Scientific Drilling Technologies for Hostile Environments

Abstract

Deep research drilling will encounter temperatures exceeding those normally encountered in standard oil and gas exploration and production. The traditional oil-field service companies have capabilities to temperatures of 120–150 ˚C. Consequently, many problems occur with the drilling equipment, muds, and logging tools at higher temperatures. However, there is a wealth of technology in the geothermal drilling programs where well completions at 250 ˚C are common, at 300 ˚C are frequent, and at 350 ˚C exist on a few wells. Also, materials, mechanical designs, and diagnostic techniques are developed for engines, gas turbines, and other systems that run at temperatures close to 1000 ˚C. All of these systems can be tapped for technologies used in high-temperature deep drilling. The major limitation to such development is lack of commercial interest in high-temperature drilling; companies are not willing to provide the needed field hardware.

This work was performed by Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-DP76.00789.