For clearing of the bore liners of geothermal wells, disclosed is a clearing tool that can be used without a drive motor, but with a drive hammer, to clear mineral deposits from the inside of the bore liners of geothermal wells. A forward end clears unwanted material from a live well. An aft end engages with a hammer device. The tool also has working surfaces to bear against and to cut through or to break up the unwanted material, at least one bypass passage conveying fluid from the live well through the clearing tool, and at least one exhaust passage communicating with the hammer device and conveying exhaust gases from the hammer to exhaust exit ports. The location of at least one exhaust exit port is a location that is situated aft of a forward face of the forward end of the clearing tool.

Wellbore synthesis techniques are disclosed suitable for use in geothermal applications. Embodiments are provided where open hole drilled wellbores are sealed while drilling to form an impervious layer at the wellbore/formation interface. The techniques may be chemical, thermal, mechanical, biological and are fully intended to irreversibly damage the formation in terms of the permeability thereof. With the permeability negated, the wellbore may be used to create a closed loop surface to surface geothermal well operable in the absence of well casing for maximizing thermal transfer to a circulating working fluid. Formulations for the working and drilling fluids are disclosed.

The present invention relates to a geothermal heat exchange system and a method of constructing a geothermal heat exchange system, and more specifically, to a geothermal heat exchange system which is to be installed in a borehole in the ground, the borehole being divided into a ground surface section and a shallow geothermal source section, the shallow geothermal source section of the borehole, which is hardly influenced by the atmospheric or ground surface temperatures, is filled with conventional heat conductive grouting material with high thermal conductivity, and the ground surface section of the borehole is filled with thermal insulation grouting material or thermal insulation cartridges to prevent the heat transferring medium in the geothermal heat exchange system, which has the geothermal heat obtained from the shallow geothermal source, from losing heat in the winter time or obtaining heat in the summer time when it passes through the ground surface section which is much influenced by the atmospheric or ground surface temperatures, thereby a geothermal heat exchange system that can increase the acquisition rate of geothermal energy, and a method of constructing the geothermal heat exchange system.

A system includes a power unit, and a coiled tubing (CT) reel for spooling a CT string. The system includes a CT injector for injecting the CT string from a surface into a subsurface to construct a geothermal borehole. The CT injector includes a gooseneck for guiding the CT string into a body of the CT injector. The system includes a first arm for coupling the CT reel and the power unit. The system includes a second arm for coupling the CT injector and the power unit. The system is configured to modify the distance between the CT reel and the gooseneck by adjusting at least one of (i) the length of the first arm or (ii) the length of the second arm.

Trench-confirmable geothermal reservoirs with flexible reservoir bodies that can snugly abut trench walls (that may be of virgin, compacted earth) for facilitating heat exchange and flow liquid from one lower end to an opposing top end, and vice versa, depending on desired heat exchange. The direction can be reversed for summer and winter heat/cooling configurations. A series of the reservoirs may be used for appropriate heat transfer. The water volume of the reservoirs is relatively large and slow moving for good earth heat conduction. The reservoirs include first and second ports, one of which has an elongate internal tube that has a bottom that resides adjacent a bottom of the reservoir body and a series of apertures on only a lower portion of the internal tube to intake or output liquid depending on flow direction.

The present disclosure describes a system and a method for generating energy from geothermal sources. The system includes an injection well and a production well extending underground into a rock formation, a first lateral section connected to the injection well and a second lateral section connected to the production well, the first and second lateral sections connected with a multilateral connector, defining a pressure-tested downhole well loop within the rock formation and in a heat transfer arrangement therewith. The downhole well loop cased in steel and cemented in place within the rock formation. The downhole well loop to receive working fluid capable of undergoing phase change between liquid and gas within the downhole well loop as a result of heat transferred from the rock formation. The system also includes a pump to circulate working fluid, a turbine system to convert the flow of working fluid into electricity, and a cooler.

Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method and/or computer program product embodiments, and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for using a thin-bed hot sedimentary aquifer (HSA) in geothermal energy generation applications. An example embodiment operates by pumping, via an extraction well, heated water from an extraction depth of an HSA. The HSA is identified based on a permeability satisfying a threshold permeability range and could even have a thickness equal to or less than about 100 meters. The example embodiment further operates by extracting, via a power generation unit, heat from the heated water to generate power and transform the heated water into cooled water. Subsequently, the example embodiment operates by injecting, via an injection well, the cooled water at an injection depth of the HSA. A first portion of the extraction well and a second portion of the injection well are disposed within the HSA.

Thermal energy is extracted from geological formations using a heat harvester. In some embodiments, the heat harvester is a once-through, closed loop, underground heat harvester created by directionally drilling through hot rock. The extracted thermal energy can be converted or transformed to other forms of energy.

A method of installing a tubular heat exchanger into soil includes providing the tubular heat exchanger and screwing the tubular heat exchanger into the soil with an installation apparatus. The installation apparatus may be removed from the soil without removing the tubular heat exchanger from the soil.

Fluid classes for use in energy recovery in well and geothermal environments for power production are disclosed. The fluids fall into the classes of fluids being capable of increasing thermodynamic efficiency of electricity and/or heat generation from a closed-loop geothermal system. Numerous methods are disclosed which exploit the thermodynamics of the fluids for optimum energy recovery.