Geothermal Energy Technology and
International Development Forum
ThermaSource, Inc.:
A Drilling Point of View
Louis Capuano, Jr
Chief Executive Officer
ThermaSource, Inc.
Overview
• Brief Company Introduction
• Discuss the Importance of Project
Development
• How ThermaSource fits into the development
phase
• How to drill the different phases
Who We Are
ThermaSource History
• ThermaSource was founded in 1979, in Northern
California (near The Geysers)
• For over 30 years, ThermaSource has positioned itself as
the geothermal drilling services leader.
What We Do
Since its inception over 30 years ago,
ThermaSource has been primarily focused
on and committed to one industry –
geothermal drilling. With a management
team representing over 100 years of
experience in all forms of geothermal
resource drilling, ThermaSource has
emerged as a worldwide industry leader
for engineering, drilling contracting, and
drilling services. Our focus is on our
customers and their challenges,
specifically working with them to manage
risks, reduce costs, and increase the
probability of successful geothermal wells.
ThermaSource, LLC
ThermaSource,
Inc.
ThermaSource
Cementing, Inc
Tecton
Geologic, LLC
Drilling Rigs,
Engineering and
Consulting,
Experienced
Personnel
Complete,
Geothermal
Cementing
Services
Well/Mud Logging
and H2S
Abatement
ThermaSource Inc.
ThermaSource, Inc. provides the following services:
• Project Management
• Drilling Engineering
• Drill Rig Operations
• Resource Assessment
• Field Supervision
• Geothermal Economics
• Well Testing
ThermaSource, Inc.
ThermaSource Cementing, Inc.
• A variety of site bulk storage and delivery for any customer
needs
• Fully dedicated 24-hour lab and engineering staff for cement
slurry formation and testing.
• Cement placement and quality assurance and control
• Cutting edge cement chemistry technology
• Custom cement systems
• State-of-the-art bulk cement blending facility
• Foam Cement services
• Latex Cementing technology and services
ThermaSource Cementing, Inc.
Tecton Geologic, LLC
• Tecton Geologic, LLC provides on-site rig monitoring as well
logging and data collection for the geothermal drilling industry.
• Tecton Geologic’s geologists are on-site twenty-four hours a
day, available to monitor all situations and prepare an up-todate accurate lithologic well logs.
• Tecton Geologic provides additional services, such as:
– hydrogen sulfide detection equipment that calculates chemicals
needed for abatement based on H2S present and then the actual
abatement to help meet air quality regulations
– Well test monitoring and data collection
Tecton Geologic, LLC
Project
Development
to Drilling a
Well
Project Development
• Development of a new geothermal project may require one or
all of the following stages:
1. Geologic/Geophysical exploration
2. Gradient Hole Drilling
3. Slim Hole Drilling
A. Well Test and Evaluation
4. Exploration Well Drilling and Evaluation
5. Production and Injection Well Drilling, Completion and
Testing.
ThermaSource Assists Project
Development in providing:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Effective well planning and cost estimating
Drilling engineering
Project management
Project execution
Drilling rig operations
Cement engineering and services
Mud logging services
Well testing and project evaluation
Three Types of Geothermal Wells
Gradient hole development
Slim hole drilling
Large diameter, exploration, production well drilling
300 ft. to 1,000 ft.
Temperature Gradient Well
1,000ft. TGH
Avg. Well Cost
$150K to $200K
Purpose of
Temperature/Gradient Wells
• Measure area heat flow
• Analyze the lithology
• Sub-surface exploration
2,000 ft. to 4,000 ft. Slim Hole
3,000 ft. Slim
Avg. Well Cost
$1M to $1.5M
Purpose of
Slim Hole Wells
• Necessary to examine additional formations, looking for potential
troublesome formations, lost circulations, or production potential.
• Measure temperatures at greater depths
• Casing program insight
5,000 ft. to 8,000 ft. or Deeper
Exploration/ Production Well
8,000 ft. Well
Avg. Well Cost
$3.5M to $4M
Purpose of
Production/Injection Wells
• Get well productivity per well which means more MW’s online.
• Re-inject used water or brine
• All wells are to be designed to be a safe, long term operational link to the
reservoir.
Conclusion
• Better up front planning makes for more successful
and economically efficient drilled wells.
• Good exploration methods can reduce the number of
wells needed, better economies of scale for the
overall project.
• Experience Counts!