US develops new metal sealed drill bit to improve bearing life
At present, reducing the cost per foot of drilling has become a buzzword for bit design. In the face of increasingly complex drilling environments and evolving drilling technology, major major bit manufacturers in the United States have introduced unique new bit products, bit design and The development of manufacturing technology is fast and steady.
Hughes Christensen's new MXL long-life motor drilling bit significantly improves drilling economics in the Gulf of Mexico and other high-cost drilling environments.
The drill's significant improvements in seal reliability, cutting structural durability, and configurable hydraulic systems have resulted in longer downholes, giving drilling operators greater confidence in using them in longer directional sections. The drill's new cones are well protected against bit and bottom mud packs when using water-based mud, have ideal steerability and can be used in a variety of reaming equipment. All of these features make this drill the most suitable drilling tool for high-end drilling applications.
The company conducted extensive analysis of on-site drilling data and inspected a large number of blunt drill bits to determine conditions that could limit drill/bearing life. Improvements based on this include a new single-energy ring metal seal structure (SEMII) that greatly improves bearing reliability, especially during high-speed motor drilling. The new SEMII metal seal has a wider metal sealing surface and a 20% increase in sealing capacity. The bearing also features a proprietary wear-resistant surface to reduce the coefficient of friction. In addition, the redesigned sealing geometry of this seal structure also improves sealing efficiency.
In terms of cutting structure, there are three major improvements that enable the MXL tricone bit to achieve a wider range of construction, enabling better durability and higher penetration rates in more applications.
These improvements include a new type of carbide grade that is effective in improving wear resistance for a variety of specific drilling applications; innovative cone protection teeth that protect the cone steel material It is protected from the erosion of cuttings, thus ensuring the integrity of the cutting structure without sacrificing the mechanical penetration rate of the drill bit.
In terms of the hydraulic structure of the drill bit, the MXL drill bit has several different hydraulic structures that allow it to be optimized for a variety of specific applications.
One is the standard hydraulic structure. This configuration is a standard nozzle configuration with drilling fluid directed between the cones and towards the corner of the wellbore.
The other is the nozzle type 2 and 3 nozzles. The main goal of the nozzle of this structure is to clean the outer teeth of the cone and its vicinity and simultaneously flush the back of the cone. The main hydraulic energy is concentrated on the cutting structure of the drill.
There is also a hydraulic structure that is multi-row cleaning. This structure cleans the rows of teeth on the cone and produces high turbulent energy at the bottom of the well.
The excellent performance of this new drill has been proven on the spot, with a cost savings of up to $300,000 due to the use of this new drill. According to the use in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the new drills has replaced two to three standard steel tooth drills, doubling the footage during the drilling process. In another application, three of these new technology-containing drills replaced five conventional steel-toothed drill bits, increasing the rate of penetration and reducing the number of trips.