Methods for producing a geothermal well
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional geothermal well designs face inefficiencies due to crude approximations in determining wellbore lengths and orientations, leading to increased drilling and maintenance costs and suboptimal thermal recovery.
Innovation Solution
A method involving site information and drilling parameters to determine the quantity, orientation, and length of wellbores, utilizing a machine learning model to optimize wellbore placement within site constraints, ensuring efficient thermal recovery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If crude approximations are used to estimate wellbore lengths and orientations, then the design process is simplified and faster, but thermal recovery efficiency decreases and drilling costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary calculations of wellbore lengths and orientations based on site geometry and thermal constraints before actual drilling begins. This preliminary action establishes optimized well configurations that maximize thermal recovery while avoiding the need for time-consuming trial-and-error adjustments during implementation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where thermal response measurements from drilled wellbores are used to refine and adjust the positioning and orientation of subsequent wellbores. This iterative feedback process continuously improves thermal recovery efficiency while maintaining design efficiency through automated calculations.
2Reliability
If more wellbores are drilled to improve thermal recovery, then thermal efficiency increases, but drilling costs and site complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from conventional two-dimensional wellbore layouts to three-dimensional wellbore configurations that utilize vertical and lateral spacing optimally. By considering wellbores as three-dimensional elements with specific orientations and inclinations, the system achieves improved thermal recovery with fewer wellbores, reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic optimization where wellbore orientations and positions are adjusted based on real-time thermal response data. This dynamic approach allows the system to achieve optimal thermal recovery with adaptive wellbore configurations rather than fixed static designs, reducing the number of wellbores needed while maintaining efficiency.
3Area of stationary object
If wellbores are positioned closer together to reduce site usage, then land utilization improves, but thermal interference between wells increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric wellbore spacing and orientation patterns rather than uniform symmetric layouts. By varying the spacing and angles between wellbores based on local thermal conditions and site geometry, the system maximizes land utilization while maintaining adequate thermal separation to minimize harmful thermal interference between adjacent wellbores.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of producing a geothermal well includes obtaining site information including at least a site volume; obtaining drilling parameters; determining lengths and orientations of planned wellbores based at least partially on the site information and the drilling parameters.