SPE 142501

Novel Drilling Technology Delivers a Step Change in Challenging

Deepwater Operations
Jeff Clausen, Jorge Rebellon, Joe Blanc, and Steve Barton, NOV Downhole
Copyright 2011, Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Middle East Oil and Gas Show and Conference held in Manama, Bahrain, 2528 September 2011.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
Jar technology has been around in the oil industry for several decades and its basic principles have remained primarily the
same. As the oil industry moves forward in the exploration and development of unconventional hydrocarbon reserves, the
demand for tougher, more reliable, and safer tools is more critical. Deeper wells and more complex well geometries are
pushing the drilling envelopes, requiring tools to be engineered not only to withstand higher stresses downhole, but also to
provide higher levels of safety on the rig floor. Through the engineering of simple but ingenious features, this paper describes
how jar technology has been taken to a higher level.
A jar has been designed acknowledging the most important features required in the current demanding drilling scenarios.
The industry is not only looking for safer and more reliable tools, but also tools that will provide higher firing loads to
increase the levels of success of freeing a drill string during a stuck pipe incident. The loads delivered during the first hours
of a stuck pipe event can significantly improve the chances of retrieving the drill string safely to surface.
The design features employed in this new technology maintain the same operating procedures of standard designs, but have
increased the torque, tensile, and pressure ratings of the tool. In addition, current technology can suffer damage from
excessive internal pressure build up when the over-pull rating of the tools are exceeded; particularly in deepwater
applications where heave can be a contributing factor. A device has been engineered to protect the tool if such a condition is
reached. The new jar also features a modular safety mechanism that will eradicate the use of the traditional safety collars
eliminating the potential hazards of dropping objects on the rig floor.
This paper will provide an overview of the innovative technology, plus review the initial field trials. Testing and field trials
will demonstrate how this technology is a true step change, matching the growing demands of the drilling industry.
1.0 Introduction
The oil and gas industrys continued drive to develop harder to reach hydrocarbon reserves is accelerating the demand for
tougher, more reliable, and safer tools. The industrys competitive climate and the capital markets relentless demand for
improved return on assets (ROA) require drilling contractors and operators to constantly strive for improved efficiencies and
guard against losses. Companies go to great efforts to avoid stuck pipe, yet these events still cost the oil and gas industry
hundreds of millions of dollars each year and threaten the viability of individual well projects. The drilling jar is the last line
of defense against a stuck pipe event, yet while drilling performance and safety requirements have rapidly increased in the
last decade, little technological advancement has been introduced in recent years for these vital tools.
This paper introduces a new drilling jar and jar technologies designed to meet the needs of the most demanding applications
with industry leading pressure ratings, tensile, torsion, and impact load ratings. It also incorporates a novel over-pull
protection and a hydrostatic safety lock that ensure maximum impact loads and removes dropped object hazards related to
conventional drilling jars.
1.1 Jar History and Overview
Drilling jars were first invented in the early 1800s for water well drilling and later adapted to oil well drilling. Back
in the 19th century the jar principle was an essential element of cable drilling. The first drilling jar patent (to the knowledge
of the authors of this paper) was presented back in 1841 by Mr. W. Morris. Later in 1868 Mr. E. Guillod of Titusville,

