糖心传媒

At-bit borehole imaging for informed geothermal decisions
Retina™ at-bit imaging system equips a PDC drill bit with advanced sensors to record high-frequency data—cutter force versus azimuth—during drilling. This data is subsequently processed to generate high-resolution borehole images, revealing dips, fractures, facies, and texture without the need of additional BHA tools or extra runs. Compatible with any drilling fluid and BHA configuration, the Retina system enables formation characterization before borehole washout, even under challenging geothermal conditions. As a result you can improve trajectory control, optimize section design, and enhance bit and BHA performance, all while maintaining drilling efficiency.

Benefits for geothermal applications

• Early logging, before washout or damage: The Retina system captures critical formation features at the bit, ensuring high-quality images before high temperatures and abrasive flows can alter the borehole.
• Versatile operation: The system operates reliably with any drilling fluid, BHA, or borehole condition, outperforming conventional imagers in challenging environments.
• Fracture-centric insights: The Retina system clarifies fracture sets, faults, and bedding, supporting drilling risk mitigation, geothermal flow-path evaluation, and well placement analysis.
• Rock mechanics in context:Force-derived images highlight formation heterogeneity and transitions that can cause shock or torque instability—essential information for BHA tuning and bit design optimization.
• Operational efficiency: Embedded sensors require no additional tools, telemetry, or extra runs, making Retina ideal for long, high-temperature intervals.
• Seamless data integration: The output is compatible with standard LWD and wireline logging workflows, ensuring easy integration into existing processes.

Fracture initiation in geothermal lithologies
Spyder™ hybrid drill bit combines our proprietary roller cone two-cone technology (TCT) crushing mechanism with fixed-cutter shearing in a unified hybrid structure. The roller cone elements prefracture tough formations, while the PDC blades efficiently remove fragmented rock. This approach enables consistent progress through lithologies that are challenging for either bit type alone.

Benefits for geothermal applications

• Superior performance in ultrahard igneous formations: Spyder drill bits outperform conventional PDC bits, which often stall or fail in these environments.
• Enhanced penetration rates: The hybrid fracture-and-shear mechanism improves ROP across highly variable volcanic rocks.
• Reduced shock loading: Staged rock failure (crush followed by shear) lowers shock and vibration, protecting both the bit and the BHA.
• High directional stability: Maintains trajectory control in complex geothermal well profiles.

Focused hydraulics and central fracture initiation for geothermal drilling
CenterFlow™ hydraulically enhanced bit features a centralized hydraulic architecture, directing high-velocity flow through a single, optimally positioned nozzle. This design improves cooling and cuttings transport at the bit face. The bit incorporates a Stinger™ conical diamond element at the center, leveraging its high point-loading capability to efficiently initiate rock fracturing along the borehole axis.

Benefits for geothermal applications

• Centralized point-loading: The Stinger element at the bit center applies a concentrated axial load, efficiently initiating fracturing in high-UCS igneous formations.
• Improved thermal management: Focused hydraulics enhance convective heat removal at the cutter–rock interface, reducing thermal wear and extending bit life.
• Enhanced cuttings clearance: The high-velocity central jet improves removal of dense, abrasive volcanic cuttings, minimizing recutting and bit overloading.
• Stabilized bit dynamics: Coupled hydraulic and mechanical centralization reduces lateral shock, torque fluctuation, and vibration in fractured or heterogeneous intervals.
• Higher drilling efficiency: Coordinated central fracturing and efficient evacuation of cuttings maintain superior penetration rates across variable geothermal lithologies.

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Thermal-resistant cutter platform for geothermal drilling
ThermoBlade™ thermal-resistant diamond element bit integrates advanced diamond cutting elements, built around a thick diamond table and an optimized diamond–carbide interface. This design delays thermal degradation, resists microcracking, and maintains edge integrity under sustained high temperatures and abrasive loading. ThermoBlade bits deliver more stable cutting performance in hard, brittle, igneous and metamorphic formations, where conventional PDC cutters typically dull or fail prematurely.

Benefits for geothermal applications

• Improved thermal stability: Increased diamond volume and ultradeep leach capability reduce tip softening and oxidation at elevated temperatures.
• Greater durability in high-UCS rock: Reinforced diamond-carbide interface increases tangential strength and mitigates chipping and breakage in basaltic and granitic rocks.
• Stable depth of cut (DOC) and wear behavior: Enhanced wear resistance limits cutting tip flattening, sustaining efficient shearing over extended high-temperature intervals.
• Fewer trips, longer intervals: Slower progression from wear to microcrack to spall extends run length in demanding geothermal sections.

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Ridged cutting structure for hard, abrasive geothermal rock
AxeBlade™ ridged diamond element bit features innovative ridged cutting elements that combine shearing and crushing actions to initiate rock failure more efficiently than conventional flat PDC cutters. This advanced geometry reduces cutting forces, stabilizes torque, and enhances penetration rates in high-strength formations.

