INTERIM	  REPORTHigh	
  Impact	
  Systems	  (Rock	  Bits,	
  Coring	
  &	
  More)	
  Technical	
  Review	
  &	
  Risk	  Reduction	
  Study	  for	
  the	
  
BEAM	
  –	
  “Borehole	
  into	
  Earth's	
  Mantle”	  Project	  Prepared	  For:	  	
  Yoshi	
  Kawamura	
  IODP-­‐MI	
  Purpose:	
  Provide	  a	
  review	
  of	
  Blade’s	
  progress	
  to	
  date.	
  2600	
  Network	  Boulevard,	
  Suite	
  550	  Frisco,	  Texas	
  75034	
  
	
  
+1	
  972-­‐712-­‐8407	
  	
  (phone)	
  +1	
  972-­‐712-­‐8408	
  (fax)	
  	
  16285	  Park	  Ten	  Place,	
  Suite	
  600	
  Houston,	  Texas	
  77084	
  	
  1-­‐800-­‐319-­‐2940	
  (toll	
  free)	
  +1	
  281-­‐206-­‐2000	
  (phone)	
  +1	
  281-­‐206-­‐2005	
  (fax)	
  	
  www.blade-­‐energy.com	
  Version:	  002

Date:	  02	  July	  2012

Blade	
  Project	
  Number:	  IOD-­‐I212-­‐002©	
  2000-­‐2012	
  Blade	
  Energy	  Partners

Blade Energy Partners Limited, and its affiliates (‘Blade’) provide our services subject to our General Terms and Conditions (‘GTC’) in effect at time of service, unless a GTC
provision is expressly superseded in a separate agreement made with Blade. Blade’s work product is based on information sources which we believe to be reliable, including
information that was publicly available and that was provided by our client; but Blade does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. All statements
are the opinions of Blade based on generally-accepted and reasonable practices in the industry. Our clients remain fully responsible for all clients’ decisions, actions and omissions,
whether based upon Blade’s work product or not; and Blade’s liability solely extends to the cost of its work product.

BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report

Version Record
Version
No.

Issue
Date

Issued As /Nature of Revision

AuthorChecked By

Project

001

2 July 2012

Draft

WSW

NP

BP

002

2 July 2012

Final

WSW

NP

BP

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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report

Table of Contents1	
  Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 4	
  

2	
  

Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 5	
  2.1	
   NOV June 28 Follow-up Meeting ...................................................................................... 6	
  2.2	
   IODP-USIO Visit ................................................................................................................ 7	
  2.3	
   Forward Plan ..................................................................................................................... 7	
  

3	
  

Appendix A: Blade Presentations............................................................................................ 8	
  

4	
  

Appendix B: NOV Initial Meeting Minutes ............................................................................... 9	
  

5	
  

Appendix C: Baker Hughes Initial Meeting Minutes .............................................................. 11	
  

6	
  

Appendix D: Halliburton Initial Meeting Minutes.................................................................... 14	
  

7	
  

Appendix E: BEAM Followup Options (generic).................................................................... 17	
  

8	
  

Appendix F: NOV 28 June Meeting Minutes ......................................................................... 19	  BEAM Project - Blade Interim Report, Rev 2, 02July2012.docx

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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report

1 Executive Summary
The focus of Blade’s work to date has been to meet with the key oilfield service providers of bits
and coring systems, to explain the technical issues around the BEAM project, and to get
information about their hard rock product offerings. The intent is to then compare the BEAM
requirements with the current status of hard rock drilling and coring technology, evaluate thetechnical trends and to determine the company’s ability and willingness to provide technicalsolutions to the BEAM project. The key project milestones thus far are as follows:
April 11:

Met with National Oilwell Varco (NOV)

April 12:

Met with Baker-Hughes

April 13:

Met with Halliburton

April 30:

Presented a paper on the Blade 2011 mantle drilling feasibility study at the Offshore
Technology Conference in Houston. Gathered information from relevant exhibitors
at the conference.

