Intelligent Boreholes

Background Drilling boreholes provides essential information about the geological layering and formation properties. This information is crucial for completion of the borehole as water well or evaluating the potential of the subsurface for groundwater production, freshwater storage (ASR), heat storage (ATES) or dewatering. In the Netherlands, the most commonly used method for drilling boreholes in unconsolidated formations is rotational drilling with water-based mud. However, the reliability of borehole descriptions based on cuttings (the soil material brought up during drilling) is often low. Misinterpretation can result in poor well design which may lead to reduced productivity. Furthermore, the poor reliability inhibits the use of cheaper, faster and low CO2-footprint direct flush drillings for exploration boreholes thus keeping them relatively expensive (50 – 200 k€). This leads to unnecessarily high costs of fresh water and heat

Penvoerder

Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO

Subsidiejaar

2025

Startdatum

2026-01-01

Einddatum

2028-12-31