P ROCEEDINGS, 47 th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering

Stanford University, Stanford, California, February 7-9, 2022

SGP -TR-223

A Discussion on Petroleum and Geothermal Subsurface Characteristic Differences and

Its Impact to Well Control Methods During Drilling

Dorman Purba 1 , Daniel W. Adityatama 2,1 , Ferdino R. Fadhillah 2,1 , M. Rizqi Al-Asyari2,1 , Panji Gumelar1 , Ari Gunawan 1 ,
Rony P. Nugraha 3,2
1
ENERKA Bhumi Pratama, Cibis Nine Tower, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia
2
Geoenergi Solusi Indonesia (GEOENERGIS), Cibis Nine Building 11th Floor, Jakarta Selatan 12560, Indonesia
3
The University of Auckland, Department of Engineering Science, Private Bag 90210, Auckland, New Zealand
dorman.purba@enerklaz.com

Keywords: Well control, kick, blow out, steam kick, BOPE, rig, drilling, geothermal, petroleum, exploration, hole problem, Indonesia

ABS TRACT
Drilling is one of key activities on geothermal and petroleum project that could face subsurface hazard such kick due formation pressure
that exceed wellbore hydrostatic pressure. This condition provides hazards to the surface resources, so the in-charge rig personnel and
driller should act with guidance from well control procedure immediately to prevent the kick condition become blow-out.

The research background is authors concern about applicability and relevancy of the most oil and gas well control method for geothermal
well application. One of phenomenon that support our concern is there is no national well control school and certification for geothermal
drilling personnel. This research use literature review, professional questionnaire, and interview to investigate the root of kick occurrence
on both environments, the oil/gas well and geothermal well. The comparison of root of kick and simple simulation could help to determine
applicability and limitation of oil/gas well control on geothermal environment. Finally, this research also encourages the awareness about
importance of geothermal well control certification as supplementary certification program that has implemented on petroleum industry.

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Drilling Objectives in Geothermal Project
Drilling is one of critical activities during exploration and development stage in both geothermal and petroleum industry. In a geothermal
exploration project, deep well drilling commonly executed after an integrated 3G (Geology, Geochemistry and Geophysics) study and
serve as the key activity to reduce the risk. Figure 1 shows risk profile on geothermal project by ESM AP (2012) that show significance
slope on risk reduction after drilling activity.

Figure 1: Geothermal project risk versus cumulative cost (ES MAP, 2012)
The early exploration survey such as seismic, magnetotelluric, gravity, magnetic, and other types of surface studies that used to develop
a subsurface model, or commonly called “Conceptual M odel” is only able to make a prediction of the subsurface characteristic based on
surface response. This kind of data is considered as indirect data. Consequently, the result of these surface studies, although provide better
estimate on what happened deep below, it could not reduce the subsurface uncertainties significantly. To better understand the subsurface
condition, drilling activity is required since it could provide direct data from subsurface that could reveal the true formation characteristic

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(Purba, et al., 2021 and Purba, et al., 2020). The data acquired from downhole logging and well testing may provide better information in
the decision-making process on the next step of the project. In general, the differences of drilling objectives in each phase are shown in
Table 1.
Table 1: Drilling objectives in exploration and development phase
Comparison Exploration phase Development phase
Objectives To proof the existence of petroleum or geothermal To proof the presence of resources and obtain data as
resources and obtain data as much as possible as the basis much as possible. Those data are necessary to updates
of further exploration strategy (e.g., temperature, the subsurface model and understanding as basis of
permeability, geology, fluid chemistry, etc.) further exploration strategy with high confidential data.
General Higher drilling cost per well compared to development Larger scale of procurement process, larger land area
Drilling phase due to project scale, which commonly drill only 2-3 requirement to accommodate more wells and
challenges wells for exploration. Land acquisition, drilling supporting facilities, needs of proper drilling data
infrastructure construction, potential dispute from local management, continuous offset well analysis to ensure
society, unexpected drilling hazard due to lack of lesson learn is applied for more drilling efficiency.
subsurface data (high uncertainties), difficulties in getting M any times, it also includes higher expectation from
sufficient water supply (especially for geothermal areas). investors and stakeholders
Drilling In geothermal project, the rate ranging from 20 – 59% In geothermal project, the average is 60 - 74% (IFC,
success rate (IFC, 2013) 2013)

