2,100′ Bore chewing up drill bits!
DTD is in the midst of drilling a long bore (2,100’) crossing the Dan River in Virginia. The crossing requires 1,700′ of drilling through very hard granitic rock (Cambrian aged felsic volcanic rock including gneiss crosscut with granitic dikes). Even drilling with our 210,000 lbs rig, progress is very slow (<200’ per day) and the rock is literally tearing up the drill tooling. This has required setting 12″ diameter surface casing so multiple trips in and out of the bore can be made to replace down-hole tooling. Below is a pick of a 8 ¾” tri-cone drill bit. Note the carbide buttons are broken, worn flat, and the outermost inserts are gone!
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