Geothermal Energy R&D Program DRILLING TECHNOLOGY SLIMHOLE DRILLING FOR GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION Joim T. Finger Sandia National Laboratories KEY WORDS geothermal, exploration, slimhole, drilling costs PROJECT BACKGROUND AND STATUS Geothermal exploratory drilling is expensive and, because it comes early in the project, must usually be financed by the operator with a long period of debt service before costs can be recovered from power sales. The success rate for geothermal wildcat wells is only 25-40%, so a reduction of the exploratory drilling costs, which run $1-3 million for a production-sized well, would be a major incentive for increased development, Three Sandia/industry cost-shared drilling projects!” have shown that slimholes reduce exploration cost by 40% to 60%, Furthermore, reservoir production estimates based on slimhole testing are starting to gain credibility"? and be considered by financial institutions in evaluating financing of geothermal projects. ‘A by-product of slimhole flow analysis was the understanding of a slimhole’s power capability. Small wells (4” to 6” diameter) can drive power plants of 100 kW to several MW, depending on reservoir depth and temperature, Because slimhole equipment is smaller and more portable than conventional drill rigs, it is highly suitable for drilling wells to supply off-grid power plants in rugged, remote locations, but this application has not yet been demonstrated in a long-term project. ‘The principal work to date (since 1993) in this program comprises: drilling three cost-shared exploratory slimholes (Steamboat Hills, Nevada; Vale, Oregon; and Newberry Crater, Oregon); managing a four-well exploration program for the Department of Defense at Fort Bliss, Texas; in-house analysis of flow data and comparison of that data with several numerical flow simulators; contracts with Maxwell ‘Technologies (formerly S-Cubed) to collect and examine data from slimboles and production wells in five different Japanese geothermal fields; and technology transfer by joint sponsorship with the Geothermal Resources Council of a Slimhole Workshop in July, 1996 and an Off-Grid Power Workshop in December, 1998, PROJECT OBJECTIVES In broadest terms the research objectives follow the previous work: to confirm the statistical validation of slimholes’ predictive capability shown in the Japanese fields with domestic experience in a variety of reservoirs; to transfer technology to industry and to promote their use of slimhole drilling and testing; and to demonstrate off-grid power plants supplied by slimholes. Technical Objectives * Collect data from slimhole and production wells in existing geothermal fields, including intemational developments where available. + Correlate production and injection test data between slimholes and production size wells * Develop and validate a coupled wellbore-reservoir flow simulator that can be used with slimhole flow data to yield a reservoir evaluation, 4s7DRILLING TECHNOLOGY U.S. Department of Energy * Continue to participate in cost-shared slimhole drilling projects when (a) there will be production ‘well data to compare with the slimhole data, and (b) the proposed reservoir type with broaden the experience base. * Initiate planning for a demonstration project with a small power plant supplied by a slimbole. Expected Outcomes * Demonstrate correlation between reservoir-evaluation data from slimholes and production-size wells in a variety of reservoirs. Publish all results and transfer slimhole explorationsdrilling technology to industry so that it becomes an accepted method for geothermal reservoir identification and evaluation. © Program plan for demonstration small-power project. APPROACH used a coordinated working group including personnel from Sandia, Maxwell Laboratories, Berkeley National Laboratory, Energy & Geoscience Institute, US Geological Survey, geothermal operators, and independent consultants focused on this program. In addition to the Geothermal Research Department staff directing this program, other Sandia organizations such as the Engineering Sciences Center are providing significant support. RESEARCH RESULTS Principal activities during FY97 were: Phase Il drilling operations at Long Valley; completion of a Geothermal Slimhole Handbook; release of reports on the Kirishime geothermal field; and continuing s of data from the Okuaizu geothermal field Slimhole Handbook The Slimhole Handbook is a collection of results from work done and sponsored by Sandia in the Slimhole Drilling Program, which aims to show that geothermal exploration costs can be drastically reduced by using smaller, cheaper wells which still give enough information to evaluate the potential reservoir, The Handbook comprises: case histories of Sandia's and other field drilling