1.2 Overview on Drilling Process and Hazards

Drilling is a complex operation that require personnel from multidisciplinary background that may come from many companies (Table
2). This various background and working culture, combined with high subsurface uncertainties could increase the challenges significantly
in an exploration project, both petroleum and geothermal.
Table 2: General description of organization involve in a drilling project
Comparison Operator Rig contractor Drilling service companies
M ain The company or operator The contractor responsible to To support the rig operation, it would
responsibilities usually would assign drilling provide and maintain the rig, deploy be necessary to provide specialist
contractor to drill the well. capable and certified personnel and personnel and equipment (i.e logging,
operate the rig. directional driller, etc) that would be
provided by service company
Key personnel Geoscience M anager, Drilling Rig M anager, Rig Superintendent, Cementing Engineer, Directional
in the drilling M anager, Drilling Engineer, Toolpusher, Driller, Derrickman. Driller, M ud Engineer, M ud Logger,
operation Drilling Superintendent, Wireline Engineer, Formation
Wellsite Geologist. Evaluation Specialist, Coring Engineer.

General drilling process between oil/gas and geothermal well has similarity. According to (PennState, 2021) and general normal drilling
process as shown on Figure 2.

Figure 2: S implified drilling project activities

1. Well planning, this step is early part of drilling that started by proposed prospective target by geoscience team. When the well
objectives have determined, the drilling and geoscience team develop drilling to proposal to be accepted by top -level management .
This stage also considers the technical aspect of well design to reach the subsurface target.
2. S ite survey and preparation conduct after the drilling proposal accepted by management. This step includes the preparation of
drilling infrastructure such as well-pad, access road, water supply, staging area, disposal area, etc. For the high relief, the preparation
is more challenging than flat terrain due to the topographic characteristic with steep slope may create difficulties to prepare flat area
for well pad. After the preparation, the conductor casing (18 in to 36 in) could be set up using auger unit to isolate the top surface
soil so the loose material would not contaminate the wellbore during early drilling operation.

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3. Mobilization and rig up would be performed after all drilling infrastructure and permittance have cleared. The drilling equipment
would be transported from the drilling yard to site. For land operation, the drilling equipment could be shipped to nearest priorate
port and continue the mobilization using multiple heavy -duty truck to well pad. After the arrival, that equipment would be placed
and settled before the rig up operation.
4. S pud-in is the start of drilling operation, this performed after the rig has inspected and declared safe for the operation.
5. Drill to casing point depth, drilling started from surface until reach the planed depth for the surface casing. The surface casing is
important to isolate the surface aquifer and gas, so it would be safe to continue drilling activity into the deeper formation. It also
important to use the environmental drilling material to avoid environment contamination. The drilling would use smaller bit size as
increasing depth section. After the depth of casing reached, the drill pipe would be tripping out to surface.
6. Run in casing and cement performed after the casing depth reached. The casing would be set up and strengthen using cement.
Cement would be pumped to fill the gap between outer side casing with formation and isolate the casing from formation to prevent
corrosion, blow out, casing shock, etc.
7. Drill to total depth, after the first section has completed, the drilling would be continued to next casing setting depth. This step
may face more challenging situation since the environment would be dangerous and may result the hazard as shown on Error!
Reference source not found.. One of the challenging situations is the lost circulation that may resulted by natural or induced by
human. The lost circulation would decrease the hole hydrostatic pressure that may lead the formation influx called as kick that could
be exaggerated into blow out condition. This would be discussed more comprehensive below (Possible Causes of “Kick”). After the
drilling reach next casing point, the hole would be secured using casing and cement. On the last section (reservoir zone), it would
use the perforated liner without cement to prevent formation damage on desired section after several data acquisition activity.
8. Perform open hole well-logging performed usually on reservoir section that use logging tool with direct contact to formation. The
acquired data would be used for formation evaluation for subsurface team.
9. Run in liner would be execute after the open hole logging performed to secure the hole using perforated liner. The perforated liner
still allows formation fluid to flow for well testing or production purposes.
10. Rig down and demobilization, after all drilling operation completed, the rig would be disassembled and move out for next drilling
operation.