Benefits for geothermal applications

• Superior performance in hard rock: This bit is designed for challenging, high-UCS lithologies such as basalt, granite, and rhyolite, and other hard rocks commonly encountered in geothermal applications.
• Enhanced drilling satability: Lower cutting forces improve drilling stability, especially in fractured or interbedded volcanic sections, reducing the risk of tool vibration and unplanned events.
• Improved toolface control: Reduced torque fluctuations aid in maintaining toolface orientation, which is critical for directional control in deviated geothermal wells.
• Increased durability: This bit is engineered for durability under severe impact and abrasive loading conditions, extending bit life and reducing trips for bit changes.

Featured technical papers

• Technical Paper: The Effects of PDC Cutter Geometries to the Drilling Dynamics in Various Geothermal Rocks: A Comprehensive Study Using Advanced Drilling Dynamics Simulation

Featured case studies

• Advanced bit drills >3,000-m lateral for geothermal well in one run, with 111% faster ROP

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Efficient cutting in geothermal rock
SerraBlade™ serrated diamond element bit features a serrated, multiridge diamond cutting structure that combines shearing and crushing actions to initiate rock fractures more efficiently than conventional flat PDC cutters. The serrated profile increases tip aggressiveness, improves rock penetration, and requires approximately 12% less cutting force. The multiridge structure provides about 22% higher toughness, making it suitable for impact-prone formations. This balance of efficiency and resilience makes SerraBlade bits ideal for geothermal intervals involving hard, abrasive, and interbedded lithologies, where conventional cutters quickly dull or chip.

Benefits for geothermal applications

• Efficient rock failure: The serrated, multiridge geometry enhances shearing and crushing actions, enabling better penetration in hard volcanic and metamorphic rock.
• Higher impact tolerance: The multiridge structure delivers approximately 22% higher load capacity, improving resilience in fractured or shock-prone geothermal intervals.
• Improved edge retention: The serrated design maintains aggressiveness and limits edge chipping in abrasive igneous formations.
• Stable ROP in mixed lithology: Balanced efficiency and toughness sustain performance across interbedded hard and soft geothermal sequences.

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For high-impact geothermal drilling
The StingBlade™ conical diamond element bit integrates Stinger™ conical diamond elements into the cutting structure to deliver high-concentration point loading. This enables efficient fracture initiation in extremely hard and brittle formations. The conical geometry provides superior impact resistance, enabling the cutter to withstand dynamic loading where conventional flat PDC cutters may chip, spall, or break. StingBlade bits perform reliably in igneous and metamorphic geothermal intervals that generate extreme mechanical stress.

Benefits for geothermal applications

• Fracture initiation in high-UCS rock:Conical tip geometry produces ultrahigh point loading that initiates brittle failure in igneous formations with a 30,000-psi rating, where standard cutters underperform.
• Superior impact resistance: The robust StingBlade bit survives in impact events that typically break conventional PDC cutters, making it ideal for fractured, blocky, and shock-prone geothermal sections.
• Improved durability in heterogeneous intervals: The bit withstands repeated dynamic loading in interbedded volcanic sequences, extending bit life and reducing tip damage.
• Stable drilling mechanics: Reduced cutter breakage lowers vibration, stabilizes torque, and improves directional control in complex geothermal well profiles.

Featured technical papers

• Drilling Optimization in Hard and Abrasive Geothermal Volcanic Rock Using Innovative Conical Diamond Element Bit
• Innovative Conical Diamond Element Bits Deliver Superior Performance Drilling a Geothermal Well in the Philippines
• Conical Diamond Element PDC Bit as a Breakthrough to Drill Hard Geothermal Formation in Indonesia
• Drilling Optimization in Geothermal Exploration Wells Using EnhancedDesign of Conical Diamond Element Bit

Featured case studies

• StingBlade bit enables record drilling performance in East Java geothermal well

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Engineered for geothermal and high-temperature drilling
Xplorer™ premium roller-cone bits are built to withstand the extreme heat and hard, abrasive formations found in geothermal wells. These bits deliver stable performance under high weight on bit (WOB), increased revolutions per minute, and severe thermal cycling. With optimized cutting structures, advanced materials, and high-temperature sealing options, Xplorer bits maintain high ROP, extend bit life in demanding geothermal environments, and reduce overall cost per foot.

Benefits for geothermal applications
A dynamic dual-seal architecture has been developed for extended intervals, lateral sections, and high-load drilling.

• The primary dynamic face uses a wear-resistant elastomer energized by a softer backing to maintain consistent contact pressure across thermal cycles. Its bullet-shaped profile with a large cross-section improves durability.
• The secondary seal shields the primary seal from abrasive solids, preserving the sealing interface over long runs.
• Thermoplastic fabric on the dynamic face resists wear, tear, and heat damage, extending bearing protection in severe doglegs and high-mud-weight drilling environments.

The Xplorer Kaldera™ high-temperature seals address superheated environments that are typical of hard-rock geothermal applications.

• Specialized high-temperature fabric compounds maintain elasticity and seal integrity, even at temperatures >500 degF [>260 degC].
• Proprietary high-temperature grease sustains viscosity and lubricity, increasing load capacity and minimizing thermally induced film breakdown. 

Featured technical papers

• New HT/HP Technology for Geothermal Application Significantly Increases On-Bottom Drilling Hours