Next Generation Geothermal Wells New Drilling Technology for the First Time in Horizontals

To overcome aging geothermal wells and lack of surface well locations in the Paris basin, an operator went from drilling vertically to drilling horizontal wells. The aquifer’s best flow characteristics come from thin carbonate layers, which should be targeted to enhance heat recovery. After identifying the main permeable layers with a pilot hole and production logging data, the lateral trajectory was designed to maximize reservoir exposure. The production well was drilled over a length of 850m, in targets with vertical thicknesses typically between 2 and 3m and not exceeding 5m. For the first time worldwide, real-time electromagnetic based multi-bed boundary mapping while drilling application in Geothermal was used and made possible the accurate and swift steering decisions to follow the formation boundaries. The result was a well production that was double that of a standard J-type geothermal doublet.

This project allowed the generation of 15 MW of heating capacity, supplying energy to approximately 8,000 homes and reducing CO2 emissions by 15,000 metric tons annually.