Vik Kalsi, a former student of Rocky View Schools and graduate of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), has received a provincial honour for a project he co-developed that will save producers in the oil and gas industry thousands of dollars and hopefully lighten their carbon footprint.
As a petroleum engineering Technology student SAIT, Kalsi and his classmate Andre Fugissawa completed a capstone project where they were tasked with developing a guideline that would contribute to the verification of a new software app developed by the company Precision Drilling, called Z-Torque. For their work, Kalsi and Fugissawa were recognized as finalists for the 2023 “Capstone Project of the Year Award,” presented by the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET).
“Being nominated…felt pretty amazing,” said Kalsi. “It’s definitely a validation of all the hard work, dedication, and innovative thinking that went into our project. It’s a moment of pride knowing that our efforts have been acknowledged by our professional association.”
As a kid, Kalsi attended different Springbank schools until he transferred to a Calgary school in his grade 11 year. He worked on different oil rigs and did some work as a frac hand before attending SAIT. He now works as an engineering technologist in Casper, Wyoming, for a company based in Calgary. While at SAIT, Kalsi and Fugissawa were assigned to develop guidelines for Z-Torque, an app created to mitigate stick-slip during drilling operations.
Stick-slip occurs when friction between a drill bit and a rock formation causes the bit to momentarily stick and then slip. This behaviour results in damaging vibrations that heat the drill, and reduce its efficiency and productivity, throughout the duration of the operation. The vibrations caused by stick-slip are generated when the drill string, the jointed sections of the drill pipe that transmits the driving force from the surface to the drill bit, starts to twist back and forth, causing the release of rotational energy, which then induces premature wear, fatigue, and eventually damage to the drill.
Essentially, Kalsi and Fugissawa developed guidelines for a program that would reduce the wear and tear on drilling equipment. It was considered a challenging project by the instructors at SAIT and by the engineers at Precision. But, it was a challenge Kalsi and Fugissawa took head on.
“Andre and I were notified very early on that we had to work for these companies and do a Capstone Project,” Kalsi said, “most group sizes were four and [the instructors said] ‘if you guys are ok working as a pair we’re gonna partner you up with Precision, which will have a more advanced level project’. We felt that, as challenging as it might be, it was a good opportunity for us.”
Kalsi and Fugissawa ran millions of data points during their comprehensive testing of Z-Torque and were able to determine the right software setting for each of the different rock formations tested. They were successful in decreasing surface stick-slip severity levels by over 26 per cent and increased the rate of drill penetration by 16 per cent. In theory, their findings would save oil and gas companies almost $7,000 over 376 meters of rotary drilling.
“My understanding was that [Precision Drilling] would implement [Z-Torque] right away,” said Kalsi. The fast turn around and hands on approach to engineering is pretty typical for engineering technologists, who deal more with the process of application than regular engineers.
ASET makes the selections for the “Capstone Project of the Year Award” by fielding two submissions from each of the province’s four polytechnic colleges. Sait, Red Deer Polytechnic, Lethbridge College, and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) make their submissions via the program chairs at each school, who consult with instructors to find the perfect candidates.
The winners of the ASET “Capstone Project of the Year Award" will be announced at the end of October.