SPE 142501

Pennsylvania, introduced a design of the drilling jar made of iron and steel. The demanding jarring operations at the time
could take days or even weeks as described by the inventor. The drilling setting required a better design, with improved
materials that could endure the demanding operations. In essence they required a tool that could lift anywhere between 500
lbs to 1,000 lbs in weight, and sustain 30 to 40 blows per minute. The objective of the tool was to improve the performance
of the drilling jar, eliminating the probability of the interconnected links becoming jammed together as the driller tried to free
the string by hitting the head of the link on every blow.
Although the first rotary rig was developed in France in the 1860s, rotary drilling did not become popular until the
entry of the 20th century when the first wells were finally drilled using this method. Up until the early 1900s, drilling jars
were basically interlocked members that delivered an impact load upon the reverse rotation of the drill string whenever it got
stuck during drilling operations.
It was not until 1931 that a gentleman by the name of J. Beck introduced the first known concept of the jarring
principle as we know it today. This is the first mechanical device designed to deliver an impact load to the BHA based on the
strain energy stored in the drill string when overpull is applied; the first design of the latch type drilling jar was born. This
consisted of a telescoping mandrel, held in place by a mechanical device, allowing two abutting shoulders to come together
as overpull was applied to the stuck drill string and thus convey an impact load to the stuck tool. Latch design improvements
were introduced in the 1950s to allow for an improved and more precise control of the impact load delivered to the stuck
string. In 1973 and 1975 the first double acting mechanical devices entered the market with substantial improvements for the
drilling industry.
Hydraulic jars became an alternative to the oil industry as early as the 1940s. Up until then, mechanical jars offered
a good option to the drilling industry but the biggest limitation was the amount of load that could be applied to the tool due to
the latch mechanism. This in turn limited the impact load during a stuck pipe situation. In order to overcome this problem,
the industry designed several mechanical options introducing complex mechanisms that required rotation to vary the effect of
a controlled spring device, which would in turn, enable the use of variable loads while attempting to free the stuck drill string.
But it was not until 1943 that a better solution was introduced to the market with the first concept of the hydraulic jar. One of
the main objectives was to allow the driller to apply a variable load to the jar. This would increase the chances of getting
unstuck faster, due to the variable impact load imparted to the stuck point. The jar was comprised of a hydraulic chamber,
floating piston, valve system, and a piston mechanism to generate the required hydraulic delay in the drill string during
jarring operations. Several improvements to the hydraulic jars came throughout the years in the 1960s and 70s, allowing
this technology to become more reliable and minimize the problems faced in the past with internal oil leaking, sealing
components, and imbalances due to hydrostatic pressure.
Since that time there have been a series of evolutionary improvements to drilling jars to handle the ever increasing
drilling demands, such as, higher tensile and torsion strengths, harder jarring impact loads, and improved product reliability.
But the basic concept introduced in the 1930s remained the same. The industry has basically relied on two primary types of
jars, mechanical and hydraulic, and nowadays, a wide variety of brands exist in the market featuring three main variants:
1.
2.
3.

hydraulic mechanical jars

double acting hydraulic mechanical jars
double acting hydraulic jars

1.2 Jar Applications

Mechanical jars essentially have a latch setting to resist predetermined over-pull and set-down loads. Once the preset
latch load setting is exceeded, the jar will fire. In contrast, hydraulic jars resist over-pull and set-down loads by means of
pressurized hydraulic fluid metered through an orifice. Once the fluid is exhausted through the orifice the jar fires. Hydraulic
jars have an advantage over mechanical jars because the driller can (to some extent) control the size of the impact load.
Hydraulic jars will also fire with any weight applied to them up or down, so there is no preset latch load to overcome to allow
the tool to fire. This allows a hydraulic jar to fire in a situation where a driller may have very limited weight or pull load to
set down, or pull up at the jar, such as extended horizontals or deviated wells. For this reason, in todays premium
applications, the majority of drilling jars employ a hydraulic configuration for the up over-pull direction and a hydraulic
configuration for the down, set-down direction.
Energy is stored in the stretched or compressed drill string, as over-pull and set-down loads are applied to the jar and
released once it fires. The resulting jarring force utilizes the principles of a hammer striking an anvil to create a shockwave
that travels along the pipe to the stuck point. This jarring action is repeated until the pipe becomes free to move.
1.3 Jar Internal Pressure
In a stuck pipe event, the driller will either pull up or set-down on the drill pipe to fire the jar in the desired
direction. For hydraulic jars, the internal mechanism builds up pressure in the hydraulic chamber as a load from surface is

