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NOV’s Drilling Beliefs & Analytics delivers major cost savings in the Delaware Basin

Two years of proven AI-driven insights have reduced non-productive time and enhanced drilling performance for a leading operator.

Laptop on a desk displaying an NOV DBA data visualization dashboard with drilling metrics and charts, set in a modern office environment.”

Nov 05, 2025

NOV’s Drilling Beliefs & Analytics (DBA) application has achieved more than two years of success in the Delaware Basin, helping a major operator reduce costs, improve performance, and decrease non-productive time (NPT). With more than $9 million saved from the use of a single feature, DBA has quickly become an essential part of the operator’s drilling and digital strategies.

The operator contended with escalating NPT from washouts, twist-offs, fishing trips, and excessive bit wear. Inconsistent drilling practices across rigs led to further delays and rising costs. Backed by a long-standing relationship, the operator turned to NOV’s DBA solution.

Unlike tools that simply display data, DBA employs AI to provide real-time, actionable insights into well conditions. Using live-updating physics and Bayesian models, the digital solution assesses the likelihood of drilling dysfunctions and enables early detection and response.

By initially deploying DBA in the operator’s Real-Time Operations Center (RTOC), the application enhanced situational awareness and strengthened collaboration between the rig and office as adoption grew. NOV worked closely with the operator to ensure adoption at the RTOC and rigsite, providing hands-on training, dedicated field liaisons, and clear performance benchmarks. This approach reduced resistance, built confidence, and helped crews integrate DBA into daily operations.

Over the past two years, DBA has delivered significant cost savings and enabled sharp declines in downhole failures. The Abnormal Pressure Loss Belief alone has saved the operator more than $9 million. In just two weeks earlier this year, DBA also helped prevent more than $3 million in NPT.

Following the success in West Texas and New Mexico, the operator has now scaled DBA across its fleet of double-digit rigs, including a drillship in the Gulf of Mexico.

After more than two years of proven success, DBA epitomizes how AI is transforming drilling operations. By detecting early signs of well control, hole cleaning, and stability issues, DBA delivers enhanced situational awareness that empowers crews to act decisively, reducing downtime, mitigating risks, and improving well delivery.

Learn more here.