Bit Selection

Mohamed Salah
Drilling Cost Calculations
• COST PER FOOT

• The criterion for bit selection is normally based on cost/ft (C) and this
is determined using the following equation:
Drilling Cost Calculations
• It’s shown that cost/ft is controlled by five variables and for a given
1. Bit cost (B)
2. Hole section (F)
3. Rig cost per hour (R)
4. Trip time (T)
5. Drilling time (t)
Drilling Cost Calculations
• The trip time (T) is the sum of RIH and POH times.
• Drilling time is the total time the drill bit is rotating on bottom while
drilling.
𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝐹)
• 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑃𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛(𝑅𝑂𝑃) =
𝐷𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑚𝑒 (𝑡)
• The criterion for selection of bits on the basis of cost/ft is to choose
the bit which consistently produces the lowest value of C in a given
formation or hole section.
Example
• Determine the cost/ft for the following bit types which were used to
drill the same type of formation in three wells. Which bit would you
select for the next well?

• Assume bit cost = $10,000 and rig cost= 900 $/hr

Solution
BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS
• The break-even analysis is usually used to investigate the economics of replacing
a current cheap bit by a more expensive bit or vice versa.
• The comparison is normally based on a graph of footage against rig hours. The
graph is established as follows:

1. Calculate the number of rig hours equivalent to bit cost using:

BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS
2. Add trip time to A to obtain the total number of rig hours corresponding to the
cost of the new bit before drilling commences. Call this time B.

Mark this point on the left-hand side of the X-axis, (i.e. rig hours axis)

3. Calculate the number of feet of hole at break-even cost using:

Mark point F on the Y-axis (i.e. footage axis).

BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS
4.Draw a straight line through points B and F, This line is the breakeven line.
• Any footage and hour combination on this line is a break-even point. Above this
line, the new bit will produce lower cost/ft than the offset bit
• below this line the new bit is more expensive to run.