Call for Challenges – IADC Geothermal Drilling Conference, 25-26 March 2025
The IADC Geothermal Committee is soliciting ideas for challenges in geothermal drilling that will be addressed at an upcoming event in Vienna, Austria.
The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) Geothermal Committee has issued a “Call for Challenges” for the IADC Geothermal Drilling Conference & Exhibition, scheduled to take place on 25-26 March 2025 in Vienna, Austria.
Instead of the traditional Call for Abstracts, the Committee would like to invite members to share problems or challenges they face. This collaborative approach will allow us the Committee identify the most pressing issues in the geothermal drilling industry and work together to find innovative solutions. The conference program committee members will identify the speakers who will address the selected challenges to ensure maximum value for attendees.
If the companies or individuals submitting the challenges have suggestions for speakers, including from their own company, they are welcome to share them with the Committee. The deadline for submissions is 1 October 2024.
Suggested categories for challenges:
- Market Outlook: e.g. market size and growth, and what will it take for the industry to make a step change in growth.
- Technological advances: e.g. accelerated deployment of new technologies, improvements in the metallurgy field, non-metallic casing & tubing, ceramics, high temperature batteries, evolution of drilling bit cutters.
- Technological challenges: e.g. managing heat at surface, corrosion, drill bits, measurement tools, high temperature completions, drill pipes, ROP challenges in volcanic rocks, MPD in geothermal drilling.
- Rigs for geothermal drilling: e.g. special designs for geothermal drilling, demand/availability, and developments.
- Regulatory aspects: e.g. lack of licensing systems, lack of clearly set requirements for geothermal wells, uncertainty in standards to apply, variety of terms and definitions in different jurisdictions.
- Contracting and procurement strategies in geothermal drilling: e.g. lower risks and rewards than in oil and gas may call for different contracting strategies.
- Funding and investment: e.g. perspectives of banks, tools for potential investors to estimate geothermal projects’ potential.
- Economic feasibility: e.g. how can geothermal wells be profitable and what is the drilling industry’s role in increasing geothermal well cost predictability, decreasing the well construction time, and optimizing costs.
- Trade organizations: such as IGA, EGEC, Geothermal Rising, IOGP, and IADC—What initiatives have they taken in the geothermal area, and what do they each see as their role in the geothermal industry?
- Well Control: in geothermal energy development: e.g. differences and similarities with the petroleum industry. How will training curricula and certifications have to be adapted? Are Well Control organizations addressing this?
- Geothermal training and education for drilling contractors and suppliers: What curricula need to be developed and adapted, and how are academia and professional training organizations addressing these needs?
- Attracting talent: e.g. Does geothermal drilling suffer from the negative image of the oil and gas drilling industry, preventing it from attracting young professionals? What can drilling contractors do to change the perception and position themselves as a green and innovative energy sector?
The IADC Geothermal Committee is continuing its work in creating standardized guidelines for the drilling of geothermal wells in a bid to make the industry more efficient, safer, and more transparent.
Source: IADC
