Page 60: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Aug/Sep 2015)

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Products

Solutions

North Sea drilled with 45in bit

The North Sea operation of Hess Corp. completed a contract that is believed to be the ? rst to use what is believed to be the world’s largest oil? eld drill bit.

Varel Oil & Gas Dill Bits was commissioned by Hess to design and build the 45in

L111 (1.143m) diameter drill bit. The 5100lbs heavyweight was manufactured in Mexico before being shipped to Aberdeen for use in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

The milled-tooth roller cone bit was built to drill top hole sections big enough to run two subsequent 16in sections in a splitter well con? guration by installing 40in conduc- tor through 46in guides.

The hybrid bit, which incorporates an interchangeable polycrystalline diamond com- pact bit in the center, avoids the need for the pilot hole/rat hole traditionally associ- ated with a hole opener assembly, as well as o