Managed Pressure Drilling Software
GradientControls is a comprehensive, intelligent hybrid-edge platform for Managed Pressure Drilling.
From pre-job planning through real-time operations and post-well analysis, every phase is connected. Every project makes the system smarter.
Applications
GradientControls builds software for Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD), from pre-job planning through real-time operations.
Feasibility studies, steady-state hydraulics modeling, pressure window analysis, displacement scheduling, and controller response prediction. Build detailed MPD engineering plans with AI-augmented recommendations for mud weights, surface backpressures, and operational procedures. Plans carry forward calibration data from prior projects, so each new well starts with tighter baselines.
Explore Gradient Planner →Monitoring, advisory, and automated pressure control during drilling. The system ingests live rig data, compares it against the active plan, and prescribes specific adjustments: reduce flow, increase backpressure, modify trip speed. Integrated kick and loss detection with self-healing control logic that maintains annular pressure targets through connectivity interruptions.
Explore Gradient RT →Continuous Learning
GradientControls connects planning, operations, real-time data, and post-well analysis into a single adaptive loop.
Engineering plans, hydraulic models, and operational parameters flow into the platform. Each plan carries forward calibration from previous projects.
Prescriptive recommendations reach the operator in real-time. Accepted actions feed back as validated decision data, training the adaptive models.
Live rig sensors, downhole pressures, ECDs, and flow rates stream continuously. The system compares actual conditions against the plan and adjusts.
Post-well analysis closes the loop. Planned vs. actual deviations, friction model corrections, and operational patterns feed directly into the next project's baseline.
Where to Use Our Solutions
Advanced steady-state and multi-fluid hydraulics for service companies, rig contractors, and operators.
Land MPD operations including pad drilling, mud rollovers between sections, and narrow-window formations. Optimized for high-volume programs where consistency and efficiency drive ROI. Currently deploying with operators in western Canada.
Jackup and platform MPD with surface stack configurations. Accurate pressure management for subsea BOP operations, cement jobs, and critical connections in offshore drilling environments.
Multi-choke MPD systems with real-time analytics for deepwater rigs. Manage narrow pressure windows, riser effects, and temperature variations at extreme depths.
MPD planning and pressure management for geothermal well construction. Handle extreme temperatures, lost circulation zones, and unconventional pressure profiles.
Products
Four integrated products that form a closed loop. Each one feeds data to the next, creating a system that improves with every project.
Cloud-based MPD hydraulics planning with controller response prediction. Build feasibility studies, develop detailed engineering plans, and optimize operational parameters with AI-augmented recommendations. Adaptive models refine from actual well data, so each new project starts with tighter baselines.
Real-time monitoring, advisory, and automated pressure control for active drilling operations. Built on a hybrid edge architecture that runs at the rig site and syncs to the cloud. Self-healing processes adapt operations based on connectivity. In development with launch partner.
Automated post-well analysis that closes the feedback loop. Planned-vs-actual overlays, deviation statistics, and event timelines generated in realtime, near realtime, and forensic post analysis. Every analysis feeds calibration data back into the platform.
The self-learning layer. Friction models adapt from actual downhole data. Rheology corrections refine from real temperature and pressure measurements. Operational patterns surface from across your well history.
Why Gradient
Every competitor can build a hydraulics calculator. The physics is published. The math is the same.
The difference is what happens after the first well. Gradient captures actual downhole measurements, compares them against your plan, and refines the friction correlations, rheology corrections, and operational parameters automatically. Your models get tighter. Your pressure windows get more accurate. Your recommendations get more specific to the formations and fluid systems you actually work with.
Static tools give you the same generic output on well fifty that they gave you on well one. Gradient doesn't.
FAQ
Gradient supports onshore, offshore, deepwater, and geothermal MPD applications. The hydraulics engine handles vertical, directional, and extended-reach wells with multiple casing strings, complex BHA configurations, and multi-fluid operations including displacement, cementing, and pill placement.
After each well, the system ingests actual operational data (downhole pressures, ECDs, flow rates, mud properties) and compares them against the plan. Friction correlations, rheology corrections, and operational parameters auto-calibrate based on measured deviations. The next plan for that field starts with tighter, field-specific baselines.
Yes. Unlike cloud-only solutions, Gradient runs locally without internet connectivity, which is critical for offshore rigs and remote land locations. When connectivity is available, data syncs to the cloud seamlessly.
Most tools describe what's happening downhole. Gradient goes further by recommending specific actions: adjust flow rate to maintain ECD within the window, increase backpressure before a connection, modify trip speed in a tight section. Engineers review and approve recommendations, which then update the operational plan in real-time.
GradientControls develops intelligent MPD solutions for the drilling industry. We provide both the software platform for planning and analytics and the hardware systems for automated pressure management. A fully integrated approach to Managed Pressure Drilling.