SPE 136897-PP

Continual Bit Design Evolution Improves Performance in the Skinner Ridge

Field - Piceance Basin
Travis Garza, SPE, James Wimberg, SPE, Kevin Kopp, SPE, Chevron U.S.A Inc.; David Cheatheam, Gary
Hettinger, Chaunsey Pantuso, Halliburton Drill Bits & Services

Copyright 2010, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Eastern Regional Meeting held in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA, 1214 October 2010.
This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not necessarily reflect any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its
officers, or members. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Society of Petroleum Engineers is prohibited. Permission to
reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of SPE copyright.

Abstract
The Piceance Basin is one of several unconventional gas resources that have been the subject of intense industry
activity throughout onshore North America. Due to challenged Rocky Mountain natural gas prices and a recent high cost
environment, drilling and completing wells quickly and inexpensively is crucial to managing the economic conditions in
Chevrons Skinner Ridge Field development in western Colorado.
A focused effort on continual improvement has been employed by the Chevron Piceance Drilling Team to maximize
drilling efficiency. In terms of drilling performance, an obvious method to reduce drilling time and cost is to physically drill
faster by achieving increased drill bit rate of penetration (ROP) without compromising bit reliability.
The following paper summarizes performance improvements achieved through numerous bits trials, dull bit grading
analyses and design iterations through a process of application design engineering at the supplier/customer interface. The
result has been a step change in drill bit performance exhibited by the continual increase in average 7-7/8 inch bit ROP: from
45 ft/hr during the initial delineation program to 184 ft/hr on the most recent development well pad. Based on this
demonstrated performance, the bit designs and cutter technologies have been transferred to other operations, showing that the
application of this design approach provides practical means of maximizing efficiency.
Introduction
The Piceance Basin occupies approximately 7,110 square miles in western Colorado with Chevrons Skinner Ridge
Field located on the western edge of the Basin (Figure 1). The topography of the Piceance Basin is characterized by a series
of high plateaus and deep valleys1, which creates two types of generalized drilling: valley and mesa drilling operations.
The area is a hotbed of natural gas activity; rig count exceeded 100 rigs in late 2008. High drilling activity drove up the
overall cost of operations.
Rocks of the Skinner Ridge Field consist of the Tertiary-age Green River and Wasatch Formations as well as the
Upper Cretaceous Williams Fork and Iles Formations of the Mesaverde Group (Figure 2). A typical well consists of a 12-1/4
inch surface hole with 8-5/8 inch casing set at 1,000 ft measured depth (MD) within the upper portion of the Wasatch
Formation. A 7-7/8 inch production hole is drilled to 6,000-7,500 ft MD with 4-1/2 inch production casing set at total depth
(TD).
Lithologies in the upper half of the production hole section consist primarily of mudrock interbedded with lenses of
fluvial sandstone. The lower half of the production hole section is comprised of the Williams Fork Formation and the Rollins
Member of the Iles Formation. The Williams Fork consists of interbedded, non-marine sandstone, mudrock, and coal, while
the Rollins Member consists of marine sandstone underlain by a tongue of the Mancos Shale.2
All wells are directionally drilled with an S-shaped wellbore profile. Kick-off point ranges from 100-250 ft MD. For
most wells, the build section is drilled in the surface hole with the tangent, drop and vertical portions of the well in the
production hole interval. Vertical sections range from near-vertical to more than 2,000 ft displacement (Figure 3). Fortythree percent of the Skinner Ridge wells drilled fall within 1,000-1,500 ft of vertical section with an average maximum
wellbore inclination of 28 degrees.
The primary target reservoirs are located within the Williams Fork and are stacked, highly discontinuous, fluvial
sandstones occurring throughout an approximately 2,400-foot gross interval.3 Referred to as tight sands due to their low
permeability, Williams Fork sandstones contain gas trapped in lenses sealed by impermeable shale layers.

