Utah FORGE: Well 16B(78)-32 Drilling Data

This drilling data for Utah FORGE well 16B(78)-32 include a well survey, core summary, mud and mud temperature logs, daily reports of the drilling process, and additional data from the Pason oil and gas company. Well 16B(78)-32 serves as the production well for reservoir creation, fluid circulation, and demonstration of heat extraction for the FORGE project. It has been drilled as a doublet approximately 300 feet parallel to and above the injection well 16A(78)-32. The proposed total depth was 10,658 feet, which was exceeded. Spudding began on April 26th, 2023. As of June 20th, 2023, the total depth measured 10,947 feet and the vertical depth measured 8,357 feet.

Drilling included the trial use of insulated drill pipe (IDP) from Eavor Technologies, which was considered a success. IDP restricts counter-current heat transfer between drilling fluid inside the drill string and hotter returning fluid in the annulus, thereby ensuring the bottomhole assembly (BHA) remains submerged in cool fluid. Eavor rented 350 joints of IDP to FORGE which were run in two consecutive BHAs at the well. The results of this trial are included here.