Technical focus

SLB launches ExaCT electrical downhole coiled tubing control system

SLB has launched the ExaCT electrical downhole coiled tubing (CT) control system, an advanced intervention platform that introduces real-time electrical control to coiled tubing operations

By replacing pressure-dependent hydraulic actuation with electrical communication, power delivery and telemetry, the ExaCT system gives operators greater visibility, precision and control, helping improve intervention execution and reservoir access.

Complex demands

Well intervention is becoming more complex as reservoirs mature and well designs evolve. Extended-reach wells, multilaterals, and integrated operations demand more accuracy than traditional methods can deliver. Pressure-based actuation and mechanical sequencing often introduce uncertainty — making it harder to execute tasks at the right depth and time.

Without real-time visibility and control, operations become less efficient and more prone to NPT and missed objectives. Conventional approaches often require multiple runs and manual adjustments, increasing risk, cost, and variability — and limiting the ability to complete complex interventions in a single trip.

As the industry focuses on efficiency, repeatability, and performance certainty, precision and control are now essential. Real-time measurement, command, and actuation reduce uncertainty and help ensure every intervention achieves its full potential.

Precision and control

The ExaCT electrical downhole CT control system combines electrical power, telemetry and downhole measurements to deliver real-time precision, actuation and control for complex CT interventions. By replacing passive, pressure-dependent hydraulic actuation with active real-time electrical control the system helps operators to make informed decisions supported by continuous downhole feedback, emablong them to optimise reservoir access, improve production performance and maximise recovery.

The ExaCT system supports multiple services in a single run, including logging, stimulation, isolation and shifting operations – critical for extended-reach, multilateral and high-complexity wells. The platform enables real-time monitoring of downhole conditions and allows interventions to be adapted as conditions change, reducing the need for multiple runs while providing a foundation for increasingly automated intervention workflows.

Designed for harsh downhole conditions, including sour corrosive and high temperature environments, such as those in the Middle East, the ExaCT system improves execution confidence, reduces NPT and delivers more predictable outcomes through standardised, repeatable push-button workflows.

Results:

Field deployments of the ExaCT system across multilateral, extended-reach, and offshore intervention programmes have delivered measurable gains in execution time, cost, and reliability compared with conventional hydraulic systems:

• 30–40% faster intervention - The direction and inclination (D&I) and electrical multilateral module (eMLT) within the ExaCT access service completed multilateral entry and stimulation operations 30–40% faster than conventional methods.
• 15–20% lower operational costs - Electrical control within the ExaCT access service reduced repeat CT trips, lowering operational costs by 15–20% across field deployments.
• 30% faster offshore cleanout - Aker BP reduced offshore cleanout time by about 30%, or approximately 12 hours, using the ExaCT cleanout service in a depleted well offshore Norway.
• 20% less liquid and nitrogen use - Real-time mode switching with the ExaCT cleanout service reduced liquid and nitrogen consumption by about 20% compared with fixed, depth-based programs.

In one six-lateral well intervention, the ExaCT system reduced intervention time by approximately 175 hours, enabling operators to enter each lateral in about 12 minutes compared with six to eight hours using conventional hydraulic systems. The operation stimulated more than 21,000 feet of reservoir contact while reducing fluid consumption by more than 3,000 barrels.

“Operators are asking intervention systems to do far more than simply actuate downhole tools," said Frederik Majkut, president, Reservoir Performance, SLB. "Completion and production teams need continuous visibility, precise control and the flexibility to perform multiple services in a single run. The ExaCT system represents a fundamental shift to electrically controlled intervention, helping operators improve execution certainty, reduce intervention time and maximise reservoir access.”

DUG and ACTeQ combine advanced modelling with seismic survey design

The two teams. (Image source: DUG)

DUG Technology and ACTeQ have announced a strategic partnership whereby DUG Insight’s cloud-based modelling capabilities will be integrated with ACTeQ’s TesserACT survey design platform

TesserACT integrates geophysical and operational analysis to support the design and optimisation of land, marine streamer, seabed, borehole and hybrid seismic surveys.

