In a challenging drilling environment in the Quintuco Formation, an operator in Argentina wanted to use the AccuStrike short-makeup drill bit together with the PowerDrive Orbit G2 rotary steerable system to drill the production section in a single run and navigate with accuracy into the pay zone.
In an unprecedented achievement, an operator in Argentina set a new field record, using the AccuStrike drill bit to complete a shoe-to-shoe run of 4,838 m, including vertical, curve, and lateral sections. The PowerDrive Orbit G2 rotary steerable system was used to optimize trajectory planning. In total, the operator saved 5 days of operations and completed the task with zero health, safety, and environment or service quality events. By avoiding a trip to the surface, the operator also reduced total operating costs.
The lateral section, from the Lower Pleistocene to TD, reached an impressive length of 3,998 m, with a drilling rate of 911 m/d. The operator drilled the section at 683 m/d at an ROP of 36.44 m/h. With a minimum bit dull grading, bit performance was equally outstanding. The entire process was free of any nonproductive time.