SPE 136897-PP

Background
Drilling has occurred at Chevrons Skinner Ridge Field intermittently since the 1980s in both the valley and mesa
areas. Delineation of the field was conducted in 2004 and 2005, which consisted of 13 wells spaced throughout the field to
evaluate reservoir potential.
Development of the field began in the summer of 2007 with the arrival of two Helmerich and Payne (H&P) Flex 4S
drilling rigs. Drilling focused on valley acreage. Flex 4S drilling rigs have substructure skidding capabilities that allow for up
to 22 well slots to be drilled from a single pad without the need to relocate the auxiliary rig equipment such as mud tanks,
mud pumps, etc.
Another key component of Flex 4S drilling rigs is the advanced automatic drilling system. The automatic driller
allows for control of weight on bit (WOB), instantaneous ROP, differential pressure and drilling torque. This precise control
of drilling parameters diminishes WOB fluctuations, reduces bit chatter, extends bit life, minimizes drilling inefficiencies and
optimizes the drilling process.4
Multi-well pad drilling has enabled Chevron to take advantage of the benefits of batch drilling in which a series of
hole sections (surface or production) can be drilled in sequential order. The main advantage of batch drilling originates with
the operational improvements from performing repetitive tasks for the same hole interval. From a drill bit performance
standpoint, batch drilling allows for multiple surface or production bits to be run in a short period of time, and lessons learned
can be applied immediately.
Project Goals
Chevrons goals were to improve bit ROP, durability and steerability. Improving bit ROP was necessary to decrease
drilling time and cost. An ideal bit design would need to be aggressive enough to maximize ROP thru the softer drilling of
the long Wasatch Formation where unconfined compressive strength (UCS) averages approximately 6,000 psi, yet still be
durable enough to drill the harder Williams Fork Formation, where UCS can exceed 19,000 psi with an average of
approximately 10,000 psi.
Drilling the entire production interval with one bit also was considered a priority in order to reduce non-productive
time (NPT) for bit trips.
Because of the S-shaped directional well profiles, achieving the stated goals would require a bit design that enabled
good directional control through minimizing tool-face fluctuations and slide drilling.
The Bit Program
During the 13-well delineation program, several different 7-7/8 inch bit designs were run. Design characteristics
typically included a 16mm cutter size on 4- or 5-bladed polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits. With all 13 wells
drilled as vertical wells requiring no directional control, effective ROP with these bits ranged from 29 to 65 ft/hr, with an
average effective ROP of 45 ft/hr. Five of the wells required multiple bits to drill the production hole section.
With the start of the development program, bit steerability became a design feature of fundamental importance due
to the requirements of directionally drilling wellbores from a single multi-well pad. To date, nine such multi-well pads have
been drilled, totaling 195 wells.
Although other bit designs were periodically introduced, Halliburton Drill Bits and Services (HDBS) 5-bladed,
16mm cutter bit FMHX555ZM (555) and the 5-bladed, 19mm cutter bit FMHX565ZM (565) became the standard designs for
Chevrons drilling operations.
HDBS PDC bit types initially utilized by other Piceance Basin operators prior to Chevrons start-up, provided a
baseline to the 555 and the 565 bits. These base bit designs were later modified extensively during the Skinner Ridge drilling
program.
Bit Design Process
Bit optimization for Chevrons Skinner Ridge development consisted of a process that integrates planning,
implementation and evaluation, and continually uses fewer and fewer design iterations to meet performance objectives.
The development process of Design at the Customer Interface (DatCI) was comprised of customer-directed
application design engineering, detailed bit performance analyses and use of proprietary Direction by Design (DxD) bit
design software to simulate new bit designs with different sets of recommendations for a faster and greater level of drilling
optimization.
Direction by Design
Central to the DatCI service platform, DxD software was used for advanced bit design engineering to optimize
directional performance for the specific drilling system used at Skinner Ridge. The program employs a new, more complete
kinematics model that eliminates time-consuming trial and error bit design.5
For a given bit under given drilling conditions, DxD determines the effects of bit geometry parameters on
steerability and walk rate, and calculates bit torque variance during directional drilling to account for different bit behaviors