SPE 142501

being applied. The hydraulic fluid is then forced through the metering system until eventually the jar fires once it clears the
detent area. The internal pressure is directly proportional to the load applied to the jar. In other words, as the load from
surface increases, the internal pressure in the jar is proportionally higher, inducing a harder impact to the stuck point.
However, hydraulic jars have limits to the pressure they can safely contain, and exceeding these limits can result in jar
failure. When these limits are exceeded and the jar fails, the driller essentially has no option but to call a fishing service
company to free the pipe or back-off above the stuck point, cement-in the now permanently lost bottom hole assembly
(BHA), and sidetrack around it. Both options involve dangerous tripping operations, and are extremely expensive and
completely halt well progress until they are completed. Up until now, the industry did not have any robust and reliable
technology to prevent jar internal failure resultant from inadvertently applying an excessive tensile load that exceeds the jar
design limits.
Time and impact loads are two vital aspects of freeing stuck pipe in jarring operations. Historical data shows the
probability of recovering from a stuck pipe event decreases exponentially with time. It is also well known that the harder the
jar hits, the better the chance of eventually freeing the pipe. Essentially, once the driller has determined he must use the jar to
free the pipe, he wants to free it as quickly as possible and maximum impacts are one of his most effective tools. Achieving
maximum impacts requires that the driller apply the maximum over-pull or set-down loads. But the driller only knows the
load at the drill floor, which always differs to the load at the jar due to factors such as string weight, buoyancy factors,
wellbore friction, and jar pump-open loads. These factors must be calculated and/or approximated to determine how much
load is actually being applied to the jar. This is not always easy to do, especially under the heated situation of a stuck pipe
event. This situation is further complicated in offshore applications, where heave and motion have to be considered.
Even in a relaxed, stable environment, carefully taking all factors into account, the driller cannot accurately know if
the applied load is correct. As he can ill afford to have the jar fail, he tends to err on the side of caution by applying safety
factors to his estimations. All of this consumes valuable time and often results in firing the jar at less than maximum jar
impact loads. In the case of gross mis-calculations this can result in damaged jars and fishing or sidetracking operations.
1.4 Jar Safety Collars
Any load on a hydraulic jar will eventually cause the hydraulic resistance to bleed-off through the orifice and
eventually fire. This causes a potential hazard for a jar racked back in the fingerboard, as it can fire under its own weight. To
prevent this from happening, a safety collar is used to clamshell around the mandrel between the mandrel shoulder and the
housing preventing any relative movement. The safety collar must be removed before the jar goes below the rotary table, and
is typically removed at the racking board when the jar is placed in the string, which creates a dropped object hazard. Design
of the next generation jar takes these issues into account, and has been engineered to remove the requirement for this safety
collar. This is a step change in the practical use of drilling jar technology.
2.0 Next Generation Drilling Jar: Design
Based on market feedback and extensive research into strengths and weaknesses of jar designs, NOV has developed a new
drilling jar with industry leading ratings and patented over-pull protection and hydra-static safety lock. The jar has been
tested at the International Research Institution in Stavanger (IRIS) and has proven to be one of the hardest hitting jars in the
market. While direct competitor tests have not taken place, the new jar has the industrys longest free stroke lengths which,
supported by several technical papers, directly equates to higher impact forces.
2.1 Research
NOV began designing the next generation jar by polling customers to see what was needed in a drilling jar design
that would lead the industry in performance, safety, and reliability. Rig operators and NOV operations personnel from
around the world were given questionnaires regarding drilling jar requirements. The study concluded with hundreds of
surveys being returned. The data showed that the following four items were the most wanted in a drilling jar:
73% said impact strength and reliability were their top priorities in a drilling jar, followed by ease of use and safety
66% of the field was interested in a tool that could not be damaged due to over-pull during the hydraulic delay, as
long as the operation of the tool was the same as existing jars
Operators were also interested in a double acting hydraulic jar that eliminated the need to run a safety collar and
would automatically lock and unlock when run in the hole
Based on the survey results, a comprehensive list of design requirements for the next generation jar was compiled. The
new design needed to be a double acting hydraulic mechanism, provide specifications that would be competitive-plus
(performance-wise) with the industry leading designs, and offer greater impact and reliability in one cost effective, easy to
service design. A design that would meet deep water application requirements and be NS-2 and DS-1 compliant from the
factory (with no modifications) was also seen as a needed improvement.

