Meeting the demand for wells

Some 20,000 geothermal well are drilled in Sweden each year and many more worldwide to meet the growing demand for low cost energy.

The rural provinces of Dalsland and Värmland are typical cases where many family homes rely on their own wells for energy as well as drinking water.

To perform this highly specialized task, private individuals and building contractors call in professionals like Säffle Brunnsborrning, one of the region?s leading geothermal and water well providers.

Säffle Brunnsborrning was founded in 1976. Managing Director Daniel Carlsson took over the leadership in 2010 and has gradually seen it grow, along with demand. Today, about 75% of the holes the company drills each year are for geothermal purposes and 25% are for water.

One of the key factors behind Säffle?s success is the equipment package it uses, supplied by Atlas Copco, and the company recently invested in its second equipment set ? a WellDrill 3062CR drill rig and a new compressor, the DrillAir Y35.

?This has doubled our capacity,? says Carlsson. ?With our two sets we are now delivering up to 13 bore holes per week.?

Easy choice

Deciding what supplier to use was an easy choice, continues Carlsson.?Operational reliability is extremely important for our business, and I can honestly say I don?t even remember the last time we had an equipment failure,? he says.

?Furthermore, the equipment is easy to handle and move between jobs, and that?s important for our working environment.?

The company performs quick maintenance checks on the machines about once a week and also has a service agreement with Atlas Copco.

?Our customers include both private individuals, as well as building contractors with larger projects,? he says, ?and satisfied customers is what leads to new assignments for us.?

Marcus Österberg, Atlas Copco?s representative in the nearby town of Jonsered, maintains almost daily contact with Carlsson and his crew. ?Säffle Brunnsborrning is not just a loyal customer,? he says, ?The company places high demands on us that we have to meet.?

Säffle also participated in a project to develop a new hammer specifically  designed for geothermal and water well drilling and which was launched in March this year. ?We wanted to offer a new generation of hammers for 35 bar that will run more smoothly and provide higher productivity,? says Johansson. ?To do this we have slightly reduced the force of each blow and combined this with a higher frequency.?

The ?comfortable? hammer

After weeks of testing, Säffle confirms that it the hammer meets expectations. ?We could tell right off that it runs in a more comfortable way,? says driller Fredrik Johansson. ?It makes things easier, particularly for the person standing at the machine. We have also noticed that it?s more economical when it comes to fuel, compared to the previous hammer we had.?

During testing the new equipment in a water well project, the rig drilled down to a depth of 110 m which resulted in a water inflow of 40?50 liters per hour.

?There was no point in drilling deeper,? says Carlsson. ?All we have to do now is pressurize the well in order to increase inflow.?

Another problem-free day and another well job, done well.

A complete package

Atlas Copco provides a complete package of equipment and service for successful geothermal and water well drilling in all ground conditions.

WellDrill 3062

The WellDrill 3062, used by Swedish contractor Säffle Brunnsborrning, is a compact, versatile and reliable DTH dill rig for geothermal and water well drilling with modern technology.

It includes a flexible, 360-degree rotating rig for high production drilling and features an external control panel that logs drill speed, rotation speed, current drill depth, and also shows the number of drill rods added.

DrillAir Y35

Perfectly matched to the rig is the new DrillAir Y35, compressor. This unit is both shorter and lighter than its predecessor, and the working pressure range can be adjusted to suit all types of drilling and conditions.

New W4 hammer

In addition, Atlas Copco has also developed a new 4″ DTH hammer with high productivity. The W 4 hammer, is less forceful and harsh on drilling components and also more fuel effiicient.

Service

Atlas Copco has dedicated service teams for this equipment combination, making service and maintenance easy to plan and cost-efficient. The Atlas Copco service vehicles are fully-equipped to cover most events that may occur onsite, and if more substantial maintenance work is needed this can be conveniently carried out in Atlas Copco?s workshops.