Although the stages in a drilling project are generally similar for petroleum and geothermal, the reality is that the formation and subsurface
hazards encountered are very different. According to Umam, Purba, & Adityatama (2018), in Indonesia, the drilling contractor and service
company usually shift the same personnel for geothermal and oil/gas well, especially in Indonesia. The awareness of the differences
between drilling operation between oil/gas and geothermal is expected to increase among drilling community in Indonesia. Expensive
mistake most likely to occur when the transfer personnel do not possess the required competencies from relevant trainings or certification
programs that suitable for new environment.

Umam, Purba, & Adityatama (2018) also emphasized that awareness on well control method adaptation is important for any transferred
personnel from one drilling environment to another due to the difference’s nature and characteristic of lost circulation and kick. In
geothermal, the kick will most likely be dealing with high temperature brine/ steam with faster development (i.e., steam kick), while in
petroleum, the driller will most deal with flammable fluid with high explosive hazard (i.e., gas kick). The experts also consider the well
control method in oil and gas is irrelevant with geothermal environment and could lead to wrong handling and disaster.

1.3 Research Objectives

This study objectives try to answer following question

1. What is the difference between oil well and geothermal well environment from surface and subsurface perspective?
2. What is the most possible cause of kicks in both environment?
3. What is the limitation of oil well control method for geothermal environment?

1.4 Methodology
This study uses literature review to determine the differences of surface-subsurface condition, well control method and cause of kick for
both, the oil/gas well and geothermal well. Authors analyze these differences to know the limitation of oil well control method on
geothermal well and try to simulate the possibility of hazard that could be raise up if crew still use the oil well control method in geothermal
environment.

2 COMPARIS ON BETWEEN PETROLEUM AND GEOTHERMAL ENVIRONMENT

In order to understand the different nature and causes of kick events in petroleum and geothermal, it is important to first fully understand
the differences between the subsurface systems of the two environments.
2.1 S urface Aspect
2.1.1 Environment (terrain)
Geothermal environment associated with volcanic usually would be has high terrain (Nicholson, 1995). The high terrain environment will
have high topography, steep slopes, and difficult access for drilling activities in high temperature zones (usually upflow zones). The
examples of high terrain environments are Indonesia, The Philippines, and the Cordilleran type in El Tatio, Chile (Lawless, 2008).
Geothermal environment commonly associated with magmatic arcs which are characterized by quaternary volcanism (Goff and Janik,
2000) activity which can be a heat source for the system.

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The most important physical feature of the geothermal environment is the presence of geothermal manifestations. Oil and gas field are
commonly founded in plain area (low terrain to offshore) such as desert, arctic, river deltas, and continental margin offshore. This
condition offers difference challenges than geothermal environment. Table 3 shows the summary comparison between geothermal and
oil/gas well surface condition.
Table 3: Comparison of surface condition between geothermal and oil/gas well.
Petroleum Geothermal
Terrain Plain area (low relief terrain to offshore) M ountainous area (high relief terrain) (i.e Indonesia, The
Philippines, etc.); Plain area (low relief terrain) (i.e., New
Zealand, Iceland, etc.)
S lope Flat to moderate Steep condition
S urface Onshore: Flood Landslide, volcanic eruption, gas with high temperature zone,
geohazard Offshore: Heavy weather, high tides, flash flood, hydrothermal explosion, soft ground, and toxic
unconsolidated seabed, gas