SPE 136897-PP

during kick-off, build and hold drilling modes.6 Vital to the strategy of overall design optimization, this advanced capability
means bit design and matched drilling system performance are optimized together.
Using this process enabled a dedicated HDBS bit design engineer to work in close connection with Chevron
personnel for fast design production, since innumerable new designs can be made and tested in the DxD software.
In addition to expediting the design process, another advantage of having a dedicated bit designer locally in Grand
Junction, Colorado, is the insight provided by area knowledge and experience. By bringing that insight together with direct
customer input, each design was analyzed and refined in a process that ensured continuity as well as continuous
improvement.
Testing Ground
The consistent nature of the Skinner Ridge operations created an ideal testing ground where use of the DatCI
process could advance the performance objectives of substantially improving ROP and successfully drilling the 7-7/8 inch
section in a single bit run.
It was clear from the beginning that data consistency benefited the process tremendously. Maintaining geological
constancy, standardizing operational parameters and equipment, and minimizing personnel attrition for a multi-rig operation
can be difficult to manage. By maintaining operational regularity, efficiencies were duplicated in a short amount of time,
accelerating the learning curve and development of best practices, creating a more efficient operation.
The limited areal extent of the development program, a radius of less than 2.5 miles for all wells, allowed for
geological uniformity. There is formation continuity in the Piceance Basin and, save for the occasional structural anomaly,
the formations drilled were uniform for the data set.
A standard drilling assembly design was employed throughout the development program that was made up of a
slick bottom hole assembly (BHA) with a directional motor and measurement-while-drilling tool. In addition, Chevron
standardized drilling parameter best practices both across rigs and amongst each drilling crew. A review of rotating/orienting
on-bottom ROPs for each formation was analyzed, and each crew was provided a drilling road map specifying drilling
parameters (WOB, top drive RPM, flow rate, ROP limits, etc.) to optimize drilling efficiency. This helped minimize variety
in drilling performance between crews.
Minimizing rig personnel turnover can have the largest impact to consistency. Drilling in the Rocky Mountain
region and the Piceance Basin historically has been hindered by the fact that many drilling rig personnel live outside the state,
which tends to result in higher crew turnover. In addition, due to the extremely high rig count, qualified workers were hard to
locate and keep. Chevron was successful in creating a positive, safe work environment that resulted in very little crew
attrition. Because of the consistency of the key drillsite personnel, drilling performance became repeatable.
By standardizing the areas above, performance analysis between different bit designs was easier and more reliable.
With this in mind, Chevron became a testing ground for new HDBS bit designs and technology. The testing ground approach
provided a consistent data set of significant volume, by which fact-based decisions in design could be made with the
confidence needed to meet performance goals.
Bit Design Evolution
An in-depth study was conducted to determine the influence of PDC bit profiles, blades counts, cutter sizes and
types, versus lithology, mechanical properties and well deviation. Different sets of drilling parameters also were studied to
evaluate their influence on ROP and bit wear.
DxD software was used to quantify how changing bit features and dimensions would affect steerability, bit walk and
bit face control for any given well trajectory and BHA.
Summary of Design Iterations
Three 7-7/8 inch bit designs went through a total 20 iterations over a two-year period, with the latest FMHX563ZM
(563) bit design serving as the new benchmark.
Each design revision was made in an effort to improve ROP through more aggressive design features; improve
durability through use of specific materials and practices designed to keep cutters sharper longer; and improve steerability
through optimized design parameters according to DxD.
FMHX555ZM. The 7-7/8 inch 555, or Triple Nickel, is a 5-bladed design with 16mm cutters. Over the course
of 14 design revisions, testing included multiple cutter types, material makeup and other features. In addition, three cutter
edge preparations were tested, as well as Modified Diamond Reinforcement, designated the M feature.
In terms of hydraulics optimization, variations included testing different nozzle placements for optimal cleaning and
use of various matrix powder formulations in bit manufacture to combat bit body erosion which resulted from drilling with
bit hydraulic horsepower in excess of 5.0 hhp/square inch (HSI).
Figure 4 summarizes the performance improvements realized over the course of design iterations, as average onbottom ROP steadily improved from 120 ft/hr initially to 234 ft/hr by the final revision and average effective ROP improved
from 85 ft/hr to 181 ft/hr.