SPE 142501

Engineers reviewed over 40 years of drilling and fishing jar designs from an industry leading jar supplier,
encompassing over 10 different jar designs. Lessons learned from run histories, failure reports, service reports, and rig
operator feedback for these drilling jars were used to find design aspects that could be combined with new technology to
provide a truly ground breaking design. They also evaluated and worked with nearly a decade of reliable performance and
reliability data, to use as reference material for the new design. Experts from a leading drill pipe design group were also
consulted to infuse the most fatigue resistant threaded connection design aspects into the new jar.
2.2 Market Differentiators
The next generation jar project was initially started as a drilling jar that could replace or obsolete the most common
jar designs in the market. The new tool was to have a modular design that would be able to produce the performance and
operating behavior of all existing drilling jars by adding and subtracting small sub-assemblies in the design. One of these
modular components is the patented over-pull protection mechanism.
One major issue with current jar designs is that the operator must complete careful calculations when manipulating
the pipe to fire the jar in order to know what force he is pulling or pushing at the jar. If not careful the operator can
accidentally damage the jar by pulling the tool beyond its maximum over-pull specification during the delay stroke of the tool
before the jar fires. The over-pull protection mechanism (Figure 1) is an optional safety device incorporated into the next
generation jars trigger design that ensures the jar never builds pressure internally past the design limit. If the tool is overpulled beyond the maximum specification, the jar will simply jar through once the operator exceeds the designs maximum
internal pressure. This provides the operator a tell tale sign of over-pull by a very short firing time. This feature also allows
the operator to fire the tool at its upper limit while accounting for unusually high amounts of hole friction. Meaning if the jar
was rated to 100,000 lbs over-pull and hole conditions provided 50,000 lbs of friction force to the pipe above the jar, only the
next generation jar could be safely pulled to 150,000 lbs at surface before the over-pull protection mechanism would trip and
fire the jar. The addition of this feature gives the operator the ability to find the jars maximum jarring load with confidence
and without fear of damaging the jar. This same feature will also save the driller in case of an accidental overload during
drilling or tripping operations.
Another issue with most double acting hydraulic drilling jars is the need for a safety collar (Figure 2) to keep the jar
from firing when racked back in the derrick when collars are stacked above the jar. If the collar is not installed the jar can
fire down in the derrick causing damage to the rig and/or causing items in the pipe rack to shift. The safety collar must be
installed on the jar when removed from the hole and then taken off before the tool is sent downhole. This safety collar
usually weighs anywhere from 15-50 lbs and is a drop hazard on the rig when hoisted up into the derrick. This device is not
in compliance with most companies drop objects programs and is a safety concern for most operators since a falling safety
collar can seriously injure or kill a man on the rig floor, even when wearing a hard hat. The hydrostatic safety lock (Figure 3)
addresses this issue by eliminating the safety collar using a built-in reliable design that automatically locks the tool when
hydrostatic pressure falls below 250 psi. The hydrostatic safety lock will unlock automatically downhole when hydrostatic
pressure rises above 250 psi. No additional operating steps are needed by the driller when running this option. The
hydrostatic safety lock feature is a modular component that can be removed and a safety collar can be provided if the rig
operator requires one be used with the jar.
The next generation jar does not require the use of lift subs which have to be hoisted into and out of the derrick.
They are needed by some competitors jar designs since integral elevator lift areas are not provided. Elevator lift areas are
incorporated into the Flex Sub of the new jar design thus eliminating the need to use lift subs.
2.3 Impact
Impact was optimized in the design of the next generation jar by modifying the stroke length and overall hydraulic
damping. The next generation jar stroke length was chosen to maximize the UP and DOWN impact in applications where
more than 5 drill collars or heavy weight drill pipe are run above the drilling jar. Based on the survey sent out, most
operators run this many collars or more above the jar in their BHAs. Using a Jar Stroke Length calculator (based on a
specifically developed jar placement program), different stroke lengths were modeled and free stroke lengths for each jar size
were optimized using BHA information from typical BHAs being run in the field. This study found that longer free strokes
provided the best impacts in the majority of applications thus the Next Generation Jar is designed with the industries longest
free strokes available in a hydraulic jar. The overall difference in impact with the Next Generation Jar design is a 5-10%
improvement in impact strength compared to existing jar technology, depending on the BHA configuration. One example of
this improvement was calculated using 10 joints of 6.5 O.D. drill collars and 18 joints of heavy weight drill pipe above the
next generation jar, and compared with an existing hydraulic design to quantify the difference in impact performance. Please
see figure 4 for impact force results based on switching only the drilling jars in the example BHA. It is important to place the
jar using the jar placement program to ensure the jar is placed correctly for each BHA configuration and well profile. This
program protects the tool from being placed in a position that can damage the tool and optimizes the jars location to provide
the highest impact or impulse forces during a stuck pipe event.

