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Horizontal drilling becomes more affordable
More and more oil wells are being drilled horizontally due to the use of 3-D imaging that began in the 1980s, and became more reliable by the late 1990s. -
4-D imaging
BP began using 4-D imaging to gather their seismic data. This technology created a significant rise in production as it helped companies monitor their reservoirs more accurately -
Smart Field Technology developed by Shell company
Shell used sensors attached to fiber optic cables that relayed digital information about temperature, pressure, and other field conditions. This technology helped engineers be able to continuously monitor production and to quickly respond to any problems that occurred. -
GE's Drilling iBox
GE Oil and Gas developed the Drilling iBox which is hardware and software that allows operators to use existing data into information that they can use to get status updates, cycle counts, and receive both condition-based and predictive maintenance. -
Oil well monitoring and early warning systems
Kongsberg and BP came together to develop a system that gives real-time data of oil wells and produced an early warning system. Both of these systems are used during oil well construction with the potential development and deployment to monitor a range of well activities and equipment which includes drilling and cementing and to help prevent blowouts.