StarWars Laser Technology Applied to Drilling and Completing Gas Wells

Abstract

Abstract This paper describes results of the first phase of a Gas Research Institute (GRI) funded research program. The overall purpose of this research is to advance a fundamental change in the method currently used to drill and complete natural gas wells applying the U.S. Defense Department's Star Wars laser technology. Results of tests conducted at the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army's high power laser research facilities are presented. Initial testing on reservoir rocks conducted with the Mid Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser (MIRACL) at the U.S. Army's High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility at White Sands, New Mexico, showed the potential for laser drilling. The laser beam drilled at a speed that indicates penetration could be increased by more than 100 times current rates. Planned testing for the next phase of this research is to use the Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser (COIL) high powered laser invented in 1977 by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for air-to-air defense. COIL has gained notoriety as an airborne laser tactical weapon capable of tracking and destroying missiles. An annotated bibliography was developed for the GRI that comprehensively reviews published laser-rock interaction, current drilling research, and technical data related to laser applications in non-reservoir rocks. Developing commercial applications of Star Wars laser technologies has commenced not only in the U.S., but also in Russia and the former Soviet Union. P. 761