Diamond drilling is nothing new in the offshore industry, but recent advances are changing the face of the industry. Natalie Coomber reports on the growing demand for evolving technology.

BP recently announced a "huge" oil discovery in the deepest well ever drilled in the Gulf of Mexico. The Tiber Oilfield has at least 3 billion barrels of oil, of which only 500 million barrels can be extracted with today's technology. This news caused the value of BP to jump by 4 billion pounds on September 2. Just a week ago, Iran announced that it had discovered another 8.8 billion barrels of crude oil in the Sousangerd field in Khouzesrtan province.

These findings indicate that although the number of new discoveries is declining, the potential for unexplored oil discovery may be greater than many people think. Obviously, these discoveries may be located in more difficult to reach places and require cutting-edge technology to make them financially viable.

In the past century, diamond drill bits have proven their value and are still a leading technology today. Diamond drill bits were first used for oil drilling in 1863, and today the industry has developed into a technologically advanced and lucrative industry. Since oil prices are still far from reaching record highs, superior performance, lower cost per foot, and the drive to increase permeability are now more important than ever.

Diamond drill bits are widely known in the mining industry. Although the basic technology may seem the same, the polycrystalline diamond composite (PDC) technology is specifically designed for drilling oil and gas wells. As easily accessible oil becomes more and more elusive, there is an increasing demand for effective, reliable, and cost-sensitive equipment. "The fact that diamond drill bits now have a longer service life means that the dynamics of the industry are changing dramatically."

Gene Shiels, assistant director of investor relations at the diamond drill bit manufacturing giant Baker Hughes, said that PDC drill bits have become so advanced that their designs are now specifically designed to handle different formations and minimize vibration, which can cause premature Wear and slow down the drilling process.

"Nowadays, drilling optimization is a focus, that is, on the basis of a system rather than a single component, the drill bit design, drilling fluid, and bottom hole components are coordinated to improve drilling performance," Shiels said.

The biggest technological development lies in the improvement of PDC tool design. "This significantly increases the service life of the PDC tool and thus the service life of the drill bit," Shiels said. "The industry used to talk about how many bits are needed to drill a well, and today we often talk about how many wells we can drill with PDC bits."

The formation type of the drill bit determines the type and design of the drill bit. Tri-cone bits work by chiseling the ground, while PDC bits work by scraping the ground. But due to technological advances in the PDC field, these drill bits are now used in many areas where the more traditional three-cone technology previously dominated.

Today, many wells use a combination of triple cone and PDC technology. Moreover, since each product uses a standard thread design, it is easy to integrate technologies from different suppliers. Another factor driving demand is the increasing use of steerable systems to drill deviated and horizontal boreholes.

The fact that diamond drill bits now have a longer service life means that the dynamics of the industry are changing dramatically. Especially in North America, this has spawned a new rental market. "We benefited because the profit from leasing drill bits is very attractive, and customers benefit from not paying the full price for the drill bits," Shiels said. "On the contrary, he is basically paying for the'potholes' he needs."

PDC drill bits are nothing new to the offshore industry, but the applications they can now be used for and their increased service life may be. Since crude oil prices remain at around US$70 per barrel, offshore prospectors are still calculating every penny, and the cost of equipment is also obvious.

Shiels admits that the cost of PDC equipment will be higher than that of tri-cone bits, and said this is because the manufacturing process is completely different. "Polycrystalline Diamond Composite (PDC) technology is specifically designed for drilling oil and gas wells."

The tri-cone bit is composed of a head part. The head has three rotating cones, which are mounted on three bearing assemblies that rotate in turn. They are made through a finishing process, where the parts are heat treated and assembled.

In contrast, PDC drill bits are hand-made through a casting process, in which a graphite "reverse mold" is constructed. "Then fill the mold with a special matrix material and binder and heat it to allow the binder to penetrate into the matrix to form a drill bit," Shiels said. The only way to accomplish the task is to break the casting and increase the cost of the manufacturing process.

According to Shiels, it is possible to change the original drill bit design to achieve secondary goals and save money. "In fact, in some extended drilling programs, the drill bit has actually been redesigned to improve performance," he said. Therefore, with the controllability of costs and the longer life of the drill bit means that it can be used in more and more wells, investing in diamond drilling is likely to be in the interest of offshore prospectors keen to mine gold. A related company Agito dynamic system modeling analysis and simulation expert August 28, 2020 visit briefing Avarus Valves Air Valves for Seawater Duty August 28, 2020 visit briefing KenzFigee Offshore Cranes / Gangways & Services August 28, 2020 visit briefing

Dynamic system modeling analysis and simulation expert

Air valve for sea water mission

Send important industry news and analysis to your inbox-sign up for our e-newsletter here

Oil and gas news and in-depth feature articles on the largest offshore projects, exploration and decommissioning technologies and innovations, and the latest oil price trend data

© Copyright Verdict Media Limited 2021