PETE 411

Well Drilling

Lesson 7
Drilling Bits - Drag Bits
1

Contents
The Ideal Bit
Drag Bits
Fishtail Type
Natural Diamond
Polycrystalline Diamond Compact
(PDC)

Relative Costs of Bits

2

Read:

HW # 3:

ADE, Ch.5 (bits)

due 9 -18- 2002

Rotary Drill bits

The purpose of Chapter 5 (ADE)
is to introduce the student
to the:
selection and
operation
of rotary drilling bits.
4

Rotary Drilling Bits

Bit types available
Criteria for selecting the best bit for a
given situation
Standard methods for evaluating dull bits
Factors affecting bit wear and drilling
speed
Optimization of bit weight and rotary
speed
5

Bit types available

Drag bits (fixed cutter blades)
Fishtail bit
Natural diamond bits
PDC Bits (Polycrystalline Diamond Compact)

Rolling cutter bits (rock bits - with cones)

Mill tooth bits
Tungsten carbide bits
6

The Ideal Bit *

1. High drilling rate
2. Long life
3. Drill full-gauge, straight hole
4. Moderate cost
* (Low cost per ft drilled)
7

The Ideal Bit

The Ideal Bit will depend on the type
of formation to be drilled

Hardness (soft, medium, hard)

abrasiveness
cuttings stickiness
other considerations e.g. cost
8

Drag Bits
Drag bits drill by physically plowing
or machining cuttings from the
bottom of the hole.

Drag Bits
Cutter may be made from:

Steel
Tungsten carbide
Natural diamonds
Polycrystalline diamonds (PDC)

Drag bits have no moving parts, so it is less likely

that junk will be left in the hole.
10

Fishtail type drag bit

11

Natural Diamond Bits

PDC Bits

12

Natural
Diamond
bit

junk slot
cuttings
radial flow
high p
across face
13

Soft
Formation
Diamond bit

Larger diamonds
Fewer diamonds
Pointed nose

14

Hard
Formation
Diamond bit

Smaller diamonds
More diamonds
Flatter nose
15

Natural Diamonds

The size and spacing of diamonds on a

bit determine its use.

NOTE: One carat = 200 mg

precious stones

What is 14 carat gold?

16

Natural Diamonds
2-5 carats - widely spaced diamonds
are used for drilling soft formations such as
soft sand and shale

1/4 - 1 carat - diamonds are used for drilling

sand, shale and limestone formations of
varying (intermediate) hardness.

1/8 - 1/4 carat - diamonds, closely spaced,

are used in hard and abrasive

formations.
17

When to Consider Using a Natural

Diamond Bit?
1. Penetration rate of rock bit < 10 ft/hr.
2. Hole diameter < 6 inches.
3. When it is important to keep the bit and
pipe in the hole.
4. When bad weather precludes making trips.
5. When starting a side-tracked hole.
6. When coring.
* 7. When a lower cost/ft would result
18

Top view of diamond bit

19

Side view of
diamond bit

20

PDC
bits

Courtesy
Smith Bits
21

PDC Cutter

22

23

PDC Bits

At about $10,000-150,000 apiece, PDC bits cost five to 15 times more

24
than roller cone bits

The Rise in Diamond Bit Market Share

25

Coring
bit

PDC +
natural
diamond
26

Bi-Center bit

Courtesy Smith Bits

27

Relative Costs of Bits

$/Bit
Diamond
Bits

WC Insert
Bits

Milled
Tooth Bits

Diamond bits typically cost several times as much as tricone bits with tungsten carbide inserts (same bit diam.)
A TCI bit may cost several times as much as a
milled tooth bit.

