Geothermal drilling and completion technology development
The high cost of drilling and completing geothermal wells is an impediment to the development of geothermal energy resources. Technological deficiencies in rotary drilling techniques are evidenced when drilling geothermal wells. The Division of Geothermal Energy (DGE) of the U.S. Department of Energy has initiated a program aimed at developing new drilling and completion techniques for geothermal wells. The goals of this program are to reduce well costs by 25% by 1982 and by 50% by 1986. Sandia Laboratories has been selected to manage this technology development program, and this paper presents an overview of the program. Program justification which relates well cost to busbar energy cost and to DGE power-on-line goals is presented. Technological deficiencies in current rotary drilling techniques for geothermal wells are discussed. A program for correcting these deficiencies is described.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-04-0789
- OSTI ID:
- 6940396
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-78-0670C; CONF-780708-18
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Geothermal Resources Council meeting, Hilo, HI, USA, 25 Jul 1978
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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