SPE

Society of PetN:lleum Engineers of AIME

SPE 11168
New Low-Speed High-Torque Motor Experience in Europe
by Andrew John Beswick, Camborne School of Mines, and John Forrest, DR/LEX (Aberdeen) Ltd.

Copyright 1982. Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME

This paper was presented at the 57th Annual Fall Technical Conference and Exhibition of the Sow:!ty of Petroleum Engineers of AIME.
held in New Orleans. LA. Sept. 26-29. 1982. The material IS subject to correction by the author Permission to
IS restricted to an
abstract of not more than 300 words. Write 6200 N Central Expressway. P.O. Drawer 64706. Dallas. Texas

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

A new generation of multi-lobe positive

di sp 1acement mud motors des i gned in the USSR has
been used in Europe since early 1981.
A
comprehensive range of experience has already
demonstrated the importance and potential of this
development for a wide variety of drilling
applications. This paper describes the design
concept of the motor which operates on the Moineau
principle and discusses the performance with
reference to a number of recent applications
including straight hole drilling, directional
drilling and coring. The slow-speed, high-torque
characteri sti cs, whi ch permit sustai ned hi gh bit
weights, give near rotary conditions at the bit
for the first time with a downhole motor, offering
many advantages in drilling.

Since March 1981, a new generation of positive

displacement downhole motors has been available
from a base in Aberdeen, Scotland principally for
onshore operations in Western Europe and offshore
service in the North Sea. Operations to date have
inc 1uded oi lfi e 1d and hard rock dri 11 i ng. I n the
first year, 12 motors in tvJO sizes,
in 00 and
7g in 00, have been used for straight hole
drilling, directional drilling, coring, milling
and cutting casing. The experience has been used
to refine the design and define manufacturing
parameters for a new range of motors which are
entering large scale manufacture.

The references to case histories include a

summary of the comprehensive use of the motors for
directional drilling in two 7000 ft deep wells in
granite for a hot dry rock geothermal energy
In addition
research project in Cornwall, UK.
comments on the use of the motors with polycrystal line diamond and tricone bits for straight hole
drilling are presented, together with a number of
references to coring applications.
The results so far demonstrate that longer
runs, faster dri 11 i ng, and more successful cori ng
are
possible
and
that
the
power-speed
characteristics offer new important operational
options including bottom hole configurations with
drilling assemblies below the motor. The walk
tendency of the motors in directional drilling is
opposite to that of turbines and, therefore,
complements
turbines
for
long
progressive
corrections in drilling tangent sections.
The technical improvements to the original
design based on early operational experience are
and future
potential
applications
outlined
discussed.
References and illustrations at end of paper

The gran; te dri 11 i ng undertaken by Camborne

School of Mines, Cornwall, was particularly
significant both from the standpoint of the
success achi eyed ; n dri 11 i ng hard, abras i ve rock
and the contribution to the improved design and
development of the motors.
A wi de vari ety of bi ts have been used whi ch
have demonstrated that rotary drilling parameters
at the bi t generated by a low-speed hi gh-torque
downhole motor unit can give substantial benefits
over alternative tools and methods.
The paper descri bes the experi ence over the
first 12 to 15 months of operation.
MOTOR DESIGN BASIS
These multi-lobe positive displacement motors
were evolved over a development period spanning 10
years.
The objecti ve was to generate output
character; st i cs equi va 1ent to those of a rotary
table. High torque at rotational speeds less than
220 rpm with power being applied at the bit
enables the motors to be used within the scope of
standard drilling practices including existing bit
and mud systems techno 1ogi es. The techni ca 1 data
given in this section refers to the Orilex 6~ in
00 motor.

NEW LOW-SPEED HIGH-TORQUE MOTOR EXPERIENCE IN EUROPE

The output from the hydraul ic power unit is

delivered via the motor bearing system which can
withstand up to 55 000 lb weight on bit at maximum
power. This is as much as can be used effectively
by current roller cone bits or diamond bits for
bit diameters less than 10 in.
Mud fl ow .rates from 280 to 650 gal 1m; n are
requi red to generate torque and speed from the
power uni t; fl ui ds may be either oil or water
based. The motors can operate with foam, water or
all drilling muds with weights up to a specific
gravity of 2.2.
The complete motor unit is contained within an
overall length of 25 ft including tool crossovers
and a bypass valve. This makes the tool ideal for
directional drilling. Incorporation of the tool
into the drilling assembly is straight forward;
there is no need to make up tool sect ions on the
drill site.
The hydraulic power unit of the multi-lobe
motor compared with that of the conventional
one-two lobe motor is shown in cross-section in
Figure 1. The basic operating principle is that
of the Moineau pump. The detailed application and
development of this principle for its use as a
dri 11 i ng motor has been researched in the USSR
since the early 1960's. This research culminated
in the Drilex drilling motor which is the subject
of this paper.

SPE 11168

The output of the hydraulic unit is transmitted to the output shaft via flexible couplings
which eliminate the eccentric motion of the rotor.
The output shaft ; s centred in the cas i ng by the
bearing pack which includes thrust and radial
bearings and a flow control valve which maintains
the mud 1ubri cati on through the bear; ng pack to
less than 2% of the total flow through the motor.
The general arrangement of the motor is shown ; n
Figure 2.
The detailed performance characteristics of
the Drilex 6~ in 00 tool are given in Figure 3.
Thi s data is taken from bench test; ng a standard
production tool in the horizontal plane with water
The performance of the tool
as the test fluid.
with mud is superi or to the values shown because
of the better rotor-stator sealing.
It was not
possible to test the full performance envelope of
the motor because the test dynamometer would not
absorb the high torque generated at low rotational
speeds.
A comparison of the operational parameters
between the Drilex (6~ in 00), Dyna-Orill Delta
1000 (6~ in 00) and the Neyrfor Turbine (7~ in 00)
tools is given in Figure 4. This figure is based
on the best current data generally available.
Check measurements
of
stall
torque
at
650 gal/min have given torque values in excess of
5200 ft lb.

