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NOV supports record bit run and Egypt’s first remote operations center

Real-time insights from Drilling Beliefs & Analytics extend bit life and improve performance.

Jun 27, 2025

NOV’s Drilling Beliefs & Analytics (DBA) digital solution has enabled an operator to achieve a record-breaking bit run in Egypt’s Western Desert. By using real-time insights from DBA, the operator completed the longest bit run in the field’s history, saving time and money while improving operational efficiency.

DBA employs artificial intelligence (AI) to provide real-time, actionable insights into well conditions, empowering confident decision-making and improving drilling performance. The solution applies Bayesian models and decision trees to assess the likelihood of drilling dysfunctions such as pack-offs, cuttings buildup, and washouts.

With an edge-first approach, data processing and analytics run at the rig, ensuring these critical insights are available regardless of cloud connectivity. As an integrated application on NOV’s Max Platform™, DBA supports drilling efficiency by providing a single version of the truth and facilitating seamless collaboration from the rig to the office to remote operations centers (ROC).

In January 2025, DBA identified bit balling several times while drilling the 8.5-in. section of a deep formation not typically prone to this issue in the Western Desert. When the rate of penetration (ROP) dropped from about 40 ft/hr to 10 ft/hr, the system triggered a Bit Balling Belief alert. In response, the rig crew pumped anti-balling pill sweeps, restoring the ROP to more than 100 ft/hr. Real-time visibility into drilling efficiency and swift intervention enabled the bit to drill an additional 1,000 ft without replacement, avoiding a trip and saving the operator approximately $75,000.

Meanwhile, the operator’s ROC in Cairo—the country’s first—played a crucial role in the success by providing real-time support. NOV’s customer success engineers, along with the operator’s personnel, accessed DBA insights through the cloud to monitor conditions and guide decision-making.

Opened in April 2024, the ROC provides 24/7 real-time monitoring of drilling operations across the company’s rig fleet. Powered by the Max Platform, the center leverages NOV’s advanced software and AI technologies to monitor drilling parameters, detect anomalies, and alert rig crews before issues escalate.

Since its debut in Egypt two years ago, NOV has deployed DBA across the operator’s entire rig fleet, delivering measurable gains in efficiency, reducing nonproductive time, and improving performance through enhanced visibility and faster, more informed decision-making. Through innovation and trusted execution, NOV is helping operators deliver safer, smarter, and more efficient drilling operations across Egypt.

Learn more here.