GEOTHERMAL DRILLING PRACTICES AND GUIDELINE

INDONESIA SHALLOW AND DEEP GEOTHERMAL WELLS

FOREWORD:

It is through the dictate of the ________________and the

efforts of _____________that this geothermal well drilling
practices and guideline is developed to ensure that safety of
personnel and equipment, environmental protection and good
drilling operation practices are followed and seriously
implemented to be able to attain an efficient and cost effective
geothermal well.

Through the geothermal drilling experience of the people

involved in the development of this guideline, some of the oil
and gas practices have been modified to suit the needs of a
geothermal drilling operation.

This covers site preparation, well planning and design, drilling

and well abandonment. It is recommended that this guideline
which has considerable data based on experience should be
followed so that a geothermal well can be drilled and operated
safely.
GENERAL

1 Well Planning and Design:

1.1 Data acquisition, review and analysis

The quality and completeness of data acquired is vital to

the success or failure of a geothermal well. To start
with, the geothermal scientific group proposes to drill a
well. That proposal should indicate elements relevant to
the well being proposed. A checklist should be prepared
indicating the well objective, i.e. exploration well or
development well or appraisal well or work over. It
should likewise indicate timeframe i.e. desired spud
date and the area where the well will be drilled.

1.2 Well Design

The well design defines casing specification i.e. size,

grades, weights, connection type and setting position
relative to depths. It also defines the directional
requirements, wellhead completion assembly, drilling
fluid specification, completion method, BOPE assembly
and cementing requirement/method.

1.2.1 Evaluate all the acquired data

1.2.2 List down all potential drilling problems to be able
to have a starting point in the design of casing
string.
1.2.3 Confer with the geologist and reservoir engineers
and discuss likely scenarios pertaining to formation
temperature, fluids in the formation and rock types
and take note of the of the new inputs that is
necessary in the preparation of the program.
1.2.4 Select appropriate casing setting depth, casing
specifications taking into account kick tolerances to
avoid or prevent drilling problems. It is
recommended that a conservative design be
 adopted as errors can occur in the prediction of
formation characteristics.
1.2.5 Design the cement slurry that will be appropriate
based on data gathered.
1.2.6 Specify the wellhead completion assembly.
1.2.7 Ensure that all items in the proposal are considered
and the design meets the requirement and discuss
with the proponent.
1.2.8 Circulate the design to all departments concerned
and seek approval.
1.2.9 Prepare cost estimates (particularly called the AFE).
1.2.10 Prepare the drilling program
1.2.11 Prepare time and depth curve.
1.2.12 Identify items required that need long lead time
and proceed ordering these items.
1.2.13 Determine rig availability and define start of
operation.

2. Choice of site location:

The determination of the location must take into consideration

the result of geological evaluation of the subsurface area and
make certain that it is of high integrity to support the rig
equipment and not susceptible to wash out and erosion due to
run-off water and flow of ground water and possible prevention
of a blowout when the well comes under pressure at shallow
depth. Also the site should be stable in the long term, even
after the rig has completed the drilling and already pulled out
of the area.

3. Site preparation and Designing the site location

The design of the site should take into consideration the size
and tonnage of the rig that will be utilized in the drilling
operation. It should be able to support the dead loads and
dynamic loads carried by the substructure. Likewise the size of
the location should consider the safe maneuverability of truck
loaded with rig equipment during rig up/rig down.
 3.1 Fill surface should be compacted with appropriate
surfacing materials and protected from erosion.

3.2 Provide appropriate drainage all around the location.

3.3 Surfacing materials should be of good quality to provide

all weather access.

4. Consolidation grouting of location:

Proper assessment should be done on whether the site

should be grouted. It may be necessary to drill small probe
hole to find out and assess permeability of the formation
within the first 100 feet from the surface. Consolidation
grouting may reduce or avoid shallow circulation losses
during drilling. It also consolidates loss formation thereby
improving the load carrying capacity of the shallow
formation. It may also divert the flow of formation fluid or
gas away from the immediate vicinity of the rig in case of a
shallow blowout. The grout holes should be drilled
immediately below the drilling equipment.

4.1 Required Equipment

-Small unit rig that can drill about 3 inches hole diameter
to about 150 feet with pump that is capable of pumping
about 100 psi.

- Cement batch mixer

-
- Drill rods.

4.2 Type of cement required

- Class A cement – A cement slurry without any additive

would suffice for this type of activity.

4.3 Grout holes required

- Drill 5x 2 to 2 ½ inches holes starting from the center

of the cellar.

- The first hole shall be drilled to TD of 100 feet.

 - The 4 satellite holes (about 10 to 20 feet from cellar
center depending on the slurry take of the first hole)
shall be drilled to 75 feet.

4.4 Grouting procedure

- Drill to about 20 feet. Pump the cement slurry and

until refusal with about 15 psi.