The motor operates ina manner oppos ite to

that of a pump. The screw converts the fluid
energy of the mud into rotational motion to turn
the drill bit.
The rotational component and
static component must include one elastomer
surface in order to radially seal the chambers
The
through which the fluid is moving axially.
rotor and stator have helical spiral forms which
are exactly equal in pitch.

It is particularly significant to note how

1itt 1e reduct i on there is in rotary speed with
increasing torque up to some 70% of onset of
stall. The test data clearly indicates the
following major advantages offered by this
low-speed, high-torque positive displacement motor
as a drill ing tool:

Rotary speed is proportional to flow rate.

In cross-section, the stator has one more lobe

than the rotor. Comparing a one-two and a nine-ten
lobe rotor stator assembly shown in Figure 1, the
substantial difference in fluid cavity geometry
can be seen.

Torque is proporti ona 1 to pressure drop for

constant flow rate.

A clear indication of normal operation

evident from standpipe pressure.

The multi-lobe configuration also generates

the significant additional feature of reduction
geari ng. The rotor moves wi thi n the stator as an
epicyclic gear.
The rotor has thus two motions,
precession and rotation. It is this feature which
gives the reduction in rotational speed and the
increase in output torque which are the principal
attributes of this series of positive displacement
motors.

The flow rate range is over five to one with a

stall torque of 2500 ft lb available at
minimum flow.

The low pressure drop across the motor allows

it to be used without excessive demands on mud
pumps.

The geometry of the motor provides minimum

contact pressure between the rotor and stator,
thus considerably increasing the life of both
components.
Furthermore, the rotor runs across
the surface of the stator without any sl iding,
again eliminating a major source of wear. Axially
the hel i x angl e is arranged to ensure that the
motor wi 11 start rotati ng and not lock up as is
often the case with other pos it i ve di sp 1acement
multi-lobe motors.

is

The tool provi des adequate torque for any bi t

type within the flow rate range determined by
drilling conditions.
IMPACT OF OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE ON MOTOR DESIGN
The multi-lobe motor design, developed in the
USSR, has been used to drill over six million feet
in a wide variety of oilfield applications to
depths up to 30 000 ft.
Its introduction in
Western Europe posed several engi neeri ng prob 1ems
mainly resulting from the following differences in
approach to drilling:

SPE 11168

*
*

A J BESWICK and J FORREST

Drilling muds
Drilling practices
Repair philosophy
Dri 11 i ng bits

Or; 11 i ng in the USSR contrasts with Western

practices
particularly
in
relation
to
the
percentage of well footage drilled with downhole
Over 80% of all footage
motors or turbo drill s.
in the USSR is drilled in this way.
This
contrasts wi th a fi gure of 1ess than 1% in the
United States.
In the USSR, the evolution of
downhole power units has had a major effect on all
aspects of drilling practices.
Oilfield drilling in the North Sea uncovered a
variety of problem areas in design which have
successfully been overcome by the introduction of
minor variations in drilling practice. The most
si gnifi cant of these resulted from the use of
diamond bits incorporating long integral blade
stabilisers.
Using diamond bits developed for
turbine applications, it was shown that high
penetration rates could be achieved in several
medium to hard formations by applying high weight
on bit in spite of the low rotat i ona 1 speeds of
the orilex motors.
The bit speed could be
increased by supplementing the motor speed by the
rotary
table
with
additional
drillstring
rotational speeds of up to 100 rpm.
In some
cases, penetration rates of over six times those
attained by rotary drilling were achieved with the
multi-lobe motors at the expense of a three to one
reduct ion in motor 1 i fe.
The pri nci pa 1 reduction
in 1 He was caused by long integral blade
stabil i sers j ammi ng on the wall of the well and
the stator over-runni ng the rotor. The new tools
will incorporate a feature to minimise this
effect.
In general, attention to detail and modification of assembly procedure in the bearing and
fl exi b1e joi nt assemb 1i es of the tool
has
increased the overall reliability of the motors by
over a factor of four in 15 months of operations.
Run times exceeding 80 hr in the most
demandi ng operations are now achi eved as a matter
of course and a maximum motor run time of 189 hr
has been recorded.
The principal wear mechanisms in downhole mud
motors are as follows:

*
*
*
*
*

Erosion damage
Vibration
Axial loading
Lateral 1oadi ng
Abrasion damage

Erosion is related to fluid volume, mud

weight, sand content and the type of solids used
in the muds. It is imperative in tool design that
a 11 areas in the tool whi ch have a hi gh 1oca 1
fluid velocity are either eliminated or coated to
avoid major erosion of components.