SPE 136897-PP

FMHX565ZM. While the Triple Nickel bit provided a base bit, efforts also focused on increasing on-bottom
ROP with a more aggressive bit type. For that purpose, the 5-bladed 565 with bigger, 19mm cutters provided a base design.
Like the Triple Nickel design, tests on the 565 included varying cutter type, matrix powder, edge preparation and
use of the M feature over the course of five iterations.
Used strictly in low inclination wells, the 565 design set on-bottom penetration rate records at the time, consistently
topping 200 ft/hr average on-bottom ROP with each new revision. Performance is summarized in Figure 5.
FMHX563ZM. The 563, created especially for the Skinner Ridge Project, was designed to further increase
penetration rates over the 555 as well as improve steerability over the 565.
A totally new and very aggressive bit design, the 5-bladed 563 with 19mm cutters combines what were considered
ideal features from the 555 and 565 bits.
Everything about this bit is different from the previous 565 design, including back rake, side rake, cutter count and
cutter placement.
The new 563 design had been run only three times and was on track to become the benchmark bit design when the
drilling program ended sooner than expected. On-bottom ROP averaged 262 ft/hr as shown in Figure 4. This latest design
has proven to be the most steerable of all HDBS designs utilized for the Chevron project, as shown in Figure 6, which
illustrates the bit side forces required to steer the various bit components as calculated by DxD.
Results
Bit performance has shown continuous improvement throughout the development drilling program. Bit ROP has
increased immensely, reducing drill time and setting several Piceance Basin effective ROP records. Durability has been
reliable with fewer wells that require multiple bit runs to reach TD and with less cutter wear.
ROP Improvement
Figures 7 & 8 illustrate the pad-to-pad effective ROP for both drilling rigs including the delineation program data.
Vast effective ROP improvements were made when comparing the last development pads with the delineation program. Rig
#1 improved by 226%, and Rig #2 improved by 309%. Each rig also showed continuous pad-to-pad effective ROP
improvement ranging from 4% to 44%.
To compare Chevrons drilling performance with other Piceance Basin operators, valley 7-7/8 inch bit runs during
the first half of 2009 were taken into consideration. Table 1 illustrates the difference in effective ROP bit performance
between Chevron and other operators. Chevron averaged 191% faster effective ROP and required fewer bits per well (1.0 bit
runs/well versus 2.2 bit runs/well).
During the course of the Skinner Ridge drilling program, numerous Piceance Basin effective ROP bit records were
set, including the highest effective ROP drilled with a 7-7/8 inch for an entire production hole interval: In the SKR-698-09AV-17, 5,445 feet were drilled in 25 hours using the 555 bit at a record effective ROP of 218 ft/hr. The well had a maximum
inclination of 36 degrees and 1,190 ft of vertical section.
Rotary steerable directional drilling system technology was evaluated to improve drilling ROP. Eliminating sliding
drilling would indeed improve overall ROP but only slightly. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the impact of sliding drilling on the
overall average on-bottom ROP.
The average difference between on-bottom rotating ROP and overall on-bottom ROP is approximately 5% for the
555 and the 565 bits. The reason for the small delta is the fact that regardless of the directional profile of a well, on average,
sliding drilling accounts for only 9% of the total footage. Therefore, the minimal time savings that would be realized by
eliminating sliding drilling would not support the high cost of a rotary steerable system.
Durability
Durability is a component in achieving the performance objectives set forth at the beginning of the project. It was
critical that the bits be durable enough to reach TD in one bit run to decrease NPT. Success rate of single bit runs to reach TD
(excluding wells with multiple bit runs due to downhole tool failures, hole problems, etc.) improved from the delineation
program through the development program. The delineation program had a 61.5% success rate. During the development
phase a success rate greater than 93% was achieved.
Dull Bit Grading. Dull bit grading is critical to closing the loop on the bit analysis process and is a direct
measurement of bit durability. By understanding the failure mechanism, improvements can be made to the next design. An
analysis of 102 runs for the 555 bit was completed to identify dull trends. The results are as follows:

64% had major dulls related to Worn Teeth/Cutters (WT) and Chipped Teeth/Cutters (CT).
o WT 37%
o CT 27%
Of the 38 bit runs with WT as the major dull characteristic, 46% showed a dull location on the shoulder area of
the bit.

SPE 136897-PP

Of the 28 bit runs with CT as the major dull characteristic, 89% had CT in 3 primary locations:
o Shoulder 33%
o Gauge 31%
o Nose 25 %
For all bit runs, over 90% showed an average cutter wear of two and below for both the inner and outer cutting
structures. In addition, 80% of all bit runs graded a one or zero on the inner and outer cutting structures.

Cutter wear was identified as the main dull characteristic for all bits runs averaging 1.2 degrees of inner row cuter
wear and 1.8 degrees of cutter wear on the outer row.
Better Hole Conditions
The production section rotating hours have been reduced on average by 87 hours from the delineation program to
the most recent development well pad. Reduced circulating time resulting from the reduction of rotating hours has several
benefits:

Improved wellbore hole conditions for tripping pipe and running casing (i.e. less washout zones and tight
spots);
Improved production casing cement jobs due to a more in-gauge wellbore; and
Less inhibitive mud properties needed due to reducing openhole shale exposure time.

Conclusions
Exceptional improvement in the 7-7/8 inch bit ROP has been a big factor in the success of Chevrons Skinner Ridge
Field project. Bit changes were made through a drilling optimization process that provided a continual cycle of in-depth
planning, field implementation and post well evaluation, which directly resulted in the ROP improvement.
Other factors that helped to improve ROP performance include: batch drilling, optimizing drilling parameters and
improving connection, surveying and reaming efficiencies.
As a result, drilling time for the production hole section has been reduced by more than half. This time improvement
along with improved drill time in the surface hole section and other improvements made by Chevron helped to significantly
reduce the average pad drilling days per well (Figure 9).
As demonstrated by successful results documented in the paper, application of this bit selection and design approach
provides a practical solution to todays challenges of maximizing efficiency in a tight market.
To date, HDBS have taken the lessons learned from the cutter testing to other operators in the Piceance Basin as
well as to other Basins, namely the Uintah Basin in Utah and the Williston Basin in North Dakota, where similar positive
results are being realized.

Nomenclature
Effective ROP: total footage drilled divided by the total hours drilled as defined by the IADC Daily Drilling Report.
On-Bottom ROP: total footage drilled divided by the total hours the bit was actually on bottom and rotating. This excludes
such operations as survey time, connection time, etc.
Bit Side Force: the force required to move the bit laterally. Side force is calculated at different components on the bit to
measure its contribution to overall steerability.
Degrees of Cutter Wear: measure of lost, worn and/or broken cutting structure on a linear scale of 0-8.
Average Pad Drilling Days per Well: total time from picking up the bit to drill the first surface hole until releasing the rig
after finishing the last production hole divided by the total number of wells on a pad.
References
1. Topper, R., Spray, K., et.al., Groundwater Atlas of Colorado, Special Publication 53, Colorado Geological Survey,
Division of Minerals and Geology, Department of Natural Resources, Denver, Colorado, 2003.
2. Cole, R., and S.P. Cumella, 2003, Stratigraphic architecture and reservoir characteristics of the Mesaverde Group,
Southern Piceance Basin, Colorado, in K. M. Peterson, T.M. Olson, and D.S. Anderson, eds., Piceance Basin 2003
Guidebook, Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, p. 385-442.

