DeepPower Drilling Technology
We are developing a breakthrough geothermal drilling technology to boldly go where no oil rig has gone before. We started with the tried and true concept of an oil and gas exploration drill. Then, we invented a new drilling technology that features a new drill, as well as a new method and geometry of drilling in such a way that we reduce the stress around the wellbore – in effect weakening the rock. By requiring less mechanical energy, we believe we will be able to drill faster, deeper and cheaper.
Our patent-pending drilling technology is being developed at the University of Oklahoma. Initial technical simulation and economic studies suggest that a 600% increase in the rate of penetration (ROP) is possible compared to conventional geothermal drilling, and a more than 300% increase compared to competing millimeter wave drilling technology.
A more comprehensive techno-economic study will be required to estimate the resulting cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of the produced geothermal energy. However, a preliminary estimate can be obtained based on ROP. For example, a geothermal well can be drilled to a depth of 26,000 feet in approximately 75 days, at a 10 ft/hr average ROP (the approximate rate for conventional geothermal drilling) at an approximate cost of $37.5 million (assuming $500K/day drilling cost). If we can achieve our potential drilling rate improvement of 600% (60 ft/hr), then the same well can be drilled in approximately 12.5 days at an approximate cost of $6 million.
This represents a dramatic cost reduction of more than $30 million, not including non-rotating times for well construction operations and any undetermined costs associated with new technology deployment.
Furthermore, conventional geothermal drilling equipment can only reach depths where the temperature is around 150-200 degrees Celsius. The holy grail of geothermal energy is 400 degrees Celsius, or approximately 6 miles (10km) deep, in a zone known as “Superhot Rock” where 10X more heat energy can be extracted than shallower wells. Compared to millimeter wave drilling, a competing Superhot Rock technology being developed by others in the industry, the DeepPower drilling technology is predicted to be faster by more than 300%.
Superhot rock (“SHR”) geothermal energy is accessible just about anywhere on the Earth. Nearly 50% of the world’s population can access SHR energy without going deeper than 10 km (6.2 miles). Drilling down to 20 km (12.4 miles) virtually guarantees that 95% of the world population can have unlimited clean energy.
below our feet