May 2:

Met with Yoshi Kawamura in Houston, and provided a review of the service
company meeting results

June 7:

Met with CDEX engineers in Yokohama, and provided a review of the service
company meeting results

June 28:

Follow-up meeting with NOV.

June 29:

Visit to the IODP-USIO office

A meeting with Ulterra, who at one time provided the C-7 and C-9 series of core bits that havebeen the mainstay of IODP’s scientific drilling efforts to date, is scheduled for July 24. A third
meeting with NOV is planned for early August. Schlumberger is the only major service provider
that Blade has not been able to meet with as of yet.
It should be noted that of all the companies Blade has talked to thus far NOV has by far expressed
the most interest and enthusiasm about being involved in the BEAM project. NOV has, forexample, volunteered to run mechanical tests on a sample of basalt rock from the 1256D hole tohelp determine it drillability using NOV’s in-house evaluation procedures, and has agreed to run
tests on the synthetic diamonds developed by Dr. Irifune of Ehime University – at no cost to IODP.
It was clear that NOV is genuinely interested in the BEAM project and quite willing to provide theirown time and resources to help identify solutions to the technical issues around the BEAM project something that is not evident from the other two companies Blade has talked to - thus far at least.

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2 Discussion
The focus of Blade’s work for this project has been to evaluate the hard rock drilling and coring
technology that currently exists within the oil and gas industry and to understand where and how
the technology will be trending in the future. To this end, Blade developed a presentation(reference Appendix A) that summarized the BEAM project objectives and the technical issues
around drilling and coring into the mantle and has thus far met with three of the four key oilfield
service providers of bits and coring systems. The purpose of these initial meetings was tointroduce the BEAM project, get information about their current product offerings and theirtechnical development efforts, and to identify their ability and willingness to provide technicalsupport to the BEAM project.
Initial meetings were held on April 11, 12, and 13 with National Oilwell Varco (NOV), Baker-Hughesand Halliburton respectively, at their offices in Houston. NOV provides Reed and Hycalog bits.
Baker provides Hughes Christensen bits, and Halliburton provides Security and DBS bits. The
meetings were quite informative and Blade was gratified to see that the meetings were attended by
the relevant product line managers and technical representatives from all three companies. The
key observations that came out of these meetings are as follows:•

All three companies are generally interested in the BEAM project, NOV in particular.

•

Halliburton expressed concerns over "what's in it for me" - which each company expressedto some degree.

•

All three companies believe that they have current products that would provide better
performance compared to current scientific drilling practices and results.

•

All three companies have active ongoing technology development programs that will resultin new products on the market well before the nominal 2018 start date for the BEAM
project.

•

All three companies have extensive experience with hard rock, and high temperaturedrilling and coring applications within the oil and gas industry. They all have a soundtechnical understanding of drilling and coring mechanics as well as the bit design andbottom hole assembly performance software models that are used to develop optimized
performance solutions.

•

It is quite possible that a formal "R&D" program may not be required to address the BEAM
technical issues around bit and coring performance because of the natural progression oftechnology improvement within the oil and gas industry.

The results of these meetings were reviewed with Yoshi Kawamura on May 1 during the Offshore
Technology Conference in Houston. The results were also presented to CDEX engineers at a
meeting in Yokohama on June 7. Note that the minutes of the three meetings can be found in the
Appendices B, C and D.
BEAM is a complicated project from the standpoint of both the technical issues and the fact that it
is managed and will be operated by a non-profit scientific organization, which is obviously atypicalfor the oil and gas industry. NOV stated that they were unclear on how best to move forward andrequested that Blade prepare a list of possible steps that could be taken to address the BEAM
project’s technical and commercial issues with the support of a manufacturing service company.
Blade subsequently prepared this list (reference Appendix E) and sent it to all three companies.
The intent was that the list could serve as the basis of internal discussions within the companies tohelp them determine their level of interest, resource requirements, costs and to serve as the basis
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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Reportfor subsequent meetings with Blade. So far, NOV is the only company that has responded which
led to a follow-up meeting on June 28.

