US geothermal resource exploration promotes PDC bit development

Abstract Nearly two-thirds of the oil resources in the United States come from wells drilled by PDC bits. This diamond polycrystalline composite bit was invented more than 30 years ago to reduce the cost of geothermal drilling. Recently, Sandia combined with the latest technological developments in the oil and gas exploration industry in recent years to showcase...
Nearly two-thirds of the oil resources in the United States come from wells drilled by PDC bits. This diamond polycrystalline composite bit was invented more than 30 years ago to reduce the cost of geothermal drilling. Recently, Sandia combined with the latest technological developments in the oil and gas exploration industry in recent years to demonstrate how geothermal drills work with PDC technology.

As part of the US Chocolate Mountain Geothermal Resource Assessment project, Sandia and the US Navy Geothermal Project Office (USN GPO) hosted a demonstration trial.


The staff used a torsion spring to simulate the rotational vibration of the drill bit while it was working.

Sandia has more than 30 years of experience in geothermal research and bit technology development. He has led the development of PDC bits for geothermal exploration. The research and development work mainly includes drill bit materials, experimental design, data collection, etc.; laid the foundation for the later development of the drill industry. Recently, Sandia was sponsored by the US Recovery and Reinvestment Act to study how to further improve the PDC bit to efficiently explore deeper, hotter geothermal resources in the hard base rock layer.

Researcher David Raymond said that because oil and gas exploration and development is less difficult than geothermal drilling, PDC bits were originally used to drill oil and gas. The drilling geological environment of oil and gas resources is usually a rock formation with loose texture and complete structure. This geological structure generally does not require liquid circulation technology to remove rock debris, and does not need to consider the problem of cooling and cooling of the drill bit.

However, with the deeper drilling and development of oil and gas resources, drilling will inevitably encounter similar problems in the geothermal drilling process: the deeper the drilling formation, the harder the rock, the more rock debris, and the lower the underground temperature. The higher it is.

Raymond explained that the geothermal resources are often composed of igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks, which are much harder than sedimentary rocks in oil and gas resources. Moreover, igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks are rich in quartz, and abrasives such as quartz often have a large impact on the wear of the drill bit and the vibration of the drill bit. These rocks, which are in a broken form, change the impact load of the drill bit and cause great damage to the drill bit.

At this stage, geothermal drilling is still a technical challenge that needs to be improved in terms of cost. Raymond added that the drill must drill hard rock and withstand high temperatures and pressures. The US Department of Energy's future plan is to achieve a deep depth of 30,000 feet through the improvement of drill technology to obtain more geothermal resources.

In terms of economic risks, the prospects for geothermal drilling are also not optimistic. A large number of oil and gas fields have been developed every year in the United States, and abundant minefield development resources can provide a lot of room for development and improvement of oil and gas drilling bits. However, the development of geothermal drilling industry has been faltering. There are few geothermal well fields developed each year. The research and development costs of supporting facilities and corresponding drill bits are high and the technology is difficult. Every development of a geothermal well field means that there is a risk that it will not be able to recover the cost.

Sandia's project is carried out at the Bilima Camp Mine, which is made up of granite and andesite, both of which are commonly encountered in geothermal drilling. A key element of the project is the testing and evaluation of PDC bits and the corresponding technology in a real drilling environment.


Workers are checking the original PDC bit on the drilling equipment
Participating in the project cooperation is the US PDC bit manufacturer NOV, NOV provides on-site experts to provide technical support and solutions for drilling contractors. In addition, drilling contractor Barbour also participated in the project.

In the field test, two PDC bits drilled 1,291 feet in a 3,000-foot deep field, drilling 30 feet per hour, and drilling depth was three times that of the control cone bit in the control group; the two drills were only four days long. It was worn out.

In the next phase of the research project, Sandia will continue to work with NOV to study the performance of the drill bit and further improve the design and construction of the drill bit. The project was sponsored by the US Recovery and Reinvestment Act and was supervised by the EGS Drilling Systems Technology Development and Field Experiments team. (Compiled from "Polycrystalline diamond drill bits open up options for geothermal energy"; Translation: Wang Xian)

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