| Title | Simulating Effect of Insulated Drillpipe on Downhole Temperature in Supercritical Geothermal Well Drilling |
|---|---|
| Authors | R. Ando and S. Naganawa |
| Year | 2020 |
| Conference | New Zealand Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | supercritical geothermal well drilling, down-hole cooling, mud circulation, insulated drill pipe, numerical simulation |
| Abstract | A research and development project on supercritical geothermal power generation technology, in which the exploratory drilling project is known as the Japan Beyond-Brittle Project (JBBP), is in progress in Japan. To design the first exploration well, which is planned to be drilled in a few years, we are studying a down-hole cooling strategy by mud circulation during drilling, casing running, cementing and completion operations. Because the drilling site is not yet determined, numerical simulations were conducted for subsurface conditions based on the Kakkonda WD-1a well, the world first super-hot geothermal well over 500°C previously drilled in Japan. In this study, we focused on the effect of insulated drill pipe on down-hole temperature during drilling with drilling fluid circulation. It was found that the combination or configuration of insulated and normal drill pipes had considerable influences on the down-hole temperature profiles as well as the thermal performance of insulated drill pipe itself. The optimum insulated drill pipe configuration and drilling operation condition are discussed based on the results of the numerical simulation studies. |