Publications

Total or partial loss of returns while drilling geothermal wells can be a severe problem, and it is usually a result of drilling into formation that is fractured,vugular and or cavernous, or having pressures applied to weak zones in open hole, from pump pressure and hydrostatic head. The addition of lost circulation materials (LCM) to the drilling fluid can sometimes correct the problem, but there are instances where such zones do not respond to the addition of LCM to the drilling fluid. Then other methods have to be used. A Sodium silicate system can be utilized as a mean of combating partial or total lost circulation in geothermal wells, e.g Dieng & Kamojang, if the addition of lost circulation material has failed to solve the problem. The performance of this Sodium silicate system is summarized and its limitations discussed. Case histories of field jobs are provided along with the results.