Drill Bit News

 

Varel spins patented technology

Mar 20, 2013

The last few months have been busy ones for Varel International. The Texas-based drill bit manufacturer celebrated the opening of its Houston technology center and also launched two drill bit lines, the Raider and the Voyager series…

North Sea news

Feb 28, 2013

News from the North Sea from Bridge Energy, Faroe Petroleum, Lundin Petroleum and E.ON.Transocean Arctic will drill the Amol prospect (Image: Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway)Bridge EnergyJunior North Sea explorer Bridge Energy has said…

The age of automation

Jan 04, 2013

Automating more of the oil & gas industry's processes will ultimately improve safety. So said several industry leaders during the recent Drilling & Completing Trouble Zones conference in Galveston, Texas. Jennifer Pallanich was there.Baker Hughes' Allen Sinor…

Data transfer secures attention

Nov 28, 2012

Securing data while providing access to the right people is challenging in an onshore setting. Move the data offshore, where bandwidth is at a premium, and the challenges compound. Jennifer Pallanich looks into issues companies face in the offshore communications sector…

Reducing risk to maximize drilling performance

Nov 01, 2012

To meet drilling challenges, such as hole sections with long steep inclinations and severe doglegs, the keystone of a new drilling campaign offshore Thailand includes use of rotary steerable systems instead of the downhole motors traditionally used there…

Customized bits boost pre-salt rates of penetration

Sep 01, 2012

Customized bits enabled Petrobras to successfully drill hard carbonates of pre-salt reservoirs and hard and interbedded post-salt formations of two different offshore wells, while at the same time lowering vibrations, increasing rates of penetration…

Optimizing well placement

Apr 28, 2012

The iPZIG at-bit inclination, gamma ray and imaging service has been introduced by PathFinder, a Schlumberger company, to help optimize well placement in target zones through early bed boundary detection.Developed specifically for unconventional…

Liner technology comes of age

Apr 01, 2012

Nearly 11 years after Weatherford first commercially deployed drilling-with-casing, the service company is still testing the limits of where and how the technology can be helpful when it comes to overcoming wellbore instability. Jennifer Pallanich catches…

Products in action

Dec 02, 2011

TORXS saves a well Baker Hughes has introduced an expandable liner hanger system that the company says is the only system of its type that is installed and released prior to a cement job, eliminating the risk of running tools becoming fixed in place during cementing…

Shearing the unshearable

Jul 01, 2011

The 5 million barrels of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico last year from the BP-operated deepwater Macondo well after a bad shear job played heavily on Radoil president Benton Baugh's mind. An inventor at heart, he knew there had to be a way to shear the unshearable…

Core solution

Mar 02, 2011

Coring practices and equipment used in the Gulf of Mexico's Lower Tertiary needed to adapt to formation conditions to improve on past recovery success. Petrobras' James Meyer opens OE's drilling & completion technology two-parter with a review…

Integrated drilling dynamics control - are we there yet?

Mar 02, 2011

Drilling system vibration was recognized as a potential cause of elevated drilling costs half a century ago. It has been thoroughly studied in the years since, and sound mitigation practices have been published. Shell's Mark Dykstra discusses the state of the art…

Drillers feel the pre-salt pinch

May 20, 2010

With well costs escalating to consume up to half of a project’s funding, operators are seeking ways to trim costs. During IADC’s Deepwater Drilling conference in Rio de Janeiro in March, operators discussed some of their strategies to trim costs…

Rechargeables to expand MWD horizons

Apr 05, 2010

The importance of battery selection for demanding downhole electronics applications, in particular measurement-while-drilling tools, is discussed by Saft’s Wayne Pitt.As oil companies strive to reap the maximum potential from their prospects…

Casing drilling comes of age

Dec 15, 2009

Drilling with casing continues to draw interest for its ability to overcome troublesome formations. Jennifer Pallanich reviews Weatherford’s recent applications of the technology offshore Brazil and West Africa.Weatherford carries out its…

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