a wellbore pressure control thought of “plugging and control integration”, improves the pressure resistance of a formation by circularly plugging while drilling, realizes active control of a wellbore pressure, effectively broadens a “drilling safety density window” of the formation, and reduces the requirements on the pressure control precision of a wellbore pressure control device.

A remote intelligent active drilling pressure control system and method. The system includes a drilling pump, a rotary blowout preventer, a ground simple throttle control manifold, a wellhead back pressure compensation manifold, a graded filling device, a downhole storage-type pressure measuring device, a ground multi-parameter online monitoring system, a drilling hydraulic calculation system, an MPD intelligent control platform and a remote monitoring and control system. The present invention provides a wellbore pressure control thought of “plugging and control integration”, improves the pressure resistance of a formation by circularly plugging while drilling, realizes active control of a wellbore pressure, effectively broadens a “drilling safety density window” of the formation, and reduces the requirements on the pressure control precision of a wellbore pressure control device.