Learn what's on the horizon with this up-and-coming technology.
The potential pitfalls the rig can run into are many. For example, the bit can wear out quickly, causing the driller to spend hours pulling thousands of feet of drill pipe out of the hole to install a new bit. The drill string can twist off, or it can cause the drilling assembly to get stuck in the hole. The drilling fluid can leak off into formation fractures before it reaches the surface, causing stuck pipe and costly delays. New technology is being developed to minimize these problems so that geothermal wells can be drilled cost-effectively.