Weld Sheriff locates missing oil drill bits

MILLIKEN – Authorities have located missing oil and natural-gas drill bits allegedly stolen from a drilling site operated by Ensign Energy Services Inc. (OTC: ESVIF) near Milliken.

Weld County sheriff’s deputies recovered six drill bits worth $300,000 from an oil site in central Weld. Three drill bits previously reported stolen were recovered, as well as another three that had not been reported stolen.

The drill bits weigh an average of 300 pounds apiece and would have required at least two men to pick up and move into a truck, according to the Sheriff’s office.

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“We received numerous tips so the suspect probably dumped them since everyone was looking for a green truck with these in back,” Cpl. Sean Standridge of the Weld County Sheriff’s Office said in an email.

“This case is still under investigation and possible suspects still need to be interviewed,” he added.

The site where the drill bits went missing was an active drilling location, typically occupied by workers 24 hours a day. Drill bits are used to bore through bedrock to reach oil and gas reservoirs thousands of feet underground.

They are often made of steel, tungsten carbide and sometimes natural or synthetic industrial diamonds, according to the news site Rigzone.com. Multiple drill bits can be used on one oil well because different ones work better on various formations, and some have to be swapped because of wear and tear.