American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2016 - 80

SpecialReport: Drill Bits & BHAs

New Drill Bits Boost Efficiency, Safety
By Colter Cookson
From novel cutter geometries that reduce vibration to advanced cutters for
ultratough formations, PDC bit manufacturers continue to demonstrate a knack
for coming up with new twists on old
ideas. Their efforts have paid off. The
latest drill bits are setting penetration
rate records in all types of formations,
and are completing jobs in single runs
that once required three or four bits.
Meanwhile, new hybrids are bringing
roller cone-quality steerability and respectable speed to applications traditionally
dominated by PDC bits. And thanks to
more robust seals and bearings, roller
cone bits continue to redefine performance
benchmarks in tough, abrasive formations
and large-diameter holes.
Although they express pride in their
technologies, bit manufacturers say it
takes more than a great bit to drill efficiently while staying on target. They say
the record-setting performances being
achieved are the result of working closely
with customers to deliver bits that are a
perfect fit for each job.
"In both the United States and Canada,
the focus on each job has increased," observes Aron Deen, innovation manager
for Ulterra. "Engineers who used to oversee
three or four rigs now have one, and in
some cases, that rig may have other engineers assigned to it as well. These engineers
have time to get into details, so it is more
important than ever for bit manufacturers
to be partners that help find ways to drill
faster and stay in the hole longer."
Deen stresses that Ulterra also works
with the companies that provide other
drill string components. "We have had
great success partnering with rotary steerable companies to match our bits to their
tools," he illustrates.
Point-the-bit rotary steerable tools have
a nonrotating sleeve on the outside, so in
order to steer the bit while the drill string
is rotating, the driller needs a way to determine tool orientation and direction,
Deen notes. "If lateral vibration gets to
the point of bit whirl, the tool will cycle
around the hole and the driller may lose
track of which direction it is pointed," he
says. "To prevent that, most of the tools
are designed with certain bit characteristics
in mind, particularly gauge configurations.
"In addition to following the rotary
80 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

steerable system (RSS) providers' specifications, we have been working with
them to give them input into the bit
design from the ground floor so we can
build not just a good bit and a good RSS,
but a system that will work extremely
well for the operator," Deen outlines. "In
the process, we can apply techniques that
are unique to Ulterra to solve problems
for the RSS companies, and ultimately,
the operators."
Working With RSS
Ulterra-specific tools include CounterForce™ bits, which Deen says orient
and place cutters to redirect otherwise
damaging lateral vibration into the formation, providing energy to cut the rock
while reducing troublesome vibration.
Levi Sasser, Ulterra's district manager
for South Texas, says the company's willingness to partner with RSS makers has
contributed to great runs. "After working
with Weatherford to design an Eagle Ford
bit tailored to Weatherford's Revolution®

Ulterra's CounterForce™ bits feature
cutter geometries that leverage normally
detrimental lateral vibration to improve
rock cutting efficiency. The technology is
one of many techniques the company is
using to tailor its bits for specific rotary
steerable systems.

RSS, we have seen a huge difference in
vibration and torque, which has drastically
reduced the chance of tool failure," he
reports. "At the same time, the bit is increasing ROP, setting distance records
and coming out of the hole in pristine
condition.
"In a run in Live Oak County, Tx., the
bit set two global footage records for the
Revolution RSS by drilling 16,234 feet,"
Sasser relates. "The extended-reach well
had a total depth of 22,700 feet. Reaching
out that far is a big challenge, and doing
it with one bottom-hole assembly is unheard of, but by staying on bottom for
192 hours, we managed."
The lessons learned in the Eagle Ford
have been applied to improve penetration
rates in the Marcellus with the slim-hole
version of the same RSS, Deen reports.
He adds that the company has designed
successful intermediate 12¼-inch bits to
work with RSS tools such as Schlumberger's
PowerV RSS and Scout Downhole's Vertical
Scout®, as well as lateral bits designed to
work with PowerDrive and Gyrodata Inc.'s
Well-Guide RSS™ tools.
In the Permian Basin, Deen reports a
new Ulterra 12¼-inch U616M, which
was designed to work with the 8-inch
PowerDrive 900X5 RSS, enabled Occidental Petroleum Corp. to eliminate multiple trips and save 44 hours compared
with its best performing well through the
same interval.
"In the Elk Hills Field in California,
bits geared to work with Baker Hughes'
AutoTrak™ system were able to increase
ROP more than 50 percent," Deen continues. "In the deepwater Gulf of Mexico,
with bits ranging from 8½ to 181⁄8 inches
in diameter, adding CounterForce to customized RSS bit designs reduced drilling
vibrations and increased ROP on both
PowerDrive and AutoTrak systems."
Versatile PDC Platform
To help operators drill faster and
farther, Baker Hughes has introduced the
Talon™ Force PDC offering. According
to PDC Product Manager Danielle Fuselier, the bits can be tailored to handle any
application challenge, from high-speed
vertical drilling to lengthy laterals through
hard, interbedded formations.
Talon Force bits have delivered fantastic
results in curve and lateral sections, she
says. "For example, we have improved

American Oil and Gas Reporter - April 2016

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