Vibration, especially in hard rock drilling,

particularly affects the bearing casing and
flexible joints. Incorporation of shock absorbers
in the drilling assembly can reduce the effects of
vibration considerably.
Careful analysis of the
drillstring and bottom hole assembly dynamiCS
could contribute to substantial increases in motor
and bit life during drilling operations in hard
rock.
High axial loads are necessary mainly in
formations where rock crushing strengths are high.
Roller cone bits require relatively hi~h bit
loading for effective penetration.
The 64 in 00
Dri 1ex too 1 wi 11 permi t a wei ght on bi t of over
50 000 lb to be run over long periods.
Lateral
loads
are
applied
mainly
in
directional control drilling. The bearing design
combines axial and radial supports which have
successfully contained the effects of extreme
lateral loading on the tools.
Important design
considerations are tool bending stiffness and the
lateral displacement stiffness of the output
shafts relative to the casings.
Abras ion is a major aspect of wear ina 11
cases where solids control in drilling fluids is
poor. Abrasion accounts for wear in all parts of
the motors where surfaces are in contact. Solids
control in most applications in Europe is good and
thus the effects of this element have been
minimised.
The most si gni fi cant operat i on to i nfl uence
tool design has been the hard rock drilling
programme for the HDR Geothermal Energy Research
Project at Camborne School of Mi nes in Cornwall,
UK. Th; s prov; ded an ; dea 1 opportunity for
engineering evaluation of drilling parameters and
their impact on tool design.
The overall wear
rate on motor components produced a spares
consumption rate, when translated into cost, of
about three times that normally experienced in
oilfield drilling.
The components of the tools
affected and the prinCipal causes of failures are
summarised in Table 1.
The high axial vibrations set up by the insert
bits cutti ng the granite caused both fracture of
thrust bearings and excessive wear on tool jOints.
The number of significant stress reversals in a
motor wi th 100 hr dri 11 i ng exceeds 5 x 10 7 , whi ch
means that fatigue cracking can be a source of
major failure.
It is important to minimise this
1i ke 1i hood to gi ve an increased tool 1 ife and
reduce the risk of catastrophic tool failure.
The flexible coupling on the intermediate
shaft between the rotor and output shaft also
suffered hi gh wear rates. Thi s was mai nly caused
by the inertia loading from the rotor above these
flexible joints.
Because of the uniformity of operating
conditions, the engineering data from Camborne is
invaluable and has already been used extensively
in the development of new materials for the tool
components and precise definition of design
loadings.

NEW LOW-SPEED HIGH-TORQUE MOTOR EXPERIENCE IN EUROPE

The pri nci pa 1 developments now in the course

of implementation are:

*
*
*
*

Increase of the tool bending stiffness

Stiffening of the radial bearing assembly
The use of metal and ceramic coatings for
i ncreas i ng abrasion resi stance and decreas i ng
friction
Improved flexible coupling design
A simplified assembly/dis-assembly procedure

The elastomer of the stator and its bonding

has proved to be parti cul arly successful. Thi s
has not been a significant source of failure even
during extreme loading conditions.
Elastomers
currently in use are suitable for operating the
motors at fu 11 power at fl ui d temperatures up to
280F.
New elastomers will shortly be available
suitabl e for temperatures up to 350F.
Operational temperature limits can be increased
significantly by effective fluid cooling.
An advanced desi gn study has now been
completed and has demonstrated that the same
performance characteristics can be developed in an
even shorter tool of the order of 15 ft long.
APPLICATIONS IN OILFIELD DRILLING
Operat ions in Europe with Dril ex motors
commenced in March 1981. To date, dri 11 i ng has
been conducted in some 35 locations, mainly
In addition,
offshore in the North Sea.
operations have been successfully undertaken in
the Middle East, Australia and onshore in the UK
and in Europe. The UK and North Sea locations are
shown in Figure 5.
The average run time for the motor ina 11
drilling applications since its introduction is
57 hr and is progressively increasing as the
optimum drilling parameters and directional
control programmes have been established. This is
in contrast to the conventional one-two lobe
positive displacement motor applications where run
ti mes in the vast majority of cases in the North
Sea are still 1ess than 8 hr. Only turbo dri 11 s
have established a track record of long vertical
and tangent sect i on runs. The longest cont i nuous
runs with the low-speed, high-torque positive
di sp 1acement motors have exceeded 120 hr and to
date the longest time between motor overhaul has
been 189 hr.
Few kick-offs and initial directional control
runs have been made with the motor in spite of the
physical make up and performance being ideally
suited to such applications. This, in common with
other restrictions in application, are the result
of commercial pressures imposed by high offshore
rig and operational costs, which to a large extent
prohibit experimentation except where all else
fails. Only in the hard rock application at the
Geothermal Project in Cornwall, discussed in some
detail later in this paper, was it extenSively
used for such operations and with considerable
success.

