Potential application of slimhole drilling technology to geothermal wells in Vietnam

Abstract

The development of geothermal energy in Vietnam is one of many critical solutions to satisfy the increasing energy demand and ensure the country’s energy security. Vietnam is estimated to have a geothermal potential of up to 400 MW capacity. A recent study shows that there are more than 300 geothermal energy sources in Vietnam territory with the temperatures from 30 °C to 148 °C. However, many geothermal energy projects in Vietnam mostly remain at the researching stage and are still under-development due to many reasons, in which the lack of knowledge and information on geothermal drilling technology and potential environment impact plays a significant part. Hence, development of geothermal energy project in this area has many challenges to overcome. Application of slimhole drilling technology has been used successfully in the geothermal and oil and gas industry. The technology is a proven method to reduce drilling cost and minimize environmental impact for exploration and development activities. Therefore, many technical aspects of application of this technology are discussed in this paper. In addition, the paper also provides the many benefits of using slimhole drilling as compared to conventional drilling. In brief, this paper describes the possibility of applying the slimhole drilling technology in the development of geothermal energy projects in Vietnam for cost reduction and environmental impact minimization.