Smart-GeoWells: Smart technologies for optimal design, drilling, completion and management of geothermal wells

将开发一种新产品，用于设计、钻井、完井和管理井系统，该井系统包括许多地热工业用的具有增加的储层接触的井。基于传统和喷射（水和超临界二氧化碳）技术的混合钻井方法将与先进的数值模型一起沿着使用，以帮助优化井系统的部署和管理。该产品针对快速增长的地热行业，可随时重新应用于石油/天然气生产，特别关注中深层地热资源。这项工作的目标包括：（1）应用先进的钻井和完井技术，以实现更高效的井系统建设;（2）评估新一代数值模型，以解决复杂井储系统中的流体流动和传热问题;（3）优化井设计和管理，以实现经济高效的生产;以及（4）将产品部署到地热储层进行现场试验。该项目的新奇在于将新型钻井完井技术与新型油井管理和生产计算方法相结合。中国目前的能源需求需要创新、经济高效和环保的解决方案。我们正在提出一种创新的多分支井系统Smart-GeoWells，以帮助应对这些挑战。这将用于开发更清洁，更负担得起的本地化（建筑，村庄，城镇，城市）供暖/热水和电力，利用几乎无限，可持续和安全的地热能源。为了开发新的多分支威尔斯井（可能有数百个分支井），拟议的团队（每个成员都是各自领域的世界领导者）将运用他们的专业知识来测试和开发新的井工程解决方案、混合钻井技术、先进的数值模拟以及最佳井设计和管理方法。对于英国和中国的团队来说，这将是长期合作的第一步，旨在优化地热资源的开发，如果成功，将对能源行业产生巨大影响。然而，这项工作的范围也是巨大的，因此我们的初始产品（我们的目标是快速开发）将集中在地热热水生产上，尽管开发的技术可以作为地热发电和O&G生产的长期产品。XLTL多分支钻井新概念（项目合作伙伴）以及模拟多相流体流动和热传递的新技术，（类似于鱼骨结构），将导致以经济有效的方式钻探具有金融竞争力的多分支威尔斯井，其途径是：a）加强与地热区的联系和连通性; B）最大限度地减少环境损害，即地下水源/周围农村的污染，以及c）生产威尔斯井的最佳控制/管理。在项目期间，中石化将提供地热场地、测试设备和专业工程师/技术人员进行现场试验（公司出资500万元人民币），以检验先进的钻井技术，并验证预测软件。开发的智能GeoWells平台将提供给感兴趣的当地和其他公司/企业以及公共服务，并将通过加强知识和技术转让使他们受益。对当地和其他社区福利的长期影响是巨大的，既直接通过减少污染（水和空气）和气候变化影响，也间接通过经济影响。

A novel product will be developed for designing, drilling, completing and managing well systems that incorporate many laterals with increased reservoir contact for geothermal industry. A hybrid drilling approach, based on conventional and jetting (water and supercritical-CO2) technologies, will be employed along with advanced numerical models to help optimise the deployment and management of the well system. The product targets the fast-growing geothermal industry, and can be readily re-applied to oil/gas production, with a particular focus on intermediate-deep geothermal resources. Objectives of this work include: (1) application of advanced well drilling and completion technologies for more efficient well system construction; (2) evaluation of new-generation numerical models for solving fluid flow and heat transfer problems in complex well-reservoir systems, (3) optimisation of well design and management for cost-effective production, and (4) deployment of the product to geothermal reservoirs for field trials. The novelty of this project comes from the unique combination of new drilling and completion technologies with novel computational methodologies for well management and production.China's current energy demands require innovative, cost-effective and environment-friendly solutions. We are proposing an innovative multi-lateral well system Smart-GeoWells to help meet these challenges. This will be used to develop cleaner, more affordable, localised (building, village, town, city) heating/hot water and electricity, harnessing almost limitless, sustainable and secure geothermal energy. In order to develop the new multi-lateral wells (with potentially hundreds of laterals), the proposed team (each member a world-leader in their fields) will apply their specialised knowledge in testing and exploiting the new well engineering solutions, hybrid drilling technologies, advanced numerical modelling and optimal well design and management methods. For the UK and China teams, this will be the first stepping stone towards long-term collaboration, aiming at optimal exploitation of geothermal resources and if successful will have a massive impact on the energy sector. However, the scope of the work is also immense and thus our initial product (that we aim to develop rapidly) will be focussed on geothermal hot water production, although the developed technology can serve as a longer term product for geothermal electricity generation as well as O&G production. The new multi-lateral drilling concepts of XLTL (project partner) together with the novel techniques in modelling multiphase fluid flows and heat transfer through these large number of laterals (similar to the fishbone structure), will lead to economic and efficient ways of drilling financially-competitive multi-lateral wells through: a) enhanced contact and connectivity with geothermal regions; b) minimisation of environmental damage i.e. pollution of groundwater sources/surrounding countryside and c) optimal control/management of the production wells. During the project, Sinopec will provide geothermal sites, test equipment and specialised engineers/technicans for field trials (the company's funding contribution amounts to 5 million RMB) with which the advanced drilling techniques will be examined and the prediction software will be validated. The developed Smart-GeoWells platform will be made available to the interested local and other companies/businesses, as well as public services, and will also benefit them through enhanced knowledge and technology transfer. The longer-term implications on the welfare of the local and other communities are immense, both directly through reduced pollution (water and air) and climate change impacts and, indirectly, through economic impacts.