2.1 NOV June 28 Follow-up Meeting
A second meeting with NOV was arranged for June 28 when Yoshi Kawamura would be able toattend. The meeting included a tour of NOV’s bit performance testing lab, their bit manufacturing
facility, and a presentation about their development of high-temperature bearing seals for a newseries of roller cone bits designed for geothermal applications, and a presentation on their wireline
retrievable rotary coring system.
The key observations from the meeting are as follows:•

NOV has an extensive drill bit research lab at their Conroe, Texas facility that can simulate awide variety of actual drilling conditions.

•

The lab has a side selection of different types of rocks that are used for drill bit testing including
two types of basalt that come from Faroe Islands and the US Pacific Northwest.

•

NOV is working on the bearing system design for 8-1/2” and 12-1/4” roller cone bits to be usedin geothermal applications with temperatures up to 288°C. They have successfully run 3
prototype bits in New Zealand at up to 260°C and have plans to run several more. The goal isto add these bits to their product line in sizes ranging from 7-7/8” to 12-1/4”.

•

NOV also has a wireline retrievable rotary core system known as “Corion Express”. The system
can cut 3.0” and 3-1/2” cores and up to 90 ft of core can be cut at one time. The standard core
bit diameter is 8-3/4” but 9-7/8” bits can be also be used. Core recovery is presently greaterthan 90%.

•

NOV noted that no one uses roller cone core bits these days. All coring is doing with fixed
cutter bits.

•

Of all the companies Blade has talked to thus far NOV has by far expressed the most interest
and enthusiasm about being involved in the BEAM project. They, for example, volunteered torun mechanical tests on a sample of basalt rock from the 1256D hole to help determine it
drillability using NOV’s in-house evaluation procedures, and they agreed to run tests on thesynthetic diamonds developed by Dr Irifune of Ehime University – at no cost to IODP.

It was clear from this meeting that NOV is genuinely interested in the BEAM project and quite
willing provide their own time and resources to help identify solutions to the technical issues
around the BEAM project – something that is not evident from the other two companies Blade hastalked to - thus far at least. The minutes of this meeting are provided in Appendix F.
It was agreed that the next meeting with NOV will be held in early August and include discussions
on NOV’s high-temperature drilling fluids and downhole tools.

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2.2 IODP-USIO Visit
Y.Kawamura, N.Pilisi and B.Whitney made a visit to the IODP-USIO office at Texas A&M on June
29. The intent of the visit was to meet with the JOIDES Resolution operations people to see about
getting more detailed bit run and operational data from 1256D that is needed to determine the bit
design requirements for the BEAM project. Unfortunately the operations people were not available
that day, however discussions were had with Phil Rumford, Chad Broyles, Kevin Grigar and Carlos
Zarikian and we were able to examine core samples that were obtained from Expedition #335
which will be used for testing by NOV

2.3 Forward Plan
Blade’s efforts over the next several months will be focused on the following:•

Contacting Baker Hughes and Halliburton to arrange follow-up meetings.

•

Arranging an initial meeting with Schlumberger•

Arrange an initial meeting with Varel International•

Meeting with Ulterra on July 24.

•

Working with Y.Kawamura to obtain core samples from IODP-USIO for NOV to test. Note that
Y.Kawamura will also coordinate getting samples of Dr. Irifune’s nano-polycrystalline diamonds
for testing by NOV.

•

Attempting to get the detailed 1256D bit run and operational data from IODP-USIO so that thedata can be provided to NOV for review.

•

Finalizing plans for a third meeting with NOV in early August.

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3 Appendix A: Blade Presentations
The presentation that summarizes the BEAM project objectives and the technical issues around
drilling and coring into the mantle which is used to introduce the project to the oilfield bit and coring
system service providers in embedded below.

The presentation that summarizes the results of the initial meetings with NOV, Baker Hughes andHalliburton is embedded below.