2.2 S ub-surface aspect

2.2.1 Play/system
The differences in the subsurface environment between geothermal and petroleum from the system or play aspect are described below:
a. S ource: the source in geothermal refers to heat source from intrusion, elevated heat flow such as in extension domain, and water
pressured in great burial depth (M oeck, 2014). While source in petroleum refers to rock which is rich in organic matter (i.e shale and
coal) that will generate hydrocarbon after maturation (Schlumberger, Oilfield Glossary).
b. Fluid migration: Commonly in geothermal, fluid migration came from meteoric water in surface to reservoir then turn into hot fluid
and circulate through permeable rock or creating manifestation in outflow zone. M eanwhile in petroleum, fluid migrat ion happens
caused by expulsion from source rock to reservoir and then stop when encounter a trap or creating seepage in the surface.
c. Reservoir: in a petroleum system, reservoir has a function to stored hydrocarbon, and mostly sandstone and carbonate. Hydrocarbon
usually exist at a depth of 3000-4000 meters, but the depth of the oil well can be more than 6,000 meters, while the temperature in
the reservoir increases with increasing depth to more than 200ºC (Devold, 2013). Reservoir pressures in oil and gas drilling can be
very high due to compaction effects, diagenetic effects, differential density effects and fluid migration effects (Bourgoyne et al.,
1985). Devold (2013) explained that the pressure from the oil and gas reservoir can reach 90 M pa. While reservoir in geothermal has
a function as a heat sink and stored the hot fluid. The formation of geothermal reservoirs at equal depths is hotter than sedimentary
formations from most oil and gas reservoirs with temperatures from 160 °C to above 300 °C. Finger & Blankenship (2010) explains
that rock types are common in reservoirs Geothermal is hot, hard, abrasive, cracked heavily and under pressure. These rocks are
mainly granite, granodiorite, quartzite, greywacke, basalt, rhyolite, and volcanic tuff. Reservoir pressure in geothermal is usually
inferior or may be lower than hydrostatic pressure compared to hydrocarbon reservoirs because the stored fluid is still liquid. Pressure
will form when the liquid phase turns into gas.
d. Capping: clay cap is the result from interaction of hot fluid and surrounding rock. Clay cap is conductive, impermeable, and low
resistivity (<10 ohm-m) (Cummings, 2009). Clay cap is above the reservoir and has a function to resist hot fluids to escape reservoir.
In petroleum, it called seal. It can in top, bottom, or lateral to avoid fluids to migrate beyond the reservoir. Commonly it’s a shale or
evaporites (halite, anhydrite, etc.).
e. Trap: trap is not applicable for volcanic system. But in petroleum, trap is geometry combination of reservoir and seal and causing
accumulation of hydrocarbon. These are stratigraphic and/or structural trap.

2.2.2 Target characteristic

In terms of drilling targets, the differences that can be defined as follows:
a. Rock formation: geothermal regions are formed due to tectonic pressure which results in wide range errors and fractures. The
presence of fractures shows great permeability, but often causes loss of circulation, which is a major problem in geothermal drilling.
Fractures can also extend naturally and may also form during drilling because of pressure on the hole and can occur throughout the
wellbore. Thus, the main differences in geothermal drilling and petroleum drilling are geological complexity in the environment of
geothermal reservoirs and poor geological map capabilities that make exploration drilling for geothermal development wells
relatively blind (Tilley et al., 2015). In addition, poor interconnection of geothermal rocks and hard volcanic igneous rocks that may
exist from the surface to total depth will affect bit selection and penetration rate (ROP). As a result, drilling equipment for oil and
gas exploration will not provide the same results in geothermal exploration (Capuano, 2016).
b. Reservoir pressure: the use of mud as drilling fluid in geothermal drilling may not be feasible due to sub-hydrostatic pressure in
the reservoir. In addition, mud can cause significant damage to formations by reducing permeability if the mud is lost to productive
fractures. Therefore, it is recommended to use compressed air, soda water or mixed mud as drilling fluid for geothermal drilling
(Capuano, 2016).
c. Reservoir temperature: high temperature factors in the geothermal environment pose challenges in drilling and other geothermal
operations and must be included in the design of geothermal development (Tilley et al., 2015). High temperatures from the geothermal
reservoir can also cause the temperature of the drilling fluid to rise when returning to the surface. Therefore, the quality and durability
of cementing, casing, drilling equipment, materials and equipment must be able to withstand this temperature. The difference between
geothermal wells and oil wells is that geothermal drilling is characterized by high bottom hole temperature, it is usually higher than
150°C, and even higher than 300°C in hot dry rock formations (Delong, Hun, Yuwen, Wei, & Wenjian, 2014).

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Error! Reference source not found. shows the summary of comparison subsurface condition between geothermal and oil/gas well
(modified from Umam et al., 2018).