3.

4.
5.
6.

SPE 136897-PP

Cumella, S.P. and D.B. Ostby, 2003, Geology of the basin-centered gas accumulation, Piceance Basin, Colorado, in K.
M. Peterson, T.M. Olson, and D.S. Anderson, eds., Piceance Basin 2003 Guidebook, Rocky Mountain Association of
Geologists, p. 171-193.
Boyadejieff, G.,Murray, D., et.al., Design Considerations and Field Performance of an Automated Driller, paper
SPE/IADC 79827 presented at the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 19-21 Feb., 2003.
Valdez, D. and Thomas, M., Front-End Engineering Eliminates Costly Trial-and-Error Directional Bit Design,
World Oil, November, 2008.
Pruitt, J. et al.: Software program offers predictive capability to optimize drilling, World Oil pp 77-85, April 2002.

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank and acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals, Carl Rademacher, HDBS; Stan
Gatlin, HDBS; Scott Nelson, HDBS; Chris Ewing, Halliburton-Sperry; Martin Leafstedt, Halliburton-Sperry; Tom Haas,
Chevron; Marty Knauss, Chevron; Mike Winiesdorffer, Chevron.

SPE 136897-PP

Chevron and Offset Operators Bit Performance - First Half 2009

AVG Effective
Bit
Wells
AVG Bit
AVG Run
Operator
ROP (ft/Hr)
Runs Drilled Runs/Well
Length (ft)
147
19
18
1.1
5011
Chevron Rig #1
179
36
35
1.0
5215
Chevron Rig #2
65
205
81
2.5
2664
A
66
54
35
1.5
3238
B
43
21
8
2.6
3504
C
Table 1. Bit performance analysis for Chevron and offset operators.

Figure 1. Piceance Basin Map

% ROP
149%
146%
278%

SPE 136897-PP

Figure 2. Skinner Ridge Stratigraphic Column

Figure 3. Spider plot displaying well vertical section.

FMHX555ZM&FMHX563ZMPerformance
300

AVGOnBottomROP
AVGEffectiveROP
AVGOnBottomRotatingROP

250

AVGOnBottomSlidingROP

ROP(ft/hr)

200

150

100

50

Figure 4. ROP performance for the 555 and 563 bits.

SPE 136897-PP

300

AVGOnBottomROP
AVGEffectiveROP
AVGOnBottomRotatingROP
AVGOnBottomSlidingROP

FMHX565ZMPerformance

ROP(ft/hr)

250
200
150
100
50
0

Figure 5. ROP performance for the 565 bit.

DirectionByDesign(DxD)
500
450
400

SideForce(lbs)

350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
555

SideForcetoSteertheEntireBit
SideForcetoSteerBitGagePad
SideForcetoSteersConeCutters

565

563

SideForcetoSteerShoulderCutters
SideForcetoSteerAllCutters
SideForcetoSteerGageCutters

Figure 6. Forces required steering different bit designs as modeled by DxD.

10

SPE 136897-PP

Rig#1AVGEffectiveROPperPad
200

EffectiveROP(ft/hr)

175
4%

150

19%

125

44%

100
75

82%

50
25
0
Delineation

Pad#
Figure 7. Rig #1 7-7/8 inch bit AVG effective ROP improvement.

Rig#2AVGEffectiveROPperPad
200

11%

EffectiveROP(ft/hr)

175

14%

150

31%

125

35%

100
75

82%

50
25
0
Delineation

Pad#
Figure 8. Rig #2 7-7/8 inch bit AVG effective ROP improvement.

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11

16

14

Rig1
AVGDaysperWell

16

14

33%

12

29%

12

10

36%

19%

4%

Days/Well

Days/Well

10

Rig2
AVGDaysperWell

24%
6

Figure 9. AVG Days per Well improvement.

44%

11%

8%