28

PDC Bits
Ref: Oil & Gas Journal, Aug. 14, 1995, p.12

Increase penetration rates in oil and gas

wells
Reduce drilling time and costs
Cost 5-15 times more than roller cone bits
1.5 times faster than those 2 years earlier
Work better in oil based muds; however,
these areas are strictly regulated
29

PDC Bits
Parameters for effective use
include
weight on bit

mud pressure
flow rate
rotational speed
30

PDC Bits
Economics
Cost per foot drilled measures Bit
performance economics
Bit Cost varies from 2%-3% of total cost, but
bit affects up to 75% of total cost
Advantage comes when
- the No. of trips is reduced, and when
- the penetration rate increases
31

PDC Bits
Bit Demand
U.S Companies sell > 4,000 diamond drill
bits/year
Diamond bit Market is about $200
million/year
Market is large and difficult to reform
When bit design improves, bit drills longer
32

PDC Bits
Bit Demand, contd
Improvements in bit stability, hydraulics,
and cutter design => increased footage per bit
Now, bits can drill both harder and softer
formations
Formations in US are not as conducive to PDC
bits as formations in some other areas
33

PDC Bits
Bit Design
General Electric introduced PDC in 1973
Product Life = 2 years
Improvements are a result of the following:
Research

Good Engineering Practices

Competition with other PDC bit
manufacturers/rock bit industries
34

PDC Bits
Bit Design, contd
Now, a speciality tool
PDC bit diameter varies from 3.5 in to 17.5 in
Goals of hydraulics:
clean bit without eroding it
clean cuttings from bottom of hole
35

PDC Bits
Bit design, contd
Factors that limit operating range
and economics:
Lower life from cutter fractures
Slower ROP from bad cleaning

36

PDC Bits
Cutters
Consist of thin layer of bonded diamond
particles + a thicker layer of tungsten carbide
Diamond
10x harder than steel
2x harder than tungsten carbide
Most wear resistant material
but is brittle and susceptible to damage
37

PDC Bits
Cutters, contd
Diamond/Tungsten Interface
Bond between two layers on cutter is
critical
Consider difference in thermal
expansion coefficients and avoid
overheating
Made with various geometric shapes to
reduce stress on diamond

38

PDC Bits
Cutters, contd
Various Sizes
Experimental dome shape
Round with a buttress edge for high
impact loads
Polished with lower coefficient of friction

39

PDC Bits
Bit Whirl (bit instability)
Bit whirl = any deviation of bit rotation
from the bits geometric center
Caused by cutter/rock interaction forces

PBC bit technology sometimes

reinforces whirl
Can cause PDC cutters to chip and break
40

PDC Bits
Preventing Bit Whirl
Cutter force balancing
Bit asymmetry
Gauge design
Bit profile
Cutter configuration
Cutter layout
41

PDC Bits
Applications
PDC bits are used primarily in
Deep and/or expensive wells
Soft-medium hard formations
42

PDC Bits
Application, contd
Advances in metallurgy, hydraulics
and cutter geometry
Have not cut cost of individual bits
Have allowed PDC bits to drill longer
and more effectively
Allowed bits to withstand harder
formations
43

PDC Bits
Application, contd
PDC bits advantageous for high rotational
speed drilling and in deviated hole section
drillings
Most effective: very weak, brittle formations
(sands, silty claystone, siliceous shales)
Least effective: cemented abrasive sandstone,
granites
44

Grading of Worn PDC Bits

CT - Chipped Cutter

BT - Broken Cutter

Less than 1/3 of cutting

element is gone

More than 1/3 of cutting

element is broken to
45
the substrate

Grading of Worn PDC Bits contd

LT - Lost Cutter

LN - Lost Nozzle

Bit is missing one or

more cutters

Bit is missing one or

more nozzles

46

Table 7.7 - Commonly Used Bit Sizes

For Running API Casing
Casing Size
Bit
(OD in.)
4 1/2
5
5 1/2
6
6 5/8
7
7 5/8
8 5/8
9 5/8
10 3/4
13 3/8
16

Coupling Size
(OD in.)
5.0
5.563
6.050
6.625
7.390
7.656
8.500
9.625
10.625
11.750
14.375
17

Common
Sizes Used (in.)
6, 6 1/8, 6 1/4
6 1/2, 6 3/4
7 7/8, 8 3/8
7 7/8, 8 3/8, 8 1/2
8 1/2, 8 5/8, 8 3/4
8 5/8, 8 3/4, 9 1/2
9 7/8, 10 5/8, 11
11, 12 1/4
12 1/4, 14 3/4
15
17 1/2
20
47

END
of
Lesson 7
- Drag Bits 48