The DEA(e) membership consists of 42 operators, service companies and academic institutions and meets four times a year, meetings are member only and capped at 55 participants. The DEA(e) had its first ever virtual meeting in June 2020 and, uniquely,  was uncapped and attracted 130 attendees from member companies participating in the day-long event. It was themed on “Digital breakthroughs in the drilling industry”. 

Aker BP discussed the digital ecosystem it is developing that will revolutionise the way it approaches the E&P lifecycle, and OGTC / Robert Gordon University shared the findings of work it has been doing to understand best practice in adoption of digital technology. 

In addition, a number of companies discussed how to digitise operations – recognising that no one company has the answer but that working together can build a foundation for digital transformation. And just to prove that technology development is still taking place, there were cases studies on innovative use of surface logging data, mini-electronics in BHA’s, and providing power downhole through pipe.