Faster, Smoother, Longer Higher Standards for Daily Drilling Performance

Less tolerant of nonproductive time (NPT) than ever, operators are demanding daily drilling performance levels that years ago were considered record-breaking. Historical drilling approaches used separate runs to drill the curve and the lateral, but drilling the “curvilateral” in one run is increasingly common. Drilling these shapes faster and with such precision that the wellbores are smooth while maximizing reservoir exposure requires highly engineered drill bits, optimized bottomhole assemblies (BHAs), and automation. Alex Benson, product line director for drill bits in NOV’s Reed-Hycalog business unit, told JPT that customers in general are demanding more from drilling, particularly in US land unconventional resources. “They’re putting more energy in the string. They’ve got more powerful rigs, more powerful pumps, more powerful everything,” he said, noting that translates into higher demands on bits and other elements in drilling operations. “Harder, faster, longer. I mean, laterals are going from 2, 3, 4 miles. We’re drilling U-turns now, and I’ve heard of ‘paper clips’ recently, where it’s two U-turns in the same well.” Drill bits, which he called the “coolest part of the BHA,” have improved significantly in terms of performance over the years. He cited the Permian Basin as an example where a well 7 years ago may have taken 45 days to drill but now takes about 4 days—for a 10-fold increase in efficiency. “We are kind of reaching diminishing returns on the performance of drill bits,” he said. “When you’re drilling wells in only 4 days, if you improve things by 10%, you cut out a few hours.” Even so, he said, plenty of problems remain for drill bits to solve. Over the past few years, NOV has devoted some of its R&D efforts to solving specific drilling issues, such as maximizing bit durability, maximizing rate of penetration (ROP), eliminating erosion, and improving cuttings evacuation. The result is NOV’s Evolve product line, which was commercialized in 2025 to help reduce well-construction costs. The Evolve bits, which make up a small portion of the bits NOV sells, are tailored to solve different problems. Most of the relevant technologies were invented over the past 3 years, he said. “Gone are the days where you can just pick up an 8½-in., six-bladed bit with 16-mm cutters and kind of hope to do well. You need to tailor that bit to deliver a specific solution and solve a specific problem for the operator,” Benson said. Evolve, he added, is not a specific type of drill bit, but rather a platform of solutions optimized for different functions. One of the bits in the line, the Janbiya, is designed to protect the cutter when drilling out aluminum casing shoes and differential valve (DV) cementing tools. The tungsten-carbide material “protects the cutters while it’s drilling out, and then it will abrasively wear away when it hits formation, exposing the cutters underneath. Then it drills like normal once they’re in the rock,” he said, delivering improved drilling performance.