1728 The second development case assessed a direct line type horizontal well configuration initially spaced 2-kilometers apart. Both horizontal production and abstraction wells have slanted production casing cemented into the Target Sands and were screened as horizontal laterals within the largest pore volume Target Sand interval. Well spacing between horizontal injection and abstraction wells was then increased until there was no DLE plant breakthrough from the injection wells into the brine abstraction wells over a 40-year brine mining operation lifespan. From the resulting lithium resource abstracted and well count requirements, conclusions were made regarding the benefits of horizontal drilling to develop a salar environment brine reservoir. 6. RESULTS The drilling and geomechanic studies conclude that the construction of horizontal wells for lithium production and injection in the Salar is mechanically feasible. Feasibility is achieved through the integration of technologies and practices from the lithium brine industry, oil and gas extended-reach drilling (ERD), and the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) sector. While the application is novel and differs from typical use cases in each industry, the combined approach provides a viable and robust solution for shallow-TVD, longreach horizontal wells. The major challenge of limited doglegs is overcome by the use of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) rig, commonly used in the commodity industry (for example to run fiber optic cable under a river). The HDD rigs are what is called a slantered rig, with a derrick that is inclined to a maximum inclination of 70 deg from the vertical, allowing a hole inclination to be 20-30 deg at surface. The medium range HDD rig, 600-class widely used, have the drilling torque, hydraulic, hole cleaning, and screen deployment forces, required. This class of rig provides sufficient push capacity, high-speed torque, and circulation rates to drill the production hole and install long horizontal screen assemblies. The study presented here demonstrates that horizontal sections of 2,000 m MD can be achieved . This lateral reach is primarily limited by drilling torque required in the 13½" production hole. The well architecture is based on a two-string design. The configuration, consisting of a 20" surface hole, 16" surface casing set at geology-dependent depths, a 13½" production hole, and 8" blank casing transitioning to 8" × 10" pre-packed screens to total depth, provides a
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