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4 Appendix B: NOV Initial Meeting Minutes
Meeting With:

National Oilwell Varco (NOV)

Meeting Date:

11 April, 2012

Location:

NOV Office* – Conroe, Texas

Attendees:

Hector Sanchez
Blake Mock
Piero D’Ambrosio
Michael Coss
Daryl Ramnarace
Alexis Garcia
Charles LutherNicolas Pilisi
Bob Pilko
Bill Whitney

NOV, Global Product Manager
NOV, Account Manager
NOV, Director Advanced Drilling Solutions
NOV, Product Line Mgr, Directional Drill Bits
NOV, Director Strategic Integrated Solutions
NOV, Product Line Mgr, Harsh Rock Drill Bits
NOV, Business Development Manager
Blade
Blade
Blade

PurposeThis was the kick-off meeting with NOV to explain the BEAM project, review the project objectives
and the technical issues, and get their preliminary feedback on possible technical solutions andtheir interest in participating in the project in some capacity. This was the first of three initial
meetings with oilfield service companies that provide bits and coring services which were intended
to introduce BEAM and to get a feel for what the service company’s reaction would be.
Synopsis
Somewhat overwhelmingly, seven of NOV’s key managers attended the meeting which indicatesthat they took the meeting seriously. They offer a variety of different services and believe they haveexisting equipment that would provide improved performance over what is currently being used on
the Chikyu/Resolution. They noted that a more holistic approach would be needed to resolve thetechnical issues around the BEAM project since focusing just on bits does not address all theinterdependent issues. For example, the BHA, drill string, hydraulics, fluids and so on also need tobe addressed in order for the bits to work effectively. They are also willing to continue discussions
around the BEAM project.
Highlights• Hector Sanchez will the main point of contact•

They noted that the idea of developing any sort of R&D program would require further internal
discussions.

•Because of the complexity of the BEAM project and to help them determine a way forward,
they asked that Blade prepare a list of specific tasks that might need to be done to resolve theproject’s technical issues. They would use the list as the basis of their internal discussions,evaluate the resource requirements and provide a structured response to Blade about how they
could support the project.

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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report•

They provide Reed and Hycalog roller cone and fixed cutter bits.

•

They provide both wireline and conventional coring systems.

*Address: 500 Conroe Park west Drive, Conroe, Texas, 77303
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5 Appendix C: Baker Hughes Initial Meeting Minutes
Meeting With:

Baker Hughes

Meeting Date:

12 April, 2012

Location:

Baker Hughes Office* – The Woodlands, Texas

Attendees:

Bob WelchMatt Meiners
Less Shale
Nicolas Pilisi
Bob Pilko
Bill Whitney

Baker Hughes, Product Liner Manager, Drill Bits
Baker Hughes, Product Liner Manager, Diamonds
Baker Hughes, Product Liner Manager, Coring
Blade
Blade
Blade

PurposeThis was the kick-off meeting with Baker Hughes to explain the BEAM project, review the project
objectives and the technical issues, and get their preliminary feedback on possible technicalsolutions and their interest in participating in the project in some capacity. This was the second of
three initial meetings with oilfield service companies that provide bits and coring services whichwere intended to introduce BEAM and to get a feel for what the service company’s reaction wouldbe.
SynopsisThree of Baker Hughes’ key product line managers attended the meeting. They also came
prepared with their own presentations about their products and services which indicates that they
took the meeting seriously. They were previously involved with the KTB project in Germany (tried
to reach the Mantle onshore), so they are familiar with the technical issues that a mantle hole willneed to address. They believe they have existing equipment that would provide improved
performance over what is currently being used on the Chikyu/Resolution. They are also willing tocontinue discussions around the BEAM project.
Highlights• Consideration should be given to incorporating rotary sidewall coring systems into the BEAM
formation evaluation program.
•

Their aluminum inner core barrels need to be changed out to steel after 200F in order toaccount for differential thermal expansion.

•

Their longest ever core run was 620 feet.

•

They regularly cut 300 to 400 ft of core in the Eagle Ford shale gas play.

•

When coring fractured formations they use their Hydrolift core system that has a “clam shell”
feature to capture the core intact and also has anti-core jamming features.

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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report•

Only 30% of the bits used today are roller cone bits because of advances in PDC bit
technology. As such, roller cone bit development technology is now mostly focused on the
more difficult and challenging applications.

