Tricone Drill Bits (Rock Roller Bits)

India remains one of the world's active drilling regions. National operators such as ONGC and Oil India, alongside a growing field of private exploration and production companies, run continuous campaigns across onshore basins and the western and eastern offshore. Through all of this activity the tricone (rock roller) bit remains the dependable workhorse for surface and intermediate hole sections, where its tolerance of mixed and abrasive lithologies often outperforms more specialized cutters.

The variety of Indian geology is exactly what makes a broad tricone range valuable. The soft Cambay shale of Gujarat drills fast under low-IADC milled-tooth or soft-formation TCI bits, while the hard Deccan basalt of Maharashtra and the Madhya Pradesh traps demands the highest carbide grades and a robust bearing package. Between those extremes sit the Gondwana coal-measure sandstones of the eastern coalfields, which reward a balanced medium-hard insert design. Selecting the right bit starts with the formation and the correct IADC code, and our team can help map your offset data to the appropriate Volgaburmash series.

Bearing choice matters as much as cutting structure. Grand bits use an open roller bearing and are cost-effective for a small number of wells; GrandPro has a sealed roller bearing and can be stored between runs without jamming or corrosion; GrandXtreme, Motor, MotorPro and SlimHolePro use sealed journal bearings with an O-ring or two seals, floating bushings and silver-plated thrust washers made of wear-resistant material.

Directional and horizontal work in the Cambay basin and across the Krishna-Godavari and Cauvery basins increasingly relies on downhole motors. The Motor and MotorPro tricones are designed for high-load, high-RPM drilling with a downhole motor, and the MotorPro design protects the bit body while drilling directional and horizontal wells. For shallower programmes, the same offset discipline carries over to borewell and water-well drilling, and operators evaluating cutter technology can compare roller-cone economics against PDC bits on a section-by-section basis.

VBM ships tricone bits from stock in Dubai — including 8½", 12¼" and 17½" sizes — and confirms the lead time to India with every quote. Because pricing on tricone bits varies with size, IADC code and bearing class, we quote transparently against your specific run plan — so you can weigh tricone bit price against expected footage and trip count before you commit to a programme.

By application

• Oil and gas (Cambay, Assam-Arakan, Krishna-Godavari, Barmer): milled-tooth IADC 1-1-x to 1-3-x for soft surface clays in 17 1/2" and 12 1/4"; TCI series 4–5 with sealed journal bearings in intermediate sections; Motor and MotorPro series with downhole motors.
• Deccan basalt borewells: hard, tough basalt needs TCI series 6–7, e.g. TechnoPro (TCNP) 625Y–735Y; see our borewell bits.
• Mining: air-flush tricone bits for blast holes — see rock and mining drill bits.

Tricone bit sizes

The workhorse oilfield sizes are 17 1/2", 12 1/4" and 8 1/2"; SlimHolePro slim-hole bits run from 4 1/8" to 6 3/4"; air-flush blast-hole bits (AIRJ, AIRP, AIRX) cover 6 3/4" to 16"; and borewells typically 5 1/2" to 8 1/2" with reaming to larger diameters.

The IADC code in 30 seconds

Three digits and an optional letter. First digit: 1–3 milled teeth, 4–8 tungsten carbide inserts, soft to extremely hard. Second: hardness within the series (1–4). Third: bearing — 1–3 open roller, 4–5 sealed roller, 6–7 sealed journal, gauge-protected on 3, 5 and 7. Letters add features, e.g. X chisel inserts, Y conical inserts. A 617 tricone bit is a TCI bit for medium-hard rock with a sealed journal bearing and gauge protection. Full chart: IADC tricone bit code chart.

Stock in Dubai

We hold Motor (MTR) bits from 7 7/8" to 12 1/4", MotorPro (MTRP) in 8 3/8"–8 1/2", GrandPro (GRDP) from 13" to 22", Grand (GRD) and GrandXtreme (GRDX) in 17 1/2", and SlimHolePro (SLHP) slim-hole bits. The table below lists model, IADC and quantity. For borewells, compare technologies in DTH vs tricone vs PDC.

What is a tricone drill bit?

A rock roller bit with three cones that rotate on bearings and crush the rock as the string turns. It is used in oil and gas wells, borewells and blast-hole mining, especially in hard, fractured or abrasive rock.

What is the price of a tricone bit in India?

Price depends on size, series, bearing type and quantity, so we quote per enquiry. Send the hole size, formation and quantity through the form and we reply with price, lead time and the datasheet.

Do you have tricone bits in stock?

Yes; the table on this page shows models and quantities. We ship from our Dubai warehouse by air or sea; the exact lead time is confirmed in each quotation.

TCI or milled-tooth tricone?

Milled-tooth bits are fastest and cheapest in soft formations; tungsten carbide insert (TCI) bits last far longer in medium to hard and abrasive rock such as basalt and granite.