In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the former Soviet Union completed a large amount of geological exploration core drilling work, reaching 18 million to 24 million meters per year. At that time, the drilling methods, rock core selection, and the level and variety of drilling tools and equipment were no less than world-class. In the areas of cemented carbide drilling, small diameter coreless drilling, soft rock hydraulic reverse circulation continuous coring, bottom hole hydraulic hammer, wireline coring, and wireless logging technology to directly obtain geological information, the drilling technology of the former Soviet Union The level also exceeds the international level. Russia was the first to successfully develop stepless-speed drilling rigs driven by DC and AC power. Most drilling sites are equipped with monitoring instruments that can adjust and maintain reasonable drilling procedures. It has developed equipment to optimize and automate drilling projects, and directional drilling. And multi-hole bottom drilling technology has also been developed to a great extent.
The above-mentioned results are characterized by specialization in application fields and narrow service coverage. They are aimed at the heavy-duty drilling teams affiliated to major geological bureaus and are mainly suitable for the tasks and geological conditions in their regions. At that time, the average drilling speed of the Department of Geology reached 600 to 800 meters/station·month. The average annual footage of a single drilling rig is 3,000 meters, and some drilling methods, such as hydraulic reverse circulation continuous coring, can achieve 25,000 to 30,000 meters in seasons suitable for field operations. The average technical and economic indicators of Russian geological drilling are actually not lower than those of foreign countries. At that time, all geological business faced by the Department of Geology was solved using domestic drilling technology. Foreign technology had not been used since the 1950s.
Of course, Russia still has deficiencies in the complete sets and interchangeability of fully hydraulic drilling rigs, mobile power heads, high-strength drill pipes, long-life diamond drill bits, and drilling equipment and tools. In particular, the drilling technology under complex geological and technical conditions and the transportation of drilling equipment in difficult-to-access areas still need to be studied in depth.
We believe that improving geological drilling processes and technologies from the following aspects is the main direction of future scientific and technological progress and is the key technology needed to develop mineral raw material bases:
(1) Further develop and improve the double-tube coring sampling drilling process and technology. Only under the conditions of ensuring the coring (sample) rate can it be possible to realize rapid multi-dimensional analysis technology at the drilling site, using geochemical methods and automatic data processing methods Predictive evaluations of mineral raw materials are derived on-site.
(2) Further improve the technical equipment for coreless drilling, including the development of new comprehensive drill bits and the technology of superimposing impact pulsation on the rotary drill bit, to create conditions for logging equipment to directly study the formation on site.
(3) By developing new drilling tools and processes, improving the versatility of drilling equipment for various drilling methods, and improving the convenience of transportation of drilling equipment under different conditions of use, we can greatly improve the drilling efficiency of large areas. Efficiency of geological survey and environmental mapping work. The new technologies and processes involved here include: hole bottom bit replacement technology, hollow spiral drill tools used in conjunction with diamond drilling, double-tube drill tools that can salvage cores (samples) from drill pipe strings and hollow spiral drill tools, etc.
(4) Research suitable geological technical methods and drilling sampling equipment for geological exploration work in low-grade mineral areas (poor mineral areas).
(5) Develop drilling equipment without tower lifting drill pipe for drilling within 1000 meters, using air drilling technology and equipment of double-layer pipe or hollow spiral drill pipe, and pipe drilling technology, develop movable drilling equipment that is easy to transport (replacing a sled-shaped base), rope coring drilling technology and equipment that can be used for solid mineral exploration and oil and gas surveys, and minimize the damage to the ecological environment caused by drilling operations.
At present, the geological exploration unit of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources completes approximately 1.2 million to 1.4 million meters of solid mineral and water well drilling work every year. In addition, there is a significant contract drilling workload. It is estimated that 600 to 800 drilling rigs will be needed for unplanned contract drilling workload. According to the data obtained from the questionnaire survey, in order to effectively complete the geological work tasks, the annual drilling workload should reach about 2 million to 2.5 million meters, so it is necessary to appropriately increase the number of operating drilling rigs. However, the total number of drilling rigs currently in operation is only about 700, and more than 80% of the equipment is working in a sick state. The equipment used by the drilling team is all domestic equipment.
With the expansion of the drilling team and the need to update technical equipment in the future, it is expected that the proportion of drilling workload with different hole depths will be: 45% for drilling within 100 meters, 24% for drilling within 300 meters, and 24% for drilling within 500 meters. Accounting for 17%, those exceeding 500 meters account for 14%.
Analysis shows that modern drilling technology and equipment cannot adapt to the tasks and conditions of geological exploration in terms of the following indicators:
·Considering the factor of loss, the total amount of drilling equipment is insufficient.
·There are not enough drilling rigs that can complete drilling with a depth of 300 meters and have a certain overload capacity and large mass.
·There is a lack of drill rig types that are detachable and easy to transport to hard-to-access areas and drilling equipment that can be installed on various transport bases.
·There is a lack of technical equipment that can combine different drilling methods to adapt to various geological-technical conditions and inclined hole drilling.
