Patent ID: 8281878

Claim:
A method of drilling a well and installing casing, comprising: (a) making up a casing string; (b) securing to a drill pipe string a bottom hole assembly (BHA) having an earth boring bit and a fluid diverter, locking the drill pipe string to the casing string for rotation therewith and placing the fluid diverter between a passage of the drill pipe string and the interior of the casing string; (c) rotating the bit to drill the well and pumping drilling fluid down the passage of the drill pipe string while the fluid diverter is in a drilling mode position, which causes the drilling fluid to flow out the drill bit; (d) at a total depth for the casing string, moving the fluid diverter to a cementing position and pumping cement down the drill pipe, which flows out the drill pipe string above the drill bit and up a casing string annulus surrounding the casing string; and (e) retrieving the BHA from the casing string after the cement has been dispensed: and wherein step (c) comprises returning a portion of the drilling fluid after exiting the drill bit up a drill pipe string annulus between the drill pipe string and the casing string and past the fluid diverter to an upper end of the casing string, and returning another portion of the drilling fluid up the casing string annulus.