Platform
The Pre-Drill Intelligence Layer
PDIL is a desktop platform that brings the exploration workflow into one project: data in, processing, inversion, well design and, with the While-Drilling Loop, decision support during drilling.
One project, one model
Every stage works on the same subsurface model.
PDIL is delivered as a desktop application with nine modules. Because the modules share one project and one description of uncertainty, a change in an early interpretation shows up in the well plan, and new data from the bit shows up in the model.
PDIL runs on your own workstation with a local project folder, so project data does not need to leave your environment.
Computational backends
- Spectral decomposition
- Magnetotelluric processing
- Gravity reduction
- Well tie
- Pre-stack depth migration (PreSDM)
- Well planning
Joint inversion of seismic, magnetotelluric and gravity data is developed alongside the platform; see Research.
Four stages
What happens at each step.
01 Reconnaissance
Rank areas before you buy data.
Thermal anomaly detection, structural mapping from elevation data and spectral alteration mapping screen large areas quickly. The pipeline runs in confirmed stages, so the analyst reviews and approves each step before the next begins.
02 Geophysical integration
One model from several methods.
Magnetotellurics, gravity, seismic and passive seismic are processed and combined by joint inversion, so that each method constrains the others and disagreements become visible.
03 Well design
Plans that know what they do not know.
Well tie, depth imaging and well planning compare trajectory options by their chance of reaching a target and of avoiding a hazard, given the uncertainty in the model.
04 While drilling
The model keeps learning.
The While-Drilling Loop (WDL) updates the model as LWD data arrives and supports decisions on whether to continue, steer or stop.
While-Drilling Loop
Geosteering that shares its assumptions with the plan.
WDL is designed for both mud-pulse and wired-pipe LWD telemetry, so it can be used on conventional rigs and on high-bandwidth systems. Because it uses the same model and uncertainty framework as the pre-drill stages, the plan and the live well speak the same language.
WDL is under active development. It can be wired into PDIL as a While-drilling extension or deployed as a standalone tool.
Steer towards, steer away
Two objectives, one framework.
- Steer towards a target, such as a permeable fault zone or a mineralised body
- Steer away from a hazard, such as an unstable zone or an unwanted structure
- Applicable to geothermal, hydrothermal and enhanced systems, minerals, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear waste disposal and other subsurface uses
Status
In active development, open to pilots.
We are working with industry and research partners on pilot projects and on data sharing that tailors the modules to specific sectors, including hard-rock mineral exploration. If you have a dataset or a decision that PDIL could help with, we would like to hear about it.
See PDIL on your own data.
A pilot analysis on a dataset of yours is the quickest way to judge whether the workflow fits your team.