Firms to test geothermal drilling technology

Clean fuel innovator Oxford Catalysts Group PLC has signed an agreement with Potter Drilling, a google.org-funded company, to explore the incorporation of Oxford Catalysts’ Instant Steam technology into Potter Drilling’s hydrothermal drilling technology to use superheated fluid for drilling through hard rocks.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will evaluate an application to generate the necessary heat for use in Potter Drilling’s drilling tool for geothermal wells.

Geothermal wells can be slow and expensive to drill using conventional rotary drilling methods, because wells are often sunk deep into hard crystalline rocks that are difficul to penetrate and quickly wear down drill bits. Potter Drilling’s technology overcomes these problems by using superheated fluid to drill through the rocks, rather than relying on the abrasive cutting power of a rotating drill bit.

The technology being tested will require Oxford Catalysts’ Instant Steam catalyst to be contained within the drill head to help produce the superheated fluid needed to drill the well. Oxford Catalysts’ technology involves passing a liquid fuel over a proprietary catalyst. This triggers a spontaneous and highly exothermic reaction that releases high-temperature steam.

Potter Drilling intends to test the technology in field trials next year.

Geothermal energy — thermal energy harnessed from the Earth’s crust — currently supplies less than 1 per cent of the world’s energy. With continued advances in technology, however, geothermal energy could potentially produce enough sustainable electricity to meet a large portion of the world’s energy demands.