Source: International Association of Drilling Contractors – IADC
Headline: IADC Celebrates Anniversary at World Drilling with 500+ Attendees
In working with NOV to install a robotics system on one of its land rigs in Canada, Precision Drilling faced several non-technical challenges. Specifically, the project emphasized the importance of tempering expectations on what the system could do, as well as the importance of securing strategic alignment with both the vendor and the operator early on in order to actualize ideas effectively.
Speaking with DC from the 2025 IADC World Drilling Conference, Robert Houston, VP of Operations at Precision Drilling, talked about these challenges, as well as how the technologies impacted multiple key performance indicators. Mr Houston also discussed potential performance gains that robotics systems in general can provide to drilling contractors.
The introduction of AI and cloud computing platforms has allowed the drilling industry to link previously isolated operational technology (OT) systems onboard rigs. This integration presents both opportunities and challenges with regards to cybersecurity. It will be critical for drillers to understand how they can effectively mitigate the potential cyber risks and enhance their overall security as AI and the cloud become more integral to their operations, said Mate Csorba, Lead Cybersecurity Specialist at DNV.
In this interview with DC from the 2025 IADC World Drilling Conference, Mr Csorba outlined what he called the “blurring of borders” between OT systems and IT (information technology) systems, as well as the short-, mid- and long-term use cases for AI in drilling. He also discussed the role AI may or may not play in cybersecurity.