Digital twin technology for wellbore and intelligent decision-making in drilling operations: Current status and future prospects

This paper systematically reviews the current technical framework and implementation approaches for drilling digital twin modeling, focusing on key challenges such as multi-source heterogeneous data fusion during wellbore drilling operations, the coupling of physics-based and data-driven models, and intelligent decision feedback mechanisms. First, targeting the objects and levels of drilling data fusion, the fusion mechanisms for multi-temporal and multi-spatial scale data and conflict resolution methods were explored. Second, a comprehensive digital twin architecture suitable for drilling operating conditions was established, and methods for implementing joint physics-based and data-driven modeling were summarized. Then, diagnostic methods for drilling anomaly data features were proposed, enabling the establishment of multi-perspective decision feedback mechanisms between the physical and digital entities. Finally, the application potential of wellbore digital twin technology was prospected in the areas of high spatiotemporal resolution cognition, edge deployment, and model credibility assurance. The research results can provide theoretical support and methodological guidance for achieving drilling state recognition and efficient control under complex operating conditions.