DRILLBITS
Monthly eNewsletter from the IADC

The SPE DSATS/IADC ART Symposium on “Automation, Data and Robotics in Other Industries” is open for registration.

• Date: 3 March 2025
• Time: 13:00 – 17:00 CET (followed by reception)
• Location: Stavanger, Norway
• Venue: Forum Expo 

About the Symposium

Each year DSATS and ART together hold a half-day symposium addressing a theme relating to the automation of drilling rigs and well construction. This symposium precedes the 2025 SPE/IADC International Drilling Conference & Exhibition with stand-alone registration. Seating is limited to 100.

DSATS is the Drilling Systems Automation Technical Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). Their purpose is to accelerate the development and implementation of systems automation in the well drilling industry by supporting initiatives that communicate the technology, recommend best practices, standardize nomenclature and help define the value of drilling systems automation. ​

ART is the Advanced Rig Technology Committee of the International Association of Drilling Contractors. Their mission is to improve safety and efficiency through sound operating procedures, design of automated systems and standardizing automation.​

Drilling systems automation (DSA) is a unique technology that has been successfully applied in multiple well construction operations. The primary drivers for DSA are efficiency improvement, process safety, environmental protection, and further optimization opportunities.

In the past years, new disruptive technologies such as AI and ML have entered the market (and our lives). They demonstrate significant benefits and promise transformative changes, especially for automation, yet they may also introduce new risks along with new opportunities.

Within the context of DSA, how can we leverage these and other technologies? How, if at all, does their emergence change our perspective and approach? Can we afford to ignore them, or should we plan to embrace them to reap the benefits? How and where should we integrate them, considering the known concerns for safety and reliability?

In Norway there has been significant adoption of automation and AI and ML in fields outside of well construction, which provide different views on the application and benefits of these technologies to industrial challenges. In “Automation, data and robotics in other industries” we invite experts from these external fields to describe their successes and challenges, and the benefits realized, in applying advanced automation technologies.

Symposium Schedule

• Annual meeting of SPE DSATS and an update from the IADC ART Committee.

• Autonomous Ships – Remote operations of maritime vessels, advances in new technology; Bjørn Jalving, CTO Kongsberg Maritime

• Utilizing data through AI, analytics, and MES, to enhance processes in dairy production; Dag Madland, Senior IT/OT Advisor, TINE IT, Maintenance lead, TINE Meieriet Jæren

• Resilient Robot Autonomy, including the Cerberus Team for the DARPA subterranean challenge; Prof. Dr. Kostas Alexis, Professor NTNU

Committee

This event is brought to you by a special committee led by Serafima Schaefer, DSATS Program Chair Europe and Eric Cayeux, DSATS Deputy Program Chair Europe:

• John de Wardt, DSATS Director Emeritus
• John Macpherson, DSATS Director Emeritus
• Michael Affleck, BP Digital and Automation
• Karma Slusarchuk, DSATS Board Member
• Sarah Kern, ART Co-Chair
• Blaine Dow, ART Co-Chair

For more information or questions regarding the 2025 SPE DSATS/IADC ART Symposium, feel free to contact committee member John de Wardt via LinkedIn.