SPE 11168

The hi gh cost of offshore operations forces

operators and their contractors to select
practices and equipment which minimise trip time
and maximise penetration rates. In addition, they
tend to select equipment which has a long track
record in the industry. These aspects also affect
the selection of bit types.
In the North Sea
po 1ycrysta 11; ne and diamond bits account for a
considerably greater market share than roller cone
rock bits in comparison to drilling operations
worldwide.
Typically, a turbo drill driven bit operating
at 600 rpm and cutting 30 ft per hour will remove
0.01 in per revolution. This is a minute amount
and it is possible to remove at least five times
this amount per revolution if the drive unit has
the torque to turn the bit.
This experience has been repeatedly proven in
medium formations. In one operation, rotary
drilling was achieving less than 5 ft/hr. With the
same bit (an ACC shark tooth diamond,
in 00, 3
TS), a multi-lobe motor drilled 1208 ft in 61 hr;
an average of almost 20 ft/hr. The mud flow was
500-550 gal/min,2
the standpipe pressure was
2600-2800 lb/in , and the weight on bit was
32 000-40 000 lb.
Considerable success has also been achieved
using the new low-speed polycrystalline bits where
the cutting elements are mounted on pillars on the
bi t face. Several recent runs of over 80 hr have
now been achieved.
This type of bit gives
considerably greater flexibility in the selection
of bit hydraulics, bit speed and weight on bit. It
can accommodate over four times the weight on bit
which a high speed polycrystalline bit will
withstand for optimum drilling conditions.
One factor which allows the penetration rate
to be optimised is knowing what power is being
developed at the bit. This is particularly true
of polycrystalline bits which in general run best
The Drilex motor
with light weight on bit.
de 1i vers torque di rect 1y proport i ona 1 to pressure
drop, thus the standpipe pressure indication gives
a direct monitor of the bit torque. At low weight
on bit, the conventional weight indicator is not
sensitive enough to give a true indication of the
cutting action at the bit. For example, using a
hi gh speed OS 19 bit in sandstone, a penetration
rate of 82 ft/hr was achieved over 8 hr with zero
to 4000 lb weight on bit indicated. This run was
conducted by controlling the brake from the
standpipe pressure indicator, a direct reflection
of the torque at the bi t. Previ OUS attempts to
run the bit at the same conditions with approxi mate 1y 8000 1b wei ght on bit resu lted in
penetration rates from 20 to 30 ft/hr. With this
type of bit, torque is the only parameter which
i ndi cates the cutting act i on of the bi t.
Thi s
shows clearly that the low-speed, high-torque
outputs from the multi-lobe motors can achieve the
same order of penetration rates as turbo drilling,
provided that surface control of the brake is
based on torque.

SPE 11168

A J BESWICK and J FORREST

Low-speed polycrystalline bits require much

hi gher torque than the; r hi gh speed vari ants and
operate with approximately five times the weight
on bi t.
The development of thi s type of bit
appears to be a most significant advance in bit
technology.
Operations with roller cone bits to date have
formed a minor part of the initial operational
experi ence with the motors with the
on of
the geothermal drilling discussed later. In some
600 hr of oilfield drilling, bit life overall has
been almost the same as that for rotary drilling,
but penetration rates have been 30% to 250%
higher.
Wear rates on bit bearings have in
general been higher than tooth wear.
It is
regretable that the utilisation of roller cone
bits in the North Sea is as low as it is as there
are many applications where these bits will give a
cost effective performance with the correct
application,
ally the high speed journal
beari ng bits.
Another interesting feature of the low-speed,
high-torque motors is their rotational tendency to
turn to the right which is opposite to the
tendency of the turbo dri 11. Experi ence to date
in the North Sea format ions shows a tendency to
turn right at approximately 0.8/100 ft.
This
characteristic can be used to supplement the turbo
dri 11 runs, thus avoi di ng the need for short
expensive correction runs.
The results to date i ndi cate that the
low-speed,
high-torque
multi-lobe,
positive
displacement motor is a very practical general
purpose drilling tool for oilfield drilling.
In
the 15 month period since their introduction, well
diameters from 17~ in to 8~ in have been drilled.
Other operations have included kick-off, milling,
caSing cutting and coring. The application of the
motors for coring has been outstanding and is
discussed in more detail later.
Drilling with the Drilex motors has disproven
many of the myths of operati ng both di amond or
polycrystalline synthetic diamond bits.
Experi ence has shown that the general pri nci p1es of
1i ght wei ght and hi gh speed on 1y app 1y to soft
format ion dri 11 i ng and even in such cases hi gh
speed is by no means essential.
DRILLING IN GRANITE FOR HDR RESEARCH
As part of a European research programme being
carr; ed out by Camborne School of Mi nes (CSM) to
study permeability enhancement in granite with
specific
reference
to hot dry rock
(HDR)
geothermal energy exploitation, two 7000 ft deep
wells were drilled entirely in granite at a site
in Cornwall, UK. Whil st bottom ho 1e temperatures
were only modest (up to l80 0 n, the drilling
requirements were very similar to the programme
recent 1y undertaken at the Los Alamos Nat i ona 1
Laboratory (LANL) 1 , 2.

Access to the potential HDR reservoir region

at 7000 ft required two wells to be directionally
drilled entirely in granite to form a co-planar
doublet in a preferred direction to suit the
natural fracturing orientation. The 8~ in slant
ho 1e sections across the proposed HDR reservo; r
region were drilled at an inclination of 30 0 to
the vertical with a vertical separation of 1150 ft
and within a narrow lateral tolerance.
The rock underlying the site is a coarse
grai ned porphyrit; c two m; ca granite contai ni ng
feldspar (56%) and quartz (30%) with an average
matrix grain diameter normally in excess of 0.1 in
and containing feldspar megacrysts up to 2 in in
1ength. Orthogonal near-vert i ca 1 joi nt i ng extends
to depth throughout the granite with occas i ona 1
mineralisation in the vicinity of major features.
In general the granite is fresh and characteristically hard, brittle and abrasive.
The need for a slow-speed high-torque downhole motor suitable for di
onal drilling with
tungsten carbi de insert rock bi ts was recogni sed
in the planning stage. For effective penetration
in the coarse granite, hi gh bit loads were
required as the optimum cutting mechanism is to
crush the feldspar crystals to release the quartz.
Much of the directional drilling at LANL was
achieved by using rotary build-up assemblies with
motor dri ven runs for trajectory correcti on. As
well as problems associated with the mechanical
operat i on of the motors, the speed and wei ght on
bit limitations (15 000 to 20 000 lb) of the
positive displacement motors used (Dyna-Drill,
Baker and Navi -Dri 11) resulted in high bit wear
and hence short runs.
The
characteristics
of
the
multi-lobed
positive displacement motors and reports of their
use in the USSR over several years indicated that
these tools would probably be very suitable for
hard rock drilling as they offered virtually
rotary conditions at the bit.
The first use of a multi-lobed positive
displacement motor in the CSM geothermal project
drilling programme was for the l7~ in initial
entry drilling into the fresh granite in the first
well. Run in series with the rotary table, a motor
driven unstabi1ised assembly provided an effective
means of dri 11 i ng the shallow (190 ft) surface
holes where the limited weight available resulted
in extremely high vibration loads on the motor.
early success
under the most severe
This
conditions indicated that the motors would
probably be suitable for the directional drilling.
For di
onal drilling, bent sub assemblies
of 1
to
were used immediately above the
motors. Relatively low average build-up rates of
1/100 ft
in
the
first
well
(lower)
and
1.5/100 ft in the second well (upper) were
adopted to reduce the- risk of severe dog leg
severi ty. A1tern at i ng motor bent sub and rotary
driven slant or course maintaining assemblies were
used to build the required trajectories; the
number of rotary driven runs was reduced from that
antici
due to the superior performance of the
motor assemblies.

