For years, the industry sought a solution to a recurring problem: how to correct a borehole’s trajectory when unexpected deviation occurs. How can a drilling company justify keeping a deviation tool on-site when the equipment is expensive, often requires specialists, and may ultimately go unused?
Today, BG Drilling Solutions provides the answer. Its proven, reliable, and easy-to-use non-coring trajectory correction system, CWT, is now available for rent, allowing drilling crews to have a correction tool on-site and react immediately when needed. All at the cost of a single gyro rental.
The trajectory correction challenge
In many drilling programs, the need for trajectory correction can arise unexpectedly and often requires an immediate response. Even a slight natural drift of one to two degrees at an early stage of the hole can lead to a non-productive borehole or reaching the target depth with a significant offset from the intended objective, which is a serious compromise. When trajectory correction becomes unavoidable, drilling sites often have no directional drilling (DD) tools available—neither a wedge, nor any other specialized instrument. This typically results in days of standby while waiting for the necessary equipment and, in many cases, a service crew to arrive. These delays often end up costing far more than if the tool had been available from the start.
The solution to this problem is clear: every project should have DD tools readily available on-site. Until now, however, this requirement has usually been ignored for understandable reasons. No one wants to invest in equipment or specialized services that might never be used, especially when the cost is significant.
Existing practical tools for short trajectory corrections
The concept of renting deviation tools isn’t new. Any company can rent a downhole motor, and this is done in many countries where experience with these tools exists such as Australia and parts of Africa. However, the investment and logistics remain substantial: a specialist is required to operate the motor, a smaller-diameter drill string and an auxiliary pump are also needed. In reality, downhole motors are used primarily for complex drilling programs where adequate water supply, depth conditions, and rock suitability align and no one keeps one on standby for occasional minor corrections.
Directional coring systems are another option, but they are complex, expensive, and always require highly qualified personnel, making them even less suitable for projects where only small trajectory corrections are needed. Today, they represent the high-end solution for multi-branch drilling and complex directional profiles.
Therefore, the only widely available and relatively low-cost tools for short trajectory corrections remain the steel wedge and, less often, the retrievable wedge. The steel wedge is a proven, long-standing solution for creating a new hole from an existing one. It can also be used to deviate the hole from the current bottom for trajectory correction. This method works, but it comes with several operational requirements such as having an available wedge and experienced drillers, as well as performing multiple trips in and out of the borehole to install it. Beyond these, steel wedges also come with a number of technical limitations:
- They leave metal in the hole, which can cause problems if not installed or drilled out correctly;
- Installing a second steel wedge below the first is risky and strongly not recommended, as the second may stop and anchor onto the first and compromise the hole;
- Using steel wedges for vertical (drop) trajectory corrections, which are the most common type due to widespread flattening tendency, is particularly risky.
By contrast, retrievable wedges have resolved many of these issues, but they are mainly available in Canada and are rare elsewhere. Their disadvantages include multiple trips and frequent inefficiency during reaming, often resulting in insufficient or zero deviation.
CWT: A proven solution for short trajectory corrections
The Continuous Wedging Tool (CWT) is one of the most established directional drilling systems for fast trajectory correction. It works effectively across a wide range of drilling environments and rock types, and enables rapid intervention whenever deviation occurs. The system has been used in Brazil, Canada, Europe, Indonesia, Peru, and many other regions worldwide.
With nearly 15 years of field operation and more than 4000 completed trajectory corrections, the CWT has proven its reliability and consistency. It is available in the three most commonly used sizes:
B-, N- and H-size, which makes it one of the most versatile systems and applicable to virtually any project.
The CWT is operated entirely by the weight and rotation of the drill rods, without dependence on water pressure or water flow. The system is non-coring and occupies a unique position between traditional wedging tools and more advanced directional drilling technologies. It resembles a wedge in that each use typically produces 1.5–2 degrees per run, but it requires no complex installation—it is simply lowered into the hole, a short correction is drilled, and then pulled out, leaving no metal behind.
A new business model: CWT is now available for rent
The recent development of the CCT (Continuous Coring Tool), BG Drilling’s directional coring system, has shifted the company’s operational focus. As the first directional coring system based on a fully mechanical principle, it is rapidly gaining acceptance and popularity worldwide, and its growing demand is taking most of the company’s resources and engineering manpower.
As a result of this shift, BG Drilling Solutions has transitioned its mature, proven, and extremely reliable non-coring deviation tool, the CWT, into a client-oriented rental solution. The system is now available at a truly accessible price, giving projects on-site trajectory control whenever needed.
‘No one in the industry expected that a directional drilling tool could be available throughout an entire project at the monthly rental price of a single gyro. Fortunately, this is now a reality,’ says Grigor Topev, Co-Founder and CEO of BG Drilling Solutions.
Advantages of the CWT technology and rental model
- Proven technology and accuracy: deviation accuracy in terms of achieved angle and correct direction reaches 95%.
- Driller-friendly: extremely simple to operate. Toolface orientation and drilling 1.5–2.5 m (4.9–8.2 ft) are sufficient. Afterward, the tool is pulled out, the core barrel is run for reaming, and drilling continues.
- Compact and convenient: only 2.3 m (7.5 ft) long, making it easy to use in any drill rig and environment, even the smallest underground setups, including upward-directed holes.
- No depth limitation: operational principle works at any depth. The current record is 2740 m (8858 ft) in NQ drilling.
- CWT maintenance: fully serviceable on-site in about 30 minutes without shipment to the manufacturer.
‘BG Drilling believe in making directional drilling widely accessible. We are confident we have achieved it through our accessible prices, the simplicity, reliability and effectiveness of our tools, paired with the expertise of our field engineering team,’ says Associate Professor Shteryo Lyomov, Founder of BG Drilling Solutions.
How the CWT rental model works
The CWT rental agreement includes the CWT rental package plus 7 days of complimentary on-site training for the client’s team, led by experienced engineers. The trainees may be drillers or company personnel responsible for trajectory correction. After completing it, the company can operate the tool independently. Optional 24/7 guidance and troubleshooting support from BG Drilling engineers is available.
CWT rental packages:
- Basic Package: one CWT and a spare parts kit; suitable for programs requiring occasional trajectory corrections.
- Standard Package: includes everything in the Basic Package plus a spare CWT tool and additional spare parts; ideal for more active programs where trajectory corrections are expected regularly.
Additional services include sending an expert to the site for troubleshooting, remote planning, remote monitoring of borehole trajectories, and other optional project-specific solutions.
In an industry where precision, timing, and reliability define the success of every project, BG Drilling Solutions stands out by delivering technologies and business models that elevate the applicability of directional drilling services. By making CWT available as an on-site rental tool—supported by comprehensive training and expert assistance—the company provides drilling teams with a new level of autonomy, flexibility, and control. Combined with the advanced CCT technology and a team of specialists, BG Drilling Solutions continues to shape the future of directional drilling, offering practical solutions that prioritize efficiency, reliability, and real-world results.
For more information: Visit bg-drilling.com