SPE 142501

2.4 Reliability
The need for improved reliability was addressed by careful design of the next generation jars seal package along
with the use of fatigue mitigating features to eliminate tool body failures. The next generation jar design allows complete
hydrostatic pressure compensation and temperature compensation. The design was optimized to balance pressure on both
sides of every dynamic seal in the assembly to ensure maximum seal longevity, especially in deep water applications,
requiring up to 30,000 psi of hydrostatic pressure. An extensive seal test was conducted to qualify both existing and new
high pressure sealing technology from industry leading seal companies under conditions similar to what is seen in a drilling
jar. An extensive number of seal designs were evaluated and then tested head to head, simulating over 1000 pulls at the
maximum jar pressure to see which seals provided the best overall performance and durability in an easy to service design.
Both seals and wipers were optimized to protect the tools from mud invasions under the most demanding conditions and
harshest drilling fluids with standard temperature packing rated to 325F and high temperature packing rated to 500F. The
optimized seal design ensures that when customers need to fire the next generation jar, they can feel confident it will work on
the first pull or the one thousandth pull.
The Next Generation Jars body components and threaded connections were designed using a mixture of FEA
analysis and several field proven fatigue mitigating features from previous jar designs and proprietary drill pipe connections.
All these features combine to provide a tool with high fatigue crack resistance. The use of flex subs on the top and bottom of
the jar aid in allowing the tool to be safely used in highly deviated holes without fear of rotational bending fatigue failures.
The design comes standard with provisions to comply with the major industry quality standards.
2.5 Versatility
If the operator requires running the next generation jar in the neutral zone or very low in the BHA and doesnt want
to bleed the tool through the down hydraulic section, the jar can be fitted with a mechanical latch. This option changes the
tool from a double acting hydraulic jar to a hydraulic mechanical jar with either hydraulic delay in both directions or just in
the up direction. The addition of this feature latches the tool in the neutral position and requires the operator to overcome a
preset latch force before the tool will enter its metering stroke. Once the tool has been pulled out of the latch, any load can
then be applied up or down, up to the maximum overpull of the jar. The up and down latch loads are related by a ratio,
meaning the down latch release load is 45% of the up latch release load. The addition of this optional feature makes the jar
operate similarly to other hydro-mechanical jars currently offered in the market.
The overall design features and specifications are listed below for the first three tool sizes which will be available to
the market. See Figure 5 for chart of tool specifications.
Available Features:

Specifications meet or exceed current high performance hydraulic drilling jars

Patented Over-Pull Protection valve
(Safety feature which can be removed upon request)
Hydrostatic Safety Lock eliminates safety collars
(Safety feature which can be removed upon request)
Bigger bore (2-3/4)
Double acting hydraulic operation
Harder hit in up/down direction and improved durability after repeated firing at high loads
Improved seals with improved reliability up to 500F
Optimized coatings to improve performance in high chloride environments
EDM seal bodies for improved metering accuracy and extended life
Metering components with better life
Deeper operating depth (fully hydrostatically balanced & temperature compensated)
Flex Subs both top and bottom with elevator lift areas
Optional mechanical latch to allow placement in BHA neutral zone
Four times more bearing area for extra support and mandrel life
Improved oils will be used to extend part life, improve metering, & jar temp range
New Cast aluminum dog collar (standard)
DS-1 Compliant
NS-2 Compliant

