Currently, production and exploration drilling has entered a stage of development where one of the highest priority goals is to reduce the time for well construction with new technologies and innovations. One of the key components in this aspect is the utilizing of the latest achievements in the design and manufacture of rock cutting tools – drill bits. This article presents some new ideas on methods for identifying different types of vibrations when drilling with PDC bits using a system of sensors installed directly into the bit itself.
In the oil and gas fields of Eastern Siberia, one of the main reasons for ineffective drilling with PDC bits are vibrations, which lead to premature wear of the cutting structure of the bit and the achievement of low ROPs in the dolomite and dolerite intervals. For efficient drilling of wells of various trajectories with a bottom hole assembly (BHA), including a downhole motor (PDM) and a PDC bit, special attention is paid to control of the bit by limiting the depth of cut, as well as the level of vibrations that occur during drilling process. Often, the existing complex of surface and BHA equipment fails to identify vibrations that occur directly on the bit, as well as to establish the true cause of their occurrence. Therefore, as an innovative solution to this problem, a system of sensors installed directly into the bit itself is proposed. The use of such a system makes it possible to determine the drilling parameters, differentiated depending on the lithological properties of rocks, leading to an increase in vibration impact. Together with the Operators, tests have been successfully carried out, which have proven the effectiveness of the application of this technology.
The data obtained during the field tests made it possible to determine the type and source of vibration very accurately during drilling. In turn, this made it possible to precisely adjust the drilling parameters according to the drilled rocks, to draw up a detailed road map of effective drilling in a specific interval. Correction of drilling parameters based on the analysis of data obtained from sensors installed in the bit made it possible to reduce the resulting wear of the PDC bit cutting structure and, if necessary, make changes to the bit design to improve the technical and economic indicators. Thus, the use of a system of sensors for measuring the drilling parameters in a bit ensured the dynamic stability of the entire BHA at the bottomhole when drilling in rocks of different hardness, significantly reduced the wear of the drilling tools and qualitatively improved the drilling performance.
