Case Study: North Dakota's Bakken Field Operating Company boosts ROP in hard formations with SLB's SHARC bit and Stinger element

SHARC Bit with Stinger Element Increases ROP 46% in North Dakota's Bakken Field

SLB worked with North Dakota’s Bakken Field Operating Company to address low rate of penetration and bit durability problems while drilling 8¾-in. vertical sections through hard, abrasive, interbedded formations in the Bakken basin. The challenge was to drill sections of at least 6,000 ft more efficiently and reduce the number of bits needed.

SLB solved the problem by running an 8¾-in MDSiZ616 SHARC high-abrasion-resistance PDC drill bit with 16-mm cutters and a Stinger conical diamond element on a directional BHA. The result was single-trip drilling of 6,209 to 6,477 ft sections with an average ROP of 168 ft/h and a maximum of 203 ft/h, improving ROP by 46% versus the next best offset-well average and increasing stability and reducing vibration.