NEW LOW-SPEED HIGH-TORQUE MOTOR EXPERIENCE IN EUROPE

With the exception of the short 17~ in surface

hole, all the motor runs in the first well were
drilled in the 12~ in section. In the second well,
frequent but unpredictable geological features
(changes in lithology and the presence of minerali sed joi nts) increased the number of motor dri ven
trajectory correction runs. In addition, four
correction runs were required in the 8~ in slant
hole section in the second well due to adverse
geological influences and the tight tolerance
requi rements. The sharp contrast in dri 11 abi 1i ty
between the unaltered grani te and the weathered
joint material tended to deflect the hole. This
was
particularly so when the joints ran
sub-parallel to the well trajectory.
During the drilling of over 14 000 ft of
granite in two wells, 35 motor runs were made with
7 in 00 and 6~ in 00 tools. The main application
was in a motor driven, bent sub assembly for
directional drilling but motors were also used for
four coring runs, three straight hole runs and on
one occasion for milling junk.
The motor dri ven runs (exc 1udi ng cori ng and
milling) are shown diagrammatically in Figure 6
and a summary of the overall motor performance is
given in Table 2.
Motor dri ven cori ng runs were made wi th both
diamond and hybri d ro 11 er cone corebi ts, but the
and general
limited comparative experience
unsuitability of oilfield equipment for coring
very hard abras i ve format ions make compari son of
rotating method in the granite of little value.
The effective 1i fe of the motor dri ven
assemblies was generally controlled by bit bearing
1if e, but was at 1east three times better than
achieved with positive displacement motors at
LANL. As well as the increased cost effect; veness
as a result of faster penetration rates and
reduced tripping, trajectory correction runs could
be made over longer lengths providing a high
degree of directional precision. The tools also
an
effective
counter
against
the
proved
unpredictable geological influences.
Bit 1oadi ngs were generally in the range of
40 000-60 000 lb (2 to 10 times higher than would
have been pract i ca 1 with other tools) whi ch gave
penetrat i on rates comparable with rotary methods
instead of the normal reduction expected with
motors. The motors permitted optimum bit wei ghts
and rotary speeds to be used at all times and at
no time was the penetration rate sacrificed for
directional
control.
Sustained
running
at
excessive bit loads (greater than the design
1i mit) contri buted to the hi gh wear rates
experienced.
The inherent reactive torque characteristic of
this type of tool necessitated the use of a
wireline conveyed steering tool. Although there
are many vari ab 1es whi ch affect the magni tude of
the reactive torque such as motor condition, flow
rate, bit-rock interaction etc, the observed
values were consistent under normal operating
parameters and ranged from 60 to 100 in a
counter-clockwise direction.

SPE 11168

During the initial kick-off operations, it was

obvious that the drilling characteristics of the
motor driven assemblies required axial vibration
damping not only to avoid damage to the drillstring and surface equipment but also to maintain
consistent tool face heading. Subsequent runs with
shock absorbers placed just above the bent sub
assembly reduced this vibration without prejudicing directional control.
During the drilling of the two wells in
Cornwall, 26 motor driven, bent sub assembly runs
were made while drilling nearly 5200 ft of hole up
to inclinations of 30 to the vertical, involving
110 round trips of the steering tool. In-hole
operating time for the equipment totalled 267
hours with only 5 hours downtime due to malfunction of the steering tool (including wireline,
processing equipment and hoist).
The fl ush medi urn used was water contai ni ng
minimum additives
to
satisfy environmental
chemistry constraints and minimise drillstring
corrosion, with high viscosity polymer mud sweeps
and occasional use of a lubricator to reduce
drillstring torque.
In the initial drilling the fluid was
reCirculated, but the general problem of cleaning
the abrasive fine fraction containing quartz
contri buted to the accelerated wear of the motor
components. Later dri 11 i ng wi th motors was
normally carried out using open circulation with
clean water.
A typical sample from the de-silter overflow
during a period of extended closed circulation
gave 60% by wei ght fi ner than 60 mi crons (250
mesh) and 54% fi ner than 30 mi crons (400 mesh).
The cost of providing better solids control by
means of a more sophisticated fluid cleaning
system or an inexhaustible supply of fresh water
is not inconsiderable, but any future planning of
similar wells must consider the relative cost
benefits.
As well as damage due to the abrasive fi nes
content in the dri 11 i ng fl ui d, the vari ous
1oadi ngs comb; ned to gi ve severe operati ng
conditions with high static and dynamic stresses
and stress cyel i ng conduci ve to materi a1 fati gue
and abnormal wear.
There is 1itt 1e doubt that the use of these
multi-lobe positive displacement motors for the
grani te dri 11 i ng i n Cornwall contri buted to the
re 1at i ve 1y fast progress rates achi eved and the
good directional control. Whilst the damage to the
motor components was costly, considerable savings
resulted from the shorter programme. Minimal
abnormal drillstring wear occurred as a result of
the high proportion of motor drilling in the
deviated sections of the wells and good well
geometry permitted the installation of 4800 ft and
6000 ft of heavi ly central i sed 9 in production
casing without difficulty.

