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The Cognitus™ platform brings a new level of automation to Halliburton cementing units

The Cognitus™ platform brings a new level of automation to Halliburton cementing units

The Cementing team in Norway developed another new method to perform cementing operations: The Cognitus Automated Cementing Platform.

Erin Fuchs
Erin Fuchs February 22, 2022

More than 100 years ago, Erle P. Halliburton started our Company as the “New Method Oil Well Cementing Company”.  The secret to the Cementing team's endurance is its ability to adapt and develop new methods to design, deliver, and validate sustainable barriers tailored to minimize risk and maximize production. In alignment with this value proposition, the Cementing team in Norway, in collaboration with our client, AkerBP, developed another new method to perform cementing operations: The Cognitus™ Automated Cementing Platform.

17 years ago, Halliburton Norway delivered the world’s first remote controlled cement job when the team successfully controlled an offshore cement job from onshore. But now, it is relatively common for remote operators to control offshore cement units from cabins on drilling rigs (for Level B cementing operations). And Halliburton is again at the forefront of innovation. With the Cognitus implementation, crews can deliver cement jobs autonomously with limited human direction and intervention. A standard Level B cementing operation typically requires a remote operator to send over 300 commands. The Cognitus platform consolidates and automates this to only five manipulations that an operator can send from onshore. These automated capabilities apply Halliburton's best practices to every job, which ensures improved Service Quality. The result is also lower HSE exposure because less personnel are on the drilling site, which minimizes human error.

Here’s how the system works – the Cement operator located in an Onshore Realtime Center can control the cement unit offshore. Once the operator programs the cement job, the Cognitus platform makes necessary adjustments by itself to ensure a steady delivery. For example, if there are bulk cement delivery issues on the rig, the unit will reduce its rate automatically to maintain a steady density. Once the job starts, if the operator loses internet connection on the rig, the platform will continue pumping at planned rate and density. Additionally, the platform will stop at the planned volume, start the unit self-cleaning process, and shut down.

"Over 100 years ago, Halliburton invented the revolutionary cement jet mixer to eliminate hand-mixing cement, " said Khahlil Rehman, Norway country manager. “Today, with the Cognitus automated cementing platform in Norway, we play our part to maintain that market leadership position with another “new method” to deliver a liquid barrel of cement. The Cognitus platform is an automated method that checks off all the boxes in terms of safer operations, improved quality, and cost efficiency.”

To date, the Norway Cementing team has successfully executed 41 Cognitus cement jobs and counting, including primary jobs and Plug and Abandon (P&A) operations. The team is also in the process of installing the final of three Cognitus autonomous cement platforms on additional offshore rigs in the country. Most recently, the team completed remote pressure testing operations during a rig certification exercise with absolutely no Halliburton personnel on the rig.

“The Cognitus automated cementing platform is an important milestone in our Journey to Zero strategy and a stepping-stone in our mission to reduce our carbon footprint in Norway,” said Jean-Marc Lopez, vice president, Norway. "The successful development and execution is an outcome of excellent collaboration between Halliburton, the rig contractor, and AkerBP. All three parties indentified the intrinsic value the technology offered and made this achievement possible."

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