Feature Stories
ConocoPhillips Drilling Supervisor Scott Brandt at work in the Drilling Intelligence Group's advanced technology center, known as the DIG, on the Midland campus.
Earlier this month, the Drilling Intelligence Group officially moved into its new space, aptly named the DIG, on the first floor of Concho Center Two on the Midland campus. The space was reimagined, redesigned and rebuilt to fit the needs of this Lower 48 Operations group with help from Real Estate & Facilities Services (REFS).
“When the Drilling Intelligence Group came to REFS with the idea for a drilling intelligence center, we put our heads together to find just the right space,” said Senior Strategic Space Planner Kelly Marco. “What started as a room full of giant filing cabinets has turned into an advanced technology center with room to expand for future growth.”
Drilling Intelligence Group team members test equipment in their new workspace.
The project team for the DIG drew inspiration from similar facilities at ConocoPhillips that provide real-time monitoring of operations.
“The overarching concept wasn’t a completely new idea to the company,” said Directional Drilling Superintendent Colby Wark. “The team did a great job of researching what we’d done in other locations and then fitting that together with the specific needs of the drilling team.”
In the DIG, directional drillers, operations personnel and engineers monitor drilling activity, analyze data and provide support to improve overall drilling performance.
“Our organizational strategy for the DIG is to enhance the productivity of our dedicated engineering and operations teams by providing optimization recommendations and wellbore-steering decisions through the integration of our in-house directional teams’ expertise and leveraging cutting-edge rig-automation capabilities,” said Drilling Manager Dan Bearden.
The DIG’s design was built with future growth in mind, and the group hopes to bring in even more disciplines to further enhance learnings and improve performance.
DIG Project Team
REFS Engineering Project Manager and Designer Alison Maillet, Drilling and Completions Directional Drilling Superintendent Colby Wark, Permian IT Site Support Steven Clemmer and Preston Cockerham, Core Digital Technologies Connectivity Tony Rogers, REFS Midland Facilities Manager Renaldo Works, REFS Move Services Manny Aranda and REFS Strategic Space Planner Kelly Marco.
