France, March 8, 2021—ENGIE Solutions, Schlumberger and SMP Drilling have completed a 1,600-meter deep geothermal drilling project in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France, to enable an innovative heating solution for the city. The multilateral well design, which is the first of its kind for a geothermal application in France, was drilled using the PowerDrive Archer* high build rate rotary steerable (RSS) system and AxeBlade* ridged diamond element bit.
The geothermal well will enable the French city's heating network, Vélidis, to provide heating and hot water supply to 16,000 homes with more than 60% renewable energy. In the long term, this heating solution is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 22,801 tons each year.