Tag: geothermal

Drilling of Well 56-32

Seismic Monitoring Well 56-32

This well is the fourth and deepest of a cluster of vertical seismic monitoring wells that are located near the toe of 16A(78)-32. The well was drilled vertically to a total depth of approximately 9,000 feet about 1300 feet north of 58-32.

Well 56-32 will be fully cased (5 ½ inch) and used for deployment of seismic sensors during stimulation experiments. A Silixa DAS fiber optic cable 7500 feet long will be cemented along the outside the casing. During the drilling of 56-32, MSE (Mechanical Specific Energy) calculations and PDC bits will be used to optimize penetration rates as was successfully utilized in the drilling of 16A(78)-32. Below 7500 feet depth, mud hammer bits will be trialed and evaluated for drilling performance.

Update February 8:

Well spudded at 4am.

Update February 9:

Drilled to 380 ft depth.

Update February 10:

Drilled to 3,300 ft depth. The basement contact was crossed at 3,100 ft.

Update February 17:

Drilled to 5,840 ft depth.

Update February 21:

Well reached TD of 9,145 ft depth.

Worth noting: 

This well, as well as the deep, highly deviated 16A(78)-32, was drilled with specially modified polycrystalline diamond composite or PDC bits. These bits proved superior to the tricone bits used in drilling the previous wells.

According to Reed Hycalog, the bit manufacturer, drilling well 56-32 set a record for a bit run of 1208 ft in 53 hours, drilling on average 25 ft/hr in hot, crystalline granite.

Drilling first deep well announcement

Utah FORGE Drills First of Two Deep Wells

The Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE), is excited to announce that the drilling of its first highly deviated deep well has commenced. Highly deviated wells are frequently drilled for oil and gas production, but not by the geothermal industry. The Utah FORGE team will be the first to tackle this challenge while drilling in hot, hard crystalline granite.

The upper part of the well will be drilled vertically through approximately 4,700 feet of  sediments at which point it will penetrate into hard crystalline granite. At about 6,000 feet, the well will be gradually steered at a 5° angle for each 100 feet until it reaches an inclination of 65° from its vertical point. The total length of the well will be approximately 11,000 feet with the “toe” – or the end of the well – reaching a vertical depth of 8,500 feet. The temperature at this depth will be 440°F.

“This is an exciting phase in the Utah FORGE project and is key to proving Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technologies are commercially viable” said Joseph Moore, PhD, and Principal Investigator of Utah FORGE.

The goal of our research is to test tools and technologies for the creation of a geothermal resource where none exists naturally. Developing cost effective EGS technologies is an important step in capturing the enormous energy potential beneath our feet and bringing low cost, environmentally green, and renewable energy across the United States.

Once the well is completed, a series of tests will be run to facilitate the development of the EGS resource. Some of the tests will include determining the stress conditions through short-term injection experiments, during which microseismicity will be carefully monitored. Other tests will allow for the interpretation of the orientation and distribution of the existing and induced fractures in the granite, which will form the pathways for water to circulate and heat up in the newly created EGS reservoir.

The results of these tests and R&D activities will be used to plan the second deviated well. Drilling of the second well is tentatively scheduled for early 2022.

Open Press Release HERE

ARMA June 2020 ROBE Talk

 

Pengju Xing (EGI) gave a talk 'Using Flowback and Temperature for Closure Stress Diagnosis' for the American Rock Mechanics Association's (ARMA)  800-member Hydraulic Fracturing Technical community on June 10, 2020. This was part of the ROBE talk series.

Watch it HERE

Modeling and Simulation Forum #1 RECORDING

The inaugural Modeling and Simulation Forum was held on April 15, 2020 and if you weren't able to participate you can check out the video recording of the webinar below.

Topics that were covered included an overview of the Utah FORGE project, a description of the numerical methods and codes that have used, a summary of modelling results dealing with discrete fracture network, the distribution of stress, and the planning of well trajectories.

Download the PDF of the slides:

20200415_MSForum-post

This will be a recurring event to keep the EGS community updated on our activities and, most importantly, to gain the community's feedback.

For more information about upcoming webinars visit the Modeling and Simulation Forum page

For news, special announcement about the Utah FORGE project activities please SUBSCRIBE