More than 20 years ago, oil and gas companies drilled holes first than reamed them. It was a constant battle to drill and enlarge the boreholes in unforgiving environments. While some companies did try to combine the two tools, the time and energy spent in resolving such things as reduced penetration, resulted in rising and time-consuming frustration before the job was finished. Today, however, technology allows these same companies to combine the two types of tasks into one. Drilling reamers are now a component of the process.
What Is a Drilling Reamer?
As noted above, a drilling reamer combines two tasks of the drilling process into one. It is a tool oil and gas companies use to accomplish two things:
1. Drilling a hole (the borehole) through rock, soil and other materials to reach the natural resource
2. Smooth the interior of the borehole to further open up and smooth the walls of the borehole to make further exploration easier.
This is the process known as reaming
As is the case with two separate tools, the drilling occurs first, the reaming second.
In the past, the combining of these two actions and tools has been difficult. However, technology, including the employment of radio frequency identification (RFID), continues to improve the capabilities of drilling reamers to accomplish the tasks safely and economically. In fact, such things as bi-center bit technology and continue to improve the capabilities of this synthesis of drilling and reaming tools.
The Future of Drilling Reamers
In the oil and gas industry, companies are finding the need to reach deeper into the earth and ocean to uncover the resources that lie below. In their search, it becomes imperative to make such exploration as economical as is feasible. One way of doing so is to combine two necessary operations intone. Thus, companies must turn to technology as it works to improve such tools as drilling reamers.