Research Progress and Prospects of Key Technologies for Intelligent Managed Pressure Drilling

With the gradual development of oil and gas exploration towards complex and difficult-to-use fields such as deep formation, deep water, and unconventional areas, the underground risks such as “surge, leakage, collapse, and sticking” have significantly increased. It is urgent to further develop precise managed pressure drilling (MPD) technology and equipment with higher automation and intelligent control capabilities, accelerate the development from semi-automation, automation, to intelligence, achieve accurate and early prediction of complex working conditions, and control and eliminate drilling risks faster and more accurately. A detailed investigation on the intelligent development of MPD technology and equipment in China and abroad was conducted, and the research progress of intelligent pressure control in equipment such as intelligent control, data acquisition and processing, as well as key technologies including complex underground deep learning methods and intelligent decision-making analysis software was discussed. Preliminary experimental verification shows the technical advantages of intelligent MPD technology, but it still needs to be fully verified and improved on site. In the future, by accelerating the cross-border integration of MPD technology and intelligent technology, it is expected to establish an intelligent pressure control drilling technology system that supports efficient exploration and development of complex oil and gas and help China’s oil and gas engineering technology achieve high-level self-reliance and self-improvement.