GEODE Series – Webinar: Drilling Geothermal Wells: Learnings from Oil & Gas and the Path Forward

The GEODE consortium is a catalyst for geothermal innovation that brings together members of the geothermal and oil and gas (O&G) sectors to leverage best practices and knowledge from O&G to help expand the use of geothermal energy. As part of that mission, GEODE is creating venues and events to facilitate the dissemination of geothermal and O&G knowledge. This webinar, hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), is part of a series of webinars and conversations designed for professionals and students entering the workforce who are interested in learning more about the synergies in skills and technologies between geothermal and O&G. The topic of this webinar is leveraging extensive drilling knowledge from oil and gas (O&G) wells to geothermal wells. Drilling is a complicated system with multiple variables, risks, and consequences. Many of the tools and techniques currently used in O&G wells can be easily transferred to geothermal wells, but given the high temperatures and harsh environmental conditions that exist in many geothermal drilling locations, participating entities must understand the risks and adjust accordingly. Many tools and techniques currently used in O&G drilling projects contain components that cannot withstand the intense conditions of the geothermal environment. Those environments create technical limitations for existing tools and techniques, causing either shortened use or damage exacerbated by operation conditions. Those risks have led operators to limit the tools they use on geothermal projects. Consequently, further scrutiny is warranted to assess the unique hazards of geothermal wells and adapt the O&G techniques to suit the harsher drilling environment. Speaker: Hani Ibrahim, Well Construction SME at Blade Energy Partners Moderator: Ahmed Amer, Global Fluids Advisor at Oxy Geothermal Energy from Oil and Gas Demonstrated Engineering (GEODE) is a consortium led by Project InnerSpace and SPE and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO).