Integrated Stuck-Pipe-Prevention Campaign in Geothermal Drilling Project in Indonesia: A Proactive Approach

Abstract

It is widely known that drilling cost is one of the largest cost component in a geothermal development project. This drilling cost may increase significantly when the drilling days prolonged due to numbers of non-productive-time (NPT) event. Since geothermal drilling targeting lost circulation zone at reservoir depth, the chance of getting stuck pipe becomes higher. Many publications reported that lost circulation event that lead to stuck pipe event have become top NPT contributor in many geothermal drilling projects. This study aims to design an integrated stuck-pipe-prevention campaign to minimize the possibilities of stuck pipe event in a geothermal drilling project and eventually decrease the overall project cost. In order to design such campaign, the authors initiate the study by mapping every root-cause that have cause stuck-pipe event in the past, based on literature reviews and authors experiences. The next step is to generate as much as possible mitigation options for each root-cause that have been identified, which covers not only equipment or technology aspects but also human and environmental aspects such as drilling personnel competencies, local community issues, logistic challenges and drilling contracting type. Finally, this paper presents a guideline in implementing integrated effort to prevent stuck pipe event in geothermal drilling with a proactive approach using Indonesia geothermal environment as the case study.