T
wenty years ago, the vastmajority of holes drilled around
the globe in thepursuit of oil and gasweredrilled
with rollerconebits. At that time, PDCbits generally
only drilled very soft andhomogeneous rock. Since then, the
trendhas been rapidly changing, withPDCbits taking an ever
increasing share of the total footagedrilled around theworld.
There aremany factors that have influenced this change
in the industry, but one of themost significant has been the
advancement of PDC cutter technology andperformance.
In the 1990s, theprogressionof PDCbit usage saw an increase
inmomentum, largely due to improvements indesign that
addresseddownholedrillingdynamics. However, starting shortly
When thegoing
gets tough,
the toughget
going
TimBeaton, SHEARBITS, USA, details anewPDCcutter technology
which retainswear resistancewhilst improving toughness.
20 |
