How It Came to Be
The Beginning
In 2006, as a trainee directional driller, I was striving to master a new profession when I encountered one of the most persistent challenges of mud motors — reactive torque. Every variable in drilling operations — formations, drill pipes, drilling fluids, depths, bottom-hole assemblies, bit wear, motor types and power — produced different torque reactions. Without a deep understanding of these nuances, achieving a proper slide was nearly impossible.
At the same time, MWD systems were not always stable, making the work of a directional driller feel unpredictable, sometimes even chaotic — almost like performing in a circus.
The realization came quickly: there had to be a way to eliminate these problems. Yet while the idea itself was clear, the path to implementation required far more time, persistence, and experience.
This was the spark that set the foundation for what would later become RSS Klin — a vision of a more reliable, efficient, and controlled approach to directional drilling.​​
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The Search
Continuing to work as a directional driller, I sought information wherever possible about directional drilling. Yet it was unclear what was truly happening in the field worldwide. I knew that nearly all companies relied on mud motors and were searching for alternatives. I had heard of RSS, but only in passing.
Around 2007, I saw the RSS PowerDrive for the first time and was shocked — why make it so complicated?
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I could hardly imagine what my own mechanism would look like, but gradually I began to realize that, in essence, Klin was an RSS.
In 2010, I built the first prototype out of plastic. Continuing to monitor developments in directional drilling and recognizing that this was a highly demanded area, I began the patent application process in 2011. The patent search was successful, and the application was accepted.
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The Patent
With a patent-pending status in hand, I began approaching companies involved in directional drilling. But the attempts were unsuccessful — no one listened.
I attended exhibitions, met with various companies, reached out to millionaires, and once even suspected I had encountered Chinese industrial espionage. Yet all of these efforts brought no results, most likely because at that time I had nothing tangible to show.
In 2018, I was granted a U.S. patent. In 2019, I met with a company in California specializing in HDD and learned that they were using mud motors from the oilfield sector — and that they urgently needed a new tool like Klin. This gave me strength and motivation.
I met with other HDD companies, thinking it would be easier to introduce Klin in HDD than in oilfield drilling. But the process dragged on. Although I understood the mechanics of the mechanism, I did not know how to integrate it with MWD. It is impossible to create an MWD system for a tool that does not yet exist.
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​The Prototype
In 2023, I found a solution for creating a mechanism capable of working with any existing MWD system. This significantly simplified the task and strengthened my belief that it was possible to develop this tool with relatively low costs. From that moment, I felt a renewed sense of momentum. A team of like-minded individuals came together, and with their help, the first drawings, animations, and an initial working model were created.
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Progress was slowed by a lack of funding, but the overall concept of the tool became increasingly clear. Two distinct directions for further development emerged. To visualize specific aspects of the design and better understand how individual components would interact in motion, I built a prototype out of wood. This prototype not only made the operation of Klin easier to understand, but also clearly demonstrated its viability.
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Prototype Design Overview
​Klin Operating Principal
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“Imagine you shove a wedge (a klin) into the well and push the pipe all the way against one wall. The whole pipe will deform and give an angle to the drill bit” - Alexandre Korchounov, Klin inventor.
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The klin pushes the pipe off the straight drill axis, which causes the drill bit at the end to rotate
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Subsequently, when drilling continues it proceed under an angle​
