Closure Interview: Colin Duff, Director, Hardbanding Solutions

Colin Duff, Director of Hardbanding Solutions, can you tell us what is the current level of demand for hardbanding in Russia?
More than 35% of the drill pipe manufactured in Russia is now delivered with hardbanding applied, compared to less than 10% only a few years ago. When you add the drill pipe that comes in from outside of Russia, the percentage is even higher. We all know the massive scale of drilling in Russia, and I expected the use of our technology to increase, but the rate at which it is happening has been quite incredible.

How has the market changed over the last 5 years?
We license local service companies to apply our products, including Duraband NC. In 2011 we were working with only 3 companies in this capacity, and today we have 11 qualified applicators. These include drill pipe manufacturers, service and inspection companies, and even some drilling contractors who prefer to maintain their own pipe. This increase shows us that demand for reapplication of hardbanding in the field on mobile equipment or at the workshop is also growing significantly. It’s a trend that is set to continue as the owners of this drill pipe see the financial and operational benefits of hardbanding, and I believe its use will double in the next 5 years. I expect I’ll be spending more time in Tyumen, Surgut and Orenburg than in Scotland now. I guess it’s lucky that my girlfriend doesn’t read ROGTEC, or she might have something to say about that!

Why do you think this change has happened?
Previously, the majority of hardbanding was used on offshore projects, and on premium connections. That has all changed now. For example, the first organisations in Russia to start using Duraband NC, did so for pad drilling operations. They were drilling multiple well bores from a single location, so the drill pipe was spending more time in the well giving less opportunity for repair, because there were no lengthy rig moves. The hardbanding keeps the drill string in premium condition for longer.

Also, the rise of directional drilling in Russia has put additional strain on the drill pipe and increased the risk of casing wear, with more contact between the tool joints and casing or open hole. Casing friendly hardbanding is the solution to this problem. As the first companies to use our technology spoke of the benefits and cost savings, others soon followed and we’ve now witnessed the industry take up the use of hardbanding in every drilling region.

How does hardbanding reduce well construction costs and well life cycle costs?
The primary purpose of hardbanding is to prevent wear on drill string tool joints, and it also provides protection for casing. One of our applicators, in fact our first licensed applicator in Russia, reported that 96.7% of the drill pipes with Duraband NC they have inspected between 2011 and 2016 remained in premium class. Protecting the casing is just as important of course, and our hardbanding is designed to have a very low friction coefficient against casing. The result is it will cause around 50% less damage than the galling type wear we have seen from a tool joint with no hardbanding.

Finally, lower friction in the well reduces torque on the drill string. One contractor who used hardbanding for the first time told me that they spent 30% less energy to rotate the drill string in comparison to previous similar wells.

I’m sometimes told it sounds too good to be true, but if it wasn’t I would have been kicked out of Russia a long time ago!

One of the biggest challenges within hardbarding is its application. How do you monitor your applicators application?
Of the 11 companies I’m aware of who apply hardbanding in Russia, our engineers have trained most of them, at their location, on their own equipment. We encourage the highest quality practices, and all of our procedures are available in Russian. We promote communication on each job between ourselves, the applicator, and the customer to ensure 100% satisfaction every time Duraband NC is applied. By being involved and having a close relationship with our applicators, we are better positioned to ensure quality control. No company can order Duraband NC without first completing our strict qualification program, which is repeated every three years or when we feel it is required.

Why do some hardbanding materials crack?
Some brands of hardband products crack to relieve stress in the weld which is completely unnecessary, and will result in more expensive repairs and re-application. With the application of hardbanding, we apply a very hard layer over a softer high carbon steel tool joint. For years cracking in hardbanding was considered normal, but it has caused horrific failures during the reapplication process. Mud, oil or water trapped in the cracks caused hydrogen pockets to form when it was welded over, and the hardbanding would fall off in chunks. Metallurgically, some hardband products become unstable after multiple applications.

That’s why Duraband NC was designed to be 100% crack free, from the first application to the last reapplication. It gives a far more reliable hard layer and reduces reapplication costs by around 80% compared to other materials.

I recently visited a company in Russia to witness the removal of a cracked hardbanding by lathe, the repair of the tool joint with our TJBU (Tool Joint Build Up) material, and then the application of Duraband NC. So, if our customer has a problem with cracked hardbanding, we have the procedures to put it right, and they will not have to remove
it again in future.

Due to its sacrificial nature hardbanding often needs to be reapplied. What are the main challenges with reapplication?
The most significant advantage of choosing the correct hardbanding material is its continued protection of the tool joints for the entire life of the drill pipe. Hardbanding is designed to offer excellent abrasion resistance, but it will eventually wear. That’s when our customers can call upon one of our licensed applicators to reapply the hardband back to its original height.

Reapplication is more complicated than the first application. This is because with welding you have dilution from the material you are applying the hardbanding over. So, in the case of a first application, the resulting hardband is actually made up from a mixture of both hard material and the base material. With reapplication, we are now welding on this mixture with our hardband material, so the percentage of hard material in the matrix rises. This is where other products will fall down. Some elements become unstable in higher percentages, and so even some reportedly crack free products can have issues when they are reapplied for the second, third and fourth time and beyond. During development of Duraband we focussed on resolving this issue, and proved the chemistry wouldn’t let us down by applying 6 layers of hardbanding 1 on top of the other until we had close to 100% hard material, and still no cracks.

Can you reapply different hardbanding brands over each other?
Yes. We have procedures to apply Duraband NC over most worn competitive products. We ask that customers speak to us about this before the job, and we then work with the applicator to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Have you launched any new products lately?
Last year, we were very proud to become the first specialised manufacturer of hardbanding equipment in Europe. We have been training companies on different machines for a long time, and we always knew we could build a machine which was easier to use and which would give better results. We already have one machine working in Russia, which we named ‘Skye’ after the Scottish Island, and another will be on the way soon. We also launched a website in English and Russian at www.hardbandingequipment.com