Through the collaboration, TesserACT provides access to DUG Insight’s advanced modelling capabilities, including synthetic generation and wave-equation-based solutions, enabling them to be incorporated directly into seismic survey design workflows.

ACTeQ’s VP Sales and Marketing, Brandon Mattox, said, “This collaboration represents an important step forward for Tesseract users. With access to advanced 3D modelling capabilities users will benefit from improved workflows and enhanced operational efficiency.”

The integration is designed to simplify access to advanced modelling within the survey design process, reducing the effort required to evaluate acquisition scenarios through cloud computing.

DUG’s senior VP of Software & HPC, Margarita Kongawoin, said: “Interoperability is at the heart of modern software ecosystems. This integration will enable TesserACT users to leverage the modelling and computing power of DUG Insight and the DUG HPC Cloud. We look forward to continuing our working relationship into the future.”

The companies plan to add additional capabilities in the future.

TGS launches Gemini X seismic technology

Gemini X delivers a step change in operational efficiency, sharper subsurface imaging, faster turnaround and more confident exploration decisions. (Image source: TGS)

TGS, a leading global provider of energy data and intelligence, has announced the launch of Gemini X, Gemini X combines TGS' industry-leading Gemini source technology with Apparition, TGS' proprietary encoded acquisition and source separation capability, enabling coordinated multi-source acquisition

Gemini X delivers a step change in operational efficiency, sharper subsurface imaging and faster turnaround, facilitating more confident exploration decisions. By strengthening data quality at the point of acquisition, it improves performance across the entire value chain, from acquisition and advanced imaging workflows such as full-waveform inversion (FWI) in complex subsalt and frontier basins, through to the drill decisions that follow. Following successful testing in the Gulf of America, Gemini X is now available worldwide.

Gemini X helps redefine exploration, especially in ocean-bottom node (OBN) operations, combining fit-for-purpose acquisition with the imaging technology needed to solve complex geology. The result is imaging quality once reserved for high-value production surveys, now practical and affordable at basin exploration scale.

At the core of Gemini X are TGS’ Gemini enhanced frequency source (EFS) and TGS' proprietary encoded-acquisition and source-separation technology, which enable multiple Gemini sources to operate simultaneously while preserving broadband signal fidelity and the extended low frequencies critical for high-end imaging.

Carel Hooijkaas, executive vice president of Marine Data Acquisition, TGS, stated, "For years, ocean-bottom nodes have been seen as a tool for mature fields and production monitoring. Gemini X resets that thinking. By running multiple Gemini sources in parallel, we acquire cleaner, higher-quality data far more efficiently, bringing the imaging power of OBN to basin-scale exploration. This lets our clients skip a generation of seismic acquisition technology while benefiting from sharper images, faster turnaround, and the confidence to make key exploration decisions sooner."

TGS is also teaming up with Chevron in a strategic collaboration focused on advancing next-generation seismic imaging technology. Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly invest in research and development across key technical domains, including Elastic Full Waveform Inversion (eFWI) and machine learning-driven workflows, leveraging TGS' Imaging AnyWare platform and Chevron's proprietary algorithms.

"This collaboration reflects TGS' ambition to evolve into a true strategic imaging partner and to push the boundaries of what is possible in subsurface imaging," said Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS. "Combining our platform, talent and scale with Chevron's world-class geoscience expertise creates meaningful long-term value for both organisations."

Silverwell awarded Middle East contract for DIAL gas lift technology

With DIAL, operators can adjust valve settings remotely from the surface. (Image source: Silverwell)

Silverwell has been awarded a multi-million-dollar, multi-well contract with a leading Middle East operator for the deployment of its Digital Intelligent Artificial Lift (DIAL) technology

The programme covers high-production offshore assets, including premium high-rate extended reach drilling (ERD) wells, dual-string completions and auto-gas lift applications.

