The National Advanced Drilling and Excavation Technologies Institute
NADET at a Glance
Every day, about $400 million is spent on drilling and excavation. Traditionally, U.S. companies and U.S. technologies have been at the forefront of this market that includes drilling for oil and gas, mining minerals, developing geothermal resources, creating tunnels and infrastructure, environmental drilling, and scientific drilling. But cutbacks in industrial and government research and development programs jeopardize the U.S. maintaining its competitive advantage in this market.NADET was established in 1992 to facilitate research, development, demonstration, and deployment of advanced technologies for those industries and programs engaged in or dependent on drilling and excavation practices. NADET is based on the premise that many basic industries, national programs, and the American tax payer will benefit if drilling and excavation research funds, talent, ideas, and technologies can be pooled to develop advances that are beyond the capabilities of individual participants and programs. Many important national objectives are at stake, including assuring the stability and security of energy and mineral supplies, urban infrastructure expansion and modernization, environmental preservation and remediation, hazardous material storage, and defense-related excavation. NADET is administered by the NADET Institute located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Laboratory.
The NADET Institute, as a facilitator of drilling-related research, sets strategic research goals, solicits proposals, funds and monitors research, and disseminates results, but NADET does not undertake the research itself. In September, 1996, NADET awarded its first research contracts worth almost one million dollars. Key goals for future rounds of NADET-sponsored research are to develop smart drilling systems (e.g., downhole sensing and decision making, high temperature downhole components) and advanced drilling and excavation systems (e.g., advanced mechanical drill bit designs and materials, revolutionary rock penetration technologies, continuous line-while-advancing technologies).
NADET also engages in activities to encourage inter-industry collaboration. The NADET Institute publishes a quarterly newsletter, maintains a web site, issues press releases, has a presence at key professional and trade meetings, and sponsors workshops and symposium. The NADET Institute is forging strategic alliances with other organizations whose goals are compatible with NADET. These activities are designed to stimulate technology transfer, encourage cross-fertilization, coordinate planning, and extend recognition to NADET compatible projects. The NADET Institute has established several boards and committees to provide guidance to NADET in its strategic planning and operations. They include a board of directors, a government executive advisory board, an industry advisory board, and an interagency drilling and excavation group.
As the NADET program evolves, the benefit to industries dependent on improved drilling and excavation technologies include:
- lower costs for energy and mineral production and extended economic life for domestic operations,
- lower costs and greater speed for much-needed infrastructure expansion,
- lower costs and better performance for environmental remediation operations,
- safe hazardous waste storage at reasonable cost, and
- minimized adverse environmental impacts from future drilling, mining, and construction projects.
A key mission for the NADET Institute is to raise funds to support its activities. The NADET membership program allows a broad range of industrial and government organizations to participate in NADET for a modest fee. In addition, to support its ambitious research program, NADET solicits industrial and governmental sponsorships.