The MSE data trend plays a critical role in diagnosing what problems are behind the barriers to faster drilling. The reality in the ground is that there are limits a driller can recognize using a measure of drilling efficiency-mechanical specific energy (MSE). In a perfect world, adding more weight on the bit (WOB) will mean faster drilling. The physics refers to an understanding of the theory. They combined some obvious changes for shale drillers, such as using PDC bits-polycrystalline diamond compact cutters on a solid body that is rotated while drilling-to changing how drillers manage the process by teaching them a “physics-based, limiter-redesign” workflow. 1).ĭupriest acknowledged that what is considered fast in shale is far faster than what is possible in hard rock, which he described as “5,000 ft of kitchen countertop.” But he added that “the types of issues that constrain the drill rate, and the way you deal with them, are no different.” The Texas A&M professors were hired to teach drillers how to cut the time required to drill an injection well and two vertical wells that will observe the impact of fracturing and future water flows (Fig. If profitable systems can be built to inject the water into hot formations and produce enough very hot water, geothermal power plants could be located near big, urban power markets. On the other hand, it is not hard to find hot, dry rock. There are so few places in the US or the world that combine geothermal heating, water, and naturally conductive fractures that make it possible to drill wells that produce superheated steam. Growth has been limited by the available resources. The future of geothermal energy depends on efforts like Utah FORGE’s, which are funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), to overcome the subsurface barriers that have limited geothermal power to less than 1% of the US electric supply. The challenge faced by Dupriest and his partner on the project, Sam Noynaert, an associate professor of engineering practice at Texas A&M, was to demonstrate that faster drilling methods are possible using available technology. The technology was the basis of a startup, GA Drilling, which was recently bought by Nabors which hopes to commercialize it for hard rock sections. The high cost of slow drilling in hard rock has inspired futuristic ideas such as using plasma energy to disintegrate hard rock. The comparison to shale is apt because he was brought in at Utah FORGE to teach drillers how to use the hardware and methods that speeded drilling in unconventionals to accelerate drilling through hard rock. The challenge is cost, like in an unconventional well,” said Fred Dupriest, professor of engineering practices at Texas A&M University, while delivering a paper at the recent SPE/IADC International Drilling Conference ( SPE 208798). “This approach will take hundreds and hundreds of wells. Multiple well pairs per power plant are likely needed, so another problem is finding a way to speed up the drilling, which at the site requires drilling through a mile of granite at temperatures exceeding 400☏. There are many reasons why it is hard, particularly finding a way to use fracturing to create what amounts to a slow-moving, high-volume waterflood that heats the water as it flows from an injection well to a production well. At the Utah FORGE test site, they are drilling wells to try to accomplish something others have failed to in 50 years of trying-inject water into hot rock and produce enough steam to power a commercial electric generator.
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