Case Study: Ascent Resources improves drilling efficiency and reduces bit damage with SLB Synapse service

Ascent Uses At-Bit Data, Improves Drilling Efficiency and Performance While Reducing Bit Damage

Ascent Resources worked with SLB to improve drilling performance while drilling several thousand feet through an interbedded North East Basin formation using compressed air. The company needed to achieve consistent single-bit runs through about 7,300 ft of shale, limestone, dolomite, and sandstone, while avoiding bit damage and better understanding downhole motor behavior because air drilling made surface-only rpm estimates unreliable.

SLB provided the Synapse performance insights and optimization service, placing at-bit data tools inside the drill bit to measure rpm, vibration, and other downhole dynamics across three similar wells. By combining downhole, surface, and formation data, SLB identified optimal drilling parameters and recommended slower drilling at certain formation transitions where shock and vibration were high, helping Ascent Resources improve efficiency, reduce torsional vibration and bit damage, and achieve more optimized subsequent runs.

Ascent Resources