Table 4: S ummary of comparison between petroleum and geothermal subsurface system

Parameters Petroleum Geothermal
Source M atured high organic content rock Shallow intrusion,
Fluid migration Vertical and lateral Vertical and lateral
Capping/sealing Impermeable formation (shale) Clay cap; steam cap
Trap Stratigraphic and/or structural trap Not applicable for volcanic system
Rock Formation M ostly sandstone/ mudstone, sedimentation M ostly Igneous & hard metamorphic rock (e.g.,
layer andesite, rhyolite, diorite, etc.)
Reservoir Pressure High (can reach 90 M Pa). Relatively low, might be lower than hydrostatic
pressure.
Reservoir Temperature M ay reach up to 200°C, but mostly relatively High temperatures (approximately 160°C to above
low 300°C)
Drilling Fluid Bentonite blends M ostly using water, aerated mud or water with air or
nitrogen mixture due to severe lost circulation
encountered
Drilling Bits Typically, Polycrystalline Cutter (PDC) Roller cone or drag bits, impregnated diamond bits
Drilling Orientation Vertical, deviated, horizontal Usually, vertical or J-shaped, horizontal drilling is
unlikely
Casing Perforated production casing Pre-perforated of the pre-slotted liner, large diameter
casing
Cementing Protecting the casing from hydrocarbon Limit casing transformation /deformation due to high
corrosion temperature, prevent thermal fatigue
Completion Perforating and swabbing with NaCl saltwater Slotted liner installation and swabbing wit brine or
stimulate using air

2.3 S ubsurface hazards comparison

Based on the comparison in the table above, a comparison of drilling hazards can be made between the two environments (Table 5). The
likelihood value in the table is a collective assessment of the authors based on personal experience and literature study .
Table 5: Comparison of subsurface hazards likelihood in geothermal and petroleum well
No S ubsurface Explanation Petroleum well Geothermal well References
hazard (likelihood) (likelihood)
1 Loss The phenomenon that large amount of drilling 2 4 (Guan, Chen, &
circulation fluids flow into the formation under the effect Liao, 2021)
of pressure difference
2 Swelling Clay swelling occurs when the clay is exposed 2 4 (Khilar &
clay to aqueous solutions having a brine Fogler, 1983)
concentration below the critical salt
concentration.
3 Acid An immediate area or enclosure with a pH 1 3 (Corrosionpedia,
environment reading that is below 7.0. 2018)
4 Paleosol Paleosols are ancient soils that formed in past 2 2 (G.J. Retallack,
landscapes. Flood debris, landslides, volcanic 2014;
ash, and lava have buried most paleosols in the Gunderson et al,
sedimentary record. 2000)

Paleosols in some cases containing a large

proportion of smectite clay. Smectite is inert
but, when disturbed by drilling, especially with
freshwater it will becomes physically unstable.
5 Steam cap A vapor-dominated zone overlying a liquid- 0 2 (Grant &
dominated zone Bixley, 2011)
6 Unstable A sediment that is loosely arranged or 3 4 (OWP, 2019)
formation unstratified (not in layers) or whose particles
are not cemented together (soft rock).
7 Gas trap Natural gas accumulation at abnormal 4 2 (Ren, Liu,
pressure, which exists in shallow burial depth Huang, &
under the seabed and does not have the value Zhang, 2019)
for industrial exploitation.
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8 Abrasive A rock consisting of small, hard, sharp - 2 4 (M indat, 2021)

formation cornered, angular fragments, or a rock. The
cuttings from which, produced by the action of
a drill bit, are hard, sharp -cornered, angular
grains, which grind away or abrade the metal
on bits and drill-stem equipment at a rapid rate.
9 H2S Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, flammable, and 1 4 (OSHA, 2005)
extremely hazardous gas.
1: less likely, 5: most likely

3 POS S IBLE CAUS ES OF “KICK”

3.1 General Overview of Causes of Kick
Kick is situation when the formation fluid flow into well bore during the drilling operation. M ainly, this condition occurred due to there
is no sufficient hydrostatic pressure from well bore against the formation pressure (Schlumberger, 2021; Watt, 2017). Kick occurrence
not only consequence to the lost time of drilling operation but also may lead into more fatal condition known as blow out that endangered
rig, crew, and environment if the kick does not identify and controlled properly. According to Grace (2003), Abardeen Drilling School
(2002), and Saudi Aramco (2002) several possible causes of kick, such as:

3.1.1 Failure to fill the hole

this condition may reduce the capability of well bore to stabilize the formation due to insufficient amount of drilling fluid on well bore as
source of hole hydrostatic pressure. The failure could happen when the drilling string tripping out of the hole so there is additional volume
that must be covered by drilling fluid, but the crew does not aware to fill up the drilling fluid volume and monitor displacement during
the drill string trip. M oreover, the trip also must be evaluated to maintain formation in stable condition if there is indication of problem.
This failure has been occurred for many years and lead into major problem due lack of personnel understanding.

