Recent advances in diamond bonding techniques and manufacturing processes have enabled

the industry to produce highly abrasion-resistant polycrystalline diamond cutters (PDC) for
use in drill bits. The resulting increase in bit durability has enabled operators to use fixed
cutter bits in harder and more abrasive formations. The increased drilling efficiency gives
PDC bits an advantage over other bit types in the majority of today’s applications. However,
when a PDC shearing element is welded into the bit body, it becomes fixed, and only a small
portion of the cutter’s edge will contact the rock as the bit rotates downhole. This inherent
design limitation means approximately 70% of the cutting edge is unused during the drilling
operation.

As the bit drills, 30% of the cutter in contact with the formation is exposed to mechanical and
thermal effects that cause cutter wear.

Figure 2: Robust housing holds the cutter securely in place. Courtesy of Schlumberger

As wear progresses through the synthetic diamond table into the tungsten carbide substrate,
the cutter’s shearing efficiency rapidly declines, slowing rate of penetration (ROP). In this
situation, a driller’s typical reaction is to increase weight on bit to maintain an acceptable
ROP. In most cases, the change in operating parameters further accelerates wear and leads to
chipping, and eventually cutter damage. This wear and damage cycle is a main factor limiting
fixed cutter PDC bit durability and performance in hard and abrasive formations.

Rolling cutter technology

Figure 3: The MSiR613 PDC bit is equipped with rolling cutters in the shoulder area,
indicated in orange. Courtesy of Schlumberger

Smith Bits, a Schlumberger company, recently introduced ONYX 360 rolling PDC cutter,
an advancement in cutter technology that reduces wear flats and manages frictional heat. A
retention system holds the dynamic cutter’s housing securely in place while enabling 360°
rotation PDC face (Figure 2). The fully rolling action helps to reduce the wear flat and
frictional heat issues that limits performance and service life of PDC bits with fixed cutting
elements.

The rolling cutter’s orientation in the bit blade relative to its contact angle with the formation
creates a rotational force that drives efficient rotation. As the cutter revolves 360°, wear is
evenly distributed around the perimeter of the diamond table, reducing wear flats common on
conventional fixed cutter bits. The continuous motion dissipates frictional heat that causes
cutter chipping, which limits run lengths and slows ROP. The rolling action keeps the cutter’s
edge sharp and relatively cool, prolonging cutter life and overall bit durability.

Effective drilling in the Granite Wash play

The Granite Wash play in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle produces high initial
gas rates combined with rich condensate yields. The Granite Wash’s thickness and its low
porosity combined with its extensive lateral continuity make it ideal for horizontal
development. An operator was experiencing difficulty drilling the long 6 1/8-in. lateral hole
section through the abrasive reservoir sand with PDC bits. The highly heterogeneous
formation was causing inconsistent PDC bit performance.

Figure 4: When the bit was pulled out of hole, the rolling cutters were in good dull condition
compared with adjacent fixed cutting elements.

A study determined that improved return on investment could be achieved by extending bit
life in areas where poor drilling performance was expected. Analysis showed extensive cutter
damage with abrasive wear as being the most common dull characteristic. The cutter wear
was causing short runs and frequent trips for bit change-out. A finite element analysis-based
modeling system was used to position multiple rolling cutters in the areas of the bit’s cutting
structure with the highest predicted wear (Figure 1).

The precise location and number of rolling cutters per bit design depends on several
variables, including bit size, blade count and nature of the lithologies to be
drilled. Performance details from the application’s previous bit runs were fed into a modeling
system to design a rolling cutter-equipped PDC bit solution.

Using predictive analysis outputs, engineers

identified the cutters most susceptible to fail due to abrasive wear, and these conventional
fixed elements were replaced with multiple rolling cutters. Different geometric orientations
were analyzed to determine the proper cutter pitch to maximize driving force and strike an
optimum balance between cutter aggressiveness and durability. The result was an MSiR613
equipped with seven rolling cutters in the shoulder area (Figure 3).

Single-run success with rolling PDC cutters

Figure 5: A 6 1/8-in. MSiR613 bit with rolling cutters drilled 57% more Granite Wash
formation compared with the best subsequent run. The bit also increased average ROP by
44% compared with the next highest ROP of 17.21 ft/hr. Courtesy of Schlumberger

Figure 6: The increased footage capabilities of the bit equipped with rolling cutters reduced
the number of trips required compared with the offset wells. Courtesy of Schlumberger
A 6 1/8-in. MSiR613 equipped with seven rolling cutters was run on a Hemphill County
Granite Wash lateral to test the rolling cutters’ potential to reduce drilling costs. The bit
drilled out the casing shoe, then made 1,562 ft of horizontal hole through the abrasive Granite
Wash reservoir at 24.79 ft/hr. To TD the lateral at 5,113 ft required seven additional
conventional fixed cutter PDC bits with various blade counts.

After the run, analysis revealed the rolling cutter bit drilled 57% more footage than the
longest subsequent run of 996 ft and achieved 44% higher ROP compared with the fastest
standard PDC bit (Figure 5). The MSiR613 came out of the hole in good condition and was
dull-graded 3-1 (Figure 4). Average dull condition of the seven fixed cutter bits was 6-3.

Using rolling PDC cutter for back-to-back runs

Another operator successfully employed rolling cutter-equipped bits to drill an entire 6 1/8-
in. horizontal section to TD in the Texas panhandle’s Granite Wash formation. Using a
drilling records system, offsets were queried to analyze the rolling cutter bits’ performance
versus offsets. Forty-two wells were drilled within a two-mile radius of the original well.
Fourteen horizontal wells were found nearby with the best offsets. Their records revealed that
two of the laterals were drilled exclusively with PDC bits. This was the same situation as the
original well. Additionally, the same operator drilled the original well and both offsets. Using
these facts formed the basis for an accurate head-to-head comparison.

Analysis revealed the rolling cutter-equipped bits exhibited a significant increase in durability
compared with the fixed cutter PDC bits used in offset-1 and offset-2 (Figure 6). The 6 1/8-
in. MSiR613 with rolling cutters increased average feet per bit by 30% compared with the
offset-1 well and by 75% versus offset-2. The average hours per bit was also increased by
28% compared with offset-1 and by 66% versus offset-2. The penetration rate on the well
was slightly higher than both offset averages. Most significantly, the number of bits required
to complete the well’s lateral hole section was reduced by four, enabling the operator to save
five days of drilling time compared with offset-1 and 12 days versus offset-2.

Conclusions

To date, the operator has run PDC bits equipped with rolling cutters in horizontal drilling
applications through the abrasive Granite Wash almost 50 times. The rolling PDC cutter
consistently demonstrated its capacity to enhance bit life compared with offsets drilled with
fixed cutter PDCs. An analysis of the runs compared the rolling cutters’ median footage totals
against 232 offset runs drilled with fixed cutter PDC bits of the same type (six-blade, 13-mm
PDC bits) in the same formation and horizontal application. The study revealed the rolling
cutter equipped bits drilled 40% more footage (1,152 ft) compared with standard PDC bits
(819 ft).

The rolling cutters have provided a positive impact on project economics by reducing PDC
bit consumption and trip time. Increased run lengths are consistently achieved in spite of
formation heterogeneity and high abrasion index. The bits are being pulled in better dull
condition than offsets drilled with standard fixed cutter drill bits.