projects, compilation of test data from Sandia projects and a synopsis of data from Japanese wells; descriptions of inhouse and other analyses of the data set; descriptions of drilling, logging, and testing equipment available for slimholes; and guidelines for designing, drilling, completing, and testing geothermal slimholes. Draft copies of the Handbook will be distributed for comment to people in the industry. ‘The final version will be published as a Sandia Report and posted on the Geothermal Research Departme: web site Analysis of Okuaizu, Japan, Data Maxwell Technologies has gathered and analyzed data from a total of more than 200 Japanese slimholes and production wells, and has correlated productivity and injectivity indices between the large and small wells. This analysis has shown that most of the slimholes are good predictors of performance for production wells drilled into the same reservoir. 458Geothermal Energy R&D Program DRILLING TECHNOLOGY Most wells analyzed to date, however, have had liquid-phase feed zones, but hotter wells in Japan and ‘many of those being developed in Indonesia and the Philippines have two-phase feed zones that may not follow the same correlations already established. ‘To examine this possibility, Maxwell personnel traveled to Japan and negotiated the release of data from the Okuaizu geothermal field, which has predominantly ‘two-phase feeds, Maxwell began using this data to complete testing of the discharge-capacity model of boreholes with two-phase feed zones, but lack of funding has required suspension of this project. Long Valley Exploratory Well During July-September, 1998, a jointly funded drilling operation deepened the Long Valley Exploratory Well from 7178" to 9832". This was the third major drilling phase of a project that began in 1989, but had sporadic progress because of discontinuities in funding. Support for Phase LL came from the California Energy Commission (CEC), the Intemational Continental Drilling Program (ICDP), the US Geological Survey (USGS), and DOE, Each of these agencies had a somewhat different agenda: the CEC wants to evaluate the energy potential (specifically energy extraction from magma) of Long Valley Caldera; the ICDP is studying the evolution and other characteristics of young, silicic calderas; the USGS will use this hole as an observatory in their Voleano Hazatds program; and the DOE, through Sandia, has an opportunity to test new geothermal tools and techniques in a realistic field environment. Because of these different objectives, the success of the project must be evaluated with respect to each one. In considering the concept of energy extraction from magma, the paramount criteria are the existence of a resource, and its accessibility. In general, if drilling into it does not prove resource, extrapolating a temperature gradient to indicate its depth is the primary support for belief in its existence. Although the total heat fux here stil implies a very large heat source under the caldera, the local temperature gradient in this hole is ambiguous with respect to inferring the depth to a postulated magma chamber. Preliminary analyses of results obtained to date do not provide definitive answers as to the status of a hydrothermal resource or the depth to magma. From @ depth of $540’ (where circulation was lost) onwards, the temperature regime appears to be controlled by thermal disturbances resulting from loss of drilling fluid, Temperature logs taken over four months after drilling show an isothermal gradient from approximately 6600" to TD. The top of this interval corresponds with the top of the “basement” metapelite, but it is unclear what, if any, relationship exists between the formation change and the temperature gradient. The Phase 3 science studies to date provide no evidence for a hydrothermal system or magma from which heat can be exploited within the central part of the resurgent dome of the Long Valley caldera Also pertinent to the viability of a resource is the question of its accessibility. Our experience of very difficult drilling in this most recent phase argues against drilling a large-diameter hole through the geologic sequence found here, In summary, the existence of magma resource at this location is still not verified but, if it is there, gaining access to it will be challenging. Technology development in this project went very well. The DOSECC coring package gave good performance and reliability, especially for a new piece of equipment on its first hole. This is a powerful, versatile top-drive system that is capable, with an appropriate drill string, of deep coring for geothermal exploration or scientific research down to depths of at least 16,000 feet. Other technology successfully demonstrated on this project included: © Composite drill string © Drilling data system 459