SPE 11168

A J BESWICK and J FORREST

The experience at LANL1,2 provides a good

comparative case history~ especially as the well
geometry~ hole size, bit types used and nature of
the granitic rock were similar to the conditions
in Cornwall. The records presented for the latest
two wells at LANL2 show that positive displacement
motors were used in the 12~ in holes over the
sect; on from 6500 ft to 9880 ft where the angl es
of inclination were generally in the range 3 to
1r to the vertical. The well s at these depths
were well within the granite basement. The bottom
hole rock temperatures were between 290F and
370F, somewhat above the 180F experienced in
Cornwall. Notwithstandi ng the differences in
depths and temperatures, the conditi ons exi st i ng
at the sites over the 1ength of wells where the
positive displacement motors were used are broadly
similar and therefore the comparison given in
Table 3 serves as a guide to the relative
performance of positive displacement motors.
The overall performance in the hard granite
drilling in Cornwall was impressive and the
multi-lobed motors proved to be more suitable for
directional drilling in the granite than any of
the other positive displacement motors or drilling
turbines currently available. This gives added
confidence that directional wells in hard rock can
be drilled accurately at reasonable cost which is
a prerequi site for the future vi abi 1i ty of HOR
exploitation.
The performance is especially
encouraging as the motors used lacked the improvements in design and materials which the severe
field experience in the granite has since helped
to promote. In addition, some of the operating
difficulties and wear problems can now be
eliminated or reduced as a result of operational
experience.
CORING APPLICATIONS
Cori ng operations have been conducted ina
wi de vari ety of conditi ons.
Most of the cores
have been cut in the northern North Sea through
the reservoir sections, approximately 500-600 ft
in 1ength, at depths of over 9000 ft. To date,
the use of downhole motors or turbines for coring
has proved to be unsuccessful or at best
impractical. However, coring operations with the
mult i -lobe motors have been as good as or better
than
rotary coring without
the
attendant
diffi culti es of severe casi ng wear duri ng such
operations. Also the length of core cut in the
single trip has been substantially increased: the
longest core cut to date bei ng 112 ft long wi th
100% recovery.
Since March 1981, over 150 cores have been cut
in 20 operations. The overall recovery rate has
been over 98%. The 6~ in 00 tool has sufficient
torque to drive a 120 ft core barrel in an
in
00 well section at an inclination of 60 to the
vertical with
circulation rates less than
300 gal/min.

This flow rate and a rotational speed of less

than 100 rpm gives ideal coring conditions with
either diamond or polycrystalline corebits. Only
one core was washed out where the operator
insisted on running over 400 gal/min in an attempt
to increase the coring penetration rates.
Coring operations are conducted normally with
a flow rate of approximately 300 gal/min, a weight
on bit of 8000-12 000 lb and with the drillstring
rotat i ng at mi ni mum speed ( approx i mate 1y 3040 rpm). The correspond; ng motor speed at thi s
flow rate is 80 rpm, gi vng a combi ned corebarre 1
rotational speed of 110-120 rpm.
The exceptionally high recovery rate (over 98%
for the cores cut to date) can be attributed
directly to the continuously applied load at the
corebit and the minimisation of high axial
drillstring vibrations normally associated with
high drillstring speeds.
Core recovery is a funct i on of a number of
Cor; ng rates
parameters, part i cu 1arl y geology.
achieved for various geological formations in the
North Sea at production reservoir levels, some
12 000 ft deep, are shown in Figure 7.
The i nabi 1ity to fi 11 a corebarrel is
frequently associated with failure to restart the
operation after pulling off bottom to add further
drillpipe.
The downhole motor allows coring
operations to be conducted without rotation of the
drillpipe; controlling the reactive torque of the
motor on the drillpipe with tongs.
A cori ng assembly can be made up to full
corebarrel length to permit drilling without
pull ing off the bottom. Thi s avoids the frequent
j ammi ng of the core in the inner barrel,
especially where shale ;s present in the
formation. The string may be rotated by the kelly
over the 1ast 30 to 45 ft to ensure hang ups do
not occur on sections of the drillstring as a
result of low annular velocities resulting from
the low flow rates necessary for coring.
The multi-lobe motors have proven to be
remarkably reliable for coring applications. Over
10 cores are cut regularly with one motor without
any performance reduction being evident.
No
di fference in corebi t or corebarre 1 1i fe has been
noted using motor driven assemblies compared with
rotary coring procedures.
NOVEL APPLICATIONS
The low-speed, high-torque motor has permitted
the adopt i on of some nove 1 procedures as standard
pract ice. The use of the motors for cori ng with
long corebarrels has led to their use in
assemblies where drill collars and stabilisers are
run below the motor to ensure the rigidity of the
bottom hole assembly immediately adjacent to the
bit. This has been used to considerable advantage
in drilling tangent sections in high angle holes
where it is difficult to maintain azimuth and
inclination.

