Challenge: Reduce torque while drilling a long salt section at a high rate of penetration and building the angle from 0° to 42°.
Solution: Run a PowerDrive Orbit rotary steerable system fitted with a 16 1/2-in X716 AxeBlade ridged diamond element bit optimized for drilling salt at a higher ROP with less downhole torque.
Results:
Shell planned to drill a 13,674-ft [4,167-m] salt section of a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). In addition to the required 42° build, the objective was to use a single bit run to achieve a high ROP of 275 ft/h [83.82 m/h] with reduced torque.
Shell opted to run a BHA incorporating an AxeBlade bit and PowerDrive Orbit RSS. Based on data from the IDEAS integrated dynamic design and analysis platform, the proposed 16 1/2-in AxeBlade bit was designed specifically to drill the targeted salt section at a higher ROP. Analysis showed that the unique geometry of the ridged diamond elements would generate less on-bottom torque as compared to conventional 16 1/2-in fixed cutter bits.
The AxeBlade bit and PowerDrive Orbit RSS delivered record-setting footage of 13,674 ft [4,167 m] in 45 drilling hours and an average on-bottom ROP of 305 ft/h [93 m/h]—a 100% improvement from the field median ROP. Moreover, between drilling the entire interval in a single run achieving TD at 25,817 ft [7,869 m], the high ROP enabled Shell to become the first deepwater Gulf of Mexico operator to drill 5,353 ft [1,632 m] in a 24-hour period.
