Right Bit, Right Application, Right Time: Case Studies of Enhanced Bit Design Process

摘要

Properly matching drill bit design to target formation in order to achieve desired performance has always been a challenge. Due to the recent steep rise in drilling activity, the time available to plan, evaluate, conceptualize, design and test bit designs has been cut short drastically. This paper describes application-specific design solutions that enable rapid optimization of detailed aspects of drill bit design. Specifically, the focus is on a method of customizing or “matching” drill-bit-to-specific-application based on operator requirements, formation to be drilled, drilling parameters and rig capabilities. In hard-to-drill Mid Continent applications, this simple but engineered and proven process expedited selection of the right bit at the right time for the right application. Eliminating unnecessary lines of communication and moving bit design closer to the customer interface – or to the rig itself -- the process streamlined product development and manufacturing by incorporating “first-hand” customer input into the bit design function. Central to the process are a number of advanced design tools that enable application-specific design solutions to optimize detailed aspects of the bit design, such as precise cutter arrangement and placement, as well as force-, volume- and energy-balancing. As summarized in three case histories, application of this bit design/selection process significantly improved customization of optimum bit designs for the US Mid Continent, where increasing target depths and more complex well profiles in hard-to-drill formations rendered use of “generic” tools less than optimal.