NEW LOW-SPEED HIGH-TORQUE MOTOR EXPERIENCE IN EUROPE

Coring itself was a novel application which

has now become standard practice in cori ng deep
deviated wells in the North Sea. The quality and
length of cores has increased significantly by the
adoption of this procedure.
The motor has also been used in France and
Italy for drilling wells spudded conventionally,
The
but with a final trajectory horizontal.
high-torque output has permitted the correct type
of assembly to be run for this special drilling
operat ion. Thi s coupled wi th the torque-pressure
drop relationship has led to the motors being used
as a key dri 11 i ng i ndi cator for moni tori ng and
control of the operation.
The low-speed and hi gh-torque characteri sti cs
make these motors ideal for cutting cas i ng and
milling fish or junk in the wells.
An added
advantage in these applications is the ability to
apply high weights to the tool.
CONCLUSIONS
The operat i ona 1 experi ence to date wi th
low-speed,
high-torque
downhole motors
has
demonstrated a number of significant features
which can be used to considerable advantage in a
wide variety of drilling applications.
The motor has universal appl ications in all
aspects of drilling from spudding to coring. The
use of multi-lobe motors will undoubtedly increase
considerably and may include a substantial
percentage of future straight hole well drilling.
All types of bits can be run including diamond
and polycrystalline.
Bit life is not significantly reduced in spite of the considerable
increases in rates of penetration achieved.

Cori ng wi th these motors has become standard

practice in the North Sea.
It has a1 so been
demonstrated in extremely difficult formations in
the Gu lf of Suez. Over 95% core recovery is now
being obtained with ease and round trip times are
mi ni mi sed by the use of 90 ft or 120 ft corebarrels.
The
recent
development
of
low-speed,
high-torque positive displacement motors makes a
substant i a1 contri but i on to drill i ng techno logy.
The traditional domain of previous generations of
positive displacement motors for short duration
correction runs has now been superseded as the new
generation of multi-lobe motors can be considered
for all drilling applications.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wi sh to thank the di rectors of
Drilex (Aberdeen) Limited and the sponsors of the
HDR Geothermal Energy Research Programme in
Cornwall, the UK Department of Energy and the
European Economic Community, for permission to
publish the information contained in this paper.
Acknowledgement is also given to the many
firms and individuals who have contributed towards
the
success
of
the
various
operational
opportunities which have been so important in the
development
programme.
In
particular
Mr T L Brittenham, who was responsible for the
directional drilling, and Mr P L Moore, who was
the pr; nci pal dri 11 i ng supervi sor, for the
Camborne HDR drilling operation, and also the
She 11 UK Exp 1orat i on and Product ion dri 11 i ng team
based in Aberdeen~
REFERENCES
Br; ttenham T L, Neudecker J W, Rowl ey J C and
Williams R E: "Directional drilling equipment
and techniques for deep, hot granite well s",
SPE Paper No 9227, presented at the 55th
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Dallas, Texas, September 21-24, 1980.

Motor life has already been increased to over

100 hr and wi th progress i ve engi neeri ng support
and materi a1s development it is confi dent 1y
expected that a normal operat; ana 1 1; fe exceed; ng
150 hr wi 11 be attai nab 1e wi thi n the next two
years.
The basic operating parameters have been used
to the full in drilling directional wells in hard
rock with roller cone bits and have made a great
; mpact on the economi cs of hard rock dri 11 i ng.
Similar conditions are also common in mining
app 1i cat ions and are becomi ng more commonplace in
oil and gas exp 1oitat ion.
Savi ngs on dri 11 pi pe
wear are also significant when using downhole
motors, particularly in abrasive formations.
The future development of these motors and
other too 1sis dependent on the adopt i on of a
combi ned overall strategy for the development of
MWD systems and controls on axial dynamic response
of drilling assemblies.
The adoption of such
strategi es put the possi bi 1i ti es wi thi n reach of
dr; 11 i ng the majori ty of well s from spud to TO
economically with downhole positive displacement
motors.
The multi-lobe positive displacement motors
have apart i cul ar advantage over the turbi ne in
that their length is extremely short.

SPE 1168

Williams R E, Neudecker J W, Rowley J C and

Brittenham T L:
"Directional drilling and
equipment
for
hot
granite
wells",
Sandia/CFEM/OOE International Conference on
Geothermal Drilling and Completion Technology,
Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 21-23,1981.

Table 1 - Principal causes of damage to motors used for directional drilling in granite

High
Ax; a1
Vibration
By-pass valve internals
Rotor
Stator assembly
Universal joints ( 2)
Thrust bearing assembly
Bleed valve assembly
Output radial bearing assembly (3)
Centre coupling
By-pass spring
By-pass valve - stator crossover
Main shaft - bearing crossover
Lower shaft coupling
Upper shaft coupling
Bearing casing
Inlet - by-pass crossover
Casing failures
P

High
Transverse
Vibration

High
Sand
Content

Excessive
Weight on

Bit

p
p

P
P
S
S

T
P

S
p

P
P
P

P
P
P

Primary cause

S = Secondary cause
T = Tertiary cause

Table 2 - Sumnary of multi-lobe positive displacement motor performance in two

7000 ft wells in granite in Cornwall, UK

Hole diam
( ; n)
1
l2~

Dr; 11 ed length
(ft)

