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Kaldera

Roller Cone Products for Geothermal and


High-Temperature Applications

Kaldera roller cone products are designed


for high-temperature environments
utilizing advanced materials and
specialized components to deliver longer
bit runs with improved reliability that
reduce trip times and lower drilling costs.

Canada

North Sea
United States

Mexico

Peru, Colombia
& Ecuador

Europe
Algeria &
Northwest
Africa

Turkey

Egypt &
Tunisia & Libya Jordan
Venezuela,
Trinidad & Tobago
Nigeria,
and Guyana
Cameroon &
Gulf of Guinea
Brazil

China

Saudi Arabia

Angola &
West Africa

Chile

Challenging downhole environments

High-temperature (HT) drilling applications, particularly in geothermal wells,


present a very challenging environment for roller cone bits. Downhole
operating temperatures can reach 350 degF and exceed 500 degF in some
applications.
Such extreme heat adversely affects traditional bit bearing system materials
causing seals to fail and lubricants to break down. This depletion quickly
erodes bearing functionality, which leads to a premature loss of bit durability
that shortens interval runs and increases bit tripsall of which drive up
drilling costs. Accordingly, improving the reliability of bearing system materials is essential to operational efficiency in HT applications.

Oman

Map highlighting major areas of geothermal


activity and high temperature operations
The Philippines

India
Indonesia

Australia

New Zealand

Innovative composite elastomers extend seal durability

To produce a bit that could drill efficiently in high-temperature applications,


the Smith Bits research and development team undertook a search to find
new materials that could endure extreme heat and degradation. This effort
led to the identification of compounds known as fluoroelastomers, which
display excellent resistance to heat and chemicals.
By augmenting these compounds with new support materials, a seal with an
increased resistance to wear and the durability essential for high-temperature environments was developed. To further extend seal endurance, a
specialized fabric layer was applied to the dynamic face of the seal. This
resulted in a proprietary composite seal that has higher thermal stability,
increased strength, and a greatly improved resistance to wear. Additionally,
an optimized seal gland design was adopted to block abrasive particles from
entering sealed areas and damaging the bearing system.

100%

Load capacity enhancement through


advanced lubrication

Because bearing and seal functionality depend on


lubrication, grease is another key bearing system
material. To ensure adequate lubricity of these
vital components, the R&D team also developed a
specialized high-temperature grease compound.
Load capacity

Using selected synthetic base oils and engineered


additives, the newly developed grease improves
load capacity at elevated temperatures. This
ensures that the bearing system will effectively
support the bits drilling capability for the service
life of its cutting structure.

80%

A system solution

40%

20%

The seal and grease developments have been


combined with other aspects of the bit to improve
performance for demanding HT applications.

60%

0%

Finite element analysis (FEA) optimized seal


geometry and gland design

25

120

150

180

200

260

Temperature, degC

Robust grease reservoir system with fluoroelastomer components

High temperature grease

High-load capacity bearing design and materials

Standard grease

The high-temperature grease is engineered to deliver consistent lubrication of the seal/bearing components to
ensure greater reliability, as compared to the standard grease that rapidly decays at elevated temperatures.

Computer numerically controlled (CNC) precision manufacturing tolerances

Combining these design elements with advanced


cutting structures developed through IDEAS* integrated drillbit design platform, produced a roller
cone bit that offers improved reliability and drilling
performance in the worlds most challenging
downhole environments.
Grease reservoir containing
high temperature grease
Composite fabric seal

Field proven high-load capacity bearing


Robust high-temperature diaphragm
and o-rings

High heat and wear resistant fabric layer

IDEAS certified cutting structure

FEA optimized seal gland

Diamond-enhanced options available for maximum


cutting structure and legback protection

Gemini* dynamic twin-seal system


available for superior reliability

Proven Performance
Larderello, Italy geothermal production well

Three, 8-in Kaldera* bits were used to drill


hard and abrasive granite/metamorphic formations with 320- to 350-degF temperatures and
spikes up to 570 degF.

The bits new seal and grease formula enabled


a 37% increase in total on-bottom drilling hours
compared to an offset well drilled with standard roller cone.

A Kaldera bit set a new field record for onbottom drilling time of 77 hours; total bit revolutions of 300,000 revs were compiled with all
seals effective; a 20% improvement from the
best offset well bit runs.

Kaldera

High temperatures
Challenging environments
Harsh operating conditions

www.slb.com/kaldera
*Mark of Schlumberger
Other company, product, and service names are the properties
of their respective owners.
Copyright 2011 Schlumberger. All rights reserved. 11-BT-0109

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