In summary, in order to complete the urgently needed geological surveys of the Commonwealth, we must develop modular, detachable hydraulic power head drilling rigs for 50-meter, 100-meter and 300-meter hole depths to replace The bulky old drill rigs used today. The new generation of drilling rigs should combine the application of various advanced drilling technologies (rope coring, hydraulic core conveying technology), be able to drill oblique holes, use different driving methods, and be transported by any means of transportation, including helicopters, and can be transported in various locations. The power head is installed on a transport base. The standardization level of equipment should also be improved, remote process control technology should be applied to improve the driving and control systems of drilling rigs, and the driller's intelligent auxiliary operating system (information processing and operating system) should be developed.
In order to match the core drilling rig, the output of the pump should be increased, mechanized lifting operation tools should be developed, and supporting drilling towers should be produced. Improve the diamond drill bits used under different conditions and greatly increase the working life. The life of the drill bits used for wireline coring drilling should be close to the level of foreign drill bits.
Promising technologies for hydrogeological drilling are the mobile rotary head that can be used in traditional drilling rigs, and the double-layer drill pipe (double-tube center channel) that can be used in hydraulic impact drilling and gas-liquid mixed drilling. The liquid is transported to drive the impactor, while the annular channel supplies air. The gas and liquid are mixed in a special mixer and then go down to clean the bottom of the hole). The drilling process must not only improve production efficiency and ensure the natural water yield and ecological safety of the well, but also simplify the drilling structure and reduce metal consumption. For engineering geology and geological environmental surveys, a reasonable drilling method is to use a hollow auger drill pipe with a rope sampler (to take soil and water samples).
Since the mid-1990s, the drilling workload has shrunk sharply, and the financial situation of geological exploration institutions has deteriorated, causing a sudden change in the situation. Since the drilling workload can be completed with previously stocked equipment, the demand for technical equipment has been reduced to a minimum. Drilling equipment manufacturers entered bankruptcy. Fortunately, the scientific and technological advantages formed during the former Soviet Union have not been completely lost. The scientific research and design work carried out in recent years have not only overcome the shortcomings, but also improved the level of drilling technology.
A survey conducted by the "Geological Technology" professional design bureau shows that the strength and service life of domestically produced drill pipes are 40% to 80% higher than foreign products. However, the price of foreign products (for the same length) is 20% to 50% higher, and the price of special pipes (drill pipes used for hydraulic core transportation) is 2 times higher. According to demand estimates put forward by geological exploration units, sales of drilling technology equipment and tools are approximately 80 billion to 100 billion rubles (based on 1997 prices). If you purchase these equipment and tools abroad, it will cost 300 billion to 400 billion rubles. At the same time, you will have to purchase foreign spare parts and consumable materials at higher prices in the future. Suppliers usually use this method to force you to submit. In the end, the Russian geological exploration team will have to rely entirely on foreign companies. Of course, in special circumstances where the production unit is in urgent need, and certain equipment cannot be produced domestically or cannot be produced in the short term, foreign equipment can still be purchased, but the amount of drilling work completed with imported equipment should not exceed 15,000 per year. 20,000 meters.
We believe that maintaining the technological and production advantages of domestic drilling equipment is not only beneficial to Russia, but also in the interests of CIS countries such as Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus.
Considering that there is no department responsible for technical support for geological exploration projects in the Ministry of Natural Resources, we suggest that corresponding agencies should be established or the original agencies responsible for technical support for engineering should be re-examined and registered so that they should be responsible for The following tasks:
(1) Regularly analyze the current situation at home and abroad, propose technical requirements and supervise the progress of engineering technical support work.
(2) Formulate strategic plans in this field and coordinate scientific research and design work.
(3) Organize research (design) and test work on new technologies and new processes based on the study of advanced foreign prototypes.
(4) Carry out patent application and protection work for research results in scientific and technological progress.
(5) Organize trial production and new technology development work of manufacturers.
(6) Investigate the sales prospects of new equipment and machinery, understand demand and formulate production plans.
(7) Organize the promotion of new technologies, including training and technical services for on-site personnel.
Scientific research and design units, federal manufacturing enterprises, joint-stock and state-owned enterprises and users should be combined to work together and make concerted efforts to complete the above tasks. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a supporting comprehensive engineering technology center and name it "Russian Geological Engineering Technology Center". The leader of the center may be the chief designer (or manager) of the department. The center should formulate strategic plans for the research and development, manufacturing and promotion of new technologies, improve organization and coordination, strengthen patent protection of scientific research results, and adjust investment flows (including allocations for key new technology projects and key investments in fixed asset renewal).
Scientific research units and professional design bureaus in the field of process technology should study the needs of users and the level of international modern process technology, put forward suggestions for scientific research work, and implement them according to the tasks of the center. Scientific research units and professional design bureaus should also participate in the development and testing of new technologies in federally affiliated factories. The center can cooperate with factories that have realized joint stock ownership in the form of technology investment. The department's scientific research institutes and professional design bureaus can work with the factory's design institutions to develop new technologies and improve traditional equipment.
For production units that perform important federal tasks, local geological exploration technology (laboratory technology) development and service centers can also be established on the basis of relevant units to achieve more satisfactory results.