- After waiting on cement for about 6 to 8 hours drill out

the cement column and proceed to drill to 40 feet.
Pump the cement slurry and until refusal with about
32 psi.

- After waiting on cement for about 6 to 8 hours drill out

the cement column and proceed to drill to 60 feet.
Pump the cement slurry and until refusal with about
48 psi.

- After waiting on cement for about 6 to 8 hours drill out

cement column and proceed to drill to 80 feet. Pump
the cement slurry and until refusal with about 65 psi.

- After waiting on cement for about 6 to 8 hours drill out

cement column and proceed to drill to 100 feet. Pump
the cement slurry and until refusal with about 80 psi.

Notes: - If the intake of the hole is excessive or more than

what is prescribed in the procedure, the concerned
parties i.e. geologist and project management
should be consulted so that appropriate action can
be taken.

-Additional holes may be required if the slurry

intake is more than what is prescribed. In this case
the grouting procedure should be followed.

-Caution should be taken not to fracture the

formation because of overpressure.
 - If the hole intake of slurry is more than the hole
capacity and refusal pressure, drill another grout
hole near that hole following the same procedure.

4.5 Activity report (grouting)

A report should be prepared indicating hole number and

size, slurry mix, slurry density and volume, depth,
pressure and any loses encountered during drilling and
slurry pumping.

5. Cellar construction

The size of the cellar shall be constructed with consideration

to:

- Proper clearance of BOPE to be installed during

drilling.

- Dimension of the substructure of the rig that will be

utilized.

- Safety of personnel who work in the cellar.

- Appropriate space for production wellhead.

- Drainage.

- Size of conductor pipe which will buried/drilled to

about 10 feet to 15 feet.

6. Waste sump:

A waste sump should be built in the vicinity of the rig where

cuttings, waste mud, waste oil; excess cement slurry shall
be dumped as necessary. This is to ensure protection of the
environment and ease of operation. The size of the sump
shall be between 2500 cubic meters to 3000 cubic meters.
Detailed drawings will be provided. If building a waste sump
is not practical, inappropriate for the location or there are
 lease restrictions to build such, an alternative method of
protecting the environment is to resort to close lope system
where the liquid waste or discharge can be managed
effectively. Check with companies that provide this kind of
service.

7. Water supply:

The water supply volume should be between 800 gpm to

1200 gpm depending on the category of the hole to be
drilled whether regular hole or big hole. The water should be
analyzed for all its elements to ascertain its quality and
avoid drilling operations problems which may be caused by
elements that is detrimental to the operation.

8. Casings

Various sizes of casings shall be used for the purpose of

protecting ground and surface waters, the environment,
safety consideration and ensure or provide adequate control
of the well during drilling and production. Numerous books
are available as reference in the design of the casing.
Pressure and temperature should be considered in the
casing design. The casing should be able to withstand
thermal stresses in the cemented section and uncemented
section of the hole during drilling operation or production of
the well.

Casing design should consider formation characteristics

such as loss circulation, formation caving, formation acidity,
formation pressure and temperature and fracture gradient.

8.1 Conductor pipe

This is normally used to carry drilled cuttings to the

surface when drilling the top portion of the well and
where a diverter will be installed. This is usually 30
inches in diameter and driven/cemented to about 10
feet from the surface. This is installed during the
construction of the cellar.

8.2 Surface casing

 In a geothermal well this is the first set of casing
where a blowout preventer can be installed. This
protects fresh water aquifers from contamination and it
isolates the shallow unconsolidated portion of the well.
For a normal geothermal well this size is 20 inches. For
big holes this size is 22 inches. The casing should be
cemented up to the surface with a slurry mix that will
be formulated using class g cement and additives.
Refer to cementing topic.

The setting of the casing should be deep enough so

that formation fracture pressure is high enough for the
well to be closed in on a kick while drilling for the next
casing string.

8.3 Intermediate casing

This type of casing is also called the anchor casing. This

increases the pressure integrity of the well so that it can
be deepened. The depth on which the shoe of the
intermediate casing is set is dependent on the structural
competence of the formation and safe drilling conditions
until the expected or calculated depth of the production
is set and cemented to surface. It is in this section that
the casing head flange (CHF) is installed for a higher
rating BOPE and where the production wellhead is put in
place after completion of the well.

8.4 Production casing

This is the casing string that is exposed to the formation

fluid when the well is discharged for production. It is
very important that this is properly cemented to surface
and free of any defect as this the permanent pipe that is
always exposed to production fluid. The designer should
bear in mind that this casing will be exposed to severe
condition during production and has been exposed to
mechanical wear during drilling operation. It is prudent
for the designer to consider all data available in coming
up with the correct grade, weight and connection of the
casing. A failure in the design of the casing is a failure of
the well.

8.5 Production slotted or perforated liner

 This is the string of casing installed to protect the hole
from collapse of the formation. Production fluid passes
through the perforation during discharge of the well. The
setting depth of the liner is dictated by the geologist,
after conferring with department concerned.