A hole opener is a device used to enlarge the
borehole
A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petro ...
during a
well drilling
Well drilling is the process of drilling a hole in the ground for the extraction of a natural resource such as ground water, brine, natural gas, or petroleum, for the injection of a fluid from surface to a subsurface reservoir or for subsurfac ...
operation.
It can be positioned either above the
drill bit
Drill bits are cutting tools used in a drill to remove material to create holes, almost always of circular cross-section. Drill bits come in many sizes and shapes and can create different kinds of holes in many different materials. In order ...
or above a pilot run inside the existing borehole. Usages range from hydrocarbon drilling operations to water drilling or horizontal drilling. Hole openers are also used when a hole must be
logged, since logging tools generally cannot handle holes larger than 17 and a half inches in diameter.
Hole opener arms have to sustain heavy loads during operations
and are generally made of high-grade alloy steel, welded onto a solid alloy steel body. Some designs feature replaceable arms, allowing for size changes but decreasing overall robustness. Numerous designs exist, in sizes varying from a couple of inches to above 50". They can have rolling cutters or drag blades, and can be used for either direct or reverse circulation applications.
See also
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Casing cutter
A Casing-cutter is a device used in petroleum industry to cut a complete section of a casing, a liner or all others tubular components in a well bore.
This cutting tool is composed by several cutting blades (reinforced with Tungsten carbide) pi ...
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Drilling rig
A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill wat ...
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Driller (oil)
The Driller is a team leader in charge during the process of well drilling. The term is commonly used in the context of an oil well drilling rig. Driller comes after the Toolpusher in the Rig crew hierarchy. Toolpusher takes the operation orders f ...
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Drag bit
Drag or The Drag may refer to:
Places
* Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway
* ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania
* Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street ad ...
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Drill bit
Drill bits are cutting tools used in a drill to remove material to create holes, almost always of circular cross-section. Drill bits come in many sizes and shapes and can create different kinds of holes in many different materials. In order ...
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Drilling stabilizer {{Short description, Part of a borehole drill string assembly
A drilling stabilizer is a piece of downhole equipment used in the bottom hole assembly (BHA) of a drill string. It mechanically stabilizes the BHA in the borehole in order to avoid unin ...
References
External links
Types of Hole OpenersHalliburton PDC hole opener
Drilling technology
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