RigComms is our main software tool. This geosteering application has been developed in-house, over a number of years. We use it ourselves and also license it commercially (contact@geosteering.com).

Realtime
These days there are many situations where watching the well in realtime is essential. Immediate reaction to faults or other unexpected structural events can save a sidetrack. In a reservoir bounded by swelling shales or depleted zones, a timely geosteering decision can make the difference between days of fishing or no lost time. When ROPs are fast or target zones are thin, reviewing the data only intermittently can readily result in a lot of footage out of the pay.

For situations such as these, RigComms can be run in realtime. Built-in WITS receivers allow the user - perhaps in his office or home, or even when travelling - to watch data streaming from the MWD/LWD, mudlogging and rig instrumentation systems. The receivers can work either over serial lines or the internet, or entirely within a company intranet, if one exists at the rigsite. There is no web server to configure. The connection is point-to-point and trivial to set up and initiate. The WITS data can be multiplexed, so any number of RigComms users can be supported.

All the geosteering functionality of the offline RigComms is available in realtime, plus the user can monitor both the drilling and directional parameters such as toolface and rotary steerable settings. All LWD measurements are supported, regardless of vendor, including realtime image logs. Realtime information can make all the difference in many situations.

Offline
In offline mode, offset and current well data are imported from LAS or ASCII files and displayed in fully configurable multi-track MD, TVD, TBT, TVT or time logs. Multiwell vertical section and plan view displays allow the user to view the offset and current well trajectories together with markers and surfaces that are updated during drilling, using interpreted dip and fault information.

Offline work is done for pre-job planning and post-well analysis of the job. It can also be adequate for well placement in less critical situations.