•

Their roller cone “performance” bit product line is called “Vanguard”.

•

They have a full scale drilling simulator at their Woodlands facility. They can adjust all thevariables needed to simulate drilling different rock strengths, but they cannot simulate hightemperature environments.

•

The question was raised about how drilling hard granite compares to drilling igneous rocks.

•

They recommend open bearing bits vs. sealed bearing bits for applications greater than 550F.

•

The mantle hole has the potential for being able to use hybrid bits which combine the featuresof both roller cone and PDC bits.

•

They would want to use their “DART” team to determine the ideal systems approach to drillingand coring into the mantle.

•

They were involved with KTB where hybrid bits were used to drill basalt. They have experience
drilling basalt and gabbros.

•

They would suggest an iterative development process for identifying and/or developing the
optimum bit / core head solutions for BEAM. Ideally this would involve testing a bit on an actual
IODP hole, taking it back and reviewing the bit condition and bit run results, making changes tothe design and then running it again at a new IODP location.

•

PDC braising is done at 1100F, but the bond strength tends to degrade at about half thattemperature.

•

They have an ongoing R&D program for cutters. They will have a new cutter design available
later on this year.

•

Diamond impregnated bits may be an option. Diamonds don’t like high temperatures but there
are steps that can be taken to mitigate this (i.e. longer posts). Performance for these bit types
is optimized by rotary speed (rpm’s) as opposed to WOB.

•

Formation abrasiveness is a function of the silicone content of the rock.

•

They are developing a geothermal drilling system that includes bits, BHA’s and fluids that will
be commercial in 2015.

•

They have several technical centers around the world that could be available support BEAM.

•

They are averaging 98% core recovery right now.

•

Bob Welch will continue to be the point of contact for issues around BEAM.

•

They provide Hughes Chistensen roller cone and fixed cutter bits.

•

They provide conventional core systems.

•

They offer several tools for determining a formation’s drillability which aids in the selection of
the optimum bit options. For example:-“Rocky” is a rock mechanics software package used for evaluating lithology and calculating
formation strengths.

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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report-“EROP” is an analytical tool used to predict rate of penetration based on lithology, formation
strength and drilling parameters.

-“Drill Bit Advisor” is a rule-based expert system used to analyze raw drilling and well log
data to develop optimum bit designs.

*Address: 9110 Grogans Mill Road, The Woodlands, Texas, 77380

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6 Appendix D: Halliburton Initial Meeting Minutes
Meeting With:

Halliburton

Meeting Date:

13 April, 2012

Location:

Halliburton’s Office* – Houston, Texas

Attendees:

Larry Hall
Brad Dunbar
Lorne Rutherford
Nicolas Pilisi
Bob Pilko
Bill Whitney

Halliburton, N. America Region Coring Manager
Halliburton, Fixed Cutter Product Manager
Halliburton, Global Business Development Mgr
Blade
Blade
Blade

PurposeThis was the kick-off meeting with Halliburton to explain the BEAM project, review the project
objectives and the technical issues, and get their preliminary feedback on possible technicalsolutions and their interest in participating in the project in some capacity. This was the third of
three initial meetings with oilfield service companies that provide bits and coring services whichwere intended to introduce BEAM and to get a feel for what the service company’s reaction wouldbe.
SynopsisThree of Halliburton’s key product line managers attended the meeting. They also came preparedwith their own presentations about their products and services which indicates that they took the
meeting seriously. They have also discussed coring services with JAMSTEC and CDEX in thepast. They believe they have existing equipment that would provide improved performance overwhat is currently being used on the Chikyu/Resolution. They are also willing to continue
discussions around the BEAM project, however they do not think that they could justify a large
R&D project in support of the BEAM project.
Highlights• Larry Hall mentioned that he doesn’t think that they could embark on a large R&D project
because there are not enough resources within Halliburton or enough potential benefit. Hiscomment was based on previous discussions he had with JAMSTEC and CDEX.
•

However, he also said that he believes that Halliburton has existing tools that are better thanwhat is currently being used, and that the natural progression of technological development will
most certainly provide a solution to coring into the mantle within 5 years. As such, a formal
R&D program might not be required for BEAM.

