306 OPTIMAL EXPLOITATION OF LITHIUM RESOURCES THROUGH HORIZONTAL WELLS SHARAD DUBEY, SLB; V SUDHAKAR, SLB; ROGER DAAR JR, SLB; MARIA EUGENIA LASCANO, SLB ABSTRACT The traditional method of extracting lithium brine from salars relies on pumping into large evaporation ponds, where lithium is concentrated as water evaporates. However, because this approach consumes substantial amounts of water, it is increasingly viewed as unsustainable in arid, water stressed environments. As a result, emerging Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies are now being paired with brine or water reinjection strategies to help preserve scarce water resources. This shift introduces new technical challenges, particularly in well design and construction, reservoir characterization, prediction of subsurface fluid flow, and in managing the infrastructure costs associated with reinjection and DLE operations. Meeting environmental objectives without compromising production requires improved understanding of the hydraulic and geomechanical behavior of salar systems. Lithium bearing salars exhibit strong heterogeneity in porosity, permeability, and facies continuity. These aquifers occur at shallow depths, contain unconsolidated sediments, and display highly variable lithologic setting—conditions that directly influence both vertical and horizontal well performance. Horizontal drilling may offer environmental and economic advantages by reducing the number of required pads; however, feasibility is constrained by shallow TVD, low formation pressures, borehole stability risks, and geosteering uncertainty in heterogeneous strata. This study evaluates the technical feasibility and potential performance implications of horizontal versus vertical wells in clastic–evaporite salars using an integrated workflow that combines drilling engineering analysis, rock mechanics modeling from a data-driven synthetic reservoir model. The goal is to understand the geological and mechanical conditions under which long reach horizontal wells could be viable for DLE-based brine abstraction and compare, for a synthetic case, the cost and production implications when deploying vertical vs horizontal well scenarios. SALARS, AN INTRODUCTION In highly heterogeneous Salar environments, strong variations in porosity and permeability create both challenges and opportunities for delivering the minerals the world urgently needs. Addressing the global call for faster, smarter, and more responsible extraction, this paper examines how horizontal versus vertical well placements perform within complex
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