Rotating hours

Average rate of penetration

(ft/hr)

228

49.1

4.6

4409

278.4

15.8

945

27.8

34.0

* Initial entry drilling in 190 ft surface holes where bit loadings were
1i mited

Table 3 - Comparison of positive displacement downhole motor performance in coarse

grained granite

Location

Runs

Total
1ength
(ft)

LANL Fenton Hill,

New Mexico, USA

30

1784

4.9

59.5

12.1

CSM Rosemanowes,*
Cornwa 11, UK

27

5354

11 .3

198.3

17.6

Motors used:

Average run
duration
(hr)

Average distance
drill ed
(ft)

Average
ROP
(ft/hr)

6~
7~

LANL Fenton Hill

in Baker (3/4 lobe)

in Dyna-Drill (1/2 lobe)
8 in Navi-Drill (1/2 lobe)

CSM Rosemanowes

in Drilex (9/10 lobe)

in Drilex (9/10 lobe)

* The performance summary from the CSM Geothermal Project in Cornwall excludes
the three runs with a l7~ in bit to drill the short surface holes as high
bit loadings were impractical and therefore the records are unrepresentative
of normal drilling conditions.

CONVENTIONAL 1;2 LOBE MOTOR

Fig. 1-Comparison of cross-section of

DRILEX 9/10 LOBE MOTOR

9110

lobe and 1/2 lobe motors.

POWER
UNIT

INTERMEDIATE
TRANSMISSION

BEARING
PACK

BEARING FLOW
CONTROL VALVE '""""'"'+--~IN
BYPASS
VALVE

RADIAL
BEARINGS
THRUST
BEARINGS
OUTPUT
SHAFT

ROTOR/
STATOR

BIT
CONNECTION

Fig. 2-General arrangement of Drilex multi-lobe motor.

MUD FLOW RATE ( US gal/min)

500 550

600

4000

3500

.Q

3000

+-'

'+-

:J

2500
a..

II-

:J
a..
I-

0:

2000

0:

:J
(/)
(/)

1500

0:
0...

1000

500

20

40

60

80

100 120 140 160 180 200

ROTATIONAL SPEED( rpm)

MOTOR TYPE 6 % in 00 DRILEX

FLUID WATER
SPECIFIC GRAVITY 1-0
NOZZLE AREA 034 in 2
AVERAGE WOB 42,400 4,700 Ib

Tests carried out by Royal Dutch

Shell Engineering Laboratories,
The Hague, Netherlands

Fig. 3-Performance characteristics of Drilex 6 3/4 in 00 motor.

800 700 600 -

e-E

5000 -

500-

Cl

IH
CL

_ 4000-

400-

"g

(/)

~ 3000-

a: 300 -

.....

>-

2000-

~
~ 200 -

1000 -

100 -

r-

o~--~------+-------~--

DRILEX

O~--.-------~------~----

DYNA-DRILL NEYRFOR

DRI'LEX

DEVELOPED TORQUE

800 -

2000-

700 -

1600 -

NEYRFOR

SPEED RANGE(FROM MIN-MAX FLOW)

2200-

1800 -

OYNA-DRILL

t:

~co

600 500-

OJ

.~

"-

~ 400
a:

1200 -

:2: 300-

:e

(L
0
a:
Cl
L.IJ

a:

LU

1400 -

CL

:::::>

Cl..

1000-

200 -

800 -

100 -

:::::>

(/)
(/)

LU

a:

CL

600 -

O~--~------~------r--ORILEX

DYNA-DRILL NEYRFOR

400 -

PUMP RATE

200-

DRILEX 6% inOD PDM

o~--~------~------~-ORILEX
OYNA-DRILL NEYRFOR

2 OYNA-ORILL

6Y2 in OD DELTA 1000 POIV'

3 NEYRFOR 7 % in 00 TURBINE

PRESSURE DROP AT MAX TORQUE

Fig. 4-Comparison of performance characteristics of Drilex and Dyna-Drill motors and Neyrfor
turbine.

Fig. 5-Locations where Drilex mUlti-lobe motors have been used in the North Sea and onshore U.K.

HOLE
SIZE

(in)

HOLE
SIZE

_ _ _ SlKBM

MD
( ft)

(in)

1712

171;2

,/,.... ;

-42
_188

960(KOP)

1000

--KOP
ABP

Rotary runs
Motor runs
Kick-off point
Angle built point

WELL 1 Drilled length 7031 ft

Rotary drilled 68%
Motor drilled 32%

:?QOO

WELL2 Drilled length 7132 ft

Rotarydrilled 49%

12%

Motor drilled 51%

2640 (KOP)
0

:2

3000

l-

e..

1214

UJ

0
--l

u
f=
c:

UJ

>

UJ

:::> 4000

c:

I-

4390(ABP)

100/8

_4810
--4856

5000

5680(ABP)
10%

8 Y2

5928
5942

6000

8 Y2

7075

7174

7000

Fig. 6-Motor driven runs in HDR geothermal energy drilling programme in Cornwall, U.K.

CORING PENETRATION RATES (ft/hr)

10
20
30

CONGLOMERATE
QUARTZITE
SANDSTONE
SHALE
QUARTZITIC SANDSTONE
SILTSTONE
SHALE/SANDSTONE
SILTSTONE/ SHALE
DEPTH: 12200 13 ,000 ft
MUD PRESSURE: 1800 -24001b/in 2
FLOW RATE: 320 -350 gal/min

Fig. 7-Typical coring penetration rates using multi-lobe motors.

40