3.1.2 Swabbing and surging

During pull out of hole the drill string may reduce the formation pressure on bottom hole and creates vacuum effect that allows formation
fluid enter the wellbore which known as swabbing. Even its hard to identify swabbing, the action need to execute immediately after
swabbing detected to prevent further decreasing of hydrostatic pressure that triggers the well to flow. For geothermal environment,
increasing of reservoir pressure may cause by the absence of drilling fluid (i.e., cold water) during tripping out that creates steam kick
reach the surface facility (Bayustika, 2018).

While the surging occurs during run in hole the drill string with uncontrolled speed led to increasing of the pressure to drilling fluid. The
accumulation of the pressure could exceed the formation fracture pressure on bottom hole and crack the formation so drilling fluid infiltrate
into formation. This condition creates weak hydrostatic column and followed by the kick from formation.

3.1.3 Lost circulation

Lost circulation naturally occurs when the drilling penetrates high permeability zone such as fault -fracture zone, dissolved carbonate, or
clean sandstone formation that allow drilling fluid infiltrate the formation too far. For geothermal environment, the fault fracture zone and
highly altered rock may also be high permeability section. While it also occurs by induced condition such as too weight mud and sloughing.

There are two general types of lost circulation, such as 1) Partial loss circulation that still has mud return on the circulation and 2) Total
loss circulation that totally lost the mud (Umam, Susilo, Purba, & Adityatama, 2016). Since the drilling fluid lost to the formation, the
hydrostatic pressure on wellbore would decrease and fail to balance the formation pressure. It induces the influx from formation into
wellbore. For geothermal reservoir drilling usually face the total loss condition and practice blind drilling operation. During the drilling,
water only cover deep level near the bottom hole, so the shallower feed zone could not cool down would produce the steam kick due to
excessive temperature raise (Bayustika, 2018).

3.1.4 Insufficient mud weight

This condition could lead to insufficient hydrostatic pressure that should be provide by the drilling fluid to support drilling operation. T he
changing of mud weight may occur due to accidental dilution or contamination from low density fluid. For oil and gas, the gas cutting
could affect to density and hydrostatic reduction that initiate the kick. While the oil and saltwater cutting also creates the reduction but
not as significance as gas cutting since the density is greater than gas.

3.1.5 High temperature zone

Circulating hot fluid from deeper depths to the surface, resulting in the fluids flashing to steam, which causes a loss in hy drostatic pressure,
and a further flashing or boil down effect (Delong, Hun, Yuwen, Wei, & Wenjian, 2014) The circulating temperature directly affects
the rheology, density, chemical stability of drilling fluids, the performance changes of drilling fluid has a significant effect in
pressure balance and circulating pressure loss.

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3.2 Early Identification of a Kick

It is important of a kick to be early detected to prevent the kick scale up into blow out. According to Grace (2003) and Saudi Aramco
(2002), there are several early identifications of kick such as:
a. Increasing fluid volume, flow rate, and temperature after circulated from downhole.
b. Increasing rate of penetration significantly (drilling breaks).
c. Decreasing of circulating pressure and weight on drill pipe.
d. Increasing gas indicator.

3.3 Discussion on Differences between Petroleum and Geothermal Kick

After discussing the differences in the subsurface characteristics between the two environments above, an analysis of the differences in
kicks can be carried out. From the well control aspect, there is a significant difference between geothermal and oil & gas mainly on the
type of formation fluid encountered. In the case of oil and gas drilling, the formation fluids that will be anticipated are generally flammable
and tend to be in high pressure.

Downhole formation pressure in geothermal generally comes from permeable zones connected to reservoirs containing steam or hot water
and is highly dependent on local temperature (Bayutika, 2018). During drilling, the process of the formation temperature increase in the
borehole is inhibited by pumping or injecting cold water into the borehole continuously. Since the temperature is not increasing, the fluid
pressure at the bottom of the hole also does not increase so that the drilling process can continue safely because the "steam kick" is never
formed. While in petroleum drilling the fluid inside the formation already has a pressure that is more influenced by the overburden pressure
of the rock above it, not by the temperature of the reservoir.

