Geothermal Drilling Time Analysis-A Case Study of Menengai and Hengill

Abstract

Drilling operations are run on tight schedules and drilling time delays come at a high cost. A large part of drilling workdays is spent on making the wellbore and activities that support drilling, contributing to productive time (PT) while a significant part of the time is spent on drilling problems and activities aimed at finding solutions and solving these problems. This contributes to non-productive time (NPT). Problems occurring in drilling can be avoided sometimes but in other occasions they are beyond the drilling crew control, their causes are numerous and their effects undesirable. This paper analyses drilling time for 15 wells drilled in Menengai, as well as identifying the cause of NPT and attempting to find solutions aimed at increasing PT while reducing NPT to make the drilling process effective. Data from Hengill wells in Iceland was used for comparison.