Digitalization in Drilling: A Paradigm Shift for Cost Reduction in Geothermal Projects

Reducing drilling costs in geothermal projects is imperative for fostering the widespread adoption of renewable energy, given that drilling expenses can constitute up to 50% of the total capital outlay. This paper explores the pivotal role played by digitalization in drilling operations in Italy, showcasing how it has contributed to substantial cost reductions in new projects. The wealth of data generated during well operations, encompassing surface and downhole logging data, lithological reports, drilling reports, and equipment data, serves as a valuable resource. An integrated analysis of these diverse data sources offers insights crucial for future well engineering and planning. This includes investigating well problems, enhancing performance, and, ultimately, reducing costs by preventively addressing and mitigating risks. Employing an integrated solution that consolidates these disparate data sources facilitates the creation of numerous analytics for both individual wells and groups of offset wells. Notably, the interpretation of surface logging data, coupled with automatic recognition of operating sequences and integration with standard daily reports, yields a level of granularity surpassing traditional reporting methods. Accurate measurement of every operation through objective and detailed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as Rate of Penetration (ROP), tripping speed, weight-to-weight, and connection time, facilitates the evaluation of technical and performance issues. This, in turn, enables a deeper understanding of root causes, anticipation of future problems, and identification of opportunities for improvement. This data-driven approach significantly contributes to cost reduction throughout the entire well lifecycle: Calculating the technical limit and implementing lessons learned results in enhanced overall drilling performance by minimizing Invisible Lost Time (ILT), which typically accounts for approximately 25% of all drilling operations. The use of impartial performance indicators incentivizes performance from contractors and addresses low performance issues. Combined analysis of real time logging data and drilling parameters allow to optimize drilling parameters and anticipate possible dangerous situations. The use of accurate offset well data, allows to optimize the budget allocation, minimizing the overall project expenses. The extensive use of well data not only enhances the quality of field reporting but also establishes a structured repository for all recorded well operation data. This digitalization process opens possibilities for operators in terms of predictive modelling and operations automation. The results will be presented though a real case study of 6 wells in the larger geothermal field in Italy. The novelty of this approach lies in the automatic integration of multiple data sources, providing unparalleled analytics and opportunity to reduce overall costs.