SPE 142501

3.0 Next Generation Drilling Jar: Performance Testing

Testing of the next generation drilling jar was conducted initially in the laboratory, but also underwent full scale testing at a
3rd party facility. After successful completion of these trials, initial tools were tested out in the field.
3.1 Laboratory Testing
NOV engineers extensively tested the new prototype jar designs in their in-house test facility in Houston. Tools
were assembled and function tested on a hydraulic jar testing machine up to the maximum rating of the prototype jars. The
tools were assembled with and without all the options to prove the seal technology and overall design of the jar was sound.
Engineers recorded over 1000 firings of the tool and tested with and without the application of heat in their hydraulic tester
both in the up and down direction. This proved that the new design could withstand the increased specifications and remain
consistent and reliable even under extreme conditions. After over 1000 firing cycles, the next generation jars firing times
were consistent throughout the testing with no falloff in performance, demonstrating that the new metering design and seal
package would provide the field with a robust design.
3.2 Third Party Testing
The next generation drilling jars superior performance was validated by I.R.I.S. formally known as Rogalands
Research in Stavanger, Norway. In September of 2009, NOV tested the new 6-1/2 next generation double acting hydraulic
drilling jar. I.R.I.S. has a test facility specifically designed to dynamically test jars and intensifiers. The main purpose of the
test was to obtain actual impact and impulse information on the new drilling jar and intensifier and provide comparisons
between the new drilling jar and NOVs current premier drilling jar technology. Many dynamic tests were conducted, along
with an endurance test which fires the jar both up and down at the maximum ratings, 100% of the overpull specification, for
25 times, in both directions. The tools were dynamically tested at increments of approximately 50%, 75%, and 100% of
maximum jarring load. The impact force data was measured at the anchor point or stuck point. Some of the data from this
testing is shown below for the 6.5 tool sizes (see figures 6 and 7) The new jar easily passed the endurance test, heat testing,
and static testing performing consistently throughout the testing. The final results from the report showed that the next
generation 6.5 tool provided improved overall impact efficiency, lower internal friction, higher impact/impulse forces, and
higher force amplification factors as compared to the existing technology.
3.3 Field Testing
The next generation jar has been run successfully in land applications for both fishing and drilling applications, with
over 12 runs and more than 1,500 circulating hours. The next generation drilling jar has shown exceptional reliability and
impact performance with a 100% success rate to date. A fleet of seven 6 tools were used for these tests. All the jars were
run in the central area of the United States.
The most notable of these field runs came in a fishing job is Oklahoma where a company had stuck a $600,000
BHA. The company had brought in a fishing string and jarred with a competitor jar technology for over 8 hours with no
success in freeing the fish. In time, the jar quit firing and they ultimately side tracked leaving the BHA in the hole. The 6.5
O.D. next generation jar technology went into the well on the following run, where they also became stuck around the same
depth as before. Using the same procedure as the prior run, and setting down with 75,000 lbs of force, the operator impacted
the fish free with only 3 down impacts. The feedback from several employees on the rig was that this new jar technology
was a vast improvement in impact performance compared to existing technologies and hit like no other jar they had used in
the past. This field run validated the I.R.I.S. test data, which showed the new design to have superior impact performance
over existing jar designs.
All jars were tested in a hydraulic jar tester upon return from their drilling applications with a 100% success rate on
the incoming test. This test is used to check for proper operation and firing times and diagnose issues with the tool following
a field run. All the jars performed as expected, with no failures or concerns reported during the field tests. Some tools had
up to 17 days worth of drilling reported on individual runs. The wear and tear seen on all parts met and positively exceeded
the expectation of the engineering department. The main objectives of the field runs were to test the design and ensure no
problems were seen during operation. The jars were configured as pure double acting hydraulic jars. The key parameters
that were monitored during the runs, included:

Ensure all components pass dimensional inspections showing normal wear and tear staying within acceptable
tolerance criteria
Ensure the jar sealing elements are in perfect condition after each run, and no mud invasion is present
Ensure all components do not present signs of fatigue damage

The metering system was closely monitored after every run to ensure it performed as originally planned. All
components of the metering system were visually and dimensionally inspected after each run with no discrepancies. There

SPE 142501

were no mud invasion incidents in the hydraulic body reported and the seals in the tool were in excellent conditions for all the
runs.
3.4 Fleet Expansion
As a result of successful field trials, a fleet of tools has been developed to utilize primarily within markets that
demand a premium drilling jar technology, including the numerous deepwater areas around the world. Additional sizes have
also been developed to encompass the broad spectrum of size requirements for the drilling industry. These continue to
demonstrate excellent, reliable performance.
4.0 Conclusions
Drilling jar technology has not advanced in line with other mainstream technologies used within the oil and gas
industry
Market research indicated that impact strength and reliability were top priorities. However, avoiding damage from
overpull and elimination of safety collars also ranked highly in a list of optimal jar requirements
A next generation drilling jar was engineered and developed. Its numerous proven benefits include:
o Jarring performance improvements that exceed existing premium hydraulic drilling jars
o Hydro static safety lock that eliminates use of safety collars, dramatically improving rig floor safety and
reducing tripping times
o Novel overpull device that maximizes jarring impact and eliminates risk of jar damage from overpull
Third party testing of the next generation Jar (when compared to existing technology) demonstrated:
o Improved impact efficiency
o Higher impact forces
o Higher force amplication factors
o Lower internal friction
Field testing with commercial applications in North America has demonstrated exceptional reliability, increased
impact performance, and returned a 100% success rate

Figures

Figure 1. Overpull Mechanism

Figure 2. Safety Collar used on hydraulic jars

Figure 3. Hydraulic Safety Lock Mechanism

SPE 142501

SPE 142501

Next Generation Drilling Jar Technology Selected

Existing Hydraulic Drilling Jar Technology Selected

Figure 4. Impact force results of different hydraulic jars compared to the next generation jar

10

Figure 5. Next generation jar specifications

SPE 142501

SPE 142501

Figure 6. Third Party Testing Results at Ambient Temperature

11

12

Figure 7. Third Party Testing Results at High Temperature

SPE 142501