Exxon turns to automated drilling in the Permian in push for higher oil output - The Business Standard
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Highlights: In rural west Texas where oil rigs and pump jacks dot the sparse flat landscape, an ExxonMobil (XOM.N), opens new tab contractor sits in a small office on a drilling rig, using controls on a screen to operate robotic machinery and move tall steel pipes weighing roughly 2,000 pounds. Exxon, the largest oil producer by volume in the US, operates more than 30 drilling rigs in the Permian Basin, two of which are automated rigs with robotic equipment. By 2028, the company aims to transition half of its fleet to automated rigs to reduce the need for workers to perform potentially dangerous work and increase efficiency to drill wells faster, an executive told Reuters. The Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, the biggest US oilfield, revolutionized energy markets two decades ago when development of the shale basin turned the US into one of the leading oil-producing countries. But the relatively quick decline rate of shale wells has prompted drillers to develop more technologies to extract the oil. Some in the industry are also concerned about when the Permian's production could begin to decline. Exxon plans to grow its Permian production by almost 40% to 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030. By contrast, rival oil major Chevron plans to hold production steady at about 1 million boepd, focusing instead on free cash flow. The automated drilling rigs are...
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Exxon is also developing a suite of more than 40 technologies to double its oil recovery from the Permian by the early 2030s.