Well control is usually carried out by keeping the hole full of mud with enough hydrostatic pressure, which slightly exceeds the formation
pressure. Whereas in geothermal drilling, the formation fluid is in the form of hot water or hot steam. When cold water is injected into the
hole, there will be a decrease in temperature followed by a pressure drop until finally, the well becomes controlled. Those differences in
formation fluid make well control techniques or methods used in both drillings are different. Currently, the well control certification that
available in Indonesia and the worldwide approved by IADC is more suitable for drilling petroleum and considered to not fully
accommodated for geothermal drilling since the principal in IADC is focusing on how to circulate the gas influx out of the wellbore.

4 WELL CONTROL LIMITATION IN GEOTHERMAL

In addition to the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid, the Blow Out preventer (BOP) is the main equipment used to control the pressure in
the borehole during drilling. This well control technology has been applied for a long time in the petroleum industry and has been adapted
by the geothermal industry. However, there are several points that need to be considered when adapting the petroleum well control method
for use in geothermal wells which can be described as follows.

4.1.1 Temperature rating

As discussed in the previous chapter, geothermal wells tend to be exposed to higher fluid temperatures than petroleum wells. When the
kick occurs, usually geothermal fluid will flow faster to the surface than the circulation speed of the drilling fluid to cool (Delong et al.,
2014). This shows that the BOP equipment used in geothermal drilling must have a higher temperature property. The design of all well
control equipment in geothermal drilling should be based more on the temperature factor than the pressure aspect.

4.1.2 Fluid material and availability

M ost cases of well control in petroleum are associated with greater gas pressure than the hydrostatic column in the borehole. To overcome
the pressure deficit at the bottom of the hole, generally the driller will increase the weight of the mud so that the formation fluid pressure
(gas/oil) can be balanced or countered. The implication of this method is that the rigsite team must prepare a sufficient stock of mud
weighting agent material to anticipate the well control situation. The process of increasing the weight of the mud can be carried out w hile
the well is being shut-in using BOP. The water supply requirement can be estimated based on the required kill mud volume to fill the
borehole plus a margin, based on company policy.

As for geothermal drilling, the fluid pressure formed in the borehole is the product of an increase in fluid temperature so t hat the method
used will be different from the well control principle in petroleum wells. The formation fluid (hot steam) will lose its pressure when there
is a decrease in temperature. This means that the driller must have the ability to pump cold water into the wellbore to lower the fluid
temperature and eventually eliminate the kick in the well. This well control method requires a continuous water supply, an adequate and
reliable pump, and a sufficient BOP temperature rating.

5 CONCLUS ION
This paper has shown a significant difference between the petroleum and geothermal environment from the subsurface aspect. The
fundamental differences between the two systems lie in reservoir and fluid temperatures, rock permeability and pressure and t he
heterogeneity of the rock-forming systems.

Due to the different systems of the petroleum and geothermal environment, the causes of the well control situation are also different. The
cause of kick in the petroleum well is generally the formation fluid pressure (gas/oil) which is influenced by overburden pressure.
M eanwhile, the kick that occurs in geothermal drilling is the result of the pressure of the geothermal formation fluid which is strongly
influenced by temperature.

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The generalization of well control methods and BOP designs between petroleum and geothermal can be dangerous because generally well
control methods and equipment in the petroleum industry are designed to anticipate pressure.

Geothermal on the other hand is likely to face a well control situation that is influenced by temperature. Therefore, the availability of a
continuous supply of cold water, the ability and reliability of the pump on the rig, and an adequate BOP temperature rating are the main
factors that must be considered.

6 REFERENCES
Abardeen Drilling School. (2002). Well Control for Rig Site Drilling Team. Abardeen.

Bayustika, I. G. (2018, 05). Geothermal Well Control & Momentum Kill Equation for Surface Bullheading. Retrieved from Researchgate:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325154005_Geothermal_Well_Control_M omentum_Kill_Equation_for_Surface_Bu
llheading?enrichId=rgreq-5e9f54231333b8c4698bbbbdaccee0d4-
XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzM yNTE1NDAwNTtBUzo4MjE0ODIwNzg4ODM4NDBAMTU3Mjg2Nzk5ODI4

Delong, Z., Hun, J., Yuwen, H., Wei, W., & Wenjian, Z. (2014). Study on Well Control Technology of High Temperature Geothermal
Drilling. Elsevier.

ESM AP. (2012). Geothermal Handbook: Planning and FInancing Power Generation. Washington: World Bank.

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