Well Engineering - Drilling tendencies and Drill Ahead Prediction

Lateral vibrations of the BHA

In well engineering, drilling engineers are responsible for cost-effective solutions for upstream operations. They always want to know where the hole is headed. Relying on old methods may be able to answer some questions. However, these past proven tools can take away days worth of rig time. With an ever-changing market, engineers need to be something like fortune tellers.

Drill-ahead prediction supports improvements in directional drilling and focuses on the geometry of the hole to minimize secondary tasks, which makes problem-solving more efficient. 

Drill-ahead functionality utilizes WOB, RPM, and flow rate along with all the details listed above to characterize the physics and the drilling assembly’s response incrementally ahead of the bit. The output from these calculations is derived from thousands of iterative calculations of the BHA/drillstring, its’ touch points along the well-bore, and the forces acting at each depth interval that drive the system towards its’ next step.


Drill-Ahead prediction is the crystal ball, simply put, it is smart engineering. When looking for this software there are some options. When dealing with time constraints and budget getting the right tool for the job is paramount. Here is a place to start:

  • Landmark Decision Space 365
  • MindMesh RiMo Well Engineering Platform
  • Premier Directional Drilling
  • Well Drill
  • DrillScan WellScan

Interested in seeing some results now? Check out the case study from our industry-leading Well Engineering software, RiMo Drill-Ahead Prediction

We also took things a step further with Real Time Drilling Data Analysis

With data-driven simulation and predictive analytics. RiMo’s Real-Time Digital Twin predicts drilling mechanics and drilling dysfunctions in real-time. In other words, we have taken the Time Domain Analysis method to the next level for real-time operations. This makes efficiency and maximizes cost saving, it is a truly perspective tool for our industry.

Interested in learning more about these tools? Contact us!

ABOUT MINDMESH

MindMesh is the digital evolution of engineering. We
provide clients with sound technical expertise and
knowledge for products relating to design, manufacturing
process evaluations, and engineering of the product’s life
cycle. With over 15 years of industrial experience in diverse
disciplines, our team is uniquely equipped to resolve tough
and complicated engineering issues with success!

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