Hat tip to you: Thanks for making the launch of Enspired such a success!
 
Some words of encouragement: It’s easy to get down on the future of geoscience and hydrocarbons in today’s environment, but we specialize in digging below the surface to get answers. When we do that, the need for geoscience, geoscientists, and hydrocarbons is abundantly clear. We’re not going anywhere any time soon.

Sarah Compton

Editor, Enspired

Geothermal’s New Drill Bit

Equipment advances in geothermal could help facilitate drilling stability for oil and gas as some laterals extend to 4 miles and exploration of U-laterals is underway.

Why it matters: Longer laterals mean bigger cones of uncertainty and increased difficulty with bit control while maintaining ROP.

What’s the dealy-o: Bratislava-based GA Drilling revealed Anchorbit about a year ago and is preparing to drill its first geothermal well next year in Germany.

How it works:

• The Anchorbit resides behind the mud motor. It’s a two-piece system that acts as…well… an anchor, stabilizing the end of the drill string.

• Designed with hard rocks and high temperatures in mind, it’s not hard to extrapolate the tech to extended reach laterals, which are now dabbling in four-mile territory, as well as U-laterals.

The impact for us geos:

• We are well aware of the oftentimes competing needs of staying in zone and drilling quickly and safely. If anchoring the BHA to the rocks while maintaining ROP might save some 2 a.m. target changes, especially if it saves a sidetrack, I’m down for it.

• Depending on BHA layouts, increased stability at the end of the string could also help with different petrophysical measurements, where the distance between the tool and rocks can cause alterations in measurements and interpretations.

The student becomes the master: The level of drilling expertise in oil and gas is second to none. Hollywood even acknowledged it and sent an oil and gas drilling team, complete with the requisite geologist, to drill on an asteroid!

• The unique difficulties—such as higher temperatures and harder crystalline rocks—experienced when drilling geothermal wells require thinking and solutions outside of our typical soft-rock toolbox.

• Some of those solutions could help us as we work to expand our own capabilities.

• Let’s ignore the rest of the unfortunate geologist’s role in aforementioned movie, Armageddon…

Drill deeper: Read more about the new Anchorbit here.

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AI Needs More Power

Depending on what rhetoric you hone in on, the oil and gas industry is about to undergo a major shift as electrification continues to gain traction. But the reality of overall power demand kills the rhetoric claiming O&G will disappear entirely.

Giving it all she’s got: The need for electricity is rising and will continue its upward trajectory. Regulations come out daily to electrify transportation, appliances, and just about anything else that isn’t hand-cranked. The AI-driven digital revolution is also increasing the need for electrons.

Key stats:

• The five-year projection of US electricity demand growth has doubled from a year ago and forecasts peak demand growth of 38 gigawatts through 2038.

• Elimination of carbon emissions from the U.S. electricity sector is scheduled for 2035.

Cross sector collab: Despite that benchmark, tech firms building data centers are asking oil and gas companies, “How fast can you move?” and “How much gas can we get?” to power their electron-hungry operations.

Why?

Roadblock: Because data centers driving AI innovation and bitcoin mining require energy for computing power and cooling, among other things. But they can be built faster than new power can be brought online.

Enter geoscientists: There are many ways to go about generating electricity while staying clean, and nearly all of them involve us 🤓

• Nuclear generation requires finding and mining radiogenic sources, as well as safe locations to dispose of waste. If the words “molten salt,” pique your interest, feel free to read more.

• Geothermal, fossil fuels, mining for critical minerals, and CCS require subsurface reservoir or vein discovery, characterization, and access—all of which require socks with sandals, high-risk coloring, and deciphering of squiggly lines…aka geoscience specialties!

• Even solar and wind farms need geoscientists. Much like any surface project, we’re needed in civil engineering/geotechnical roles to describe ground and soil stability and to perform environmental risk assessments.

• There are efforts to farm power from waves, and those need geoscientists, too, because geological oceanography is a thing, and it impacts wave behavior.

The bottom line: Times of change can be tumultuous, but geoscientists have all the tools needed to navigate these bumpy waters. Not only do we have the tools, but we’ll play a critical role. The world is our oyster!

Dive deeper: Check this out for some more information on the increased power demand being driven by the AI-revolution.

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