•

Later in the meeting they said that they can core the mantle with one of their existing coreheads right now and that they can core anything up to the point that steel melts. So they are
not concerned about 250-300C magnitude temperatures.

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Their “RockSwift” coring system is wireline retrievable developed for use in Coal Bed Methane
applications. They have run this with 60 ft core barrels. The system needs drill pipe that had atleast a 4.250” ID.

•

As illustrated below, they noted that roller cone bits are the worst type one can use for coring.
The WOB and the crushing effect of the bit teeth can damage the rock even before the core is
cut which may adversely impact coring performance and recovery.

•

They provided copies of the presentation material that they went through during the meeting.

•

Larry Hall will be the point of contact.

•

They provide Security and DBS roller cone and fixed cutter bits.

•

They provide both wireline and conventional coring systems.

•

They provide several tools that are used to analyze formation properties to optimize bit
selection such as “DatCi”, “SPARTA”, and “IBitS”

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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report*Address: 3950 Interwood S. Parkway, Houston, Texas, 77032

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7 Appendix E: BEAM Followup Options (generic)
BEAM - Borehole into Earth’s Mantle
Bit and Coring Technology Development Questions
BEAM is a complicated project from the standpoint of the technical issues and the fact that it ismanaged and will be operated by a non-profit scientific organization. As such, it is presently
unclear how best to move forward to resolve the technical issues. To facilitate a discussion about
this, Blade has prepared a list of possible steps that could be taken to address the technical andcommercial issues with the support of a manufacturing service company. The idea is that the list
could serve as the basis of internal discussions within <company> to help determine your level ofinterest, resource requirements, costs and so on.
Blade would therefore appreciate it if <company> could review the steps provided below andindicate your level of interest. We would not expect a lengthy formal response but would be happy
to meet with you to discuss this in more detail at your convenience.
Again, Blade has been asked by IODP to:•

Identify current hard rock drill bit equipment and services.

•

Investigate potential technological gaps and improvements that will enable hard rock drill
bits to stay on-bottom longer, decreasing drilling time and risk.

•

Identify current hard rock coring systems and services.

•

Investigate possible development of new hard rock coring systems to improve the quality
and quantity of cores recovered in order to satisfy the scientific objectives.

•

Provide a recommendation of the most efficient and most viable hard rock drill bits andcoring systems for the BEAM drilling project spud date in 2017-2018.

•

Provide an estimate of how the designers, manufacturers, and service companies of such
equipment and services may accelerate their technological offerings, including an estimateof the technological improvement costs to IODP and the scientific drilling community.

•

Identify additional high-impact drilling equipment and services for the BEAM project where
technological improvements will also reduce project time and risks.

Possible Technical Issue Resolution Steps
1. Would you be willing to provide information / marketing material on your current hard rock bit
product lines that might be suitable for the BEAM project?
2. Would you be willing to provide information / marketing material on your current hard rockcoring system product lines that might be suitable for the BEAM project?
3. Would you be willing to provide information on hard rock bit designs and coring systems thatare under development that might be suitable for the BEAM project?
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4. Would you be willing to provide information on the key design features for high temperature,
hard rock roller cone, fixed cutter, and impreg bits and core systems? For example, what do
you think the main issues are, what are the ideal design features that one would look for, which
ones have current solutions, which might need an R&D program to address the BEAM projectneeds?
5. What kind of modeling software do you have that, for example, considers lithology and rockstrength for the selection of optimum bits? Will you provide an input list or form, so that we canbegin gathering sufficient information?
6. What bit testing facilities do you have and what kind of drilling related variables can be
adjusted?
7. Would you be willing to provide information on your previous experience drilling and coring inhigh temperature and hard rock areas that are similar to what is expected in the BEAM project.
What information would you need from Blade/IODP to make this comparison?
8. Would you be willing to review previous IODP project bit and coring performance records andprovide a cursory evaluation of the date, your general opinions of the results and generalsuggestions for alternative bits and core heads – at no cost?
9. Would you be able and willing to do a detailed examination of previous IODP project bit andcoring performance records and well log data and do a comprehensive performance evaluationin order to come up with a optimized bit and core/head recommendation based on your current
product line offerings? If so, how much would it cost and how long would it take, and how
would it need to be structured?
10. Would you be willing to participate in an R&D program to address the bit and coring technicalissues associated with the BEAM project? How would you think a program like this should be
structured and roughly what would it cost?
11. Do you have any other opinions, suggestions or advice?
Blade Energy Partners
May 2012

