Nabors’ Pace-R801 drilling rig, the world’s first fully-automated land rig, recently completed its first well to a depth of nearly 20,000 feet for ExxonMobil in Permian Basin, according to a report last week in Houston Chronicle. The Chronicle said this “marks a milestone in the automation of the oil and gas industry… Robots are transforming the industry, promising to save billions of dollars while further shrinking a labor force that has shed tens of thousands of jobs in recent years.” ExxonMobil contracted with Nabors for three horizontal wells by Pace-R801, which was built in Houston and uses robotic hardware and automated software to drill a well.
Sarah Nordin of ExxonMobil told the Chronicle, “We see the potential to move crews away from the rig floor, making drilling operations safer. This technology also has the potential to reduce the number of drilling days, increasing drilling efficiency and consistency.” Travis Purvis of Nabors said robots will replace roughneck jobs, but this automation will create other jobs on rigs for engineers, supervisors and maintenance crews. “There are just different skill sets that are required,” Purvis added. “We’re absolutely committed to giving opportunities to our employees to evolve and develop into those new roles. These rigs have a fairly large footprint. It does require human intervention to move and maintain these rigs so there will always be a human element.”