Today's achievements, and a look at future developments

Sandia National Laboratories conducts research for DOE's Geothermal Technology Development Program, which is a program aimed at developing new drilling and completion tools and techniques for application in geothermal wells (although results can be considered applicable to the general drilling industry). To aid in identification and selection of research projects, a oneyear investigation of current and future of drilling technology was recently conducted. This article summarizes results of the study that address the nature of future drilling systems.