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8 Appendix F: NOV 28 June Meeting Minutes
Meeting With:

National Oilwell Varco (NOV)

Meeting Date:

28 June, 2012

Location:

NOV Office* – Conroe, Texas

Attendees:

Chuck WrightNOV, Research Lab Manager, Drill BitsDavid McGehee NOV, Product Line Manager, Coring
Gordon Schutt
NOV, Engineering Manager, Manufacturing
Bruce Burr
NOV, Project Manager, Bearing Systems, Drill Bits
Daryl Ramnarace NOV, Director Strategic Integrated Solutions
Alexis Garcia
NOV, Product Line Mgr, Harsh Rock Drill Bits
Mike Pridgeon
NOV, Engineering Mgr, Product Line Engineering
Yoshi Kawamura IODP-MI
Nicolas Pilisi
BladeBill Whitney
Blade

PurposeThis was the second meeting with NOV – after they had time to review Blade’s list of suggested
steps to move the BEAM project forward and to discuss the project internally. The purpose of themeeting was to focus more closely on the BEAM technical issues and the possible solution that
NOV may be able to provide.
Synopsis
Again, somewhat overwhelmingly, NOV organized an all day meeting that included a tour of their
bit performance testing lab, their bit manufacturing facility, and presentations about a new series ofgeothermal bits they are developing and their wireline retrievable rotary coring system.
Of all the companies Blade has talked to thus far NOV has by far expressed the most interest andenthusiasm about being involved in the BEAM project. They, for example, volunteered to runmechanical tests on a sample of basalt rock from the 1256D hole to help determine it drillability
using NOV’s in-house evaluation procedures, and they agreed to run tests on the synthetic
diamonds developed by Dr. Irifune of Ehime University – at no cost to IODP.
NOV is a major oilfield service company and has, over the past few years, bought numerous
different companies which has allowed them to offer a wide variety of equipment and services tothe oil and gas industry, from the mud pumps on the Chikyu, to downhole tools, drilling fluids andbits. NOV stated that they are a technology development company and feel that if they have thebest technology, people will buy their products and services. As such, they have less of a shortterm “what’s in it for me” attitude than other service companies. They are genuinely interested in
the BEAM project and quite willing to help find solutions to the technical issues. This isn’t tosuggest that they will “always” be willing to do everything for “free”, but a least for now at a
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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Reportfoundational level, they have shown a willingness to provide their own time and resources to help
identify solutions to the technical issues around the BEAM project – something that is not evident
thus far from the other two companies Blade has talked to.
A third meeting has been planned for early August which will include discussion on hightemperature drilling fluids and downhole tools.

Highlights•

The NOV drill bit research lab at their Conroe facility has the capabilities for:oSimulating actual drilling conditionsoSimulating the overburden pressure for different types of rock in atmospheric andpressurized conditionsoInstalling a flow loop that simulates downhole pulses and shocks allowing the location andmagnitude to be measured. They can use the exact same drilling fluid systems that areused in the field including oil based mud (although they prefer not to from an environmental
standpoint since it is costly and complicated to dispose of)o

Doing downhole electronics testing with vibration at hot and cold temperatureso

Doing seal development and testing and develop the “k-rev” curves which represent theseal life at different temperature and load conditions. They are in the process of upgrading
the equipment to handle 1000 rpms to simulate the higher rotational speeds found in
downhole turbines.

oDoing compressional and tensile materials testing•

The lab also has a complete prototype shop that is used for developing new products so that
there is no impact on their regular manufacturing processes.

