Unleashing the Full Geothermal Potential of Türkiye Through Collaboration and Learning from the Oil & Gas Industry

Abstract

Developing of enhanced geothermal systems will be critical for future energy markets and successful energy decarbonization. New technologies and holistic drilling approaches will allow access to previously untapped sources and ensure projects are economically viable. Türkiye is the world's fourth largest geothermal energy producer with 1700 MWe of installed power capacity after the USA, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The Anatolian plate, which Türkiye is situated on, is located on the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt making the region one of the most seismically active places in the world. Due to these and other conditions, the country has a significant potential for geothermal energy production. Since 2010, there has been a strong collaboration between service companies and geothermal operators to provide advanced directional drilling services in the geothermal market. This successful collaboration enabled operators to drill deeper, higher temperature geothermal wells for electricity production and provided significant environmental and economic development for different fields. Typical drilling conditions for these applications are harsh and the static temperature ranges between 220°C to 295 °C. The depth of the wells varies between 2500 m-4800 m depending on the reservoir, within high temperatures and harsh drilling conditions. In this paper, the authors discuss the challenges of directional drilling in Türkiye's geothermal fields, and how the best practices and innovations established from the Oil & Gas industry were successfully adopted into this specific energy market, including the deployment of sophisticated Rotary Steerable Systems (RSS).