Optimising gas-lift wells normally requires costly interventions to change valves and collect downhole data. Changing valve settings can mean taking a well offline, replacing the valves and unloading the well, resulting in lost production and high operating costs.

With DIAL, operators can avoid this disruption by adjusting valve settings remotely from the surface, including effective orifice size, in response to changing well conditions. Permanent downhole sensors provide real-time injection rate and temperature data, enabling continuous optimisation without intervention.

The system enables deeper gas injection, higher production rates and lower operating costs, and has proven reliable in high-pressure, acidic environments. DIAL also incorporates Silverwell's Auto-Unloading capability, which automates well start-up and unloading to accelerate production.

"The industry has long treated well intervention as an unavoidable cost of gas lift. It is not," said Darrell Johnson, chief executive officer of Silverwell. "DIAL enables operators to monitor and optimise gas lift performance remotely in real time, boosting production, lowering costs and improving the value of a well over its lifetime."

The award is a strong signal of the growing adoption of all-electric intelligent completions among Middle East operators managing high-rate offshore assets, with offshore exploration and development on the rise in the region, as illustrated by ADNOC's recent US$6.2bn (AED22.6bn) final investment decision (FID) to develop the Umm Shaif Gas Cap in the Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore concession, Kuwait's push to develop three offshore oil and gas fields discovered in 2025 and Aramco' s focus on expanding and maintaining offshore fields with projects such as the Zuluf crude oil increment.

ADNOC and SLB deploy AI platform across ADNOC rig fleet

The platform brings live rig data from across drilling operations into a unified, real-time environment. (Image source: SLB)

In a major move illustrating how it is accelerating the deployment of AI at scale throughout its operations, ADNOC has deployed its AI-enabled Real-Time Operations Center (RTOC) across its fleet of more than 120 onshore and offshore drilling rigs, enabled by SLB’s DrillOps intelligent well delivery and insights solutions

The platform brings live rig data from across drilling operations into a unified, real-time environment that gives ADNOC teams greater visibility of activity across the fleet, helping them improve coordination, identify risks and issues earlier and make faster, more informed decisions, thereby managing operations more effectively. The RTOC combines operational data, automated dashboards, advanced analytics and AI-driven insights to turn large volumes of drilling data into clear, actionable information.

Benefits of the deployment

According to ADNOC, the deployment
• Reduces engineering effort by 30% to 40%
• Enables engineers to support two to three times more rigs while maintaining effective oversight
• Enables analyses that previously required a full day can to be completed within minutes,
• Allows reporting cycles that once took several days to be completed within hours
• Reduces incident response times by four to 12 hours
• Helps avoid one to two days of rig downtime.

Through this initiative, ADNOC continues to embed AI into core workflows and accelerate the transition toward more autonomous and optimised operations. It follows the deployment of the first AI-enabled fully automated walking island rig of a six-rig programme for ADNOC Offshore, enabling faster and more consistent offshore well delivery as ADNOC seeks to up production capacity to 5mn bpd by 2027.

Developed in the UAE and hosted within ADNOC's cloud environment, RTOC keeps critical operational data and workflows securely within the country while providing a trusted foundation for AI-driven operations.

Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Upstream CEO, said, "The Real-Time Operations Center creates value across ADNOC’s drilling operations every minute by embedding AI into the heart of our drilling operations, helping our teams make faster, smarter decisions at scale. Built securely here in the UAE, it is further proof that ADNOC is moving from AI ambition to real-world impact as we become the world’s most AI-enabled energy company."

“DrillOps transforms real-time drilling data into operational intelligence that helps teams make faster, more informed decisions,” said Rakesh Jaggi, president, Digital, SLB.

“Deployed within ADNOC’s sovereign cloud environment, the technology provides the scalable digital foundation for AI-enabled workflows across one of the industry’s largest rig fleets and supports the continued progression toward more autonomous operations.”