•

NOV has samples (boulders) of “every rock that you can think of” that are used for bit
development and performance testing. This includes examples of sandstone, limestone,
dolomite, granite and two types of basalt – one from the Faroe Islands and one from the US
Pacific Northwest. NOV purchases large boulders of different rock types from mining
operations around the world and then uses them for bit testing.

•

The lab can design tests and equipment for virtually any application which includes runningtests for their competitors.

•

Chuck Wright manages the lab and, somewhat amazingly, has an extensive knowledge about
the drillability of basalt. He volunteered to run mechanical tests on a core sample of basalt
recovered from the 1256D hole to determine the rock’s unconfined compressive strength (UCS)
which is essentially a measure of how hard it is to drill. Once the UCS is known, the matching
bit design requirements can be determined. He will also be able to compare the characteristicsof the 1256D basalt to the other basalt samples he has. He is also interested in newtechnology and agreed to run some tests on the nano-polycrystalline diamonds developed by
Dr. Irifune of Ehime Universityi and compare them to the properties of the sintered diamonds
NOV currently uses in their bits. Both series of tests will be done at no cost to IODP.

i

The potential application of Dr. Irifune’s work for the mantle project was discussed at a meeting between JAMSTEC,IODP-MI, Blade and Dr, Irefune at the JAMSTEC office in Tokyo on June 6th.
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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report•

NOV is working on the bearing system design for 8-1/2” and 12-1/4” roller cone bits to be usedin geothermal applications. The bits have an IADC 517 classification and the bearings aredesigned for 288°C / 550°F. High temperature rubber and grease is used for the seal design
and there are metal spring seal energizers that are used to offset the seal compression due totemperature. They have successfully run 3 of the prototype bits in New Zealand at up to 260C
thus far and have plans to run several more. The goal is to add these bits to their product line
in sizes ranging from 7-7/8” to 12-1/4”.

•

NOV also has a wireline retrievable rotary core system known as “Corion Express”. The system
can cut 3.0” and 3-1/2” cores and features a core jamming indicator that indicates whether thecore has jammed or whether the rate of penetration has slowed. Jammed cores can be
remediated via wireline. Up to 90 ft of core can be cut at one time. The standard core bit
diameter is 8-3/4” but 9-7/8” bits can be also be used. Core recovery is presently greater than90%.

•

NOV noted that no one uses roller cone core bits these days. All coring is doing with fixed
cutter bits. They also felt that the C-9 core bit was not a hard rock bit.

•

It was agreed that the next meeting with NOV will be held in early August and include
discussions on NOV’s high-temperature drilling fluids and downhole tools.

•

Daryl Ramnarace (Director, Strategic Integrated Solutions) will now be the main point ofcontact.

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IODP-USIO VisitoAfter the NOV meeting Y.Kawamura, N.Pilisi and B.Whitney made a visit to the IODP-USIO
office at Texas A&M on June 29. The intent of the visit was to meet with the JR operations
people to see about getting more detailed bit run and operational data from 1256D that isneeded to determine the bit design requirements for the BEAM project. Unfortunately theoperations people were not available that day, however discussions were had with Phil
Rumford, Chad Broyles, Kevin Grigar and Carlos Zarikian and we were able to examine
core samples that were obtained from Expedition #335 which will be used for testing by
NOV.

Action Items•

Blade will contact Chuck Wright to find about the core sample size that is needed for the UCS
testing. Y.Kawamura will make arrangements for requesting an Expedition #355 basalt coresample from IODP-USIO. A suitably sized sample will then be sent to NOV for testing.

•

Y.Kawamura will coordinate getting samples of Dr. Irifune’s nano-polycrystalline diamonds fortesting by NOV.

•

Further attempts will be made to get the detailed 1256D bit run and operational data from
IODP-USIO so that the data can be provided to NOV for review.

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BEAM Bit/Coring Performance Study Interim Report*Address: 500 Conroe Park west Drive, Conroe, Texas, 77303

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